2022 Season Opener - Sunday October 16, 2022
Shenandoah Variations - Joseph Kern
Randolph Laycock, conducting Hannah Porter Occeña, flute soloist
also
Moldau - Smetana
Carnival Overture - Dvorak
Carmen Suite No. 2 - Georges Bizet
The song “Shenandoah” is a popular American folk song and one of the most recognized and best loved melodies dating back to the early 1800s. It appears to have originated with voyageurs travelling down the Missouri River and has developed several different sets of lyrics. Notable recordings exist by numerous musical luminaries, and these variations are sure to inspire listeners with their rich history and call from the land, rivers and hills of 19th century America.
Guest Flute Soloist - Hannah Porter Occeña
Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “rich tone and deft technique,” Hannah Porter Occeña is Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Northern Iowa and Principal Flutist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra (Topeka, KS). The 2021 Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition winner, Dr. Occeña has performed as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and clinician throughout the US and abroad.
Committed to the rich heritage and new horizons of the repertoire, Dr. Occeña strives to make classical works accessible and engaging to diverse audiences. Between her performance schedule and collegiate teaching responsibilities, Dr. Occeña participates in outreach concerts and programs at schools and community centers.
As a chamber musician and collaborator, Dr. Occeña has worked to bring works by living composers to life. She is a commissioning member of the Flute New Music Consortium and has co-premiered works by Zhou Long (Confluence, 2015), Carter Pann (Giantess, 2018), Valerie Coleman (Amazonia, 2020), and Samuel Zyman (Intuition, 2022). She has also privately commissioned and premiered several new works, including “the whirring dusk” by Lisa Bost-Sandberg and Shenandoah Variations for flute and orchestra by Joseph Kern.
A dedicated scholar, Dr. Occeña has presented at National Flute Association conventions, the Rochester Flute Fair, the Iowa Music Educators Association, and Iowa Bandmasters Association. She has collaborated on new editions of the Sonata in B minor by Amanda Maier and the Sonata op. 94 by Sergei Prokofiev and serves on the National Flute Association Special Publications Committee.
Dr. Occeña is a 2018 DMA graduate of Stony Brook University, where she studied with Carol Wincenc; she holds a Master of Music Dip.RAM from the Royal Academy of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. When not performing, Dr. Occeña enjoys running half marathons and spending time outdoors with her husband and three daughters. Her latest CD, Confluence, is available on all the major streaming platforms. She is a Miyazawa Artist and plays on a Miyazawa Elite. For more information, please visit http://hannahporter.instantencore.com.
