Step into a world of rebirth and rediscovery through three extraordinary works that stir the soul and awaken the senses. Gabriella Smith’s Rust pulses with earthy energy and vibrant textures — a raw, kinetic meditation on nature and decay that ultimately celebrates life’s resilience. Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été follows with hauntingly beautiful songs of love, loss, and transcendence, floating like a dream through the twilight of the human heart. The evening culminates in Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite, a dazzling tale of magic and rebirth where darkness gives way to radiant, triumphant light.
Let the music cleanse your mind, uplift your spirit, and remind you of the beauty of transformation. This is more than a concert — it’s a renewal.
Gabriella Smith’s Rust is a visceral, sonic exploration of decay and regeneration — a wild, electrifying ride through nature’s cycles. With pulsing rhythms, earthy textures, and an unstoppable energy, Rust crackles with life, reminding us that even in breakdown, there is beauty, growth, and renewal.
Set to the poetry of Théophile Gautier, these six exquisite songs unfold like a twilight reverie — tender, haunting, and deeply human. Let your heart be carried away on this elegant journey through the seasons of the soul.
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A thrilling tale of magic, danger, and ultimate triumph, Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite is bursting with vivid orchestral color, soaring melodies, and pulse-quickening rhythms. This legendary score captures the wonder of transformation and the power of light over darkness. A breathtaking finale promises to leave you uplifted and exhilarated.
RUST by Gabriella Smith
Gabriella Smith’s Rust is a vibrant, kinetic orchestral work that immerses listeners in the raw, transformative forces of nature. Composed in 2016, this piece draws inspiration from the organic processes of decay and renewal—where rust, often seen as a symbol of deterioration, becomes a metaphor for natural cycles of growth, change, and resilience.
Smith’s music bursts with energy, weaving pulsating rhythms, shimmering textures, and shifting timbres that evoke the layered complexity of rust spreading across metal, as well as the life that thrives amid decay. The piece’s relentless momentum and earthy sonic palette create a visceral experience that is both intense and deeply connected to the environment.
Rust has been praised for its thrilling vitality and fresh perspective on orchestral sound. Critics have noted Smith’s ability to capture the unpredictable and transformative power of nature through music, describing the work as a “sonic exploration of regeneration” and “an exhilarating journey from corrosion to renewal.” Audiences are often drawn to the piece’s visceral immediacy and its celebration of life’s enduring cycle, making Rust a striking example of contemporary music’s ability to reflect and refresh our connection to the world around us.
With Rust, Gabriella Smith invites us to listen closely to the sounds of transformation—reminding us that decay is not an end, but the beginning of new growth.
LES NUITS D'ETE by Hector Berlioz
Les Nuits d’été (“Summer Nights”) is a beloved song cycle by Hector Berlioz, originally composed in 1841 for voice and piano, later orchestrated by the composer himself. Setting six poems by Théophile Gautier, the cycle explores a wide emotional range—from youthful love and joy to sorrow and introspective longing—tracing the changing moods of summer nights and the human heart.
At a time when French art song (mélodie) was still developing, Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été stood out for its expressive depth, innovative orchestration, and poetic sensitivity. Each song is a miniature drama, blending vivid imagery with profound emotion. The cycle opens with the buoyant Villanelle and moves through haunting pieces like Absence and Sur les lagunes, culminating in the tender and tragic L’île inconnue.
Critics and audiences alike have praised Les Nuits d’été for its lyricism and emotional honesty. The cycle’s seamless fusion of poetry and music helped elevate the mélodie as a serious art form, influencing generations of composers. Today, Les Nuits d’été remains a staple of the vocal repertoire, celebrated for its timeless beauty, expressive nuance, and its ability to transport listeners into the dreamy twilight world of love and loss.
LES NUITS D'ETE by Hector Berlioz
Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite is a landmark work that launched one of the most revolutionary careers in 20th-century music. Originally composed as a ballet score for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, The Firebird premiered in Paris in 1910, captivating audiences with its vivid orchestration, evocative melodies, and blend of Russian folk tales with modern musical language.
The story, drawn from Russian folklore, follows the magical Firebird — a mystical creature whose appearance brings both danger and salvation. Stravinsky’s music captures this narrative through a rich tapestry of colors, from hauntingly mysterious motifs to triumphant, radiant climaxes. The suite, extracted from the full ballet score, distills the work’s most memorable themes into a dynamic orchestral showcase.
At its premiere, The Firebird was met with enthusiastic acclaim, marking Stravinsky as a bold new voice in music. Critics praised its imaginative orchestration and dramatic power, and it quickly became a favorite in concert halls worldwide. Over a century later, the Firebird Suite remains a thrilling experience — a timeless story of magic and renewal, brought to life by Stravinsky’s brilliant blend of tradition and innovation.
Powerfully compelling, Deanna Tham is known for her captivating and tenacious spirit on and off the podium. She is currently the Associate Conductor of the Oregon Symphony, Music Director of the Union Symphony Orchestra, and Interim Music Director of the Portland Chamber Orchestra. She is also a 2024 La Maestra Conducting Competition semi-finalist and La Maestra academian. Tham is also regularly guest conducts with her engagements including the Oregon Symphony, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Orpheus PDX, Ballet Idaho, Opera Idaho, and 45th Parallel.
Previously, Tham was the Assistant Conductor of the Omaha Symphony, following her tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and Principal Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras. She has performed at the Proms in Royal Albert Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Seiji Ozawa Hall at the Tanglewood Music Center working with Maestros James Ross, Joseph Young, and Sir Antonio Pappano, as well as renowned artists Isobel Leonard and Joyce DiDonato. Recent highlights include leading the all-women Broadway Sinfonietta in the world- premiere of Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse live with symphonic score, Jacksonville Symphony's first educational Martin Luther King Jr. tribute concert and the Union Symphony's first city- community Pops on the Plaza collaboration of Latin American pop and classical music.
Praised by Opera News for the “clear beauty” of her voice and her “spot-on comic timing,” mezzo-soprano Sarah Nordin brings an exquisite blend of vocal artistry and strong dramatic instincts to a broad range of repertoire.Known for her interpretations of Rossini and Mozart, Sarah has received accolades for possessing “a voice that fits Mozart like a glove,” She has been featured in recent seasons as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Orlando and Gulf Coast Symphony as well as the title role in La Cenerentola with Geneva Light Opera.
Likewise, her Cherubino and Marcelina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina and Elvira in Don Giovanni, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri and Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte have charmed audiences at Opera Tampa, Long Island Lyric Opera, Opera Orlando, Gulf Shore Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, Landlocked Opera, Taconic Opera and Winter Opera of St. Louis. This season she sang Rosina with First Coast Opera and Dorabella with Opera Ithaca.
Additionally, Ms. Nordin has received great acclaim for her numerous performances in the title role of Carmen, most recently with Bel Cantanti Opera, the Missouri Symphony and Gulfshore Opera. She will reprise this role this season with the MacBeth Concert Series in Maine. Opera News praised her performance stating “Sarah Nordin demonstrated in this role, as in previous productions, that her voice can hold its own with the big guns, it's clear beauty resounded effortlessly as she captured the ferocious nature of the iconic Carmen during her sizzling rendition.” Other notable roles include Maddalena in Rigoletto, Charlotte in Werther, Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus in multiple venues, including First Coast Opera, Opera Huntsville and Hubbard Hall Opera Theatre. She has also appeared in six productions, La Boheme, Boris Godenov, Parsifal, Les Troyens, Don Carlos and Nabucco with The Metropolitan Opera as a member of the ensemble. These performances include three Met Live in HD Broadcasts and a tour with The Met to Japan.
New works and musicals comprise a significant part of Sarah Nordin’s career. Most notably, she premiered the role of Mary Eden Thompson in The Circuit Rider’s Wife, which included a three-year tour and an original cast recording, Lydia in Penelope Ann’s Revenge, a sequel to Arthur Sullivan’s Cox and Box, The Conductress in the world premiere of Un bocca al lupo and she premiered the role of Annie Jump Cannon in Galaxies in her Eyes. Her favorite classic Musical Theater roles performed are Maria in Sound of Music, Sandy in Grease, Evangeline Harcourt in Anything Goes and Tzeital in Fiddler on the Roof. 2025 engagements include Charlotte in A Little Night Music with St Petersburg Opera, Sorrine Olsa in Giants in the Earth with the South Dakota Symphony, the world premiere of The Worldwide Requiem by Erica Glenn at Carnegie Hall and Nellie in South Pacific with the MacBeth Concert Series.Sarah was a Young Artist with Opera Theatre of St Louis, Central City Opera and Opera North, a Professional Artist in Residence with Gulf Shore Opera and spent two years as a member of the Studio Artist Programs at both Orlando Opera and Knoxville Opera.
Ms. Nordin, a Master of Music graduate from the University of Tennessee trained under Carrol Freeman and continues her vocal studies with Ms Victoria Livengood. Additionally, she excels as an award-winning ballroom dancer and an accomplished french horn player.
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