OKCPHIL program edition #3 for the 23-24 season.

CLASICS

POPS

CLASICS

POPS

Rachmaninoff!

January 13, 2024

Mariachi Los Camperos January 26-27, 2024

Brahms February 03, 2024

Bravo Broadway!

February 16-17, 2024

JoAnn Falletta, guest conductor George Li, piano PG. 27

Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor PG. 35

Benjamin Schmid, violin PG. 39

Jan McDaniel, guest conductor PG. 45

F O R H O USE N OT E S SEE PAG E 2 5.

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JERROD SHOUSE, President Oklahoma Philharmonic Society, Inc. Welcome to the Oklahoma City Philharmonic! We are honored to welcome our faithful season subscribers, our dedicated community philanthropic partners, and our first-time attendees. This season marks 35 years of the OKCPHIL providing inspiration and joy for the community through orchestral music. We are proud of our legacy and so excited about our future.

Part of our vision is to enhance the cultural life of the community and to educate future generations about the value of music. Given that charge, the OKCPHIL is focused more than ever on programs and concert experiences bringing the entire community together. This season has something for everyone to enjoy through our Classics, Pops, and Discovery concerts, thanks to our Music Director, Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate and our dynamic and dedicated staff led by our new Executive Director Brent Hart. This season is the perfect opportunity to invite someone to a future Philharmonic concert who has not attended before.

On behalf of the entire Oklahoma City Philharmonic family, thank you for being here! Say “hello” to someone you have not met before, and come back soon!

DEBRA KOS, President Oklahoma City Orchestra League The Oklahoma City Orchestra League welcomes you to the 35th season of the OKC Philharmonic. We are excited about the lineup presented by our wonderful Maestro, Alexander Mickelthwate, and our talented OKCPhil musicians!

I am honored to serve as President of the Orchestra League, and we will continue with our mission to educate, enrich, and inspire our community by supporting orchestral music and promoting volunteerism. Our social activities and fundraising efforts provide support to the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and our educational programs and instrumental competitions promote inspiration and inclusion to our community at large.

This year, the Orchestra League celebrates 75 years since our inception, and I am grateful to those who continue to contribute to our rich legacy.

To learn more about the Orchestra League or to become a member, please kindly visit www.orchestraleague.org or email league@okcphil.org.

DESIREE SINGER, President Associate Board On behalf of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Associate Board, I am privileged and honored to welcome you to the 2023-2024 season! This season’s lineup beautifully returns to the traditional while highlighting diversity in musical expression, and even throws in some heart-pounding, gravity-defying action toward the end. Our hope is that you will leave each performance hearts full and feeling inspired.

The mission of the Associate Board is to build a space for young professionals to cultivate a love for the orchestral arts and connections with others who value what the arts add to our beautiful city. To do this, we have created the Overture Society, a three-concert package combined with opportunities to socialize, network and serve the community. Consider joining the Overture Society today and show your support for the arts in OKC. We are excited to have you!

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BRENT HART

On behalf of the entire OKCPHIL family, welcome to our 2023-24 Season! We are thrilled to present another year of phenomenal performances and programs, as we continue to serve our mission of providing joy and inspiration through orchestral music to our community This season’s Inasmuch Foundation Classics Series features beautiful stories reflecting on the highs and lows of the human experience. The lineup features meditative and inspirational works by Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Brahms, Strauss and Respighi. We close the Classics Series with a powerful opera performed by our full orchestra on stage with internationally recognized singers from The Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

The Chickasaw Nation Pops Series offers something for everyone, from famous music from the movies, to Broadway, and Heroes and Villains. Our Christmas spectacular, A Very Merry Pops, features Sandi Patty and Take 6. We are excited to bring back the very popular Mariachi Los Camperos who wowed us in 2020. You won’t want to miss our final performance of the Pops season featuring Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters!

Here in the Civic Center Music Hall and across our region, the OKCPHIL continues its commitment to offering accessible music through a variety of Education and Community Engagement programs. From our free outdoor orchestral concerts at Scissortail Park, music education programs and Youth Concerts for elementary school students, Society of Strings program for adult amateur string players and Young Musician Competition for talented players, these initiatives continue to enhance the lives of thousands of Oklahomans of all ages.

We are deeply grateful for your ongoing loyalty, support and generosity which makes all of this possible. Your ticket purchases, season subscriptions and donations of all sizes allow us to deepen our impact in the community in numerous ways.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at our concerts throughout the season!

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ALE XANDER MICKELTHWATE As he prepares for his sixth season leading the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate has become part of the community.

“It’s amazing, and also quite humbling,” Mickelthwate said.

“My morning routine usually consists of studying at Harvey Bakery in Midtown. Quite often customers will approach me and say they saw me on television or on the side of a bus. To me, that signifies what we are doing at the OKCPHIL is resonating with the community, and making everyone feel welcome.”

The OKCPHIL has been a source of joy and inspiration for 35 years, enriching Oklahoma and its communities through orchestral music. When Mickelthwate came on board, he brought with him an eagerness to build on the successes of the past and pave the way for the future.

“Oklahoma City should be known as a breeding ground for fun and creativity,” he said. “That’s my thing. In our first season, we were always surprised how the audiences were really open to the contemporary. It’s crazy how embracing the audience is for adventurous, fun new things. This season, we are tempering the contemporary with traditional. I think audiences will be pleased with what they hear.”

Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, Mickelthwate grew up in a home filled with classical music. He received his degree from the Peabody Institute of Music, and has worked with orchestras in Atlanta, Winnipeg and Los Angeles.

He is Music Director Emeritus of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Canada, and in 2022, accepted the position of Music Director for the prestigious Bear Valley Music Festival in Bear Valley, California. In early 2023, Mickelthwate traveled to Hanoi where he was Guest Conductor at the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra.

Since he’s been in Oklahoma, Mickelthwate has received numerous awards and honors, including being twice-named “The Face of Music” by 405 Magazine. The OKC Friday newspaper named him one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful,” and the Ladies Music Club of Oklahoma City lauded him “Musician of the Year.”

Accolades aside, one of Mickelthwate’s goals is to tell Oklahoma stories through music.

“When I first came to Oklahoma City, I read Sam Anderson’s book, ‘Boom Town,’ and from there I began studying Oklahoma’s colorful history,” he said. “We have so many great stories, and seeing them come to life through music is aweinspiring. Two seasons ago, I programmed a Native American work by Jerod Tate. We commissioned a piece by Jonathan Leshnoff commemorating the Oklahoma City Bombing. And last year we told the story of local civil rights icon Clara Luper through music composed by Hannibal Lokumbe. I want to continue bringing more of these stories to our audiences.”

Mickelthwate lives in Oklahoma City with his wife of 25 years, Abigail, and sons Jack and Jacob. He is active in the community, and in high demand for speaking engagements from Rotary to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. When he’s not studying at Harvey Bakery, Mickelthwate is Artist in Residence at the University of Central Oklahoma where he enjoys working with the next generation of musicians, and conducting UCO’s symphony orchestra.

“My personal philosophy is that music has a way of reaching us in a way nothing else does,” Mickelthwate said. “It goes deep inside, creating and facilitating beauty in a harsh world. We want the Oklahoma City Philharmonic to be meaningful, to be fun and a place where we are all one. I have often said we feel the love, Oklahoma City. And we are giving it right back.

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O K L A H O M A P H I L H A R M O N I C S O C I E T Y, I N C P R O V I D I N G

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M U S I C

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS

LIFETIME DIRECTORS

Jerrod Shouse President

Jane B. Harlow Patrick Alexander

Jim Roth President Elect

DIRECTORS

Craig Perry Sam Rainbolt Kelly Sachs Amalia Miranda Silverstein Desiree Singer Doug Stussi Geetika Verma Evan Walter Renate Wiggin Wendi Wilson

Louise Cleary Cannon Robert Clements Joy Hammons Kirk Hammons Mautra Staley Jones Debra Kos Kristian Kos Tom Lerum Matt Paque

Debbie McKinney Vice President Kevin Dunnington Treasurer Jennifer Schultz Secretary Jane Jayroe Gamble Immediate Past President

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF John Allen General Manager

Jeana Gering Education Manager

Joel Levine Archivist/Historian

Jose Batty Music Librarian

Daniel Hardt Finance Director

Ashley Spears Development Associate

Mark Beutler Director of Marketing & Public Relations

Brent Hart Executive Director

Robin Sweeden Institutional Giving Coordinator

Judy Hill Administrative Assistant

Corbin Taggart Marketing Coordinator

Jared Davis Customer Service Representative

Daryl Jones Senior Manager of Ticketing & Patron Data

Valorie Tatge Orchestra Personnel Manager

Allison Demand Concert Operations Assistant & Guest Artist Liaison

Stephen Kelleher Box Office & Marketing Assistant

Blossom Crews Director of Development

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Classical KUCO 90.1 Morningstar Properties

Oklahoma City Police Association George Ryan

Stubble Creative, Inc. The Skirvin Hotel

Titan AVL

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Michael Anderson, Jesse Edgar Photography, Simon Hurst, and Shevaun Williams and Associates

THE OKLAHOMA PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY, INC. 424 Colcord Drive, Ste. B • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 Tickets: (405) 842-5387 • Administration: (405) 232-7575 • Fax: (405) 232-4353 • www.okcphil.org

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A F F I L I AT E D PA R T N E R S

The Oklahoma City Philharmonic Foundation was established to provide leadership and endowment expertise to help ensure a stable financial base for orchestral music and musical excellence in Oklahoma City for generations to come.

Distributions from the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Foundation provide a meaningful and secure source of annual income for the Philharmonic’s operations, continually confirming the importance of endowment in an organization’s long-range planning and overall success.

Current officers and directors of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Foundation are: OFFICERS

DIRECTORS

Douglas J. Stussi, President Charles E. Wiggin, First Vice President Jeff Starling, Second Vice President Louise Cleary Cannon, Treasurer Alice Pippin, Secretary

Steven C. Agee Patrick B. Alexander J. Edward Barth L. Joe Bradley Andre’ B. Caldwell Teresa L. Cooper Paul Dudman Jane Jayroe Gamble Mischa Gorkuscha Jane B. Harlow

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

OFFICERS

Debra Kos President

Desiree Singer President

Geetika Verma President-Elect

James Hulsey President-Elect

Orchestra League Office 424 Colcord Dr., Ste. B Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 Phone: (405) 232-7575 Fax: (405) 232-4353 e-mail: league@okcphil.org

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Jean Hartsuck Michael E. Joseph Harrison Levy, Jr. Duke R. Ligon Jessica Martinez-Brooks Penny McCaleb Michael J. Milligan Erik Salazar Patrick E. Randall, II Richard Tanenbaum

Mady Hendryx Secretary Kelsey Karper Marketing Chair Kelley Bennett Maya Johnson

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ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, Music Director and Conductor JOEL LEVINE, Founder and Music Director Emeritus BRENT HART, Executive Director FIRST VIOLIN Gregory Lee, Concertmaster, Gertrude Kennedy Chair Marat Gabdullin, Associate Concertmaster Densi Rushing, Assistant Concertmaster Hong Zhu Beth Sievers Chandler Fadero Min Jung Kim Deborah McDonald Ashley Cooper Lu Deng Lok-Hin Cheng

Jean Statham Samantha Kerns

SECOND VIOLIN Katrin Stamatis*, Principal, McCasland Foundation Chair Catherine Reaves, Assistant Principal Sophia Ro Sarah Sanford Brown Corbin Mace Angélica Pereira Audrey Lee Yajing (Cindy) Zhang Paulo Eskitch

PICCOLO Nancy Stizza-Ortega

VIOLA Royce McLarry, Principal Mark Neumann, Assistant Principal Joseph Guevara Kelli Ingels Steve Waddell Donna Cain Brian Frew CELLO Jonathan Ruck, Principal, Orchestra League Chair Meredith Blecha-Wells, Assistant Principal Valorie Tatge Emily Stoops Jim Shelley Angelika Machnik-Jones

BASS Anthony Stoops, Principal Larry Moore, Assistant Principal Christine Craddock Mark Osborn Taylor Dawkins DoYoun Kim Parvin Smith FLUTE Valerie Watts, Principal Parthena Owens Nancy Stizza-Ortega

OBOE Lisa Harvey-Reed, Principal Rachel Maczko Katherine McLemore ENGLISH HORN Rachel Maczko CLARINET Bradford Behn, Principal Tara Heitz Jim Meiller BASS/E-FLAT CLARINET Jim Meiller BASSOON Rod Ackmann, Principal James Brewer Barre Griffith

TRUMPET Karl Sievers, Principal Jay Wilkinson Michael Anderson TROMBONE Philip Martinson, Principal John Allen, Bass Trombone TUBA Ted Cox, Principal TIMPANI Jamie Whitmarsh, Principal PERCUSSION Patrick Womack, Principal Stephanie Krichena Roger Owens HARP Gaye LeBlanc, Principal PIANO Peggy Payne, Principal *on leave for the 2023-24 season

PRODUCTION STAFF John Allen, General Manager Valorie Tatge, Personnel Manager Jose Batty, Librarian Allison Demand, Guest Artist Liaison/ Concert Operations Assistant

CONTRABASSOON Barre Griffith HORN Kate Pritchett, Principal, G. Rainey Williams Chair James Rester Mirella Gable Matt Reynolds 17

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The Oklahoma Philharmonic Society, Inc. is honored to recognize its Encore Society members — visionary thinkers who have provided for the future of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic through their estate plans.

Anonymous (3)

Joel Levine and Don Clothier

Steven C. Agee, Ph.D.

John and Caroline Linehan

Linda and Patrick Alexander

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin C. Lunde, Jr.

Gary and Jan Allison

Mrs. Jackie Marron

Louise Cleary Cannon

Mr. and Mrs. John McCaleb

Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Clements

Mrs. Jean McLaughlin

Thomas and Rita Dearmon

W. Cheryl Moore

Dr. and Mrs. James D. Dixson

Carl Andrew Rath

Dr. Ralph and Lois Ganick

Mrs. Cathy Reaves

Hugh Gibson

Mrs. Lil Ross

Pam and Gary Glyckherr

Dr. Lois Salmeron

Carey and Gayle Goad

Mr. and Mrs. William F. Shdeed

Ms. Olivia Hanson

Susie and Doug Stussi

Jane B. Harlow

Larry and Leah Westmoreland

Dr. and Mrs. James Hartsuck

Mr. John S. Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Joseph

Mr. and Mrs. Don T. Zachritz

THANK YOU The Oklahoma Philharmonic Society, Inc. is grateful for the support of caring patrons who want to pass on a legacy of extraordinary music to future generations. You can join this special group of music enthusiasts by including a gift for the OKC Philharmonic’s future in your own will or estate plan. For more information on how to become an Encore Society member, contact the Philharmonic’s Development Office at (405) 232-7575.

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M E E T O U R FA M I LY THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MUSIC

EMILY STOOPS

STEPHEN KELLEHER

Cello OKCPHIL Musician

Box Office and Marketing Assistant OKCPHIL Staff

It’s a warm summer evening as Emily Stoops reflects on her life and career. As a cellist for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, music is her passion. She has an active home life too, with husband Anthony and their kids.

I am the newest member of the Marketing and Box Office Team.

“It’s not unusual to hear our daughter playing a Mozart violin concerto while our son is practicing his bass,” Emily says. “Or sometimes it’s piano in the living room and cello in another room. Since Anthony and I both teach and play in the OKCPHIL, we have to be hyper-organized. That sometimes means prepping dinner at 8 a.m.!”

When Emily and Anthony moved to Oklahoma City in 2006, she auditioned for and won a seat with the OKCPHIL. “I was so thrilled,” she remembers. “I had many playing jobs and musical colleagues that I really loved back in Michigan. It always takes a while to establish yourself in a new place, and I was a little afraid I might not find that kind of work again. But I was wrong. I love playing here and have been so very happy!”

I grew up in a house with jazz, classical music, art, and many different types of films and have always felt comfortable in an artistic community. I played piano and trombone in elementary and high school respectively and developed an interest in various forms of art, eventually going to college for sculpture and currently working on a degree in Communications at the University of Central Oklahoma. This venture led me to a chance encounter with the OKC Philharmonic.

This organization merges numerous personal interests for me; being an active member of Oklahoma City’s arts community, and working to promote the Philharmonic’s repertoire that contains pieces I have listened to from a young age are a couple of those aspects I am excited about.

As part of the box office and marketing team, you will often see me at performances or hear my voice on the phone when purchasing and inquiring about tickets.

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G I F T S TO T H E P H I L The Oklahoma City Philharmonic gratefully acknowledges the commitment and generosity of individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies that support our mission. To help us provide inspiration and joy to the community through live orchestral performances and a variety of Education and Community Engagement programs, please contact the Philharmonic’s Development Office at (405) 232-7575.

This Annual Fund recognition reflects contributions made for the 2023-24 Season made through November 20, 2023.

If your name has been misspelled or omitted, please accept our apologies and inform us of the error by calling the phone number listed above. Thank you for your generous support!

CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT Express their generous commitment to the community.

UNDERWRITER $25,000 & Above Ad Astra Foundation E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation Express Employment International Scissortail Park Foundation The Oklahoman The Skirvin Hilton Hotel

GUARANTORS $10,000 - $24,999 405 Magazine American Fidelity Foundation Crawley Family Foundation Devon Energy Corporation HSPG and Associates, PC I Heart Media Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores MidFirst Bank

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NvYA Technologies OGE Energy Corp.

Tyler Media Co./Magic 104.1FM and KOMA W&W Steel, LLC

BENEFACTORS $5,000 -$9,999 BancFirst Bryan Garrett Injury Law Firm Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation

SUSTAINERS $2,500 - $4,999 BNSF Railway Foundation Morningstar Properties, LLC OKC Friday The Black Chronicle

ASSOCIATES $1,500 - $2,499 Bank of Oklahoma The Fred Jones Family Foundation

FRIENDS $1,000 - $1,499 PARTNERS $500 - $999 Benevity Community Impact Giving

MEMBERS $250-$499

G I F T S TO T H E P H I L MAESTRO SOCIETY

Providing leadership support.

UNDERWRITER $25,000 and above Margaret Freede and Daniel Owens Amalia Miranda-Silverstein, MD The Ann Lacy Foundation GUARANTOR $10,000 - $24,999 Linda and Patrick Alexander Mo Anderson Lawrence H. and Ronna C. Davis

Gerald and Jane Jayroe Gamble The Estate of Carol Marshall Hall Mrs. Jane B. Harlow Ed and Barbara Krei Larry and Polly Nichols Dr. Lois Salmeron Susie and Doug Stussii BENEFACTOR $5,000 - $9,999

John and Margaret Biggs Joe and Nancy Bradley Martha and Ronnie Bradshaw Louise Cleary Cannon and Gerry Cannon Mrs. Teresa Cooper Darleene A. Harris Ruth Mershon Fund Glenna and Dick Tanenbaum

Steven C. Agee, Ph.D.

INDIVIDUALS

Providing essential support for the Annual Fund.

SUSTAINER $2,500-$4,999 Anonymous (2) Dr. and Mrs. Dewayne Andrews Dr. and Mrs. John C. Andrus Mrs. Betty D. Bellis-Mankin Dr. Charles and Marilyn Bethea Bart Binning Dr. and Mrs. Philip C. Bird Mrs. Phyllis Brawley Mr. and Mrs. Fred Brown Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Browne Phil G. and Cathy Busey Drs. Fong Chen and Helen Chiou Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Clements Mari Cook Medley Barbara Cooper Mr. and Mrs. David C. DeLana Mr. Sidney G. Dunagan Kevin and Alisha Dunnington David and Druanne Durrett Joseph and Yvette Fleckinger

Frank Goforth and Nancy Halliday Dr. and Mrs. James M. Hartsuck David and Vicki Hunt Colonel (ret.) Dean and Mrs. Jeanne Jackson Tom and Cindy Janssen Kim and Michael Joseph Kathy and Terry Kerr Thomas and Jane Lerum Charles L. Oppenheim Jerry and Jan Plant Mr. H.E. Rainbolt Larry Reed Ernesto and Lin Sanchez Dr. and Mrs. Hal Scofield Jeff and Kim Short John and Katherine Spaid Mr. and Mrs. John E. Stonecipher John Stuemky and James Brand Billie Thrash Dr. James and Elizabeth Wise Jeanise Wynn

ASSOCIATE $1,500 - $2,499 Virginia and Albert Aguilar Mr. and Mrs. Louis Almaraz Beth M. Alonso Ms. Zonia Armstrong Mr. J. Edward Barth Dr. and Mrs. William L. Beasley William Beck Dr. Jack and Ruth Beller Nels and Donna Bentson Nick and Betsy Berry Robert Blackburn Mike and Dawn Borelli Mr. and Mrs. Del Boyles Mr. and Mrs. William M. Cameron J. Christopher and Ruth Carey Ms. Janice B. Carmack Jeff Caughron Nancy Coleman Ms. Betty Crow Patricia Czerwinski CONTINUED ON PAGE 52

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The OKCPHIL would like to thank the following people who believe in our mission by providing support through the 2023-24 Maestro’s Ball as we honor our beloved Maestro’s Circle inductees Glenna and Dick Tanenbaum.

This recognition reflects contributions received through October 20, 2023.

HONORARY CO-CHAIRS Yvette & Joseph Fleckinger

EVENT CHAIRS Debra & Kristian Kos

EVENT COMMITTEE Rachel Gieger, Shaye Matthews, Lisa Reed, Desiree Singer, Mark Taylor, Geetika Verma, Wendi Wilson

DONORS PRESENTING SPONSORS Glenna & Dick Tanenbaum PLATINUM SPONSORS Dr. Margaret Freede BancFirst GOLDEN SPONSORS American Fidelity Foundation Bank of Oklahoma Mark & Julie Beffort Joel Levine & Don Clothier Lawrence H. & Ronna C. Davis Jane B. Harlow Paycom Susie & Doug Stussi Drs. Geetika & Bobby Verma SILVER SPONSORS 405 Magazine Pascal & Dolores Aughtry Barbara Cooper Yvette & Joseph Fleckinger Jim Roth & Phillip Koszarek OKC Friday Presbyterian Health Foundation Amalia Miranda Silverstein BRONZE SPONSORS Mark & Beverly Funke Gerald & Jane Jayroe Gamble 22

Debbie & Jay Harper Christopher Lloyd, Erik Salazar, Jennifer Schultz & Mike Kouandjio Larry & Polly Nichols Dr. Lois Salmeron Jamie & Jerrod Shouse BENEFACTOR SPONSORS Linda & Patrick Alexander J. Edward Barth Sody & Robert Clements Rita & Al Dearmon Nicole and Nick Dell’Osso Sue & John Francis Kirk Hammons Col. (Ret) Dean & Mrs. Jeanne Jackson Margaret Keith Penny & John McCaleb Anna & John McMillin Dr. Dinesh Dalbir & Mrs. Sumita Pokharel Sarah Sagran Lee Allan Smith D. Wayne & Emy Trousdale Marcia Crook & Terry West Wendi & Curtis Wilson FRIEND SPONSORS Anonymous Judy Austin Ms. Janice Carmack Carole Doerner Jeannie Drake

OTHER MAESTRO’S BALL SUPPORTERS Ad Astra Foundation Rick & Tracey Brown Laura & James Blakewell Sunny Cearley & Adam Brooks Wendy & Shawn Calvin Swapna Deshpande & Ameya Pitale Kim Fletcher James Hulsey Julia & Dick Hunt Bruce Jackson Margaret Keith Daniel Kim Jane Krizer Shay & Travis Matthews Carol McCoy Courtney Briggs Melton & Timothy Melton William and Marilyn North Lisa Reed Kirstin Reynolds Diane Riggert & Wayne Buchman John Roberts & Kenneth Long Meg Salyer Ernesto & Lin Sanchez Maggie Sermersheim Pam & Bill Shdeed Jacqueline Short & Byron Foley Michele Simon June Tucker Ivan Wayne & Robynn Poortvliet

The OKCPHIL would like to thank the following people who believe in our mission by providing support through the 2023-24 Maestro’s Ball as we honor our beloved Maestro’s Circle inductees Glenna and Dick Tanenbaum.

This recognition reflects contributions received through October 20, 2023.

WE’VE GOT RHY THM SPONSORS SPONSORING 10 SCHOOLS Debra & Kristian Kos Glenna and Dick Tanenbaum SPONSORING 5 SCHOOLS Linda & Patrick Alexander Anonymous Brent Hart & Matt Thomas Dr. Margaret Freede Justin & Amanda Loven Leighann & Brett Price SPONSORING 2 SCHOOLS Skip & Joan Cunningham Dr. Kenneth Evans Yvette & Joe Fleckinger Blair & Maggie Humphreys Joel Levine & Don Clothier Annie & Jonathan Middlebrooks Susie & Doug Stussi Drs. Geetika & Bobby Verma

SPONSORING 1 SCHOOL Christine Alsobrooks & Mike Fina Julia & David Assef Pascal & Dolores Aughtry Richard Brown Louise Cleary Cannon & Gerry Cannon Sody & Robert Clements Eric & Sandy Eissenstat Mitch & Allison Enright David & Aimee Harlow Debbie & Jay Harper Matt & Melody Hughes Col (Ret) Dean & Mrs. Jeanne Jackson David & Diana Le Tom & Jane Lerum Becky & Jeff Mallace Valerie Naifeh & George Catechis Matt & Brittanie Paque Richard and Gayle Parry Kathy Pendarvis Red Carpet Car Wash Jamie & Jerrod Shouse Amalia Miranda Silverstein D. Wayne & Emy Trousdale Jim & Jill Williams Wendi & Curtis Wilson

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT Patra Brown Wayne Buchman Rachel Cannon Jed & Sharon Castles Brooke Coe Sid & Tom Ellington Dee Hodapp Rachel & David Holt Farooq Karim & Blossom Crews Barrett Knudsen Christopher Lloyd & Erik Salazar Irina Miskovsky Kindt Myers & Malei Yangilmau Diana Osman Martha Pendleton Sam & Kylee Rainbolt Robert & Olga Reed Brooke & Danny Rivera Heather & Evan Walter

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RESTROOMS are conveniently located on all levels of the theater. Please ask your usher for guidance.

LATECOMERS and those who exit the theater during the performance may be seated during the first convenient pause, as determined by the management.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES must be turned off and put away during the performance (no calling, texting, photo or video use please).

BEVERAGES: Bottled water is permitted in the theater at the Classics Series concerts. Beverages are permitted in the theater at the Pops Series concerts; however, bringing coffee into the theater is discouraged due to the aroma.

SMOKING in the Civic Center Music Hall is prohibited. The Oklahoma City Philharmonic promotes a fragrance-free environment for the convenience of our patrons.

FIRE EXITS are located on all levels and marked accordingly. Please note the nearest exit for use in case of an emergency.

ELEVATORS are located at the south end of the atrium lobby of the Civic Center Music Hall.

CHILDREN of all ages are welcome at the Philharmonic Discovery Family Series and Holiday Pops performances; however, in consideration of the patrons, musicians and artists, those under five years of age will not be admitted to evening Classics and Pops concerts unless otherwise noted.

BOOSTER SEATS for children are available in the Civic Center lobby. Please inquire at the Box Office.

STUDENT RUSH are $11 each and available with a high school or university I.D. and email address at the Box Office, 1 hour prior to the start of each Philharmonic performance. Tickets are offered based on availability only and seats may be located throughout the theater.

VIDEO MONITORS are located in the lobby for your convenience.

WHEELCHAIR AVAILABLE SEATING – Persons using wheelchairs or with walking and climbing difficulties will be accommodated when possible. Those wishing to use the designated wheelchair sections may purchase the wheelchair space and a companion seat. Please inform the Philharmonic or Civic Center Box Office staff of your need when ordering tickets so that you may be served promptly and appropriately. Please request the assistance of hall ushers to access wheelchair seating.

HEARING LOOPS have been installed. Ask your audiologist to activate the telecoil in your hearing aid or cochlear implant. Due to the mechanics of the stage, the hearing loops do not reach the pit section but are available at the Box Office and the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre. The copper wire in the floor and telecoil work together to connect the hearing device to the theater’s sound system using a magnetic field which dramatically improves sound clarity for patrons using hearing devices.

LOST & FOUND is located in the Civic Center office (405-594-8300) weekdays 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

PHILHARMONIC TICKET OFFICE may be contacted by calling 405-TIC-KETS (405-842-5387) or you can visit the Philharmonic Ticket Office located on the first floor of the Arts District Garage at 424 Colcord Drive in Suite B. The Philharmonic Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and by phone on concert Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

CIVIC CENTER BOX OFFICE hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and two hours prior to each performance. (405-594-8300) ARTISTS, PROGRAMMING, AND DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

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Maestros CONCEPTS FROM THE

RACHMANINOFF! J A N U A R Y

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CLASSICS

RACHMANINOFF!

JoAnn and I go way back. It was during my

time living in New York City when I was driving in our little Geo Metro listening to the radio, specifically Beethoven Symphony No. 7. For some reason it really caught my attention. I was so drawn in that I had to drive the car to the side of the road to finish listening to the performance. It was exhilarating. Naturally I was curious, who was the conductor? The commentator announced after the last chord had been played that we had been listening to a performance of the Buffalo Philharmonic under the leadership of JoAnn Falletta. Ha! JoAnn Falletta. The first female conductor leading a major American orchestra.

A couple of months later I actually met her. I had been accepted as a conducting fellow in Tanglewood and JoAnn had been invited to lead a conducting masterclass. Of course, I told her of my little story. And I was excited to learn some tricks of hers.

Since then, I always wanted to invite her.

Well, here we are. I finally did.

Enjoy, Alexander

DEAR MUSIC LOVERS I am delighted and honored to be making my debut with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and hope that you will enjoy the program we’ve chosen. In the first half of the concert is a gorgeous re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid, created by the romantic Viennese composer Zemlinsky. Be forewarned that this is not the happy Disney ending! But the music is breathtaking, and the little mermaid becomes an angel at the end. I hope that you will love the work as much as we do. In the second half of the concert my friend, superstar pianist George Li will be performing what is perhaps the “Mount Everest” of piano concertos, Rachmaninoff’s difficult and supremely beautiful Concerto #3.

We are excited to be here with you!

Sit back and enjoy the music.

Warmest Wishes, JoAnn

JOANN FALLETTA, GUEST CONDUCTOR GEORGE LI, PIANO

ZEMLINSKY ............... The Little Mermaid (Die Seejungfrau)*, Fantasie in Three Movements for Large Orchestra after Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Op. 18 Sehr mässig bewegt (At a very moderate tempo) Sehr bewegt, rauschend (Very animated,

sweeping) Sehr gedehnt, mit schmerzvollem Ausdruck

(Very drawn out, with painful expression) Intermission RACHMANINOFF...... Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Allegro ma non tanto Intermezzo, Allegro Finale, Alla breve George Li, piano *First performance on this series

THIS CONCERT IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:

Listen to a broadcast of this performance on KUCO 90.1 FM on Thursday, February 8, at 7 pm and Saturday, February 10, at 8 am on “Performance Oklahoma”. Simultaneous internet streaming is also available during the broadcast.

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GUEST ARTIST R A C H M A N I N O F F !

JOANN FALLE T TA Multiple Grammy Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta serves as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Connie and Marc Jacobson Music Director Laureate of the Virginia Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center and Conductor Laureate of the Hawaii Symphony. She was recently named one of the “Fifty Great Conductors,” past and present, by Gramophone Magazine, and is hailed for her work as a conductor, recording artist, audience builder and champion of American composers.

As Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta became the first woman to lead a major American orchestra and has been credited with bringing the Philharmonic to an unprecedented level of national and international prominence.

The Buffalo Philharmonic has become one of the leading recording orchestras for Naxos, with two Grammy Award-winning recordings.

Internationally, Falletta has conducted many of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, Asia, and South America, including recent and upcoming concerts in Spain, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, and Croatia. Her recent and upcoming North American guest conducting includes the National Symphony, the orchestras of Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, Nashville, Indianapolis, Houston, Toronto, Milwaukee, Vancouver, Quebec, and a concert at Alice Tully Hall with her alma mater, The Juilliard School Orchestra. In 2022, she led the National Symphony in two PBS televised specials for New Year’s Eve and the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center and made her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

With a discography of over 125 titles, Falletta is a leading recording artist for Naxos. She has won two individual Grammy Awards, including the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance as conductor of the world premiere Naxos recording, Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua. In 2019, she won her first individual Grammy Award as conductor of the London Symphony in the Best Classical Compendium category for Spiritualist, her fifth world premiere recording of the music of Kenneth Fuchs. Her Naxos recording of John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan received two Grammys in 2008. Her 2020 Naxos recording of orchestral music of Florent Schmitt with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra received the prestigious Diapason d’Or Award. Her 2023-24 releases for Naxos include a new recording of orchestral works of Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály – Hary Janos, Symphony and Summer Evening with the Buffalo Philharmonic and a recording of concertos by Copland, Creston, Kay and Piston with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic and soloists Anna Mattix (oboe) and Tim McAllister (saxophone).

Last season, Naxos released two highly praised albums with Falletta and the BPO, Alexander Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy and Symphony #2, and a recording of two concertos by award-winning American composers, Danny Elfman’s violin concerto Eleven Eleven performed by Sandy Cameron and Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Stewart Goodyear.

Falletta is a member of the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has served by presidential appointment as a Member of the National Council on the Arts during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations and is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards. She has conducted over 1,600 orchestral works by 600-plus composers, including over 125 works by women. Credited with performing more than 150 world premieres, ASCAP has honored her as “a leading force for music of our time”. In 2019, JoAnn was named Performance Today’s first Classical Woman of The Year, calling her a “tireless champion,” and lauding her “unique combination of artistic authority and compassion, compelling musicianship and humanity.”

Falletta is a strong advocate and mentor for young professional and student musicians. She has led seminars for women conductors for the League of American Orchestras and established a unique collaboration between the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Mannes College of Music to give up-and-coming conductors professional experience with a leading American orchestra. In 2018, she served on the jury of the Malko Competition in Denmark. She has had great success working with young musicians, guest conducting orchestras at top conservatories and summer programs such as Tanglewood, the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Interlochen, and Brevard Music Center, and as Artistic Advisor at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Falletta has held the positions of Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony, Music Director of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of the Denver Chamber Orchestra and The Women’s Philharmonic.

After earning her bachelor’s degree at Mannes, Falletta received master’s and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School. When not on the podium, JoAnn enjoys playing classical guitar, writing, cycling, yoga and is an avid reader.

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GUEST ARTIST R A C H M A N I N O F F !

GEORGE LI Praised by the Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses an effortless grace, poised authority, and brilliant virtuosity far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation and performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Dudamel, Gaffigan, Gergiev, Gimeno, Honeck, OrozcoEstrada, Petrenko, Robertson, Slatkin, Temirkanov, Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.

Li’s 2023-24 season begins with a recital at the Grand Teton Music Festival, followed by his debut with the Aula Simfonia in Jakarta, Indonesia and conductor Jahja Ling. He embarks on an extensive tour in China including recital and concerto performances in Kunming, Beijing, and Shanghai. In Europe, Li presents recital programs in Viersen, Baden, Elmau, and Stuttgart, and debuts with the Prague Philharmonia in Prague and Ljubljana. US performances include engagements with the Cincinnati and Milwaukee Symphonies, Florida Orchestra, and Chicago Sinfonietta, as well as solo recitals across the country from California to Florida. A committed collaborator, George returns to the ECHO series in El Cajon, CA with the Dover Quartet and San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall with violinist Stella Chen.

Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Nashville, New Jersey, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, Valencia, Montreal, and Baltimore Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, Orchestra National de Lyon, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège in Belgium.

His eight-concert tour of Germany with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich, and the Stuttgart Liederhalle. His collaboration with the Mariinsky Orchestra included performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Graffenegg Festival, and in various venues throughout Russia.

In recital, Li has previously performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, Symphony Center in Chicago, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai’s Poly Theater, and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals, including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence, and the Montreux Festival. An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and Kian Soltani.

Li is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, with his debut recital album released in October 2017, which was recorded live from the Mariinsky. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic and released in October 2019. His third album with the label, which will include solo pieces by Schumann, Ravel, and Stravinsky, is scheduled for release in the spring of 2024.

Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinway Hall at the age of ten, and in 2011 performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among Li’s many prizes, he was the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. George began his piano studies at age 4 with Dorothy Shi, before continuing with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory beginning at age 12. In 2019, he completed the Harvard/New England Conservatory dual degree program, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Music. He subsequently graduated with an Artist Diploma at New England Conservatory in 2022. When not playing piano, George is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.

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P R O G R A M N OT E S R A C H M A N I N O F F !

ZEMLINSKY The Little Mermaid (Die Seejungfrau), Fantasie in Three Movements for Large Orchestra after Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Op. 18 Alexander (von) Zemlinsky First Performance on this series Born: October 4, 1871, in Vienna, Austria Died: March 15, 1942, in Larchmont, New York Work composed: February 1902 through March 20, 1903, with cuts effected prior to the premiere Work premiered: January 25, 1905, at Vienna’s Musikverein, in a concert presented by the Vereinigung schaffender Tonkünstler in Wien (Society of Creative Composers in Vienna), with the composer conducting the Wiener Konzertverein Orchester Instrumentation: Four flutes (third and fourth doubling piccolo), two oboes and English horn, two clarinets plus E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet, three bassoons, six horns, three trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, low bells, triangle, cymbals, two harps, and strings

Among the array of powerful talents populating Vienna at the turn of the 20th century was Alexander von Zemlinsky. (He dropped the aristocratic “von” after World War I.) He instructed and championed a heady roster of composers whose works would become more remembered than his own. He took the young Arnold Schoenberg under his wing, taught him personally, and employed him as a musical assistant; Schoenberg’s Op. 1, a set of songs, is dedicated to his “teacher and friend Alexander von Zemlinsky.” They became brothers-in-law when Schoenberg married Zemlinsky’s sister Mathilde in 1901. In the preceding year another friend, Gustav Mahler, conducted the premiere of Es war einmal... (Once Upon a Time ...), the second of Zemlinsky’s eight operas, at the Vienna Hofoper. Another of his pupils was Alma Schindler, with whom Zemlinsky became romantically involved in 30

1901. Their intense, teasing affair lasted about nine months, after which she cast him aside and married Mahler instead. Alban Berg and Anton Webern were among his students in the art of orchestration.

Zemlinsky also promoted his composer-colleagues from the podium and by all accounts was a refined conductor of not only the classics but also music by Schoenberg (including the 1924 premiere of his Erwartung), Webern, Berg, Schulhoff, Korngold, Weill, Krenek, Hindemith, and Janáček, among many other notables of Central European modernism. He held a succession of prestigious conducting appointments, including at the Vienna Volksoper (where he led the Vienna premiere of Strauss’ Salome), the Hofoper (where he worked alongside Mahler), and the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague (where he introduced the Three Fragments from Alban Berg’s Wozzeck several months before that complete opera was premiered).

Apart from his 16-year tenure in Prague, he moved frequently from one post to another and sometimes became swept up in aesthetic disagreements and personal rivalries. He inevitably ran afoul of the Nazis, and during the dark years his oeuvre was consigned to the forbidden list of “degenerate music.” His mother issued from a mixed Sephardic-Turkish Muslim marriage and his father, born a Catholic, had converted to Judaism.

If such a pedigree hadn’t spelled disaster after the rise of the Nazis, his promoting of composers whose works were more brashly modernist than his own would have proved insuperable. A few months after the Anschluss, Zemlinsky and his wife fled from Vienna, via Prague, to New York, where he found little success. He was disabled by a stroke in 1939, and his death three years later went largely unnoticed.

When Zemlinsky composed The Little Mermaid (Die Seejungfrau), in 1902-03, he and Schoenberg were both seeking to address the genre of the symphonic poem through an advanced musical language that might inspire listeners to overcome the perceived gap between “program music” (music inspired by some literary or at least non-musical source) and “absolute music” (music in its more abstract form, fueled only by musical forces).

This piece was accordingly unveiled on the same program as Schoenberg’s symphonic poem Pelleas und Melisande, which fared less well with the audience.

After ensuing performances in Berlin and Prague, Zemlinsky withdrew his score and the piece was not revived further during his lifetime. He gave his manuscript of the first movement as a gift to his friend Marie Pappenheim, the librettist of Schoenberg’s monodrama

P R O G R A M N OT E S R A C H M A N I N O F F !

Erwartung. He took the second and third movements with him when he fled to America in 1938. His widow was under the impression that they were the middle movements of a symphony, but in the early 1980s musicologists figured out what the scores actually were and managed to reunite them with the first movement, which had survived in a private library in Europe.

Zemlinsky based his piece on Den lille havfrue, a tale published by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837 (see sidebar). He initially envisioned his piece as a single movement divided into two parts. The first would depict the sea-bed setting and then move to the mermaid’s rescuing the prince in a storm. The second part would depict the mermaid’s longing and her encounter with the sea witch before proceeding to the prince’s wedding and the mermaid’s subsequent demise. The piece gradually expanded into three discrete movements. It appears that the composer wrote a somewhat detailed descriptive program, but it has not survived. At this point, lining up portions of the score with “plot points” would be an exercise in speculation, even though the music includes numerous Wagner-style leitmotifs that must be specific to the undisclosed narrative.

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Sergei Rachmaninoff First Performance: 4/3/1956 Piano: Byron Janis Last Performance: 10/5/2011 Piano: Jon Kimura Parker Born: March 20 (old style)/April 1 (new style), 1873, in either Oneg or Semyonovo, Russia Died: March 28, 1943, in Beverly Hills, California

Work composed: 1909 Work dedicated: To the pianist Josef Hofmann Work premiered: November 28, 1909, at the New Theatre in New York, with the composer as soloist and Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Symphony Society (which would merge with the New York Philharmonic in 1928) Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, and strings, in addition to the solo piano

As a youngster, Sergei Rachmaninoff enrolled on scholarship at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, but he proved so indifferent a student that the school threatened to curtail its support. At that point his cousin, the pianist Aleksandr Ziloti, stepped in to provide a measure of discipline that Rachmaninoff’s parents and professors had not managed to instill. He swept his promising but unfocused kinsman off to the preparatory division of the Moscow Conservatory and enrolled him in the piano studio of the famously strict Nikolai Zverev. It did the trick, and gradually Rachmaninoff started making good on his talent. Soon he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory’s senior division, where Ziloti himself accepted him into his piano studio.

By the time he graduated, in 1892, he was deemed worthy of receiving the Great Gold Medal, an honor that had been bestowed on only two students previously. He began to attract notice as a composer, but in 1897 the failure of his First Symphony threatened to undo him. For the next three years he didn’t write a note and focused instead on conducting. Eventually he sought the help of a physician who was investigating psychological therapy through hypnosis, and by 1901 Rachmaninoff was back on track as a composer, his Piano Concerto No. 2 marking his return to productivity. A few years later he would add the obligations of a touring concert pianist to his schedule. His numerous recordings confirm that his outstanding reputation as a performer—refined, precise, impressive of technique and analytical of approach—was fully merited.

He composed four piano concertos spread through his career—in 1890-91, 1900-01, 1909, and 1926 (revised through 1941)—and was the soloist at the premiere of each. A pendant to these was a fifth, ever-popular work for piano and orchestra, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). Of the bunch, the plush Second Concerto and the knuckle-busting Third, along with the Rhapsody, have staked indelible places in the repertoire. The Third has earned a reputation as one of the most technically daunting of all the standard piano concertos, and pianists have often cited it as an Everest they feel compelled to vanquish, no matter the colossal effort required.

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Rachmaninoff himself maintained that his Third Concerto was “more comfortable” to play than his Second. Perhaps it was more comfortable for Rachmaninoff, whose hands individually spanned the interval of a 13th and whose keyboard stamina was apparently limitless, but it was not more comfortable for many other pianists. It was even said to be out of reach to the great Josef Hofmann, whom Rachmaninoff admired above all other pianists and to whom he dedicated this score. Hofmann did have considerably smaller hands, and that was at least one reason he declined to perform this concerto that bears his name at the top of its first page.

Rachmaninoff composed this concerto for his own use, and specifically for his North American debut tour, which he undertook in 1909 with trepidation since he had devoted the preceding three years to composing rather than performing. Nonetheless, he did not stint in crafting this work to show his dizzying pianistic skills to great advantage, and his ever-increasing experience as a composer yielded a work in which the solo and orchestral parts are melded with remarkable sophistication. That was not readily apparent to the New York critics who attended the premiere; they were all but unanimous in finding Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto vague and meandering in comparison to his Second, which by that time was well known. The New York newspaper The Sun proclaimed that the new concerto “may be taken as a purely personal utterance of the composer and it has at times the character of an impromptu, so unstudied and informal is its speech and so prone, too, to repetition.”

The audience disagreed, and wanted more. The New York Herald reported: “Mr. Rachmaninoff was recalled several times in the determined effort of the audience to make him play again, but he held up his hands with a gesture which meant that although he was willing, his fingers were not.”

The First-movement Cadenza Rachmaninoff composed two versions of the firstmovement cadenza, reflecting different ways of getting into and back out of a fully packed section common to both. The shorter version makes a more subtle transition from the preceding material, beginning softly and swelling in volume as fragmented melodic motifs emerge. The longer version, played here, launches right in—forte swelling to fortissimo, though quickly retreating to pian —with the sort of powerful, full-textured chords that characterize both cadenzas in their shared section.

The shorter cadenza was the standard in the first half-century of the work’s existence. But the longer one became prevalent after it was championed by pianist Van Cliburn following his triumph at the 1958 International Tchaikovsky Competition, and since that time it has largely displaced the short version in popularity. The longer one was used in the two recordings made by Walter Gieseking, with conductors John Barbirolli (1939) and Willem Mengelberg (1940), both of which Rachmaninoff admired; but the composer himself always played the shorter one, including in his own famous recording with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra (1939-40).

—JMK

JAMES M. KELLER James M. Keller is the longtime Program Annotator of the San Francisco Symphony and was formerly Program Annotator of the New York Philharmonic and a staff writer-editor at The New Yorker. The author of Chamber Music: A Listener’s Guide (Oxford University Press), he is writing a sequel volume about piano music. Portions of these notes previously appeared in the programs of the San Francisco Symphony (Zemlinsky) and the New York Philharmonic (Rachmaninoff) and are used with permission.

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MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS J A N U A R Y 2 6 - 2 7, 2 0 2 4 , 8 : 0 0 P. M .

ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, CONDUCTOR

THIS CONCERT IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:

A special Thank You to Bo Taylor for providing musicians’ catering services.

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PROGRAM

MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS La Morena Corazon Corazon

(Corazon Corazon, Que Bonito Amor, Amorcito Corazon)

Mariachi Los Camperos Solo Movimiento Mariachi Los Camperos Solo Los Pollitos

(El Fandanguito, El Toro Zacamandu, Los Pollitos)

Mariachi Los Camperos Solo Juan Gabriel

(Asi Fue, Querida, Me Gustas Mucho, Me nace del Corazon, Noa Noa)

INTERMISSION

Pop Mexicano

(Un Viejo Amor, Un Madrigal, La Borrachita)

Huasteco

(Serenata Huasteca, La Malaguena, El Gustito)

Mariachi Los Camperos Solo Estrellita Mariachi Los Camperos Solo Canto Borincano

(Lamento Borincano, En mi Viejo San Juan)

Mariachi Los Camperos Solo Tierra Mia

(Cuando Salgo a Los Campos, Maracumbe, La Huasanga, Tierra Mexicana)

Program is Subject to Change

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GUEST ARTIST M A R I A C H I

L O S

C A M P E R O S

MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS “The Los Angeles-based Mariachi Los Camperos is considered by many to be the finest mariachi ensemble in the world. Undoubtedly, it has played a central role in the United States in raising both the artistic standards and the public perceptions of mariachi music, which is now recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” —The National Folk Festival Los Angeles–based Mariachi Los Camperos’ abundant accolades and performances on premier concert stages can easily obscure the fact that its leaders come from humble roots, deep within a mariachi tradition. The group’s founder, Nati Cano, was a third-generation mariachi musician from the Mexican state of Jalisco. He lived his dream, forging his own mariachi group in 1961 from his artistic vision and determination. Until his death in 2014, he challenged the attitudes that, during his youth in Mexico, led formally trained musical peers to look down on his beloved rural and working-class music. In the words of Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán, his disciple and successor as Camperos leader, “He wanted to have a mariachi that would have dignity, that would have heart, that would have soul, and he made Los Camperos.”

“I owe a lot to Mr. Cano,” says Guzmán. “He was my tutor; he was my artist. Really, he was everything for me. He guided me. He would tell me, ‘Look, when [you write arrangements], look for simplicity... The song is already there. Look for a touch-up.’ ” By 1992, Guzmán was arranging pieces for Mariachi Los Camperos under Cano’s supervision, and his talents grew rapidly. Guzmán’s creativity was key to the Grammy-nominated albums Llegaron Los Camperos: Concert Favorites of Nati Cano’s Mariachi Los Camperos (2006) and Tradición Arte y Pasión: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano (2015), as well as Grammy-winning Amor, Dolor y Lágrimas: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano (2008) and De Ayer Para Siempre (2019). In 2014, Nati Cano performed his last show with Mariachi Los Camperos before he lost his battle with cancer.

For over half a century, Los Camperos has been bringing life to mariachi music from Mexican history with twelve passionfilled albums, five of which were released by Smithsonian Folkways. Their most recent album De Ayer Para Siempre was released in 2019 and revitalizes classic sones, rancheras, and boleros with artistry and ingenuity. This album also features medleys, known as popurrís, that honor and highlight the work of influential composers.

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GUEST ARTIST M A R I A C H I

L O S

C A M P E R O S

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

An essential component of Mariachi Los Camperos’ mission is nurturing future generations’ appreciation of mariachi music. The group actively engages in educating young people about the rich heritage and significance of mariachi music, empowering them to explore Mexican culture and their own musical side. Every year, Mariachi Los Camperos leads multiple workshops that open up the minds of young people to the joys of mariachi. Multiple members of Los Camperos, including Guzmán and Sergio “Checo” Alonso, also hold teaching positions at high schools and colleges, extending their commitment to mariachi music education beyond their activities with the ensemble.

Today, Guzmán leads the Los Camperos legacy, providing the vision for its sound and repertoire. He continues Cano’s work of teaching the tradition throughout the United States and beyond. Looking back on his career, he says, “I’m not going to tell you that the work was easy, but... I feel good about what has happened in my life, in my path as a musician.”

Looking ahead, he adds, “There’s still a lot to do... My dream will come to an end when I am gone.” Mariachi Los Camperos stands as a beacon of cultural heritage, preserving the traditional roots of mariachi music by expounding on the heart and soul that has saturated these songs for generations.

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Maestro CONCEPTS FROM THE

BRAHMS F E B R U A R Y

3 ,

2 0 2 4

•

8 : 0 0

P . M .

CLASSICS

This season is about humanity. The deep-seated humanity of you, me, all of us. Humanity with all its emotional expressions. In our case, the deepseated humanity of our heroes. Our geniuses. Our composers. Born with gifts. Imagining the most beautiful melodies and inspiring music. Yet fully human. With all their ups and downs.

ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, CONDUCTOR BENJAMIN SCHMID, VIOLIN

BRAHMS Johannes Brahms is one of the giants of the classical symphonic repertoire. He was called Beethoven’s successor, and his Symphony No. 1 was dubbed Beethoven’s 10th. What an accomplishment!

But whereas Beethoven was the revolutionary of his time, Brahms was considered a traditionalist.

Things got interesting in the middle of the 19th Century. The bad boys of music, Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner and then Richard Strauss decided to go rogue. No more classical form. Instead: freeform. And the freeform was called ‘tone poem.’

Emotional flow. Storytelling. Sudden character shift. Everything allowed.

But Brahms stuck to his guns amidst all the young kids. And the amazing thing was although Brahms continued composing in that classical traditional formula, emotionally he packed it to the brim.

His Symphony No. 3 starts with splashes of different colors falling downwards. To hear the melody, Brahms composes 2 different lines complimenting each other taking compositional tactic straight from Richard Wagner’s playbook.

Brahms’ music has an inward glow.

Verinnerlicht, inwards, as we would say in German. Not flashy, outward, extroverted, but rather late Romantic soulful and deep.

THIS CONCERT IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED

BRAHMS ..................... Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77

Allegro non troppo

Adagio

Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace—

Poco più presto Benjamin Schmid, violin Intermission Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90

Allegro con brio

Andante

Poco allegretto

Allegro—Un poco sostenuto

In Memory of Bill and Helen Cleary

Listen to a broadcast of this performance on KUCO 90.1 FM on Thursday, February 29, at 7 pm and Saturday, March 2, at 8 am on “Performance Oklahoma”. Simultaneous internet streaming is also available during the broadcast.

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GUEST ARTIST B R A H M S

BENJAMIN SCHMID A truly multifaceted and most versatile of today’s violinists, Viennese-born violinist Benjamin Schmid is renowned for his extraordinarily broad artistic range. In addition to over 75 concertos in his repertoire, he champions works by composers such as Hartmann, Gulda, Korngold, Muthspiel, Szymanowski, Wolf-Ferrari, Lutoslawski and Reger. Schmid also has a successful career in jazz and regularly presents his Hommage à Grappelli programme at jazz venues and classical concert halls alike.

Artistic Director of the Musica Vitae Chamber Orchestra in Sweden since the 2020/21 season, he continues this successful artistic partnership in diverse play/direct projects.

Benjamin Schmid has a close relationship with the Wiener Philharmoniker and their notable collaborations include the opening concert of the Salzburger Festspiele as well as performances at Vienna Musikverein and, in 2011, at Schloss Schönbrunn with the Paganini-Kreisler Concerto under the baton of Valery Gergiev, which was broadcast in over 60 countries and released on CD and DVD by Deutsche Grammophon.

He has a discography of over 50 albums, many of which have won critical acclaim and awards including the ECHO Klassik, Gramophone Editor’s Choice and Strad Selection. His recording of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto was named Record of the Month by Gramophone magazine, and his album of Wolf-Ferrari’s Violin Concerto was nominated for the Vierteljahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Benjamin Schmid won the Carl Flesch International Competition in 1992, where he also received the Mozart, Beethoven and Audience prizes. He holds a professorship at the Mozarteum Salzburg and teaches masterclasses at Hochschule der Künste Bern. He was a member of the jury at the 2017 ARD International Music Competition for violin, and Chairman of the Jury at the 2019 International Leopold Mozart Violin Competition.

Regular collaborations include conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Christoph von Dohnányi, Riccardo Chailly, Yuri Temirkanov, John Storgårds and Hannu Lintu, and with orchestras including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Concerto Köln. US engagaments have included the Baltimore and Houston Symphony orchestras, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic and Naples Philharmonic Jazz and Curtis Institute orchestras. In Asia, he appears with the likes of New Japan Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony and at the Hong Kong Festival.

Benjamin Schmid plays the “ex-Viotti” Stradivarius of 1718, on generous loan by the Österreichische Nationalbank.

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P R O G R A M N OT E S B R A H M S

BRAHMS Johannes Brahms

Born: May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany Died: April 3, 1897, in Vienna, Austria

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 First Performance: 11/22/1942 Violin: Albert Spalding Last Performance: 10/6/2012 Violin: Gil Shaham Work composed: Summer and early fall 1878, revised slightly the following winter Work dedicated: To Joseph Joachim Work premiered: January 1, 1879, at the Gewandhaussaal in Leipzig, with Joachim as soloist and the composer conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings, in addition to the solo violins

Brahms was the chief acolyte of the conservative stream of 19th-century Romanticism. As a young composer, he sought out the composer and critic Robert Schuman in 1853. Schumann was hugely impressed by the young man’s talent, and on October 28 of that year he published in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, a musical magazine he had founded, an effusive article that acclaimed Brahms as a sort of musical Messiah “destined to give ideal presentation to the highest expression of the time, ... springing forth like Minerva fully armed from the head of Jove.”

Brahms filled Schumann’s prophecy and became the figure who most fully adapted the models of Beethoven (via Mendelssohn and Schumann himself) to the evolving aesthetics of the mid-to-late 19th century. He did not achieve this without considerable struggle, and he took

his time addressing some of the more imposing genres, but he finally managed to bring his First Piano Concerto to completion in 1858. Between 1878 and 1881 he followed up with his Second Piano Concerto, a serene, warmhearted work in comparison to the tumultuous Romanticism of the First; and at about the same time, in 1878, he also set to work on his transcendent Violin Concerto.

Brahms was not a violinist himself, but as a pianist he had worked as an accompanist to violinists since the earliest years of his career, and he had the good fortune to number among his closest friends Joseph Joachim, one of the most eminent string players of that time. It was Joachim who had championed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto to a degree that lifted it in musical prestige from a perceived footnote in Beethoven’s catalogue to a repertoire masterwork. He would introduce such important works as Schumann’s Phantasie for Violin and Orchestra (1854) and Violin Concerto (though the latter only in private performances beginning in 1855) and the final version of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (in 1868), as well as Brahms’ Violin Concerto and Double Concerto for Violin and Cello.

Joachim’s presence looms large in the case of Brahms’ Violin Concerto, as the composer consulted with him very closely while writing the piece. There is no question that Joachim’s influence on the final state of the violin part, and on the work’s orchestration overall, was substantial.

(Brahms also sought the advice of two other eminent violinists—Pablo de Sarasate and Emile Suaret—but their input was of lesser consequence.) It is hard not to think that Joachim’s influence also extended to introducing Brahms to Bruch’s celebrated First Violin Concerto, which so strikingly prefigures passages in Brahms’ concerto that many music-lovers assume that Bruch was copying Brahms. In fact, the influence flowed in the other direction.

Brahms did some of his best work during his summer vacations, which he usually spent at some bucolic getaway in the Austrian countryside. The summer of 1878—the summer of the Violin Concerto—found him in Pörtschach, in southern Austrian. When he wrote his Second Symphony there the summer before, he had remarked that beautiful melodies so littered the landscape that one merely had to scoop them up. Listeners are likely to think that he scooped up quite a few for his Violin Concerto, too, but early audiences weren’t so sure.

Critics were at best cool and at worst savage. When it was presented by the Berlin Conservatory Orchestra, one newspaper complained that students should not be subjected to such “trash,” and Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr., who as one of Vienna’s leading violinists had much Brahmsian experience, dismissed it as “a concerto not for, CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

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P R O G R A M N OT E S B R A H M S

but against the violin.” Brahms was discouraged by the response and, to the regret of posterity, fed to the flames the draft he had already completed for his Violin Concerto No. 2. We can only mourn what must have been lost.

Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90

Granitic magnificence inhabits the opening movement, a complex and demanding expanse, subtle in its orchestration, brainy in its rhythmic interweaving, occasionally forbidding in its stern outbursts. Even a listener who has never held a violin will have no trouble appreciating the level of technical and intellectual challenge involved. The second movement is a good deal more friendly, with oboe introducing its ingratiating melody at length before the soloist enters. In the finale we get another glimpse of the composer’s fondness for the Hungarian style, which informs the principal theme.

Joachim appreciated it; he had grown up in Budapest (actually in Pest, since consolidated Budapest was not created until later). “You have beat me on my own turf,” he once wrote to Brahms.

Last Performance: 10/4/2014 Conductor: Joel Levine

Travelogue Brahms composed much of his Violin Concerto in Pörtschach, a small resort town on the north shore of the Wörthersee (known in English as Lake Wörth) in the southern Austrian province of Kärnten (Carinthia), a bit west of the university city of Klagenfurt. Though it scarcely appears on the tourist radar of Americans, the Wörthersee was (and is) a popular destination for European vacationers, and it has hosted several notable composers over the years. Gustav Mahler built a summer getaway at Maiernigg on the lake’s southern shore, and you can still visit the little composing cottage he constructed in the forested hill above his villa. Alban Berg composed his Violin Concerto while residing along Lake Wörth in the summer of 1935. Music lovers planning a trip to Pörtschach can stay in what is said to be the very room at the Schloss Leonstain castle-hotel where Brahms composed his Violin Concerto. At least anyone passing through should take a moment to gaze at the Brahms statue in the castle’s courtyard.

—JMK

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First Performance: 2/8/1948 Conductor: Victor Alessandro

Work composed: 1882-83 Work premiered: November 9, 1883, with Brahms and Ignaz Brüll playing a two-piano reduction for a private gathering of friends in Vienna; the full orchestral version was introduced on December 2, 1883, at Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal, with Hans Richter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings

“I shall never write a symphony!” Brahms famously declared in 1872. “You can’t have any idea what it’s like to hear such a giant marching behind you.” The giant was Beethoven, of course, and although his music provided essential inspiration for Brahms, it also set such a high standard that the younger composer found it easy to discount his own creations as negligible in comparison.

Four more years would pass before Brahms finally signed off on his First Symphony. But once he conquered his compositional demons he moved ahead forcefully. Three symphonies followed that first effort in relatively short order: the Second in 1877, the Third in 1882-83, and the Fourth in 1884-85. Each is a masterpiece and each displays a markedly different character. The First is burly and powerful, flexing its muscles in Promethean exertion; the Second is sunny and bucolic; and the Third, the shortest of his four, though introspective and idyllic on the whole, mixes in a hefty dose of heroism. And with his Fourth Symphony, Brahms achieved a work of almost mystical transcendence born of opposing emotions: melancholy and joy, severity and rhapsody, solemnity and exhilaration.

Again we have a summer-vacation piece—this time, the summer of 1883, in the town of Wiesbaden, a spa resort along the Rhine some twenty miles west of Frankfurt. It is perhaps not coincidental that the opening of the piece seems strongly reminiscent of the corresponding spot of the Rhenish Symphony No. 3, which Brahms’ mentor Robert Schumann had composed in 1850 shortly after moving to Düsseldorf, another city on the Rhine.

Although Brahms was a widely respected figure by the time he wrote his Third Symphony, he was also fully accustomed to critical disparagement and halfheartedness; and he could count on the fact that his music would not be to the taste of audiences who preferred the

P R O G R A M N OT E S B R A H M S

“Music of the Future” style of Wagner, Liszt, and their partisans. Indeed, the Futurists made their displeasure known at the premiere of the Third Symphony, but on the whole Brahms was quite taken aback by the warmth with which everyone else greeted his latest composition. It was not accepted with mere respect; it scored a palpable hit. Suddenly, orchestras outside Vienna began to clamor for a piece of him, and he had to admit that he now occupied a plateau of higher prestige than he had previously glimpsed in his career. Brahms had an irascible streak, to be sure, and he occasionally expressed irritation over the fact that the Third Symphony was overshadowing others of his compositions that he felt also deserved attention. But on the whole, he accepted his triumph as generally a good thing.

Early on, Brahms’ Third Symphony gained a reputation as an equivalent to Beethoven’s Third, the Sinfonia eroica—a comparison that may strike many listeners as odd. According to the powerful Viennese critic and fervid Brahmsian Eduard Hanslick, the idea was planted by Hans Richter, who conducted the premiere. “In a gracious toast,” reported Hanslick, adding an explanation that helps us try to make sense of things by way of Beethovenian comparisons, “Hans Richter recently christened the new symphony ‘Eroica.’ Actually, if one were to call Brahms’ First Symphony the ‘Appassionata’ and the second the ‘Pastoral,’ then the new symphony might well be called the ‘Eroica.’ ... The Symphony No. 3 is really something new. It repeats neither the unhappy fatalism of the First, nor the cheerful idyll of the Second; its foundation is selfconfident, rough and ready strength. The ‘heroic’ element in it has nothing to do with anything military, nor does it lead to any tragic dénouement, such as the Funeral March of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica.’ Its musical characteristics recall the healthy soundness of Beethoven’s second period, never the eccentricities of his last. And here and there are suggestions of the romantic twilight of Schumann and Mendelssohn.”

A Friend Reacts Clara Schumann, the widow of Robert Schumann, was close to Brahms to the end of her life, which concluded less than a year before Brahms’. Her reaction to the Third Symphony, conveyed in a letter to Brahms on February 11, 1884, was little short of euphoric: From start to finish one is wrapped about with the mysterious charm of the woods and forests. I could not tell you which movement I loved most. In the first I was charmed straight away by the gleams of dawning day, as if the rays of the sun were shining through the trees.

Everything springs to life, everything breathes good cheer, it is really exquisite! The second is a pure idyll; I can see the worshippers kneeling about the little forest shrine, I hear the babbling brook and the buzz of insects. There is such a fluttering and a humming all around that one feels oneself snatched up into the joyous web of Nature. The third movement is a pearl, but it is a gray one dipped in a tear of woe, and at the end the modulation is quite wonderful.

How gloriously the last movement follows with its passionate upward surge! But one’s beating heart is soon calmed down again for the final transfiguration which begins with such beauty in the development motif that words fail me!

—JMK

JAMES M. KELLER James M. Keller is the longtime Program Annotator of the San Francisco Symphony and was formerly Program Annotator of the New York Philharmonic and a staff writer-editor at The New Yorker. The author of Chamber Music: A Listener’s Guide (Oxford University Press), he is writing a sequel volume about piano music. Earlier versions of the concerto and symphony notes appeared in the programs of the New York Philharmonic and are used with permission..

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BR AVO BROADWAY! F E B R U A R Y

1 6 - 1 7 ,

2 0 2 4

•

8 : 0 0

P . M .

JAN McDANIEL, GUEST CONDUCTOR

FEATURING VOCALISTS

Scarlett Strallen, Dee Roscioli, and Hugh Panaro

THIS CONCERT IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:

In Memory of William “Bert” Cooper A special Thank You to Bo Taylor for providing musicians’ catering services.

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PROGRAM BRAVO BROADWAY !

Overture: Broadway Tonight............................................................arranged by Bruce Chase Another Opening from Kiss Me Kate...........................................Cole Porter Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl...............................Bob Merrill & Jule Styne Over The Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz................................by Yip Harburg & Harold Arlen The Sound of Music from The Sound of Music......................Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II Mamma Mia...............................................................................................Andersson, Ulvaeus & Anderson 76 Trombones from The Music Man.............................................Meredith Willson So Big, So Small from Dear Evan Hansen.................................by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul Selections from Les Misérables.....................................................Claude-Michel Schönberg INTERMISSION Willkommen from Cabaret ..............................................................John Kander & Fred Ebb All That Jazz from Chicago.................................................................John Kander & Fred Ebb I Believe from The Book of Mormon.............................................Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone Ring Them Bells from The World Goes ‘Round ....................John Kander & Fred Ebb Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors...................by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman Candide Overture....................................................................................Leonard Bernstein Defying Gravity from Wicked...........................................................Stephen Schwartz Phantom of the Opera from Phantom of the Opera............Andrew Lloyd Webber & Charles Hart Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera....................Andrew Lloyd Webber & Charles Hart Program is Subject to Change

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G U E S T C O N D U C TO R B R A V O

B R O A D W A Y !

JAN McDANIEL Jan McDaniel is equally at home on the podium and at the keyboard—as his appearances with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic demonstrate. Since 2021, he has appeared regularly as a guest conductor, including two concerts in 2021: a special recorded concert with Kelli O’Hara which he led from the piano, followed a day later as conductor with a pops concert of Broadway favorites with Scott Coulter, Jessica Hendy, and John Boswell. McDaniel appeared last spring as pianist with Kelli O’Hara in late February 2023, and will return to the Philharmonic in an advisory capacity for a concert performance of Puccini’s Tosca (starring Latonia Moore) in May 2024.

He is in his twenty-fifth year on the faculty of the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, where he is Professor of Vocal Coaching and a conductor of the Oklahoma City University Opera and Musical Theater Company.

In the latter capacity, McDaniel has served as musical director and conductor for over thirty productions, including the world premiere of Edward Knight’s Night of the Comets and the regional premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s The Hotel Casablanca, along with works such as Puccini’s La rondine and Suor Angelica, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Verdi’s La traviata, Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Floyd’s Susannah, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Flaherty and Ahren’s Seussical, Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella, Sklar’s The Wedding Singer, Schwartz’s Children of Eden, and Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing.

Prof. McDaniel also directs the Master of Music program in Vocal Coaching, one of the only programs of its kind in the United States – providing pianists with training in style, language, diction, and teaching techniques necessary to enter the field as successful vocal coaches of opera, art song, and musical theater. Its graduates are serving as vocal coaches and musical directors in professional and academic settings across the country.

McDaniel served for ten years as director of accompanying and orchestral activities at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. His appearances as a collaborative pianist include concerts and recitals from Germany to Japan, and he was featured as harpsichord soloist in the world premiere of Der Turmbau zu Babel with the Northwest German Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1982, Mr. McDaniel accepted a position as assistant conductor and vocal coach with the Detmold State Theater in Detmold, Germany, the largest touring opera company in that country, a position he held until 1985. In association with the opera theater at SFASU, he conducted over twenty separate productions, including such works as Madama Butterfly, Cavalleria rusticana, Falstaff, Suor Angelica, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Così fan tutte, Roméo et Juliette, and La tragédie de Carmen, as well as the musicals Once upon a Mattress, The Most Happy Fella, and A Little Night Music. McDaniel has performed with such notable artists as Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Latonia Moore, Marquita Lister, Susanne Mentzer, Mary Jane Johnson, Uwe Heilmann, Robert Watson, Yvonne Redman, and Leona Mitchell. His present and former coaching students are working worldwide in opera houses and on stages on Broadway and across the country.

McDaniel also serves as musical director for Painted Sky Opera, Oklahoma City’s professional opera company, where he has led productions such as Verdi’s La traviata and Rigoletto, Puccini’s Tosca and La Bohème, Heggie’s Three Decembers, Cipullo’s Glory Denied, Kaminsky’s As One, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors and The Medium, Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Arias and Barcarolles, Chabrier’s L’éducation manqué, and the Bizet-Brook La tragédie de Carmen. Most recently, McDaniel led the 2023 season of PSO, which included La Bohème, Don Giovanni, and The Turn of the Screw.

With Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, he has served as musical director for West Side Story (2017), Disney’s Freaky Friday (2018), and Disney’s Newsies (2019)—and he also acted as musical director and performed the role of stage pianist Manuel Weinstock in Lyric’s 2021 production of Terrence McNally’s Master Class, and was at the helm of Lyric’s Kinky Boots in July 2022. He has been active as a church musician since the age of eight and had a long tenure as organist/choirmaster at Central Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City from 1999 until 2020. McDaniel currently serves as Associate Director of Worship and the Arts at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City.

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GUEST ARTIST B R A V O

B R O A D W A Y !

SCARLE T T STRALLEN

Scarlett Strallen is best known in the US for the title role in the Broadway productions of Mary Poppins and as Sibella Hallward in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Scarlett has starred in productions on Broadway, London’s West End, including Singin’ in the Rain at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Palace Theatre London, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She most recently starred on Broadway as Gwendolyn in Travesties and has appeared in the title role of Mary Poppins, a role she also played in the West End, and as Sibella Hallward in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Additional theater credits include the title role in Nell Gwynn at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Pirates of Penzance at Barrington Stage Company, Macbeth at the Armory in New York, Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory, A Chorus Line at The London Palladium, She Loves Me at the Chocolate Factory, and Passion at Donmar Warehouse. In 2014, Scarlett received the ‘Whatsonstage’ awards for best actress in a musical for A Chorus Line at the London Palladium and Candide at the Menier.

A frequent soloist with orchestras around the world, Scarlett’s recent and upcoming engagements with orchestras in the US includes The Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival, Utah Symphony, Philly Pops, Phoenix Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony, among many others. She made her German debut at the Philharmonie in Berlin with the John Wilson Orchestra in “A Celebration of the MGM Film Musicals and performed in “Disney on Broadway” at the Royal Albert Hall, “I Love Musicals” arena tour of Sweden with Peter Joback, “Cole Porter in Hollywood” UK tour with the John Wilson Orchestra, a broadcast on Sky television from the Royal Albert Hall in London, “Bernstein Stage and Screen” at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra which was broadcast on BBC television, and with the Czech Philharmonic. Her work for the BBC Proms as Laurie in Oklahoma and in the Bernstein Evening singing “Glitter and Be Gay” with the John Wilson Orchestra can be found on YouTube. Scarlett has recorded “Something’s Gotta Give” with Simon Keenleyside for Chandos conducted by David Charles Abel. Scarlett has been requested by Her Majesty the Queen on three separate occasions to sing for her.

Her film and television credits include the title role in the BBC production of Mary Poppins celebrating HM Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday. Follow Scarlett @scarlettstrallenofficial

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GUEST ARTIST B R A V O

B R O A D W A Y !

DEE ROSCIOLI

Dee Roscioli’s home base is NYC, but she has travelled the world singing and acting. Dee is best known for her 7-year record-breaking portrayal of Elphaba in the smash Broadway hit Wicked, where she led the Broadway, Chicago, San Francisco, and First National Touring companies. Most recently, Dee was seen on Broadway in The Cher Show, portraying the pop icon herself as both Star and Lady Cher. In 2015, she was invited into the closing company of the Broadway revival of Fiddler On The Roof, playing the mischievous Fruma Sarah, which was was filmed and archived for Lincoln Center’s performance library. Dee has also had the privilege of creating the role of Emily in John Kander’s musical Kid Victory, where she was directed by the incomparable Liesl Tommy. This production went on to have a critically acclaimed run at the prestigious Vineyard Theatre in NYC and she can also be heard on the Original Cast Recording. Dee was also seen as Grizabella in the First National Tour of Cats.

In addition to her theatre credits, she has performed twice as a headlining artist with the prestigious Philly Pops and has also performed as a headlining artist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic, Brazos Valley Symphony, Pennsylvania Philharmonic, South Bend Symphony, Cape Symphony, Corpus Christi Symphony, Missouri Symphony, Brevard Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, Desert Symphony, as well as the International Music Festival in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic and return concert engagements in Taipei, Taiwan.

She has also created her solo show for the legendary Birdland Jazz, 54 Below, and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival cabaret series. She has also guest starred on various TV series. For updates on Dee follow her on Instagram and Facebook! @deeroscioli

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GUEST ARTIST B R A V O

B R O A D W A Y !

HUGH PANARO

Hugh Panaro is perhaps best known for having played the coveted role of the Phantom in Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera over 2,000 times, including the 25th Anniversary production. In fact, Hugh is one of the few actors to be cast by Harold Prince as both The Phantom and Raoul in the show’s Broadway production and recently starred as the title role in the New York production of Sweeney Todd.

Hugh made his Broadway debut in the original production of Les Misérables as Marius, the role he originated in the First National Company. He also created the roles of Buddy in the original Side Show (Sony cast recording); Julian Craster in Jule Styne’s last musical, The Red Shoes; and the title role in the American premiere of Cameron Mackintosh’s Martin Guerre. Hugh was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in the title role of Elton John’s Lestat, based on Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles.

He made his West End debut in the original London company of Harold Prince’s Show Boat as Gaylord Ravenal, the role he previously played in the Broadway and Toronto productions.

At the prestigious 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle, Hugh played George Seurat in Sunday in the Park with George, and Robert in Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Hugh’s performance as Jean Valjean in the Walnut Street Theater’s production of Les Misérables earned him the prestigious Barrymore Award, for which he was again nominated after a turn as Fagin in Oliver! In 2012, Hugh was honored with the Edwin Forrest Award for his long-term contribution to the theater.

An active concert artist, Panaro has performed with numerous symphony orchestras including the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra, Philly Pops, Dallas, Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle, Utah Symphonies, and the London Sinfonietta, among many others. Mr. Panaro’s upcoming engagements include the Philly Pops, Charlotte Symphony, Cleveland Pops, Tucson Symphony, Maui Pops, Hawaii Symphony, among others. Hugh also recently returned as a guest soloist with the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. He also had the privilege of performing in the world premiere of Penderecki’s Te Deum at Carnegie Hall and was a guest soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. His recordings include Jerome Kern Treasury, the original cast recording of Side Show, Tap Your Troubles Away (Herman), The Centennial (Weil), and Life On The Wicked Stage (Kern). In addition, he toured throughout Europe with the legendary Barbra Streisand. A native of Philadelphia, Panaro graduated from Temple University and was awarded the Boyer College of Music Certificate of Honor. His first solo CD, recorded live at 54 Below, was set to be released in 2023.

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G I F T S TO T H E P H I L INDIVIDUALS

Continued from page 21

Mr. Charles B. Darr, III Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Dearmon Tony and Pam De La Vega Vickie Dennis Gary and Fran Derrick Nancy Payne Ellis Dr. and Mrs. Royice B. Everett Ann Felton Gilliland Dr. Thurma J. Fiegel Paul and Debbie Fleming Natalie Kurkjian and Christopher Geyer Mr. Kent Graham Drs. Stephen and Pamela Hamilton Kirk Hammons Brent Hart and Matt Thomas Lawrence and Gay Hellman Walt and Jean Hendrickson Mr. and Mrs. Joe R. Homsey, Jr. Thomas and Elizabeth Hrubik Zach Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Johnson Mrs. Margaret Keith Mike and Kay Kellogg Aaron and Jennifer Ketter Ms. Claren Kidd Debra and Kristian Kos Barbara Masters, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. John A. McCaleb Dr. Scott McCalla and Leslie McCalla Mr. and Mrs. Tom J. McDaniel Debbie McKinney John and Anna McMillin Mr. and Mrs. K. T. Meade, Jr. Robert and Kathy Mendez Deann Merritt Parham Sandra Meyers Tom and Katherine Milam Tom and Peggy Miller Betsy Mitschke and Steven Helt Dr. Gene L. Muse Mrs. Jeaneen Naifeh Steven Newell and Deborah Naylor Edward Oliver and Harriet Lord Kathleen Oliver Tiffany and Corey Phelps Mary and Bill Price Sam and Kylee Rainbolt 52

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Rees Tracy Romberger Mrs. Lil Ross Donald Rowlett Larry and Patricia Sanford Mr. and Mrs. John M. Seward Pam and Bill Shdeed Emma and John Shelton Robert and Susan Shoemaker Jamie and Jerrod Shouse Donald J. Smock, M.A. Reta and Richard Strubhar Susan Sutter Jane Tubb Robert Varnum and Sharon Varnum, LCSW Janet Viseur Robert and Tammy Weiss Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth K. Wert Larry L. and Leah A. Westmoreland Rainey Williams Jeanise Wynn M. Blake and Nancy Yaffe

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PARTNER $500 - $999 Dr. Gillian Air Dr. Mary Zoe Baker Mrs. Carole S. Broughton Louise Cheek Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Couch Bruce W. and Joanne Ewing Mr. and Mrs. Keith G. Golden Dr. Nancy and Capt. George Hector Mr. and Mrs. David C. Henderson David and Virginia Marshall Jim Murtaugh Michael and Ginger Penn John and Hattie Santore Jeff Scott Reta and Richard Strubhar Janet Viseur Ms. Judie Webb Dick Wegener Curtis and Wendi Wilson

MEMBER $250 - $499 John and Nancy Alsup Judy Barnett Brent D. Bell, D.O. Ryan Bunyan Arnold and Mari Fagin George R. Francis, Jr. Steven Graham and Vicky Leloie Kelly Lauren and Rich Johnson Allison Matoi Ms. Rebecca L. McNeese Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Rus Jody and Pat Smith Rick Spence Greg Taber

G I F T S TO T H E P H I L SPECIAL GIF TS Honor loved ones, celebrate occasions, recognize achievements and support the Philharmonic’s mission.

In Honor of June H. Parry Richard Parry In Memory of David McLaughlin Susie and Doug Stussi Jane B. Harlow In Memory of Irvin Wagner Colonel (ret.) Dean and Mrs. Jeanne Jackson Mrs. Margaret Keith

In Memory of Billy Maddox Mr. Jerry Thompson In Memory of William J. Ross Ross Family Foundation Lil Ross, Becky Roten, Molly Fuhrman, and Bob Ross

In Memory of Mrs. Renate Wiggin Charlotte W. Gibbens Mr. Brent Hart and Mr. Matt Thomas Mrs. Jeanne Jackson Susie and Doug Stussi

THANK YOU! The OKCPHIL gratefully acknowledges the generosity of individuals who have chosen to return concert tickets as a donation.

This recognition reflects contributions made in the 2023-2024 concert season and are listed through November 20, 2023.

Anonymous (1) Fatima Abrantes-Pais Steven C. Agee, Ph.D. Gillian Air Linda and Patrick Alexander Mary Ellen Anderson Lynn Anderson Dr. and Mrs. Dewayne Andrews Dr. and Mrs. John C. Andrus Dr. Henry and Carol Asin Tom and Fran Ayres Betty D. Bellis-Mankin Mr. J. Edward Barth Mrs. Phyllis Brawley Justin Byrne Jeff Caughron Dr. William Cook Mr. Joseph H. Crosby Lawrence H. & Ronna C. Davis Dr. Nancy Dawson Mark Doescher

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Mr. and Mrs. John A. McCaleb Robert and Doris McKown John and Anna McMillin Mr. and Mrs. Phil Pippin Kelsey Potter Jim and Claudia Robertson Dr. and Mrs. Michael Fred Robinson Lyla Rousseau Dr. Lois Salmeron Carol and Gary Sander Elizabeth Schumacher Mary Sherman Dr. and Mrs. James B. Stewart, Jr. Jonathan and Andrea Stone Dennis and Marianne Stover Mrs. June Tucker Christopher Weimer Robert and Tammy Weiss Phillip and Ashton Whaley Carolyn T. and Don T. Zachritz

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