Program

Simple Gifts for 3 Violas by Joseph Brackett (arr. Jeff Jetton)

Catherine Palusci, viola

Danse de la Chèvre by Arthur Honegger

Peace by Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota

Michelle Rippey, flute

Pavane by Gabriel Faure

Irina Desmondm, cello

Ruben Santiago Vazquez, guitar

Adoration by Felix Borowski

Thomas Gardner, violin

Simple Gifts arr by Wilner Baptiste and Kevin Marcus Sylvester

Nancy Shavin, violin

Lauren Haren, viola

About the artists

Irina Desmond comes from Uzbekistan and has a bachelor degree from State Conservatory of Uzbekistan. She is a cellist with the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra.

Lauren Haren teaches violin and viola in her private studio in Ashburn. Ms. Haren is a freelance musician and current member of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with Akron Baroque and Singers Companye of Akron, OH.

Thomas Gardner is the Principal 2nd Violinist of the Loudoun Symphony and a full-time strings teacher in the Loudoun County Public Schools, teaching at Mercer Middle School. In addition to playing with the Loudoun Symphony, Mr. Gardner enjoys spending time with his wife Claire and their four children, riding his motorcycle, jogging, and reading. Thomas is also currently a student at Reformed Theological Seminary where he is pursuing his Masters of Divinity degree.

Catherin Palusci has played the viola for over 34 years. She has truly enjoyed being a part of the LSO viola section since 1999 (with a 2004-09 hiatus)!

Michelle Rippey studied flute through high school at the North Carolina School of the Arts, holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Flute Performance and a Master’s Degree in Education. In addition to playing flute and piccolo with the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Rippey enjoys performing as a freelance soloist and chamber musician throughout Maryland and Northern Virginia. Ms. Rippey also has a passion for teaching flute and piccolo and maintains a private flute studio teaching lessons both in Loudoun County, VA and Frederick County, MD.

Ruben Santiago Vazquez is Professor at professor de guitarra en escuela preparatoria del CMPR. He works at Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico and studied Guitarrista at Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

Nancy Shavin has taught violin/viola in her private studio in Leesburg for 30 years. Over the last 25 years, Ms. Shavin has been a member of the Arlington Symphony/philharmonic, the McLean Orchestra, the National String Symphonia, and the Loudoun Symphony.

About the composers

Felix Borowski (1872-1956) was a British/American composer. The word 'adore' means to "love and respect someone deeply." We have all had people in our lives whom we have adored and who hopefully have adored us in return and so this piece, "Adoration" is a testament to the thankfulness we can feel in those situations.

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, nocturnes for piano and the songs "Après un rêve" and "Clair de lune"

Arthur Honegger (1892-1974) was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris.] He was a member of Les Six, which also included composers Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre. Danse de la chèvre (French for Dance of the Goat) is a piece for solo flute, written in 1921 as incidental music for dancer Lysana of Sacha Derek's play La mauvaise pensée.

Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota is a Norwegian violist and composer. He is a member of The Norwegian Society of Soloists, an artist of Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, folk singer and teacher.

Simple Gifts was written in 1848. There are two conflicting narratives of Shaker origin as to the composer of the song. One account attributes the song to a spirit heard at Canterbury, New Hampshire, which would make the song a "gift song" received by a Shaker from the spirit world. Alternatively, and more widely accepted, the song's composer is said to be Joseph Brackett. A lifelong resident of the state, he first joined the Shakers at Gorham when his father's farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement. The song was largely unknown outside Shaker communities until Aaron Copland used its melody for the score of Martha Graham's ballet, Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944