CSO POPS Fanfare Cincinnati - Nov/Dec 2023 by Cincinnati Magazine

NOV/DEC 2023

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Fanfare Magazine | 1

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2023

CONTENTS

Directors & Advisors

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra “We Believe”

Welcome from the President & CEO

Louis Langrée, Part II: Langrée brings Hamlet and Opéra-Comique to Cincinnati

CSO Feature: What Makes Us Alive

Spotlight: Meet the New Musicians of the CSO

Spotlight: Portrait of the Music Director

Pops Feature: Happy Holidays from the Pops!

Part II of our season-long snapshots of Louis Langrée and his CSO tenure focuses on Louis’ “missionary zeal” in bringing the Paris’ OpéraComique production of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet to Cincinnati. Learn about the November production, Louis’ decades-long advocacy for the work, and a snippet about Thomas’ Hamlet in Cincinnati…in 1884, pp. 11–13

Orchestra Roster

14, 26

Artistic Leadership: Louis Langrée, John Morris Russell

Guest Artist Biographies

Spotlight: Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras

Financial Support

Administration

ON THE COVER: Standing at the entry to Eden Park is the iconic Elsinore Arch. In 1883, Cincinnati Water Works needed a new valve house near Eden Park (to control water coming down the steep hill), but they wanted to build a structure that would serve as the new main entrance to the glorious Eden Park. As the story goes, Music Hall hosted a Shakespearean Dramatic Festival in the spring of 1883, during which Hamlet was performed. A large (65-by-65 foot) beautifully painted backdrop of Elsinore Castle was part of the production. This backdrop became the inspiration behind the Elsinore Arch, which Charles B. Hannaford, son of Samuel Hannaford of the architectural firm Samuel Hannaford & Sons, built in late 1883. Samuel Hannaford was the architect for Cincinnati Music Hall and City Hall. Credit: Eric Johnson

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Other CSO concerts in Nov.–Dec. (pp. 14–17) feature contemporary works including Part I “Echo/ Narcissus” of Daníel Bjarnason’s I Want to Be Alive trilogy (CSO co-commission) and Kaija Saariaho’s True Fire, which will be a showcase for the many colors of baritone Davóne Tines’ voice, as well as Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. On pp. 26–27, members of the Cincinnati Pops preface the annual Holiday Pops concerts (Dec. 8–10) with a few of their own holiday memories.

A portrait of Louis Langrée was recently unveiled and is on display in the South Hall outside Springer Auditorium. Read more about Savannah Tate Cuff, the emerging young artist who painted it, and her artistic process, pp. 23–25.

A JOYOU

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FANFARE MAGAZINE STAFF: Managing Editor Tyler Secor

Dianne Rosenberg, Chair Robert W. McDonald, Immediate Past Chair Sue McPartlin, Treasurer and Vice-Chair of Finance Gerron McKnight, Esq., Secretary Timothy Giglio and Kari Ullman, Vice-Chairs of Volunteerism Anne E. Mulder, Vice-Chair of Community Engagement Charla B. Weiss, Vice-Chair of Institutional Advancement Melanie Healey, Vice-Chair of Leadership Development

Directors Dorie Akers Heather Apple Michael P. Bergan Kate C. Brown Ralph P. Brown, DVM Trish Bryan* Otto M. Budig, Jr.* Andria Carter Melanie M. Chavez Andrea Costa Adrian Cunningham Gabe Davis Dr. Maria Espinola Mrs. Charles Fleischmann III*

Lawrence Hamby Delores Hargrove-Young Francie S. Hiltz* Joseph W. Hirschhorn* Lisa Diane Kelly Edna Keown Patrick G. Kirk, M.D. Florence Koetters Jonathan Kregor Peter E. Landgren John Lanni Shannon Lawson Spencer Liles* Will Lindner Holly Mazzocca James P. Minutolo Laura Mitchell Lisa Lennon Norman Bradford E. Phillips, III Aik Khai Pung James B. Reynolds* Jack Rouse* Lisa M. Sampson Patrick Schleker Valarie Sheppard Stephanie A. Smith Albert Smitherman David R. Valz Randolph L. Wadsworth, Jr.* *Director Emeritus

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION (DE&I) COMMITTEE and COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL and MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS COUNCIL In May 2020 the realities of systemic inequity, injustice and racism in America were once again laid bare by the murder of George Floyd. That summer, the CSO created a 10-point DEI Action Plan to prioritize the Orchestra’s work to better represent and serve the entirety of the Cincinnati community. Action items included the continued ampliﬁcation of BIPOC artists on stage and in education programs; a review of hiring and compensation practices; organization-wide implicit bias training; increased mentorship opportunities; and the creation of a standing CSO Community Advisory Council (CAC) to strengthen ties to the community. We thank our many partners on the CAC and on our standing DE&I committee who are helping us with this important work.

CSO Board of Directors DE&I Committee Charla B. Weiss, Lead Heather Apple Ralph Brown Adrian Cunningham Maria Espinola Delores Hargrove-Young Lisa Kelly David Kirk* Gerron McKnight Lisa Lennon Norman Jack Rouse Lisa Sampson Stephanie Smith *Community Volunteer Primary Staff Liaison: Harold Brown Other Staff: Kyle Wynk-Sivashankar

You are welcome to take this copy of Fanfare Magazine home with you as a souvenir of your concert experience. Alternatively, please share it with a friend or leave it with an usher for recycling. Thank you!

4 | 2023–24 SEASON

Community Advisory Council Desire Bennett, Design Impact Daniel Betts, Cincinnati Recreation Commission Jackie Taggart Boyd, Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau/CincyUSA Alexis Kidd, Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses

Christopher Miller, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Joele Newman, Peaslee Neighborhood Center Candra Reeves, Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio Leslie Rich, Ioby John P. Scott, Community Engagement Partners Billy Thomas, Cincy Nice Staff: Harold Brown

Multicultural Awareness Council Susan Carlson Andria Carter Piper Davis Kori Hill Alverna Jenkins Beverley Lamb Kick Lee Quiera Levy-Smith RaeNosa Onwumelu Yemi Oyediran Aurelia “Candie” Simmons Nakia Smith Daphney Thomas Staff: Harold Brown

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Lollipops

GOLDILOCKS & THE THREE DINOSAURS JAN 27 SAT 10:30 AM Samuel Lee conductor

6 | 2023–24 SEASON

SYMPHONIC MOZART JAN 27 & 28 SAT 7:30 PM; SUN 2 PM Dame Jane Glover conductor Stefani Matsuo violin Christian Colberg viola MOZART Symphony No. 13 MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K. 364 MOZART Symphony No. 36, Linz

FEB 2024 SHOSTAKOVICH 1905 FEB 2 & 3 FRI 11 AM; SAT 7:30 PM Cristian Măcelaru conductor Kian Soltani cello LUTOSŁAWSKI Cello Concerto SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905

AUDRA McDONALD FEB 4 SUN 7:30 PM Audra McDonald vocalist Andy Einhorn conductor Concert Sponsor: Pyro-Technical Investigations, Inc.

BRAHMS' GERMAN REQUIEM FEB 9–11 FRI & SAT 7:30 pm; SUN 2 PM Louis Langrée conductor Joélle Harvey soprano Will Liverman baritone May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco director BRAHMS Ein Deutsches Requiem ("A German Requiem")

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Fanfare Magazine | 7

Welcome WE BELIEVE MUSIC LIVES WITHIN US ALL

regardless of who we are or where we come from. We believe that music is a pathway to igniting our passions, discovering what moves us, deepening our curiosity and connecting us to our world and to each other.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is catalyzed by systemic injustice and inequality perpetuated by individuals and institutions. Our mission is to seek and share inspiration, and at its essence, the CSO exists to serve our community. Our entire community. Reﬂecting our community and the world around at every level—on stage, behind-thescenes, and in neighborhoods throughout the region—is essential to the CSO’s present and future and makes us a strong ensemble and institution.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops acknowledges that Cincinnati Music Hall occupies land that has been the traditional land of the Hopewell, Adena, Myaamia (Miami), Shawandasse Tula (Shawanwaki/Shawnee), and Wahzhazhe Manzhan (Osage) peoples, who have continuously lived upon this land since time immemorial. We acknowledge that this land was unceded and stolen via methods of genocide and ethnic cleansing by colonizers. We honor past, present and future Indigenous peoples.

WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO

©Roger Mastroianni

As we wrap up 2023 and head into the New Year, we wish you and your loved ones happiness, light and a 2024 full of music.

Dear Friends of Music, Welcome to our November and December Fanfare Magazine, and welcome to the holiday season here at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops. We are glad you are with us. This November, you’re in for a special treat, as CSO Music Director Louis Langrée brings together his two musical families—the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Opéra-Comique—at Music Hall for the premiere of a new touring production of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet. Louis has been excited to share this production with you ever since he conducted the Opéra-Comique’s 2018 production. The DVD of that production won numerous awards, including the 2020–21 Opera Award for Best Recording, the 2021 International Classical Music Award for Best Video Performance and the 2021 Diapason d’or de l’année. Much of the original production will be retained within this new presentation, and we’re thrilled that Hamlet will bring the CSO, May Festival Chorus and Opéra-Comique together in one place for all of you to experience. Around the corner in December, the Cincinnati Pops’ beloved Holiday Pops concerts return to a decked-out Music Hall. In true JMR fashion and in an embrace of the entire Cincinnati community, the Cincinnati Pops will be joined by the May Festival Youth Chorus, SCPA Chorale, Sycamore High School Select Ensemble, Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble, Q-Kidz Dance Team, Studio for Dance and handbell players from the Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project for festive music of the season. We invite you to join us in person. If you’re unable to join us at Music Hall, you can also catch our Holiday Pops concert on our YouTube (CincySymphony) page on Saturday, December 9 at 7:30 pm EST. This performance is one of ﬁve free digitally streamed Live from Music Hall concerts this season, and we are delighted to invite the global community to experience what we have to offer here in Cincinnati. The gift keeps on giving. We are also proud to release three new commercial recordings this season, our ﬁrst releases since prior to the pandemic in 2019. In September, the CSO led by Louis Langrée released recordings of David Lang’s man made, featuring the CSO’s 2015 and 2021 MusicNOW collaborators Sō Percussion, as well as Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 6, which was commissioned for the Orchestra’s 125th anniversary. Both recordings are available digitally on all streaming platforms. Beginning November 17, you can also stream the Cincinnati Pops’ new holiday album, JOY!, featuring a diverse and eclectic collection of favorite holiday classics in new arrangements, led by Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell. For those interested in a collectible item, a limited run of vinyls will be available for sale only at our Holiday Pops performances December 8–10. Finally, in the hustle and bustle of this season, I want to take a moment to thank you for making us a part of your holiday traditions. We do this for all of you, our audiences, and we are grateful for your continued support. As we wrap up 2023 and head into the New Year, we wish you and your loved ones happiness, light and a 2024 full of music.

Jonathan Martin

Fanfare Magazine | 9

INVEST ENGAGE INNOVATE LEAD

Program Spotlight: POETRY OUT LOUD Ohio Poetry Out Loud State Champion Hiba Loukssi of Xenia High School (Greene County) reciting a poem at the 2023 state finals. She competed at the national finals in Washington, D.C. Image credit: Terry Gilliam

Investing state and federal dollars, the Ohio Arts Council funds and supports quality arts experiences for all Ohioans to strengthen communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

Learn more about our grant programs and resources, find your next arts experience, or connect: OAC.OHIO.GOV.

LOUIS LANGRÉE, Part II

Langrée’s ‘missionary zeal’ brings Thomas’ Hamlet and Opéra-Comique to Cincinnati by KEN SMITH

It marked nearly three decades of missionary zeal in championing Thomas’ work.

Above: Louis Langrée leading the Oct. 2017 CSO production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Credit: Philip Groshong

Some orchestras can be rather possessive of their music directors. Others are happy to talk about what their local podium bosses do when they’re out of town. “I like to think we’re in the second category,” says CSO President and CEO Jonathan Martin, who not only discusses the breadth of CSO Music Director Louis Langrée’s other activities but actively celebrates them. “For his last season here as Music Director, we wanted a series of programs that are quintessentially Louis.” Which of course means paying much attention to Paris’ legendary Opéra-Comique, where Langrée has been director since November 2021. “Opéra-Comique is a huge part of Louis’ life right now,” says Martin. “For us, it’s a great opportunity to build a bridge across the Atlantic.” After attending opening night of the company’s 2022 revival of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, Martin found the piece that would make that precise connection. “Apart from the gorgeous score and Louis’ meticulous music-making in the pit, the production itself was very contemporary and compelling, with a modular approach that would easily fit the Music Hall stage.” For Martin, getting Cyril Teste’s multimedia-heavy 2017 production to Cincinnati essentially took “a quick conversation.” For Langrée, it marked nearly three decades of missionary zeal in championing Thomas’ work. Langrée first conducted Thomas’ opera in 1996 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande at the Grand Theatre in Geneva; that production by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser would later travel to New York’s Metropolitan Opera and London’s Royal Opera House. “At Covent Garden, it was still a bit…well, uneasy for some English audiences to accept Hamlet as a French opera,” he admits (see sidebar, p. 13). But at the Met, where Langrée’s performances were the first in more than a century, Hamlet reached a truly global audience through its Met: Live in HD streams. “The Met first brought Hamlet to America in 1883,” says Langrée, who has become not just the opera’s advocate but something of an historian as well. “What few people remember is that in those days the Met also `` Fanfare Magazine | 11

CSO Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo. Credit: Tyler Secor

did national tours, often taking their productions around the country before they came to New York. And in this case, the Met premiere of Hamlet was actually in Cincinnati. And I am very eager to bring it back to Cincinnati after exactly 140 years.” Before conducting regularly on the concert stage, Langrée had started his career at the Opéra National de Lyon. The CSO, in addition to its regular concert season, also plays in the pit for nine weeks a year with the Cincinnati Opera. The idea of performing opera in the regular concert season, though, appeared only belatedly in Langrée’s tenure—and has been eagerly embraced both by CSO musicians and audiences. “What’s great about Louis is that he’s quite open and fearless in the projects he’s willing to tackle,” says CSO Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo. “It helps the Orchestra to be well-rounded, and it certainly keeps the job interesting.” Playing opera in particular, she adds, requires

a distinct range of traditions and performance practices. “First of all, you have to know the story,” Matsuo explains, “but working with singers has speciﬁc stylistic concerns. You need to anticipate where they might push forward, or fall back for a split second to catch a breath. You always have to be prepared, and as ﬂexible as possible.” Matsuo’s basic job description—communicating a conductor’s musical ideas to her colleagues in the orchestra—becomes rather more complicated when the conductor has one eye watching performers on stage, she says. While retaining its ambitious projection design, the Opéra-Comique Hamlet will appear at Music Hall with truncated action and minimal staging. “I actually prefer these semi-staged productions,” Matsuo claims. “Instead of only being able to see the front of the stage, we’re close to the action. We can see everything.” Hamlet may be a bigger operatic stretch for concert audiences than previous CSO ventures like Pelléas et Mélisande or L’enfant et les sortilèges— Debussy and Ravel also being marquee names in the symphonic repertory. Neither is it an operatic staple like La bohème, in which Langrée made his Cincinnati Opera debut in 2017. But that, says Martin, is all part of their shared musical journey. “There’s been a real trust that’s developed between Louis and our audiences,” he maintains. “Even if people in Cincinnati don’t know a particular piece, they know that, if Louis is conducting, they’ll get something out of it.” Langrée, for his part, is very clear about what audiences and musicians alike can get out of it. “The opera and symphonic worlds are entirely different cultures,” he admits, “but only when you see both parts do you understand the full range of many composers.”

Louis Langrée and Jonathan Martin at the May 2022 Conductor’s Circle Dinner. Credit: Claudia Hershner

12 | 2023–24 SEASON

LOUIS LANGRÉE, Part II

He cites Mozart and Tchaikovsky, active in both worlds, whose musical inspiration regularly shuttled across the aisle. “Mozart would end a symphony with a fugue, which would normally be reserved for sacred music, particularly Masses,” Langrée says. “On the concert stage, it conveys a speciﬁc idea. But at the end of Don Giovanni there’s also a fugue, which suddenly gives the opera a sacred feeling, despite still being very much in the opera house.” So, too, does operatic language surface in purely symphonic masters like Mahler and Bruckner—the former having famously served as director of the Vienna State Opera and the latter being deeply inﬂuenced by Wagner.

“When you have the tremolo at the beginning of Bruckner’s Seventh, it is very much like the tremolo in a Wagner music-theatre piece,” Langrée claims. “They use the same language, though it means something quite different. In Bruckner, the effect is more liturgical than theatrical, but it still has a meaning.” After his operatic sojourns in Cincinnati, Langrée compares the CSO favorably to orchestras in many German towns like Dresden and Leipzig, as well as the Vienna Philharmonic, where the same musicians perform both on the concert stage and in the theatre pit. “With many composers, there’s never a clear, direct fracture between these worlds,” he says, “only a different dramaturgy.”

SIDEBAR: by KEN SMITH

FIRST OF ALL, this is not your father’s Hamlet, particularly if your family is English. Ambroise Thomas’ ﬁve-act opera is covered with many additional ﬁngerprints—not just from librettists Michel Carré and Jules Barbier but also Alexandre Dumas père and Paul Meurice, who adapted Shakespeare’s original drama for the French stage. For Louis Langrée, arguably the opera’s preeminent living ambassador, a more important tradition to observe is the French operatic repertory. “A century before, Rameau or Gluck would’ve written in a declamatory or conversational manner,” he says. “There was very little difference between singing and acting.” Much later, he adds, you have Debussy and Ravel, “where there is always a musical mix of atmosphere and rhetoric.” In between was Thomas, who expanded the musical horizons of French opera even while respecting many of its traditions. “How does Thomas express Hamlet’s opening words, ‘Vains regrets’?” Langrée asks. “He has ‘regrets’ descend by a minor third, which sounds pretty regretful, and from there the music conveys an ephemeral tenderness.” At the same time, though, Thomas often held to the old declamatory style. Where, for ears shaped by the emotional arches of Italian repertory, “To

be or not to be”—or in this case, “Être ou ne pas être”— would beg for an aria, Thomas treats Hamlet’s big moment more as recitative. “It is a dramatic scene,” Langrée says, “much the same as Ophelia has a mad scene rather than a ‘mad aria.’ It is a very theatrical way of thinking.” At the same time, much like his near-contemporary Berlioz, Thomas was also interested in musical effects, from having the ghost of Hamlet’s father singing on a single pitch (representing his trapped soul) to having coronation fanfares performed by off-stage brass and percussion. A key bit of musicological trivia also emerged from his collaboration with Adolphe Sax, the conductor and musical inventor in charge of the Paris Opera’s onstage banda. “Thomas was always looking for new sounds, and Sax introduced him to one of the instruments he’d recently invented,” Langree says. “That was how Hamlet became the ﬁrst opera to feature a solo saxophone.” All of these effects come together to make Hamlet absolutely unique in the repertory, he claims. “Thomas remains a fascinating ﬁgure, highly regarded in his own day and—because he was head of the Paris Conservatory when Debussy and Ravel were students—a bridge to the next generation,” Langrée says.

Émile Varnier and Alphonse de Neuville’s poster for the original run of Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet. Published by Heugel. Éditeur scientifique/Imp. Bertauts (Paris).

While Thomas’ reputation has long suffered from a puzzling remark by fellow French composer Emmanuel Chabrier (“There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas”), Langrée is justiﬁably proud of bringing Thomas’ most famous opera back to public attention. “I am quite proud that Hamlet is now performed much more often than it was 25 years ago,” he says. “If you believe in a piece, you have to promote it and perhaps defend it. All I ask is for audiences to wonder, ‘Wow, why isn’t this piece performed more often?’”

Fanfare Magazine | 13

CSO FEATURE

What Makes Us Alive Two contemporary works at the CSO hold a mirror to human nature by HANNAH EDGAR

Daníel Bjarnason is among the first generation of composers that penned their works not on staff paper but behind a computer. Back when he started composing, the first edition of Sibelius, a music notation software, had just come out; the Icelandic composer and conductor can’t imagine what his writing process would look like without that program or Pro Tools, the digital audio workstation he uses to layer his own live improvisations. But Bjarnason remembers being shocked by his first encounter with Melodyne, a pitch modification software which can alter a song’s key or scrub away instrumental lines in seconds. “All of a sudden, it changes your perspective on what’s possible,” he says. The latest artificial intelligence (AI) explosion is in a class of its own. Inspired by a conversation with his brother, Bjarnason seized upon the Echo and Narcissus myth as a metaphor for AI and its ramifications: Echo is cursed to repeat the words of others instead of finding her own, and Narcissus is so infatuated with his own reflection that he pays Echo Daníel Bjarnason, ©Saga Sig

no mind. It worked on many levels—and to Bjaranson, it’s no coincidence that artiﬁcial intelligence only “burst into the mainstream” when it started communicating in an uncannily humanlike way. “We’ve created this in our image, and now we want to know what it tells us about ourselves. That’s what we’re interested in, more than anything

else,” he says. Inspired by a Those philosophical concerns guide Bjarnason’s CSO coconversation with his commission, “Echo/Narcissus” (Nov. 10–11). The piece is the ﬁrst brother, Bjarnason completed “movement” of a trilogy he’s calling I Want to Be Alive, seized upon the Echo which Bjarnason says “draws inspiration from different questions and Narcissus myth as a about the nature of consciousness.” Although “Echo/Narcissus” is metaphor for AI and its the ﬁrst part of the commission to be performed, Bjarnasson expects ramifications. he’ll actually slot it second when he completes the trilogy next

season. (The ﬁrst full performance of I Want to Be Alive is scheduled for May 2025, in Toronto.) “Echo/Narcissus” is only conceptually inspired by AI—so no, ChatGPT was not consulted in the making of the piece. Its references to the titular Greek myth, however, are somewhat more tangible. For example, the ﬁrst half, a set of variations, uses “a lot of echo or delay, both within the instrumentation and also by repeating itself in slightly varied form,” Bjarnason says. Those motifs persist in the second half but make little headway against an orchestral texture evoking Narcissus’ “sick portrayal of beauty.” 14 | 2023–24 SEASON

CSO FEATURE

Despite the unease that permeates “Echo/Narcissus,” Bjarnason isn’t an AI cynic—if anything, he’s a realist. Bjarnason expects more and more creative people will treat AI as just another tool in their toolbelt, just like the myriad digital programs he and countless other composers already use. “It’s here to stay. I don’t think there’s any point in pretending otherwise. The genie’s out of the bottle,” he says. “I already can see so many ways it could make ﬂeshing out certain ideas easier. I think the only way is to embrace it and see how it could work for you and your art.” At the same time Bjarnason spoke with Fanfare from Iceland, thousands of miles away in Boston, bass-baritone Davóne Tines was rehearsing a new opera that didn’t just embrace AI: it depended on it. A revival of Valis, a 1987 opera by Tod Machover, evoked an “orchestra of the future” through AI and augmented reality technology developed in Machover’s lab at MIT. “There are analog instruments,

Kaija Saariaho, ©Christophe Abramowitz

digital instruments, pre-recorded tracks, and an AI instrument,” Tines says. “Plus, there’s a lot of spoken text, which is

The last time Tines performed True Fire,

a unique challenge for me. I have some acting

as part of a 2017 Saariaho portrait concert

chops, but this is really pulling on all the chops.”

organized by Radio France, he pitched up his

Kaija Saariaho’s True Fire, the song

voice powerfully on “Narcissus,” as

cycle Tines is performing with the CSO Nov. 25–26, also weaves between sung and spoken text at times, if subtly. One song, based on a Native American lullaby, sees the baritone soloist shushing as though to hush the orchestra. Another sets a poem by Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, with some words spoken

though directly castigating the selfobsessed youth. But it’s anyone’s Kaija Saariaho guess what he’ll do performing originally it again in Cincinnati, six years cenceptualized True later. Tines expects he’ll Fire as an experiment interpret the entire cycle to “access the different differently, conceiving it colors of the [baritone] more as an arc rather than six voice through the disjunct movements. texts.” “Consonants are notated very

rather than sung as an expressive ﬂourish. “The last train has stopped at

speciﬁcally; words are stretched apart very intentionally. You’re not only

the last platform. But no one / Can cast the

mindful of a word, but mindful of each part

reﬂection of Narcissus back on the mirrors of

of the word,” he says. “It really invites a lot of

night,” reads one line, with “Narcissus” spoken.

extremely nuanced choices. That’s what makes it so pleasurable to perform.”

`` Fanfare Magazine | 15

CSO FEATURE

Saariaho originally conceptualized True Fire as an experiment to “access the different colors of the [baritone] voice through the texts.” Those texts—by various authors and from far-flung sources—seem to bear little relation to one another, save for three texts taken from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Spiritual Laws. To Tines, the common denominator is Saariaho herself. “I think it has to do with being a sensitive and present person who cares about the specificity of words. There’s an entire movement about that,” he says, referencing a section of True Fire set to verse by Irish poet Seamus Heaney. “That cinematic movement about waiting at a train stop is really about what it means to wait. It asks people to be still and listen.” Though Tines’ career only briefly overlapped with Saariaho’s, those intersections changed the course of his life. While a master’s degree student, Tines answered an audition call for bass-baritones in a dance studio on the Juilliard campus.

Saariaho and Tines after Tines’ performance of True Fire in Paris.

Saariaho was present, as was the director Peter

that I ate enough. She was like, ‘Eat more; you

Sellars. To his astonishment, they offered Tines

need steak!’” Tines recalls, laughing.

a lead role in Saariaho’s opera Only the Sound

While speaking to Fanfare Magazine, Tines

Remains (2016), kicking off a fruitful working

found it difficult to talk about Saariaho in the

relationship with Sellars and catapulting him to

past tense.

international fame.

Because symphony seasons are programmed

“In one fell swoop, I was making my debuts with the Dutch National Opera, the

far in advance, True Fire was slated to be performed here long before

Paris Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Finnish National Opera, and the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center,” Tines says. Saariaho was hugely complimentary of Tines’ interpretation of True Fire in Paris. They took bows onstage together and went out to dinner afterward, where

Saariaho’s death in June. Now,

Because symphony seasons are programmed far in advance, True Fire was slated to be performed here long before Saariaho’s death in June. Now, the CSO’s performance will double as a tribute to the late composer.

they took the photo included with this article. “Because of our age difference,

the CSO’s performance will double as a tribute to the late composer. “She is—was—so graceful and elegant. That came from a deep place of grounding, of being very intentional and meaningful in everything that she did and said,” Tines says. “That grounded elegance

shows up in her writing. She spent a lot of her life contending with a complex

she became pretty motherly at certain times.

sound world that most people don’t engage with.

Whenever we went out, she always made sure

She brings those invisible things to a place where people can feel them.”

16 | 2023–24 SEASON

SIDEBAR: CSO FEATURE

Flutes to the front by HANNAH EDGAR

Randolph Bowman and Henrik Heide sit shoulder to shoulder in the CSO as its principal flute and associate principal flute, respectively. Later this season, they scoot that partnership downstage for the first time, playing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 alongside concertmaster Stefani Matsuo. Bowman memorably made his work debut alongside JeanPierre Rampal at a summer music festival in 1990; for Heide, it’s not only his first time performing this Brandenburg but his first time sharing a concerto spotlight. They discussed their approach to the piece with Fanfare Magazine. This Brandenburg Concerto is frequently performed on modern transverse flutes, as it will be for these CSO performances. But this isn’t the instrument that Bach was writing for. Does that influence how you interpret your parts? Randolph Bowman: Bach scored it for “fiauti d’echo,” which is not a familiar term; I’ve never come across that terminology in any other Baroque music I’ve played. Everyone assumes he meant recorders—maybe because the flutes sometimes echo each other, or maybe because recorders are so soft they sound like an echo of everything else going on. In the very opening, the second flute (Henrik) will start the main melody; I’m holding a high long note. If I play it too loud, it’s hard to hear the actual melody. All of this music was generally written to be played in a smaller space, and the strings were not as loud because they used gut strings. But we have to play

Randolph Bowman (left) performing with JeanPierre Rampal.

out to get the sound into the hall. Henrik Heide: I think if you’re going to play it on modern instruments, play it on modern instruments. I mean, don’t go crazy, but especially with a modern string section, the projection helps. You both play with one another as section colleagues all the time. How is that going to translate to a piece like Brandenburg 4? HH: My position is associate principal, but I’m also utility ﬂute. So, I play second to Randy often. Over the years, we’ve done a lot together—we gel well. Outside of work, we like to play duets for fun. Randy and I played Franz Doppler’s “Andante and Rondo” on a Chamber Players concert once, in 2018. This is just an extension of all that. It’s great music and I’m having fun learning it, but I’ve also never played a concerto with other people before. That makes it even more fun, knowing that it’s kind of chamber music and a concerto at the same time. When you play a concerto by yourself, it kind of feels naked to be out there alone. RB: It’s like a dinner table with a lot of people, and everyone’s talking at once. The

Program page from the first time Randolph Bowman played Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.

counterpoint is so elaborate. The skill that you develop playing in an orchestra is to be constantly listening to everything that’s going on around you. We’ll try not to be the rude dinner guest talking over everyone! What recordings of the Brandenburgs have you both been revisiting lately? HH: I like Neville Marriner and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. RB: There’s a terriﬁc Brandenburg 4 by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which features some of the top soloists from different orchestras. In terms of the early music groups, I like this Italian group, the Giardino Armonico. They have just a couple people on strings, so they’re not forcing the instrument out of its range of natural beauty.

Fanfare Magazine | 17

SPOTLIGHT

Meet the New Musicians of the CSO by MEGHAN ISAACS

This season, audiences will see ﬁve new faces on Music Hall’s stage. Two trumpet players, two cellists and a bass player bring their talents to the CSO (which could be the start of a joke!), and each has a fascinating story as to how his journey led here. Whether by joining the family business or by stumbling across an instrument proposed by a middle school band teacher, the variety within these musicians’ backgrounds and the challenges they faced along the way helped shape these individual voices that now enrich the Orchestra’s collective sound. Fanfare Magazine caught up with them as they started their new positions this fall. Anthony Limoncelli, Principal Trumpet

Anthony Limoncelli

18 | 2023–24 SEASON

Anthony Limoncelli grew up on Long Island, in New Hyde Park, NY. He and his older sister both started learning music with the piano. His father was an amateur trombone player and enjoyed collecting all kinds of instruments. When it came time for Anthony to choose an instrument for band class, his father brought his collection down from the attic. “Trumpet was the ﬁrst instrument I could make a sound with, so I chose that,” said Anthony. In middle school he started lessons, studying with Anthony Bavota and Michael Klein. Bavota would invite the young Anthony to play community band gigs with him in middle and high school. “I credit my sight-reading skills to him,” said Anthony. He went on to study with Mark Gould at the Manhattan School of Music. After graduation, he brieﬂy considered quitting trumpet. “Things weren’t going right physically, and I wasn’t sure I could overcome it. Then I realized I was thinking about quitting because I was scared.” That realization motivated him to keep going. He took the next year off, studying with Ethan Bensdorf in the meantime, then went on to pursue a master’s degree at The Juilliard School with Raymond Mase, during which time he was a fellow at Tanglewood for two years. Anthony then decided he wanted to study with Barbara Butler and Charlie Geyer at Rice University, where he spent about a year and a half before winning an audition for principal trumpet of the Sarasota Orchestra. He spent a year in Sarasota, then won the second chair position in the Atlanta Symphony, where he spent the last three years. When not engrossed in music, Anthony enjoys trail runs, hiking, reading and yoga. “Spending time with people outside of the practice room can be extremely restorative,” he said. Last summer, he enjoyed

SPOTLIGHT: New CSO Musicians

visiting such beautiful locales as Aspen, Vale, Sun Valley and the lakes area of Minnesota while performing for festivals. So far, Anthony appreciates the energy and vibe of Cincinnati, as well as the easy walk to work from his peaceful corner of Pendleton, where he resides. He is looking forward to the iconic trumpet solo in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, as well as Ein Heldenleben and Harmonielehre and performing Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony for the ﬁrst time. “There’s a lot of great music coming up, so I will be happy to share my voice,” he said. As he starts this next step in his career, Anthony continues to be inspired by his dad, sister and many trumpet friends and colleagues.

Drew Dansby, cello Drew Dansby took his first violin lesson on his fourth birthday in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Six months later, he began learning cello. He played both instruments until high school, when he started in the youth orchestra. “Growing up in Charlotte was really good for me because the youth orchestra had so many opportunities, and there were many occasions to perform around the community,” said Drew. “All those experiences made me enjoy playing my instrument but also playing with other people.” During his senior year of high school, Drew auditioned for several music schools and landed at Oberlin College, where he is about to finish his last semester with degrees in both cello performance and chemistry. Since he has had the opportunity to play more chamber music in college, he has discovered the versatility of the cello. “It is so melodic, but it also can be an important foundation when it provides the bass line. It’s also a very effective middle voice,” said Drew. “So it can play many roles, but it is also a fun challenge to figure out where you fit in an orchestra setting for any given piece.” Drew spent the 2021–22 season as acting section cellist in the Charlotte Symphony. Also during that year, he started taking orchestra auditions and was particularly looking forward to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra audition because he liked the city and its proximity to both Oberlin and his hometown. “I remember being blown away by the hall the first time I stepped in there,” said Drew. In addition to his childhood teachers (Alan Black and Ernest Pereira of the Charlotte Symphony), other mentors and sources of inspiration for Drew along the way include his teacher at Oberlin, Darrett Adkins, as well as Paul Kushious of The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop, with whom he worked at a summer festival. Drew also draws inspiration from the quartet from Oberlin with which he performs, the Poiesis Quartet. He owes much to Joy Payton-Stevens who loaned him his first full-sized cello, on which he still plays. Drew enjoys reading, Netflix, traveling, road trips and mountain biking. He also finds fulfillment in organizing smaller concerts with his friends, and he looks forward to joining the rich chamber music scene to be found in Cincinnati. Drew is eager to perform the all-Brahms concert in January, which includes the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Symphony No. 2. He also looks forward to playing Ein Heldenleben, “which is probably the piece that got me so fascinated with orchestral playing.”

Drew Dansby

Fanfare Magazine | 19

SPOTLIGHT: New CSO Musicians

Nicholas Mariscal, cello

Nicholas Mariscal

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, Nicholas Mariscal started his musical education playing piano in his after-school music program at the age of nine. He eventually met a conductor who suggested that it would be a good experience for him to learn an instrument that was part of an orchestra. Since Nicholas, then 12 years old, had a friend who played cello in his middle school orchestra, he decided that would be a fun instrument to try. Nicholas grew up in a family and community that was not particularly musical, so he did not have the advantage of early exposure to classical music that benefits many musicians by providing an early education by osmosis. “I felt like I was a little bit behind where some other people were,” said Nicholas. “I had to find my way in the field and carve out my own path.” Nicholas says he owes a lot to his first full-time cello teacher, Mary Beth Tyndall, who was his main teacher and mentor before college. Nicholas went on to attend Indiana University, where he studied with former CSO Principal Cello Eric Kim. Following undergrad, he spent four years at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for graduate school. There he studied with Ralph Kirshbaum. “He was a huge influence on me as a cellist and as a person,” said Nicholas. He then went on to spend two seasons at the New World Symphony Orchestra, followed by his most recent position as assistant principal cellist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Nicholas has long been a fan of the CSO via the Orchestra’s many recordings. One of his favorites is that of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, recorded under former CSO Music Director Paavo Järvi. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Nicholas is especially excited to perform the February program featuring Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony and Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto with soloist Kian Soltani. “I always love Shostakovich symphonies, and that’s one I haven’t performed yet. [Soltani] is one of my favorite young cello soloists on the scene today, so I’m excited to come together and play with him on a piece I really love.” In his free time, you’ll find Nicholas staying active outdoors with running and biking. “Last summer, I did a triathlon for the first time, and I’m hoping to try to continue to do more of those,” he said. “It was a tough experience, so I’m hoping to redeem myself!”

Alex Pride, trumpet

Alex Pride

20 | 2023–24 SEASON

Cincinnati native Alex Pride grew up about as close to the Orchestra as one could get. His father, Steve Pride, played trumpet in the CSO for 43 years until his retirement last season. “I grew up going to concerts at the CSO all the time, and I know several of the Orchestra members from when I was a kid, so it’s all very personal for me.” Although one might say Alex was destined to play trumpet (which he started in sixth grade band), he still needed to forge his own path. “Trumpet in the orchestra is amazing and it has a lot of historical relevance, which is cool to read about,” he said, referring to ancient practices of fashioning horns out of natural materials. After high school, Alex continued his training at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Michael Sachs. “[Sachs] is really the person I looked up to the most,” said Alex. “He helped me understand how to conduct oneself professionally.” He then completed his master’s degree at Rice University under the guidance of Marie Speziale, another former trumpet player

SPOTLIGHT: New CSO Musicians

with the CSO. Since then, he has had a one-year contract with the Utah Symphony and has been freelancing with the CSO, Cleveland Orchestra and Detroit Symphony. “I’ve been running all over the place for several years, so I’m looking forward to being in one place,” he said. Considering that he rarely has a chance to play Wagner, Alex is looking forward to performing The Ring Without Words this season. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait are also on Alex’s list of works he’s particularly excited about. As a sports fan, Alex follows the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as the English soccer team Tottenham Hotspur. He also enjoys cooking and trying out new recipes. “If I can eat it, I consider it successful,” he joked. You might also spot Alex in a record store, digging through vinyl collections for jazz and classical recordings.

Gerald Torres, bass Gerald Torres grew up in Cincinnati and first discovered the double bass through the school music program. His original intent was to join the band, but he missed the after-school session when students were fitted for instruments. Luckily for his future career, he heard the “last call” announcement for double bass fitting and joined the orchestra instead. In high school, Gerald played with the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as Cincinnati Junior Strings. With the latter, he went on tour to Australia. “That was a big push for me to go into music, realizing I could actually see the world with this as a career,” said Gerald. He credits much of his early foundation in bass to Debbie Taylor, his first teacher. “Your first teacher is in many ways the most important. They set the foundation and they inspire you to continue the path,” he said. Gerald went on to study at Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music. From there, he started actively auditioning while freelancing with such orchestras as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Baltimore. He worked closely with mentors Maximilian Dimoff and Charles Carleton, both of The Cleveland Orchestra. He then went to Carnegie Mellon to study for a year with Micah Howard, a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Next, he won a job with the Grand Rapids Symphony, where he played for several seasons before winning his current job here in Cincinnati. One of the most demanding challenges of his career thus far came while he was preparing for the CSO audition. “Trying to prepare for an audition like the one with the CSO just involved a monstrous amount of work,” said Gerald, who was juggling two jobs and a family (he and his wife have a four-year-old daughter). “It basically amounted to not sleeping. I would wake up before my family and go to sleep long after them.” The drive, discipline and sleepless nights paid off. Gerald not only won the audition, but did so using a bow he crafted himself. His bowmaking journey started when he moved to Grand Rapids and became friends with Aaron Reiley, the owner of Guarneri House. The owner’s father, renowned bowmaker Steven Reiley, had recently retired. “I didn’t know anything about bowmaking, but I threw in my hat and said I wanted to learn,” said Gerald. “I’ve always been interested in doing something with my hands, and actually crafting an object, not just making a sound. So I started to study with him. Most of my bowmaking skills have come from Steve Reiley.” Gerald was the bow technician at Guarneri House before his move to Cincinnati, and he has made bows that are currently being played by professionals throughout the country.

Gerald Torres

Fanfare Magazine | 21

The intimacy of chamber music does not diminish its power to inspire.

Art of the Piano Quartet October 15/16 Experience piano quartets by three great masters. The Espressivo! Quartet returns to perform works that display the prodigious talents of a teenage Mendelssohn, the story of Brahms' ill-fated love, and the romance of Schumann's enchanting lyricism.

Quartet for the End of Time November 12/13 Renowned pianist and composer Stewart Goodyear performs with musicians of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in this program featuring Messiaen's ethereal masterpiece. The work stands as a towering reminder of music’s power to inspire the human spirit toward transcendence.

Changing Winds of Time January 21/22 This vibrant program features the winds and pianist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performing works of the Baroque and Romantic eras as well as music of today. Linton presents the exciting world premiere of Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo's woodwind quintet.

Performances in Avondale and Loveland.

LintonMusic.org | 513.381.6868 | info@lintonmusic.org

SPOTLIGHT

Portrait of the Music Director: Emerging Artist Captures Langrée’s Spirit by DAVID LYMAN

The invitation came out of the blue. “It was an email,” recalls portrait painter Savannah Tate Cuff. “I think they may have found me online. Then they discovered my Cincinnati connections and… well, honestly, I’m not exactly sure how they found me.” That was December 2021. A few phone calls and emails later, Savannah had been commissioned to create a portrait of CSO Music Director Louis Langrée. On October 11, nearly two years after that initial email, Savannah’s portrait of Langrée was unveiled in a small ceremony in Music Hall’s Wilks Studio. The following day, it was moved to the South Concourse on Music Hall’s orchestra level, a location where anyone visiting the building can view it. The completed portrait hangs in the South Hall outside Music Hall’s Springer Auditorium. Amber Ostaszewski, the CSO’s Director of Audience Engagement, had been the person charged with Savannah’s portfolio immediately leapt out. finding an artist to paint Louis’ portrait. It was she Not only did her portraits show exceptional who sent that initial email. And, as Amber tells it, technical skill, but they were also uncommonly finding Savannah wasn’t as completely random as expert in the way they revealed so much about the artist had thought. their subjects’ personalities. It didn’t hurt that “The first thing I did was ask Louis if he had Savannah’s Cincinnati pedigree was unmatched. any suggestions or preferences,” says Amber, It turned out that she is a graduate of Walnut Hills noting that finding an artist with deep Cincinnati High School (WHHS)—just like Louis’ children connections was a priority. Then, Amber, who has Antoine and Céleste. a substantial background working in the visual Even more important were the stylistic qualities arts, scoured the internet for painters who not of Savannah’s paintings. On the one hand, they only specialized in portraiture but also seemed were fairly traditional presentations. There comfortable working in a style that might mesh would be nothing too shocking to the visually with the other portraits in the South Hall. unadventurous. But, at the same time, there was “We winnowed down the list to five or so a freshness and vigor in her paintings that Louis artists,” says Amber. “Then we showed their found especially appealing. `` work to Louis.” Fanfare Magazine | 23

SPOTLIGHT: Louis’ Portrait

of the Renaissance. There, she found the Angel “Louis has always been a champion of fresh, Academy of Art, a small, atelier-style institution new musical artists,” says Amber. “And I think that where she spent three years earning a diploma. carries over to visual artists, too.” There were none of the non-art academic subjects Unlike most of the artists whose work is she would have had to study in a traditional displayed in Music Hall, Savannah is at the university setting. Instead, the curriculum was beginning of her career. “I like to think of myself filled with individual instruction as just starting out,” she says. and classes in rarified subjects “I’m just 30.” like Bargue drawing and cast But perusing her website— painting. And lots and lots of www.savannahtatecuff.com— work with live models. offers no hints of an emerging Then it was off to seven years artist. Rather, the site reveals of training at New York’s Grand an output of paintings and Central Atelier, where she is drawings more representative now a resident artist. of someone twice her age. Painting Louis Langrée has Much of that stems from the been filled with challenges. nature of her training. Foremost among them was “I had an art history class Louis’ hectic travel schedule— with a teacher named Miss he is also director of OpéraWilkinson when I was in high Comique in Paris—which school,” says Savannah. “I had caused him to be unavailable always liked portraits. But for a series of sittings. there was something about “That was okay Miss Wilkinson’s class because, actually, I that inspired me in a prefer to see a series very profound way.” of photographs and Thanks to an award work from those,” says from the WHHS Alumni Savannah. “Then I can Foundation, she pick and choose various attended a monthlong elements from different art workshop in France. photos—the eyes from “I was just 16 and it one photo, the angle of was my first international the head from another. flight,” she says. She You can create the was nervous. But she perfect pose. Besides, was ready for anything. with photos you get And the intensity of the more spontaneity. If experience—painting you rely on many hours and drawing all day, of sittings, you run the every day—changed risk of your subject her outlook on how she looking bored.” wanted to pursue her art. And as we all have “I realized that I come to know over the wanted an alternative to past decade, Louis is the traditional university never boring. Animated, or college art training,” enthusiastic, informed, she says. “I wanted Photos showing stages in Savannah’s artistic process. impassioned—those are something more like the sorts of qualities we the 19th century French academy training. Pretty quickly, I realized that have come to expect from him. you just can’t find that at most U.S. colleges.” Aside from that photo session in Cincinnati, And so, like so many American artists a Savannah and Louis met just once—in New York century or more before her, she again headed City, during the 2022 Mostly Mozart Festival at to Europe. Specifically, to Florence, the home Lincoln Center.

24 | 2023–24 SEASON

“That was actually the ﬁrst time I met him,” says Savannah. “I asked him so many questions; what did he want his expression to be like, did he have any ideas for props, poses, clothing, any special mementoes he wanted in the painting. What was his favorite color. ‘Blue,’ he said, as he showed me his ultramarine-colored socks. He thought that would stand out against all the reds at Music Hall.” In the end, the socks didn’t make the cut. But the background is a subdued blue, mixed with what might be patches of clouds. Or a sliver of a backdrop. “The most important thing—besides capturing some of Louis’ spirit—was that I wanted this to look like it was painted today, in the 21st century. I didn’t want to mimic 19th-century paintings. There isn’t even a baton in the painting. Louis is a modern man. That’s what I wanted. And that was what he wanted.” And what she has done is give us a portrait of a man who is not too formal. He is the Louis who is comfortable in his own skin. There is no tie—just an open collar. He is relaxed but intense. There is the head of slightly unkempt hair and the short beard that is just this side of scruffy. This is the Louis we all have come to know, the man we would feel comfortable sharing a brandy with.

Savannah Tate Cuff

“I really like it,” says Savannah. “I hope he does, too.” Louis Langree’s portrait is a gift of the Striker Family in memory of Theodore W. Striker, MD.

YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE CREATE

ﬁlled with special moments from the music you love. — Choose ANY 4 OR MORE concerts & save! cincinnatisymphony.org/cyo

MUSIC TO MOVE YOU

Louis Langrée Music Director John Morris Russell %* %** 0%ˏPops Conductor

Fanfare Magazine | 25

POPS FEATURE

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the Cincinnati Pops!

Each of us has our own special holiday traditions and favorite memories. Fanfare Magazine caught up with a few of our Orchestra members and asked them to share their holiday stories. Does your family have any special holiday traditions? Rachel Charbel, violin, Ida Ringling North Chair Yes, we always eat pizza on Christmas Eve. Caterina Longhi, viola We are Italian, and so our tradition is mostly based around food! On Christmas Eve we prepare and eat all kinds of seafood and fish. And on Christmas Day we have lasagna that we all help make early in the day. Then for dessert our tradition is frying balls of dough and shaking them in bags of sugar to make Zeppole! Christopher Philpotts, Principal English Horn, Alberta & Dr. Maurice Marsh Chair When I was young, my siblings and I were allowed to open one joint present from under the tree on Christmas Eve. We would squish and shake the packages to find just the right one. My mom would try to trick us though. So, one year, we picked the most interesting package only to find out it was a ball of string. Mom had a pretty good laugh at us! Joseph Bricker, Associate Principal Timpani and section percussion, Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair When my family celebrates Hanukkah, we often will have special meals for specific nights of the holiday. My favorite of these is when we make a boatload of latkes (potato pancakes), and get a bunch of deli meat, cheese, coleslaw, deli salads, and just make latke cold cut sandwiches, complete with the apple sauce and sour cream. I look forward to that meal maybe more than I look forward to Thanksgiving.

26 | 2023–24 SEASON

POPS FEATURE: Happy Holidays!

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? Rachel Charbel I love being reunited with my family and childhood friends in my hometown (Bellingham, Washington). Luis Celis, bass My favorite part of the holiday season is spending time with loved ones and enjoying each other’s company! Caterina Longhi Spending time with family! Chris Philpotts Simply put, being with family and friends— enjoying the giving spirit of the season! Joe Bricker I love the feeling of coming inside from the cold and warming up with my family and loved ones and pets over tea or coffee and celebrating each other. I feel so grateful for my life, and the holiday season just ampliﬁes those feelings! Joseph Rodriguez, Assistant Principal Trombone Being with family and friends, cooking and singing, Christmas tree and movies!

Opposite page, from top: Rachel Charbel, Caterina Longhi and Christopher Philpotts. This page, from top: Joseph Bricker, Luis Celis and Joseph Rodriguez

Fanfare Magazine | 27

LOUIS LANGRÉE, Music Director Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair

JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL, Cincinnati Pops Conductor Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair

Matthias Pintscher, CSO Creative Partner Damon Gupton, Pops Principal Guest Conductor Samuel Lee, Associate Conductor Ashley and Barbara Ford Chair

Daniel Wiley, Assistant Conductor Ashley and Barbara Ford Chair FIRST VIOLINS Stefani Matsuo

CELLOS Ilya Finkelshteyn

CLARINETS Christopher Pell

TUBA Christopher Olka

Concertmaster Anna Sinton Taft Chair

Principal Irene & John J. Emery Chair

Principal Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair

Felicity James

Daniel Kaler

Principal Emma Margaret & Irving D. Goldman Chair

Associate Concertmaster Tom & Dee Stegman Chair

Acting Associate Principal Ona Hixson Dater Chair

Joseph Morris*

Philip Marten

Norman Johns**

TIMPANI Patrick Schleker

First Assistant Concertmaster James M. Ewell Chair++

Eric Bates Second Assistant Concertmaster Serge Shababian Chair

Kathryn Woolley Nicholas Tsimaras– Peter G. Courlas Chair++

Anna Reider Dianne & J. David Rosenberg Chair

Mauricio Aguiar§ Anne G. & Robert W. Dorsey Chair

Minyoung Baik

Karl & Roberta Schlachter Family Chair

Nicholas Mariscal§ Hiro Matsuo Laura Kimble McLellan Chair++

Theodore Nelson‡ Peter G. Courlas– Nicholas Tsimaras Chair++

Alan Rafferty Ruth F. Rosevear Chair

Marc Bohlke Chair given by Katrin & Manfred Bohlke

Rebecca Kruger Fryxell Clifford J. Goosmann & Andrea M. Wilson Chair

Gerald Itzkoff Jean Ten Have Chair

Charles Morey† Luo-Jia Wu [OPEN] SECOND VIOLINS Gabriel Pegis Principal Al Levinson Chair

Yang Liu* Harold B. & Betty Justice Chair

Scott Mozlin** Henry Meyer Chair

Kun Dong Cheryl Benedict Evin Blomberg§ Rachel Charbel Ida Ringling North Chair

Chika Kinderman Hyesun Park Paul Patterson Charles Gausmann Chair++

Stacey Woolley Brenda & Ralph Taylor Chair++

VIOLAS Christian Colberg Principal Louise D. & Louis Nippert Chair

BASSES Owen Lee Principal Mary Alice Heekin Burke Chair++

[OPEN]* Thomas Vanden Eynden Chair

Stephen Jones** Trish & Rick Bryan Chair

Boris Astaﬁev§ Luis Arturo Celis Avila Gerald Torres Rick Vizachero HARP Gillian Benet Sella Principal Cynthia & Frank Stewart Chair

FLUTES Randolph Bowman Principal Charles Frederic Goss Chair

Henrik Heide* Haley Bangs Jane & David Ellis Chair

Patricia Gross Linnemann Chair

ENGLISH HORN Christopher Philpotts Principal Alberta & Dr. Maurice Marsh Chair++

Michael Culligan* Joseph Bricker Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair

Hugh Michie

Marc Wolﬂey+

CONTRABASSOON Jennifer Monroe

KEYBOARDS Michael Chertock

FRENCH HORNS Elizabeth Freimuth

Julie Spangler+

James P. Thornton Chair

Principal Mary M. & Charles F. Yeiser Chair

[OPEN]* Ellen A. & Richard C. Berghamer Chair

Molly Norcross** Acting Associate Principal Sweeney Family Chair in memory of Donald C. Sweeney

Lisa Conway Susanne & Philip O. Geier, Jr. Chair

Duane Dugger Mary & Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Chair

Charles Bell Donald & Margaret Robinson Chair

TRUMPETS Anthony Limoncelli Principal Rawson Chair Jackie & Roy Sweeney Family Chair

Alexander Pride† Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Chair++

TROMBONES Cristian Ganicenco

Emily Beare

28 | 2023–24 SEASON

Principal Susan S. & William A. Friedlander Chair

Christopher Kiradjieff

Julian Wilkison** Rebecca Barnes§ Christopher Fischer Stephen Fryxell

Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair

BASSOONS Christopher Sales

Principal Josephine I. & David J. Joseph, Jr. Chair Stephen P. McKean Chair

Joseph Bricker* PERCUSSION David Fishlock

OBOES Dwight Parry

Lon Bussell*

Principal Matthew & Peg Woodside Chair

BASS CLARINET Ronald Aufmann

Douglas Lindsay* PICCOLO Rebecca Pancner

Acting Associate Principal Grace M. Allen Chair

Caterina Longhi Denisse Rodriguez-Rivera Dan Wang Joanne Wojtowicz

Vicky & Rick Reynolds Chair in honor of William A. Friedlander

Principal Emalee Schavel Chair++ Marvin Kolodzik & Linda S. Gallaher Martin Garcia* Chair for Cello

Gabriel Napoli

Melinda & Irwin Simon Chair

Ixi Chen

[OPEN]

Jo Ann & Paul Ward Chair

James Braid

Associate Principal and E-ﬂat Clarinet Robert E. & Fay Boeh Chair++

Principal Dorothy & John Hermanies Chair

Joseph Rodriguez** Second/Assistant Principal Trombone Sallie Robinson Wadsworth & Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Chair

BASS TROMBONE [OPEN]

James P. Thornton Chair

CSO/CCM DIVERSITY FELLOWS~ Lucas Braga, violin Melissa Peraza, viola Manuel Papale, cello Caleb Edwards, double bass Wendell Rodriguez da Rosa, double bass LIBRARIANS Christina Eaton Principal Librarian Lois Klein Jolson Chair

Elizabeth Dunning Acting Associate Principal Librarian

Cara Benner Interim Assistant Librarian

STAGE MANAGERS Brian P. Schott Phillip T. Sheridan Daniel Schultz Mike Ingram Andrew Sheridan § Begins the alphabetical listing of players who participate in a system of rotated seating within the string section. * Associate Principal ** Assistant Principal † One-year appointment ‡ Leave of absence + Cincinnati Pops rhythm section ++ CSO endowment only ~ Funded by The Mellon Foundation

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ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

LOUIS LANGRÉE, Music Director Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair In the 2023-24 season, Louis Langrée celebrates his ﬁnal season with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he has been Music Director since 2013, and he continues as Director of Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris, an appointment that began in November 2021. Langrée ended his 20-year Chris Lee 2021 tenure as Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in the summer of 2023. Two of his Cincinnati recordings were Grammy nominated for Best Orchestral Performance: Transatlantic, with works by Varèse, Gershwin and Stravinsky; and Concertos for Orchestra, featuring world premieres by Sebastian Currier, Thierry Escaich and Zhou Tian. On stage, his Pelléas et Mélisande trilogy contrasted settings by Fauré, Debussy and Schoenberg. A multiseason Beethoven [R]evolution cycle paired the symphonies with world premieres, as well as recreation of the legendary 1808 Akademie. During the Covid pandemic, Langrée was a catalyst for the Orchestra’s return to the stage in the fall of 2020 with a series of digitally streamed concerts. Between the start of his tenure and the conclusion of the CSO’s 2023–24 season, Langrée and the CSO will have commissioned 45 new orchestral works and he will have conducted 31 premieres from a wide range of composers, including Julia Adolphe, Daníel Bjarnason, Jennifer Higdon, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Kinds of Kings, David Lang, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, André Previn, Caroline Shaw and Julia Wolfe, and the world premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 6, Rouse’s ﬁnal opus. He has guest conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, NHK Symphony, Orchestre National de France and Leipzig Gewandhaus, as well as Orchestre des Champs-Elysées and Freiburg Baroque. He frequently conducts at the leading opera houses, including more than 50 performances at The Metropolitan Opera, and engagements with Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Bavarian Staatsoper, and at festivals including Glyndebourne, Aix-enProvence, BBC Proms, Edinburgh International and Hong Kong Arts. A native of Alsace, France, he is a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and Officier des Arts et des Lettres, and he is an Honorary Member of the Confrérie Saint-Étienne d’Alsace, an Alsatian winemakers’ brotherhood dating to the 14th century.

JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL Cincinnati Pops Conductor Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair A champion of American musical style, John Morris Russell has devoted himself to redeﬁning the American orchestral experience. His passionate embrace of America’s unique voice and musical stories has transformed how orchestral performances can deeply connect and engage with audiences worldwide. In his 13th season as conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Russell continues to reinvigorate the musical scene throughout Cincinnati and across the continent through the wide-range and diversity of his work as a conductor, collaborator and educator. In addition to the Cincinnati Pops, he serves as Music Director of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina and Principal Pops Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Russell is a popular guest conductor with many of the most distinguished orchestras in North America, and this season he debuts with the Florida Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, returns to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and celebrates his 10th year with the National Orchestral Institute. JMR’s performances have been called relevant and revelatory. In Cincinnati, Russell’s Pops concerts often celebrate untold musical stories and artists from the Great Midwest that resonate with audiences across the country and around the world. His leadership with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s wildly successful Classical Roots initiative, which he helped create over two decades ago, continues to honor and celebrate Black musical excellence, and has garnered record-breaking in-person and online audiences. Russell’s visionary leadership at the Pops has also extended the proliﬁc recording legacy of the Orchestra. In 2018, he created the “American Originals Project” which has won both critical and popular acclaim in two landmark recordings: American Originals (the music of Stephen Foster) and American Originals 1918 (a tribute to the dawn of the jazz age), which was Grammy nominated for “Best Classical Compendium.” In 2020, the American Originals Project continued with King Records and the Cincinnati Sound with legendary pianist Paul Shaffer, celebrating the beginnings of bluegrass, country, rockabilly, soul and funk immortalized in recordings produced in the Queen City. Russell has contributed seven albums to the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra discography, including JOY!, the Pops’ latest holiday album to be released in 2023.

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Join Barbara Kellar as she showcases artists and cultural leaders from the Greater Cincinnati community.

SATURDAY 6:30PM CET SUNDAY 8:30PM CET ARTS

www.CETconnect.org Emmy Award Win nneer Regionaal - Inter erview ew/D Discu ussio on Program m

CSO & POPS GUEST ARTISTS: November–December, 2023 CSO NOV 10–11: Tetzlaff & Tchaikovsky No. 5 GUSTAVO GIMENO, conductor Gustavo Gimeno is music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg—a title he has held since 2015, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), where he remains through the 2029– 30 season. He is also music director designate of Teatro Real, where he will assume his role in season 2025–26. ©Marco Borggreve Gimeno is much sought after as a symphonic guest conductor worldwide: in 2023–24, appearances include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of past seasons include Berliner Philharmoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre National de France, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, as well as touring projects as far afield as Japan and Taiwan. Gimeno and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg have an extensive discography with Pentatone, including Francisco Coll’s Violin Concerto with Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1, Ravel’s complete ballet music to Daphnis et Chloé, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle and César Franck’s Symphony in D Minor. As an opera conductor, he is invited for major titles at great houses such as the Liceu Opera Barcelona, Opernhaus Zürich, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia and Teatro Real Madrid. February 2024 will see the release of the first commercial recording Gimeno and the TSO made together (May 2023, Harmonia Mundi), memorializing Messiaen’s Turangalîla-symphonie. With the label he has also recorded Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Stravinsky’s ballets The Firebird and Apollon musagète with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. gustavogimeno.com

CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF, violin In the 2023–24 season, the soughtafter violinist Christian Tetzlaff appears with the world’s foremost orchestras. In Europe, he performs with the Norwegian ©Giorgia Bertazzi Radio Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and Orchestre National de France, among others. He also appears on stage in England with the Philharmonia Orchestra, for performances in Grafenegg and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms. He returns to Chamber Orchestra of Europe, undertakes two tours to Korea and Europe with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and records Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic. In the U.S., he returns to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Christian Tetzlaff is regularly invited as Artist-in-Residence, including for the Berliner Philharmoniker, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Dresdner Philharmoniker, as well as London’s Wigmore Hall and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1994, Christian Tetzlaff founded, with his sister the cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, the Tetzlaff Quartett, and concerts this season are at Berlin’s Boulez Hall, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Vienna’s Musikverein and BOZAR Brussels. In recital, this season he appears with Kirill Gerstein, including dates at New York’s Carnegie Hall and in Washington and Boston. Christian Tetzlaff has received numerous prizes for his recordings, including the Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Diapason d’or (2018) as well as the Midem Classical Award (2017). Of special signiﬁcance is his solo recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas (2017), along with the Ondine releases of the Beethoven and Sibelius violin concertos (2019), followed by Brahms and Berg (2022)—both with the Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin conducted by Robin Ticciati. Christian Tetzlaff plays a violin by the German violin maker Peter Greiner and teaches regularly at the Kronberg Academy. He lives in Berlin with his wife, the photographer Giorgia Bertazzi, and three children. christian-tetzlaff.de

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CSO NOV 17 & 19: Thomas’ Hamlet LOUIS LANGRÉE, conductor Turn to p. 29 for a biography of CSO Music Director Louis Langrée.

STÉPHANE DEGOUT, Hamlet Stéphane Degout studied at the Lyon Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique (CNSM) and was a member of Opéra de Lyon. He made his operatic debut in 1999 at the ©Jean-Baptiste Millot Aix-en-Provence Festival. Since then, he has sung for the Paris Opéra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Berlin State Opera, La Monnaie, Theater an der Wien, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Teatro Real and Bavarian State Opera, and at the Salzburg, Glyndebourne and Ravinia festivals. His repertoire includes Thésée (Hippolyte et Aricie), Hercule (Alceste), Oreste (Iphigénie en Tauride), Count Almaviva, Valentin (Faust), Raimbaud (Le comte Ory), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Albert (Werther), Rodrigue (Don Carlos), Chorèbe (Les Troyens), Ford (Falstaff),

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and the title roles in Hamlet, Eugene Onegin, Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Ulisse, and Wozzeck. His dedication has seen him create numerous operatic roles in works such as Benoît in Mernier’s La Dispute, Philippe Boesmans’ Au Monde and Pinocchio, and George Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence. In 2012, he was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a prestigious award that recognizes signiﬁcant contributions to the enrichment of French cultural heritage. In 2012 and 2019, he was named Lyrical Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique awards. Stéphane Degout is renowned for his highly sensitive interpretations of French melody and German Lied. He has worked under the guidance of Ruben Lifschitz and has toured internationally. Alongside several DVD opera recordings, he has recorded CDs with B Records (Histoires Naturelles, Das Lied von der Erde) and Harmonia Mundi (Enfers, Matthäus-Passion, Mein Traum, Harmonie du Soir, a “lieder and balladen” collection titled Epic, Berlioz’s Les nuits d’eté, and others).

JODIE DEVOS, Ophélie After studying at the Institut de musique et de pédagogie de Namur, Jodie Devos won the Second Prize and the Audience Prize of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium (2014). Devos had already performed under the direction of conductors such ©Marco Borggreve as Mikko Franck, Leonardo García Alarcón, Philippe Jordan, Louis Langrée, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset and others, and in productions by Romeo Castellucci, Denis Podalydès, John Turturro and Robert Wilson. Highlights of her young career include productions of Die Zauberflöte at La Monnaie and Opéra national de Paris; Les contes d’Hoffmann and Les Indes galantes at Opéra National de Paris; Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le comte Ory, Le nozze di Figaro and La fille du régiment at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège; Dialogues des Carmélites in Toulouse; Guillaume Tell at Chorégies d’Orange; and Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Monte Carlo. Recent roles have included Gabrielle (La vie parisienne), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Marie (La fille du régiment) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; Gilda (Rigoletto), Philine (Mignon) and Lakmé (Lakmé) at Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège; Ophélie (Hamlet) in Liège and at the Festival de Radio France in Montpellier; Julie Follavoine (On

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purge bébé!) in La Monnaie; and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor) in Tours and Québec. Among her recent and future projects are Un ballo in maschera in Barcelona; Fantasio at OpéraComique; L’Olimpiade, Dialogues des Carmélites and Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; Mitridate in Lausanne; and L’enfant et les sortilèges in Monte Carlo. Jodie Devos records exclusively for the Alpha Classics label. jodiedevos.com

LAURENT ALVARO, Claudius Born in France, Laurent Alvaro began his career as an ensemble member with Opéra national de Lyon. In the years since, he has sung leading roles including Golaud in ©S Brion Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at the Paris Opéra-Comique, Toulon, Montpellier and Malmö; The Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann in Lyon, Rouen, Versailles and Tokyo; the Marquis de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites in Lyon and Toulon; and Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cinderella at the OpéraComique and the Konzerthaus in Vienna. With Opéra national de Paris he has sung the Count of Gormas in Massenet’s Le Cid and, most recently, Contenson in Francesconi’s Trompe-la-mort. Alvaro has also sung Thoas in Iphigénie en Tauride in Amsterdam and Ragueneau in Cyrano de Bergerac and Count Capulet in Roméo et Juliette in Madrid. Other role highlights include Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Opera de Rouen et Reims and Pelléas and Mélisande, Les contes d’Hoffmann and Telramund in Lohengrin in Saint-Étienne. In concert, Alvaro has performed Wotan in Das Rheingold, Brother Léon in Saint-François d’Assise in Montreal and Mephistopheles in Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust in Bordeaux, Nantes and Angers. Among Alvaro’s recent and forthcoming engagements are Golaud in Pélleas et Mélisande in Warsaw; Don Andres in Offenbach’s La Périchole in Salzburg, Montpellier and Bordeaux; Orest in Strauss’ Elektra in Bordeaux; Hérode in L’enfance du Christ at Festival Berlioz; and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte at Saint-Etienne. laurentalvaro.fr/en/

RENÉE TATUM, Gertrude Noted for her “commanding and dramatic presence” (Opera News), mezzosoprano Renée Tatum continues to garner recognition in the most demanding of operatic repertoire. In the current season, Tatum will join Knoxville Opera as Dame Quickly in Falstaff, the Knoxville Symphony as a soloist for Verdi’s Requiem and the Dallas Symphony as Grimgerde in Die Walküre, as well as Flosshilde in Das Rheingold. Highlights of her 2022–23 season included her continued relationship with the Metropolitan Opera in their new production of Rigoletto and her company debut at Palm Beach Opera singing Suzuki in Madama Butterﬂy. Tatum’s relationship with The Met spans 10 years and has included nearly 100 performances, including Fenena in Nabucco, Third Lady and Second Lady in Die Zauberﬂöte, Emilia in Otello, Inez in Il trovatore, Adonella in Francesca da Rimini, and Waltraute and Flosshilde in Robert LePage’s famed Der Ring des Nibelungen. Future performances

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include Rigoletto with the Metropolitan Opera, Die Walküre with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the Concord Orchestra and Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Dallas Symphony. Tatum holds degrees from The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and California State University Fullerton. She was also an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera and alumna of the Lindemann Young Artists Program at the Metropolitan Opera. reneetatum.com

AARON McKONE, Laërte Originally from Rock Hill, South Carolina, Aaron McKone is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma in opera at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he will perform the role of Schoolmaster in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in spring 2024. At CCM, McKone studies with renowned heldentenor Stuart Skelton. He has also earned a Master of Music degree from CCM and a Bachelor of Music degree from Winthrop University. McKone spent this summer working as a studio artist with Wolf Trap Opera, where he covered the title role in Gounod’s Faust and was featured as a soloist in a concert with the National Orchestral Institute and Festival. In the summer of 2022, he was a USA Fellow at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, where he performed in the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar. Other notable roles that McKone has had the pleasure of portraying are Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Chevalier de La Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Galileo (Glass’ Galileo Galilei), Le Remendado (Carmen), Scaramuccio (Ariadne auf Naxos), Orphée (Orphée et Euridice), Laurie (Adamo’s Little Women), and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus). McKone has also sung in several productions with the Opera Carolina Chorus. In the spring, McKone was the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Lima Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was the tenor soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the York County Choral Society, also joining them to be a soloist in Bach’s Uns ist ein Kind geboren.

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LOGAN WAGNER, Marcellus/fossoyeur Logan Wagner grew up in Villa Hills, Kentucky and has been praised for his versatility as a performer. Wagner has performed various leading and comprimario roles at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). In 2019, he sang the role of Orfeo in CCM Opera D’arte’s production of L’Orfeo. In 2021, Wagner doubled as Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and in the fall of 2022, he sang the role of L’Aumonier in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, both at CCM. Deeply committed to new music, Wagner originated the role of Boy in a workshop of Bulrusher by Nathaniel Stookey at Cincinnati Opera. In a further collaboration with Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion: New Works, Wagner originated the roles of Sergei Eisenstein and Carl Van Vechten in Robeson/ Moscow by Scott Davenport. In the summer of 2022, Wagner was seen as a Principal Artist at Utah Festival Opera. While in Utah, Wagner was named ﬁrst place winner in the Utah Festival Opera Vocal Competition. In April of 2023, Wagner sang the role of Timothy Laughlin in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers at CCM. In the summer of 2023, Wagner joined Des Moines Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist, covering the role of Jumper in Zach Redler and Jerre Dye’s new American opera, The Rising and the Falling. Wagner began his operatic studies at CCM, graduating with his Bachelor of Music degree in 2020. Wagner studies with mezzo-soprano Dr. Quinn Patrick Ankrum and is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree at CCM. loganwagnertenor.com

MICHAEL ANTHONY McGEE, Horatio/fossoyeur Michael Anthony McGee is enjoying successes on operatic, concert and recital stages, in Renaissance to contemporary repertoire. McGee has sung leading roles throughout the U.S., and recent engagements include Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and First Nazarene in Salome with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

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With Opera Orchestra of New York, McGee recently recorded the role of Bustamente in La Navarraise with Roberto Alagna and Elina Garanca, conducted by Alberto Veronesi, to be released by Deutsche Grammophon. On the concert stage, McGee has sung Jesus in Bach’s St. John Passion with members of the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra in a charity benefit for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS. Other oratorio repertoire includes Bach’s Magnificat, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the roles of Raphael and Adam in Haydn’s The Creation, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Rückert Lieder, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Michael Anthony McGee was the first American ever to win first place at the Marie Kraja International Competition for Operatic Singers held in Tirana, Albania. Additional awards include second place in the Opera Index Competition, winner of the 2009 Sullivan Foundation Award, second place in the 2009 Liederkranz Foundation Competition, first place in the 2009 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition and first place in the 2009 Mario Lanza Institute International Competition. McGee is also a recipient of the George London Award from the George London Foundation for Singers. A native of Dallas, he holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

MARK HOCKENBERRY, Polonius Mark Hockenberry is known for his commanding stage presence and powerful lyric baritone voice. His most notable roles in recent years have been Ford from Verdi’s Falstaff, Germont from Verdi’s La traviata, and Pandolfe from Massenet’s Cendrillon. Hockenberry spent two years performing with Arizona Opera’s Education Outreach branch, AZOperatunity, where he performed for more than 55,000 elementary school students in the Tucson community. For the past two summers, he worked as a chorister with Cincinnati Opera and is now starting his third season with the May Festival Chorus. He also has performed with several local churches in the area, including solo work with the Athenaeum Chorale at Mount St. Mary’s. He received his master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona in 2019 and his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Westminster College (PA) in 2016.

NMON FORD, The Specter Panamanian-American baritone Nmon Ford had great success as Crown in Porgy & Bess in Metropolitan Opera productions in London and Amsterdam. Appearing in Don Giovanni (title role) at the Dorset Opera Festival in the UK brought him further outstanding reviews, and he returned to the U.S. to join ©Guy Madmoni the cast of Opera Colorado’s Carmen as Escamillo, a role he repeated in London at English National Opera and later at Calgary Opera. He is renowned for his concert appearances in such works as Bernstein’s MASS (the role of Celebrant at Lincoln Center), A Sea Symphony with the Dallas Symphony, Elijah with the Atlanta Symphony and a fully staged presentation of Haydn’s The Creation with Fort Worth Symphony. Current engagements include the role of Sharpless in Madama Butterﬂy in productions at Detroit Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera and Cincinnati Opera. Future engagements include the role of the High Priest in Samson et Dalilah at Opera Colorado; Ford also soon features in an opera he wrote himself, The House of Orpheus, at Opera Carolina.

MEMBERS OF THE MAY FESTIVAL CHORUS Robert Porco, Director Matthew Swanson, Associate Director of Choruses Heather MacPhail, Accompanist Sergey Tkachenko, Conducting Fellow Kathryn Zajac Albertson, Chorus Manager Sarah Farwell, Interim Chorus Manager The May Festival Chorus has earned acclaim locally, nationally and internationally for its musicality, vast range of repertoire, and sheer power of sound. The Chorus of 130 avocational singers is the core artistic element of the Cincinnati May Festival as well as the official chorus of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the Cincinnati Pops. The May Festival Chorus has strengthened its national and international presence through numerous PBS broadcasts of live concerts and several award-winning recordings, many in collaboration with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops. Most recently, a live recording of Robert Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses featuring Music Director Laureate James Conlon conducting the Chorus

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and the CSO at Carnegie Hall was released to critical acclaim in 2016 (Bridge Records). The May Festival Chorus has garnered awards in recognition of its continuing artistic excellence and performances throughout the state, including the Spirit of Cincinnati USA Erich Kunzel Queen City Advocate Award from Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Irma Lazarus Award from the Ohio Arts Council’s annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts. mayfestival.com/chorus

performances in the Edinburgh Festival; Taipei, Taiwan; Lucerne, Switzerland; Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel; and Reykjavik, Iceland; and at the May Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Berkshire Music Festival, Blossom Festival and Grant Park Festival. He has been a guest conductor at the May Festival and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra, among others. The 2023–24 season is Robert Porco’s 35th as May Festival Director of Choruses.

ROBERT PORCO has been recognized as one of the leading choral musicians in the U.S., and throughout his career he has been an active preparer and conductor of choral and orchestral works, including most of the major choral repertoire, as well as of opera. In 2011, Porco received Chorus America’s “Michael Korn Founders Credit: Charlie Balcom Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art.” In 2016, he led the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah for Chorus America’s National Conference. Porco’s conducting career has spanned geographic venues and has included

CYRIL TESTE, stage director

THE MAY FESTIVAL CHORUS, Hamlet Ensemble Sopranos Dawn Bruestle Caitlyn Byers Emily Cotten Sarah Evans Anita Marie Greer Dana Harms Mary Wynn Haupt Carolyn Hill Julia Lawrence Jennifer Leone Julia Marchese Melissa Navarra Lauren Peter Regina Rancourt Kristi C. Reed Yvon F. Shore Katie Tesmond Olivia Zimmerman Altos Hannah Bachmann* Jennifer Blair* Margaret Eilert* Sarah Fall Amanda Gast Amy Jackson* Jennifer Moak Amy M. Perry Christine Wands Megan Weaver

Tenors Avery Bargasse* Ryan Block* Douglas Easterling* Matthew Leonard* Robert Lomax* Andrew Miller* H. Scott Nesbitt Scott C. Osgood Larry Reiring* Adam Shoaff Jeffrey Stivers* Matthew Swanson* Timothy Vance Gary Wendt Stephen West Basses Mark Barnes Nathan Bettenhausen Scott Brody* Darren Bryant Christopher Canarie* Kim Icsman Salvador Miranda* Justin Peter* James V. Racster Brian Reilly* Sergey Tkachenko* Mark Weaver Tommy Wessendarp* * indicates mini-chorus member

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Cyril Teste trained at the École Régionale d’Acteurs in Cannes, then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris. In 2000, he joined forces with lighting designer Julien Boizard and composer Nihil Bordures to form Collectif MxM, an extensive creative nucleus of artists and technicians, of which he became artistic director. As a director, he collaborates with noteworthy authors of today, whose writing defies dramatic conventions and allows for visual interpretation. He has premiered three works by Patrick Bouvet, including Direct/Shot at the 2004 Avignon Festival, and he has collaborated with Falk Richter, whose Electronic City he directed, followed in 2013 by Nobody, a score for film performance. He wrote and directed five works, including the diptych Reset and Sun at the Festival d’Avignon in 2011. In 2013, he directed Tête Haute, the Collectif’s first show for young audiences, commissioned from author Joël Jouanneau. Simultaneously, he has worked on side projects, readings, short plays and concert performances with authors such as Sylvain Levey, Frédéric Vossier, Jérôme Game, Olivia Rosenthal and Pauline Peyrade. Since 2011, he has been working with the Collectif MxM on the concept of “filmic” performance (filming, editing, calibration and mixing done in real time under the public gaze), inventing a style of theatrical writing based on cinematography and subject to a specific agenda. Cyril Teste directed Patio (2011), based on Olivia Rosenthal’s On n’est pas là pour disparaître, Park (2012) and Nobody—in performances both on site (2013) and on set (2015)—which was officially selected to be presented as a feature film at the 2014 Cinemed Festival and at Festen 2017. In 2019, he adapted Opening Night from a screenplay by John Cassavetes, starring Isabelle Adjani. As a teacher, since 2009 he has been working with the Collectif MxM to develop the laboratoire nomade d’arts scéniques (nomadic performing arts laboratory), a transdisciplinary

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transmission network between presentation structure and the region’s higher education courses in drama, image, technology and science. From 2014 to 2016, he taught at Le Fresnoy— Studio national des arts contemporains.

CÉLINE GAUDIER, assistant stage director and dramaturge After earning her master’s degree in human geography at the University of Geneva, Céline Gaudier worked at the Théâtre de Vidy-Lausanne as a tour administrator, notably on shows by Heiner Goebbels (Eraritjaritjaka, Max Black, I went to the house but did not enter), Joël Jouanneau and Jeanne Moreau. Since 2005, she has worked as an assistant director in opera and theater to Ludovic Lagarde, Anne-Cécile Vandalem, Cyril Teste, Éric Ruf, Pauline Bayle, Mikaël Serre, Jacques Vincey, Philippe Quesne and Vincent Huguet, as well as Dan Jemmett, Christophe Rauck, André Engel and Gian Manuel Rau. She worked at the Opéra-Comique on La voix humaine, Tales of the Wave Moon After the Rain, Le timbre d’argent, Hamlet, L’Orfeo, Fidelio and Roméo et Juliette.

JULIEN BOIZARD, lighting designer In 1994, Julien Boizard began a 17-year collaboration with the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique de Paris, working as a stagehand, electrician and lighting director on the creations and tours of numerous directors, including Jean-Michel Rabeux, Joël Jouanneau, Christophe Rauck, Caroline Marcadé, Sophie Lagier and Stéphane Ricordel. Also at the Conservatoire, in 2000 he co-founded the Collectif MxM, for which he is responsible for stage management and lighting design. Over the course of his career, he has developed stage robotics and moving machinery, synchronizing motorized systems with sound and light.

MEHDI TOUTAIN-LOPEZ, video designer Mehdi Toutain-Lopez is a lighting designer primarily for dance, with German choreographers Isabelle Schad, Christina Ciupke and Anna Till. In 2004, he joined the Collectif MxM as video designer, and he is now involved in the research and development of programming strategies software and hardware. Over the course of his creative career, he has created methods by which live ﬁlmed images and graphic universes can be rendered in real time and projected or integrated

A U D I T I O N for the May Festival Chorus & Youth Chorus

Sing with us for the 2024 May Festival Season! There are no costs associated with singing in the May Festival Choruses.

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into mobile sets. This beneﬁts other members of the Collectif by simplifying the work of the technical operator as well as maintaining the sensitive interaction between the performer and the audience that is essential to live performance.

CSO NOV 25–26: Sibelius Symphony No. 5 DALIA STASEVSKA, conductor Chief Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director to the International Sibelius Festival, Dalia Stasevska also holds the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She has made several appearances at the BBC Proms, including the First Night of the ©Veikko Kähkönen Proms in 2023. In 2023–24, Stasevska guest conducts the Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Berner Symphonieorchester, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra. In spring 2024, Stasevska and BBC Symphony Orchestra will collaborate on a Total Immersion project focusing on Missy Mazzoli. A passionate opera conductor, Stasevska made her Glyndebourne Opera Festival debut in 2023 with Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In previous seasons, she returned to Finnish National Opera and Ballet to conduct Poulenc’s La voix humane and Weill’s Songs with Karita Mattila, and to Norske Opera to conduct Madame Butterﬂy and Lucia di Lammermoor. Her debut solo album, Dalia’s Mixtape, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra is set for spring 2024 release (Platoon) and features music by composers such as Anna Meredith, Caroline Shaw, Andrea Tarrodi, Noriko Koide, Judith Weir and others. In June 2023, together with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and pianist Olli Mustonen, she released piano concerti by Rautavaara and Martinů (BIS). Stasevska originally studied as a violinist and composer at the Tampere Conservatoire and violin, viola and conducting at the Sibelius Academy. Her conducting teachers include Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam. She was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Conductor Award in 2020, the Alfred Kordelin Prize in 2022 and BBC Music Magazine’s Personality of the Year award in 2023. 38 | 2023–24 SEASON

In October 2020, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bestowed upon Stasevska the Order of Princess Olga of the III degree, for her signiﬁcant personal contribution to the development of international cooperation, strengthening the prestige of Ukraine internationally and popularization of its historical and cultural heritage. Since February 2022, she has actively been supporting Ukraine by raising donations to buy supplies and, on a number of occasions, delivering them herself. daliastasevska.com

DAVÓNE TINES, baritone Davóne Tines is a pathbreaking artist whose work encompasses a diverse repertoire, ranging from early music to new commissions by leading composers, while exploring the social issues of today. This season, Tines makes his Metropolitan Opera debut performing in John ©Bowie Verschuuren Adams’ El Niño. He also performs the opera-oratorio with the Houston Symphony and, in a new arrangement titled El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he also performs in Kaija Saariaho’s True Fire. As a member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*), he tours El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered to Kansas City, Stanford, New Haven and New York. He performs in Tod Machover’s VALIS at MIT and John Cage’s “middle operas,” Europeras 3 & 4, with Detroit Opera. Tines is a musician who takes full agency of his work, devising new programs and pieces from conception to performance. He reﬂects this ethos in his Recital No. 1: MASS, which features works by J.S. Bach, Margaret Bonds, Moses Hogan, Julius Eastman, Caroline Shaw, Tyshawn Sorey, as well as Tines. This season, he performs Recital No. 1: MASS with pianist John Bitoy in Montreal, Chicago, at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, and in the Netherlands. Tines has also created two concertos for voice and orchestra: Concerto No. 1: SERMON and Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM, and he is the co-creator of The Black Clown, a music theater experience commissioned and premiered by The American Repertory Theater and presented at Lincoln Center. Tines is Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Artist-inResidence and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale’s ﬁrst-ever Creative Partner. He recently served as Artist-in-Residence at Detroit Opera, which culminated with his performance in the title role of Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times

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of Malcolm X in the spring of 2022. Tines is featured on the world premiere recording of the opera with Odyssey Opera and Boston Modern Orchestra Project, released in October 2023 (BMOP/sound). He is a winner of the 2020 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the recipient of the 2018 Emerging Artists Award from Lincoln Center, and a member of Lincoln Center’s Collider. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Harvard University, where he also serves as guest lecturer. alsoanoperasinger.org

CSO DEC 1–2: Mahler’s Fifth CASE SCAGLIONE, conductor Case Scaglione is currently in his sixth season as a Chief Conductor of the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn (WKO) in Germany and in his ﬁfth season as a Music Director of Orchestre national d’Île-de-France. He has previously served as Associate Conductor ©Kaupo Kikkas with the New York Philharmonic and as Music Director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles. Scaglione was the driving force behind the artistic growth and diversiﬁcation of the organization, founding their educational outreach initiative “360° Music.” While working with Orchestre national d’Îlede-France, Scaglione has explored a plethora of repertoire, focusing most recently on Beethoven, Ravel, Mahler, Sibelius, Britten and Anna Clyne. During the 2022–23 season, Scaglione and WKO continued to appear regularly at Stuttgart’s Liederhalle, Kloster Schöntal, Musikhalle Ludwigsburg, Queen Elisabeth’s Hall in Antwerp, Munich’s Prinzregententheater and Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg, with classical and early Romantic periods, as well as those of the 20th and 21st centuries featured prominently throughout the season. Recent guest conducting highlights included appearances in the United Kingdom at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Lighthouse Poole with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and his Irish debut with the RTE Symphony Orchestra. European conducting highlights included appearances in Hamburg with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Spain with Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra in Valladolid and

at Madrid’s Teatro Monumental with RTVE Symphony Orchestra, his Polish debut with the Szczecin Philharmonic, and his Danish debut with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra. In the U.S., Scaglione recently collaborated with the Utah Symphony and San Diego Symphony and returned to the Phoenix Symphony. During the 2021–22 season Scaglione also made his highly acclaimed debut at the Opéra national de Paris in a production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra. In the 2023–24 season, notable debuts include the Cincinnati and Prague symphony orchestras. Scaglione enjoys close relationships with many of the world’s leading soloists, and he has been mentored by some of the most prominent conductors on the world stage today, including Alan Gilbert, Jaap van Zweden and David Zinman. casescaglione.com

STEFANI MATSUO, violin Stefani Matsuo, appointed by Music Director Louis Langrée as Concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in September 2019, has emerged as one of today’s great talents. She was Concertmaster for the CSO’s Grammy-nominated album, Transatlantic, and she had the honor of premiering Missy Mazzoli’s Fanfare for the Unimpressed for solo violin as part of The Fanfare Project, begun in 2020 as the CSO’s response to the pandemic. In 2019, Matsuo made her solo debut with the CSO, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4. Prior to joining the CSO, Matsuo made her New York City debut in Alice Tully Hall performing the Britten Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra. She made her solo recital debut at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. as the winner of the 2012 Washington International Competition. Matsuo was also the winner of the 2012 Juilliard Concerto Competition and a laureate of the 2011 Michael Hill International Competition. A dedicated chamber musician, Matsuo has collaborated with many distinguished artists. In Cincinnati, she serves as a co-artistic director of concert:nova and is a regular performer on the CSO Chamber Players Series and Linton Chamber Music Series. She is also a member of Matsuo Duo with her husband and CSO cellist Hiro Matsuo. In New York City, she performed regularly with the Jupiter Chamber Players and Salomé Chamber Orchestra. She also served as concertmaster of

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Symphony in C and as a member of the ﬁrst violin section of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Matsuo currently serves on the violin faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She completed her master’s degree at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Sylvia Rosenberg and has a bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Paul Kantor. Matsuo originally hails from North Carolina.

RANDOLPH BOWMAN, flute Randolph Bowman has been the Principal Flute of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops since 1990. The California native previously resided in Boston, where he regularly performed with such diverse groups as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society, the orchestras of the Boston Opera and Ballet, and a number of new music ensembles. During his tenure as principal flute of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Bowman performed at music festivals and in concert halls throughout the United States and Asia under the baton of renowned conductor and film composer John Williams. Bowman’s solo playing on more than 100 recordings (with the CSO), has garnered praise from critics. He has performed as guest principal flute with the Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Dallas, Bavarian Radio and Frankfurt Radio symphony orchestras. From 1990 until summer 2016, he was also principal flute of the American Symphony Orchestra during its residency at the Bard Music Festival. In October 2013, Bowman performed as concerto soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra in their 2013–14 season-opening concert at Carnegie Hall. Bowman premiered and recorded many new chamber works while a member of Collage New Music, the contemporary music ensemble of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also recorded the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, at the composer’s invitation. In addition, he is a frequent performer in Cincinnati with all of the local professional chamber music ensembles, regularly playing repertoire ranging from Bach to newly commissioned pieces. 40 | 2023–24 SEASON

While living in Boston, Bowman taught at the New England Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory. Since living in Cincinnati, he has spent more than 20 years on the ﬂute faculty of the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music.

HENRIK HEIDE, flute Henrik Heide is Associate Principal Flute of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops, appointed by Louis Langrée. Previously, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Heide has appeared as concerto soloist with ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and New World Symphony.

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He has participated in festivals including Arizona Musicfest, La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA and Paciﬁc Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan). Heide has performed as guest principal ﬂute with the San Francisco Symphony and San Diego Symphony. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, studying with Leone Buyse, and his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, studying with Jeffrey Khaner.

Conducting Institute and Competition and the Los Angeles International Conducting Competition. Wiley has also spent time conducting new music ensembles, including for the Musicbed Music and Film Corporation based in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as participating in the Composing in the Wilderness program as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Alaska. As a former public-school music teacher, Wiley has a unique passion for music education and frequently donates his time as a guest clinician to support students and teachers in music programs across North America.

CSYO Dec. 3 “Childhood Memories” | Dec. 10 “Across the Stars”

FELIPE MORALES-TORRES, CSYO Concert Orchestra conductor (Dec. 10)

DANIEL WILEY, CSYO Philharmonic conductor (Dec. 3) Daniel Wiley has quickly become a notable young conductor on the rise, having made guest appearances with orchestras, ballet companies and opera productions in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to his tenure with the CSO, Wiley held numerous conducting posts, including Assistant Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras, Associate Conductor of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Windsor Symphony Youth Orchestras, Music Director of the Windsor Symphony Community Orchestra, Wind Ensemble Conductor at the School of Creative Arts at the University of Windsor, Education Conductor/ Consultant for London Symphonia, Conductor for the Windsor Abridged Opera Company, Music Director of Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science Youth Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor for the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. During the pandemic, Wiley was instrumental in expanding the Windsor Symphony’s educational footprint by creating a digital education concert series that includes 12 hours of interactive music curriculum for schools. This program has been recognized by the Ontario Provincial Parliament as an example of how an orchestra can change lives through music, even during a time of unprecedented uncertainty. In 2019, Wiley was the second prize recipient of both the Smoky Mountain International

Felipe Morales-Torres is an award-winning conductor and educator with a passion for inspiring the next generation of musicians. In addition to his role as Conductor of the CSYO Concert Orchestra, as well as coach for the CSYO’s Nouveau Apprentice Group, Morales is the Orchestra Director for Anderson High School and previously served as Director of Orchestras for Winton Woods City Schools. He is also an active guest conductor and clinician for student orchestras in the U.S. and Latin America, traveling to Costa Rica each summer to teach and conduct for the Foundation for the Advancement of Strings Education (FASE). He was a recent guest of the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, where he conducted and studied alongside its director, Leonid Grin. As a Latin-American teaching artist, Morales is driven to engage diverse student musicians and to make quality opportunities accessible to them. He has played a part in several community music programs, including the Louisville Youth Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic’s Q The Music, an El Sistema-inspired outreach program. Morales started his musical life as a violist, and later pursued bassoon studies as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In 2019, he completed a master’s degree in Music Education and Orchestral Conducting, earning the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award for his work with undergraduate music education majors.

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POPS DEC 8–10: Holiday Pops JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL, conductor Turn to p. 29 for a biography of Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell.

CAPATHIA JENKINS, vocalist Capathia Jenkins, the Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, debuted her new show, She’s Got Soul, with the Houston Symphony in October 2022, with further performances including the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Utah Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and Calgary Philharmonic. Among her Broadway credits are Newsies, The Civil War (Broadway debut), The Look of Love, Caroline, or Change and Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Off-Broadway credits include a revival of Godspell and starring in (mis)Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel

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Story, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore. An active concert artist, Jenkins has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world, in multiple solo engagements with the Festival Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic, and in the Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba concert as part of the Festival de Teatro de la Habana. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops and sang in a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress. Her television credits include 30 Rock, The Practice, Law & Order SVU, The Sopranos and Law & Order. She can also be heard on her critically acclaimed CD Phenomenal Woman with Louis Rosen and on her most recent single, “I am Strong,” as well as on the ﬁlm soundtracks to Nine, Chicago and Legally Blonde 2. Jenkins appeared in the ﬁlm Musical Chairs directed by Susan Seidelman and was also seen in The Wiz in a live performance on NBC. capathiajenkins.com

RAFAEL MORAS, tenor Tenor Rafael Moras is a rising star of the opera, classical and crossover music worlds. Moras has performed as a featured soloist across four different continents with Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Chris Botti for the An Evening with Chris Botti global tour, and he has also performed as soloist with the Houston Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, San Antonio Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fort Worth Opera, Austin Opera, Opera Idaho, Santa Fe Opera and Aspen Music Festival. Other highlights include debuts with Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Utah Opera, Annapolis Opera and Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. Moras is an alumnus of LA Opera’s Domingo Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program and the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers. He recently made his Seattle Opera debut as Tariq in the critically acclaimed world premiere of A Thousand Splendid Suns, and he made his Minnesota Opera debut as Don José in Carmen, the directorial debut of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. rafaelmorastenor.com

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THE STUDIO FOR DANCE

Q-KIDZ DANCE TEAM

Shari Poff, director Della Lehane, choreographer

Marquicia Jones-Woods, director Chariah Jones and Mariah Jones, head coaches

The Studio Dancers, ranging in age from 12 to 17, study ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and clogging at The Studio for Dance in Cincinnati. Under the direction of Shari Poff and choreographed by Della Lehane, these enthusiastic young people continue to win local and national dance competitions and are often named “Most Entertaining Performers.” The Studio for Dance has performed with the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of Erich Kunzel and John Morris Russell at Music Hall and at Riverbend for the past 34 years, including for two televised productions for PBS and for an appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York. They have also performed with the Hilton Head Symphony, May Festival Chorus, Blue Ash/ Hamilton Symphony, Lima Symphony, and the Windsor Symphony and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, both in Ontario, Canada.

Q-Kidz Dance Team was founded by Marquicia Jones-Woods, a life-long resident of the West End community for more than 40 years. With the motto “Saving lives through dance,” Q-Kidz has evolved into a nationally recognized and awardwinning dance program. Its mission is to improve the lives of Cincinnati youth through dance instruction and educational programs that build strong character, conﬁdence, teamwork and a mindset for success.

MAY FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS Matthew Swanson, Director David Kirkendall, Accompanist Dr. Eva Floyd, Musicianship Instructor Kathryn Zajac Albertson, Chorus Manager Sarah Farwell, Interim Chorus Manager The May Festival Youth Chorus connects, inspires and educates singers in grades 8–12 through the study and performance of choral music. Since its founding in 1987, the Youth Chorus has appeared annually at the May Festival to perform choralorchestral works with the May Festival Chorus, the

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Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and internationally renowned conductors and soloists. In addition, the Youth Chorus presents its own concert series and collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations throughout Greater Cincinnati. Highlights of the Youth Chorus experience include a broad range of repertoire; annual commissions and world premieres; free professional voice instruction; access to free and discounted tickets to the May Festival, CSO and Pops concerts; frequent concert appearances with the CSO and Pops at Music Hall and Riverbend Music Center; and a community of enthusiastic and skilled peer musicians from across the TriState. Notably, the Youth Chorus is tuition-free; acceptance is based solely on ability. mayfestival.com/chorus/may-festival-youth-chorus

SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS CHORALE Richard Hand, director The School for Creative and Performing Arts Chorale is an auditioned choir consisting of 9th–12th grade students majoring in vocal music. Over the years, Chorale has performed with many local arts organizations, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops, The May Festival Chorus, Vocal Arts

WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL

FIONA: THE MUSICAL book by Zina Camblin music & lyrics by David Kisor

Ensemble and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music choral division. In 2012, Chorale earned a Gold Diploma at the World Choir Games held in Cincinnati and subsequently traveled to Beijing, China in 2013 to perform as part of a cultural exchange.

SYCAMORE HIGH SCHOOL SELECT ENSEMBLE, Ken Holdt, director Select Ensemble is the preeminent choral group of the Sycamore High School music program. They have enjoyed collaborations with universities and professional groups from around the world: iconic rock band Foreigner, country music artist Eric Church, actor Whoopi Goldberg, and the Nairobi Girls Chorale, among others, and consistently earn Superior ratings at OMEA district and state adjudicated events. The Sycamore Community Schools Choral Program serves 800 students in grades 5 through 12, spanning 16 curricular and extracurricular ensembles.

WINTON WOODS HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY ENSEMBLE, Beth Caikowski, head director & Alex Kress, associate director The Winton Woods Choral Program has an enrollment of more than 250 students in grades 7–12, and its curriculum spans three middle school choirs and five high school choirs, as well as courses in music theory, general music and music appreciation. The award-winning high school ensembles have qualified for state OMEA competitions for nearly 45 years and have been recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Ohio State Senate. Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble has recorded three CDs with the Cincinnati Pops. In 2008, they were one of five choirs from the U.S. selected to perform in a pre-Olympic festival in Beijing and Shanghai. They were awarded a gold medal and placed fifth in the world in the 2012 World Choir Games. Varsity Ensemble also performs regularly with the Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble.

For more information about our guest artists, please text PROGRAM to 513.845.3024*.

SEASON FUNDER

www.ensemblecincinnati.org

44 | 2023–24 SEASON

OPERATING SUPPORT

*By texting to this number, you may receive messages that pertain to the organization and its performances; msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP to help, STOP to cancel.

NOV–DEC GUEST ARTISTS

CINCINNATI COLLABORATIVE RINGING PROJECT The Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project (CCRP) is a unique handbell ensemble that has as its fundamental mission the building of collaborative relationships with different types and styles of musicians and ensembles. The group relies on member participation at many different levels, including shared artistic and administrative direction, member input into the selection of music and collaborative rehearsals. The musicianship of the CCRP members is key to the group’s ability to create poignant interpretations of the repertoire.

All the musicians in CCRP have come to the group with substantial musical talents and experience. For this reason, CCRP employs a variety of musical timbres, including recorder, ﬂute, voice, percussion and, of course, handbells and chimes. The Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project takes the “collaborative” aspect seriously. Every one of the players is a director. Every player “plays well with others” and CCRP plays well with other ensembles. TheRingingProject.org

HOLIDAY POPS ENSEMBLES THE STUDIO DANCERS Kelsey Berling Cate Bingcang Sophia Brockman Becca Clark Izzie Clark Maria Colas Lola Darbyshire Nati Garcia Mia Goodlett Cassie Guthrie Chloe Hill Chana Horewitz Sophia Lauterbur Fiona Lehane Claire Liu Caroline Reinke Lucy Salters Molly Salters Ellie Wonderling Abby Zender Sara Zink Q-KIDZ DANCE TEAM Kali Rick Zakari Clark Shalin Harmon Taylor Tolliver Aubree Drummond Dalaysia Crawford De’unniey Crawford Davian Brooks Kennedy Caldwell Makenzie Roberts Bless’n Johnson Asia Woodward Aubrey Nelson Don’nliya Harris Queen Hadden

Lauriel Cook Laurion Cook Da’Naire Nared Shyann Denson MAY FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS Ava Altenau Leonora Braukman Sam Bringle Anna Burkhart Cameron Carnahan Ella Clark Sophia Clever Thanh-Tam Dao Lucy Dixon Gabrielle Dodd Mary Hollon Natalie Hoover Kamryn Hopkins Genevieve Howard Chiara Iadipaolo Naomi Jackson Madeleine Kasman Natalie Marshall Adriana Mayﬁeld Cecelia McDaniel Charles Rahner Caroline Reister Somi Shrive Jenavieve Southcombe Nikki Tayidi Eden Teare Keya Vadivelu Oliver Wagner Eden Walker Celia Wallace Molly Wehner Adelynn Woodward Sam Wright

SCPA CHORALE Tysean Brown Eden Duebber Anna Dunn Lillian Elliott Heru Finnell Parker Flautt Jorge Garay Abigail Glacken Colton Henderson Yvonne Herrmann Charles Jordan, Jr. Craig Jordan Donovan Kesler Julia Kirkham Stephen Lambert Zack Parrette Abigail Rauen Christian Rauen Bella Reagan DeMarco Reed Ezra Reidel Mia Richardson Luna Roberts Jenny Smith Laiya Solimano-Nichols Sanaa Sweet Margaret Todd Athena Updike Gemariah Washington Espen Wells-Jordan Charles-Michael Williams SYCAMORE SELECT ENSEMBLE Hannah Alex Scarlet Bales Colin Battson Chloe Beck-Walterman

Yajath Birru Kate Christenson Hannah Donnellan Aidan Finn Ella Giesler Lyric Golden Adam Linser Devin Love Ben McCarthy Clarissa Ramirez Hernandez Taelyn Rice Anya Sawnani Noah Song Leora Stern Sarah Wahlquist Clayton Wallace Sadie Whalen WINTON WOODS VARSITY ENSEMBLE Surendra Bhandari Jaxon Braswell Gwendolyn Buckley Ronin Buhl Caneshia Curry Shaun Daniels Alijah Elmore Winfred Fleming Nyla Freeman K’Von Gaines Mariam Jah Jorden Jameson Amaya Johnson Dah’Miyohn Jones Christine Lawson Katy Martin Alex McNeal

Alina Mendez Gonalez Adriana Miranda Jeff Ryan Njokou Dimou Mason Powers Kai Richards Jadden Rumph Shaniya Ruth Alyssa Sears-Baldwin Everson Stallworth Paulina Tax-Ramos Kel Thompson Christopher Velasco Camryn Wilkinson Tonnia Williams CINCINNATI COLLABORATIVE RINGING PROJECT Lori Adams Amy Beegle Kristine Campbell Kelly Case Amy Catanzaro Darryl Davis* Matthew Dutkevicz* Leisa Frooman* Jeremy Fry* Leslie Hicks* Chandler Horton Timothy Knight Pam Massung Lissa Ray* Christina Reardon Holly Ross Alex Siebert *Founding Member

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FORT WASHINGTON INVESTMENT ADVISORS PROUD PARTNER OF THE CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Bradley J. Hunkler Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Ofﬁcer, Western & Southern Financial Group, CSO Board Member

Kate C. Brown, CFP® Managing Director, Fort Washington, CSO Board Member

John F. Barrett Chairman, President & CEO, Western & Southern Financial Group

Maribeth S. Rahe President & CEO, Fort Washington

Tracey M. Stofa Managing Director, Head of Private Client Group, Fort Washington

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc., a member of Western & Southern Financial Group, is honored to help advance the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s mission to seek and share inspiration. Learn how we can work together. fortwashington.com

46 | 2023–24 SEASON

TETZLAFF & TCHAIKOVSKY NO. 5 | 2023–24 SEASON FRI NOV 10, 11 am SAT NOV 11, 7:30 pm Music Hall

GUSTAVO GIMENO, conductor CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF, violin

(b. 1979)

I Want to Be Alive—Trilogy for Orchestra First Part: “Echo/Narcissus” CSO CO-COMMISSION, U.S. PREMIERE

Karol SZYMANOWSKI

Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 35

Daníel BJARNASON

(1882–1937)

INTERMISSION

Piotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893)

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 Andante. Allegro con anima Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza Valse: Allegro moderato Finale: Andante maestoso. Allegro vivace

These performances are approximately 135 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra co-commissioned U.S. premiere of I Want to Be Alive—Trilogy for Orchestra First Part: “Echo/Narcissus” by Daníel Bjarnason is made possible by a generous gift from Ann and Harry Santen. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation and the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and for the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Listen to this program on 90.9 WGUC February 4, 2024 at 8 pm, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. Fanfare Magazine | 47

NOV 10–11 PROGRAM NOTES DANÍEL BJARNASON Born: February 26, 1979, Iceland

I Want to Be Alive—Trilogy for Orchestra First Part: “Echo/Narcissus” CSO CO-COMMISSION, U.S. PREMIERE

Daníel Bjarnason, ©Saga Sig

Composed: 2023 Premiere: These

performances are the work’s U.S. premiere; its world premiere took place in June 2023 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Gimeno conducting. CSO–Bjarnason collaborations: This is the second CSO commission for Bjarnason. The CSO commissioned Collider in 2015 as part of the MusicNOW Festival. Instrumentation: 3 ﬂutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (incl. E-ﬂat clarinet), bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drums, crotales, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, guiro, tomtom, lion’s roar, snare drum, tam-tam, temple blocks, tenor drum, vibraphone, vibraslap, whip, wood block, wooden plank, electric guitar, harp, piano, strings Duration: approx. 20 minutes

Daníel Bjarnason is one of Iceland’s foremost musical voices, increasingly in demand as conductor, composer and artistic programmer. He is Artist-in-Collaboration with Iceland Symphony Orchestra, an appointment that follows his tenures as Principal Guest Conductor and Artist-in-Residence. Many of his works are taken up beyond their premieres and regularly programmed around the world. In 2023–24, I Want to Be Alive—Trilogy for Orchestra First Part: “Echo/ Narcissus,” co-commissioned by the Toronto (world premiere), Cincinnati (U.S. premiere) and Iceland (European premiere) symphony orchestras and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. This season also sees performances of his Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, Inferno, written for Martin Grubinger, with Orchestre de Paris and Elim Chan at Philharmonie de Paris, as well as his work for orchestra, A Fragile Hope, with the Gothenburg Symphony. In 2021–22, the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, FEAST, written for Víkingur Ólafsson, was performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles by Ólafsson and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Bjarnason maintains a close connection with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, having written From Space I Saw Earth for Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta and Esa-Pekka Salonen to conduct together at the orchestra’s Centennial Birthday Celebration Concert and Gala in 2019. In 2017, the LA Philharmonic premiered Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto, Scordatura, at the Hollywood Bowl, in a co-commission with the Iceland Symphony for Pekka Kuusisto, while he co-curated the orchestra’s Reykjavík Festival, an eclectic and multi-disciplinary 17-day event, in which he featured as conductor and composer. In 2023, Bjarnason was named Guest Artist in Residence at Copenhagen Opera Festival, where Den Islandske Opera, Malmö Opera and Copenhagen Opera Festival gave a coproduction of his first opera, Brothers, written in 2017. Bjarnason was awarded the Optimism Prize in 2018 by the President of Iceland, won the 8th Harpa Nordic Film Composers Award for the feature film Under the Tree, and was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize. He also won Composer of the Year, Best Composer/Best Composition and Best Performer at the Icelandic Music Awards in recent years. Bjarnason provided the following thoughts about I Want to Be Alive: I Want to Be Alive draws inspiration from different questions about the nature of consciousness and what it means to be alive. While the idea of AI (artificial intelligence) consciousness is still the subject of much debate and speculation, recent advances in machine learning and neural networks have brought us closer than ever to the possibility of creating machines that can think, reason and feel. But with this power comes great responsibility, and it raises ethical questions around the treatment of intelligent machines and their place in society. This first movement of the Trilogy is inspired by the myth of Echo and Narcissus, which speaks to these themes, as it portrays the longing for connection and recognition that lies at the heart of human consciousness. Echo, the nymph who can only repeat the words of others, yearns to be heard as an individual, while Narcissus becomes obsessed with his own reflection, unable to connect with the world outside of himself. At its core, the story of Echo and Narcissus reflects on the fundamental human desire for autonomy and self-determination and the ways in

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which we seek to exert control over our own lives. As we continue to develop AI technology and explore the boundaries of consciousness, we must also confront the limitations and ethical implications of creating and using intelligent machines. This invites us to reﬂect on what it means to be human in the face of rapidly advancing technology and to consider the role of empathy and connection in shaping our future. Can a machine truly be alive? Can it have a sense of self? And if so, how do we relate to it?

KAROL SZYMANOWSKI Born: October 3, 1882, Tymoshivka, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) Died: March 29, 1937, Lausanne, Switzerland

Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 35 Karol Szymanowski was one of the most fascinating “modernist Romantics” among composers of the early 20th century. Touched in equal measure by Strauss, Debussy and Scriabin, the Polish composer united those international influences in a distinctly personal style in which Eastern and Western influences mix in a unique way. Szymanowski spent his youth in Warsaw surrounded by artists who sought innovation and renewal. His literary and artistic friends, who formed the movement “Young Poland,” merged national elements with a strong sense of the exotic. Before long, Szymanowski, violinist Paul Kochanski (born Paweł Kochański) and conductor Grzegorz Fitelberg banded together as “Young Poland in Music,” determined to catch up with the rest of Europe. Yet, to Szymanowski, East Asia exerted at least as strong an influence as did the contemporary art of the West. By 1911, he was writing songs based on lyrics of the Persian classic poet Hafiz—in the German translation of the same Hans Bethge whose work with Chinese poetry had inspired Mahler’s Song of the Earth just a few years earlier. A friend of Szymanowski’s, the poet Tadeusz Miciński (1873–1918), translated the poetry of Jalal’ad-Din Rumi, which the composer used in his Symphony No. 3 for soloist, chorus and orchestra (1914–16). Szymanowski’s next major work after the Third Symphony was the First Violin Concerto, which, an early biographer tells us, was inspired by an original work by Miciński, Noc majowa (“May Night”), a symbolist poem that mixes Eastern and Western images in a fantastic amalgam. The poem speaks about a mysterious forest full of creatures real and imaginary, from donkeys and birds to the Nereids, the sea nymphs of Greek mythology, and Sheherazade, the Arab princess. “Today is my wedding with the goddess”—the poet exclaims at one point, and he listens in a state of nearecstasy as “Pan plays on his pipes in the oak-grove.” The poem’s sophisticated exoticism and sultry atmosphere are reflected in Szymanowski’s concerto, which begins with the eerie sounds of the strings playing both con sordino (“with mutes”) and sul ponticello (“on the bridge”). Oboes, clarinets, harp and piano interject brief, fluttering motifs, perhaps corresponding to the fireflies mentioned in the poem. The solo violin enters on a long-held high note that becomes the starting point of a soaring, “endless” melody. Commentators have long struggled to explain the formal structure of the 25-minute single movement that grows out of this extraordinary opening. This music has surely nothing to do with sonata or any other classical form; it is a completely original design in which effusively lyrical moments alternate with agitated passages. An intricate network of recurrent motifs runs through the work, linking its various sections as the

Karol Szymanowski

Composed: 1916 Premiere: November 1,

1922 in Warsaw, Poland with Józef Ozimiński, violin Instrumentation: solo violin, 3 ﬂutes (incl. piccolo), 3 oboes (incl. English horn), 3 clarinets (incl. E-ﬂat clarinet), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, suspended cymbals, tambourine, triangle, 2 harps, celeste, piano, strings CSO notable performances: First: November 1931, Eugene Goossens conducting and violinist Paul Kochanski. Most Recent: February 2012, John Storgårds conducting and violinist Christian Tetzlaff. Duration: approx. 26 minutes

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music moves, somewhat like the ebb and ﬂow of the ocean, from climax to respite to new climax. There are no fewer than ﬁve such surges, each culminating in a moment of high intensity. The solo violin, for the most part, hovers in the extreme high regions of its range, which adds greatly to the ecstatic mood that reigns throughout most of the concerto. The cadenza, shortly before the end, was written by Kochański, based on Szymanowski’s thematic material. Szymanowski himself thought that he had written one of his best works with the First Violin Concerto. (The second concerto, the last major composition his declining health allowed him to complete, came 18 years later, in 1934.) Since Kochański had emigrated to the United States in the early 1920s, he was not available for the world premiere in Warsaw. But he performed the concerto often in later years, and introduced it to the United States in 1924. —Peter Laki

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Born: May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia Died: November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Composed: 1888 Premiere: November

1888, St. Petersburg, Russia at the Mariinsky Theatre with the composer as conductor Instrumentation: 3 ﬂutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings CSO notable performances: First: April 1896, Frank Van der Stucken conducting. Most Recent: 2017 European Tour, Louis Langrée conducting. Most Recent Subscription: November 2014, Louis Langrée conducting. Other: Conducted by every CSO Music Director. Duration: approx. 50 minutes

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Despite his growing international fame, Tchaikovsky was constantly plagued by self-doubt. Early in 1888, he went on a three-month European tour, conducting his own works with some of the world’s finest orchestras. He was lionized in Leipzig, Paris, London and Prague, and he met Dvořák, Grieg and Mahler. Yet his private life was not free from turmoil. He had recently lost one of his closest friends, Nikolai Kondratyev, and his sister, Alexandra, and his niece, Vera, were both seriously ill. It must have been hard to escape the thought that life was a constant struggle against Fate, a hostile force attempting to thwart all human endeavors. After his return from abroad, Tchaikovsky decided to write a new symphony, his first in 10 years. The first sketches of the new work, dated April 15, 1888, include a verbal program portraying the individual’s reactions in the face of this immutable destiny, involving stages of resignation, challenge and triumph: Introduction. Complete resignation before Fate, or, which is the same, before the inscrutable predestination of Providence. Allegro. (1) Murmurs of doubt, complaints, reproaches against XXX. (2) Shall I throw myself in the embraces of faith??? A wonderful program, if only it can be carried out.

Tchaikovsky never made this program public, however, and in one of his letters even went out of his way to stress that the symphony had no program. Clearly, the program was an intensely personal matter to him, in part because he was reluctant to openly acknowledge his homosexuality, which seemed to him one of the hardest manifestations of the Fate he was grappling with. Many people believe this is what the mysterious “XXX” in the sketch stands for. (In his diaries, Tchaikovsky often referred to his homosexuality as Z or That.) It is certain that this private “program” had a deep influence on Tchaikovsky’s thinking during the gestation period of the Fifth; without it, the symphony would not be what it is (in particular, the opening theme— the “Fate theme”—wouldn’t return so ominously in all four movements). This returning theme is usually played by the brass instruments and apparently symbolizes the threatening power of Fate. It is first heard in the “Andante” introduction of the first movement, where it is followed by a more lyrical, lilting idea as we move into the faster “Allegro con anima”

PROGRAM NOTES

tempo. The accompaniment of the “fate” motif, however, remains present as a stern reminder. The entire movement swings back and forth between lyrical and dramatic moments. We would expect it to end with the final fortissimo climax, but the volume gradually decreases to a whisper instead. The mysterious last measures are scored for the lowest-pitched instruments in the orchestra: bassoons, cellos, double basses and timpani. The second movement is lyrical and dream-like, suggesting a brief respite from the struggle. The first horn plays a beautiful singing melody, eventually joined by the full orchestra. A second idea, in a slightly faster tempo, is introduced by the clarinet. Soon, however, an intense crescendo begins that culminates in the fortissimo entrance of the Fate theme. The first theme returns, once more interrupted by Fate; only after this second dramatic outburst does the music finally find its long-desired rest. The third movement is a graceful waltz with a slightly more agitated middle section. As before, we expect a respite from the fate theme and the emotional drama it represents. Yet, before the movement is over, it reappears, subdued yet impossible to ignore, on the clarinets and bassoons. In the finale, Tchaikovsky seems to have taken the bull by the horns: the fate theme dominates the entire movement, despite the presence of a number of contrasting themes. At the end of a grandiose development, the music comes to a halt on the dominant (the fifth degree of the scale that serves as the opposite pole to the tonic, i.e., the keynote). Yet, the piece is not over: the final resolution is still to come, in the form of a majestic reappearance of the Fate theme and a short “Presto” where all “doubts, complaints and reproaches” are cast aside and, against all odds, the symphony finally receives the triumphant ending it needs. —Peter Laki

For more information about this program, please text PROGRAM to 513.845.3024*. *By texting to this number, you may receive messages that pertain to the organization and its performances; msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP to help, STOP to cancel.

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HAMLET | 2023–24 SEASON FRI NOV 17, 7:30 pm SUN NOV 19, 2 pm Music Hall

LOUIS LANGRÉE, conductor STÉPHANE DEGOUT, baritone (Hamlet) JODIE DEVOS, soprano (Ophélie) LAURENT ALVARO, bass (Claudius) RENÉE TATUM, mezzo-soprano (Gertrude) AARON McKONE, tenor (Laërte) LOGAN WAGNER, tenor (Marcellus/fossoyeur) MICHAEL ANTHONY McGEE, bass-baritone (Horatio/fossoyeur) MARK HOCKENBERRY, baritone (Polonius) NMON FORD, baritone (The Specter) MAY FESTIVAL CHORUS, Robert Porco, director OPÉRA-COMIQUE CYRIL TESTE, stage director CÉLINE GAUDIER, stage assistant and dramaturge HERNÁN ÁLVAREZ, assistant technical director and set designer ORANE FURNESS-PINA, stage manager JULIEN BOIZARD, lighting designer MEHDI TOUTAIN-LOPEZ, video designer Ambroise THOMAS (1811–1896)

Hamlet Act I Act II

INTERMISSION Act III Act IV Act V Text will be projected above the stage and available digitally by texting PROGRAM to 513.845.3024. These performances are approximately 3 hours long, including intermission.

Harold C. Schott Foundation Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees

This concert is generously supported by the Harold C. Schott Foundation/ Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees. The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsors Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. and Western & Southern Financial Group. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation and the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and for the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Listen to this program on 90.9 WGUC February 11, 2024 at 8 pm, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay.

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NOV 17 & 19 PROGRAM NOTES AMBROISE THOMAS Born: August 5, 1811, Metz, France Died: February 12, 1896, Paris, France

Hamlet Perhaps best known for his opera Mignon, French composer Ambroise Thomas composed his five-act grand opera Hamlet in 1868 and became director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1871. Michel Carré and Jules Barbier wrote the libretto for Thomas’ Hamlet based on the 1847 French adaptation of Shakespeare’s play by Alexandre Dumas père and François Paul Meurice. Throughout the adaptation process, some elements of the story remained faithful to Shakespeare’s drama while other elements were creatively reimagined. Thomas’ Hamlet presents Shakespeare’s tragic narrative in a captivating sequence of musical tableaux that highlight the introspective qualities of the characters and the intense drama of their interactions. In Act I, Hamlet and Ophélie share a beautiful duet—“Doute de la lumière” (“Doubt that the Light”)—in which Hamlet, grappling with the grief of Ambroise Thomas, ©Wilhelm Benque his father’s death, assures Ophélie that he does indeed love her. The second tableau of Act I features the ominous arrival Composed: 1867–68 of the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father, who commands Hamlet to Premiere: March 9, 1868, Paris Opéra avenge his murder. Hamlet seeks to reveal Claudius’ guilt by Jean-Baptiste Faure as Hamlet, inviting a thespian troupe to perform The Murder of Gonzago, Christine Nilsson as Ophelia Instrumentation: solo voices, a pantomime featuring the treacherous poisoning of a king. SATB chorus, 2 flutes (incl. piccolo), Before the performance, the actors enjoy wine as Hamlet 2 oboes (incl. English horn), 2 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), alto saxophone, sings a drinking song, “Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse” (“O Wine, Dissipate the Sadness”). A saxophone recitative accompanies 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, tuba (bass the performance of the pantomime, a significant early saxhorn or ophicleide), timpani, bass example of the saxophone’s use in opera. In Act III, Hamlet drum, cannon, crash cymbals, tam-tam, tambour de Basque, triangle, 2 harps, wonders about the mysteries of death as he delivers his strings famous “To be or not to be” monologue. Tense emotions CSO notable performances: fuel the end of the third act as Ophélie faces Hamlet’s painful Select arias: “Pale and Silent ‘Neath the Waters,” December 1899, Mary rejection and the Queen confronts her remorse as she sings, Hissem “Mamie” de Moss, soprano “Hamlet, ma douleur est immense” (“Hamlet, My Grief is and November 1900, Lillian Blauvelt, Great”). Act IV features Ophélie’s mad scene, a multi-section soprano (both Frank Van der Stucken, conductor); “O vin, dissipe la tristesse,” coloratura segment featuring cadenzas, trills and large October 1939, Igor Gorin, baritone leaps. In the final section, she alludes to her first-act love (Eugene Goossens, conductor); “I Will duet with Hamlet, “Doute de la lumière,” before she dies. Divide My Flowers,” December 1899, Mary Hissem “Mamie” de Moss, soprano Ophélie’s mad scene became famous for its virtuosic beauty (Frank Van der Stucken, conductor); and tragic portrayal of Ophélie’s fate, and conductors of the “All Bathed in Tears of Night,” late 19th century often programmed the scene as a standDecember 1899, Mary Hissem “Mamie” de Moss, soprano (Frank Van der alone piece in concerts. The final act occurs in the cemetery, Stucken, conductor). The “Mad Scene” where Hamlet learns of Ophélie’s death. In his grief, Hamlet has been performed three times: fulfills his final act of revenge by killing Claudius before dying January 1895, Lillian Blauvelt, soprano (Frank Van der Stucken, conductor); himself beside Ophélie. December 1919, Lucy Gates, soprano Hamlet premiered at the Paris Opéra on March 9, 1868, (Eugène Ysaÿe, conductor); October starring the renowned baritone Jean-Baptiste Faure as Hamlet 1955, Roberta Peters, soprano (Thor and the well-known Swedish soprano, Christine Nilsson as Johnson, conductor). Other notable: On March 27, 2010, Louis Langrée Ophélie. The premiere featured Thomas’ original ending, in conducted a production of Hamlet which the Ghost reappears after Hamlet kills Claudius and with the Metropolitan Opera, the first declares that Gertrude will go to a cloister and Hamlet will time the Met performed Thomas’ opera become king. Audiences and critics largely disapproved of this since 1897. Duration: approx. 2 hours, 30 minutes ending as a blatant departure from Shakespeare, and Thomas

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Above, from top: Jean-Baptiste Faure as Hamlet (Edouard Manet, 1877), and Marcella Sembrich as Ophélie in Thomas’ Hamlet for the 1884 Cincinnati Opera Festival.

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revised his opera to conclude with Hamlet’s death. Many subsequent performances of Hamlet throughout the late 19th century concluded the opera after Ophélie’s mad scene in Act IV, a strategy that completely avoided the controversial ending and placed greater emphasis on Ophélie and the tragedy of her madness and death. Thomas’ Hamlet arrived in the U.S. in 1872 when the Strakosch Italian Opera Company produced the opera in New York. The people of Cincinnati first saw Thomas’ Hamlet in the city’s Fourth Opera Festival, in February 1884. A great flood of the Ohio River was plaguing the city, but the musicians carried on with their performances in Music Hall. Electric lights were installed to illuminate Music Hall when the gas lines were shut down, arrangements were made to facilitate the arrival of patrons traveling the flooded streets in carriages, and railroad workers took precautions to ensure visitors from afar could safely travel to Cincinnati to attend the operas. Henry Abbey had won the prestigious appointment as manager for the new Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1883, and, as the company toured for their inaugural season, they performed operas in Italian translation at the Cincinnati Opera Festival. The February 1884 performance of Thomas’ Hamlet was the first time the Metropolitan Opera company performed the opera and the first time the city of Cincinnati experienced the opera. Marcella Sembrich performed as Ophélie and Giuseppe Kaschmann took the role of Hamlet, and the media largely praised the novelty of the opera and the commendable performances of the musicians. After its first production by the Metropolitan Opera in Cincinnati in 1884, Thomas’ Hamlet received a handful of performances by the Met at the close of the 19th century before vanishing from the repertoire throughout the 20th century. In 2010, Louis Langrée reintroduced Hamlet to the Metropolitan Opera with its first production since 1897. While not full-scale staged performances of the opera, this weekend’s CSO concerts play an important role in reviving Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, its unique and beautiful music, and its historical and cultural significance as a Shakespearean adaptation. —Dr. Rebecca Schreiber

A ticket to the 1884 Cincinnati Opera Festival. Credit: Cincinnati History Library and Archives, Ephemera, Oversized, Theaters College of Music/ Music Hall

SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 5 | 2023–24 SEASON SAT NOV 25, 7:30 pm SUN NOV 26, 2 pm Music Hall

DALIA STASEVSKA, conductor DAVÓNE TINES, bass-baritone Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841–1904)

Largo from Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, From the New World

Kaija SAARIAHO

True Fire for Baritone and Orchestra

(1952–2023)

Proposition I River Proposition II Lullaby Farewell Proposition III

INTERMISSION

George WALKER

Lyric for Strings

(1922–2018)

Jean SIBELIUS (1865–1957)

Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82 Tempo molto moderato—Allegro moderato—Presto Andante mosso, quasi allegretto Allegro molto—Misterioso

Text for True Fire will be projected above the stage and available digitally by texting PROGRAM to 513.845.3024. These performances are approximately 120 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation and the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and for the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Listen to this program on 90.9 WGUC February 18, 2024 at 8 pm, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. Fanfare Magazine | 55

NOV 25–26 PROGRAM NOTES ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Born: September 8, 1841, Nelahozeves (near Prague), Czechia (Austrian Empire) Died: May 1, 1904, Prague, Czechia

Largo from Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, From the New World [Note: This program note uses historical quotes. Many of these quotes include words we no longer consider acceptable to use.]

Antonín Dvořák

Composed: 1892–93 Premiere: December 16,

1893, New York, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Anton Seidl conducting Instrumentation: 2 ﬂutes, 2 oboes (incl. English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings CSO notable performances: First (full symphony): February 1895, Anton Seidl conducting. Most Recent (full symphony): October 2019, Gustavo Gimeno conducting. Duration: approx. 12 minutes

When Antonín Dvořák arrived in New York City in September 1892 to direct the new National Conservatory of Music, both he and the institution’s founder, Mrs. Jeanette Thurber, expected he would foster an American school of composition. He said, “I am convinced the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. They can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition in the United States.” The “New World” Symphony was not only Dvořák’s way of pointing toward a truly American musical idiom, but also a reﬂection of his own feelings about the country. “I should never have written the Symphony as I have,” he said, “if I hadn’t seen America.” The “New World” Symphony scored an enormous success at its premiere, on December 16, 1893 in Carnegie Hall (the box where the composer sat that evening is marked with a commemorative plaque) and immediately entered the international repertory; it has remained Dvořák’s most popular work. Especially beloved is the English horn theme from the second movement (Largo), an original but perfect analogue of an American spiritual. In 1922, William Arms Fisher (1861–1948), a composition student of Dvořák at the National Conservatory, eventually a teacher at the school and later president of both the Music Teachers National Association and Music Publishers’ National Association, added text to the poignant melody to create the hymn Goin’ Home: Goin’ home, goin’ home,/I’m just goin’ home,/Quiet like some still day,/I’m just goin’ home./ Mother’s there ‘spectin’ me,/And father’s waitin’ too,/Lots of folk are gathered there,/With the friends I knew. —Dr. Richard E. Rodda

KAIJA SAARIAHO Born: 1952, Helsinki, Finland Died: June 2, 2023, Paris, France

True Fire for Baritone and Orchestra Kaija Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she lived from 1982. Her Finnish background and research at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) were major inﬂuences on her music, and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures were often created by combining live music and electronics. With an impressive catalogue of chamber music, often written for friends and professional colleagues, from the mid-90s she turned increasingly to larger forces and broader structures, including the operas L’Amour de loin (2000) and Adriana Mater (2005), the monodrama Emilie (2008), and Only the Sound Remains (2015), which explores Japanese Noh plays in translation by Ezra Pound. Her latest opera, Innocence (2018), continues to be celebrated around the world. Study for Life (1980), her very ﬁrst stage work, was eventually premiered in 2022, some 40 years after she wrote it. 56 | 2023–24 SEASON

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Vocal music was always a focal point of her creative space, and Saariaho composed several works in this vein for the concert hall, such as Château de l’âme (1996), Oltra mar (1999), Quatre instants (2002), Leino Songs (2017), Saarikoski Songs (2020), and the oratorio La Passion de Simone (2006–07), as well as True Fire (2014). Saariaho’s catalogue includes many concerti: L’aile du songe (2001) and Notes on Light (2006) for lifelong friends, the flautist Camilla Hoitenga and cellist Anssi Karttunen; D’Om le Vrai Sens (2010) for clarinetist Kari Krikku; Maan varjot (2013) for organist Olivier Latry; Trans (2015) for harpist Xavier de Maistre; and her last work, HUSH (2023), for Finnish jazz trumpet legend Verneri Pohjola. Saariaho was a master of orchestration and structure, and her orchestral catalogue provides rich and rewarding music, from the early Du cristal (1989) and Verblendungen (1994) via Orion (2002) and Circle Map (2012) to the most recent work Vista (2019). The music of Kaija Saariaho is published exclusively by Chester Music and Edition Wilhelm Hansen, part of Wise Music Group. Saariaho wrote the following about True Fire: This piece has been growing in my mind for several years: the music was emerging before I even started looking for the texts. This made finding the right texts difficult. I spent much time going through my favorite writers, but nothing I knew seemed to fit my project. I finally ended up using six texts from different sources, but which seemed to fit into my plan. The texts by Seamus Heaney, Traditional Indians and Mahmoud Darwish are interspersed in three short fragments taken from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Spiritual Laws, a collection included in his Essays. My preliminary idea was to explore the baritone voice in the context of various texts, finding an organic way to access the different colors of the voice through the texts. It was also important to give Gerald Finley, to whom the piece is written and dedicated, a full range of expression. Even though the general character of the work was in my mind before I had found the suitable texts, it is finally these texts that define the vocal expression of the singer and the details of the musical material. It is only now after having completed the work that I see the common ideas in these contrasting texts: our being surrounded by nature, our perception of this and our being part of it. Here, briefly, are some thoughts concerning the six movements: Proposition I, based on a reflection by Emerson, is a syllabic opening section, calm and contemplating. The orchestral chords are like pillars built on the solo voice. River, on the text by Seamus Heaney: melismatic singing draws the orchestra into a lively flow, into elastic verticality. Proposition II is a short statement from Emerson, calm and expressive. This is the heart of the piece.

Kaija Saariaho, ©Maarit Kytöharju

Composed: 2014 Premiere: True Fire for

baritone and orchestra was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Sinfonieorchester, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre national de France. The world premiere took place on May 14, 2015 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, performed by Gerald Finley (baritone) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel conducting. Instrumentation: solo baritone, 3 flutes (incl. piccolo, alto flute), 2 oboes, 3 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crotales, glass chimes, glockenspiel, log drum, marimba, suspended cymbals, tam-tam, tambour de Basque, triangle, unpitched instruments, bowed vibraphone, wood block, wood wind chimes, harp, strings CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of the work. Duration: approx. 30 minutes

Lullaby, based on a traditional American Indian song, is a joyous and tender lullaby, not so concerned with getting the child to sleep but rather with having a great moment together and telling a good story! Farewell forms again a sharp contrast to the happy mood of Lullaby. It is dark and heavy, and the singing line breaks regularly down into slow speech.

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PROGRAM NOTES

Proposition III closes the cycle with a radiant image of us humans as part of the physical nature around us. The sensation of weightless energy elevates us high above the gravity. —Paris, April 14th, 2015, KS

GEORGE WALKER Born: June 27, 1922, Washington, D.C. Died: August 23, 2018, Montclair, New Jersey

Lyric for Strings

George Walker

Composed: 1946;

reorchestration for string orchestra of the Adagio movement of String Quartet No. 1 Premiere: 1946, Washington, D.C. (National Galley of Art) by the National Gallery Sinfonietta, Richard Bales conducting Instrumentation: strings CSO notable performances: This is the ﬁrst performance of the work on a CSO subscription concert. First: June 2002 at St. Francis Seraph as part of the Classical Roots series, John Morris Russell conducting. Most Recent: July 2023, John Morris Russell conducting, at the Ezzard Charles Park Brady Block Party. Duration: approx. 6 minutes

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As one of the more acclaimed and celebrated American and Black composers of the late 20th century, George Walker challenged the ways in which both distinctions were categorized and heard. His professional achievements and the larger cultural narrative that is scripted through his music are rooted in the vibrant cultural and intellectual ecosystem Walker engaged with during his formative years in Washington, D.C. George Theophilus Walker was born into a family that embodied the spirit of perseverance and quest for upward mobility underscoring the Black intellectual community in Washington, D.C. prior to World War II. George’s father was a Jamaican immigrant and doctor who ran a successful practice out of the family’s home. His mother, Ruby, who recognized George’s musical talent early on, worked for the Government Printing Office. Walker began piano lessons as early as age 5 and gave his first formal recital at age 11 at Howard University. His sister, Francis Walker-Slocum, was also a celebrated pianist who, after a successful performing career, became the first Black woman to receive tenure at Oberlin Conservatory. Following Walker’s graduation from Dunbar High School, he enrolled at the Oberlin Conservatory, where, in 1941, he graduated with a degree in piano performance. Soon afterward, he enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continued his study of piano and also began studying composition. In 1945, he became the first Black graduate of the Curtis Institute, earning artist diplomas in piano performance and composition. That same year, he became the first Black concert artist to give a recital at Town Hall in New York and the first Black instrumentalist to appear with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Despite acclaimed performances in the U.S. and Europe, Walker surmised that his professional trajectory as a concert pianist would be significantly undermined by race, so he turned his attention to composition. He enrolled at Eastman, where, in 1956, he became the first Black to receive a DMA. A year later, Walker went to France, where he studied for two years with famed teacher Nadia Boulanger. For the next six decades, Walker focused on teaching and composing, serving on the faculties of Dillard University, Smith College, the University of Colorado, the University of Delaware and Rutgers University-Newark, where he became Distinguished Professor in 1976 and retired in 1992. In 1996, Walker became the first Black composer to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Lilacs for voice and orchestra. George Walker’s oeuvre consists of over 100 works written for orchestra, chamber orchestra, piano, strings, voice, organ, clarinet, guitar, brass, woodwinds and chorus. The origins of Lyric for Strings, which remains his most celebrated and performed work, extend back to Walker’s years at Curtis, when, in 1941, he began work on what would become his first string quartet. Just as he was beginning to write the second movement, Walker received word that

PROGRAM NOTES

his maternal grandmother, Malvina King, had died. King was a remarkable woman, who cast an enormous shadow of influence over her family, especially her grandson. She was born in slavery in Virginia sometime around 1858. Like many enslaved people, her life was defined by both trauma and pain, which was punctuated by the selling of her first husband to another plantation. Determined to be free, King escaped to the North and eventually settled in Washington, D.C. As a young child, George spent a great deal of time with his grandmother, who not only contributed to the development of his racial consciousness but also nurtured his love of Negro spirituals. She provided the most direct link to a historical past that underscored Walker’s music and consciousness about what it meant to be a Black composer and an American composer. Walker’s grief over the death of his grandmother is immortalized in the middle “Lament” movement of his String Quartet No. 1. Shortly after completing the quartet in 1946, Walker reorchestrated the “Lament” movement for string orchestra. It was first performed by the Curtis student orchestra in 1946, but received a more formal debut a year later when it was programmed during the annual American Music Festival at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. This string orchestra version went through a number of title changes—from Lament to Adagio for Strings—before becoming known as Lyric for Strings. For some seven decades, Walker referred to the elegiac work as his “grandmother’s piece.” Critics and listeners often note similarities between the work and Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Walker rejected these comparisons, insisting that this work was influenced by Beethoven. Lyric for Strings is often characterized as being Neo-Romantic. However, it should be noted that Walker’s embracing of traditional forms and tonality was considered conventional among American composers during the 1940s. It opens with the violins presenting the lyrical, but hauntingly melancholy, melody that is subsequently taken up by each of the string groups. The cellos and basses emphasize the rich, dark tonality of F-sharp major. Much of the identity of this work lies in contrapuntal interplay, but there are instances where moments of homophony interrupt the contrapuntal texture. These cadential points mark the changing emotional energy of the work, as the sorrow and grief represented in the opening melody give way to joy and transcendence and, finally, peace, reflected in the quiet closing chords. Although this composition contains no direct quotations of spiritual melodies, the spectrum of emotion represented exemplifies the ethos and theology that underscored those songs: death is not the end, but the beginning of new life. —Dr. Tammy Kernodle

JEAN SIBELIUS Born: December 8, 1865, Hämeenlinna, Finland Died: September 20, 1957, Ainola, Järvenpää, Finland

Symphony No. 5 in E-ﬂat Major, Op. 82 For the three years after he issued his brooding Fourth Symphony in 1911, Sibelius was largely concerned with writing program music: The Dryad, Scènes historiques, The Bard, The Océanides, Rakastava. He even considered composing a ballet titled King Fjalar at that time, but ultimately rejected the idea. As early as 1912, he envisioned a successor to the Fourth Symphony, but did not have any concrete ideas for the work until shortly before he left for a visit to the United States in May Fanfare Magazine | 59

PROGRAM NOTES

Jean Sibelius

Composed: 1915 Premiere: December 8,

1915 in Helsinki, conducted by the composer Instrumentation: 2 ﬂutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings CSO notable performances: First: October 1932, Eugene Goossens conducting. Most Recent: April 2019, John Storgårds conducting. Other: January 2005 at Carnegie Hall, Paavo Järvi conducting. Duration: approx. 30 minutes

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1914 to conduct some of his compositions at the Norfolk (Connecticut) Music Festival. (The Océanides was commissioned for the occasion.) He returned to Finland in July; war erupted on the Continent the next month. In September, he described his mood over the terrifying political events as emotionally “in a deep dale,” but added, “I already begin to see dimly the mountain I shall certainly ascend.... God opens the door for a moment and His orchestra plays the Fifth Symphony.” He could not begin work on the piece immediately, however. One of his main sources of income—performance royalties from his German publisher, Breitkopf und Härtel—was severely diminished because of the war-time turmoil, and he was forced to churn out a stream of songs and piano miniatures and to undertake tours to Gothenburg, Oslo and Bergen to pay the household bills. Early in 1915, Sibelius learned that a national celebration was planned for his 50th birthday (December 8) and that the government was commissioning from him a new symphony for the festive concert in Helsinki. He withdrew into the isolation of his country home at Järvenpää, 30 miles north of Helsinki (today, a lovely museum to the composer), to devote himself to the gestating work, and admitted to his diary, “I love this life so infinitely, and feel that it must stamp everything that I compose.” He had to rush to finish the work for the concert in December, even making changes in the parts during the final rehearsal, but the Symphony was presented as the centerpiece of the tribute to the man the program described as “Finland’s greatest son.” Sibelius’ birthday was a veritable national holiday, and he was lionized with speeches, telegrams, banquets, greetings and gifts. The Fifth Symphony met with universal acclaim, and the concert had to be given three additional times during the following weeks to satisfy the demand to hear this newest creation of the country’s most famous musician. Theorists have long debated whether Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony is in three or four movements; even the composer himself left contradictory evidence on the matter. The contention centers on the first two sections, a broad essay in leisurely tempo and a spirited scherzo, played without pause and related thematically. The opening portion is in a sort of truncated sonata form, though it is of less interest to discern its structural divisions than to follow the long arches of musical tension-and-release that Sibelius built through manipulation of the fragmentary, germinal theme presented at the beginning by the horns. The scherzo grows seamlessly from the music of the first section. At first dance-like and even playful, it accumulates dynamic energy as it unfolds, ending with a whirling torrent of sound. The following Andante, formally a theme and variations, is predominantly tranquil in mood, though punctuated by several piquant jabs of dissonance. “There are frequent moments in the music of Sibelius,” wrote Charles O’Connell of the Symphony’s finale, “when one hears almost inevitably the beat and whir of wings invisible, and this strange and characteristic effect almost always presages something magnificently portentous. We have it here.” The second theme is a bell-tone motive led by the horns that serves as background to the woodwinds’ long melodic lines. The whirring theme returns, after which the bell motive is treated in ostinato fashion, repeated over and over, building toward a climax until it seems about to burst from its own excitement—which it does. The forward motion stops abruptly, and the Symphony ends with six stentorian chords, separated by silence, proclaimed by the full orchestra. —Dr. Richard E. Rodda

MAHLER’S FIFTH | 2023–24 SEASON FRI DEC 1, 11 am SAT DEC 2, 7:30 pm Music Hall

CASE SCAGLIONE, conductor RANDOLPH BOWMAN, flute HENRIK HEIDE, flute STEFANI MATSUO, violin Johann Sebastian BACH (1685–1750)

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049 Allegro Andante Presto

INTERMISSION

Gustav MAHLER (1860–1911)

Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor Part I Trauermarsch: In gemessenem Stürmisch bewegt, mit grösster Vehemeng Part II Scherzo: Kräftig, nicht zu schnell Part III Adagietto, sehr langsam Rondo—Finale: Allegro

These performances are approximately 120 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation and the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and for the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Listen to this program on 90.9 WGUC February 25, 2024 at 8 pm, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. Fanfare Magazine | 61

DEC 1–2 PROGRAM NOTES JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Born: March 31, 1685, Eisenach, Germany Died: July 28, 1750, Leipzig, Germany

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049 Brandenburg, in Bach’s day, was a political and military powerhouse. It had been part of the Holy Roman Empire since the mid-12th century, and its ruler—the Markgraf, or Margrave—was charged with defending and extending the northern imperial border (“mark,” or “marche” in Old English and Old French), in return for which he was allowed to be an Elector of the Emperor. The house of Hohenzollern acquired the margraviate of Brandenburg in 1415, and the family embraced the Reformation a century later with such authority that they came to be regarded as the leaders of German Protestantism; Potsdam, near Berlin, was chosen as the site of the electoral court in the 17th century. Johann Sebastian Bach

Composed: ca. 1720 Instrumentation: 2 solo

flutes, solo violin, continuo (harpsichord), strings CSO notable performances: First: February 1905, Frank Van der Stucken conducting; José Marien, violin; Edwin S. Timmons, flute; Louis Weber, flute. Most Recent: November 2002, Robert Porco conducting; Timothy Lees, violin; Randolph Bowman, flute; Kyril Magg, flute. Duration: approx. 17 minutes

Johann Sebastian Bach met Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, in early 1719, during his tenure as music director at the court of Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen from 1717 to 1723, when he was sent by Leopold to Berlin to finalize arrangements for the purchase of a new harpsichord—a large, two-manual model made by Michael Mietke, instrument-builder to the royal court. While in Berlin, Bach played for Christian Ludwig, who was so taken with his music that he asked him to send some of his compositions for his library. Bach lost an infant son a few months later, however, and, in 1720, his wife died and he rejected an offer to become organist at the Jacobkirche in Hamburg, so it was more than two years before he fulfilled Brandenburg’s request. By 1721, Leopold had become engaged to marry a woman who looked askance at his huge expenditures for musical entertainment. Bach seems to have realized that when she moved in, he would probably be moved out, so he began casting about for a more secure position. He remembered the interest the Margrave Brandenburg had shown in his music, so he picked six of the finest concertos he had written at Cöthen and sent them to Christian Ludwig in March 1721 with a flowery dedication in French—but to no avail. No job materialized at Potsdam and, in 1723, Bach moved to Leipzig’s Thomaskirche, where he remained for the rest of his life. The Fourth Brandenburg Concerto features a violin and two flutes accompanied by a string orchestra and keyboard. (Two decades later Bach arranged it as a harpsichord concerto [BWV 1057] for the performances of the Collegium Musicum that he directed after settling in Leipzig.) The opening measures of the first movement present the joyous leaping motives from which the ensuing music is spun in a skillful play of textures and harmonic shadings that takes particular delight in contrasting the timbres of violin and flutes against each other and the larger ensemble. The Andante is a dark-hued lament whose character would allow it to fit easily into Bach’s most fervent church cantatas. Particularly poignant are the tiny cadenzas for the flute, as though the intense emotion of the piece called not just for expression by the entire assembled company, but also for brief moments of individual reflection. The festive mood of the opening movement returns in the finale, whose rhythmic propulsion gives it the spirit of a whirling dance. Soloists and

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PROGRAM NOTES

orchestra share the themes—imitating, intertwining, accompanying—like the carefully patterned steps of an elaborate court ballet. The solo trio is, however, primus inter pares (“ﬁrst among equals”), with the violin displaying an especially dazzling virtuosity, including a breathtaking ﬂurry of scales and broken chords in the movement’s middle section. —Dr. Richard E. Rodda

GUSTAV MAHLER Born: July 7, 1860, Kalischt, Bohemia Died: May 18, 1911, Vienna, Austria

Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor In November 1901, Mahler met Alma Schindler, daughter of the painter Emil Jacob Schindler, then 22 and regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Vienna. Mahler was 41. Romance blossomed. They were married in March and were parents by November. Their first summer together (1902) was spent at Maiernigg, Mahler’s country retreat on the Wörthersee in Carinthia in southern Austria. It was at that time that the Fifth Symphony was composed, incorporating some sketches from the previous summer. He thought of this work as “their” music, the first artistic fruit of his married life with Alma. But more than that, he may also have wanted to create music that would be worthy of the new circle of friends that Alma, the daughter of one of Austria’s finest artists and most distinguished families, had opened to him—Gustav Klimt, Alfred Roller (who became Mahler’s stage designer at the Court Opera), architect Josef Hoffmann, and the rest of the cream of cultural Vienna. In the Fifth Symphony, Mahler seems to have taken inordinate care to demonstrate the mature quality of his thought (he was, after all, nearly twice Alma’s age) and to justify his lofty position in Viennese artistic life as director of the Court Opera, a circumstance that brought about a radical change in his creative language. The musical style Mahler initiated with the Fifth Symphony is at once more abstract yet more powerfully expressive than that of his earlier music. In his study of the composer, Egon Gartenberg noted that the essential quality differentiating the later music from the earlier was a “volcanic change to modern polyphony,” a technique of concentrated

Gustav Mahler

Composed: 1901–02 Premiere: October

18, 1904 in Cologne, conducted by the composer Instrumentation: 4 ﬂutes (incl. 4 piccolos), 3 oboes (incl. English horn), 3 clarinets (incl. E-ﬂat clarinet, bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drums, bells, crash cymbals, snare drum, tam-tam, triangle, wood block, harp, strings CSO notable performances: First: March 1905, Frank Van der Stucken conducting. Most Recent: May 2019, Louis Langrée conducting. Other: December 1990, Iván Fischer conducting. Duration: approx. 73 minutes

contrapuntal development that Mahler had derived from an intense study of the music of Bach. “You can’t imagine how hard I am finding it, and how endless it seems because of the obstacles and problems I am faced with,” Mahler confided to his friend Natalie Bauer-Lechner while struggling with the Symphony’s third movement. Free of his duties at the Opera between seasons, he labored throughout the summer of 1902 on the piece at his little composing hut in the woods, several minutes’ walk from the main house at Maiernigg. So delicate was the process of creation that he complained that the birds bothered him because they sang in the wrong keys (!). The composition was largely completed by early autumn when the Mahlers returned to Vienna, but Gustav continued to tinker with the score for, literally, the rest of his life. Mahler grouped the five movements of the Fifth Symphony into three parts. Thus, the opening Trauermarsch (“Funeral March”) takes on the character of an enormous introduction to the second movement. The two are further joined in their sharing of some thematic material. The giant Scherzo stands at the center point of the Symphony, the only

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PROGRAM NOTES

movement not linked with another. Balancing the opening movements are the Adagietto and the Rondo-Finale of Part III, which have the quality of preface and summation. The structures of the individual movements of the Symphony No. 5 are large and complex, bearing allegiance to the classical models but expanded and re-shaped, with continuous development and intertwining of themes. The Trauermarsch is sectional in design, alternating For more information about this program, please text PROGRAM to 513.845.3024*. *By texting to this number, you may receive messages that pertain to the organization and its performances; msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP to help, STOP to cancel.

between music based on the opening trumpet summons and an intense threnody presented by the strings. The following movement (“Stormily moving. With great vehemence”) resembles sonata form, with a soaring chorale climaxing the development section only to be cut short by the return of the stormy music of the recapitulation. The Scherzo juxtaposes a whirling waltz/Ländler with trios more gentle in nature. The serene Adagietto serves as a calm interlude between the gigantic movements surrounding it. The closing movement (Rondo-Finale) begins as a rondo but interweaves the principal themes with those of the episodes as it unfolds in a blazing display of contrapuntal craft. The triumphant chorale that was snuffed out in the second movement is here returned to bring the Symphony to an exalted close. —Dr. Richard E. Rodda

WEALTH MANAGEMENT | INSTITUTIONS | ADVISOR SOLUTIONS

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2023–24 SEASON

CSYO PHILHARMONIC SUN DEC 3, 2 pm, Music Hall CHILDHOOD MEMORIES DANIEL WILEY, conductor Farhad POUPEL

Childhood Memories (Persian Suite)

(b. 1993)

Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844–1908)

Scheherazade The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship The Tale of Prince Kalendar The Young Prince and the Young Princess Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Goes to Pieces on a Rock

CSYO CONCERT ORCHESTRA SUN DEC 10, 7 pm, Corbett Auditorium, CCM ACROSS THE STARS FELIPE MORALES-TORRES, conductor Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949) arr. Ken Bierschenk

Gustav HOLST

“Sunrise” from Also Sprach Zarathustra (“Thus Spake Zarathustra”) Three Movements from The Planets

(1874–1934)

Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity Uranus, the Magician Mars, the Bringer of War

Chris PILSNER

Snow Falling in Autumn

(b. 1986)

INTERMISSION

Kevin DAY

Danza del Sol

(b. 1996)

John WILLIAMS (b. 1932) arr. Robert W. Smith

Star Wars Epic Suite Duel of the Fates from Episode I: The Phantom Menace Across the Stars from Episode II: Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Princess Leia’s Theme from Episode IV: A New Hope Imperial March and Forest Battle from Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Main Theme

The CSO thanks Coney Island for its generous sponsorship of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras. Support provided by The Charles H. Dater Foundation and The Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation. The Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras is a program of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and receives generous support in the form of rehearsal space from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Walnut Hills High School. Fanfare Magazine | 65

CSYO PHILHARMONIC ROSTER 2023–24 FIRST VIOLIN Christy Kim, Concertmaster Vivian Chang, Assistant Concertmaster Hollis Chan+ Angelina Chen Andrew Cheng Anna Christos Stephen Dorsey Marley Feng Julia Li Paul Ku Edward Li Mara Seppala Ian Shang Isabelle Tardivon Claire Wolford Jillian Wu Emily Zhao SECOND VIOLIN Madeline Dugan, Principal Erica Nam, Assistant Principal Julie Anderson+ Evelyn Gao Yuhan Gu Sophia Hamel Hyori Han Annie Li Norika Oya Santhosh Rajan Angela Tang Kyle Wang

Ethan Yao Yeming Yu Alisha Zhao VIOLA Grace Yu, Principal Benedict Cecilio, Assistant Principal James Bingcang+ Cuong Diep Maeve Henderson Noah Huber Seth Israel Christy Kim Emma Zhao Julia Zhu CELLO Paul Orth, Principal Autumn Rinaldi, Assistant Principal Lorelai Gartside+ Jayden Lu Krish Subramanian Claron Wang Shin-Yi Wang Kate Wells Howard Weng Jihye Woo BASS Aaron Scott, Principal Josiah Eriksen Noah Hinton

FLUTE Grace Kim1 Apama Nambirajan Riya Tummala Lance Zhang2 Mingjia Zhang OBOE Arjuna Lee Joseph Mitchell2 Jill Peterson1 Isaac Scott ENGLISH HORN Isaac Scott CLARINET Morgan Cloud Matthew Drasnin2 Hannah Huh1 Jerry Xu BASSOON Liam Ferguson Lincoln Gully2 Emma Laude1 Gunnar Pellissier HORN Lucas Elmore Ahan Prasad1 Jordan Reid Alex Riley2 Lily Wheatley

TRUMPET Katie Koziel1 Thomas Stricker2 Trent Stricker TROMBONE Zachary Bowden1,2 Karna Gajjar Benjamin Kreitemeyer TUBA Gino Calipo1 Matthew Lyons2 HARP Karma Fecher1 Veronika Stanichar2 PERCUSSION Knox Dowell Jonathan Kaseff Justin Melvin Benjamin Schuler +Begins the alphabetical listing of players who participate in a system of rotated seating within a string section. All wind players are considered principals and rotate between pieces. Principal Poupel Principal Rimsky-Korsakov

CSYO CONCERT ORCHESTRA ROSTER 2023–24 FIRST VIOLIN Tabitha Sabatelli, Concertmaster Julia Lancman, Assistant Concertmaster Grace Barnett+ Grace Chi Carmen DeAtley-Rosales Allyson Kim Joshua Koo Julia Li Sarah Perpignan Jubilee Shang Alex Tran Arjun Verma Alexander Wang Kenneth Wu Raina Yang Elizabeth Yeoh Alina Zhang Irene Zhang SECOND VIOLIN Clara Schmid, Principal Will Oertel, Assistant Principal Thanh-Tu Buchholz+ Youngwoo Choi Neil Gera Lara Goodall Levin Hobson Nathan Lee Cecilia Lehmann Zhuochen Li Brianna Luo Elaine Peng Rain Qin

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Sarang Srikanth Mia Wang Kevin Wen Iris Xu Joshua Yamaguchi Clairette Yang Angela Zhang Jenna Zhang VIOLA Lainie Stautberg, Principal Kasinda Willingham, Assistant Principal Ethan Goehring+ Amber Huff Adah Muck Isabella Wang CELLO Sonya Moomaw, Principal William Yeoh, Assistant Principal Andrew Chung+ Sieun Ghim Kevin Kim Nathan Lehmann Reign Matu Vivian Niu Anish Patil Kallea Willingham Brandon Yang BASS Loki Wirman, Principal Evan Butler+ Matteo Meli

FLUTE Mona Allen Francesca Harper Sam Waspe Sammi Wong OBOE Sophia Cheng August Hagen Simon Huth ENGLISH HORN Simon Huth

TRUMPET Hunter Chermely Wesley Dentinger Samuel Goetz TROMBONE Tvasta Gajjar Conner Perkins Colin Van Niman TUBA Seth Dossa Owen Kearney

CLARINET Christopher Larsen Rivera Jonathan Niese Evelyn Shin Liheng Wang Katherine Wen

HARP Abel Mooney-Bullock

BASSOON Isabella Loberg Zachary Pinnick Marian Rose

+Begins the alphabetical listing of players who participate in a system of rotated seating within a string section.

HORN Alisha Ankola Charles Healy Meghan McGuire Eden Proctor Madelyn Ryan Kristen Schutte

PERCUSSION Adolphus McCullom II John Troyer

All wind players are considered principals and rotate between pieces.

The CSYO CCM Conducting Fellow for 2023–24 is Pablo Martinez Pegalajar

SPOTLIGHT

In Their Words: A Community Like No Other by DIDI TURLEY

Die-hard patrons of the Cincinnati classical music scene might recognize the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) from their annual Side-by-Side concert with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. If you aren’t familiar with the CSYO, however, here’s what you need to know: The Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra comprises two orchestras—the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concert Orchestra—and features more than 200 of the region’s most talented young musicians, ranging from grades 8 through 12. These students are selected through a competitive audition process and are truly the best young instrumentalists in the area. Beyond the musical training that they receive—which is top-tier, since members enjoy access to CSO musicians through rehearsals and one-on-one sessions—students gain a sense of community like no other. Keep reading to meet a few members of the 2023–24 Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra:

CSYO percussionist Jonathan Kaseff. Credit: Mark Lyons

Connor Perkins is a high school sophomore about to experience his first year as a member of the CSYO. Connor has been playing the trombone for five years. According to him, the hard work of the older members of his school’s orchestra is what sparked inspiration for him to push himself further. “I’ve had a lot of [classmates] ahead of me that have been very, very good. [I knew that] I wanted to reach that level at some point.” And so, he began preparing for his first CSYO audition. “Come day of the audition, I walk in and it’s—I don’t know—I was really nervous, but at the same time, I was confident. I feel like, if you’re stressed, you’re not as good in the audition. As I walked in, it just kind of hit me, like, ‘I’m really doing this. I’m really trying out.’” For others, this past audition cycle was far from their first foray into the CSYO audition room. Jonathan Kaseff, a high school senior and percussionist, is about to kick off his fifth year in the ensemble. Says Jonathan, “I had always loved going to CSO concerts as a little kid with my grandma, and I was fascinated by the Orchestra and the

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SPOTLIGHT: CSYO

sounds they made, so when I found out about the CSYO program, I was like, this is my [opportunity] to play orchestral music, and I haven’t looked back since.” Jonathan started playing percussion as a kid, joining a mallet ensemble at an early age. When it came time for him to pick an instrument in school, percussion was an easy choice. Now with years of experience, he says that auditioning for the CSYO each year has become signiﬁcantly less daunting. CSYO violist Lainie Stautberg, far right (blonde hair). Credit: Mark Lyons “It’s a mixture of nervousness and excitement because I’ll have this super nervous [feeling of] orchestra recognize that they’re playing alongside ‘let’s do this.’ I forget who said it, but if you go individuals who could be their colleagues [into the audition room] stressed, you’re not doing throughout their careers. That level of connection yourself any good.” is especially important to Jonathan, who says, Lainie Stautberg has been playing the viola “I’m playing with my friends, who are also my for “eight-ish” years, but this is only her second colleagues, my musicians, my mentors. I think year playing with the CSYO. Starting her youth that’s a really special environment to be a part of.” orchestra career in the Northern Kentucky The supportive environment of the ensemble University Youth Orchestra, Lainie decided to join goes beyond the students who make up the the CSYO because of the opportunity to play with orchestra, though. Musicians in the CSYO work more people and more instruments. Although she closely with conductors and members of the started as a violinist, she found herself drawn to CSO to sharpen their skills each week. These the viola for a few key reasons: professional musicians take the roles of mentor “I [played violin] for about two years, and then and educator seriously, and the students are I got sick of that E-string—you know? Like, it was clearly able to pick up on the dedication to a just giving me headaches, and I needed to go growth-oriented rehearsal space. lower. I didn’t want to play something that was Says Lainie, “It feels very professional but completely different, though, so the viola was without all the high stakes. The conductor is very the perfect option for me. I started playing in my much by our side, willing to guide us through school’s orchestra, and it just took off from there.” whatever we need.” Students in the CSYO come from different Jonathan and Simon agree that the leadership schools across the region, and the program has of the conductors is unmatched, with Jonathan become a crucial part of its members’ social saying, “They treat you like [professional] circles and professional networks. Many, like musicians. They expect you to come in and do the Connor, were recruited by friends who were work and learn your music, but the conductors are already in the ensemble. Others joined for the always by your side, always willing to help, talk to experience and subsequently discovered a you, assist you in any possible way.” community of musicians they could lean on and To Simon, this attitude helps him to grow as a grow with. According to Lainie, “You do form musician and make mistakes in a productive way. really strong bonds with people there. It’s a very “Like, it’s okay for you to make mistakes in your supportive environment.” playing. In the rehearsal process, the conductor For high school junior Simon Huth, who plays is a very cool, very nice guy. He does a very the oboe, these connections are a natural part of good job of teaching the music and connecting the CSYO experience. everybody to the piece.” Says Simon, “I think it’s really easy to form Beyond the mentorship and musical training, connections in this group because we’re all there members of the CSYO are given a rare for the same reason, which is to play music.” opportunity: In their annual Side-by-Side concert As elite young musicians, members of the with the CSO, they’re able to play on stage in 68 | 2023–24 SEASON

Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall, right alongside CSO musicians. It seems to be unanimous among these young musicians that this is the crowning moment of each CSYO season. “I think that at that moment [when you] step out onto the stage, you feel so accomplished because this is, like, it’s the biggest stage in the area and all of these phenomenal musicians perform on it,” says Lainie. “It’s just kind of a moment of ‘wow, I did this.’” For Jonathan, stepping onto that stage has been a life-long dream turned into reality. “Playing with the CSO is just—it was my dream when I was a little kid to get to play with them on that stage, and so that’s definitely the highlight of the season.” When asked if their experiences in the CSYO have influenced their decisions about pursuing music beyond high school, they all seemed to agree that music will be a mainstay in their lives for the foreseeable future and that the CSYO has had a large part in that. Says Connor, “I feel like there are very few groups that are all so [connected]. [We] don’t know each other that much but are still connected through music. That environment, in general, is very special to me.” Lainie, who is still a few years away from applying to colleges, knows that she wants a career in music, and she’s open to whatever form that may take. “I hope to make a profession out of it, wherever that brings me. I want to try a little bit of everything. I’m interested in maybe [playing in a] Broadway pit orchestra, or even being in a symphony.” Similarly, Simon isn’t sure what role music will play in his college career. However, having started playing piano in elementary school, “it’s definitely been a long time that [he’s] been reading music and making noises,” so he isn’t likely to stop any time soon. Jonathan is all-in on making music his career, having recently embarked on his first wave of college visits. He says that music has been a

CSYO oboist Simon Huth (bottom left) with members of the Concert Orchestra.

constant in his life so far, and he’s planning on majoring in percussion performance once he gets to college. From there, he’s hoping to work professionally as a percussionist. “The end goal is to be in a symphony orchestra, but if I end up being in a pit orchestra for an opera, that would be totally fine with me,” says Jonathan. “Since I was a tiny baby, music has always been there for me. It’s always been an escape and it’s something that I enjoy doing above everything. It’s definitely something I would love to keep doing for as long as I live.” The CSYO Philharmonic Orchestra’s first concert of the season, “Childhood Memories,” will take place on December 3 at Music Hall and features the orchestral wonder of RimskyKorsakov’s Scheherazade. The Concert Orchestra’s first concert of the season, “Across the Stars,” will take place on December 10 in Corbett Auditorium at CCM. The program will include Gustav Holst’s The Planets, John Williams’ Epic Star Wars Suite, and other staroriented pieces. More information is available at cincinnatisymphony.org.

OF NOTE The CSO is thrilled to welcome more than 30 students to the Nouveau Program. Started in 2007, the Nouveau program is a chamber music program for African American and Latine student musicians aged 7–18. The Nouveau Program is composed of four groups: Novices (students who have played 1–2 years), Apprentices (students who are at an intermediate or advanced level), Chamber Players (students who are at an advanced level) and Winds (students in grades 9–12 who are at an intermediate or advanced level). To find out more or to apply for the program, visit cincinnatisymphony.org/nouveau. Fanfare Magazine | 69

Celebrating the arts and the joy they bring to life every day.

PNC is proud to be the Pops SeDVRQ Sponsor and to support the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops. Thank you for helping to make the Greater Cincinnati region a beautiful place to call home.

HOLIDAY POPS | 2023–24 SEASON FRI DEC 8, 11 am & 7:30 pm SAT DEC 9, 2 pm & 7:30 pm SUN DEC 10, 2 pm & 7 pm Music Hall

John Morris Russell, conductor Capathia Jenkins, vocalist Rafael Moras, tenor The Studio for Dance Q-Kidz Dance Team May Festival Youth Chorus School for Creative and Performing Arts Chorale Sycamore High School Select Ensemble Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project Angel’s Dance

Steven Amundson

We Need a Little Christmas

Jerry Herman

Jingle Bells

Traditional

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

Kim Gannon & Walter Kent

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers

Leon Jessel

A Winter Miracle

Antonio Vivaldi

Feliz Navidad

José Feliciano

A Suite of Carols (sing along, text on the screens)

Traditional Songs

Joy to the World • I Heard the Bells • Here We Come a-Caroling The First Noel • Deck the Halls • Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

O Holy Night

Adolphe Adam

INTERMISSION “Carillon” from L’Arlésienne

Georges Bizet

Greensleeves

Traditional

Carol of the Bells

Mykola Leontovych

Sleigh Ride

Leroy Anderson

The Man with the Bag

Dudley Brooks

All I Want for Christmas is You

Mariah Carey & Walter Afanasieff

Mary, Did You Know?

Buddy Greene & Mark Lowry

Silent Night/Night of Silence

Daniel Kantor

Program subject to change The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is grateful to Pops Season Sponsor PNC, Concert Sponsor Graeter’s Ice Cream and Digital Access Partner CVG Airport Authority. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation and the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and for the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Fanfare Magazine | 71

Donate to the CSO by buying yourself a new piano.* STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE For over 120 years, Willis Music and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Have been serving the greater Cincinnati area with music, culture, and music education. STEINWAY.CINCINNATI.COM

Willis Music Kenwood Galleria

8118 Montgomery Road Cincinnati, Oh 45236 (859) 396-4485 pianos@willismusic.com *Willis Music will give a donation to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for every piano that a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra patron purchases.

2023–24 FINANCIAL SUPPORT INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT Local and national foundations, businesses, and government agencies are integral to the Orchestra’s vibrant performances, community engagement work, and education activities. We are proud to partner with the following funders. SEASON AND SERIES SPONSORS Pops Season

IDEA Series

Lollipops Series

CSO Season

PLATINUM BATON CIRCLE ($50,000+)

CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE ($10,000–$14,999)

ArtsWave Charles H. Dater Foundation The Thomas J. Emery Memorial Trust The Fifth Third Foundation The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation Carl Jacobs Foundation H.B., E.W., F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation The Mellon Foundation Dr. John & Louise Mulford Fund for the CSO National Endowment for the Arts Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation Ohio Arts Council PNC Bank Margaret McWilliams Rentschler Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation Nina Browne Parker Trust Harold C. Schott Foundation / Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation The Louise Taft Semple Foundation Skyler Foundation Western & Southern Financial Group Anonymous

Bartlett Wealth Management Chemed Corporation The Crosset Family Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation CVG Airport Authority Kelly Dehan and Rick Staudigel Graeter’s Ice Cream Peter E. Landgren and Judith Schonbach Landgren Messer Construction Co. The Daniel & Susan Pfau Foundation

GOLD BATON CIRCLE ($25,000–$49,999)

African American Chamber of Commerce Albert B. Cord Charitable Foundation D’Addario Foundation Earthward Bound Foundation Hixson Architecture Engineering Interiors Journey Steel Robert A. & Marian K. Kennedy Charitable Trust PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Frances L. P. Ricketts Sullivan Memorial Fund The Voice of Your Customer Toi and Jay Wagstaff Visit Cincy

Coney Island The Cincinnati Symphony Club The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati George and Margaret McLane Foundation The Ladislas & Vilma Segoe Family Foundation United Dairy Farmers & Homemade Brand Ice Cream The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation SILVER BATON CIRCLE ($15,000–$24,999)

HORAN Johnson Investment Counsel League Of American Orchestras Oliver Family Foundation The Rendigs Foundation Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Scott and Charla Weiss Wodecroft Foundation

CONCERTMASTER’S CIRCLE ($5,000–$9,999) Levin Family Foundation The Willard & Jean Mulford Charitable Fund Pyro-Technical Investigations, Inc. Queen City (OH) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated Thompson Hine LLP

ARTIST’S CIRCLE ($2,500–$4,999) d.e. Foxx and Associates, Inc. Richard Freshwater L. Timothy Giglio Ohio CAT Charles Scott Riley III Foundation Kyle Wynk-Sivashankar and Siva Shankar

BUSINESS & FOUNDATION PARTNERS (up to $2,499)

Join this distinguished group! Contact Sean Baker at 513.744.3363 or sbaker@cincinnatisymphony.org to learn how you can become a supporter of the CSO and Pops. This list is updated quarterly.

2023 ARTSWAVE PARTNERS The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops acknowledge the following partner companies, foundations and their employees who generously participate in the Annual ArtsWave Community Campaign at the $100,000+ level. $2 million+ P&G $1 million to $1,999,999 Fifth Third Bank and Fifth Third Foundation $500,000 to $999,999 altaﬁber GE Aerospace $250,000 to 499,999 Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center The Cincinnati Insurance Companies Western & Southern Financial Group

$100,000–$299,999 Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation Cincinnati Business Courier Cincinnati Reds Duke Energy The E.W. Scripps Company and Scripps Howard Foundation The Enquirer | Cincinnati.com Great American Insurance Group Greater Cincinnati Foundation The H.B., E.W. and F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Trustee The Kroger Co. Messer Construction Co. PNC U.S. Bank

Fanfare Magazine | 73

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

PERMANENT ENDOWMENTS Endowment gifts perpetuate your values and create a sustainable future for the Orchestra. We extend our deep gratitude to the donors who have provided permanent endowments in support of our programs that are important to them. For more information about endowment gifts, contact Kate Farinacci, Director of Special Campaigns & Legacy Giving, at 513.744.3202.

ENDOWED CHAIRS Grace M. Allen Chair Ellen A. & Richard C. Berghamer Chair Robert E. & Fay Boeh Chair The Marc Bohlke Chair given by Katrin & Manfred Bohlke Trish & Rick Bryan Chair Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Chair Mary Alice Heekin Burke Chair Michael L. Cioffi & Rachael Rowe— the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Peter G. Courlas– Nicholas Tsimaras Chair Ona Hixson Dater Chair The Anne G. & Robert W. Dorsey Chair+ Jane & David Ellis Chair Irene & John J. Emery Chair James M. Ewell Chair Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair for Assistant Conductor Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair for Assistant Conductor Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair for Principal Tuba Susan S. & William A. Friedlander Chair+ Charles Gausmann Chair Susanne & Philip O. Geier, Jr. Chair+ Emma Margaret & Irving D. Goldman Chair Clifford J. Goosmann & Andrea M. Wilson Chair Charles Frederic Goss Chair Jean Ten Have Chair Dorothy & John Hermanies Chair Lois Klein Jolson Chair Josephine I. & David J. Joseph, Jr. Chair Harold B. & Betty Justice Chair Marvin Kolodzik & Linda S. Gallaher Chair+ Al Levinson Chair Patricia Gross Linnemann Chair+ Alberta & Dr. Maurice Marsh Chair Stephen P. McKean Chair Laura Kimble McLellan Chair

The Henry Meyer Chair The Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chairs Rawson Chair The Vicky & Rick Reynolds Chair in honor of William A. Friedlander+ Ida Ringling North Chair Donald & Margaret Robinson Chair Dianne & J. David Rosenberg Chair+ Ruth F. Rosevear Chair The Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair+ Emalee Schavel Chair Karl & Roberta Schlachter Family Chair Serge Shababian Chair Melinda & Irwin Simon Chair+ Tom & Dee Stegman Chair+ Mary & Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Chair+ Cynthia & Frank Stewart Chair The Jackie & Roy Sweeney Family Chair The Sweeney Family Chair in memory of Donald C. Sweeney Anna Sinton Taft Chair Brenda & Ralph Taylor Chair James P. Thornton Chair Nicholas Tsimaras– Peter G. Courlas Chair Thomas Vanden Eynden Chair Sallie Robinson Wadsworth & Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Chair Jo Ann & Paul Ward Chair Matthew & Peg Woodside Chair Mary M. & Charles F. Yeiser Chair

ENDOWED PERFORMANCES & PROJECTS Eleanora C. U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee Rosemary and Frank Bloom Endowment Fund*+ Cincinnati Bell Foundation Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Val Cook Nancy & Steve Donovan* Sue and Bill Friedlander Endowment Fund*+ Mrs. Charles Wm Anness*, Mrs. Frederick D. Haffner, Mrs. Gerald Skidmore and the La Vaughn Scholl Garrison Fund

Fred L. & Katherine H. Groll Fund for Musical Excellence Fred L. & Katherine H. Groll Fund for Great Artists Fred L. & Katherine H. Groll Trust Pianist Fund The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation Endowment Fund Anne Heldman Endowment Fund** Mr. and Mrs. Lorrence T. Kellar+ Lawrence A. & Anne J. Leser* Mr. & Mrs. Carl H. Lindner** Janice W. & Gary R. Lubin Fund for Black Artists PNC Financial Services Group The Procter & Gamble Fund Vicky & Rick Reynolds Fund for Diverse Artists+ Melody Sawyer Richardson* Rosemary and Mark Schlachter Endowment Fund*+ The Harold C. Schott Foundation, Francie and Tom Hiltz Endowment Fund+ Peggy Selonick Fund for Great Artists Dee and Tom Stegman Endowment Fund*+ Mr. & Mrs. Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Fund for Great Artists U. S. Bank Foundation* Sallie and Randolph Wadsworth Endowment Fund+

Educational Concerts Rosemary & Frank Bloom * Cincinnati Financial Corporation & The Cincinnati Insurance Companies The Margaret Embshoff Educational Fund Kate Foreman Young Peoples Fund George & Anne Heldman+ Macy’s Foundation Vicky & Rick Reynolds*+ William R. Schott Family** Western-Southern Foundation, Inc. Anonymous (3)+

OTHER NAMED FUNDS Ruth Meacham Bell Memorial Fund Frank & Mary Bergstein Fund for Musical Excellence+ Jean K. Bloch Music Library Fund Cora Dow Endowment Fund Corbett Educational Endowment** Belmon U. Duvall Fund Ewell Fund for Riverbend Maintenance Linda & Harry Fath Endowment Fund Ford Foundation Fund Natalie Wurlitzer & William Ernest Griess Cello Fund William Hurford and Lesley Gilbertson Family Fund for Guest Pianists The Mary Ellyn Hutton Fund for Excellence in Music Education Josephine I. & David J. Joseph, Jr. Scholarship Fund Richard & Jean Jubelirer & Family Fund* The Kosarko Family Innovation Fund Elma Margaret Lapp Trust Jésus López-Cobos Fund for Excellence Mellon Foundation Fund Nina Browne Parker Trust Dorothy Robb Perin & Harold F. Poe Trust Rieveschl Fund Thomas Schippers Fund Martha, Max & Alfred M. Stern Ticket Fund Mr. & Mrs. John R. Strauss Student Ticket Fund Anna Sinton & Charles P. Taft Fund Lucien Wulsin Fund Wurlitzer Season Ticket Fund CSO Pooled Income Fund CSO Musicians Emergency Fund *Denotes support for Annual Music Program Fund **Denotes support for the 2nd Century Campaign +Denotes support for the Fund for Musical Excellence

GIFT OF MUSIC: July 11–September 7, 2023 The following people provided gifts to the Gift of Music Fund to celebrate an occasion, to mark a life of service to the Orchestra, or to commemorate a special date. Their contributions are added to the Orchestra’s endowment. For more information on how to contribute to this fund, please call 513.744.3271. In honor of Christine Andrew Ms. Minda L. Matthews-Smith

In memory of Dick Fouse Frank and Nancy B. Clark

In memory of Virginia Neff Roger Neff

In memory of Frank V. Burdick Jr. Sara and Thomas Manning-Beavin Ms. Bonnie Hoffmann Barbara G. and Everett E. Landen Ms. Diane Smith

In memory of Barbara “Bobbie” Carson Givens Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jagoditz Jean Timme

In memory of Jack Osborn Mrs. Gail S. Bain Philip K. and Anne Lilly Cone Richard Zinicola and Linda R. Holthaus Mr. Scott Nelson and Dr. Susan Kindel Timothy and Leslie Maloney Mr. and Mrs. John J. McLaughlin Mr. John M. Shepherd Mr. and Mrs. John F. Stineman Nancy C. and Patricia M. Wagner Andrew and Julie Webster Gary and Diane West

In memory of Myra & Lou Chabut Louis Finkelmeier In memory of Mary Ellen Dunning Nancy C. and Patricia M. Wagner

In memory of Frieda Kohn Joseph W. and Marilyn Hirschhorn In memory of Karen S. McCrory Ms. Deborah J. Campbell In memory of Patty Misrach Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Gates

74 | 2023–24 SEASON

In memory of Nancy Brown Quittmeyer Ms. Elizabeth C. Fisher-Smith In memory of Betty Schulenberg Mr. Matthew Rogers In memory of Robert Slater Ms. Bonnie Hoffmann In memory of Corey Watzek Chris and Bernadette Watzek In memory of Dick and Barbara Welch Mr. Michael Welch

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

HONOR ROLL OF CONTRIBUTORS The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops are grateful to the following individuals that support our efforts by making a gift to the Orchestra Fund. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one and pay tribute to them here. You can join our family of donors online at cincinnatisymphony.org/donate or by contacting the Philanthropy Department at 513.744.3271. PLATINUM BATON CIRCLE

Stephen J Daush Dianne Dunkelman and Clever Crazes for Kids Gifts of $50,000 and above Mrs. John C. Dupree Mr. and Mrs. Frederick E. Bryan, III § Mrs. Charles Fleischmann Michael L. Cioffi & Rachael Rowe CCI Design, Molly and Tom Garber Sheila and Christopher C. Cole L. Timothy Giglio Susan Friedlander § Tom and Jan Hardy § Healey Liddle Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn § Mel & Bruce Healey Mr. and Mrs. Paul Isaacs George L. and Anne P. Patrick and Mary Kirk Heldman Fund* § Marvin P. Kolodzik and Patti and Fred Heldman Linda S. Gallaher § Harold C. Schott Foundation, Mrs. Erich Kunzel Francie & Tom Hiltz John and Ramsey Lanni Dr. Lesley Gilbertson and Will and Lee Lindner Dr. William Hurford Alan Margulies and Gale Snoddy Florence Koetters In memory of Bettie Rehfeld Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. McDonald Joseph A. and Susan E. Pichler Fund* Jo Anne and Joe Orndorff Elizabeth Schulenberg Marilyn J. and Jack D. Osborn § Dr. Jean and Mrs. Anne Steichen In Memory of Laura Gamble Thompson Mrs. Anne Drackett Thomas Vicky and Rick Reynolds Sarah Thorburn Dianne and J. David Rosenberg Dale Uetrecht Ann and Harry Santen § Mr. and Mrs. JD Vance Mike and Digi Schueler DeeDee and Gary West § Irwin and Melinda Simon Mrs. James W. Wilson, Jr. Tom and Dee Stegman Mr. and Mrs. James M. Zimmerman § Jackie and Roy Sweeney Family Fund* Anonymous (1) Mr. Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. § Scott and Charla Weiss CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE Anonymous (1)

Gifts of $10,000–$14,999

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Akers Mr. and Mrs. Lars C. Anderson, Sr. Robert D. Bergstein Dr. and Mrs. John and Suzanne Bossert §Mrs. Thomas E. Davidson § Dr. and Mrs. Carl G. Fischer Kelly Dehan and Rick Staudigel Ashley and Bobbie Ford § Dr. and Mrs. Alberto Espay Karlee L. Hilliard § Mr. and Mrs. Tom Evans Mrs. Andrea Kaplan Anne E. Mulder and Rebecca M. Gibbs Edyth B. Lindner Mr. and Mrs. Scott Gruner Calvin and Patricia Linnemann William and Jo Ann Harvey Mark and Tia Luegering Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hone Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Maloney Whitney and Phillip Long Mrs. Susan M. McPartlin Holly and Louis Mazzocca G. Franklin Miller and Mr. Bradford Phillips III Carolyn Baker Miller Mr. Michael E. Phillips Moe and Jack Rouse § David and Jenny Powell Mrs. Theodore Striker Bill and Lisa Sampson Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Ullman Mark S. and Rosemary K. Schlachter § Nancy C. Wagner and Mr. Dennis Schoff and Patricia M. Wagner § Ms. Nina Sorensen Anonymous (1) Mr. Lawrence Schumacher In memory of Mary and SILVER BATON CIRCLE Joseph S. Stern, Jr Ralph C. Taylor § Gifts of $15,000–$24,999 Michael P Bergan and Tiffany Hanisch Tomcinoh Fund* Mr. and Mrs. David R. Valz Mr. and Mrs. Larry Brueshaber Mr. Gregory D. Buckley and Ms. Susan Berry-Buckley Ms. Melanie M. Chavez Robert and Debra Chavez

GOLD BATON CIRCLE

Gifts of $25,000–$49,999

John Morris Russell, Board member Andrea Costa, and guests of HORAN after Red, White and BOOM! on July 4. Credit: CSO staff

CONCERTMASTER’S CIRCLE Gifts of $5,000–$9,999

Dr. Charles Abbottsmith Drs. Frank and Mary Albers Heather Apple and Mary Kay Koehler Thomas P. Atkins Mrs. Thomas B. Avril Joe and Patricia Baker Kathleen and Michael Ball Robert and Janet Banks Dava Lynn Biehl § Louis D. Bilionis and Ann Hubbard Henry and Joan Boehmer Robert L. Bogenschutz Thomas A. Braun, III § Dr. Ralph P. Brown The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Gordon Christenson Sally and Rick Coomes K.M. Davis Bedouin and Randall Dennison Dennis W. and Cathy Dern Laura Doerger-Roberts & Peter Roberts Jean and Rick Donaldson Nancy and Steve Donovan Connie and Buzz Dow Mrs. Diana T. Dwight In Loving Memory of Diane Zent Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fencl Mr. and Mrs. James T. Fitzgerald Marlena and Walter Frank Dr. and Mrs. Harry F. Fry Kathy Grote in loving memory of Robert Howes § Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Hamby John B. and Judith O. Hansen Ms. Delores Hargrove-Young Dr. Donald and Laura Harrison Mr. and Mrs. Brian E. Heekin Dr. James and Mrs. Susan Herman Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hicks Mr. and Mrs. Bradley G. Hughes Mr. Marshall C. Hunt, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Keenan Mr. and Mrs. Lorrence T. Kellar Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kovarsky Michael and Marilyn Kremzar Peter E. Landgren and Judith Schonbach Landgren Richard and Susan Lauf Mrs. Jean E. Lemon § Adele Lippert Mrs. Robert Lippert Elizabeth and Brian Mannion David L. Martin Mr. Jonathan Martin Mandare Foundation Barbara and Kim McCracken § Mr. Gerron McKnight Linda and James Miller James and Margo Minutolo George and Sarah Morrison III Mr. and Mrs. David W. Motch David and Beth Muskopf Mr. Arthur Norman and Mrs. Lisa Lennon Norman The Patel-Curran Family Alice Perlman Ms. Thienthanh Pham Drs. Marcia Kaplan and Michael Privitera Mr. Aftab Pureval Terry and Marvin Quin Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Quinn, Jr. Melody Sawyer Richardson § Ellen Rieveschl § Elizabeth and Karl Ronn § James and Mary Russell Dr. E. Don Nelson and Ms. Julia Sawyer-Nelson Martha and Lee Schimberg Brent & Valerie Sheppard Sue and Glenn Showers § Rennie and David Siebenhar

Elizabeth C. B. Sittenfeld § Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Skidmore § Michael and Donnalyn Smith Nancy Steman Dierckes § Brett Stover § Christopher and Nancy Virgulak Dr. Barbara R. Voelkel Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Wachter Mrs. Ronald F. Walker Mrs. Paul H. Ward § Donna A. Welsch Cathy S. Willis Andrea K. Wiot Irene A. Zigoris Anonymous (4)

ARTIST’S CIRCLE Gifts of $3,000–$4,999

Mr. and Mrs. Richard N. Adams William Albertson Mr. Roger Ames Mr. Nicholas Apanius Mr. and Mrs. Gérard Baillely Ms. Marianna Bettman Glenn and Donna Boutilier Peter and Kate Brown Janet and Bruce Byrnes Susan and Burton Closson Lois Cohen § Peter G. Courlas § Mr. and Mrs. John Cover Marjorie Craft Mr. and Mrs. James Dealy George Deepe and Kris Orsborn Jim and Elizabeth Dodd Mrs. Jack E. Drake Patricia Dudsic Dr. and Mrs. Stewart B. Dunsker David and Kari Ellis Fund* Ann A. Ellison Hardy and Barbara Eshbaugh Yan Fridman Frank and Tara Gardner Naomi Gerwin Dr. and Mrs. Ralph A. Giannella Thomas W. Gougeon Lesha and Samuel Greengus Dr. and Mrs. Jack Hahn Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Heidenreich Donald and Susan Henson Ruth C. Holthaus In Memory of Benjamin C. Hubbard § Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Hughes Karolyn Johnsen Dr. Richard and Lisa Kagan Dr. Robert W. Keith and Ms. Kathleen Thornton Don and Kathy King Lynn Keniston Klahm In Memory of Jeff Knoop Marie and Sam Kocoshis Mr. Frank P. Kromer Mr. Shannon Lawson Dr. and Mrs. Lynn Y. Lin Merlanne Louney Mr. and Mrs. Donald Marshall Glen and Lynn Mayﬁeld Allen-McCarren Ms. Amy McDiffett Ms. Sue Miller Mrs. Patricia Misrach Mr. and Mrs. David E. Moccia § Jennifer Morales and Ben Glassman Ms. Mary Lou Motl Phyllis Myers and Danny Gray Mr. and Mrs. John Niehaus Dr. and Mrs. Richard Park § Poul D. and JoAnne Pedersen Alice and David Phillips Mark and Kim Pomeroy Michael and Katherine Rademacher Beverly and Dan Reigle Sandra Rivers James Rubenstein and Bernadette Unger Mr. & Mrs. Peter A. Schmid Rev. Dr. David V. Schwab Sandra and David Seiwert

Fanfare Magazine | 75

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Concert sponsors Peter Landgren and Judith Schonbach-Landgren and guests greet Matthias Pinscher after a concert.

Mr. Rick Sherrer and Dr. Lisa D. Kelly Doug and Laura Skidmore William A. and Jane Smith Elizabeth A. Stone Margaret and Steven Story Mr. and Mrs. J. Dwight Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Tinklenberg Neil Tollas and Janet Moore Dr. and Mrs. Galen R. Warren Jim and George Ann Wesner Jo Ann Wieghaus In Memory of Bruce R. Smith Jonathan and Janet Weaver Ronna and James Willis Matt and Lindsay Willmann Steve and Katie Wolnitzek Carol and Don Wuebbling Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Zierolf Anonymous (4)

SYMPHONY CIRCLE

Gifts of $1,500–$2,999

Jeff and Keiko Alexander § Lisa Allgood Dr. Rob and Ashley Altenau Beth and Bob Baer Mrs. Gail Bain William and Barbara Banks Glenda and Malcolm Bernstein David and Elaine Billmire Mr. and Mrs. Rodd Bixler Dorothy Anne Blatt Neil Bortz Dr. and Mrs. William Bramlage Mrs. Jo Ann C. Brown Ms. Jaqui Brumm Rachelle Bruno and Stephen Bondurant Chris and Tom Buchert Dr. Leanne Budde Daniel A. Burr Ms. Deborah Campbell § Ms. Barbara Caramanian Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Carothers Tom Carpenter and Lynne Lancaster Dr. Alan Chambers Catharine W. Chapman § James Clasper and Cheryl Albrecht Beverly Kinney and Edward Cloughessy Carol C. Cole § Dr. George I. Colombel Randy K. and Nancy R. Cooper Ms. Andrea Costa Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Curran, III § Mr. Louis M. Dauner and Ms. Geraldine N. Wu Mrs. Shirley Duff Mr. and Mrs. John G. Earls § Barry and Judy Evans Gail F. Forberg § Dr. Charles E. Frank and Ms. Jan Goldstein Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fricke Linda P. Fulton § Dudley Fulton Kathleen Gibboney Mrs. Jay N. Gibbs Donn Goebel and Cathy McLeod

76 | 2023–24 SEASON

Dr. and Mrs. Glenn S. Gollobin Drew Gores and George Warrington Mr. and Mrs. Gary Greenberg Jim and Jann Greenberg Bill and Christy Griesser John and Elizabeth Grover Esther B. Grubbs § Mr. and Mrs. Byron Gustin Ham and Ellie Hamilton Mrs. Jackie Havenstein Mr. Tom Helmick Mr. Fred Heyse Mr. Joe Hoskins Melissa Huber Mr. Bradley Hunkler Heidi Jark and Steve Kenat Linda Busken and Andrew M. Jergens § Barbara M. Johnson Ms. Sylvia Johnson Holly H. Keeler Arleene Keller Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Keown, Jr. John and Molly Kerman Bill and Penny Kincaid Juri Kolts Carol Louise Kruse Mrs. John H. Kuhn § Jo Ann and George Kurz Evelyn and Fred Lang Charles and Jean Lauterbach Mary Mc and Kevin Lawson Dr. Carol P. Leslie Mr. Peter F. Levin § Elizabeth Lilly* Drs. Douglas Linz and Ann Middaugh Mrs. Marianne Locke Mr. and Mrs. Clement H. Luken, Jr. Edmund D. Lyon Dr. and Ms. Mark Mandell-Brown Stephanie and Arthur McMahon Stephanie McNeill Becky Miars John and Roberta Michelman Mr. and Mrs. David A. Millett Terence G. Milligan Dr. Stanley R. Milstein § Ms. Laura Mitchell Mrs. Sally A. More Susan E. Noelcke Nan L. Oscherwitz Rick Pescovitz and Kelly Mahan Sandy Pike § James W. Rauth § Drs. Christopher and Blanca Riemann Stephen and Betty Robinson Ms. Jeanne C. Rolfes Nancy and Raymond Rolwing Jens G Rosenkrantz Marianne Rowe § Nancy Ruchhoft Dr. and Mrs. Michael Scheffler Mr. Joseph A. Schilling Frederick R. Schneider George Palmer Schober Tim and Jeannie Schoonover James P. Schubert

Louis Langrée and guest artist Courtney Bryan postconcert with Jon Ullman and Board member Kari Ullman. Credit: CSO staff Jacqueline M. Mack and Dr. Edward B. Silberstein Stephanie A. Smith Stephen and Lyle Smith Albert and Liza Smitherman Bill and Lee Steenken Christopher and Meghan Stevens Mrs. Donald C. Stouffer Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stradling, Jr. Rich and Nancy Tereba Linda and Nate Tetrick Susan and John Tew Janet Todd Mr. William Trach Barbie Wagner Dr. and Mrs. Matthew and Diana Wallace Michael L. Walton, Esq Ted and Mary Ann Weiss David F. and Sara K. Weston Fund Virginia Wilhelm Rev. Anne Warrington Wilson Robert and Judy Wilson Jeff Yang David and Sharon Youmans Andi Levenson Young and Scott Young Mr. and Mrs. Dan Zavon Ms. Nancy Zimpher Anonymous (11)

CONCERTO CLUB

Gifts of $500–$1,499

Hiro Adachi Christine O. Adams Judith Adams Romola N. Allen § In memory of Carol Allgood & Ester Stevens Mr. Thomas Alloy & Dr. Evaline Alessandrini Paul and Dolores Anderson Mr. and Mrs. Frank Andress Dr. Victor and Dolores Angel Nancy J. Apfel Lynne & Keith Apple, Honoring our Family Judy Aronoff and Marshall Ruchman Ms. Laura E. Atkinson Mr. David H. Axt and Ms. Susan L. Wilkinson Ms. Patricia Baas Dr. Diane S. Babcock § Nate and Greta Bachhuber Mrs. Mary M. Baer Todd and Ann Bailey Jerry and Martha Bain Mr. and Mrs. Carroll R. Baker Mr. Sean D. Baker Jack and Diane Baldwin Peggy Barrett § Mrs. Polly M. Bassett Ms. Glenda Bates Michael and Amy Battoclette Ms. Shirley Bear Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Brown Ms. Bianca Gallagher

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Bell Mr. Oliver Benes Drs. Carol and Leslie Benet Ms. Doris Bergen Fred Berger Dr. Allen W. Bernard Barbara and Milton Berner Dr. David and Cheryl Bernstein Ms. Henryka Bialkowska-Nagy Sharon Ann Kerns and Mike Birck Randal and Peter Bloch Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Bloomer Ava Jo Bohl Ms. Sandra Bolek Ron and Betty Bollinger Clay and Emily Bond Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Borisch Dr. Carol Brandon Marilyn and John Braun Briggs Creative Services, LLC Robert and Joan Broersma Marian H. Brown Jacklyn and Gary Bryson Bob and Angela Buechner Alvin W. Bunis, Jr. Donald L. and Kathleen Field Burns Jack and Marti Butz John J Byczkowski Ms. Cindy Callicoat Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Canarie Susan L. Carson Dr. Julia H. Carter Mike and Shirley Chaney Ichun Chiao Dee and Frank Cianciolo Fund* James Civille Bob and Tisha Clary Mr. David Clodfelter Mr. Robert Cohen and Ms. Amy J. Katz Fred W. Colucci Dr. Pearl J. Compaan Mr. and Mrs. Philip K. Cone Marilyn Cones Dr. Margaret Conradi Thomas and Barbara Conroy Janet Conway Jack and Janice Cook § Robin Cotton and Cindi Fitton Dennis and Pat Coyne Martha Crafts Dr. James Creech Bev and Bob Croskery Tim and Katie Crowley Susan and John Cummings Adrian and Takiyah Cunningham Jacqueline Cutshall Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Dabek, Jr. Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Lori Dattilo Mr. and Mrs. Jerry E. Davis Diane and Wayne Dawson Loren and Polly DeFilippo Stephen and Cynthia DeHoff Robert B. Dick, Ph.D. Ms. Rhonda Dickerscheid John and Maureen Doellman Drs. Gerald Dorn and Deborah Hauger

FINANCIAL SUPPORT Robert W. Dorsey § George Dostie Jack and Diane Douglass Mrs. John Doviak David and Kelley Downing Meredith and Chuck Downton Mr. James Doyle Jim and Karen Draut Emilie and David Dressler Ms. Andrea Dubroff Tom and Leslie Ducey Tom and Dale Due David and Linda Dugan Mr. Corwin R. Dunn Michael D. and Carolyn Camillo Eagen Joseph and Kristi Echler Dale & Kathy Elifrits Mr. Daniel Epstein Barbara Esposito-Ilacqua Mr. Edward Ettin Dr. and Mrs. William J. Faulkner Walter & Mary Ann Feige Ms. Jean Feinberg Ms. Barbara A. Feldmann Mrs. Michelle Finch Richard and Elizabeth Findlay Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Fischer Michael and Bonnie Fishel Anne and Alan Fleischer Ms. Nancy B. Forbriger Janice and Dr. Tom Forte Mr. and Ms. Bernard Foster Susan L. Fremont Mr. Gregrick A. Frey In memory of Eugene and Cavell Frey Lynne Friedlander Mr. and Mrs. Fred Friedman Michael and Katherine Frisco Mr. and Mrs. James Fryman Marjorie Fryxell Christophe Galopin Mrs. James R. Gardner Melanie Garner and Michael Berry Ms. Jane Garvey Mark S. Gay Ms. Christina Gearhart Drs. Michael and Janelle J. Gelfand Mr. Genther Dr. and Mrs. Freidoon Ghazi Ms. Kathryn Gibbons David J. Gilner Mr. and Mrs. James Gingrich Dr. Jerome Glinka and Ms. Kathleen Blieszner Dr. and Mrs. Charles J. Glueck Dan Goetz Dr. and Mrs. Richard Goetz Mr. Ken Goldhoff Mr. and Mrs. Jim Goldschmidt Ms. Arlene Golembiewski Robert and Cynthia Gray Carl and Joyce Greber Mary Grooms Dr. Anthony and Ann Guanciale Dr. Janet C. Haartz and Kenneth V. Smith Alison and Charles Haas Mrs. R. C. Haberstroh Ms. Sarah Habib Mary and Phil Hagner Peter Hames Walter and Karen Hand In memory of Dr. Stuart Handwerger James and Sally Harper Catherine K. Hart Mariana Belvedere and Samer Hasan Mr. John A. Headley Amy and Dennis Healy Kenneth and Rachel Heberling Mrs. Betty H. Heldman § Howard D. and Mary W. Helms Mrs. E. J. Hengelbrok, Jr. Michelle and Don Hershey Janet & Craig Higgins Mr. and Mrs. Russell W. Hill Mr. and Mrs. William A. Hillebrand Kyle and Robert Hodgkins Benjamin & Naomi Hoffman Ms. Leslie M. Hoggatt Mr. and Mrs. Sam R. Hollingsworth Richard and Marcia Holmes Bob and Dolly Holzwarth Stanley A. Hooker, III

Ms. Sandra L. Houck Sean and Katie Hubbard Deanna and Henry Huber Karen and David Huelsman Mrs. Carol H. Huether Dr. G. Edward & Sarah Hughes Mr. Gordon Hullar Ms. Idit Isaacsohn Dr. Maralyn M. Itzkowitz Mrs. Charles H. Jackson, Jr. Mark and Caitlin Jeanmougin Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jebens Marcia Jelus David & Penny Jester John Byrd Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. Johnson Mrs. Marilyn P. Johnston In Honor of Lois Jolson Elizabeth A. Jones Mrs. Martha Jones Scott and Patricia Joseph Lois and Kenneth Jostworth Jay and Shirley Joyce Mr. and Mrs. Robert Judd Ms. Mary Judge Dr. Jerald Kay Dr. James Kaya and Debra Grauel Dr. and Mrs. Richard Kerstine Mr. and Mrs. Dave Kitzmiller Jack & Sharon Knapp Georgianne and Tom Koch Pamela Koester-Hackman Paul and Carita Kollman Carol and Scott Kosarko Mr. Robert Kraus Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Kregor Mr. and Mrs. Bruce A. Krone Kathleen B. and Michael C. Krug Fund* Matt & Diane Krumanaker Mark & Elisabeth Kuhlman Patricia Lambeck Everett and Barbara Landen Asher Lanier Karen Larsen Ms. Sally L. Larson Mrs. Julie Laskey Mr. and Mrs. John C. Layne Mr. Alvin R. Lee Mrs. Judith A. Leege in memory of Philip B. Leege Betsy Leigh and David Holliday Mrs. James R. Leo Mr. and Mrs. Lance A. Lewis Mrs. Maxine F. Lewis Iris Libby Ms. Presley Lindemann Mr. Arthur Lindsay Paula and Nick Link Mr. Ajene Lomax Mr. Steven Kent Loveless Luke and Nita Lovell Dr. and Mrs. Robert R. Lukin David and Katja Lundgren Timothy and Jill Lynch Mrs. Mary Reed Lyon Marshall and Nancy Macks Mr. and Mrs. Julian A. Magnus Jenea Malarik Ms. Cheryl Manning Andrew and Jean Martin Ms. Cynthia Mason David Mason § Mr. and Mrs. Warren L. Mason Mr. and Mrs. Dean Matz Ms. Mary Jane Mayer Tim and Trish McDonald Robert and Heather McGrath Mr. Bernard McKay Mark McKillip and Amira Beer Mrs. Karin McLennan Charles and JoAnn Mead Ms. Carol M. Meibers Ms. Nancy Menne Ms. Mary Ann Meyer Dr. and Mrs. Richard A. Meyer Michael V. Middleton Rachel and Charlie Miller Mr. Roger Miller Sonia R. Milrod Mr. Steven Monder Eileen W. and James R. Moon Regeana and Al Morgan

Vivian Kay Morgan Mr. William J. Morgan Mrs. Ivan Morse Mr. Scott Muhlhauser Miami University College of Creative Arts Mrs. and Mr. Katie Murry Kevin and Lane Muth Alan Flaherty and Patti Myers § Mr. and Mrs. Norman Neal Mr. Scott Nelson and Dr. Susan Kindel Mr. Ted Nelson and Ms. Ixi Chen Ms. Helen Neumann Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Newcomer Mr. Gerald Newfarmer Jim and Sharon Nichols Mrs. Alfred K. Nippert Jane Oberschmidt § Maureen Kelly and Andrew O’Driscoll Mr. Gerardo Orta Elizabeth Osterburg Ms. Sylvia Osterday Phyllis Overmann John A. Pape Eric Paternoster Don and Margie Paulsen The Pavelka Family Carol and Jim Pearce John and Francie Pepper * Mr. Mark Phillips Ann and Marty Pinales Patsy & Larry Plum Mr. and Mrs. Richard Post Mrs. Stewart Proctor Mr. Robert Przygoda Dr. Aik Khai Pung Marjorie and Louis Rauh Ms. Mary Redington Mrs. Angela M. Reed Dr. and Mrs. Robert Reed Mrs. Hera Reines Dr. Robert Rhoad and Kitsa Tassian Rhoad Stephanie Richardson Mr. David Robertson Laurie and Dan Roche Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Rodner Mr. and Mrs. Ian Rodway Dr. Anna Roetker Stanley & Shannon Romanstein Bob and Mary Ann Roncker Catherine Calko Dr. and Mrs. Gary Roselle Amy and John Rosenberg Ellen and Louis Ross Mr. and Mrs. G. Roger Ross Patricia Rouster Dr. Deborah K. Rufner J. Gregory and Judith B. Rust Dr. Richard S. Sarason and Ms. Anne S. Arenstein Elizabeth and Kazuya David and Judy Savage Mr. Christian J. Schaefer Ms. Carol Schleker Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Schleker Jane and Wayne Schleutker Dr. and Mrs. Michael Schmerler Mrs. Donna Schnicke Glenda C. Schorr Fund* Carol J. Schroeder § Mary D. Schweitzer Dr. Joseph Segal and Ms. Debbie Friedman Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Semancik Drs. Mick and Nancy Shaughnessy Jerry and Donna Shell The Shepherd Chemical Company Michael Shepherd Hal and Sandy Shevers Alfred and Carol Shikany Ms. Joycee Simendinger Kristin and David Skidmore “In Honor of Kenneth Skirtz” Ms. Martha Slager Susan and David Smith Ms. Margaret Smith Mark M. Smith (In memory of Terri C. Smith) Phillip and Karen Sparkes Mrs. John A. Spiess Paula Spitzmiller

Marian P. Stapleton Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Stautberg Ms. Ruth M. Stechschulte Mark and Anne Stepaniak Susan M. and Joseph Eric Stevens Mr. Jason V. Stitt Stephanie and Joseph Stitt Nancy and Gary Strassel Ms. Susan R. Strick Mr. George Stricker, Jr. Mr. Mark Stroud Patricia Strunk § Ms. Judi Sturwold Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Sullivan Dr. Alan and Shelley Tarshis Maureen Taylor Mr. Fred Tegarden Carlos and Roberta Teran Dr. Rachel Thienprayoon George and Pamela Thomas Joyce and Howard Thompson Pamela and Paul Thompson Mr. Stuart Tobin Torey and Tom Torre Mrs. Esthela Urriquia Dr. Ilse M. van der Bent Mr. D. R. Van Lokeren William and Bonnie VanEe Dr. Judith Vermillion Jim and Rachel Votaw § Ms. Barbara Wagner Mary and Jack Wagner § Mr. and Mrs. James L. Wainscott Jane A. Walker Sarella Walton Herman & Margaret Wasserman Music Fund* Mrs. Louise Watts Mr. Gerald V. Weigle, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Welsh Maryhelen West Ms. Bonnie White Mr. Donald White Ms. Elizabeth White Janice T. Wieland Ms. Diana Willen Ms. Desiree Willis Mr. Dean Windgassen and Ms. Susan Stanton Windgassen § Craig and Barbara Wolf Mrs. Ann Wolford Don and Karen Wolnik Rebecca Seeman and David Wood Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wylly III Mr. John M. Yacher Mrs. Darleen Young Judy and Martin Young Mr. David Youngblood and Ms. Ellen Rosenman David A. and Martha R. Yutzey Dr. and Mrs. Daryl Zeigler Meg Zeller and Alan Weinstein Ms. Joan Zellner Moritz and Barbara Ziegler Thomas and Joyce Zigler Mr. Richard K. Zinicola and Ms. Linda R. Holthaus David and Cynthia Zink John and Mary Ann Zorio Ms. Jayne Zuberbuhler Anonymous (22) List as of September 7, 2023

GIFTS IN-KIND

Ms. Melanie M. Chavez Graeter’s Ice Cream Harris Media Co. List as of September 12, 2023 * Denotes a fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. § Denotes members of The Thomas Schippers Legacy Society. Individuals who have made a planned gift to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops Orchestra are eligible for membership in the Society. For more information, please contact Kate Farinacci at 513.744.3202.

Fanfare Magazine | 77

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

THE THOMAS SCHIPPERS LEGACY SOCIETY Thomas Schippers was Music Director from 1970 to 1977. He left not only wonderful musical memories, but also a ﬁnancial legacy with a personal bequest to the Orchestra. The Thomas Schippers Legacy Society recognizes those who contribute to the Orchestra with a planned gift. We thank these members for their foresight and generosity. For more information on leaving your own legacy, contact Kate Farinacci at 513.744.3202.

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Adams Jeff & Keiko Alexander Mrs. Robert H. Allen Paul R. Anderson Carole J. Arend Donald C. Auberger, Jr. Dr. Diane Schwemlein Babcock Henrietta Barlag Peggy Barrett Jane* & Ed Bavaria David & Elaine Billmire Walter Blair Lucille* & Dutro Blocksom Rosemary & Frank Bloom* Dr. John & Suzanne Bossert Dr. Mollie H. Bowers-Hollon Ronald Bozicevich Thomas A. Braun, III Joseph Brinkmeyer Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Bryan, III Harold & Dorothy Byers Deborah Campbell & Eunice M. Wolf Myra Chabut* Catharine W. Chapman Michael L. Cioffi & Rachael Rowe Mrs. Jackson L. Clagett III Lois & Phil* Cohen Leland M.* & Carol C. Cole Grace A. Cook Jack & Janice Cook Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cordes Andrea Costa Peter G. Courlas & Nick Tsimaras* Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Curran III Amy & Scott Darrah, Meredith & Will Darrah, & children Caroline H. Davidson Harrison R.T. Davis Ms. Kelly M. Dehan Amy & Trey Devey Robert W. Dorsey Jon & Susan Doucleff Ms. Judith A. Doyle Mr. & Mrs. John Earls Barry & Judy Evans Linda & Harry Fath Alan Flaherty Mrs. Richard A. Forberg* Ashley & Barbara Ford Guy & Marilyn Frederick Rich Freshwater & Family

78 | 2023–24 SEASON

Susan Friedlander* Mr. Nicholas L. Fry Linda P. Fulton H. Jane Gavin Edward J. and Barbara C. Givens Kenneth A. Goode Clifford J. Goosmann & Andrea M. Wilson Mrs. Madeleine H. Gordon J. Frederick & Cynthia Gossman Kathy Grote Esther B. Grubbs, Marci Bein & Mindi Hamby William Hackman Vincent C. Hand & Ann E. Hagerman Tom & Jan Hardy William L. Harmon Mrs. Morton L. Harshman* Mary J. Healy Frank G. Heitker Anne P. Heldman Betty & John* Heldman Ms. Roberta Hermesch* Karlee L. Hilliard Michael H. Hirsch Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn Daniel J. Hoffheimer Kenneth L. Holford Mr. George R. Hood Mr. & Mrs. Terence L. Horan Mrs. Benjamin C. Hubbard Susan & Tom Hughes Carolyn R. Hunt* Dr. William Hurford & Dr. Lesley Gilbertson Mr. & Mrs. Paul Isaacs Julia M. F. B. Jackson Michael & Kathleen Janson Andrew MacAoidh Jergens Jean C. Jett Margaret H. Jung Mace C. Justice Karen Kapella Dr. & Mrs.* Steven Katkin Rachel Kirley & Joseph Jaquette Carolyn Koehl Marvin Kolodzik & Linda Gallaher Carol & Scott Kosarko Randolph & Patricia Krumm Theresa M. Kuhn

Warren & Patricia Lambeck Peter E. Landgren & Judith Schonbach Landgren Owen & Cici Lee Steve Lee M. Drue Lehmann Mrs. Jean E. Lemon Mr. Peter F. Levin George & Barbara Lott Janice* & Gary Lubin Mr.* & Mrs. Ronald Lyons Marilyn J. Maag Margot Marples David L. Martin Allen* & Judy Martin David Mason Mrs. Barbara Witte McCracken Laura Kimble McLellan Dr. Stanley R. Milstein Mrs. William K. Minor Mr. & Mrs. D. E. Moccia Kristin & Stephen Mullin Christopher & Susan Muth Patti Myers Susan & Kenneth Newmark Dr. & Mrs. Theodore Nicholas Jane Oberschmidt Marja-Liisa Ogden Julie & Dick* Okenfuss Jack & Marilyn* Osborn Dr. & Mrs. Richard E. Park, MD Mr. & Mrs. Charles Pease Poul D. & JoAnne Pedersen Sandy & Larry* Pike Mrs. Harold F. Poe Anne M. Pohl Irene & Daniel Randolph James W. Rauth Barbara S. Reckseit Melody Sawyer Richardson Ellen Rieveschl Elizabeth & Karl Ronn Moe & Jack Rouse Marianne Rowe Ann & Harry Santen Rosemary & Mark Schlachter Carol J. Schroeder Mrs. William R. Seaman Dr. Brian Sebastian Mrs. Mildred J. Selonick* Mrs. Robert B. Shott

Sue & Glenn Showers Irwin & Melinda Simon Betsy & Paul* Sittenfeld Sarah Garrison Skidmore Adrienne A. Smith David & Sonja* Snyder Marie Speziale Mr. & Mrs. Christopher L. Sprenkle Michael M. Spresser Barry & Sharlyn Stare Cynthia Starr Bill & Lee Steenken Tom & Dee Stegman Barry Steinberg Nancy M. Steman John & Helen Stevenson Mary* & Bob Stewart Brett Stover Dr. Robert & Jill Strub Patricia M. Strunk Ralph & Brenda* Taylor Conrad F. Thiede Minda F. Thompson Carrie & Peter Throm Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Todd Nydia Tranter Dick & Jane Tuten Thomas Vanden Eynden & Judith Beiting Mr. & Mrs. Robert Varley Mr. & Mrs. James K. Votaw Mr. & Mrs.* Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Jack K. & Mary V. Wagner* Nancy C. Wagner Patricia M. Wagner Mr.* & Mrs. Paul Ward Jo Anne & Fred Warren Mr. Scott Weiss & Dr. Charla Weiss Anne M. Werner Gary & Diane West Charles A. Wilkinson Ms. Diana Willen Susan Stanton Windgassen Mrs. Joan R. Wood Alison & Jim Zimmerman * Deceased New Schippers members are in bold

WELCOME TO NOV–DEC GROUPS! (as of October 3, 2023)

CSO Tetzlaff & Tchaikovsky’s Fifth: Nov. 10–11 Barrington of Oakley Christian Village at Mason Indian Hill High School Kenwood by Senior Star Knolls of Oxford Maple Knoll Village Marielders Oak Hills High School Otterbein Retirement Community Saint Catherine Of Siena School St. Charles Community CSO Thomas’ Hamlet: Nov. 17 & 19 Adams Homeschool Group Alliance Française CSO Sibelius Symphony No. 5: Nov. 25–26 Lucas Family & Friends CSO Bach’s Fourth & Mahler’s Fifth: Dec. 1–2 Anderson High School Christian Village at Mason Kenwood by Senior Star Maple Knoll Village Otterbein Retirement Community Seasons Retirement Community Turpin High School Holiday Pops: Dec. 8–10 Altenau Family & Friends Anderson Senior Center Barrington of Oakley Berkeley Square Blake Family & Friends Bosco Murphy Family & Friends Joe Brinkmeyer Family & Friends Burns Family & Friends Carothers Family & Friends Christian Village at Mason Conner Middle School

Coomes Family & Friends Cops to Pops: Cincinnati Police Department Officers Fesutel Family & Friends Fitz Flute Studio Franck Family & Friends Grothaus Family & Friends Guardian Angels Residential Home Hopkins Family & Friends Jacob Family & Friends Kenwood by Senior Star Kerry Automotive Kirsch Family & Friends Knolls of Oxford Lebanon High School Lynn Family & Friends Madeira Middle School Mahan Family & Friends Maple Knoll Village Miami University College of Creative Arts Mosko Family & Friends Otterbein Retirement Community Provident Travel Ramsey Family & Friends Saint Gertrude School Schmidt Family & Friends Schmitt Family & Friends Seasons Retirement Community South Dearborn High School Band & Choir Stegall Family & Friends Twin Towers Walker Family & Friends Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Dec. 29–30 Cub Pack 402 Hemmer Family & Friends Jones Family & Friends Marshall Family & Friends Nordhausen Family & Friends Pinto Family & Friends

ENJOY THE MUSIC, TOGETHER! • Groups of 10+ save 20% on most concerts and seniors and students save even more! • Curate your own event with a private reception, guided tour or meet and greet— the possibilities are endless. Contact CSO Group Sales: 513.864.0196 or groupsales@cincinnatisymphony.org cincinnatisymphony.org/groups

Fanfare Magazine | 79

ADMINISTRATION SHARED SERVICES & SUBSIDIARIES. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s business model is unique within the orchestral industry because it provides administrative services for other nonproﬁts and operates two subsidiary companies—Music & Event Management, Inc. and EVT Management LLC. With the consolidation of resources and expertise, sharing administrative services allows for all organizations within the model to thrive. Under this arrangement, the CSO produces hundreds of events in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton regions and employs hundreds of people annually. SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM Jonathan Martin President & CEO

KC Commander Director of Digital Content & Innovation

Laura Bordner Adams Acting Vice President of Orchestra & Personnel

Kaitlyn Driesen Digital Production Manager

HUMAN RESOURCES & PAYROLL Kyle Wynk-Sivashankar Vice President of Human Resources

Lauren Hall Digital Content Intern

Natalia Lerzundi Human Resources & Payroll Coordinator

Rich Freshwater Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Tyler Secor Director of Publications & Content Development

Jenny Ryan Human Resources Manager

Patron Services Representatives Rebecca Ammerman, Lead Ellison Blair, Lead Drew Dolan, Lead Wendy Marshall, Lead Erik Nordstrom, Lead Alison de la Paz Craig Doolin Mary Duplantier Ebony Jackson Talor Marren Lucas Maurer Marian Mayen

Michael Frisco Vice President of Marketing

Lee Snow Digital Content Technology Manager

LEARNING Carol Dary Dunevant Director of Learning

PHILANTHROPY Mary McFadden Lawson Chief Philanthropy Officer

Hollie Greenwood Learning Coordinator

Laura Aldana Philanthropy Intern

Emily Jordan Sound Discoveries Teaching Assistant

Sean Baker Director of Institutional Giving

Harold Brown The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Felecia Tchen Kanney Vice President of Communications & Digital Media

Kit Gladieux Communications Intern

Robert McGrath Chief Operating Officer

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION Harold Brown The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Anthony Paggett Acting Vice President of Artistic Planning

Pamela Jayne Volunteer & Community Engagement Coordinator

Kyle Wynk-Sivashankar Vice President of Human Resources

FINANCE, IT & DATA SERVICES Rich Freshwater Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Mary McFadden Lawson Chief Philanthropy Officer

EXECUTIVE OFFICE Jonathan Martin President & CEO Laura Ruple Interim Executive Assistant to the President and CEO Robert McGrath Chief Operating Officer Shannon Faith Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer ARTISTIC PLANNING Anthony Paggett Acting Vice President of Artistic Planning Grace Kim Artistic Planning Intern Nick Minion Artist Liaison Laura Ruple Assistant to the Music Director & Artistic Planning Sam Strater Senior Advisor for Cincinnati Pops Planning COMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL MEDIA Felecia Tchen Kanney Vice President of Communications & Digital Media Charlie Balcom Social Media Manager

80 | 2023–24 SEASON

Megan Inderbitzin-Tsai Director of Payroll Services

Kyle Lamb Learning Programs Manager Ian McIntyre Sound Discoveries Teaching Artist Mason Stewart Education Programs Intern

Bhaya Nayna Channan Corporate Giving Manager Ashley Coffey Foundation & Grants Manager Kate Farinacci Director of Special Campaigns & Legacy Giving Penny Hamilton Philanthropy Assistant

Deborah Benjamin Accounting Clerk

MARKETING Michael Frisco Vice President of Marketing

Julian Cann Accounting Clerk

Leon Barton Website Manager

Kathleen Curry Data Entry Clerk

Nic Bizub Group Sales Manager

Elizabeth Engwall Accounting Manager

Jon Dellinger Copywriter & Marketing Manager

Leslie Hoggatt Director of Individual Giving & Donor Services

Matt Grady Accounting Manager

Carmen Granger Subscriptions Marketing Manager

Quinton Jefferson Research & Grants Administrator

Sharon Grayton Data Services Manager

Elaine Hudson Assistant Box Office Manager

D’Anté McNeal Special Projects Coordinator

Marijane Klug Accounting Manager

Hannah Kaiser Assistant Box Office Manager

Jenna Montes Individual Giving Manager

Shannon May Accounting Clerk

Abigail Karr Audience Engagement Manager

Emma Steward Donor Engagement Coordinator

Kristina Pfeiffer Director of Finance

Stephanie Lazorchak Graphic Designer

Elizabeth Salmons Accounting Clerk

Michelle Lewandowski Director of Marketing

PRODUCTION Laura Bordner Adams Acting Vice President of Orchestra & Personnel

Judy Simpson Director of Finance

Tina Marshall Director of Ticketing & Audience Services

Tara Williams Data Services Manager

Madelyn McArthur Marketing Intern Amber Ostaszewski Director of Audience Engagement Alexis Shambley Marketing & Audience Insight Coordinator

Catherine Hann Assistant Director of Individual Giving Rachel Hellebusch Institutional Giving Coordinator

Naomi Bennett Orchestra Personnel & Operations Manager Carlos Javier Production Manager Alex Magg Production Manager Isabella Prater Production Intern Brenda Tullos Director of Orchestra Personnel

NEW Cincinnati

Symphony Orchestra Recordings

David Lang’s man made, featuring Sō Percussion, and Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 6 — both conducted by Louis Langrée.

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Available on all streaming platforms!

NEW ALBUM FROM THE POPS John Morris Russell conducts snappy new arrangements of your favorite Holiday tunes.

A limited run of vinyl will be sold exclusively at the Holiday Pops concerts on Dec 8-10 at Music Hall. Streaming on all platforms NOV 17