Notes

Program Notes • 88th Season • 2003-2004

CLASSICAL 1: Legends and Expressions                            

Saturday, October 4, 2003, at 8 pm

The Opening Night program spotlights the expressive powers of three extraordinary women.  The concert begins with music penned by two living American composers and concludes with an orchestral tour-de-force depicting a legendary storyteller.  One of the best-known orchestral suites of the symphonic repertoire, Scheherazade is the musical retelling of the 1001 Arabian Nights.  The extended violin solos portraying our heroine will be played by our prized concertmaster, George Pintor.   This concert bridges the 19th century with the 21st in an extraordinary way. 
-- Steven Karidoyanes  

Journeys                                                                                  Linda Robbins Coleman

Having premiered in 1982, Journeys, A Symphonic Poem, marked a turning point for composer Linda Robbins Coleman in that it was her first large-scale work conceived and produced without utilizing another medium for inspiration. The composer says of her music:  

I chose the title in part because the years leading up to its composition were quite a personal and professional journey for me. When I began to write, I discovered that Journeys would not be a programmatic description of a picturesque country or great work of literature, but that

it would tend more towards a reflection of where I have been within myself, and where I am struggling to go.

Prior to Journeys, most of my larger works had been for theater, scoring plays by Euripides, Shakespeare, G.B. Shaw, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, etc., all highly descriptive both in mood and language. This experience enabled me to learn how to experiment with various tone colors to convey the different feelings expressed in plays. I found that expressing personal feelings and moods - from my own script this time - to be a most stimulating challenge.

Writing it was an adventure. I never knew quite where Journeys would take me. On occasion, my husband, working in his office across the hall would hear bloody screams when I had written myself into yet another corner; at other times, he would have to 'come listen and tell me what you think!'

In its life, Journeys has been performed dozens of times throughout the United States. I wish to extend my deep gratitude to Steven Karidoyanes, and to all the musicians and staff of the Plymouth Philharmonic for introducing my music to Massachusetts audiences.

                                                                                    -- Linda Robbins Coleman

Linda Robbins Coleman served as the Composer-in-Residence with the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra for the 1994-96 seasons - the first Iowa woman to hold this position with any orchestra - and with the Wartburg Community Symphony for their 1995-97 seasons. From 1977-97 she was Composer-in-Residence for Drake Theatre, scoring more than thirty plays ranging from the ancient Greeks to the moderns. Her music has been performed by dozens of orchestras and chamber groups throughout the nation.