Program
A Modal Menagerie
7 animals for 7 continents in 7 modes
(Orchestral Premiere)
Brian Scott Wilson (b. 1962)
I. Dorian Zebra
II. Lydian Penguin
III. Mixolydian Panda
IV. Aeolian Kangaroo
V. Phrygian Sloth
VI. Locrian Reindeer
VII. Ionian Eagle
Concerto for Clarinet No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73
Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826)
Kyle Beard, clarinet soloist
I. Allegro
II. Adagio ma non troppo
III. Rondo: Allegretto
Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68
"The Pastoral"
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande.
"Awakening of Cheerful Feelings Upon Arrival in the Countryside"
II. Scene am Bach.
"Scene by the Brook"
III. Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute
"Merry Gathering of Country Folk"
IV. Gewitter. Sturm.
"Thunder. Storm"
V. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm
"Shepherd's Song: Happy and Thankful Feelings after the Storm"
ORCHESTRA
Violin I
Pam Otsuka, Concertmaster
Marcia Lotter
Jeanette Isenberg
Violin II
Donny Lobree
Kathy Wright
Susanne Wong
Viola
Matthew Stern
Robby Morales
Steve Machtinger
Cello
Ian Kitchen
Marian Schuchman
Kathy Vast
Andrew Willbanks
Bass
Mark Culbertson
Kevin Gordon
Flute
Carol Adee
Jane Lenior
Amanda Hahn
Piccolo
Carol Adee
Amanda Hahn
Oboe
Chris Krive
Brian Thompson
English Horn
Brian Thompson
Clarinet
Matthew Rupert
Kyle Beard
Bassoon
Carla Wilson
Steven Peterson
Horn
Beth Milne
Ruth Wilson
Trumpet
Chris Wilhite
Brendan Wilhelmsen
Trombone
Max Perkoff
Jack Madden
Timpani/ Percussion
Christian Foster Howes
A MODAL MENAGERIE
7 Animals from 7 Continents in 7 Modes
(Orchestral Premiere)
by Brian S. Wilson
Composed for piano and first performed by Marilyn Thompson in 2025, A Modal Menagerie is an exploration of the seven musical modes* in a whimsical presentation geared for young pianists. Each movement is composed in a specific mode that describes a representative animal in its native habitat.
Orchestrated by the composer especially for ECHO Chamber Orchestra, the seven movements span the globe, beginning in Africa (zebra in Dorian mode); to Antarctica (penguin, Lydian); Asia (panda, Mixolydian); Australia (kangaroo, Aeolian); South America (sloth, Phrygian); Europe (reindeer, Locrian); and North America (eagle, Ionian). Or to put it another way, if we make most of our meals using the same ingredients in different ways, A Modal Menagerie opens our ears to a new palette of spices!
Composer and conductor Brian S. Wilson is professor of music at Sonoma State University where he teaches music theory. His teachers include Malcolm Peyton, Edward Diamente, Dan Asia, Ralph Shapey and Shulamit Ran (composition); and Barbara Schubert, Michael Walters, Gregg Hanson and Kurt Klippstater (conducting).
* The seven musical modes trace their roots to ancient Greece and into medieval sacred music. They became displaced by the major and minor scales of Western Classical harmony, and re-emerged in the last century through works of Debussy & Ravel, and in jazz, folk, rock, and even metal.
Concerto for Clarinet No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) composed his Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73, in 1811 after his Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra in E flat major, Op. 26, and before his Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 74. All three works were written for and dedicated to the clarinetist Heinrich Joseph Baermann, and all three show a complete understanding of the capabilities of the instrument.
Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1 is distinctly different from the earlier concertino: where the earlier work is lightly playful and lyrically expressive, the Concerto No. 1 is deeply serious and dramatically, almost operatically, expressive. The concerto is in three movements: a forceful opening Allegro, an intensely expressive central Adagio, and an energetic closing Rondo Allegretto. Weber is clearly a master of the Romantic orchestra, and his writing for the soloists is supremely skillful throughout.
Kyle Beard, Clarinet
Kyle Beard enjoys a varied musical career in the Bay Area. He is active as a performer on clarinet and bass clarinet (along with occasional saxophone!) with numerous groups across Northern California, including the Luke Doughty Quartet, North State Symphony, the Slow Wave trio, ECHO Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Parnassus, and the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. In addition to performing, Kyle is also a dedicated educator, working as an orchestral and reed instrument coach at Berkeley High School, as well as with various schools in Oakland, CA through the Oakland Symphony's MUSE program. He also maintains a private studio, and has had students gain admission to schools such as San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Boston Conservatory/Berklee College of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory.When not teaching or performing, Kyle is the owner and technician for RBK Winds, a repair shop in Oakland, CA performing instrument repairs for professionals in the Bay Area in addition to the public schools in San Francisco and Oakland. Kyle received his training at the Peabody Conservatory with Steven Barta, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Luis Baez, and with Michael Sussman at UMass Amherst.
Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68
"The Pastoral"
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
The Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, known as the “Pastoral Symphony," begins with "Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country," to be taken at an "Allegro ma non troppo" speed (fast but not exceedingly so). But there are actually many tempos, moods, feelings and effects in the first movement of Beethoven's Sixth. One thing is missing, though: that forward thrust so typical for Beethoven; the struggle and the passion in striving for a goal. Instead, the main theme is repeated, and in parts of the first movement, time seems to slow down and even stand still. The Symphony No. 6 isn't a graphic musical depiction of nature, though. As Ludwig van Beethoven personally wrote above the first movement: "More an expression of feeling than tone-painting."
Beethoven's sketchbooks show that he took infinite care in choosing the exact title of this symphony, as well as that of each movement. At first, he refused to give the work a title, deciding to let the listener find the symphony's meaning. Later, he changed his mind and wrote "Sinfonia caratteristica. Memories of country life. All painting loses, as soon as it [is] pushed too far into instrumental music." Later still, he modified the title and added: "Sinfonia pastorella. Anyone who understands what country life is like can imagine, without much prompting, what the author intends. It's more an expression of sensations than a painting." In the end, he wrote "Symphonie Pastorale. Not a painting, but simply a piece of music expressing the sensations that the pleasure of the countryside brings to man."
ECHO STAFF AND STEERING COMMITTEE
Matthew Stern, Director of Operations
Daniel Canosa, Music Director
Carol Adee, Personnel Manager
Kyle Beard, Treasurer and Grants
Jane Lenoir, Development
Beth Milne, Librarian
Matt Rupert, Social Media
Marcelo Saettone, Graphic Design
Ruth Wilson, Publicity
Our most sincere thanks to the First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo and Rev. Scott Clark for their support.