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Beethoven’s Overture to Coriolan, op. 62 was premiered in 1807 at a private concert in the home of Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz. It was at this same concert that his fourth piano concerto and fourth symphony were also premiered. 

The piece is based on the 1804 play Coriolan by Heinrich Joseph von Collin. Coriolan was a military leader in the Roman empire in the early 5th century BC. He was recognized for his military prowess and was given his name following a successful siege of Corioli – a city in the adversarial Volsci tribe. Coriolan was later exiled by the Romans, and in an attempt to exact revenge, created an army of the Volsci people, hoping to lead them in a conquest of Rome. 

As Coriolan arrives at the Roman gates, he is met by his mother, who pleads with him to give up his conquest, knowing that it will end poorly. Faced with his mother’s despair, he realizes that he is unable to lay siege to Rome. However, this leaves him unable to return to the Volscian army, and he ultimately dies by suicide.

Whether the overture was written to accompany the play or was simply inspired by Collin’s drama is unknown, but it is widely accepted that Beethoven’s music generally follows the trajectory of Coriolan’s character.

Coriolan’s war-like tendencies are depicted in the opening of Beethoven’s overture with dramatic exclamations in the strings which are amplified by the brass. These give way to an ominous and foreboding melody in C minor played by the low strings. The mother is signified with an enchantingly lyrical melody in the violins, contrasting Coriolan’s war theme in C minor with the relative E flat major.

There exists a shift in the energy of the music near the end, exemplifying Coriolan’s inner conflict. As the cellos play a disjunct and augmented version of Coriolan’s original theme, the strings end with three unison pizzicato notes, evoking a somber sense of finality.

Originally composed in 1930, Florence Price’s Song of Hope is a largely unknown piece with no known previous performances prior to today. The composition pre-dates her first piano concerto and first symphony, making it her first major orchestral work. At the time, Price had just moved to Chicago from Atlanta in order to escape the legal bounty that had been placed on her daughter’s head under Jim Crow law. Her original poetry is a reflection of the determination, defiance, and hope that she felt as a Black woman living through immense struggle:

I dare look up. The heaven's blue is mine!
Held in contempt and hated, still, Lord, I am Thine.
Tho' torn asunder, poisoned arrows reach my soul.
Because Thou Livest do I know that Thou shalt make me whole.

I dare look up through flames that, mounting high,
Consume my flesh. In faith I see Thee. Thou art nigh.
I would not that my anguish to Thy throne ascend,
For pain and sin and sorrow doth Thy mercy, Lord, transcend.

I dare look up! Thy promise made to me –
A humble creature, groping, will yet make me free.
Thy mighty plan, beyond my simple ken, assures
Thy love, surpassing human hope, protects me; still endures!

Throughout the piece, Price interplays major and minor sonorities, emphasizing the dichotomy between a peaceful hope in her Creator and her experiences on this earth. A primary example of this comes with the lyrics “poisoned arrows reach my soul” as the piece reaches a dramatic climax in D minor before giving way to a serenely placid soundscape in D major as the choir sings “Because Thou livest, do I know that Thou shalt make me whole.”

Song of Hope was only recently discovered in a collection of Price’s files. It was found in an envelope with the words “return postage guaranteed” written on the front, indicating that she sent the piece to a publisher, but no one was willing to entertain the work. Following the 2018 purchase of her collection, G. Schirmer published the piece for the first time in mid-2021. Tonight’s world premiere is made possible through the generous support of ONEcomposer.

Pini di Roma, or the Pines of Rome, is a tone poem depicting pine trees at different times of the day throughout the city. A subject that might typically seem mundane, Respighi’s representation of these static beings is one that gives a sense of reverence, appreciation, and respect. The piece comprises four movements that are played without pause.

The first movement depicts a scene of young children running around the Villa Borghese. Their exuberant energy is represented in the upper woodwinds with rapid and playfully ornamented melodies. A fast-paced march gives images of the children imitating soldiers before steadily accelerating as their energy unravels their previously organized roleplay. 

Respighi evokes the long shadows of the pine trees overhanging a Roman catacomb in the second movement. Multiple hymns are heard, first in the french horns and followed by an offstage trumpet. The dirge slowly builds, leading to a restatement of the distant trumpet melody from the trombones. As the tune dies away, the deep bass notes of the organ persist, emphasizing the subterranean nature of the catacombs.

The third movement is a nocturne depicting a full moon shining on Janiculum Hill. The gentle and serene nature of this setting is presented by the expansive melody in the clarinet and accompanied by dense sonorities in the strings. The song of a nightingale can be heard near the end of the movement, signifying the juxtaposition of beauty and mysticism.

The final movement is a steady push from start to finish as the sun rises on the Roman army of old marching down the Appian Way, lined on either side by towering pine trees. The steadily growing eighth notes in the low strings and piano embody the sounds of an approaching battalion. The first fanfare is heard in the low clarinet and is slowly joined by the brass as the piece progresses to its climax. The conclusion of the piece reaches a triumphant cadence as the army reaches the center of Rome.

Flute
Lila Weiser
Claire Park*
Alex Stewart*

Oboe
Kaitlyn Schneider*
Raelene Ford

English Horn
Donald Schweikert*

Clarinet
Tim Coffey*
Mark Jones*

Bass Clarinet
Jenna Beaudoin

Bassoon
Casey Delsandro*
Nathaniel Finke*

Contrabassoon
Eden Treado

Horn
Charlotte Povey*
Elijah Zelaya*
Pegeen Friese**
Anna Freebern**
Heidi Oros

Trumpet
Marie Plouffe*
Max Stephenson*
Nathalie Mejia

Trombone
Carolyn FitzGerald**
Aaron Suttle**
Alex Felker**
Aidan Bradley
Lea LaChance

Tuba
Joel Spiridigliozzi**
Logan Owens

Timpani
Ethan Cowburn*

Percussion
Patrick Roche
Greg Savino
Ethan Pinckert
Colin Kelley

Keyboards
Julian Sanita, piano
Michael Blum, celeste
Erik Kibelsbeck, organ**

Harp
Anna Lenhert

Violin I
Comfort Smith*
Allison Quade*
Caroline Ryan*
Harris Andersen*
Nicholas Siconolfi*
Cordelia-Marie Ceres**
Ben Strait*
Abby Carothers**
Liam Mazierski**
Tiffany Hotte**
Yu Ray Chu
Victoria Keenan
Katelyn Levine

Violin II
Kathryn Anderson*
Laura Grube*
Aubren Villaseñor*
Joel Staub*
Kian Broderick**
Lily Milkis**
Kathleen Robinson**
Khani Cossa**
Finn McGregor
Olivia Hutchings

Viola
Jacob Shur*
Matt Rizzo*
Faith Willett*
Mahum Qureshi**
Katie Dursi**
Kana March**
Noah Ceterski
Laura Avila
Lydia Dustin

Cello
Panos Dimaras*
Katelyn Miller*
Aaron Irish-Donini*
Gerdrose Jean-Louis**
Lilly D'Ancicco**
Meredith Wickless**
Laura VanVoris
Alex Renzoni

Bass
Jack Pesch**
Anthony Barone*
Jacob Eisentraut**
Kayla Grady**
Sam Koch**
James Flanagan**
Leo Gonta*
Brandon Kulzer**

Buccini
Anna Damigella, trumpet
Megan Burghdorf, trumpet
Sydney Alfano, trumpet
Abby Strayer, trumpet
Wyatt Weldum, trombone
Miranda Lape, trombone

* Beethoven
** Price

Lydia Arnts
Nicholas Briccetti
Logan Chaput
Stephen Costanza
Felicity Davis
Sophie Denton

Maia Finkel
Ryan Fogler
Caitlin Glastonbury
Connor Lloyd
Julianna LoBiondo

Benjamin Macarell
Allie Matthews
Gina O'Sullivan
Madeline Simone
Muse Ye
Timmy Yesudasan

Lucas Arulpragasam
Sarah Bowe
Chuck Burch
Austin Burgett
Gabriel Byan
Amy Crouch 
Megan Field 

Speed Franklin
Grace Hermes 
Jason Ling
Raye Liu 
Alexander Myers
Cassandre Norgaisse 

Nik Pasqualini 
Amy Penick 
Emma Powell
Cara Robertus
Benjamin Stevens 
Nic Vigilante
Anthony Washington

Rinchen Aaya
Isabella Antes
Frieda Bernstein
Anna Bjerken
Lizzie Bonassar
Tatiana Byrd
Rose Chandler
Rob Chatrchyan
Amelia Colbdorf
Elle Decatur
Sam DeLisa
Noemi Donenfeld
Emma Duell
Veery Evans
Nomi Falk
Niko Fontanez-Vargas
Corinne Ford
Fiona Glenn-Keough
Cecilia Grace-Martin
Malcolm Greenspun
Aled Hern
Sabetha Hersini

Addie Houle-Hitz
Ellie Kaden
Forrest Kingsley
Alice Knipe
Ella Kramer
Izzy Leyden Githler
Rowena Lloyd
Emma Loiacono
Nina Lyons
Hope Machlin
Florence Martell-Glennon
Giovanni McBride
Tayler McEver
Rosemary Mead
Trinity Odom-Reed
Anya Packard
Isabella Pauldine
Torianna Payne
Ananya Prasad
Andrwe Putnam
Emile Rebillard
Caleb Robinson

Ezri Rubenstein-Miller
Abe Sachs
Sam Sachs
Margaret Schneider
Charlie Shanton
William Shanton
Skye Slattery
Obie Smolenski
Summer Steinhagen
Skye Steuteville
Caitlin Strong
Annalise Thompson
Lila Travers
Elden VanCamp-Ingiosi
Anais Vanek-Raphaelidis
Clare Weislogel
Genevieve Weislogel
Dove Williams
Nora Wing
Anneke Wittink
Noa Yamaguchi

Naya Griles, soprano, is from Manhattan, New York and is currently a senior music education major with a concentration in voice, and studies with Marc Webster at Ithaca College. Most recently, Naya performed with Opera Noire, singing “I Loves You, Porgy” from Porgy and Bess with their company for a concert here at Ithaca College. She has also performed as a soloist at Ithaca College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, singing selections from Porgy and Bess. Naya is currently a soloist and chorister in the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers and recently performed with them at Carnegie Hall with the Fisk Jubilee Singers. In addition to singing in the Women’s Chorale and Concert Choir at Ithaca College, Naya’s previous credits include being a chorister in the internationally acclaimed and awarded choir, The Young People’s Chorus of New York City under the direction of Francisco Nuñez, where she participated for 10 years as a chorister and soloist in tours to California, Germany, Spain, and Japan. Naya completed her student teaching in Manhattan at the performing arts high school, Talent Unlimited, and is a graduate of specialized high school, LaGuardia High School for Music, Art, and the Performing Arts, where she studied voice with Jana Ballard.

Holden James Turner, a baritone from Rochester, NY, most recently had the honor of performing as the bass soloist for Beethoven's Mass in C-minor with the Finger Lakes Choral Festival. Mr. Turner was also the tenor soloist for the world premiere of Frank James Staneck's "Twelfth Night" with the Rochester Oratorio Society. He has been featured as a bass soloist with the Oratorio Society on multiple occasions, recently including Schubert's Masses 1, 2, 3, and 4. He has studied under the direction of Nicole Cabell, Marc Webster and was also a Young Artist at Songfest in the Summer of 2017. Mr. Turner has worked with many great artists, including Martin Katz, Roberta Alexander, artists in Opera Noire, and more. He has placed in competitions such as the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has received awards from associations such as the Rochester Philharmonic League, The New York Summer School of the Arts, and others.

A multifaceted musician, Michael Stern is recognized for his diverse skill set as both a performer and educator. Currently serving as the pianist and Director of Contemporary Music at Christ Chapel in Ithaca, NY, he has accompanied the Ithaca College Summer Music Academy Chorus as well as honor choirs throughout New York. Additionally, Michael spent a majority of his academic career studying the trumpet, holding a Bachelor of Music in Music Education & Trumpet Performance from Ithaca College and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan in Trumpet Performance and Chamber Music. He has performed with the acclaimed University of Michigan Symphony Band and the Ann Arbor Symphony.

While at the University of Michigan, Michael was invited to study wind conducting with Michael Haithcock as a performance cognate. This led to additional conducting opportunities, including his current pursuance of an additional master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Ithaca College under the guidance of Grant Cooper. Michael is the co-director of the Cornell Open Orchestra and has also been a guest rehearsal conductor with the Cornell University Symphony Orchestra and the Ithaca Community Orchestra. He has also been invited to attend the National Orchestral Institute + Festival to study conducting with Marin Alsop and Jim Ross this coming summer. Michael is passionate about music education and hopes to use his abilities as a conductor to create an energetic, focused, and disciplined approach to learning life skills through music.

ONEcomposer is a celebration of musicians whose contributions have been historically erased. By providing a platform for the study, performance, and discussion of a single, underrepresented composer's life and legacy for the duration of an entire academic year, ONEcomposer promotes a more complete understanding of musical histories.

Through research, lecture-recitals, performances, and guest speaking engagements with leading artists and scholars, we reexamine forgotten excellence, inspired by the legacy of the woman who first inspired ONEcomposer: Florence B. Price.