MASUR CONDUCTS ORTIZ & SCHUMANN
Ken-David Masur CONDUCTOR
OCT 27 | 2:00
OCT 28 | 7:30
The 2024–25 Civic Orchestra season is generously sponsored by Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation, which also provides major funding for the Civic Fellowship program.
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH SEASON
CIVIC ORCHESTRA OF CHICAGO
KEN-DAVID MASUR Principal Conductor
The Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Chair
Sunday, October 27, 2024, at 2:00
Senn High School
Monday, October 28, 2024, at 7:30 Orchestra Hall
Ken-David Masur Conductor
WAGNER Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung (arr. Humperdinck)
ORTIZ Clara
INTERMISSION
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97 (Rhenish) Lively
Scherzo: Very moderate
Not fast
Solemn— Lively
The 2024–25 Civic Orchestra season is generously sponsored by Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation, which also provides major funding for the Civic Fellowship program.
Major support for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago also provided by Robert and Joanne Crown Income Charitable Fund; Nancy Dehmlow; Leslie Fund, Inc.; Judy and Scott McCue; Leo and Catherine Miserendino; Barbara and Barre Seid Foundation; the George L. Shields Foundation, Inc.; the Maval Foundation; and Paul and Lisa Wiggin. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.
COMMENTS by Phillip Huscher and Gabriela Ortiz
RICHARD WAGNER
Born May 22, 1813; Leipzig, Germany
Died February 13, 1883; Venice, Italy
Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung (Arranged by Engelbert Humperdinck)
COMPOSED
1869–76
FIRST PERFORMANCE
August 7, 1876; Bayreuth, Germany
INSTRUMENTATION
3 flutes and piccolo, 3 oboes and english horn, 3 clarinets and bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, percussion, strings
APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME
14 minutes
Siegfried’s Death was the original title of the prose sketch for an opera that grew, over the span of twentyeight years, into the most monumental undertaking in the history of music—Richard Wagner’s four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelungen. The murder of the young hero Siegfried was Wagner’s starting point, and it remains the climax of the full seventeen-hour work.
The genesis of the Ring is a tale of Wagnerian length and complexity. Wagner first wrote the text for the four operas, beginning in the autumn of 1848
with the story of Siegfried’s death. He expanded the tale backward, as each opera demanded yet another opera before it to provide background and to set all the necessary narrative strands in motion. Work progressed steadily until 1857, when, midway through the third work (now simply called Siegfried), Wagner took a twelve-year break—long enough not only to renew his creative juices but, in the process, to write two other monumental works, Tristan and Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In 1869 Wagner returned to Siegfried; later that year, he finally began the cycle’s last music drama, now called Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods).
The idea of performing excerpts from Wagner’s operas and music dramas originated with the composer himself. Wagner programmed selections from the Ring as early as 1862 at the series of concerts in Vienna for which Brahms assisted in copying the music. In later years, both before and after the premiere of the Ring in Bayreuth in 1876, Wagner conducted orchestral excerpts from the cycle, first
this page: Richard Wagner, portrait by Franz Hanfstaengl (1804–1877), ca. 1871 | opposite page: Gabriela Ortiz, photo by Mara Arteaga
to raise money for the premiere and then to help erase Bayreuth’s first deficit— but also to let people hear passages from the music dramas outside the opera house since, as he admitted, he had written nothing for the concert hall.
Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, one of the most celebrated excerpts from the Ring, is drawn from the end of the Prologue to Götterdämmerung and serves as an orchestral interlude into the first act.
GABRIELA ORTIZ
Born 1964; Mexico City, Mexico
Clara COMPOSED 2021
FIRST PERFORMANCE
March 9, 2022, the New York Philharmonic. Gustavo Dudamel conducting
INSTRUMENTATION
2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo) and alto flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones and bass trombone, timpani, percussion, strings
APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME 17 minutes
Born into a musical family, Gabriela Ortiz has always felt she didn’t choose music—music chose her. Her parents were founding members of the group
Los Folkloristas, a renowned music
The music begins at dawn, as the lovers Brünnhilde and Siegfried awaken, and Brünnhilde sends Siegfried off into the world. We hear Siegfried’s horn calls from afar and then vigorous music that moves rapidly across great vistas.
Engelbert Humperdinck, who arranged the excerpt for concert performance, was an ardent Wagnerian and the music teacher of Wagner’s son, not coincidentally named Siegfried.
ensemble dedicated to performing Latin American folk music. Ortiz grew up in the cosmopolitan, thriving metropolis of Mexico City, where she had a multifaceted music education. She learned piano while playing charango and guitar with her parents’ group. Ortiz began composition studies under the mentorship of renowned Mexican composers Mario Lavista, Julio Estrada, Federico Ibarra, and Daniel Catán. Later, she continued her studies in Europe, earning a doctorate in composition and electronic music from London’s City University under Simon Emmerson. Ortiz’s music incorporates seemingly disparate musical worlds, from traditional and popular idioms to avant-garde techniques and multimedia works, with perhaps the most salient characteristic of her oeuvre being an ingenious merging of distinct sonic
worlds. While Ortiz continues to draw inspiration from Mexican subjects, she is interested in composing music that speaks to international audiences. Her music reveals a sophisticated compositional technique and meticulous attention to rhythm and timbre.
Ortiz’s work has been performed by prestigious orchestras and ensembles, such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. In 2022 she received the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts, the highest distinction granted by the National Institute of Fine Arts.
Gabriela Ortiz on Clara
Icannot begin to discuss Clara without first thanking Gustavo Dudamel for his generosity in having invited me to compose a work based on the relationship between two great artists: Clara Wieck Schumann and Robert Schumann. Thanks to him, I was able to delve into the broad legacy of both more deftly, especially that of Clara, who, in addition to being a splendid composer and one of the most important pianists of the nineteenth century, was the editor of her husband’s complete works, as well as a teacher, mother, and wife.
Clara is divided into five parts that are played without interruption: “Clara,”
“Robert,” “My Response,” “Robert’s Subconscious,” and “Always Clara.”
Except for “My Response,” all of these sections comprise intimate sketches or imaginary outlines of Clara and Robert’s relationship. My original idea was to transfer onto an ephemeral canvas the internal sounds of each one without attempting to illustrate or interpret but simply voice and create, through my ear, the expressiveness and unique strength of their complex but fascinating personalities.
Clara parts from the idea that music will grant us access to a non-linear conception of time that is more circular, where the past (them) and the present (me) can meet, converse, and get to know one another. During these imaginary dialogues of a poetic and musical nature, an intimate diary began to grow in me, filled with nuances, confessions, and internal contradictions that find in music their own reference, significance, and internal coherence, expressing all that cannot be read or explained but rather must be heard. I like to think that through Clara, Clara Wieck Schumann is here in this concert hall with us. In order to clearly identify these sections, I have employed two fundamental musical tools: a brief rhythmic sequence that appears constantly as a leitmotif or idée fixe, acting as a thread to guide me between the sections that correspond to Robert or Clara, and a melodic theme represented by the oboe that, in a more personal way, represents the latter’s private world. At the end of the piece,
opposite page: Robert Schumann, daguerreotype by Johann Anton Völlner, 1850. Hamburg, Germany
this leitmotif can be heard as breathing, leaving implicit the permanence and legacy of both figures.
In the central part of the work, “My Response,” I seek two objectives: first, to bring Clara and Robert into my own world, one of a rhythmic strength and color characteristic of my language, of the unique vitality born out of the entrails of the land I come from; and second, to explore a quote considered very controversial in which Clara wrote: “I once believed that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose—there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?”
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Throughout history, women have had to overcome major obstacles marked by gender differences. We have gradually unfolded within the musical arts with great difficulty. However, as is well known, there are many of us who have rebelled against these evident forms of injustice and struggled to gain recognition and a place in society. This piece represents an acknowledgment of Clara, a tribute to her, and my definitive, resounding response to her question. It also signals my gratitude to all the women who, in their time, challenged the society they were raised in by manifesting their artistic oeuvre.
—boosey.com
Born June 8, 1810; Zwickau, Saxony, Germany
Died July 29, 1856; Endenich, near Bonn, Germany
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97 (Rhenish)
COMPOSED
November 2–December 9, 1850
FIRST PERFORMANCE
February 6, 1851; Düsseldorf, Germany. The composer conducting
INSTRUMENTATION
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings
APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME
38 minutes
In his best-selling neurological case study, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, the late Oliver Sacks tells of Dr. P., an eminent musician and professor who can no longer make sense of what he sees. He relies on Schumann’s music to keep his bearings, and every action in his daily life is linked to a musical theme. Sacks, a British neurologist (best known for Awakenings, which was made into a
motion picture starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, and among other popular books, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain), explained: “The real hero of Hat is surely music—the power of music to organize and integrate, to knit or reknit a shattered world into sense.”
The year Robert Schumann was born, his father was attacked by a nervous affliction that troubled him for the rest of his life. Schumann’s own medical history is full of mysterious ailments and breakdowns, depression, hallucinations, persistent trembling, a recurring fear of sharp metal objects, and—most painfully for a musician—tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears. We now think that his mental instability first showed up when he was still in his teens. In 1844, at the age of thirty-four, when he suffered his worst breakdown, composing was out of the question, and he couldn’t even bear to listen to music, “which cuts into my nerves,” he complained, “as if with knives.” Certainly, in his last years, when syphilis caused his decline, music didn’t have the power to reknit his shattered world, although he spoke of “wonderfully beautiful music” constantly playing in his head.
In February 1854, just before he was institutionalized, he was haunted by devils and visited by angels who sang to him in E-flat; he finally ran out of the house and threw himself into the Rhine. The fishermen who saved him and took him home to his wife, Clara, didn’t recognize one of Düsseldorf’s most distinguished citizens, the famous composer who, only four years earlier, had written his last
symphony in loving tribute to the Rhine River. Even in 1850, when Schumann began this E-flat symphony, he wasn’t in the best of shape. He and Clara had recently moved to Düsseldorf—with some misgivings once he learned of the asylum there, for he didn’t like to be reminded of mental instability. At first, Schumann was unable to compose there because of the street noise. A visit to Cologne in late September 1850 greatly inspired him; in October, he began his cello concerto and on November 2, a new symphony in E-flat. The first movement was sketched in a week, and despite taking time out for another trip to Cologne, Schumann finished the entire work by December 9.
Although Schumann is sometimes criticized for being unsympathetic to the symphonic language, the magnificent opening of this E-flat symphony argues otherwise. Here is a grand, striding theme that is broad and powerful, obviously conceived in orchestral terms and ideal for symphonic treatment—Schumann writing for orchestra with the same command we find in his piano music.
Schumann originally called this music “a piece of life by the Rhine.” He had already captured the Rhine in song—the majestic “Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome” (In the Rhine, in the holy river) from Dichterliebe—but now, working with the full orchestral palette, Schumann creates one of the great German romantic musical landscapes. It’s a landscape Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome by suggestion, for this isn’t a programmatic symphony; like Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony,
it is “the expression of feelings rather than painting.” (Unlike Beethoven, Schumann doesn’t include birdcalls or thunderstorms to cloud the issue.)
If the Rhenish Symphony suggests Beethoven at all (and few musicians at the time saw the resemblance), it’s the Beethoven of the Eroica Symphony, also in E-flat. In the vast unfolding of his first movement, Schumann is working on a Beethovenian scale and with material worthy of the grand dimensions. It’s largely through the sheer power of his main theme that Schumann sustains such an impressive movement, for development of the classical sort was never his strength, and even here, he relies on simple, sequential repetition in place of thematic sleight of hand. There is a splendid surge of energy—and a new melody, cleverly placed—just before the end.
The next two movements are modest, taking their cue not from Beethoven’s Eroica, which reaffirms the grandeur of its opening with each following movement, but from the “slow” movement of Beethoven’s Eighth, famous for daring to be so unassuming. Schumann first gives us a slow ländler, with a lovely rolling theme in the low strings, as a gentle alternative to the traditional scherzo. A tiny slow movement, as delicate in dimension and scope as any of Schumann’s miniatures for solo piano, follows.
The fourth movement is really part of the finale—a grand processional leading
to a triumphant conclusion—even though they’re written as two separate sections. The inspiration for this majestic and solemn music came to Robert on the Schumanns’ second trip to Cologne, in November 1850, for the installation of the archbishop of Cologne as cardinal, which was held in the magnificent cathedral there. Schumann immediately sets the ceremonial tone with a simple chorale in E-flat minor for three trombones. The music moves majestically, growing in strength and polyphonic complexity. And then, with the swift entrance of a striding new theme, Schumann launches his finale, an uncomplicated song of triumph in E-flat major. The “cathedral music” returns near the end, transformed by its bright new surroundings; a passing reference to the symphony’s bold opening leads to a volley of E-flat chords.
Schumann conducted the first performance of the Rhenish Symphony on February 6, 1851, in Düsseldorf. Just three years later, he was confined to a private asylum in nearby Endenich. Clara wasn’t allowed to see him for nearly two and a half years; when she finally visited him on July 27, 1856, Schumann (unlike Dr. P.) recognized his wife at once, but he was unable to speak intelligibly. When he died two days later, Clara and the young Johannes Brahms were at his side.
Phillip Huscher is the program annotator for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
PROFILES
Ken-David Masur Conductor
Ken-David Masur is celebrating his sixth season as music director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Masur’s tenure in Milwaukee has been notable for innovative thematic programming, including a festival celebrating the music of the 1930s, when the Bradley Symphony Center was built; the Water Festival, which highlighted local community partners whose work centers on water conservation and education; and last season’s inaugural citywide Bach Festival. He has also instituted a multi-season artist-inresidence program and led highly acclaimed performances of major choral works, including a semi-staged production of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt featuring music by Grieg. This season, which celebrates the eternal interplay between words and music, he continues an artist residency with bass-baritone Dashon Burton and conducts Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. In Chicago, Masur leads the Civic Orchestra, the premiere training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in a variety of programs, including the annual Bach Marathon.
In the summer of 2024, Masur made his debut at the Oregon Bach Festival and returned to the Tanglewood Festival. This season also features return appearances with the Louisville
Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, and the Omaha Symphony. He made his subscription-series debut with the New York Philharmonic in September.
Masur has conducted distinguished orchestras around the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, National, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; the Orchestre National de France; Minnesota Orchestra; Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway; and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo. He has also made regular appearances at the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, and Grant Park festivals, in addition to international festivals, including Verbier. Masur formerly was associate conductor of the Boston Symphony, principal guest conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony, and resident conductor of the San Antonio Symphony.
Passionate about contemporary music, Ken-David Masur has conducted and commissioned dozens of new works, many of which have premiered at the Chelsea Music Festival, an annual summer festival in New York City founded and directed by Masur and his wife, pianist Melinda Lee Masur, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in 2024.
Masur and his family are proud to call Milwaukee their home and enjoy exploring all the riches of the Third Coast.
BY SCOTT PAULUS
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
The Civic Orchestra of Chicago is a training program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Negaunee Music Institute that prepares young professionals for careers in orchestral music. It was founded during the 1919–20 season by Frederick Stock, the CSO’s second music director, as the Civic Music Student Orchestra, and for over a century, its members have gone on to secure positions in orchestras across the world, including over 160 Civic players who have joined the CSO. Each season, Civic members are given numerous performance opportunities and participate in rigorous orchestral training with its principal conductor, Ken-David Masur, distinguished guest conductors, and a faculty of coaches comprised of CSO members. Civic Orchestra musicians develop as exceptional orchestral players and engaged artists, cultivating their ability to succeed in the rapidly evolving music world.
The Civic Orchestra serves the community through its commitment to present concerts of the highest quality at no charge to the public at Symphony
Center and in venues across Greater Chicago, including annual concerts at the South Shore Cultural Center and Fourth Presbyterian Church. The Civic Orchestra also performs at the annual Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition and Chicago Youth in Music Festival. Many Civic concerts can be heard locally on WFMT (98.7 FM), in addition to concert clips and smaller ensemble performances available on CSOtv and YouTube. Civic musicians expand their creative, professional, and artistic boundaries and reach diverse audiences through educational performances at Chicago public schools and a series of chamber concerts at various locations throughout the city.
To further expand its musician training, the Civic Orchestra launched the Civic Fellowship program in the 2013–14 season. Each year, up to twelve Civic members are designated as Civic Fellows and participate in intensive leadership training designed to build and diversify their creative and professional skills. The program’s curriculum has four modules: artistic planning, music education, social justice, and project management.
A gift to the Civic Orchestra of Chicago supports the rigorous training that members receive throughout the season, which includes coaching from musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and world-class conductors. Your gift today ensures that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association will continue to enrich, inspire, and transform lives through music.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Ken-David Masur Principal Conductor
The Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Chair
VIOLINS
Herdis Gudmundsdottir
Harin Kang
Jonah Kartman
Tricia Park
Hobart Shi
Kimberly Bill
Keshav Srinivasan
Carlos Chacon
Naomi Powers
Alec Tonno
Polina Borisova
Justine Jing Xin Teo
Hojung Christina Lee
Darren Carter
Yebeen Seo
Ran Huo
Marian Antonette Mayuga*
Elise Maas
Sean Hsi
Annie Pham
Matt Musachio*
Munire Mona Mierxiati
Yulia Price
Isabelle Chin
Adam Davis
Lina Yamin*
Rose Haselhorst
VIOLAS
Sanford Whatley
Sam Sun
Yat Chun Justin Pou
Sava Velkoff*
August DuBeau
Mason Spencer*
Carlos Lozano
Elena Galentas
Judy Yu-Ting Huang
Xiaoxuan Liang
Derrick Ware
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David Caplan
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Somyong Shin
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Buianto Lkhasaranov
Nick Reeves
J Holzen*
BASSES
Hannah Novak
Tiffany Kung
Bennett Norris
Daniel W. Meyer
Alexander Wallack
Walker Dean
J.T. O’Toole*
FLUTES
Daniel Fletcher
Cierra Hall
Jungah Yoon
PICCOLOS
Cierra Hall
Jungah Yoon
OBOES
Jonathan Kronheimer
Will Stevens
Kyungyeon Hong
ENGLISH HORN
Kyungyeon Hong
CLARINETS
Tyler Baillie
Hae Sol (Amy) Hur*
Elizabeth Kapitaniuk
BASS CLARINET
Elizabeth Kapitaniuk
* Civic Orchestra Fellow
BASSOONS
William George
Peter Ecklund
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Loren Ho
Mark Morris
Asuncion Martinez
Layan Atieh
Dena Levy
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Hamed Barbarji
Saen-David Whitworth
Abner Wong
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Alex Ertl
Arlo Hollander
BASS TROMBONE
Joe Maiocco
TUBA
Nick Collins
TIMPANI
Tomas Leivestad
PERCUSSION
Charley Gillette
Cameron Marquez*
HARP
Kari Novilla*
LIBRARIAN
Benjimen Neal
NEGAUNEE MUSIC INSTITUTE AT THE CSO
the board of the negaunee music institute
Leslie Burns Chair
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John Aalbregtse
David Arch
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Charles Emmons
Judy Feldman
Lori Julian
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civic orchestra artistic leadership
Ken-David Masur Principal Conductor
The Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Chair
Coaches from the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra
Robert Chen Concertmaster
The Louis C. Sudler Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor
Baird Dodge Principal Second Violin
Teng Li Principal Viola
The Paul Hindemith Principal Viola Chair
Brant Taylor Cello
The Blickensderfer Family Chair
Alexander Hanna Principal Bass
The David and Mary Winton Green Principal Bass Chair
Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson Principal Flute
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William Welter Principal Oboe
Stephen Williamson Principal Clarinet
Keith Buncke Principal Bassoon
William Buchman Assistant Principal Bassoon
Mark Almond Principal Horn
Esteban Batallán Principal Trumpet
The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor
Tage Larsen Trumpet
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library Chair
Michael Mulcahy Trombone
Charles Vernon Bass Trombone
Gene Pokorny Principal Tuba
The Arnold Jacobs Principal Tuba Chair, endowed by Christine Querfeld
David Herbert Principal Timpani
The Clinton Family Fund Chair
Vadim Karpinos Assistant Principal Timpani, Percussion
Cynthia Yeh Principal Percussion
Justin Vibbard Principal Librarian
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Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Negaunee Music Institute connects individuals and communities to the extraordinary musical resources of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The following donors are gratefully acknowledged for making a gift in support of these educational and engagement programs. To make a gift or learn more, please contact Kevin Gupana, Associate Director of Giving, Educational and Engagement Programs, 312-294-3156.
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Mr. & Mrs. Bill Cottle
Alan R. Cravitz
Ms. Pamela Crutchfield
Tom Draski
DS&P Insurance Services, Inc.
Mr. Edward and Nancy Eichelberger
Neil Fackler
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Gallentine
Ms. Nancy Garfien
Alan and Nancy Goldberg
Dr. Fred Halloran
Mrs. Susan Hammond
Dr. Robert A. Harris
Holy Trinity High School
Mr. Ray Jones
Charles Katzenmeyer
Randolph T. Kohler and Scott Gordan
Howard Korey and Sharon Pomerantz
The Lee Family
Mr. † & Mrs. Gerald F. Loftus
Timothy Lubenow
Sharon L. Manuel
Jacqueline Mardell
Rosa and Peter McCullagh
Stephen W. and Kathleen J. Miller
Geoffrey R. Morgan
Mrs. MaryLouise Morrison
Ms. Sylvette Nicolini
Edward and Gayla Nieminen
Ms. Kathy Nordmeyer
Mr. † & Mrs. James Norr
Mr. & Mrs. Julian Oettinger
Mr. Bruce Oltman
Ms. Joan Pantsios
Christine and Michael Pope
Quinlan & Fabish Music Company
Mr. George Quinlan
Dr. Hilda Richards
Dr. Edward Riley
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Rosenberg
Mr. David Samson
Mr. & Mrs. Steve Schuette
Stephen A. and Marilyn Scott
Drs. Deborah and Lawrence Segil
Christina Shaver
Dr. Sabine Sobek
Ms. Adena Staben
Ms. Denise Stauder
Mrs. Pamela Stepansky
Sharon Swanson
Ms. Cynthia Vahlkamp and Mr. Robert Kenyon
Mr. David J. Varnerin
Mr. Eric Wicks and Ms. Linda Baker
Joni Williams
Jane Stroud Wright
ENDOWED FUNDS
Anonymous (5)
Dr. & Mrs. Bernard H. Adelson Fund
Marjorie Blum-Kovler Youth Concert Fund
Civic Orchestra Chamber Access Fund
The Davee Foundation
Frank Family Fund
Kelli Gardner Youth Education Endowment Fund
Jennifer Amler Goldstein Fund, in memory of Thomas M. Goldstein
Mary Winton Green
John Hart and Carol Prins Fund for Access
William Randolph Hearst Foundation Fund
Richard A. Heise
Julian Family Foundation Fund
The Kapnick Family
Lester B. Knight Charitable Trust
Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Chair Fund
The Malott Family School Concerts Fund
Eloise W. Martin Endowed Funds
Murley Family Fund
The Negaunee Foundation
Margo and Michael Oberman Community Access Fund
Nancy Ranney and Family and Friends
Helen Regenstein Guest Conductor Fund
Edward F. Schmidt Family Fund
Shebik Community Engagement Programs Fund
The Wallace Foundation
Zell Family Foundation
CIVIC ORCHESTRA OF CHICAGO SCHOLARSHIPS
Members of the Civic Orchestra receive an annual stipend to help offset some of their living expenses during their training in Civic. The following donors have generously helped to support these stipends for the 2024–25 season.
Ten Civic members participate in the Civic Fellowship program, a rigorous artistic and professional development curriculum that supplements their membership in the full orchestra. Major funding for this program is generously provided by Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation
Nancy A. Abshire
Mason Spencer,* viola
Duffie Adelson, in memory of Martha and Bernie Adelson
Elena Galentas, viola
Robert and Joanne Crown
Income Charitable Fund
Charley Gillette, percussion
Kyungyeon Hong, oboe
Buinto Lkhasaranov, cello
Daniel W. Meyer, bass
Matthew Musachio,* violin
Sam Sun, viola
Mr. † & Mrs. David Donovan
Bennett Norris, bass
Charles and Carol Emmons^
Will Stevens, oboe
David and Janet Fox^
Carlos Lozano Sanchez, viola
Ellen and Paul Gignilliat
Tiffany Kung, bass
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph B. Glossberg
Hannah Novak, bass
Richard and Alice Godfrey
Darren Carter, violin
Jennifer Amler Goldstein Fund, in memory of Thomas M. Goldstein
Alex Chao, percussion
Chet Gougis and Shelley Ochab
Nick Reeves, cello
Mary Winton Green
Walker Dean, bass
Jane Redmond Haliday Chair
Munire Mona Mierxiati, violin
Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation
David Caplan, cello
Lina Yamin,* violin
League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association
Kari Novilla, harp
Leslie Fund, Inc.
Cameron Marquez,* percussion
Lester B. Knight Charitable Trust
Daniel Fletcher, flute
Elise Maas, violin
Tricia Park, violin
Jocelyn Yeh, cello
Brandon Xu, cello
Mr. Philip Lumpkin
JT O’Toole,* bass
Mr. Glen Madeja and Ms. Janet Steidl
Herdis Gudmundsdottir, violin
Maval Foundation
Mark Morris, horn
Dustin Nguyen, trombone
Sean Whitworth, trumpet
Judy and Scott McCue
Cierra Hall, flute
Dr. Leo and Catherine
Miserendino^
Lidanys Graterol, cello
Elizabeth Kapitaniuk, clarinet
Sava Velkoff,* viola
Ms. Susan Norvich
Nick Collins, tuba
Benjamin Poirot, tuba
Margo and Michael Oberman
Hamed Barbarji, trumpet
Sandra and Earl Rusnak, Jr. †
Loren Ho, horn
Barbara and Barre Seid Foundation
Alex Ertl, trombone
Joe Maiocco, bass trombone
The George L. Shields Foundation, Inc.
Asuncion Martinez, horn
Keshav Srinisvan, violin
Derrick Ware, viola
Dr. & Mrs. R. Solaro^
Sanford Whatley, viola
David W. and Lucille G. Stotter Chair
Ran Huo, violin
Ruth Miner Swislow Charitable Fund
Kimberly Bill, violin
Ksenia A. and Peter Turula
Abner Wong, trumpet
Lois and James Vrhel
Endowment Fund
Broner McCoy, bass
Dr. Marylou Witz
Marian Mayuga,* violin
Theodore and Elisabeth Wachs^
Amy Hur,* clarinet
Paul and Lisa Wiggin
Layan Atieh, horn
Tomas Leivestad, timpani
Anonymous Hojung Lee, violin
Anonymous J Holzen,* cello
Anonymous^
Carlos Chacon, violin