MARCH 12 - CASPER, WY
WYOMING SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JULIA LOUISA ESTHER: A Suffragette Symphony Premiere
Commissioned by the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra with support from the Doane Family
Program Notes
Inspired by Paulann, a brave pioneer who brought new horizons to all those who were graced to walk beside her. And the many women, including Julia, Louisa, and Esther, who brought new horizons of capability and possibility to so many in their wake. May we all have the courage to seek our own horizons, not only for ourselves, but so as to provide a sturdier path for those who will inevitably follow us.
Julia Louisa Esther starts with a depiction of the wild land that was “no place for a woman”: a tableau of the High Plains, the majesty of Wyoming’s many rivers, the thunderous galloping of wild horses, and the crystalline silence at the top of the Grand Tetons. The work then delves into the mutual love and respect between a saloon owner and his wife Julia Bright, his arguments on behalf of women when he introduced a bill that allowed them their civic say; the moment of the first vote entered by a woman–– Louisa Swain––on a day in early September, and the victory of Esther Morris’s appointment as Justice of the Peace soon thereafter: she was the first woman to ever hold public office in the United States. Bringing the work to its close is a final anthem to the justice that Wyoming gave to its women; the justice that inspired other states to follow suit in this most necessary, most basic of human freedoms: an action that prompted Susan B. Anthony to declare that “Wyoming is the first place on God’s green earth which could consistently claim to be the land of the free!”
More about Julia Louisa Esther
About the ArtistS
Located in Casper, WY, the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra brings live, symphonic music to Central Wyoming. We produce five concerts each year with renowned guest soloists and more than 70 well-trained local and regional musicians to create unique, high-quality performances. The WSO partners with other local organizations to create events that will enrich Central Wyoming’s cultural environment. Outreach projects through our Music on the Move program, an annual children’s concert, and a family-friendly summer concert in Washington Park are among the events we produce each year.
Wyoming Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Australian Christopher Dragon, was selected to lead the Orchestra in 2019. Dragon also serves as the Resident Conductor for the Colorado Symphony where he previously served as Associate Conductor since the 2015/16 Season. For three years prior, Dragon held the position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch.
Christopher works regularly in Australia and has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with Josh Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year. Christopher’s international guest conducting includes the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016 Mr. Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis' Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Arts Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Christopher Dragon began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman. He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Järvi at the Järvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.
About the Composer
Michigan-born, Manhattan-based American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990) writes melodic music about women’s memoirs and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s five ballets include works choreographed by New York City Ballet principal dancers Lauren Lovette, Ashley Bouder, NYCB soloist Peter Walker, and XAOC Contemporary Ballet’s Eryn Renee Young. Eero, a ballet commissioned by Access Contemporary Music and Open House New York, was written for the grand opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. Stephanie’s music has been praised as “a racing, brassy score” (New York Times), “attractive lyricism” (Gramophone), “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP), and “wide ranging, imaginative” (Portland Press Herald).
Boyd is the 2021/2022 Peoria Symphony Orchestra Composer in Residence, a position culminating in an entire concert of her works, including her violin concerto Sybil, her cantata Sheltering Voices, and a new work inspired by Betty Friedan entitled Everywoman, with Deborah Rutter, Michelle DeYoung, and Sirena Huang as soloists. The 2021/2022 season also includes the premiere of Julia Louisa Esther: a Suffragette Symphony with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Christopher Dragon; Alleluia Olora commissioned by Astral Artists for cellist Tommy Mesa; Aurora, commissioned by the Kurganov-Finehouse Duo, and others.
Boyd’s music has been commissioned and performed by concertmasters of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, the Faroe Islands Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal players in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been commissioned and/or played by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Philharmonic, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, the New York Jazzharmonic, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Roosevelt University Orchestra, the Eureka Ensemble, the JVL Festival Orchestra, the Texas State University Symphony, the Cremona International Academy Orchestra, the UW La Crosse Symphony, the Detroit Civic Orchestra, and the El Paso Youth Symphony. Her work has been presented by the Thalia and her Sisters concert series, the Moirae Ensemble, and Sandcastle New Music in New York City; Æpex Contemporary Music in Michigan; Juventas New Music, Collage New Music, and the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston; Cincinnati Soundbox, and others. Stephanie has worked with conductors such as Andrew Litton, Lina Gonzales, Earl Lee, Nathan Aspinall, Cliff Colnot, Gill Rose, Julian Benichou, Kristo Kondakci, and Kevin Fitzgerald.