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Throughout our 30 th Anniversary Season, OBT Honors gives thanks and praise to outstanding individuals who have enriched our lives through their support, dedication, and passion for ballet and dance in our community.

On the occasion of Oregon Ballet Theatre’s first revival of Christopher Stowell’s scintillating production of The Sleeping Beauty — itself a milestone achievement — we recognize two women who have invested greatly in our community. We are pleased to highlight OBT Orchestra member GeorgeAnne Ries, who has played in nearly every performance led by Conductor and Music Director Niel DePonte over the past three decades, and Kembe (Staley) Adam, longtime teacher at Oregon Ballet Theatre School who was hired by our organization’s very first School Director, Joe Wyatt. We salute these two incredible souls for sharing their talents with us all these years. The heart of OBT’s mission to share, inspire, and connect through the art form of dance is embodied in the longevity of these two honorees.

KEMBE (STALEY) ADAM Kembe (Staley) Adam is a native Oregonian who was privileged to study both music and dance throughout her childhood. She eventually turned her full-time attention to ballet and then, in 1990, began teaching at Oregon Ballet Theatre School. She is valued for her work with the young students, teaching them the ballet technique while instilling a love of dance. Raised with a classical music and dance education, Adam states that Mary Cain and Jacqueline Schumacher were her two most influential ballet teachers. And, after dancing in a few local musical theater productions, Adam pursued a career teaching dance. She considers continuing to learn under the direction of OBT School Directors Joe Wyatt, Haydee Gutierrez, Damara Bennett, Anthony Jones, and Marion Tonner a privilege. She said she remains “challenged, inspired, and mentored” and finds “tremendous satisfaction and joy” working with young dancers. She said her goal is “to create disciplined, thinking, eager students,” and that seeing students gain both confidence and skills, as they grow in their love for dance, is a gift she receives every time she is in the studio.

GEORGEANNE RIES

GeorgeAnne Ries holds the position of Principal Flute with both the Portland Opera Orchestra and the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra. She has played often with the Oregon Symphony, including as Principal Flute for the 2005–06 season under Carlos Kalmar. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Ries was a founding member of the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, participating in their Frozen Music concerts, Schoenberg “Verein” chamber concerts, and performing with Third Angle in Montana, California, and in China for the 2010 Beijing Modern Music Festival. Ries has been an active freelance musician in Oregon for many years, playing many touring Broadway shows including Wicked, Evita, and Phantom of the Opera, and in concerts with artists as diverse as Luciano Pavarotti, The Who, and Pink Martini. She participated in the American Ballet Theatre’s West Coast tour with Mikhail Baryshnikov, and during the summer played with numerous festival orchestras, including the Cascade Music Festival, Astoria Music Festival, and Peter Britt Music Festival.

APRIL 4, 7:30 PM | APRIL 5, 2 PM | APRIL 6, 7:30 PM

BEETHOVEN’S NINTH

Oregon Repertory Singers join the orchestra and four soloists for a full-throated celebration of Beethoven’s final masterpiece.

program also includes:

Igor Stravinsky’s final ballet score, the rhythmic and provocative Agon

featuring: Oregon Repertory Singers, four vocal soloists, and conductor Enrique Mazzola

orsymphony.org 503-228-1353 your official source for symphony tickets