Hylton

Meet the Maestro

Zoe Harr — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 17:11:28 +0000

Meet the Maestro Zoe Harr Mon, 10/31/2022 - 13:11

Artistic Director and Conductor Peter Wilson leads the American Festival Pops Orchestra at the Hylton Center on December 9 and the Center for the Arts on December 10.

Last spring, Maestro Peter Wilson picked up the baton, becoming the new artistic director and conductor of the American Festival Pops Orchestra (AFPO), effective the 2022-2023 season. No stranger to AFPO, Maestro Wilson was the orchestra’s longtime concertmaster and principal violinist, and we’re excited to see his official AFPO conducting debut in Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season at the Hylton Center (12/9) and the Center for the Arts (12/10). In the meantime, we sat down with AFPO's new maestro to learn a little bit more about him.

As we know, you are a skilled violinist and conductor, but if you could learn to play any additional instrument overnight, what instrument would you choose? Why?

PW: I’ve always had this fantasy of being a rock or jazz drummer. Even when I was a little boy studying the violin, I was drawn to the drum set parts in pop songs on the radio. Let’s face it; there’s something really cool about being able to lay down some great drum solos! Coincidentally, my dear friend and amazing AFPO drummer, Harold Summey, started out as a violinist when he was growing up, so I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through him! He got to live my dream!

You have played at countless venues, including the Kennedy Center and the American Embassy in Paris. If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would you want to perform and what piece would you open the concert with?

PW: I have never been, but think I would love to conduct a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, just because of its rich history and the magical performances that have happened there. Perhaps I could take the AFPO there one day and conduct a concert of film music, featuring John Williams! I might have to open that concert with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

After serving 30 years as String Section Commander for “The President’s Own” U. S. Marine Band, what lessons did you learn from that experience that you try to implement in personal and musical endeavors now?

PW: Of my 30 years as a Marine violinist of The White House, I served 13 years as String Section Commander, and I learned so many things along the way that shaped who I am today as a person and a leader. In my subordinate role in middle management, I learned to listen to everyone else’s ideas during meetings before offering my own opinion on matters; and as a leader of those in my section, I learned to celebrate the uniqueness of each member and champion them to have their own voice rather than expecting the same from everyone. As long as folks are meeting their responsibilities, the job is far more engaging with the diversity of personalities and artistry.

You take pride in your goal to promote new works of music. What elements draw you to a particular piece of music?

PW: I appreciate composers who offer a unique voice within the traditions of our art form. There’s never only one way to be introduced to new music, and sometimes one discovers a composer by accident because his or her work appears on a concert you are attending. Circumstances can also play a role in how music is received. I’m drawn to anything that moves me, but I always seek out the contrasts in works. In my experience, drawing attention to contrasts, whether dynamic, textural, or tonal, is what brings out the magic in a work, old or new.

Who is a musician, alive or deceased, that you wish you could share dinner with, and what would you talk about first?

PW: Honestly, even having worked with John Williams on two occasions, I never was able to have dinner with him! That would be an absolute delight, and I would enjoy asking him questions about how he conceived some of his most iconic themes. I would then dive deeper into his career as a conductor and perhaps explore how he got orchestras to create the sound he had in his head as a composer. He is an idol as well as a mentor to me, and simply being in his orbit is a thrilling experience.

You’ve had the privilege of meeting many musical legends including Sting, John Williams, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen. Who are the top three musicians with whom you wish you could collaborate?

PW: Well, two of those five were musicians I had the privilege of collaborating with (John Williams and Stevie Wonder), and those experiences were mind-blowing and life changing. Billy Joel has been a lifelong idol of mine, and he’s had violinists in his band from time to time when touring. He might have to be first on my list, and it would be an absolute dream-come-true to collaborate with him. I’m a big fan of Bruno Mars and Silk Sonic, so finding a way to collaborate with them would be a bucket list event. As a conductor, it would be thrilling to collaborate with violinist Gil Shaham, as I have always been an enormous fan of his artistry.

What are you looking forward to most in your new post as Artistic Director and Conductor of the American Festival Pops Orchestra?

PW: I have such a deep respect for all the musicians who make up the AFPO. After all, they have been my friends and colleagues for at least 12 years, and this tremendous ensemble has become family to me. I look forward to not only making great music with them but finding new ways to showcase their amazing talents. Equally important to me is maintaining the engagement we have with our wonderful audiences who have supported us for so many years. This is truly one of the unique elements of the AFPO concert-going experience. We break the fourth wall and connect with our audience at every level. I loved this during my many years serving as AFPO concertmaster. I look forward to our Hylton Center and Center for the Arts communities taking greater ownership of their orchestra. It belongs to them as much as to the musicians on stage, and there is nothing greater than the magic that is created when the AFPO and the audience combine their energies. I cannot wait to continue this great journey of celebrating the best of this Pops Orchestra genre!

Purchase your tickets now for Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season at the Hylton Center (12/9) and the Center for the Arts (12/10), and welcome Maestro Wilson to the podium.

Topics

The Hylton Performing Arts Center Breaks Records with 12th Anniversary Gala

Zoe Harr — Wed, 04 May 2022 17:27:57 +0000

The Hylton Performing Arts Center Breaks Records with 12th Anniversary Gala Zoe Harr Wed, 05/04/2022 - 13:27

In This Story

Rick Davis

The Hylton Performing Arts Center hosted a special two-day celebration with the Hylton Center 12^th Anniversary Gala on April 29 and April 30. As the first Anniversary Gala held in-person since 2019, the event welcomed more than 1,000 guests and supported the Hylton Center’s mission of presenting diverse performances and programs of high quality and artistic excellence to inspire, educate, and enrich the community.

Gala guest Erika Spalding raises a paddle in support of the Hylton Center.

The festivities began at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 29 and included a tribute to this year’s honorees, Lovey Hammel and Denise McPhail, for their leadership and many contributions to the Hylton Center and ��ӽ紫ý. The evening started in the Didlake Grand Foyer with an elegant cocktail reception featuring speciality cocktails provided by MurLarkey Distilled Spirits and a special dinner on the Merchant Hall stage, catered by Susan Gage Caterers. The evening also included a live auction featuring travel packages, as well as a “Raise Your Paddle” fundraiser in support of the Hylton Center’s Veterans and the Arts Initiative.

On Saturday, April 30, guests were treated to a Hylton Center EXTRA!  performance by Tony Award-winning star of stage and screen Leslie Odom, Jr. Holding a multifaceted career in theater, television, film, and GRAMMY Award-winning music, Odom, Jr. has earned several award nominations including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and more.

Leslie Odom, Jr. converses with Northern Virginia students before Saturday evening's concert.

In addition to his performance, Odom, Jr. provided an opportunity for area students to join him in an open dialogue about his career path and what advice he has to offer about achieving goals in the performing arts. Students from Mason's School of Theater, Northern Virginia's Creative and Performing Arts Center (CAPAC), as well as Prince William County's Colgan, Forest Park, Osbourn Park, and Woodbridge High Schools participated with questions and conversation. After Odom, Jr.'s performance, an exclusive dessert reception for Gold+ level Gala Sponsors rounded out the evening.

The event raised a record-breaking amount of more than $225,000, which will support performances and programs at the Hylton Center, as well as the Education Initiative and Veterans and the Arts Initiative. Ten percent of the net proceeds will also fund the Hylton Center’s Endowment, ensuring excellence now and for years to come.

Guests enjoy the cocktail reception at the Hylton Center 12th Anniversary Gala.

During the event, Executive Director of the Hylton Center and Dean of Mason's College of Visual and Performing Arts Rick Davis shared, “Tonight we celebrate our unofficial motto ‘the arts create community’ and we’re here to recognize and thank those artists and community builders who deliver on that promise. The work that Lovey Hammel and her family have done has paved the way for so many artists and arts students who express their creative voice and stretch their artistic wings here at the Hylton Center.”

He continued, “We also recognize the outstanding work of one such artist and educator – Denise McPhail, the co-founder and Executive Director of the Creative and Performing Arts Center. Through performing arts and sciences, CAPAC educates, entertains, and encourages diverse youth, teens, and adults in Northern Virginia to ignite STEAM curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving skills as a formula to diversify and sustain STEAM workforces for lifelong success.”

The Hylton Center’s 12th Anniversary Gala was supported by many regional businesses and individual donors, including Presenting Sponsor Compton & Duling. The Hylton Center EXTRA! performance was sponsored by Carol Merchant Kirby and Peter Kirby, NOVEC, and Buck and Julie Walters.

Event images by Melisa Pasero Photography.

Top Left: Honoree Denise McPhail with family and friends; Top Right: Executive Director Rick Davis and ��ӽ紫ý President Gregory Washington; Bottom Left: President Gregory Washington, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Mrs. Nicole Washington; Bottom Right: Honoree Lovey Hammel with father Marvin Yeates and family.

Topics

Hylton

Hylton Center

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

veterans and the arts

Campus News

Jacquemin Family Foundation’s Leadership Gift Supports the Hylton Performing Arts Center

Zoe Harr — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 18:03:13 +0000

Jacquemin Family Foundation’s Leadership Gift Supports the Hylton Performing Arts Center Zoe Harr Tue, 02/15/2022 - 13:03

Former ��ӽ紫ý Board of Visitors member John Jacquemin and his wife, Tracie Jacquemin, have made a generous leadership commitment to support the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas.

John and Tracie Jacquemin’s gift for the Hylton Center extends a family commitment to philanthropy. Photo by Christopher Bobo.

The five-year, $1,000,000 pledge from The Jacquemin Family Foundation will support the Hylton Center building fund and the center’s long-term endowment. The Large Rehearsal Hall in the center’s Education and Rehearsal Wing, which opened in 2019, will be named The Jacquemin Family Foundation Rehearsal Hall in their honor. This room is the wing’s signature space, serving as an elegant recital hall and community gathering place in addition to its key role in hosting all types of rehearsals.

“We are so grateful to John and Tracie and their family for their transformational support of the Hylton Performing Arts Center,” said Rick Davis, executive director of the Hylton Center and dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “The Jacquemins have been passionate supporters of the arts in this region, and great friends to ��ӽ紫ý. To see their family’s commitment to the arts through naming the Large Rehearsal Hall is a testament to the power of the arts to build community.”

John Jacquemin is a current member of the ��ӽ紫ý Foundation Board of Trustees and served on the university’s Board of Visitors from 2012 to 2017. He is president and CEO of Mooring Financial Corp., a private investment firm based in Tysons, Va. that he founded in 1982. The couple’s oldest daughter, Juliana, is a 2014 graduate of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Jacquemin Family Foundation, established in 1997, supports charitable causes across Northern Virginia and the Greater Washington region, especially in the fields of education, the arts, environmental conservation, housing, hunger, and early childhood education.

Both John and Tracie deeply appreciate the role of the Hylton Center as a vital gathering place for the region’s arts community. “The Hylton Center is a real jewel for this part of Virginia,” said John Jacquemin. “Making our support for it visible in this way represents the commitment I feel to Mason after all my involvement with the university.”

“How many students might not even be in college were it not for ��ӽ紫ý?” Jacquemin added. “Look at how many first-generation students we have—the first in their families to attend college. That’s something to be very proud of.”

The impact of the Jacquemins’ philanthropy at Mason extends well beyond the Hylton Center. The Education Abroad Scholarship, established by the family in 2016, provides support to study abroad for at least a dozen deserving Mason students each year. Jacquemin previously established a similar scholarship at his alma mater, Penn State. Born in France before emigrating to the U.S. as a child, he returned there as an undergraduate for his own year of study abroad. “I saw in my classmates who went how it could be a life-changing experience for so many people,” he said.

The Mason undergraduates are a group the Jacquemins enjoy meeting each semester when the students give presentations about their experience. “It may be only a $1,000 grant, but that money might have paid for their air fare, or given them spending money, so that they could enter the program,” said Tracie. Jacquemin. “Many of the recipients are from low-income families, so even a relatively small amount can make a big difference for them.”

The Jacquemins are also significantly involved with the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) in Front Royal, where they established a research fellowship to fund PhD candidates in 2018. The couple’s youngest daughter, Marissa, who studies sustainable agriculture at the University of California, Davis, attended the SMSC summer program while in high school. In an ongoing effort with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), the Jacquemins installed an antenna/receiver on their farm in Rappahannock County to track grassland birds that have been radio-tagged by SCBI researchers—one of only three such locations in Virginia. It’s a fruitful collaboration that combines John Jacquemin’s evident enthusiasm for wildlife and the outdoors with the family’s long-standing dedication to philanthropy, and to Mason.

Topics

Hylton

AFPO Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season Returns with Premieres by Mason Alum Vincent Oppido

Zoe Harr — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 19:06:23 +0000

AFPO Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season Returns with Premieres by Mason Alum Vincent Oppido Zoe Harr Tue, 11/30/2021 - 14:06

In This Story

Rick Davis

Prof. Anthony Maiello

Center for the Arts Tickets

Tis the season to be jolly! And it’s time to celebrate the holidays with the winter season’s favorite music once again! After a two-year hiatus in response to COVID-19, the American Festival Pops Orchestra (AFPO) returns to the Hylton Performing Arts Center and Center for the Arts at ��ӽ紫ý this December with Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season. Rick Davis, Dean of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) and Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center, shares, “AFPO is always a festive attraction and I'm particularly excited this year. It's such a thrill to stand on stage in front of the majestic sounds, Maestro Maiello’s baton keeping everything in order while the twinkle in his eyes keeps it festive.”

Founded and conducted by Dewberry School of Music professor Anthony Maiello, AFPO includes professional musicians from ��ӽ紫ý’s music faculty, United States military bands, and regional orchestras from across the Northern Virginia and Metropolitan D.C. region. Its mission for the American pop music genre aims “to present the best of a treasured musical genre employing some of the country’s most distinguished performing artists.”

Maestro Maiello with Vincent Oppido on the Concert Hall stage in 2009.

Among the music featured in this exciting performance will be that of Vincent Oppido, a Mason Dewberry School of Music alumnus (BA in Music with a Minor in Jazz Studies (2008) and MM in Music with Concentration in Conducting (2010). Called “Vinny” by his friends at Mason, the young professional composer and musician has already garnered praiseworthy credits in the world of the performing arts, his music having been performed across the U.S. and abroad. Oppido’s AFPO connection rekindled this past summer when Maestro Maiello commissioned him to write a new arrangement for the AFPO’s traditional Hanukkah repertoire. Oppido happily agreed, additionally offering his new musical accompaniment for Yes, Virginia, a Christmastime narrative set to music that accompanies an 1897 newspaper editor’s response to an eight-year-old’s question: “Is there a Santa Claus?” Audiences will be in for a treat with Dean Davis’s live narration during the performances.

We had the incredible opportunity of conversing with Maestro Maiello and Oppido about the upcoming AFPO performances. Learn more about their collaboration in this exclusive Q&A:

Audiences are so excited to have the American Festival Pops Orchestra return this year! What are you most excited about?

MAIELLO: I'm thrilled to once again make music with AFPO and perform for such enthusiastic listeners, especially after this two-year break. I wish I could put into words the “magic” of music-making and how it deeply touches our hearts and souls as human beings. Sharing that magic with others musically is the best holiday gift ever.

OPPIDO: I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with so many old friends and colleagues. I’ve known Tony Maiello and Rick Davis for almost 20 years now, which is impossible, because I still feel like a current student! They’re both some of the most influential people in my life and has been great champions of music and the arts. It’s a wonderful gift for a composer to work with them. It really is something special to collaborate with both of these friends after so many years.

What makes this annual AFPO holiday concert so special each year?

MAIELLO: There is great joy in performing holiday music for everyone and getting everyone into the holiday spirit. Bryan Kidd, composer and arranger for AFPO, and I are like two kids in a candy store when it comes to planning the annual AFPO Holiday Concert program. There are so many musical selections to choose from but one of our favorite things to do is find a standard holiday piece and put a new “twist” on it. Music touches our hearts and transforms our minds and souls—especially holiday music—so being part of sharing it with others is incredibly gratifying.

OPPIDO: I absolutely adore Christmas music—I might go so far as to say some of my favorite music is from the Christmas holiday canon—so in the pandemic-driven height of a pretty crummy time, or just a generally stressful time of year, it feels good to share positive energy.

Can you share more about Vinny’s original pieces and how these came to be?

MAIELLO: I was looking for something different, a new arrangement for our traditional Hanukkah selections. I knew Vincent would create a masterpiece. He is a “bright shining star” composer in the Hollywood movie industry. In addition, Vincent also arranged the music for Yes, Virginia, which will also be performed in our December concert. It features narration by Rick Davis, as well as child narration that was pre-recorded by Sylvia London. She nailed the recording on her very first try! What a pro!

OPPIDO: Yes, Virginia is inspired by the famous 1897 Christmastime editorial “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” In summary, a young girl wrote a letter to the New York Sun, asking the age-old question: Is Santa Claus real? The paper published a response in the form of an editorial—I’ve always loved this piece because of its warmth and loving optimism. As for the new Hanukkah medley, I reached out to a number of friends who celebrate Hanukkah, and collectively came up with six of the more popular songs, including the classic “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel.” I sought to create an arrangement that perhaps pushed the harmonic and orchestral color boundaries a bit while, hopefully, honoring the original integrity of these beautiful songs.

Performance Information for American Festival Pops Orchestra: Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season
Hylton Performing Arts Center: Friday, December 10 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts at ��ӽ紫ý: Saturday, December 11 at 8 p.m.

Evelyn Kiley, a longtime Friend of the Center for the Arts, contributed to this article.

Topics

CFA

Hylton

Center for the Arts

Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music