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Friday, March 11, 2016, 8pmSaturday, March 12, 2016, 8pmSunday, March 13, 2016, 3pm

Zellerbach Hall

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Mark Morris Dance GroupChelsea Acree Sam Black Durell R. Comedy Rita Donahue

Domingo Estrada, Jr. Lesley Garrison Lauren Grant Brian LawsonAaron Loux Laurel Lynch Stacy Martorana Dallas McMurray

Brandon Randolph Nicole Sabella Billy SmithNoah Vinson Jenn Weddel Michelle Yard

Janelle Barry Patrick Coker Brandon CournayDerek Crescenti Amber Star Merkens Maile Okamura

Wendy Joy Reinert UtafumiTakemura Nicholas Wagner

Mark Morris, artistic director

Nancy Umanoff, executive director

with

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and ChoraleNicholas McGegan, music director

and

Sherezade Panthaki sopranoYulia Van Doren sopranoThomas Cooley tenor

Douglas Williams baritone

This performance is made possible, in part, by Patron Sponsors Patricia and Anthony Theophilos.

Cal Performances’ 2015–2016 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

PROGRAM

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Music George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Libretto Pastoral ode after poems by John Milton, rearranged by Charles Jennens

Conductor Nicholas McGegan

Choreography Mark Morris

Set Design Adrianne LobelCostume Design Christine Van LoonLighting Design James F. Ingalls

SOLOISTS

Sherezade Panthaki sopranoYulia Van Doren sopranoThomas Cooley tenor

Douglas Williams baritone

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale

DANCERSJanelle Barry*, Sam Black, Patrick Coker, Durell R. Comedy, Brandon Cournay,

Derek Crescenti*, Rita Donahue, Domingo Estrada, Jr., Lesley Garrison, Lauren Grant, Brian Lawson, Aaron Loux, Laurel Lynch, Stacy Martorana, Dallas McMurray, Amber Star Merkens, Maile Okamura, Brandon Randolph, Wendy Joy Reinert,

Nicole Sabella, Billy Smith, Utafumi Takemura, Noah Vinson, Nicholas Wagner, Jenn Weddel, Michelle Yard

*understudy

Premiere: November 23, 1988, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, Belgium

Overture: G.F. Handel, Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No. 1, A tempo giusto – Allegro

There will be one 20-minute intermission.

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LIBRETTO

PART THE FIRSTL’AllegroAccompagnatoHence, loathèd Melancholy,Of Cerberus, and blackest midnight bornIn Stygian Cave forlorn‘Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks,

and sights unholyFind out some uncouth cell,Where brooding Darkness spreads

her jealous wingsAnd the night-Raven sings;There under Ebon shades,

and low-brow’d rocks,As ragged as thy Locks,In dark Cimmerian desert, ever dwell.

Il PenserosoAccompagnatoHence, vain deluding Joys,Dwell in some idle brain,And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess,As thick and numberlessAs the gay motes that people the Sun Beams,Or likest hov’ring dreamsThe fickle Pensioners of Morpheus’ train.

L’AllegroAirCome, thou Goddess fair and free,In heav’n yclept Euphrosyne;And by men heart-easing Mirth,Whom lovely Venus, at a birth,With two sister-Graces more,To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore.

Il PenserosoAirCome rather, Goddess, sage and holy;Hail, divinest Melancholy,Whose saintly visage is too brightTo hit the sense of human sight;Thee bright-hair’d Vesta long of yore,To solitary Saturn bore.

L’AllegroAirHaste thee nymph, and bring with theeJest and youthful Jollity,Quips and cranks, and wanton wiles,Nods, and becks, and wreathèd smiles,Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek,And love to live in dimple sleek;Sport, that wrinkled Care derides,And Laughter, holding both his sides.

ChorusHaste thee nymph, and bring with theeJest, and youthful Jollity;Sport, that wrinkled Care derides,And Laughter, holding both his sides.

L’AllegroAirCome, and trip it as you go,On the light fantastic toe.

ChorusCome, and trip it as you go,On the light fantastic toe.

Il PenserosoAccompagnatoCome, pensive Nun, devout and pure,Sober, steadfast and demure;All in a robe of darkest grain,Flowing with majestic train.

AriosoCome, but keep thy wonted state,With even step, and musing gait;And looks commercing with the skies,Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes.

AccompagnatoThere held in holy passion still,Forget thyself to marble, tillWith a sad leaden downward castThou fix them on the earth as fast.

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il ModeratoPastoral ode after poems by John Milton (1608–1674)

Rearranged by Charles Jennens (1700–1773)

LIBRETTO

AriosoAnd join with thee calm Peace and Quiet,Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet,And hears the Muses in a ringRound about Jove’s altar sing.

ChorusJoin with thee calm Peace and Quiet,Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet.

L’AllegroRecitativeHence, loathèd Melancholy,In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwellBut hast thee, Mirth, and bring with theeThe mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.And if I give thee honour due,Mirth, admit me of thy crew.

AirMirth, admit me of thy crewTo live with her, and live with thee,In unreprovèd pleasures free;To hear the lark begin his flight,And singing startle the dull night;Then to come in spite of sorrow,And at my window bid good morrow.Mirth, admit me of thy crew.

Il PenserosoAccompagnatoFirst, and chief, on golden wing,The cherub Contemplation bring;And the mute Silence hist along,‘Less Philomel will deign a song,In her sweetest, saddest plight,Smoothing the rugged brow of Night.

AirSweet bird, that shun’st the noise of folly,Most musical, most melancholy!Thee, chantress, oft the woods among,I woo to hear thy evensong.Or, missing thee, I walk unseen,On the dry smooth-shaven green,To behold the wand’ring moonRiding near her highest noon.Sweet bird…

L’AllegroRecitativeIf I give thee honour due,Mirth, admit me of thy crew!

AirMirth, admit me of thy crew!To listen how the hounds and hornCheerly rouse the slumb’ring morn,From the side of some hoar hill,Through the high wood echoing shrill.

Il PenserosoAirOft, on a plat of rising ground,Hear the far-off Curfew sound,Over some wide-water’d shore,Swinging slow, with sullen roar;Of, if the air will not permit,Some still removèd place will fit,Where the glowing embers, through

the room,Teach light to counterfeit a gloom.

AirFar from all resort of Mirth,Save the cricket on the hearth,Or the bellman’s drowsy charm,To bless the doors from nightly harm.

L’AllegroRecitativeIf I give thee honour due,Mirth, admit me of thy crew!

AirLet me wander, not unseenBy the hedgerow elms, on hillocks green:There the ploughman, near at hand,Whistles over the furrow’d land,And the milkmaid singeth blithe,And the mower whets his scythe,And every shepherd tells his taleUnder the hawthorn in the dale.

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LIBRETTO

Il ModeratoAirEach action will derive new graceFrom order, measure, time and place;Till Life the goodly structure riseIn due proportion to the skies.

L’AllegroAccompagnatoMountains, on whose barren breastThe lab’ring clouds do often rest;Meadows trim with daisies pied,Shallow brooks, and rivers wideTow’rs and battlements it sees,Bosm’d high in tufted trees.

AirOr let the merry bells ring round,And the jocund rebeck soundTo many a youth, and many a maid,Dancing in the checquer’d shade.

ChorusAnd young and old come forth to playOn a sunshine holyday,Till the livelong daylight fail,Thus past the day, to bed they creep,By whisp’ring winds soon lull’d asleep.

PART THE SECOND

Il PenserosoAccompagnatoHence, vain deluding Joys,The brood of Folly without Father bred!How little you bested,Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys!Oh! Let my lamp, at midnight hour,Be seen in some high lonely tow’r,Where I may oft out-watch the BearWith thrice-great Hermes, or unsphereThe spirit of Plato to unfoldWhat worlds, or what vast regions holdTh’immortal mind that hath forsookHer mansion in this fleshly nook.

AirSometimes let gorgeous TragedyIn sceptred pall come sweeping by,Presenting Thebes, or Pelops’ line,Or the tale of Troy divine;Or what, though rare, of later ageEnnobled hath the buskin’d stage.

RecitativeThus, Night oft sees me in thy pale career,Till unwelcome Morn appear.

L’AllegroSoloPopulous cities please me then,And the busy hum of men.

ChorusPopulous cities please us then,And the busy hum of men.Where throngs of knights and barons Bold,In weeds of peace high triumphs hold;With stores of ladies, whose bright eyesRain influence, and judge the prizeOf wit, or arms, while both contendTo win her grace, whom all commend.Populous cities…

AirThere let Hymen oft appearIn saffron robe, with taper clear,And pomp, and feast, and revelry,With mask, and antique pageantry;Such sights as youthful poets dreamOn summer eves by haunted stream.

Il PenserosoAccompagnatoMe, when the sun begins to flingHis flaring beams, me goddess bringTo archèd walks of twilight groves,And shadows brown that Sylvan loves;There, in close covert, by some brook,Where no profaner eye may look.

AirHide me from day’s garish eye,While the bee with honey’d thigh,

LIBRETTO

Which at her flow’ry work doth sing,And the waters murmuring,With such consorts as they keepEntice the dewy-feather’d sleep;And let some strange mysterious dreamWave at his wings in airy streamOf lively portraiture display’d,Softly on my eyelids laid.Then as I wake, sweet music breathe,Above, about, or underneath,Sent by some spirit to mortals good,Or th’unseen genius of the wood.

L’AllegroAirI’ll to the well-trod stage anon,If Jonson’s learned sock be on;Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy’s child,Warble his native wood-notes wild.

AirAnd ever against eating cares,Lap me in soft Lydian airs;Sooth me with immortal verse,Such as the meeting soul may pierceIn notes, with many a winding boutOf linkèd sweetness long drawn out;With wanton heed, and giddy cunning,The melting voice through mazes running,Untwisting all the chains that tieThe hidden soul of harmony.

Il ModeratoDuetAs steals the morn upon the night,And melts the shades away:So truth does Fancy’s charm dissolve,And rising reason puts to flightThe fumes that did the mind involve,Restoring intellectual day.

Il PenserosoRecitativeBut let my due feet never failTo walk the studious cloisters’ pale,And love the high embowed roof,

With antique pillars’ massy proof,And story’d windows richly dight,Casting a dim religious light.

ChorusThere let the pealing organ blowTo the full voic’d choir below,In service high and anthem clear!And let their sweetness, through mine ear,Dissolve me into ecstasies,And bring all Heav’n before mine eyes!

AirMay at last my weary ageFind out the peaceful hermitage,The hairy gown, and mossy cellWhere I may sit and rightly spellOf ev’ry star that Heav’n doth shew,And ev’ry herb that sips the dew;Till old experience do attainTo something like prophetic strain.

SoloThese pleasures, Melancholy, give,And I with thee will choose to live.

ChorusThese pleasures, Melancholy, give,And we with thee will choose to live.

L’AllegroAirOrpheus’ self may heave his head,From golden slumbers on a bedOf heap’d Elysian flow’rs, and hearSuch strains as would have won the earOf Pluto, to have quite set freeHis half-regain’d Eurydice.

AirThese delights if thou canst give,Mirth, with thee I mean to live.

ChorusThese delights if thou canst give,Mirth, with thee we mean to live.

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ORCHESTRA ROSTER

PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRANicholas McGegan, music director

The Players and Their Instruments

Philharmonia’s musicians perform on historically accurate instruments. Below each player’sname is information about his or her instrument’s maker and origin.

VIOLINCarla Moore, concertmasterJohann Georg Thir, Vienna, 1754Egon & Joan von Kaschnitz Concertmaster Chair

Elizabeth BlumenstockAndrea Guarneri, Cremona, 1660;on loan from Philharmonia Baroque OrchestraPeriod Instrument TrustSusan B. Levy Chair

Jolianne von Einem †Rowland Ross, Guildford, England, 1979;after Antonio Stradivari, Cremona

Lisa GrodinPaulo Antonio Testore, Contrada, Larga di Milano, 1736

Katherine KymeCarlo Antonio Testore, Milan, 1720

Anthony MartinThomas Oliver Croen, Walnut Creek,California, 2005; after F. Gobetti, Venice, 1717

Tyler LewisAnonymous, Italy c. 1800

Maxine NemerovskiJoseph Gaffino, Paris, 1769

Sandra SchwarzRowland Ross, Portsmouth, England, 1987;after A. Stradivari

Noah StrickCelia Bridges, Cologne, 1988

Lisa WeissAnonymous, London; after Testore

Gabrielle WunschLorenzo Carcassi, Florence, 1765

VIOLAEllie Nishi*Anonymous, Germany, 18th Century

David Daniel BowesRichard Duke, London, c. 1780

Maria Ionia Caswell Anonymous, Mittenwald, c. 1800

Aaron WestmanFrancis Beaulieu, Montreal, 2012, after Bros. Amati, Cremona, c. 1620

VIOLONCELLOPaul Hale*Joseph Grubaugh & Sigrun Seifert, Petaluma, 1988; after A. Stradivari

Phoebe CarraiAnonymous, Italy, c. 1690Osher Cello Chair Endowment

Robert HowardAnonymous, Venice, 1750

William Skeen Anonymous, Northern Italy, c. 1680Zheng Cao Memorial Cello Chair

DOUBLE BASSKristin Zoernig*Joseph Wrent, Rotterdam, Holland, 1648

Timothy SpearsAnonymous, Germany

ORCHESTRA ROSTER

FLUTEStephen Schultz*Martin Wenner, Singen, Germany, 2012; after C. Palanca, c. 1750

OBOEMarc Schachman*H. A. Vas Dias, Decatur, Georgia, 2001; after T. Stanesby, England, c. 1710Principal Oboe Chair In Memory of ClareFrieman Kivelson and Irene Valente Angstadt

Lani SpahrHarry vas Dias, 2006; after Thomas Stanesby, London, c. 1720

BASSOONAndrew Schwartz*Guntram Wolf, Kronach, Germany, 2008

Kate van OrdenPeter de Koningh, Hall, Holland, 1978; after Prudent, c. 1760

HORNR. J. Kelley*Richard Seraphinoff, Bloomington, Indiana,2006; after J. C. Hofmaster, London, c. 1740

TRUMPETJohn Thiessen*Rainer Egger, Basel, Switzerland, 2003; after Johann Leonhard Ehe III, Nuremberg, 1746

Fred HolmgrenFred Holmgren, Massachusetts, 2005; after J. L. Ehe III

TIMPANI

Kent Reed*Pete Woods, Aldershot, England, 1996; after 18th-century continental, hand tuned

HARPSICHORD

Hanneke van Proosdij*John Phillips, Berkeley, 1986; after Albert Delin, Tournai, 1768; generously lent by Nicholas McGegan

ORGAN

Hanneke van ProosdijGerrit C. Klop, Holland, 1990; generously lent by the UC Berkeley Music Department

KEYBOARD GLOCKENSPIEL

Hanneke van ProosdijYamaha, Japan

* Principal† Principal Second Violin

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CHORALE ROSTER

SOPRANOTonia d’AmelioAngela Arnold

Jennifer AshworthBarbara RowlandHelene ZindersianAngelique Zuluaga

ALTODaniel CromeenesKatherine McKee

Laurel Cameron PorterHeidi Waterman

Jacque WilsonCeleste Winant

TENORKevin GibbsCorey Head

Jimmy KansauDavid Kurtenbach

Mark MuellerJonathan Smucker

BASSPaul Boyce

Jeffrey FieldsTom Hart

James MoniosChad Runyon

Ian Walker

PHILHARMONIA CHORALE

Bruce Lamott, director

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Mark Morris was bornon August 29, 1956, inSeattle, Washington,where he studied withVerla Flowers andPerry Brunson. In theearly years of his career, he performedwith the companies of

Lar Lubovitch, Hannah Kahn, Laura Dean,Eliot Feld, and the Koleda Balkan DanceEnsemble. He formed the Mark Morris DanceGroup (MMDG) in 1980, and has since createdclose to 150 works for the company. From 1988to 1991, he was director of dance at Brussels’Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the nationalopera house of Belgium. In 1990, he foundedthe White Oak Dance Project with MikhailBaryshnikov.

Much in demand as a ballet choreographer,Morris has created 20 ballets since 1986 and hiswork has been performed by companies world-wide, including San Francisco Ballet, AmericanBallet Theatre, Ballet du Grand Théâtre deGenève, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.Noted for his musicality, Morris  has been described as “undeviating in his devotion tomusic” (The New Yorker). He began conductingperformances for MMDG in 2006 and has sinceconducted at the International Festival of Artsand Ideas, Lincoln Center, and BAM (BrooklynAcademy of Music). He also served as music di-rector for the 2013 Ojai Music Festival. Morrisworks extensively in opera, directing and chore-ographing productions for the MetropolitanOpera, New York City Opera, English NationalOpera, and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden,among others.

Morris was named a fellow of the Mac -Arthur Foundation in 1991 and has received 12honorary doctorates to date. He has taught atthe University of Washington, Princeton Uni -versity, and Tanglewood Music Center. He is amember of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American PhilosophicalSociety, and has served as an advisory boardmember for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé ArtsInitiative. Morris has received the Samuel H.

Scripps/American Dance Festival Award forLifetime Achievement (2007), the LeonardBern stein Lifetime Achievement Award for theElevation of Music in Society (2010), the Ben -jamin Franklin Laureate Prize for Creativity(2012), the Cal Performances Award ofDistinction in the Performing Arts (2013), andthe Orchestra of St. Luke’s Gift of Music Award(2014). In 2015, Mark Morris was inducted intothe Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Van derbilt Whit -ney Hall of Fame at the National Museum ofDance in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Morris opened the Mark Morris DanceCenter in Brooklyn, New York, in 2001 to pro-vide a home for his company, rehearsal spacefor the dance community, outreach programsfor children and seniors, and a school offeringdance classes to students of all ages and abilities.

The Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) wasformed in 1980 and gave its first performancethat year in New York City. The company’stouring schedule steadily expanded to includecities in the United States and around theworld, and in 1986 it made its first national television program for the PBS series Dance inAmerica. In 1988, MMDG was invited to be-come the national dance company of Belgium,where it spent three years in residence at theThéâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. TheDance Group returned to the United States in1991 as one of the world’s leading dance com-panies. Based in Brooklyn, New York, MMDGmaintains strong ties to presenters in severalcities around the world, most notably to itsWest Coast home, Cal Performances, and itsMidwest home, the Krannert Center for thePerforming Arts at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign. MMDG also appears reg-ularly in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Fairfax.The company made its debut at the MostlyMozart Festival in 2002 and at the TanglewoodMusic Festival in 2003 and has since been in-vited to both festivals annually.

From the company’s many London seasons,it has received two Laurence Olivier Awardsand a Critics’ Circle Dance Award for BestForeign Dance Company. Reflecting Morris’

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

commitment to live music, the Dance Grouphas featured live musicians in every perform-ance since the formation of the MMDG MusicEnsemble in 1996. MMDG regularly collabo-rates with renowned musicians, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and jazz trio TheBad Plus, as well as leading orchestras andopera companies, including the MetropolitanOpera, English National Opera, and the LondonSymphony Orchestra. MMDG frequently workswith distinguished artists and designers, includ-ing painters Howard Hodgkin and RobertBordo, set designers Adrianne Lobel and AllenMoyer, costume designers Martin Pakledinazand Isaac Mizrahi, and many others.

MMDG’s film and television projects in-clude Dido and Aeneas, The Hard Nut, FallingDown Stairs, two documentaries for the UK’s South Bank Show, and PBS’ Live FromLincoln Center. In 2015, Morris’ signaturework, L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, had its national television premiere on PBS’Great Performances. While on tour, the DanceGroup partners with local cultural institutionsand community organizations to presentAccess/MMDG, a program of arts and humanities-based activities for people of allages and abilities.

Cal Performances and MMDG’s relationshipover the last 29 years has played a major part infulfilling Cal Performances’ commitment tobring important dance works on a grand scaleto Zellerbach Hall. MMDG first performedtwo mixed repertory programs at ZellerbachHall in 1987. Since then, Cal Performances haspresented more than 200 MMDG perform-ances in Zellerbach Hall, including regular performances of the holiday classic The HardNut, and nearly 60 different works by MarkMorris, including many premieres and com-missions.

Lauded by The New York Times as “America’sleading period instrument ensemble” and cele-brating its 35th season, Philharmonia BaroqueOrchestra (PBO) has been dedicated to au-thentic performances of Baroque, Classical andearly Romantic music on original instrumentssince its inceptions in 1981. Under the leader-ship of music director Nicholas McGegan,Philharmonia was named Ensemble of the Yearby Musical America in 2004.

The orchestra performs an annual subscrip-tion season in the San Francisco Bay Area andis heard regularly on tour in the United Statesand around the world. PBO has its own profes-sional chorus, the Philharmonia Chorale, underthe leadership of Bruce Lamott. It welcomeseminent guest artists including mezzo-sopranoSusan Graham, countertenor David Daniels,fortepianist Emanuel Ax, violinist RachelPodger, and guest conductors including JordiSavall, Masaaki Suzuki, and Trevor Pinnock.

Philharmonia’s recent US tour appearancesinclude Lincoln Center’s Mostly MozartFestival, the Tanglewood Festival, the RaviniaFestival, the Great Performers series at LincolnCenter, the International Chamber OrchestraFestival in Minnesota, Carnegie Hall in NewYork, the Festival del Sole in California’s NapaValley, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in LosAngeles. Internationally, PBO has performedat the BBC Proms in London, Snape Maltings,and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Phil -harmonia appeared as the featured orchestra atthe International Handel Festival in Gottingen,Germany, in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

PBO has had numerous successful collabo-rations with celebrated composers and chore-ographers. In November 2006, to mark its 25thseason and the 20th anniversary of NicholasMcGegan’s tenure as music director, Phil har -monia premiered its first commissioned work, aone-act opera by Jake Heggie with a libretto byGene Scheer entitled To Hell and Back.

In collaboration with the Mark MorrisDance Group, Philharmonia gave the US pre-mieres of the highly acclaimed productions ofHandel’s Acis and Galatea, Purcell’s KingArthur, and Rameau’s ballet-opera Platée.Philharmonia has also collaborated with manyBay Area performing arts groups, includingAlonzo King’s LINES Ballet, American Con -servatory Theater, San Francisco Girls Chorus,and Chanticleer.

In 2011 Philharmonia launched its ownrecording label, Philharmonia Baroque Pro -ductions. Its first release was an archival per-formance of mezzo-soprano Lorraine HuntLieberson singing Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été andHandel arias. Subsequently, its recording ofHaydn symphonies was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Orchestral Perfor -mance. Recent releases include highlights fromHandel’s Teseo and three Haydn symphonies,Nos. 57, 67, and 68.

Prior to the launch of Philharmonia BaroqueProductions, the orchestra made 32 highlypraised recordings for harmonia mundi, Refer -ence Recordings, and BMG. Its recording of theHandel oratorio Susanna received a Grammynomination and a 1991 Gramophone Award forBest Baroque Vocal Recording.

Classical KDFC continues to broadcast unreleased Philharmonia concert recordingsthe second Sunday of every month from 8-9pm. KDFC is the radio home of PBO.Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra was foundedby harpsi chordist and early music pioneerLaurette Goldberg.

Nicholas Mc Gegan (con-ductor) has long beenhailed as “one of thefinest Baroque conduc-tors of his generation” (TheIndependent) and “an expert in 18th-centurystyle” (The New Yorker);and he is recognized in-

ter nationally for his passionate, probing, andrevelatory explorations of music of all periods.2015 marked his 30th year as music director ofPhilharmonia Baroque Orchestra and he con-tinues as principal guest conductor of thePasadena Symphony and artist-in-associationwith Australia’s Adelaide Symphony.

As he embarks on his fourth decade on thepodium, McGegan’s current season features ap-pearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic(with which he has appeared annually for nearly20 years); the St. Louis, BBC Scottish, RTÉNational, and New Zealand symphonies; theCleveland Orchestra/Blossom Music Festival;and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Cara moor.Under McGegan this season, PBO performsScarlatti’s La gloria di primavera at Carnegie Halland throughout California’s Orange County.

Nicholas McGegan has also been a regularvisitor to The Juilliard School for many years.In his typical style, he works with both theJuilliard Orchestra (modern ensemble) andJuilliard415, which he conducted for the firsttime in 2010, just one year after the programwas established. He has visited Juilliard almostannually since, either to teach or perform. In2015, McGegan led the Juilliard415 ensemble in its debut performance in California, with aspecial side-by-side performance with Phil -harmonia Baroque Orchestra.

English-born, McGegan was educated atCambridge and Oxford. He was made anOfficer of the Most Excellent Order of theBritish Empire (OBE) “for services to musicoverseas.” Other awards include the HalleHandel Prize; the Order of Merit of the State ofLower Saxony (Germany); the Medal of Honorof the City of Göttingen; and a declaration ofNicholas McGegan Day by the Mayor of San

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Francisco in recognition of his work withPhilharmonia Baroque. In 2013, the SanFrancisco Conservatory of Music awarded himan honorary degree of Doctor of Music. For more information, please visit www.nicholas -mc gegan.com.

Critically acclaimed for its brilliant sound, ro-bust energy, and sensitive delivery of the text,the Philharmonia Chorale was formed in 1995to provide a vocal complement whose fluencyin the stylistic language of the Baroque periodmatched that of Philharmonia BaroqueOrchestra. The 24 members of the ensembleare professional singers with distinguished soloand ensemble experience. Chorale membersappear regularly with organizations such as theSan Francisco Symphony, Carmel Bach Fest -ival, and American Bach Soloists, and are guest soloists with most of the area’s sym-phonic and choral organizations. They appearin roles with regional opera companies andhave been members and founders of some ofthe country’s premiere vocal ensembles, in-cluding Chanticleer, the Dale Warland Singers,and Theatre of Voices.

Founded by John Butt, a Baroque key-boardist and one of the world’s leading Bachscholars, Philharmonia Chorale has been ledby conductor and musicologist Bruce Lamottsince 1997. In its first decade, the group’s reper-toire included nine Handel oratorios, Bach’s St. John Passion and Christmas Oratorio,Mozart’s Mass in C minor, and—in collabora-tion with other choral ensembles—Beethoven’sSymphony No. 9. The group made its NewYork debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

in 1997, and has appeared with PhilharmoniaBaroque Orchestra at Walt Disney ConcertHall in Los Angeles, at New York City’s LincolnCenter, and at the Renée and Henry Seger -strom Concert Hall in Orange County. Phil -har monia Chorale appears on the orchestra’srecordings of Arne’s Alfred, Scarlatti’s CecilianVespers, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Bruce Lamott has beendirector of Phil harmoniaChorale for more than adecade. He first per-formed with PBO in1989 as continuo harpsi-chordist for Handel’sGiustino. Lamott waspreviously the director of

choruses and conductor of the MissionCandlelight Concerts at the Carmel BachFestival, where his 30-year tenure also includedperforming as a harpsichordist and presentingas a lecturer and education director. In eightseasons as choral director and assistant con-ductor of the Sacramento Symphony, he con-ducted annual choral concerts of major works,including both Bach Passion settings andHaydn’s The Seasons, as well as preparing thechorus for most of the standard symphonicchoral repertoire.

Lamott received a bachelor’s degree fromLewis and Clark College, and a master’s andPhD in musicology from Stanford University,where he researched the keyboard improvisa-tion practices of the Baroque period. He joinedthe musicology faculty at UC Davis, where he directed the Early Music Ensemble. He cur-rently resides in San Francisco, where heteaches choral music and music history at San Francisco University High School and is apart-time professor of music history at the SanFrancisco Conservatory of Music. Among hisother music-related activities, Lamott teachescontinuo realization in the Merola Program ofthe San Francisco Opera and lectures for theSan Francisco Opera Guild.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

James F. Ingalls (lighting designer) has designedseveral pieces for Mark Morris, including Orfeoed Euridice (Metropolitan Opera); King Arthur(English National Opera); Sylvia, SandpaperBallet, Maelstrom, and Pacific (San FranciscoBallet);  Platée (Royal Opera House, CoventGarden, and New York City Opera); MozartDances, Romeo and Juliet: On Motifs of Shakes -peare, L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato,Dido and Aeneas, and The Hard Nut (MMDG).His work includes The Master Builder, directedby Andrei Belgrader, Split Sides with Radioheadand Sigur Ros (Merce Cunningham DanceCompany), and John Adams’ El Niño, TheDeath of Klinghoffer, and Nixon in China, all directed by Peter Sellars. Recent designs for dance include The Nutcracker (PacificNorthwest Ballet/Seattle); Twyla Tharp’s 50thanniversary tour (US and New York StateTheater); The Sleeping Beauty, choreographedby Alexi Ratmansky (Teatro alla Scala Balletand ABT); Celts, choreographed by Lila York(Boston Ballet); and Sea Lark and Death and the Maiden (Paul Taylor Dance Company).Recent theater work includes Desdemona, di-rected by Peter Sellars (UCLA/CAP, Melbourne,and Sydney festivals); and Druid Shakespeare,directed by Garry Hynes (Galway, Irish tour,and Lincoln Center Festival). He often collabo-rates with Melanie Rios Glaser and the WoodenFloor dancers in Santa Ana, California.

Adrianne Lobel (scenic designer) began work-ing with Mark Morris in 1986 on Nixon inChina. In addition to L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed ilModerato, she has since designed The Hard Nut, The Marriage of Figaro, Orfeo ed Euridice,Platée, King Arthur, and Acis and Galatea. As astage designer she has worked in opera, dance,on- and off- Broadway, in regional theater inAmerica, and in Europe for more than 30 years.Some highlights (other than working withMorris) include An American Tragedy at theMet, The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne, Passionand A Year with Frog and Toad on Broadway,and Così fan tutte and The Marriage of Figaro,directed by Peter Sellars, at Pepsico Summer -fare. She has been nominated for many awards

and has won the Obie, the Lucille Lortel, theJefferson, and Long Wharf ’s prestigiousMurphy awards. Lobel recently had a show ofpaintings at the Bowery Gallery in Chelsea.Both her theater and her painting work can beviewed at www.adriannelobel.com.

Christine van Loon (costume designer) was bornin Hoeilaart, Belgium, and has studied commer-cial art, costume, and set design. At the ThéâtreRoyal de la Monnaie in Brussels, she worked inboth the set and costume departments and withMaurice Béjart’s Ballet of the 20th Century. VanLoon has designed costumes for several MarkMorris productions in addition to L’Allegro, ilPenseroso ed il Moderato, including Dido andAeneas, Behemoth, and Going Away Party.

Sherezade Panthaki’s(soprano) internationalsuccess has been fueledby superbly honed musi-cianship; “shimmeringsensitivity” (ClevelandPlain Dealer); a “radiant”voice (The Wash ingtonPost); and vividly pas-

sionate interpretations, “mining deep emotionfrom the subtle shaping of the lines” (The NewYork Times). An acknowledged star in the earlymusic field, Panthaki enjoys ongoing collabo-rations with leading early music interpreters in-cluding Nicholas McGegan, Simon Carrington,John Scott, Matthew Halls, and MasaakiSuzuki, with whom she made her New YorkPhilharmonic debut. Highlights of her past andcurrent seasons include Messiah with BachCollegium Japan, the National SymphonyOrchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and theNashville and San Antonio symphonies; Saulwith the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra;Belinda in Dido and Aeneas and Galatea in Acisand Galatea with the Mark Morris DanceGroup; Solomon with the Radio KamerFilharmonie; Handel at Carnegie Hall withWilliam Christie; Christmas Oratorio with theOrchestra of St. Luke’s; Mozart’s Exsultate jubi-late and Requiem, with the Washington Bach

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Consort; and St. John Passion, St. MatthewPassion, and the Brahms Requiem with St.Thomas Fifth Avenue. Panthaki’s repertoire ex-tends well beyond the music of the Renaissanceand Baroque to Orff ’s Carmina Burana withthe Houston Symphony, Rachmaninoff ’sVocalise and Strauss Lieder at the BariInternational Music Festival, Britten’s WarRequiem with the Louisville Choral ArtsSociety, as well as solos in Stravinsky’s LesNoces and Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Gloria.Panthaki holds an artist diploma from the YaleSchool of Music.

Yulia Van Doren (so-prano) was recognized by Opera magazine as a“star-to-be” following herLincoln Center debut,and the young Russian-American’s first appear-ance with the TorontoSymphony Orch es tra was

acclaimed as a “revelation… a ravishing lyricvoice and an ease with vocal ornamentation that turned her into an enchanted songbird”(Toronto Star). For her last-minute step-in withthe Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland PlainDealer praised Van Doren as an artist of “melt-ing poignancy” and added, “to Van Doren, onecould easily have listened for hours.” A dedi-cated interpreter of repertoire off the beatenpath, her career highlights include creating thelead female role in the world premiere ofShostakovich’s Orango with the Los AngelesPhilharmonic, directed by Peter Sellars and released on Deutsche Grammophon; twoGrammy-nominated opera recordings with theBoston Early Music Festival; the modern revivalof Monsigny’s opera Le roi et le fermier at Operade Versailles, Lincoln Center, and the KennedyCenter (recorded for Naxos); and a tour ofHandel’s Orlando with Philharmonia BaroqueOrchestra to the Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, andTanglewood festivals. Highlights of Van Doren’scurrent season include appearances with theCincinnati and Baltimore symphony orches-

tras, the Cleveland Orchestra, and tours withMark Morris Dance Group including perform-ances of Handel’s Acis and Galatea and L’Allegro,il Penseroso ed il Moderato under conductorNicholas McGegan.

Thomas Cooley (tenor)has established a reputa-tion on both sides of theAtlantic—and beyond—as a singer of great ver-satility, expressiveness,and virtuosity. Recentand upcoming appear-ances of note include

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Balti -more Symphony Orchestra and the MilwaukeeSymphony; Britten’s War Requiem with theIndianapolis, Atlanta, and Oregon symphonies;Handel’s Messiah with the Oregon, Houston,and Charlotte symphonies as well as theCalgary Philharmonic and National SymphonyOrchestra; Peter Quint in Britten’s Turn of theScrew with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra;Bob Boles in Britten’s Peter Grimes with the St. Louis Symphony in Carnegie Hall; the titlerole in Handel’s Samson with the AmericanClassical Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall(Nicholas McGegan conducting); the worldpremiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ CreationOratorio with the Atlanta Symphony; Tristanin Frank Martin’s Le vin herbé with BergenNational Opera; Crown Prince in Kevin Puts’Silent Night with Cincinnati Opera; Acis in anew production of Handel’s Acis and Galateaand L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato withthe Mark Morris Dance Group; Bach’s St.Matthew Passion with the Seattle Symphonyand the St. John Passion with Pacific Music -works and the Pittsburgh Symphony; and performances at the Oregon and CarmelBach festivals. As artist-in-residence withChicago’s Music of the Baroque, Cooley alsoperforms Monte verdi’s Vespers, Handel’sJudas Macca baeus, and a program of BachCantatas this season.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Douglas Williams (bass-baritone) combines a“formidable stage pres-ence” (Seattle Times)with “a bass voice ofsplendid solidity” (MusicWeb International), mak-ing him one of the mostappealing singing actors

of his generation. He has collaborated withleading conductors including Nicholas Mc -Gegan, Helmut Rilling, Sir Neville Marriner,John Nelson, and Christoph Rousset, in suchprestigious venues as Lincoln Center, theKennedy Center, Stuttgart’s Mozart-Saal, andthe Frankfurt Alte Oper. Williams was highlyacclaimed as Polyphemus in the world pre-miere Mark Morris Dance Group productionof Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and he performsthe role this fall with Boston Early MusicFestival. A recording with the group will be re-leased in 2015. Other recent appearances in-clude Laurence in Grétry’s Le Magnifique withOpera Lafayette (recorded for Naxos) andAeneas in Dido and Aeneas with the BostonEarly Music Festival. His recording of Char -pentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers withBEMF won the 2015 Grammy Award for BestOpera Recording. Williams’ “superb sense ofdrama” (The New York Times) is as apparent onthe concert stage as it is in opera. Concert high-lights include a performance at Carnegie Hallwith James Levine and the MET ChamberEnsemble of Charles Wuorinen’s It HappensLike This; Handel’s Messiah with the symphonyorchestras of Detroit and Houston; Beethoven’sMissa Solemnis with the Cathedral ChoralSociety; Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with NewHaven Symphony; and Bach’s St. John Passionwith Les Talens Lyriques. His 2015-2016 sea-son features performances and a new record-ing of Scarlatti’s La Gloria di primavera withconductor Nicholas McGegan and Philhar -monia Baroque Orchestra and a reprisal of hisrole of Caronte in Monteverdi’s Orfeo with thedance company Sasha Waltz & Guests inBerlin, Bergen, and Baden-Baden, and OperaLille in France.

THE DANCE GROUP

Matthew Rose (rehearsaldirector) began his dancetraining in Midland,Michigan, with Linda Z.Smith at the age of 17.After receiving his BFAin dance from the Uni -versity of Michigan in1992, he moved to New

York City. He was a soloist with the MarthaGraham Dance Company from 1993-1996, andin 1997 began working with MMDG. After sev-eral years of performing full-time with theDance Group, he began assisting Morris withthe creation of new works. He has been thecompany’s rehearsal director since 2006.

Colin Fowler (music di-rector, piano) began hismusical study at the ageof five in Kansas Cityand went on to study at the prestigious Inter -lochen Arts Academy.He continued his educa-tion at e Juilliard

School, where he received his bachelor’s degreein music in 2003 and his master’s in 2005.While at Juilliard, he studied piano with AbbeySimon, organ with Gerre Hancock and PaulJacobs, harpsichord with Lionel Party, and conducting with James dePriest and JudithClurman. A versatile musician and conductor,Fowler works in many areas of the music scenein New York City. He is a veteran of numerousBroadway shows, most recently performing inthe Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys.A seasoned church musician, Fowler is cur-rently the organist at Marble Collegiate Churchon Fih Avenue and also leads services andconcerts at Park Avenue Synagogue, where hehas served as music director since 2012. As aclassical soloist and collaborative artist, he hasperformed and recorded with many world-renowned musicians and ensembles, includingDeborah Voigt and the Los Angeles Phil -

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harmonic. He began to collaborate with theMark Morris Dance Group in 2005 and hassince then performed over 40 pieces with thecompany on almost every keyboard instrumentpossible, including the harmonium and toypiano. He has also conducted performances ofMozart Dances, Acis and Galatea, and e HardNut. Hailed by e New York Times as “invalu-able” and “central to Morris' music,” he was ap-pointed music director in 2013.

Chelsea Acree grew up in Baltimore, Maryland,where she began herdance training withSharon Lerner, then con-tinued at Carver Centerfor the Arts and Tech -nology. Since receivingher BFA in dance from

Purchase College in 2005, she has had the op-portunity to work with a variety of artists, in-cluding SYREN Modern Dance, Laura Peterson,Hilary Easton + Company, and Michael and theGo-Getters. Acree is on the faculty at The Schoolat the Mark Morris Dance Center, where sheteaches children and adults how to movethrough space. She began working with MMDGin 2007 and joined the company in 2011.

Janelle Barry is fromOrange County, Cali -fornia, and earned herBFA in dance perform-ance from ChapmanUni versity. Since movingto New York, she has performed with the Met -ro politan Opera, Esse

Aficio nado, I KADA Contemporary DanceCompany, and the Czech-American MarionetteTheatre. Barry currently teaches dance to all agesat the Mark Morris Dance Center as well as forthe Dance for PD® program. She first performedwith MMDG in The Hard Nut in 2015. She isgrateful to her family, friends, and teachers fortheir love and support.

Sam Black is originallyfrom Berkeley, where hebegan studying tap at theage of nine with KatieMaltsberger. He receivedhis BFA in dance fromSUNY Purchase, andcurrently teaches MMDGmaster classes and Dance

for PD®. He first appeared with MMDG in 2005and became a company member in 2007.

Patrick Coker grew up inChester, Virginia. Mostrecently, he apprenticedwith Cedar Lake Con -temporary Ballet. In May 2014, he graduatedmagna cum laude fromthe Ailey/Fordham BFAprogram. Prior to mov-

ing to New York, he received his training fromthe Eastern Virginia School of the PerformingArts, Richmond Ballet, and Jessica Morgan’sSchool of Dance. From 2008 to 2010, he wasawarded American Ballet Theater’s NationalTrainee Scholarship.  Coker has attended inten-sives at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet,Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Jacob’sPillow. He has danced works by Alvin Ailey,Judith Jamison, Matthew Rushing, Hope Boy -kin, Earl Mosley, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, OhadNaharin, and Hofesh Shechter.

Durell R. Comedy, a native of Prince GeorgesCounty, Maryland, begandancing at the age of sixwith Spirit Wings DanceCompany. He graduatedfrom the Visual andPerforming Arts pro-gram of Suitland High

School in 2004, and magna cum laude fromGeorge Mason University, receiving his BFA indance performance in 2008. Since then, he hasworked and performed with the MetropolitanOpera, Troy Powell, and Kyle Abraham, amongothers. Comedy was a member of the José

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Limón Dance Company from 2009-2015, per-forming principal and soloist roles. He has alsoappeared as a soloist in the Baltimore Opera’sAida, and worked with Washington NationalOpera from 2013-2014 as a principal dancer anddance captain. He was a fellowship student at theAiley School and a 2014 adjunct faculty mem-ber at George Mason University’s School ofDance. Comedy began his apprenticeship withMMDG in November 2015.

Brandon Cournay isoriginally from Detroit,Michigan, and receivedhis BFA from eJuilliard School. He hasperformed with the MarkMorris Dance Group,Morphoses, CompanyXIV, New York eatre

Ballet, Dance Heiginbotham, e MetropolitanOpera Ballet, and in the Radio City ChristmasSpectacular. Film/TV credits: Musical Chairs(HBO); commercials for Puma, Sesame Street,and Target; and PBS’ Great Performances:L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato withMMDG. He has been an associate choreographerfor numerous creations in both concert danceand musical theater. Brandon is currently the rehearsal director and company manager ofKeigwin + Company.

Rita Donahue was bornand raised in Fairfax,Virginia, and attendedGeorge Mason Univer -sity. She graduated magnacum laude in 2002, receiv-ing a BA in English and aBFA in dance. Donahuehas danced with bopi’s

black sheep/dances by kraigpatterson. She joinedMMDG in 2003.

Domingo Estrada, Jr., anative of Victoria, Texas,studied martial arts andearned his black belt in1994. He danced balletfolklorico through hischurch for 11 years.Estrada earned his BFA inballet and modern dance

from Texas Christian University and had thehonor of working with the late FernandoBujones. During his undergraduate studies, heattended the American Dance Festival where hehad the privilege of performing Skylight, a classicwork by choreographer Laura Dean. He debutedwith MMDG in 2007 and became a companymember in 2009. Estrada would like to thankGod, his family, and all who support his passion.

Lesley Garrison grew upin Swansea, Illinois, andreceived her early dancetraining at the Center ofCreative Arts in St. Louis,Missouri, and InterlochenArts Academy in Interl -ochen, Michigan. Shestudied at the Rotter -

damse Dansacademie in the Netherlands andholds a BFA from Purchase College. Garrisonfirst performed with MMDG in 2007 and be-came a company member in 2011. She teaches atThe School at the Mark Morris Dance Centerand for the Dance for PD® program.

Lauren Granthas dancedwith MMDG since 1996,appearing in nearly 60 ofMark Morris’ works. Sheis on the faculty at TheSchool at the MarkMorris Dance Center,leads master classesaround the globe, sets

Morris’ work at universities, and frequently leadsclasses for the company. Grant received a 2015New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”)Award for her sustained achievement in per-

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formance with Mark Morris and in recognitionof her “invigorating spontaneity, expansivephrasing, and robust musicality.” Grant has beenfeatured in Time Out New York, Dance Magazine;and the book Meet the Dancers; appeared in PBS’Great Performances, Live From Lincoln Centerand ITV’s The South Bank Show; and was a subject for the photographer Annie Leibovitz.Before joining MMDG, Grant moved to NewYork City from her hometown of Highland Park,Illinois, and earned a BFA from NYU’s TischSchool of the Arts. She and her husband DavidLeventhal (former MMDG dancer and currentDance for PD® program director) are proud par-ents of son Zev, born March 2012.

Brian Lawson began hisdance training in Torontoat Canadian Children’sDance Theatre. There heworked with choreogra-phers such as DavidEarle, Carol Anderson,and Michael Trent. Law -son spent a year studying

at the Rotterdamse Dansacademie in theNetherlands and graduated summa cum laude in2010 from Purchase College, where he was alsogranted the President’s Award for his contribu-tions to the dance program. Lawson has had thepleasure of performing with Pam TanowitzDance, Dance Heginbotham, and Nelly vanBommel’s NØA Dance, among others. He joinedMMDG as an apprentice in 2011 and became acompany member in 2013.

Aaron Loux grew up inSeattle, Washington, andbegan dancing at theCreative Dance Centerwith Kaleido scope, ayouth modern dancecompany. He began hisclassical training at theCornish College Prepara -

tory Dance Program and received his BFA fromThe Juilliard School in 2009. He danced at theMetropolitan Opera and with Arc DanceCompany before joining MMDG in 2010.

Laurel Lynch began herdance training at Peta -luma School of Ballet inCalifornia. She moved toNew York to attend TheJuilliard School, whereshe performed works byRobert Battle, MargieGillis, José Limón, and

Ohad Naharin. After graduation, Lynch dancedfor Dušan Týnek Dance Theatre, Sue BernhardDanceworks, and Pat Catterson. Lynch joinedMMDG as an apprentice in 2006 and became acompany member in 2007. Many thanks to Geneand Becky.

Stacy Martorana beganher dance training inBaltimore, Maryland, atthe Peabody Conserva -tory. In 2006, she gradu-ated from the Universityof North Carolina Schoolof the Arts with a BFA incontemporary dance. She

has danced with the Amy Marshall DanceCompany, the Neta Dance Company, HelenSimoneau Danse, Kazuko Hirabayashi DanceTheater, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company,and Rashaun Mitchell. From 2009-2011 she wasa member of the Repertory Understudy Groupfor the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.She joined MMDG in 2012.

Dallas McMurray, fromEl Cerrito, California,began dancing at age 4,studying jazz, tap, and acrobatics with KatieMaltsberger and balletwith Yukiko Sakakura.He received a BFA indance from the Cali -

fornia Institute of the Arts. McMurray per-formed with the Limón Dance Company inaddition to works by Jiří Kylián, Alonzo King,Robert Moses, and Colin Connor. He performedwith MMDG as an apprentice in 2006 and be-came a company member in 2007.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Amber Star Merkens,originally from Newport,Oregon, began her dancetraining with NancyMittleman. She receivedher BFA from eJuilliard School anddanced with the LimónDance Company before

receiving the Princess Grace Award and joiningMMDG in 2001. During her many years danc-ing with MMDG, she performed in featured andsoloist roles, including Dido/e Sorceress inDido and Aeneas. She has presented her ownchoreography both in New York and abroad,taught dance at the Mark Morris Dance Center,and worked as a freelance photographer forMMDG, the Silk Road Project, and BrooklynRider, among others. Aer the birth of her sec-ond child in 2013, Merkens transitioned into an-other passion, one of supporting new parents,and founded Mother to Mother Postpartum,LLC. She is now thrilled to be dancing again withMMDG as a guest artist. Merkens would like tothank her family for their continuous support.

Maile Okamura studiedprimarily with LyndaYourth at the AmericanBallet School in SanDiego, California. Shewas a member of BostonBallet II and Ballet Ari -zona before moving toNew York to study mod-

ern dance. Okamura has been dancing withMMDG since 1998. She has also had the pleasureof working with choreographers Neta Pulver -macher, Zvi Gotheiner, Gerald Casel, and JohnHeginbotham, with whom she frequently collab-orates as dancer and costume designer. Maile andher husband, Colin Jacobsen, are the proud par-ents of Mimi Hanako, born in 2015.

Brandon Randolph be -gan his training with theSchool of Carolina BalletTheater in Greenville,South Caro lina, under thedirection of Hernan Justo.At age 14, he was acceptedinto the South CarolinaGovernor’s School for the

Arts and Humanities, where he studied withStanislav Issaev and Bobby Barnett. Randolph re-ceived his BFA in dance from Purchase Collegein 2012. There, he had the opportunity to per-form with Dance Heginbotham as well as reper-tory by Stephen Petronio, Lar Lubovitch, PaulTaylor, and George Balanchine. Randolph beganworking with MMDG in 2013 and became acompany member in 2014.

Wendy Joy Reinert grewup in Saratoga Springs,New York, training inclassical ballet before at-tending Idyllwild ArtsAcademy in SouthernCalifornia and discover-ing modern dance. Shegraduated from NYU’s

Tisch School of the Arts in 2003, where she performed in works by Nacho Duato, TrishaBrown, and Robert Battle. Since graduating,she has worked with Kun Yang Lin/dancers,Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, Peridance En -semble, and Lorena Egan Dance, among others. She performs regularly with theMetropolitan Opera Ballet, and is also a professional aerial dancer and circus artist performing her own work throughout NewYork City.

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Nicole Sabella is origi-nally from Clearwater,Florida, where she stud-ied at the Academy ofBallet Arts and thePinellas County Centerfor the Arts at GibbsHigh School under Su -zanne B. Pomer antzeff.

In 2009, she graduated from the University ofthe Arts in Philadelphia, earning her BFA inmodern dance performance and the award forOutstanding Performance in Modern Dance.She was a performer with Zane Booker’sSmoke, Lilies, and Jade Arts Initiative. Sabellafirst performed with MMDG in 2013 and be-came a company member in 2015. 

Billy Smith grew up inFredericksburg, Virgin -ia, and attended GeorgeMason University on a full academic and dance talent scholarship.He graduated magnacum laude in 2007 andreceived achievement

awards in performance, choreography, and ac-ademic endeavors. While at George Mason heperformed the works of Mark Morris, PaulTaylor, Lar Lubovitch, Doug Varone, DanielEzralow, Larry Keigwin, Susan Marshall, andSusan Shields. Smith’s own piece, 3-Way Stop,was selected to open the 2006 AmericanCollege Dance Festival Gala at Ohio StateUniversity and his original choreography for aproduction of Bye Bye Birdie won much criticalpraise. An actor as well, Smith’s regional the-ater credits include Tulsa in Gypsy, Mistoffeleesin CATS, and Dream Curly in Oklahoma!.Smith danced with Parsons Dance from2007–2010. He joined MMDG as a companymember in 2010.

Utafumi Takemura re-ceived her BFA withhonors in dance fromSUNY Purchase and herMFA from New YorkUniversity’s Tisch Schoolof the Arts, where shewas a recipient of theSiedman Award for

Dance.  She has performed and taught nation-ally and internationally with numerous chore-ographers. In 2010, she received the New YorkDance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award withPam Tanowitz Dance. She has performed withMark Morris Dance Group in The Hard Nutsince 1993 and in L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed ilModerato since 2002. For the last five years,she has been dancing and teaching with Dancefor PD®.

Noah Vinson is origi-nally from Springfield,Illinois, and received his bachelor’s degree indance from ColumbiaCollege Chicago. He wasnamed a Dance Maga -zine “Dancer on theRise” in 2009 and as-

sisted Mark Morris in the creation of his mostrecent work for Houston Ballet, The Letter V,which premiered in May 2015. He began danc-ing with MMDG in 2002 and became a com-pany member in 2004.

Nicholas Wagner wasborn and raised in Balti -more, Maryland, andbegan dance and theatertraining at the age of four.He graduated from theUniver sity of Illinois atUrbana-Cham paign in2009, where he first

worked with Mark Morris Dance Group.Wagner became one of the first students in theShadow Program, followed by supplementaldancing in The Hard Nut and L‘Allegro, ilPenseroso ed il Moderato after he moved to NewYork City. He currently lives in Brooklyn andteaches full-time at Soulcycle.

Jenn Weddel receivedher early training fromBoulder Ballet Companynear where she grew up in Longmont, Colo -rado. She holds a BFAfrom Southern Metho -dist Uni versity and alsostudied at Boston Con -

servatory, Colorado University and the LabanCenter, London. Since moving to New York in2001, Weddel has created and performed with RedWall Dance Theater, Sue BernhardDanceworks, Vencl Dance Trio, Rocha DanceTheater, TEA Dance Company, and with cho-reographers including Alan Danielson and EllaBen-Aharon. Weddel performed with MMDGas an apprentice in 2006 and became a com-pany member in 2007.

Michelle Yard was bornin Brooklyn, New York.She began her profes-sional dance training atthe NYC High School ofthe Performing Arts andcontinued her studies as a scholarship studentat Alvin Ailey American

Dance Theater. She graduated with a BFA fromNYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Yard teachesPilates as well as master classes for the Access/MMDG program. She joined MMDG in 1997.Mom, thank you.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

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Mark Morris Dance Group StaffArtistic Director Mark Morris

Executive Director Nancy Umanoff

ProductionTechnical Director Johan HenckensRehearsal Director Matthew Rose

Music Director Colin FowlerLighting Supervisor Nick Kolin

Sound Supervisor Rory MurphyCostume Coordinator Stephanie Sleeper

AdministrationChief Financial Officer Elizabeth Fox

Finance Manager Rebecca HuntFinance Associate Rosalind GaskillGeneral Manager Huong Hoang

Company Manager Jen De SantoAdministrative Assistant Marianny Loveras

Interns Diamond Croney, Marlie Delisfort, Julia Weber

DevelopmentDirector of Development Michelle AmadorDevelopment Associates Tyler Mercer, Sophie MintzDevelopment Assistant Kristen Gajdica

Intern Kris Marx

MarketingDirector of Marketing Karyn LeSuer

Marketing & Digital Media Manager Cortney Cleveland Marketing Assistant Myriam Varjacques

EducationDirector of Education Sarah Marcus

School Director Sydnie LiggettEducation Programs Coordinator Jennifer Dayton

School Administrator Rachel MerryOutreach Director Eva Nichols

Dance for PD®Program Director David LeventhalDance for PD®Program Coordinator Maria Portman Kelly

Dance for PD®Interns Amy Motson, Ginny Mottla, Pia VinsonEducation Interns Naomi Johnson, Joanna Kitenge,

Jessica Pearson, Julia Weber

Dance Center OperationsOperations Manager Elise Gaugert

Facilities Manager Mark SacksRentals and Office Manager Erica Marnell

Retail Store Manager Janice GerlachFront Desk Assistants Tyrone Bevans, Alyssa Filoramo

Jillian Greenberg, Laura MerkelMaintenance Jose Fuentes, Andy Rivera, Jean Rosa,

Arturo Velazquez

Booking Representation Michael Mushalla (Double M Arts & Events)Media and General Consultation Services William Murray (Better Attitude, Inc.)

Legal Counsel Mark Selinger (McDermott, Will & Emery)Accountant O’Connor Davies Munns & Dobbins, LLP

Orthopaedist David S. Weiss, M.D.(NYU Langone Medical Center)

Physical Therapist Marshall Hagins, PT, PhDHilot Therapist Jeffrey Cohen

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Thanks to Maxine Morris.

Sincerest thanks to all the dancers for their dedication, commitment, and incalculable contributionto the work.

Major support for the Mark Morris Dance Group is provided by American Express, Anonymous,Sarabeth Berman and Evan Osnos, Morley and Frederick Bland, Allan and Rhea Bufferd, Cohen andMark Selinger, Suzy Kellems Dominik, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Judith R. and Alan H.Fishman, Shelby and Frederick Gans Fund, e Howard Gilman Foundation, Sandy Hill, EllsworthKelly Foundation, e Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Suzanne Berman and Timothy J.McClimon, e Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Meyer Sound/Helenand John Meyer, Isaac Mizrahi & Arnold Germer, New England Foundation for the Arts, StavrosNiarchos Foundation, Ellen and Arnold Offner, PARC Foundation, Poss Family Foundation, e FanFox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, e SHS Foundation, e Shubert Foundation, Diane Solwayand David Resnicow, Jane Stine and R.L. Stine, e White Cedar Fund, and Friends of MMDG.

e Mark Morris Dance Group is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York CityDepartment of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Council Member HelenRosenthal, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, the New York City Department for the Aging,the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NewYork State Legislature, and the Nationalber of Dance/USA and the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance.

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato ©1988 Discalced, Inc.

For more information contact:

Mark Morris Dance Group3 Lafayette Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11217-1415(718) 624-8400

www.mmdg.orgFacebook: markmorrisdancegroup

Twitter: markmorrisdanceInstagram: markmorrisdance

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Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Touring StaffExecutive Director Courtney Beck

Stage Manager Paolo BrooksStage Equipment Coordinator E. J. Chavez

Production Manager Myles K. GlancyKeyboard Technician Thomas MaloneArtistic Administrator Jeff Phillips

General Manager Elizabeth ShribmanMusic Librarian William Skeen