University Orchestra

About the Program

W.A. Mozart
Symphony No. 34 in C major, K. 338
Born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria
Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria
Composed 1780
Premiered 1780
Duration 20 minutes

By 1780, the 22 year old Mozart had already held the position of court musician to the Archbishop Colloredo for ten years. As the musician matured from prodigy to professional, his aspirations also matured, and he began wanting more than what he felt Salzburg could offer. He wanted to write operas, and he wanted his music to be heard by sophisticated audiences. Salzburg came up short on both counts, not to mention his benefactor continued to demand an excess of church music, which was uninspiring to Mozart. Yet, despite all these factors that might contribute to musical apathy, Mozart crafted his 34th symphony in the fall of 1780. The first movement takes 40 measure to offer a recognizable melody, opening with a blustery and pompous extended fanfare (perhaps a depiction of the Archbishop?), before launching into an energetic sonata form movement. He had originally planned to a minuet to follow, but tore it out of the manuscript, instead choosing a slower Andante (yet, not too slow, marking it più tosto allegretto, meaning “somewhat allegretto”), before launching into the lively jig finale. Mozart would move to Vienna a year later, where he took this symphony with him. Despite its public success, it wasn’t published until after his death.

Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88
Born September 8, 1841, Nelahozeves, Czechia
Died May 1, 1904, Prague, Czechia
Composed 1889
Premiered February 2, 1890, Prague
Duration 34 minutes 

In 1888, composer Antonín Dvořák purchased a cottage in Vysoká,, and in the fall of 1889, after just having been named into Emperor Franz Josef’s Czech Academy of Science, Literature and the Arts, he traveled to the countryside to rejuvenate and compose. As his biographer explains, “[h]is own garden in Vysoká, which he loved ‘like the divine art itself’, and the fields and woods through which he wandered…. [were] a welcome refuge, bringing him not only peace and fresh vigor of mind, but happy inspiration for new creative work. In communion with Nature, in the harmony of its voices and the pulsating rhythms of its life, in the beauty of its changing moods and aspects, his thoughts came more freely…. Here he absorbed poetical impressions and moods, here he rejoiced in life and grieved in its inevitable decay, here he indulged in philosophical reflections on the substance and meaning of the interrelation between Nature and life.” The result of this 1889 communion with nature was the composer’s eighth symphony. Fresh off the success of his seventh, Dvořák was still more interested in making a name for himself as an opera composer, but after the success of his Slavonic Dances —fueled by the very public support from Brahms— Dvořák continued with his symphonic writing. This symphony, written only four years before his ninth and final (the New World), is bursting with the Czech countryside the composer loved so much.

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About the Artists

Matthew Pavon

Matthew Pavon is a conductor and violist studying for a master's in music for Orchestral Conducting under Farkhad Khudyev at the Butler School of Music. In his role as Teaching Assistant for University Orchestras, Matthew assists in conducting and administrating the University Symphony Orchestra and Co-Directs the University Orchestra. Matthew has served as the Graduate Conductor of the Missouri State University Orchestra. Upon receiving his M.M. in viola performance, he continued as the Assistant Conductor for Missouri State University from 2022 to 2023. His guest conducting appearances have included concerts with ensembles like the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Missouri Philharmonic, and the Drury University Orchestra. A strong believer in supporting the arts in his communities, Matthew is the founder and former artistic director of the Galloway Chamber Orchestra in Springfield, MO. He is also currently the workshop conductor for the Youth Symphony of Kansas City.  Matthew lives in Austin, TX with his wife, Leianna, and their mini-Australian Shepherds, Koda and Ellie. 

Chris Tran

Chris Tran is Co-Director of the University of Texas University Orchestra, Graduate Teaching Assistant for the University of Texas Orchestras, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting with Farkhad Khudyev at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Tran has been an invited conductor at several masterclasses and workshops in Boulder, Los Angeles, Eugene, St. Andrews (Scotland), as well as the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with Cristian Măcelaru, Thomas Sleeper, and Leonard Slatkin, and the International Conducting Workshop and Festival with the late Larry Rachleff and Donald Schleicher. He has also worked with conductors Neil Thomson, Jeff Grogan, and Sian Edwards. Mr. Tran earned a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder with Gary Lewis, and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Southern Methodist University. His conducting mentors include Nicholas Carthy and Paul Phillips. He studied violin with Charles Wetherbee, former concertmaster of the Boulder Philharmonic, and Diane Kitzman, former Principal Violin of the Dallas Symphony. 

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University Orchestra

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Upcoming Events

Butler School of Music Presents
Les Noces
By Igor Stravisnky 
and Ballet Mécanique by Geroge Antheil 
 

FEATURING
Experimental & Electronic Music Studio
Concert Chorale
Percussion Ensemble

Patti Wolf, Rick Rowley, & Andrew Brownell, piano
Leah Crocetto, soprano
Page Stephens, mezzo soprano
Evan Brown, tenor
Mikhail Smigelski, bass 

Thursday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.
Bates Recital Hall 

Tickets

Gregory Eaton, organ
Monday, October 21, 7:30 p.m.
Bates Recital Hall 

Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.
Bates Recital Hall

Miró Quartet
Monday, October 28, 7:30 p.m.
Bates Recital Hall

University Orchestra
Tuesday, November 19, 7:30 p.m.
Bates Recital Hall

Symphony Orchestra
Monday, December 9, 7:30 p.m.
Bates Recital Hall

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