CSYO Fall Concert - program 11-19-22

Welcome to your CSYO!

Welcome to the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras Fall Concert at the Belk Theater!

Under the wonderful leadership of Youth Orchestra Conductor Christopher James Lees and Youth Philharmonic Co-Conductors Katie Ebert and Eric Thompson III, we are more committed than ever to providing our young musicians with an extraordinary music education and a nurturing environment in which to grow and connect in music and friendship.

Looking ahead to this holiday season, we are excited to offer our community many opportunities to connect with friends and family through music.

We hope you’ll join us at the Knight Theater when the Youth Orchestras’ own Christopher James Lees leads the Charlotte Symphony and Charlotte Master Chorale in Holiday Pops, an all-new immersive holiday concert experience showcasing the spectacular glow of holiday lights. We’ll enjoy sing-alongs, storytelling, snowfall, and a special visit from Santa and his “electrifying” friend from the North Pole.

Thank you for being with us this afternoon and for your continued support of the Charlotte Symphony’s Youth Orchestras Program.

Fisk President & CEO

David

The CSO is…

Did you know that the Charlotte Symphony is much more than what you see on the Belk and Knight Theater stages?

Beyond the Classical, Pops, Family, and Movie Series in the theaters, we work to uplift, entertain, and educate our community through inclusive education programs and community performances.

• The CSO has three programs for young musicians: the Youth Orchestra, the Youth Philharmonic, and the Youth Ensemble. CSO musicians participate in coaching throughout the year, and even perform with the young musicians!

• Reaching approximately 15,000 students each season, we also have extensive school programs, including Project Harmony, “Music and the Holocaust,” and “One Musical Family” Education Concerts.

• We perform throughout the region, from community parks and schools to breweries, senior care centers, and places of worship all season long.

MORE THAN WHAT’S ONSTAGE. The CSO is

To learn more, visit charlottesymphony.org

Emerging American conductor Christopher James Lees brings passionate and nuanced orchestral performances to the stage, a fierce commitment to contemporary music, and a natural charisma to audiences all around the world.

In 2018, Mr. Lees began an appointment as Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to the more than 50 annual concert appearances with the CSO, he has stepped in to conduct Subscription Classical performances on four occasions, including a gala weekend with Grammy Award winning artist and Jazz legend Branford Marsalis in May 2021.

An active guest conductor, Mr. Lees has returned for performances with the Los Angeles and Rochester Philharmonics, the Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland, and Flint Symphonies, and conducted debuts with the Indianapolis, Kansas City, Toledo, and Vermont Symphonies.

Additional engagements have taken him to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and at the Music in the Mountains Festival & Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil.

Only the second American Gustavo Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mr. Lees made his debut with the orchestra in April 2013 and returned for concerts in February 2015.

With the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis & Atlanta Symphonies, among others, Mr. Lees has served as assistant conductor for the world’s leading conductors, including: Gustavo Dudamel, Paavo Järvi, Herbert Blomstedt, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Pablo Heras-Casado, Stéphane Danève, Susanna Mälkki, and Nicholas McGegan.

Christopher James Lees resident conductor

A recipient of a Career Assistance Grant from the Solti Foundation US, Mr. Lees was also chosen for showcase on the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation National Conductor Preview, hosted by the League of American Orchestras and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

A dedicated advocate for music of our time, Mr. Lees has premiered more than one hundred fifty new works by a diverse range of composers, and collaborated closely with Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Stucky, Caroline Shaw, Roger Reynolds, and Julia Wolfe.

An equally passionate advocate for music education, Mr. Lees has brought inspirational energy to student orchestras across the country, from the Colburn School to the New England Conservatory, and previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Lees holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and has studied conducting with Larry Rachleff and Robert Spano, as well as having participated in masterclasses with Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gustav Meier, and Jorma Panula. When not performing, Mr. Lees can be found building Lego sets with his six year old son, reading the stack of books by his nightstand, or training outdoors for his next 10K road race.

Ebert co-conductor, CSYP

Katie Ebert is the Director of Bands at Cuthbertson Middle School in Waxhaw NC, having served in this capacity since the school’s opening in 2009. She is in her 19th year teaching public school, and each of her ensembles continues to experience success. The Cuthbertson Middle School concert bands have consistently earned superior ratings at local, district and regional music festivals. Under her baton, the middle school program has grown to a current enrollment of approximately 220 music students. Mrs. Ebert also serves as the Assistant Director of Bands at Cuthbertson High School.

A graduate of Lassiter High School in Marietta GA, Mrs. Ebert holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Music Performance from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah GA, and a Master of Music Education from Western Carolina University. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda and holds professional associations in the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Educators, the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the American School Band Directors Association, the South-Central District Bandmasters Association, and the Union County Bandmasters Association. Mrs. Ebert is a three-time award recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and was recognized as Cuthbertson Middle School’s Teacher of the Year in 2016/17. She currently serves as a district representative on the state MPA committee and Solo and Ensemble chair.

Mrs. Ebert recently served as a guest clinician for the South Central and Northwestern All District Symphonic Honor Bands, and she continues to conduct both Distinct and County bands in the Southeast. She resides in Waxhaw, NC and team teaches the Cuthbertson band program alongside her husband Todd.

Katie

Eric Thompson, III co-conductor, CSYP

Eric L. Thompson, III serves as the Conductor for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Ensemble. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007 where he held the Robert Ehrman Fellowship. There he studied with Grammy Award Winning and MacArthur “Genius” Edgar Meyer and Harold Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Eric is the recipient of many awards-he is the first bassist to become a laureate of the Sphinx Competition, he was awarded second place in the ASTA National Solo Competition, and in 2002 he was awarded a musicians union scholarship from the American Federation of Musicians and the rank of Eagle Scout by the National Eagle Scout Association of Boy Scouts of America.

Since 2013, Eric Thompson has been teaching orchestra at the Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. His students have participated in CMS All-District Honors Orchestra, Western Regional Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Charlotte, All State Orchestra, NC Governor’s School, Interlochen Arts Camp, UNCG Summer Music Camp and University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Mr. Thompson has been recognized many times as an educator, most recently with the Outstanding Music Educator Award in 2019 by the Youth Orchestras of Charlotte and the Crowning Achievement Award in Music Education in 2020 by the Crown Jewels Chapter, The Links, Incorporated.

The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra experience provides extraordinary music education in pursuit of musical excellence. The program aims to inspire in our students a strong sense of character, discipline, commitment, and community.

The ensembles are inclusive, diverse, and accessible to all students, regardless of financial resources. High-quality ensemble training is led by Charlotte Symphony Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees, Youth Philharmonic Co-Conductor Katie Ebert, CSYE Conductor & CSYP CoConductor Eric Thompson III, and professional Charlotte Symphony musicians, who provide a nurturing environment through which young musicians create lasting bonds in music and friendship.

We offer regular performance opportunities throughout the city, including the Belk and Knight theaters, plus access to the Charlotte Symphony’s renowned Conductor Laureate & Music Adviser, Christopher Warren-Green, and international visiting artists, such as Joshua Bell.

* Denotes Principal String player. Wind & Brass players rotate positions throughout the concert.

SAXOPHONE

Forrest Healy

BASSOON Akosua Mensah

HORNS Nicholas Garman Liliana Grajales Elliot Kreitman

TRUMPETS Oscar Bao Jacob Sims

Sheldon Turner William Wiand

TROMBONES Hannah Moore Nicholas Vatsis

TUBA Mira Schar

PERCUSSION Mark Li Ethan Xu

HARP Ella Higham

One of the premier music organizations in the Southeastern United States and the oldest operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) connects with more than 100,000 music lovers each year through its lively season of concerts, broadcasts, community events, and robust educational programs. The CSO is committed to its mission of uplifting, entertaining, and educating the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional music experiences.

The Charlotte Symphony upholds the highest artistic integrity and takes bold steps to engage with its community through music. Its 62 professional, full-time time musicians perform throughout the region — from community parks and breweries, to places of worship and senior care centers — and offer significant educational support, aimed at serving the underresourced areas of our community.

The Charlotte Symphony is deeply committed to the notion that music, accessible to all and experienced in its many forms, enriches and unifies our community. The CSO believes in equity and inclusion and strives to be an industry leader in imaginative, relevant programming by intentionally seeking out women conductors, underrepresented in our industry, and conductors, composers, and guest artists of color.

Founded in 1932, the Charlotte Symphony plays a leading cultural role in the Charlotte area and aims to serve the community as a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region through the transformative power of live music.

OUR MISSION

The Charlotte Symphony uplifts, entertains, and educates the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional musical experiences.

OUR

VISION

Reaching out through the transformative power of live music, the Charlotte Symphony will be a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region.

For more information, visit us online at charlottesymphony.org

FIRST VIOLINS

SECOND VIOLINS

HORNS

TIMPANI

PERCUSSION

TRUMPETS

TROMBONES

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

Byron Johns, Principal The Mr. & Mrs. William H. Van Every Chair Andrew Fierova Robert Rydel Richard Goldfaden Philip Brindise†

Alex Wilborn, Principal The Betty J. Livingstone Chair Jonathan Kaplan Gabriel Slesinger, Associate Principal The Marcus T. Hickman Chair

John Bartlett, Principal Thomas Burge

BASS TROMBONE Scott Hartman, Principal

TUBA Colin Benton, Principal The Governor James G. Martin Chair

Jacob Lipham, Principal The Robert Haywood Morrison Chair

Brice Burton, Principal HARP Andrea Mumm Trammell, Principal The Dr. Billy Graham Chair

roster lists the full-time members of the Charlotte Symphony. The number and seating of musicians onstage varies depending on the piece being performed.

Non-revolving position

Alternates between first and second violins

Acting member of the Charlotte Symphony

Funded by The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc.

On leave

Carrie Graham, Director of Artistic Planning

Tim Pappas, Acting Director of Operations Nixon Bustos, Principal Music Librarian Bradley Geneser, Assistant Librarian Erin Eady, Interim Personnel Manager John Jarrell, Stage Manager

The Charlotte Symphony is a proud member of the League of American Ochestras.