ASPECTS OF AMERICA
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Valerie Coleman
Born September 3, 1970, in Louisville, Kentucky Resides in New York City, New York
UMOJA— ANTHEM OF UNITY [ 2019 ]
In its original form, Umoja, the Swahili word for Unity and the first principle of the African Dispora holiday Kwanzaa, was composed as a simple song for women’ s choir. It embodied a sense of‘ tribal unity,’ through the feel of a drum circle, the sharing of history through traditional“ call and response” form and the repetition of a memorable sing-song melody. It was rearranged into woodwind quintet form during the genesis of Coleman’ s chamber music ensemble, Imani Winds, with the intent of providing an anthem that celebrated the diverse heritages of the ensemble itself.
Almost two decades later from the original, the orchestral version brings an expansion and sophistication to the short and sweet melody, beginning with sustained ethereal passages that float and shift from a bowed vibraphone, supporting the introduction of the melody by solo violin. Here the melody is sweetly singing in its simplest form with an earnest reminiscent of Appalachian style music. From there, the melody dances and weaves throughout the instrument families, interrupted by dissonant viewpoints led by the brass and percussion sections, which represent the clash of injustices, racism, and hate that threatens to gain a foothold in the world today. Spiky textures turn into an aggressive exchange between upper woodwinds and percussion, before a return to the melody as a gentle reminder of kindness and humanity. Through the brass led ensemble tutti, the journey ends with a bold call of unity that harkens back to the original anthem.
Umoja has seen the creation of many versions that are like siblings to one another: similar in many ways, but each with a unique voice that is informed by Coleman’ s ever-evolving creativity and perspective.
“ This version honors the simple melody that ever was, but is now a full exploration into the meaning of freedom and unity. Now more than ever, Umoja has to ring as a strong and beautiful anthem for the world we live in today.”
— Written by Valerie Coleman
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, ride cymbal, bass drum, snare drum, temple blocks, xylophone, suspended cymbal, vibraphone, cymbals( pair), tambourine, glockenspiel, marimba, harp, piano, and strings.
Billy Childs
Born March 8, 1957, in Los Angeles, California Resides in Los Angeles, California
CONCERTO FOR FLUTE AND CLARINET [ 2026 ] World premiere, BSO co-commission
Instrumentation: Solo flute and clarinet, three flutes( one doubling alto flute and piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, percussion, timpani, harp, piano, celeste, and strings.
Adolphus Hailstork
Born April 17, 1941, in Rochester, New York Resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia
FANFARE ON“ AMAZING GRACE” [ 2021 ]
Adolphus Hailstork’ s Fanfare on“ Amazing Grace” is an explosion of joyous sound reflecting the influence of spirituals sung and loved since childhood.
Adolphus Hailstork was born in Rochester, New York in 1941, and grew up in Albany, where he learned to play violin, piano, and organ, and sang in the school choirs. He started to compose before enrolling at Howard University in Washington, D. C. in 1959. Upon his graduation from Howard in 1963, he won a Lucy E. Moten Travel Fellowship that enabled him to study with the celebrated pedagogue Nadia Boulanger at the American Academy in Fontainebleau, France. He then earned a second bachelor’ s( 1965) and a master’ s degree( 1966) from the Manhattan School of Music and completed his doctoral studies in 1971 at Michigan State University. Hailstork taught at MSU and Youngstown State University before joining the faculty of Norfolk State University in Virginia in 1977. Since 1999, he has served on the faculty of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where he is now Eminent Scholar and Professor of Music. Hailstork’ s distinctions include the Ernest Bloch Award, a Fulbright Fellowship( for study in Guyana), Virginia Governor’ s Award for the Arts, an honorary doctorate from the College of William and Mary, a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Manhattan School of Music, and the Strong Men & Strong Women Award from Dominion Energy of Virginia(“ to provide our youth with positive role models of African-American men and women”). In 1992, he was named a Cultural Laureate of the State of Virginia. His recent America’ s Requiem: A Knee on the Neck, premiered in March 2022 at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, commemorates the death of George Floyd.
In 2003, Hailstork wrote a Fanfare on“ Amazing Grace” for organ, an instrument he studied as a student and had up taken up in earnest again around that time. The work is a modern analogue of Bach’ s chorale preludes, in which a church hymn is embedded in elaborate accompanying counterpoint. The musical web Hailstork wove around“ Amazing
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