Never miss a surprise or a concert!
Never miss a surprise or a concert!
Presented in partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Knowing the West is a journey through the rich musical and cultural heritage of the American West, all under the baton of Maestro Steven Byess.
Dr. Mindy Besaw, Curator of American Art at Crystal Bridges, will set the stage with a warm welcome and introduction. The program will feature Troy Armstrong's vibrant Ozark Folk Song Suite, a musical tribute to the folk traditions of the Ozark Mountains. This will be followed by composer Sara Carina Graef's Yakona, a powerful piece inspired by the Yakona Nature Preserve and the heritage of the Yaqo’n people. Graef herself will join us to share insights into her work. The evening wraps up with Aaron Copland's classic Suite from Rodeo, a toe-tapping celebration of Western Americana.
Knowing the West will be presented without intermission and is a part of a broader initiative to engage the community with the diverse artistic heritage of the region. The event promises to be a memorable evening, celebrating the fusion of music, art, and history.
DATE
Thu, Sept. 26, 2024 at 7:00 PM
LOCATION
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art - Great Hall
600 Museum Way, Bentonville, AR 72712
Sara Carina Graef’s music has been performed around the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, and Mexico. She has held composer residencies at the Ucross Foundation, the Wurlitzer Foundation, the Ragdale Foundation, the Hambidge Center, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Ernest Bloch Festival, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposiums. She served on the faculty of the Luzerne Music Center, on the board of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Composers Forum, and as President of Friends of Music at Cal State LA.
Dr. Graef is passionate about advocacy and activism, and her works often take on themes of social justice, feminism, nature, or the environment. Her compositions span from solo and small chamber ensembles to works for symphonic orchestra and wind ensemble. Commissions include Yakona (2023), commissioned and inspired by the Newport Symphony Orchestra and the Yakona Nature Preserve in Newport, Oregon; the solo work, Blue Vishuddha, for violin virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn for her legendary “Red Mendelssohn” 1720 Stradivarius violin (2014); multiple song cycles including Stone (2014), for soprano, trumpet, and piano, inspired by the experiences of writer Carol Samson – a teacher at Columbine High School at the time of the 1999 tragedy; and A Woman’s Life (and Love) (2019); a feminist song cycle commissioned as a companion piece to Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben (A Woman's Love (and Life)); Polar Bear (2021) for trombone, tenor voice, and electronics, about climate change and commissioned in part by the Ohio Arts Council, the Johnstone Fund for New Music, and Puffin Foundation West Ltd; and Meadowlark (2021), a chamber piece commissioned by the Meadowlark Trio in Portland, Oregon.
Originally from Nassau County, New York, Dr. Graef earned her Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance and composition from Southern Methodist University, and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from the University of Southern California. She has been on the faculty of the Cal State LA Department of Music since 2000, where she teaches theory and musicianship, composition-related coursework, and a diverse, current-events-oriented GE course about Women in Music. She founded the Composer/Performer Collective (CPC) at Cal State LA in 2012, aimed at enabling student composers and performers to collaborate throughout the process of writing and performing a new piece and presenting a concert at the end of each term, and she directs the CSULA New Music Ensemble. Dr. Graef strongly believes in programming music by diverse composers and about music as a platform for advocacy through art as part of her teaching and mentorship. In 2022 she received the Cal State LA Outstanding Professor Award.
Dr. Graef served as the President of Friends of Music at Cal State L.A. for seven years, helping to raise money for scholarships for Cal State L.A. music majors, and has served on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Composers Forum. Dr. Graef previously taught at the University of Southern California and Whittier College.
In addition to her work in music, Dr. Graef is passionate about traveling and nature, and served for several years as the Stranding Coordinator for the Alaska Whale Foundation - a non-profit research organization in Southeast Alaska. Her greatest passion project is spending time with her family and learning about life from her brilliant daughter.
Troy Armstrong (b.1990, Tulsa, OK) is a composer, arranger, and conductor currently based in Nashville, TN. He has won numerous awards for his original compositions including the MENC Collegiate Composition Competition, and the University of Southern California's New Music for Orchestra and New Music for Wind Ensemble Competitions. In 2013, Troy's orchestra piece, "Supercell", was named the winner of the Marilyn K. Glick Young Composer's Competition. As the winning entry, it received performances by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra during their 2014 subscription season concerts.
Troy enjoys collaborating with all manner of ensembles and organizations. He has had the privilege of composing music for groups such as the Blue Valley School District, the A.I.M Ensemble in Los Angeles, HEAR NO EVIL, the Music for Special Occasions trio in Kansas City, and the Church of the Resurrection Choirs and Orchestra. His works have been performed in the USA, Canada, Central America, Australia, and Europe in venues including the Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. and Cadogan Hall in London, England.
Troy's oratorio, "The River of Light," was premiered on April 23, 2017, by a group of over 200 musicians. The 16-movement piece was written to dedicate the unveiling of the Resurrection Window at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS. Designed and fabricated by Judson Studios in California, the Resurrection Window is currently the largest single stained-glass window in the world measuring approximately 37 feet tall and almost 100 feet wide.
During the University of Kansas’ 2007-2008 basketball season (the year the team won the NCAA National Championship), he was the premiere composer for their Jayhawk Basketball Television Network. Troy is currently composer/ arranger with the Church of the Resurrection music department in Leawood, KS. He arranges music for their choir and orchestras on a weekly basis.
In his spare time, Troy enjoys cooking, writing poetry, designing puzzles and board games, and hiking the wooded trails around his home. Troy is a member of ASCAP and the Pi Kappa Lambda music honors society. He holds music composition degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (M.M.) and the University of Southern California (B.M.). His teachers have included Donald Grantham, Frank Ticheli, and Morten Lauridsen.
Steven Byess is a dynamic and passionate conductor, hailed by critics as “masterful and brilliant,” “creating the epitome of instrumental elegance,” and capturing “the full spirit and vitality of the score perfectly.” Recognized for his musical versatility, multi-faceted presence on the podium, and passion for music education, he is devoted to promoting a life-long love and enthusiasm for music and the arts.
Steven is the music director of the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra (Oregon), and the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the U.S. premiere of Russian violinist Alexander Markov’s Rock Concerto at Carnegie Hall in New York, and was selected by Walt Disney World Entertainment to conduct the 2000 NFL E*TRADE Super Bowl Halftime show, where he performed for a television audience of 88 million fans.
As a passionate advocate for the arts, Steven is sought after for his speeches on the arts, music, and education, and has organized collaborations with numerous choruses, chamber music ensembles, and festivals. He wrote and co-directed a PBS presentation, Count On It!, designed to connect music and mathematics for children grades K-3. Since 2013, he has shared this passion with over 80,000 children around the country as a conductor of the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute Link Up orchestral education concerts.
A prolific conductor of opera from grand to contemporary, his performances include Puccini’s La Bohème and a critically acclaimed production of Robert Ward’s The Crucible at the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel; Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Greensboro Opera; Bizet’s Carmen with Emerald City Opera (Colorado); Copland’s The Tender Land, Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, and a collaboration with composer Ricky Ian Gordon on his opera “27” with Intermountain Opera (Montana); and Weill’s Street Scene and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance with the Eastman School of Music Opera Theatre. Steven has been a guest conductor at the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Michigan for their productions of Le tragédie de Carmen (Bizet/Brook), a highly acclaimed production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide,collaborating with the composer’s daughter Jamie Bernstein, and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Steven is the former associate music director of the Ohio Light Opera where he conducted over 80 productions and 21 commercial recordings, including repertoire ranging from well- to little-known operas and operettas to blockbuster classic American musical theater works.