COSMIC Symphony
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Southern Maryland’s Only Community Orchestra linktr.ee/cosmicsymphony
Donor Shoutout Thursday! Thank you to Oracle NetSuite for supporting COSMIC!
NetSuite is a software company that has developed a cloud-based business management platform used by more than 44,000 fast-growing organizations across the globe. That platform consists of a suite of applications that help companies run their business, understand the performance of their businesses, and drive major efficiency gains and cost savings. Oracle supports COSMIC through the Oracle Netsuite Social Impact Program, allowing us to effectively manage our organization's finances.
Thank you, Oracle Netsuite!
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Don’t miss our free season opener concert TOMORROW, “The British are Coming” featuring tuba soloist Jazzie Pigott! 🎶
The Concert Week Countdown continues!
Today we are taking a deep dive into the meaning behind each of Elgar's fourteen "Enigma" variations at this weekend's concert. The title "Enigma" comes from a puzzle that Elgar left behind: the composer claimed that a larger, well-known melody “goes” over and through the entire set of variations, yet is never actually played. He refused to reveal it before his death. Countless musical theorists have tried to decode the hidden melody – some of the most popular contenders are "Auld Lang Syne," "God Save the Queen."
THE VARIATIONS:
Theme (Andante): Edward Elgar’s creative voice. Represents the composer's inner artistic identity—melancholic, shifting, and deeply personal.
Variation I (C.A.E.): Caroline Alice Elgar. Elgar’s wife. The music is romantic and gentle, featuring a repeating four-note whistle motif that Elgar used to whistle to her when he arrived home.
Variation II (H.D.S-P.): Hew David Steuart-Powell. An amateur pianist who played trios with Elgar. The rapid, staccato woodwinds mimic his fast, nervous warm-up exercises on the piano.
Variation III (R.B.T.): Richard Baxter Townshend. An eccentric classicist and actor. The variation features a caricature of his deep voice breaking into a high falsetto during amateur theatricals, played by a low bassoon switching to high woodwinds.
Variation IV (W.M.B.): William Meath Baker. A country squire and energetic host. This is a brief, loud, and bustling variation that mimics Baker slamming a door and forcefully organizing his guests' daily schedules.
Variation V (R.P.A.): Richard Penrose Arnold. Son of the famous poet Matthew Arnold. The music contrasts a serious, brooding string melody (his intellectual side) with light, laughing woodwinds (his sudden, witty self-deprecation).
Variation VI (Ysobel): Isabel Fitton. A viola student of Elgar's. The entire variation is led by the violas, mimicking a cross-string bowing exercise that she found difficult but charming.
Variation VII (Troyte): Arthur Troyte Griffith. An architect and close friend who was a notoriously bad pianist. The furious, pounding timpani and frantic brass mimic his loud, clumsy attempts to play the piano.
Variation VIII (W.N.): Winifred Norbury. An elegant friend who co-ran a local secretarial society. The music captures her gentle, easygoing laugh and the serene atmosphere of her 18th-century country house, Sherridge.
Variation IX (Nimrod): August Jaeger. Elgar's music publisher and closest confidant. Named after the biblical "mighty hunter" (Jaeger means hunter in German). The sweeping, noble melody captures a deep late-night conversation they shared where Jaeger encouraged a depressed Elgar to keep composing.
Variation X (Dorabella – Intermezzo): Dora Penny. A close family friend. The fluttering woodwind lines mimic her light, dancing step and her endearing, slight speech impediment (stammer).
Variation XI (G.R.S.): George Robertson Sinclair (and his bulldog, Dan). Sinclair was the organist at Hereford Cathedral, but the music actually depicts his bulldog Dan falling down a steep riverbank into the River Wye, paddling furiously upstream, and barking upon landing safely.
Variation XII (B.G.N.): Basil G. Nevinson. A talented amateur cellist who played chamber music with Elgar. The variation begins and ends with a deeply expressive cello solo in his honor.
Variation XIII (* – Romanza):** Lady Mary Lygon (or secret muse Helen Weaver). Elgar left the initials blank, calling it a "Romanza." The music quotes Felix Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, featuring a solo clarinet mimicking a ship’s engines at sea, suggesting a friend traveling to a distant country (like Australia).
Variation XIV (Finale: E.D.U.): Edward Elgar himself. "Edu" was his wife's pet name for him (from the German Eduard). It is a grand, triumphant self-portrait that ties the whole piece together by boldly re-introducing the themes of his two anchors: his wife Alice (C.A.E.) and his best friend Jaeger (Nimrod).
Don't miss your chance to hear this magical piece of music THIS SUNDAY! This concert is FREE! Details at www.cosmicsymphony.org/october-concerts/
CONCERT WEEK COUNTDOWN DAY FOUR!
Walton’s “Crown Imperial” was originally written the march in early 1937 for the coronation of King Edward VIII. However, Edward famously abdicated the throne in late 1936 to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. The coronation took place on the exact date originally planned, but the music was repurposed for Edward's brother, King George VI.
You can hear this exciting piece and much more at this Sunday’s FREE concert! Details at www.cosmicsymphony.org/october-concerts/
CONCERT WEEK COUNTDOWN DAY TWO!
The second half of our concert program this Sunday will feature Edward Elgar’s “Enigma” variations.
Elgar was not merely a composer, though – he was also a knight! King Edward VII knighted Elgar in 1904.
Don’t miss your chance to hear one of Elgar’s most famous works at our season opener concert, “The British are Coming,” this weekend! This concert is FREE! Details at www.cosmicsymphony.org/october-concerts/
The time has come for our first CONCERT WEEK COUNTDOWN of the season! Our season opener concert, “The British are Coming,” is Sunday, Oct. 11th!
We will be featuring Dr. Jasmine Pigott as our soloist in the Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra. Did you know a standard B-flat tuba has up to 18 feet of coiled tubing? If you were to stretch it out straight, it would be the height of an average giraffe!
Don’t miss your chance to hear Jasmine perform this tuba concerto with COSMIC on Sunday! This concert is FREE! Details at www.cosmicsymphony.org/october-concerts/
Donor Shoutout Thursday! Thank you to G&H Jewelers and Gemologists for supporting COSMIC!
G&H is your full service luxury jewelry store that remains the leading independent, third generation family owned business dedicated to the utmost perfection in jewelry sales, custom design, diamond & colored gemstone setting, repair & manufacturing.
Thank you, G&H!
gandh.net
Last night COSMIC met Jazzie Pigott for the first time to rehearse for our upcoming concert, “The British are Coming” on Sunday, October 11th! Check out this preview of the Prelude movement of Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra. Be sure to attend our FREE concert to catch the full performance!
TICKETS ARE *NOT* REQUIRED FOR THIS CONCERT!
Details at www.cosmicsymphony.org/october-concerts/
Donor Shoutout Thursday! Thank you to SMECO for supporting COSMIC!
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) was incorporated in 1937 and is one of the 15 largest electric cooperatives in the United States with more than 181,000 member accounts in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and most of Calvert County. As a cooperative, SMECO will always put its members first and be responsive, reliable, and resourceful—the power you can count on.
Thank you, SMECO!
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Allow us to introduce you to our upcoming concert's featured soloist, Jazzie.!
Dr. Jasmine “Jazzie” Pigott (she/they) is an interdisciplinary storyteller and truth teller whose mediums include the tuba, spoken word, composition, and novel writing. A virtuoso tuba soloist and DMA graduate of the Peabody Conservatory, Jasmine creates work at the intersection of personal truth and cultural commentary—from narrative symphonies exploring Black history to poetry cycles with tuba and loop pedal mapping psychological liberation. Her deepest conviction is simple: everyone has a story worth telling, and her work exists to prove what becomes possible when you find the way to tell it.
We cannot wait to perform Vaughan Williams' Tuba Concerto with Jasmine. Don't miss “The British are Coming” on Sunday, October 11th! FREE – NO TICKETS NEEDED! Details at www.cosmicsymphony.org/october-concerts/
Donor Shoutout Thursday! Thank you to the St. Mary's County Government for supporting COSMIC!
We appreciate all you do to support our county's nonprofit organizations!
stmaryscountymd.gov
We are so excited to have our Music Director, Will Esterling, back on the podium!
Will recently returned from the Army School of Music in Virginia, where he completed an eight-week, full-time professional military education program as the second phase of his training following his recent promotion to Warrant Officer with the National Guard.
Welcome back, Will!
