Maestro Lauren Green, the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra, and guest, Bartlesville Choral Society, will capture the exuberant spirit of American music on Saturday evening, January 17th at 8 in the Bartlesville Community Center.  If ticketholders want to get a peek at what's in store for the evening, be sure to attend the Upbeat! with Lauren pre-concert talk at 7.  Interesting facts about the music and its composers will be featured, as well as a chance to ask questions of the conductor.

Two of America's best loved composers will be featured in the evening's repertoire--Aaron Copland and Edward MacDowell.   Copland will be represented with Variations on a Shaker Melody from Appalachian Spring, which was first scored as a ballet. The work received the Pulitzer Prize and the Music Critics Circle Award. There are five of these variations taken from a collection of Shaker melodies compiled by Edward D. Andrews and published under the title The Gift to be Simple.  Copland took this title to heart, striving to simplify, saying what he had to say "in the simplest possible terms."  As a result, it is no problem for audiences to feel a tremendous amount of satisfaction when his music is played.  It feels like what America is all about!

Edward MacDowell, composer and pianist, is represented by his Second Suite Indian, Op. 48.  He is considered one of the most original and significant of the older generation of American composers.  This suite is poetic in character and was for many years a favorite concert piece.  He created an individual American style, even though he operated under European influences, particularly the nineteenth century romantic school.  The MacDowell Colony at Peterboro, New Hampshire was previously his summer home.  After he died, his widow carried out her husband's idea and established the colony in this home as a retreat where artists could work in privacy and also share ideas during the summer.  Many American composers have worked there.

Music from The American Frontier by Calvin Custer will incorporate such familiar themes as "Chester", a hymn of the early New England settlers to the rambunctious "Oh Susannah."  Rounding out the first part of the program will be James Horner's music composed for the movie Apollo 13, celebrating the exploration of the space frontier.

Joining the Bartlesville Symphony for a performance of Daniel Bukvich's From the Journals of Lewis and Clark will be the Bartlesville Choral Society.  Susan Mueller has prepared the chorus for this presentation and has served as its director for 20 years.  Dr. Robert Hauck was founding director, followed by interim directors Lauren Green and Noel Kaiser.  Each leader has exerted a distinct personal influence on the group.  Dr. Randy Thompson serves the group as accompanist.  Bartlesville Choral Society presents three concerts each season, but this year adds 3 more performances: the Bartlesville Symphony, the Signature Symphony (Tulsa) in April when they join for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and an OK Mozart showcase in June.  The next season presentation will feature Musica Antiqua, an early music group, back by popular demand to perform with the chorus in April.

President Thomas Jefferson directed Meriwether Lewis to undertake the leadership of The Corps of Discovery 200 years ago to span the territory from St. Louis to the Oregon coast and back from 1803-1806.  Lewis was asked to pick a deputy to take over if he were killed or incapacitated during the expedition.  He chose his former superior, William Clark, who had attained the rank of captain in 1795.  Lewis was furious when, after the expedition was underway, he discovered that the War Department had designated Clark a second lieutenant rather than captain.  He told Clark he would address him as a captain and keep the ranking a secret from the rest of the men, according to the latest edition of Smithsonian magazine, January 2004. The bicentennial of the event is celebrated in this musical work for orchestra and chorus.  The piece was written by Idaho composer Daniel Bukvich in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Great Falls Symphony.  The words of Jefferson and the writings of these explorers form the basis of the work and narration will be expertly handled by noted KWON/KYFM/KRIG radio personalities Dorea Potter and Charlie Taraboletti.  Lauren Green has remarked that "What Bukvich seems to have sought out in his musical exploration is the contrast between formidable human endeavors and the mere mortals who accomplish them.....the composer has, in a sense, selected several isolated snapshots of the trip, utilizing these interesting, even quirky, aspects as inspiration for this work for chorus and orchestra."

Speaking as a charter member, long-time board member and president of Choral Society on more than one occasion, Diana Farris enthusiastically welcomed this performance.  She stated " Interesting frontiers to explore can include music of new composers and new ways of thinking.  Not all new music is good music, nor satisfying to the human ear.  Bukvich has written a score that depicts what must have been core feelings of the group on the expedition.  It feels good to sing it and the audience will enjoy the listenability of the whole work.  Powerful climaxes and soaring majesty are evident throughout the work, punctuated with enough tenderness to add poignancy.  What a pleasure to learn new music while marking the bicentennial in this grand manner!"  

Tickets are available at the Community Center box office at 918-336-2787 and are $15 for adults and $7.50 for students.  Join in the celebration of this monumental achievement!

This concert is made possible by individual and corporate donations and with grant assistance from the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.  The very generous sponsor of this concert is Turcott Financial Strategies Group of Wachovia Securities.