Overture May/June 2022 | Page 23

PROGRAM NOTES

HOLST THE PLANETS

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Peter Oundjian
University of Maryland Concert Choir
Peter Oundjian
Peter Oundjian has developed a multifaceted
portfolio as a conductor , violinist , professor , and artistic advisor . Recently named Conductor Emeritus of the Toronto Symphony , Oundjian ’ s 14-year tenure as music director served as a major creative force for the city and was marked by a reimagining of the orchestra ’ s programming , international stature , audience development , and touring . Under Oundjian ’ s direction , the orchestra garnered a Grammy nomination in 2018 and a Juno Award .
From 2012 to 2018 , Oundjian served as Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra , where he led several international tours . His final appearance with the orchestra as their Music Director was at The BBC Proms in 2018 .
Highlights of past seasons include appearances with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Detroit , Atlanta , St . Louis , Baltimore , Indianapolis , Milwaukee , and New Zealand symphony orchestras . With worldwide concert cancellations , Oudjian focused on providing support for students at Yale University and The Juilliard School and created a virtual summer festival in Boulder where he is Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival .
An outstanding violinist , Oundjian spent 14 years as the first violinist for the renowned Tokyo String Quartet before he turned his energy towards conducting .
The University of Maryland ( UMD ) Concert
Choir comprises singers chosen by audition
from across the College Park campus . Under
the direction of Edward Maclary , the ensemble
has established a national reputation
for excellence in the performance of a wide
range of symphonic literature .
The UMD Concert Choir made its BSO
debut in 2013 under the baton of Marin Alsop
in performances of Benjamin Britten ’ s
monumental War Requiem . They have appeared
with the BSO in every subsequent
season in repertoire such as the Mozart Mass
in C Minor , Brahms ’ Ein deutsches Requiem ,
Stravinsky ’ s Symphony of Psalms , and in 2019 ,
the world premiere of Roxanna Panufnik ’ s
Across the Line of Dreams .
In 2019 , the ensemble made its Carnegie
Hall debut with the National Symphony
Orchestra and Music Director Gianandrea
Noseda in acclaimed performances of Liszt ’ s
Dante Symphony and Rossini ’ s Stabat Mater
. Over the past decade the UMD Concert
Choir has also performed with many of the
world ’ s leading conductors , such as Nicholas
McGegan , Donald Runnicles , Markus Stenz ,
Masaaki Suzuki , and Nathalie Stutzmann .
University of Maryland Concert Choir
Experience the Performance Again A livestream of this program is available for a limited time . A BSO Sessions Episode , featuring an interview with Peter Oundjian , will be released on June 29 .
David Andrews
FROM THE PODIUM
by Peter Oundjian
I grew up in England , where The Planets are almost like a national anthem , especially Jupiter . Holst ordered the movements quite differently originally , but the ultimate order , for me , is like the evolution of humanity . The violence of Mars and the purity of Venus bring up these primitive feelings , and then Mercury is a vision of the mind at work . Jupiter is about nobility , spirituality and generosity , and then Saturn is a symbol of old age and death . Then you get the afterworld movements : Uranus , to me , is the devil , and Neptune is the beauty of a heavenly experience . I always feel when I ’ m conducting it that I ’ m experiencing the evolution of humankind from most primitive to most spiritual .
When you want to perform The Planets , it ’ s always a shame that the female voices are only heard for the last three minutes , so we had this idea to pair it with Debussy ’ s Nocturnes . The voices there represent the Sirens , singing in an alluring way that is almost taunting . According to the mythology , they attract the sailors and cause them to crash into the rocks . The way Debussy uses the female choir — there is tremendous energy right from the first entrance , and you don ’ t know quite where that energy is coming from or where it is going . Is it beautiful , or is it scary ?
Vivian Fung is a really skilled contemporary composer , and her piece Dust Devils is extremely colorful . It uses the orchestra so beautifully and has this eruptive kind of brilliance . These three pieces are all different types of tone poems , and each takes you on a journey that is really impactful .
MAY-JUN 2022 / OVERTURE 21