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.
Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali has been praised for her “warm, nuanced voice” and “spontaneity” on the stage. Opera News described her debut performance with Minnesota Opera as “…a tour de force of diction, precision and pizzazz.” Ms. Rogali's powerful stage presence and vocal versatility showcase her as an artist who excels across a variety of genres, including opera, musical theatre, and concert music. In the 2024-25 season, Ms. Rogali will make her debut as the title role of Carmen with both Virginia Opera and Florentine Opera. As part of Sarasota Opera’s Winter Festival, she will also reprise her charming Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Ms. Rogali looks forward to returning to the South Florida Symphony as the alto soloist in their annual Messiah, in addition to singing Paquette in their semi-staged concert production of Candide.During the 2023-24 season, Ms. Rogali joined the Detroit Opera’s Resident Artist Program, singing the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and the Dog/Woodpecker in The Cunning Little Vixen. She also made her role debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with North Carolina Opera and performed Der Trommler in Ullman’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. Ms. Rogali was named a Finalist in the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition and was awarded the Jonathan Pell People’s Choice Award. On the concert stage, she made her Carnegie Hall Debut as the alto soloist in Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” with MidAmerica Productions. That summer, she performed the title role in The Rose Elf by David Herzberg with OrpheusPDX.
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