American Landscape Concert

Join us for the debut concert for our new music director, Daniel Brier who brings together a diversity of voices from North America including the USA and Mexico. This is the first concert of the 2023-24 season featuring the Junior Youth and Honors Orchestras.

American Landscapes

Junior Youth Orchestra

Concerto for Two Violins in C Major, Antonio Vivaldi

Down A Country lane, Aaron Copland

Slavonic Dance No. 8, Antonin Dvorak

Honors Orchestra

Outdoor Overture, Aaron Copland

Lightspeed, Kevin Day

Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed, Adolphus Hailstork

Danzon No. 2, Arturo Marquez

The concert at Sunset Center features the Junior Youth and Honors Orchestras and is the debut concert for our new music director, Daniel Brier.

The Vivaldi will feature multiple players on the solo parts in a composition that is based on his Mandolin Concerto RV 425, Movement 1. The Copland is a gorgeous work, evocative of a peaceful country setting. The Slavonic Dance by Dvorak closes the first half.

The Honors Orchestra of Youth Music Monterey is proud to present a recent composition as part of its participation in the California Festival of Music, Kevin Day’s Lightspeed, composed in 2019.  Rounding out the program is Adolphus Hailstork’s Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed (1979), Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copland, and Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Marquez. The concert is under the direction of our new music director, Daniel Brier.  The Concert brings together a diversity of voices from North America including the USA and Mexico.

The Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copland is an important work as it was written at the behest of Alexander Richter, head of the High School of Music and Art in New York City, for a very advanced high school orchestra and intended the work to be relevant to the youth in its day, “American Music for American Youth.” Copland wrote: “The extraordinary development in recent years of the school orchestra in our country, particularly in the public high schools, had convinced me that our composers could and should supply these enthusiastic young people with a music commensurate with their emotional and technical capabilities. It was clear, moreover, the composer would be building future audiences for his music.” The work is “optimistic” in tone and delightful to hear.

Adolphus Hailstork, composer of the Epitaph For a Man who Dreamed,”  has stated that his work “represents the graveside service of a great man. The mourners gather and sing a spiritual, the music gradually swelling as more people arrive and join in the singing. After reflecting on the hopes and dreams inspired by this leader, they lift their bowed heads and move to carry on the work he began.”

Lightspeed is by Kevin Day, a leading voice of today’s younger composers. Kevin Day’s music has been described as propulsive and colorful, with syncopated rhythms and instrumental virtuosity, ranging from  “powerful introspection to joyful exhuberance.” His compositional style has been characterized as intersecting “the worlds of jazz, minimalism, Latin music, fusion, and contemporary classical idioms.” Lightspeed is a fanfare for orchestra and employs mixed meters and jazzy and syncopated motives which lead to an exciting conclusion.

Danzon No. 2 is an extremely popular and contemporary work by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez. This work has been so popular that Mexico has dubbed it their 'second national anthem'. As well as being true to the dance form, Danzón No. 2 is also an important cultural statement. This work aims to accurately represent Márquez's country and its multi-cultural heritage.