The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus 2024–2025 Season

About the Cover

“See, Swan” by Shelley Muzylowski Allen

ARTIST STATEMENT

Animals such as horses and elephants occupy the artist's mind, surfacing in the work of Shelley Muzylowski Allen. With a fine art degree in painting, she never considered glass until a co-worker remarked that her paintings would translate well to the translucent and moldable medium. This inspired her to apply to the Pilchuck Glass School, where it quickly became evident that her co-worker was right. Her glass sculptures and paintings are adorned with rusted metals and hair, focusing on the strength as well as the stillness of animals. Muzylowski Allen's goal is to work flawlessly between the two mediums, mixing both painting and glass often in the same piece of artwork.

Represented by Blue Rain Gallery | blueraingallery.com 544 S. Guadalupe St •

GRANTORS

gradadmissions@sjc.edu

Discover the Great Books. Discover yourself.

The Western Classics

How did our modern world come to be? In our Master of Liberal Arts program, you will explore 3000 years of Western thought: from the ancient philosophical, scientific, and historical texts of Greece and Rome, to the rise of both Christianity and the Enlightenment, to the development of democracy and the American experiment. But more importantly, you will work closely and in dialogue with faculty and peers to discover the most undeniable thing of all: our shared humanity.

The

Eastern Classics

What do the most searching, profound, and beautiful texts from three of the most significant civilizations in Asia tell us about what it means to be human? In our Master of Eastern Classics program, you will investigate the great works that are central to the philosophical, literary, and religious traditions of China, India, and Japan. Like the Western classics, these works raise timeless questions which are fundamental to understanding the past but through a whole new lens—which you will discover in close community with others.

BA | Liberal Arts

MA | Liberal Arts / MA | Eastern Classics

In-person or low-residency options available

All of us here at The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus are avid lovers of great music! Your Symphony team wants to make your experience as wonderful as possible. Whether it’s seeking your favorite seats in the house for one of our live performances, inquiring about our youth music classes, or looking to support The Symphony through one of our many giving opportunities, we are just a phone call or email away.

MARKETING

Susan Meredith Accounting Manager

Kathryn Nun Creative Director

Jennifer Ferraro Grants Manager

Marilyn Lacome Office Coordinator

Regina Klapper Patron Services Manager

Elisabet de Vallée (Ome) Marketing Assistant

Katie Rountree Development Director

Laura Witte Events & Annual Fund Manager

Callie Kent Education & Community Director

Elizabeth Young Youth Program Director

William Waag Associate Youth Program Director

LEARN MORE

Paul J. Roth Collaborative Piano

Amy Huzjak Orchestra Librarian

Bettina Milliken Chorus Librarian

Curtis Mark Stage Manager

William Waag Youth Orchestra Director

Lee Harvey Prelude Conductor

Karles McQuade Intermezzo Conductor

Zachary Vigus Running Start Conductor

Ryan Finn Youth Jazz Director

William Finn Jazz Coach

Jesse Parker Jazz Coach

Xander Mancino Jazz Coach

Jeremy Bleich Jazz Coach

Robert Beasley Jazz Coach

Carmen Flórez-Mansi Youth Chorus Director

Tamarah Lucero Youth Mariachi Director

Nicolle Maniaci Orchestra Personnel Manager

733 Chavez Rd. NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

executive

What a pleasure it is to welcome you to The Santa Fe Symphony’s 41st Season!

When we closed our 40th Anniversary Season, things did not quiet down as usual over the summer months. Immediately, we dove into our merger with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, welcoming their staff, directors, and teachers to our ranks. We began holding youth rehearsals, adding new education programs, and recruiting for the coming school year. We also joined our new friends and community members with free concerts and special activities for children throughout the summer. In many ways, this new decade represents a new beginning for The Symphony, and we are honored to share our creativity, dedication, and passion with you today. Each of our 2024–2025 Season concerts showcases magnificent artists from right here in New Mexico, in addition to some of the best and brightest soloists in classical music. Our orchestral and choral musicians, led brilliantly by Music Director, Guillermo Figueroa, and Choral Director, Carmen Flórez-Mansi, continue to create breathtaking artistic experiences for you. And we are excited to offer a diverse array of composers for you in 2024–2025, featuring beloved favorites and rarely-performed masterpieces. There is truly something for everyone this season.

Music connects us with our past, present, and future. There is nothing more human than gathering together to enjoy and create beautiful music. We invite you to come back again and again—and bring friends! We look forward to introducing you to our ever-expanding family of musicians, artists, teachers, and team members.

Most importantly, we want to hear from you. Stop by our office, give us a call, or fill out a post-performance survey—we want to know what excites you about live classical music in our community.

Thank you for being here today and on behalf of our musicians, staff, and board, thank you for supporting The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus.

Warmly,

Emma Scherer Executive Director

photo by Robert Godwin

THE SANTA FE SYMPHONY orchestra

VIOLIN I

David Felberg, Concertmaster

Ruxandra Marquardt, Assistant Concertmaster

THE BOO MILLER ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER CHAIR

Elizabeth Young

Alan Mar

Laura Chang

Elizabeth Baker

Carol Swift

Barbara Scalf Morris*

VIOLIN II

Nicolle Maniaci, Principal Violin II

Sheila McLay

Rebecca Callbeck

Ann Karlstrom

Lidija Peno-Kelly

Laura Steiner

Justin Pollak

Carla Kountoupes

Valerie Turner

Gloria Velasco

VIOLA

Kimberly Fredenburgh, Principal Viola

Christine Rancier

Lisa Ann DiCarlo-Finch

Barbara Clark

Allegra Askew

Virginia Lawrence

CELLO

Dana Winograd, Principal Cello

THE DR. PENELOPE PENLAND PRINCIPAL CELLO CHAIR

Joel Becktell, Assistant Principal Cello*

Erin Espinoza

Melinda Mack

Lisa Collins

James Holland

DOUBLE BASS

Terry Pruitt, Principal Double Bass*

Kathy Olszowka

Frank Murry

Sam Brown

FLUTE

Jesse Tatum, Principal Flute

Laura Dwyer

OBOE

Elaine Heltman, Principal Oboe

Rebecca Ray

CLARINET

Lori Lovato, Principal Clarinet

Emily Erb

BASSOON

Dr. Stefanie Przybylska, Principal Bassoon

Leslie Shultis

HORN

Michael Walker, Guest Principal Horn

Maria Long, Guest Principal Horn

Katelyn Lewis

Peter Erb

Allison Tutton

TRUMPET

Jennifer Brynn Marchiando, Principal Trumpet

Sam Oatts

TROMBONE

Byron Herrington, Principal Trombone

Lynn Mostoller

BASS TROMBONE

Dave Tall, Principal Bass Trombone

TUBA

Dr. Richard White, Principal Tuba

TIMPANI

Ken Dean, Principal Timpani

PERCUSSION

David Tolen, Principal Percussion THE BOO MILLER PRINCIPAL PERCUSSION CHAIR

Scan this QR code with your smart phone to view the orchestral musician roster for each concert.

*ON LEAVE | 2024–2025 SEASON

music

The 41st Season of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus promises to be our best ever, with thrilling and exciting programs, performed by our extraordinary musicians in one of the loveliest concert halls anywhere, the Lensic.

Join us for a glorious ride of great music-making, from Mozart’s masterpiece—his 41st Symphony, the famous ‘Jupiter’ which will open the season—to our blockbuster season finale, when we present Berlioz’ epic work, La damnation de Faust. With our Symphony Chorus and a glorious quartet of vocal soloists, this is certainly our most ambitious undertaking yet!

Innovation in programming, excellence in performance, and a far-reaching vision that unites masterpieces of the past with the thrilling new music of our times are the hallmarks of our orchestra, in tune with and as a reflection of the artistic spirit which has made Santa Fe so famous and unique.

Saludos, Guillermo Figueroa

The Ann Neuberger Aceves Music Director Podium

BOARD OF directors

Perry C. Andrews III

Vice President, Development

Mary Macukas, CFP®, CPWA®

Vice President, Education

Steven J. Goldstein, MD

Justin Medrano

David Van Winkle

Board of Directors

Bruce Bradford

Kate Carswell

Laura Chang

Ann Dederer

Laura Dwyer

Emily Erb

Jose (Pepe) Figueroa

Kimberly Fredenburgh

Naomi Israel

William Landschulz

Boo Miller

Ifan Payne

Teresa Pierce

Dr. Stefanie Przybylska

Lee Rand

Rebecca Ray

Laurie Rossi

Rick Vaughan

Gloria Velasco

Robert Vladem

Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky

Ann Neuberger Aceves

E. Franklin Hirsch

board

Wow! Exhilarating! Best Ever! Extraordinary! Fresh! Speechless! Innovative! Exceptional! Left Me Wanting

Even More!

These are just a few of the comments and descriptors used by our subscribers, donors, single-ticket purchasers, and guests who attended any number of our performances, community concerts, and social events we presented during our 40 Years | 40 Events.

Last season combined those exceptional, sold-out performances and special events with a once-in-ageneration opportunity to shepherd the successful merger of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association into The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Now we have a larger, more versatile organization capable of providing new educational opportunities for youth in our community. All this—and you suddenly have a sense of the magnitude of our 40th Season!

Let me assure you: we’re not going to rest on our laurels! This 41st Season is going to be every bit as exciting as its predecessor … and more! From our pre-season opening collaboration with the multi-talented songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright on September 9th at the Santa Fe Opera, right through to May 18, 2025, and our highly-anticipated season finale, Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, our 2024–2025 Season is sure to have something to excite every music lover. This season is going to be nothing short of amazing and you won’t want to miss a single performance, whether it be our symphonic concerts at the iconic Lensic Performing Arts Center or one of our numerous free community choral concerts at the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

No matter what role you play in our amazing Santa Fe “Symphony Family”— subscriber, donor, orchestral or choral musician, staff or board member—you are an integral and invaluable part of the continued success of this truly special organization. Please allow me once again to extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of you for providing us with the support, resources, and talent necessary to continue making such beautiful music in and around our beloved “City Different!”

Sincerely,

Perry C. Andrews III Board President

choral director

CARMEN FLÓREZ-MANSI

“The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus is a community of the most dedicated and skilled choral musicians of Northern New Mexico and the surrounding areas. In my seven-year tenure, we have come together to present choral music at its finest that excites the senses and touches the heart in ways that only choral music can provide.

The richness of the music presented by our fine choral musicians is only matched by the richness and diversity of our singers, which represents the diverse community of Santa Fe. We are honored to continue this great tradition of excellence in choral music with the exciting choral offerings this season in our collaboration with Maestro Figueroa, Maestro Gary Wedow, and the amazing orchestral musicians of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra.

I am honored to work with the members of our superb chorus and orchestra and experience the great joy of creating art and beauty with our voices. I am eager to lead them to new heights this season.”

THE SANTA FE SYMPHONY chorus

SOPRANO

Joanna Armstrong*

Lany Berger

Nia Brannin

Alexandra Esquibel

Patricia Fasel

Kristen Ferraro

Jolene Gallegos

Susan Harris

Katherine Keener*

Jenna Kloeppel*

Kristen Mackowski

Kelsea Martinez-Eggleston

Dalia Melendez

Bettina Milliken

Elizabeth Neely

Elizabeth Roghair

Amanda Sidebottom*

Leona Tsinnajinnie

Paula Young

Elizabeth “Bee” Zollo

ALTO

Talitha Arnold

Luana Berger*

Robin Chavez

Barbara Cooper

Rachelle Elbert

Joseph Fasel

Mary Fellman*

Libby Gonzales

Colleen Kelly

Kehar Koslowsky*

Kathy Landschulz

Amanda Penaloza

Joann Reier

Edna Reyes-Wilson

Anna Richards

Judith Rowan

Joan Snider

Darla Wigginton

Wendy Wilson

Laura Witte*

Diana Zeiset

Paul J. Roth, Collaborative Piano

CHORAL SCHOLARS

Petra Archuleta

Landen Kessler

Amrita Khalsa

Ansley King

Annalysia Montoya

Maya Ortiz

Alan Rosales

Isaac Rosales

TENOR

Matteo Bitetti

Diana Dallas

Rev. Douglas Escue*

O’Shaun Estrada*

Stephen Fasel*

Antonio Gonzales

Sarah Gupta

Robert Hoffman

Grayson Kirtland

Joe Long

Karson Nance

Joshua Narlesky

Todd Ritterbush

Carlos Vazquez-Baur*

BASS

Bruce Bradford

Jerel Brazeau

Devin DeVargas*

Patrick Dolin

Bob Florek

David Foushee

Antonio Gonzales

Caleb Heaton*

Peter B. Komis

Hunter Merriman

Dan Morton

Andrew Paulson*

Thomas Rogowskey

Richard Schacht*

Jim Shute

Roy Yinger

* The Santa Fe Symphony Chamber Chorus

CHORUS COUNCIL

Bruce Bradford, President, Board Representative

Jerel Brazeau, Vice President

Doug Escue, Treasurer

Bettina Milliken, Chorus Librarian

Joseph Fasel

Jolene Gallegos

Kathy Landschulz

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Ex Officio

Enterprise Bank & Trust proudly stands alongside The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Together, we are dedicated to The Symphony’s rich history while embracing exciting new, youth-centered initiatives presented through The Symphony’s education and community programs.

Enterprise Bank & Trust proudly stands alongside The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Together, we are dedicated to preserving The Symphony’s rich history while embracing exciting new, youth-centered initiatives presented through The Symphony’s education and community programs.

Enterprise Bank & Trust proudly stands alongside The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Together, we are dedicated to preserving The Symphony’s rich history while embracing exciting new, youth-centered initiatives presented through The Symphony’s education and community programs.

Learn more about Enterprise’s community partnerships at enterprisebank.com/impact.

Together, there’s no stopping you.

Learn more about Enterprise’s community partnerships at enterprisebank.com/impact.

Learn more about Enterprise’s community partnerships at enterprisebank.com/impact.

Together, there’s no stopping you.

Together, there’s no stopping you.

EMBARK ON YOUR CUSTOM-TAILORED FINANCIAL JOURNEY

At Enterprise Bank & Trust, we believe in banking that goes beyond transactions. It’s about creating a relationship where your needs guide our actions. From individualized financial solutions to dedicated advisory services, we’re here to turn your goals into achievements. Scan the QR code or visit enterprisebank.com/private-banking to discover the Enterprise Private Banking difference.

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

Clayton Stephenson, Piano

program notes

Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K.551, “Jupiter”

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Born 1756, Salzburg

Died 1791, Vienna

The summer of 1788 was an exceptionally difficult time for Mozart, and what must have been particularly dismaying for the composer was the suddenness of his fall from grace. Two years earlier, at the premiere of The Marriage of Figaro, he had been at the summit of the musical world. On a visit to Prague, he could exult, “For here they talk about nothing but ‘Figaro.’ Nothing is played, sung, or whistled but ‘Figaro.’ ” But the indifferent reception of Don Giovanni and evolving musical fashions in Vienna changed this. Within a year Mozart discovered that his audience in Vienna had nearly disappeared, and he was unable to mount new concerts or sell music by subscription. Soon he found his financial condition strained, and he began to borrow heavily. The composer moved his family to a smaller apartment in the Vienna suburbs, where there was at least the consolation of a garden and lower rent, but he remained despondent about his situation.

On June 27 he wrote to his friend Michael Puchberg, asking for a loan and admitting that “black thoughts . . . often come to me, thoughts I push away with a tremendous effort.” Two days later, Mozart’s infant daughter Theresia died.

Through that bleak summer, Mozart worked with incredible speed, and after an 18-month hiatus, he was again writing symphonies. He finished Symphony No. 39 on June 26, Symphony No. 40 on July 25, and a mere 16 days after that Symphony No. 41. Mozart usually wrote music only when performances were planned, but there is no record of any subscription concerts during this period. So the question remains: Why did he write these symphonies? Perhaps concerts were planned and then fell through. In any case, they were not performed and went onto the composer’s shelf. Evidence suggests that he heard Symphony No. 40 at a concert in April 1791, but at the time of his death eight months later he had likely not heard a note of No. 39 or No. 41.

The Symphony in C Major was his last, although there is no reason to believe that he knew when writing it that it would be his final symphony, for a normal lifetime would have allowed the composer several more decades of work. The nickname “Jupiter” was not Mozart’s. It was in use by the early 19th century, but its exact origin is unknown, despite many theories. This is, however, one of those rare instances when an inauthentic nickname makes sense. If ever there were Olympian music, this is it.

Sunday, September 22—4:00 PM

The Santa Fe Symphony

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

Clayton Stephenson, Piano

PROGRAM

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K.551, “Jupiter”

Allegro vivace

Andante cantabile

Menuetto: Allegretto-Trio

Molto allegro

INTERMISSION

MAURICE RAVEL

Piano Concerto in G Major, M.83

Allegramente

Adagio assai

Presto

Clayton Stephenson, Piano

GEORGE GERSHWIN

An American in Paris

CONCERT UNDERWRITER

FULL CONCERT SPONSOR

program notes

The first movement, Allegro vivace, is music of genuine grandeur, built on a wealth of thematic material, and we feel that breadth from the first instant, where the opening theme divides into two quite distinct phrases. The first phrase is an almost stern motto of repeated triplets, but the second is lyric and graceful, and the fusion of these two elements within the same theme suggests by itself the emotional scope of the opening movement. The array of material in this movement ranges from an almost military power to an elegant lyricism (one of these themes, in fact, is derived from an aria Mozart had written for a friend a few months earlier). The development is brief (and concerned largely with this aria theme), but the recapitulation is quite lengthy, and Mozart surprises us by bringing back some of it in a minor key. The movement drives to a stirring close in which its martial spirit prevails.

The second movement is marked Andante cantabile, and Mozart’s stipulation cantabile (a marking he used infrequently) is important, for this music sounds as if it too might be an aria from an opera. First violins, muted throughout, introduce both themes of this sonata-form movement. The opening seems at first all silky lyricism, but Mozart jolts this peace with unexpected attacks. The second subject is turbulent: Over quiet triplet accompaniment, the violin line rises and falls in a series of intensely chromatic phrases, powered by the syncopated shape of this theme. The third movement is in minuetand-trio form, though no one has ever danced to this brisk music, whose fluid lines are spiced by attacks from brass and timpani. The trio section is dominated by the sound of the solo oboe, although near its end, strings break into a gentle little waltz that suddenly stops in mid-air.

The Molto allegro finale is not only one of Mozart's finest movements, it is one of the most astonishing pieces of music ever written. It begins with a four-note phrase heard immediately in the first violins, yet this figure is hardly new: Mozart had used it in Missa Brevis in F Major of 1774, String Quartet in G Major of 1782, and elsewhere. In fact, he had subtly prepared us for the finale by slipping this opening phrase into the trio section of the third movement. The finale is not a fugue, as many have suggested, but a sonataform movement that puts that opening four-note phrase (and other material) through extensive fugal treatment. However dazzling Mozart’s treatment of his material is in the development section, nothing can prepare the listener for the coda. Horns sound the four-note opening motto,

and in some of the most brilliant polyphonic writing to be found anywhere, Mozart pulls all his themes together in magnificent five-part counterpoint as the symphony hurtles to its close in a blaze of brass and timpani.

—Program Note by Eric

Bromberger

Piano Concerto in G Major, M.83

MAURICE RAVEL

Born 1875, Pyrennes, Basses-Cibourre Died 1937, Paris

Throughout most of his career, Ravel had not written any concertos. At the age of 54, he set to work simultaneously on two piano concertos. One was the Concerto for the Left Hand for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and the Concerto in G Major was intended for the composer’s own use. The Concerto for the Left Hand is dark and serious, but the Concerto in G Major is much lighter. Ravel described it as “a concerto in the truest sense of the term, written in the spirit of Mozart and SaintSaëns. Indeed, I take the view that the music of a concerto can very well be cheerful and brilliant and does not have to lay claim to profundity or aim at dramatic effect . . . At the beginning I thought of naming the work a divertissement; but I reflected that this was not necessary, the title ‘Concerto’ explaining the character of the music sufficiently.”

The actual composition took longer than Ravel anticipated, and the concerto was not complete until the fall of 1931. By that time, failing health prevented him from performing this music himself. Instead, he conducted the premiere in Paris on January 14, 1932. The pianist was Marguerite Long, to whom Ravel dedicated the concerto (Long had given the first performance of Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin in 1919).

Ravel may have taken Mozart and Saint-Saëns as his model, but no listener would make that association. What strikes audiences first are the concerto’s virtuoso writing for both piano and orchestra, the brilliance and transparency of the music, and the influence of American jazz. It is possible to make too much of the jazz influence, but Ravel had heard jazz during his tour of America in 1928 and found much to admire. When asked about its influence on this concerto, he said: “It includes some elements borrowed from jazz, but only in moderation.” Ravel was quite proud of this music and is reported to have said that in this work “he had expressed himself most completely, and that he had poured his thoughts into the exact mold that he had dreamed.”

The first movement, marked Allegramente (“Brightly”), opens with a whipcrack, and immediately the piccolo plays the jaunty opening tune, picked up in turn by solo trumpet before the piano makes its sultry solo entrance. Some of the concerto’s most brilliant music occurs in this movement, which is possessed of a sort of madcap energy, with great splashes of instrumental color, strident fluttertonguing by the winds, string glissandos, and a quasicadenza for the harp. The Adagio assai, one of Ravel’s most beautiful slow movements, opens with a three-minute solo for the pianist, who lays out the haunting main theme at length. The return of this theme later in the movement in the English horn over delicate piano accompaniment is particularly effective. Despite its seemingly easy flow of melody, this movement gave Ravel a great deal of trouble, and he later said that he wrote it “two bars at a time.” The concluding Presto explodes to life with a five-note riff that recurs throughout, functioning somewhat like the ritornello of the baroque concerto. The jazz influence shows up here in the squealing clarinets, brass smears, and racing piano passages. The movement comes to a sizzling conclusion on the five-note phrase with which it began.

―Program Note by

Eric Bromberger

and Gershwin’s obvious affection for Paris. Most notably, the music was used in the eponymous 1951 film with Gene Kelly. Musically, An American in Paris is a series of impressions strung together with great skill. Gershwin—anxious to insist on his abilities as a classical composer—tried to argue that the piece was in sonata-form, and he pointed to such general areas as exposition, development, and recapitulation. But such arguments protest too much. It is far better to take An American in Paris as a set of polished episodes–a collection of sunny postcards from Paris–than to search too rigorously for resemblances to classical forms.

GEORGE GERSHWIN

An American in Paris Born 1898, Brooklyn Died 1937, Beverly Hills

The acclaim that greeted Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and the Concerto in F (1925) made Gershwin more anxious to be taken seriously as the composer of “concert” music, and he resolved to write a work for orchestra alone, without the starring role for piano that had helped make the earlier two works so popular. The composition of this music took place in the spring of 1928, when Gershwin, his sister Frances, his brother Ira, and Ira’s wife Leonore, took an extended family vacation to Paris. Happily ensconced in the Hotel Majestic, Gershwin composed what he called a “Tone Poem for Orchestra,” a musical portrait of an American visitor to the City of Light. Written between March and June 1928, it was first performed by Walter Damrosch and the New York Philharmonic on December 13 of that year.

This is fun music, and from the moment of that premiere it has always been one of Gershwin’s most popular scores, winning audiences over with its great tunes, breezy charm,

For the New York premiere, Gershwin and Deems Taylor prepared elaborate program notes, explaining what was “happening” at each moment in the music. These were probably written with tongue slightly in cheek (in fact, Gershwin had made sketches for this piece several years before going to Paris), and they should not be taken too seriously. But it is worth noting that Gershwin structured the music around the idea of an American walking through the streets of Paris, and he included three of what he called “walking themes.” That program note describes the very beginning: “You are to imagine, then, an American visiting Paris, swinging down the Champs-Elysées on a mild, sunny morning in May or June. Being what he is, he starts without preliminaries and is off at full speed at once to the tune of The First Walking Theme, a straightforward diatonic air designed to convey an impression of Gallic freedom and gaiety.”

Along his way come piquant moments: a snatch of a Parisian popular song in the trombones and the strident squawk of Paris taxi horns; Gershwin had four of these imported for the premiere in New York. One moment (Gershwin called it “an unhallowed episode”) is rarely mentioned: The American is approached by a streetwalker, who bats her eyes at him seductively in a violin solo marked espressivo. Our hero wavers briefly, then makes his escape on one of the walking tunes. At about the midpoint comes the famous “blues” section, introduced by solo trumpet: The American is feeling homesick, and his nostalgia takes the form of this distinctively American music. Matters are rescued by the sudden intrusion of a pair of trumpets that come sailing in with a snappy Charleston tune. The cheerful final section reprises the various “walking” themes, and An American in Paris dances to its close on a great rush of happy energy.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

about clayton

Clayton Stephenson’s love for music is immediately apparent in his joyous charisma onstage, expressive power, and natural ease at the instrument. He is committed to making an impact on the world through his music-making. In 2022, Clayton became the first Black finalist at the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Growing up in New York City, Clayton started piano lessons at age 7 and was accepted into the Juilliard Outreach Music Advancement Program for underprivileged children the next year, where he attended numerous student recitals and fell in love with music. At the age of 10, he advanced to Juilliard’s elite PreCollege program with the help of his teacher, Beth Nam. At Juilliard he studied with Matti Raekallio, Hung-Kuang Chen, and Ernest Barretta. Clayton practiced on a synthesizer at home until he found an old upright piano on the street that an elementary school had thrown away; that would become his practice piano for the next six years, until the Lang Lang Foundation donated a new piano to him when he was 17.

He credits the generous support of community programs with providing him musical inspiration and resources along the way. As he describes it, the “3rd Street Music School jump-started my music education; the Young People’s Choir taught me phrasing and voicing; the Juilliard Outreach Music Advancement Program introduced me to formal and rigorous piano training, which enabled me to get into Juilliard Pre-College; the Morningside Music Bridge validated my talent and elevated my selfconfidence; the Boy’s Club of New York exposed me to jazz; and the Lang Lang Foundation brought me to stages worldwide and transformed me from a piano student to a young artist.”

Clayton now studies in the Harvard-NEC Dual Degree Program, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at Harvard and a Master’s Degree in piano performance at the New England Conservatory under Wha Kyung Byun. And his accolades along the way have been numerous. In addition to being the first Black finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022, he was named a 2022 Gilmore Young Artist, as well as a 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts and a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. He also received a jury discretionary award at the 2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival.

fresh, incisive and characterfully alive”

—Gramophone

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

program notes lensic

Pétrouchka, K.012

IGOR STRAVINSKY

Born 1882, Oranienbaum, Russia

Died 1971, New York City

Pétrouchka, Stravinsky’s ballet about three puppets at a Russian Shrovetide carnival, actually began life as a sort of piano concerto. In the summer of 1910, shortly after the successful premiere of The Firebird, Stravinsky started work on a ballet about a pagan ritual sacrifice in ancient Russia. But he set the manuscript to The Rite of Spring aside when he was consumed by a new idea: “I had in my mind a distinct picture of a puppet, suddenly endowed with life, exasperating the patience of the orchestra with diabolical cascades of arpeggi. The orchestra in turn retaliates with menacing trumpet-blasts. The outcome is a terrific noise which reaches its climax and ends in the sorrowful and querulous collapse of the poor puppet.”

When impresario Serge Diaghilev visited Stravinsky that summer in Switzerland to see how the pagan-sacrifice ballet was progressing, he was at first horrified to learn that Stravinsky was doing nothing with it. But when Stravinsky played some of his new music, Diaghilev was charmed and saw possibilities for a ballet. With Alexander Benois, they created a storyline around the Russian puppet theater, specifically the tale of Pétrouchka, “the immortal and unhappy hero of every fair in all countries.” Stravinsky composed the score to what was now a ballet between August 1910 and May 1911, and Pétrouchka was first performed in Paris on June 13, 1911, with Nijinsky in the title role.

Pétrouchka has remained one of Stravinsky’s most popular scores, and the source of its success is no mystery. It combines an appealing tale of three puppets, authentic Russian folk tunes and street songs, and brilliant writing for orchestra. The music is remarkable for Stravinsky’s sudden development beyond the Rimsky-Korsakov-inspired Firebird, particularly in matters of rhythm and orchestral sound. One of those most impressed by the work was Claude Debussy, who spoke with wonder of this music’s “sonorous magic.”

The music and action is divided into four “tableaux” separated by drum rolls:

The Shrovetide Fair. To swirling music, the curtain comes up to reveal a carnival scene in 1830 St. Petersburg. The crowd mills about, full of organ grinders, dancers, and drunkards. An aged magician appears and like a snake charmer, spins a spell with a flute solo. He brings up the curtain in his small booth to reveal three puppets: Pétrouchka, the Moor, and the ballerina. At a delicate touch of his wand, all three spring to life and dance before the astonished crowd to the powerful Russian Dance.

Sunday, October 20—4:00 PM

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director PROGRAM

IGOR STRAVINSKY

Pétrouchka (1947)

The Shrove-Tide Fair

Pétrouchka's Cell

The Moor's Cell

The Shrove-Tide Fair (Towards Evening)

INTERMISSION

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Selections from Swan Lake

Act II—Overture

Act I—Valse

Act II—Scene No. 11

Allegro moderato-allegro vivo

Act II—Scene No. 12 Allegro

Act II—Scene No. 13/V Pas de deux: White Swan—Violin Solo

Act II—Scene No. 13

Allegro moderato: Danse des cygnes

Act II—Scene No. 13/IV Allegro moderato: Danse des petits cygnes

Act II—Danse

Act II—Coda: Allegro vivo

Act IV—Scene finale (No. 29)

CONCERT SPONSORS-IN-PART

program notes

Pétrouchka’s Cell . This opens with Pétrouchka being kicked into his room and locked up. The puppet tries desperately to escape and despairs when he cannot. Stravinsky depicts his anguish with two clarinets, one in C major and the other in F-sharp major: Their bitonal clash has become famous as the “ Pétrouchka sound.” The trapped puppet rails furiously but is distracted by the appearance of the ballerina, who enters to a tinkly little tune. Pétrouchka is drawn to her, but she scorns him and leaves.

The Moor’s Cell. Brutal chords take us into the Moor’s opulent room. The ballerina enters and dances for the moor to the accompaniment of cornet and snare drum. He is charmed, and the two waltz together. Suddenly Pétrouchka enters, heralded by variations on his pathetic clarinet tune, and he and the Moor fight over the ballerina. The Moor chases him out.

The Shrovetide Fair (Toward Evening) . At the scene of the opening tableau, a festive crowd swirls past. There are a number of ballet set-pieces here: the Dance of the Nurse-Maids , The Peasant and the Bear (depicted respectively by squealing clarinet and stumbling tuba), Dance of the Gypsy Women , Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms (who stamp powerfully), and Masqueraders . At the very end, poor Pétrouchka rushes into the square, pursued by the moor, who kills him with a slash of his scimitar. As a horrified crowd gathers, the magician appears and reassures all that it is make-believe by holding up Pétrouchka’s body to show it dripping sawdust. As he drags away the puppet, Pétrouchka’s ghost appears above the rooftops, railing defiantly at the terrified magician, who flees. Pétrouchka’s defiance is depicted musically by the triplet figure associated with him throughout. The strings’ quiet pizzicato strokes, taken from both the C major and F-sharp major scale, bring the ballet to an end that is dramatically and harmonically ambiguous.

Stravinsky published Pétrouchka the year after the premiere, but in 1947 he revised the score. These revisions had several purposes: to reduce the size of the orchestra, to simplify some of the metric complexities, and to give greater importance to the piano, which had been the music’s original inspiration but had faded from view in the ballet version. Each

version has its proponents, some preferring the greater clarity of the revision, others the opulence of the original. At this concert, Stravinsky’s revised 1947 score is performed.

—Program Note by Eric

Bromberger

Selections from Swan Lake, op.20

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Born 1840, Votkinsk

Died 1893, St. Petersburg

Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is such a favorite of audiences around the world that it comes as a surprise to learn that the ballet was an abject failure at its premiere. Tchaikovsky, then a young composition teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, had been commissioned by the Imperial Theater to write music for a production of this new ballet at the Bolshoi, and he worked on the score from August 1875 until April 1876. The first performance on March 4, 1877 was a disaster: It had poor scenery, costumes, and dancing, and—worst of all—it had a conductor so alarmed by Tchaikovsky’s striking music that he cut large sections of it, substituting “safe” music by other composers in their place.

The reviews were scathing, one critic declaring: “I must say that I have never seen a poorer presentation on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. The costumes, decor and machines did not hide in the least the emptiness of the dances.” The same critic conceded that the music showed “the hand of the true master,” but that did Tchaikovsky little good: He never heard the music again and died believing that it would always be a failure. Ironically, it was a revival in January 1895, only 14 months after his death, that launched Swan Lake on its way to the acclaim it enjoys today.

The ballet tells a story of eternal charm: Prince Siegfried discovers a flock of beautiful white swans on the lake in a forest. Their queen, Odette, tells him that they are all maidens who have been transformed by the evil sorcerer Rothbart. Although deceived by Rothbart and his daughter, Odile (the black swan), during the climactic ball in Act III, Siegfried eventually triumphs over the sorcerer and is united with Odette. Tchaikovsky never arranged the music from Swan Lake into orchestral suites, and so conductors are free to make their own selections.

At this concert, the Santa Fe Symphony performs a selection of movements from Act II of Swan Lake , then concludes with the final scene from Act IV, which brings the ballet to its conclusion. Act II takes place in a forest clearing beside a lake. Siegfried and his companions have entered the forest on a swan hunt, and now Siegfried finds himself alone. He sees a flock of swans approaching and draws a bead on one of them, when suddenly she is transformed into a beautiful young maiden. This is Odette, and she tells him of Rothbart’s curse: She and her companions have been transformed into swans, and only at night, beside this lake, can they resume their human form. Rothbart’s curse will be ended only when she is loved by someone who has never loved before.

This performance begins with the atmospheric Overture to Act II. It opens with a plaintive oboe solo that sets the mood for this moonlit scene, and this theme grows in power until it is thundered out by the full orchestra. The energetic Scene 11 depicts Siegfried’s arrival at the lake, while Scene 12 brings the appearance of the flock of swans overhead and Odette’s transformation into human form; Siegfried throws down his gun as he sees what has happened.

There follows a series of dances. First comes the Dance of the Swans , a graceful and flowing waltz, played largely by the strings as woodwinds offer interjections. Next comes the wonderful (and very brief) Dance of the Little Swans , given out at first by a pair of oboes over bassoon accompaniment. (Onstage, this is a brilliant moment, danced by four ballerinas clad in white who hold hands throughout). This is followed by the Dance of the Parent Swans and a Danse Generale . The Coda, set in a quick 6/8, brings the sudden appearance of the evil Rothbart.

These excerpts conclude with Finale from Act IV, which draws the ballet to an unexpected conclusion. In Act III, Siegfried had escaped Rothbart’s treachery and pledged his love to Odette. The curse remains in effect, however, and Odette decides that if she cannot escape it, she would rather die as a human being, and she throws herself in the lake. Pledging his eternal love, Siegfried follows her. It is not surprising that many choreographers have preferred a “happy ending,” and a number of alternate endings have

been created over the last century. In any case, the Finale—which reprises many of the themes heard earlier in the piece—brings the ballet to a soaring conclusion.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Keep Your Investments in Tune and On

Strategy.™

Thornburg is a global investment management firm delivering on strategy for institutions, financial professionals and investors worldwide.

Thornburg is proud to support The Santa Fe Symphony.

messiah

11.16.24-11.17.24

7:00 pm & 4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Gary Thor Wedow, Guest Conductor

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Choral Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus

Cadie J. Bryan, Soprano

Gina Perregrino, Mezzo-Soprano

Aaron Crouch, Tenor

Kevin Burdette, Bass

program notes lensic

Messiah

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

Part I

Scene I: Isaiah’s prophecy of salvation

Sinfonia (overture)

Comfort ye (tenor recitative)

Every valley (tenor aria)

And the glory of the Lord (chorus)

Scene 2: The coming judgment

Thus saith the Lord (bass recitative)

But who may abide the day of his coming (alto aria)

And He shall purify (chorus)

Scene 3: The prophecy of Christ’s birth

Behold, a virgin shall conceive (alto recitative)

O Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion (alto aria and chorus)

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth (bass recitative)

The people that walked in darkness (bass aria)

For unto us a child is born (chorus)

Scene 4: The annunciation to the shepherds

Pifa (“Pastoral Symphony”)

There were shepherds abiding in the field (soprano recitative)

And lo, the angel of the Lord (soprano recitative)

And the angel said unto them (soprano recitative)

And suddenly there was with the angel (soprano recitative)

Glory to God (chorus)

Scene 5: Christ’s healing and redemption

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (soprano aria)

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened (alto recitative)

He shall feed His flock like a shepherd (soprano and alto duet)

His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light (chorus)

INTERMISSION

Part II

Scene 1: Christ’s Passion

Behold the Lamb of God (chorus)

He was despised (alto aria)

Surely He hath borne our griefs (chorus)

And with His stripes we are healed (chorus)

All we like sheep have gone astray (chorus)

All they that see him (tenor recitative)

He trusted in God (chorus)

Thy rebuke hath broken His heart (tenor recitative)

Behold and see (tenor aria)

Scene 2: Christ’s death and resurrection

He was cut off (tenor recitative)

But Thou didst not leave His soul in Hell (tenor aria)

Scene 6: The world’s rejection of the Gospel

Why do the nations so furiously rage together? (bass aria)

Let us break their bonds asunder (chorus)

He that dwelleth in heaven (tenor recitative)

Scene 7: God’s ultimate victory

Thou shalt break them (tenor aria)

Hallelujah (chorus)

Saturday, November 16—7 PM

Sunday, November 17—4 PM

Part III

Scene 1: The promise of eternal life

I know that my Redeemer liveth (soprano aria)

Since by man came death (chorus)

Scene 2: The day of judgment

Behold, I tell you a mystery (bass recitative)

The trumpet shall sound (bass aria)

Scene 3: The final conquest of sin

Then shall be brought to pass (alto recitative)

O death, where is thy sting? (alto and tenor duet)

But thanks be to God (chorus)

Scene 4: The acclamation of the Messiah

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain (chorus)

Amen (chorus)

program notes

Messiah

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

Born 1685, Halle, Germany

Died 1759, London

Messiah as Opera: a wolf in sheep’s clothing

As Handel did, I come from the world of opera and cannot help but look at Messiah in any other way than as a masterpiece of musical drama. Handel, at the top of his game and with skills developed over almost a half century in the opera house, wrote this sublime musical drama, though without many three-dimensional characters and with very little action. Drama comes from a Greek word meaning action, and Messiah is notoriously lacking in explicit stage action.

In a rehearsal room, stage directors continually ask, “Who are you? What is your objective? Where have you come from and where are you going? How are you going to achieve your goals?” Surprisingly, Messiah is very easy to decipher. Who are you? The Messiah, the anointed one. What is your objective? To save mankind. But is there drama? Is there “action?” Much of Messiah is philosophical thought and reporting about things that had happened—but that are not necessarily happening now. Can history be dramatized? Is there inherent drama in the philosophy?

Charles Jennens (1700-1773), the librettist of Messiah, was a very close personal friend and supporter of Handel; wealthy and intelligent, he was a “non-juror” who had sworn an oath to James II and accepted William and Mary as Regent, but not as King. He was also interested in primitive Christianity, a movement dedicated to restoring the church to the early apostolic church and, central to Messiah, he was an anti-Deist. Deists were believers in God, but embraced the Enlightenment and rejected the supernatural, miraculous aspects of the Bible, attributing them rather to human action or the natural workings of science. The libretto for Messiah is a manifesto for miraculous intervention.

Jennens collaborated as librettist with Handel on several major works: Saul, L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, and others. His libretto for Handel shows a man both intimately acquainted with the gospel and with a keen sense of narrative and drama. The libretto (printed in this program with Jennen’s scene divisions and commentary) is laid out as an opera libretto, with scenes and locations: some very concrete (shepherds in a field); others much

more obtuse and abstract: “A Thanksgiving for the Defeat of Death.” At this point in our oratorio, the words become the protagonist and carry the action, and the philosophical ideas themselves become alive and participate in a Platonic dialogue, very similar to Monteverdi’s l’incoronazione di Poppea where Seneca and Nero debate their differing points of view with logic and rhetorical panache.

Baroque opera is all about variety. Ancient philosophers defined three types of music: religious (sacred and mystical), chamber (nuanced and subtle), and theatrical (filled with variety to keep an audience that was filled with orange sellers, beer sellers, ladies of the night and rakes, interested and involved). Handel was a master of varying the mood, the tempo, the dynamic, the keys to enhance the drama. In the theater, librettists juxtaposed scenes to enhance the variety: a bright ballroom preceding a dark dungeon scene; a small inner room preceding an expansive formal garden—all of these transformations done in “the twinkling of an eye” with the amazing Baroque theater machinery. Oratorio preserved this roller-coaster structure.

As a working musician, one sees the birth of oratorio from the musician’s standpoint. During Lent, theatrical performance was forbidden; however, if one moved into the church, into the Oratory, one could keep doing the same work, just calling it by another name: choosing subjects from sacred texts. Early oratorio even had stage directions (Cavalieri’s Rappresentazione di Anima e di Corpo, acknowledged as one of the first oratorios, has very specific stage directions for the singers), and many were performed with sets and costumes: a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Italian Baroque operas had very little chorus participation. Due to a desire to save money for the principal singers and the stupendous scenic effects, often the chorus was populated with employees involved in other aspects of the production—such as scene-shifters, wardrobe people, and ticket takers—who came together once or twice an evening and sang a very simple chorus. With the oratorio, Handel was able to write for sophisticated professional choristers. With Messiah, he surpassed himself, making the chorus a protagonist and the mirror to the audience: The chorus becomes “we the people,” and we step into the drama as actors alongside the other principal actors: When the chorus sings “For unto us a child is born,” it is our salvation at stake.

All of Handel’s principals were cast from the world of the theater and they were cast by type, just like an MGM movie: The soprano was the virgin, the angel; the alto the mother; the wronged woman; the tenor was the Evangelist and the hero, and the bass was the Old Testament prophet, the stern father. Handel’s early performers included John Beard, the great heroic tenor, without whom many of Handel’s great Oratorios would not have been written. Beard was equally popular in opera, light comedy and music-theater; he later became the proprietor of Covent Garden, inherited from his fatherin-law. In later performances Handel had Guadagni, the great castrato, who was as famed for his acting as his singing, having studied with the great David Garrick, the inventor of modern stagecraft. Guadagni was pivotal in the reform opera movement initiated by Gluck. For the premiere performance in Dublin, Handel had a favorite, the notorious leading lady Susanna Cibber (also a favorite leading lady of Garrick). Her husband had recently sued her for divorce. The judge imposed damages of only one pound for such a beloved and great artist, whom he saw as married to an unloving, conniving, manipulating theater manager. At the premiere of Messiah, after her performance of “He was despised,” a Dublin clergyman leapt to his feet, proclaiming: “Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven thee!” These were actor-singers whose intention was to move the audience with all the techniques learned in the theater, and who sang from the heart.

Simultaneously at the beginning of the 18th century in England, there arose a style of preaching, different from an earlier plainer, more sedate style. The previous style was built on clarity: communicating with your audience and a subdued, serious but clear delivery. The new style, favored by Dissenters, Methodists and other more progressive groups, urged speakers to speak from heart: “On all Occasions let the Thing you are to speak be deeply imprinted on your own Heart. And when you are sensibly touch’d yourself, you will easily touch others, by adjusting your Voice to every Passion which you feel” (John Wesley, 1703-1791). This is advice very familiar to every actor.

A singer being capable of as many different vocal colors as the human heart is capable of emotions: Handel provided each singer in Messiah a panoply of varied arias in which to deploy their far-ranging gifts; he tapped the music of the spheres with a deep conviction of music as science. The

orchestra always paints the dramatic scene as so clearly denoted in Jennen’s libretto: The choice of key, dance form, melodic shape, and rhythmic and rhetorical gesture all surprise and delight.

But a Handel opera is never just a succession of musical numbers to showcase the divas, but a dramatic train ride, sometimes speeding, sometimes slowing to admire the scenery, but irrevocably and pulsatingly pulling you to your destination: salvation and eternal life. His engine is fueled by Baroque dance, storytelling declamation, and the English choral anthem, brought to its peak by Purcell before being crowned by Handel. His rather astounding triumvirate of French dance, the theater and the church pulsate with variety and the possibility of surprise and wonder. Change is the important theatrical law, and Handel continually amazes us with his varied response to the text and his sense of structure and “Spannung” (suspense or “pull”), all displayed with far-ranging variety.

Handel said that he wrote Messiah not only to entertain, but rather to make one better; however, to teach one must entertain. Handel was proud of his knowledge of the Bible, and although private in his personal life and beliefs, in Messiah he clearly spoke from the heart and knew intimately the power of the drama to incite similar passions in his audience. He used his skills to promulgate his deeply held beliefs in the guise of theatrical variety and delights. Enjoy the ride, become better and become one with the music of the spheres.

—Program Note by Gary Thor Wedow

about gary

Conductor Gary Thor Wedow has established an enviable reputation for dramatically exciting and historically informed performances with opera companies, orchestras, festivals and choral organizations throughout North America. He enjoyed a varied 2023–2024 season—returning to Opera Omaha for Don Pasquale, followed by Handel’s Messiah with the Alabama Symphony; Opera Southwest for Carmen, and Des Moines Metro Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia. The 2022–2023 season included Atalanta at Juilliard and L’incoronazione di Poppea at Rice University.

Other recent notable engagements included Handel’s Teseo with Juilliard, Semele and Lembit Beecher’s War Stories at Opera Philadelphia, La Cenerentola at Seattle Opera and San Diego Opera, Don Pasquale at Pittsburgh Opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea with Cincinnati Opera, Orphée for Des Moines Metro Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor and Die Fledermaus with Utah Opera, The Magic Flute for Madison Opera, and a special collaboration between The Juilliard School and the Westminster Choir College of Mozart’s Requiem at Alice Tully Hall.

A favorite with Seattle Opera audiences, Maestro Wedow has also been a frequent guest of Florida Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Arizona Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Portland Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Berkshire Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Saratoga, and the Amherst Early Music Festival, among others. He was for many years associated with New York City Opera.

Choral masterpieces and symphonic repertoire have taken him to the podiums of Berkshire Choral International in Massachusetts, New Mexico, California, and Salzburg; the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, The Alabama Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, where he was Associate Conductor for many years.

Born in LaPorte, Indiana and now a resident of New York City, Maestro Wedow has been a member of the Juilliard faculty since 1994. A musical scholar as well as a conductor, he has prepared several performing editions of Baroque works in collaboration with gambist Lawrence Lipnik. He studied piano with virtuoso Jorge Bolet at the Jacobs School of Music and received his Master of Music degree at the New England Conservatory.

a performance that caught fire and magic”

—The New York Times

soloists

, soprano

In 2023, soprano Cadie appeared as a special guest artist in the Andrea Bocelli in Concert tour of North America. The Louisiana native has been featured in concert with The Dallas Opera / Hart Institute for Women Conductors and in performances with Opera Las Vegas, The Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and Arizona Opera. Local music lovers may recall her recent appearances with Santa Fe Opera in Donizetti’s L'elisir d'amore or Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, where she sang the title role. An alumnus of Ravinia’s Steans Institute for Singers, Cadie earned a Master of Music and a Performance Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and her Bachelor of Music from Louisiana State University.

, mezzo-soprano

Praised by Opera News as a “standout,” Gina is not only a professional opera singer, she is also a world-class performer of Mexican and Latin American folk music. She has performed with exceptional companies such as Deutsche Oper Berlin, Seattle Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Ópera de Guatemala, Atlanta Opera, Central City Opera, and of course, our very own Santa Fe Opera. Her heart, however, is with the folk music of Mexico and Latin America. She is an avid performer of rancheras and mariachi, which she often performs with her musical duo Rocío. Since earning a Master of Music at Manhattan School of Music, she founded FORTE, an innovative mentorship program.

, tenor

An artist and activist, tenor Aaron has dazzled audiences in concerts at Carnegie Hall, Glimmerglass Festival and The Cincinnati May Festival. His performances with the Houston Grand Opera, Washington DC’s National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, New World Symphony, and elsewhere have similarly impressed critics and audiences alike. But it’s his performances of the solo tenor part in Handel’s Messiah that have truly overwhelmed the classical music world. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Aaron used the pandemic as an opportunity to stretch himself imaginatively and vocally by creating a YouTube series entitled “What the Fach?!” where he performs repertoire traditionally sung by different voice types. He also founded Utopia Arts, an organization dedicated to identifying and developing promising BIPOC classical artists.

, bass

Kevin is a regular at Santa Fe Opera, appearing in recent productions of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Menotti’s The Last Savage, Mozart’s The Impresario, and Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol. He has also been featured in Bernstein’s Candide, Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, and most recently, in the world premieres of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain, and Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly. Kevin has sung in Messiah performances across the world. Some of his biggest appearances include those at the American Cathedral in Paris and with Les Violons du Roy (also in Paris), and with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and the US Naval Academy Orchestra. He is an alumnus of the Juilliard Opera Theater and the University of Tennessee.

12.8.24

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

William Waag, The Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestra Conductor

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Choral Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Youth Symphony

Laurie Rossi, Guest Conductor 2024 Gala Conducting Opportunity

Jocelyn Kirsch, Violin Soloist

Senior Division Winner of the 2024 Concerto Competition

program notes

Selections from The Nutcracker

PETER ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY

Born 1840, Votkinsk

Died 1893, St. Petersburg

In 1891, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg approached Tchaikovsky with a commission for a new ballet. They caught him at a bad moment: At age 50, Tchaikovsky was assailed by worries that he had written himself out as a composer, and— to make matters worse—they proposed a storyline that the composer found unappealing: They wanted to create a ballet based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig, but in a version that had been retold by Alexandre Dumas as Histoire d’un casse-noisette, and then further modified by the choreographer Marius Petipa. This sort of Christmas fairy tale, full of imaginary creatures set in a confectionary dreamworld of childhood fantasies, left Tchaikovsky cold, but he nonetheless accepted the commission.

Sidetracked by his American tour and his sister’s death, Tchaikovsky tried to resume work on the ballet when he returned to Russia. To his brother, he wrote: “The ballet is infinitely worse than The Sleeping Beauty—so much is certain.” The score was completed in the spring of 1892, and The Nutcracker was produced at the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg that December, only 11 months before the composer’s death at 53. At first, it had only modest success, but then its popularity grew so steadily that Tchaikovsky reassessed what he had created: “It is curious that all the time I was writing the ballet I thought it was rather poor, and that when I began my opera [Iolanthe] I would really do my best,” he wrote. “But now it seems to me that the ballet is good, and the opera is mediocre.”

Tchaikovsky could have had no idea just how popular The Nutcracker would become: It has become an inescapable part of our sense of Christmas. This concert offers a selection of movements from the ballet, largely characteristic dances. March (also known as March of the Toy Soldiers) plays during a lively party scene, which includes dancing, games, and merriment. The fiery Russian Dance (also called Trepak) is a wild Cossack dance, while La mère Gigogne (roughly equivalent to The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, and also called Mother Ginger and her Children) features dancing clowns. Tchaikovsky, who was an admirer of Johann Strauss, loved waltzes, and this selection includes one of his finest, The Waltz of the Flowers from Act II.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Sunday, December 8—4:00 PM

PROGRAM

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Selections from The Nutcracker

March

Waltz of the Flowers

Trepak

Mother Ginger and her Children

IRVING BERLIN

White Christmas

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Selections from Swan Lake

Scène

Valse

Side-by-side with The Santa Fe Youth Symphony

INTERMISSION

MIKHAIL GLINKA

Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila

Laurie Rossi, Guest Conductor

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Violin Concerto No. 5

Allegro

Jocelyn Kirsch, Violin Soloist

Senior Division Winner of the 2024 Concerto Competition

JAMES M. STEPHENSON

A Charleston Christmas

ARR. LUCAS RICHMAN

Hanukkah Festival Overture

JAMES M. STEPHENSON

Holly and Jolly Sing-A-Long

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Choral Director

FULL CONCERT SPONSOR

CONCERT SPONSORS-IN-PART

GALA CONDUCTING OPPORTUNITY

program notes

White Christmas

IRVING BERLIN

Born 1888, Tyumen, Russia

Died 1989, New York City

Born in Russia, Israel Baline came to this country with his family at age five. He began writing songs as a boy and published his first one at age 19. Four years later, under the name Irving Berlin, he achieved fame and wealth with the song Alexander’s Ragtime Band and went on to become one of the most characteristic American voices of the 20th century: Estimates of the number of songs he wrote run as high as 1,500. Many of these—songs like God Bless America, There’s No Business Like Show Business, and This Is the Army, Mr. Jones—have become part of the American national identity.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla

MIKHAIL IVANOVICH GLINKA

Born 1804, Novospasskoye, Russia

Died 1857, Berlin

Born in Novospasskoye, near Smolensk, in 1804, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is commonly regarded as the father of Russian opera and the founder of Russian nationalism in music. The two major musical influences in his life were the Russian folk music that he grew up with on his father’s country estate, and the operas of Vincenzo Bellini and Gaetano Donizetti. The majority of his music seeks to create a Russian character by incorporating texts drawn from Russian history, poetry or literature, while the instrumental music incorporates folk tunes or typical dances. Yet it was through his operas, steeped in both Russian and Italian influences, that Glinka left his imprint on Russian musical history.

Although Glinka received piano instruction from acclaimed Irish pianist and composer John Field during his childhood in St. Petersburg, his association with music remained amateur until visits to Italy and, in 1833, to Berlin. There, having resolved to gain the technique that would enable him to write a Russian opera, he studied with the great teacher Siegfried Dehn. Returning to Russia, Glinka produced his first opera, A Life for the Tsar, in 1836.

Russlan and Ludmilla, his second opera, is based on a tale by Aleksandr Pushkin, who had intended to write the libretto but was killed in a duel before he had the chance. Ludmilla, daughter of the prince of Kiev, has three suitors, of whom Russlan is her favorite. When an evil dwarf abducts her, her father promises Ludmilla's hand to whoever rescues her. Russlan defeats the dwarf with the help of a magic sword, but Ludmilla has been placed in a deep sleep and cannot be awakened. Fortunately, a kind wizard provides Russlan with a magic ring that revives Ludmilla and saves the day. The overture, based on music from the wedding banquet in the opera’s final act, is an audience favorite and is frequently performed, although full productions of the opera outside of Russia are rare.

—Program

Note by Svenja

Soldovieri

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K.219 Allegro aperto

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Born January 27, 1756, Salzburg

Died December 5, 1791, Vienna

Mozart’s 27 piano concertos spanned his career, but he wrote only five violin concertos, and these all come from the year 1775, when he was 19. The absence of more concertos for violin is surprising, given the fact that Mozart was admired as much for his violin playing as for his piano playing. The First was written in April, and the others followed in June, September, October, and December. Each shows clear development over the previous one, and the Fifth, written the month before Mozart’s 20th birthday, has become the most popular of the set.

The concerto’s many imaginative touches are evident from the very beginning. A vigorous orchestral introduction marked Allegro aperto (aperto means clear or distinct) opens the movement, but the entrance of the soloist brings a surprise: Instead of pressing ahead at the initial tempo, the music slows to an Adagio, and over a murmuring string accompaniment the violinist makes a simple and graceful entrance. The Allegro aperto suddenly resumes, and now the violinist plays the true opening theme, a variation of its slow first statement. The energetic movement takes its character from this soaring idea.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

about william music matters.

Over the course of Youth Orchestra Director William Waag’s career in music education, he has taught and conducted groups in Albuquerque, Seattle, El Paso, and Anchorage. A native of Boise, he’s led ensembles and classes in elementary schools as well as at the college level, but his true passion is working with young musicians, helping them develop and hone their skills.

Professionally, William plays trombone, but you probably know him best as a conductor. In addition to leading The Symphony’s top two youth orchestras, he is on the podium with two groups for adults—the Santa Fe Community Orchestra and the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra.

William is busy signing up students for the Youth Symphony’s new season. If you’ve not registered your child for private lessons, ensembles, or other music classes, give him a call. He’d love to help you get your budding musician enrolled in whatever sessions are the right fit for them.

jocelyn kirsch, violin

WINNER 2024 CONCERTO COMPETITION

Jocelyn Kirsch is from Albuquerque New Mexico. She was introduced to music by her five older siblings who played folk music and taught her to fiddle. As Jocelyn entered her teen years, she discovered the world of classical music and fell in love with the beauty of it. She studied piano under the guidance of her older sister, Danica Holets.

When Jocelyn was 15 she began to play violin more intensely and joined the Albuquerque Youth Symphony her junior year of high school. During this time, she began studying under the tutelage of Ruxandra Marquardt and fully devoted her studies to violin. She won the Castro Concerto Competition and soloed at Popejoy Hall performing Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto no. 3. Jocelyn has played in chamber groups and plays with her church worship team. She also teaches violin and piano privately.

Jocelyn is also an artist and sells her art on Etsy and at local markets. Jocelyn has been blessed to play with many great musicians and would like to give the glory to God, who has given her this gift to create beauty.

making a difference

2025 ANNUAL CONCERTO COMPETITION DATE

TBA

The funds awarded through The Symphony's Annual Concerto Competition can make a significant difference to a music student’s professional development, especially during their first year of college. For example, the Senior Division third-place prize for The Symphony’s 2025 Concerto Competition can potentially cover the cost of a student’s textbooks in their first year of college. Textbook prices are rising roughly 3 times the rate of inflation. Educational data shows that:

• the price of textbooks increases by an average of 6% each academic year, doubling every 11 years;

• while less expensive, the cost-per-student of eTextbooks also increased by 36.8% over 12 months;

• college tuition/fees have risen over 80% in the past 12 years;

• the average postsecondary student spends between $600 and $1,200 annually for books and supplies each academic year;

ELIGIBILITY

• All applicants must be residents of New Mexico.

• The 2025 Concerto Competition is open to orchestral or choral musicians (no piano).

• Applicants must be available to participate in the in-person finals round (date TBD), as well as the rehearsal and performance listed for their division;

• Applicants must provide their own accompanist for virtual auditions and inperson final rounds. If an accompanist is unavailable for virtual audition, videos should be submitted without accompaniment.

• Audition videos should be between 5 to 7 minutes in length uploaded (YouTube link). Applicants may perform multiple movements to fill up the time.

• Repertoire is NOT required to be memorized (but encouraged) for virtual or final auditions, but MUST be memorized by winners for live performance with The Symphony.

• Choral applicants may only apply in Junior Division: grades 9 though 12.

*NEED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE?

• 25% of students reported they worked extra hours to pay for their books and materials;

• 11% of first year college students skipped meals in order to afford books and course materials;

• 66% of college students skipped buying and renting course materials such as textbooks at some point in their career as they were too expensive.

We recognize the potential financial and logistical difficulty in applying to a competition of this nature. Students needing assistance, please email competition@santafesymphony.org with any questions. It is our intention to make this competition as accessible as possible to students throughout the state of New Mexico.

the symphony

& time for three 12.24.24

12:00 pm & 4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

Time for Three

Charles Yang, Violin & Vocals

Nicolas “Nick” Kendall, Violin & Vocals

Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass & Vocals

about time for three

TIME FOR THREE

GRAMMY® and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three (TF3) defies conventions and boundaries, showcasing excellence across different genres, including classical music, Americana, and singersongwriter. Their unique sound captivates audiences, immersing them in a musical experience that merges various eras, styles, and traditions of Western music. TF3, consisting of Charles Yang (violin, vocals), Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (violin, vocals), and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals), combines their instruments and voices in a remarkable sound, establishing a distinct voice of expression that resonates with listeners worldwide.

TF3’s longstanding history of collaboration with contemporary classical composers continues to thrive. They have worked closely with esteemed artists such as Chris Brubeck and Pulitzer Prize winners William Bolcom and Jennifer Higdon. Their most recent commission, Contact, composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts, premiered with the San Francisco Symphony and The Philadelphia Orchestra in the summer of 2022. This extraordinary piece, alongside Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, was released on Deutsche Grammophon under the album “Letters for the Future.” Conducted by Xian Zhang, the album’s exceptional quality propelled it onto the Billboard top 10 Classical Recordings charts. Additionally, it garnered a nomination for an Opus Klassik award and received a GRAMMY® win in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category.

Renowned for their charismatic and energetic performances, TF3 has garnered praise from respected outlets including NPR, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, and The Chicago Sun-Times. They have graced illustrious stages such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and The Royal Albert Hall, effortlessly adapting their inimitable and versatile style to intimate venues like Joe’s Pub in New York or Yoshi’s in San Francisco. TF3 was featured on the acclaimed “Night of the Proms” tour, sharing stages with renowned artists like Chaka Khan and Ronan Keating across several European countries. Their collaborations span a diverse range of artists, including Ben Folds, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Aoife O’Donovan, Natasha Bedingfield, and Arlo Guthrie.

TF3’s exceptional talents also secured them an Emmy for their concert special, “Time For Three In Concert,” produced by PBS. Their appetite for new experiences led them to collaborate with cellist and composer Ben Sollee, creating the soundtrack for Focus Features’ film Land, directed by Robin Wright, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2021. TF3 has teamed up with GRAMMY®-winning songwriter Liz Rose and GRAMMY®-winning producer Femke Weidema for new recordings released through Warner Music. They have also contributed to Summer Walker’s R&B hit, “Constant Bullsxxt,” showcasing their versatility across genres.

Time For Three’s artistic achievements, fueled by their relentless pursuit of musical excellence, have solidified their status as a remarkable ensemble. Their GRAMMY® win and extraordinary collaborations speak to their unwavering dedication to pushing creative boundaries and captivating audiences with their exceptional talent.

Tuesday, December 24—12:00 PM & 4:00 PM

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director Time for Three

Charles Yang, Violin & Vocals

Nicolas “Nick” Kendall, Violin & Vocals Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass & Vocals

PROGRAM

LEONARD BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide

GUNS N’ ROSES Sweet Child of Mine

STEVE HACKMAN Vertigo

TIME FOR THREE Prey

FRANKIE VALLI

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

HUGH MARTIN & RALPH BLAINE Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

TIME FOR THREE She Don’t Care

V. MONTI Csardas

JONI MITCHELL River

JOHN LENNON / PLASTIC ONO BAND Happy Christmas

LEONARD COHEN Hallelujah

TIME FOR THREE This Life

THE VERVE Bittersweet Symphony

TIME FOR THREE Joy

FULL CONCERT SPONSOR

CONCERT SPONSOR-IN-PART

pasatiempomagazine.com

music of the silver screen

1.19.25

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Richard Kaufman, Guest Conductor

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

program notes

Music of The Silver Screen

JOHN WILLIAMS

Born 1932, Flushing, NY

Twenty-eight-year-old Steven Spielberg, an obscure TV director, had just completed his first theatrical feature, The Sugarland Express (1974), and knowing the importance of music to the film, asked the studio to arrange a meeting with a specific composer. John Williams was 40 years old at the time, solidly established in his career, but unknown to general movie audiences. Of Williams’ then 30-plus scores, Spielberg had been particularly impressed with the music for The Reivers (1969), which he said, “Took flight … had wings … a very American score.” He needed that for Sugarland’s southwest Texas settings, and Williams delivered. This landmark encounter proved to be the catalyst for one of the most prolific and successful director-composer relationships in movie history.

Spielberg began his career in television at Universal Studios, directing episodes of Night Gallery, Marcus Welby, and Columbo. His first feature, the TV movie, Duel (1971), about a motorist stalked by a tanker-truck, marked him as a comer. A decade or so earlier, on the same lot, an obscure studio pianist and arranger known as Johnny Williams had begun his composing career, writing primarily for television: Tales Of Wells Fargo, M Squad, Wagon Train, Gilligan’s Island, The Time Tunnel, and Lost in Space. When another young Universal composer, Henry Mancini, developed the insistent piano-and-bass line theme for the break-through small group jazz score to TV’s Peter Gunn, Williams played piano during the show’s first season (1958-59).

“I would get to write the score for an occasional feature,” Williams says, “although, usually, nothing very distinguished.” Subsequently he was hired to score comedy features like Gidget Goes To Rome (1963), How To Steal A Million (1966), and more serious ones like Ronald Reagan’s final film, The Killers (1964), and a Jimmy Stewart western, The Rare Breed (1966). Beginning with Valley Of The Dolls (1967), “Johnny” became John, as he received his first Oscar nomination for adapting André and Dory Previn’s songs.

By the time Spielberg and Williams met, Williams’ versatility and recognition had grown. Williams recalled that at their initial meeting, “Steven told me he could hum all the themes from the movies I scored, and he could!” The same year Sugarland was released, Williams scored the disaster epics The Towering Inferno and Earthquake (1974). Still, Williams was unknown to most moviegoers, but that was about to change, with two repeated musical notes from the second SpielbergWilliams collaboration. The film was Jaws (1975), based on the

Sunday, January 19—4:00 PM

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman, Guest Conductor

PROGRAM

HOOK Flight to Neverland

MINORITY REPORT A New Beginning

JURASSIC PARK Theme

SCHINDLER’S LIST

Theme David Felberg, Violin

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Harry’s Wondrous World

YES, GEORGIO

If We Were in Love

SUPERMAN

Love Theme March

INTERMISSION

INDIANA JONES

Raider’s March

MIDWAY

The Men of Yorktown JAWS Theme

STAR WARS

Imperial March Yoda’s Theme

The Rise of Skywalker

Main Title

CONCERT SPONSORS-IN-PART

REACH FOR THE STARS, CONDUCTOR

program notes

Peter Benchley novel about the great white shark that invades a peaceful New England beach town. Williams’ score with its “shark motif” of celli and basses signaling the predator’s unseen presence established the signature of the entire movie. “Without that score”, says Spielberg, “I think the film would only have been half as successful.”

In 1977, Williams joined with another young filmmaker who was about to embark on a journey “in a galaxy far, far away.” Lucas originally planned to use classical music to score the film, as Stanley Kubrick had done with 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), but Spielberg convinced Lucas he had the perfect composer to provide the film’s emotional anchor for this joyride in space. Lucas and Williams agreed on an original, symphonic-style score with what Williams termed “melodic identification for … a glossary of unforgettable characters.” The American Film Institute would rank the music for Star Wars as Number 1 on their list of Best Film Scores.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s John Williams, the perfect choice to score the first big-budget, big-screen adventures of Superman (1978). Directed by Richard Donner, with Christopher Reeve as the man of steel, the score was to be written by Jerry Goldsmith, but a scheduling conflict put it in the hands of Williams. The music is heroic and operatic, and the themes are present in the four Superman sequels.

Spielberg and producer George Lucas tapped the spirit of those old Saturday afternoon serials with Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), the first in the Indiana Jones franchise. They wanted Tom Selleck to play Indy, but he was locked into Magnum, P.I., Spielberg convinced Lucas that Harrison Ford would wear Indy’s fedora well. Spielberg filmed Raiders like a “B” movie mimicking the cliffhanger serials. To emphasize its “thrills, chills and spills,” Lucas turned again to Williams, and it became another of his signature works. The Raider’s March appears in all four films of the franchise.

1993 was a remarkable year for Williams and Spielberg with two divergent, yet equally impressive collaborations. Jurassic Park (1993), a fantasy-adventure based on the Michael Crichton novel about bringing dinosaurs back to life, blended the digital dinosaur creations of Industrial Light and Magic and the multi-themed action score of Williams. The same year, Williams, using the mournful

violin of Itzhak Perlman, composed his poignant music for Schindler’s List (1993), called by one reviewer, “the most effective single film score of the modern age.” The film was a gritty black-and-white Holocaust story of a German businessman who saved the lives of one thousand Polish Jews. “I give him images and John finds emotions for each one,” Spielberg says. “It turns out we always see the same movie.” That shared emotion resulted in seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score.

In addition to his Academy Award for Schindler’s List, Williams has won Best Music Oscars for Jaws, Star Wars, and E.T., plus an Oscar for adaptation of the Jerry BockSheldon Harnik score to Fiddler On The Roof (1971). Williams was also principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993 and a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004. His composing talents have resulted in numerous concertos, celebration pieces, the music for four Olympic games, and the signature theme for NBC Nightly News.

Other film directors with whom Williams has collaborated include Alfred Hitchcock (Family Plot, 1976), Arthur Penn (The Missouri Breaks, 1976), John Frankenheimer (Black Sunday, 1977), Brian DePalma (The Fury, 1978), Clint Eastwood (The Eiger Sanction, 1975), Lawrence Kasdan (The Accidental Tourist, 1988), Oliver Stone (Born On The Fourth Of July, 1989), Sydney Pollack (Sabrina, 1995), Alan Parker (Angela’s Ashes, 1999), and Roland Emmerich (The Patriot, 2000).

“I think it always helps to love the film that you are doing,” says Williams. “I have certainly been lucky in my life with films.” Steven Spielberg knows better than anyone how a great score can take a movie to another emotional level. His collaboration with John Williams has created a library of films that demonstrate, without exception, the brilliant collaboration of two artistic geniuses whose body of work will continue to thrill audiences for decades to come.

—Program Note by Jim Brown

about richard

Richard Kaufman is thrilled to make his conducting debut with The Santa Fe Symphony. He has devoted much of his musical life to conducting and supervising music for film and television productions, as well as conducting film and classical music in concert and on recordings. Kaufman is in his 2oth season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra film series, CSO at the Movies, and holds the permanent title of Pops Conductor Laureate with the Dallas Symphony, and Principal Pops Conductor Laureate with Pacific Symphony.

Kaufman has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras throughout the U.S. and internationally, including The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Music in the Mountains Festival (Durango, CO), Edmonton Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He often conducts entire film scores liveto-film, and this season will conduct Amadeus with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, as well as with the Oregon Symphony.

Kaufman received the 1993 GRAMMY® Award in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Performance. He has conducted for a who’s-who of performers including John Denver, Andy Williams, Nanette Fabray, the Beach Boys, and Amy Grant.

For almost two decades, Kaufman supervised music for all of MGM’s television and animation projects, receiving two Emmy® nominations. He has also coached various actors in musical roles, including Jack Nicholson, Dudley Moore, and Tom Hanks.

As a studio violinist, he performed on film and television scores, including the original scores for Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and others. He also recorded, and performed in concert, with artists including John Denver, Andy Williams, Burt Bacharach, the Carpenters, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra.

His wife, Gayle, is a former dancer-actress in film, television, and on Broadway, and his daughter, Whitney, is a successful singer and actress.

Richard Kaufman is proud to be represented by Opus 3 Artists.

fresh, incisive and characterfully alive”

Gramophone

Community: An Investment Worth Making

At Century Bank, community is at the core of who we are. We believe in investing in our local communities and supporting our customers with the best in local banking. We Are Stronger Together!

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Choral Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus

JP Jofre, Bandoneón

Miguel del Águila, Piano

2.23.25

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

program notes

Misa Criolla

ARIEL RAMÍREZ

Born 1921, Santa Fe, Argentina

Died 2010, Buenos Aires

Ariel Ramírez received classical training at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires and then in Europe, but a completely different world opened up for him when he discovered the music of the indigenous peoples of Argentina— the Indians, Creoles, gauchos, and others. Ramírez traveled throughout Argentina, immersing himself in that country’s folk music—not just its songs but its characteristic rhythms and instruments. From these, he fashioned his own idiom as a composer, and this concert offers what has become his most famous work, the Misa Criolla.

Two different events led RamÍrez to compose the Misa Criolla. The first was the Second Vatican Council of 1962, which decided that the mass could be presented in languages other than Latin. The second occurred during a trip to Germany, when Ramírez met the sisters Elizabeth and Regina Brückner. During World War II, and at great risk to themselves, the sisters secretly supplied food to the inmates of a nearby concentration camp. Inspired by this act of individual moral courage, Ramírez began to compose a setting of the mass.

But he took an entirely original approach to that traditional task. He set the mass in a Spanish translation, and he scored it for a single soloist (either male or female) and chorus. He accompanied the setting not with a symphony orchestra but with a small ensemble consisting of a keyboard and five native instruments, and the music for each of the mass’ five sections was derived from the folk music of a different region of Argentina. The result was the concise (29 minutes) Misa Criolla of 1964, which has been performed by choruses around the world. José Carreras, Mercedes Sosa, and Placido Domingo are among the many who have recorded it.

The Misa Criolla is in the traditional five sections of the mass— Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei—and Ramírez seems to move from the folk music of northern Argentina to the music of the south as the mass proceeds. The Kyrie and Gloria are both based on folk songs from the Andes. The Kyrie is restrained, moving from its quiet opening for native drum all alone to the gradual entrance of the soloist, whose phrases are answered by the chorus. The Gloria is much livelier. Based on carnival dance music, it introduces the native instruments, which are strummed, blown, or struck. The solemn Credo is derived from music of central Argentina, while the lively Sanctus once again incorporates carnival music and makes full use of the native instruments. The Agnus Dei is composed in the style of the music of the pampas.

Sunday, February 23—4:00 PM

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Choral Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus

JP Jofre, Bandoneón

Miguel del Águila, Piano

PROGRAM

ARIEL RAMÍREZ

Misa Criolla

Kyrie

Gloria Credo

Sanctus

Agnus Dei

The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Conductor

ROBERTO SIERRA

SinfonÍa No. 3, “La Salsa”

Tumbao

Habanera

Danzas

Jolgorio

INTERMISSION

ASTOR PIAZZOLLA

Concerto for Bandoneón, “Aconcagua”

Allegro marcato

Moderato

Presto

JP Jofre, Bandoneón

MIGUEL DEL Á GUILA

Conga

Miguel del Águila, Piano

CONCERT SPONSORS-IN-PART

REACH FOR THE STARS

program notes

Ramírez’s title might need some clarification for North American audiences, who associate “Creole” with the peoples of the Caribbean and Louisiana, a language, and a highly spiced cuisine. Ramírez uses the term Criolla to refer to a culture that combines its Spanish heritage with that of its native peoples. Here, the Catholic mass is presented in Spanish in a musical setting that employs indigenous music and instruments.

—Program Note by Eric

Bromberger

idea are based on the fundamental rhythm, and the movement prominently features the sound of brass and percussion. Perhaps it is not surprising that this movement has been arranged for band and is often heard in that version.

SinfonÍa No. 3, “La Salsa”

ROBERTO SIERRA

Born 1953, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico

Roberto Sierra had his early music training in Puerto Rico and went on to study in Europe, some of that time spent as a student of György Ligeti in Hamburg. He returned to the Americas and over the last three decades has had a very successful career as a composer. Sierra has been composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Puerto Rico Symphony, and New Mexico Symphony, and he has had works commissioned and performed by almost all the leading American orchestras. It is a measure of his international success that one of his most popular pieces, Fandangos, was performed on the opening night of the 2002 Proms by the BBC Symphony. Sierra has composed prolifically in almost all genres (including 25 concertos for a variety of instruments), and in 2010 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He taught at Cornell University for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2021.

Sierra composed his Third Symphony in 2005 on a commission from the Milwaukee Symphony. The nickname “La Salsa” is key to understanding this symphony, which offers equal measures of exciting rhythms and colorful spice. Each of its four movements is in a different dance form. The first movement is titled Tumbao, a word with a wide range of meaning. Musically, it refers to a rising three-note bassline rhythm, a rhythm that is fundamental to salsa, mambo, rumba and other dances. That rhythm is the first thing one hears in this symphony, and it underlies much of the first movement. But the term’s non-musical meanings are just as important, for Tumbao can also mean or suggest “sexiness,” “swagger,” or “swaying,” and all of those are part of this movement too. Both the syncopated main theme and a more flowing second

The second movement is a habanera, the slow Afro-Cuban dance in duple meter and based on dotted rhythms (the title indicates that its place of origin was Havana). Sierra’s Habanera has a somewhat darker character than we usually associate with this dance. It has a slithering main theme, and after a quiet beginning, it builds in strength and is soon alternating tense outbursts with eerie interludes, all underpinned by the habanera rhythm.

The briefest of the movements, the Danzas is based on its jaunty opening woodwind theme. The xylophone has a particularly prominent role in this movement, which drives to a brassy climax.

The finale has another title with a range of meanings. Jolgorio is not a musical term, but more a statement of character; it has been translated variously as merrymaking, festivity, fiesta, revelry, or simply celebration. A single drum sets the movement’s basic rhythm, and a series of dances, in different moods and meters, quickly follows. Some of these dances are powerful and serious, but in the closing moments the mood of celebration prevails, and the symphony drives to its powerful conclusion.

—Program Note by Eric

Bromberger

ASTOR

Born 1921, Mar de Plata, Argentina

Died 1992, Buenos Aires

Astor Piazzolla became famous as a composer of tangos, but his path to success was long and difficult. At age 8, his father gave him a bandoneon (the boy was disappointed; he had wanted skates). Nevertheless, Piazzolla quickly became a virtuoso on this accordion-like instrument that uses buttons rather than keys. But Piazzolla wished to succeed as a composer, and he had difficulty finding an authentic voice. He wrote a film soundtrack, created his own bands, gave concerts, and wrote a symphony that allowed him to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She soon gave Piazzolla the best possible advice: that he

Concerto for Bandoneón and Orchestra “Aconcagua”

PIAZZOLLA

should not try to be a “classical” composer but should follow his passion for the Argentinian tango as the source for his own music.

Piazzolla returned to Argentina and gradually evolved his own style, one that combines many strands of music: the tango, classical music, jazz, and Latin American street songs, as well as dances like the rumba, samba, and maxixe. In the process, Piazzolla transformed the tango— which had deteriorated into a soft, popular form—into music capable of a great range of expression. His tangos can be fiery, melancholy, passionate, tense, violent, or lyric, and they are always driven by an endless supply of rhythmic energy.

Piazzolla composed his Concerto for Bandoneón and Orchestra in 1979, when he was 58, and he was the soloist at its premiere in Buenos Aires on December 15 of that year. Piazzolla scored the concerto for a very small orchestra, one that allows the soloist to be heard clearly: strings, plus harp, piano, timpani, and percussion. This concerto is sometimes given the nickname “Aconcagua,” but that did not originate with the composer. Rather, it was Piazzolla’s publisher who came up with it, saying “this is the peak of Astor’s oeuvre, and the highest peak in South America is Aconcagua.”

The concerto is in the three movements of the classical concerto. The opening Allegro marcato overflows with energy: Its dramatic beginning bursts to life on music full of sharp edges and syncopated rhythms. Piazzolla offers his soloist two cadenzas before the rush to the movement’s abrupt conclusion.

After the extroverted energy of the first movement, the Moderato feels restrained and intimate. In fact, it is chamber music during its long opening episode: The bandoneón begins all alone, to be joined along the way by the harp and a solo violin. Eventually, a solo cello joins this ensemble, followed by the entire orchestra.

The concluding Presto returns to the blazing manner of the first movement. Here Piazzolla incorporates some of a tango he wrote for the 1970 Argentinian film Con alma y vida, and in the midst of all the energy, he offers several quiet interludes. A long and intense closing section leads to a most emphatic conclusion.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Conga MIGUEL DEL ÁGUILA

Born 1957, Montevideo, Uruguay

Born in Uruguay, Miguel del Aquila came to the United States in 1978. After graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory, he went on to further study in Vienna, where a number of his works received their premieres. Del Águila has written over 140 compositions, including an opera and works for orchestra, orchestra with soloist, chamber ensembles, keyboard, and voice. His music has been performed by such conductors as Lukas Foss, JoAnn Falletta, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, and Giancarlo Guerrero, and by such orchestras as the Chicago, Seattle, and Nashville Symphonies, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Americas.

Conga was composed in 1994. The composer has provided an introduction to this piece:

“Conga” began as a dream. At first there was the visual image of an endless line of dead people dancing through the fire of hell. I gradually started hearing the music, which was flowing spontaneously out of me in an effort to entertain and alleviate the pain of those poor souls. I woke up and wrote the music as I remembered it.

As the name implies, the work has a definite Caribbean flavor. The rhythmic pattern of the conga dance beats throughout the piece and is at times distorted into a 13/16 pattern. It employs unusual percussion and rhythmic structures, and instruments are often playing at their most extreme registers. The piano is used “obbligato” as a sort of metronome, very much like the harpsichord of the old Baroque times. The music is humorous, sarcastic, grotesque, sensuous, and at times, terrifying. I rely mainly on the dramatic and expressive qualities of rhythm to convey the evil forces that govern my imaginary hell. As thematic material I primarily use rhythmic claves (Spanish for clef or key) as they are used in Latin American music: a sort of “rhythmic tonality” to which harmony and melody must conform. After the sensuous middle section, the work rushes frantically toward the end to explode in a dramatic finale.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

brilliant and witty”

—The New York Times

about miguel

American composer Miguel del Águila was born in Uruguay. In more than 135 works that combine drama, driving rhythms and nostalgic nods to his South American roots, he has established himself among the most distinctive and highly regarded composers of his generation. His music has been hailed as “sonically dazzling” by the Los Angeles Times and “expressive and dramatic” by the American Record Guide. Miguel—who at this concert plays piano on his composition Conga graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory and studied at Vienna’s Universität für Musik un Darstellende Kunst. Early premieres in Musikverein and Wiener Konzerthaus were followed by Carnegie Recital Hall and Lukas Foss/Brooklyn Philharmonic concerts.

Miguel has been honored with three Latin GRAMMY ® nominations, the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the Magnum Opus Award, Lancaster Symphony Composer of the Year, New Music USA/Music Alive award, and a Copland Foundation award. His music has international appeal and presence with performances by more than 100 orchestras, thousands of ensembles, and 56 CD recordings.

New and upcoming releases of his works include CDs by Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Augusta Symphony, Cuarteto Latino Americano, and Eroica Trio, on Naxos, Albany, Bridge, and Centaur, respectively.

A sought-after guest lecturer, Miguel serves on Barlow Endowment’s Board of Advisors. He is published by Peermusic and Presser, as well as self-published.

about jp

Born in San Juan, Argentina, Juan Pablo Jofre Romarion (aka JP Jofre), is a 2022 GRAMMY®-nominated composer and bandonéon player. Having written several double concertos with chamber and symphony orchestras, and more than 40 chamber music works, JP has been repeatedly highlighted by The New York Times and praised as one of today’s leading artists by Great Performers at Lincoln Center. His music has been recorded by the legendary London Symphony Orchestra, multi-GRAMMY® award winner Paquito D’Rivera, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, among others.

JP currently leads the JP Jofre Quintet, which has been touring internationally since the release of their last album, “Manifiesto.” His music has been performed at the most prestigious concert halls around the world such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Music Center, Morlacchi Theater (Italy) Mariinsky Theater, Mikhailovsky Theater, Stanislavsky Theater (Russia), Beijing National Concert Hall, Seoul Art Center, and Taiwan National Theater.

JP started making music for pleasure at the early age of 5, and began studying academically at age 15: double bass with Nestor Castillo, harmony with Horacio Lavaise, and composition and orchestration with Ezequiel Viñao and Adrian Rusovich. He took master classes given by Ingrid Zur and George Heyer (Germany) and studied bandoneón with Julio Pane, former bandoneónist of the legendary Astor Piazzolla Sextet.

He has received numerous commissions for composing music, and has performed and given lectures at Google Talks, TED Talks, The Juilliard School of Music, The New School, and numerous other venues.

His concerto is arresting and, through the gorgeous Adagio, rather beguiling”

—BBC Magazine

Proud sponsor of the performing arts

Nusenda Credit Union is happy to support The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and its mission to engage, inspire, and enrich audiences of all ages. Together we can orchestrate positive change in our communities!

Find a nearby branch, services, and more at nusenda.org

@NusendaCU |

|

3.9.25

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Youth Symphony

Sirena Huang, Violin

program notes lensic

Finlandia, op.26

JEAN SIBELIUS

Born 1865, Tavastehus, Finland

Died 1957, Järvenpää, Finland

Finlandia has become a symbol of Finland and its national aspirations, but this music achieved that status only indirectly. Finland was under Russian control throughout the 19th century. Sibelius had grown up speaking Swedish, but as a young man he became a committed Finnish nationalist. In February 1899, Czar Nicholas II of Russia issued his “February Manifesto,” launching an intense Russification campaign and severely limiting freedom of the press in Finland. The reaction against this decree was swift, and in June 1899, events were held in Helsinki to advocate for a free press and raise money for newspaper pension funds. For that occasion, Sibelius wrote a short piece for orchestra that he titled Finland Awake! So obvious was the meaning of that title that Russian authorities banned its performance, and Sibelius retitled the piece Finlandia when he revised it the following year. This fiery music quickly caught the heart of the Finnish people and became a symbol of their national pride. The Finns would finally gain their independence from Russia after World War I, but Finlandia has remained a sort of unofficial national hymn ever since.

Yet this music tells no story, nor does it incorporate any Finnish folk material. Many assumed that music that sounds so “Finnish” must be based on native tunes, but Sibelius was adamant that all of it was original: “There is a mistaken impression among the press abroad that my themes are often folk melodies,” he wrote. “So far, I have never used a theme that was not of my own invention. The thematic material of Finlandia…is entirely my own.”

Finlandia is extremely dramatic music, well-suited to the striving and heroic mood of the times. Its ominous introduction opens with snarling two-note figures in the brass, and they are answered by quiet chorale-like material from woodwinds and strings. At the Allegro moderato the music rips ahead on stuttering brass figures and drives to a climax. Sibelius relaxes tensions with a poised hymn for woodwind choir that is repeated by the strings (surely this was the spot most observers identified as “authentic” Finnish material). The music takes on some of its earlier power, the stuttering brass attacks return, and Sibelius drives matters to a thunderous close.

Small wonder that music so dramatic and composed at so important a moment in Finnish history, should have come to symbolize that nation’s pride and desire for independence.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Sunday, March 9—4:00 pm

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Youth Symphony

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

Sirena Huang, Violin

PROGRAM

JEAN SIBELIUS

Finlandia, op.26

Side-By-Side with The Santa Fe Youth Symphony

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Violin Concerto in D Major, 0p.35

Allegro moderato

Canzonetta: Andante

Finale: Allegro vivacissimo

Sirena Huang, Violin

INTERMISSION

AMY BEACH

Symphony in E Minor, op.32, “Gaelic”

Allegro con fuoco

Siciliana

Lento con molto espressione

Allegro di molto

FULL CONCERT SPONSOR

SIDE-BY-SIDE SPONSOR

program notes

Violin Concerto in D Major, op.35

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Born 1840, Votkinsk

Died 1893, St. Petersburg

Tchaikovsky wrote his Violin Concerto in Switzerland during the spring of 1878, sketching it in 11 days and then completing the scoring in two weeks. Without asking permission, he dedicated it to the famous Russian violinist Leopold Auer, who was concertmaster of the Imperial Orchestra and who would later teach Heifetz, Elman, Zimbalist, and Milstein. Tchaikovsky promptly ran into an unpleasant surprise: Auer refused to perform the concerto, expressing doubts about some aspects of the music and reportedly calling it “unplayable.” The concerto had to wait three years before Adolph Brodsky gave the premiere in Vienna on December 4, 1881.

The premiere was the occasion of one of the most infamous reviews in the history of music. Eduard Hanslick savaged the concerto, saying that it “brings to us for the first time the horrid idea that there may be music that stinks to the ear.” He went on: “The violin is no longer played. It is yanked about. It is torn asunder. It is beaten black and blue . . . The Adagio, with its tender national melody, almost conciliates, and almost wins us. But it breaks off abruptly to make way for a Finale that puts us in the midst of the brutal and wretched jollity of a Russian kermess. We see wild and vulgar faces, we hear curses, we smell bad brandy.”

Hanslick’s review has become one of the best examples of critical “Wretched Excess:” the insensitive destruction of a work that would go on to become one of the bestloved concertos in the repertory. But for all his blindness, Hanslick did recognize one important feature of this music: its essential “Russian-ness.” Tchaikovsky freely and proudly admitted his inspiration for the work: “My melodies and harmonies of folk-song character come from the fact that I grew up in the country, and in my earliest childhood was impressed by the indescribable beauty of the characteristic features of Russian folk music; also from this, that I love passionately the Russian character in all its expression; in short, I am a Russian in the fullest meaning of the word.”

The orchestra’s introduction makes for a gracious opening to the concerto, for the solo violin quickly enters with a

flourish and then settles into the lyric opening theme, which had been prefigured in the orchestra’s introduction. A second theme is equally melodic—Tchaikovsky marks it con molt’espressione—but the development of these themes places extraordinary demands on the soloist, who must solve complicated problems with string-crossing, multiple-stops, and harmonics. Auer was wrong: This concerto is not unplayable, but it is extremely difficult (and Auer later admitted his error and performed the concerto). Tchaikovsky himself wrote the brilliant cadenza, which makes a gentle return to the movement’s opening theme; a full recapitulation leads to the dramatic close.

Tchaikovsky marks the second movement Canzonetta (“Little Song”) and mutes solo violin and orchestral strings throughout this movement, which feels like an interlude from one of his ballets. It leads without pause to the explosive opening of the finale, marked Allegro vivacissimo, a rondo built on two themes of distinctly Russian heritage. These are the themes that reminded Hanslick of a drunken Russian brawl, but to more sympathetic ears they evoke a fiery, exciting Russian spirit. Once again, the solo violin is given music of extraordinary difficulty. The very ending, with the violin soaring brilliantly above the hurtling orchestra, is one of the most exciting moments in this—or in any—violin concerto.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Symphony in E Minor, op.32, “Gaelic”

AMY BEACH

Born 1867, Henniker, NH

Died 1944, New York City

“Gaelic” is the work of a 29-year-old American woman who had no training in composition. That by itself would make it unique; the fact that it is the best American symphony from the end of the 19th century makes it an extraordinary achievement.

A child prodigy, Amy Marcy Cheney appeared as piano soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 17 and also began composing. At age 18, she married the Boston surgeon H.H.A. Beach, who, although a cultivated man musically, did not want his wife performing in public. He did, however, encourage her to compose. Beach had no formal training as a composer (which in her day meant European training), and she was essentially self-taught.

Nevertheless, over the next several decades she produced a sequence of successful large-scale works, and her Mass in E-flat (1890) was the first work by a female composer presented by Boston’s Haydn and Handel Society. Upon the death of her husband in 1910, Beach, then 43, resumed her career as a concert pianist, making a particularly successful series of tours through Europe. She composed prolifically throughout her life: Although her list of opus numbers runs to 152, she actually wrote about 300 works. She was still active as a pianist and composer at the time of her death in 1944 at 77.

Beach began work on her Symphony in E Minor in November 1894 and completed it in 1896; conductor Emil Paur led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in its successful premiere on October 30, 1896. This symphony is very much a product of its time. When Beach began it, Antonín Dvořák was still teaching at the National Conservatory of Music in New York, and his influence on American composers was enormous. Although works like his New World Symphony and American Quartet were written and premiered while Beach was working on this symphony, Dvořák insisted that these remained “his” music (Bohemian music), and he suggested that young American composers turn to native materials and make a national music out of them.

Dvořák specifically recommended Native American and African-American music as possible sources, but Beach—who heard the Boston premiere of the New World Symphony—did not regard either of those as part of her musical heritage. Instead, she noted: “We of the North should be far more likely to be influenced by the old English, Scotch or Irish songs, inherited with our literature from our ancestors.” For her symphony, she turned to the folk music of Ireland (thus the nickname “Gaelic”) and used four themes of what she called “simple, rugged and unpretentious beauty.”

The Symphony in E Minor is a big work: Its four movements stretch out to 40 minutes. Beach may have based the symphony on Irish melodies, but for the first movement she draws on quite a different source: her own music. This Allegro con fuoco employs two themes from Beach’s 1892 song “Dark is the Night,” which is set to a text by William Ernest Henley. Some sense of the character of that song (and of the symphony’s opening movement) may be felt in its final lines:

A wild wind shakes the wilder sea . . .

O, dark and loud’s the night.

This sonata-form movement is based largely on its turbulent opening idea, full of brass calls and a more flowing second subject introduced by the violins. The movement builds to a grand climax and drives to a forceful conclusion on a unison E from the entire orchestra.

The second movement consists of sections at two different tempos. In the gentle opening Siciliana in 12/8, solo oboe sings the old Irish song “The Little Field of Barley” before the music suddenly races ahead at the Allegro vivace, a particularly effective scherzo. The song melody returns, now in a graceful solo for English horn, and Beach rounds the movement off with a quick recall of its scherzo section.

Beach said that the Lento con molto espressione portrays “the laments of a primitive people, their romance and their dreams,” and she based it on two Irish folksongs, “Cushlamachree” and “Which way did she go?” This movement features extended solos for violin and cello, and its lovely concluding episode for strings extends these themes sensitively.

The Allegro di molto finale bursts to life with a dramatic beginning. Beach said that this movement depicts the “rough and primitive character of the Celtic people, their sturdy daily life, their passions and battles.” Like the first movement, the finale is in sonata form based on several themes, and these include a recall of material from the opening movement, which is woven into the development. The movement drives to a climax that Beach asks to be played con gran forza and a full-throated conclusion marked triple forte.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

about sirena

Sirena Huang is one of her generation’s most celebrated violinists. She brings not only technical brilliance and powerful artistry to the stage, but also a profound sense of connection to her audience. Motivated by a deep wish to inspire peace and harmony with her music, Sirena has performed before world leaders, thinkers, and humanitarians. At age 11, she gave a TED talk that garnered more than 2.5 million views. In 2006, she received the honor of playing for thirty Nobel Prize Laureates at the World Peace Conference held in Petra. In 2007, she played in the Opening Ceremony of the “Forum 2000 World Conference” in Prague. In 2008, she was invited to perform during the ceremony in which the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity presented its Humanitarian Award to President Sarkozy of France.

Sirena made her solo debut with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in 2004 at the age of nine, and, since then, has performed in seventeen countries across three continents. She has been featured as a soloist with more than fifty prestigious ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestras of Cleveland, Baltimore, Shanghai, Russia, and Singapore, and the Staatskapelle Weimar in Germany. She has appeared as a guest artist at the Verbier Music Festival, Ravinia Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Sarasota Arts Series, Albuquerque Chamber Music Festival, “The Great Music for a Great City” series in New York City, and many others.

Recent highlights include concerto engagements with the North Carolina, Utah, Santa Barbara, Butler County (PA), Lexington (MA), Victoria (TX), Chicago Metropolitan, and Evergreen (Taiwan) symphonies as well as the world premiere of the Richard Ratner Violin Concerto with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Sirena will appear in recital in Santa Barbara, Palm Desert, Chicago, and Taichung, Taiwan.

impeccable technique… deeply expressive phrasing … and poetic weight”

—The Baltimore Sun

Stephanie Cameron Edible Magazine

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

David Felberg, Violin

program notes lensic

Starburst

JESSIE MONTGOMERY

Born 1981, New York City

The daughter of theater and musical artists, Jessie Montgomery learned to play the violin as a child and earned her Bachelors Degree in Violin Performance from Juilliard and her Masters in composition from New York University. She is one of the featured composers of the New York Philharmonic’s Project 19, in which 19 female composers have been commissioned to write a work in celebration of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave American women the right to work. Montgomery is currently a Graduate Fellow in composition at Princeton as well as a Professor of Violin and Composition at The New School in New York City. In 2021, she began her tenure as the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The composer has supplied an introduction to Starburst:

This brief one-movement work for string orchestra is a play on imagery of rapidly changing musical colors. Exploding gestures are juxtaposed with gentle fleeting melodies in an attempt to create a multidimensional soundscape. A common definition of a starburst: “the rapid formation of large numbers of new stars in a galaxy at a rate high enough to alter the structure of the galaxy significantly” lends itself almost literally to the nature of the performing ensemble who premiered the work, The Sphinx Virtuosi, and I wrote the piece with their dynamic in mind.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

Violin Concerto

JENNIFER HIGDON

Born 1962, Brooklyn, New York

Jennifer Higdon grew up playing flute in marching bands in Tennessee and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Flute Performance from Bowling Green State University. But she found herself drawn to composition, and she earned her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied with George Crumb and Ned Rorem. She currently teaches composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Higdon has had remarkable success as a composer, with commissions from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and many others. Her Piano Concerto was premiered by Lang Lang and the National Symphony Orchestra, and she currently averages about 200 performances of her music each year. Her blue cathedral has proven one of the most popular works written in this century: Since its premiere in 2000, it has been performed by more than 100 orchestras.

Sunday, April 13—4:00 pm

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

David Felberg, Violin

PROGRAM

JESSIE MONTGOMERY

Starburst for String Orchestra

JENNIFER HIGDON

Violin Concerto 1726

Chaconni Fly Forward

David Felberg, Violin

INTERMISSION

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Eroica” Allegro con brio

Marcia funebre: Adagio assai

Scherzo: Allegro vivace

Finale: Allegro molto; Poco andante

CONCERT UNDERWRITER

CONCERT SPONSOR-IN-PART

REACH FOR THE STARS

program notes

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, op.55, “Eroica”

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born 1770, Bonn

Died 1827, Vienna

In May 1803, Beethoven had just come through a devastating experience—the realization that he was going deaf at age 32 had driven him to the verge of suicide—but now he resumed work. He moved a few miles north of Vienna to the village of Oberdöbling, where he sketched a massive new symphony, his third. To his friend Wenzel Krumpholz, Beethoven confided: “I am only a little satisfied with my previous works. From today on I will take a new path.” The composer later said that of all his symphonies, Eroica was his favorite.

Beethoven had intended to dedicate the symphony to Napoleon, whose reforms in France had seemed to signal a new age of egalitarian justice. But when the news reached the composer in May 1804 that Napoleon had proclaimed himself emperor, he ripped the title page off the score and blotted out Napoleon’s name, angrily crying: “Is he then, too, nothing more than an ordinary human being? Now he, too, will trample on all the rights of man and indulge only his ambition. He will exalt himself above all others, become a tyrant!” (That title page —with Napoleon’s name obliterated —has survived.) Historians have used this episode to demonstrate Beethoven’s democratic sympathies, though there is evidence that just a few months later Beethoven wanted to restore the symphony’s dedication to Napoleon, and late in life he spoke of Napoleon with grudging admiration. When the work was published in 1806, the title page bore only the cryptic inscription: “Sinfonia eroica—dedicated to the memory of a great man.”

There were several private performances before the public premiere on April 7, 1805. Early audiences were dumbfounded. Wrote one reviewer: “This long composition, extremely difficult of performance, is in reality a tremendously expanded, daring and wild fantasia. It lacks nothing in the way of startling and beautiful passages, in which the energetic and talented composer must be recognized; but often it loses itself in lawlessness . . . The reviewer belongs to Herr Beethoven’s sincerest admirers, but in this composition he must confess that he finds too much that is glaring

and bizarre, which hinders greatly one’s grasp of the whole, and a sense of unity is almost completely lost.” Legend has it that at the end of the first movement, one outraged member of the audience yelled, “I'll give another kreutzer [a small coin] if the thing will but stop!” It is easy now to smile at such reactions, but those honest sentiments reflect the confusion of listeners in the presence of a genuinely revolutionary work of art.

There had never been a symphony like this, and Beethoven’s “new directions” are evident from the first instant. The music explodes to life with two whipcracks in E-flat major, followed immediately by the main ideas in the cellos. This slightly-swung theme is simply built on the notes of an E-flat major chord, but then settles on a “wrong” note–C#–and the resulting harmonic complications will be resolved only after much violence. Another striking feature of this movement is Beethoven’s choice of 3/4 instead of the duple meter customary in symphonic first movements; 3/4, the minuet meter, had been thought essentially lightweight, unworthy of serious music. Beethoven destroys that notion instantly: This is not simply serious music, it is music of the greatest violence and uncertainty. What Beethoven’s biographer Maynard Solomon called “hostile energy” is admitted for the first time into what had been the polite world of the classical symphony. This huge movement (longer by itself than some complete Haydn and Mozart symphonies) introduces a variety of themes and develops them with a furious energy. Its development, much of it fugal in structure, is full of grand gestures, stinging dissonances, and tremendous forward thrust. The lengthy recapitulation (in which the music continues to develop) drives to a powerful coda: The main theme repeats four times, growing more powerful on each appearance, and finally it is shouted out in triumph.

The second movement brings another surprise: It is a funeral march, something else entirely new in symphonic music. Beethoven moves to dark C minor as violins announce the grieving main idea over growling basses, and the movement makes its somber way on the tread of this dark theme. The C-major central interlude sounds almost bright by comparison, but when the opening material and tonality return, Beethoven ratchets up tensions by treating his material fugally. At

the end, the march theme disintegrates in front of us, and the movement ends on muttering fragments of that theme.

Out of this silence, the propulsive scherzo springs to life, then explodes. For all its revolutionary features, the Eroica employs what was essentially the MozartHaydn orchestra: pairs of winds, plus timpani and strings. Beethoven makes only one change: He adds a third horn, which is now featured prominently in the trio section’s hunting-horn calls. But that change, seemingly small by itself, is yet another signal of the originality of this symphony: the virtuosity of the writing for horns, the sweep of their brassy sonority — all these were new in music.

The finale is a theme-and-variation movement, a form originally intended to show off the composer’s imagination and the performer’s skill. Beethoven transforms this old form into a grand conclusion worthy of a heroic symphony. After an opening flourish, he presents not the theme, but its bass line played by pizzicato strings, and offers several variations before the melodic theme itself is heard in the woodwinds, now accompanied by the same pizzicato line. This tune had special appeal for Beethoven, and he had already used it in three other works, including his ballet Prometheus. Was Beethoven thinking of Prometheus, stealer of fire and champion of mankind, when he used this theme? He puts it through a series of dazzling variations, including complex fugal treatment, before reaching a moment of poise on a stately slow variation for woodwinds. The music pauses expectantly, and then a powerful Presto coda hurls the Eroica to its close.

What seemed “lawlessness” to early audiences must now be seen as an extraordinary leap to an entirely new conception of what music might be. Freed from the restraint of courtly good manners, Beethoven found in the symphony the means to express the most serious and important of human emotions.

—Program Note by Eric Bromberger

about david

Violinist David Felberg is Concertmaster of The Santa Fe Symphony and also performs with Santa Fe Pro Musica. He is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Chatter, a groundbreaking series exploring both new and old music that produces more than 600 performances a year.

An Albuquerque native, David has been a featured soloist with The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, New Mexico Symphony, Albuquerque Philharmonic, Los Alamos Symphony, Palo Alto Philharmonic, Balcones Orchestra (Austin) and the Chatter Orchestra. He has performed recitals and chamber music all over New Mexico and the Southwest, and most recently performed a solo violin recital at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium. David also specializes in contemporary solo violin music, having performed solo works of Berio, Boulez, Sciarrino, John Zorn and Luigi Nono.

As a conductor, David has directed Santa Fe Pro Musica, New Mexico Philharmonic, The Santa Fe Symphony, and Chatter, and has collaborated with such soloists as Anne-Marie McDermott, Rachel Barton Pine, Conor Hanick and Benjamin Hochman.

David made his New York violin recital debut at Merkin Concert Hall in 2005. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Arizona and a Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of New Mexico, and has taken advanced string quartet studies at the University of Colorado with the Takacs Quartet. David also attended the prestigious American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival. He plays a Christian Pedersen violin and a bow by Eugene Sartory.

fluid phrases, rich focused tone, rhythmic precision, and spot-on intonation”

—The Santa Fe New Mexican

faust

5.18.25

4:00 pm —THE LENSIC

Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

Carmen Flórez-Mansi, Choral Director

The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra

The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus

Maire Therese Carmack, Mezzo-Soprano

Joseph Daniels, Tenor

Brandon Cedel, Bass-Baritone

Christopher Humbert, Jr., Bass-Baritone

program notes lensic

La damnation de Faust, op.24

HECTOR BERLIOZ

Born 1803, La Côte-St. André, Grenoble Died 1869, Paris

The legend of Faust—who yearns after knowledge and power and is ready to sell his soul for them—had been around for centuries before this piece was written, but it was the 1808 publication of Johann von Goethe’s Faust, The First Part of the Tragedy that crystalized that figure for the Western consciousness. Goethe’s hero lonely, suffering, seeking, striving, ready to embrace the whole range of experience yet flirting with the deadliest dangers as he did–struck the emerging romantic imagination like a thunderbolt, and Faust cast his shadow across the 19th century. That shadow seems to have haunted musicians with a particular fury: Composers as diverse as Schubert, Schumann, Spohr, Liszt, Gounod, Wagner, Mahler and Boito wrote music inspired by Faust; Beethoven hoped for years to set it to music but could never bring himself to that task.

One of those struck most strongly by Faust was a fiery young red-headed Frenchman who read it in the 1827 French translation by Gérard de Nerval. Hector Berlioz, an unknown music student in Paris, was so taken by the character that he composed Huit scènes de Faust in 1828-29. These eight scenes were unconnected, just random moments from Goethe’s huge drama scored for different instrumental and vocal forces. Berlioz published it as his Opus 1 in 1829, and he promptly regretted it; he came to feel that the music was “crudely written,” and he withdrew the score.

But Faust continued to haunt Berlioz, and 16 years later (after he had composed Symphonie fantastique, Harold in Italy, the Requiem, and Romeo and Juliet), he returned to Goethe’s drama. With the help of librettist Almire Gandonniere, he prepared his own text, and—drawing on the music he had composed for the Huit scènes—he sketched La Damnation de Faust during a long tour to Vienna, Prague, Pest, and Breslau in 1845-46, completing it after his return to Paris. Berlioz was very proud of this music, and its failure before two half-full houses in Paris in December 1846 was one of the bitterest disappointments of a career that had seen many of them. He later wrote that “Nothing in my career as an artist wounded me more deeply than this unexpected indifference.” Consolation came quickly: Faust was a success with audiences outside France, and Berlioz led triumphant performances in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, Weimar, and elsewhere. It remains one of his most striking works and one of the most successful musical treatments of the Faust story.

Sunday, May 18—4:00 pm

HECTOR BERLIOZ

La damnation de Faust

PART I: Plaines de Hongrie

Introduction

Ronde de paysans

Recitatif et Marche hongroise

Part II: Nord d'Allemagne

Faust seul dans son cabinet de travail. Chant de la Fêtes de Paques Faust. Méphistophélès

Chœur des Buveurs. Chanson de Brander.

Fugue

Recitatif et Chanson (Méphistophélès)

Air de Méphistophélès

Chœur de Gnomes et de Sylphes

Ballet de Sylphes

Chœur de Soldats. Chanson d’Étudiants

INTERMISSION

PART III: Dans la chambre de Marguerite

Tambours et Trompettes sonant la retraite. Air de Faust

Faust et Méphistophélès

Marguerite; Le Roi de Thulé

Evocation. Menuet des Follets. Sérénade de Méphistophélès

Duo

Trio et Chœur

PART IV

Romance de Marguerite

Invocation à la nature

Recitatif et Chasse

L Course à l'Abîme

Pandaemonium

Dans le Ciel

CONCERT UNDERWRITERS

CONDUCTOR’S CONCERT SPONSORSHIP

CONCERT SPONSORS-IN-PART

REACH FOR THE STARS, CONDUCTOR

CHORUS SPONSORS

program notes

Because Faust is such a long work, it is impractical to set the entire piece to music. As a result, composers have felt free to treat only portions and to put their own spin on Goethe’s play. Berlioz treats only Part I of Faust. Although Part II had appeared in 1832, Berlioz was drawn specifically to the story of Faust, Mephistopheles, and Margarete (also called Gretchen). This is a tale of yearning, seduction, betrayal, a fatal pact, damnation, and salvation, and Berlioz adapted the tale rather freely, defending himself by noting that he had “merely borrowed a few scenes” from Faust and treated them as he desired. This would involve, as we shall see, some striking changes in the ending of the drama.

To tell his story, Berlioz created a unique form. He first imagined Faust as an “opéra de concert” —an opera performed in concert version—but he soon preferred to describe it as a “légende dramatique:” a work in four parts with individual characters and a precise narrative, but performed from the concert stage without costume, scenery, or action. Berlioz deploys his forces shrewdly across the two-hour span. There are four principals— Faust, Mephistopheles, Marguerite (Berlioz changed her name slightly for the work), and Brander—and they act out their parts surrounded by a chorus and a children’s chorus, as well as a very large orchestra, some of it playing off-stage.

In a curious sense, the structure of the work is similar to that of a quite different work about salvation, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Both require vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Both tell a dramatic tale of salvation and damnation. Both make imaginative use of the chorus, which takes on changing roles within each work. And while neither work was intended as an opera, both create such dramatic situations that the temptation to perform them as operas has proven irresistible to some. While Berlioz toyed with the idea of converting the piece into an opera called Méphistophélès, he wisely abandoned that plan. Faust works brilliantly from the concert stage, and Berlioz tells his story with a technique that defies operatic presentation. Many have used the term “cinematic” to describe Berlioz’s ability to leap between scenes, telescope time, and shift locations and perspectives instantly. It is an extremely dramatic work and at moments may feel operatic, yet Berlioz’s first instincts proved correct, and this music works its powerful hold on us as the “dramatic legend” he originally conceived.

Faust opens with violas alone, the husky, mid-range sound of that instrument setting the tone for Faust’s aimless mood. (The character of individual instruments will be important in this score, and in particular the sound of the viola will return at key moments.) Berlioz set his version of the story in Hungary, and he was candid about his reason: He had performed his setting of the famous Rákóczy March with great success in Hungary, and he wanted to incorporate that music in his setting. This first section finds Faust musing in springtime as soft winds whisper past. Gradually the world of human activity intrudes with happy villagers and soldiers heading off to battle, but they remain far outside Faust’s world. The Rákóczy March, however contrived its appearance here may be, brings Part I to a blazing close.

Some have felt the real beginning of Le Damnation de Faust comes with Part II, which opens with Faust musing in his study. The orchestra’s quiet fugue here suggests intellectual activity without direction. Faust is on the verge of responding to religious faith when, in what feels like a puff of smoke and a flash of light, Mephistopheles suddenly appears. Again, instrumental sound is important: Mephistopheles’ arrival is marked by a three-note figure played by piccolo and three trombones, and these sounds will be associated with the devil throughout the piece. Mephistopheles deceives from the first instant: “I am life’s serving spirit,” he tells Faust, then embarks on Faust’s spiritual seduction. He proceeds to show Faust a range of experiences, first transporting him instantly to Leipzig. The scene in Auerbach’s Cellar is one of the most impressive, with its carousing students and drinking songs. Brander (in his only appearance in the work) sings the famous “Song of the Rat,” which concludes with an improvised fugue on the word “Amen.” Mephistopheles promptly outdoes him with “The Song of the Flea,” greeted with cheers from the students.

Then comes another of Mephistopheles’ instantaneous scene-changes, this time to the banks of the Elbe, where Mephistopheles sings his great “Voici des roses” as he puts Faust to sleep. The Dance of the Sylphs (often performed separately) depicts Mephistopheles’ spirits hovering above the sleeping Faust, who is enchanted by his dream of Marguerite. The dizzied Faust wakes deeply in love, and Part II comes to an impressive conclusion as groups of soldiers and students pass by singing.

The soldiers sing in French, the students sing in Latin in a different key and meter, and Berlioz weaves it all together in an impressive counterpoint.

In Part III, the soldiers and students fade into the distance, and Faust sings of his love. Mephistopheles conceals him in Marguerite’s room as she enters. She too has had a vision of love (Mephistopheles has introduced the two in their dreams), and now she tries to take hold of her shaken emotions. As she braids her hair, she sings her moving “The King of Thule,” about faithful love. Yet we know it cannot be. Mephistopheles plots her downfall as well, bringing down the Will-o’-the-Wisps to further enchant the girl. Faust and Marguerite finally meet and declare their bond in one of Berlioz’s finest love duets. Mephistopheles joins them to make it a trio in “Il est trop tard:” Morning has come and the lovers are about to be discovered by outraged townspeople. The chorus now takes the part of that jeering crowd and helps drive Part III to an energetic close.

The beginning of Part IV finds everything changed. Marguerite, seduced and abandoned, sings the poignant “D’amour l’ardente flamme” (that was Nerval’s translation of Goethe’s “Meine Ruh is hin;” in its original German, that passage furnished the text for one of Schubert’s greatest songs, Gretchen am Spinnrade). The girl’s despair, painfully underlined by the melancholy sound of English horn, is the central statement of her character, and it leads to another leap through space: We discover Faust wandering alone through the roaring cataract of nature, lost amid forests and caves. He sings his famous “Invocation to Nature,” and it is in these two adjoining arias that Berlioz defines these two characters most clearly.

Mephistopheles appears to the sound of distant hunting horns and tells Faust that Marguerite has been imprisoned and condemned. In his own twist on the story, Berlioz has Marguerite accidentally poison her mother with an overdose of the sleeping potion she gave her to hide her nocturnal trysts with Faust. Faust asks what he can do to save her, and it’s simple: All he has to do is sign a document Mephistopheles produces. Desperate to save Marguerite, Faust signs to the accompaniment of a deep tam-tam stroke: His fate is sealed. Mephistopheles calls forth two black horses. Faust believes he is riding to Marguerite’s rescue, but he’s riding straight into

hell. The riders scatter praying pilgrims, then confront howling monsters, flocks of great black birds, and finally bloody rain. Faust hesitates, then resolves to press on, and at the climactic moment he plunges screaming into hell as Mephistopheles exults.

The fiends of hell celebrate their most recent conquest in an impenetrable language that Berlioz made up himself (“Tradioun marexil firtrudinxé burrudixé . . .”), but we rise from out of these sulphurous depths. An “Epilogue on Earth” confirms what has happened to Faust, and we ascend to the final scene, “In Heaven.” Marguerite has been redeemed (her only sin, after all, had been to love), and now beauty and hope are restored as she is welcomed into heaven on the shimmering sound of harps and violins.

And so Le Damnation de Faust ends in exalted calm, but the emotional effect of this ending is very much like what we feel at the conclusion of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In both works, the main character has been thrust into hell and morality apparently reaffirmed, but somehow neither ending is as satisfying as what had gone before. We come away from both Mozart’s opera and Berlioz’s “dramatic legend” not celebrating the restoration of morality but rather enlivened by the human drama that had proceeded it, doomed though both the Don and Faust may have been.

—Program Note by Eric

Bromberger

soloists

maire therese carmack , soprano

Maire joined the Metropolitan Opera in 2023, the same year she made her San Francisco Opera debut and returned to her home base at Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing in Rued Langgaard’s rarely performed Antikrist. She is an alum of the Palm Beach Opera Bailey Apprentice Artist Program, the Glimmerglass Festival Young Artists Program, the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, and the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program. She holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Philosophy and Visual and Performing Arts from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

joseph dennis , tenor

Texas-born, Joseph studied at Juilliard. After winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he secured engagements with Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Memphis Opera, North Carolina Opera, Virginia Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Colorado’s Central City Opera. He appeared at the Spoleto Festival in the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted and Warsaw Philharmonic for Bernstein’s Candide. Quickly gaining attention in Europe, he launched his career at the Vienna State Opera where he took on a variety of roles. His concert repertoire spans tenor and heldentenor literature from Baroque to contemporary. His lieder recitals at the Vienna State Opera, and more recently at the Semperoper Dresden, Prague National Theater, and the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, have been especially well received.

brandon cedel , bass-baritone

Brandon is currently a member of Oper Frankfurt. He joined the company in the 2016–2017 season and has performed in new productions of Handel’s Serce and Rinaldo, Janacek’s From the House of the Dead, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, Puccini’s Tosca, Stravinsky’s Oedipus and many more. He has also been featured at the Boston Lyric Opera and the Canadian Opera Company. In addition to performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Philadelphia, and The Kennedy Center. His recent orchestral engagements include an appearance with the BBC Philharmonic for Bernstein’s Songfest, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Russian National Orchestra at the Napa Valley Festival del Sole, and Berlioz’s Les Troyens with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

christopher humbert , jr. , bass-baritone

Christopher has proven himself an audience favorite. He has appeared in productions with The Seattle Festival, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Annapolis Opera, Detroit Opera, and Palm Beach Opera. Christopher was selected to join Opera Theatre Saint Louis during the 2020 season, where he was featured in the inaugural “Songs for St. Louis” television concert series. He is a frequent soloist, celebrated for his performances of Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Palm Beach Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance from Boston Conservatory, and is a graduate of the Capital University Conservatory of Music.

Subjects Clockwise from Upper Left: Erin Currier, Danny Wilding, Kara Walsh, and Lisa Carman

community concerts

CHO RAL MASTERWOR KS

October 27, 2024

3:00 pm

The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus invites you to experience a beautiful afternoon of choral favorites for the entire family to enjoy—highlighting the glorious voices of featured soloists. Doors open at 2:15 pm.

CONCERT SPONSORS

CAROLS & CHORUSES

December 10, 2024 7:00 pm

Enjoy some of the most beloved Christmas carols of all time, accompanied by The Symphony Brass and Organ. This popular annual performance is our gift to the community during the holiday season! Doors open at 6:15 pm.

CONCERT SPONSORS

WE REMEMBER May 22, 2025 7:00 pm

Join us as we celebrate those who served our country, and their families, with a beautiful program of uplifting music featuring The Symphony Chorus and Chamber Ensemble. Doors open at 6:15 pm.

CONCERT SPONSORS

KOMIS ENTERPRISES

COMMUNITY CONCERT SPONSOR

EMIL & CECILIA

CERVANTES "BUDDY" & IRENE ROYBAL

BARBARA & JAMES COOPER

KATHERINE & WILLIAM LANDSCHULZ

By investing in The Foundation for The Santa Fe Symphony, you leave a perpetual, personal legacy, ensuring that our community continues to experience the incredible power of orchestral music for generations to come. Contributing to the Foundation enhances The Symphony’s mission of producing world-class music and music education programs in a permanent way. Over the past 20 years, the Foundation for The Santa Fe Symphony has reached over $3 million in total assets. The annual distributions from these invested assets provide critical support of The Symphony’s annual operating budget. There is no more powerful gift than one to future generations. Create your own permanent legacy through The Foundation today and help us keep great music alive long into the future!

If you’d like to make a donation to The Foundation or include us in your estate planning, contact Katie Rountree, Development Director, krountree@santafesymphony.org, 505.600.3976

FOUNDATION |

Ann Neuberger Aceves

President

Robin Smith

Eileen R. Mandel

endowments create a legacy!

The Eddie & Peaches Gilbert Gregory W. Heltman Founder’s Chair ($1,000,000)

The Dr. Penelope Penland Principal Cello Chair ($150,000)

Lloyd & Virginia Storr Music Library Fund

($50,000)

Directors

Perry C. Andrews III

Mike Dawson

Robert Mackenzie

Dr. Penelope Penland

Marion Skubi

Ex-Officio Member

David Van Winkle

Advisor to The Foundation

Teresa M. Pierce

Investment Advisor Enterprise Bank & Trust

NAMED CHAIRS

The Boo Miller Assistant Concertmaster Chair ($200,000)

The Boo Miller Principal Percussion Chair ($150,000)

DESIGNATED ENDOWMENTS

Forever Mentor Program

John & Marte Murphy

($50,000)

The Ann Neuberger Aceves Principal Conductor Podium ($500,000)

The Diane & Peter Doniger Principal Harp Chair ($150,000)

The Regan/Doniger Fund and The DeHaan National Orchestra Program for The American Pianists Association Fellow Presentation ($55,000)

The Foundation for The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Tax ID No. 85–048786

foundation

I joined The Foundation for The Santa Fe Symphony’s Board of Directors in 2017, when The Symphony was transforming from a passionate group of talented local musicians to a professionally managed, but still musician-driven, arts organization. As with all change, this transition came with a lot of “growing pains” and some angst, but the group’s commitment to create beautiful music for all of Santa Fe never wavered.

In the ensuing years, The Santa Fe Symphony has become an important regional force in classical music and music education and is one of the few orchestras in the country that includes musicians in its management structure. This innovative model is supported by an increasingly able group of staff members, artistic leadership, a committed board and you, our audience!

The Foundation currently manages an endowment of over $3,250,000 and provides seven percent of necessary operating funds to The Symphony annually. This would not be possible without the support of the farsighted donors who created The Foundation and those who continue to give of their time, talent, and treasure as members of The Foundation board, tasked with preserving and growing the assets so crucial to The Symphony’s future.

There are many ways to support your Santa Fe Symphony, but donations to The Foundation are the best way to provide a solid base from which the organization can continue to grow and serve the community. As we go forward from our 40th Anniversary Season, we hope you will consider including The Foundation in your annual charitable giving or estate planning. What better way to leave a legacy of timeless music! Thank you for being part of it!

Warm regards,

Robin Smith President, The Foundation

for The Santa Fe Symphony

Foundation Gifts

We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals and organizations for their generous support of The Foundation for The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. The following contributors are listed according to their cumulative non-designated giving since The Foundation’s inception in 1998:

$200,000+

Ann Neuberger Aceves Foundation Founding Member

Peaches and Eddie ∞ Gilbert Foundation Founding Members

Gladys and Julius Heldman ∞ Foundation Founding Members

Boo Miller

Roy R. and Marie S. Neuberger ∞ Foundation Founding Members

$50,000+

Melanie Peters Thorne and Edwin Thorne Jr. Foundation Founding Members

Diane and Peter Doniger

Estate of Charmay Allred

Estate of Francis Essig

Clarie and Richard Gantos

Dr. Penelope Penland

$25,000+

Estate of Mrs. Georges Dapples

Helen and Bertram ∞ Gabriel Foundation Founding Members

Diane and John Lenssen

Marte and John Murphy

Virginia and Lloyd Storr

$10,000+

Carmen Paradis and Brian McGrath

Drs. Jenny M. Auger Maw and Gilbert M. Maw

Estate of Duane “Pete” Myers

Patricia and Carl Sheppard

Marion and Joe Skubi

$5,000+

Sheryl and Michael DeGenring

Constance and Ambassador

David Girard-diCarlo

$2,000+

Jean and John ∞ Cheek

Lee Dirks

Dr. James Fries

Maria and Edward Gale

Cameron Haight

Sue and Dr. Beryl Lovitz ∞

Joyce Nicholson ∞

Genie and Mick ∞ Ramsey

Frances E. Richards

$1,000+

Ann Griffith Ash

Maggie and David Brown

Julie and Mike Dawson

Charles Gulick

Marian and Robert Haight

Bertram Heil ∞

Elaine and Gregory Heltman

Evelyn and David Kloepper

Dr. and Mrs. James McCaffery

Dee and Bill Moore

Alice and Ted Oakley

Sarah and Tom Penland

Mimi and Lee Powell

James Sullivan

Nancy and William ∞ Zeckendorf

Janet ∞ and Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky

Other Foundation Friends

Kathy and Rick Abeles ∞

George Aceves

Martha Albrecht

Ann Alexander and Richard Khanlian ∞

Anonymous

Gerald Arnold

Susan Arnold and Ralph Poelling

Julie and William Ashbey

Julie and David Ashton

Hank Bahnsen

Ethel and Sam Ballen ∞

Vera Barad and Edward Marks

F. K. Bateman

Linda and Bill Bein

Celia Berlin

Ann Reifman and Elliot Blum

Julianne Bodnar and John Greenspan ∞

Helen and Richard Brandt

Leona Bronstein

Norma and Harold Brown ∞

Norma H. Burch

Maryann and Raymond Burkard

Elva and Bob Busch

Helen and Julius Cahn

Lisa and David Caldwell

J. Susan Cedar and Gary Lowenthal

Barbara Schmidt Clark and Aaron Clark

Judith Margo Clark

Diane Copland

Diane Shaw Courtney

Zella and Larry Cox

Kathryn Van der Heiden and Grover Criswell

Haley and Hugh Curtin

Florian Art Garcia ∞ and Brian F. Dailey

Edgar Foster Daniels ∞

Josette and Volker De La Harpe ∞

Janet and Joel DeLisa

Dorothy Dorsey

Al Dos Santos

Mary E. Eisenberg

Carole and Hal Eitzen

Helen Eubank

Bernard C. Ewell

Nancy and Thomas Feine

Stephen Flance

Megan and Jeffery Fries

Lynn Matte-Gibbs and Stephen W. Gibbs

Elizabeth Glascock

Linda Goff

Diane and Charles Goodman

Maria and Kurt ∞ Haegele

Marianne Hale

Kitty Carlisle Hart ∞

Barbara Hays

Arthur Hemmendinger

Sarah and Roth Herrlinger

Thomas George David Hesslein

Ann and Jerry Hicks

Constance Hillis

Gail and C.W. Hornsby

Virginia and Ira Jackson

Medora ∞ and James Jennings

Colleen Jones

Patricia and Alfred Judd

Sara and Jim Killough

Sandra Kirmer

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Kiser

Patricia Klock

Kay Delle Koch

Ronnie Koenig and Marc Feldman

Camille and David Kornreich

Susan Krueger

Jody and David Larson

Lynn F. Lee

Phyllis and Stanford ∞ Lehmberg

Ellie Leighton

Ann and Bill ∞ LeMay

Barbara Lenssen and Keith Anderson

Miranda and Ralph Levy

Carole Light and Alex Redmountain

Elizabeth Lubetkin Lipton

Martin and Mildred Litke

Harvey Litt

George and Norma Litton

Andrea London

Matthew Roy London

Patricia London

Thank

Linda Mack and Wynn Berven

Colleen Mahon-Powers

Paul and Nancy Malmuth

Dr. Marilyn Mason

John McCusker

Karen McGrath

Andre Michaudon

Audrey Miller

Ann Morgan

Margaret Morgan and David Cohn

Patricia and Richard Morris

Luanne and Steve Moyer

Pat Mueller-Vollmer

Ruth Nelson and Thomas Murphy

Jim Neuberger

Roy S. Neuberger ∞

Betsy S. Nichols

Richard A. Nulman

Bob Nurock

Dolores and Frank Ortiz

Concha Ortiz y Pino de Kleven

Melinne Owen and Paul Giguere

Janet M. Peacock

Margaret M. Page and J. Michael Pearce

John Pedotto

Valerye Plath

Ronnie and William Potter

Joshua Quesada

Harriet Raff

John Geiger and Ronald Rinker ∞

James M. C. Ritchie

Mara and Charles Robinson ∞

Kathleen and Gerald Rodriguez ∞

Brett Roorbach

Kimberly Roos

Barbara Rosenblum

Hilda Rush

Molly and Tony ∞ Russo

Donna Saiz

Dorothy Salant

Mary Anne and Allen Sanborn

Nancy Scheer

Beatrice and M. C. Schultz

Noel Schuurman

Edward Seymour

Donald Shina and Kevin Waidmann

Christine Simpson

Karen Sonn

Karen and Frank Sortino

Harold Steinberg

Emily and Peter Coates Sundt

Georgann and Jeff Taylor

Priscilla and Hunter Temple

Enid and Roy Tidwell

Connie Tirschwell

Patrick Toal

Sandy and Gene Tomlinson

Emma Lou and Don Van Soelen

Roberta Van Welt

Marlene Vrba

Suzanne Watkins

Moira and Bernard Watts

Joy S. Weber

Joan and Truel ∞ West

Dorian Wilkes

Dora and T.C. Williams

Barbara Windom and Victor di Suvero

Marilyn and Marvin Winick

Nancy Wirth

Marcia Wolf

Marilyn Worthington

Gilda Zalaznick

Patricia and Nolan ∞ Zisman

Foundations, Funds, and Trusts

Anonymous

Dominion Foundation

Donald T. Regan Charitable Foundation

Bar-Levav Family Foundation

Garfield Street Foundation

The Harold Brown and Norma C. Brown Revocable Trust

Lackner Family Endowment Fund

McCune

Charitable Foundation, Santa Fe

Sidney and Sadie Cohen Foundation

Thorne Family Fund, Santa Fe Community Foundation

Donations to

The Foundation In Honor of:

Ann Aceves, by Ellie Leighton

My sister, Ann Neuberger Aceves, by Roy S. Neuberger ∞

Ray Besing, by Joyce Nicholson ∞

Elaine and Gregory W. Heltman, by Joyce Nicholson ∞

Marian and Ernest Karlson, by Kathleen Rodriguez and Gerald Rodriguez ∞

Lori Lovato, by Zella and Larry Cox

Joyce Nicholson ∞

Beth and Joel Scott, by Joyce Nicholson ∞

Donations to

The Foundation In Memory of:

Ann Mahon Bradstreet, by Joyce Nicholson ∞

Franz and Amalia Chrobok, by Maria and Kurt ∞ Haegele

Ken Coleman, by Michael and Sheryl DeGenring

Ruthe Coleman, by Ann Neuberger Aceves

Bonnie Binkert and Michael Melody

Bertram Gabriel Jr.∞, by

Ann Neuberger Aceves

Helen Gabriel

David Grayson, by

Peggy and John Polk

Samuel Grossman, by Jean and John ∞ Cheek

Chris Gulick, by Charles Gulick

Gladys and Julius Heldman, by Dee and Bill Moore

Gladys Heldman, by Ann Neuberger Aceves

Barbara Lenssen and Keith Anderson

Helen Gabriel

Joyce Nicholson ∞

Harriet Heltman

Sally Joseph, by Harriet Raff

Bennett Marcus, by Enid and Roy Tidwell

Emma Lou and Don Van Soelen

Marielle McKinney, by Edgar Foster Daniels ∞

Lee Dirks

Josette and Volker de la Harpe ∞

Gladys and Julius Heldman ∞

Virginia and Ira Jackson

Miranda and Ralph Levy

Richard A. Nulman

Concha Ortiz y Pino de Kleven

Delores and Frank Ortiz ∞

James M. C. Ritchie

Edward Seymour

Emily and Peter Coates Sundt

Suzanne Watkins

Barbara Windom and Victor di Suvero

Nancy and William ∞ Zeckendorf

Roy R. Neuberger ∞, by Ann Neuberger Aceves

Jan Arleen Nicholson, by Joyce Nicholson ∞

Ambassador Frank Ortiz, by Ann Neuberger Aceves

Betty Rutledge, by Ann and Bill ∞ LeMay

Dona Haynes Schultz, by Charmay Allred ∞

Pat Wismer, by Christine F. Wismer

Emily Zants ∞

Business Donations to The Foundation In Kind

Eun K. Hong, CPA

∞ = deceased

CALIFORNIA

Alpine Inn & Suites alpineinnsuites.com

415.334.6969

Daly City, CA

Alura Inn alurainn.com

408.709.2437

San Jose, CA

At Concept Hotels, our hospitality know-how is anchored in the Xperience, that “je ne sais quoi” that turns first-time guests into treasured friends. Here, it’s about creating experiences through fresh, fun and functional design, throwing in a generous dose of fun and layering it with unbeatable value and personal service delivered with a smile. Whether the vibe is European, Mediterranean, a fresh take on New Mexican, traditional New Mexican, or an artful, magical mix that defies labeling, Concept Hotels are united in delivering an Xperience. And a distinctly great one at that.

Hotel Zico hotelzico.com

650.969.8200

Mountain View, CA

LiA Hotel liahotel.com

650.593.3136

San Carlos, CA

Menlo Park Inn menloparkinn.com

650.326.7530

Menlo Park, CA

NEW MEXICO MISSOURI

The Sage thesagesf.com

505.982.5952

Santa Fe, NM

Social Kitchen + Bar socialkitchensf.com

505.982.5952

Santa Fe, NM

Coyote South coyotesouthsf.com

505.471.8811

Santa Fe, NM

Inn at Santa Fe innatsf.com

505.474.9500

Santa Fe, NM

Mylo Hotel mylohotel.com

415.467.4200

Daly City, CA

Southern Oaks Inn southernoaksinnbranson.com

417.335.8108

Branson, MO

The Savvy Traveler’s Choice

The Sage connects you to the Santa Fe Plaza and bustling Railyard Park with stylish rooms at affordable rates. A dreamy bohemian hotel steps from Santa Fe’s top art galleries, eateries, and local boutiques. Our pet-friendly hotel makes sure no one is left out of your inspiring New Mexico adventures!

COYOTE SOUTH

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Whether it’s a stop on your cross-country adventure or a weekend staycation in your own backyard, we are ready to welcome you. With a warm and friendly atmosphere, you’ll feel right at home.

A NEW SANTA FE HOTEL FOR THE FOREVER WANDERER

INN AT SANTA FE

Find your refuge in the Southwest at our tranquil boutique hotel surrounded by the region’s rich history and world-famous cuisine. Relax in the fireplace lounge, soothe tired muscles in the sauna or take a dip in the pool. Easy interstate and freeway access. Only 15 minutes to Museum Hill and The Plaza.

ovation society members SHAPE YOUR LEGACY!

Ann Neuberger Aceves

Perry C. Andrews III

Anonymous

Anonymous, In Memory of

Gladys & Julius Heldman

Gregg Antonsen

Amanda & Stephen Apodaca

Maggie & David Brown

Mary Ann & Raymond Burkard

Marilyn Casabonne

Jean Cheek

Zella Kay Cox

Daniel Crane

Haley & Hugh Curtin

Helen C. Gabriel

Shelley & Fred Glantz

Susan Goldstein & Steven J. Goldstein, MD

Elaine & Gregory W. Heltman

Charles MacKay & Cam McCluskey

Eileen R. Mandel

Drs. Jenny M. Auger Maw & Gilbert M. Maw

Carmen Paradis & Brian McGrath

Dr. Penelope Penland

Genie Ramsey

Britt Ravnan & Michael Ebinger

Laurie Rossi

Vera Russo

Donald Shina, MD, & Kevin Waidmann

Marion Skubi

Ken Stilwell

Priscilla & Hunter Temple

Melanie Peters Thorne & Edwin Thorne, Jr.

Elizabeth VanArsdel

Megan & David Van Winkle

Gretchen Witti

Nancy Zeckendorf

The Santa Fe Symphony would like to acknowledge the following members of the Ovation Society who have passed on. We are eternally grateful for their generosity.

Charmay Allred

Dr. Harold & Norma Brown

Mrs. George Dapples

Francis Essig

Allen Mason

Pete Myers

Joyce M. Nicholson

Evelyn Petshek

Paul Rubinfeld

Jacqueline D. Rudisch

Anthony Russo

Patricia Sheppard

Bernice E. Weiss

Margaret "Mickey" F. Inbody

Emily Zants

Janet Zlatoff-Mirsky

The sound of your applause at every performance reminds us why we do what we do. It’s because of you, we keep bringing great music to life® year after year.

Donors in the Encore Society have the unique opportunity to honor our landmark 41st Season and celebrate the future of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus through a generous pledge fulfilled over several years.

The Symphony has a renewed focus on music education and community engagement thanks to our merger with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association. We have combined our two organizations’ awardwinning education programs, serving the youth and families of Santa Fe with jazz, mariachi, orchestral, and chamber music training programs. In our 41st Season, we’ve expanded these existing programs and founded three new youth choruses for children of all ages.

The Symphony is poised to elevate music and create an enduring legacy for generations to come, presenting outstanding New Mexico musicians, world-class soloists, much-beloved orchestral favorites, new and rarely performed works, all while increasing our commitment to enrich the lives of every Santa Fean.

In its first year, The Encore Society includes Founding Members who have committed $40,000 OR MORE over the next four years. Let your applause be heard. Play your part in our

Ann Neuberger Aceves

Perry C. Andrews III and Scott Baker

Zella and Lawrence Cox

Constance and Ambassador David Girard-diCarlo

Ann Dederer and Bill Seale

Steven and Susan Goldstein

Dorne and Stephen Eastwood

Katherine and William Landschulz

Diane and John Lenssen

Mary and John Macukas

Boo Miller

Dr. Penelope Penland and Verne Stanford

Teresa Pierce

Laurie Rossi and John Scully

David and Megan Van Winkle

Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky

YOUR NAME HERE!

Contact Katie Rountree, Development Director, for more information: 505.600.3976

Discovering the Music of Paintings, featuring artwork by Mary Vernon: Wall With Mirror, 2022. Photo: Video Magic

individual support

When you contribute to The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, you nurture exceptional artistic talent, foster community cohesion, and ignite inspiration in children learning about music.

ANNUAL FUND

Ticket sales cover just 25% of our operating expenses each season: for the rest, we rely on the generosity of musiclovers like YOU. A donation of any size makes a difference and keeps the music playing, supporting professional musicians and children’s programs across Northern New Mexico.

ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN

Every musician has a unique story to tell. Through The Symphony’s “Adopt-A-Musician” program, you have the chance to forge a personal connection with one of our orchestral or choral musicians. Your support means the world to them.

JOIN OUR CIRCLES

To show our appreciation, each year, donors in our circles enjoy intimate concerts in galleries, private homes, and distinctive venues across Santa Fe (Musicales). Delicious hors d’oeuvres and wine set the stage for unique performances by our guest soloists and musicians. Invite a friend to join you and bring them into The Symphony Family!

WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU GIVE

Donors at every level enjoy exclusive access to our musicians, performances, season information, and more! Whether you want to attend a dress rehearsal, dine with a visiting guest artist, or meet and mingle with other music lovers across Santa Fe, when you’re a part of The Symphony Family, you can!

Visit santafesymphony.org/donate or call Events & Annual Fund Manager, Laura Witte, 505.552.3916 to learn more about supporting YOUR Santa Fe Symphony.

This is a great organization, 100% committed to our kids. I’ve seen improvement in my daughter's playing and noticeable growth in confidence since being part of this group. The teachers are wonderful and so dedicated!

—Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestra Parent

business support

The performing arts are crucial to the well-being of a community. The arts create jobs, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses and improve the overall quality of life in our communities. The Santa Fe Symphony together with our corporate sponsors and donors are strong business leaders who believe in the importance of music and music education, and the role these play in making Santa Fe a great place to live, work, and do business.

Join our team of business sponsors and you will:

• support the arts in your community.

• help fund music education and access programming for more than 5,000 children, adults, and families in Northern New Mexico.

• support bringing great musical artists to Santa Fe like Time for Three, Anne-Marie McDermott, Ana María Martínez, Ida Kavafian, stars of the Santa Fe Opera and more …

• entertain your clients and reward your employees with Symphony experiences and free tickets for sponsored concerts. Sponsors of $2,500 or more are also invited to network with Symphony donors at Musicales, intimate musical receptions across Santa Fe.

• market your brand and show your commitment to the community asset that is The Symphony. Sponsors receive recognition in advertisements and from stage.

• be in good company. We are proud to be supported by many of Santa Fe’s leading employers and philanthropic giving programs.

YOU CAN MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TODAY at santafesymphony.org/donate or contact Development Director Katie Rountree at 505.600.3976 krountree@santafesymphony.org

support your symphony!

Members of Symphony Donor Circles enjoy our most popular member benefit, the elegant Musicales—one-of-akind gatherings held throughout the year in some of Santa Fe’s finest homes and galleries.

Visit with Symphony family and friends while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and fine wine, followed by a musical performance by our highly accomplished Symphony musicians and some of the world’s most talented guest artists. Donors at higher levels receive invitations to increasingly more intimate gatherings.

Special thanks to our Symphony Family members who host our Musicales.

LET'S CONNECT!

SYMPHONY CIRCLE MEMBERS HAVE THE MOST FUN.

simple, sensible ways to support

There are many ways to give to The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and achieve your personal and financial goals. Gifts to The Symphony support great music in your community and dozens of programs for youth and families.

The Symphony is a 501(c)3 organization. Tax ID: 85-0331684

OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM IS HERE TO HELP!

Katie Rountree, Development Director, krountree@santafesymphony.org, 505.600.3976

Laura Witte, Events & Annual Fund Manager, lwitte@santafesymphony.org, 505.552.3916

GIVE ONLINE

Make your donation quickly and easily via credit at: santafesymphony.org/donate

PERSONAL CHECK

Please make checks payable to The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Mailing Address: PO Box 9692, Santa Fe, NM 87504

RECURRING MONTHLY DONATION

Commit to a recurring monthly donation, spreading the impact of your overall giving and impacting The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus all year long. Please contact Laura Witte to set up a recurring monthly pledge of any amount.

WITH YOUR TICKET PURCHASE

Patrons may add a contribution when making a subscription or single ticket purchase – online or via telephone.

IRA DISTRIBUTION

If you are 72 or older, you may avoid paying tax on your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) when you convert it to a Qualified Charitable Donation (QCD)! Please forward The Santa Fe Symphony’s address and Tax ID# to your IRA Custodian and let them know to include your name when they distribute the contribution so we may recognize you properly.

MAKE A GIFT OF STOCK

The Santa Fe Symphony can accept gifts of stock. For detailed instructions on how to transfer appreciated securities to The Symphony, please contact Laura Witte. Brokerage firms don’t always release the names of their clients, so let us know about your intent to make a gift so that we can identify your generous gift and issue a tax receipt!

EMPLOYER MATCHING GIFTS

Many companies will match gifts of current and/or retired employees, doubling or even tripling your impact. Check with your Personnel, Benefits, or Human Resources Department to find out if your employer will match your gift. Employers like Los Alamos National Labs offer matching gift opportunities as an employee benefit.

DONOR ADVISED FUND

An increasingly popular way to make a gift, one with significant tax advantages, a donor advised fund (DAF) is like a personalized, charitable savings account. You contribute cash, stocks, real estate or other assets to a public charity like Schwab Charitable, Fidelity Charitable, or the Santa Fe Community Foundation. You may invest these funds for taxfree growth and recommend grants to nonprofits like The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus over time.

LEGACY GIFT

Become a member of our Ovation Society! Including The Santa Fe Symphony in your long-term financial plans secures both your legacy and a legacy of musical experiences for generations to come. You may be able to have a significant impact without parting with cash today. To discuss the many ways to make a gift through your will, trust, IRA, life insurance policy or donor advised fund, contact Katie Rountree, Development Director.

VOLUNTEER WITH US

Contact Regina Klapper: rklapper@santafesymphony.org to sign up as a volunteer with The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Our dedicated volunteers assist with concerts, special events, administrative work, and other critical activities throughout the year.

| Galerie Züger

Our Sunday performances at The Lensic Performing Arts Center offer something unique for The Santa Fe Symphony's Circle Members—a private reception after the concert, just a short walk from the concert hall! Still uplifted by the concert, members of our Symphony family gather at this stunning gallery.

Many thanks to the owners of Galerie Züger and Art Advisor Mary Felton for their gracious hospitality.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Contact Events & Annual Fund Manager Laura Witte at 505.552.3916 or lwitte@santafesymphony.org .

Special thanks to Casa Rondeña Winery for donating their award-winning wine to our Circles gatherings. Named best vintner and best winery by the readers of Albuquerque The Magazine for seven years in a row, Casa Rondeña Winery was established in late 1995 as a family undertaking, with the first plantings in 1990 at the hands of vintner John Calvin and his two young sons, Ross and Clayton.

Meet our guest artists and conductors, chat with orchestral and choral musicians, and mingle with Board members and other patrons in one of the most popular galleries in town! We look forward to your good company after the concerts—at the beautiful Galerie Züger in downtown Santa Fe. GALERIE ZÜGER | 120 W. SAN FRANCISCO STREET, SANTA FE, NM | ART@GALERIEZUGER.COM CASA RONDEÑA WINERY | FOUNDER AND WINEMAKER, JOHN CALVIN | CASARONDENA.COM

ABOVE: O’ Roméo, Roméo! guest baritone, Adrian Smith, encounters Galerie Züger's resident cowboy (I'm Your Huckleberry, Gib Singleton)

adopt-a-musician

$5,000 Music Director

$2,000 Concertmaster

$1,200 Assistant Concertmaster

$1,000 Principal Musician

$600 Section Musician

$5,000 Choral Director

$600 Choral Musician

Every musician has a unique story to tell. Through The Symphony’s “Adopt-A-Musician” program, you have the chance to forge a personal connection with one of our orchestral or choral musicians. Your support means the world to them. Contact Events & Annual Fund Manager, Laura Witte, at lwitte@santafesymphony.org or 505.552.3916 if you would like to participate in this exciting program. You are welcome to adopt more than one musician, or a whole section! Adoptions are valid for one year. Visit santafesymphony.org/donate/adopt to see who is available for adoption. Special thanks to “Adopt-a-Musician” Chair, Laurie Rossi.

Donations in Support of the Adopt-A-Musician Program as of September 1 are listed below:

Anonymous adopted: Devin DeVargas, Bass

Perry Andrews adopted: Melinda Mack, Cello

Elizabeth Young, Violin I

Marilyn and Cris Barnes adopted: Carlos Vazquez-Baur, Tenor

Judith Benkendorf and Norman Marks adopted: Luke Gullickson, Piano

Shane Cronenweth adopted: David Tall, Principal Bass Trombone

Ann Dederer and Bill Seale adopted: Lori Lovato, Principal Clarinet

Stefanie Przybylska, Principal Bassoon

Allegra and Jim Derryberry adopted: Ruxandra Marquardt, Assistant Concertmaster

Dorne and Stephen Eastwood adopted: Laura Chang, Violin I

Jose “Pepe” Figueroa adopted: Guillermo Figueroa, Music Director

Dr. Richard Forde adopted: David Foushee, Bass

Christine and Frank Fredenburgh adopted: Kim Fredenburgh, Principal Viola

Cheryl Fossum Graham adopted: Elaine Heltman, Principal Oboe

Shirley and Frank Hirsch adopted: Valerie Turner, Violin II

Kathy and Brad Holian adopted: Dana Winograd, Principal Cello

Alice and John Jennings adopted: Christine Rancier, Viola

Linda Kenney adopted:

Joel Becktell, Assistant Principal Cello

Jolene Gallegos, Soprano

Kathy and Bill Landschulz adopted: Byron Herrington, Principal Trombone

Alan Mar, Violin I

Gloria Velasco, Violin II

Joanna Armstrong, Soprano

Bruce Bradford, Bass

Doug Escue, Tenor

Kehar Koslowsky, Alto

Paul Roth, Collaborative Piano

Jody and David Larson adopted: Dave Tolen, Principal Percussion

Mary and John Macukas adopted: Karson Nance, Tenor

Eileen Mandel adopted: Kenneth Dean, Principal Timpani

Cecilia and Emil Matic adopted: Gabriel Gabaldon, Tenor

Sara Mills and Scott Brown adopted:

Sam Brown, Double Bass

Allison Tutton, French Horn

Teresa Pierce adopted: Brynn Marchiando, Principal Trumpet

Jesse Tatum, Principal Flute

Laurie Rossi adopted: Laura Witte, Alto

“Row S Ladies” adopted: Rebecca Ray, Oboe

Marnie Sandham adopted: Roy Yinger, Bass

Emma Scherer and Zak Nelson adopted: Emily Erb, Clarinet

John Scully adopted: Mario Chavez, Tenor

Lisa Collins, Cello

Patrick Dolin, Bass

Paula Young, Soprano

Chuck Tallman adopted: Kathy Landschulz, Alto

Megan and David Van Winkle adopted: Carla Kountoupes, Violin I

Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky adopted: David Felberg, Concertmaster

Nicolle Maniaci, Principal Violin II

adopt-a-musician Benefits!

As a part of the Adopt-A-Musician program, you will be introduced to your adopted musician, offered a photograph opportunity with your adopted musician(s)*, and invited to attend an orchestra dress rehearsal. All adoptions will be acknowledged under the adopted orchestra member’s image at santafesymphony.org/orchestra for one year following the adoption.

*Select musicians are unavailable for photo opportunities.

I think The Symphony’s Adopt-A-Musician program creates the perfect bridge between us musicians and our audience. Each time The Symphony office lets me know that I’m adopted, I’m truly honored. I can’t wait to meet them.

Nicolle Maniaci, Principal Violin II

Cliff Fragua

Rising Sun

Photo: Matt Mitchell, SFBG

symphony supporters

We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals and organizations for their generous support. Gifts of all sizes to the Annual Fund help us bring great music to life each year, bridging the gap between income from ticket sales (which accounts for just 25% of our annual revenue) and the cost of our 30+ subscription and community outreach concerts each season.

Listed below are contributors who made a gift or pledge to the Annual Fund between July 1, 2023 and August 1, 2024. For more information on giving levels and how to support The Symphony, please visit santafesymphony.org/donate or call our Development Director Katie Rountree at 505.600.3976 or Events & Annual Fund Manager Laura Witte at 505.552.3916.

Impresario Circle $50,000+

Ann Aceves

Susan and Steven Goldstein

Katherine and William Landschulz

Diane and John Lenssen

Boo Miller

Composers Circle $20,000+

Dorne and Stephen Eastwood

Enterprise Bank & Trust

Faith and David Pedowitz

Suzanne Timble

Valerie Turner and Guillermo Figueroa

Producers Circle $10,000+

Perry C. Andrews III and Scott Baker

Casa Rondeña Winery

Zella and Lawrence Cox

Ann F. Dederer and William Seale

Evelyn L. Petshek Arts Fund

Fix My Roof LLC

Frank W. Yates Family Foundation

Galerie Züger

Constance and Ambassador David Girard-diCarlo

Debra L. Hart and Leslie A. Roundstream

La Fonda on the Plaza

Lexus of Santa Fe

Margaret and Barry Lyerly

Mary and John Macukas

Mercedes–Benz of Santa Fe

Neuberger Berman

Nusenda Credit Union

Penelope Penland and Verne Stanford

Teresa Pierce

Laurie Rossi and John Scully

Beth and Joel Scott

Thornburg Investment Management

Toyota of Santa Fe

Elizabeth Van Arsdel

Robert and Ellen Vladem

Megan and David Van Winkle

Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky

Conductors Circle $7,500+

Century Bank

Inn on the Alameda

Phyllis Lehmberg

Dee Ann McIntyre

Musicians Circle $5,000+

Cindy and Brent Allen

Yoko and Thomas Arthur

Christus St. Vincent

Regional Medical Center

Ralph Craviso

Julie and Michael Dawson

Bernard Ewell and Sali Randel

Jose “Pepe” Figueroa

Maria and Edward Gale, Gale Family Foundation

High Desert Architecture

Shirley and E. Franklin Hirsch

Kathryn O’Keeffe

Charitable Foundation

Komis Enterprises, LLC

Robert B. Mackenzie and John Thompson

Kathe MacLaren and Ifan Payne

Phil Martin

The Compass Rose Group, Morgan Stanley

Justin Medrano

New Mexico Bank & Trust

Elizabeth and James Roghair

Judith Rowan and Richard Schacht

Irene and Cervantes Roybal

Carol and Richard H. Rudman

Dee and Augustus Rush

Nikki Schwartz and David Hofmann

Marion and Joe Skubi

Kenneth Stilwell

Kay and Neel Storr, Storr Family Endowment Fund

Kevin Waidmann and Donald Shina

Sotheby’s International Realty

Judith Williams and Elliot Stern

Windsor Betts Art Brokerage

Marylou Witz

Joyce Wolff and Richard Henderson

Symphony Circle $2,500+

ALH Foundation

Architectural Alliance Inc

Carl Bogenholm

Kate Carswell and Timothy Schmoyer

Barbara and James Cooper

Shane Cronenweth

Keri L. Durfee and Mark Goldweitz

Anne C. Eisfeller

Tina and Georges Feghali

Anita and Kurt Hausafus

Deborah and David Holloway

Alice and John Jennings

Laura A. Liswood

Eileen Mandel

Steven Ovitsky

Gwendolyn and Thomas Paine

Suzanne Thompson and Ray Rhodes

Frances Richards

Diane Rubin and Leonard Eber

Santa Fe Opera

Hilary and Reed Schaper

Robin Smith

Merle and Franklin Strauss

Joan Vernick

Kay and Bill Whitman

Lisa and John Wilhelmsen

Beth and David Winfield

Elizabeth J. Yasek

Patrons Circle $1,000+

Ann Alexander

Paul Allison

Catherine and John Alsip

Marcia Angell

Mary Azcuenaga

Anne Beckett

Megan and John Boudreau

Holly Bray and Thomas Witherington

Allegra and James Derryberry

Nancy Dickenson

Cheryl Fossum Graham

David Frank and Kazukuni Sugiyama

Christine and Frank Fredenburgh

Cynthia Garrett

Jonathan and Julia Gordon

Stephanie Greene

Richard Grimes

Marilyn S. Hebert

Kathleen and Brad Holian

Ellen and James Hubbell

Sherry and Robert Johnson

Linda Kenney

Patricia H. Kushlis

Barbara and David Larson

Virginia Lawrence

Nancy and Raymond Lutz

Angela Martin and Chantel Foretich

Cecilia and Emil Matic

Kathy and John Matter

Evelyn McClure

Brent McGee and Steven Oakey

Sara Mills and Scott E. Brown

Cindi and Jerald Parker

Mary E. Rankovich and Dennis Kanka

Frank Renz

Helen and William Rogers

symphony supporters

Mary C. Ross

Pamela and Richard Salmon

Peter Schanck

David Scherer

Emma Scherer and Zak Nelson

Linda Schoen Giddings and Daryl Giddings

Elaine Schweitzer and Kevin O’Leary

Susan and John Shaffer

Marja and Everett Springer

Melanie Peters Thorne and Edwin Thorne

Marcia Torobin

Elisabet de Vallée and Dickinson Reed Eckhardt

Nancy and George Yankura

Nancy Zeckendorf

Benefactors $750+

Ann Griffith Ash

David Foushee and Dr. Richard Forde

Diane and Gerald Gulseth

LeeAnne and Gary Lang

Pat Turnbull

Stephen G. Wells

Supporters $500+

Brent B. Ault

Sue Baum

Judith Benkendorf and Norman S. Marks

Kate Blackwell and Felix Jakob

James F. Bianca

Lisa and Stephen Botos

Martha and Jon Bull

John Campbell

Nancy Cusack and Larry Stoerner

Greta and Robert Dean

Marty and Michael Everett

Sandra D. Farley

Natalie Fitz-Gerald

Duane Henry

Ann and Jerry Hicks

Bernhard Holzapfel

Elizabeth Hume

Joyce Idema

Bud and Randy Ingram-Lile

Genowefa and Bruno Keller

Diana King

Jenifer and Grayson Kirtland

John S. Koodrich

Malcolm Lazin

Peter M. Lundberg

Todd Lustgarten

Patrice Magliocca

Dee Maloof

Jane and David McGuire

Kathryn McKnight

Tiia McLaughlin

Audrey Miller

Jan L. Moberg

Thomas J. Moore

Nancy Newton and Dave Grusin

Jan and Jim Patterson

Nancy Pierce

Denise and Matt Poage

Marianne C. Reuter

Robert Russell

Susan Eddings Perez Gallery and studio

Associates $250+

Janice Arrott

Talitha Arnold

Marilyn and Cris Barnes

Doris Bato

Steven D. Berkshire

Martha Blomstrom

Kathleen and James Brown

Terry Brownell

Evelyn and Frank Campbell

Marlena and Mark Campbell

Adelaide Collins and Dennis Cooper

Linda Dean and John Kitzmiller

Janet and Joel DeLisa

Nancy and Chris Deyo

Frances Diemoz and Alan Webber

Marcia and Douglas Dworkin

Lorna Dyer and Jerry Watts

Patricia and Joseph Fasel

David Gunderson

Gloria Holloway

Sallie Holloway

John Horning

Patricia Hummer and Al Pitts

Brenda and Michael Jerome

Robert A. Josephs

Keytha and Paul Jones

Susan and Gary Katz

symphony supporters

Heather Kemp

Joyce M. Koenig and Ken Schowengerdt

Catherine Kurland and John A. Serkin

Ellie Leighton

Carlotta Lockmiller and Steve Schmelling

Nicolle Maniaci and John Witiuk

Arlena Markinson

Jim Martin and Mark Chalfant

Ramon G. Martinez and Paul Sidebottom

Frances and Michael Meier

Susan Meredith

Luanne and Steve Moyer

Kaaren Ochoa

Donald Percious

Cathy Rakov

Elizabeth and William Ranck

Clare and Jack Ratliff

Anders Richter

Bernadette A. McGuire-Rivera and Henry Rivera

Martha and Richard Romero

Marnie Y. Sandham

Peggy and Jack Seigel

Judy and Bob Sherman

Anne Shute

Barbara and Glen Smerage

Sandra Sparks

Carol and Thomas Stephens

Charles Tallman

Tina Ludutsky-Taylor and Allen Taylor

Benita Vassallo and Stephen Wiman

Joyce and Joseph Weiser

Friends $100+

Kay and Clay Allison

Mark L. Asquino

Philip Askenazy

Jennie Baccante

Donna and John Bailey

Sally Baker

Luana and Charles H. Berger

Julianne Bodnar

Deborah E. Boldt

Diane and James Bonnell

Curtis Borg

Mellie Bracewell and Randy Hibben

Ric Bradford

Shelly Brock

Constance Burke and William Leeman

Camilla Bustamante

Jeanmarie K. Chenette

Alexis Corbin

Pamela Culwell and Charles G. Case II

Yvette C. De La O and Patrick H. Block

Rebecca Dempsey

Norman Doggett

Jeana Efroymson

Eleanor Eisenmenger

Bobbie Elliott

William Fajman

Andrea Fiegel

Robert J. Florek

Kim Fredenburgh and Kevin Vigneau

Mona Golub

Libby Gonzales

William Green

Gwendolyn and Eugene Gritton

Maria Haegele

Barbara Haffner

Julia Hansen and Erik Hahn

Anna Hargreaves and Andrew Stewart

Alice Harris

Barbara Hays

Jacquelyn Helin and Robert A. Glick

Elaine and Greg Heltman

Callie and David Henkel

Paula J. Hunter

Brigit Jansen

Ted Karpf

Colleen Kelly

Callie and Joel Kent

Richard J. Klein

Sande G. Knight

Judy and Andrew Kramer

Leonard J. La Magna

Lynn F. Lee

Ann LeMay

Richard Lindahl

William J. Lock

Joan Lombardi and Lee Nash

Catherine Louisell and Rodney Houston

Randi Lowenthal

Rob Lunn

Sandra McLeroy

Dorothy McMath

David McNeel and Jack McCord

Robin Merlo

Laurie Meyer

Donna Milanovich

Carleen Miller

Mary and Timothy Mitchell

Susy Moesch

Suzanne and Richard Molnar

Donald D. Moore

Nancy A. Murphy

Bette K. Myerson

Katie and David Olivant

Melinne Owen and Paul Giguere

Alden T. Oyer

Margaret Page and Michael Pearce

Aryana and Nicholas Potter

Barbara Przybylska

Maria Ramerman

Hunter Redman

Barbara and Donald Rej

William and Roberta Richards

Susan Rosenbaum

Carol Ross

Nancy Rowland

Larry Sachs

Fran Salkin and Jonathan Beamer

Merry Schroeder and David Matthews

Channell Segura

Katherine and Michael Serk

Frank Sharpless

Rosina and Robert Short

Martin Sigel

Wendy S. Simpson

Leslie and Roger M. Simon

Martha and Leslie Sogol

Deborah and Howard Spiegelman

Suzanne S. Tesh

Gloria L. Velasco

Anne Vena

Maria Virobik and Patrick Lee

Alfred J. Wasilewski

Janislee and William Wiese

Dan Winske

Patricia Zisman

Donors <$100

Felix M. Alderete

Randall M. Alle-Corliss

Vince Anicetti

Glorianna Atencio

Annette L. Baker

Elizabeth S. Bayne

Barry Bess

Henry C. Bierwirth

Anne and Jeff Bingaman

Richard Blaker

Beth Bloomfield

Linda and Gary Bonnell

Maria E. Bonney

Robert Bronsink

Mario Chavez

Cammy Cook

Patricia M. Cook

Donna J. Cordoni

Dennis F. Daum

Jamie B. Deichen

Judith A. Dickerson

Patrick Dolin

Karen Duray

Patricia Emerson

Julie and Thomas Faber

Margie P. Farber

Christine Way Falk and Stephen Falk

Guadalupe Flores

Bobbie Ferrell

Beverly and Frederick Friedman

Jake Gallegos

Jolene Gallegos

Julie Geng

Sheila Gershen

Robert L. Gonzales

Jay Gould

Ileen Greenberg

Barbara Rose Gregory

Barbara Haffner

Merel Hancock

Susan Harris

Kathryn Hayden

Sally Hayden von Conta

Dani F. and Christopher Hayes

symphony supporters

Gerald Hendrickson

Michael Kaplan

Katherine E. Keener

Susan E. Kelly

Susan R. Lambert

Jennifer Lau

David Lawrence

Anne and Bruce Legler

Claudia and David Leman

Geraldine and Domink Lepore

Virginia and Maurice Lierz

Diane Le Zotte

Nina Watthen Lovaas

Lori Lovato

Jeanne M. Lubey

Jim Marquez

Joan Marshall

Estelle Miller

Paula and Christian Miller

Barbara Morris

Kirsten S. Moy

Joshua Narlesky

Nellie J. Nevarez

Susan Nichols

Thomas Peterson

Donna Rae Peth

Claude Phipps

William L. Pickard

Rebecca and Alan Ray

Edna Reyes-Wilson and Harvey Wilson

Anna Richards

Kathleen and Marvin Rowe

Kristin Rowley

Ward Russell

Stephen Schirmer

Theodore Schooley

Michael Serk

Nancy R. Sherwood

Gita Singh

Dennis Snyder

Doreen and Alan Stanton

Brent Stevens

Carol Swift

Elizabeth F. Trujillo

Adrian Vanderhave

Michael Van Eckhardt

J D Vasquez

Anne Von der Heydt

Alison R. Watt

David Woodard

Judith and Guy Yale

Diana and David Zeiset

David Zimmermann

Donations in Honor of Ann Neuberger Aceves, by Ellie Leighton

Kate Carswell, by Martin Sigel

Patricia Fradette, by Rebecca Ray

Steven Ovitsky, by Anonymous

Penelope Penland, by Mary C. Ross

Laurie Rossi, by Sande G. Knight

Vic Sandham, by Christine Way Falk and Stephen Falk

Emma Scherer, Kathryn Nun and Marilyn LaCome, by Elisabet de Vallée

Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky, by Mona Golub

Donations in Memory of Barbara Holzapfel, by Bernhard Holzapfel

Esther and Sam Katz, by Susan and Gary Katz

Friends of

The Symphony Chorus

Maria Elisa Bonney

Curtis Borg

Cammy Cook

Robert J. Florek

Susan Harris

Katherine Keener

Jenifer and Grayson Kirtland

Anne A. Shute

Diana and Daivd Zeiset

Friends of Education & Community

Donors who support community engagement programs

Alexis Corbin

Jeanmarie Kern Chenette

Dorne and Stephen Eastwood

Sheila Gershen

symphony supporters

Libby Gonzales

Jenifer and Grayson Kirtland

Katherine and Willliam Landschulz

Boo Miller

Cathy Rakov

Special Thanks

2023 Home for the Holidays Education & Community Fundraiser

315 Restaurant & Wine Bar Andiamo!

Array Home

Black Mesa Winery

Café Pasqual

Cafecito

Chatter

Clafoutis

Dinner for Two

Española Valley Fiber Arts Center

Harry’s Roadhouse

Henry & The Fish

High Desert Architecture

Joseph’s Culinary Pub

Museum Hill Cafe

Pandora’s

Paseo Pottery

Santa Fe Honey Salon

Santa Fe Olive Oil

Santa Fe Oxygen & Healing Bar

Santa Fe Serenity Spa

Sprouts Farmers Market

Terracotta Wine Bistro

The Bull Ring

The Rainbow Man

Tin-Nee-Ann Trading Company

Violet Crown Cinema

Virgins Saints & Angels

Whole Hog Café

Windsor Betts Art Brokerage

Special Thanks

Studio 84 Annual Gala

Abundance Massage & Skincare

Amanda’s Flowers

Perry C. Andrews, III

Architectural Alliance

Casa Rondeña Winery

Daniel Quat Photography

David Copher Gallery

Ann F. Dederer and William Seale

Anne Eisfeller

Eldorado Dental

Four Seasons Resort

Rancho Encantado Santa Fe

Galerie Züger

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Geronimo

Ghost Ranch

Shirley and E. Franklin Hirsch

Inn on the Alameda

Inn of the Turquoise Bear

Joe’s Tequila Bar

Los Poblanos

Mercedes-Benz of Santa Fe

Michael’s Valet

Newman’s Nursery of Santa Fe

Palace Prime

Radish & Rye

Restaurant Martin

Laurie Rossi

Santa Fe Opera

Santa Fe School of Cooking

Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

Robin Smith

Summit Event Rentals

Ten Thousand Waves

The Bourbon Grill

The Club at Las Campanas

The Gable House Bed & Breakfast

The Kitchen Sink Studio

The Pantry Rio

Paul Thompson

Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery

Tumbleroot Pottery Pub

Vanilla Pop

Virgins Saints & Angels

Viva Skydive

Windsor Betts Art Brokerage

Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky

Volunteers

Ann Alexander

Carl Bogenholm

Brigid Boyd

Susan Breyer

Dusty Caruso

Frieda Claes

Janira Cruz

Rebecca Dempsey

D. Reed Eckhardt

Julie Faber

Cat Gallagher

Daryl Giddings

Michael Grissom

Zandra Hall

Joan Kessler

Diahann Larson

Laura Loving

Ken Marsak

Susan Meredith

Carleen Miller

Sherry Moon

Marie Newsom

Carmen Rodriguez

Laurie Rossi

Gary Schneider

Linda Schoen Giddings

Pamela Schuyler

John Scully

Janice Simmons

Sandra Smith

Elisabet de Vallée

Supporters of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association Merger

Special thanks to the donors who supported the merger with Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association and our new Projects, including Youth Chorus

Dorne and Stephen Eastwood

Katherine and William Landschulz

Boo Miller

Frank W. Yates Family Foundation

Supporters of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association’s 2023–2024 Season

Producers Circle $10,000+

Dorothy Karayanis ∞

Sue Lee, POA

Lineberry Foundation

NB3 Los Alamos

Conductors Circle $7,500+

Northern Rio Grande

National Heritage Area, Inc.

youth symphony supporters

Musicians Circle $5,000+

Charlotte Hausman

Pam Parfitt

Sheila Fortune Foundation

Barbara and Glen Smerage

Suzanne Timble

Symphony Circle $2,500+

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Lynne Horning

Mark Murdock

Benefactors $800+

Susan and Conrad DeJong

Chris Godlove

Keri Goorley

Grapevine Giving Foundation

Naomi Israel

Callie and Joel Kent

Susu Knight and David Bolotin

Phylis Lehmberg

Lissa Garcia Lucht

Nancy Ann Mellen Foundation

Christopher G. Oechsli The Atlantic Philanthropies

Ohori’s Coffee Roasters Caffeine and Co., Inc.

Point 72 Employee Directed Giving Foundation

Joohee and Lee Rand

Slate Stern PC

Susan Steffy

Adrian VanderHave

Supporters $500+

Perry C. Andrews III

Sarah Carswell

Jamie Franks

Sole and John King

Matthew Kozak

Marilyn LaCome

Steve Miles

Museum of New Mexico Foundation

Yolanda Myres and John Scimeca

Candace Norris

Jessica and Phil Smucker

Soaring Eagle Charity Fund

Kirstin Smith

Gregory Steiger

Sherrie Weiss

Associates $250+

Flying Tortilla Restaurant 4250 Group LLC

International Folk Art Alliance Inc.

Callie and Joel Kent

Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation

Carina and Boris Maiorov

Sabrina Pratt and David Carr

MaryEllen Staib

Susanne Stauffer

Elisabet de Vallée and D. Reed Eckhardt

Friends $100+

Margaret Ater

Katherine Avalon

Jennie Baccante

Raphiel Benjamin

Julie Kent Bremser

Diane and Walter Burke

Janis Chitwood

Charly Drobeck

Jeffrey Favorite

Melissa Fox

Sharon Franco and Joe Hayes

Joe Frank

Nina and Mike Furlanetto

Barbara and Robert Gallatin

Mariana Geer

Maxine and Charles Hickox

Shirley Hirsch

Merry and Michael Kent

Judith Knops

Robi Mulford

Bette Myerson

Howard Oechsner

Julie Anne Overton

Juan Padilla

Emma Scherer

Robin Smith

Cheryl Smith-Ecke

Richard Snider

Maria Stennis

Barbara Sussman

David Wood

US District Court of New Mexico Bench and Bar Fund

Mayor Alan Webber

June and Fred Yoder

Donors <$100

Deborah Anderson and Weston Keller

Luco Arevalo

Carol Brown

Robert Buchan

Pearl Cameron

Holly Chapman

Katie Chavez

Cindy and Jack Clark

Ivania Cruz

Britton Donharl

Ben E

Stephanie Farley

Mary Fellman

Katy Fitzgerald

Will Franks

Rosa Gattis

Marianne and Robert L. Gibbs

Katy Gross

Sarah Hernandez

Jhon Marin

Johnna Marlow

Kate Noble

Kim and Don O’Sullivan

Elena Perez

Alexandra Pratt

David Rogers

Laurel Rogers and Jeff Saltzman

Vicki Schaevitz

Barbara Smith

Jennifer Stennis

Carrie Talus

Sharon Tison

The Kroger Company

Deborah and Laurence Weinberg

Brad Westergren

Lauren Whitehurst

Rebecca Winnick

Santa Fe Youth

Symphony Volunteers

Lisa Bye

Karla Cornelio

Joel Kent

Sara Nash

Sara O'Gara

∞ = deceased

Holly & Harmony Winter Gala

Thursday, December 12, 2024 — 6:00 pm LA TERRAZA, LA FONDA ON THE PLAZA

Join us in a new location as we celebrate the growth of our Education & Community Programs! This festive evening includes good friends, fabulous food, premium wines, and wonderful holiday music from our youth ensembles, chorus, and orchestra. All proceeds benefit the newly-expanded education programs of The Symphony. Support great music and education at this exciting winter gala.

Tickets are $250 per person, $100 of which is tax-deductible. RSVP to: Events & Annual Fund Manager, Laura Witte 505.552.3916 or email lwitte@santafesymphony.org

Annual Gala Saturday, May 31, 2025—6:00 pm FOUR SEASONS RESORT RANCHO ENCANTADO SANTA FE

You’re invited to our biggest event of the year! Kick the evening off with cocktails and passed hors d’óeuvres while you peruse exciting live and silent auction items benefitting the ongoing operations of your Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Experience a multi-course gourmet dinner complemented by premium wines, with live entertainment including a themed musical performance by Santa Fe Symphony musicians, dancing, and a night you will never forget.

More details and ticket information to be announced. Contact Events & Annual Fund Manager, Laura Witte, with questions at 505.552.3916 or email lwitte@santafesymphony.org Visit santafesymphony.org/gala or scan the QR code on right for up-to-date details about either of our 2024–2025 annual galas.

CAROLS & 2024 LULLABIES

A ROSE IN WINTER

December 13 - 22

Celebrate the Hope and Magic of the Holiday Season

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

(505) 988-2282

desertchorale.org

COMING SUMMER 2025

July 13 - August 1

Tickets on sale

December 2024

Explore themes of home, refuge, and harmony with today’s choral music from New Mexico and Latin America, profound pieces for voices and instruments, and two major new commissions written especially for your Santa Fe Desert Chorale.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE ON OUR 2024–2025 SEASON

5 Orchestra Concerts—5 String Quartet Concerts—5 Bach Festival Concerts—2 Baroque Holy Week Performances—4 Youth Concerts— 1 Family Concert—10 Guest Artists— 1 World-Class Artistic Director— And 1 Extraordinary Season!

Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale.

To purchase your subscription, call the Pro Musica Box Office at

Photo

| Colin Jacobsen, Artistic Director

Our Jazz Project is the arm of the organization that focuses on the skills and techniques needed to perform America’s

Our Mariachi Project increases cultural awareness, gives our youth diverse options for musical expression, and brings our community together.

PROJECT PROJECT PROJECT

Our Orchestra Project has five youth orchestras to serve students at different levels and ages. There’s a place for every single student!

PROJECT

Our Chamber Music Project is made of small groups, like quartets, quintets, and trios who work closely with a coach and other students to develop their skills.

PROJECT

NEW! Our Chorus Project offers voice programming for beginner, intermediate and advanced choral students.

PROJECT

Our private Lessons Project is taught by skilled teachers and consists of 30-minute lessons provided once per week.

PROJECT PROJECT

We have a large inventory of fractional and full size instruments available for rent. Rentals are first-come, first-served.

As a gift to the community, we present dozens of free concerts across Santa Fe each year.

music matters.

The Santa Fe Symphony’s Education & Community programs exist to inspire and engage the people of Northern New Mexico, cultivating a lifelong passion for great music. As part of our merger with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, we’re thrilled to add award-winning mariachi, jazz, orchestral, chorus and chamber music training programs—to The Santa Fe Symphony’s existing free community concerts and educational efforts.

Together, these programs will serve thousands of local young people, families, and music lovers of all ages, enhancing Santa Fe’s cultural landscape and expanding music education programs for area youth. And while the instruction we provide is on the highest possible level, our programs are affordable! More than 5,000 students have participated in our youth music classes since 1994. Of the 300 students who attended classes last year, 27% were awarded financial aid for their classes and instruments. 70 individual financial aid awards were made to students in the 2023–2024 school year alone! And all students receive free tickets to Symphony events as our way of saying thanks for choosing to study with our musicians and specially-chosen instructors.

In addition to classes coordinated by our new Education & Community Department, The Santa Fe Symphony has a longestablished commitment to music education and community engagement throughout Northern New Mexico. Each year, more than 3,000 area residents of all ages attend 20+ free concerts offered every season at locations such as the Southside Library, the Santa Fe Farmers Market, Santa Fe Senior Centers, Santa Fe Public Schools, 8 Native American Pueblos across Northern New Mexico, and many other locations. Local music lovers also attend our three annual free community concerts at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Our musicians are equally committed to local music education efforts. Many of our players teach in area schools, others offer private and group instruction through The Symphony’s award-winning mentor program. In recent years, 120+ underserved youth in Santa Fe Public Schools participated in this unique effort, raising the overall level of music in our schools and throughout our community We are proud to continue our tradition of introducing children and young families to great music. Each year, 1,600 fifth-graders attend their first Santa Fe Symphony Concert through our annual Discovery Concerts at the Lensic. And 110 free tickets are offered to students and their guardians for concerts at the Lensic Performing Arts Center throughout the season.

At The Santa Fe Symphony, we’re committed to enriching the lives of area children and their families through the arts. Our mandate, however, goes far beyond bringing school-aged students to concerts. We are committed to educating and developing young minds, to help young people explore their potential in all areas of life and to encourage them to develop their skills to their fullest. Whether our students go onto pursue careers in the arts or not, our goal is enhance their overall life experience. We believe that through exploring their own creative natures in a safe and encouraging atmosphere students will see their performance in other academic areas improve. By fostering an atmosphere that not only grows future audiences for The Symphony, but future musicians in all genres of music, we hope to do our part in keeping music—in all its many forms—a vibrant and important part of the lives of all of us in Northern New Mexico.

Learn more about our community and education programs, free and discounted youth tickets, free performances for assisted living facilities and residences, and more at santafesymphony.org/education.

Questions? Contact: Callie Kent, Education & Community Director, ckent@santafesymphony.org

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY COMMITTEE

Steven J. Goldstein, MD, Chair

Kate Carswell, Vice Chair

Perry C. Andrews III

Ann Dederer

Naomi Israel

Callie Kent

William Landschulz

Lori Lovato

Boo Miller

Don O’Sullivan

Kathryn Nun

Lee Rand

David Rogers

Laurie Rossi

Katie Rountree

Emma Scherer

Susan Steffy

Dana Winograd

Laura Witte

Elizabeth Young

BECOME A FRIEND OF MUSIC EDUCATION!

With the merger of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, many new opportunities present themselves with regard to community engagement and music education in Santa Fe. Prior to the merger, The Santa Fe Symphony was dedicated to exposing local elementary students to the world of music through our mentoring programs, the annual Discovery Concerts at the Lensic for hundreds of elementary-school students, and our Side-by-Side concert during the holiday season.

The combined organization will provide the synergy needed to exponentially expand these educational opportunities for Santa Fe Public School students, as well as to increase our outreach efforts by our professional musicians to entertain residents of senior living communities and veteran associations in New Mexico.

The Board of the new combined organization remains committed to supporting these efforts, as do our current supporters and donors. As someone with an undergraduate degree in the humanities and 40 years of teaching experience at the graduate level, I know the value of early arts education in promoting high-school graduation rates and in developing the character, leadership abilities, and success of future citizens.

Please join us in supporting the work of the Education and Community Committee of the new Santa Fe Symphony.

—Steven J. Goldstein, MD Chair, Education & Community Committee

Support The Santa Fe Symphony's acclaimed education and community programs by becoming a Friend of Music Education! You can earmark your contribution for a specific project or general fund to help support ALL of our programs. Scan the QR code on the right with your smart phone and support our community and education programs now!

William Waag Youth Orchestras Director

Tamarah Lucero Youth Mariachi Director

Ryan Finn Youth Jazz Director

William Finn Jazz Coach

Jesse Parker Jazz Coach

Xander Mancino Jazz Coach

Jeremy Bleich Jazz Coach

Carmen Flórez-Mansi Youth Chorus Director

Lee Harvey Prelude Conductor

Karles McQuade Intermezzo Conductor

Zachary Vigus Running Start Conductor

Robert Beasley Jazz Coach

Callie Kent Education & Community Director

I am delighted to join The Santa Fe Symphony as the new Education & Community Director. With a deep passion for music education and a dedication to community enrichment, I am excited to begin working with our vibrant community and expanding our youth programming for the upcoming season.

William Waag Associate Youth Program Director

I’m so grateful for the endless possibilities that have developed since the merger. From added sideby-sides, extra musical support, and better visibility for our young musicians, to extra hands on deck for our staff. It feels great to be running such a smooth ship!

Elizabeth Young Youth Program Director

The opportunity to support and enhance music education programs in our community is one I take very seriously. In my experience as a musician, educator, and arts administrator, I know first-hand how transformative musical experiences can be. This is a time of innovation for The Symphony.

help us welcome our new eduation & community team members!

Music has the power to unite, inspire, and transform lives. Together, our joint organization is poised to elevate music and create an enduring legacy for generations to come. Our expanded community programs and youth initiatives aim to make music more accessible to all, fostering a love for music across generations. From educational performances to youth music classes, we are committed to nurturing talent and building connections in our community. Here’s to a season filled with beautiful melodies and inspiring moments!

LOCAL

MONDAY | OCT. 28 | 7:30 PM

There is no better way to optimize your Symphony experience. Our exciting 41st Season features new collaborative engagements, gold medal and GRAMMY® Award-winning guest artists, renowned soloists, and inspirational music performed by your

seating & pricing

YOUR SEATS AWAIT!

Download our 2024–2025 subscription form online at santafesymphony.org/subscribe.

To receive 10% OFF your entire order as a full subscriber, please select the full season, comprised of ten brilliant programs. Partial subscription packages are also available, simply select a minimum of five subscription concerts.

Purchase single tickets at santafesymphony.org/events.

“Creating memories that last a lifetime.”

Specializing in locally crafted handmade custom jewelry in gold, platinum, and silver. Also featuring locally hand-turned wood pots inlaid with turquoise.