A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Welcome to Music, Maestros, and Masters
As we celebrate our 51st Anniversary Season, we warmly welcome you to our fourth Music, Maestros, and Masters evening. We are thrilled to express our heartfelt gratitude to our longstanding partners for their invaluable support in bringing this “Up Close and Personal” presentation to life, advancing Palm Beach Symphony’s core values of community engagement, education and outreach, and collaborative partnerships within our community. We extend a special thanks to all the participating artists andpanelists from FAU, as well as our partners at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, who have graciously provided us with the opportunity to host this multicultural evening in this beautiful auditorium.
It is an honor to have our esteemed nine-time Grammy Award-winning Maestro, Gerard Schwarz, join the panel this year, offering insights into the physical and mental prepar ation required of a Maestro before each performance. With discussions led by our Guest Conductor, Matt Cooperman, we’ll also have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Kathleen L. Davenport, a sports and performing arts medicine physician at HSS, who has made significant contributions to major dance companies nationwide.
Thank you for joining us as our luminaries explore the fascinating parallels between musculoskeletal performance in music and health. We are immensely grateful for their ongoing inspiration, a nd we hope you thoroughly enjoy this captivating evening as we uncover the connections that bring us all together!
David McClymont Chief Executive Officer
MAESTRO GERARD SCHWARZ
Music Director, Palm Beach Symphony
The GRAMMY®-nominated American conductor Gerard Schwarz is internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming, extensive catalog of recordings, and a lifelong dedication to music education. He is Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony, and the Frost Symphony Orchestra. He is also Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. Schwarz is the Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.
The 2024-25 season is Schwarz’s sixth as Music Director of the Palm Beach Symphony, during which he will continue to support great American composers of the past and present. To celebrate the orchestra’s 50th anniversary in 2024, Schwarz commissioned and premiered works by Joseph Schwantner, Ellen Zwilich, Aaron Kernis, and Bright Sheng, and his own Sinfonietta.
With the Frost Symphony Orchestra, Schwarz will begin a commissioning project celebrating the 100th anniversary of the University of Miami and the Frost School of Music. His recording of a new artistic version of Pictures at An Exhibition is presently airing on PBS nationwide; Schwarz’s latest TV program, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, will begin airing on New Year’s Eve.
The All-Star Orchestra educational series, in conjunction with the Khan Academy, has already reached over 7 million students. All the programs of the All-Star Orchestra have been released by Naxos on DVD, and have received nine Emmy Awards and the Deems Taylor Television Broadcast Award from ASCAP.
Schwarz began his professional career as co-principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic and has held Music Director positions with the Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has worked with many of the world’s finest orchestras and has led the San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and Seattle Opera on many occasions.
In more than five decades, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades, including nine Emmy Awards, 14 GRAMMY® nominations, eight ASCAP Awards, and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation Awards. He holds the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University and was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America. He has received several honorary doctorates, including from The Juilliard School, his alma mater. His memoir, Behind the Baton: An American Icon Talks Music, was published in 2017. He has been married to Jody for 40 years, has four children, and lives in Florida.
DR. IRENA KOFMAN
FAU Director of Keyboard Studies
Faculty, Cremona Music Academy, Italy
Fulbright Senior Scholar
The renowned Russian-American pianist has performed around the world to rave reviews as a soloist and in collaboration with prominent musicians. She is an award-winning teacher, and many of her former students have attained great success as performers and educators throughout the Americas, the former Soviet Union, and Europe.
Dr. Kofman holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Miami, where she studied under Dr. Rosalina Sackstein, a pupil of the legendary Claudio Arrau. Among other honors, Dr. Kofman was personally chosen by the Dalai Lama to play at his “Compassion as a Pillar of World Peace” presentation.
Early in her career, Dr. Kofman founded the Arcangelo Piano Quartet, a distinguished American chamber ensemble performing internationally. She also formed a duo with the eminent Belgian pianist André De Groote. Their three recorded albums received critical acclaim, with international critic Philip R. Buttall calling their recording of Theodore Gouvy compositions “absolutely first-rate.”
As a teacher, Dr. Kofman is sought out by students aspiring to play at the highest levels. She has taught and lectured at Austria’s prestigious Salzburg Summer Program, the International Concerto Festival in Russia, the World Piano Conference in Slovenia, and the Cremona International Music Academy in Italy. She currently serves as a distinguished piano faculty member at Cremona Music International Academy in Italy and holds the position of Director of Keyboard Studies at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, USA.
Dr. Kofman’s recent distinguished awards include a gold medal from the Republic of Armenia’s Ministry of Diaspora in 2019, the Faculty Fellowship Program to Israel in 2020, a US Fulbright Senior Scholar Award in Taiwan in 2022. She received a Diploma of Recognition from the American Protégé International Competition, four consecutive years for “extraordinary dedication and achievement in teaching music and presenting students to perform at Carnegie Hall.”
DR. MITCHELL HUTCHINGS
Director FAU Opera Theatre
Founder, FAU Opera in Italy
Dr. Mitchell Hutchings, baritone, has earned distinction as a soloist throughout the US and abroad in performances with Utah Festival Opera, Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Ensemble San Felice and others. A Voting Member of National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences®, he has contributed as a producer to the classical albums Cobalt, Jade, Amethyst, and d’Arc, which earned three Global Music Awards for Outstanding Achievement. He was a vocal producer, conductor, and arranger on Chris Redding’s Grammy®-nominated album Visions of Sounds De Luxe. Recently, he was part of the OPERA America Innovation Grant-winning team for San Diego Opera’s Opera Hack 3.0, focusing on technology integration in opera. Additionally, he was involved in the Music Theatre and New Technologies (MTNT) project, a groundbreaking initiative funded by the Italian
Ministry of University and Research and the European Union, which secured over €5 million in collaboration with several European and American universities and conservatories to advance opera studies and performance through technological innovation.
He was a guest artist clinician with Opera Orlando, MusicFor International at L’Ateneo Internazionale della Lirica di Sulmona (Italy), and Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (Mexico). Dr. Hutchings is the current President of the Nat’l Assoc. of Teachers of Singing - Gold Coast Chapter. He serves as Artistic Director of FAU Opera Theatre and Program Faculty Leader/ Founder of FAU Opera in Italy. In 2024, he received the FAU Faculty Talon Leadership Award for exceptional leadership and service to the university.
Voice students from his studio have performed with Washington National Opera, Metropolitan Opera (Grounded workshop), National Symphony Orchestra, Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Palm Beach Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Pittsburgh Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Pensacola Opera, Oberlin in Italy, the Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti in Italy, and the Russian Opera Workshop. His students have won prizes as the Premiere Opera International Vocal Competition, and in national semi-final rounds of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. His students have been offered scholarships at Yale University, Florida State University, Mannes and Eastman Schools of Music, Peabody Institute, Boston University, Stony Brook, University of Arizona, Penn State, and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory.
Performance highlights include the title role in Gianni Schicchi, John Proctor in The Crucible, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen, Ben in The Telephone. He was “exemplary” (Sylva Herald) in the title role in Sweeney Todd, and The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, where “his range and presence commanded attention any time he was on stage.” Dr. Hutchings young artist training was with Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Opera Maine, and Dicapo Opera Theatre. Concert credits include Handel’s Messiah with Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Rochester Oratorio Society, Mozart Requiem and Beethoven Choral Fantasy with the National Sacred Honor Choir in Carnegie Hall.
Mitchell Hutchings holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Western Carolina University (Young Alumnus Award), a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Florida State University (Thirty Under 30 Distinguished Young Alumni), and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature (voice) from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. He makes his home in South Florida with his spouse, composer Dr. Sarah Hutchings. Personal website: www.mitchellhutchings.com
DR. KATHLEEN L. DAVENPORT
Physiatry, Sports Medicine, Spine
Specialization in Performing Arts and Dance Medicine
HSS - Hospital for Special Surgery
Dr. Kathleen L. Davenport is a fellowship trained sports, performing arts and dance medicine physician. She is active in research and lectures nationally and internationally to advance wellness in athletes of all abilities and disciplines. Her primary focus is optimizing patient wellness through innovative and collaborative care.
Dr. Davenport completed her Doctorate of Medicine (MD) at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, where she was received an award for Excellence in Medical Humanities and the Joseph
Collin’s Foundation of New York Scholarship. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. While there, she helped found Seattle Performing Arts and Dance Medicine (SeaPAM), including a free dance medicine clinic. She graduated residency with the Outstanding Resident Research Award, having completed research on dance injuries, dancer access to healthcare, and concussions in soccer players.
Dr. Davenport then completed a Spine and Sports Fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, where she worked with dance medicine physicians and published articles on hip injuries, and platelet-rich plasma injections.
Dr. Davenport is the Company Physician for Miami City Ballet, serves on the Boards of Directors for the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, Seattle Performing Arts and Dance Medicine and Boca Ballet Theatre. She is also on the Executive Committee of the Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health.
MATTHEW COOPERMAN
Guest Conductor, Palm Beach Symphony
Guest Conductor, Florida Grand Opera
Matthew Cooperman is currently the Assistant Conductor of Florida Grand Opera and Guest Conductor of Palm Beach Symphony. Originally from Columbus, Ohio his previous positions have included Music Director of East Central Indiana Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of Muncie Symphony, Co-Conductor of the Youth Symphony Orchestras of East Central Indiana. Mr. Cooperman received an Artist Diploma from the Frost School of Music, a Master of Music from Ball State University, and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Conservatory of Music at Capital University.
Mr. Cooperman recently made his international debut with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Saint-Petersburg (Russia). Mr. Cooperman conducted the world premiere of GRAMMY nominated artist 9 Horses’ composition yellow toy truck with silver wheels, and conducted the Ball State Symphony Orchestra in the first concert performance of selected arias from American composer Daron Hagen’s opera Amelia. He was assistant conductor for a concert with opera star Renée Fleming, and for Broadway star Sutton Foster’s latest album, Take Me to the World
Mr. Cooperman was a 2019 and 2018 Conducting Scholar at the Eastern Music Festival where he studied closely with Music Director Gerard Schwarz and led student and professional orchestras in performance. Mr. Cooperman conducted the Oregon Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra and Chorus in a [re]Discovery Series Concert of the St. John Passion, with distinguished guest artists including Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, Sophie Junker, and Reginald Mobley. His primary conducting instructors include Gerard Schwarz, Douglas Droste, William Boggs, and Jeffrey D. Gershman, and additional studies with Matthew Halls, José-Luis Novo, Grant Cooper, and Edward Maclary.
As an oboist, Mr. Cooperman has performed with the Palm Beach Symphony, Eastern Festival Orchestra, Brazosport Symphony Orchestra, and Muncie Symphony Orchestra, as well as performed in master classes for Alex Klein and the Imani Winds. Mr. Cooperman studied oboe with Lisa Kozenko and Stephen Secan.
An avid composer and editor, Mr. Cooperman has composed and edited works for both large and chamber ensembles. Previously, Mr. Cooperman attended the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Composer’s Program and was fortunate to study composition with respected American composer Donald Harris.
PARTICIPANTS
LUCAS SANCHEZ
Principal Tympani, Palm Beach Symphony
Principal Tympani, Palm Beach Opera
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lucas Sanchez enjoys a multi-faceted career as a timpanist, percussionist, and teacher. Mr. Sanchez performs with Palm Beach Symphony under the direction of Gerard Schwarz, Florida Grand Opera, the Nu Deco Ensemble, and Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. In the past, he has appeared with Houston Symphony and Amarillo Symphony.
Mr. Sanchez is as comfortable in front of the orchestra as he is behind it; he has appeared as a soloist with the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, Frost Symphony Orchestra, Shepherd Percussion Ensemble, and the Albuquerque Youth Symphony. In 2018, Lucas was awarded first place in the Frost Concerto Competition with Johann Carl Christian Fischer’s Symphony with 8 Obbligato Timpani.
As an educator, Mr. Sanchez maintains a private percussion studio in Miramar, Florida. He is an instructor for the Greater Miami Youth Symphony program and gives masterclasses at high schools and colleges in South Florida. After playing timpani with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps in 2014, Lucas has enjoyed teaching the modern marching arts at local high schools.
Mr. Sanchez is an advocate of new music, premiering new solo, chamber, and orchestral works every year. He has worked with composers Augusta Read Thomas on qì and Selene, and Andy Akiho on Pillar IV
Lucas began his studies in Albuquerque with Douglas Cardwell. He received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Rice University under the tutelage of Richard Brown and Matthew Strauss, where he was awarded the 2016 Sallie Shepherd Prize for Best Achievement in Music.
Mr. Sanchez is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival and the Texas Music Festival, and was awarded full-tuition fellowships at both for 3 summers each. Lucas is currently writing his thesis for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami, studying with Matthew Strauss, and Svetoslav Stoyanov
Mr. Sanchez is proudly endorsed by Pearl/Adams instruments and Remo Drumheads, and performs on Adams Philharmonic Dresden Classic Timpani with Remo Renaissance Hazy LowProfile Steel Drumheads.
HEATHER BOWIE YOUNG
Florida Atlantic University, Head Coach, Women’s Golf
Heather Bowie Young was named women’s golf head coach at Florida Atlantic University in 2021.
For the previous five seasons, she was the top assistant at the successful Clemson program. The Tigers advanced to NCAA Regionals in all four possible post-seasons and finished with two national Top 25 rankings.
Prior to her coaching career, Bowie Young was a highly successful player, both on the amateur and professional levels. Collegiately, she earned three NCAA trophies. Additionally, she was BIG 12 individual champion and Player of the Year and was a First Team All-America honoree. Combined, she won nine individual tournament titles while earning All-America honors all four years of her collegiate career.
Heather started playing golf at age 11, and qualified for the LPGA Tour on only her third attempt. During a 16-year career on the LPGA Tour, Bowie Young earned 28 top-10 finishes and the 2005 Jamie Farr Owens Corning LPGA Classic title. She also was a member of the 2003 United States Solheim Cup team, and as recently as two years ago, qualified for the United States Women’s Open.
Bowie Young coaches the FAU team that in 2021 set program records in team stroke average and earned the highest Golfweek ranking in history. The squad’s sixth-place finish at the 2021 Conference USA Championship was also its highest, and the team featured the C-USA Women’s Golfer of the Year as well as its second NCAA Regional individual participant ever.
PALM BEACH
second year of the program in honor of Lisa Bruna for her talents as a writer, her passion for helping others, and her significant contributions to the Palm Beach Symphony.
Chamber Chats
Palm Beach Symphony presents lively chamber music concerts enhanced by enlightening narration by local musicians, historians, and scholars. These informative and engaging chamber music programs provide both entertainment and learning experiences for audiences of all ages.
Nurturing Notes
Palm Beach Symphony connects with all corners of the community through music. Through Nurturing Notes, our Symphony musicians work with vulnerable and often times isolated populations including but not limited to seniors residing in assisted living and memory care communities, at-risk children, veterans and Holocaust survivors with PTSD, and those receiving inpatient care for medical or mental health needs.
Middle Bridge Trio
The Middle Bridge Trio comprised of Palm Beach Symphony musicians performs a unique and intoxicating blend of music that merges the genres of American fiddle music with classical styles.
Musical Masterpieces
Through our Musical Masterpieces project, we work with diverse populations throughout the community, from children and adults, to turn decommissioned instruments into works of art. Palm Beach Symphony has partnered with aZul and local artist Craig McInnis from The Peach to help individuals with disabilities to create imaginative works of art. Numerous professional artists at Zero Empty Spaces Artist Studios in Palm Beach Gardens turn these instruments into unique, one-of-a-kind beautiful works of art that can be purchased at their studio.
Cox Science Center and Aquarium Partnership
Palm Beach Symphony continues to partner with the Cox Science Center and Aquarium located in West Palm Beach. Symphony musicians will present short STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) lessons and work with children on fun and engaging activities centered around the intersection of science and music. We will provide performances and several STEAM sessions throughout the 2024-25 season.
Learn more by scanning the QR code:
Hosted at Center for Philanthropy: Home of Palm Beach Symphony
700 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 1:
Date: Thursday, November 7
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Alberto Bade, Assistant Conductor
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 2:
Date: Thursday, December 5
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Maestro Gerard Schwarz
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 3:
Date: Thursday, January 9
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Claudio Jaffé, Principal Cello
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 4:
Date: Thursday, January 30
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Claudio Jaffé, Principal Cello
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 5:
Date: Thursday, February 27
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Matthew Cooperman, Guest Conductor
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 6:
Date: Thursday, April 3
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Maestro Gerard Schwarz
SYMPHONY SESSIONS 7:
Date: Thursday, May 15
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Featuring: Maestro Gerard Schwarz
PALM BEACH SYMPHONY 2024-2025
