Concert Preview: Symphony Tacoma’s ‘Reconciliation’ Features World Premiere by Local Composer

Symphony Tacoma’s February concert presents selections from Tacoma Method, a new opera by Dr. Gregory Youtz, along with celebrated works by Britten and Brahms. The concert will take place on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 7:30 pm in Tacoma’s Pantages Theater.

Tacoma Method sheds light on perhaps the most tragic chapter of Tacoma’s history. Written by composer Gregory Youtz, a music professor at Pacific Lutheran University, and librettist Zhang Er, a Beijing born-and-raised Chinese poet now teaching at Evergreen College Tacoma, the opera shares stories from the 1885 expulsion of Chinese pioneers from Tacoma. Zhang Er thoroughly researched the incident and discovered a wealth of historical material from which to write a libretto. Her extensive knowledge of late-19th-century Chinese culture enabled her to flesh out the nature of the principal characters.

Accompanying the orchestra will be New York-based mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn and vocalists from Symphony Tacoma Voices. Historical photos will be projected on stage to help tell the story. The full Tacoma Method opera will be performed by Tacoma Opera at the Rialto Theater on March 31–April 2, 2023.

Also on the concert program is Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes. The story is based on an early nineteenth-century narrative poem by George Crabbe that tells the dark story of gossip and persecution. Grimes, a surly, ill-natured fisherman, is suspected of murdering his young apprentices on an isolated seaside fishing village. These excerpts bring the drama and setting of the opera into the concert hall with each piece depicting the sea in various moods—Dawn, Sunday Morning, Moonlight and Storm.

Rounding out the program is Brahms’ deeply passionate Symphony No. 4. More than any other late-19th-century composer, Brahms kept intense classical elements in his music in the height of the Romantic era. Written in the “tragic” vein, this work recalls Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony of 80 years earlier. The “triumph over tragedy” theme characterized by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven is also present, but in a more subtle tone.

Newsletter: New Year News Beat! Media releases, residency announcement, Cascade Conducting and More

The Winter Newsletter is out now – including NYO-USA resident conductor appointment, new media releases, Symphony Tacoma concert highlights, the 6th Cascade Conducting masterclass announcement and More!

Announcement: The 6th Annual Cascade Conducting Masterclass now opens for applications

Led by orchestra conductor Sarah Ioannides, chorale conductor Dr. Geoffrey Boers, and this year joined internationally recognized conductor and composer, Ayis Ioannides, the Cascade Conducting Masterclass offers orchestral and choral conductors an incredible array of opportunities. With the motto “Excellence through Equity”, we welcome participants from diverse ethnic and professional backgrounds to join us. More than $10,000 worth of scholarships and financial aid are available.

News: Sarasota Orchestra December Programs Inspire Joy and Discovery for the Holiday Season

Sarasota Orchestra brings joy to the season with favorites including its popular holiday-themed Great Escapes program. Lina González-Granados and Sarah Ioannides, already acclaimed conductors nationally and internationally, make their debuts on the Masterworks and Discoveries series, respectively, presenting inspired programs that include works by musical influencers and young composers alike.

Oxford-trained conductor Sarah Ioannides, music director of Symphony Tacoma, leads a program devoted to musical influencers-and those whom they inspired. Berlioz and Schumann both greatly admired the music of innovative 19th-century French composer Louise Farrenc, who battled sexism in music-and won. Liszt got the idea for Christus, an oratorio about the life of Christ, from Handel’s Messiah. In his exuberant Symphony in C Major, Bizet not only emulates, but directly quotes, his teacher Gounod.

Described by The New York Times as a conductor with “unquestionable strength and authority” and as a conductor with “magic,” Sarah Ioannides’ dynamic presence on the podium has won praise from audience and critics internationally.

Female conductors, composers are still rarities in classical music. How can that change?

In the U.S., the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Nathalie Stutzmann is the only female music director at a major orchestra. Both the Dallas and Fort Worth symphony orchestras have never been led by female music directors, though the DSO has hired several female assistant conductors over the past few decades, and appointed Gemma New as principal guest conductor in 2018. The FWSO has also brought in more female guest conductors in recent seasons. Classical music groups across the country have also been programming more female composers, but they are still underrepresented.

The DSO’s fourth annual Women in Classical Music Symposium will address the lingering gender gaps — and speak to the challenges facing women moving toward leadership roles in classical music. From Nov. 6-9, the symposium will include panels and workshops to help attendees navigate barriers in the field. Around 300 people are expected to attend the event, including students from South Dallas, SMU and Plano ISD who have been invited to participate in some of the panels.

Participants can attend networking events and discussions on topics like the challenges of balancing work and personal life and the experiences of Black women in U.S. orchestras. The symposium will also feature a documentary viewing and discussion about Zohra, Afghanistan’s all-women orchestra that was evacuated from the country when the Taliban retook control.

A Nov. 8 symposium panel called “The Burden of Breaking Through: Power Structures and Paths to Progress” will be moderated by Elizabeth Myong, a reporter and producer for Arts Access — a new partnership between The Dallas Morning News and KERA. Vocalist Katherine Goforth, conductor Sarah Ioannides and DSO composer-in-residence Angélica Negrón will discuss how they’ve overcome barriers in classical music and the way biases and power dynamics contribute to the challenges they face.