Guest Artist Biographies
VIOLENT FEMMES 40TH ANNIVERSARY
The world may look different, but every generation goes through high school—or something like it.
Back in 1983, Violent Femmes documented the boredom, the anxiety, the elation, the depression, and the wonder of the high school experience, while living it on their seminal selftitled full-length debut, Violent Femmes. Akin to other totems to growing up à la The Catcher in the Rye, this album has only proven more relevant as it’s lived through the fall of the Berlin Wall, the advent of the internet, an uneventful Y2K, a very eventful turn-of-the-century, seven presidents, and one pandemic to celebrate its 40th birthday.
So, how did these tracks make it this long?
For starters, they’re real. Frontman, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Gordon Gano chronicled life as a high schooler in Milwaukee as it was happening to him (he didn’t do so years retrospectively as a twenty-something). So, his lyrics reeked of glorious awkwardness, whether it be the headscratching confession of “I stain my sheets” on opener “Blister In The Sun” or the prick principal’s warning, “I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record,” during “Kiss Off.” This was the ultimate report from the frontlines of the teenage experience—back when the drinking age was 18—before we got so used to such a thing in wantonly self-indulgent social media posts.
As the story goes, Gano, bassist Brian Ritiche, and drummer Victor DeLorenzo recorded at Castle Recording Studios in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, over the course of one weekend. For as openhearted as the lyrics may be, the single-recording takes allowed for Brian’s acoustic bass to drill through Gano’s masterfully plucky riffs in a way that gives the listener the feeling that they are witnessing the cracks and grooves of Victor’s sole snare drum to rattle your brain. The record also harbors a quirky history befitting of its unlikely legacy. Of note, their fans practically destroyed Carnegie Hall when they played there in ’86, leading to a ban for the group and every other rock band for the next 20 years!
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RYAN TANI, ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Ryan Tani is in his first season as assistant conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, he completed his two-year tenure as the Orchestral Conducting Fellow for the Yale Philharmonia under Music Director Peter Oundjian, where he was the recipient of the Dean’s Prize for artistic excellence in his graduating class. Committed to meaningful community music-making in the state of Montana, Tani has directed the Bozeman Chamber Orchestra, Bozeman Symphonic Choir, Second String Orchestra, and MSU Symphony Orchestras. He frequently serves as cover conductor for the St. Louis, Colorado, and Bozeman symphonies and also recently served on the faculty at the Montana State University School of Music.
Tani recently concluded his tenure as music director of the Occasional Symphony in Baltimore. A fierce advocate of new music, Tani curated over 20 commissions from Baltimore-based composers during his four-year directorship of OS. As resident conductor of the New Music New Haven series, he has collaborated, under the guidance of Aaron Jay Kernis, with Yale University composition students and faculty.
Tani is also a graduate of the Peabody Institute where he studied conducting with Marin Alsop and Markand Thakar, and of the University of Southern California, where he studied voice with Gary Glaze. In 2015, he was declared the winner of the ACDA
Undergraduate Student
Conducting Competition at their national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to his studies at Yale and Peabody, Tani has also studied conducting with Larry Rachleff, Donald Schleicher, Gerard Schwarz, Grant Cooper, and José-Luis Novo. Tani currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he can be found in the park with his dog, playing board games with friends and family, in the library with a good book, or in the practice room with his violin.
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2023.24 SEASON
KEN-DAVID MASUR
Music Director
Polly and Bill Van Dyke
Music Director Chair
EDO DE WAART
Music Director Laureate
RYAN TANI
Assistant Conductor
CHERYL FRAZES HILL
Chorus Director
Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair
TIMOTHY J. BENSON
Assistant Chorus Director
FIRST VIOLINS
Jinwoo Lee, Concertmaster, Charles and Marie Caestecker
Concertmaster Chair
Ilana Setapen, First Associate Concertmaster
Jeanyi Kim, Associate Concertmaster
Alexander Ayers
Yuka Kadota
Elliot Lee**
Ji-Yeon Lee**
Dylana Leung
Allison Lovera
Lijia Phang
Yuanhui Fiona Zheng
SECOND VIOLINS
Jennifer Startt, Principal, Andrea and Woodrow Leung Second Violin Chair
Timothy Klabunde, Assistant Principal
John Bian, Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)
Glenn Asch
Lisa Johnson Fuller
Paul Hauer
Hyewon Kim
Alejandra Switala**
Mary Terranova
VIOLAS
Robert Levine, Principal, Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner Family Principal Viola Chair
Georgi Dimitrov, Assistant Principal (2nd chair), Friends of Janet F. Ruggeri
Viola Chair
Samantha Rodriguez, Assistant Principal (3rd chair)*
Alejandro Duque, Acting Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)
Elizabeth Breslin
Nathan Hackett
Erin H. Pipal
Helen Reich
CELLOS
Susan Babini, Principal, Dorothea C. Mayer Cello Chair
Nicholas Mariscal, Assistant Principal *
Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Emeritus
Madeleine Kabat
Shinae Ra
Peter Szczepanek
Peter J. Thomas
Adrien Zitoun
BASSES
Jon McCullough-Benner, Principal, Donald B. Abert Bass Chair *
Andrew Raciti, Associate Principal
Nash Tomey, Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)
Brittany Conrad
Teddy Gabrieledes **
Peter Hatch *
Paris Myers
HARP
Julia Coronelli, Principal, Walter Schroeder Harp Chair
FLUTES
Sonora Slocum, Principal, Margaret and Roy Butter Flute Chair
Heather Zinninger, Assistant Principal
Jennifer Bouton Schaub
PICCOLO
Jennifer Bouton Schaub
OBOES
Katherine Young Steele, Principal, Milwaukee Symphony League Oboe Chair
Kevin Pearl, Assistant Principal
Margaret Butler
ENGLISH HORN
Margaret Butler, Philip and Beatrice Blank English Horn Chair in memoriam to John Martin
CLARINETS
Todd Levy, Principal, Franklyn Esenberg Clarinet Chair
Benjamin Adler, Assistant Principal, Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair *
Taylor Eiffert*
Madison Freed**
E-FLAT CLARINET
Benjamin Adler *
BASS CLARINET
Taylor Eiffert*
Madison Freed **
BASSOONS
Catherine Van Handel, Principal, Muriel C. and John D. Silbar Family Bassoon Chair
Rudi Heinrich, Assistant Principal
Beth W. Giacobassi
CONTRABASSOON
Beth W. Giacobassi
HORNS
Matthew Annin, Principal, Krause Family French Horn Chair
Krystof Pipal, Associate Principal
Dietrich Hemann, Andy Nunemaker French Horn Chair
Darcy Hamlin
Kelsey Williams**
TRUMPETS
Matthew Ernst, Principal, Walter L. Robb Family Trumpet Chair
David Cohen, Associate Principal, Martin J. Krebs Associate Principal
Trumpet Chair
Alan Campbell, Fred Fuller Trumpet Chair
TROMBONES
Megumi Kanda, Principal, Marjorie Tiefenthaler Trombone Chair
Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal
BASS TROMBONE
John Thevenet, Richard M. Kimball Bass Trombone Chair
TUBA
Robyn Black, Principal
TIMPANI
Dean Borghesani, Principal
Chris Riggs, Assistant Principal
PERCUSSION
Robert Klieger, Principal
Chris Riggs
PIANO
Melitta S. Pick Endowed Piano Chair
PERSONNEL MANAGERS
Françoise Moquin, Director of Orchestra Personnel
Constance Aguocha, Assistant Personnel Manager
LIBRARIANS
Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, Anonymous Donor, Principal Librarian Chair
Matthew Geise, Assistant Librarian & Media Archivist
PRODUCTION
Tristan Wallace, Technical Manager & Live Audio Supervisor
Paolo Scarabel, Stage Technician & Deck Supervisor
* Leave of Absence 2023.24 Season
** Acting member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 2023.24 Season
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