Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Meadow Hall at Groton Hill
Nicole O’Toole, Director
Voix Pétillantes
Serge Paul-Emile
Written by local composer and flutist Serge Paul-Emile, Voix Pétillantes or “Sparkling Voices” is a lively piece full of many voices interacting joyously together. The composer shares that it highlights the rich variety of expression that strengthens and nourishes the human collective. While banishing feelings of isolation and loneliness, Voix Pétillantes affirms connectiveness and the celebratory nature of our communicative life.
Temple of Heaven
Phyllis Avidan Louke
I. Temple of the Sun
II. Temple of the Moon
III. Temple of the Earth
IV. Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven is an original, programmatic work written by American composer and flutist Phyllis Avidan Louke. The work uses the pentatonic scale in all its modes and describes a series of four temples built in Beijing: Temple of the Sun in the east, Temple of the Moon in the west, Temple of the Earth in the north, and Temple of Heaven in the south. Completed in 1420, the Temple of Heaven is the most important and largest of the structures. Chinese emperors, formally known as “Sons of Heaven” felt that the dwelling for heaven should be even grander than the emperor’s own abode in the Forbidden City. Color is important and the temples are tiled in red, white, yellow, and blue respectively. Consider allowing the sound to wash over you in a meditative way as you listen to the various movements.
Tylos
Alexa Letourneau
Nicole Burke, vocalist
New York City based composer Alexa Letourneau has written a brand new work expressly for the Groton Hill Flute Orchestra. Tylos takes its name from the ultra-hot exoplanet WASP-121 b, a “hot Jupiter” locked in a violent gravitational relationship with its star. This planet is tidally locked, with one hemisphere in perpetual daylight, the other in endless night. This produces extreme and unstable conditions that shape the musical language of the work.
On the dayside, temperatures exceed 3,000 K, hot enough to vaporize metals; silver, nickel, (both of which are used to make flutes) and other heavy elements are carried into the upper atmosphere, later condensing and falling as rain on the cooler night side. The piece draws on this continuous metallic circulation, consisting of evaporation, transportation, and collapse, as a structural principle. Large-scale sections shifting from one to the next mirror the planet’s rapid orbit, while the contrast evokes the stark divide between irradiated and dark hemispheres.
Central to this piece is the use of box notation, which invites the performers to play a fragment of music in their own personal time, rather than in a fixed meter. Within these flexible sections, each flutist acts as an independent agent, entering, sustaining, and dissolving textures according to their own musical sense rather than a global pulse. This approach mirrors the non-uniform, asynchronous behavior of atmospheric flows on a tidally locked planet, where multiple systems coexist without a single governing rhythm.
Rather than depicting Tylos directly, the piece constructs an experiential analogue: an attempt to inhabit a world defined by extremes, where physical laws manifest as sound, and where time unfolds in ways that seem entirely alien.
~ world premiere ~
Ständchen
Richard Strauss
arr. Nicole O’Toole
Nicole Burke, vocalist
Originally composed for piano and voice by Richard Struass, Ständchen, or “Serenade,” has also been arranged for orchestra and now flute ensemble! The sparkling, bubbly texture supports the vocalist as she sings lyrics written by Adolf Friedrich von Schack who lived in the late 1800s. This serenade describes the charming story of a secret lover’s tryst in the dark of night, the beloved seduced into sneaking into the moonlit forest for a night of passion.
~ Intermission ~
Jupiter
Gustav Holst
arr. Rick Pierce
Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity is one movement from Gustav Holst’s suite “The Planets” which was completed in 1917. Today we will play the version by New Hampshire flutist, arranger, and friend of our flute orchestra Rick Pierce. In Holst’s own preface to the suite he advised that “there is no program in the pieces,” and that, “the subtitles should suffice to guide the imagination of the listener.” The high spirits and energetic melody in the first section speak to English folk dances. The central, chorale section is royal and stately. The work closes with a return of the vigorous melody.
Moon Cumbia
Carmen Liliana Marulanda
Colombian flutist and composer Carmen Liliana Marulanda composed Moon Cumbia in 2018. In her description of the piece, she discusses how the history of African Slavery in South America is similar in many ways to the history here in North America. Despite all the atrocities, restrictions, and sadness the African communities found a deep, vital connection to their ancestors through music and dance. In the Caribbean coastal areas of Colombia the magic of music and dance was often invoked at night. The whole community of slaves, both African and indigenous, unified and was allowed to exist around music. The genre of music from this region called Cumbia is said to have a rhythmic foundation that comes from the rattling of shackles on the slaves’ feet. You will hear “Tsh” and “Th” sounds from the flutists that represent these percussive sounds. The composer closes by saying, “The Cumbia always conveys a melancholic mood, often evoking the struggles and sufferings of a colonial past. It is in our spirit and actions that we can learn from it, transforming–as in music–sadness into love.”
Star Dust
Hoagy Carmichael
arr. Nicole O’Toole
Nicole Burke, vocalist
Hoagland Howard “Hoagy” Carmichael was a 20th century American musician who composed one of the most popular and enduring jazz standards of the 20th century. “Star Dust” (or “Stardust”) has been recorded more than 1,500 times with notable covers by Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, and Bing Crosby.
In an interview with the BBC, Carmichael stated, “Well, I got the idea just walking across the campus one night, my university campus where I went to school. I’d just left the college hangout called the Book Nook, and I started whistling, and I whistled this opening strain of ‘Stardust,’ and I knew that I had something very strange and different.”
L’OVNI ~ The UFO
Thomas W. O’Toole
Local composer Thomas O’Toole has degrees in music theory and composition from the University of Lowell and the University of Illinois. He has written for a variety of genres, but this is his first piece for flute orchestra. He wrote L’OVNI especially for this ensemble’s “Out Of This World” themed concert. “OVNI” is the acronym used by French, Spanish, and Portuguese speakers for what we call an unidentified flying object or UFO. The composer has used both original themes as well as interjected, well-known Sci-Fi movie and TV themes. Depending on your age, you might recognize them all! Be sure to listen for some extended technique Jet Whistles as L’OVNI takes off!
~ world premiere ~
Nicole O’Toole, Director
All members play the C flute. Additional instruments for this concert are listed next to the player.
Elaine Allen, alto
Sarah Andrysiak, bass
Kevin Buff, piccolo
Stephanie Connors, alto
Carrie Cormier
David Deifik, piccolo
Sue Thorne Gagnon, piccolo
Kaitlyn Gonzales, Eb flute
Lisa Harris
Jeanne Hebert, bass
Christine Holley-Williams
Nancy Kessler
Casey Koulalis, piccolo & alto
Laura Kuncho, contrabass
Haley Laken, alto
Andrea LaRose, bass
Lisa Mitchell, alto
Serge Paul-Emile, bass
Grace Rydout
Vera Sellers, alto
Brian Seney, bass
Lindsey Sherman
Kim Tower, bass
Sarah Tower-Richardi
Jessica Volk, piccolo
Nicole O’Toole has been teaching music in Massachusetts since the early 90s and playing flute for over 40 years. She holds a degree in music education from UMass Amherst and a Master’s in Flute Performance from UMass Lowell having studied with Doug Worthen. Nicole teaches beginning band in her hometown of Bedford, Massachusetts, where she also serves as the K-12 Program Director of Performing Arts. Additionally, Nicole directs the Rivers Junior Youth Wind Ensemble at the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston. Nicole performs with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, the Gateway City Orchestra, and the Firebird Pops Orchestra. For many years she was a playing member of the Groton Hill Flute Orchestra but now serves as the ensemble’s conductor and artistic director. Her arrangements for flute choir are numerous and can be heard on the YouTube channel of the Groton Hill Flute Orchestra. Nicole’s other interests include photography, yoga, and hiking mountains with her husband Tom and two sons.
Nicole Burke is a soprano, songwriter, and voice educator based in Lowell, Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University and a Master of Music from the Royal College of Music. While in England, she performed at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in 2019.
Her operatic credits include Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Dalinda in Ariodante, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, and Despina in Così fan tutte. Equally at home in musical theatre, she has portrayed roles such as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago, Marge in The Bridges of Madison County, and Mrs. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol.
Beyond the stage, Nicole is an independent singer-songwriter whose original music is available on all streaming platforms. Known for her clear, expressive soprano and emotionally honest lyricism, she writes songs that explore moments of transition, including heartbreak, growth, and experiences that do not always resolve neatly. After years in the classical world, she stepped into her own artistry, crafting a sound that is raw, reflective, and deeply human.
Nicole is currently on faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is the founder of Nicole Burke Voice Studio in Lowell. She works with university and private students throughout the Greater Boston area and beyond, many of whom have gone on to perform leading roles in productions including Into the Woods, Beetlejuice, Mean Girls, Les Misérables, The Wizard of Oz, Matilda, Seussical, and Legally Blonde.
New York based creative Alexa Letourneau is a composer, flutist, singer, researcher, educator, and chronic procrastinator. An Ohio native, Alexa began playing the flute at eight years old. Within weeks, she was taping 5 pens together to draw a staff on which to begin composing. At present, her works are focused upon an exploration of shared human identity through compositions that toe the line between whimsical and deeply serious. Alexa is a founding member of Mosaic Composers Collective, the director of Unjust Intonation a cappella, a member of C4: The Choral Composer Conductor Collective, and the creator of Classical Schmassical: the anti-Classical classical music podcast. Outside of music, she is extremely excited by nighttime thunderstorms, excessively camp science fiction, and geography as a whole.
Thomas W. O’Toole retired as the Director of Performing Arts in Shrewsbury last June. He has taught bands, at all levels, for over 25 years, in addition to music theory and general music classes. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Lowell with a double major in Music Education and Theory/Composition, a Masters in Music Composition from the University of Illinois, and a Fine Arts Director Certificate from Fitchburg State College. Tom has proudly served as the MMEA Treasurer, Concert Chair (twice) and Band Manager. Tom plays euphonium and trombone and performs with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Firebird Pops Orchestra, and Gateway City Orchestra. Recently premiered was his composition The Ride, commissioned by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Concert Band. His compositions are available at J.W. Pepper. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, evaluating fine adult beverages, and lives with his wife Nicole and their two sons.
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