Eugene Symphony 2017/18 Program Magazine 2

2017/18 SEASON

Francesco Lecce-Chong, Music Director & Conductor

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PROGRAM MAGAZINE 2 | NOV. – DEC. 2017

Cirque de la Symphonie

Ian Kerr, Principal Timpani Simone Porter, Violin

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Contents November – December 2017 CONCERTS 19 Youth Concert:

Musical Time Machine

November 14

Sponsored by Marie Jones & Suzanne Penegor,

Oregon Community Credit Union and Chvatal Orthodontics

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41

49

Paganini Violin Concerto November 16

47 On December 7, the Eugene Symphony

Chorus takes the stage with the orchestra to perform the holiday classic, Handel’s Messiah.

Sponsored by Comfort Flow Heating

Handel’s Messiah December 7 Sponsored by Skeie’s Jewelers

Cirque de la Symphonie Holiday Spectacular December 17

27 Violinist Simone

Porter joins the Eugene Symphony on November 16 to perform Paganini’s First Violin Concerto.

Sponsored by Imagination International

FEATURES 30 In the Key of E[ducation] 53 Donor Spotlight 54 On That Note ON STAGE AND OFF 11 Welcome 12 Calendar 14 Orchestra Roster 15 Conductor 55 Scenes from Offstage 56 Support the Symphony 58 Founders Society 59 52nd Season Partners 60 Thank You to Our Supporters 63 Endowment Fund 64 Board of Directors

and Administrative Staff

49 On December 17, ring

in the season at Cirque de la Symphonie Holiday Spectacular, featuring breathtaking acrobatics set to live orchestral music.

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We welcome you, Francesco Lecce-Chong, to our musical family in an enthusiastic community of many cultural heritages, generations, and walks of life. We congratulate you on your first season as our Maestro and wish you joyous notes as you share your love of music.

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In the name of the Eugene-Irkutsk Sister City Committee and in memory of the Groza-Gorbatenko Family Sponsor of Eugene Symphony’s Instrument Petting Zoos

EUGENE SYMPHONY

Welcome November – December 2017 Greetings all!

Welcome to another exciting performance by your Eugene Symphony! My first couple months with the orchestra have been a whirlwind of music-making, and I am loving every moment here in Eugene. The closing months of 2017 hold what I am sure will be more memorable experiences as we welcome one of the brightest young stars of the violin, Simone Porter, in November, and join forces with the Eugene Symphony Chorus for Handel’s beloved oratorio, Messiah, in December.

Since moving to Eugene this summer, I have been thrilled by the enthusiasm for the arts all around the city and the sense of community everywhere I visit. It is these two wonderful aspects of Eugene that I want to celebrate in our concerts. Recent scientific studies have reached a conclusion I long believed was true—that we experience the performing arts more deeply when we connect with other people. So I would love nothing more than for our concerts to become a mecca for not only sensational performances, but also for discussion and engagement in our city. As such, I encourage you to interact with your fellow listeners as well as leave a message on the large whiteboard in the lobby for our musicians. Also, invite some friends along who may not have been to hear the Symphony lately.

Thank you so much for joining us! As we finish out the year, I wish you and yours a beautiful holiday season full of family, food, fun…and great music!

Yours truly,

Francesco Lecce-Chong, Music Director & Conductor Dear Friends, Our 52nd season has kicked-off with tremendous enthusiasm! In September, the incomparable Renée Fleming performed to a captivated audience. Then, our first two subscription concerts featured the amazing pianists Joyce Yang and Conrad Tao, as well as the Pacific Northwest premiere of Aureole by the renowned American composer Augusta Read Thomas.

In September we hosted “Gusty” (as she likes to be called) in the first segment of her two-part residency with us this season. You can read more about that on page 22. Our array of music education and community engagement programs continue this fall with the first of our two Youth Concerts—Musical Time Machine on November 14— and all told we will reach about 25,000 children and adults by the end of the season through these initiatives.

Reflecting our commitment to community engagement, in February, the orchestra will perform Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons in a partnership with McKenzie River Trust and Travel Lane County. Accompanying the music, we will present imagery of the McKenzie River submitted by local photographers. The deadline to submit is November 22. Visit our website (eugenesymphony.org) for more information.

The fresh ideas of new Music Director & Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong are starting to take effect. For instance, the whiteboard in the lobby encourages engagement and discussion between audience members and musicians. Francesco has also inaugurated a popular concert-week happy hour, for the purpose of discussing all things musical (and for enjoying a Northwest brew or other beverage of your choosing).

Finally, there is still time to purchase a three- or five-pack of concert tickets, if you haven’t already subscribed.

Or, consider giving a subscription pack to a friend or loved one in the coming holiday season. What a wonderful gift to share music together.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

David Pottinger, President of Eugene Symphony Board of Directors

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Calendar

YOUTH CONCERT: MUSICAL TIME MACHINE November 14

NOV 14

Elementary School Youth Concerts: 10:30 am & Musical Time Machine 12:30 pm Sponsored by Marie Jones & Suzanne Penegor, Oregon Community Credit Union and Chvatal Orthodontics

4:00 pm Master class with violinist Simone Porter, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

NOV 16 PAGANINI VIOLIN CONCERTO

Laura Jackson, guest conductor Simone Porter, violin

6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall Sponsored by Comfort Flow Heating

NOV 22

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Imagery submission deadline for the McKenzie Four Seasons project. More information at eugenesymphony.org/ mckenzie4seasons

DEC 7

HANDEL’S MESSIAH

Francesco Lecce-Chong Music Director & Conductor Eugene Symphony Chorus

6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall Sponsored by Skeie’s Jewelers

DEC 17 CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR

Anthony Parnther, guest conductor

2:30 pm Special Concert, Silva Concert Hall Sponsored by Imagination International

JAN 23

Master class with pianist Jon Kimura Parker, 4:00 pm Beall Hall, University of Oregon School of Music and Dance

EUGENE SYMPHONY

CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR December 17

JAN 25 GRIEG AND SCHUBERT

Stuart Malina, guest conductor Jon Kimura Parker, piano

6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall Sponsored by Eugene Symphony Guild

FEB 3

GALA 2018: Explore the Music

5:30 pm Celebrate with dinner, performance, dancing and a live auction at Eugene Symphony’s biggest benefit event of the year, at Eugene Hilton. For details, visit eugenesymphony.org/events/specialevents/gala

FEB 13

Master class with violinist Rachel Barton Pine, 4:00 pm The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

FEB 15

Francesco Lecce-Chong Music Director & Conductor Rachel Barton Pine, violin

THE FOUR SEASONS OF THE MCKENZIE RIVER

6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

APR 17

Master class with Third Coast Percussion, 4:00 pm The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall Sponsored by Summit Funding

APR 19

MAR 12-15 Artist Residency with Zuill Bailey

MAR 13

Elementary School Youth Concerts: 10:30 am & The Orchestra Swings 12:30 pm Sponsored by Marie Jones & Suzanne Penegor and US Bank

4:00 pm Master class with cellist Zuill Bailey, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

MAR 15 TALES OF HEMINGWAY

Francesco Lecce-Chong Music Director & Conductor Zuill Bailey, cello

6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center 7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall

EARTH AND SEA

Francesco Lecce-Chong Music Director & Conductor Third Coast Percussion

6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center

7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall Sponsored by Roaring Rapids Pizza Company

MAY 17 MAHLER’S FIFTH

Francesco Lecce-Chong Music Director & Conductor 6:30 pm Guild Concert Preview, The Studio, lower level of the Hult Center 7:30 pm Symphonic series concert, Silva Concert Hall

MAY 27

Play It Again! Adult Chamber Music 2:30 pm performance at First Christian Church, Eugene

APR 16-19 Joint Artist Residency with August Read Thomas and Third Coast Percussion

All Master Classes, Residency Activities, Guild Concert Previews, and the Play it Again! performance are free and open to the public.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Eugene Symphony

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL 2017/18 Francesco Lecce-Chong, Music Director & Conductor Music Director & Conductor Chair is sponsored by Betty Soreng

VIOLIN I

CELLO

HORN

Vacant, Concertmaster Caroline Boekelheide Lisa McWhorter, Assistant Concertmaster Ray & Cathie Staton Jamie Chimchirian Stephen Chong Joanne Berry Della Davies Sandra Weingarten & Ryan Darwish Anthony Dyer Rosemary Erb John & Emilie York Jennifer Estrin Yvonne Hsueh Debra & Dunny Sorensen Nelly Kovalev† Valerie Nelson* Sophie Therrell Matthew, Aaron & Alex Shapiro Vacant

Anne Ridlington, Principal Diana G. Learner & Carolyn J. Simms Eric Alterman, Assistant Principal Dale Bradley Joseph Eggleston* David Chinburg Marion Sweeney, Kate Laue & Cama Evans Ann Grabe James Pelley Nancy Sowdon Vacant

David Kruse, Principal David & Paula Pottinger Jennifer Harrison Lydia Van Dreel Duncan & Jane Eyre McDonald Scott King Jonathan Kuhns-Obana (Assistant Horn)

VIOLIN II Matthew Fuller, Principal Ray & Libby Englander Sasha Chandler, Assistant Principal Dan Athearn Bob Gray Memorial Chair Alice Blankenship Theodore W. & Laramie Palmer David Burham Julia Frantz Bob & Friedl Bell Virginia Kaiser Claudia Miller Marilyn Tyler Herb Merker & Marcy Hammock Jannie Wei Vacant

VIOLA Holland Phillips, Principal† Don & Lin Hirst Shauna Keys, Principal** Miriam English Ward, Assistant Principal Lauren Culver* Lauren Elledge Marilyn Kays Anamaria Ghitea Karlie Roberts Kim Uwate Vacant

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BASS Richard Meyn, Principal Ellis & Lucille Sprick Forrest Moyer, Assistant Principal Tyler Abbott Charles & Reida Kimmel Rick Carter Milo Fultz Greg Nathan Nathan Waddell

FLUTE Kristen Halay, Principal George & Kay Hanson Wendy Bamonte Jill Pauls (Piccolo)

OBOE Kelly Gronli, Principal Anonymous Cheryl Denice John & Ethel MacKinnon Annalisa Morton (English Horn)

CLARINET Michael Anderson, Principal Hugh & Janet Johnston Louis DeMartino (E-flat Clarinet) Carol Robe (Bass Clarinet) Anonymous

TRUMPET Sarah Viens, Principal Joshua Silva David Bender G. Burnette Dillon & Louise Di Tullio Dillon

TROMBONE Henry Henniger, Principal Michael & Nancy Oft-Rose Vacant James Meyer Stephen & Cyndy Lane

TUBA Michael Grose, Principal

TIMPANI Ian Kerr, Principal Jim & Janet Kissman

PERCUSSION Tim Cogswell, Principal Susan Gilmore & Phyllis Brown Brian Scott Charles & Georgiann Beaudet Randal Larson Sean Wagoner

KEYBOARD Christine Mirabella, Principal Garr & Joan Cutler

HARP Jane Allen, Principal Laura Maverick Graves Avery Chair

BASSOON

CHORUS DIRECTOR

Vacant, Principal Mike Curtis Peter Gregg Steve Vacchi (Contrabassoon) Ted & Marie Baker David Hattenhauer

Sharon J. Paul * denotes University of Oregon Graduate Employee ** denotes one-year appointment † denotes leave of absence

EUGENE SYMPHONY

Francesco Lecce-Chong A captivating presence on the podium, American conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong has garnered acclaim for his dynamic performances, commitment to innovative programming, and passion for community engagement. As Music Director & Conductor of the Eugene Symphony, Lecce-Chong follows in the path of renowned predecessors including Marin Alsop and Giancarlo Guerrero.

He currently also holds the positions of Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Active as a guest conductor, he has appeared with orchestras around the world including the National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Also trained as a pianist and composer, Lecce-Chong champions the work of new composers and the need for arts education. As Associate Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) from 2011–2015, he curated and presented the works of both active and lesser-known composers, including two works commissioned by the orchestra, as well as two U.S. premieres. He also helped create the first MSO Composer Institute, providing performance opportunities for young American composers.

Lecce-Chong has complemented his programming with a strong commitment to arts education for all ages. In Milwaukee, he provided artistic leadership for the MSO’s nationally lauded Arts in Community Education program—one of the largest arts integration programs in the country. His dedication to connecting orchestras and communities continues in Pittsburgh where he gives preconcert talks, conducts concerts for school audiences, and leads specially designed sensory-friendly performances.

A native of Boulder, Colorado, Lecce-Chong began conducting at the age of 16. He is a

EUGENE SYMPHONY MUSIC DIRECTORS Lawrence Maves, Founding Conductor (1966–1981) William McGlaughlin (1981–1985) Adrian Gnam (1985–1989) Marin Alsop, Conductor Laureate (1989–1996) Miguel Harth-Bedoya (1996–2002) Giancarlo Guerrero (2002–2009) Danail Rachev (2009–2017) Francesco Lecce-Chong (2017– ) NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

graduate of the Mannes College of Music and Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He has worked with many internationally celebrated conductors including Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Edo de Waart, and Manfred Honeck.

Now residing in Eugene, Lecce-Chong looks forward to building upon Eugene Symphony’s legacy and connecting with the community in new ways. In his free time, he plans to explore the outdoors and visit all of Eugene’s used bookstores, coffee shops and local breweries.

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Cheers to 50 Years!

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Volunteer with the Eugene Symphony Guild

(Front row, left to right) Suzanne Shapiro, Education & Social VP; Carolyn Abbott, President; Nan Helsabeck, Secretary (Back row, left to right) Ginger Fifield, Promotion VP; Carol Myree Welch, Treasurer; Darian Fadeley, Fundraising VP; Susan Ashton, Executive VP.

50th Anniversary Afternoon Tea

“I'm so excited to get going on this wonderful 50th Anniversary year for the Guild and the 52nd year for the Symphony, with a new Director!”

—Carolyn Abbott

Saturday, January 20, 2018 Eugene Country Club

“I joined the Eugene Symphony Guild because I wanted to meet people who shared my love of music and work with others to help support the Symphony. I have not been disappointed.”

— Carol Welch

1:00 Social Hour | 1:30 Tea Join us as we celebrate 50 years of service and fun and raise funds to support the Eugene Symphony!

Entertainment, games, and a look back at a half century of events and people.

Tickets $40

“I’m truly delighted that our Guild sponsors children’s concerts. Thank you to the players, the teachers, the children, and the organizers.”

—Ginger Bopp

255 Country Club Drive, Eugene

Reservations: Betsy Patton, betsyeugene@comcast.net

“Joining the Eugene Symphony Guild is the very best way to meet people who love classical music and the Eugene Symphony.

The Guild is a lively group with a wide variety of interests who host events throughout the year.”

—Judy England

Membership Information Suzanne Shapiro | 541-342-4795 | mrses70@gmail.com

Visit us at www.eugenesymphonyguild.org | Follow us on Facebook 16

EUGENE SYMPHONY

“ The Nutcracker has become a no-miss holiday tradition for many, and as keepers of the torch, the Eugene Ballet Company’s sturdy production twinkles and delights as ever.”

—Rachael Carnes, Eugene Weekly

$15

YOUTH TICKETS AVAILABLE Don’t miss our FREE Holiday Celebration in The Lobby, Sunday Dec 24 at Noon

The

Nutcracker

Friday, Dec 22 | 7:30 pm Saturday, Dec 23 | 2:00 pm Saturday, Dec 23 | 7:30 pm Sunday, Dec 24 | 2:00 pm

Hult Center PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

2017/2018 SEASON OF DISCOVERY | TONI PIMBLE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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The music we make today, enriches our community tomorrow.

MyOCCU.org | 800.365.1111

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Federally insured by NCUA

EUGENE SYMPHONY

Youth Concerts: Musical Time Machine Eugene Symphony Jeffrey Peyton, conductor | William Hulings, narrator Tuesday, November 14, 2017 10:30 AM & 12:30 PM | Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center

Georg Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Overture from Music for the Royal Fireworks

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K.525 Mvt I. Allegro

Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868)

Overture to L’Italiana in Algeri

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)

Serenade in E-flat Major, Op.7

Aaron Copland (1900–1990)

Fanfare for the Common Man

Anthony Cirone (b. 1941)

4/4 for Four

John Williams (b. 1932)

Adventures on Earth from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Youth Concert Season Sponsors

Concert Sponsor

Education Program Support

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

Marie Jones and Suzanne Penegor Additional Support

Support Hult Operations (SHO)

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Jeffrey Peyton Guest Conductor Jeffrey Peyton Hailed as a performer of “brilliant artistry and dazzling virtuosity,” Jeffrey Peyton possesses extensive experience and passion in his diverse roles as a percussionist, conductor, composer, and educator.

A graduate of The Juilliard School in New York City, Peyton was a full scholarship student of Roland Kohloff and Elden

“Buster” Bailey of the New York Philharmonic. Additional studies with such masters as Saul Goodman, Cloyd Duff, Chris Lamb, Doug Howard, Mike Crusoe, and Jonathan Haas contribute to Peyton’s passionate commitment to the highest standards in percussion performance and education.

Peyton currently serves as principal timpanist of the Oregon Ballet Theatre orchestra, percussionist with the Portland Opera, and a regular guest percussionist and timpanist with the Oregon Symphony. During the course of his nearly 30-year career, Peyton has held the positions of principal percussionist of the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Bach Festival, and Peter Britt Festival orchestras, and principal timpanist of the Portland Opera, Cascade Festival, West Coast Chamber and Oregon Coast Festival orchestras.

Hailed as a performer of “brilliant artistry and dazzling virtuosity,” Jeffrey Peyton possesses extensive experience and passion in his diverse roles as a percussionist, conductor, composer, and educator.

While in New York, Peyton was principal timpanist of The Juilliard Orchestra and section percussionist with the American Symphony and 92nd Street Y Chamber Orchestras.

Additional appearances include guest timpanist with the San Diego Symphony and Eugene Opera Orchestras, and guest percussionist with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

An active conductor of orchestra, bands and chamber ensembles, Peyton currently directs the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Concert Orchestra, and the Concert Band at Portland State University. He has recently served as Acting Director of Orchestra Studies, Acting Director of Bands, and Acting Director of Percussion Studies at Portland State University, and has held academic and conducting posts at Lewis and Clark College, University of Oregon, Pacific University and George Fox University. From 1995–2000 Peyton served as Music Director and conductor of the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, raising the artistic and national reputation of the ensemble to critical acclaim.

The regular guest conductor of the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra since 1996, Peyton has appeared as guest conductor of the Eugene Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Eugene Youth Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, the Peter Britt Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, Cascade Music Festival, and the Oregon Festival of American Music.

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Paganini Violin Concerto Eugene Symphony Laura Jackson, conductor | Simone Porter, violin Thursday, November 16, 2017 7:30 PM | Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center Eugene Symphony Guild Concert Preview 6:30 PM | The Studio, Hult Center Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)

Roman Carnival Overture

Nicolò Paganini (1782–1840)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 I. Allegro maestoso II. Adagio III. Rondo: Allegro spiritoso Simone Porter, violin

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Antonin Dvorˇák (1841–1904)

Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 I. Allegro maestoso II. Poco adagio III. Scherzo: Vivace IV. Finale: Allegro

Concert Sponsor

Guest Artist Sponsor

Additional Support

This concert will be broadcast on KWAX-FM 91.1 on Tuesday, December 5 at 10 a.m.

Broadcasts underwritten in part by Kernutt Stokes.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Paganini Violin Concerto November 16, 2017 Program Notes

by Tom Strini ©2017

” I have gotten to know Simone Porter over the past couple years as not only a prodigious talent on the violin, but also a delightful personality who brings as much joy to her music making as she does fire and passion. I have no doubt you are in for a treat with her performance of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1. It’s a concerto that takes the idea of “virtuosity” to the level of absurd and where the dazzling technical heroics make you hold your breath at moments. The work was a guilty pleasure of mine back when I was a young aspiring violinist and I still find its showboating and bombastic fanfares completely charming!

It is also a pleasure to welcome back guest conductor Laura Jackson who led the Eugene Symphony in its SymFest II concert last June. As Music Director of the Reno Philharmonic, she brings a wealth of experience and creative ideas to our orchestra, which you will witness during Dvorˇák’s Seventh Symphony—a staple in the orchestral repertoire and one of the composer’s most performed works, alongside his ‘New World Symphony.’‘’ — Francesco Lecce-Chong

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HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803–1869) Roman Carnival Overture, [1844] Scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, and strings. First performed by the Eugene Symphony in February 1986 under the direction of Adrian Gnam, and last performed in September 2007 under the direction of Giancarlo Guerrero. Performance time is approximately eight minutes.

Hector Berlioz, like generations of cultivated Europeans, read the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571). In addition to his prodigious skills as a sculptor, goldsmith, draftsman, musician and poet, Cellini was an infamous street brawler, a celebrated raconteur, bon vivant and decorated soldier. He claimed, and is widely believed, to have killed Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, during a French siege of Rome.

The stuff of opera, certainly. Berlioz thought so, too, and in 1834, plotted Benvenuto Cellini on the creation of Perseus with the Head of Medusa, a monumental sculpture commissioned by Pope Clement VII—in the opera, not in history. Berlioz’s librettists ginned up a story that was 90% fiction and, apparently, 100% failed comedy.

Performances of Benvenuto Cellini are rare, but the sun never sets on the Roman Carnival Overture.

Roman Carnival Overture, the opener of tonight’s Eugene Symphony program, derives from tunes from Benvenuto Cellini, especially a scene set in a carnival. However, it is NOT the overture to the opera, but a separate piece, originally intended to introduce Act II but reworked for concert performance.

The Opera Comique rejected the opera outright. Berlioz revised it into something more serious and shopped it to the Paris Opera. The company said yes, but censors intervened and caused more revision. At last, in 1838, Cellini hit the Paris stage and bombed utterly.

Franz Liszt, a friend, admirer and sometime mentor to Berlioz, took up its cause, suggested further revisions, and produced it in Weimar. “Meh,” said Weimar—then London, then Weimar again.

Berlioz gave up: “I had been greatly struck by certain episodes in the life of Benvenuto Cellini,” he wrote.

EUGENE SYMPHONY

“I had the misfortune to believe they would make an interesting and dramatic subject for an opera.”

Performances of Benvenuto Cellini are rare, but the sun never sets on the Roman Carnival Overture.

“It’s upbeat, energetic and full of beautiful melodies, many of which sound like Italian folk songs,” said guest conductor Laura Jackson. “He was so about color, about orchestration. He was so forward-looking. You could say that Berlioz did for orchestration what Paganini did for the violin.

They were in a different universe from what had come before.”

Berlioz (left) and Paganini together, 1834. Paganini originally commissioned Berlioz’s Harold in Italy as a viola concerto. (Paganini had just acquired a Stradivarius viola and wanted a showpiece for it). The virtuoso abandoned the project in a huff when Berlioz’s composition wasn’t flashy enough.

Years later, when Paganini finally heard the piece (with someone else playing the solo part), he bowed to Berlioz and kissed his hand. The next day, Paganini sent his son to Berlioz, to pay the 20,000-franc commission he’d withheld years earlier.

NICOLÒ PAGANINI (1782–1840) Violin Concerto No. 1, Opus 6 [1817–18] In addition to the solo violin, this work is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, contrabassoon, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, and strings. This is the first Eugene Symphony performance, and performance time is approximately 35 minutes.

Early in his career, Nicolò Paganini held a respectable job, as the court violinist in Lucca, Italy, for Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Bacciochi. After three years of that, he hit the road as an independent, itinerant composer-performer and invented the Rock ‘n’ Roll lifestyle.

He gambled. He drank. He ran slowly when women pursued him. He stoked rivalries with other violinists, and was slow to deny an alliance with the devil as an explanation for his astounding virtuosity. And in keeping with the Rock ‘n’ Roll image, he composed for and played the guitar, his “constant companion.” But he played it only in intimate settings, never on the concert stage. (He gave Berlioz, a friend and something of a kindred spirit, a guitar as a gift.)

In addition to amazing all of Europe by developing violin techniques to lengths no one had imagined, he was a brilliant and, some would say, shameless showman. His bag of tricks included breaking one string after another, until he soldiered on through difficult passages on that last remaining string. He would retune strings to make the impossible possible.

Retuning comes into play in tonight’s Violin Concerto No. 1. He composed the orchestra part in E-flat, a difficult key for violin. But he wrote the violin part as if it were in very comfortable D Major, and tuned the violin a half-step high to give him

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

open strings sounding in A-flat, E-flat, B-flat and F, just what you need in the key of E-flat. It’s sort of like putting a capo on a guitar neck. These days, both orchestra and soloist play in normal D Major.

Late in his life, he taught and published violin methods and his compositions. At the peak of his career, Paganini kept his tricks top-secret. The present concerto didn’t go into print until 1851, over a decade after his death.

Paganini was slow to deny an alliance with the devil as an explanation for his astounding virtuosity.

“The Concerto No. 1 served as a pivotal moment in my life,” said Simone Porter, tonight’s violin soloist. “I needed it to improve, as a necessary challenge. It’s so hard, but it was obviously written by a violinist. Everything fits.”

Given the composer’s over-the-top Romantic life, you might expect extravagantly emotional music, and he wrote some of that. That’s not the case here, according to both Porter and conductor Laura Jackson, who have previously performed this concerto together with Jackson’s Reno Philharmonic. In separate interviews, they pointed out that, violin fireworks aside, the concerto sounds a lot like Rossini.

(Continued on page 18)

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Paganini Violin Concerto Program Notes (Continued from page 17) “It’s Romantic in its virtuosity and athleticism,” Jackson said. “On the other hand, it’s Classical in its proportions and transparency. It’s all about the soloist. We lay down the easy light stuff, and she’s all over the place, just tossing it off. It’s supposed to sound easy. It’s not a hyper-Romantically emotional work.”

“The point of the concerto is to show off,” Porter said.

“The lightness, the buoyancy, are important. It’s like opera buffa—all enjoyment and laughter. It’s like one long diva solo for violinists.”

Antonín Dvořák [1841–1904] Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Opus 70 [1885] Scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings. First performed by the Eugene Symphony in April 1984 under the direction of William McLaughlin, and last performed in April 2002 under the direction of Uriel Segal.

Performance time is approximately 37 minutes.

Dvořák seized upon the London Philharmonic Society’s 1884 commission for his Seventh Symphony, along with an invitation to conduct the premiere, as a great opportunity.

He was emerging from his status as a respected regional, Czech nationalist composer, and a big London success would elevate him to international stardom.

The Society had, after all, commissioned Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. That wasn’t lost on Dvořák. He cast his Seventh in D minor, the same key as Beethoven’s Ninth.

And he strove for that same depth, that same sort of gravitas. He eschewed his customary Czech and Bohemian dance motifs and rhythms and worked in a more international style. In his mind, London was no place for Central European local color, much less comic relief.

“The Seventh is dark and utterly dramatic,” said conductor Laura Jackson. “Dvořák is searching for something. In certain places in the first movement, it’s as if he doesn’t even know what he’s searching for. This music is somehow conflicted. That’s what I ponder when I perform it.”

Dvorˇák cast his Seventh in D minor, the same key as Beethoven’s Ninth. And he strove for that same depth, that same sort of gravitas.

The composer aimed to create music that was not only deep, but pure and essential. In the Symphony No. 7, he pared down when other Romantic composers—e.g., Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, after Richard Wagner—were sprawling to ever-greater lengths. It runs a modest 37 minutes in four movements. After the premiere, Dvořák promptly cut 40 measures from the Poco Adagio movement and wrote to his publisher, Simrock, that “I am convinced that there is not a single superfluous note in this work.”

Likewise, as other composers inflated the orchestra to 100 or more players and introduced new instruments, Dvořák scaled back to the orchestra of Beethoven.

He packs a great deal of meaning into these relatively narrow confines. Exquisite melodies bloom everywhere, like lilies sprouting from freshly abandoned battlefields.

Conflicting rhythms, sixes and twos against threes, tug at one another amid mostly dense textures. He rarely comes to rest on the tonic (the DO of DO-RE-MI). All of that partly explains what Jackson mentioned: The searching, the restlessness, the tension that holds taut to the very last measure.

Historical sources: The Hector Berlioz website (www.hberlioz.com); Wikipedia page on Berlioz Acta Otorhinolaryngol Italica, April 2005; Wikipedia pages for Paganini and the Concerto No. 1; www.paganini.com; The Strad magazine, April 2016 http://www.antonin-dvorak.cz; Wikipedia page on Dvořák

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Paganini Violin Concerto Guest Artist Simone Porter Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, musical integrity, and vibrant sound. After performing last season with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic the LA Times declared Porter “on the cusp of a major career.” Elsewhere, her performances have been described as “bold,” (Seattle Times) and “virtuosic,” (London Times) and at 20 years of age, Porter has already appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the baton of renowned conductors including Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and Donald Runnicles. Porter made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at age 13.

At 20 years of age, Porter has already appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In June 2016, Simone Porter was featured at the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams in a solo performance of music from Schindler’s List with Maestro Dudamel and members of the American Youth Symphony; this featured program was broadcast nationally on the TNT Network. The current season will take her to San Francisco, Rhode Island, Des Moines, Lubbock and Waco, TX, Albany, NY, Alabama and Kansas City both in recital and with orchestra, ending the season with her French debut in Marseille.

Concurrent with her studies in Los Angeles she has already performed with the orchestras in Detroit, Nashville, Baltimore, Rochester, Hartford, Berkeley, Florida, Fort Worth, Utah, American Youth Symphony and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra in California. In 2008 she had the honor of performing for the Dalai Lama at the opening ceremony of a fiveday symposium on compassion in Seattle, WA. Internationally, Porter has performed with the Simon Bolivar Symphony in Colombia, the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira, Costa Rica Youth Symphony, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the Northern Sinfonia, and the Milton Keynes City Orchestra in the United Kingdom.

She has also appeared in Singapore at the 2010 Great Eastern International Kids Performing Festival.

The recipient of numerous honors and awards, in 2009 she was presented as an Emerging Young Artist by the Seattle Chamber Music Society followed in 2011 by the Davidson Fellow Laureate award given by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development. In 2015 she was named a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Raised in Seattle, Washington, Porter studied with Margaret Pressley as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Scholarship, and was then admitted into the studio of the renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett, with whom she presently studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles.

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Paganini Violin Concerto Guest Conductor Laura Jackson Laura Jackson, now in her ninth season as music director of the Reno Philharmonic, continues to win praise for her artistry, leadership, innovative programming, and creative community engagement.

While in Ann Arbor, Laura Jackson served as Music Director of the Life Sciences Orchestra, made up of doctors, researchers, students, and staff of the university life sciences community.

In addition to concerts with the Reno Philharmonic, Jackson guest conducts nationally and internationally. In May 2013 she became the first-ever American to lead the Algerian National Orchestra; other recent engagements include L’Orchestre de Bretagne in France and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, she recorded Michael Daugherty’s Time Cycle on Naxos with the Bournemouth Symphony in partnership with Marin Alsop. In North America, she has performed with the symphonies of Alabama, Atlanta, Baltimore, Berkeley, Detroit, Phoenix, San Antonio, Toledo, Toronto, Windsor, and Winnipeg, among others.

Jackson spent her early childhood in Virginia and Pennsylvania before moving at age 11 to Plattsburgh, NY, where she grew up waterskiing, swimming, and sailing on Lake Champlain. She fell in love with the violin in public school, later attending the North Carolina School for the Arts to finish high school. She

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pursued an undergraduate degree at Indiana University where she studied both violin and conducting before moving to Boston in 1990 to freelance as a violinist and teach at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. She won her first conducting position in 1992 with the Nashua Chamber Orchestra and served as music director there until 1998. In 2005, she earned her doctorate in orchestral conducting from Michigan. While in Ann Arbor, she served as Music Director of the Life Sciences Orchestra, made up of doctors, researchers, students, and staff of the university’s life sciences community.

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In the Key of E[ducation] Gusty inspires young composers and returns to Eugene in April

By Katy Vizdal, Education & Community Engagement Director It’s not every day we have the honor of hosting a worldclass composer in our community, and this season, we get that opportunity not just once, but twice. Composer-in-Residence Augusta Read Thomas visited Eugene in September, sparking the beginning of several community collaborations that will take place over the course of the year.

On September 28, 2017, the Eugene Symphony dazzled audiences with Augusta Read Tomas’s piece Aureole, a muscular, rhythmic, glistening piece of music that embodies the musical characteristics for which the composer is known. Thomas will return in April for the second part of her residency held jointly with the phenomenal Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion.

The percussion ensemble will perform her work Sonorous Earth, a piece commissioned by the Eugene Symphony and The Chicago Philharmonic. This project is supported by New Music USA, National Endowment for the Arts and the Nils and Jewel Hult Endowment.

While here in September, Gusty (as she insists on being called) visited high school bands, met with young and aspiring composers, helped develop an art and music class for people with and without disabilities, and visited the instrument collections of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History in preparation for an event there in April 2018. Needless to say, we kept her busy!

Highlights from Gusty’s September Artist Residency include: • Visiting more than 70 students at South Eugene High School and Willamette High School, two area high school bands that are rehearsing and performing Thomas’ 2001 work Magneticfireflies.

What is an Artist- or Composer-In-Residence?

A guest artist or composer who builds connections within the community through events outside the concert hall (discussions, presentations, performances) during their extended stay, usually held in conjunction with a performance.

• Meeting with teachers at Oregon Supported Living Program, to develop a “Music and Art” class, engaging adults with and without developmental and cognitive disabilities. The project will culminate in a public exhibit of artwork created during two three-month classes at The Lincoln Gallery, as well as a display in the Hult Center lobby.

• Sharing her tone maps with 35 audience members at our first Symphony Happy Hour with Francesco event.

Augusta Read Thomas’s impact in our region extends far beyond the concert hall, inspiring future generations of musicians and providing insights into the life as a professional composer. Through this Artist Residency, we are able to connect more people with the Eugene Symphony and build lasting connections that will extend beyond Gusty’s time in town. We cannot wait for her return in April! We hope you will join us for some of the incredible activities we have planned. Stay up to date by visiting our website eugenesymphony.org

• Giving a composition lecture to 10 high school composition students at the Academy of Arts and Academics in Springfield.

• Viewing the instrument collections of the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History, to select display items for a special exhibit leading up to an event with the composer in April 2018. The event will feature instruments from the Museum’s collection, as well as instruments used in her piece Sonorous Earth.

• Speaking with 25+ composition students at the Oregon Composers Forum at the UO School of Music and Dance, sharing her compositional process and discussing students’ concepts for their future works.

• Welcoming 46 Willamette High School band students to the Eugene Symphony Dress Rehearsal on September 27 to hear her piece Aureole.

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Augusta Read Thomas visits Willamette High School band students.

EUGENE SYMPHONY

October 18, 2017

Dear Francesco, all the Musicians, Staff , Board Members, of the Eugene Sym and Volunteers phony, Thank you all for th e marvelous perfo rmance of AUREO LE for orchestra.

The concert was wo rld-class. The indivi dual and collective the artists was elega music making by all nt, colorful, bold, vi brant, inspiring an your conducting wa d centered. Francesc s graceful, sensitive o , energized, nuance effervescent. I love d, vivid, passionate, an d (LOVED!!!!!!!) th e soul, expression d amazing music mak and spirit in the all ing which made th -around e concert radiant. season and a new What a stellar way position as Music to start a Director.

You did such an ex emplary, generous job of organizing all I loved all the even the activities of the ts that connect to m residency. y next visit in April with the Oregon Su 2018, including m pported Living Prog eeting ram Arts and Cultu of Natural and Cu re Program, the M ltural History, the useum two high schools wh Magneticfireflies, W o wi ll be performing m illamette High Scho y piece ol and South Euge young composers ne High School, an at the Academy of d the Arts and Academics .

I enjoyed my time with the young com posers in Robert Ky Seminars. They are r’s UO Compositio talented and I look n forward to followi progress as compo ng and supporting th sers and people th eir rough the collabora culminates in April tive project we are . doing that In addition, the co mmunity events: Sy mphony Happy Hou Lunch, Guild pre-co r w/ Francesco, the ncert lecture, on-s Sponsor tage remarks, postdonors, etc. were all concert reception beautifully organize with d by you all.

Composers throug hout history have needed the strong colleague compose backing of great m rs, conductors, orch usicians, estras, music admin music lovers and m istrators, music scho usic supporters wh lars o ar e of the depth, soul care as you all are. , excellence, vision, Without such supp or and t, it is impossible for at musical composit culture-at-large to ion. improve As such, I feel fortu nate for your person al belief in my life’s greatly needs visio work. Our art form nary leaders, such at large as yo u all, so that all can music’s flexible, di verse capacity and work together to fu innate power. rther It meant so much to me to be with yo u all, to work togeth and passion for mus er, and to share ou ic and life. Here is r love of my heartfelt apprec our SONOROUS EA iation! -And I eage RTH premiere. rly await Warmly, Gusty

“I want to take a moment to thank you (and the Eugene Symphony) for arranging to have Augusta Read Thomas visit A3. I know that I speak for all of our composers when I say how meaningful it was to hear her talk; it gave everyone a sense of the dedication and focus that is needed in order to create meaningful music. Hearing her articulate her compositional process was especially important, because it reinforced the concepts that we attempt to teach on a daily basis. It was also a great experience for those composers to hear the Symphony play that night; many of them had never been to an orchestra concert before, and were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed the music.”

—Jim Olsen Music Instructor at Academy of Arts and Academics NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

“I’ve never had the chance to talk to a composer before. It was amazing to hear what went into writing her music, and the processes she goes through to create it.”

—Anna Flores Trombone, Junior at Willamette High School “I liked the visit from Gusty because of how open, honest, and humble she was with us. You could tell she really cared about answering our questions. After her visit, I have a greater appreciation for composers. She showed me how much dedication it takes to be a composer and musician.”

—Emma Cherry Clarinet, Junior at Willamette High School

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Handel’s Messiah Eugene Symphony Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor Sarah Shafer, soprano | Eve Gigliotti, mezzo-soprano | Andrew Owens, tenor | Michael Dean, baritone Eugene Symphony Chorus | Sharon J. Paul, director Thursday, December 7, 2017 7:30 PM | Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center Eugene Symphony Guild Concert Preview 6:30 PM | The Studio, Hult Center Georg Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Messiah

Part One 1. Sinfonia 2. “Comfort ye my people” (tenor) 3. “Every valley shall be exalted” (tenor) 4. “And the glory of the Lord” (chorus) 5. “Thus saith the Lord” (baritone) 6. “But who may abide the day of His coming” (mezzo-soprano and baritone) 7. “And He shall purify” (chorus) 8. “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion” (mezzo-soprano and chorus) 9. “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth” (baritone) 10. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light” (baritone) 11. “For unto us a Child is born” (chorus) 12. Pifa – Pastoral Symphony 13. “And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them” (soprano) 14. “And suddenly there was with the angel” (soprano) 15. “Glory to God” (chorus) 16. “Rejoice greatly” (soprano) 17. “He shall feed His flock” (mezzo-soprano and soprano) 18. “His yoke is easy” (chorus) I N T E R M I S S I O N

Part Two 19. “Behold the Lamb of God” (chorus) 20. “He was despised” (mezzo-soprano) 21. “Surely, He hath borne our grief” (chorus) 22. “And with His stripes we are healed” (chorus) 23. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (chorus) 24. “All that they see Him, laugh Him to scorn” (tenor) 25. “He trusted in God” (chorus) 26. “Thy rebuke hath broken His heart” (tenor) 27. “Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow”

(tenor) 28. “He was cut off out of the land of the living” (tenor) 29. “But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell” (tenor) 30. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates” (chorus) 36. “Why do the nations so furiously rage together” (baritone) 37. “Let us break their bonds asunder” (chorus) 38. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron” (tenor) 39. “Hallelujah” (chorus) Part Three 40. “I know that my Redeemer liveth” (soprano) 41. “Since by man came death” (chorus) 42. “Behold, I tell you a mystery” (baritone) 43. “The trumpet shall sound” (baritone) 47. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” (chorus)

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NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Handel’s Messiah December 7, 2017 Program Notes

by Tom Strini ©2017

”I can still vividly recall my first experience of Handel’s Messiah: in middle school, I accidentally wandered into a community chorus rehearsal and begged them to let me join. My voice hadn’t dropped yet, so my first performance of Messiah was singing the alto parts in the chorus! As famous as the work is and as much as I’ve heard it over the years, it still feels fresh to me and I never get tired of the amazing musical journey.

Handel is one of the few composers who I would definitely want to join for a beer. His genius as a composer was matched by his generosity and love of humanity as he would frequently donate his profits from performances to local charities. For me, his Messiah is the single greatest artistic response to the life of Jesus because he focuses on the human aspect of the story. The joy, love, doubt, anger, fear, and faith felt by the characters in the story are compellingly represented in the music and the drama unfolds so forcefully that we become a part of the story.‘’

GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759) Messiah, HWV 56 [1742] Libretto by Charles Jennens In addition to the four solo voices and chorus, this work is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, timpani, harpsichord, organ, and strings. First performed by the Eugene Symphony in December 1970 under the direction of Royce Saltzman, and last performed in December 2005 under the direction of Giancarlo Guerrero.

Performance time is approximately 110 minutes excluding one intermission.

In December of 2013, Christopher Seaman led the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and Orchestra in the annual performances of Handel’s Messiah.

Francesco Lecce-Chong, then the MSO’s assistant conductor, was there.

“Everything I know about Messiah, the germ of all of this, was there,” Lecce-Chong said, in a recent interview.

Seaman conducted from the harpsichord, as Handel would have in Dublin at the first performance, April 13, 1742, and as Lecce-Chong will December 7, 2017, in Eugene.

Lecce-Chong did not let it go at that. When he determined to lead a Seaman-style Messiah, he arranged to spend a day with the London-based conductor when he was in America. They met in Rochester, N.Y., in 2015. For eight hours, they worked through the score together. Lecce-Chong left that session with a deeper understanding of the music and how to present it.

“It’s been a year-long process,” Lecce-Chong said. He referred not only to learning the harpsichord part well enough to be comfortable both playing and conducting, but also to incorporating Seaman’s judicious edits of the score and thinking of how to achieve Seaman’s level of focus, clarity, transparency, and drama.

Part of it involves conducting and rehearsal technique. Part of it is conceptual and philosophical.

“We had a long talk about embodying the essences of the three parts of the oratorio and the role of the chorus,” Lecce-Chong said. “In Part 1, they’re angels. In Part 2, God comes down to earth, and they’re humans—it’s the chorus as us. In Part 3, they’re the souls in Paradise.”

Sharon Paul, director of the Eugene Symphony Chorus (and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Oregon), must prepare her 100 or so

— Francesco Lecce-Chong 42

EUGENE SYMPHONY

The popularity of Messiah amoung people of all backgrounds and ages from around the world speaks to Handel’s ability to portray the human condition.

Handel had a strong sense of empathy for those around him as he consistently donated proceeds from his performances to charities throughout his life.

—Francesco Lecce-Chong singers to play those roles. And, of course, hit those thousands of notes.

“The piece is harder than it looks,” she said, in a separate interview. “I like clean articulation, and it’s really hard for 100 people to sing those fast 16thnotes with the precision they require.”

Like Lecce-Chong, Paul won’t take anything for granted or rely on routine in her approach to this very familiar seasonal piece.

“In general, people are always happy to sing it, even if they’ve sung it a million times,” she said.

“But I always try to dig deeper into the score, to get at the Baroque rhetoric in the musical gestures.”

She cited, as an example, “All We Like Sheep,” the ditzy gambol that takes the treble voices astray in all directions. They aren’t just notes. They paint a picture.

Another part of preparing the chorus is setting them up for success when Lecce-Chong takes over during the final rehearsals and performance.

“I enjoy collaboration,” she said. “I enjoy preparing for someone else, and then watching the music evolve. In rehearsal, I give them different ways to sing the same passage. The singers have to be flexible.”

The audience might have to be open to new ideas, too. You may have attended performances of Messiah in which everyone stands for the “Hallelujah” chorus. Lecce-Chong invites you to stay seated this time and experience it anew. He has his reasons.

“In asking people to remain seated for the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus, I am inviting us all to let go of the presumption of what’s to come. Be captivated by this work, as its very first audiences were, and gripped by the drama that unfolds on stage.”

“Hallelujah,” the most famous choral number in Western music, closes Part 2 of the oratorio.

But it’s only Part 2, the earthly, human part, with the Passion, crucifixion and conflicted human feelings around those events. We haven’t arrived in Paradise. In Lecce-Chong’s view, making too much commotion at “Hallelujah” time—which, remember,

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

has to do with Easter and the Resurrection, not with Christmas and the Nativity—breaks the momentum.

“That’s what I love about Part 2,” Lecce-Chong said. “The people constantly change their minds about Christ. The oratorio can’t end there. If the audience stands, ‘Hallelujah’ takes on a different meaning. It’s too final. Plus, focus is distracted and we have a hard time even hearing the beginning of the movement!”

Standing during that number, the 44th of 53 in the complete score (and the 39th of 47 in this performance), is traditional but not authentic.

Critic Michael Guerrieri, in a very entertaining Boston Globe piece from 2009, surveyed the many theories behind that tradition. The most often cited is that King George II, at the London premiere in 1743, stood for the chorus. When the king stood, everyone stood, and it became customary. But according to Guerrieri, the only evidence favoring that theory comes from someone claiming, 37 years later, to have been present for the occurrence.

Otherwise, there is no record of the king even attending the London premiere.

(Continued on page 32)

A gargantuan Messiah production in 1857 in London’s Crystal Palace. Messiah performances of this nature became all the rage in 19th-century England.

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Handel’s Messiah Program Notes (Continued from page 31) Lecce-Chong thinks standing might have to do with the churchly practice of standing for hymn-singing. Which recalls the confusion and controversy that wafted about Messiah, despite its vast popularity in England in the 18th century: Is it liturgical or is it secular?

and-tumble shows in English and reset popular songs of the day. The Beggar’s Opera openly satirized the upper classes and the Italian opera they adored.

Handel continued to stage opera in London until 1741, but knew that he needed another mode.

He turned to English-language oratorio, which

In Messiah, Handel takes the universally known life of Jesus and brings out the human element in the story. We feel the joy, love, pain, anger, and confusion of the people—it’s no wonder that the work inspires both Christians and non-Christians alike!

—Francesco Lecce-Chong Despite Handel’s objections, much of his audience and many still today assume the work to be liturgical. When the London premiere of Messiah was announced at Covent Garden (one of the most famous concert venues in the city), a scathing op-ed in one of the major papers denounced the excitement: “An Oratorio either is an Act of Religion, or it is not. If it is one I ask if the Playhouse is a fit Temple to perform it, or a Company of Players fit Ministers of God’s Word.’’

To understand how Handel conceived of his Messiah as a musical drama intended for concert performance, let’s back up a bit in music history.

Handel settled in England in 1712, on the heels of the great European success of his opera, Rinaldo, composed during an extended stay in Italy.

Italian opera, sung in Italian by Italians, was all the rage throughout Europe. But it was slow to gain a footing in England. Nonsensical English translations, English singers with no feel for Italian style, and, worse, mixed Italian-English casts singing in two languages made the medium look and sound silly. Handel cannily saw opportunity in England for someone who could do Italian opera right. He imported singers, established a company, and made a great deal of money composing and producing Italian-language opera in London.

By the 1730s, that business sagged. Competition from John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, a smash hit in 1728, made Handel’s companies look effete and foreign. Gay and a raft of imitators put on rough-

answered all the criticisms about the decadence of Italian opera and was high-minded enough to distinguish the genre from The Beggar’s Opera and its successors. Oratorios could be put on in theaters or in churches at lower expense than full-blown opera. But the music was the key: Handel retained the musical conventions—minus the castrati—of Italian opera, and, more importantly, the dramatic, evocative music of his earlier operas.

The formula worked brilliantly, especially in the case of Messiah, his sixth oratorio. By the mid19th century, Messiah, originally performed with a chorus of 16 boy sopranos and 16 adult singers, became a Romantic spectacle with hundreds of choristers and orchestra players at Easter time in England. In 20th-century America, choruses from the most modest church group to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir took it up as a Christmas staple.

Lecce-Chong spoke to Messiah’s universal appeal: “The popularity of Messiah among people of all backgrounds and ages from around the world speaks to Handel’s ability to portray the human condition. Handel had a strong sense of empathy for those around him as he consistently donated proceeds from his performances to charities throughout his life. In Messiah, Handel takes the universally known life of Jesus and brings out the human element in the story. We feel the joy, love, pain, anger, and confusion of the people—it’s no wonder that the work inspires both Christians and non-Christians alike!.”

Historical sources: Matthew Guerrieri, “Taking a Stand,” Boston Globe, Dec. 19, 2009; University of Michigan Student Projects, Beggar’s Opera; Seen and Heard International, Interview with Christoper Seaman, Dec. 7, 2016; Wikipedia pages on Handel and Messiah; Eighteenth Century Reception of Italian Opera in London, by Kaylyn Kinder, master’s thesis, University of Louisville, 2013.

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Handel’s Messiah Guest Artist Sarah Shafer, soprano

Guest Artist Eve Gigliotti, mezzo-soprano

Praised by The New York Times for her “luminous voice” and “intensely expressive interpretations,” and named “remarkable, artistically mature… a singer to watch” by Opera News, soprano Sarah Shafer is quickly emerging as a sought-after artist on both the operatic and concert stage.

Highlights of recent seasons include her role debut of Pamina in the Jun Kaneko production of Die Zauberflöte and the world

Quickly becoming known for her diverse repertoire ranging from Handel to Wagner, Eve Gigliotti is an exciting artist who brings rich, resonant sound and a uniquely individual interpretation to her performances.

A passionate interpreter of new American opera and vocal chamber music, Gigliotti has premiered the roles of Ruth in Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly (Gotham Chamber Opera and Opera Philadelphia); The Mother in The Bricklayer by Greg Spears (HGOco); Yoani Songs, a song cycle by Paola Prestini (Bay Chamber Music Festival); and “Archaeology,” a song written exclusively for her by acclaimed composer/librettist team David Little and Royce Vavrek featured in the Opera America Songbook.

Sarah Shafer is quickly emerging as a sought-after artist on both the operatic and concert stage. premiere of Marco Tutino’s Two Women in the role of Rosetta, opposite Anna Caterina Antonacci and conducted by Nicola Luisotti, both with San Francisco Opera. Shafer had an enormous success in her return to Opera Philadelphia as Adina in the Stephen Lawless production of L’elisir d’amore, and created the role of Mary Lennox in the world premiere of Nolan Gasser’s The Secret Garden with San Francisco Opera. Other career highlights include Barbarina and the cover role of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall, and several roles for Opera Philadelphia including Nuria in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, Voce dal Cielo in Don Carlo, and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte.

An avid recitalist and chamber musician, Shafer enjoys an active collaboration with legendary pianist Richard Goode, having recently performed Schumann and Brahms lieder at Carnegie Hall and Schubert’s “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” with clarinetist Anthony McGill at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. She has also collaborated with such musicians as guitarist Jason Vieaux, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

A native of State College, PA, Shafer holds degrees in voice and opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, and is currently based in Philadelphia.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

A passionate interpreter of new American opera and vocal chamber music...Gigliotti is an exciting artist who brings rich, resonant sound and a uniquely individual interpretation to her performances.

This season Gigliotti made her debut with Washington National Opera as Siegrune, and covering Flosshilde and the Second Norn, in their Ring Cycle. Eve appeared as The Doctor in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Keeril Makan’s operatic treatment of Persona, produced by Beth Morrison Projects; and will perform with The Princeton Festival as Auntie in Peter Grimes.

Among other notable companies, Gigliotti has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Minnesota Opera, Odyssey Opera, and Opera Santa Barbara.

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Handel’s Messiah Guest Artist Andrew Owens, tenor

Guest Artist Michael Dean, baritone

Winner of the Zarzuela prize at the 2015 Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, American tenor Andrew Owens has quickly built a reputation as one of the most promising singers of his generation, exhibiting a beautiful Italianate timbre, soaring top notes, and effortless agility.

Owens is a recent graduate of the Junges Ensemble at the Theater an der Wien, where he performed in La bohème, La cambiale di matrimonio, Il Trittico, Mathis der Maler, Le comte Ory, Fidelio, Attila, La Cenerentola, La clemenza di Tito, Vinci’s Semiramide, and I due Foscari opposite Plácido Domingo.

American bass-baritone Michael Dean has appeared with leading opera houses and orchestras of the U.S. and Europe. The New York Times lauded his “strong appealing bass-baritone,” while the San Jose Mercury News considered him “the standout, his voice a penetrating wake-up call.”

Dean made his New York Philharmonic debut in the world premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Garden of Light, and returned the following season for a concert performance of Weill’s Street Scene. His other recent appearances on the concert stage include Handel’s Messiah with the Pacific Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and I Musici de Montréal; Mozart’s Requiem with the Louisiana Philharmonic, Modesto Symphony, and Quad City Symphony; Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Richmond Symphony; and Haydn’s Creation and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Louisiana Philharmonic.

Andrew Owens has quickly built a reputation as one of the most promising singers of his generation, exhibiting a beautiful Italianate timbre, soaring topnotes, and effortless agility.

Concert and symphonic engagements of past seasons include Schumann’s Scenen aus Goethes Faust with the Cleveland Orchestra, and Lukas in Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten, and First Japanese Envoy in Le Rossignol at the Salzburg Festival as a member of the Young Singers Project. He made his New York City recital debut with the New York Festival of Song in a program entitled Spanish Gold: Songs of the Iberian Peninsula at Merkin Hall. ​Owens is an award recipient from the Marilyn Horne Foundation, the Mario Lanza Competition, Gerda Lissner Foundation, and the George London Foundation. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he appeared as Laurie in Little Women and the Maryland Opera Studio, where he sang Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and as A Man with Old Luggage in Postcard from Morocco.

In his free time, Owens is an avid yoga enthusiast who also enjoys cooking, songwriting, and supporting his hometown Philadelphia sports teams.

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Michael Dean has appeared with leading opera houses and orchestras of the U.S. and Europe.

Dean has made frequent appearances at New York City Opera, where he has performed the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, George in Of Mice and Men, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and included Jason McFarlane in the “Live From Lincoln Center” broadcast of Lizzie Borden. Other recent operatic performances include Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette with Los Angeles Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni and Silva in Ernani at the Landestheater in Linz, Austria; Le nozze di Figaro in Antwerp, Belgium; Of Mice and Men at Arizona Opera; and Colline in La bohème in Strasbourg and Berlin.

Dean is currently the Music Department Chair and Associate Professor of Voice at The University of California-Los Angeles and a member of the voice faculty at the Chautauqua Music Festival.

EUGENE SYMPHONY

Handel’s Messiah Eugene Symphony Chorus Sharon J. Paul, director

Eugene Symphony Chorus

Sharon J. Paul is Professor of Choral Conducting, Director of Choral Activities, and Chair of Vocal and Choral Studies at the University of Oregon, where she teaches graduate courses in choral conducting, repertoire, and pedagogy, and conducts the Chamber Choir and University Singers. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting from Stanford University, a Master of Fine Arts in conducting from UCLA, and a Bachelor of Arts in music from Pomona College.

The University of Oregon Chamber Choir, under her direction, has garnered international acclaim, winning First Prize at the 2013 Fleischmann International Trophy Competition at the Cork International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland, and taking top honors in two categories at the 2011 Tallinn International Choral Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. In 2015, the Chamber Choir was one of 10 choirs worldwide invited to compete at the 14th International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany, where they received second prize overall, won a special prize for the best interpretation of the compulsory work, and were the only student group to achieve a Level I recognition for an “excellent performance at the international level.” In 2014 the Chamber Choir became a resident ensemble at the Oregon Bach Festival, performing each summer under the direction of Helmuth Rilling and Matthew Halls.

Paul served as Artistic Director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) and conductor of Chorissima and Virtuose, the organization’s acclaimed performance ensembles, from 1992 to July 2000. Under her leadership, the chorus released four compact discs, premiered major works by composers such as Chen Yi and Jake Heggie, and represented the US at four international festivals. In June 2000 the SFGC was the first youth chorus to win the Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence. In the same year they were also awarded an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

Paul has prepared singers for performances under worldclass conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Herbert Blomstedt. She has presented interest sessions at regional, state, division, national, and international music conferences and appears frequently as adjudicator, clinician, and honor choir director throughout the US. In 2014 she received the University of Oregon’s Fund for Faculty Excellence Award, and in 2015 she was named the Robert M. Trotter Chair of Music, one of only three endowed chairs at the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance.

Soprano Amy Adams Margaret Alexander Mary Backus Kathy Barnes Charlotte Coons Nan Coppock-Bland Michelle Cordon Susan Edson Angela Egremont Carey Garber Diane Hawley Terri Homer Meghan Loftus Susannah Manton McKenzie Messer Sheena Moore Talia Neely Debbie Ogburn Annie Paschal Rachel Petty Mercedes Rathswohl Katie Reuter Wendy Saville Suzanne Shapiro Sharon Skidmore Sarah Smaw Harriett Smith Lois Stark Karen Stingle Josie Thomas Allie Thompson Sandra Weingarten Anne Wythington

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Alto Hanna Alterman Judy Alison Virginia Bopp Betsy Brown

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Roy Lisi Daniel Phillips Bernie Robe Richard Spence Ben Swisher Dean Walker Winston Wang Tim Williams Bass David Bersch Ross Bondurant Don Campbell Ken Condon Jim Dotson Dale DuVall Steve Eccles Josh Francis John Henzie Jon Hofmeister Chris King John Kline John Koelling Jim Kolstoe Matt Laubach Brad Litchfield Richard Litchfield Roger Ludeman Leith McKenzie Dennis Mills Rod Morris Mark Nyegaard David Paulson Nathan Philips Marc Shapiro Mike Stark Matthew Svoboda Stu Thomas Greg Williams

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Bringing art to the world & music to your ears Imagination International supplies the highest quality creative tools in the world to support artists everywhere, especially those right in our backyard.

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Cirque de la Symphonie Holiday Spectacular Eugene Symphony Anthony Parnther, conductor | Cirque de la Symphonie, guest artists Sunday, December 17, 2017 2:30 PM | Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center Leroy Anderson

A Christmas Festival

Franz Schubert/orch. Dragon

Ave Maria

Leroy Anderson

Sleigh Ride

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington/ orch. Jeff Tyzik

Music from The Nutcracker Suite Sugar Rum Cherry Toot, Toot, Tootie Toot

Alan Silvestri

Suite from The Polar Express

Émile Waldteufel

The Skater’s Waltz

Robert Wendel

Little Bolero Boy I N T E R M I S S I O N

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Dance of the Buffoons from The Snow Maiden

Traditional/arr. Carmen Dragon

Deck the Halls

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Music from The Nutcracker Trepak Dance of the Reed Flutes

Leon Jessel

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers

Jeff Tyzik

Chanukah Suite

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker

Concert Sponsor

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Cirque de la Symphonie Guest Artists Cirque de la Symphonie

Guest Conductor Anthony Parnther

Cirque de la Symphonie is a new production formed to bring the magic of cirque to the music hall. It is an exciting adaptation of artistic performances widely seen in theaters and arenas everywhere. Artists include the most amazing veterans of exceptional cirque programs throughout the world—aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen. Each artist’s performance is professionally choreographed to classical masterpieces and popular contemporary music in collaboration with the Maestro.

American conductor Anthony Parnther has led orchestras throughout the United States, Korea, China, Australia, and across Europe and South America. He is in demand as a conductor for Hollywood scoring sessions for motion picture, television, and video game music consumed worldwide. His versatility as a conductor has landed him in collaboration with legendary artists in all genres including Joshua Bell, Frederica von Stade, Darren Criss, RZA, Wu Tang Clan, the Canadian Brass, Doc Severensen, Maynard Ferguson, Kanye West, Arturo Sandoval, Beyoncé, Edgar Meyer, Jon Faddis, Bruce Vilanch, Wes Borland, Imagine Dragons, and Rihanna.

Parnther is in demand as a conductor for Hollywood scoring sessions for motion picture, television, and video game music consumed worldwide.

In 2010, he was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Southeast Symphony in Los Angeles, California. In 2015, he founded Los Angeles’ new professional concert band, Wind Orchestra of the West. At the invitation of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Parnther served as Guest Cover Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Assistant Conductor to Thomas Wilkins for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

He is a regular guest conductor with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra and since 2015 has conducted world premieres of works by Elisa Rice, Ashoka Thiagarajan, Chad Cannon, and Michael Barry.

In 2013, Parnther conducted his first World Championship opening ceremony concert for Riot Games, developer of the massively popular online game, League of Legends. Since 2013, he has led concerts for League of Legends at mega-venues such as the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Palau St. Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, and the World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. Each of these landmark events has received unprecedented worldwide viewership, outpacing even the NBA and World Series finals with 35,000,000 or more viewers.

Parnther studied orchestral conducting with Victor Yampolsky (Northwestern University) and Leighton Lawrence Smith (Yale University). He also received guidance, training, and mentorship from Cliff Colnot, Frank Battisti, Roxanne Haskill, Thomas Jenrette, and W. Francis MacBeth. He resides in Los Angeles, California.

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Zen is to have the heart and soul of a little child. — Takuan

Award Winning Arborists

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Donor SPOTLIGHT Skeie’s Jewelers and Eugene Symphony sparkle in the community together Skeie’s Jewelers began its long history as a family-owned, customer-friendly store in 1922 when Ole Larsen Skeie opened his first store in downtown Eugene. Now co-owned by his grandson Rick Skeie along with Rick Beckett, Skeie’s Jewelers has been supporting the Eugene Symphony for nearly 20 years.

What is your favorite part about attending the Eugene Symphony performances?

Rick Skeie: I find the Symphony incredibly relaxing. I’m amazed and impressed with the quality of the musicians.

Rick Beckett: I love the music. More than that, I really enjoy connecting with friends, other supporters, the audience, and all the wonderful people on stage. Getting to know the guest artists and visit with the conductor is always fun and memorable. I also appreciate learning about history and culture through the music.

Why do you support the Symphony?

RS: I think one of the most important strengths of Eugene is that we are an important cultural center. It’s not only the Symphony, it’s all the cultural events that come with the University. In addition, we have a couple of ballet companies, an opera, visits from Elton John, and on and on and on. We are truly blessed.

RB: We appreciate the arts, and we want to see them continue to flourish in our city. We know there are barriers to funding, and we want to be part of the solution to seeing the arts thrive in our region.

What does supporting our community’s professional orchestra mean to you personally?

RS: I believe a healthy life requires improving oneself in four basic areas: physical, mental, social, and what I call spiritual.

The spiritual side to me does not necessarily mean religious—it could also mean simply contributing to others’ quality of life.

Contributing to the Eugene Symphony certainly is part of that for me.

RB: Supporting the Symphony offers Skeie’s visibility and exposure to a different clientele. It has brought new and returning customers to our showroom for special events, given us additional advertising in The Register-Guard and on TV,

RICK SKEIE

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

deepened connections via social media, and more. Associating the Skeie’s brand with the Symphony is good for business and good for the community.

What does supporting our community’s professional orchestra mean to you professionally and for your business?

RS: The Eugene Symphony aligns with the values Skeie’s aspires to. Simply, it’s a very high quality product.

RB: The Symphony creates a more livable attractive city, which makes our community a destination. It is also a special luxury for a community our size. This is a point of pride for Eugene: to have such talent, wonderful visiting performers, and this kind of night out!

What would you say to other businesses and young professionals about supporting and attending the Symphony concert experience?

RB: I highly recommend supporting the Symphony. It is so exciting to see what goes on behind the scenes, and to see what it takes to put on a concert. I also believe everyone should experience a performance; it should be a requirement for all Eugene citizens to go, at least once. A live orchestral performance is so much more than you could imagine—it’s so special and powerful.

RICK BECKETT

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On That Note On That Note introduces a member of the orchestra. This issue features Principal Tuba Mike Grose.

Hometown? Portland, OR What year did you join the orchestra, and how long have you been playing music? I was hired beginning with the 2002 season,

by Giancarlo Guerrero. I moved to Eugene on September 11, 2001 to accept the position of tuba and euphonium professor at University of Oregon. I began studying music in 1970 as a 5th grader. My first instruments were in the percussion section.

Why did you decide to play your instrument? Throughout school, I was trying many instruments: trumpet, clarinet, euphonium, and trombone, all with limited success. One day at the end of the junior year of high school, my band director called me into his office. “Mike, have you thought about college?” he asked. I replied in the affirmative. His probing continued.

“Are you planning on going?” I said sure. “Great, because here is a tuba. Take it home over the summer and see what you can make of it. If you get decent at it you’ll always be assured of receiving a tuba scholarship in college, and you might even get to dot the ‘i’ in Ohio” (in marching band formation). My senior year fast approached and I had incorporated the tuba into my daily practice regimen along with the trombone, which was still my favorite and intended instrument. In the fall of 1977, the NY Brass Quintet came to my town, and as soon as they began playing, I heard this fellow play the tuba with a beautifully voluptuous and rich sound; it was a singing brass voice. I immediately put trombone out of my mind and began recalibrating what I thought the tuba could be. In the end, I did receive a tuba scholarship all seven years I was in college!

When you’re not playing your instrument, what would we most likely find you doing? Playing basketball, reading books on history or theology, working on my research project, hanging out with my teenaged daughter, and following what my son is doing in the Marines.

If you weren’t a musician what would you be? That’s a question I have never pondered. I don’t know. Since high school I’ve never looked back. It’s been music all the way.

What are you excited to play in our 52nd Season and why?

Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey by Wagner, and Mahler’s 5th Symphony. All three of those composers are amazing at weaving together an excitingly intricate musical fabric. They are all highly effective at imbedding irresistible emotionalism in their music. I’m super excited to see what Francesco does with each of them. It’s going be goosebumps city, no doubt!

What is your favorite piece of all time to play and why? This is like asking which is your favorite child. Maybe Prokofiev’s ballet score to Cinderella.

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...with Mike Grose

Where is your favorite place on the planet and why? Where I am at the moment. I love Hawaii, Alaskan glaciers, and the top of Mt. Hood. But where I am is where I love to be. Every day is an adventure.

Red, white, stout, hoppy or none of the above? Belgian Blonde!

Or a nice Syrah.

What do you think some audience members might find surprising about you? I tell really great tuba jokes, and I have a YouTube channel called TubaPeopleTV and a website called TubaPeople.com. Too nerdy?

Any interesting pre-performance rituals? I always leave for the performance with twice as much time as I actually need. If nothing happens along the way then I’ll be comfortably early (which is why I’m usually at the Hult at least 45 minutes early), or I’ll have time to fix a flat tire and still be on time.

Do you have any other exciting life endeavors you’d like to share? I play full-court basketball with 18 year-olds twice weekly at UO and continue to show them how to foul effectively.

Scenes from Offstage

(From top left, clockwise) Composer-in-Residence August Read Thomas participating in the Oregon Supported Living Program Arts and Culture Program’s “Look Me in the Eye” campaign. Piano soloist Joyce Yang at her Master Class with (left to right) Eduardo Moreira, Jorge Briceño, and UO professor Alexandre Dossin at Beall Concert Hall. Francesco Lecce-Chong shows the inner workings of a grand piano to students from a local piano studio at October’s Guild Concert Preview. Renée Fleming visits with patrons at Perugino during a private post-concert event, a benefit for Silver Patrons of the Founders Society. Francesco Lecce-Chong and Augusta Read Thomas talk about the September concert during the first-ever Symphony Happy Hour, which occur most Mondays of concert weeks.

For more photos, like the Eugene Symphony Association at facebook.com/eugenesymphony and follow us on Instagram at @eugene.symphony NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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DONORS

CONTRIBUTOR BENEFITS

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

ASSOCIATE MEMBER: $60–124 Invitation to Association Annual Meeting

OUR PROGRAMS AND PERFORMANCES ARE NOT ONLY FOR YOU, THEY ARE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF YOU.

Ticket sales cover less than 50% of the operating costs to support our musicians and performances. Whether you are able to give $10, $100, $1,000, or $10,000, every gift makes a difference and ensures our symphony can keep playing for you, your neighbor, and the next generation.

Your gift also supports Eugene Symphony’s community engagement and music education programs, extending our reach to allow more than 20,000 children and adults experience the joy of music.

MAKE A GIFT

TODAY!

Contact Sara Mason, Development Director 541-687-9487 x104 | sara.mason@eugenesymphony.org

Notice of special events

SYMPHONY MEMBER: $125–249 All of the above, plus: Season program magazine recognition

SUSTAINING MEMBER: $250–499 All of the above, plus: Quarterly insider update from Maestro Lecce-Chong

BENEFACTOR: $500–999 All of the above, plus:

Invitation to one post-concert reception Voucher redeemable for two regular Symphonic series concert tickets

CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE: $1,000–2,499 All of the above, plus: Opportunity to attend two dress rehearsals Access to Conductor’s Circle priority subscription seating Opportunity to sponsor a section musician for a season ($1,500 and above)

FOUNDERS SOCIETY: $2,500+ THE ENCORE SOCIETY Leave a Legacy The Encore Society recognizes loyal Symphony patrons who have chosen to include the Eugene Symphony and/or Eugene Symphony Endowment in their bequests or other charitable giving plans. Encore Society members receive special benefits and invitations. For more information, contact Sara Mason, Development Director.

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All of the above, plus: Donors receive exclusive benefits, such as an invitation to a reception with Maestro Lecce-Chong and special recitals by Symphony musicians, and access to Founders Club receptions at all performances.

The Oregon Cultural Trust helps fund Eugene Symphony’s community and education programs.

TOGETHER, WE FUND 1,400+ CULTURAL NONPROFITS IN OREGON. THAT MEANS MORE TROMBONE. Oregonians have a unique opportunity to fund cultural activities in the state and double their impact for free - with the Cultural Tax Credit. Make sure you are claiming yours. Doing so takes three simple steps that do so much for Oregon. Talk to your CPA, or learn more at (503) 986-0088 or CulturalTrust.org.

DOUBLE THE LOVE. HERE’S HOW:

1. TOTAL

2. GIVE

3. CLAIM

YOUR DONATIONS TO CULTURE

A MATCHING AMOUNT TO THE CULTURAL TRUST

CULTURAL TAX CREDIT ON YOUR STATE TAXES

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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F ou n d e rs S ociety of the Eugene Symphony

The Eugene Symphony Founders Society is a group of donors who have made an extraordinary and profound commitment to the Symphony with an annual contribution of $2,500 or more. We are proud to acknowledge our Founders Society members whose gifts have strengthened our onstage, community engagement, and music education programs.

For more information on the Founders Society, its benefits, and how to join, please contact Development Director Sara Mason at sara.mason@eugenesymphony.org or 541-687-9487, x104, or visit our website at eugenesymphony.org.

PLATINUM PATRONS | $25,000 + Anonymous Nathan & Marilyn Cammack

Eugene Symphony Guild Niles & Mary Ann Hanson

Marie Jones & Suzanne Penegor Terry West & Jack Viscardi

GOLD PATRONS | $10,000 – $24,999 Keyhan & Lauren Aryah Dennis & Janet Beetham Natalie & Zack Blalack Caroline Boekelheide Dave & Sherrie Kammerer

Meg Mitchell David & Paula Pottinger James & Jane Ratzlaff Paul Roth

Dr. Matthew Shapiro & Maylian Pak Betty L. Soreng Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Ray & Cathie Staton

SILVER PATRONS | $5,000 – $9,999 Anonymous Warren & Kathy Barnes Deb Carver & John Pegg Marci Daneman G. Burnette Dillon & Louise Di Tullio Dillon Pamela Graves Peter Gregg Galina Groza George & Kay Hanson

Starly Hodges John & Robin Jaqua Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Jenny Jonak & Mike Bragg Diana G. Learner & Carolyn Simms Matthew McLaughlin Trieber & Michelle Meador Herb Merker & Marcy Hammock Otto & Joanna Radke

Martha B. Russell Subfund of the Arts Foundation of Western Oregon Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Dunny & Debbie Sorensen Elaine Twigg Cornett & Zane J Cornett Paul J. & Lory Utz Jack & Florence Vollstedt Barbara & James Walker

BRONZE PATRONS | $2,500 – $4,999 Anonymous (2) Joseph & Margaret Adelsberger Kevin & Irene Alltucker Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Laura Avery Robert & Friedl Bell Joanne Berry Shawn & Melva Boles Jack & Dondeana Brinkman Ruby Brockett Anne & Terry Carter William & Karla Chambers Chvatal Orthodontics Jeff & Julie Collins Edna P. DeHaven Ed & Molly Emberlin Ray & Libby Englander Ginger Fifield Susan & Greg Fitz-Gerald

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Kevin Forsythe & Elizabeth Tippett Mike Fox & Rebekah Lambert Bill & Judy Freck Scott & Leslie Anderson Freck Dennis & Nancy Garboden Susan K. Gilmore & Phyllis J. Brown Verda M. Giustina Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Elizabeth & Roger Hall Erwin & Vicki Haussler Lin & Don Hirst Hugh Johnston Kelley Family Charitable Giving Phillip Kimmel & Stephanie Pearl-Kimmel Deborah Lewis Larson Bob & Brenda Macherione Michael Lewis & Martha MacRitchie Sarah G Maggio Duncan & Jane Eyre McDonald

James & Marilyn Murdock Janet Van Nada Arden Olson & Sharon Rudnick Kaz Oveissi Laura Parrish & Richard Matteri Philip & Sandra Piele Jesse & Amy Seery Sheppard Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Jonathan & Maureen Sherman Ellis & Lucille Sprick Brad & Colleen Stangeland Inge Tarantola Michael Vergamini Dr. James & Jan Ward Sandra Weingarten & Ryan Darwish Jim & Sally Weston Bruce & Carol Whitaker John & Emilie York

EUGENE SYMPHONY

Season Partners The Eugene Symphony extends a special thanks to the individual, corporate, and foundation partners whose generosity and commitment to the arts in our community keep the music playing throughout our season.

CONCERT SPONSORS Marie Jones & Suzanne Penegor

The Haugland Family Foundation

GUEST ARTIST SPONSORS Banner Bank Chvatal Orthodontics Eugene-Irkutsk Sister City Committee

Jonak Law Group Oakmont Family Dental Sports Car Shop

Summit Bank Paul J. & Lory Utz Wildish Companies

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SPONSORS Eugene Airport Euro-Asian Automotive Ferguson Wellman

The Gilmore Agency Kernutt Stokes Mountain Rose Herbs

Slocum Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

IN-KIND SEASON SPONSORS The Broadway Wine Merchants Dot Dotsons Elizabeth Chambers Wine Cellars

Hilton Eugene Marché Oregon Electric Station Perugino & Kaz Oveissi

Rhythm & Blooms Silvan Ridge Winery Technology Association of Oregon

SPECIAL THANKS TO...

City of Eugene/Hult Center for the Performing Arts Framin’ Artworks

Kesey Enterprises JLN Design Partnered Solutions IT

Amanda Smith Photography Technaprint

FOUNDATION PARTNERS

The Silva Endowment Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

Herbert A.Templeton Foundation Support Hult Center Operations (SHO)

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Season Supporters The Eugene Symphony extends our heartfelt thanks to the individuals, corporations, and foundations that have made generous contributions this season. Your support and generosity help keep the arts flourishing in our community.

Conductor’s Circle ($1,000–$2,499) Anonymous (4) Virginia P. Anderson Ted & Marie Baker Lauren Bird-Wiser Louise Bishop & James Earl Carl Bjerre & Andrea Coles-Bjerre John & Christa Brombaugh Jim & Bev Buckley Delpha Camp Robert & Kathleen Carolan Elizabeth Chambers Harriet Cherry & John Leavens Curtis Chong Norma F. Cole Edwin & June Cone Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Allan & Nancy Coons Jana & Mark Cox Tami Dean Joan Dunbar & William Starbuck

Jeff & Noreen Dunnells Stephen & Francoise Durrant Dieter & Juanita Engel Volker & Sheri Engelbert John & Jo Fisher McClure Associates Eric & Kristin Forrest Robert & Violet Fraser Donald Gudehus & Gloria Page Michael & Janet Harbour Shirley J. Hawkins Lucille P. Heitz Monica Careaga Houck Ellen Hyman Ms. Chris K. Johnson Brandon Julio & Haydn Zhang Allan & Dorothy Kays Doreen Kilen Jim & Janet Kissman Eunice Kjaer

Steve & Cyndy Lane Gary J. LeClair & Janice R. Friend Kaye Lefrancq Gary P. Marcus Mel & Carol Mead Lee & Mary Jean Michels J Anthony & Mary Mohr John & Barbara Mundall David & Jill Niles Nancy Oft & Mike Rose Theodore & Laramie Palmer Judson Parsons & Diana Gardener Hope Hughes Pressman Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation In memory of Britta Putjenter John F. Quilter Blandon Ray & Kim Nies Michael & Marjorie Rear Mike & Casey Roscoe

Jim & Paula Salerno Roger Saydack & Elaine Bernat Heinz & Susan Selig John & Betty Siebs Susan Simmons Mike Simonitch Ken & Kenda Singer Sarah Sprague Jim St. Clair & Liz Alcott St. Clair Ginny Starr Marion Sweeney, Kate Laue, & Cama Evans Todd & Lisa Tucker Sharon Ungerleider & Ron Lovinger Chris Walton & Elizabeth Sheehan John & Sandy Watkinson Pamela Whyte & Ron Saylor Woodard Family Foundation Marguerite Zolman

David Guy Wendy Dame & Don Doerr Mary Louise Douda Mark & Jennifer Ensminger Howard & Kathleen Epstein Jane & Latham Flanagan, MD Liz & Greg Gill Lisa A. Hawley Ronald & Cecilia Head William & Barbara Hemphill Dr. Larry & Sharon Hirons Donald Holst & Kathy Locurto Ronald & Donna Ivanoff John & Marcia Jarrett Peter & Staci Karth Toshiro & Irene Katsura Raychel Kolen & Paul Allen Doris Kuehn Jason Tavakolian & Jennifer Lamberg Gayle Landt & Martin Jones

Lynda Lanker Greg Brokaw & Elaine Lawson Richard & Jacquie Litchfield Lois Long in memory of Dr. George M. Long John & Patricia Lorimer Mark & Denise Lyon Sara & David Mason John & Lilla McDonald Robert & Colleen McKee Bonita Merten Mary Ann Moore Boyd & Natalie Morgan Darian & Karen Morray George & Cheryl Morris Andrew Nelson & Ann Carney Nelson Christian & Betsy Nielsen Karen Leigh & Keith Oldham Searmi Park Stan & Julie Pickett

John & Joanne Porter David & Jane Pubols Reed Family Foundation Ellen Rentz Dr. Candice Rohr Judith Sabah & Amir Tavakkol Todd & Martha Schuetz Karen Seidel Marion Shiflet Roberta Singer Trace & Lisa Skopil Jerry Reed & Sandi South Craig Starr & Sandra Scheetz Jim Steinberger & Joyce Gardner Steinberger Sing & David Tam Jeff & Linda Taylor Charitable Fund Pierre & Mary Lou Van Rysselberghe Dave Veldhuizen & Roanne Bank Phyllis Villec

John & Denise Callahan Leonard & Janet Calvert Ernest Chizinski Suzanne Clark Hiett & Caron Cooper Roger Coulter Brian & Nancy Davies

Jim Roetman & Jerry de Leon Lance & Ann Devereaux Tomi Douglas Michael Drennan E*Trade Peter Edberg & Bryna Goodman Bob & JoAnn Ellis

Benefactors ($500–$999) Anonymous 2G Construction Gil & Roberta Achterhof Frank & Dorothy Anderson Carmen Bayley John Blackburn Karl & Linda Anonymous Mary Breiter & Scott Pratt Barbara Britt Robert & Robin Burk Tap & Growler Melvin Carlson Jr. George & Fanny Carroll Dr. Douglas Smyth & Mr. James Chang Mary Clayton Carol Crumlish Robert & Laoni Davis Paul & Vivian Day James & Hannah Dean Marilyn Deaton

Sustaining Members ($250–$499) Anonymous Lucille Allsen Kim Anderson Robert Baechtold Tom & Patti Barkin Harold & Susan Baurer Jeff & Nancy Beckwith

Laird & Ronnie Black Jim & Joanna Branvold Jack & Toni Brown Sara Brownmiller & Milo Mecham Michael Burkhardt Bill & Lynn Buskirk Susan Butler

This listing is current as of October 13, 2017. Every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If your name has been inadvertently omitted or incorrectly listed, please accept our apologies and contact Ashley Petsch at ashley.petsch@eugenesymphony.org.

Thank you for your generosity.

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

Season Supporters Sustaining Members ($250–$499) Nena Lovinger John Etter Gary Ferrington Robert & Jill Foster David & Deena Frosaker Tanya Garbett Mary Gent George & Lynn Gibson Pat Candeaux Gilberts Scott Ricker & Mary Gleason-Ricker Ann & Ed Gordon Rick Grosscup David Gusset John & Claudia Hardwick Mary Globus & Gary Harris David & Donna Hawkins Kay Hayford Bob & Debbie Heaton Morley Hegstrom Richard & Gerald Hicks Ken Higgins

Sara Hodges Robert H. Horner & Polly Ashworth Joseph Hudzikiewicz Judith Johnson Kaye Johnston Tim & Linda King John & Muriel Kurtz Thomas & Margaret Leonhardt Ron Lillejord & Catherine Truax Lynnea Lindsey Doug & Diane Livermore Windermere Jean Tate Real Estate Sara Long Dan Temmesfeld & Audrey Lucero Bert Lund Gerald MacLean Jo Ann McCabe Carrie & Mike McCarthy Michael McCarthy Janelle McCoy Glenn Meares & Marty McGee

Mary Mercier Michael Milstein Doug & Leslie Moitoza Gerald Morgan Mary Anne Morrison Kenneth & Jackie Murdoff Jerril Nilson Heather Nolle David & Anne O’Brien Richard J. O’Brien Jill Overley Harold & Joyce Owen Dorothy Parrott Ashley Petsch Nathan & Robin Phillips William & Cheryl Pickerd Joyce Pytkowicz Joe & Marian Richards Eric Schabtach Dr. Susan Rieke-Smith & Jeffry Smith Judy Sobba

Jane Stephens Gerald & Heidi Stolp Tim & Ann Straub David Stuck & Janis Sellers-Stuck John & Carol Sullivan Michael & Candace Syman-Degler Susan & Bahram Tavakolian Gary Tepfer & Esther Jacobson-Tepfer John & Margaret Thomas Barry Cooper & Beth Valentine Hubert John & Linda Kay Van Peenam Gerald & Veronika Walton Hilda H. Whipple Terry & Lucy White Forrest & Anna Williams Tina & Tom Williams Robert & Patricia Wilson Kelly B. Wolf Harry & Connie Wonham Dr. Steven Yoder

Andrew Lewinter Hope Lewis Jan Lintz Margaret Malsch Gregory McCutcheon David & Doris McKee Gary & Jill McKenney Sarah & Josh McCoy Tia Merwin Heather Mills Mike Shippey & Mary Minniti John & Shanna Molitor Judith Moomaw John & Cheryl Moore Dr. Jeffrey Morey & Gail Harris Sheila Morgan Kathy Moulton Duncan & Saundra Murray Beverly A. Murrow Diane Vandehey-Neale Terry & Donna Niegel Melvin Nygaard & Mary Sykes Carol Nylander Dr. Jay & Mary C. O’Leary Joy Olgyay & William Taliaferro Harry & Julie Park Leslie Parker Monica Parvin James & Susan Pelley Michele Piastro & Allen Jablonski Jim Pilling Gary Pischke & Elizabeth Herbert Guntis & Mara Plesums Michael & Judy Ponichtera Randy Prince Virginia Prudell Andrzej Wieckowski & Teresa Prussak-Wieckowska

Tyler Radke Marjory Ramey Richard & Patricia Rankin Lloyd & Marilyn Rawlings Troy & Kathryn Richey Jim & Sandy Ridlington Bernard Robe & Diane Hawley Bernard & Ginger Bopp Edith C. Roberts Daniel & Kay Robinhold Sally Ann Ross Michael & Wendy Russo Madeline Malsch Richard & Karen Scheeland Brandt & Sarah Schram Gregory Schultz Mike & Sheila Schwartz Donald Seiveno Joanne & John Soper Dave & Dorothy Soper Mary Ellen Spink Richard D. Spurlin Phoebe Staples Barry & Marilyn Stenberg Maria & Delmar Storment Patrick & Marjorie Sullivan Wayne & Leslie Taubenfeld Edward Teague Anice Thigpen Addie Vandehey Mary Ellen West Ted & Leslie West Judith West Miriam Whiteley Donald Wisely V. Gerald & Ann Woeste Thomas & Mariol Wogaman Alex Zunterstein

Symphony Members ($125–$249) Anonymous (2) Carolyn Abbott Mardi Abbott Patricia Ahlen Dr. Don & Marianne Anderson Richard & Joyce Anderson Jo Anne Arnold Susan Ashton David & Sierra Askwith Gerry Aster Roger & Lela Aydelott Don Baldwin George Bateman Joan Bayliss & Irwin Noparstak Robert & Kari Beardsley William & Alice Beckett Richard & Betsy Berg David & Judith Berg Sara Bergsund John & Lucy Bigelow Gerald & Patricia Bradley Robert & Patricia Brasch Norma Bryan Susan Burke & Clive Thomas Elizabeth Charley Linda Cheney & Fred Felter Gary & Carole Chenkin Anthony J. Meyer & Joan Claffey Suzanne Congdon & Randy Garitty David Correll Sherry De Leon Dale Derby & Ingrid Horvath Cynthia Dickinson Donald & Jenna Diment Alex Dracobly & Julie Hessler Dr. John & Virginia Dunphy John Faville David & Jean Fenton Margot Fetz NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

Mary Forestieri Dorothy Frear Barbara Gates Clayton Gautier & Gail Baker Carole Gillett Sylvia Giustina Tony & Courtney Glausi Elizabeth G. Glover Susan Graham Warren & Susan Griffith Sally Grosscup Haissam Haidar Roger & Karen Hamilton Gale & Rosemary Hatleberg Andrew & Marilyn Hays Phyllis Helland & Raymond Morse Holly Helton & Peter Gallagher Jim & Judith Hendrickson Leslie Hildreth Harold & Martha Hockman Judith Horstmann & Howard Bonnett Blaine & Nancy Hoskins Anne Hovland James & Helen Jackson Benton Johnson Pamela McClure-Johnston & Roy Johnston John Karth Robert Kendall Charles & Reida Kimmel Carolyn Bergquist Margaret Knudsen John & Judith Kraft Benjamin & Heather Kunz Donald Landstrom & Zachary Ruhl William Langdon John & Karen Lawrence

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Season Supporters Memorial Funds

Foundation Support

The Eugene Symphony would like to express our appreciation to those who have given, in the spirit of remembrance, to the following memorial funds.

The Eugene Symphony is grateful to the following foundations for their generous support in helping us to craft a community and culture that celebrates the arts.

Gilbert Stiles Avery III Marcia Baldwin Chandler Barkelew Phyllis Barkhurst Constance Mae Beckley Norma Jean Bennett Donald Bick Valentina Bilan Norma Bryan Bert Evans Laurel Fisher Diane Foley Dave Frohnmayer Jean Glausi Marilyn Graham Ilene Hershner Gorgie Hofma Cory Hultenberg Bruce Kilen Melvin Lindley Donald Lytle

Milton Madden Ardice Mick Billie Newman Jin Pak Reverend William Pfeffer Jack Pyle Ellen B. Rice Richard Rintoul Cece Romania John A. Schellman Jane Schmidt Helen R. Shapiro Dr. John A. Siebs John Siebs Benson Snyder Jan Stafl, MD Leonard Tarantola Mary Tibbetts Richard (Dick) G. Williams Barbara Wolfe

American Federation of Musicians, Local 689 The Chambers Family Foundation The Collins Foundation The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation The Haugland Family Foundation Herbert A. Templeton Foundation National Endowment for the Arts New Music USA Nils & Jewel Hult Endowment - Arts Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation James F. & Marion L Miller Foundation Juan Young Trust Oregon Arts Commission Oregon Cultural Trust Oregon Community Foundation The Silva Endowment Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Support Hult Center Operations (SHO) Woodard Family Foundation

Supporting the Arts in Lane County

Oregon Humanities Center

Musgroves.com

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Let Our Family Help Your Family Celebrate Life

Eugene • Springfield • Junction City • Creswell

2017–18

2017–18 Kritikos Lecture

George Packer

staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

Wednesday, January 24, 2018 7:30 p.m. • UO campus ohc.uoregon.edu • (541) 346-3934

EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity

EUGENE SYMPHONY

The Eugene Symphony is profoundly grateful to our endowment donors for their vision and commitment to ensuring audiences will continue to enjoy the Symphony for generations to come.

Crescendo Society The Crescendo Society is composed of donors who have made gifts of cash, stocks, other cash equivalent gifts, or Charitable Trusts.

Anonymous Gil & Laura Avery Laura Maverick Graves Avery Harp Chair Laura Avery Visiting Masters Program Dr. John Bascom Joanne Berry Anne Boekelheide Caroline & Virgil Boekelheide Bill & Barbara Bowerman Nathan & Marilyn Cammack Carter & Carter Financial, Inc. Estate of Adeline Cassettari Carolyn S. Chambers The Phil Cass Memorial Fund Bruce Harlan Clark Crow Farm Foundation Dimmer Family Foundation Clyde & Mardell Quam Family Chair Anna Mae Esslinger The Eugene Symphony Guild The Bob Gray Family Bob Gray Chair Bob Gray Recognition Fund Estate of Lois J. Greenwood Peter Gregg Estate of Marguerite Grundig Niles & Mary Ann Hanson Miguel Harth-Bedoya Fund Rosaria P. Haugland Foundation James L. Hershner Memorial Fund Dr. & Mrs. George Hughes

Gina Ing Spirit Fund Gina Ing David & Sherrie Kammerer Edward W. Kammerer Memorial Fund Marilyn Kays James & Janet Kissman Estate of Hervey E. Klusmire Esther Klusmire Estate of Amelia Krieg Estate of Clarice Krieg Liberty Bank Estate of Helen Elizabeth Lilja Lorry I. Lokey Donor Fund Silicon Valley Community Foundation Trish & Keith McGillivary Dory Lea McGillivary Memorial Fund Mel & Carol Mead Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Estate of Dan Pavillard Stuart & Joan Rich Roger Saydack & Elaine Bernat The Phil Cass Memorial Fund Georgianne & Ken Singer Mrs. Ray Siegenthaler Dunny & Debbie Sorensen Ray & Cathie Staton Gordon & Zdenka Tripp James & Sally Weston Wildish Family Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Walwyn

Estate of Margaret Willard Tom & Carol Williams Lolette Willis Memorial Fund Harry Wolcott Dena Gregg Memorial Fund Christine Barreto Bob & Frield Bell Gunhild Bertheau Caitriona Bolster Robert E. Christiansen Mike Curtis & Annalisa Morton Carol & John Dinges Annalisa Hiler Margaret Knudsen Josephine Markland Mary McCarty Geraldine Ota & Hal Finkelstein Gary Purpura John & Ruth Talbot Paul Winberg & Bruce Czuchna Alan Yordy Marin Alsop Fund for Artistic and Administrative Excellence Anonymous Jerry & Mary Blakely Helen & Kenneth Ghent Helmuth & Marguerite Grundig Dan Pavillard Wally Prawicki Betty & John Soreng

Encore Society The Encore Society is composed of donors who have created their legacy of music and the arts by including the Eugene Symphony and/or the Eugene Symphony Endowment Fund in their wills, trusts, or other estate plans.

Anonymous (3) Barbara Aster Gilbert S. Avery, III Robert Baechtold John & Ruth Bascom Marjorie Beck Trust

Joanne Berry The Brockett Family Dr. & Mrs. John Cockrell (Irrevocable Trust) Julie Collis

Ray Englander Starly Kathryn Friar (Irrevocable Trust) Jo-Anne Flanders Ed & Ann Gordon

Ms. Chris K. Johnson Dan & Gloria Lagalo Theodore & Monica Nicholas Wally Prawicki Sandra Weingarten Harry Wolcott Estate

Steinway Maintenance Society The Eugene Symphony extends sincere thanks to those who have joined the Steinway Maintenance Society to create an endowed fund to ensure that the “Pavillard” Steinway D Concert Grand is properly insured, stored, and maintained.

Leave a legacy that provides the joy of music for future generations.

Please remember the Eugene Symphony in your will or trust.

For information about planned gifts or gifts to the Endowment Fund, contact Sara Mason at sara.mason@eugenesymphony.org or 541-687-9487, x104 or visit our website at eugenesymphony.org.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Eugene Symphony

eugenesymphony.org Tel 541-687-9487, Fax 541-687-0527 115 West 8th Avenue, Suite 115, Eugene, OR 97401

EUGENE SYMPHONY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EUGENE SYMPHONY STAFF

David Pottinger, President Deborah Carver, Vice President Laura Parrish, Secretary

Francesco Lecce-Chong, Music Director & Conductor Scott Freck, Executive Director Courtney Glausi, Executive Operations Assistant

Warren Barnes, Treasurer Dr. Matthew Shapiro, Past President

DIRECTORS Carolyn Abbott Susan Ashton Zachary Blalack Julie Collins Mike Curtis Erin Dickinson Dr. Raymond N. Englander Mary Ann Hanson David Kammerer Stephanie Pearl Kimmel Sarah Maggio Jane Eyre McDonald Dr. Matthew McLaughlin

Trieber Meador Meg Mitchell Arden Olson Joanna Radke Mike Roscoe Paul Roth Dr. Doneka Scott Suzanne Shapiro Dunny Sorenson Andrew Stiltner Michael Vergamini Jack Viscardi Sean Wagoner Barbara Walker

DIRECTORS EMERITUS Phil Cass, Jr. Carolyn S. Chambers

Betty Soreng David Ogden Stiers

EUGENE SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION PAST BOARD PRESIDENTS

1965–1972 Orval Etter 1972–1973 Charles Williams 1973–1975 Thad Elvigion 1975–1977 Nancy Coons 1977–1978 Oscar S. Strauss 1978–1980 Nancy Coons 1980–1981 Janet Johnston 1981–1982 Judy Hicks 1982–1984 Janet Johnston 1984–1986 George “Duffy” Hughes 1986–1988 Ruby Brockett

1988–1991 James Forbes 1991–1993 John Watkinson 1993–1995 Georgiann Beaudet 1995–1997 Clark Compton 1997–1999 Gary Grinage 1999–2002 John Watkinson 2002–2003 Gil Achterhof 2003–2006 David Kammerer 2006–2012 Mary Ann Hanson 2012–2015 Dunny Sorensen 2015–2017 Dr. Matthew Shapiro

ARTISTIC Lindsay Pearson, General Manager Lauren Elledge, Librarian Sharon Paul, Chorus Director Amy Adams, Chorus Manager Bill Barnett, Recording Engineer Rick Carter, Piano Technician DEVELOPMENT Sara Mason, Development Director Ashley Petsch, Donor Relations Manager EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Katy Vizdal, Education & Community Engagement Director Diane Amadon, Education & Community Engagement Intern FINANCE Lisa Raffin, Finance & Administrative Director Brandi Geddis, Accounting Associate Suzanne Shapiro, Volunteer Coordinator MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Lindsey K. McCarthy, Marketing & Communications Director Josh Francis, Marketing & Communications Coordinator and Program Magazine Advertising Sales Manager Season Design: Cricket Design Works Program Magazine Design/Production: JLN Design, Jerril Nilson Advertising: josh.francis@eugenesymphony.org, 541.687.9487, ext.115

ENDOWMENT FUND OF THE EUGENE SYMPHONY TRUSTEES

Silva Chambers David Hawkins, Chair Varner J. Johns III

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Ann Marie Mehlum John Watkinson

The Eugene Symphony is a resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Support provided by the City of Eugene.

EUGENE SYMPHONY

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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MIKE BRAGG

CREaTE a LEgaCy

Our beloved McKenzie River provides drinking water to more than 200,000 people and is a recreational centerpiece for our region. Its crystalline waters are considered the last stronghold for wild salmon in the Willamette River system. Both people and fish depend on its purity.

It is up to us to protect this remarkable river.

Join the McKenzie Homewaters Campaign to protect, restore and care for Finn Rock Reach, and create a reserve to purchase other conservation lands up and downstream as they become available. We are counting on people like you to help us today.

LEaRn MORE: mckenzieriver.org/homewaters

McKenzie River Trust is a proud partner of the Eugene Symphony for the Four Seasons of the McKenzie River project.

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

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Welcome!

Proud O’Hara Parent and Supporter

New Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong to the Eugene Symphony!

John E. Villano, DDS, PC

“Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!”

Rossini’s Romantic Comedy

The Barber of Seville

2:30 pm Saturday December 30 7:30 pm Sunday December 31 Silva Hall at the Hult

Andrew Bisantz, Artistic Director

Image courtesy of Michal Daniel & Mill City Summer Opera

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EUGENE SYMPHONY

The Oregon Community Foundation provides many tax-deductible options to put your client’s gift into the hearts and hands of Oregonians.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2017

oregoncf.org

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Nonstop EUG to San Jose Connecting the Silicon Shire to the Silicon Valley