presented by members of the GSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
& University Singers Chamber Choir
In celebration of the composer’s 200th Birthday
PROGRAM NOTES
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer born on September 4, 1824. A deeply devout man, his Catholic faith profoundly influenced his music, which often exhibits a grand, spiritual quality. Bruckner initially worked as a schoolteacher and church organist, honing his skills in composition and counterpoint. His symphonies, notably the Eighth and Ninth, are celebrated for their innovative structures and rich harmonies, blending elements of Romanticism with a unique sense of orchestral color. Despite facing criticism and being overshadowed by contemporaries like Wagner and Brahms during his lifetime, Bruckner's work has gained immense respect and recognition.
Mass in e minor
Anton Bruckner's Mass in E minor, composed between 1864 and 1866, is a significant work in his choral oeuvre. This mass combines traditional liturgical elements with Bruckner's characteristic harmonic language and rich orchestration. It features soaring choral passages, intricate counterpoint, and a powerful use of brass and woodwinds, creating a majestic and spiritual atmosphere. The Mass reflects Bruckner's innovative approach to choral writing and his ability to convey profound emotion, making it a revered piece in both the sacred music repertoire and the broader choral canon.
Dr. Robert J. Ambrose
DIRECTOR OF THE SYMPHONIC WIND ENSEMBLE
Conductor Robert J. Ambrose enjoys a highly successful and diverse career as a dynamic and engaging musician. His musical interests cross many genres and can be seen in the wide range of professional activities he pursues. Dr. Ambrose studied formally at Boston College, Boston University and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of Music degree in conducting. Dr. Ambrose currently serves as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Georgia State University a research institution of over 53,000 students located in Atlanta.
Dr. Ambrose is in constant demand as a guest conductor and has performed on four continents. Recent engagements include performances in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan as well as across the United States. In 2016, Dr. Ambrose was invited to spend ten days on tour as a guest conductor with the United States Army Field Band. Ambrose is the only civilian in history to be invited to guest conduct a premiere American military band on tour. This engagement led to the formation of the National Chamber Winds, a professional wind dectet based in Washington, D.C. for which he is Founder and Music Director. Ambrose is also the Founder and Music Director of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and Ensemble ATL, ensembles comprising musicians from the Atlanta Symphony, Atlanta Opera, and Atlanta Ballet Orchestras.
Dr. Ambrose is Founder and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble (MAYWE), a highly-select high school honor ensemble consisting of musicians from throughout the Atlanta area. During his nine-year tenure as Music Director, nearly 1000 high school students participated in the MAYWE program and the ensemble was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall on two occasions.
Dr. Ambrose has strong ties to the Finnish music community. He is frequently engaged in that country as a guest conductor, teacher, master clinician, and lecturer. Recent guest conducting appearances include the Finnish Navy Band, the Helsinki Police Band, the STM Summer Music Festival Wind Orchestra, the Rauma Wind Band, and the youth wind bands of Kokkola, Kotka, and Rauma. He has taught conducting workshops in Tampere, Rauma, Kuopio, and Kokkola, and has served as a guest lecturer at the Central Ostrobothnian Conservatory and the Sibelius Academy.
Ambrose is a prolific arranger with nearly two dozen publications to his credit. His transcriptions and editions are published by Presser Music, Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, Fennica Gehrman (Finland), and Edition Tilli (Finland). His transcriptions appear on several state lists and have been performed around the world.
Dr. Deanna Joseph
DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY SINGERS
Dr. Deanna Joseph is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the Georgia State University School of Music where she conducts the University Singers and leads the master’s program in choral conducting. A recent review of her work states, “[t]he choir sings with great musicality, excellent intonation, clear diction, and a healthy and beautiful pallet of tone colors…” (The Choral Scholar).
Dr. Joseph's teaching and scholarship has been recognized with several awards, including the Georgia State University College of the Arts Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award in 2021, and in 2019, the Georgia State University Alumni Distinguished Professor Award, a university-wide award given to “a model of the teacher-scholar ideal.” In 2015, she was selected from over 800 faculty members to receive the College of Arts and Sciences’ Outstanding Teacher Award
Under Dr. Joseph’s direction, the Georgia State University Singers have been invited to perform at two national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), in 2021 and in 2025, and perform regularly at ACDA regional and Georgia Music Educators Association state conferences.
In April of 2023, the Georgia State University Singers performed two concerts at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Istanbul, Turkey. In May of 2017, the University Singers under won first place in the renowned Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition while on a concert tour of Austria and Bavaria. In May of 2013, the University Singers competed in La Florilège Vocal de Tours where the choir placed second overall in the mixed choir category and Dr. Joseph was honored with the Prix du chef de choer (conducting prize).
During Dr. Joseph’s tenure, the Georgia State University Choirs have been hired to sing two productions of David Bintley’s Carmina Burana with the Atlanta Ballet: in 2013 (North American premiere performances) and 2017 as well as several collaborations with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, and Andrea Bocelli.
The choir’s three professional recording, Evening Hymn, Heavenly Display: Songs Inspired by Shaker Tunes, and Requiem (Gothic Records), are distributed internationally by Naxos. The American Record Guide review of Evening Hymn states “There are no runts in the repertory litter…[and] [t]he Georgia State choir of 40 is very good at all of it: radiant as dusk approaches, but hushed and sensitive to the coming darkness as shadows deepen and fall.” All three disks have been featured several times on National Public Radio’s program, With Heart and Voice.
Dr. Joseph is an active guest conductor and headline clinician and has conducted all-state and honor choirs in more than twenty-five states. She is a frequent conductor of choral-orchestral repertoire and has led performances of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, Duruflé Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and Lord Nelson Mass, Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Schubert’s Mass in A-flat and Bruckner’s Mass in D Minor.
Dr. Joseph’s research in 19th-century choral-orchestral performance-practice has led to invited presentations on the topic at several division conferences of the American Choral Director’s Association and at the national convention for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. In October of 2012, she was selected as one of 25 presenters from ten countries to speak at the Lund Choral Festival in Sweden.
Prior to her appointment at Georgia State University, Dr. Joseph served on the faculties at Smith College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Dr. Joseph holds conducting degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize. She is the founder and artistic director of the Atlanta Summer Conducting Institute (ASCI), a weeklong, summer conducting master class that draws conductors from across the country.