James M. Stephenson: Symphony No. 3, Visions Lake Forest Symphony & Vladimir Kulenovic

• James M. Stephenson: Symphony No. 3 "Visions":
• 1 Stephenson: Symphony No. 3 "Visions": I. Moderato agitato 09:57
• 2 Stephenson: Symphony No. 3 "Visions": II. Adagio cantabile 08:38
• 3 Stephenson: Symphony No. 3 "Visions": III. Vivo scherzando 12:21
• 4 Stephenson: Symphony No. 3 "Visions": IV. Andante sonore - Allegro 09:01
• Total Runtime 39:57

Info for James M. Stephenson: Symphony No. 3, Visions

Celebrated Chicago composer James M. Stephenson’s Symphony No. 3 is classical in nature. The work’s opening E-minor 7th chord is central to the piece, both harmonically and structurally, as is the opening flute duet. These materials are constantly in the pages of the work, whether hidden or most obvious. The four movements are laid out in B minor, E major, G major, and D major, spelling out the notes in the opening chord (although not in order). The ideas in the symphony, always reworked and revisited, appear in many guises, ranging from soaring and heroic, to quirky and fugal, to lush and sentimental, to intimate and lonely, to grand and triumphant. Particularly evocative and unusual is the use of three saxophones in the central section of the third movement. The piece was composed for the sheer enjoyment of the players on stage, the conductor, and the audience in the hall. The composer’s goal was to write music that he could envision bringing colleagues, patrons, and conductors to the edge of their seats, eager to play and experience.

"In summer 2017, while in residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, I got the opportunity to know Thom Sleeper, who was then the conductor of the University of Miami Frost School of Music Symphony Orchestra. I had always known and admired Thom as a composer, and this opportunity to spend some time together provided a chance to “talk shop” about composing, which was something I truly enjoyed. It wasn’t long thereafter that I made a bold move and wrote to Thom, telling him that I felt I had a “major work” in me, and that I would love it if I could write it for him. Much to my delight, he put the wheels in motion and eventually had me engaged to write what would become my Third Symphony. One thing had changed in the intervening months however: that he would be retiring and that the job of conducting it would fall to Alexander Magalong as part of his (Alexander’s) doctoral dissertation." (Notes by James M. Stephenson)

Lake Forest Symphony
Vladimir Kulenovic, conductor

Vladimir Kulenovic
Designated “Chicagoan of the Year in Classical Music” (2015) by distinguished Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein, Vladimir Kulenovic served for six years as Music Director of the Lake Forest Symphony. A recent winner of the Sir Georg Solti Con- ducting Award, one of the most prestigious conducting honors in the United States, he has taken his place as one of the finest and most imaginative conductors of his generation. Having concluded four seasons as Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony / Utah Opera, Mr. Kulenovic has also served as assistant conductor with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Principal Conductor of the Kyoto International Festival in Japan, and Resident Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic in his native Serbia.

Mr. Kulenovic’s U.S. guest conducting engagements include the symphonies of Alabama, Chicago, Columbus, Grand Rapids, Houston, Illinois, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Knoxville, San Francisco, South Bend, Stamford, Utah, and Winston-Salem, in addition to the philharmonic orchestras of Naples (FL) and Oklahoma City, the Florida Orchestra, and the Louisville Orchestra.

Worldwide, Mr. Kulenovic has appeared with the Orchestre Nationale d’ile de France, Basque National Orchestra of Spain, Beethoven-Orchester Bonn, Bilkent Symphony, Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, Leipziger Symphonie Orchester, Malaysia Philharmonic, Minas Gerais Philharmonic, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Orchestra Sinfonica de España, Orchestra Classica de Santa Cecilia, Romanian State Philharmonic, Slovenia Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, Würtembergische Philharmonie, Zagreb Philharmonic, Macedonian Philharmonic, and the Macedonian National Opera. Festival appearances include Aspen, Cabrillo, Kuhmo, Round Top, Salzburg Mozarteum, and Verbier.

In 2012, Mr. Kulenovic was awarded the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Fellowship and the position of conducting assistant with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, where he worked closely with his longtime mentor, Maestro Kurt Masur. He has also served as cover conductor with the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore Opera, and Florentine Opera.

He has assisted many illustrious conductors including Bernard Haitink, Zubin Mehta, Sir Andrew Davis, Alan Gilbert, and Marin Alsop, among others. Vladimir Kulenovic holds graduate diplomas in conducting from both The Juilliard School and the Peabody Institute and was one of six top U.S. emerging conductors chosen by the League of American Orchestras for the 2013 Bruno Walter National Conducting Preview.

The Lake Forest Symphony
performed in Lake County, Illinois, north of Chicago, for over 60 years. Founded as a chamber orchestra of volunteer musicians in 1957 by Robert Kalter and William English, the orchestra continued to grow, becoming fully professional in 1988. The orchestra went on to receive numerous awards from the League of American Orchestras and Illinois Council of Orchestras, including 2019 “Orchestra of the Year.”

Praised for the incredible talent of its over 60 musicians, the Symphony performed throughout Lake County and northern Illinois, including at the College of Lake County’s James Lumber Center, Lake Forest Academy’s Cressey Center for the Arts, the Genesee Theatre, and the Lake Forest Gorton Center.

Under the executive direction of Susan Lape and then Timothy Corpus, the Symphony recorded three albums with Cedille Records and a broadcast documentary with 98.7 WFMT, Chicago’s classical music station, titled “The Search,” chronicling the orchestra’s search for a new music director.

After an extensive conductor search in 2014, the Symphony welcomed its seventh Music Director, Vladimir Kulenovic, who went on to be designated “Chicagoan of the Year in Classical Music” by the Chicago Tribune, and “Conductor of the Year” from the Illinois Council of Orchestras.

The Lake Forest Symphony’s popular, genre-blending “Salon Series” presented sold-out chamber music shows for two years and continues under different auspices today at the Gorton Community Center.

This album contains no booklet.