A Thousand to Say Goodbye to Guerrero
Over the weekend, the Nashville Symphony performed Gustav Mahler’s epic Eighth Symphony and heralded in the end of an era. Known as the “Symphony of a Thousand” and scored for multiple choirs, a huge orchestra, and no fewer than eight soloists, Mahler’s 8th is one of the grandest works in the repertoire. As such, it is also an appropriate farewell to Maestro Guerrero who is bringing his 16-year tenure as the symphony’s music director to a close. He was a director who was excellent at achieving the most beautiful articulation of the broad romantic line in a work, and as the public face of the orchestra, he had a remarkable ability to create marvelous symphonic moments at the Schermerhorn, whether they be premieres of works by living American composers, or performances of the oldest chestnuts our culture has to offer. It was a wonderful concert and it laid plain the challenge that the search committee faces in seeking someone to replace him.
Mahler’s 8th Symphony was composed at the apex of his life, and indeed, at the time he saw it as culminating his compositional work to that point. He composed it while still married to Alma, while his daughter was alive, while he was himself, healthy, and although he faced horrible antisemitism in Vienna, his compositional and conducting career was blossoming. In the summer of 1906, as he composed, apart from a short span of fear from a writer’s block, he worked in haste and inspiration. In that summer, while on a break at the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, he allegedly told Richard Specht (music historian and friend) “…in the last three weeks I have completed the sketches of an entirely new symphony, something in comparison with which all the rest of my works are no more than introductions. I have never written anything like it; […] it is certainly the biggest thing that I have ever done.” Whether it is larger or more important than his 9th symphony, or Das Lied von Erde, is up to debate, but he is said to have called the 8th his most important as late as the summer of 1910, when the other works had been either written or conceived. Perhaps his most optimistic work, he had no way of predicting the tragedies that would later befall him.
The work itself is built on a frame of a sacred and then a secular religious work. The first being the hymn Veni creator spiritus, and the second a setting of Goethe’s famous final scene from Faust, depicting the redemption of the hero through das Ewige-Weibliche or the eternal feminine and their ascension. It is Mahler at his most optimistic and the music is spiritually beautiful, direct and sincere, lacking the irony and dark perception of the world that would mark his later works. In Nashville, another part of the Specht quote came to mind. Mahler described his intention with the Faust scene, and the entire symphony as “…to set it quite differently from other composers who have made it saccharine and feeble.” The power strength and vitality of the work was as powerful at the first chord as it was at the last, and in the Schermerhorn, the power was tangible.
Mary & Tucker Biddlecombe’s chorus was, again, exquisitely prepared. They competed admirably well with Mahler’s huge brass section, which in Nashville can be, if I am being honest, a little too loud for Laura Turner Hall. However, the clarity of diction and even, full sound, even in pianissimo, was remarkable. The soloists too, were excellent. In particular, Maria Aegyptiaca, sung I believe by alto Renée Tatum high in a balcony offstage, was incredible. We last heard Tatum here with Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and hope that she will find her way through BNA soon!
Personally, I am a little too angsty for Mahler’s 8th, I much prefer darkness overall in my Mahler (the 9th is my “jam”). That said, the highlight of the evening was the ever-ascending spiritual crescendo at the famous “das Ewige-Weibliche.” It was a remarkable performance that gave me the chills. One hopes that, like it was in Mahler’s life, the Eighth won’t be the apex for either the orchestra or the departing Maestro’s history—that this is just another step in a long, progressive journey of, and towards, ever greater excellence for each. Either way, it was a memorable evening, capping off yet another wonderful season! Thanks Maestro Guerrero, may the road rise to meet you!
The Circle Players Give Rent Its Due
The Circle Players, Nashville’s oldest volunteer community theater, is ending their 75th season with Rent, the rock musical loosely adapted from the opera La Boheme. The Pulitzer Prize winning musical is about bohemian artists living in New York City. It follows a circle of friends who are starving artists trying to live for their art while casting off bourgeois complacency and “the system.” There are significant differences from the opera, such as changing Mimi’s tuberculosis to AIDS, which most of the characters suffer from. Rent also expands the number of roles: there are almost ten main characters and many supporting roles.
There isn’t a strong or complex plot. Roger and Mark begin the show upset that their friend who owns their building hasn’t kept his word to let them live for free there, but is now charging them last year’s rent. They refuse to pay and consider him a sell-out while they’re staying true to their artistic dreams: Mark is a wannabe filmmaker and Roger a recently sober musician. Mark’s ex-girlfriend Maureen, who is now dating Joanne, is about to do performance art in front of a homeless encampment nearby and Mark and Joanne complain about Maureen’s habitual infidelity. While their electricity has been shut off, Roger meets Mimi, a neighbor who has come over to ask for a candle. Later their friend Collins introduces them to Angel, a street performer in drag who immediately becomes part of their friend group. The rest of the show features parties, breakups, reconciliations, a tragic death, and general drama and comedy.
The music has a few songs I really enjoy, but Rent is one of those musicals that you don’t want to think about too hard: while the show has a message of living each day as your last and sticking it to the man, the portrayal of these philosophies comes across more as recklessness and justification for pettiness. This aspect has been covered too well by Lindsay Ellis for me to spend any more time on it.
What the show does have is indulgently dramatic moments and much humor. One particularly ridiculous scene is when Maureen is doing her pretentious set, “Over the Moon.” It’s a moment that calls for a careful balance: it must be played straight because Maureen takes herself seriously, but not too straight or the audience might think it’s intended to be serious, in which case it would be painfully cringy. Maureen is played by Nikki Berra, who does a fantastic job with the balance in this scene and got everyone laughing loudly. Miya Nicole Burt plays her girlfriend Joanne, and they make an excellent on-stage couple, comedy and beautiful voices working perfectly together in “Take Me or Leave Me.”Another standout voice is Harrison Hall’s, who plays Roger. His voice is incredible, a perfect casting choice complemented by his excellent acting.
Megan Castleberry’s choreography for the show is great and the cast features talented dancers. Chaz A. Sanders is an exceptional dancer and is a joy to watch, moving as only a naturally gifted and extensively trained dancer can. He plays Angel with energetic enthusiasm. His choreography for the character is far more interesting and difficult than the movie adaptation, adding to the deserved praise.
Rent is at the Looby Theater, which shares a building with a library branch and community center (free parking!). The seating is comfortable and the theater is pleasantly small. The set for Rent is simple and the production uses minimal props. Ladders lead to scaffolding on both sides of the stage, connected by a bridge of scaffolding along the back. A chain link fence acts as the back of the stage, through which we can see graffitied walls and the musicians. Music Director Emily Dennis made sure the live music was great, and I’m very glad that Director Matthew Hayes Hunter made the choice to take the trouble and expense to get musicians: no recorded track can replace that energy or sound quality.
I’m not particularly fond of the musical itself, but I enjoyed watching the Circle Player’s performance. While all community theater has some performers that are stronger than others, and logistical difficulties (when I attended opening night, there was some difficulty with the timing of the microphones for a few minor characters), I was impressed by the show they were able to put on. If you’ve never seen the show, this production is a great way to start, and if you’re already a fan of the musical, I think you’ll have a blast. They will be performing Rent through June 1st. See their website for more information.
Vive la vie community theater!
The Importance of supporting extraordinary artists in collaborations
The 4th Annual Brave New Works
Since its inception in 2022 with featured artists Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva, Sarah Saturday, Alex Winer, and Lenin Fernandez, OZ Arts Nashville’s Brave New Works Lab has become a crucial incubator for stage artists and collectives experimenting between performing arts disciplines and daring to imagine what seems to be beyond reach at first glance. As the OZ Arts Executive and Artistic Director Mark Murphy noted in his program presentation on the third evening of the showcase, “Brave New Works Lab is one of the most important things we do.” Rightfully so, this platform enables the brewing of boundary pushing works in progress. While OZ Arts offers the groundwork for producing and promoting the work, the artists can focus on developing the artworks being discussed.
I attended the last evening of the showcase which this year took place between May 15-17. Referring to Mark Murphy’s remark again, as it always happens with stage work that necessitates multiple rehearsals, the artists embody their practice through repetition. In that manner, on the third evening, I witnessed performances that had landed well, and this was visible through the artists’ comfortable presence in the space and under the omnipresent gaze of the audience.
Slithered through the evening program, the audience was subtly handed out a donation envelope, in hopes that this event will help in stimulating OZ Arts’ budget. They too were hit by the NEA funding cuts, thus endangering the rich and particularly international program that this company offers to Nashville.
For this year’s edition of Brave New Works Lab, OZ Arts has curated four short-form performances, where sound and movement were the predominant artistic expression.
In Welcome to Paradise, renowned spoken word poet and visual artist Landry Butler collaborated with the Inglewood Social Club quartet which habitually incorporates video projection to their live music performances. While Butler is facing the audience, from behind a podium, the musical performers have their backs turned to the audience, a lesson we are taught is an absolute no-no in directing school, unless it means something, which in this case, it does. The setup recalls a congregation and Butler, a performing preacher evoking Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist posture while the musicians are his congregation. “Welcome to the American Dream. We got things you need and things you didn’t know you do. We’ve got so much power, it’s not even funny.”- declares Butler in one of their lines.
The subverted mirroring that Butler utilizes in their performance concept reminded me of what the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach from Die Neue Slowenische Kunst (The New Slovenian Art) was doing in ex-Yugoslavia during the 1980’s. Through over-identification, the embodied and emphasized discourse becomes put into question. Declarations such as “The Spectacle is the medium”, “As above so below, as within, so without”, references to the church of SubGenius, situationist works, hermetic occult philosophy, all speak of an artistic expression that is deeply conceptual and promises both an intellectual as well as a didactical wave of performance creation in Nashville that I am yearning to experience.
In Bosch, created by Stacie Flood Popp, executive director of Found Movement Group and collaborator Kat Driver, it was easy to spot the amalgamation of continuous work, a quality that is a characteristic for ensembles, and particularly the functional ones.
Taking inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, eleven contemporary performers recreate an ethereal atmosphere where the human and other than human connection is sensual but also conflictual and in a constant attempt to redefine the relationships and the boundaries between them. While the movements lean towards traditional ballet, the ensemble of diverse dancers also embodies reactive movement, both to the co-dancers as well as to the musical and lyrical rhythms, something that will be even more intensified and noticeable in Kourtney “Koko” French’s About Time.
In Ba Tsamaile, choreographer Windship Boyd and choreographer, visual artist, and performing artist Tumelo Michael Moloi put in conversation two innate percussive dance forms, originated around the same time, but in different continents: South African gumboot dance and the Southern tradition of stepping, further overlapped by the accompaniment of rhythms by Guinean drummer Ibrahima “Ibro” Dioubate and brass instrumentalists from TSU.
Projections by artist Sari Hoke become an extension of the live performance, with South African artist and dancer Tumelo Michael Moloi, stepper extraordinaire Aniya Coleman, drummer Ibrahima “Ibro” Dioubate occurring on the screen, inviting the audience to their habitat and native languages. The images are juxtaposed by archival footage of the miners, emphasizing their yellow mud boots, which Tumelo Michael Moloi is also wearing on stage, contrasting his traditional costume, interfaced by images of the queen of England watching a traditional dance, thus drawing a very clear reference to colonialism and exploitation.
This production breaks the fourth wall and has an uplifting gestural conversation as the performers stretch their communication with the audience, meeting the eye contact, asking for a clap response, and offering celebratory smiles.
The last piece of the showcase, About Time by Hip-hop dance virtuoso Kourtney “Koko” French engages eight dancers in a movement-based examination of the concepts of time and urgency. This eloquent choreographic concept dwells upon the human relationship with time, emphasizing its value and irreversibility. While the dancers are synchronized as a group as well as their timing is coordinated to the music, most performers shine in their solo moments, cheered at by audience members who encourage them by calling their names. The movements are fluid, graceful, flowing, and natural, the connections between group members short, but meaningful.
What strikes in both About Time, Bosch, and somewhat in Ba Tsamaile, is the audience ovation which was very present throughout the performances or at least in the last evening of the showcase which I attended. Fellow dancers, friends, even the directors of the works responded and motivated colleagues on stage, a form of communication that is very familiar and present in contemporary dance showcases and competitions.
This year’s New Works Lab serves as a testament to two key observations: the potentialities of international and interdisciplinary collaborations as well as the existence of a rather developed contemporary dance scene in a town that has a tailored audience. Stacie Flood Popp’s Found Movement Group and Koko’s Ink Movement which incorporates Koko’s individualized Ko-Style Method, are an indication to the presence of this exciting scene.
On the other hand, the demographics of the Brave New Works Lab has shifted or rather, it has grown from solo works to prevalent collective works, which confirms the growth and expansion of collaborations and puts emphasis on the importance of collaborative works for stage.
I had a brief talk with OZ Arts’ Associate Director of Programming and Partnerships Daniel Jones, contemplating on the future of these showcased works and how Brave New Works Lab has thus far helped in forwarding the careers of the artists supported by OZ Arts.
Some success stories include Sarah Saturday who has toured with her fully realized version of her multimedia music project Voyage to various places like Los Angeles and Richmond, VA, and soon to St. Louis. Asia Pyron / PYDANCE was able to expand their 2024 Lab creation God’s Country into a full-evening production that played for one night at TPAC this past January. Cameron L. Mitchell’s Regicide: To Kill a King (2024 Lab) is currently being developed into a full-length production and had a reading at Nashville Rep earlier this spring. Clay Steakley & Becca Hoback are continuing their collaboration around The Fire Cycle, of which the first live performance excerpt premiered at the 2023 Lab and film excerpts have been shown at various festivals. They are in talks to develop the full project for a public television broadcast.
“The interesting next step for artists in Nashville and the Southeast will be figuring out how to build infrastructure for local artists to tour their work to other markets and build connections outside the city. Many of these projects have more life in them and deserve to continue developing beyond their initial sharing in the Brave New Works Lab,” Daniel said.
We both agreed that the topic of national and international recognition of Nashville artists, most of whom have unfortunately not yet had the opportunity to tour with their work, deserves further public conversation which we are hoping to initiate sooner than later.
At the Scarritt Bennett Center
SONUS CHOIR’S “MOTHER NATURE”
As part of their eleventh season, SONUS Choir presented “Mother Nature: a Celebration of Female Composers and Nature,” on May 16th at 7:30 p.m. in Wightman Chapel at the Scarritt Bennett Center. Originally an a Capella (or singing without instrumental accompaniment) choir made up of alumni from the Trevecca Madrigalians (of Nashville’s Trevecca Nazarene University), the group set its sights on becoming a premier choir starting in 2018. SONUS’s leadership team includes Co-Founder and Musical Director Timbre Cierpke, Director of Business Development Garen Webb, and Director of Operations Joy Baker. I was excited for this concert since I attended SONUS’s Tenth-Anniversary performance last May. If I recall correctly, SONUS became an auditioned ensemble beginning in 2024, and they will hold their 2025 auditions on July 1st.
Cierpke shared how the evening’s program intertwined the celebration of female composers with the theme of nature. Reflecting on her upbringing in a musical family where “classical” music was prevalent, Cierpke observed that women composers were widely underrepresented—an oversight that, at the time, did not seem to indicate a path for her own future as a composer. Yet, Cierpke did become a composer herself and two of her pieces—Dum Spiro, Spero and Mother God— are featured on the evening’s program. The concert’s title, “Mother Nature,” evokes a poetic parallel between the creative visions of the collection of women composers featured and nature’s generative force.
SONUS opened their concert with Eric Whitacre’s “With a Lily” from Three Flower Songs (1990). This introduction showcased the choir’s wonderful composite sound. The rhythmic momentum, complex harmonies, and unique musical gestures were tightly performed.
Next, Emily Mason’s Meditabor won a 2021 composition prize sponsored by Notre Dame University’s Magnificat Choir. This beautiful contemporary piece texturally evokes echoes of Medieval vocal music. The title “Meditabor,” Latin for “meditate,” is initially repeated in unison by female voices before additional voices join, creating a sound reminiscent of organum. Drawing from Psalm 119 (verses 47–50), the text expresses the psalmist’s delight in God’s commandments and desire to meditate on them. The piece emulates chant, to organum, to homophony throughout, reaching its climax on the lyric “which I love.” Gorgeous! (I recommend experiencing this clip of SONUS the climax of Meditabor on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIuTm6cSvfm/).
I am thrilled to discuss “Imagine a Favorite Place” from Shara Nova’s captivating choral song cycle Titration (2022). This profound cycle explores how challenging emotions—fear, sorrow, disgust, and rage—impact our nervous systems. While the term “titration” traditionally refers to the careful balancing of chemicals or medications to achieve bodily equilibrium, Nova’s “Imagine a Favorite Place” beautifully reinterprets this concept through the lens of self-soothing. The piece encourages listeners to navigate negative emotions by self-regulating their nervous systems, inviting them to envision safe, comforting spaces as a form of emotional titration. SONUS delivered an exceptional performance of this work, with high voices weaving an ethereal—almost mythopoeic—melody over a grounding drone of low voices. The drone itself subtly shifted between unisons and dissonant and consonant intervals, creating a dynamic, meditative foundation. The melody’s text serves as a gentle guide, offering a list of places one might imagine, each evoking a sense of tranquility and refuge.
After the lyric “Imagine the ocean side or a cloud ride,’ the music shifts into a trajectory that feels distinctly synaptic, as if Nova’s composition sonically maps the intricate,
internal processes of neural communication. It develops through a cascade of ever-shifting tone clusters, their fluctuations and oscillations mirroring the dynamic rhythms of the body’s regulatory systems. Gradually, the music finds its equilibrium, arriving at a moment of serene stasis, echoing this notion of titration, or the name of the cycle that “Imagine…” belongs to.
Of the two compositions by Artistic Director Timbre Cierpke—Dum Spiro, Spero and Mother God—I’ve chosen to focus on the latter, having previously reviewed the former in May of last year.[1] Mother God emerged from Cierpke’s profound meditation on the divine as a feminine presence, a concept she developed through her exploration of biblical scriptures that illuminate God’s nurturing, compassionate, and altruistic nature. This piece masterfully reimagines the divine through a lens of maternal care, offering a tender and transformative perspective on spirituality. Sonically, Mother God reflects Cierpke’s introspective journey, weaving together a tapestry of biblical imagery to craft its verses.
The opening line, “Like an eagle stirs up her nest…,” draws from Deuteronomy 32:11, while the second verse, “Like a mother hen gathers her children…,” echoes passages from Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:37. “As a mother lifts a little child to her cheek” is inspired by Hosea 11:3, and “Like a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you…” resonates with Isaiah 66:13. Each verse, rich with vivid imagery, not only underscores the piece’s thematic depth but also invites listeners to experience the divine as a source of unconditional love and solace.
Cierpke’s setting of this text is masterfully crafted, with a tonal palette that ebbs and flows between moments of spare simplicity and rich, full textures. She skillfully balances passing figures and suspensions, creating a dynamic yet cohesive musical picture.
SONUS’s performance of the piece was nothing short of exceptional, as they navigated its delicate nuances with precision and sensitivity. Their interpretation brought out the emotional depth and subtle contrasts in the music, allowing the work to resonate with both clarity and warmth. It was a performance that not only honored Cierpke’s vision but also elevated it, leaving a lasting impression on the listener.
While I can’t delve into every piece on the program, it’s essential to highlight the other remarkable composers featured in this concert: Rachel Grimes, Joy Baker, Kyle Baker, Cecilia McDowall, Kerensa Briggs, and Caroline Shaw. Each brought their unique voice to the evening, contributing to a rich and diverse musical offering. This performance marks the culmination of SONUS’s season, and I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to follow as they embark on their next season. To stay connected and learn more about their upcoming performances, visit their website at https://www.sonuschoir.com.
[1] Stephen Turner, “Dum Spiro, Spero: SONUS Choir’s Tenth-Anniversary Concert,” Music City Review (May 17, 2024), https://www.musiccityreview.com/2024/05/17/dum-spiro-spero-sonus-choirs-tenth-anniversary-concert/. Accessed: May 19, 2025.
Rent is Due!
Circle Players, Nashville’s oldest non-profit volunteer arts organization, is performing Rent as the last show of their 75th season. No longer on Broadway and with no current touring production, this is your chance to see Rent in live performance!
Rent will be at the Looby Theater May 21st through June 1st. Click here for more information.
A Night with the Nashville Symphony:
The Premiere of Winger’s Violin Concerto and the Music Barber and Copland
Versión en español aqui
This past weekend was an exciting time for new music in Nashville, with the Nashville Symphony’s premiere of C.F. Kip Winger’s Violin Concerto: In the Language of Flowers, during their Barber, Winger, and Copland concert. It was an entertaining performance that featured Samuel Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal, as well as Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3, and concertmaster Peter Otto as violin soloist. This program was a great selection that played to music director Giancarlo Guerrero’s ability to evoke a wide range of emotions and characters from the orchestra.
The evening began with Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal, a playful and harmonically broad work that the composer wrote at just 21 years old, as his first orchestral composition. Though composed years before his well-known Adagio for Strings, this piece is full of lyrical charm and rhythmic energy, not only representative of Barber’s style, but of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1777 comedic play which inspired it. The orchestra’s strings and woodwinds bring the work’s melodic developments, like in the moments of solo oboe or accompanied clarinet, played wonderfully by principal oboist Titus Underwood and principal clarinetist Danny Goldman, respectively.
The most anticipated work on the program, the world premiere of Winger’s Violin Concerto followed, and I cannot begin to describe how anxiously I await the live recording – this piece (and its performance) was wonderful. The composer’s varied background is clearly reflected in the work. His early life was shaped by jazz and years studying dance with a ballet company, until he eventually ventured into rock with his own band, Winger, and collaborations with acts such as Alice Cooper. In 2017, the Nashville Symphony performed Winger’s ballet score Conversations with Nijinsky. Upon the positive reception of this performance, Guerrero invited Winger to write a symphony and concerto. In 2022, the Nashville Symphony premiered Winger’s Symphony No. 1, which the composer described himself as an autobiographical work “centered around the theme of atonement.” Though he began writing his violin concerto in 2019, it is not until the years following his concerto that he would complete most of the work, with the help of Peter Otto, the current concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony.
The first movement, titled “Forsythia,” opens with a violin cadenza, in which all the concerto’s four main themes are presented. Here, Otto suggests only a small sample of the virtuosic writing (and playing) that is to come with phrases of chromatic runs and arpeggios. Written in 7/8 time signature, Winger employs polyrhythm to build synergy between the soloist and orchestra. The second movement, “Viscaria,” is where the violin truly takes the front stage. In a rapid fashion, the violin often interrupts the orchestra with extravagant and rhythmically dense statements, like what one may find in a rock guitar solo. Otto takes full advantage of the writing, giving the audience no time to process the technical accuracy and prowise of his playing. This continues into the third movement, “Ambrosia.” Otto delights the audience with gentle lyrical playing of a subject which Winger himself considers his “all-time best melody.” Passionate, yet apprehensive, Shostakovich’s influence is particularly evident, here. The final movement, “Wisteria,” is the proper conclusion to a work so conflicted, full of contrast and skill. Otto’s attention to detail and care for subtly is on full display, here, and it is made clear that this piece was written with him in mind.
The program concluded with Copland’s Symphony No. 3. This was my first time listening to any of Copland’s symphonic works in-person, and it did not disappoint. The first movement opens with Copland’s signature Western sound, which he creates using widely spaced intervals and open textures of woodwinds, strings, and horns. The main theme is presented like a hymn, then quickly develops into a rhythmically driven and densely textured middle section. The orchestra has the keen ability to shift mood rapidly, making full textures appear, seemingly, out of nowhere and with ease. The second movement is a scherzo and is our first introduction to the Fanfare for the Common Man material that becomes increasingly present throughout the rest of the symphony. The dramatic nature of this movement lends itself to the orchestra’s brass sections, all capable of capturing a wide range of emotions. The trumpet section, led by principal William Leathers, especially realized Copland’s explosive and colorful writing, here. The third movement is slow and haunting. Its lyrical theme is reminiscent of the first movement, with brighter textures, though maintains a coldness throughout. The final movement immediately follows, with no pause. Here, the fanfare material from Fanfare for the Common Man reaches its peak, growing from the flutes then to the brass for an epic climax. Throughout the movement, the music breaks itself down then rebuilds, with not only a fanfare theme, but a 7/8 theme as well, clearly influenced by Latin-American rhythms. The orchestra truly shines at the climax of the movement, in the powerful return of the fanfare theme.
On the weekend of May 25th, Guerrero will conduct his final program as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony, titled “Guerrero’s Finale: Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand.” The symphony will be performing Gustav Mahler’s colossal Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”). It is sure to be an incredible experience and a fitting conclusion to Guerrero’s 16-year tenure with the Nashville Symphony.
Una noche con la Sinfónica de Nashville:
El estreno del Concierto para violín de Winger y la música de Barber y Copland
English Version Here
El fin de semana pasado fue un momento emocionante para la nueva música en Nashville, con el estreno del Concierto para violín: In the Language of Flowers (En el lenguaje de las flores) de C.F. Kip Winger, interpretado por la Sinfónica de Nashville durante su programa de Barber, Winger y Copland. La actuación contó con la Overture to The School for Scandal (Obertura de La escuela del escándalo) de Samuel Barber, la Sinfonía n.º 3 de Aaron Copland, y la participación especial el concertino Peter Otto como solista. Este programa fue una gran selección que aprovechó la capacidad del director musical Giancarlo Guerrero para evocar una amplia gama de emociones y personajes con la orquesta.
La noche comenzó con la Overture to The School for Scandal de Barber, una obra lúdica y armónicamente amplia que el compositor escribió con tan solo 21 años, como su primera composición orquestal. Aunque compuesta años antes de su conocido Adagio para cuerdas, esta pieza está llena de encanto lírico y energía rítmica, no solo representativa del estilo de Barber, sino de la obra cómica de Richard Brinsley Sheridan de 1777 que la inspiró. Las cuerdas y los vientos de la orquesta aportan los desarrollos melódicos de la obra, como en los momentos de oboe solista o clarinete acompañado, tocados maravillosamente por el oboísta principal Titus Underwood y el clarinetista principal Danny Goldman, respectivamente.
Le siguió la obra más esperada del programa, el estreno mundial del Concierto para violín de Winger, y no puedo empezar a describir que espero con ansiedad la grabación en vivp: esta pieza y su interpretación fue maravillosa. La diversa formación del compositor se refleja claramente en la obra. Sus primeros años de vida estuvieron marcados por el jazz y los años de estudio de danza con una compañía de ballet, hasta que finalmente se aventuró en el rock con su propia banda, Winger, y colaboraciones con artistas como Alice Cooper. En 2017, la Sinfónica de Nashville interpretó la partitura de ballet de Winger Conversations with Nijinsky (Conversaciones con Nijinsky). Ante la buena acogida de esta actuación, Guerrero invitó a Winger a escribir una sinfonía y un concierto. En 2022, la Sinfónica de Nashville estrenó la Sinfonía n.º 1 de Winger, que el compositor describió como una obra autobiográfica “centrada en el tema de la expiación”. Aunque comenzó a escribir su concierto para violín en 2019, no fue hasta los años siguientes que completaría la mayor parte de la obra, con la ayuda de Peter Otto, el actual concertino de la Sinfónica de Nashville.
El primer movimiento, titulado “Forsythia“, se abre con una cadenza para violín, en la que se presentan los cuatro temas principales del concierto. Aquí, Otto sugiere sólo una pequeña muestra del virtuosismo de la escritura y la interpretación que vendrá con frases de corridas cromáticas y arpegios. Escrito en compás de 7/8, Winger emplea la polirritmia para crear sinergia entre el solista y la orquesta. El segundo movimiento, “Viscaria“, es donde el violín realmente toma el primer plano. De manera rápida, su voz a menudo interrumpe a la orquesta con declaraciones extravagantes y rítmicamente densas, como las que uno puede encontrar en un solo de guitarra de rock. Otto aprovecha al máximo la escritura, sin dar tiempo al público para procesar la precisión técnica y la prosabia de su interpretación. Esto continúa en el tercer movimiento, “Ambrosia”. Otto deleita al público con una suave interpretación lírica de un tema que el propio Winger considera su “mejor melodía de todos los tiempos”. Apasionado, pero aprensivo, la influencia de Shostakovich es particularmente evidente aquí. El último movimiento, “Wisteria“, es la conclusión adecuada de una obra tan conflictiva, llena de contraste y habilidad. La atención al detalle y el cuidado de Otto por la sutileza está en plena exhibición aquí, y queda claro que esta pieza fue escrita pensando en él.
El programa concluyó con la Sinfonía n.º 3 de Copland. Esta fue la primera vez que escuché cualquiera de las obras sinfónicas del compositor, y superó todas mis expectativas. El primer movimiento se abre con el sonido del oestel característico de Copland, que crea utilizando intervalos muy espaciados y texturas abiertas de vientos, cuerdas y trompas. El tema principal se presenta como un himno, luego se convierte rápidamente en una sección central rítmica y densamente texturizada. La orquesta tiene la gran capacidad de cambiar el estado de ánimo rápidamente, haciendo que las texturas completas aparezcan, aparentemente, de la nada y con facilidad. El segundo movimiento es un scherzo y es nuestra primera introducción a la Fanfarria para el Hombre Común, material que se hace cada vez más presente en el resto de la sinfonía. La naturaleza dramática de este movimiento se presta las secciones de metales de la orquesta, todas capaces de capturar una amplia gama de emociones. La sección de trompetas, dirigida por el director William Leathers, se dio cuenta especialmente de la explosiva y colorida escritura de Copland, aquí. El tercer movimiento es lento e inquietante. Su tema lírico recuerda al primer movimiento, con texturas más brillantes, aunque mantiene una frialdad en todo momento. El movimiento final sigue inmediatamentesin pausa. Aquí, el material de Fanfare for the Common Man alcanza su punto máximo, creciendo desde las flautas hasta los metales para un clímax épico. A lo largo del movimiento, la música se descompone y luego se reconstruye, no solo con un tema de fanfarria, sino también con un tema de 7/8, claramente influenciado por los ritmos latinoamericanos. La orquesta brilla realmente en el clímax del movimiento, en el poderoso regreso del tema de la fanfarria.
El fin de semana del 25 de mayo, Guerrero dirigirá su último programa como Director Musical de la Sinfónica de Nashville, titulado “Guerrero’s Finale: Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand“. La sinfónica interpretará la colosal Sinfonía n.º 8 de Gustav Mahler. Seguramente será una experiencia increíble y una conclusión adecuada para los 16 años de mandato de Guerrero con la Sinfónica de Nashville.
Entendiendo cómo funciona Nashville a través de
The Soundwaves Gallery: “El corazón de Nashville”
Version in English Here
Desde 2021, The Nashville Soccer Club (Nashville SC) y el Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (ABC) han colaborado en diferentes iniciativas artísticas comunitarias, como la Soundwaves Gallery. Este proyecto ha exhibido el trabajo de innumerables artistas locales de Nashville en las áreas de clubes premium de GEODIS Park. El 6 de mayo, tuve la oportunidad de recorrer la colección actual titulada “The He(art) of Nashville,” con dos artistas destacados, Omari Booker y Arash Shoushtari (nombre artístico IMGRNT), quienes proporcionaron un contexto valioso sobre la relevancia de sus obras en la galería. También nos acompañaron Jill McMillan Palm y Jennifer “Ennie” Brosius, directora ejecutiva y gerente de programas de ABC, así como Kensi Juskiewicz, coordinadora de comunicaciones del Nashville SC. Su discusión me ayudó a comprender la importancia de la colaboración de Nashville SC, GEODIS Park y ABC como un importante punto de referencia para la interacción del arte y la identidad en Nashville.
La exhibición consta de 44 obras de 44 artistas locales en varios medios diferentes como óleo sobre lienzo, tela sobre tablero de madera e incluso vidrio fundido. Las obras se extienden por todo un pasillo; comenzando con obras abstractas, luego avanzando hacia retratos y paisajes. Una de las primeras obras que me llamó la atención fue Love Story de Jennifer Haston. Una obra de técnica mixta que presenta siluetas de diferentes colores plasmadas en partituras de personas reales de la vida de Haston. Es una representación única de cómo estas diferentes personas trabajan juntas para crear una experiencia de vida armoniosa, edificándose y apoyándose mutuamente. Los vibrantes azules, rosas y rojos sobre las partituras desgastadas crean una yuxtaposición distinta entre la expectativa y la realidad. Nunca hay color para las partituras, solo blanco y negro, pero la combinación aquí es adecuada. La pieza sobre la que están impresas estas figuras se titula “Love Song,” abrazando aún más la noción de amor y paz como un esfuerzo compartido.
Le siguen obras como Nightlights de Rhiannon Guppy y Petrichor de Will Maddoxx, utilizando colores brillantes para desarrollar la idea de la comunidad y la vida nocturna de Nashville como algo borroso, pero también algo controlado y enfocado. Max de Carrie DePauw y Glass Kite de Lauren B. son obras que utilizan el color para representar la individualidad y la calidez que conforman la comunidad de Nashville. Estos dos artistas, así como Jennifer Haston, son parte de Friends Life Community (FLC), una organización de Nashville que “provides opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to grow, develop, and be active members of the community.” – (brinda oportunidades para que las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo crezcan, se desarrollen y sean miembros activos de la comunidad.) La galería cuenta con muchos artistas de diferentes culturas, con diferentes orígenes e historias, esta es una idea extremadamente importante de este proyecto. Nuestras diferencias deben ser las que nos unan y merezcan ser representadas. Estas identidades son Nashville. No podría haber habido mejores representantes de esta propuesta que los dos artistas con los que tuve la oportunidad de hablar, Booker e IMGRNT.
BWGRS es un tríptico de una obra de mayor tamaño que consta de 7 paneles inspirados en los patrones textiles persas para crear una imagen fascinante y proporcionar un contornomás profundo como elemento de la narración. En esta pieza, IMGRNT cuenta la historia de sus dos tíos, representados por formas de diamantes rojos y verdes, conectados por una línea dorada vertical. Su historia es un reflejo más profundo de las raíces iraníes del artista, así como de la experiencia de los inmigrantes; dos temas que están presentes en las obras visuales y performativas del artista. Me pareció interesante lo bien que funcionaban juntos los tres paneles, aunque tomados de una obra más grande: IMGRNT explicó cómo el tríptico siempre estuvo presente en la obra.
Esta adaptabilidad es un componente importante de su arte y ayuda a expandir el interés del artista en las comunidades de inmigrantes como parte fundamental en la identidad de Nashville. Según lo mencionado anteriormente, IMGRNT también hace arte escénico en una forma más directa y explícita de la representación y la experiencia de los inmigrantes : su trabajo War & Beat (in A Natural Minor) se discutió en un artículo anterior de Music City Review que cubrió el Kindling Arts Festival en 2024.
Alex and Ash es la obra destacada de Omari Booker, un artista multidisciplinario con sede en Nashville, Tennessee, y Los Ángeles, California. En esta composición, Booker pinta la escena de Alex Lockwood y Ash Atterberry, dos miembros prominentes de la comunidad artística del norte de Nashville, acerca de una reunión reciente en Elephant Gallery, una galería de arte de Nashville que Alex abrió alrededor de 2016. Aunque es una imagen muy real, esta pintura es onírica: los reflejos azules alrededor de los ojos de Alex y en toda la pieza y su distribución de color son elementos destacados que se suman a la naturaleza animada de la obra. Booker describió cómo su arte está fuertemente influenciado por su “surroundings, family, and friends,” (el entorno, la familia y los amigos) revelando una historia más profunda. Para estas galerías, los artistas pueden presentar hasta 5 piezas. Muchos presentan obras preexistentes, mientras que otros crean específicamente para el tema de la galería. Alex and Ash fue el único trabajo que Booker presentó, pero encapsulaba perfectamente la idea del arte de Nashville, no solo diverso, sino también autosuficiente y conectado. Booker expresó que considera a Alex y Ash son modelos artísticos fundamentales, no solo para él, sino para toda la ciudad de Nashville. Destacó la importancia de su enfoque en el arte de creadores locales y regionales, ya que este representa la auténtica identidad creativa de la ciudad. Para él, esta distinción resulta especialmente relevante en un contexto donde la gentrificación ha afectado profundamente tanto a las artes como a las comunidades negras.
La Soundwaves Gallery se exhibe durante toda la temporada del Nashville SC, a partir de febrero, y se muestra en varios recorridos por estadios a lo largo del año. Su inclusión en GEODIS Park capta el punto de que el estadio es un lugar de unidad para todo Nashville, reuniendo a personas de diferentes ámbitos de la vida para disfrutar de su interés compartido en el fútbol. ABC y Nashville SC están trabajando juntos en proyectos más nuevos, como el recientemente anunciado Starting XI. Este es un esfuerzo emocionante que encarga a 11 artistas locales crear arte relacionado con el fútbol a partir de artículos deportivos reciclados. La primera de estas obras es un par de botines de fútbol reutilizados , que ahora se exhiben en la Galería Soundwaves. A lo largo de la temporada, estos artículos se exhibirán uno a la vez, y tienen como objetivo resaltar la interacción de la sostenibilidad y el arte. Asegúrate de mantenerte al día con Booker e IMGRNT, así como con ABC y Nashville SC. Todos están trabajando para mantener vivo el arte local y para representarnos mejor a nosotros, la población diversa de Nashville.
Understanding how Nashville Operates through
The Soundwaves Gallery: “The He(art) of Nashville”
Versión en español aqui
Since 2021, The Nashville Soccer Club (Nashville SC) and the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (ABC) have collaborated on different community arts initiatives, like the Soundwaves Gallery. This project has showcased the work of countless local Nashville artists in the premium club areas of GEODIS Park. On May 6th, I had the opportunity to tour the current collection titled, “The He(art) of Nashville,” with two featured artists, Omari Booker and Arash Shoushtari (artist name IMGRNT), who provided valuable context to the relevance of their works in the gallery. We were also joined by Jill McMillan Palm and Jennifer “Ennie” Brosius, the executive director and program manager of ABC, as well as Kensi Juskiewicz, the communications coordinator at the Nashville SC. Their discussion helped me to understand the significance of the collaboration of the Nashville SC, GEODIS Park, and ABC as an important point-of-reference for the interaction of art and identity in Nashville.
The gallery consists of 44 works from 44 local artists across several different mediums like oil on canvas, fabric on wood board, and even fused glass. The works span an entire hallway, beginning with abstract works, then moving towards portraits and landscapes. One of the first works to strike me was Love Story by Jennifer Haston. A mixed-media work featuring different colored silhouettes of real people from Haston’s life over sheet music, it is a unique representation of how these different people work together to create a harmonious life experience, uplifting and supporting one another. The vibrant blues, pinks, and reds over the distressed sheet music create a distinct juxtaposition between expectation and reality. There is never any color to sheet music, only white and black, yet the combination here is fitting. The piece that these figures are printed over is titled, “Love Song,” further embracing the notion of love and peace as a shared effort.
Works like Nightlights by Rhiannon Guppy and Petrichor by Will Maddoxx follow, using bright colors to develop the idea of Nashville’s community and nightlife as both a blur, but also something controlled and focused. Max by Carrie DePauw and Glass Kite by Lauren B. are works that use color to represent the individuality and warmth that makes up the Nashville community. These two artists, as well as Jennifer Haston, are part of the Friends Life Community (FLC), which is a Nashville organization that “provides opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to grow, develop, and be active members of the community.” The gallery features many artists from different cultures with different backgrounds and different stories – this is an extremely important idea of this project. Our differences should be what bring us together and deserve to be represented. These identities are Nashville. There could not have been better representatives of this idea than the two artists I had the chance to speak with, Booker and IMGRNT.
BWGRS is a triptych from a larger 7-panel work that draws inspiration from Persian textile patterns to create a mesmerizing visual and provide an outline for a deeper element of storytelling. In this piece, IMGRNT tells the story of his two uncles, represented by red and green diamond shapes, connected by a vertical gold line. Their story is a deeper reflection of the artist’s Iranian roots, as well as the immigrant experience, two themes that are present through the artist’s visual and performative works. It was interesting to me how well the three panels worked together, though taken from a larger work – IMGRNT explained how the triptych was always present in the work. This adaptability is an important component of his art and helps expand upon the artist’s interest in immigrant communities as growing in significance to Nashville’s identity. As previously mentioned, IMGRNT also does performance art, as a more direct and explicit form of representation for immigrants and the immigrant experience – his War & Beat (in A natural Minor) was discussed in a previous Music City Review article that covered the Kindling Arts Festival in 2024.
Alex and Ash is the featured work of Omari Booker, a multidisciplinary artist based in Nashville, TN and Los Angeles, CA. In this work, Booker paints the scene of Alex Lockwood and Ash Atterberry, two prominent members of the North Nashville art community, from a recent meeting at Elephant Gallery. a Nashville art gallery that Alex opened around 2016. Though a very real image, this painting is dreamlike – the blue highlights around Alex’s eyes and throughout the piece and its color spread are standout elements that add to the work’s lively nature. Booker described how his art is heavily influenced by his “surroundings, family, and friends,” and a deeper story revealed itself. For these galleries, artists can submit up to 5 pieces. Many submit preexisting works, while others create specifically for the theme of the gallery. Alex and Ash was the only work that Booker submitted, but perfectly encapsulated the idea of Nashville art, not only being diverse, but also self-sustaining and connected. Booker discussed how he felt Alex and Ash are important artistic role models for not only himself, but Nashville as a whole, as their focus on art from local and regional artists as a reflection of Nashville’s true creative identity is an important distinction, especially in a time and place where gentrification has had a significant impact on the arts and black communities.
The Soundwaves Gallery is displayed for the entire season of the Nashville SC, starting in February, and is shown on various stadium tours throughout the year. Its inclusion at GEODIS Park captures the point of the stadium being a place of unity for all of Nashville, bringing people from all walks of life together to enjoy their shared interest in soccer. ABC and the Nashville SC are working together on newer projects, such as the recently announced Starting XI. This is an exciting endeavor that commissions 11 local artists to create soccer-related artistry from recycled soccer items. The first of these works is an upcycled pair of soccer cleats, now on display at the Soundwaves Gallery. Throughout the season, these items will be displayed one at a time, and aim to highlight the interaction of sustainability and art. Be sure to keep up with Booker and IMGRNT, as well as ABC and the Nashville SC. All are working to keep local art alive and to better represent us, the diverse population of Nashville.
Radical Acceptance in Chamber Opera:
Intersection Performs Perry’s The Weight of Light.
On May tenth, Intersection, Nashville’s “flexible contemporary music ensemble” presented Gillian Perry’s One-Act Chamber opera The Weight of Light (libretto by Marcus Amaker) in the Analog music room at the Hutton Hotel. Seemingly derived from Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, Amaker’s and Ravel’s works both feature not only speaking inanimate objects that the central character can hear, but they are employed towards a psychological end that centers their main character’s relationship with his/her mother.
The difference here is one of contextual psychology. Ravel’s work is centered upon the child finding their way back to their mother (Ravel’s work culminates with the child singing “Maman”). A Catholic, who fell into “horrible despair” at the death of his mother, Ravel probably saw his mother as the closest thing to human perfection.
On the other hand, Perry and Amaker’s story culminates with the child actually forgiving their mother for feeling shame over the powers they share—this is the gesture of radical acceptance. It is a 21st century tale that spins out nicely in a (almost too) short hour.
For Intersection’s performance, the central character Emily was played by the charismatic, Nashville-based coloratura Ivy Calvert. Her Emily is a strong-willed idealist, whose naïvete is matched only by her determination. Of course, this determination is confronted by her mother, played by soprano Sara Crigger. Her mother, who also speaks with…things, feels nothing but shame for her and her daughter’s abilities.
Calvert’s soaring soprano was wonderful in the opening scenes, where register and innocence correlate, and her expressions throughout, so important in an unstaged work, were absolutely priceless. Crigger, who has been appearing in nearly everything in Nashville lately (Lucia and Carmen for starters) was the beautiful but caring mother, and her mezzo gave her character’s troubled emotions a rich and heavy depth.
Emily’s friend Trevor, played by the remarkable tenor Frank Convit, nearly stole the show. His character’s difficulties, heartrendingly drawn in an incredibly patient and well-paced aria, constantly in dialogue with Todd Waldecker’s gentle clarinet, become the soil from which Emily’s empathy is grown. The number’s climax (“is there something wrong with me?!”) was magnificent and chilling. When we entered Analogue, we were given instagramesque hearts to raise when we heard a beautiful moment that we liked, and this was an amazing moment, but it was so profound that I didn’t want to corrupt it with a banal social media gesture!
Perry’s score is well considered. It’s hard to know from just one hearing, but I believe it is drawn organically towards one five note motive that rises and folds in on itself. The motive doesn’t serve as a seed so much as it does the goal, which is achieved when it is finally set to the text “…we are who we are…” (the moment of that radical acceptance). Corcoran’s ensemble played Perry’s extended techniques well, the strings, Emily Crane (violine) Cristina Micci-Barreca (viola) and Meghan Berindean (cello), deserve special mention for the harmonics and Corcoran’s nuanced blending sounded fantastic in Analogue’s strange setting (I think it might be better for jazz than classical chamber opera, but the chandelier sure is cool).
A graduate of Southern Methodist University, with studies at the California Institute of Arts as well as at the EAMA-Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris, Perry developed The Weight of Light as part of the Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Initiative, a program guided and overseen by Lidiya Yankovskaya. This is the second work from this program that has appeared in Nashville, the other being Shawn Okpebholo’s Cook-Off from last season. It appears (and sounds) like Chicago is leading the country in developing the next generation of opera composers. The Weight of Light is gentle, introspective, caring, important and beautiful; if this is what Gen-Z’s operas are going to sound like, I want to hear more!
