New York Area 15 All State
Repertoire, Recordings and Notes
Dear Participating Teachers & Student Musicians,
I'm looking forward to working with you soon! Below is our repertoire with some links to scores, recordings, and notes.
The program order will be:
• Ernest Bloch, "Prelude" from Concerto grosso
• "Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child"
• Symphony No. 2, "Allegro presto" by Joseph Bologna, Chevalier de Saint-George
• "Drifren" by Shirl Jae Atwell
• Gilbert & Sullivan Medley
See you in November!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Sacher Wiley (Dr. Wiley)
Ernest Bloch, Concerto grosso
For Strings and Piano Obbligato (1st movement)
Bloch was a music theory composition professor in 1925 at the Cleveland Institute of Music where his students were complaining about an assignment he had given. He was insisting that they utilize traditional structures but they wanted to abandon tradition to make a more modern 20th century sound. This composition was his demonstration of how a 20th century sound & energy could emerge from traditional forms.
"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"
arranged by Troy Peters
I know we'll enjoy shaping Troy Peters's arrangment of this beautiful spiritual. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an Afro-British composer (1875-1912). Check out the audio of our arrangement and Bessie Griffin's powerful rendition.
Joseph Bologna, Chevalier de St. George
Symphony No. 2, Allegro presto
18th century composer now commonly referred to as simply "Chevalier", was the hero of a 2023 movie (see trailer, below). He was a violinist, conductor, composer, fencer (!), the son of a father of nobility and a mother from the Caribbean island Guadeloupe, he received his education in France.
"Drifren" by Shirl Jae Atwell
This punchy, edgy, and syncopated number should be lots of fun to put together! Shirl Jae Atwell is a living composer- check out her website !
Gilbert & Sullivan Medley
William S. Gilbert (lyricist) and Arthur Sullivan (composer) wrote many comic operettas in 19th century London. Below is a video that gives you an introduction about their collaboration (the first 58 seconds is a good start). Our medley features songs from "Mikado", "HMS Pinafore", "Pirates of Penzance, and "Gondoliers". At the bottom of this section are links to staged versions of each of the tunes in our medley.
"When I was a Lad" (2nd violin feature)
HMS Pinafore
"A Policeman's Lot" (bass feature)
Pirates of Penzance
"The Sun Whose Rays" (cello feature)
Mikado
"With Cat Like Tread" (viola feature)
Pirates of Penzance
"We're Called Gondolieri" (1st violin feature)
Gondoliers
Act 1 Finale, Mikado
(start at 11:46)