SymphonieFantastique is a programmatic work that is partly based on the composers own life and partly on fantasy.

While in conservatory, Berlioz was infatuated with the Irish actress Harriet Smithson; however, she did not return his affection. In order to gain her attention, he wrote this piece for her and made sure when she returned to Paris she heard it performed. She later married him, but the marriage was not a happy one. The symphony opens with the depressed and lovesick composer taking a dose of opium that was not strong enough to kill him, but rather to cause him to fall into a sleep with strange and fantastic visions. His thoughts and emotions become musical ideas, and the lady is represented by a musical theme which is heard in all the movements (ide fixe), thus making the symphony cyclical. The opening movement represents the composers emotions. The second movement is a waltz where the composer spots the lady across the room, only for her to be lost in the swirl of dancers. The third movement is a pastoral which takes place in the country where the composer has gone to rest. In the fourth movement he has killed the woman and is being marched to the scaffold for his death sentence to be carried out. The drums and the march start in the distance and proceed forward. The brass and winds play the march theme where the crowd rallies with enthusiasm. The ide fixe is heard in the solo clarinet, and the guillotine falls, with the sounds of the head falling heard as pizzicato in the strings. The movement ends with drum rolls and G major chords as the enthusiastic crowd cheers in approval. In the fifth movement the composer is in the afterlife, where he sees his love once more. Demons torment him and laugh at him. It should be noted that this piece uses unusually large instrumentation, including two timpani players and two tubas.

MERCER/MACON SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA

mmsyo.org Dedicated to providing talented young musicians with opportunities for personal and artistic growth, the MMSYO offers students a challenging rehearsal and performance experience in a professional environment. In addition to making musical training available for young people, this vital arts organization serves the community by encouraging a greater understanding of and participation in music.
1st Violin Baylee Culverhouse The Westfield School (9) Raymond Partolan Central High School (12) Sarah Stanfield Homeschool (10) Sydney Stanfield Homeschool (8) Kristina Gentry Homeschool (11) Clarinet *Brian Gay Rutland High School (12) Christi Unthank Warner Robins High School (11) Brian Decker Veterans High School (10) Katy Hutto Mount de Sales Academy (12)

BassClarinet 2ndViolin *Joshua Shealy First Presbyterian Day School (11) *Zach Rigole Mary Persons High School (12) Billy Chung Vineville Academy (4) Bassoon Nicole Wongk Houston County High School (12) *NikolosBacote Central High School (10) Diana Winecoff Houston County High School (10) Anna Carmichael Ola High School (11) Emil Nieves Mount de Sales Academy (11) Emma Patterson Mount de Sales Academy (10) AltoSaxophone Olivia Rhoden Houston County High School (11) *Gilberto Hernandez Rutland High School (10) Elizabeth Jones Upson-Lee High School (10) Bridget Simms Houston County High School (12) FrenchHorn Yemaya Rich Thompson Middle School (8) *Caleb Rogers Perry High School (12) Wil Dannenberg Perry High School (11) Viola Christopher Harkins Rutland High School (11) *William Jones Taylor County High School (12) *JarisTobler Central High School (11) Trumpet *Joe Boltri Mount de Sales Academy (12) Cello Jason Youngblood Taylor County High School (12) *Ivy Giddens Homeschool (10) Jonathan Easter First Presbyterian Day School (11) Micah Holness Progressive Christian Academy (8) Hunnicutt Rutland High School (11) Tyler Will Finkelstein CentralHigh School (9) Trombone Bass *Jacob Johnson Houston County High School (12) *Nicki Tiernan Howard High School (9) Clint Rogers Veterans High School (9) Harp *Ariel Inigo Homeschool (7) Piano Katie Martin Warner Robins High School (10) Flute *Sara Knapp Ola High School (11) Jihwan Oh Central High School (10) Sophia-Karis Clark Central High School (10) Katie Martin Warner Robins High School (10) Euphonium *RohinAggarwal Stratford Academy (11) Tuba *Greg Kulkosky Houston County High School (12) Timpani/ Percussion Cameron Dale Houston County High School (10) Benjamin Ford Stratford Academy (10) Jacob Kraft Houston County High School (12) Jonathan Mashburn Houston County High School (12) Concertmaster *Principal

Oboe *Kristine Martin Warner Robins High School (12)

Mercer/Macon Symphony Youth Orchestra Upcoming Events

String Orchestra and Chamber Ensembles Concert Sunday, November 7, 5pm Doles United Methodist Church, Macon, GA Christmas Concert Saturday, December 4, 7pm Taylor County High School Auditorium, Butler, GA String Orchestra Concert Thursday, December 16, 7pm Location TBD Instrument Petting Zoo Sunday, January 23, 2:00pm 4:30pm Macon Museum of Arts & Sciences, Macon, GA 31210 "Around the World" Concert Saturday, March 12 Location TBD Concert for the Fort Valley Arts Alliance Saturday, March 19, 7pm Austin Theatre, Fort Valley, GA String Orchestra Concert Tuesday, March 22, 7pm Howard High School Theatre, Macon, GA MMSYO with MSO: Macon Symphony Goes to the Movies Saturday, April 2, 7:30pm Grand Opera House, Macon, GA Kaleidoscope Concert Saturday, May 14, 2pm & 7pm Fickling Hall, Mercer University

Mercer/Macon Symphony Youth Orchestra

Amy Wilson, Conductor Connie Davis, General Manager Kelley Dixson, Flute Ensemble Director Nestor Jaenz, Woodwind Quintet Director Ann Letsinger, String Quartet Director Ryan Miles, Brass Quintet Director Emily Odum, Percussion Quintet Director

Monday, October 25, 2010 7:30 P.M. Neva Langley Fickling Hall Mercer University

Super Heroes and Super Villains

Overture for a Comic Book Hero(2007) MMSYO Amy Wilson, Conductor Dawn Carol (1996) Margaret Lowe Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Divertimento (1790) I. Menuetto& Trio II. Allegro Daniel James Chan (b. 1982)

Flute Choir Kelly Dixson, Director Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (1812) Ludwig van Beethoven II. Allegretto (1770-1827) SymphonieFantastique, Op. 14 (1830) Hector Berlioz IV. Marche au Supplice (March to the Scaffold) (1803-1869) MMSYO Amy Wilson, Conductor Intermission Tangos & More: Six Dances for String Quartet (2003) I. Tango String Quartet Ann Letsinger, Director Divertimento in B flat major, Hob.II:46 Allegro con spirito(1732-1809) Andante "Chorale St. Antoni" Minueto Rondo Woodwind Quintet Nestor Jaenz, Director The Dark Knight (2008) Michael McLean

The Dark Knight is from the accompanying movie music composed for the first of the Batman films in 2008. It opens with a slow, mysterious section in the strings and lower winds for Harvey Two Face. The middle section features a soaring legato theme accompanied by angular staccato motives, with the title Introducing a Little Anarchy. Like a Dog Chasing Cars is heard as one note repeated in different rhythms in the lower instruments, with accents on some of the notes. The piece ends with Harvey Two Face played a whole step higher, which builds to a dramatic climax in the full orchestra. Superman Returns wascomposed for the movie of the same title, which opened in 2006. It incorporates music specific to this film, but also music used in all the Superman films, from the first in 1978. It opens with the famous Superman theme in the brass and then in the full orchestra in a march. Memories is then heard by the full orchestra in a fanfare which features quarter note triplets. The mood changes with Rough Flight, a theme heard in successive quarter notes, where every eight measures it is transposed up a minor third. The middle of the piece is marked by an aggressive section with small rhythmic ideas that are repeated to a climax. After a brief silence the love theme Can You Read My Mind is heard, first in solo woodwinds and strings, and laterby the entire orchestra. The piece ends with Memories and the Superman Theme played again by the full ensemble.

Franz Joseph Haydn

Hans Zimmer (b. 1957) James Newton Howard (b. 1951) arr. Victor Lopez John Williams (b.1932) John Ottman(b. 1964) arr. Victor Lopez MMSYO Amy Wilson, Conductor

Superman Returns (2006)

Program Notes
Flute Ensemble Karina Loera West Laurens High School (10) Sarah Hammack Homeschool (10) Andrea Wilkinson West Laurens High School (12) String Quartet Baylee Culverhouse The Westfield School (9) William Jones Taylor County High School (12) JarisTobler Central High School (11) Ivy Giddens Homeschool (10) Woodwind Quintet Jihwan Oh Warner Robins High School (9) Kristine Martin Warner Robins High School (12) Brian Gay Rutland High School (12) NikolosBacote Central High School (10) Wil Dannenberg Perry High School (11) Brass Quintet Joe Boltri Mount de Sales Academy (12) Jason Youngblood Taylor County High School (12) Caleb Rogers Perry High School (12) Jacob Johnson Houston County High School (12) Greg Kulkosky Houston County High School (12) Percussion Quartet Cameron Dale Houston County High School (10) Benjamin Ford Stratford Academy (10) Jacob Kraft Houston County High School (12) Jonathan Mashburn Houston County High School (12) Alternates In addition to the regular members of MMSYO, the following students are performing in tonights concert: Jeffrey Ballance, alto sax West Laurens High School (11) Wesley Grace, tuba Warner Robins Middle School (8) Feagin Oliver, percussion Houston County High School (12)

Overture for a Comic Book Hero was commissioned by the El Paso Youth Symphony and Benjamin Loeb and was premiered in June 2007. It draws on the current saturation of film based on larger-than-life comic book heroes. Chan drew his musical influences from Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, John Adams, and Danny Elfman. The overture is in ABA form, with the A section being the hero, who can be heard flying, and the B section being the heros romantic scene. The Seventh Symphony is one of Beethovens most popular works, and often the second movement is performed by itself. The symphony was premiered as a benefit to the injured soldiers from the battle of Hanau.The symphony was first performed in Vienna, where the audience received the work favorably. The second movement is both a march and a pavane in A minor. The form of the movement is ABABA, with the B section in A major. The movement begins and ends with the same open chord in the winds. The opening melody in the lower strings is known not for its melodic properties, but for its rhythmic integrity, and is arguably one of the most famous melodies in the symphonic repertoire. The rhythmic momentum propels the movement forward through a fugue in the strings to a climax with the famous rhythmic melody in the strings, brass, and timpani, and a countermelody in the winds.