Johann Baptist Strauss Jr. (October 25, 1825–June 3, 1899) 

Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz), Op. 437 (1889)

Originally titled Hand in Hand, Kaiser-Walzer was a musical “toast of friendship” for Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I’s official visit to the German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1889. Strauss’s publisher, Fritz Simrock, suggested the title Kaiser-Walzer so the title could allude to either monarch. This piece was first performed in Berlin on October 21, 1889. Originally for full orchestra, tonight’s performance features an arrangement for strings by Merle Isaac that presents three of the four original waltzes. The first waltz begins gently and gracefully, quickly expanding to full voice. The second waltz is smoother and more subdued. The third waltz presents a long, graceful melody in the cellos, and then the full ensemble brings this piece to a majestic close.

—Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker

Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900–December 2, 1990)

Appalachian Spring Suite (1944)

In the late 1930s and 1940s, Copland experimented with folk music and other recognizable “American” styles in more contemporary and classical contexts. The result was some of the composer’s most enduring works, including Billy the Kid, Lincoln Portrait, Rodeo, and others. Appalachian Spring was commissioned by choreographer and dancer Martha Graham. Originally scored for thirteen instruments, it was premiered on October 30, 1944, at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, with Graham dancing the lead role. Copland was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music for the piece. He originally titled the work Ballet for Martha, but Graham herself suggested Appalachian Spring, a phrase from a poem by Hart Crane, “The Dance.”

The ballet is a story of a celebration by 19th-century American pioneers after building a new Pennsylvania farmhouse. The orchestral suite is divided into eight scenes that describe the characters and their surroundings, the young couple’s passion and pious devotion on the eve of their wedding, and scenes of daily life for the farming community (e.g., variations on the Shaker melody “Simple Gifts”). At the end, the couple is left “quiet and strong in their new house,” with music reminiscent of the opening.  

—Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker

Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate (born July 25, 1968)

Winter Moons (1992)

Tate, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, is dedicated to the development of American Indian classical music composition. Winter Moons is his first-ever composition, a ballet. The piece’s title comes from the American Indian tradition of telling stories during the full moon in winter, and Tate’s ballet is a series of stories based upon American Indian legends from the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountains. Composed in four movements with narration, it was commissioned by and dedicated to Tate’s mother, choreographer Dr. Patricia Tate, and premiered on February 18, 1992.

The first movement is titled “Introduction-Winter Moon-Puberty Blessing Songs.” A somber opening by a solo cello leads to the presentation of the Moon by the flute and bassoon. The percussion section opens “Puberty Blessing Songs,” based on a Lakota story and ceremony for girls approaching womanhood.

The second movement is based on the Shoshone legend of “The Indian Spirit at Mesa Falls,” located along the Snake River, west of Yellowstone National Park. The Spirit is of a woman who chased after her lover as he was swept away by the river, only to be taken under herself. The music begins placidly, evoking the flowing water and love between the couple, and then becomes dissonant to symbolize the tragedy, ending with a final lament.

Two stories are presented in the third movement: the Crow legend of “Red Plume and the Medicine Wheel” and “The Origin of Bitterroot,” a story told by the Salish tribe. Red Plume, a Crow chief during the time of Lewis and Clark, supposedly had mystical power over a Medicine Wheel, which people would visit for spiritual healing. In the Salish culture, bitterroot symbolizes beauty and resiliency. The music moves from sparse to wild, symbolizing the spiritual journey, and then calms to reflect rebirth and hope.

The title of the final movement, “She Runs with the Wind,” comes from a poem by Scot Shuman. The poem’s inspiration of youth and hope is heard in fast, relentless arpeggios in the piano and strings.

Tate says “According to the Osage, the Moon is a woman, and all women are symbolic of life. In the ballet, the four moons represent the four seasons of life. Winter Moons tells of the culmination of life as she rises majestically to the spirit world.”

—Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a Chickasaw-American father, classical composer, and citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition. He is a 2022 Chickasaw Hall of Fame inductee and a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from The Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2021, he was appointed a Cultural Ambassador for the U. S. Department of State. In 2025, Tate won the Wise-Hinrichsen Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Among many recent premieres, Tate’s highlights include commissions from the New York Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Cantori NY, Turtle Island Quartet, and Dover String Quartet. Oklahoma’s Canterbury Voices and the Oklahoma Symphony Philharmonic premiered Tate’s first opera, Loksi' Shaali' (Shell Shaker), PostClassical Ensemble presented an all-American-Indian program curated by Tate in Washington D.C., his American Indian Symphony was performed at the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and his popular work Chokfi’ has been programmed by symphonies across the country. Tate is currently at work on new commissions by Roomful of Teeth, violinist Irina Muresanu, Skaneateles Festival, and Big 10 Band Directors Association.

Tate is a three-time commissioned recipient from the American Composers Forum, a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program recipient, a Cleveland Institute of Music Alumni Achievement Award recipient, a governor-appointed Creativity Ambassador for the State of Oklahoma and an Emmy Award-winner for his work on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority documentary The Science of Composing. His music was also featured in the HBO series Westworld.

Tate earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University and his Master of Music in Piano Performance and Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music. His middle name, Impichchaachaaha', means “their high corncrib” and is his inherited traditional Chickasaw house name.

—Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker