Friday, June 6, 2025 at 7:30pm
Meadow Hall
Nicole O’Toole, director
Pastorale d’été
Arthur Honegger
(1892-1955)
arr. Victor Villarreal
The Swiss-French composer Arthur Honegger found inspiration in a 1920s vacation to the Swiss Alps and wrote the short symphonic poem “Pastorale d’été.” The work is atmospheric, placid, and descriptive of a peaceful sunrise in the mountains. The arrangement was done by our very own Victor Villarreal.
Land of Make-Believe
Phyllis Avidan Louke
(b. 1954)
Elephants
Dolphins
Squirrels
American flutist & composer Phyllis Avidan Louke was born in 1954 and performs in the state of Oregon. She has over 70 published compositions, many of which are award winning. Her new work, Land of Make-Believe, was expressly written for the Groton Hill Flute Orchestra this spring. Each animal vignette is preceded by a promenade and features different sections of the ensemble. “Elephants” has a tender melody that features our low flutes. The graceful “Dolphins” is in 6/8 time with the melody in the nimble upper flutes. Finally, the playful “Squirrels” starts with a chattering conversation followed by an energetic tune.
Pop
Gary Schocker
(b. 1959)
American flutist, educator & composer Gary Schocker comes from a musical family and has over 200 published works for flute. Pop was written in 2005 for the Campbellsville University Flute Ensemble. It is scored for six concert flutes, alto, and bass flute and presents a very pleasant melody.
Jump-Yip!
Nicole Chamberlain
(b. 1977)
Nicole Chamberlain has degrees in both music composition and digital media from the University of Georgia. In 2017 she was the winner of the Flute Choir Composition Competition of the National Flute Association. She has many works to her name and is known for using extended techniques and unusual articulations in her compositions. Jump-Yip! is about the black tailed prairie dogs common in Oklahoma. Prairie dogs communicate through chatter, squeaks, and yips. The “jump-yip” is a signature move for these little ground squirrels where they lift their front half off the ground, stretch their arms out, throw back their head, and make a “wee-oo” sound. This composition celebrates the sounds of communication used by these creatures. Amongst the articulations you’ll hear in conversation by the flutists are the jet whistle, tongue-ram, boo, ch-ki, shh, and za.
Squirrels
Herman Beeftink
(b. 1953)
Dutch-American composer Herman Beetfink was born in the Netherlands and has made his home in southern California since the early 80s. He has a strong interest in jazz and has performed and written much music for both television and film. Additionally, he has quite a collection of his chamber music compositions to his name. Squirrels is an energetic piece that uses the full range of our flutes. Hopefully you can envision a group of squirrels playing in your backyard!
Running Away
Melvin Lauf, Jr.
(b. 1971)
American composer Melvin Lauf, Jr. is a graduate of the Armed Forces School of Music and spent most of his military service as a fife instrumentalist with “The Old Guard” Fife and Drum Corps of the United States Army. He has written numerous works for piccolo, flute, and flute ensembles. The musical term “ostinato” describes a persistently repeating pattern–sometimes it’s a rhythmic pattern, sometimes it’s melodic. Lauf chose to use a melodic ostinato throughout his piece Running Away which premiered in 1998 at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair by the Columbia Flute Choir. We have chosen to share the work of the ostinato–you might notice it being passed between our concert flutists as the piece progresses.
Tag!
David L. Wells
(b. 1952)
Michigan-based composer & music educator David Wells has a degree in music education and a Masters in the Art of Education. Commissioned by the West Michigan Flute Association, Wells composed Tag! in 1997, and it was performed at the National Flute Association’s Chicago conference later that year. Tag! is a programmatic work depicting children at school watching the clock while waiting for recess (tic toc tic toc . . . ). The school bell rings and the children run out to the yard. You’ll hear them yell “Not it!” and “nya nya nya nya” as they play. The bell rings again and they must return to the school building where they wait until they get to play again.
Walking-Time
Krzysztof Zgraja
(b. 1950)
Blues-Ouverture
Boogie-Bourrée
Soul-Menuett
Rock-Badinerie
Polish composer and flutist Krzysztof Zgraja has formal training in flute, music theory, and composition. He is considered an influential jazz flutist in Europe and performed with numerous ensembles in the late 20th century. His piece “Walking-Time” is a suite of tunes inspired by J.S. Bach’s Suite in B Minor. The piece is written for four concert flutes so you will hear all of our flutists on their C flutes. If you listen carefully you might recognize themes from Bach’s music.
An Afternoon with the Kiddo
Greg Lutz
(b. 1971)
Sugar Buzz
The Great Cookie Jar Caper
Daddy, Where’s My Cape
Of Course I Can Fly
The Parade in the Hall
Pennsylvania based music educator, performer, and composer Greg Lutz considers himself to be a Flautophile–one who loves the flute, yet from a respectable distance. His composition An Afternoon With The Kiddo, was premiered in 2011 at the National Flute Association Convention and was played by the National Professional Flute Choir in 2012. Lutz dedicated the piece to the Woodbridge Flute Choir of Virginia and to “anyone who has kids.” You are sure to enjoy the variety in these five short movements representing all the activities needed to entertain a kid for one afternoon!
Nicole O’Toole, Conductor
All members play the C flute. Additional instruments for this concert are listed next to the player.
Stephanie Connors, alto
David Deifik, piccolo
Kaitlyn Gonzales, Eb flute
Jeanne Hebert, bass
Jennifer Hunt
Nancy Kessler
Casey Koulalis, piccolo & alto
Laura Kuncho, contrabass & bass
Haley Laken, alto
Lisa Mitchell, alto
Serge Paul-Emile, bass
Lois Reynolds, alto
Grace Rydout
Vera Sellers, alto
Lindsey Sherman
Elaine Sinclair, alto
Brian Seney, bass
Bruce Taylor, bass
Kimberly Tower, bass
Sarah Tower-Richardi
Jessica Volk, piccolo
Jennifer Perkins, director
Violin
Rowan Famous
Katarina Gervais
Mila Gupta
Clover Huang
Georgeann Mugerwa
Uma Notani
Nico Procopio
Kaiah Raine
Jacob Toby
Viola
Reyhan Tolia
Cello
Nico Zocchi
Teo Zocchi
Shay Rudolph*
Bass
Mark Henry*
Percussion
Dylan McDonald*
Piano
Rahul Francis*
* supporting musician
Jennifer Perkins, director
Violin I
Emily Faken
Sasha Gupta
Cai Jin
Abigail Lam
Jasmine Lin
Ian Luan
Emma Westlund
Lisa Kempskie*
Violin II
Izzy Ackerman
Suma Lakshmi Bhiravarasa
Saanvi Mandarapu
Neerja Moholkar
Ritika Mullangi
Rhema Nissay
Ines Rubio-Pacheco
Adarsh Saikrishnan
Medha Warriar
Viola
Finn Murray
Marie Syndergaard
Cello
Zane Brundage
Ethan Lackner
Olivia Pareja
Shay Rudolph*
Bass
Mark Henry*
Piano
Lindsey Tan*
Camerata Faculty Coach
Lisa Kempskie
* supporting musician
Ken Culver, director
Violin 1
Nova Berkhout
Elisa Bilotta+
Xi Jin
Jasmine Lam+
Kyle Shen
Logan Tai
Calista Wong+
Linda Yu
Emma Hanzhi Zuo+
Violin 2
Arshi Bansal+
Rahul Francis
Aiden Gerber
Sally Hu+
Bhargav Murthy
Rutu Patil
Davina Seidler
Aaryan Zaman
Benjamin Zambrano
Viola
Harmony Auguste
Aadi Patil
Lauren Nelson*
Cello
Harper Donnel
Emma Green
Noah Lann+
Chen-An Lin+
Tara Ramani
Suzannah (Suki) Reynolds+
Shay Rudolph*
Double Bass
Jack McCreery
Mark Henry*
Flute
Brienna Duteau+
Anne Longtin
Owen Pierotti
Oboe
Anthony Umbro
Clarinet
Joshua Burrell+
Colin Miranda
Bassoon
Cooper Scott
Andy Flurer*
Horn
Ella Von Kohorn
Natalie Cormier*
Trumpet
Erich Dickau
Ethan Hobbs
Brayden Lane
Oscar Lewis
Trombone
Henry Boltz
Finn Hanger
Elliott Shoemaker
Tuba
Alex Abakah
Percussion
Dylan McDonald
Sinfonia Faculty Coaches
Lauren Nelson
Lisa Kempskie
Bill Kirkley
Vinny DeStefano
Shay Rudolph
* supporting musician
+ graduating senior
Nicole O’Toole has been teaching music in Massachusetts since the early 90s and playing flute for over 40 years. She holds a B.M. in Music Education from University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a M.M. in Flute Performance from University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Her primary teachers were Doug Worthen and Joanne Tanner. Nicole teaches beginning band in her hometown of Bedford, MA, where she also serves as the K-12 Program Director of Performing Arts. During the academic year she directs the Rivers Youth Wind Ensemble Junior at the Rivers School Conservatory. Each summer she works with the flutists at the Mary Jo Leahy Symphonic Band Camp preparing the students for a flute choir performance. An active musician, Nicole performs with the Firebird Pops Orchestra, the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, and the Gateway City Orchestra. She was also a playing member of the Groton Hill Flute Orchestra for many years before becoming its director. Nicole enjoys adapting music for flute choir and many of her arrangements can be heard on the ensemble’s YouTube channel.
“Rehearsals are a place for us to work together. To form a shared idea of the musicality of the repertoire, and then to bring that vision alive and share it in our performances.”
“We should never be afraid to make mistakes while learning or trying something new, and never be so hard on yourself that you can’t enjoy what you’re doing.”