Leap into Celebration

Program Notes

Gabriela Ortiz: Antropolis (2019)
Grammy Award–winning composer Gabriela Ortiz stands among the most compelling musical voices of Mexico today. Her music pulses with immediacy and color, at once exuberant and rhythmically alive, yet layered with sophistication and emotional depth. Antropolis is a vivid example of this distinctive voice.

The title comes from antro, a word that once described nightclubs of dubious reputation but has since come to mean almost any nightlife venue. Ortiz draws on this evolution to create a personal tribute to the dance halls and clubs of Mexico City that shaped her imagination.

She evokes places like El Bombay, alive with rumba dancers and the shimmer of live dance orchestras; Salón Colonia, where patrons seemed to step back into the golden age of Mexican cinema; Los Infiernos, where office workers shed the weight of the workday to dance, drink, and breathe; and Tutti Frutti, a haven for wild, experimental sounds. In Antropolis, these “dens” become the heartbeat of the city itself, a sonic portrait of Mexico City in all its complexity: nostalgic, restless, and irresistibly alive.

Máté Bella: The Cheerleaders (2024)
Bella is widely regarded as one of Hungary’s leading composers of the younger generation. His contemporary works have been performed by major international orchestras, his popular songs are heard regularly on radio, and his musical theatre productions appear at some of Hungary’s most prestigious venues. Across genres, his music reflects a singular aim: to invite younger audiences into the world of classical music.

Fascinated by American sports culture, Bella is especially intrigued by cheerleading, a spectacle largely absent from European arenas. The energy, ritual, and theatricality of cheer culture both captivate and perplex him, prompting questions about performance, identity, and entertainment.

The Cheerleaders explores the meeting point of avant-garde music and pop culture. Constructed from interlocking grooves and loops of varying lengths, the piece creates a rhythmic landscape that feels both familiar and unexpected. Bella places the work within “metamodernism,” an artistic outlook that embraces contrasts rather than resolving them. Here, nostalgia meets experimentation, sincerity meets irony, and exuberance coexists with reflection. The result is music that is vibrant, playful, and thought-provoking, an energetic meditation on spectacle and belief in contemporary culture.

Adolphus Hailstork: Three Spirituals (2005)
American composer Adolphus Hailstork has earned wide recognition for music that combines technical brilliance with direct, heartfelt expression. He often credits his public school music education for shaping his path as a composer, and he remains a passionate advocate for arts education today. Drawing frequently on African American musical traditions, Hailstork transforms familiar materials into vibrant, contemporary orchestral works.

Three Spirituals for Orchestra beautifully illustrates this gift. The opening movement, Every Time I Feel the Spirit, bursts with energy, its joyful syncopations and rhythmic drive propelling the familiar tune in fresh and unexpected directions. Rather than simply presenting the melody, Hailstork breaks it into fragments, weaving them into a lively, jazzy musical tapestry.

The second movement, based on the well-known spiritual Kum Ba Yah, offers a striking contrast: lush, blues-inflected, and serene. The final movement, Oh Freedom, a song closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement, begins playfully, scattering bits of the melody among the instruments before gathering strength. In a thrilling conclusion, the brass choir takes center stage, culminating in a jubilant and resonant tuba solo.

Alberto Ginastera: Four Dances from Estancia (1952)
Argentina’s most celebrated composer, Alberto Ginastera rose to prominence early in his career by fusing the raw energy of Argentine folk traditions with the structural power of European concert music. Estancia (“Ranch”), drawn from his first creative period, was originally commissioned by the American Ballet Caravan. When the company dissolved before staging the ballet, Ginastera salvaged the score by crafting a four-movement orchestral suite. The full ballet would not be performed until 1952, more than a decade after its composition.

The suite traces a day on the Argentine pampas, centered on the life of the gaucho, the rugged cowboy of national legend.

Los trabajadores agrícolas (The Farm Workers) bursts open with pounding rhythms inspired by the malambo, a virtuosic folk dance. Driving percussion and sharp orchestral colors evoke physical grit and unrelenting labor.

Danza del trigo (Wheat Dance) offers contrast: warm, expansive, and sunlit. Solo flute and later strings shimmer like wind sweeping across endless plains.

Los peones de hacienda (The Cattlemen) snaps back with swagger and bite. Brass and timpani dominate, their syncopations brash and muscular.

Danza final (Final Dance) explodes in a furious malambo. Fiercely competitive and rhythmically electrifying, the music builds to a blaze of sound, virtually daring listeners to keep their toes still.