ENRICO LOPEZ-YAÑEZ
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Principal Pops Conductor
Devereaux Family Chair
FIRST VIOLIN
Robyn Bollinger
CONCERTMASTER
Katherine Tuck Chair
Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy
ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER
Schwartz and Shapero Family Chair
Hai-Xin Wu
ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
Walker L. Cisler/Detroit Edison
Foundation Chair
Jennifer Wey Fang
ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
Marguerite Deslippe*
Laurie Goldman*
Rachel Harding Klaus*
Eun Park Lee*
Adrienne Rönmark*
William and Story John Chair
Alexandros Sakarellos*^
Drs. Doris Tong and Teck Soo Chair
Laura Soto*
Greg Staples*
Jiamin Wang*
Mingzhao Zhou*
SECOND VIOLIN
Adam Stepniewski
ACTING PRINCIPAL
The Devereaux Family Chair
Will Haapaniemi*
David and Valerie McCammon Chairs
Hae Jeong Heidi Han*
David and Valerie McCammon Chairs
Sheryl Hwangbo Yu*
Sujin Lim*
Hong-Yi Mo *
Marian Tanau*
Alexander Volkov*
Jing Zhang*
VIOLA
Eric Nowlin
PRINCIPAL
Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair
James VanValkenburg
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Janet and Norm Ankers Chair
Caroline Coade
Henry and Patricia Nickol Chair
Glenn Mellow
Hang Su
Hart Hollman
Han Zheng
Mike Chen
Harper Randolph §
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair
CELLO
Wei Yu
PRINCIPAL
Abraham Feder ^
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair
Robert Bergman*
Jeremy Crosmer*
Victor and Gale Girolami Chair
David LeDoux*
Peter McCaffrey*
Joanne Deanto and Arnold Weingarden Chair
Una O’Riordan*
Mary Ann and Robert Gorlin Chair
Cole Randolph*
Mary Lee Gwizdala Chair
BASS
Kevin Brown
PRINCIPAL
Van Dusen Family Chair
Stephen Molina
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Renato and Elizabeth Jamett Chair
Christopher Hamlen*
Peter Hatch*
Vincent Luciano*
Brandon Mason*
HARP
Alyssa Katahara PRINCIPAL
Winifred E. Polk Chair
FLUTE
Hannah Hammel Maser
PRINCIPAL
Alan J. and Sue Kaufman and Family Chair
Amanda Blaikie
Morton and Brigitte Harris Chair
Sharon Sparrow
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Bernard and Eleanor Robertson Chair
Jeffery Zook
PICCOLO
Jeffery Zook
OBOE
Alexander Kinmonth
PRINCIPAL
Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair
Sarah Lewis
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Monica Fosnaugh
ENGLISH HORN
Monica Fosnaugh
TABITA BERGLUND
Principal Guest Conductor
CLARINET
Ralph Skiano
PRINCIPAL
Robert B. Semple Chair
Jocelyn Langworthy
ACTING SECOND CLARINET
Jack Walters
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
PVS Chemicals Inc./
Jim and Ann Nicholson Chair
Shannon Orme
E-FLAT CLARINET
Jack Walters
BASS CLARINET
Shannon Orme
Barbara Frankel and Ronald Michalak Chair
BASSOON
Conrad Cornelison
PRINCIPAL
Byron and Dorothy Gerson Chair
Cornelia Sommer
Jaquain Sloan ACTING UTILITY BASSOON
CONTRABASSOON OPEN
HORN
Patrick Walle
ACTING PRINCIPAL HORN
David and Christine Provost Chair
Johanna Yarbrough ^
Scott Strong
Ric and Carola Huttenlocher Chair
Kristi Crago
ACTING HORN
Ben Wulfman ACTING HORN
TRUMPET
Hunter Eberly PRINCIPAL
Austin Williams
James Vaughen
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
William Lucas
TROMBONE Open
PRINCIPAL
David Binder
Adam Rainey
Richard Sonenklar and Greg Haynes
Chair
BASS TROMBONE
Adam Rainey
TUBA
Dennis Nulty
PRINCIPAL
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN
Assistant Conductor, Phillip &
Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador
TIMPANI
Jeremy Epp
PRINCIPAL
Richard and Mona Alonzo Chair
James Ritchie
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
PERCUSSION
Joseph Becker
PRINCIPAL
Ruth Roby and Alfred R. Glancy III Chair
Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
William Cody Knicely Chair
James Ritchie
Luciano Valdes§
LIBRARIANS
Robert Stiles
PRINCIPAL
Ethan Allen
LEGACY CHAIRS
Principal Flute
Women’s Association for the DSO
Principal Cello
James C. Gordon
PERSONNEL MANAGERS
Patrick Peterson
ORCHESTRA MANAGER
Benjamin Tisherman
MANAGER OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
STAGE PERSONNEL
Dennis Rottell
STAGE MANAGER
Joe Corless
DEPARTMENT HEAD
William Dailing
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Zach Deater
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Issac Eide
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Kurt Henry
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Matthew Pons
SENIOR AUDIO DEPARTMENT HEAD
Jason Tschantre
DEPARTMENT HEAD -
PAST MUSIC DIRECTORS
Leonard Slatkin
MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE
Neeme Järvi
MUSIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS
LEGEND
* These members may voluntarily revolve seating within the section on a regular basis
^ Leave of Absence
§ African American Orchestra Fellow
YOUNG PEOPLE’S FAMILY CONCERT SERIES
LET IT SNOW!
DECEMBER 7, 2024 AT 11 AM ORCHESTRA
HALL
DECEMBER 7, 2024
10 AM IN THE CUBE
Selections to be announced from the stage
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
YOUNG PEOPLE’S FAMILY CONCERT SERIES
LET IT SNOW!
Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 11 a.m. in Orchestra Hall
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN, conductor
Delvyn Case Rocket Sleigh
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky “Waltz of the Snowflakes” from The Nutcracker
Johnny Marks Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer arr. Richard Hayman
Mel Tormé The Christmas Song arr. Robert “Bob” Lowden
Alan Silvestri & Glen Ballard The Polar Express arr. Jerry Brubaker
Antonio Vivaldi A Winter Miracle arr. Tim Berens
Leon Jessel Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Op. 123
Matthew Naughtin A Visit from Saint Nicholas words Clement C. Moore
B.R. Hanby Up on the Housetop arr. Paul Campbell
Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride
PROFILE
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN
American conductor
Na’Zir McFadden is the Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
McFadden also serves as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra. Together this season, they will present three programs—exploring the masterworks of Sibelius, Schubert, Beethoven, Takashi Yoshimatsu, and Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Establishing his presence on the classical music scene, the 2024–25 season includes debuts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, and The No Name Pops (formerly the Philly Pops) at Marian Anderson Hall in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. He will also return to the New Mexico Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Ballet, in addition to several engagements with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
This past summer, McFadden was invited by the Boston Symphony Orchestra as one of two 2024 Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellows. As a fellow, he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in numerous performances, and participated in masterclasses led by
Andris Nelsons, Alan Gilbert, Thomas Wilkins, and Dima Slobodeniouk. In the 2022–23 season, he made his subscription debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, alongside bassbaritone Davóne Tines and clarinetist Anthony McGill. In March of 2024, he conducted the DSO’s Classical Roots program, premiering two new works by composers Billy Childs and Shelley Washington.
Other career highlights have included debuts with the North Carolina Symphony, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Ballet. Additionally, McFadden led a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago—featuring Hilary Hahn as co-collaborator and soloist.
In 2020, McFadden was named the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet; a position he held until 2022. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021. At the age of 16, McFadden conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series, meeting their Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has been a mentor ever since. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his “great stick [baton] technique and energetic presence on the podium” in their concert review.
JOIN US THIS MORNING IN THE WILLIAM DAVIDSON ATRIUM FOR FAMILY-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES:
try-out station, face painting, ornament making, composer’s workshop, and more!