PUBLISHER Brantley Manderson brantley@encoremagazine.com SENIOR
Kelli Dill kelli@encoremagazine.com
Hila Johnson hila@encoremagazine.com
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Robert Viagas robert@encoremagazine.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Tamara Hooks tamara@encoremagazine.com
DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Jennifer Nelson jennifer@encoremagazine.com
As you sit in your seat in Symphony Hall, imagine that you are walking down Peachtree Street, approaching the Woodruff Arts Center. You walk through the new entrance to the Goizueta Stage for Youth and Families. You gaze up at the kids and caregivers on the lobby overlook and are drawn into the entrance to the new theatre.
Imagine this room filled with excited young students on a field trip, jiggling in their seats, waiting to see and hear a performance with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians.
Imagine top student musicians from all over the Atlanta area there, saturating the airwaves with music in rehearsals of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Imagine this room resonating with chamber music, like a brass or string quintet, intertwining in beautiful harmony.
Imagine this room filled with the voices of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus—one of the great choruses of the world!
Our minds are abuzz with the possibilities of what this new space will make possible, now that work on what was the Rich Theater has begun. What we’re talking about is the expansion of opportunity to make and bring music to our community in a whole new way, with state-of-the-art acoustics that can be customized at the flip of a switch to provide an ideal environment for all performances.
The variety, quality and quantity of the performances and programs here at the Arts Center are stunning, and this newly transformed space will take it to a whole new level. On any given day, you’ll be able to stop by in the morning for a music or theater performance for young people; in the afternoon a rehearsal with students; and in the evening you can catch a performance of anything from chamber music to comedy and everything in between.
Not only will great music happen, but it’ll allow even more memorable performances to take place in Symphony Hall. It’s a win-win for the ASO, the Alliance Theater, the Woodruff Arts Center, and the whole community.
So, as you “pardon our dust” over the coming months, imagine the new space and how you and your family might enjoy it in early 2026. Time flies, and we are already imagining all the music within its walls.
With gratitude,
Jennifer Barlament, Executive Director
Preview the Goizueta Stage for Youth and Families here:
Nathalie Stutzmann is the Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra. She was Principal Guest Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2021 to 2024.
Nathalie made big news in the opera pit in 2023 with her debut at the Bayreuth Festival with Wagner's Tannhäuser. The performances resulted in her being named 'Best Conductor' of the year in the 2024 Oper! Awards. She returned to Bayreuth in 2024 for a revival of Tannhäuser and will be back in 2026 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Festival, conducting a new production of Rienzi.
Her opera debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2023 was declared by The New York Times as “the coup of the year.”
The 24-25 season with the Atlanta Symphony features key pillars of the romantic repertoire including a complete Beethoven Symphony cycle and Missa Solemnis. With several notable debuts including the Czech Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and her conducting debut at the Musikverein with Wiener Symphoniker; her season also includes returns to the New York Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Philadelphia Orchestra and L.A Philharmonic. In June 2025 she will return to Bruxelles La Monnaie to conduct Carmen.
Nathalie Stutzmann has signed an exclusive recording contract with Warner Classics/Erato and her first symphonic recording for the label of Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 and American Suite with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was released in
Awarded the 2023 Opus Klassik “Concerto Recording of the Year” for her recording of Glière and Mosolov Harp concertos with Xavier de Maistre and WDR Sinfonieorchester, 2022 also saw the release of complete Beethoven Piano Concertos recorded with Haochen Zhang and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Gramophone praised it as “a brilliant collaboration that I urge you to
Nathalie started her studies at a very young age in piano, bassoon, cello and studied conducting with the legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula.
As one of today’s most esteemed contraltos, she has made more than 80 recordings and received the most prestigious awards. Recognized for her significant contribution to the arts, Nathalie was named “Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur”, France’s highest honor; and “Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government.
Patrick Viguerie chair
Janine Brown immediate past chair
Bert Mills treasurer
Angela Evans secretary
Phyllis Abramson
Keith Adams
Juliet M. Allan
Susan Antinori
Rona Gomel Ashe
Andrew Bailey
Jennifer Barlament*
Keith Barnett
Paul Blackney
Zachary Boeding*
Janine Brown
Betsy Camp
Lisa Chang
Susan Clare
Russell Currey
Sheila Lee Davies
Carlos del Rio, M.D. FIDSA
Lisa DiFrancesco, M.D.
Lynn Eden
Yelena Epova
Angela Evans
Craig Frankel
Sally Bogle Gable
Anne Game
Rod Garcia-Escudero
Sally Frost George
Robert Glustrom
Bonnie B. Harris
Charles Harrison
Tad Hutcheson, Jr.
Roya Irvani
Joia M. Johnson
Chris Kopecky
Carrie Kurlander
Scott Lampert
James H. Landon
Donna Lee
Susan Antinori vice chair
Lynn Eden vice chair
Sukai Liu
Kevin Lyman
Deborah Marlowe
Shelley McGehee
Arthur Mills IV
Bert Mills
Molly Minnear
Hala Moddelmog*
Caroline Moïse
Anne Morgan
Terence L. Neal
Galen Lee Oelkers
Dr. John Paddock
Margie Painter
Howard D. Palefsky
Cathleen Quigley
Doug Reid
James Rubright
Ravi Saligram
Neil Berman
Benjamin Q. Brunt
John W. Cooledge, M.D.
John R. Donnell, Jr.
Jere A. Drummond
Carla Fackler
Charles B. Ginden
John T. Glover
Dona Humphreys
Aaron J. Johnson, Jr.
James F. Kelley
Patricia Leake
Karole F. Lloyd
Meghan H. Magruder
Howell E. Adams, Jr.
Connie Calhoun
C. Merrell Calhoun
Azira G. Hill
Penelope McPhee
Patricia H. Reid
Joyce Schwob
John A Sibley, III
H. Hamilton Smith
G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr.
Michael W. Trapp
James Rubright vice chair
William Schultz
V Scott
Charles Sharbaugh
Fahim Siddiqui
W. Ross Singletary, II
John Sparrow
Elliott Tapp
Brett Tarver^
Valerie Thadhani
Maria Todorova
S. Patrick Viguerie
Kathy Waller
Chris Webber
Richard S. White, Jr.
Mack Wilbourn
Kevin E. Woods, M.D., M.P.H.
Ray Uttenhove
Chilton Varner
Adair M. White
Sue Sigmon Williams * Ex-Officio Board Member
Ben F. Johnson, III
John B. White, Jr.
FIRST VIOLIN
David Coucheron concertmaster
The Mr. & Mrs. Howard R. Peevy Chair
Justin Bruns
associate concertmaster
The Charles McKenzie Taylor Chair
Lauren Roth
assistant concertmaster
Jun-Ching Lin
assistant concertmaster
Anastasia Agapova
Kevin Chen
Carolyn Toll Hancock
The Wells Fargo Chair
John Meisner
Christopher Pulgram
Juan R. Ramírez Hernández
Olga Shpitko
Kenn Wagner
Lisa Wiedman Yancich
Sissi Yuqing Zhang
SECTION VIOLIN ‡
Judith Cox
Raymond Leung
The Carolyn McClatchey Chair
Sanford Salzinger
SECOND VIOLIN
Sou-Chun Su
acting / associate principal
The Frances Cheney Boggs Chair
Jay Christy
acting associate / assistant principal
Rachel Ostler
acting assistant principal
Dae Hee Ahn*
Robert Anemone
Noriko Konno Clift
Paolo Dara
David Dillard
Paul Halberstadt
Eun Young Jung
Eleanor Kosek
Yaxin Tan
VIOLA
Zhenwei Shi
principal
The Edus H. & Harriet H.
Warren Chair
Paul Murphy
associate principal
The Mary & Lawrence
Gellerstedt Chair
Catherine Lynn
assistant principal
Marian Kent
Yang-Yoon Kim
Yiyin Li
Lachlan McBane
Jessica Oudin
Madeline Sharp
CELLO
Daniel Laufer
acting / associate principal
The Miriam & John Conant Chair
Karen Freer
acting associate / assistant
The Livingston Foundation Chair
Thomas Carpenter
Joel Dallow
The UPS Foundation Chair
Ray Kim
Isabel Kwon
Nathan Mo
Brad Ritchie
Denielle Wilson
Nathalie Stutzmann
music director
The Robert Reid Topping Chair
BASS
Joseph McFadden
principal
The Marcia & John Donnell Chair
Gloria Jones Allgood
associate principal
The Lucy R. & Gary Lee Jr. Chair
Karl Fenner
Michael Kurth
Nicholas Scholefield
Daniel Tosky
Vacant
The Jane Little Chair
FLUTE
Christina Smith principal
The Jill Hertz Chair
The Mabel Dorn Reeder
Honorary Chair
Robert Cronin
associate principal
C. Todd Skitch
Gina Hughes
PICCOLO
Gina Hughes
OBOE
Elizabeth Koch Tiscione
principal
The George M. & Corrie Hoyt Brown Chair
Zachary Boeding
associate principal
The Kendeda Fund Chair
Jonathan Gentry
Emily Brebach
ENGLISH HORN
Emily Brebach
William R. Langley
resident conductor & atlanta symphony youth
orchestra music director
The Zeist Foundation Chair
CLARINET
Jesse McCandless
principal
The Robert Shaw Chair
Ted Gurch*
associate principal
Ivan Valbuena
associate principal
Julianna Darby
Marci Gurnow*
Alcides Rodriguez
E-FLAT CLARINET
Ted Gurch*
Ivan Valbuena
BASS CLARINET
Alcides Rodriguez
BASSOON
Cameron Bonner
principal
The Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation Chair
Anthony Georgeson
associate principal
Laura Najarian
Juan de Gomar
CONTRABASSOON
Juan de Gomar
HORN
Ryan Little principal
The Betty Sands Fuller Chair
Andrew Burhans
associate principal
Kimberly Gilman
Bruce Kenney
Norman Mackenzie director of choruses
The Frannie & Bill Graves Chair
Finan Jones conducting fellow
TRUMPET
Michael Tiscione
acting / associate principal
The Madeline & Howell Adams Chair
Mark Maliniak
acting associate principal
William Cooper
Ian Mertes
TROMBONE
Nathan Zgonc
acting / associate principal
The Terence L. Neal Chair, Honoring his dedication & service to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Home Depot Veterans Chair
Jason Patrick Robins
BASS TROMBONE
Vacant
Jordan Milek Johnson Fellow
TUBA
Michael Moore
principal
The Delta Air Lines Chair
Joshua Williams fellow
Zeist Foundation ASO Fellowship Chair
TIMPANI
Michael Stubbart
acting / assistant principal
Players in rotating sections are listed alphabetically.
Joseph Petrasek
principal
The Julie & Arthur
Montgomery Chair
Michael Jarrett
assistant principal
The William A. Schwartz Chair
Michael Stubbart
The Connie & Merrell
Calhoun Chair
HARP
Elisabeth Remy Johnson
principal
The Sally & Carl Gable Chair
KEYBOARD
Vacant
The Hugh & Jessie Hodgson
Memorial Chair
Sharon Berenson †
LIBRARY
Joshua Luty
principal
The Marianna & Solon
Patterson Chair
Sara Baguyos
associate principal
James Nelson
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Neil and Sue Williams Chair
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Advisory Council is a group of passionate and engaged individuals who act as both ambassadors & resources for the ASO Board and staff. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra extends heartfelt gratitude to the members listed on this page.
Jane Morrison advisory council chair
Justin Im
internal connections task force co-chair
Robert Lewis, Jr.
internal connections task force co-chair
Frances A. Root patron experience task force chair
Eleina Raines diversity & community connections task force co-chair
Otis Threatt diversity & community connections task force co-chair
MEMBERS
Dr. Marshall & Stephanie Abes
Krystal Ahn
Paul & Melody Aldo
Kristi & Aadu Allpere
Evelyn Babey
Asad & Sakina Bashey
Herschel Beazley
Meredith W. Bell
John Blatz
Jane Blount
Carol Brantley & David Webster
Johanna Brookner
Stacey Chavis
Mrs. Amy B. Cheng & Dr. Chad A. Hume, Ph.D
Kate Cook
Donald & Barbara Defoe
Paul & Susan Dimmick
Bernadette Drankoski
John & Catherine Fare Dyer
Mary Ann Flinn
Bruce Flower
Annie Frazer
John Fuller
Alex Garcias
Dr. Paul Gilreath
Mary Elizabeth Gump
Elizabeth Hendrick
Mia Frieder Hilley
Caroline Hofland
Justin Im
Baxter Jones & Jiong Yan
Lana Jordan
Rosthema Kastin
Brian & Ann Kimsey
Jason & Michelle Kroh
Dr. Fulton Lewis III & Mr. Neal Rhoney
Robert Lewis, Jr.
Eunice Luke
Erin Marshall
Belinda Massafra
Doug & Kathrin Mattox
Ed & Linda McGinn
Erica McVicker
Berthe & Shapour Mobasser
Bert Mobley
Phil Moïse
Sue Morgan
Bill Morrison & Beth Clark-Morrison
Jane Morrison
Gary Noble
Regina Olchowski
Bethani Oppenheimer
Ralph Paulk
Suzanne Redmon Paulk
Ann & Fay Pearce
Jonathan & Lori Peterson
Dr. John B. Pugh
Eliza Quigley
Eleina Raines
Joseph Rapanotti
Leonard Reed
Dr. Jay & Kimberley
Rhee
Vicki Riedel
Felicia Rives
David Rock
Frances A. Root
Tiffany & Rich Rosetti
Thomas & Lynne Saylor
Beverly & Milton Shlapak
Suzanne Shull
Baker Smith
Cindy Smith
Victoria Smith
Peter & Kristi
Stathopoulos
Tom & Ani Steele
Beth & Edward
Sugarman
Stephen & Sonia Swartz
George & Amy Taylor
Bob & Dede Thompson
Otis Threatt Jr.
Cathy Toren
Roxanne Varzi
Robert & Amy Vassey
Juliana Vincenzino
Emily C. Ward
Nanette Wenger
Christopher Wilbanks
Kiki Wilson
Taylor Winn
Camille Yow
For more information about becoming an Advisory Council member, please contact Cheri Snyder at cheri.snyder@atlantasymphony.org or 404.733.4904.
Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s principal oboist is our featured soloist for Francaix’s L'horloge de flore (The Flower Clock). Liz, who joined the orchestra at the age of 21 in 2007, is a part of the rich tapestry-woven artistry of the ASO.
ASO: When did you first begin playing your instrument? When did you know you wanted to pursue performance?
EKT: I was ten years old, in fourth-grade public school. I had previously played piano and percussion, but as soon as I tried oboe, everything changed. I like to sing, and playing oboe felt like singing through an instrument– I could easily identify with it.
I went to Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan during my last two years of high school, and it was life-changing. I was surrounded by artists and those who loved music as much as I did, and it solidified my decision to study music and pursue a career. I applied to top music schools, and got into my top choice, the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where I studied until accepting my position with the Atlanta Symphony.
ASO: How has the orchestra transformed since you joined in 2007?
EKT: I’m really inspired musically and seeing the growth in the orchestra, our musical flexibility and our expression has transformed. Our sound is changing with Nathalie—an exciting change.
ASO: You’ll be performing Françaix’s The Flower Clock oboe concerto this season. Can you tell us about this piece?
EKT: Françaix is a prominent composer for woodwinds. It’s a difficult and fun piece to play. I love how Françaix’s use of music to create characters from flowers within each movement. It’s really engaging.
ASO: Tell us more about Françaix’s floral characters.
EKT: Well, the first movement takes place at 3 a.m. It’s still and quiet, depicting a flower blooming in the middle of the night. The midday movement is dancelike and lively. As the piece moves into the evening, it becomes lush and beautiful, gorgeous and lazy, then gets peppier as the night returns.
It holds a special connection to my schooling and the Philadelphia Orchestra. John de Lancie, who commissioned the concerto, taught my teacher. It also features the principal clarinet and principal flute, and my colleagues are awesome, so I’m excited to play it.
ASO: What are you most proud of within your career so far?
EKT: Being able to perform a lot of the major oboe concertos with the Atlanta Symphony, like Strauss, Mozart, Vaughan Williams, and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Most recently, I performed the Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, K. 297b with my colleagues and recorded Gandolfi’s Sinfonia Concertante, “Imaginary Numbers,” for release. It’s a big honor to be the person who gets to interpret these pieces and bring them to the audience in Atlanta.
ASO: So much time and dedication is spent preparing these pieces, as a soloist and as a member of the orchestra. What is it like to share this dedication with your spouse and fellow ASO musician Michael Tiscione?
EKT: We get to share each other’s career highlights, share in the victories, in the debates. We understand everything that we have to do offstage and at home. It’s been amazing. Mike is the acting principal trumpet currently, so getting to hear him play all the big trumpet repertoire in the last three years has been rewarding.
ASO: What pieces are you most looking forward to performing in the 24-25 season?
EKT: I’m looking forward to the Beethoven Project with Nathalie. I’m also excited to perform Fountains of Rome—a piece I first heard after checking out a CD from my library, which featured my future teacher performing with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It changed my life.
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances is a meaningful piece for me. We performed it in my trial week with the ASO in 2006 while touring Florida.
HOBBIES: Cooking, hiking, yoga. My son is one and a half and he’s my hobby right now! When he hears an oboe on the radio or the phone, he’ll say, “Mama!” He has a good ear.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT
GEORGIA: The Spring and Fall— there’s no place better than Georgia. I love the excitement of being in Atlanta. It’s a bustling and exciting place to live.
ONE CLASSICAL PIECE
EVERYONE SHOULD HEAR:
Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony. It’s accessible, romantic and passionate. It’s a great intro to the symphony.
We are deeply grateful to the following leadership donors whose generous support has made the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's season possible.
Concerts of Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Atlanta Symphony Hall
EARL LEE, conductor
ELIZABETH KOCH TISCIONE, oboe
FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 104 in D major ("London") (1795) 29 MINS
I. Adagio. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Menuet: Allegro
IV. Finale: Spiritoso
JEAN FRANÇAIX (1912-1997)
L'horloge de flore (The Flower Clock) (1959) 17 MINS
3:00—Galant de jour (Day Jessamine or Poisonberry)
5:00—Cupidone bleue (Cupid’s Dart or Blue Catananche)
10:00—Cierge à grandes fleurs (Nightblooming Cereus)
12:00—Nyctanthe du Malabar (Night-flowering or Malabar Jasmine)
17:00—Belle-de-nuit (Moonflower or Morning Glory)
19:00—Géranium triste (Mourning Geranium)
21:00—Silène noctiflore (Night-flowering Catchfly)
Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, oboe
INTERMISSION 20 MINS
FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 ("Italian") (1833) 30 MINS
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante con moto
III. Con moto moderato
IV. Saltarello. Presto
The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert is strictly prohibited. Please be kind to those around you and silence your mobile phone and other hand-held devices.
by Noel Morris Program Annotator
1. Both Jean Françaix and Felix Mendelssohn were composer prodigies. Françaix wrote his first published piece at age ten. Mendelssohn wrote thirteen string symphonies by the age of fourteen.
2. Haydn found love in London. Unfortunately, he was married. He had had a long, loveless marriage, and he and his wife lived apart. Haydn later said of the Scottish widow Rebecca Shroeter, “I would have married her very easily if I had been free at the time.”
3. King George III, the mad king portrayed in the Bridgerton spinoff Queen Charlotte, offered Haydn an apartment at Windsor Castle in an attempt to persuade him to settle in England. Ultimately, the composer declined.
4. Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony had a starring role in the 1979 film Breaking Away, along with the young Dennis Quaid. But Mendelssohn’s superstar status came from something else: his “Wedding March” and his Christmas hit “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
Haydn Symphony No. 104
Encyclopedias refer to Franz Joseph Haydn as the “father of the symphony,” which might elicit blank stares and yawns, but the real-life Haydn was a colorful guy. He clawed his way to the top of a harsh and unforgiving world and developed a new art form.
In November 1749, when sixteen-year-old Haydn aged out of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, he found himself on the street. In 1753, he took a job as valet and accompanist to Niccolò Porpora, a famous composer (and abusive boss). Haydn cleaned the man’s shoes in exchange for a place to sleep and some pointers on writing music.
Composers of Porpora’s generation wrote threemovement symphonies (sometimes called overtures) lasting ten or fifteen minutes. In Italy, these works summoned chatty opera audiences to their seats before the main event. They didn’t command much attention.
Haydn wrote his Symphony No. 1 in 1759 while working
First ASO performance: December 9, 1945
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
Henry Sopkin, conductor Most recent ASO performances: April 14-16, 2005
Robert Spano, conductor
for a Bohemian count. The man was a music lover and kept a sixteen-piece orchestra on staff. When Haydn presented his new symphony, the Count’s friends found it enchanting—especially Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, who hired Haydn in 1761.
Haydn remained with the Esterházy family for thirty years. Though a servant, he enjoyed lavish facilities, excellent players, and a small but world-class audience. Year after year, the Esterházys drew Europe’s glitterati to a remote estate, and Haydn’s reputation spread by word of mouth. In time, his symphonies grew from light little trifles into the main event. By 1790, Haydn had had enough country life. The isolation got to him, and he complained incessantly to his friends. As luck would have it, his prince died, sadly, leaving the estate to someone who didn't like music. The new prince furloughed the musicians, and Haydn became a hot ticket.
On New Year's Day, 1791, he crossed the English Channel to a hero’s welcome. Londoners treated him like a rock star and flocked to his concerts—the largest audiences he'd ever seen. Staying there for a year, Haydn received an honorary doctoral degree from Oxford University and produced a half-dozen landmark symphonies. He returned to London in the fall of 1795 and went to work on more compositions. This time, the royals pleaded with him to stay forever. Haydn declined their offers but gave Londoners six more watershed symphonies—each a musical wonder in its own right.
The Symphony No. 104 is the culmination of his work in the genre, combining weight with gravitas. The so-called London Symphony requires nearly three times as many players as his First Symphony from 1759, pointing the way to his student, Beethoven. No. 104 has breadth and majesty yet lifts the spirit with infectious tunes, including a rollicking Croatian folk song called “Oj Jelena” in the finale.
Haydn returned to Vienna in 1796, and a new, music-loving Esterházy prince summoned him into service. Haydn stepped back into his servant’s uniform—but with a lot of money in his pocket.
Françaix The Flower Clock
Composer Jean Françaix came into the world when the Titanic sank and left it when James Cameron’s Titanic hit the silver screen. In eighty-five years, Françaix saw a radical flowering in music, from bebop to The Beatles, from Stravinsky to Snoop Dogg, but his musical sensibilities remained conservative. Steering clear of music’s radical pioneers, he wrote in a “light, neo-classical style,” pleasing audiences and giving oboe players some of their most popular works.
Over his long life, Françaix remained active as a pianist while cranking out dozens of compositions. He paid special attention to woodwind instruments, writing chamber works, and concertos for winds. He also produced operas, chamber works, ballets, and film scores.
First ASO performance: April 17-19, 1986
Louis Lane, conductor
He wrote his oboe concerto, The Flower Clock, in 1959, after a concept put forth by the eighteenth-century botanist Carl Linnaeus. In 1748, Linnaeus developed a clock of sorts based on plants that flower at a specific time of day. Françaix used Linnaeus’s idea of telling time according to the plants—a flower clock—and created atmospheric musical portraits of each flower, showing off the oboe’s ability to produce a wide range of tone colors.
The expression “Grand Tour” has been applied to everything from diplomatic missions to a TV show. Originally, it referred to an extended trip through Europe for young gentlemen, designed to expose them to art and antiquities. When the prodigy Felix Mendelssohn took his Grand Tour, he hopped off the beaten path, taking a walking tour of Scotland, and knocked on the door of Sir Walter Scott (one of his literary heroes). He visited Goethe in Weimar and eventually went to Italy, where he stayed for over a year. As he traveled, he wrote music and sketched out various landscapes while studying the technique of the great masters.
A bundle of letters to family and friends provides a detailed travelogue. When Mendelssohn heard music that piqued his
First ASO performance: April 22, 1945
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
Henry Sopkin, conductor
Most recent ASO performance:
May 5, 2021 Concert –Virtual Stage
Jerry Hou, conductor
interest (good or bad), he would write it down and provide colorful commentary. When a Paris pipe organ left a bad impression, he wrote, “It sounded like a full chorus of old women’s voices.”
Upon arriving in Italy, he noted “an indescribable sensation of pervading contentment and satisfaction.” He marveled at the sun-kissed landscapes. “The whole country had a gay and festive air, as if a Prince were expected to make his grand entry, and the vine branches with their purple grapes hanging in festoons from the trees, made the most lovely of all festive wreaths.” And so it was, young Mendelssohn poured this atmosphere into an Italian symphony. The sunny opening to the piece bounds off the page with an almost laughing spirit, which tracks with his joyful musings. In Rome in February of 1831, he wrote: “I have once more begun to compose with fresh vigor, and the Italian symphony makes rapid progress.” In April, he wrote a letter from Naples saying he expected to finish the piece before leaving Italy.
At some point, work on the symphony slowed. Mendelssohn finished it in Berlin, two years later, and conducted a performance in 1833. After the initial hearing, he made some changes and left the piece on a shelf. Probably, he meant to work on it some more, but life got away from him. Mendelssohn died in 1847 at age thirty-eight. The Italian Symphony remained unpublished until 1851.
Winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Earl Lee is a renowned Korean-Canadian conductor who has captivated audiences worldwide. Earl is in his second season as Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and in his third season as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he has led in subscription concerts both at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood.
In addition to a full season of concerts with the Ann Arbor Symphony and subscription concerts with the Boston Symphony in Boston and at Tanglewood, Earl’s 23/24 season included guest conducting engagements with the Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra Toronto. Previous seasons have seen subscription debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Hawaii Symphony, and Edmonton Symphony; leading the Lunar New Year galas of both the New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. Earl previously held positions as Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony. Earl mentored young musicians as former Artistic Director and Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor with the orchestras of North America’s top music schools.
As a cellist, Earl has performed at festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Caramoor Rising Stars, and Ravinia’s Steans Institute and has toured as a member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), and with Gary Burton & Chick Corea as a guest member of the Harlem String Quartet. He studied cello at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School and conducting at Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory. He lives in New York City with his wife and their daughter.
Elizabeth Koch Tiscione joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season as principal oboe.
In addition to her responsibilities with the ASO, Ms. Tiscione plays Principal Oboe at the Grand Teton Music Festival, Strings Festival, Festival Mozaic and is a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She has performed as guest principal oboe with the orchestras of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, Detroit, KBS, Baltimore, Rochester, Buffalo, Jacksonville and the Orpheus and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras.
She has been featured on NPR's "From the Top," has also performed at many chamber music festivals throughout the country and as a soloist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Her teachers include, Marc Dubois, Daniel Stolper, Richard Woodhams and Robert Walters.
Elizabeth is from Hamburg, New York and started playing the oboe in the public school system. She went on to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan and the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia.
Elizabeth has taught at some of the most prestigious institutions in the country including the Curtis Institute, Colorado College Summer Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival.
She is on faculty at Kennesaw State University and maintains a private oboe studio out of her home. Elizabeth is married to another member of the Atlanta Symphony, trumpeter Michael Tiscione and they have a son, Elio. In Elizabeth’s free time, she loves to cook, travel and practice yoga.
Concerts of Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Atlanta Symphony Hall
RODERICK COX, conductor
The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert is strictly prohibited. Please be kind to those around you and silence your mobile phone and other hand-held devices.
SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981)
Adagio for Strings (1936) 9 MINS
JOHN ADAMS (B. 1947)
Doctor Atomic Symphony (2007) 25 MINS
1. The Laboratory 2. Panic 3. Trinity
INTERMISSION 20 MINS
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (1940) 35 MINS
I. Non allegro—Lento—Tempo I
II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse)
III. Lento assai—Allegro vivace
by Noel Morris Program Annotator
1. Like the Academy Award-winning film Oppenheimer, John Adams’s Dr. Atomic follows the quest to build a nuclear weapon. Both depict the chilling “office pool” in which scientists bet on whether their weapon would ignite Earth’s atmosphere and kill themselves along with everything on the planet. As history tells us, they went ahead with the test, anyway.
2. Both Samuel Barber and John Adams are Pulitzer Prize winners. Adams won in 2003 for On the Transmigration of Souls, inspired by the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001. Barber won twice, in 1958 and 1962.
3. Since its 1938 world premiere, Barber’s Adagio for Strings has been used for times of grief, including the funerals of JFK, Albert Einstein, and the death of FDR.
4. When Sergei Rachmaninoff moved to the United States in 1918, he and his family left all their belongings behind in Soviet Russia. To rebuild their lives, Sergei took up a piano career (he's considered one of the all-time piano greats). He became an American citizen shortly before he died at his Beverly Hills home in 1943.
Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings rivals most other American works regarding iconic power. A profoundly soulful and sorrowful piece, the Adagio seems to follow tragedy, marking the deaths of presidents and victims of violence. Conversely, it’s been an effective comedy device in Seinfeld, South Park, and The Simpsons. More recently, an NPR article traced Barber’s sinuous, lingering musical lines through live dance mixes.
The Adagio began life as the slow movement of a string quartet, written by Barber in 1936. He and his partner, Gian Carlo Menotti, had managed to cozy up to the great conductor Arturo Toscanini. (The two twenty-somethings took a boat to the maestro’s private island in 1933 and knocked on his door.) In 1937, Toscanini sent word to Barber that he’d like a ten-minute piece for an American tour. It was a huge opportunity for the young composer, and Barber answered with his Essay for Orchestra. On a
First ASO performance: March 3, 1953
Henry Sopkin, conductor Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
Most recent ASO performances: February 7, 9, 2008
Robert Spano, conductor
whim, he included a five-part string arrangement of the quartet adagio and sent both works to Toscanini.
After a while, Toscanini returned Barber’s manuscripts without comment, which hit the composer like a slap in the face. He avoided Toscanini until Menotti paid the old maestro a visit.
According to Barber, Toscanini detected the snub and said to Menotti, “Tell him not to be mad. I’m not going to play one of his pieces, I’m going to play both”—and he had already committed them to memory.
Toscanini premiered both works with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in a live radio broadcast in 1938.
Doctor Atomic – An Opera in two Acts
November 21-23, 2008
Robert Spano, conductor
This is the first performance of Doctor Atomic Symphony
Trinity Drive in Los Alamos, New Mexico, is a picture of small-town America, with kids in soccer uniforms tumbling out of minivans for a burger and fries. Amid the din of chattering families, you can almost forget that Trinity Drive is named for the world’s first nuclear test site. It symbolizes the dawning of the nuclear age and, for the local Native population, generations of cancer victims.
“Doctor Atomic is my third opera,” said composer John Adams, a longtime friend of the Atlanta Symphony. “I composed it between 2003 and 2005, and it’s about the invention of the world’s first atomic bomb and particularly about the great American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. [He] was the guiding spirit of the Los Alamos project, who developed the bomb and detonated it on the floor of the New Mexico desert barely a week before it was ultimately used in Japan and Hiroshima. The work is a serious piece of drama. It deals with the morality of nuclear weapons.”
The symphony is a standalone piece distilled from the opera. Adams found a model for its single-movement structure in Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony.
According to the publisher, “The opening, with its pounding timpani and Varèse-like jagged brass fanfares, conjures a devastated post-nuclear landscape. The frenzied "panic music" that follows comes from one of Act Two's feverish tableaux that evoke the fierce electrical storm that lashed the test site in the
hours before the bomb's detonation. The ensuing music is taken from moments that describe the intense activity leading up to the test. One hears the US Army General Leslie Groves, here impersonated in the boorish trombone music, berating both the scientists and his military subordinates, music that gives way to the ritual "corn dance" of the local Tewa Indians. The symphony concludes with an instrumental treatment of the opera's most memorable moment, a setting (originally for baritone voice, here played by solo trumpet) of John Donne's holy sonnet, ‘Batter my heart, three person'd God.’ This is the poem that the physicist hero of the opera, J. Robert Oppenheimer, loved and [like a plea for redemption] inspired him to name the desert test site ‘Trinity.’”
After the 2005 premiere of Doctor Atomic in San Francisco, John Adams fashioned Doctor Atomic Symphony in 2007 and dedicated it to conductor David Robertson.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God by John
Donne
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to another due, Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end; Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
First ASO performance:
December 14, 1964
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
Robert Mann, conductor
Most recent ASO performances:
September 22-24, 2022
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
Between 1940 and 1941, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff spent two summers in a Long Island hamlet. “Imagine the joy the lucky boaters experienced drifting by at just the right time while the virtuoso was practicing in his studio near the water,” wrote the Huntington Historical Society. Such was life for a composer in exile.
In Imperial Russia, Rachmaninoff had emerged as an important composer and conductor before the Russian Revolution upended his world. Members of the Social Revolutionary Party seized his country estate; concert life came to a standstill. Using an engagement in Stockholm as an excuse to leave, Rachmaninoff led his family across the Finnish border, traveling by train and open sleigh, and never returned. Moving to the United States in 1918, he began a lucrative piano career.
During his lifetime, critics undervalued Rachmaninoff’s music. Starting with the First Symphony, they issued scathing reviews, traumatizing the composer and causing him to quit writing for three years. The Symphony’s manuscript vanished (though there are rumors that a private collector has it).
Rachmaninoff recovered from his crisis and wrote many works, though few followed him to the West. Regrettably, he wrote only six more compositions between 1918 and 1943, when he died. He wrote Symphonic Dances, his last piece, in the summer of 1940 at the seaside estate on Long Island. As was typical of the composer, he embedded its pages with secrets and cameos that bear some personal significance. In this case, the cameos look back on fifty years of compositions. Several works make appearances, including a private reference to his long-lost First Symphony (scholars discovered the reference when the orchestral parts surfaced in Leningrad).
The last movement of Symphonic Dances continues in this autobiographical vein. It shrieks with the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) passage, which gives way to the hymn of praise. Rachmaninoff scrawled a cryptic note in his score: “Alliluya.” And then, at the end, he added, “I thank thee, Lord.” Though Rachmaninoff lived in the United States until he died in 1943, Symphonic Dances is his only American work.
Starting this season, Roderick Cox holds the post of Music Director to Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier Occitanie. Roderick Cox’s invitations with the highest level of international ensembles include Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
He is also founder of the Roderick Cox Music Initiative (RCMI, 2019) — a program that nurtures and provides scholarships and opportunities for young musicians to make music more accessible. Elk Mountain Productions’ awardwinning 2020 documentary film, Conducting Life, maps his journey and reflects his passionate belief in the transformative power of music.
In 2024, Roderick made his debut with English National Opera with Rossini’s Barber of Seville. He has conducted at the Houston Grand Opera (Pêcheurs de Perles), San Francisco Opera (Barber of Seville), Washington National Opera (Jeanine Tesori’s Blue) and Opéra National de Montpellier (Rigoletto and La Bohème).
Roderick’s notable recording with Seattle Symphony Orchestra of William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony was released in February 2023 and received high praise by The New York Times as one of the top five recordings to listen to along with receiving a five-star rating by the BBC Music Magazine. Nominated for the 2023 BBC Music Magazine’s Opera Award, Roderick’s recording of Jeanine Tesori’s powerful opera, Blue with Washington National Opera Orchestra in association with San Francisco Classical Recording Company was released on the Pentatone label in March 2022.
Roderick was born in Macon, Georgia. Roderick attended the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, and then later the Northwestern University graduating with a master’s degree in 2011. He was awarded the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize from the Aspen Music Festival in 2013 and has held fellowships with the Chicago Sinfonietta and Chautauqua Music Festival.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra continues to prosper thanks to the support of our generous patrons. The list below recognizes the donors who have made contributions since June 1, 2023. Their extraordinary generosity provides the foundation for this worldclass institution.
$1,000,000+ A Friend of the Symphony
$100,000+
Sheila Lee Davies & Jon Davies
Barney M. Franklin & Hugh W. Burke Charitable Fund
$50,000+
The Antinori Foundation
Ms. Lynn Eden
Ms. Angela L. Evans∞
John D. Fuller
The Gable Foundation
Ann Marie & John B. White, Jr.°∞
$35,000+
Cari K. Dawson & John M. Sparrow
Sally & Walter George
Sally & Pete Parsonson ∞
Patty & Doug Reid
Mary & Jim Rubright
Slumgullion Charitable Fund
Kathy Waller & Kenneth Goggins
Patrick & Susie Viguerie
$25,000+
John & Juliet Allan
Mr. & Mrs. Paul J. Blackney
Janine Brown & Alex J. Simmons, Jr.
Connie & Merrell Calhoun
John W. Cooledge
Sally** & Larry Davis
Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes∞
Paulette Eastman & Becky Pryor Anderson**
Jeannette Guarner, MD & Carlos del Rio, MD
Bonnie & Jay Harris
Donna Lee & Howard Ehni
John & Linda Matthews∞
John R. Paddock, Ph.D. & Karen M. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Ms. Margaret Painter
Bill & Rachel Schultz°
June & John Scott∞
Mrs. Edus H. Warren
$17,500+
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Bailey
Jennifer Barlament & Kenneth Potsic∞
Ms. Elizabeth W. Camp
Wright** & Alison Caughman
Ms. Lisa V. Chang
Ms. Yelena Epova & Mr. Neil Chambers
Florencia & Rodrigo Garcia Escudero
Dick & Anne Game°
Pam & Robert Glustrom
Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Harrison
Ms. Joia M. Johnson
Dr. & Mrs. Scott I. Lampert
Dr. Jennifer Lyman & Mr. Kevin Lyman
Ms. Deborah A. Marlowe & Dr. Clint Lawrence
Ms. Molly Minnear
Caroline & Phil Moïse
Moore Colson, CPAs & Bert & Carmen Mills
Terence L. & Jeanne Perrine
Neal°
Victoria & Howard Palefsky
Martha M. Pentecost
Joyce & Henry Schwob
Mr. Fahim Siddiqui & Ms. Shazia Fahim
Ross & Sally Singletary
John & Ray Uttenhove
Mrs. Sue S. Williams
Drs. Kevin & Kalinda Woods
$15,000+
Phyllis Abramson, Ph. D.
Madeline** & Howell E. Adams, Jr.
Mr. Keith Adams & Ms. Kerry Heyward°
Aadu & Kristi Allpere°
Mr. Neil Ashe & Mrs. Rona Gomel Ashe
Keith Barnett
Mr. David Boatwright
Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Clare
Russell Currey & Amy Durrell
Mr. & Mrs. Erroll B. Davis, Jr.∞
Lisa DiFrancesco, MD & Darlene Nicosia
Eleanor & Charles Edmondson
Craig Frankel & Jana Eplan
In Memory of Betty Sands Fuller
Roya & Bahman Irvani
Brian & Carrie Kurlander∞
James H. Landon
Mr. Sukai Liu & Dr. Ginger J. Chen
John F. & Marilyn M. McMullan
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Mills IV
Anne Morgan & Jim Kelley
Lynn & Galen Oelkers
Ms. Regina Olchowski & Mr. Edward Potter
Barbara & Andrew Paul
Ms. Cathleen Quigley
V Scott
Beverly & Milton Shlapak
Mr. John A. Sibley, III
Elliott & Elaine Tapp°
Judith & Mark K. Taylor
Dr. Ravi & Dr. Valerie Thadhani
Maria Todorova
Carol & Ramon Tomé Family Fund
Adair & Dick White
Mr. Mack Wilbourn
$10,000+
A Friend of the Symphony
Paul & Melody Aldo∞
Mr. & Mrs. Calvin R. Allen
Farideh & Al Azadi Foundation
Estate of Elizabeth Ann Bair
Jack & Helga Beam∞
Mr. & Mrs. Gerald R. Benjamin
Kelley O. & Neil H. Berman
Karen & Rod Bunn
Lisa & Russ Butner∞
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas C. Chubb III
Ms. Tena Clark & Ms. Michelle LeClair
Donald & Barbara Defoe°
Peter & Vivian de Kok
Marcia & John Donnell
Dr. John Dyer & Mrs. Catherine Faré Dyer
Marina Fahim
Dr. & Mrs. Leroy Fass
Dr. Paul Gilreath
Mr. Max M. Gilstrap
The Hertz Family Foundation, Inc.
Azira G. Hill
Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Hill
Clay & Jane Jackson
Ann A. & Ben F. Johnson III°
James Kieffer
Ann & Brian Kimsey∞
Stephen & Carolyn Knight
Dr. & Mrs. Douglas Mattox
Jane Morrison∞
Gretchen Nagy & Allan Sandlin
Mr. & Mrs. Solon P. Patterson
Margaret H. Petersen
David F. & Maxine A.** Rock
Ms. Frances A. Roo
Thomas & Lynne Saylor
Tom & Ani Steele
John & Yee-Wan Stevens
Mr. & Mrs. Edward W. Stroetz, Jr.
Stephen & Sonia Swartz
George & Amy Taylor∞
Carolyn C. Thorsen
Mr. & Mrs. Benny Varzi
Drs. Jonne & Paul Walter
Dr. & Mrs. James O. Wells, Jr.
Camille W. Yow
$7,500+
Dr. Marshall & Stephanie Abes
Ms. Johanna Brookner
Judith D. Bullock
Patricia & William Buss∞
John Champion & Penelope Malone
Mark Coan & Family
Janet & John Costello
Ms. Diane Durgin
Mr. & Mrs. William A. Flinn
Grace Taylor Ihrig°
Jason & Michelle Kroh
Dr. Fulton D. Lewis III & S. Neal
Rhoney
Mr. Robert M. Lewis, Jr. & G.
Wesley Holt
Elvira & Jay Mannelly
Belinda & Gino Massafra
Berthe & Shapour Mobasser
Mr. Cesar Moreno & Mr. Greg Heathcock
Ms. Eliza Quigley∞
Mr. & Mrs. Joel F. Reeves
Hamilton & Mason Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Toren
Kiki Wilson
Mr. David J. Worley & Ms.
Bernadette Drankoski
$5,000+
A Friend of the Symphony (2)
Mr. & Mrs. Louis Alrutz
Dr. Evelyn R. Babey
Lisa & Joe Bankoff
Asad & Sakina Bashey
Herschel Beazley
Meredith Bell
Mr. John Blatz
Rita & Herschel Bloom
Dr. & Mrs. Jerome B.
Blumenthal
Mrs. Sidney W. Boozer
Carol Brantley & David
Webster
Margo Brinton & Eldon Park
Jacqueline A. & Joseph E. Brown, Jr.
CBH International, Inc
Ms. Stacey Chavis
Mrs. Amy B. Cheng & Dr. Chad A. Hume, Ph.D
Ned Cone & Nadeen Green
Matt & Kate Cook
Carol Comstock & Jim Davis
Mr. Christopher J. Decoufle & Ms. Karen Freer
Mr. & Mrs. Paul H. Dimmick∞
Xavier Duralde & Mary Barrett
Dieter Elsner & Othene Munson
Robert S. Elster Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. Carl D. Fackler
Ellen & Howard Feinsand
Bruce W. & Avery C. Flower∞
Mr. David L. Forbes
Annie Frazer & Jen Horvath
Gaby Family Foundation
Dr. V. Alexander Garcias
Charles Ginden
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Goodsell
Mr. & Mrs. David Goosman
The Graves Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Louis Gump
Sally W. Hawkins
Ms. Elizabeth Hendrick
Hilley & Frieder
Richard & Linda Hubert
Tad & Janin Hutcheson
Mr. Justin Im & Dr. Nakyoung
Nam
Mr. & Mrs. Baxter Jones
Cecile M. Jones
Lana M. Jordan∞
Dr. Jennifer Kahnweiler & Dr.
William M. Kahnweiler
Paul** & Rosthema Kastin
Mona & Gilbert Kelly°
Mr. Charles R. Kowal
Pat & Nolan Leake
Drs. Joon & Grace Lee
Ms. Cynthia Smith
Ms. Eunice A. Luke
Dr. & Mrs. Ellis L. Malone
Ms. Erin M. Marshall
Ed & Linda McGinn°
Mr. Bert Mobley∞
Sue Morgan∞
Mr. Charles Morn
Mr. William Morrison & Mrs.
Elizabeth Clark-Morrison
Ms. Bethani Oppenheimer
Ms. Amy H. Page
Ralph Paulk & Suzanne
Redmon Paulk
Ann & Fay Pearce°
Jonathan & Lori Peterson
In Memory of Dr. Frank S. Pittman III
Dr. & Mrs. John P. Pooler
Dr. John B. Pugh
Mr. John Rains
Mr. Joseph Rapanotti
Leonard Reed
Mrs. Susan H. Reinach
Dr. Jay Rhee & Mrs. Kimberley
Rhee∞
Vicki & Joe Riedel
Ms. Maria Rivera
Ms. Felicia Rives
Tiffany & Rich Rosetti∞
Dr. & Mrs. Rein Saral
Katherine Scott
Suzanne Shull∞
Baker & Debby Smith
Ms. Victoria Smith
Ms. Lara Smith-Sitton
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Stathopoulos
Dr. Steven & Lynne Steindel°
In memory of Elizabeth B. Stephens by Powell, Preston & Sally∞
Beth & Edward Sugarman
Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor & Ms. Triska Drake
Dede & Bob Thompson
Trapp Family
Chilton & Morgan** Varner
Amy & Robert Vassey
Ms. Juliana T. Vincenzino
Emily C. Ward
Alan & Marcia Watt
Ruthie Watts
Mr. & Ms. Robert L. Welch
Dr. Nanette K. Wenger
Mr. John F. Wieland, Jr.
Suzanne B. Wilner
Mr. & Mrs. M. Beattie Wood
$3,500+
A Friend of the Symphony
Anthony Barbagallo & Kristen Fowks∞
Drs. Jay & Martin Beard-Coles
Mr. & Mrs. Dennis M. Chorba
Malcolm & Ann Cole
Jean & Jerry Cooper
Mr. Ramsey Fahs
John** & Martha Head
Barbara M. Hund
Cameron H. Jackson
Ms. Rebecca Jarvis
Mrs. Gail G. Johnson
Mr. W. F. & Dr. Janice Johnston
Wolfgang** & Mariana Laufer
Mr. & Mrs. Christopher D. Martin
Molly McDonald & Jonathan Gelber
Hala & Steve Moddelmog
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Owen, Jr.
Ms. Kathy Powell
S.A. Robinson
Gerald & Nancy Silverboard
Ms. Martha Solano
Mrs. Dale L. Thompson
Dr. Brenda G. Turner
David & Martha West
Ms. Sonia Witkowski
Zaban Foundation, Inc.
$2,000+
A Friend of the Symphony (3)
Mr. James L. Anderson
Dr. & Mrs. Joel E. Berenson
Susan & Jack Bertram
Leon & Joy Borchers
Ms. Jane F. Boynton
Martha S. Brewer
Harriet Evans Brock
George & Gloria Brooks
Benjamin Q. Brunt
Dr. Aubrey Bush & Dr. Carol Bush
Mr. & Mrs. Walter K. Canipe
Mr. & Mrs. Ricardo Carvalho
Betty Fuller Case
Mr. Jeffery B. Chancellor & Mr. Cameron England
Julie & Jerry Chautin
Mr. James Cobb
Susan S. Cofer
Liz & Charlie Cohn°
Ralph & Rita Connell
William & Patricia Cook
Mary Carole Cooney & Henry R. Bauer, Jr.
R. Carter & Marjorie A. Crittenden Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. F. Thomas Daly, Jr.
Mr. & Ms. Daniel DeBonis
Mr. David S. Dimling
Jerome J. Dobson
Mr. & Mrs. Graham Dorian
Gregory & Debra Durden
Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge
Erica Endicott & Chris Heisel
Mr. & Mrs. Paul G. Farnham
Mr. Nigel Ferguson
Karen Foster
Dr. Elizabeth C. French
Mr. & Mrs. Sebastien Galtier∞
Marty & John Gillin°
Sandra & John Glover
Mrs. Janet D. Goldstein
Mr. Robert Golomb
Mr. James N. Grace
Richard & Debbie Griffiths
Mr. & Mrs. George Gundersen
Deedee Hamburger
Phil & Lisa Hartley
Mr. & Mrs. Steve Hauser°
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hawk
Mr. & Mrs. John Hellriegel∞
Ann J. Herrera & Mary M. Goodwin
Kenneth & Colleen Hey
Sarah & Harvey Hill, Jr.°
Laurie House Hopkins & John D. Hopkins
James & Bridget Horgan°
Mr. & Mrs. Brian Huband
Dona & Bill Humphreys
Lillian Kim Ivansco & Joey Ivansco
Silvey James & Rev. Jeanne Simpson
Nancy & John Janet
Aaron & Joyce Johnson
Coenen-Johnson Foundation
Teresa M. Joyce, Ph.D
Mr. & Mrs. Randolph J. Koporc
Lillian Balentine Law
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Le
Mr. & Mrs. Van R. Lear
Elizabeth J. Levine
Deborah & William Liss°
Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Levingston
Barbara & Jim MacGinnitie
Dr. Marcus Marr
Mrs. Sam Massell
In Memory of Pam McAllister
Mr. & Mrs. James McClatchey
Martha & Reynolds McClatchey
Birgit & David McQueen
Anna & Hays Mershon
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas B. Mimms, Jr.
Ms. Helen Motamen & Mr. Deepak Shenoy
Janice & Tom Munsterman
Agnes V. Nelson
Denis Ng
Gary R. Noble, MD & Joanne Heckman
Mr. & Mrs. Berk Nowak
Dana & Jon Parness
Mr. Doug F. Powell
Mr. Ron Raitz
Ms. Patricia U. Rich
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas G. Riffey, Jr.
Betsy & Lee Robinson
Ms. Lili Santiago-Silva & Mr. Jim Gray
Ms. Donna Schwartz
Dick Schweitzer
Mr. David C. Shih
Alan & Marion Shoenig
Nick & Annie Shreiber
Helga Hazelrig Siegel
Diana Silverman
Ms. Charlotte Skidmore & Maj. Gen. Arnold Fields
Anne-Marie Sparrow
Peggy & Jerry Stapleton
James & Shari Steinberg
Dr. & Mrs. John P. Straetmans
Kay R Summers
Ms. Linda F. Terry
Duane P. Truex III
Ms. Cathryn van Namen
Wayne & Lee Harper Vason
Vogel Family Foundation
Dr. James L. Waits
Mr. Charles D. Wattles & Ms.
Rosemary C. Willey
Russell F. Winch & Mark B. Elberfeld
Mrs. Lynne M. Winship
Herbert** & Grace Zwerner
Patron Leadership (PAL) Committee
We give special thanks to this dedicated group of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra donor-volunteers for their commitment to each year’s annual support initiatives:
Linda Matthews
chair
Kristi Allpere
Helga Beam
Bill Buss
Pat Buss
Kristen Fowks
Deedee Hamburger
Judy Hellriegel
Belinda Massafra
Sally Parsonson
June Scott
Milt Shlapak
Lara Smith-Sitton
Jonne Walter
Marcia Watt
° = We are grateful to these donors for taking the extra time to acquire matching gifts from their employers.
** = Deceased
∞ = Leadership Council: We salute these extraordinary donors who have signed pledge commitments to continue their support for three years or more.
$1,000,000+
Boston Consulting Group
Delta Air Lines
$100,000+
1180 Peachtree, LLC
The Coca-Cola Company
Georgia Power Company
Graphic Packaging International, Inc.∞
The Home Depot Foundation
Invesco QQQ
$75,000+
Alston & Bird LLP
Norfolk Southern Foundation
$50,000+
Accenture∞
BlackRock
KPMG LLP, Partners & Employees
PwC
The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University
$25,000+
AFFAIRS to REMEMBER
Aspire Media
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
BlueLinx Corporation
Cadence Bank∞
Chick-fil-A Foundation | Rhonda & Dan Cathy∞
Eversheds Sutherland
Google Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
Northside Hospital
Porsche Cars North America Inc.
Publix Super Markets Charities, Inc.
Troutman Pepper
$15,000+
Cisco
Council for Quality Growth
Deloitte
Georgia-Pacific
Van Dang Fragrances
WABE 90.1 FM
Warner Bros. Discovery
$250,000+
Emerald Gate Charitable Trust
Lettie Pate Evans Foundation∞
Goizueta Foundation∞
The Halle Foundation
$100,000+
Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation∞
Amy W. Norman Charitable Foundation
Charles Loridans Foundation, Inc.
The Zeist Foundation, Inc.
$75,000+
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation∞
The Molly Blank Fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation∞
$50,000+
City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs
Robert and Polly Dunn Foundation, Inc.
National Endowment for the Arts
The Vasser Woolley Foundation, Inc.
$25,000+
The Jim Cox, Jr. Foundation
The Roy and Janet Dorsey Foundation
Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Georgia Council for the Arts
League of American Orchestras∞
The Marcus Foundation, Inc.∞
Massey Charitable Trust
$20,000+
Choate Bridges Foundation
The Ray M. & Mary Elizabeth Lee Foundation, Inc.
The Mark and Evelyn Trammell Foundation
$10,000+
AAA Parking
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Costco Wholesale
Davis Broadcasting's WJZA Smooth Jazz 101/100
Hamilton Capital Partners, LLC
Jazz 91.9 WCLK
King & Spalding LLP
La Fête du Rosé
WVEE-FM | V-103.3 FM
$5,000+
A Friend of the Symphony
Music Matters
Perkins&Will
The St. Regis Atlanta
WhoBody Inc.
Yellow Bird Project Management
$2,000+
Legendary Events
The Piedmont National Family Foundation
$10,000+
The Breman Foundation, Inc.
The Scott Hudgens Family Foundation
The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation
$5,000+
Azalea City Chapter of Links
The Fred & Sue McGehee Family Charitable Fund
The Hellen Plummer Charitable Foundation, Inc.
$2,000+
2492 Fund
Paul and Marian Anderson Fund
The Parham Fund
The Alex & Betty Smith DonorAdvised Endowment Fund
TEGNA Foundation
Named for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s founding Music Director, the HENRY SOPKIN CIRCLE celebrates cherished individuals and families who have made a planned gift to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. These special donors preserve the Orchestra’s foundation and ensure success for future generations.
A Friend of the Symphony (22)
Madeline* & Howell E. Adams, Jr.
Mr.* & Mrs.* John E. Aderhold
Paul & Melody Aldo
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald R. Antinori
Elizabeth Ann Bair*
Dr. & Mrs. William Bauer
Helga Beam
Mr. Charles D. Belcher*
Neil H. Berman
Susan & Jack Bertram
Mr.* & Mrs.* Karl A. Bevins
The Estate of Donald S. & Joyce Bickers
Ms. Page Bishop*
Mr.* & Mrs.* Sol Blaine
John Blatz
Rita & Herschel Bloom
The Estate of Mrs. Gilbert H. Boggs, Jr.
W. Moses Bond
Mr.* & Mrs. Robert C. Boozer
Elinor A. Breman*
Carol J. Brown
James C. Buggs*
Mr. & Mrs.* Richard H. Burgin
Hugh W. Burke*
Mr. & Mrs. William Buss
Wilber W. Caldwell
Mr. & Mrs. C. Merrell Calhoun
Cynthia & Donald Carson
Mrs. Jane Celler*
Lenore Cicchese*
Margie & Pierce Cline
Dr. & Mrs. Grady S. Clinkscales, Jr.
Suzanne W. Cole Sullivan
Robert Boston Colgin
Mrs. Mary Frances Evans Comstock*
Miriam* & John A.* Conant
Dr. John W. Cooledge
Dr. Janie Cowan
Mr. & Mrs. William R. Cummickel
Bob* & Verdery* Cunningham
Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes
John R. Donnell
Dixon W. Driggs*
Pamela Johnson Drummond
Mrs. Kathryn E. Duggleby
Catherine Warren Dukehart*
Ms. Diane Durgin
Arnold & Sylvia Eaves
Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge
Geoffrey G. Eichholz*
Elizabeth Etoll
Mr. Doyle Faler
Brien P. Faucett
Dr. Emile T. Fisher*
Moniqua N Fladger
Mr. & Mrs. Bruce W. Flower
A. D. Frazier, Jr.
Nola Frink*
Betty* & Drew* Fuller
Sally & Carl Gable
William & Carolyn Gaik
Dr. John W. Gamwell*
Mr.* & Mrs.* L.L. Gellerstedt, Jr.
Ruth Gershon & Sandy Cohn
Micheline & Bob Gerson
Max Gilstrap
Mr. & Mrs. John T. Glover
Mrs. David Goldwasser
Robert Hall Gunn, Jr. Fund
Billie & Sig Guthman
Betty G.* & Joseph* F. Haas
James & Virginia Hale
Ms. Alice Ann Hamilton
Dr. Charles H. Hamilton*
Sally & Paul* Hawkins
John* & Martha Head
Ms. Jeannie Hearn*
Barbara & John Henigbaum
Jill* & Jennings* Hertz
Mr. Albert L. Hibbard
Richard E. Hodges
Mr.* & Mrs. Charles K. Holmes, Jr.
Mr.* & Mrs.* Fred A. Hoyt, Jr.
Jim* & Barbara Hund
Clayton F. Jackson
Mary B. James
Nancy Janet
Mr. Calvert Johnson & Mr. Kenneth Dutter
Joia M. Johnson
Deforest F. Jurkiewicz*
Herb* & Hazel Karp
Anne Morgan & Jim Kelley
Bob Kinsey
James W.* & Mary Ellen* Kitchell
Paul Kniepkamp, Jr.
Vivian & Peter de Kok
Miss Florence Kopleff*
Mr. Robert Lamy
James H. Landon
Ouida Hayes Lanier
Lucy Russell Lee* & Gary Lee, Jr.
Ione & John Lee
Mr. Larry M. LeMaster
Mr.* & Mrs.* William C. Lester
Liz & Jay* Levine
Robert M. Lewis, Jr.
Carroll & Ruth Liller
Ms. Joanne Lincoln*
Jane Little*
Mrs. J. Erskine Love, Jr.*
Nell Galt & Will D. Magruder
K Maier
John W. Markham*
Mrs. Ann B. Martin
Linda & John Matthews
Mr. Michael A. McDowell, Jr.
Dr. Michael S. McGarry
Richard & Shirley McGinnis
John & Clodagh Miller
Ms. Vera Milner
Mrs. Gene Morse*
Hal Matthew Mueller* and Constance Lombardo
Ms. Janice Murphy*
Mr. & Mrs. Bertil D. Nordin
Mrs. Amy W. Norman*
Galen Oelkers
Roger B. Orloff
Barbara D. Orloff
Dr. Bernard* & Sandra Palay
Sally & Pete Parsonson
James L. Paulk
Ralph & Kay* Paulk
Dan R. Payne
Bill Perkins
Mrs. Lela May Perry*
Mr.* & Mrs. Rezin E. Pidgeon, Jr.
Janet M. Pierce*
Reverend Neal P. Ponder, Jr.
Dr. John B. Pugh
William L.* & Lucia Fairlie*
Pulgram
Ms. Judy L. Reed*
Carl J. Reith*
Mr. Philip A. Rhodes
Vicki J. & Joe A. Riedel
Helen & John Rieser
Dr. Shirley E. Rivers*
David F. & Maxine A.* Rock
Glen Rogerson*
Tiffany & Richard Rosetti
Mr.* & Mrs.* Martin H. Sauser
Bob & Mary Martha Scarr
Mr. Paul S. Scharff & Ms. Polly G. Fraser
Dr. Barbara S. Schlefman
Bill & Rachel Schultz
Mrs. Joan C. Schweitzer
June & John Scott
Edward G. Scruggs*
Dr. & Mrs. George P. Sessions
Mr. W. G. Shaefer, Jr.
Charles H. Siegel*
Mr. & Mrs. H. Hamilton Smith
Mrs. Lessie B. Smithgall*
Ms. Margo Sommers
Elliott Sopkin
Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel
Mr. Daniel D. Stanley
Gail & Loren Starr
Peter James Stelling*
Ms. Barbara Stewart
Beth & Edward Sugarman
C. Mack* & Mary Rose* Taylor
Isabel Thomson*
Jennings Thompson IV
Margaret* & Randolph* Thrower
Kenneth & Kathleen Tice
Mr. H. Burton Trimble, Jr.
Mr. Steven R. Tunnell
Mr. & Mrs. John B. Uttenhove
Mary E. Van Valkenburgh
Mrs. Anise C. Wallace
Diane Woodard & Bruce
Waldrop
Mr. Robert Wardle, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. John B. White, Jr.
Adair & Dick White
Mr. Hubert H. Whitlow, Jr.*
Sue & Neil* Williams
Mrs. Frank L. Wilson, Jr.
Mrs. Elin M. Winn
Ms. Joni Winston
George & Camille Wright
Mr.* & Mrs.* Charles R. Yates
*Deceased
Jennifer Barlament executive director
Lizzy Clements executive assistant, senior management
Alvinetta Cooksey executive & finance assistant
Gaetan Le Divelec vice president, artistic planning
Kelly Edwards director of operations
Ebner Sobalvarro
artistic administrator
RaSheed Lemon
artistic coordinator
Sarah Grant
vice president of education & community engagement
Ryan Walks
atlanta symphony
youth orchestra & teen programs manager
Elena Gagon Dunn
family programs & community engagement manager
Emily Liao Master
vice president & general manager
Paul Barrett
director of production
Richard Carvlin
senior stage manager
Kelvin Hill
senior manager of orchestra personnel
Jeremy Tusz
audio recording engineer & producer
Marcia Chandler
chorus administrator
Joshua Luty
principal librarian
Sara Baguyos
associate principal librarian
James Nelson assistant librarian
Ashley Mirakian vice president, marketing & communications
Camille McClain director of marketing & communications
Matt Dykeman director of digital content
Adam Fenton director of multimedia technology
Delle Beganie content & production manager
Mia Jones-Walker marketing manager
Whitney Hendrix creative services manager, aso
Amy Godwin communications manager
Sean David video editor
Bob Scarr
archivist & research coordinator
Russell Wheeler vice president, sales & revenue management
Nancy James front of house supervisor
Erin Jones
senior director of sales & audience development
Jesse Pace senior manager of ticketing & patron experience
Dennis Quinlan manager, business insights & analytics
Robin Smith guest services coordinator
Jake Van Valkenburg group sales & audience development supervisor
Milo McGehee
guest services coordinator
Anna Caldwell guest services associate
Nicole Panunti
vice president, atlanta symphony hall live
Will Strawn director of marketing
Christine Lawrence director of ticketing & parking
Lisa Eng creative services manager
Caitlin Buckers
marketing manager
Dan Nesspor ticketing manager, atlanta symphony hall live
Liza Palmer event manager
Jessi Lestelle event manager
Nicole Jurovics booking & contract manager
Meredith Chapple marketing coordinator, live
Shamon Newsome booking & contract associate
Susan Ambo
executive vice president & cfo
Kimberly Hielsberg vice president of finance
April Satterfield controller
Brandi Reed staff accountant
Grace Sipusic vice president of development
Cheri Snyder
senior director of development
William Keene director of annual giving
James Paulk
senior annual giving officer
Renee Contreras director of foundation & corporate relations
Dana Parness manager of individual giving & prospect research
Beth Freeman
senior manager of major gifts
Sharveace Cameron senior development associate
Sarah Wilson manager of development operations
Jenny Ricke foundation & corporate giving associate
The Woodruff Arts Center’s unprecedented $67 million capital campaign will bring new life to our campus, expand access to our proven educational programming, and secure our place as Atlanta’s center for the arts. Scan the QR code to learn more about Experience Atlanta, Experience Woodruff.
$1,000,000+
The Goizueta Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation
The Imlay Foundation
$500,000 - $999,999
Anonymous
The Douglas J. Hertz Family Foundation, Inc.
$250,000 - $499,999
Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
$100,000 - $249,999
Thomas and Aimee Chubb
Ann and Jeff Cramer
Emerald Gate Charitable Trust
$10,000 - $99,999
Annie Adams
H. Ross and Claire Arnold
Janine Brown and Alex Simmons
Cousins Properties Foundation Inc.
Michael and Mindy Egan
Vicki Escarra
Rand and Seth Hagen
Philip Harrison and Susan Stainback
James M. Cox Foundation
Norfolk Southern Foundation PNC
Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
The Tomé Foundation
The Zeist Foundation
Georgia Power Foundation
J. Bulow Campbell Foundation
Kelin Foundation
Patricia and Douglas Reid
Chick-fil-A Foundation | Rhonda and Dan Cathy
Phil and Jenny Jacobs
Fraser Parker Foundation
Kathy Waller and Kenny Goggins
Robert and Margaret Reiser
The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation, Inc.
Truist Charitable Fund
Julia Houston
Dennis Lockhart
Barry McCarthy
Kavita and Ashish Mistry
Kenneth Neighbors and Valdoreas May
Galen and Lynn Oelkers
Mark and Jennifer Pighini
Sara Giles Moore Foundation
Southface Energy Institute
Tull Charitable Foundation
Vasser Woolley Foundation
Patrick and Susan Viguerie
D. Richard Williams and Janet Lavine
John and Ellen Yates
We are grateful to our dedicated Annual Fund donors for ensuring that everyone in Atlanta can experience the power of the arts. Their gifts support the arts and education work of the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art.
$1,000,000+
A Friend of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
$500,000 - $999,999
A Friend of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Anonymous
$250,000 - $499,999
Accenture
Art Bridges Foundation
Farideh and Al Azadi Foundation
Mr. Joseph H. Boland, Jr.
Thalia and Michael C. Carlos Advised Fund
Chick-fil-A Foundation |
Rhonda and Dan Cathy
Sheila Lee Davies and Jon Davies
$100,000 - $249,999
1180 Peachtree
A Friend of the High Museum of Art
Alston and Bird
AT&T Foundation
Atlantic Station
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Helen Gurley Brown Foundation
Cadence Bank Foundation
City of Atlanta Mayor’s
Office of Cultural Affairs
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Cousins Foundation
Forward Arts Foundation
Barney M. Franklin and Hugh W. Burke
Charitable Fund
Art Bridges
Emerald Gate Charitable Trust
Georgia Power Company
Sara Giles Moore Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation
The Halle Foundation
Invesco QQQ
Sarah and Jim Kennedy
Ms. Anne H. Morgan and Mr. James F. Kelley
Norfolk Southern Foundation
Novelis, Inc.
The Rich’s Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
Alfred A Thornton Venable Trust
Truist Trusteed Foundations: The Greene-Sawtell Foundation, Guy Woolford Charitable Trust, and Walter H. and Majory M. Rich Memorial Fund
UPS WestRock
Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Dick and Anne Game
Georgia Council for the Arts
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
Georgia-Pacific
Graphic Packaging International, Inc.
John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland
Charitable Foundation
The Hertz Family Foundation, Inc.
Karen and Jeb Hughes
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation
King and Spalding, Partners & Employees
KPMG LLP, Partners & Employees
Charles Loridans Foundation, Inc
The Marcus Foundation, Inc.
Northside Hospital
PNC
Patty and Doug Reid
Southern Company Gas
Carol and Ramon Tomé Family Fund
Warner Bros. Discovery
Kelly and Rod Westmoreland
wish Foundation
