SOUNDINGS 2015-2016 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 1

GEEK • 2015-2016

A SYMPHONIC TRIBUTE TO COMIC CON v3.0

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor

AUSTIN WINTORY, composer/conductor

Friday, May 6, 2016 at 7:30 pmBoettcher Concert Hall

Theme from Game of Thrones

How to Train Your Dragon

“Harry’s Wondrous World” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

“Leah” from Diablo3

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate

The Gold Standard

Independence Day Suite

Theme from Ant-Man

– INTERMISSION –

Bad Blood

Raiders March

Theme from Fallout

“Aerith’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VII

Theme from COSMOS

Theme from Doctor Who (‘05-’07)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

PROGRAM 2 SOUNDINGS 2015-2016 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG

POPS • 2015-201620

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CHRISTOPHER DRAGON’S CLASSICAL TOP 40

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor

Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 7:30 pmBoettcher Concert Hall

ROSSINI Overture to William Tell

GARCIA My Favorite Snow Memory

JOHNSON Everything

BARBER Adagio for Strings

BIZET Habañera” and “Les toréadors” from Carmen

GRIEG “Morning” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt

— INTERMISSION —

WAGNER Ride of the Valkyries

TCHAIKOVSKY “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker

DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World” II. LargoMOZART Eine kleine Nachtmusik I. Allegro

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor I. Allegro con brio

*Tonight’s concert includes world premieres of two new pieces for full orchestra composed by Maria Garcia and Zepphion Johnson, 5th graders from Cole Arts and Science Academy

who have been working with Colorado Symphony Musician Teaching Artists since 3rd grade to compose original pieces of music for small ensemble.

These are their first fully orchestrated works as part of the Colorado Symphony Musicurious education program: Very Young Composers.

SOUNDINGS 2015-2016 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 3

MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIESCHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor

Australian conductor Christopher Dragon began his appointment as Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony in the 2015/16 season. In 2013 he was appointed the inaugural Assistant Conductor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, a title he holds until the end of 2015. This role provided him with the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch in addition to numerous other engagements. In April of 2015 Dragon made his debut at the Sydney Opera House conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Australian singer/

songwriter Josh Pyke. In 2016 he will be making his debut with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Dragon is a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program through which he has worked with orchestras in Australia and New Zealand under the guidance of Christopher Seaman and the orchestras’ Principal Conductors. In 2014 Christopher was invited to conduct the Princess Galyani Vadhana Youth Orchestra in Thailand and earlier that year participated in the Jarvi Winter Academy in Estonia where he was awarded the Orchestra’s Favourite Conductor Prize. Dragon has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Paavo and Neeme Jarvi at the Jarvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.

AUSTIN WINTORY, composer/conductor

Austin Wintory began his obsession with composing back when he was ten years old, when he discovered Jerry Goldsmith’s scores to Patton and A Patch of Blue. After a busy high school career composing for the student orchestras, Wintory went on to study at NYU and USC. Never satisfied with working in a single medium, Austin has worked in the concert world, film music, video games, and miscellaneous others. In March 2012, the PlayStation3 game Journey was released, after three years of work. The game instantly became Sony’s fastest-selling PlayStation title, and the

soundtrack album debuted on the Billboard charts higher than any original score in gaming history. In December 2012, more history was made when it was announced that Journey had become the first-ever Grammy-nominated videogame score. Beginning humbly as a Kickstarter campaign, Wintory’s next major game effort was Stoic Studio’s The Banner Saga, a unique and mature turn-based strategy / RPG hybrid with a dazzling art direction. He is currently working with Stoic on The Banner Saga 2, which was announced live, on-stage at The Game Awards in December 2014 to an audience of nearly 2 million people. Most recently, Austin wrote and produced the score for Ubisoft’s latest blockbuster: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Austin has also scored nearly 50 feature films, and his first major film score, for the Sundance Film Festival-winning film Captain Abu Raed, was shortlisted for the 2009 Academy Awards for Best Original Score by the LA Times. His next major film, Grace, was also a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. Passionate about education, Austin is a regular public speaker at schools and events around the world, in addition to pre-concert talks and workshops.

PROGRAM 4 SOUNDINGS 2015-2016 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG

MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIESVERY YOUNG COMPOSERS

Very Young Composers is an in-school residency program delivered by Musician Teaching Artists of the Colorado Symphony in partnership with school music teachers. First piloted in 1995 by composer Jon Deak while he was in-residence at the Colorado Symphony, the program has since been implemented throughout the US, Asia, South America, and Europe. Very Young Composers is founded on the principal that every child is a creator and innovator. Students work with a Teaching Artist who acts as a scribe for their ideas without influencing the students’ ideas or decisions. They do not need to be able to read and write music notation, or be able to perform on a musical instrument in order to compose original pieces of music. Colorado Symphony Teaching Artists visit the students over a period of 3 to 8 months. These visits include instrument demonstrations, support for creating raw material for students’ portfolios, composition work, performance of student work in the school community, and performance of their work at Boettcher Concert Hall. Students begin by creating original pieces of music for small ensemble with a long range goal to create music for the full symphony orchestra. Colorado Symphony’s Very Young Composers program takes children’s creations seriously and provides a unique platform for self expression, especially for historically underserved student populations. The students featured tonight are 5th graders from Cole Arts and Science Academy and have participated in the program since the 3rd grade.