Dr. Robert G. Hasty is the Music Director of the Kenosha Symphony
Orchestra and the conductor of the UCF Symphony and Chamber
Orchestras at the University of Central Florida School of Performing
Arts where he serves as Director of Orchestral Activities. He is also
Artistic Director of the International Schools Choral Music Society.
For 22 years, Hasty conducted the Chamber Orchestra and the
Philharmonia at the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at
Northwestern University where he also served as the Associate
Director of Orchestras.

Hasty began his career teaching music in the public schools in
Southern California; this included tenure in administration as the
District Music Coordinator of the Capistrano Unified School District
where he supervised the K-12 music education program and its staff
of 39 teachers. He also served an elected term as Vice President in
charge of String Education for the Southern California School Band
and Orchestra Association.

A noted researcher in music cognition, Hasty has been an author for
two publications delivered at the 7th International Conference on
Music Perception and Cognition in Sydney, Australia. His research on
conducting was published in 2005: “Critical Listening While
Conducting”. The European Society for Cognitive Sciences of Music
invited him to speak at their conference in Portugal on these studies.

As a conductor, Hasty has appeared with the All-American College
Orchestra at Walt Disney World, Beijing Youth Orchestra, Elmhurst
Symphony Orchestra, Festival Internacional Sesc de Música
Orquestra Sinfônica Acadêmica, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra,
Highland Park Strings, Irvine Youth Symphony, La Primavera
Orchestra, Merit Symphony Orchestra, Metropolis Youth Symphony,
National High School Music Institute Orchestra, Northwestern
University Symphony Orchestra, NU Opera Theater, and the NU
Contemporary Music Ensemble. His performances have been
broadcast on WFMT radio in Chicago and on the Big Ten Network.
Hasty’s international engagements include sold-out performances at
the National Concert Hall of Taipei, Taiwan, the Forbidden City
Concert Hall in Beijing, China, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center
Concert Hall and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall in
Shanghai, China, Theatro Guarany in Pelotas, Brazil, the Busan
Cultural Center Main Theater in Busan, South Korea, and the Suzhou
Culture and Arts Centre Grand Theatre in Suzhou, China. He is
sought-after as an honor orchestra conductor, conducting honor
groups across the United States. He is a member of the conducting and
music education faculties at the UCF School of the Performing Arts.

Hasty has also spent his career as a freelance violinist and violist,
having been a student of Alice Schoenfeld at the USC Thornton
School of Music. These days, you will find him fiddling in several
clubs and venues with various bands, including as fiddler and vocalist
for singer-songwriter Christina Trulio (ASCAP). Noted as an "avid
cyclist" by the Chicago Tribune, he trains for official century rides
every year. Bob is especially proud to have been appointed as the
newest member of the Dancing Bohemian Ukulele Team.

Lina Jeong is a graduate student at the University of Central Florida,
where she studies orchestral conducting with Robert Hasty. Jeong
earned a master’s degree in music education with an emphasis in
conducting and violin from Northwestern University, studying with
Victor Yampolsky. She completed her undergraduate studies in music
and French at Loyola University Chicago, studying violin with
MingHuan Xu and conducting with Frederick Lowe. She was selected
for the Early Career Program with Girls Who Conduct for consecutive
seasons, under the mentorship of Helen Cha-Pyo and Tiffany Chang.
Jeong has performed in masterclasses for the Kronos Quartet, Almita
Vamos, and Liba Shacht. She performed a world premiere with Gail
Williams for William’s retirement recital at Northwestern University.

Jeong collaborated with composition students from the Chicago
College of Performing Arts for recordings and premieres. Jeong has
guest conducted the Loyola University Chicago Symphony Orchestra
and Wind Ensemble. She was the conductor for the Northwestern
University Music Academy, in preparation for their 2023 Europe tour.
As an educator and studio teacher, Jeong has worked with students of
all ages. Her students have received top ratings at festivals and
performed as principal players in youth orchestras. Committed to
building community through music and supporting young musicians,
Jeong co-founded a community volunteer orchestra in Chicago that
performed in nursing homes and for benefit concerts.

Jeffery Redding, the 2019 GRAMMY Music Educator Award
Recipient, is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of
Central Florida (UCF). Dr. Redding has led his choirs in
performances at national, regional, and state conventions of the
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His choirs have
earned first place awards at Heritage Festivals of Gold in
California, Chicago, New York and at the Festival of Spirituals in
Washington D.C. While participating in the International Music
Festival in Verona, Italy, his chorus from West Orange
High School received the Gold Award for best choir, with Dr.
Redding honored as top director.

Nationally, Dr. Redding is in demand as a guest conductor and
clinician. He has conducted the ACDA National High School Honor
Choir, the Central Division ACDA Honor Choir, and the North
Central Division ACDA Honor Choir, the Eastern Division ACDA
Honor Choir, the Southern Division ACDA Honor Choir and All-State and Honor choirs in approximately forty-five states. In 2014, Dr.
Redding was the only American adjudicator at the International
Choral Festival, Verona, Italy. Additionally, he conducted at the
TAISM Festival of Choirs in Muscat, Oman. He was the Artistic
Director for Limerick Sings International Choral Festival in Limerick,
Ireland in 2018. In 2019, he conducted the Alaska All-State Treble
Choir, the NAfME Central Regional Elementary Honor Choir, the
Morehead State University Honor Choir, and the Honors Young
Adults Choir, at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

Previously Director of Choral Activities at West Orange High School
in Winter Garden, Florida and West Virginia University (WVU), Dr.
Redding has been featured as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, Alice
Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, and Orchestra Hall on numerous
occasions. He was also honored to give the prestigious TEDx Talk. He
is also one of the conductors for Walt Disney World’s Candlelight
Processional at Epcot and the conductor of Harmonious Live! found
on Disney Plus.

Recognized for his achievements and service in the profession, Dr.
Redding was awarded the R. Wayne Hugoboom Distinguished Service Award for dedicated service, leadership, and excellence by the Florida Chapter of ACDA.

Dr. Redding is founder and Artistic Director of the Winter Garden
Community Choir in Winter Garden, Florida. As well as the
Executive & Artistic Director of the Orlando Choral Society,
founded in 2019. He also serves as the Director of Worship Arts for
Tuskawilla United Methodist Church. Formerly with the Moses
Hogan Singers, he remains active as a singer in the professional male
singing group, "Brethren." The Jeffery Redding Passion and Purpose
Choral Series is a compilation of new choral music by various
composers, published by Colla Voce Music, Inc. Dr. Redding also has
a Choral Series with Walton Music.

Dr. Redding holds a Ph.D. in Choral Conducting/Music Education and
a Master of Music Education, both from the Florida State University,
and a B.S. in Music Education from Florida A&M University. He is a
member of ACDA, NAfME, FVA, NATS, and Chorus America. He
has served his profession in numerous capacities, as District 8 Chair
for the Florida Vocal Association (FVA), as State R&R Chair for
Ethnic Music/Multicultural Affairs, R&R Chair for Youth/Student
Activities, and High School Mixed Honor Choir co-chair for Florida
ACDA, and as R&R Chair for Community Choirs for Southern
Division ACDA. Currently, he is R&R Lifelong Coordinator
(Community, Music and Worship) for Florida ACDA.

Seven O'Clock Shout - Valerie Coleman

The composer writes, “Seven O’Clock Shout is an anthem inspired by the tireless frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the heartwarming ritual of evening serenades that brings people together amidst isolation to celebrate life and the sacrifices of heroes. The work begins with a distant and solitary solo between two trumpets in fanfare fashion to commemorate the isolation forced upon humankind, and the need to reach out to one another. The fanfare blossoms into a lushly dense landscape of nature, symbolizing both the caregiving acts of nurses and doctors as they try to save lives, while nature is transforming and healing herself during a time of self-isolation.”

Valerie Coleman is a Grammy nominated flute player, was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, and was named to the “Top 35 Women Composers” list by The Washington Post. Coleman is an international performing artist, having appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Kalish, and many more across multiple continents. As an entrepreneur, Coleman established the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival in 2011 which promotes arts education by providing a mentorship program to young leaders in New York City each year. Coleman is currently on faculty at the Mannes School of Music in New York City teaching flute and composition.

*All information gathered on the composer’s website, https://www.vcolemanmusic.com/

Lincoln Portrait - Aaron Copland

Composed in 1942, Lincoln Portrait is one of Copland’s popular pieces. It was commissioned in the early years of World War 2 and conducted by Andre Kostelanetz for a program of three new works by American composers. The proposal resulted in Virgil Thomson’s The Mayor LaGuardia Waltzes, Jerome Kern’s Portrait for Orchestra of Mark Twain, and Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. It is filled with works that folk materials were freely used and adapted. Copland selected excerpts from Lincoln’s own words for the narration, these excerpts included quotes from Springfield Mountain and Camptown Races.

Lincoln Portrait may be the one that has touched most deeply the American consciousness. Copland hoped to suggest something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln’s personality. The challenge in composing this was to create something simple, yet interesting enough to fit Lincoln. It is divided into three main sections. The opening suggests something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln’s personality and near the end of that section, it shows his gentleness and simplicity of spirit. The middle section sketches the times he lived, then merges into the section where it draws a frame of the words of Lincoln himself.

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica” - Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is considered to be one of the most prolific composers. Much of his work is frequently played across the globe to this day. The “Eroica” Symphony, the third symphony he published, was premiered in June of 1804 almost 220 years ago. Originally, the piece had been entitled “Bonaparte”, paying homage to Napoleon who Beethoven had believed to be the physical manifestation of democracy and a righteous, heroic leader of the French Revolution. That quickly changed after Napoleon named himself emperor earlier in 1804, to which Beethoven responded by tearing off the title page of his symphony and reprinting that first page with the title Sinfonia Eroica with the subtext, “Composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.”

Beethoven’s third symphony marks the beginning of not only the middle period of his compositional life, but also the first symphony of the Romantic Era. It was during this period in his life that his hearing loss truly began to affect his career and he would make less and less public appearances. However, the standard he held his work continued to exponentially rise, and he would eventually make the statement, “I am not satisfied with the work I have done so far. From now on I intend to take a new way.” The pure scale of his future compositions could only be described as grand. He challenged what form, length, and harmony meant to the symphony and found clever ways of including more emotional and cultural content into his compositions.

One of the most noticeable ways that Beethoven expanded the symphony is the inclusion of a third horn, separate from the standard two at the time. In the third movement, he features the horn section with a hunting chorus that is repeated shortly after with the orchestra joining in. The second movement, Funeral March, has become extensively famous and is often used to mourn the loss of great men and women. Some examples being at the funeral of the composer Felix Mendelssohn, at the funeral of the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and to mourn the loss of two US Presidents, Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy.

Beethoven’s third symphony was one of his most important contributions to the history of orchestral music. After composing a total of nine symphonies, when asked by his dear friend Christoff Kuffner which one was his favorite, Beethoven effortlessly replied, “The Eroica.”