Ravinia 2025 Issue 4

Letters, American Society of Composers, Au- thors, and Publishers (ASCAP), The Kennedy Center, S&R Foundation Washington, and Unit- ed States Artists. Esmail serves as co-Artistic Director of Shastra, a nonprofit organization that “fosters cross-cultural dialogue between the great musical traditions of India and the West,” and is Artistic Chair Emerita of NewMusic USA Board of Directors. Her compositions have been commissioned and interpreted by performers such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Rider, Conspirare, Imani Winds, and Kronos Quartet. RE|Member was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Sym- phony for the 2021/22 concert season. It pre- miered on the season-opening concert (Septem- ber 18, 2021) of the Seattle Symphony, featuring principal oboist Mary Lynch VanderKolk and music director Thomas Dausgaard. Esmail en- visioned an overture in the tradition of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro or Bernstein’s Candide . “Each is breathless and energetic, with pockets of intimacy and tenderness. Each contains many parallel universes that unfold quickly. Each has beautiful, memorable melodies that speak and beckon to one another.” Esmail introduces a theatrical quality in the opening measures—an introspective (“searching”) solo-oboe prologue, played either on video or offstage—that returns as an epilogue at the end of RE|Member . The driving force behind this music came from the orchestral musicians’ return to the stage after the COVID-19 pandemic—an experience cap- tured in two meanings of the word “remember.” Esmail explained that the first meaning embraces “the sense that something is being brought back together. The orchestra is re-membering, coalesc- ing again after being apart,” while the second serves as a reminder “that we don’t want to forget the perspectives which each of these individuals gained during this time, simply because we are back in a familiar situation. I wanted this piece to honor the experience of coming back together, infused with the wisdom of the time apart.” TIM CORPUS Movement III from The Great Lake Concerto Scored for two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, two trombones and bass trombone, tuba, Soloist I (maracas, five tom drums), Soloist II (xylophone, snare drum, five tom drums), timpani, Percussion I (suspended cymbals, ratchet, triangle, tam- tam), Percussion II (bass drum), harp, and strings Tim Corpus has forged a multifaceted career as a percussionist, composer, sound designer, producer, music executive, and arts leader based in Chicago. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from Roosevelt Uni- versity and Master of Music in Music Composi- tion from the University of Hartford (The Hartt School). Corpus’s original creations traverse a wide range of musical forms and settings: or- chestra, wind ensemble, chamber music, solo instruments, drum line, electronics, film, and video games. Further, Corpus has arranged and orchestrated music for celebrated artists such as tenor Andrea Bocelli, soprano Renée Fleming, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Third Coast Percussion. Recent projects include the 2021 album MMXX , which received Grammy consideration. Alpha- bet , Corpus’s 2024 recording project, was re- leased one letter (i.e., track) at a time on major streaming services. His newest composition for concert band, Horizon’s First Light , was commis- sioned by the United High School Band in Mon- mouth, IL, which gave the world premiere under the direction of Madeline Wood on May 6, 2025, after introducing the composition at the 2025 Il- linois Music Education Association Conference. As an arts administrator and leader, Corpus cur- rently juggles several roles as Executive Director of the 2025 Ear Taxi Festival, Executive Director of the Hyde Park Youth Symphony, co-founder and Vice-Chair of the Society of Composers & Lyricists in Chicago, and the recently elected Governor of the Chicago Chapter of the Record- ing Academy. He previously served as Executive Director of the Lake Forest Symphony, Board President of the Illinois Council of Orchestras, and Founding Member of the Opera Festival of Chicago. Corpus also is a staunch advocate of Filipino music—his own cultural heritage. Tim Corpus offered the following insight into his newest composition: “ The Great Lake Con- certo , a concerto for double percussion, serves as a powerful ode to water conservation and the city of Chicago. Composed for my former per- cussion teachers, Ed Harrison [Lyric Opera of Chicago] and Vadim Karpinos [Chicago Sym- phony Orchestra], the concerto not only show- cases the technical prowess of the percussion- ists but also resonates with a message about the interconnectedness of communities and their natural surroundings. The concerto explores the symbiotic relationship between humanity and Tim Corpus water, drawing inspiration from Lake Michigan, which stretches over 22,406 square miles and serves as a lifeblood for Chicago. “Opening with the deep resonance of water through the water gong, the first movement explores the ebb and flow of water, deep and expansive, shallow, and fragile. The second movement features a folk song, selected by Vad- im Karpinos: this song celebrates another city shaped by water, Kyiv, Ukraine. The closing movement showcases the star performers, mak- ing space for unique solos from the maracas and the xylophone.” GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937) Cuban Overture Scored for three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, xylophone, snare drum, bass drum, suspended cymbal, woodblock, Cuban sticks (claves), gourd, maracas, bongos, and strings. Fresh off the dazzling success of his musical Of Thee I Sing —which opened at the Music Box Theatre on December 26, 1931, and became the first musical ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1932—George Gershwin left New York City on February 12, 1932, aboard the Holland America ocean liner SS Veendam , destined for Cuba. He arrived in Havana four days later, ac- companied by a distinguished group of friends: Bennett Cerf, the writer, publisher, and co-founder of Random House; Adam Gimbel, founder of the Gimbels department store chain; Everett Jacobs, a financier; and Daniel H. Silber- berg, a successful stockbroker. Another stock- broker friend, Emil Mosbacher, joined the en- tourage on February 20. Gershwin and his companions took up residence at the Almendares Hotel and Golf Club, which offered food, drinks, and entertainment virtually round-the-clock. A son cubano ensemble hired by Henry Ittleson, the founder of CIT Finan- cial Corporation, welcomed Gershwin to the Gershwin and companions arriving in Havana RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 59 ASHLEYDERAN(CORPUS)