Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony

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Saturday, February 25, 2012 – 7:30PM – Purchase Tickets
Sunday, February 26, 2012 – 2:30PM – Purchase Tickets
Mary W. Sommervold Hall, Washington Pavilion

Repertoire:

Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
Kellogg: From Everlasting to Everlasting
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, “Jupiter”

More Information:

On Saturday, February 25^th and Sunday, February 26^th the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra has a rare opportunity to celebrate the life of a passionate supporter of the arts in Sioux Falls, debut a newly commissioned sacred work, host three outstanding guests, and perform Mozart’s final symphony.

The passionate arts supporter is Mary W. Sommervold, the debut is the Psalm cycle From Everlasting to Everlasting dedicated to Mary and commissioned by Soli Deo Gloria, the guests are composer Daniel Kellogg, mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore, and Soli Deo Gloria Board Member Johann Buis.  It is an exciting weekend for the orchestra, an amazing opportunity for Sioux Falls, and a special moment for everyone who was touched by the life of Mary W. Sommervold.

This weekend is the result of a friendship that developed between Maestro Delta David Gier, Mary W. Sommervold, and Daniel Kellogg.  Dr. Kellogg was invited by Maestro Gier to serve as a resident conductor with the South Dakota Symphony.  Both Maestro Gier and Dr. Kellogg were moved by Mary’s passion for the arts in Sioux Falls and her vision for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra to become the caliber of organization that it is today. Soli Deo Gloria, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to commissioning new works of sacred music agreed to cap off Dr. Kellogg’s residency with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra by funding the creation of this new work.  Dr. Kellogg and Mary shared a connection through sacred music, so this opportunity was a perfect way to honor her.  They agreed that the new work would be a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (composed specifically for and in collaboration with singer Margaret Lattimore), so they sat down for three hours to discuss which psalms would be included, ones which were important and meaningful to her.

Maestro Gier said of the piece, “I am proud to see this project come to fruition after many years of planning. The support from people inside and outside of Sioux Falls has been tremendous. Most of all, this is a very fitting tribute to a wonderful human being.”

Mary Woods Sommervold, 72, born December 13, 1935 in Sioux Falls, SD passed away peacefully after a courageous battle with lymphoma.  Mary attended All Saints School and graduated from Washington High School in 1952, and USD with a B.A. in 1956 and an M.F.A. 1957.  She married Arlo Sommervold in 1955.

Mary taught music at Cleveland, Franklin, Edison, All Saints School and Lincoln High School.  Mary hosted the daytime television show Party Line, was a Director of the Dakota Savings and Loan, and the first Executive Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and is the namesake of the hall that serves as home to the orchestra.

Very active in the community, Mary was the first recipient of the Mayor’s Award for the Arts, president of the South Dakota Symphony Guild, president of the South Dakota Symphony Board of Directors, on the  National Endowment for the Arts, president of the Board of Trustees of the Washington Pavilion, first woman appointed to the Board of Trustees of Sioux Valley Health System eventually serving as president, served on the Board of Directors of Minnesota Public Radio, and as president of the South Dakota Board of Education.

Composer Daniel Kellogg has become one of the nation’s most prominent young composers after being chosen as Young Concert Artists Composer-in-Residence in 2002. Dr. Kellogg, Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado, had recent premieres with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the South Dakota Symphony, the Lexington Philharmonic, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Takács Quartet, the Takács Quartet with the University of Colorado Wind Symphony, and the Aspen Music Festival. Most recently the National Symphony Orchestra took his piece, Western Skies, on a tour of Asia. He resides in Colorado with his wife, concert pianist Hsing-ay Hsu, and daughter Kaela.

Mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore: Grammy nominated mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore has been praised for her “glorious instrument” and as an “undisputed star…who has it all – looks, intelligence, musicianship, personality, technique, and a voice of bewitching amber color” (The Boston Globe). While she began her career singing the florid works Handel, Rossini and Mozart, Ms. Lattimore expanded her repertoire in recent seasons to include the works of Mahler, Verdi and Wagner making her one of the most versatile mezzo sopranos performing today.

Ms. Lattimore attended the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam where she studied with Patricia Misslin. In addition to the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Lattimore has won the Eleanor McCollum Award from the Houston Grand Opera Studio, a Jacobson Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, the prestigious George London Award and most recently became a 2006 Grammy Nominee for the Koch International recording of John Harbison’s Motetti di Montale. She now resides with her husband and young son in New York.

Johann Buis is a Soli Deo Gloria board member, an Associate Professor of Musicology at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (IL), and is a guest lecturer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and other organizations.

In addition, he has held seminars in the USA, the Caribbean, and Germany. His professional activities include service on standing committees of the American Musicological Society (AMS) and the Society for American Music (SAM). His international activities include conference and seminar presentations, consultation, and service as an external examiner for doctoral dissertations.