Vista Philharmonic Orchestra

Program Notes

Program Notes by Maestro Bruce Hangen

Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911)
Symphony No. 3 (1896)

Gustav Mahler is one of the most important figures in the world of symphonic music. His compositional output forms a crucial bridge between late-19th-century Romanticism and 20th-century modernism. While not wildly successful in his own time (he was, after all, only a part-time composer, whose main occupation was as a symphonic and opera conductor), the last half-century has found his symphonies in particular forming a cornerstone of the symphonic canon, played by orchestras all over the world. His symphonies especially are known for their massive scale, depth of emotion and even philosophical exploration. Specifically, Mahler stretches traditional symphonic form to its limits (tonight’s Third Symphony has a first movement only that exceeds the duration of most complete symphonies before his time); he expands traditional notions of harmonic progression and structure almost to the point of non-tonality; and perhaps most importantly, his music reflects human emotion never seen or heard before.

Certainly, that is the case with the Third Symphony, the most comprehensive and deeply personal musical statement by any composer before his time, and perhaps ever. At its conception, Mahler allowed himself to be inspired by the idea of a tiered arrangement of creation (plant world, animal world, human world, angel world) and also by the idea that love is the highest level from which one can contemplate the world. His understanding of love was eternal rather than earthly, which he regarded as “the highest reality –– the source of all being.” These thoughts were soon combined with nature, specifically the arrival of summer, which became the subject of the first movement.

Movement 1, “Summer Marches In”, in Mahler’s own words begins with an introduction that “expresses once again the mood of brooding summer midday heat. No breeze is moving, all life is at a standstill, the sun-drenched air trembles and flickers. In between, a young man moans, struggling for salvation. Life is still chained in the abyss of lifeless, rigid nature until it emerges victorious.” Later, the music rages “like a southern gale that brings with it fertility, coming from faraway, fruitful, hot countries, not like the gentle east wind. With a sweeping march tempo it roars, closer and closer, swelling like an avalanche, until all the loud, jubilant noise engulfs you.”

About movement 2, “What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me”, Mahler states “it is the most carefree music I have ever written, as carefree as only flowers can be. It all sways and ripples like flowers on limber stems swaying in the wind…this innocent flowery cheerfulness does not last but suddenly becomes serious and weighty…a heavy storm sweeps across the meadow and shakes the flowers and leaves. They groan and whimper, as if pleading for redemption to a higher realm.”

Movement 3, “What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me”, represents the Scherzo-like music called for in a symphony. Mahler called it “the animal piece…the most ludicrous and at the same time the most tragic. This piece really sounds as if all of nature were making faces and sticking out its tongue. But there is such a horrible, paniclike humor in it that one is overcome with horror rather than with laughter.” But contrasted to those musical episodes, Mahler also depicts “the quiet, undisturbed life of the forest before the appearance of man. Then the animals catch sight of the first human being and, although he walks calmly past them, the terrified animals sense that future trouble will come from him.”

Movement 4, “What Mankind Tells Me”, becomes profoundly serious. Based on an excerpt (“Midnight Song”) from Nietzsche’s “Thus Spake Zarathustra”, Mahler himself must have been immediately attracted to Nietzsche’s concepts of an eloquent midnight, awakening from a dream, the dialectic of night and day, pain and pleasure, decay and eternal life. Incorporating a mezzo-soprano solo to sing the text, this movement is based on the idea of mysterious music of nature that can be heard only in a dream. Unlike the previous movements, Mahler now speaks about himself –– his thoughts, feelings and philosophies. In a letter, Mahler stated that in the beginning of the symphony “I imagined the ever-increasing articulation of sentiment, from the dull, rigid, elementary state of the powers of nature all the way to the gentleness of the human heart, which in turn points and reaches higher to God.” So, with this movement we begin the transformation from the deeply personal to the love of God (Mahler stated “God is love”) at the symphony’s conclusion.

Movement 5, “What the Angels Tell Me”, is the shortest and perhaps liveliest and most direct of all the movements. Joining the mezzo-soprano solo are both a women’s and a boy’s choir, adding a certain brightness to this mostly uplifting and positive composition. With a text (“Poor Children’s Beggar Song”) taken from The Youth’s Magic Horn folk collection, Mahler seems to have liked this poem very much because it speaks not only of the “sweet” singing of the angels but also of “heavenly joy that has no end.”

And, lastly, Movement 6, “What Love Tells Me” has got to be one of the most profound, deeply felt, personally compelling and touching Adagio movements ever created by anyone. Here, Mahler writes music in which “everything has dissolved in peace and quiet. [This movement] is a summary of my emotion about all creatures. Deeply painful interludes cannot be avoided, but these gradually turn into blessed confidence.”

Alexis Peart
Boston-based mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart has been praised for her “plush yet robust voice” and “incredible clarity,” earning acclaim in roles ranging from baroque masterpieces to world premieres. A 2024/2025 returning Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, Alexis is a 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition New England Region Encouragement Award Winner, Boston District Winner, and the 2024 Lyric Opera of Chicago Final Audition Audience Favorite Award Winner.

This season, Alexis appears with Boston Lyric Opera as Arbate (covering Farnace) in Mozart’s Mitridate re di Ponto, The Choreographer in the reimagining of Vivaldi and Sarah Ruhl’s The Seasons, Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Educational Outreach Touring Production), and Mrs. Noah in Noah’s Flood. She debuts as Lampito in Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata with Odyssey Opera and Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and covers the title role in Ariodante with Boston Baroque. Equally at home on the opera stage and the concert hall, her additional season highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the Columbus Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater with Castle of our Skins, and a program of Emily Dickinson-inspired works by contemporary female composers with the Boston Festival Orchestra.

During the 2023/2024 season, Alexis debuted with Boston Lyric Opera as Tisbe (La Cenerentola) and Big Stone (Eurydice), and covered Dorothée (L’Amant Anonyme). She also made her Princeton Festival debut as Dorabella (Così fan tutte) and was the alto soloist in works including Freedom Song: When Gospel Came to the Empire with the Rochester Oratorio Society, Handel’s Messiah with Assabet Valley Chorale, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Jubilate Chorale. She spent the summer as a Young Artist with Chautauqua Opera, where she covered the title role in La Tragédie de Carmen.

Her recording credits include Mezzo 1 on Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera’s Grammy-nominated recording of Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, and on several art song recordings released by PARMA Recordings, LLC. Alexis is a two-time alumna of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio (2020/2021), and is a 2025/2026 member of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Nashoba Valley Chorale
Nashoba Valley Chorale is a community choir whose aim is to promote the practice, performance and enjoyment of high-quality choral music.

Founded in 1976 as a nonprofit corporation, Nashoba Valley Chorale has since become an important community cultural resource. The Chorale draws singers from many towns within the heart of the Nashoba Valley as well as from all over the metro-west area of Boston and southern New Hampshire. We rehearse in Acton and perform in various venues across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The Chorale consists of approximately 100 members singing under the direction of Anne Watson Born and collaborative pianist Shawn McCann. Although we are a non auditioned chorus, we set high rehearsal and performance standards. Our mission is to be a welcoming place for those of us who love to sing where we can gather, study, prepare, and present beautiful and exciting choral music from the old masters to more contemporary artists.

Past performances of choral-orchestral works by the Chorale include: Bach Motets Nos. 1, 3, 6 and B Minor Mass, Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Cooman The Revelations of Divine Love, Fauré Requiem, Haydn Missa in Angustiis, Lauridsen Lux Aeterna, Orff Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem, and the Verdi Requiem.

In addition to our regular season concerts, we also collaborate with other New England ensembles, including the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Vista Philharmonic Orchestra, Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra, Gateway City Orchestra, UMass Lowell Choral Ensembles, among others.

The Nashoba Valley Chorale is a member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium and of the Central Massachusetts Choral Consortium.

Anne Watson Born, music director, is in her 19th season as Music Director of the Nashoba Valley Chorale, a non-auditioned choir with 90 members. Past performances of choral-orchestral works by the Chorale include: Bach Motets Nos. 1, 3, 6 and B Minor Mass, Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Cooman The Revelations of Divine Love, Fauré Requiem, Haydn Missa in Angustiis, Lauridsen Lux Aeterna, Orff Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem, and the Verdi Requiem.

Ms. Watson Born has been a choral conductor and teacher in the Boston area for many years. She is the Director of Music Ministry at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton and is a credentialed UU music leader. Ms. Watson Born was an Assistant Professor at Bristol Community College for five years; while there she was the voice coach, composer, and sound designer for the Bristol Community College Theatre Repertory Company. In that capacity she has been the music director for productions of Threepenny Opera, Marat/Sade, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (quite the combination). She has composed original music and/or improvised live music for several theatre productions, including King Stag, Treasure Island, , Black Elk Speaks, Fireflies, and The Bacchae. She was the Music Director of the Brookline Chorus for nine years and taught at the Brookline Music School for many years. She was the founding Artistic Director of the Women’s Chorus of Boston and the Avenue of the Arts Chorale, and in 2002 she conducted the Boston-area performance of the Rolling Requiem to commemorate the tragedy of September 11.

Ms. Watson Born holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where she studied conducting with William Dehning. She moved to Boston and obtained a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from New England Conservatory, where her principal teacher was Lorna Cooke DeVaron. She has also studied conducting with Helmuth Rilling and Murry Sidlin, composition with John Heiss and Andrew Imbrie, and voice with Jeanne Segal and Michael Strauss. She lives in Jamaica Plain with her husband and visits their daughter in Brooklyn, NY as often as possible.

THE BOYS OF ST. PAUL’S CHOIR SCHOOL, HARVARD SQUARE
The Boys of St. Paul’s Choir bring centuries of tradition to life each week at historic Saint Paul’s Parish in Harvard Square. Educated in the great European Cathedral school tradition at Saint Paul’s Choir School these remarkable choristers fill the church with hymns, plainchant, and the very finest choral music drawn from the Church’s extensive and rich repertoire—all within the breathtaking acoustics of Saint Paul’s.

While the boys’ hard work shines through in daily liturgies, their gifts and dedication extend far beyond. Alongside a rigorous academic program, the choristers are featured in concerts, domestic and international tours, and on professional recordings. Their annual Christmas in Harvard Square concerts are a beloved holiday offering in Boston.

Since its founding in 1963 by Dr. Theodore Marier, the Choir School–the only all-boys Catholic choir school in the United States–has earned a reputation for excellence, performing alongside the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, and Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Recent highlights include Mahler’s awe-inspiring Symphony No. 8 (October 2024) and Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt (January 2025) at Symphony Hall. Soloists from the choir were recently featured in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the BSO (January 2026), Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace with Enigma Opera (February 2024), Puccini’s Tosca at Tanglewood (July 2025), and alongside Sarah Brightman at the Wang Theater (November 2023).

The 2025–2026 season brings more unforgettable experiences, including three separate productions of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic, and the Vista Philharmonic, as well as collaborations with the Harvard Glee Club and Harvard University Choir. As the Choir looks to the future, it remains dedicated to cultivating the next generation of musicians, leaders, and ambassadors of this timeless tradition.

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Brandon Straub, Director of Music
A versatile conductor, educator, singer, and keyboardist, Brandon Straub is equally at home with musicians of all ages and levels of experience. He serves as Director of Music at St. Paul’s Choir School and Parish, where he leads one of the nation’s most distinguished programs for young choristers. Since 2023, he has prepared the boys of St. Paul’s for collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Philharmonic, Vista Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Emmanuel Music, Enigma Opera, and the Harvard Choruses.

Prior to his appointment at St. Paul’s, Straub served as Director of Choral Music, Chair of Music, and School Organist for St. Albans School and National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. He also led music programs at The Hill School and Episcopal High School.

Straub has prepared choruses for a growing roster of world-class ensembles and conductors, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, in such venues as the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, and the Kimmel Center. For eleven seasons, he was Associate Conductor and Pianist of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, where he also founded the Choral Arts Youth Choir. He has performed as a conductor, organist, and professional singer at churches throughout Boston and Washington, D.C., including Washington National Cathedral and St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square (“the Church of the Presidents”).

Hailing from Michigan, Straub holds degrees in Music Education and Voice from Michigan State University and in Conducting and Harpsichord Performance from the University of Michigan. He is also Resident Conductor of the Harvard Glee Club and a rehearsal pianist for the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.