New Orchestra of Washington presents

The Bringer of Hope

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, conductor
Benedict Klœckner, cellist

Saturday, November 18, 2023 | 5:00 PM

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Terrace Theater
2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC 20566

NOW gratefully acknowledges the Ryuji Ueno Foundation for sponsoring this concert.

Experience the power of music as it takes you on a journey of triumph over adversity. The opener Turn the River, a world premiere by Ukrainian composer Victoria Polevá, sings of sorrow and of hope. The Shostakovich concerto tells the captivating story of the composer’s personal struggle with the Soviet Union’s oppressive regime, and his eventual victory over it through his art. In stark contrast, The Planets by Holst speaks to our universal desire for hope and a sense of wonder, inspiring audiences to rise above the challenges of life and embrace the beauty that surrounds us.

As we see the tragedies happening in the Middle East and Ukraine and pray for an end to the bloodshed, we hope that this music will inspire you to be The Bringer of Hope in the world. Let us support peace and denounce the war and injustice that affect so many this year. Let us lift up our neighbors in need—around the world and in our own communities. Let us set our sights on greater things, together.

In loving memory of Hadi Bahar, a dear friend of the New Orchestra of Washington.

Program

VICTORIA VITA POLEVÁ (b. 1962) Turn the River

World Premiere. Commissioned by Classical Movements, as part of the Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program, for the New Orchestra of Washington

My work "Turn the river" is based on the Ukrainian folk song Plive Kacha, which became famous after the Maidan in Kyiv. The meaning of this song is very deep: it tells about the grief of a mother who lost her son, about the grief of a son who lost his native land, about the flow of the river of life that carries us all.
I would like to change the course of this river and direct it back, from sadness to joy.
This is possible in music, in the world of living musical ideas. I hope this happens.
— Notes by the composer

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) Cello Concerto No. 1 in E♭ Major, Op. 107

Allegretto
Moderato
Cadenza (attacca)
Allegro con moto

Featuring Benedict Klœckner, cello

In 1943, cellist and conductor Mstislav "Slava" Rostropovich (1927–2007) entered the Moscow Conservatory of Music. Thus began a long association with his mentor, Dmitri Shostakovich, under whom he studied composition. Having become friends, Rostropovich had long hoped that Shostakovich would write a work for cello, but not until July 1959 was the desired work completed. Four days later, Rostropovich played the concerto from memory for the composer, and in October he premiered the piece with the Leningrad Philharmonic. Within the next 48 hours, the first recording was made by Rostropovich and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
The work, one of only two cello concerti composed by Shostakovich, has four movements in two sections, as movements two through four are played without pause—with the cello cadenza acting as a third movement linking them together. Except for the second movement, a recurring motif based on the notes D, E♭, C, and B is featured. In German, these are labelled DSCH, a reference to the composer’s initials.
In recent weeks, the concerto has been the source of multiple string accidents for some soloists. In mid-October, Sheku Kanneh-Mason twice broke a string in the second movement during a performance in Paris. A few days later, at a Princeton University performance, a string on the instrument of soloist Aster Zhang snapped—quickly remedied by a swap of instruments with the Principal cellist! Here’s hoping a similar fate does not await tonight’s soloist, Benedict Klœckner.
— Compiled by Dick Spero

Intermission (15 minutes)

GUSTAV HOLST (1874–1934) The Planets, Op. 32, arr. George Morton

Mars, the Bringer of War
Venus, the Bringer of Peace
Mercury, the Winged Messenger
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
Uranus, the Magician
Neptune, the Mystic

Featuring the Towson University Treble Voices, led by Diana Sáez, Director of Choral Activities

On a visit to Spain in 1913, during which friends introduced him to astrology, the British composer Gustave Holst was inspired to compose The Planets—a seven movement suite representing the astrological meaning of the planets known at the time. (Pluto had yet to be discovered, and Holst omitted the Earth, as it held no such astrological connotation.)
On this subject, Holst noted, “These pieces were suggested by the astrological significance of the planets… neither have they any connection with the deities of classical mythology bearing the same names.” While the pieces do share some commonalities with their mythological counterparts—for example, Mars is the "bringer of war" in The Planets and is the Roman god of war—Holst was writing explicitly based on his understanding of the planets’ astrological meaning and mood.
In his original compositions, Holst wrote the final movement, “Neptune,” for a lone organ; in the orchestral version, he gave his ethereal melodies to harps, celestas, strings, and woodwinds, with shifting time signatures. This movement also uses a hidden choir of women's voices, singing without words, and fading away at the end of the suite to suggest the vastness of space beyond the solar system.
— Compiled by Dick Spero

Meet the Artists

Esteemed conductor and pianist Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez is Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music at the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan. He is also Artistic Director and co-founder of the New Orchestra of Washington, and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor “with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom,” as well as praise from The New York Times for leading “a stirring performance” of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. At a concert commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the WWI Armistice (featuring the world premiere of Joseph Turrin’s cantata, And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair) Oberon’s Grove wrote: “Maestro Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez drew rich, warm sounds from the musicians” in “a beautiful and deeply moving program.” He is featured in El mundo en las manos/Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring Mexican nationals who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields. He is the recipient of a 2016 Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for his exemplary contribution to his profession, national level of prominence, and exceptional integrity. He resides in New York City.
In 2016, during its 40th anniversary season, Hernandez-Valdez was named the third Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival in Texas. As Mike Greenberg wrote in Classical Voice America: “A big question mark hung over the venerable Victoria Bach Festival two years ago when the brilliant Craig Hella Johnson, its artistic director since 1992, decided to give up the post…Johnson’s successor has replaced the question mark with an exclamation point — perhaps more appropriately, given his Spanish name and Mexican provenance, two exclamation points: ¡Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez!” “The results,” Greenberg continued, “were astonishing.”
Founded in 1977, Musica Viva NY was recently praised by The New York Times as “an excellent chorus.” The ensemble has a longstanding tradition of top-caliber performances, innovative programming, and a strong dedication to the commissioning of new music. Its alumni include Renée Fleming, Samuel Ramey, and Michael Maliakel. Since taking the helm at Musica Viva NY in 2015, Hernandez-Valdez has presented an exceptionally broad and innovative repertoire in each of the choir’s seasons, engaging and inspiring audiences with remarkable interpretations of familiar and new works, and exploring the acoustical capabilities of the historic sanctuary of All Souls Church and other venues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
As the Artistic Director and co-founder of the New Orchestra of Washington (NOW), a chamber orchestra that “has constituted itself in the forefront of this smaller-is-better movement” (The Washington Post), Hernandez-Valdez has been reimagining for the past ten years what have been the limited definitions of “classical music.” NOW’s innovative programming and creative approach to music performance continues to reshape and enrich the cultural landscape of the National Capital Region.
A passionate advocate of new music, Hernandez-Valdez has commissioned and premiered works by Joan Tower, Arturo Márquez, Joseph Turrin, Gilda Lyons, Seymour Bernstein, Viet Cuong, Juan Pablo Contreras, Elena Ruehr, Ramzi Aburedwan, Jorge Vidales, Mokale Koapeng, Trent Johnson, Javier Farias, Andrés Levell, Zachary Wadsworth, Martin Spruijt, Joel Friedman, and other notable composers.
Hernandez-Valdez’s guest conducting engagements include appearances at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Lincoln Center in New York City, and the historic Degollado Theatre in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he has directed the Jalisco Philharmonic. As a pianist, Hernandez-Valdez performed for the 2013 Britten100 festival in New York City, organized by the Britten-Pears Foundation to honor the 100th anniversary of the titular composer’s birth. As a composer and conductor, he led the premiere of his own composition, The Imaginary City, a cantata inspired by the life of Ramzi Aburedwan, a violist who has opened schools throughout Palestine to teach music to children in refugee camps. He also arranged and premiered the chamber orchestra version of A Song of Nature by Seymour Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein, the subject of Ethan Hawke’s 2014 documentary film, Seymour: An Introduction, is one of Hernandez-Valdez’s most influential teachers and mentors.
Benedict Klöckner, born in 1989, is one of the outstanding artists of his generation. He has won numerous competitions and awards, most recently the OPUS Klassik 2021.
He performs worldwide as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, the Kremerata Baltica, the Camerata Oslo and the Munich Chamber Orchestra and has worked with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Cristian Măcelaru, Ingo Metzmacher, Michael Sanderling, Clemens Schuldt, Heinrich Schiff and Sir Simon Rattle.
He has appeared in concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall New York, Kennedy Center Washington, Symphony Hall Chicago, Arts Center Seoul, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Musikverein Vienna, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Tonhalle Zurich, Gasteig in Munich, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rudolfinum Prague, Athenaeum Bucharest and the Wigmore Hall London.
In the 2022/2023 season he performed all six Bach Suites at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Alte Oper Frankfurt.
2023 he will also make his debut at the Philharmonie Paris and the Kölner Philharmonie and return to Kennedy Center Washington, Festspielhaus Baden- Baden and several times to Philharmonie Berlin. Among others, he will be also on Europe tour with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.
Benedict Kloeckner is a welcome guest at festivals all over the world.
His chamber music partners have included Emanuel Ax, Lisa Batiashvili, Yuri Bashmet, Christoph Eschenbach, Vilde Frang, Gidon Kremer, Anne Sophie Mutter and Sir András Schiff.
Benedict Kloeckner regularly works with the great composers of our time. In 2018 he performed the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's Double Concerto for 2 Cellos and Strings. At the Seoul Arts Center, he premiered Eun Hwa Cho's Cello Concerto together with the Korean Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Poppen. With the Mozarteum Orchestra under Peter Tilling, he also gave the Austrian premiere of Dai Fujikura's Cello Concerto in Salzburg. 2024 he will premiere a new cello concerto by Bongani Ndodana-Breen together with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
His CD recordings have been highly praised by the international press and won prizes such as the OPUS Klassik award and the Supersonic Award, among others.
His recordings were made in collaboration with artists such as Gidon Kremer, the conductors Heinrich Schiff and Michael Sanderling , the pianists and the composer Wolfgang Rihm. Most recently in 2023, he released a CD with Brahms Cello Sonatas with YU Kosuge on Sony.
Since 2014, Benedict Kloeckner has been also the founder and artistic director of the "International Music Festival Koblenz" IMUKO.
Benedict Kloeckner received his artistic education from Martin Ostertag at the Karlsruhe University of Music and from Frans Helmerson and Gary Hoffman at the Kronberg Academy, made possible by the Angela Winkler Scholarship. He received important impulses and valuable support for his artistic development from Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Michael Sanderling and Sir András Schiff.
Benedict Kloeckner plays the “Ex Maurice Gendron” cello by Francesco Ruggeri (1680), a generous loan.
Victoria Vita Polevá (Ukrainian: Вікторія Польова) is a Ukrainian pianist and composer.
Born on September 11, 1962 in Kiev, Ukraine, daughter of composer Valery Polevoy (1927–1986). Graduate of Kiev Conservatory (class of composition with Prof. Ivan Karabyts) 1989. Post-graduate studies completed there in 1995 under Prof. Levko Kolodub. 1990-1998—lecturer in the faculty of composition, 2000–2005—at the Music Information Technologies Department of the Kiev Conservatory. Since 2005 she has been a freelance composer.
2014, 2015—member of the jury of the International Composers Competition "Sacrarium" (Italy)
A genre range of her compositions includes symphonic, choral, chamber music. Early works of Victoria Polevá were related to the aesthetics of the avant-garde and polystylistics (ballet "Gagaku", "Transform" for symphony orchestra, "Anthem" for chamber orchestra, "Еpiphany" for chamber ensemble, cantatas "Horace's ode", "Gentle light"). From the late 1990s her music became identified stylistically with "sacred minimalism". An important period in Victoria Polevá's creative work is related to intensive studies and embodiment of texts from divine services in the music.
Victoria Polevá's works are performed at the Beethovenfest Bonn (Germany), the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (Austria), Chamber Music Connects the World (Kronberg, Germany), the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Philharmonie Berlin, the Köln Philharmonie (Germany), the Theatre Chatelet in Paris (France), the Rudolfinum-Dvorak Hall in Prague (Czech Republic), the Auditorio Nacional de España in Madrid (Spain), the George Weston Recital Hall in Toronto (Canada), the Yerba Buena Theater in San Francisco (United States), the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai (China), the Seoul Art Center (South Korea), the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore, and at festivals of new music in Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, United Arab Emirates, Peru and Chile.
In 2006 Victoria Polevá was composer-in-residence at the Menhir Chamber Music Festival (Swiss, Graubunden).
In 2010, among such composers as Giya Kancheli, Valentin Silvestrov Victoria Polevá has taken part in Gidon Kremer's international project «The Art of Instrumentation», devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach and Glenn Gould.
In 2011 Victoria Polevá was invited by Gidon Kremer as composer-in-residence at the XXX Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (Austria).
In 2012 a butoh dancer Tadashi Endo did premiere of her ballet "Gagaku".
In 2013 Kronos Quartet did premiere of V.Polevá "Walking on Waters".
In 2013 Victoria Polevá was composer-in-residence at Festival of Contemporary Music Darwin Vargas (Chile, Valparaiso)
In 2021 Naxos publishes "The Simurg Quintet" by Victoria Poleva.
In 2023 London Philharmonic Orchestra did the English premiere of “Nova”(with conductor Andrey Boreyko)
Among the performers of her works are:
Gidon Kremer (violin), Andrei Pushkarev (vibraphone), Aleksei Ogrintchouk (oboe), Elsbeth Moser (accordion), Chamber orchestra "Kremerata Baltica", Giedre Dirvanauskaite. "Ricochet "Atros-trio", "Avalon-trio", "Zurich Ensemble for New Music" (Switzerland), "Accroche note" (France)
Conductors : Andrey Borejko, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Volodymyr Sirenko, Roman Kofman, Arild Remmereit, , Natalia Ponomarchuk, Simon Camartin;
Victoria Poleva is a Laureate of Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.
Dr. Diana V. Sáez is the Director of Choral Activities at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, directing the University Chorale, Women’s Choir, and Choral Society. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Sáez served as Visiting Choir Director at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and Visiting Choir Conductor at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Dr. Sáez also directed the Catholic University Women’s Choir for six years and served as artistic director of the World Bank-IMF Chorus for sixteen years.
As a leading specialist in the field of Latin American music, Dr. Sáez is a frequent guest conductor, adjudicator, and lecturer in both the United States and abroad. In the past five years, she has presented at American universities, national and regional ACDA conventions, and various engagements in North and South America. She has also guest conducted at the Festival Distrital de Coros en Bogotá, Colombia and directed regional honor choruses in Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Dr. Sáez is perhaps best known for serving as artistic director of Cantigas, an award-winning chamber choir that she founded with the mission to increase awareness and appreciation of Latin America and Spanish choral music. For 25 years, Cantigas was a principal performer of Latin American music in North America, with appearances at the ACDA Eastern Division Convention, Kennedy Center, and Strathmore Center, as well as international tours in Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In 2014, the choir was awarded the Choral Excellence Award for Most Creative Programming by the Choralis Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Sáez began her musical education at the Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She earned a Master of Choral Conducting from Temple University and a Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of Maryland, College Park. She also holds a Master of Education from Harvard University.
Her compositions for choir are published by Hal Leonard, Boosey and Hawkes, and the Roger Dean Publishing Company, a division of The Lorenz Corporation. Her academic writings have been published in Maryland Music Educator Journal and in an anthology, Choral Perspectives: Insights from American Choral Conductor-Teachers.
Violin I
Akemi Takayama, concertmaster
Yevgeniy Dovgalyuk
Elizabeth Adams
Gabrielle Gans
Joseph Smith
Violin II
William Hurd, principal
Chae Yeom
Debo Katz
Amyr Joyner
Viola
Greg Luce, principal
Erika Gray
Ivan Mendoza
Cello
Hrant Parsamian, principal
Tobias Werner
Joseph Gotoff
Double Bass
Chris Chlumsky, principal
Jessica Eig
Flute and Piccolo
Rachel Choe, principal
Jennifer Zhou
Oboe
Stephen Key, principal
Luis Gutierrez
Clarinet
Jeremy Eig, principal
Joelle Le Rue-Gardner
Bassoon
Ryan Romine, principal
Lynn Moncilovich, contrabassoon
French Horn
Amy Horn, principal
Mark Hughes
Trumpet
Les Linn, principal
Trombone
David Perkel, principal
Percussion and Timpani
Chris Dechiara, principal
Yun Park
Celesta and Piano
Grace Cho
The Towson University Treble Voices is one of several select vocal ensembles from the university’s department of music. The choir brings together music majors and non-major students from various academic disciplines to share their passion for music. Led by Diana V. Sáez, the ensemble has been invited to perform at various venues in the Baltimore and Washington D. C. area.
Treble Voices is not only dedicated to delivering quality performances but also fostering a sense of community and friendship among its members.
Diana V. Sáez, music director
Esther Lee, collaborative pianist
Emma Barrett • Claire Burger • Magen Cornacchione • Jay Dutton • Julia Eakes • Caroline Fisher • Julianna Fluharty • Michelle Geason • Kelsey Gibson • Audreyann Gill • Lillian Hoehl • Tamia Johnson • Nicole Kahler • Kristen Kohler • Hanna Lang • Mary Long • Paulette Mathis • Cristiana Nellies • Michaela Palazzo • Rebecca Petersen • Sophia Polk • Quinn • Lillian Windsor • Kaia Wynne

New Orchestra of Washington

Orchestra rehearsing on stage with musicians playing various instruments and conductor leading.

Reimagining what have been the limited definitions of “classical music,” the New Orchestra of Washington (NOW) welcomes audiences into a transformative musical experience that lessens the distance between our identities and compels listeners to feel something in the sound.
We create what we call “great music without labels.” It represents the robust cultural and ethnic diversity in metropolitan Washington, DC, where we’re intentional about making orchestral music beautiful and accessible to people from all backgrounds. Our hallmark is small, intimate performances that put audiences at the heart center of musicians who pour the best of themselves and their cultures into immersive concerts that leave attendees inspired.
NOW is guided by six values—collaboration, representation, education, access, technology and experimentation (CREATE)—to foster innovative, inclusive programming; nurture enriching partnerships; and infuse the global flavors of all music. We lead with love for the experiential music we create and, most important, the people we want to absorb it.
Our Mission: to make transformative musical experiences available and accessible to all people.
Officers
Dianne Peterson, Chair
Ann Yonemura, Secretary
Paul Connor, Treasurer
Board Members
Morris Deutsch
Rachel Dougan
Louise Harkavy
Neeta Helms
Joan Lewis
Tom Patton
Ryuji Ueno
Sinclair Vincent
Sarah Wilson
Grace Cho, ex-officio
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, ex-officio
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, Artistic Director
Grace Cho, Executive Director
Abby Carlson, Manager of Operations
Richard Spero, Education and Community Coordinator
Chae Yeom, Manager of Artistic Programs
Marc Lee, Digital Media and Marketing

Friends of NOW

The Friends of NOW is a vital group of supporters who empower and enable NOW to build a world where transformative musical experiences are accessible and available to All People.

Anonymous
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Our Sponsors

NOW gratefully acknowledges the support of our 2023–2024 season sponsors:

Ann & Knight Kiplinger

This performance is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center.