Michael Daugherty (b.

1954)
Mount Rushmore (2010) for chorus and orchestra was commissioned by Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair, Music Director and Conductor, with assistance from VocalEssence, Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director. The world premire was given by Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale under the direction of Carl St.Clair at the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, California on February 4, 2010. Mount Rushmore (2010) for chorus and orchestra is inspired by the monumental sculpture located in the Black Hills of South Dakota of four American presidents: George Washington (1732-1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Created during the Great Depression against seemingly impossible odds, the American sculptor Gutzon Borglum supervised a small crew of men in the carving of these figureheads into the granite mountainside of Mount Rushmore from 1927 until his death in 1941. Drawing from American musical sources and texts, my composition echoes the resonance and dissonance of Mount Rushmore as a complex icon of American history. Like Mount Rushmore, my libretto is carved out of the words of each President. For the first movement, I have divided the choir into two sections to reflect two phases in the life of George Washington, first as commander-in-chief during the Revolutionary War and later as the first President of the United States. Choir I performs fragments of Chester, the popular Revolutionary War anthem by William Billings, in the bright straight tones of shape-note singing common to the period. Following orchestral echoes of Yankee Doodle, Choir II sings a fragment from Washingtons letter, written upon retirement from public life: I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my Fathers. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of America, was a brilliant political writer and also an accomplished violinist, who wrote that Music is the passion of my soul. As the American Minister to France (1785-89), the recently widowed Jefferson met Maria Cosway in Paris, and fell in love with this young, charismatic, Anglo-Italian society hostess, musician, and composer of salon music. The second movement of my composition intertwines a love song composed by Cosway for Jefferson ( Ogni Dolce Aura) together with a love letter composed by Jefferson for Cosway (Dialogue of the Head vs. the Heart) and key fragments from Jeffersons Declaration of Independence. The third movement is based on the words of Americas 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, who was a great explorer of the uncharted wilderness. While President, Roosevelt created the National Park Service and successfully protected, against great opposition from commercial developers, over 234 million acres of natural plains, forests, rivers and mountain ranges of the American West. It was during his retreats into the barren Badlands of North Dakota (not far from Mount Rushmore) that Roosevelt, as a young man, realized that the majestic beauty of the American wilderness needed to be left as it is for future generations. I have composed music to suggest the robust and mystical sense of Roosevelts delight in the hardy life of the open and the hidden spirit of the wilderness. The fourth and final movement of Mount Rushmore is dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, who successfully reconciled a divided United States and initiated the end of slavery. I have set the rhythmic cadences and powerful words of his Gettysburg Address (1863) to music that resonates with echoes of period music from the Civil War. I create a musical portrait of the 16th President of the United States, who expressed his vision with eloquence, and with hope that the human spirit could overcome prejudice and differences of opinion in order to create a better world. Radio City: Symphonic Fantasy on Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra (2011) for orchestra was commissioned by Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair, Music Director and Condutor and MITO, Settembre Musica International Festival of Music, Enzo Restagno, Artistic Director, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy.

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The world premire was given by the Filarmonica 900 under the direction of David Kawka, at the Auditorium RAI Arturo Toscanini, Torino, Italy on September 11, 2011. The American premire was given by Pacific Symphony under the direction of Carl St.Clair, at the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Cosa Mesa, California on February 23, 2012. Radio City is a symphonic fantasy on Arturo Toscanini who conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra, from NBC Studio 8-H at Rockefeller Center in New York City, in live radio broadcasts heard by millions across America from 1937 to 1954. Born in Parma, Italy, Toscanini (1867-1957) was internationally recognized as the most gifted conductor of his time, famous for his definitive interpretations of operatic and symphonic repertoire. At the height of his career as Music Director of La Scala in Milan, Italy, Toscanini was forced into exile for his refusal to become part of Mussolinis Fascist regime. Like the aging magician Prospero, exiled from Milan to an island in Shakespeares The Tempest, the seventyyear-old Toscanini sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the island of Manhattan, and cast his magic spell upon all who heard him conduct. I. O Brave New World (O Mirabile Nuovo Mondo). The first movement begins with four French horns playing a grandiose musical theme, announcing Toscaninis entry into the Brave New World of America. From the NBC studios in Rockefeller Center, otherwise known as Radio City, Toscanini conducted Vivaldi to open his first NBC Symphony Orchestra broadcast on Christmas Day in 1937. I create a baroque tapestry of Vivaldi violins and kaleidoscopic orchestral fragments of Verdis La forza del destino , accompanied by sleighbells. The music, periodically interrupted by dissonant brass chords, is reminiscent of a brave new Manhattan. After a slow, bluesy section with clarinets playing in octaves, the first movement builds to a grand, magical ending la Toscanini. II. Ode to the Old World (Ode al Vecchio Mondo). I imagineToscanini, exiled in America during World War II, standing alone at the top of the Rockefeller Center skyscraper. As he gazes across the spectacular view from the Manhattan skyline to the Atlantic Ocean, he remembers when he first conducted Verdis Aida as a

young man and wonders when, if ever, he will be able to return to his beloved Italy. The music of this movement is melancholic, mysterious, and turbulent. In addition to cloud-like cluster chords echoing in the glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, and chimes, we also hear nostalgic string melodies performed con passione, contrasted with rousing orchestraltutti sections markedagitato. III. On the Air (In Onda) . In 1939, Life magazine reported, the world knows Toscanini as a great conductor with a fearful temper, an unfailing memory, and the power to lash orchestras into frenzies of fine playing. And in 1944, Toscanini conducted Tchaikovksys The Tempest: Symphonic Fantasy for a live radio performance with the NBC Symphony Orchestra.Just as Shakespeares Prospero calls upon the spirit of Ariel to fly through the air at his command, so also Toscanini commanded the radio waves for his broadcasts on the air across America. In the final movement of Radio City, I have composed music that captures Toscaninis tempestuous temperament, his musical intensity, and the frenzied tempos of his performances. The Gospel According to Sister Aimee (2012) for organ, brass and percussion was commissioned by Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair, Music Director and Conductor, and the San Diego State University School of Music and Dance (SDSU) for its 75th anniversary celebration and SDSU Wind Symphony, Shannon Kitelinger, conductor. The world premire was given by Pacific Symphony under the direction of Carl St.Clair, with Paul Jacobs, organ soloist, at the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, California on February 23, 2012. The Gospel According to Sister Aimee is my musical meditation on the rise, fall and redemption of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), the first important religious celebrity of the new mass media era of the 1930s. Also known as Sister Aimee, she was able to combine Pentecostal old-time religion, patriotism and theatrical pizzazz like no other religious leader of her time. For over 35 years, Sister Aimee, bible in hand, delivered legendary sermons, often speaking-in-tongues, and practiced faith healing from coast to coast at revivals held in tents, town squares, opera houses and boxing rings across America.

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In order to bring her evangelical message to an even greater audience, Sister Aimee preached her conservative gospel in progressive ways by utilizing radio, movies and journalism. Her fundamentalist Foursquare Gospel warned standing-room-only crowds at revivals and radio audiences that drinking, gambling, dancing, Hollywood and the teaching of evolution all represented agencies of the devil to distract the attention of men and women away from spirituality. On the other hand, Sister Aimee was ahead of her time in campaigning for the right for women to vote. In later life, she was the target of numerous critics, including other evangelists, who viewed her lavish life style, opulent fashion wardrobe, over the top theatrics, and questionable love life as hypocritical and modernist. After a decade living a nomadic life and preaching from town to town in revivals across America, she eventually settled in Los Angeles. Raising over a million dollars in donations, she built the spectacular Angelus Temple near Echo Park, a five thousand-seat mega church that opened in 1923. Sister Aimees extravagant Sunday services, which were broadcast on her radio station and attended by thousands of followers from all walks of life, were accompanied by the Silver Brass Band and a mighty Kimball pipe organ. I. Knock Out the Devil! In the first movement, I summon the organ, brass and percussion to call to mind a revival held by Sister Aimee after a boxing match in a San Diego amphitheatre. To publicize the revival, Sister Aimee, wearing her trademark white robe, walked throughout the crowd with a huge sign inviting the audience to join her after the fight to Knock out the Devil! II. An Evangelist Drowns/Desert Dance. On May 16, 1926, Sister Aimee, who was at the peak of her fame, went for a swim near Venice Beach, California and mysteriously vanished. Believed to have drowned, thousands gathered on the beach to pay their respects. But had she really drowned? Newspapers across America asked Where is Sister Aimee? In response to her disappearance, Upton Sinclair, one of Sister Aimees most vocal critics, fictionalized her life in Elmer Gantry (1926), his seminal novel on religious hypocrisy, and wrote a sarcastic poem An Evangelist Drowns (1926):

Whats this? A terror-spasm grips My heart-strings, and my reason slips. Oh, God, it cannot be that I, The bearer of Thy Word, should die! My letters waiting in the tent! The loving messenger I sent! My daughters voice, my mothers kiss! My pulpit-notes on Genesis! Oh, count the souls I saved for Thee, My Savior-wilt Thou not save me? Ten thousand to my aid would run, Bring me my magic microphone! Around a month after her supposed death, Sister Aimee was discovered in a Mexican village across the border from Douglas, Arizona. She claimed she had been kidnapped for ransom and held in Mexico only to escape by walking days through the desert to freedom. The Los Angeles District Attorney did not believe her story: he accused Sister Aimee of faking her disappearance in order to run off with Kenneth Ormiston, a married man who was the radio engineer at the Angelus Temple. The scandal was a serious blow to Sister Aimees reputation. In the second movement, slow descending, mysterious chords evoke Sister Aimees drowning, while a virtuosic dance for organ foot pedals calls forth her wandering the desert for 40 days and nights. III. To the Promised Land. After the scandal, Sister Aimee slowly rebuilt her reputation by focusing on charitable endeavors for the needy and selling War Bonds during the Second World War. The night before she was to preach her popular Story of My Life at a revival, Sister Aimee accidentally took a fatal dose of sleeping pills and never woke up. In To the Promised Land, I create a hymn for Sister Aimee in her final hours, as she meditates on her humble beginnings as a child in the Salvation Army, and her rise and fall as Americas most admired evangelist. The music builds to a dramatic conclusion, as she dreams of her final comeback, returning to the pearly gates of heaven and the biblical promised land. Michael Daugherty

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Sister Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) preaching the gospel at Angelus Temple in Echo Park, Los Angeles, California. Photo: International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Los Angeles, California

Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York, NY. Photo: Library for Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, New York, NY.

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Mount Rushmore
1

I. George Washington

2 II.

Thomas Jefferson

Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And slavry clank her galling chains, Well fear them not; we trust in God, New Englands God forever reigns.
(Chester, Revolutionary War Anthem by William Billings, 1770)

Ogni dolce Aura che spira par che dica ecco il mio ben lalma in sen damor sospira qua lattendo e mai non vien Translation: Each sweet breeze that blows Seems to say, Behold my beloved. The soul in the breast of love sighs. Here I await but my love never comes
(Ogni Dolce Aura; song composed by Maria Cosway for Thomas Jefferson, December 24, 1786, Paris, France)

I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers.
(Letter from George Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette, February 1, 1784)

my Head my Heart
(Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Maria Cosway, 1786, Paris, France)

Music is the passion of my soul

(Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778)

Declaration Tyranny Liberty Slavery Necessity Justice Declaration of Independence

(Declaration of Independence; Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1776)

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3 III.

Theodore Roosevelt

4 IV.

Abraham Lincoln

There is delight in the hardy life of the open. Forest and rivers Mountains and plains There is delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm. Leave it as it is. The ages at work There is delight in the hardy life of the open. Wonderful grandeur Majestic beauty Natural wonder There is delight in the hardy life of the open. Keep it for your children. Leave it as it is.
(Speech at the Grand Canyon, May 6, 1903; African Game Trails; Theodore Roosevelt, 1910)

Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.

(Rock of Ages, hymn by Augustus Montague Toplady, words, and Thomas Hastings, music, 1763)

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
(Gettysburg Address; Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863)

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Michael Daugherty
Michael Daugherty first came to international attention when his Metropolis Symphony was performed by the Baltimore Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1994. Since that time, Daughertys music has entered the orchestral, band and chamber music repertoire and made him, according to the League of American Orchestras, one of the ten most performed American composers of concert music today. Born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty is the son of a dance-band drummer and the oldest of five brothers, all professional musicians. In 1991, Daugherty joined the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where, as Professor of Composition, he is a mentor to many of todays most talented young composers. Daugherty is also a frequent guest of professional orchestras, festivals, universities and conservatories around the world. In 2011, the Nashville Symphonys Naxos recording of Daughertys Metropolis Symphony and Deus ex Machina was honored with three GRAMMY Awards, including Best Classical Contemporary Composition. His Naxos recordings include UFO, Colorado Symphony, Marin Alsop (1999); Fire and Blood, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neemi Jrvi (2005); Metropolis Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Giancarlo Guerrero (2009); Route 66, Bournemouth Symphony, Marin Alsop (2010) and Mount Rushmore, Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair (2012). Daughertys music is published by Peermusic Classical, Boosey and Hawkes, and Michael Daugherty Music. For more information on Michael Daugherty, see www.michaeldaugherty.net and his publishers websites.

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Paul Jacobs
Paul Jacobs is the only organ soloist ever to receive a GRAMMY Award (2011). He made musical history at the age of 23 when he performed the complete organ works of J.S. Bach in an 18-hour non-stop marathon performance, and subsequently has performed the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in nine-hour marathon concerts. Known for his presentations of new works and core repertoire, Jacobs had performed in all 50 of the United States by the age of 31, and also has toured in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. He has appeared as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Phoenix, among others. Jacobs studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, double-majoring with John Weaver (organ) and Lionel Party (harpsichord), and at Yale University with Thomas Murray. He joined the faculty of The Juilliard School in 2003, and was named chairman of the organ department in 2004, one of the youngest faculty appointees in the schools history. He received Juilliards prestigious William Schuman Scholars Chair in 2007. Jacobs 2010 recording of Messiaens Livre du Saint Sacrement (Naxos 8.572436-37) was awarded a GRAMMY in the Best Solo Instrumental category.

Pacific Chorale
Founded in 1968, Pacific Chorale is recognized for exceptional artistic expression, stimulating American-focused programming and influential education programs. Under the guidance of Artistic Director John Alexander, Pacific Chorale has infused an Old World art form with Californias hallmark innovation and cultural independence. Presenting its season at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, Calif., Pacific Chorale is also in demand to perform with the nations leading symphonies. With a membership of 140 professional and volunteer singers, ensembles of various sizes are selected to meet the needs of the repertoire. In addition to its long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, the Chorale has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall on numerous occasions. Other collaborators include the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Boston Symphony, National Symphony and the Long Beach, Pasadena, Riverside and San Diego symphonies. Pacific Chorale has toured extensively in Europe, South America and Asia, performing with major orchestras around the globe. The Chorale has received numerous awards from Chorus America, the service organization for North American choral groups, including the prestigious Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence, the first national Educational Outreach Award and the 2005 ASCAP Chorus America Alice Parker Award for adventurous programming.
Photo: Pacific Symphony

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John Alexander
Pacific Chorales Artistic Director since 1972, Alexander is one of Americas most respected choral conductors. His inspired leadership on the podium and as an advocate for choral music has garnered national and international acclaim. His distinguished career has encompassed conducting hundreds of choral and orchestral performances in 27 countries around the globe, including throughout Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union and South America and, closer to home, with Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Musica Angelica and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Equally versatile whether on the podium or behind the scenes, Alexander has prepared choruses for many of the worlds most outstanding orchestral conductors. Alexander is a composer of many works and serves as the editor of the John Alexander Choral Series with Hinshaw Music. His numerous tributes and awards include: the Distinguished Faculty Member award from California State University, Fullerton; the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award; the Outstanding Individual Artist Award from Arts Orange County; the Gershwin Award, presented by the County of Los Angeles; and the Outstanding Professor Award from California State University, Northridge; and the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art from Chorus America.

Pacific Symphony
Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, is the largest orchestra formed in the United States in the last 40 years, and is recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene as well as in its own community of Southern California. Pacific Symphony offers moving musical experiences with repertoire ranging from the great orchestral masterworks to music from todays most prominent composers, highlighted by the annual American Composers Festival and a series of multi-media concerts called Music Unwound. Pacific Symphony is dedicated to developing and promoting todays composers and expanding the orchestral repertoire illustrated through its many commissions and recordings, in-depth explorations of American artists and themes at the American Composers Festival. The Symphonys innovative approaches to new works received the ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming in 2005 and 2010. In 2010, Pacific Symphony was named one of five orchestras profiled by the League of American Orchestras in a study on innovation. Since 2006, the Symphony has performed in the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by Cesar Pelli with acoustics by Russell Johnson. In March 2006, the Symphony embarked on its first European tour receiving an unprecedented 22 rave reviews.
Photo: Pacific Symphony

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Carl St.Clair
Photo: Pacific Symphony

As Pacific Symphonys Music Director since 1990-91, Carl St.Clair has become widely recognized for his musically distinguished performances, commitment to outstanding educational programs and innovative approaches to programming. St.Clair is known for the critically acclaimed annual American Composers Festivals, which began in 2000. In 2011-12, he inaugurated a three-year vocal initiative, with a semi-staged production of La Bohme and in 2012-13, Tosca. Four years ago, he launched Music Unwound, featuring concerts highlighted by multimedia and innovative formats. In 200607, he led the orchestras move into its acoustic home in the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Orange County, Calif. In March 2006, St.Clair took the Symphony on its first highly successful European tour. St.Clair has served as General Music Director of the Komische Oper in Berlin, and as General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle (GNTS) in Weimar, Germany. He was also Principal Guest Conductor of the Radio Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart. He has appeared with orchestras in Israel, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South America, and summer festivals worldwide. In North America, St.Clair has led many major orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Assistant Conductor.

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John Alexander, Artistic Director of Pacific Chorale, Carl St.Clair, Music Director of Pacific Symphony, and composer Michael Daugherty following the world premire of Mount Rushmore by Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale at the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, California, February 4, 2010. Photo: Stan Sholik Mount Rushmore, Radio City: Symphonic Fantasy on Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and The Gospel According to Sister Aimee were recorded at Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, California, USA, from 4th to 6th February, 2010 (tracks 1-4), and from 23rd to 25th February, 2012 (tracks 5-10). Producer and editor: Blanton Alspaugh Engineer: Ted Ancona Mixed and Mastered at Soundmirror by Mark Donahue Publishers: Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Inc., Hendon Music (BMI) (tracks 1-4); Michael Daugherty Music (tracks 5-10)

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