David Alexander Rahbee leads the UW Symphony in a program of music by Jessie Montgomery (Robert Stahly, conductor), Cécile Chaminade, Francis Poulenc, and Dmitri Shostakovich. With faculty guest Donna Shin, flute.
Program
Hymn for Everyone: Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
Robert Stahly, conductor
Flute Concertino, Op. 107: Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Flute Sonata: Francis Poulenc (1899-1957); orchestrated by Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Cantilena: Assez lent
III. Presto giocoso
Donna Shin, flute
Intermission
Symphony No. 9, in E-flat major, Op. 70: Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
I. Allegro
II. Moderato
III. Presto
IV. Largo
V. Allegretto
(in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death)
Program Notes
By Mica Weiland
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981) - Hymn for Everyone (2021)
Jessie Montgomery is an American composer and violinist whose work spans a diverse range of styles and instrumental configurations. From 2021 to 2024, she served as the composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In Hymn for Everyone, composed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery reflects on themes of unity and collective experience. Inspired by a melody that came to her following a long hike, the work functions as a musical meditation on togetherness. This sense of unity is conveyed through the orchestration, as the central theme is passed among various "choirs" of instrumental sections, resulting in a rich tapestry of timbral color and texture. Through this compositional approach, Montgomery underscores both the cohesion of the orchestra and a broader metaphor for human solidarity.
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944): Concertino for Flute in D major, Op. 107 (1902)
Cécile Chaminade was a French composer and pianist born into a musically inclined family, receiving her earliest piano instruction from her mother. Although she was evaluated and approved to study at the Conservatoire de Paris, her father ultimately prohibited her enrollment, believing it inappropriate for a young woman of her social standing. Nevertheless, Chaminade pursued her musical education privately with instructors affiliated with the Conservatoire. Among her most enduringly popular works is the Concertino for Flute, a piece celebrated for its lighthearted and lyrical character. The orchestration provides a buoyant and supportive foundation for the expressive, song-like lines of the solo flute, resulting in a work that has become a staple of both the orchestral and solo flute repertoire.
Franic Poulenc (1899-1963) - Flute Sonata (orch. Berkeley) (1957/1977)
Francis Poulenc, born in Paris in 1899, was a prominent French composer and pianist. Notably, parallels can be drawn between Poulenc and Cécile Chaminade, particularly in their early musical development and the barriers they faced in pursuing formal music education. Although for different reasons—Chaminade due to societal expectations for women of her class and Poulenc due to his father’s disapproval—both were initially denied access to traditional conservatory training. Like Chaminade, Poulenc received his first piano instruction from his mother and continued his studies privately.
In the 1920s, Poulenc became a member of Les Six, a group of early 20th-century French composers who sought to move away from the dense, Romantic orchestral textures of the Germanic tradition, favoring clarity, wit, and a distinctively French sensibility.
Poulenc composed his Flute Sonata late in his career, following a commission from the Library of Congress. During this period, he was also working on one of his most important works, the opera, Dialogues des Carmélites. The Sonata reflects his deep engagement with vocal music at the time, evident in its lyrical phrasing and vocal-like lines. Poulenc himself expressed a preference for composing for woodwinds over strings, as he considered their timbre and expressive capabilities to be closer to that of the human voice. The piece gained widespread popularity and was eventually orchestrated. In 1976, flautist James Galway approached English composer Sir Lennox Berkeley, a longtime friend of Poulenc, to create an orchestral version of the sonata. The task turned out to be quite challenging because of the pianistic nature of the accompaniment. Despite the difficulty, Berkeley honored Poulenc’s brilliance with a meticulous and faithful orchestration that achieved a widespread popularity similar to that of the original work.
The Sonata consists of three movements. The first is marked by virtuosic demands on the performer, including elaborate trills and rapid ornamental flourishes. The second movement is a melancholic cantilena, evoking a vocal style characterized by flowing, lyrical expression. The final movement concludes the work with brilliance and vivacity, bringing the piece to an energetic and spirited close.
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) - Symphony no. 9 in Eb major, Op. 70 (1945)
Dmitri Shostakovich, a composer and pianist born in early 20th-century Soviet Russia, is widely recognized for his vast and diverse body of work, which includes operas, ballets, film scores, chamber music, concertos, and symphonies. His compositional output is inextricably linked with his complex and often fraught relationship with the Soviet government, a tension that is frequently reflected in his music. Originally conceived as a grandiose celebration of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Shostakovich declared that his ninth symphony would feature large-scale orchestration, soloists, and chorus. However, Shostakovich ultimately abandoned that initial vision and composed a very different Ninth Symphony—more modest in scale and ironic in tone.
Rather than the monumental work the public had anticipated, the resulting symphony spans just over 30 minutes and employs a relatively conventional Romantic-era orchestration. Yet what it lacks in grandeur, it compensates for with biting sarcasm, unexpected emotional depth, and stylistic ingenuity. Across its five movements, the symphony maintains a remarkable sense of cohesion despite its stark contrasts in character and mood, consistently engaging the listener with its unpredictability and wit.
The first movement draws on Classical-era idioms, evoking the lightness and clarity of Mozart with its buoyant textures and memorable melodies. However, Shostakovich infuses the movement with his distinctive voice, employing syncopated accents in surprising places and integrating a quasi-militaristic march beneath an extended violin solo. The second movement is a haunting waltz that begins with a solemn chorale in the woodwinds, soon devolving into a more aggressive and unhinged character. An omnipresent pizzicato figure in the low strings heightens the movement’s sense of instability and impending dread. As the violins and violas enter to introduce the waltz theme, the music oscillates between momentum and collapse. The movement concludes with a piercing and disorienting piccolo solo, accompanied by the persistent pizzicato, leaving a lingering sense of psychological unease.
The final three movements are performed attacca, without pause, forming a continuous arc to the symphony’s conclusion. The third movement opens in stark contrast to the previous one, featuring a sprightly theme in the clarinet and flute that evokes a sense of carefree exuberance. However, this lightness is soon interrupted by a martial trumpet solo over a restless accompaniment, before the music fades into a whispered conclusion. The fourth movement emerges seamlessly from this silence with a brass fanfare, out of which a deeply expressive bassoon solo rises. Shostakovich subtly references other iconic ninth symphonies in this movement, including those of Beethoven and Mahler, through brief musical quotations embedded in the bassoon's lines.
The final movement begins right after the bassoon’s mournful lament, quickly escalating into an increasingly frenetic tempo. As the music builds in energy and intensity, it culminates in an explosive surge of rhythmic drive and aggression. Brimming with Shostakovich's signature sarcasm and sharp wit, the finale reintroduces militaristic motifs heard earlier in the piece. Its bold, panache-filled conclusion provides a perfect closing to the symphony, leaving the audience craving more.
University of Washington Symphony OrchestraDavid Alexander Rahbee, Music Director and Conductor Flute Piccolo Oboe English Horn Clarinet Bassoon Contrabassoon Horn Trumpet Trombone Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani Percussion Harp Violin I Violin II Viola Violoncello Bass |
Biographies
David Alexander Rahbee is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle, where he is Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of Orchestral Conducting. He is Music Director and Conductor of the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra and founder of the UW Campus Philharmonia Orchestras. He is a recipient of the American-Austrian Foundation's 2003 Herbert von Karajan Fellowship for Young Conductors, the 2005 International Richard-Wagner-Verband Stipend, a fellowship the Acanthes Centre in Paris (2007), and is first prize winner in conducting from The American Prize national non-profit competitions in the performing arts for 2020. His work at UW has earned national recognition. In 2021 he was praised by The American Prize as “Consistently one of the most courageous and comprehensive [orchestral] programmers working in higher education in the U.S. today…”
Dr. Rahbee has appeared in concert with orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Kammerphilharmonie Berlin-Brandenburg, Guernsey Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony, National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, Orchestre de la Francophonie, Orchesterakademie der Bochumer Symphoniker, the Dresden Hochschule orchestra, Grand Harmonie, the Boston New Music Initiative, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Loja (Ecuador), Savaria Symphony Orchestra (Hungary), Cool Opera of Norway (members of the Stavanger Symphony), Schönbrunner Schloss Orchester (Vienna), the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, the Kennett Symphony, and the Divertimento Ensemble of Milan. His collaborations with the Seattle Symphony include assistant conductor for the performance and recording of Ives’ Fourth Symphony, and as guest conductor for their Native Lands project and the North American premiere of Páll Ragnar Pallson's Quake with faculty cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. He has collaborated with several prominent soloists such as Sarah Chang, Jon Kimura Parker, Yekwon Sunwoo, Glenn Dicterow and Jonathan Biss. He has been a guest rehearsal conductor for numerous young orchestras, such as the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, The Symphony Orchestra of the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University, and the Vienna University of Technology orchestra. He has served on faculty of the Pierre Monteux School as Conducting Associate, has been resident conductor of the Atlantic Music Festival and guest conductor at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.
Dr. Rahbee was an assistant at the Vienna State opera from 2002-2010. As part of his fellowship and residency at the 2003 Salzburg Festival, Dr. Rahbee was assistant conductor of the International Attergau Institute Orchestra, where he worked with members of the Vienna Philharmonic. He has been selected to actively participate in masterclasses with prominent conductors such as Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Jorma Panula, Zdeněk Mácal, Peter Eötvös, Zoltán Peskó and Helmut Rilling, and counts Nikolaus Harnoncourt to be among his most influential mentors. From 1997-2001, David Rahbee was founder and conductor of the Fidelio Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Rahbeeʼs principal conducting teachers were Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo at the Pierre Monteux School. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violin and composition from Indiana University, a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in orchestral conducting, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Montreal in orchestral conducting. He has also participated in post-graduate conducting classes at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna. His brass arrangements are published by Warwick Music, and his articles on the music of Mahler have appeared in journals of the International Gustav Mahler Gesellschaft, among others.
In addition to being awarded first prize in conducting from The American Prize for 2020, he was awarded 2nd place in 2019. He has also placed among winners for five consecutive years for The American Prize Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award for Orchestral Programming, recognizing his programming with the UW Symphony and its affiliated ensembles for every season since he joined the faculty. The UWSO has also been a finalist in the category of orchestral performance in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Dr. Rahbee is co-editor of Daniels’ Orchestral Music (6thedition) and Daniels’ Orchestral Music Online (DOMO), the gold standard among conductors, orchestral administrators, orchestra librarians as well as other music professionals and students researching for orchestral programming.
Flutist Donna Shin has been praised for her beautifully-spun phrases, seductive sound, sterling technique, and charismatic exchanges with the audience. Described as “dazzling” by the Boston Globe, Shin has built an enviable reputation as a versatile performer of solo, chamber, orchestra, jazz and ancient Asian repertoire. Performing in concert halls throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, she is admired for her adventurous programming and expressive flair.
Devoted to the role of artist-teacher, she is the flute professor at the University of Washington School of Music after holding faculty posts at the University of South Carolina School of Music and Oklahoma State University. She frequently appears as artist-performer and master class clinician at universities and flute clubs throughout the world, modeling the artist-teacher path for young flutists.
Shin has been featured in solo performances with the North Korean National Symphony Orchestra, People’s Liberation Army Band of China, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonia, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, University of Washington Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble, Oklahoma State University Wind Ensemble, and University of Washington Wind Ensemble.
Shin performed for two seasons as principal flute with the Heidelberg Schlossfestspiele Orchester in Germany. In the Boston area, she performed with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Bedford Symphony, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Chamber Orchestras. She has also performed with the Seattle Symphony, Northwest Sinfonietta, South Carolina Philharmonic, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Tulsa Signature Symphony, Lake Placid Sinfonietta, Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
Shin has won prizes in competitions held by the National Flute Association, April Spring Friendship Arts Festival in North Korea, Performers of Connecticut, James Pappoutsakis Society, and Seattle Flute Society, to name a few. As a founding member of Paragon Winds woodwind quintet, she was awarded fellowships from the New England Conservatory and Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and won the Grand Prize at the Coleman National Chamber Ensemble Competition in Pasadena, California.
Committed to developing young artists and reaching out to audiences, Shin has introduced new music programs to a variety of communities, ranging from rural Oklahoma to communist North Korea to castle communities in northern Italy. Recent international concert tours include: Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, and Uzbekistan.
Shin earned degrees with the highest honors from the Interlochen Arts Academy, Eastman School of Music and the New England Conservatory, including the esteemed Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School. As instructor of chamber music and flute at the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, she was awarded the “Eastman School of Music Excellence in Teaching” prize. During her doctoral studies at Eastman, she became the first woodwind player in the school’s history to be nominated for the highly coveted Artist's Certificate.
During the summer months, Shin performs as artist-teacher at the Sewanee Summer Festival in Tennessee, ARIA International Summer Academy in Massachusetts, and Snowater Flute Festival in Washington. Her prior summer activities have included leadership of study abroad performance courses in northern Italy and Young Artist Competition Coordinator for the National Flute Association.