Welcome to A Sea Symphony, the final concert of our 51st season. For this concert, we are delighted to join forces  with Auburn Symphony Orchestra and their conductor, Wesley Schulz. 

After hearing one another’s ensembles perform as guests at a concert for the American Guild of Organists national conference in 2022, Wesley and I were inspired to connect and discuss ways in which we could perform a concert of  our own together. Many works were considered, but we both gravitated towards Ralph Vaughan Williams’ powerful first symphony with its fantastic setting of Whitman’s poetry and its dramatic sweep as awesome as the ocean itself. We both felt strongly that this piece, with its fantastic writing for both choir and orchestra, would be a terrific show case for both our groups and a tremendous experience for our audiences. 

To further the nautical theme of this concert, each of our groups will perform a sea-themed work of our own. For  Auburn Symphony, Wesley has chosen the rollicking Overture to The Boatswain’s Mate by Ethel Smyth, a composer  whom I am always happy to champion. For Seattle Pro Musica, we are performing Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae, a remarkable work that tells the story of the sinking 30 years ago of the passenger ferry MV Estonia. 

We hope that this concert fills you with an appreciation for the majesty of the sea in all its moods and forms, and the various ways in which it has inspired artists throughout history. On behalf of both Seattle Pro Musica and Auburn Symphony Orchestra, thank you for joining us on this joint exploration!

Karen P. Thomas

Karen P. Thomas 

Artistic Director and Conductor 

Seattle Pro Musica

Visit seattlepromusica.org for information about our education and engagement programs, donor acknowledgements, ways to support us, and more.

Program in brief

Notes, texts, and translations

Personnel

Acknowledgments

Seattle Pro Musica is a resident ensemble of St. James Cathedral.

These performances are supported in part by ArtsFund, 4Culture, Classical KING FM 98.1, and the City of Seattle, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

Please mute all cell phones and electronic devices. No photography during performances. Thank you.

Restrooms, including ADA accessible restrooms, are located off the north vestibule at the Marion St. & Terry Ave. entrance.