Symphony Tacoma concludes its season of virtual musical experiences with the following programs in May and June.
SAXOPHONE FUSION
Original performance date: April 20, 2019
Saturday, May 15 | 7:30 pm
Sarah Ioannides, conductor
James Carter, saxophone
Saxophone Fusion features saxophonist James Carter from his 2019 performance with Symphony Tacoma. Selections include Milhaud’s La Création du Monde, which tells the creation story according to African folk mythology with influences of Harlem Renaissance jazz and a multimedia film with art visuals, from African tribal sculptures to works by Picasso and Gauguin. Puerto Rico native Roberto Sierra’s Caribbean Rhapsody marries classical and Latin jazz influences and showcases Carter’s virtuosity. It draws on Sierra’s memories of growing up in Puerto Rico and the music he heard on jukeboxes—from the sensuous opening boléro, to the Latin riffs reminiscent of son montuno with alternating reflective and spirited music.
This video production includes excerpts from Symphony Tacoma’s 2019 performance augmented by an all-new video presentation curated Music Director Sarah Ioannides that includes imagery from the concert’s multimedia production along with painting and sketches by Puerto Rican father and daughter Andy and Nico Bueso.
TACOMA METHOD: THREE ARIAS PERFORMED BY HAI-TING CHINN
Saturday, May 22 | 7:30 pm
Hai-Ting Chinn, mezzo-soprano
Tacoma Method is an opera composed by Dr. Gregory Youtz with a plot centered around the expulsion of the Chinese population from Tacoma in the late 1800s. Symphony Tacoma was to premiere this piece in November 2020 but it was postponed due to COVID-19.
This presentation features three dramatic arias—Home, My Little Cup and Mad, Am I Mad—performed by mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn and produced by videographer Jasper Davis in New York City earlier this year. This project is being developed in conjunction with Tacoma’s Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation.
HOW CAN WE KEEP FROM SINGING?
Saturday, May 29 | 7:30 pm
Symphony Tacoma Voices
Geoffrey Boers, director
Symphony Tacoma Voices returns with their first performance gathered together since 2019. Recorded in Tacoma’s First Presbyterian Church, this concert presents three songs that reflect the challenging and heroic work that this group and choirs everywhere have undertaken over the last fifteen months.
Morten Lauridsen’s Sure on This Shining Night speaks of wonder in simple things and treasuring that which we otherwise take for granted. No Time (arranged by Sarah Blumfield) is an inspiring combination of three early American camp meeting songs: Rise O Fathers Rise, No Time to Tarry Here, and Brothers O Fare Thee Well. Each song speaks of the journey of life, and that we are all moving together through it. Rollo Dilworth’s Shine on Me is a popular African American blues-gospel tune with a hopeful message, sung by down-trodden and mistreated neighbors, providing inspiration to all.
CHOOSING COURAGE PODCAST INTERVIEW OF SARAH IOANNIDES
Saturday, June 5 | 7:30 pm
Katie Tuite, host
Sarah Ioannides, music director
This special interview of Music Director Sarah Ioannides is conducted by Choosing Courage podcast creator and motivational life coach Katie Tuite. Ioannides discusses how her musical passion drove her pursuit for the performing arts, education, music and family and helped her navigate professional and personal challenges.
Creator of the Choosing Courage podcast, Katie Tuite is a coach that helps professionals and leaders unleash their potential to elevate their careers and lives with intention that is built upon the foundation of their values and goals.
CASCADE CONDUCTING
Saturday, June 12 | 7:30 pm
Sarah Ioannides, music director
Teo Benson, Cascade Conducting director
David Ludwig, composer
Take a look into the annual Cascade Conducting Masterclass with Maestra Sarah Ioannides, Cascade Conducting Director Teo Benson and composer David Ludwig, new dean and director of music for the Juilliard School. Students of the festival will share their experiences as well.
The 2021 Cascade Conducting program will take place during the last two weeks of June. It includes conducting and composing emphases both virtually and in person as students record six compositions with Symphony Tacoma. This conversation will be simulcast on Symphony Tacoma’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
