Daniel Kellogg Premiere with South Dakota Symphony

Daniel Kellogg

On February 25 and 26, 2012, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Delta David Gier, will present the world premiere of Daniel Kellogg’s From Everlasting to Everlasting. Commissioned by Soli Deo Gloria, this new 17-minute work is a Psalm cycle for orchestra and mezzo-soprano and is the fifth SDG commission from Dr. Kellogg.

Daniel Kellogg’s rise as a composer began after he was chosen as Young Concert Artists Composer-in-Residence in 2002. He has had premieres with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Takács Quartet with the University of Colorado Wind Symphony, and the Aspen Chamber Orchestra; and upcoming premieres with the South Dakota Symphony, the United States Air Force Academy Band, the Takács Quartet, and the choirs of Yale University. Most recently the National Symphony Orchestra took his piece, Western Skies, on a tour of Asia.

“Daniel Kellogg … is one of the most exciting composers around – technically assured, fascinated by unusual sonic textures, unfailingly easy to listen to, yet far from simplistic.”—The Washington Post.

Dr. Kellogg is Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado, and his honors include a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, six ASCAP Young Composer Awards, the BMI William Schuman Prize, and the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Award. His works have been performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, the Kimmel Center, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, and broadcast on NPR’s “Performance Today” and “St. Paul Sundays” among others.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Dr. Kellogg earned a Masters of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music. His teachers include Don Freund, Ned Rorem, Jennifer Higdon, Joseph Schwantner, Ezra Laderman, and Martin Bresnick. He has served as composer-in-residence for the South Dakota Symphony, Young Concert Artists, the Green Bay Symphony, and the University of Connecticut. The Washington Post counted his recent CD Beginnings, recorded by eighthblackbird, among the top five classical discs of 2004. He resides in Colorado with his wife, concert pianist Hsing-ay Hsu, and daughter Kaela. He has served on the faculty of Colorado University since 2005.

Delta David Gier

The foundation for the collaboration between Daniel Kellogg and the South Dakota Symphony was laid when conductor Delta David Gier was conducting at Yale and had the opportunity to conduct Kellogg’s Jasper & Carnelian, which, in turn, garnered Kellogg a commission from Philadelphia Orchestra and, subsequently, his first commission from Soli Deo Gloria: Children of God.

In 2006, Maestro Gier brought Daniel Kellogg on board with the South Dakota Symphony as the orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence, a three-year stint that included multiple performances of Kellogg’s compositions. In many respects, the premiere of From Everlasting to Everlasting is culmination of that collaboration.

During his residency, Kellogg had the opportunity to get to know Mary Sommervold, the namesake of the orchestra’s concert hall, former President of the South Dakota Symphony Board of Directors, and a passionate supporter of the arts to whom this work is dedicated.

"I came to know Mary when I first began serving as the composer-in-residence for the South Dakota Symphony. She was always a wonderful host, and I enjoyed visiting with her and talking about music or the orchestra in her kitchen. She was a tireless supporter of the South Dakota Symphony and the arts in Sioux Falls. Her service to the arts lasted her whole adult life, and there is no simple way to measure the full scope of her impact on the community. She was everything one could want in a supporter of the arts, and this piece celebrates her legacy. Mary also had a profound faith. She regularly turned to the Psalms for her daily prayer life and found great comfort in their words. One afternoon I was able to sit with Mary for a few hours and talk about the Psalms. All the Psalms selected for this work were among her favorites."

—from Daniel Kellogg’s program notes for From Everlasting to Everlasting

Mary Sommervold
1935-2008

The four pieces that comprise From Everlasting to Everlasting offer what the Psalm texts have given us for thousands of years: prayers of praise, sorrow, anger, and regret. Simple. Heartfelt. Authentic.

1. Psalm 57: a call to God to be merciful
“Be merciful to me, O God,
For in you my soul takes refuge” *

2. Psalm 29:a joyful declaration of praise
"Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord O heavenly beings,
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name."

3. Psalm 130: a penitential confession
“O my soul, O my soul,
My soul waits for the Lord
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
Hear my voice, O Lord.
Hear my pleas for mercy.”

4. Psalm 103: a song of contemplative praise
“Bless the Lord, O my soul!
And all that is within me, bless his holy name!”

* NOTE: The composer has followed the spirit of the text from the English Standard Version, making modifications as needed musically.

Margaret Lattimore

Grammy nominated mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore joins the Symphony for the premiere of From Everlasting to Everlasting. New music is central to Margaret Lattimore's career, and she has worked with some of the most gifted American composers in the 20th and 21st centuries. Maestro Gier is also passionate about his commitment to new music. Since Mr. Gier took the post of Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra in 2004, the orchestra has received the coveted ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming for five seasons in a row, largely due to its series of concerts featuring works of Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. Maestro Gier has served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize in music, as well as ASCAP’s Rudolf Nissim Composition Prize.

Johann Buis

Prior to both the Saturday and Sunday performances, composer Daniel Kellogg and guest Johann Buis will give a pre-concert presentation, which is open to the public. Johann Buis, a Soli Deo Gloria board member, is an Associate Professor of Musicology at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (IL) and is a guest lecturer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and other organizations.

The program for February 25 and 26 also includes Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, and Mozart's Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, “Jupiter.”

TWO PERFORMANCES
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 7:30 p.m. (Pre-concert lecture, 6:30 p.m.)
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 2:30 p.m. (Pre-concert lecture, 1:30 p.m.)
South Dakota Symphony Orchestra
Delta David Gier, conductor
Mary W. Sommervold Hall, Washington Pavilion
301 South Main Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57104

For ticket information, visit the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra website.

Maestro Gier conducting the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra