Spring symphony concert to debut Lingít opera overture
- Ellie Ruel
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
‘Energy and Elegance’ performance this weekend highlights new music, underrepresented voices
By Ellie Ruel
Juneau Independent
The Juneau Symphony’s spring “Energy and Elegance” concert will combine new music rooted in Lingít culture and uplifting pieces, featuring The Cleveland Orchestra’s Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs.
“It's going to be an incredibly moving, again, elegant, energetic, but also very hopeful concert,” said Brad Hogarth, music director for the symphony.
The program is centered around “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland, which finishes the set.
“It's an iconic orchestral piece that sort of became the definition of American orchestral sound,” Hogarth explained. “It's about hope, it's about resilience, it's about community, it's a beautiful piece. It's iconic and everyone knows it.”
In the first half, Sachs as the featured solo trumpeter will perform Joseph Haydn’s “Trumpet Concerto.” Hogarth said he’s excited for this piece since he’s also a trumpeter and has known Sachs for years.
“It is really special for someone of his caliber to be here,” Hogarth said.
An overture from Joseph Bologne, an 18th-century French violinist who was the first Black classical composer to gain widespread acclaim in European music, will also be performed.
“It is a really wonderful overture. We're committed to programming voices that have kind of been overlooked in time,” Hogarth said. “Joseph Bologna was a very successful Black French musician, composer and performer, and expert fencer. He's a fascinating historic figure.”
The second half will be the world premiere of an overture from the first Lingít language opera “Kutulagaaw: The Tlingit — Russian Battles.” The opera was commissioned by the Sealaska Heritage Institute and produced in partnership with Perseverance Theatre. Librettist Vera Starbard, composer Edward Littlefield, translator and language consultant X’unei Lance Twitchell, and orchestrator Rory Stitt are currently developing the piece.
“It’s this really cool project reclaiming this epic storytelling style,” Littlefield said. “Kaaháni Dr. Rosita Worl was talking about how the Lingít people did this hundreds, thousands of years ago, showcases in natural amphitheaters, and she wanted to try and bring that style back.”
The performance this weekend won’t feature singers, but will introduce the piece’s musical theme to the audience through a stand-alone overture.
“The idea with this overture is that you're going to hear a lot of the melodies and themes, and get sort of a sense for the drama, and the story that the opera will tell, which is the story of the Tlingít Russian battles of 1802 and 1804,” Hogarth said. “We're really looking forward to sort of bringing these communities together through the music of Ed Littlefield, and the orchestrator, Rory Stitt.”
Littlefield said he and Stitt took themes and feelings from the opera, and translated them into a more orchestral piece. Stitt expanded the original orchestration to be played by 60 musicians instead of the original eight, and Littlefield wrote new transitions to stitch the themes together.
“I like to think of it as connecting the voice within a certain instrument. So the alto flute is singing a really sad part and that's a really cool way to do that,” Littlefield said. “There's a Russian theme that comes in right at the beginning of the overture, so French horns and trombones, that's what we do.”
His favorite part of the overture is an aleatoric and extended technique section, where specific elements are left to performer choice or chance and unconventional methods of playing can be used.
“We take a little phrase and then the orchestra uses that phrase and plays it in different corners, different notes, and it's all based on their playing,” Littlefield said. “They can make it softer, louder, faster, slower, with accents, without accents. It's really fun to see that little work, especially come to life.”
Littlefield said he hopes the opera will uplift Indigenous voices, and serve as a connection between contemporary and traditional Lingít music.
“It's really awesome to have a creative team of people doing this to uplift the language, for one, to uplift the history of the Russian-Lingít battles, and to uplift contemporary Lingít music,” he said. “There's so many positives that are going to come out of this.”
The opera is set to make its official world premiere in early September.
Hogarth said the collaboration is one of his favorite parts of the weekend’s performance.
“I believe very strongly that orchestras should serve and reflect their communities,” he said. ”Partnerships like this are central to my programming and to sort of my concept of what it means to be an orchestra.”
“Energy and Elegance” is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé auditorium. Tickets are available on the Juneau Symphony’s website, and preconcert talks with music director Brad Hogarth will begin one hour before each performance.
“Even if it's raining outside, it'll be beautiful springtime in the concert hall,” Hogarth said.
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com.
