THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY’S BEETHOVEN “PASTORAL” PROGRAM TO FEATURE LONG-AWAITED COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP COMPOSITION PREMIERE
NEW WORK BY CHARLES COREY WAS COMPOSED IN COLLABORATION WITH MEMBERS OF NORTHWEST CENTER AND BEST BUDDIES COMMUNITIES
CONDUCTOR LEE MILLS RETURNS TO BENAROYA HALL FOR THE FIRST TIME FOLLOWING HIS TENURE AS ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR FROM 2019–2022
Seattle, WA – The Seattle Symphony presents the Beethoven “Pastoral” Symphony concert program on February 9, 11 and 12, featuring conductor Lee Mills at the podium making his first return to the Benaroya Hall stage since his tenure as the Symphony’s Douglas F. King Associate Conductor finished at the close of the 2021/2022 season. The program features three works: Charles Corey’s Together, This Journey (Seattle Symphony Commission and World Premiere), João Guilherme Ripper’s Cinco poemas de Vinicius de Moraes for soprano and orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral.”
The concert begins with Together, This Journey, an important work culminating from years of collaboration between the Seattle Symphony and members of Northwest Center and the Best Buddies communities. The Symphony fostered a partnership between the two organizations, which support children and adults with developmental disabilities, and composer Charles Corey with the purpose of creating an original composition to elevate new voices onstage as artists, composers and performers. For over a decade, the Seattle Symphony has worked closely with valued partners like Northwest Center and Best Buddies to curate community-driven artistic projects that amplify the voices and stories of marginalized populations. Community compositions are a vital component of the Symphony’s work, and past collaborations include Prism Project with youth from Accelerator YMCA, Youth Care and New Horizons; Lost and Found with Path with Art; We Are the Art with Plymouth Housing Group; and Lullaby Project in partnership with Mary’s Place.
Charles Corey’s Together, This Journey was originally intended to be part of the Symphony’s 2020 Beethoven Festival that commemorated the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, but due to the pandemic, the event was moved into a week-long digital festival and the commissions’ premieres were delayed. Audiences now have the opportunity to witness the world premiere of Charles Corey’s Together, This Journey at the Beethoven “Pastoral” Symphony concert.
Second on the program is João Guilherme Ripper’s Cinco poemas de Vinicius de Moraes for soprano and orchestra, featuring vocalist Carla Caramujo. This piece links together five poems by Moraes and shows the emotive impact of music inspired by poetry and the vibrancy of timbres an orchestra can produce. Last on the program is Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral,” composed by the time his love of nature was already amply known. The piece showcases nature’s importance to the composer's symphonic craft and celebrates not only the natural world, but also humankind in nature.
Ticket Information
For more information on tickets to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony, please visit seattlesymphony.org or contact the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office. The Seattle Symphony Ticket Office is located in Benaroya Hall, at Third Avenue and Union Street. The Ticket Office can be reached by phone at 206.215.4747 during the following times: Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
LEE MILLS | CONDUCTOR
Five-time winner of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Lee Mills is internationally recognized as a passionate, multifaceted and energetic conductor. During the pandemic, Mills was an invaluable asset to the Seattle Symphony as its Douglas F. King Associate Conductor, giving dozens of performances and recording multiple albums with the orchestra. Mills also was the “hero of the hour” (Seattle Times) when he stepped in at the last minute for a November 2021 performance of Han Lash’s world premiere double-harp concerto The Peril of Dreams and Amy Beach’s epic Gaelic Symphony. In the fall of 2022, Mills was the Solti Foundation U.S. Resident at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he worked with maestro Enrique Mazzola on the Lyric's production of Verdi’s Don Carlos. Mills has led concerts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra (USA), the Rochester Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, among others.
CARLA CARAMUJO SOPRANO
Portuguese soprano Carla Caramujo is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, a Samling Artist, and winner of the Luísa Todi National Singing Competition (Portugal), the Musikförderpreis der Hans-Sachs-Loge (Germany) and the UK’s Dewar Arts Award. She made her debut in Rigoletto at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, where she then performed in Il Viaggio a Reims, La Cenerentola, Don Giovanni, Die Fledermaus, La Rondine and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. Her concert repertoire includes Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mozart’s C minor Mass, Orff’s Carmina burana, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Händel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Requiem, Strauss’ Lieder der Ophelie and more. She debuted the role of Salomé in the premiere of O Sonho by Pedro Amaral with London Sinfonietta, was La Princesse at the Latin American premiere of Philip Glass’ Orphée, performed Salvador Pueyo’s Cap al meu silence with the Xalapa’s Chamber Orchestra, and has performed numerous works by Brazilian composer João Guilherme Ripper.
CHARLES COREY COMPOSER
Charles Corey is an American composer holding a Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory from the University of Pittsburgh. His approach to composition exploits and subverts the relationships that exist between different tuning systems. Corey’s compositions, known for their unexpected, evocative harmonies and their strong dramatic arcs, have been played across Europe and the Americas by performers including Cikada Ensemble, Iktus Percussion, Kjell Tore Innervik, Ere Lievonen, Inverted Space, and Entelechron, and recognized by the Young Virtuosos Foundation, the Foundation for Modern Music, and the Sociedade Pró-Sinfônica de Limeira. Corey is Director and Curator of the Harry Partch Instrumentarium and former Director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s Merriman Family Young Composers Workshop.
NORTHWEST CENTER
Northwest Center has been advancing equal opportunities for children and adults with disabilities since 1965. Northwest Center provides services for children including Early Supports for infants and toddlers, inclusive Early Learning and School Age programs. Its Employment Services include transition services, vocational training, job placement and supported employment. It also helps create more inclusive schools, and provides anti-ableism, inclusion training and consultation to businesses.
BEST BUDDIES INTERNATIONA
Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
The Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 27 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 750,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts, and through the Seattle Symphony Live streaming service, the orchestra’s concerts reach audiences at home and around the world.
###
BEETHOVEN PASTORAL SYMPHONY
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, February 9, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 11, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 12, at 2 p.m.
Lee Mills conductor
Carla Caramujo soprano
Charles Corey Together, This Journey
João Guilherme Ripper Cinco poemas de Vinicius de
Beethoven Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”
Lee Mills’ performances are generously sponsored by Patricia M. Davis.