In the Fall of 1932, 19-year-old Benjamin Britten pored over a book of ancient English carols, searching for the perfect text to set with his first mature religious work.  The result was A Boy Was Born: a theme and six variations setting ten 16th century texts.  This work for unaccompanied men’s, women’s, and boys’ voices would hardly be his last foray into seasonal repertoire. 
 
On December 14th and 15th, the Bozeman Symphony performs Britten’s “Men of Goodwill,” an orchestral setting of Christmas carol variations.  Men of Goodwill initially premiered as a radio performance which preceded King George VI’s 1947 Christmas broadcast, making its brassy grand opening appropriately ceremonious.  While only a single carol – “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” – forms the theme, the piece meanders through a tour of medieval English tunes and draws inspiration from non-Western music. 
 
In 1982, Robert Henderson of the Daily Telegraph described it as “…a shrewd and entertaining concert-piece, the five variations consisting of a spirited jug, a seductive andantino cast in the form of a slow, opulently lyrical waltz, a rustic dance, pompous little march and rhetorical finale. Expertly scored, as one would expect, and written in his lightest vein.”  As this weekend’s Music Director Finalist Norman Huynh pointed out in his Welcome Message, listen for how the melody is picked up by different instruments to create a “color palate” of sounds with the familiar melody. 
 
While Men of Goodwill is wordless, Britten was a master of setting texts for the voice.  The texts used in that earlier Christmas composition--A Boy Was Born­—were selected so carefully from the book of ancient carols that the work requires no narrator or staging and presents a complete narrative on its own.  The piece reflects on Jesus’ entire life rather than simply his birth story and alternates between plot and rumination.  Inspired by Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, which he saw in 1933, Britten also weaved motives and text painting to describe elements like the Nativity, Mary rocking her infant, and the upward motion of Jesus’ eventual ascension.  

​Another masterful choral work to explore this season is A Ceremony of Carols: a striking composition for treble voices and harp.  Consisting of ten carols bookended by a plainchant procession and recession, A Ceremony offers a program of charming lullabies interspersed with the frantic, declamatory drama of movements like “This Little Babe,” which feature unexpected twists and turns of tonality as is typical of Britten.  In the middle of the work, the action pauses for “Interlude,” an ethereal respite for harp alone which leaves notes raining softly in the air like the drip-drops of melting snow.  

​Lastly, for more secular, poetic listening, one need look no further than Winter Words, a song cycle for tenor featuring texts from poet Thomas Hardy’s Collected Poems.  Originally written for Britten’s life-long partner Peter Pears, the eight poems sigh with nostalgia, and the bleakness of Winter.  Listen for poignant touches like the imitation of a boy playing the violin in “At the railway station, Uppway,” and the gloom Britten evokes which echoes Franz Schubert’s Winterreise.    

(Recommended listening: Winter Words in two parts, sung by Peter Pears with Benjamin Britten on Piano; Winterreise, performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore.)

​We hope you enjoy touring just a handful of Benjamin Britten’s seasonal works and that we’ll see you this weekend at the Willson Auditorium for our live performance of Men of Goodwill during the Bozeman Symphony’s “Vivaldi’s Gloria," with Music Director Finalist Norman Huynh!

Works referenced:

Britten-Pears Foundation, “Work of the Week: Winter Words,” Britten-Pears Foundation. https://brittenpears.org/explore/benjamin-britten/music/work-of-the-week/51-winter-words/.

Max Derrickson, “Britten — Men of Goodwill: Variations on a Christmas Carol,” Max Derrickson.  https://www.musicprogramnotes.com/britten-men-of-goodwill-variations-on-a-christmas-carol/.
 
Gordon Lamb, “Benjamin Britten’s ‘Ceremony of Carols,’” The Choral Journal 4, no. 1 (1963): 18-20.
 
Stephen Sieck, “Earl Signs of a Gift for Drama: Benjamin Britten’s A Boy Was Born, Op. 3,” Choral Journal 45, no. 2 (2004): 8-16.



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​Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony,” known as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in classical music involving almost two centuries of gossip and intrigue, will be the centerpiece of performances presented by Bozeman Symphony on February 2nd and 3rd. 

Schubert composed the first two movements of his Symphony No. 8, commonly known as the “Unfinished Symphony,” in 1822 and lived for six more years after the completion of these movements. So why didn’t he finish it? Musicologists and music lovers have been trying to decide why Schubert never finished this symphony for almost two centuries to no avail. Was he just not excited by it?  Did he have other things to write and never got back to it?  Did he think it had little value as music?  He did go on to write the fantastically successful 9th Symphony, so he obviously wasn’t through composing.

Perhaps the reason for speculation and intrigue surrounding the Symphony is that very few facts are known about it. Schubert left us with only two movements and a sketch of a Scherzo, which we assume would take its place as a third movement. A symphony, however, is a piece that has four movements. Up through 1822, no work in the form of a symphony was comprised of only two or three movements. It was always four.

Adding to the mystery, the “Unfinished Symphony” wasn’t discovered until the 1860s, more than thirty years after Schubert’s death. In 1823 the Graz Music Society presented Schubert with an honorary degree. In return, Schubert felt obliged to present the Society with a symphony dedicated to them. He sent his unfinished work, along with at least the first two pages of his scherzo to longtime friend and member of the Graz Music Society, Anselm Hüttenbrenner.

No one knows why, but Hüttenbrenner never let anyone know he had the score - even the Graz Society. It remained secretly in his possession until nearing the end of his life, he revealed the score giving the masterpiece its world premiere in Vienna on December 17th in 1865.

Musicologists speculated for several decades that because of Hüttenbrenner’s secrecy, perhaps there were two more movements hidden in an attic somewhere in Vienna. However, it is now certain that Schubert left us only with two incomparable movements of music, both thrilling and sublime. Alan Leech, principal bassoon of the Bozeman Symphony, shares: “I have always thought that perhaps the reason Schubert did not complete the other movements of this work was that he had “painted himself into a corner,” and wasn’t certain where to go from there. There are beautiful woodwind and string melodies to be heard, and the flowing tunes are very endearing. Whenever I hear the two movements of this symphony, I find them reasonably complete and satisfying: they do seem to speak for themselves, and perhaps I understand why he left just the two movements unattended by additional ones.”
A few other details add to the intrigue. In late 1822 Schubert contracted syphilis and subsequently suffered from depression and failing health. Some have also speculated that he was almost paralyzed by learning about Beethoven’s symphonic form innovations. Others claimed that Schubert was obsessed with composing his Wander Fantasy for solo piano. And finally, many have speculated that the material intended for the fourth movement was used as the entr’acte for the incidental music for Rosamunde. These reasons are merely circumstantial. No definitive proof supports any of these theories.

What is known: Schubert gave us two movements that can be best described as perfection. Precious gems in the treasure trove of symphonic music. They have remained stalwarts of the standard repertoire immediately from the time they were premiered. Moreover, the “Unfinished Symphony” occupies a special place in the history of music as the first Romantic Symphony - a bridge from the Classical period to the Romantic period due to its lyrical motivation, and an orchestration not solely designed for functionality. Schubert’s two movements are a masterpiece and cherished the world over year after year.

The Symphony welcomes Wendy Bickford, principal clarinet, as one of our newest orchestra members!

Wendy's musical background is extremely impressive having performed as a clarinetist in “The President’s Own” Marine Band performing for Presidents George W. Bush and Barrack Obama, along with several orchestras including the Colorado Symphony, Cheyenne Symphony, Ft. Collins Symphony and New Orchestra of Washington. We couldn't be more thrilled to have Wendy in our community!​ A big thank you to Wendy for sharing her life inside and out of music which follows!

At six years old in Lakeland, Florida, Wendy heard her older brother practicing the clarinet.  Even though the sounds were rather frightening at times, she wanted to learn to play it. He charged Wendy $5 a minute to try it out. She waited five long years to inherit his Noblet clarinet. While awaiting her time to play the licorice stick, she discovered the classical music station, and Wendy was hooked. She could not get enough of this newly discovered music and knew it would be a main part of her life. As Wendy got older, she would record the classical station on cassette tapes just like her father would record classic rock songs for their travels to fastpitch softball tournaments.  Then in the eighth grade came the discovery of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto thanks to a gift from her mother. It was Wendy's first classical CD, and she had no idea who was performing it and could not pronounce the German name, but that did not matter. Life was never the same; Wendy knew she wanted to be a performer.
 
While working through scales, etude books and solo repertoire, Wendy was also playing year-round travel fastpitch softball. Her private lesson teacher was against this other passion Wendy shared with music. So, to avoid the countless lectures about breaking bones or trying less dangerous sports, Wendy and her family decided to hide her softball life from her teacher.  Ironically, it wasn't until the end of her graduate studies that broken bones became an issue! In high school, Wendy participated in as many musical opportunities she could possibly fit into one day outside of her lessons and Symphonic Band rehearsals. She participated in the jazz band on alto saxophone, competed in concerto competitions and performed solos with the local professional orchestra and organizations supporting classical music, and also joined the percussion section of the younger band at her school. Her senior year, Wendy was ecstatic to receive her acceptance letter to attend a music conservatory.
 
Wendy earned her bachelor’s degree from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University where she studied with Edward Palanker of the Baltimore Symphony.  During her senior year at Peabody and before starting her graduate program, Wendy studied with Mark Nuccio of the New York Philharmonic and Yehuda Gilad. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, studying with Bil Jackson of the Colorado Symphony, where she also earned a triple fracture in her left thumb from picking up softball again right before her audition for the Marine Band.

For players interested in period performance, register for the 2018 Period Performance Workshop! Full details available online here. 

Percussionist Kristofer Olsen moved to Bozeman in August 2013 and is celebrating his fifth season with the orchestra!  His wife Allison is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Montana State University so it is with thanks to her, Kris says, they get to live in Bozeman. Originally from Havre, Kris moved away in 1994 when he graduated from high school.  When Allison was interviewing for the job at MSU, it helped immensely that his brother Josh and his wife Bina Peters (viola) were living here in Bozeman, and so the prospect of being in town with family was extremely desirable.

Kris currently teaches in the Education Department and School of Music at MSU, works part time for All About Pianos in Belgrade, teaches piano lessons out of his home, and is the choir director at Christ the King Lutheran Church. Talk about being busy, but it doesn’t stop there. He has volunteered at Meadowlark Elementary through his church and for the Girl Scouts now that his daughter is involved.  He has also coached his daughter’s Blitzz Micro-Recreational Soccer team for a few seasons.

When Kris moved to town, he wanted to get involved musically because he was trying to establish himself both as an educator and musician while still completing his dissertation at Ohio University.  He contacted the Symphony as well as principal timpanist Jeff Vick and shortly after, had an audition with Maestro Savery and Jeff.  Since then, he has have been performing regularly as a section percussionist and “having a blast” he says.

If you don’t know of him yet, you are about to discover Cade Fiddaman. We might even be bold enough to say, he’ll be the star of the upcoming 50th Anniversary Collage performances on March 3rd and 4th. Moving to Bozeman when he was about five years old, Cade has lived here for 13 years, participating with the Symphony for the past two seasons.

As a home-schooled student, most of Cade’s involvement in the community has been as a violinist/fiddler. In addition to the playing regularly with the Bozeman Symphony, he is currently involved with two contra-dance bands as well as a fiddle/cello duo with his brother.

In 2016, Cade’s violin teacher, Carrie Krause, recommended that he audition for the Symphony. Since, Cade says “I am now on my second season with the orchestra, and have no thoughts of stopping.”
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Cade started playing violin when he was just two-and-a-half years old. Originally, he wanted to play the cello (and be like Yo-Yo Ma, he says,) but my parents couldn't find a cello small enough so he took up the violin instead (we think this was the right choice!). When Cade came to Bozeman, he started taking Celtic fiddle lessons, and now plays both Celtic and Classical styles regularly.

About playing music, Cade shares, “I think my favorite thing about playing violin is the ability to put emotion into music, I find this to be one of the most rewarding things there is.”

For Cade, playing in the symphony has been a wonderful experience. It has afforded him the opportunity to play great music with a skilled and dedicated group at a young age. “It has greatly increased my understanding, skill, and enthusiasm” he says.

Choir member Chip Ritter has settled into Bozeman, living here for the past seven years. However, his connection and fondness for our town go back to his childhood. Chip's father grew up in Bozeman along with four siblings and because he chose to serve in the Army, Chip didn’t grow up here. Regardless, some of Chip's first memories are of visiting his grandparents at their house on South 5th Ave.

Chip’s wife Nicole was born and raised in Great Falls and like many with roots in Montana, the couple looked for ways to come home after school, starting careers and, in their case, living abroad. When they moved back to the U.S., Chip and Nicole had family and a support system ready here in Montana. And, they’ve been here ever since! Chip says they couldn’t be happier with their choice, and neither could the Bozeman Symphony!

With two kids in the Bozeman Public Schools, Chip volunteers as much as he is able in their classrooms and for the activities they’re involved with. Whether it’s teaching coding sessions to his daughter’s class or working on Emily Dickinson’s new playground, he feels it is satisfying to be part of the “public” in public schools.

With a son in High School (a freshman at BHS) parental involvement has taken on a whole new meaning. He’s involved in cross country, marching band, and speech and debate, so opportunities to support him and those activities abound.

Settling into Bozeman in 2002, Nancy Ojala has been an active music educator in the community. After retiring from Bozeman High School, she still participates as a substitute teacher for the music department and as an accompanist for some of the middle school programs. Outside of the Bozeman Symphonic Choir, Nancy can be found singing in her church’s gospel choir, as a KGLT DJ on the first and fifth Sunday of each month for the Sunday Classical Show, and as a Stephen’s Minister at Bozeman's United Methodist Church. Aside from these fantastic community commitments, the most important thing she gets to do, Nancy says, is to babysit her three-year-old granddaughter. Nancy is also a big supporter of the Symphony, generously donating her time to serve on the Board of Directors and on the planning committee for the Symphony's 50th Anniversary Birthday Bash held this past January.

Nancy began singing as a small child.  She sang in school and church choirs all the way through high school. Her high school choral director was very influential in her decision to major in music education in college. Additionally, she took piano lessons from 4th grade through college and dabbled in the violin from 4th through 9th grade. About her involvement with the Bozeman Symphony, Nancy says: “being able to share inspiring music with the Bozeman community has been a real joy for me personally. Music is such a great and expressive way to communicate with all age levels of people.”

Having been involved with 2 other collage concerts, Nancy shares that “these concerts are simply a magical way to weave together many different styles of musical selections into one beautiful experience with light and sound. All ages of people can enjoy the fast-paced movement of this concert and be surprised and inspired by the various small ensembles and large group selections which fit together so perfectly." Her participation in upcoming performances of 50th Anniversary Collage on March 3rd and 4th, 2018 will include conducting a small acapella vocal ensemble. The ensemble will sing a Czech folk song about springtime.

In Nancy’s words about the performance: "the pacing of each song and the melting together of one piece with another is truly unique in the collage concerts. You will be “blown away” by the exciting light and sound show the collage concert offers. It showcases so many wonderful small ensembles and the whole Symphony and Symphonic choir. The variety of musical styles and tempos of the pieces is really captivating for all ages of people. The addition of the amazing light show in combination with the extraordinary music really makes the concert an experience you don’t want to miss.”

Principal timpanist Jeff Vick moved to Bozeman in August 1989 from Tucson, AZ and joined the Bozeman Symphony shortly after. Jeff brings a vast amount of orchestral playing experience to the organization which has included performing with the Tucson Symphony, Denver Municipal Band, numerous community orchestras, in addition to performing in church settings.