2023/ 2024 Fall Playbill

2023/2024 FALL PLAYBILL

Welcome!

This season is full of compelling music – full of expression, innovation and passion. We hope you find something that resonates with you, and discover something new.

September promises to be extraordinary. A month full of exciting programming and powerful partnerships from Carmina Burana to Gladys Knight, and the return of the RSL Designer House! The Symphony Series opens with the world premiere of Andrea Portera’s Violin Concerto performed by Concertmaster Daisuke Yamamoto to celebrate his 10th anniversary season with the Symphony.

Richmond Symphony Chorus takes the stage with the Symphony in November in a monumental work by Roxanna Panufnik that splits the chorus, and the orchestra in two, and requires two conductors! Relive the joy and power of Menuhin Richmond 2021 with Junior 1st Prize winner Keila Wakao joining the Symphony for The Four Seasons at a concert in local neighborhoods in January.

Building on our commitment to commissioning, and celebrating Virginia voices – the season features three world premieres, including the first commission from Richmond Symphony Composer-in-Residence, Damien Geter; Adolphus Hailstork’s 2nd piano concerto “The Peaceable Kingdom”, and a new work for the Richmond Symphony Chorus and the Symphony by Richmond native Zachary Wadsworth. The talent in our region is amazing, and we are so proud to showcase it every day!

The holiday season brings a special visit by Soul Santa from the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, along with performances of carols and classics during Richmond’s favorite holiday music tradition Let It Snow! And don’t miss the second annual Holiday Brass – tacky Christmas sweaters are highly encouraged.

Education and community programs are in full swing and continue to be at the heart of the Symphony’s activities. Five Youth Orchestra Program ensembles learn, rehearse and perform throughout the year. The talent of our local young musicians is amazing. The new Youth Community Strings launched in August, providing free violin instruction to 2nd grade students in the Richmond area.

2023-24 brings compelling new music and timeless classics with soloists and visiting artists who embody the essence of the music they perform, along with the talented musicians of the Richmond Symphony who bring the work to life. On behalf of everyone at the Symphony, we invite you to explore the season and allow yourself to experience connection, the complexity and the delight the music has to offer. Thank you for being a powerful part of the experience of a live orchestra!

Valentina Peleggi, Music Director & Lacey Huszcza, Executive Director

Photo: Chris Beasley

VISION: Changing lives through the power of music.

MISSION: The Richmond Symphony performs, teaches and champions music to inspire and unite our communities.

Photo: James Loving

The Richmond Symphony is dedicated to joy, connection, expression, and collaboration through music. Founded in 1957, the Symphony includes an orchestra of nearly 70 professional musicians and 150 members of the Richmond Symphony Chorus. The Richmond Symphony is overseen by a 30-member Board of Directors and managed by an administrative team of 35.

Each season, the Richmond Symphony offers more than 200 public performances for approximately 200,000 patrons through concerts and educational programs. The Symphony also maintains an active touring schedule that brings live symphonic performances throughout central Virginia. Community festivals allow for free outdoor musical experiences and serve thousands of people a year, creating unique opportunities for the public to engage with the Richmond Symphony and encouraging community pride through music and collaboration. Additionally, the Symphony joins with Virginia Opera and Richmond Ballet for presentations each season and collaborates with other arts organizations for special projects.

The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and CultureWorks and the Arts and Cultural Funding Consortium - supported by City of Richmond and the Counties of Hanover and Henrico.

Photo: James Loving

2023–2024 Concert Season

M usic for a c athedral s pace

The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Series

Very Rev. Anthony E. Marques, Rector | Daniel Sañez, Artistic Director

Mozart’s Requiem , K. 626 (arr. Levin) featuring the Choir of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart with Three Notch’d Road Baroque

Daniel Sañez, Conductor

Friday, November 17 | 7:30 p.m. FREE tickets at richmondcathedral.org/concerts

Michael Hey, Organist

Associate Director of Music and Organist, St. Patrick’s Cathedral | New York, New York

Friday, October 13 | 7:30 p.m.

Commonwealth Catholic Charities

Monday, November 27 | 7:00 p.m. Holiday Festival of Music paid tickets via www.cccofva.org featuring the Richmond Symphony Orchestra

Trio Mediæval

Friday, December 1 | 7:30 p.m.

Monday, December 4 | 11:00 a.m. with free luncheon RSVP at richmondcathedral.org/concerts

Sacred Harp featuring Three Notch’d Road

Advent Lessons and Carols

Friday, December 15 | 7:30 p.m. featuring the Choir of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

Allen Bean, Organist

Friday, January 26 | 7:30 p.m. Director of Music, St. Bridget Catholic Church | Richmond, Virginia

Carina Brackin, Organist

Friday, February 9 | 7:30 p.m. Associate Director of Music, St. Bede Catholic Church | Williamsburg, Virginia

Free concerts are generously made possible by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart | 823 Cathedral Place | Richmond, VA 23220 | (804) 359-5651

Concert details and updates: richmondcathedral.org/concerts

MUSIC DIRECTOR

Valentina Peleggi

Valentina Peleggi (peh-LEJ-ee) has been Music Director of the Richmond Symphony since the 20/21 season and has already revitalized the orchestra’s artistic output. While focusing on developing the orchestra’s own sound she has also launched new concert formats, joined national co-commission partnerships, started a 3-year composer-in-residence program, launched conducting masterclasses in collaboration with local universities, and championed underrepresented composers. She sat on the jury of Menuhin Richmond 2021.

Lewis T. Booker Chair

Photo: Chris Beasley

Last season Valentina conducted a string of debuts in North America, including Dallas and Chicago symphonies, New World, and Kansas City symphonies, and Grant Park Music Festival. She will return to conduct Chicago Symphony at Ravinia in 2024. This season Valentina conducts BBC Scottish Symphony and Ulster orchestras, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and at Teatro Colon and Arena di Verona.

Opera (especially bel canto) is a vital part of Valentina’s activity; in May 2024 she makes her debut at Seattle Opera conducting Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In 2022 she returned to Teatro Verdi di Trieste for Rigoletto, also making her debut in a new production of Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires at the Opéra de Lyon. She conducted an acclaimed Rossini’s Le Comte Ory with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Garsington Opera in 2021 and was a Mackerras Fellow at English National Opera in 2018 and 2019, where she conducted a wide range of repertoire including Carmen and La Bohème.

São Paulo this season to conduct an a capella concert. While acting Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Chorus, she was concurrently Resident Conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Music Director (responsible for Italian repertoire) of the Theatro São Pedro in São Paulo.

The first Italian woman to enter the conducting program at the Royal Academy of Music of London, she graduated with distinction and was awarded the DipRAM for an outstanding final concert as well as numerous other prizes and was recently honoured with the title of Associate. She furthered her studies with David Zinman and Daniele Gatti at the Zurich Tonhalle and at the Royal Concertgebouw masterclasses. She won the 2014 Conducting Prize at the Festival International de Inverno Campos do Jordão, received a Bruno Walter Foundation Scholarship at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California, and the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship 20152017 under Marin Alsop.

Valentina released her first recording in 2021, featuring a cappella works by Villa Lobos in a new critical edition for Naxos guest edited by Valentina and performed by the São Paulo Symphony Chorus. She returns to

Valentina holds a Master in Conducting with honours from the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome, and in 2013 was awarded the Accademia Chigiana’s highest award, going on to assist Bruno Campanella and Gianluigi Gelmetti at Teatro Regio di Torino, Opera Bastille Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro Regio di Parma and Teatro San Carlo. She also assisted on a live worldwide broadcast and DVD production of Rossini’s Cenerentola with the Orchestra Nazionale della RAI. From 2005 to 2015 she was the Principal Conductor and Music Director of the University Choir in Florence and remains their Honorary Conductor, receiving a special award from the Government in 2011 in recognition of her work there.

Valentina is passionate about the arts and holds a master in Comparative Literature.

“Peleggi conducts with marvelous flair and precision”

(The Guardian, July 2021)

Chia-Hsuan Lin

ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR Jack and Mary Ann Frable Associate Conductor Chair

Hailed by the Virginia Gazette as “a rock solid” and “animated” conductor, Chia-Hsuan (jahSHWEN) Lin delights audiences throughout the world with her trademark energy and command. Appointed Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony in 2016, Lin champions the transformational power of symphonic music through her inspiring concerts for all audiences. This season Lin debuts with Saint Louis Symphony, Rochester Symphony (MN), Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. She also returns to conduct the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Williamsburg Symphony, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and covers concerts with the New York Philharmonic.

Clark Bustard wrote of Lin’s Brahms Fourth Symphony, “I’ve never heard a more compelling live performance than this

Photo: courtesy Lin

one.” In another performance, Lin “crafted a Tchaikovsky Fourth that dancers could have danced to,” and “fine details, tone-painting of moody atmospherics, rhythmic fluidity and abundant lyricism came through almost flawlessly.” (Letter V) Other Richmond highlights include Handel’s Messiah, Classics Series, Symphony Pops, family concerts, a side-by-side orchestra of 624 musicians and community members in “Come and Play, “ a record crowd exceeding 19,000 for Richmond’s Independence Day Celebration, and a single-day ticket sales record for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert. The former Assistant Conductor of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lin punctuated the end of her tenure in 2016” with the command and energy of a soccer star” before a record FWP subscription crowd. (larryhayes.com) Her interactive programs invoke her love of collaboration with audiences, with singing, body-percussion, bell jingling, and call-andresponse all adding to the joy of experiencing live music together.

An active guest conductor, she has directed Minnesota Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Richmond Ballet, Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, Academy of Taiwan Strings and Taipei Philharmonic Chorus. As a cover conductor, Lin has worked with the Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, and others, with conductors such as Osmo Vänskä, Jahja Ling, Marin Alsop, Gianandrea Noseda, Stéphane Denève, and many more.

In 2019, Lin was praised as a last-minute replacement in Williamsburg’s performance of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6. Assuming the podium the day of the concert, the Virginia Gazette reported Lin as “leading them through a thoroughly top-drawer performance” in “an exceptionally absorbing interpretation and rendering.”

An advocate for the next generation of diverse musical talent, Lin has collaborated with award-winning artists Paul Huang, Sterling Elliot, Amaryn Olmeda, Kevin Zhu, Inna

Faliks, and Eduardo Rojas. Showcasing new music that often transcends traditional classical boundaries, her list of premieres continues to grow with new works by Texu Kim, Stephen Prutsman, Zachary Wadsworth, PaviElle French, Laura Schwendinger, Steve Heitzeg, and Jennifer Jolley.

before a record FWP subscription crowd

(larryhayes.com)

A passionate educator, Lin has worked with university orchestras throughout Virginia, and previously served as Music Director of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of Opera at the CCM Spoleto Music Festival in Italy. Innovative projects during her tenure as interim Music Director of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland include unique collaborations with Chris Thile and Michael Stanley.

Lin began piano lessons in Taiwan at the age of three. She majored in percussion at the National Taiwan Normal University while playing with the Taipei Percussion Group, only to have a life-altering incident when she was struck by a car. After this she pursued conducting with Apo Hsu and Mark Gibson, and received her Doctorate of Orchestral Conducting at Northwestern University in Chicago with Victor Yampolsky.

Lin is married to James Ferree Principal Horn of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

“with the command and energy of a soccer star”

Daniel Myssyk

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Photo: courtesy Myssyk

Assistant Conductor of the Richmond Symphony, and conductor of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, CanadianAmerican conductor Daniel Myssyk (MISSik) was Music Director of the Montrealbased Orchestre de chambre Appassionata from 2000 to 2016. A few years ago, he led his orchestra on its first American tour, which included two concerts in Richmond. The group also toured before enthused audiences in Ontario in January of 2014.

In recent years, he has made critically acclaimed appearances with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, among others. In 2015, Myssyk made his debut in Guanajuato (Mexico) where he has been returning regularly over the past years, and also conducted the Michoacan State Orchestra. In 2019, return engagements have brought him back to Canada to conduct the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières and the Orchestre de la Francophonie.

Myssyk conducts repertoire from the classical, romantic, modern and contemporary periods with great attention to stylistically appropriate detail. He maintains a continuous engagement with opera in a variety of styles ranging from Mozart to Menotti. Sensitive to the music of our time, he has contributed to the creation of many contemporary North-American works, including the worldpremiere of Anthony Brandt’s opera, The Birth of Something with DACAMERA in Houston. Under his leadership, three recent VCU Opera productions of The Gondoliers (2015), The Old Maid and the Thief (2012), and Hansel & Gretel (2011) won top prizes at the National Opera Association competition.

Myssyk’s recordings have received widespread critical acclaim. In 2012, he completed the recording of Czech Serenades with works by Suk and Dvořák. The CD was in nomination for best recording of the year at the “ADISQ” awards, Quebec’s equivalent of the GRAMMY AWARDS and at the Prix Opus from the Conseil québécois de la musique. Jean-

Yves Duperron of the Classical Sentinel wrote: “Conductor Daniel Myssyk and the members of the Appassionata Chamber Orchestra ply their magic in this music, and shape each and every phrase, and infuse each and every note, with care and sincere expression. I’ve rarely heard these two works played with this much conviction.”

In 2010, his CD Idyla (on Fidelio label), was nominated for an Opus Prize as best recording of the year. A CD featuring American trumpet player and VCU colleague Rex Richardson playing Dana Wilson’s Concerto for Trumpet and Strings was released on Summit Records, earning rave reviews from the International Trumpet Guild Journal. His most recent CD, on the Atma label, features works by Quebec composer François Dompierre and has earned excellent reviews from Radio-Canada and Magazine Son et image. Professor Daniel Myssyk has been Virginia Commonwealth University’s Director of Orchestral Activities since 2007. His involvement with youth reflects a well-honed passion for music education. In addition to his work at VCU, he is a regular collaborator with the All-Virginia State Orchestra and the Hampton Roads Chamber Players, among many others.

In the early 2000s, Myssyk was a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School where he spent two summers under the tutelage of David Zinman. A student of Larry Rachleff, he received his Master’s degree in Conducting from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2006.

His involvement with youth reflects a well-honed passion for music education.

Damien Geter

COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

Damien Geter (JEE-ter) is an acclaimed composer who infuses classical music with various styles from the Black diaspora to create music that furthers the cause for social justice. His rapidly growing body of work includes chamber, vocal, orchestral, and full operatic works, with his compositions being praised for their “skillful vocal writing” (Wall Street Journal). He is Composer-in-Residence at the Richmond Symphony through the 2024-25 season, and serves as Interim Music Director and Artistic Advisor at Portland Opera, as well as the Artistic Advisor for Resonance Ensemble.

Photo: Rachel Hadiashar

In the 2023-2024 season, Des Moines Metro Opera presents the full-length world premiere of Geter’s opera, American Apollo, while Virginia Opera holds a workshop of Loving v. Virginia, a new major work cocommissioned by Virginia Opera and the Richmond Symphony which will premiere as part of Virginia Opera’s 50th Anniversary Season in May 2025. Geter’s Annunciation is featured on Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s concert Montgomery and the 2 Blacknificent 7, and Richmond Symphony will premiere a brand new work to be conducted by Music Director Valentina Peleggi. Additionally, The Recording Inclusivity Initiative records String Quartet No. 1 “Neo-Soul”.

Future commissions include premieres at Seattle Opera and Emmanuel Music, and world premiere operatic productions in 2024, 2025, and 2026 at the Des Moines Metro, Virginia, InSeries, and Portland Operas. Geter will also have subsequent premieres at the Richmond Symphony.

Last season, COTTON was given its world premiere in Philadelphia followed by its Washington, D.C. premiere at The Kennedy Center, presented by Washington Performing Arts, and his motet was performed by Emmanuel Music. Geter also conducted his own piece, An African American Requiem, at Fort Worth Opera, plus led the performance of ABSENCE: Terence Blanchard with Portland Opera.

In 2022, Geter had six premieres as a composer, including his large work, An African American Requiem, in partnership with Resonance Ensemble and the Oregon Symphony with subsequent performances at the Kennedy Center; I Said What I Said for Imani Winds, cocommissioned by Anima Mundi Productions, Chamber Music Northwest, and The Oregon Bach Festival; his one-act opera Holy Ground for Glimmerglass Opera; Elegy for the American Guild of Organists; The Bronze Legacy for Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and the chamber version of American Apollo for Des Moines Metro Opera.

Favorite recent highlights include the commissions Cantata for a Hopeful Tomorrow for The Washington Chorus with subsequent performances at Pacific Chorale, Choral Arts Northwest, Bethune Cookman University, Northern Arizona University, Southwestern University, and Berkshire Choral International, with future performances at Minnesota Choral Artists; The Justice Symphony for the University of Michigan with subsequent performances with The Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center, and future performances at Fort Worth

Opera; Buh-roke for the Portland Baroque Orchestra which will have subsequent performances with the Seattle Symphony; Invisible for Opera Theater Oregon; and String Quartet No. 1 “Neo-Soul” for All Classical Portland and On-Site Opera. His piece 1619 also appeared with On Site Opera as part of their presentation “What Lies Beneath.”

Geter is an alumnus of the Austrian American Mozart Festival and the Aspen Opera Center, and was a semifinalist for the Irma Cooper Vocal Competition. He also toured with the prestigious American Spiritual Ensemble, a group that helps to promote the preservation of the American art form – the spiritual. He is the owner of DG Music, Sans Fear Publishing. Music in Context: An Examination of Western European Music Through a Sociopolitical Lens, the book he coauthored, is availableon Amazon, or directly from the publisher, Kendall Hunt.

Learn more at www.damiengetermusic.com.

“skillful vocal writing” (Wall Street Journal)

RICHMOND

SYMPHONY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Elisabeth Muhlenfeld Wollan CHAIR

Elizabeth Cabell Jennings IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

Lacey Huszcza EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

William Baites

Phil Bennett

Julie Brantley

John Braymer

Ronald Crutcher

Gary Flowers

Mark Flynn

Brennen Keene

Priscilla Burbank VICE CHAIR

Brandon Taylor TREASURER

Joshua Bennett SECRETARY

Christopher Lindbloom

William Mears

Patrick Murtaugh

Bernie Niemeier

Valentina Peleggi

Kamran Raika

Leon Roday

George Ruzek

RICHMOND SYMPHONY FOUNDATION TRUSTEES

Rick Sample

Richard Szucs

Marcia Thalhimer

John Walker

Ludi Webber

Mark Wickersham

Bucci Zeugner

Ann T. Burks PRESIDENT

Randall S. Parks VICE PRESIDENT

Lacey Huszcza SECRETARY

George Y. Wheeler, III IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

James B. Hartough TREASURER

David B. Bradley

J. Alfred Broaddus, Jr.

Robert L. Chewning

Wendell B. Fuller

Carolyn H. Garner

Elizabeth Cabell Jennings

Marlene D. Jones

Helen Lewis Kemp

Nico de León

Tara H. Matthews

David I. Meyers

Wallace B. Millner, III

Richard L. Morrill

Ernesto Sampson

Anne Marie Whittemore

Elisabeth Muhlenfeld Wollan

The Richmond Symphony Foundation is organized and established exclusively for cultural and charitable purposes benefiting the Richmond Symphony through its endowment. Gifts or bequests may be made to the Richmond Symphony Foundation’s endowment, c/o Richmond Symphony, 612 East Grace Street, Suite 401, Richmond, VA 23219. Tax ID Number: 54-1514987

RICHMOND SYMPHONY MUSICIAN ROSTER

violin

Daisuke Yamamoto

CONCERTMASTER

Tom & Elizabeth Allen Chair

Adrian Pintea

ASSOCIATE

CONCERTMASTER

Ellen Cockerham Riccio + PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN

Myles Mocarski *

ACTING PRINCIPAL

SECOND VIOLIN

Jeannette Jang *

ACTING ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

SECOND VIOLIN

Bob & Nancy Hill Chair

Anna Bishop*

Alana Carithers

Catherine Cary

Jill Foster

Justin Gopal

Alison Hall

Timothy Judd

Susanna Klein

Stacy Matthews

Emily Monroe

Audrey Pride

Anna Rogers

Susan Spafford

Delaney Turner

Jocelyn Vorenberg

Susy Yim

viola

Molly Sharp

PRINCIPAL

The Mary Anne Rennolds Chair

Hyo Joo Uh

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Zsuzsanna Emödi

Wayne Graham

Stephen Schmidt

Derek Smith

Jocelyn Smith

cello

Neal Cary

PRINCIPAL

Jason McComb

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Richmond Symphony League Chair

Barbara Gaden

Adrienne Gifford-Yang

Peter Greydanus

Ryan Lannan

Schuyler Slack

Kenneth & Bettie Christopher Perry Foundation Chair

bass

Andrew Sommer +

PRINCIPAL

Lee Philip *

ACTING PRINCIPAL

Rumano Solano

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Kelly Ali

Peter Spaar

flute

Mary Boodell

PRINCIPAL

Jennifer Debiec Lawson

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Catherine Broyles

piccolo

Catherine Broyles

oboe

Victoria Chung

PRINCIPAL

Lauren Williams*

ACTING ASSOCIATE

PRINCIPAL

english horn

Lauren Williams*

PRINCIPAL

clarinet

David Lemelin

PRINCIPAL

Edward Sundra

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

e clarinet

Edward Sundra

PRINCIPAL

bass clarinet

Sara Reese

bassoon

Thomas Schneider

PRINCIPAL

Felix Ren

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

contrabassoon

Nicholas Ritter

horn

Dominic Rotella

PRINCIPAL

Devin Gossett

SECOND HORN

The Lucrezia Wheeler Leisinger & George Wheeler Chair

Erin Lano

trumpet

Samuel Huss

PRINCIPAL

Brian Strawley + ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Daniel Egan *

ACTING ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

trombone

Evan Williams

PRINCIPAL

Scott Winger

Scott Cochran

tuba

Conrad Shaw

PRINCIPAL

timpani

James Jacobson

PRINCIPAL

percussion

Clifton Hardison

PRINCIPAL

Robert Jenkins

David Foster

harp

Lynette Wardle

PRINCIPAL

keyboard

Russell Wilson

PRINCIPAL

Quincy & Anne Owen Cole Chair

Roger Novak + on leave * temporary appointment

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

RICHMOND SYMPHONY CHORUS

The Richmond Symphony Chorus is an award-winning ensemble of 150 members from the Richmond region. It performs regularly with the Richmond Symphony, Richmond Ballet, and in stand-alone performances around the community. The chorus members – ages 16 to 85 – are a diverse group of Richmond community members with a shared passion for choral singing. James Erb founded the Richmond Symphony Chorus in 1971 to perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under the baton of renowned conductor Robert Shaw. Erb, a professor at the University of Richmond and a scholar of Renaissance music, led the group for 36 years. Repertoire ranges from classical and opera to pops favorites. Conductor Erin Freeman led the chorus from 2007- 2021, including performances in Richmond, Wintergreen, Carnegie Hall, and Paris, France. In 2018, the Chorus was featured in the GRAMMY-nominated recording of the premier performance of Children of Adam by American composer Mason Bates and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. The Chorus is now in its 52nd active season, with performances of Carmina Burana in August at the prestigious Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and in September in the Carpenter Theatre; the stunning Across the Line of Dreams, a work for split chorus and two conductors by Roxanna Panufnik in November (pg. 35); a World Premiere of a new work by Richmond native, Zachary Wadsworth in February; and the stirring, Verdi’s Requiem in June, under the direction of Richmond Symphony Music Director Valentina Peleggi.

If you are interested in auditioning for the Chorus, please visit:

https://www.rschorus.com/auditions.html

Photo: Symphony Archives

RICHMOND SYMPHONY MUSICIAN ROSTER

Kevin L. Barger

ASSISTANT CHORUS DIRECTOR

Daniel Stipe

REHEARSAL ACCOMPANIST

Christopher Pennington

CHORUS MANAGER

Barbara Batson

REHEARSAL ASSISTANT

Carl Eng, Lisa Fusco

REHEARSAL ASSISTANTS

soprano

Lauren Lexa Crapanzano

MUSIC SECTION LEADER

Gabrielle Francesca Bergeret

Brittany Brooks

Olivia Carlton

Leigh Anne Clary

Liliana Dunn

Courtnei Fleming

Melanie Ficke

Claire C. Foley

Sharon B. Freude

Lisa C. Fusco

Catrina J. Garland

Sarah George

Carrie Gregory

Amanda Halverson

Denise R. Harding

Ashleigh Hare

Anna Hess

Cynthia Stalb Hickman

Luci Hughes

Ella Nelson Johnson

Cammy Koch

Nina Lankin

Ashley Larson

Ashley M. Love

Gail A, Lyddane

Leslie Maloney

Morgan Merkel

Haylee Merritt

Anne Marie Mills

Eve Minter

Lucy Wagner Mitzner

Terry Moffett

Katherine Nelson-Tracey

Mallory Porter

Stephanie Poxon

Samantha P. Sawyer

Johanna Scogin

Gretchen Steele

Olivia Surface

Ann Voss

Mary Ellen Wadsworth

Darlene M. Walker

Emily Anderson Walls

Michelle Wittig

Allison Yablonski

alto

Kristen Melzer

MUSIC SECTION LEADER

Andrea J. Almoite

Jan Altman

Barbara Baker

Caroline Bass

Barbara C. Batson

Kerry Blum

Elaina F. Brennan

Sarah Capehart

Ellen Carleton

Laura Altman Carr

Linda Castle

Pamela Cross

Erin Dixon

Mary Butler Eggleston

Aimee Ellington

Kathryn R. Erhardt

Maria J. K. Everett

Jasmyn Ferguson

Elizabeth Goodwin

Elizabeth Harper

Shannon Hooker

Tara Ingersoll

Cynthia G. Lee

Lauren Maho

Elizabeth C. Manning

Julia Martin

Judy Mawyer

Sarah McGrath

Melisse Menchel

Kyndal Owens

Kenna R. Payne

Lynne H. Read

Pat Reddington

Jane Pulliam Riddle

Charlotte Rowe

Meaghan Rymer

Faith Sartoris

Katherine Shenk

Jayne Sneed

Mary Lou P. Sommardahl

Maureen Stinger

Wyna Taggart

Jane Koenig Terry

Janet Tice

tenor

Aaron Todd

MUSIC SECTION LEADER

Benjamin T. Almoite

Rick Axtell

Matt Barger

Kevin Barger

David Carter

Dane De Silva

Daniel Douglas

Ryan Dreyer

Josh Ellis

Carl J. Eng

Ed Galloway

Jody Gordon

Zachary W. James

David Lynch

Bill Marshall

Charles H. O’Neal

James Rakes

Henry Robb

Craig Ross

Shaandro Sarkar

McKinley Sprinkle

Steve Travers

Roger Wooldridge

bass

Matthew Triplett

MUSIC SECTION LEADER

Thomas Cassidy

Don Creach

David Crowell Cooley

Devyn Curley

Frankie Davis Daniels

Andrew J. Dolson

Josh Frakes

Jacob Giancaterino

Tom Heaton

William Hicklin

David Hoover

Marc Kealhofer

Daniel Kobb

Alyx Lewis

John F. Luther

Martin McFadden

Douglass Moyers

W. Hunter Old

Preston Powers

Val Puster

Steve Read

Arnold L. Stolberg

Richard Szucs

Jon Teates

Paul C. Tuttle

Cannon West

Stephen V. Wright

*Active membership since the Chorus’s first performance in 1971.

The Chorus thanks Epiphany Lutheran Church for the use of its facilities for rehearsals and auditions.

It’s time for the Richmond Symphony League Designer House month long event featuring daily tours of this Home and Gardens transformed by Interior and Exterior Designers, Thirsty Thursday events, an on-site cafe, and a boutique of local artisans’ merchandise.

September 11th - October 9th open seven days a week

2325 Monument Avenue (108 year Taylor Estate)

SCAN THE QR CODE

To Purchase Your Tickets Today Tickets available at: www.richmondsymphonyleague.org.

Founded in 1958, the RSL supports the growth and development of the Richmond Symphony. As a 501©(3) non-profit membership organization, dedicated volunteers develop robust programs and activities that contribute to Richmond’s cultural vibrancy and cultivates music appreciation and education among Richmond’s diverse community. The RSL provides consistent, substantial financial support to the Richmond Symphony through annual fundraising.

Gladys Knight

This performance is part of the

Knight of Soul

GALA EXPERIENCE

Tonight’s programming features the following songs with additional songs being announced from the stage. Please note the programming listed does not necessarily reflect the order in which they will be played.

“Midnight Train to Georgia”

JIM WEATHERLY (1943-2021)

“I Heard it Through the Grapevine”

BARRETT STRONG JR. (1941-2023)

NORMAN WHITFIELD (1940-2008)

“I’ve Got to Use My Imagination”

GERALD GOFFIN (1939-2014)

“Neither One of Us”

JIM WEATHERLY (1943-2021)

“The Way We Were”

ALAN BERGMAN (B. 1925)

MARILYN BERGMAN (1928-2022)

MARVIN HAMLISCH (1944-2012)

Altria Theater

Valentina Peleggi CONDUCTOR (pg.8-9)

Valentina Peleggi CONDUCTOR (pg.8-9)

Daisuke Yamamoto VIOLIN (pg.57) T

ANDREA PORTERA (B. 1973)

Violin Concerto (world premiere)

I. Eu(rk)daimonia

1st Interlude: Autochthonous interlude

II. You Would Know the Secret of Life

2nd Interlude: Voices

III. Orphic Visions

Daisuke Yamamoto VIOLIN

INTERMISSION

MAHLER (1860-1911)

Symphony No. 1 in D major

I. Langsam schleppend

II. Kräftig bewegt

III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen

IV. Stürmisch bewegt

1:45 approximate program length

Mahler’s First

Andrea Portera: Violin Concerto (world premiere)

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1

Fun fact: Andrea Portera was commissioned to write a concerto to celebrate the 10th season of Richmond Symphony Concertmaster, Daisuke Yamamoto.

Our season opens with a program juxtaposing two artists who harness music’s power to illuminate human psychology. Their compositions evoke emotional states that put us in touch with our unconscious, inner lives. In his unprecedented cycle of symphonies, Gustav Mahler foretold what would become fundamental preoccupations of the 20th century—its unique anxieties and agonies—while also expressing ancient longings that have remained archetypes of human existence.

Mahler’s Second Symphony (“Resurrection”), for example—which the Richmond Symphony performed last spring—confronts the ultimate question of what happens when we die. The vast ambitions Mahler claimed for the format of the symphony are already manifest in his First, one of the most radically innovative debuts in the history of orchestral music.

Andrea Portera: Violin Concerto

Andrea Portera similarly approaches composition as a vehicle to enrich our understanding of the human condition. His work is motivated by a conviction that music is first and foremost a language with anthropological significance. Remarkably prolific—his catalogue encompasses more than 160 compositions across orchestral, chamber, and vocal genres—Portera combines creative intuition with insights from the field of emotional intelligence to re-establish connections with audiences that were damaged during the heyday of 20thcentury European Modernism.

Born in 1973 and based in his native Tuscany, Portera is one of a group of likeminded composers and musicians with whom Richmond Symphony’s music director Valentina Peleggi became associated during her conservatory years in Fiesole—an experience that left a lasting mark on Peleggi’s own musical philosophy.

Portera was commissioned to write a concerto to celebrate the 10th season of Richmond Symphony Concertmaster, Daisuke Yamamoto. Receiving its world premiere in these performances, the Violin Concerto is the first in a series of works newly commissioned from a wide array of today’s celebrated composers that will be presented throughout the season.

The Violin Concerto combines Portera’s musical philosophy with inspirations from anthropology, Jungian psychology, poetry, and mathematics. Although he uses extended techniques, Portera is not interested in the concerto as a showcase for virtuosity; the orchestra in turn provides much more than “accompaniment,” playing a key role in the piece. “I want to stir the curiosity and touch the unconscious of the audience,” he says.

In a similar vein, Portera replaces the Romantic paradigm of a composition as a tool for self-expression with a focus on audience perception: “For me, music is not the representation of myself or my personality,” he explains. “Music is a kind of distorting mirror, where every listener see their own interiority. The result will be different for each individual, like a projective Rorschach test.”

Portera casts the Violin Concerto in three movements that are linked together by two interludes. The title of the first movement, “Eu(rk)daimonia,” combines the ancient Greek word for the flourishing of human beings—what causes happiness—with a reference to Portera’s ideas about the roles of repetition (r) and abstract techniques (k) to sustain a mood.

The first sequence of notes played by the soloist contain the seed for all the material to come. Numerous instances of the Fibonacci sequence occur throughout the score (where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones—as in the number of notes making up a particular phrase); the number seven is likewise of paramount significance. (Portera points out that he completed the concerto on 7/28/2023—“all numbers that are multiples of 7.”)

In the brief, ritualistic “Autochthonous interlude” that follows, Portera incorporates references to Japanese culture by having Yamamoto sing the text of an ancient haiku while playing his instrument. The second movement (“You Would Know the Secret of Life”) presents a kind of mirror image of a song for soprano and orchestra from the cycle Canzoni Filantropiche, in which Portera set the poet Khalil Gibran’s text “You Will Know the Secret of Death.”

Portera gives the horns and brass players words to recite in the second interlude (“Voices”)—text by the psychologist Laura Artusio—and third movement (“Orphic Visions”). In one passage of the latter, he also asks the musicians to sing the first folk song they remember from childhood (each in their original language or dialect).

“Orphic Visions” reflects the composer’s fascination with the hallucinatory poems of Dino Campana (1885-1932), an artist affected by mental illness. This nocturnal music is an example of Portera’s musical exploration of borders— “between life and death, night and day”—and invites the audience to step outside the experience of ordinary time. In the final pages, Portera has the musicians recite a famous quote from Maya Angelou that represents a sort of credo for the artist: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Titan”)

As with Portera’s new work, the inspirations behind Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony range widely, encompassing the composer’s responses to literature, folk and art song, visual sources, and philosophy. Mahler completed the first version of this score when he was only 28, but he continued to revise the work in the years to come. Following the model of the Romantic symphonic poem that tells a relatable story, he initially divided the work into two larger parts: The Days of Youth and Commedia humana. The first part originally included an additional movement positioned after the first—a bucolic interlude titled “Blumine” or “Flora”—but Mahler later discarded this from his plan.

Material from Mahler’s early song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (“Songs of a Wayfarer”) is also reworked to introduce an autobiographical subtext about the young composer’s unhappy experience with love. In one revision, Mahler referred to the piece as a “tone poem in the form of a symphony” and added the title Titan in homage to the early-Romantic novelist known as Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter). Titan was the name of a large-scale novel

Did you know?

“Autochthonous interlude” incorporates references to Japanese culture by having Yamamoto sing the text of an ancient haiku while playing his instrument.

Fun Fact:

The first version of Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony was completed when he was only 28, but he continued to revise the work in the years to come.

Mahler’s First

in which Richter juxtaposed conflicting artistic worldviews and atmospheric descriptions of nature and night. Mahler later dropped all of these descriptive titles, remarking that “the real-life experience was the impulse for the work, not its content.”

Did you know?

Mahler considered using the Danteinspired title dall’inferno al paradiso (“From Hell to Paradise”) to indicate the scale—and the stakes—of this musical journey in his finale movement.

At the outset, Mahler evokes a cosmic “sound of nature” (his phrase) by having unison strings sustain the same note (A) over a span of seven octaves. Primordial stasis gradually quickens into a scene of spring and love awakening. Using the buoyantly striding melody of the second Wayfarer song, Mahler integrates the economy of art song into this epic orchestral space. Echoes of the “cosmic” introduction return, scored in new colors. The fanfares that sounded so distant in the opening part become the foundation for a powerful climax before the movement ends in high spirits. But Mahler withholds the First Symphony’s real breakthrough for the finale.

A type of Austrian folk dance—generically known as a Ländler—ensues. The earthy vigor of its outer sections frame an interlude of pastoral charm. The third movement is especially innovative. It incorporates Mahler’s inspiration from a mid-19th-century woodcut depicting a macabre reversal of hunter and hunted, in which a group of animals solemnly bears aloft the coffin of their slain would-be hunter.

The implicit funeral march prompted Mahler to adapt a well-known folk tune (“Frère Jacques”). He sets the tune in a minor key, enhancing the surreal mood of this movement through surprising orchestral details (note the ultra-high double bass) and shocking contrasts—including an interruption by a klezmerlike band.

Waves of dissonance crash ashore at the outset of the vast finale movement—a gesture that recalls the explosive start of the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth. At one stage in the composition process, Mahler considered using the Dante-inspired title dall’inferno al paradiso (“From Hell to Paradise”) to indicate the scale—and the stakes—of this musical journey.

Musical ideas from the opening movement return, fraught with suspense, throughout the finale. Eventually, they herald the long-postponed affirmation toward which the entire symphony has been driving—and for which Mahler unleashes the sonic splendor of the entire orchestra, with jubilant brass wordlessly quoting a tune from Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus (the one that sets the phrase “and He shall reign forever”). Mahler’s vision of music as connected to all of life, absorbing all of its contradictions, resounds long after the sounds have faded.

(c)2023 Thomas May

Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique

Valentina Peleggi CONDUCTOR (pg.8-9)

Paul Neubauer VIOLA (pg.57)

Thomas P. Bryan Jr. Fund Soloist

R. STRAUSS (1864-1949)

Don Juan, Opus 20

BARTÓK (1881-1945)

Viola Concerto, Op. Posthumous

I. Moderato

II. Lento - Adagio religioso - Allegretto

III. Allegro vivace

Paul Neubauer VIOLA

INTERMISSION TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 74, “Pathétique”

I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo

II. Allegro con grazia

III. Allegro molto vivace

IV. Finale: Adagio lamentoso

1:55 approximate program length

21 SAT • 8:00 pm Carpenter Theatre

22 SUN • 3:00 pm Carpenter Theatre

Tchaikovsky Pathétique

Did you know?

Strauss’s work continues to influence popular culture, with Also sprach Zarathustra’s inclusion in the opening sequence of 2023’s Barbie.

Richard Strauss: Don Juan

Even before he developed into one of the 20th century’s greatest opera composers, Richard Strauss was perfecting his gift for creating believable characters through music. The tone poem provided an ideal framework for perfecting his technique. Regarded as an innovative format in the later decades of the 19th century, the tone poem appealed especially to young followers of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Don Juan might be regarded as the 25-yearold Strauss’s artistic declaration of independence. He composed it in 1888, conducting the world premiere the following year.

The legend of the promiscuous seducer and libertine Don Juan had fascinated artists for centuries, inspiring countless works of literature and musical interpretations — most famously of all, Mozart’s 1787 opera Don Giovanni, in which the unrepentant playboy meets with the ultimate punishment for his crimes.

Did you know?

In addition to being an accomplished pianist, composer, and lecturer, Bartók was also a passionate ethnomusicologist. As a research assistant at Columbia University, he transcribed and published a collection of Serbo-Croatian women’s songs as part of a larger initiative to preserve Balkan folk music through recorded collections.

Strauss modeled his depiction of Don Juan after an unfinished dramatic work by the Austro-Hungarian poet Nikolaus Lenau. Lenau was himself a restless Romantic who eventually died in an asylum. Lenau’s version of the figure reinterprets the traditional archetype to reflect the philosophy of Romanticism. For Lenau, the point of the Don’s seductions isn’t the pursuit of mere pleasure but a striving toward the Ideal. Because the Ideal Woman is unattainable, his Don Juan grows weary of the world, realizing that the love he seeks can never be fulfilled: eventually, he allows himself to be slain in a duel. An impressive surge of energy launches the tone poem. Strauss centers the lover’s point of view, though a beautiful oboe solo raises an interesting question: is this the Don in a more “sensitive” mood, or the perspective of one of his victims in the process of falling for him? Strauss’s superb sense of dramatic pacing keeps the listener engrossed. The horns introduce a powerfully heroic theme standing for Don Juan at his most self-confident — as he presents himself — but its juxtaposition with other themes in flux creates an impression of tireless, restless change.

The opening material returns in a reprise, but Strauss defies expectations of a conventionally rousing finale. An abrupt pause disrupts the musical flow. Strauss’s unsettling music conjures the scene of the fatal duel in which the unhappy Don Juan, disgusted with life and his failed dreams, meets his end. The music fades inconclusively.

Béla Bartók: Viola Concerto

“I am very glad to be able to tell you that your viola concerto is ready in draft, so that only the score has to be written,” Béla Bartók wrote in September 1945 to the Scottish violist William Primrose. In late 1944, Primrose had requested Bartók to write a work for him. Within three weeks of this communication, the composer was dead.

Fleeing war-torn Europe, Bartók had moved with his family to the United States in 1940. These were especially bleak years for the composer, who found it difficult to adjust to the culture shock. He also discovered that he was

suffering from leukemia, from which he would die in September 1945, at the age of only 64 — before he had a chance to revisit his native Hungary.

Still, Bartók produced some of his most remarkable works during this period, taking advantage of a new burst of creative inspiration. His Concerto for Orchestra from 1943, for example, ranks among the landmarks of the 20th-century orchestral repertoire. Bartók also completed a solo violin sonata for Yehudi Menuhin and left several projects unfinished: including the Third Piano Concerto, which was intended as a gift for his pianist wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, and the Viola Concerto. He worked on both concertos simultaneously.

Fortunately, his friend Tibor Serly became devoted to the project of working with Bartók’s sketches to prepare performing editions of these incomplete projects. A violinist, violist, and composer who had gotten to know Bartók in the 1920s in Budapest, Serly was a loyal friend throughout the composer’s years in New York and helped him navigate life in the New World.

In his letter to Primrose, Bartók seems to have overstated just how close to completion the Viola Concerto actually was. Serly worked with the manuscript sketches, which consisted mostly of the solo viola line alone. He spent years filling out the orchestration according to the composer’s notes and conversations, using the knowledge he had internalized of Bartók’s style. In December 1949, Primrose premiered the Viola Concerto as completed by Serly 1949.

The work opens with a lengthy solo for the viola. Two themes are subsequently introduced. Serly described the second of these as a “fantastically chromatic and contrapuntal theme, without parallel in any of Bartók’s other music,” adding that “the actual effect is one of restful calm.” A short interlude — Serly compares it to “a cantor’s improvisation” — leads to a middle movement that resonates with Bartók’s signature “night music,” making use of the full spectrum of the viola’s range. The unfeigned directness of this music is reminiscent of late Beethoven.

A cadenza and introduction lead without interruption into the cheerfully accented finale — “more Romanian than Hungarian in character” (Serly). In the end, Bartók returns to the inspiration from folk music that had enabled him to innovate so powerfully as a 20th-century Modernist.

Did you know?

Bartók greatly admired Debussy, and considered that composer’s harmonic explorations to be as significant to the artform as Beethoven’s advancement of form and Bach’s refinement of counterpoint.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”

There has been endless speculation about the cause of Tchaikovsky’s sudden, early death at the age of 53. Only a little over a week before, near the end of October 1893, he had conducted the world premiere of his final symphony, the Sixth. Did the unfortunate accident of drinking some cholera-contaminated water kill him, or was this suicide following the blackmail for his same-sex affairs — or even the acting out of a suicide pact so as to preserve a code of “honor” among his associates? (This sensationalist interpretation has been largely debunked.)

Adding to the mystique is the intense emotional power of this music, which

Did you know?

Tchaikovsky was an intense hypochondriac, and suffered immense stage fright. When conducting, he would hold his head in his free hand for fear it would roll off his neck.

Tchaikovsky Pathétique

seems to tempt us to construct a narrative to “explain” it. For his Fourth Symphony, for example, Tchaikovsky had even supplied his own elaborate program revolving around the concept of Fate (although his description was more likely intended to satisfy his patroness’s need for just such an explanation).

Something more mysterious occurs with the Sixth Symphony. Tchaikovsky referred to a “private,” unpublished program for this music but refused to share it, instead merely suggesting the ironic subtitle “Program Symphony.” According to one of the many anecdotes that surround this legend-encrusted work, the composer’s brother Modest suggested the epithet “Pathétique,” meaning, in this context, something like “with impassioned suffering.” But his brother’s sudden demise gave that nickname a new relevance.

Did you know?

Though remembered mostly for his compositions, Tchaikovsky was also a celebrated conductor in his time, and famously led the New York Symphony Orchestra during the inaugural concert at Carnegie Hall in 1891.

The opening movement establishes an atmosphere of despair at the start, though there will be temporary relief — savor the rapturous second theme (inspired by a tune from Bizet’s opera Carmen). Tchaikovsky relies on a relatively conventional orchestral apparatus, but his talent as an orchestrator is admirable. Brass chorales evoke images of an impending apocalypse, while sensitive woodwind solos paint tender memories. Tempestuous strings lead to the brink of terror. Tchaikovsky startles with unexpected contrasts. Take the center of the movement, where an exaggerated silence shocks the listener even more than an explosion of sound would.

The middle movements contrast strikingly with the bleakness of the outer movements framing them. The second movement flows with balletic charm, somehow never tripping despite the curiously asymmetrical 5/4 meter — Tchaikovsky spices up the familiar pulse of the waltz. A triumphant march armed with aggressive rhythmic accents provides a splendid workout for the brass. But beware: the implication of “victory” by the exaggerated optimism of the final measures results in one of the most famous “false” stops in orchestral music. There is more to come….

If Tchaikovsky had simply reversed the order of the final two movements, he would have replicated the model of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony — of the triumph over tragedy. But Tchaikovsky reverts to the gloomy slow tempo with which the Sixth began. This time, the music is a “lamenting” Adagio, beginning with a mournful bassoon. This is a radically new concept of the symphonic journey, ending not in resolution but pained acceptance of tragedy. The final plunge into silence deep in the strings sets the stage for a new century of requiems — and for confessions that mask more than they reveal.

(c)2023 Thomas May

Negro Folk Symphony

Valentina Peleggi CONDUCTOR (pg.8-9)

Chia-Hsuan Lin CONDUCTOR (pg.10-11)

Lara Downes PIANO (pg.56)

Edward Maclary CHORUS PREPARER (pg.56)

Richmond Symphony Chorus (pg.18-19)

ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK (B. 1941)

The Peaceable Kingdom (world premiere)

Lara Downes PIANO

WILLIAM DAWSON (1899-1990)

Negro Folk Symphony

I. The Bond of Africa: Adagio-Allegro con brio

II. Hope in the Night: Andante-Allegretto (alla scherzando)

III. O Le’ Me Shine, Shine Like a Morning Star: Allegro con brio

INTERMISSION

ROXANNA PANUFNIK (B. 1968) Across the Line of Dreams

Valentina Peleggi CONDUCTOR

Chia-Hsuan Lin CONDUCTOR

Richmond Symphony Chorus

1:45 approximate program length

Negro Folk Symphony

Panufnik: Across the Line of Dreams

Classical music practice has been undergoing much-needed change to recognize voices too long ignored. Efforts to right these wrongs have been gaining momentum in recent years—and showing us how much great music we have been missing.

Fun fact: Richmond Symphony Music Director Valentina Peleggi was closely involved in the creation of British composer Roxanna Panufnik’s Across the Line of Dreams.

Richmond Symphony Music Director Valentina Peleggi was closely involved in the creation of British composer Roxanna Panufnik’s Across the Line of Dreams. She collaborated with the trailblazing conductor Marin Alsop (an important mentor) to co-direct the world premiere of this innovative work for double choir and orchestra in Baltimore in 2019.

The text, by the writer and classical critic Jessica Duchen, juxtaposes the stories of Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913) and Rani Lakshmibai (1828-58), freedom fighters who operated in entirely different worlds. “Each risked her life for a cause greater than herself,” explains Duchen. “Both have passed into the realms of legend.”

In musical terms, each heroine is represented by one of the two choir and conductors. Panufnik divides the orchestra between them, associating woodwinds, brass, and percussion with Harriet Tubman and harp, piano, and strings with Rani Lakshmibai.

The first part focuses on Tubman, who fled enslavement and later courageously guided dozens to freedom through the Underground Railroad. This music combines hymn-like strains with Ghanaian drum patterns to pay homage to her ancestry.

In the second part, the “warrior queen” Rani Lakshmibai, who died in battle fighting British colonizers in northern India, takes the spotlight. Panufnik found inspiration in a lament written following Lakshmibai’s death in battle as well as in a popular ballad style from her culture used to honor great leaders (notable for its repeated notes and descending scale).

The third part presents the two figures in dialogue and calls for each conductor to coordinate a time signature different from the one her counterpart orchestra is playing. “I was determined that while these two women retained their unique musical identities,” writes Panufnik, “they would merge to create a driving energy.”

Adolphus Hailstork: Piano Concerto No. 2 (“The Peaceable Kingdom”)

Now in his ninth decade, the longtime Virginian Adolphus Hailstork remains a powerful creative force. The Washington Post described A Knee on the Neck, which Hailstork composed as a requiem in memory of George Floyd, as “a bracing, captivating, and essential new work” following its first performance last year.

This past spring saw the premiere of Symphony No. 4 as well as the release of a recording of Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 1 from 1992 (with Stewart Goodyear as the soloist and JoAnn Falletta conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic). The pianist Lara Downes—an artist passionately dedicated to popularizing

classical music by women and African American composers and sharing the beauty of their stories—persuaded Hailstork to return to the concerto genre following a gap of some three decades.

Hailstork perceives in Downes’s playing a predominantly “gentle style.” This in turn called to mind the title that the American folk painter Edward Hicks (1780-1849) used for a large series of works: “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Initially a decorative painter who became a well-known Quaker minister and later turned to easel paintings, Hicks was inspired by the biblical prophecy of a redeeming messiah. The imagery for these paintings (of which 62 are extant) derives from a passage in the Book of Isaiah: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (11:6).

Cast in a single movement and predominantly lyrical, the concerto takes the form of a rondo, with repetitions of the main thematic idea offset by contrasting episodes. Hailstork uses a reduced orchestra of single woodwinds, tuned percussion and congas, and strings—no horns or brass, which, he points out, would suggest “martial announcements—at least for this moment.”

The Romantic paradigm of the concerto often involves a contest or competition between soloist and orchestra (the Latin word concertare, the original source of “concerto,” means “to argue over,” “dispute”), but Hailstork underscores the connotations of the word that later developed in medieval Italian: “to bring into agreement or harmony”: “Concerto here means ‘together,’” the composer says.” Living in peace.”

Did you know?

pianist Lara Downes—an artist passionately dedicated to popularizing classical music by women and African American composers persuaded Hailstork to return to the concerto genre following a gap of some three decades.

William Levi Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

“The most distinctive and promising American symphonic proclamation which has so far been achieved,” wrote a critic following the Carnegie Hall premiere of the Negro Folk Symphony in 1934. Not just the critics who were impressed. The audience broke into an enthusiastic ovation after the second movement, causing the musicians to stand to acknowledge the reaction. Led by the celebrity conductor Leopold Stokowski, the performance was broadcast across the nation.

A sea-change toward greater inclusivity might have taken hold in those years, which also saw the premieres of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1 and William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony. Yet that failed to happen. The Alabamaborn William Levi Dawson, only 35 at the time, would never return to the genre of the symphony, despite living nearly six more decades.

Influenced by his musical impressions during a tour to West Africa in the 1950s, Dawson did later make substantial revisions to the score. But he turned his attention to his educational commitments, as well as to crafting his widely performed choral arrangements of African American spirituals. It wasn’t until our era that reassessment of Dawson’s achievement, like that of Florence Price, prompted efforts to make his music part of the orchestral repertoire.

The musicologist and pianist Gwynne Kuhner Brown, an authority on the composer, explains that although the the word “Negro” in the title is “uncomfortable to many today,” it was “for Dawson and others of his

Negro Folk Symphony

generation a term of pride and respect … Throughout his life, in his teaching and his music, Dawson extolled the culture and history of his race.”

The titles Dawson gave each of the Negro Folk Symphony’s three movements orient us within his overarching narrative. The first movement (“The Bond of Africa”) allots a prominent role to the solo horn: in the introduction, it plays a core motif that binds the work together and represents “a link [that] was taken out of a human chain when the first African was taken from the shores of his native land and sent to slavery,” as Dawson described it. The pathos of the slow opening gives way to a more animated atmosphere, but the mood is not unequivocal.

The second movement (“Hope in the Night”) portrays “the characteristics, hopes, and longings of a Folk held in darkness” in the first section, Dawson wrote. This is contrasted with an image of “children, unmindful of the heavy cadences of despair … but even in their world of innocence, there is a little wail, a brief note of sorrow.”

Negro Folk Symphony incorporates ideas derived from several spirituals, with the exception of this movement, according to Brown. She argues that Dawson’s omission here is a way of “denying listeners the comfort of imagining the enslaved finding solace in religion.” The sense of hope is hedged by doubt— above all in the final measures. But a more sustainable joy emerges in the final movement (“O Le’ Me Shine, Shine Like a Morning Star!”). The revised version of this music shows the influence of complex rhythmic structures Dawson had encountered on his travels in Africa. The symphony ends with an exuberant collective outburst.

Program notes (c)2023 Thomas May

Administration

Lacey Huszcza

Executive Director

Shacoya Henley

Valentina Peleggi

Music Director

Accounting & Human Resources Manager

Advancement & Patron Services

Christopher Stager

Director of Marketing & Sales

Amy Buhrman

Assistant Director of Marketing & Sales

Kira Gay Hiller

Senior Manager of Patron Services & Sales

Lucy Frend Graphics & Digital Marketing Coordinator

Geneva M. Knight

Patron Services Coordinator

Gail Henshaw

Director of Finance & Administration

Aleeyah Frye

Executive & Finance Assistant

Trish Poupore

Donor Relations Director, Richmond Symphony Foundation.

Kiaya Smith

Assistant Director of Advancement

Sarah Yount

Stewardship & Special Events Manager

Scott Grim

Grants & Foundation Coordinator

Nai’lah Rowe

Donor Relations Assistant

Education & Community Engagement

Walter Bitner

Director of Education & Community Engagement

Jennifer Tobin

Assistant Director of Education & Youth Orchestra Manager

Marcey W. Leonard

Community Partnerships Manager & RSSoM Program Manager

Caitlin Barry

Youth Community Strings Program Manager & Lead Instructor

Anita Williams

Education Coordinator

Anna Mitchell Education Assistant

Artistic Operations

Matt Wilshire

Director of Artistic Planning & Orchestral Operations

Jennifer Arnold

Artistic Advisor

Brent Bowden

Assistant Director of Operations & Production

Brent Klettke

Production & Special Events Manager

Daniel Myssyk

Conductor, Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra

Sandy Goldie

Conductor, Youth Concert Orchestra

Melissa Jones

Conductor, Camerata Strings

Matt Wilson

Conductor, String Sinfonietta

Justin Alexander

Conductor, Percussion Ensemble

Dana McComb

Honors and Music Theory Instructor

Chia-Hsuan Lin

Associate Conductor

Matthew Gold Music Librarian

Kelly Ali Personnel Manager

Chris Pennington

Artistic Assistant

Ben Chase Operations Assistant

RICHMOND SYMPHONY ADMINISTRATION

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MAKE YOUR GIFT TO THE ANNUAL FUND TODAY AND HELP CHANGE LIVES THROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC.

Photo: Symphony Archives

ANNUAL FUND SUPPORT

The Richmond Symphony extends its sincere thanks to the following individuals, businesses, foundations and government agencies for their gifts to the annual fund. This list reflects unrestricted gifts made between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 to the annual fund and at special events. We have made every effort to list names correctly. If we have made an error, please contact Kiaya Smith at 804.788.4717 ext. 102. Contributions made after June 30, 2023 will be reflected in the next playbill.

Lead Gifts

$100,000+

Altria Group, Inc.

City of Richmond

Endeavour Legacy Foundation

Pauley Family Foundation on behalf of Katharine & Eugene Hickok

Richmond Symphony Foundation

Virginia Commission for the Arts

Virtuoso’s Circle $50,000 +

E. Rhodes and Leona

B. Carpenter Foundation

Chesterfield County

The Garner Family

Mr.* and Mrs. Robert E. Hill

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Perry

VAMAC, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Webber

$25,000 - $49,999

Ms. Priscilla A. Burbank and

Mr. Michael J. Schewel

Mr. and Mrs. Philip P. Burks Jr.

The Cabell Foundation

Dr. and Mrs. William D. Covington

Covington Travel

CultureWorks & The Arts and Cultural Funding Consortium

Dominion Energy

Mr.* and Mrs. Ellis M. Dunkum

Henrico County

Herndon Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Jennings III

Pate and Bill Mears

Mr. Jose Murillo and Ms. Caroline Orlando

R.E.B. Foundation

Reinhart Foundation Performing Arts Endowment

Richmond Symphony League

George and Lisa Ruzek

Slatten-MacDonald Fund of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond

Taylor Hoffman

Ms. Cary Leigh Williams

Bucci and John Zeugner

10,000 - $24,999

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Allen

Allan and Margot Blank Foundation

Mr. Joshua and Dr. Susan Bennett

The Clovelly Foundation

Louise B. Cochrane Charitable Foundation

Community Foundation for a greater Richmond

Margaret M. Disharoon Charitable Lead Trust

Thomas L. Disharoon Charitable Lead Trust

The Fatherree Foundation

Mrs. Mary Fisher

Dr. William Jackson Frable

Stephen M. and Cheryl G. Goddard Family Fund of the Community Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. David Hall

Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.

Jane and Jim Hartough

Keiter CPAs

Mrs. Anne W. Kenny

Mary and Ted Linhart

Mr. and Mrs. George L. Mahoney

Concertmaster’s Circle $5,000 - $9,999

Anonymous

Mr. A. Marshall Acuff Jr.

Mr. Henry Ayon and Ms. Paula Desel

William Baites and Robert T. Combs

Mr. and Mrs. Philip H. Bennett

David and Julie Brantley

Meta and John Braymer

Mr. and Mrs. J. Alfred Broaddus Jr.

Dr. Donald S. and Beejay Brown

Elaine and Bill Bugg

Kevin and Ann Casey

Massey Foundation

Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust

National Endowment for the Arts

Moses B. Nunnally, Jr. Charitable Trust B

June and Chuck Rayfield

Mr. Rick Sample and Ms. Celia Rafalko

The Rea Charitable Trust

Richard S. Reynolds Foundation

Paul and Nancy Springman

Dr. Arnold L. Stolberg

Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship

TCV Trust & Wealth Management

Marcia and Harry Thalhimer

Troutman Pepper LLP

Mr. William Urban and Mrs. Anne Kenny-Urban

Virginia Holocaust Museum

John Warkentin and Courtney Mackey

The Weathertop Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Marcus M. Weinstein

Anne Marie Whittemore

Elisabeth Muhlenfeld Wollan

Pete and Sandra Chase

Chesapeake Corporation Foundation Fund of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond

Christian Family Foundation

Elizabeth R. Cronly

Mr. Nicomedes de León and Ms. Cecilia Barbosa

Margarete and Siegfried Eckhaus Charitable Trust

The Estes Foundation

Haley Automotive Group

Mr. Dennis Hedgepeth and Mrs. Laurie Hedgepeth

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Mr. D. Brennen Keene

KPMG LLP

Sheila Leckie

Mrs. Joan Losen

Chris and Tara Matthews

Read F. and Virginia W. McGehee

Wallace B. and Tina B. Millner

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Roger Neathawk and Chuck Miller

Mary Lloyd and Randy Parks

Dr. G. V. Puster Jr. and Dr. Martha Schulman

$2,500 - $4,999

Temple and Lynn Bayliss

Bioforce USA

Dr. Erika M. Blanton and Mr. Marion E. Blanton III

Kerry and Joel Blum

Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Boeve

Mrs. Helga A. Boyan

Mr. and Mrs. David B. Bradley

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur S. Brinkley III

Dr. Jennifer A. Cable and Mr. David Lingerfelt

David and Karen Carter

Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Chewning

Mr. Donald L. Creach and Ms. Karen A. Raschke

Mr. Ralph R. Crosby, Jr.

Lewis and Gale Drew

Matthew Edwards

Marbury and Pattie Fagan

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick S. Fisher III

Mark Flynn and Sue Rowland

The Honorable Barbara J. Gaden

Mrs. Maggie Georgiadis

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Goodwin, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. C.T. Hill

Mrs. Penelope B. Holladay

Mr. and Mrs. David Horner

Robert E. Rigsby

Mr. and Mrs. Leon E. Roday

Joseph and Virginia Sandford

Mr. and Mrs. Laurens Sartoris

Charol Shakeshaft and Dale Mann

Michael and Pat Shutterly

The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty

Chris Szabo and Goenpo Dorji

Ruth and Richard Szucs

Dr. Nan Taylor and Mr. Brandon Taylor

Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Tilghman

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Walker III

Mrs. Henry A. Yancey, Jr.

Waverly Glenn Hurt Fund for the Arts

Catherine Ireland

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Koertge

Christopher W. Lindbloom and Nancy G. Powell

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Melder

Mr. David Meyers

Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Morrill

New Music USA

Bernie and Lisa Niemeier

Mrs. Mary Bryan Perkins

Cherry Peters

Mrs. Fred G. Pollard

Helen B. and W. Taylor Reveley III

Ms. Beverly Rogers

Ruth and Carl Schalm

Frank Dellinger and Jim Schuyler

Mr. William H. Schwarzschild III

Mr. and Mrs. Larry S. Shifflett

Mr. and Mrs. Pierce Sioussat

Dr. and Mrs. Roger H. Tutton

Virginia Business Media

Veronica Wauford

Dr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Wayne

Mark W. and Kristin P. Wickersham

Ms. Mary Denny Wray

Musician’s Circle $1,000 - $2,499

Anonymous

Dr. and Mrs. David M. Abbott

Kelly & Tiff Armstrong

Arthur’s Electric Service Inc.

Joanne Barreca

Matt & Lilli Benko

Shelley & Richard Birnbaum

Mrs. Caroline Y. Brandt

Mr. Ramon M. Brinkman

Jacquelyn K. Brooks

Jim and Marguerite Bruce

Mrs. Lissy S. Bryan

Mr. J.P. Causey

Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Chenault Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Chewning

Sandra and John Christian

Jaron and Jennifer Clay

The Rev. Dr. Vienna

Cobb-Anderson

Mr. Benjamin Cronly

Ronald and Betty Neal Crutcher

Mrs. W. Thomas Cunningham, Jr.

The Rev. Rainey G. Dankel

Mr. and Mrs. Bradfute

W. Davenport Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. Emmanuel N. Dessypris

Mr. and Mrs. Allen DeWalle

Dr. Margaret L. DuVall and Dr. Robert E. Petres

Joseph and Charlotte Evans

Kathryn Fessler and Cathy Vaughn

Mrs. Nancy Finch

John and Nancy Fitzgerald

Kingsbery W. and Carla C. Gay Family Fund (through Community Foundation)

Paul Gilding and Amy Marschean

Jim and Roxane Gilmore

Dr. and Mrs. Stanley A. Goldman

H & H Aircraft Services, Inc.

Mrs. Robert H. Hackler

The Honorable and Mrs. John H. Hager

Tom and Beverly Harris

Jessica Harris

Licia Haws

Rev. and Mrs. Charles Hunt

Lacey Huszcza & Dan Stott

Jo Baird and Joseph Hutchison

Glen and Marlene Jones

Mr. and Mrs. Crawley F. Joyner III

Mr. Michael Patrick Kehoe and Ms. Bevin Joyce Kehoe

Ms. Helen Lewis Kemp

Jane and Joe Knox

Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Kyle

Edward and Rebecca Lawson

Le Lew

Diana Rupert Livingston

Mr. and Mrs. H. Morris Logan

Mary Frances and Fletcher Lowe

Paul and Lissie Lowsley-Williams

Kay Mast

Sally M. Maynard

Lu and Jerry McCarthy

Ms. Lynne McClendon

Ms. Anna McLaughlin

Mr. Charles L. Menges and Ms. Penelope W. Kyle

Mr. and Mrs. Jon Moody

Mr. and Mrs. J. Robert Mooney

Mr. and Mrs. David G. Morgan

Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia

Jack and Katherine Nelson

John Newby

Mr. and Mrs. John F. Newsom III

Mr. and Mrs. Ian A. Nimmo

Judith and Mary O’Brien

Terry and Linda Oggel

Joseph O’Hare & Wallace Beard

Ms. Alice Pool

Brian and Noel Pumphrey

Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Reich

Laura Rice

Mr. and Mrs. David L. Richardson

Ridgeway Foundation

RiverFront Investment Group

Mr. Brian C. Lansing and Ms. Maura L. Scott

Susan Bailey and Sidney Buford

Scott Endowment Trust

Mark and Susan Sisisky

Spider Management Company, LLC.

Mrs. Jane B. Spilman

Steinway Piano Gallery

Frances and Russ Sterling

Bruce Borden Stevens

Paul and Bonita Stockmeyer

Target Circle

Ms. Patricia C. Temple

David and Kimberly Terzian

Margaret R. Thomas Endowment Fund of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond

TowneBank Richmond

Jim and Eydie Triplett

Barbara B. and James E. Ukrop

USAA

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas V. Van Auken

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Van Sickle

Rob and Melanie Walker

Charles and Anne Westbrook

Mr. George Wheeler and Mrs. Lucrezia Wheeler Leisinger

Whitley/Service Roofing & Sheet Metal Company

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Wilkerson

Matthew and Susan Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Williams, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Witt

Isabella G. Witt

Mark Wolfram

David and Becky Zuck

$500 - $999

Anonymous

Ruth and Franco Ambrogi

Jen Arnold

Ann Askew

Allen Belden Jr.

Blackwood Development Company, Inc.

Matthew Bosher

Rosa E. Bosher

Dr. and Mrs. John Bowman

Martin and Kimberly Brill

Rozine Bruce

Dr. John B. H. Caldwell

Mr. and Mrs. George Calvert

Ms. Jane H. Carlson

Neal and Catherine Cary

Michael Chang and Robert Herrig

Jeff and Donna Coward

Bruce Curran

Drs. Georgean and Mark deBlois

Dr. and Mrs. Barbu A. Demian

Ms. Anne Gordon Downing

Jim and Linda Ferree

Ms. Betty Forbes

Mrs. Suzanne B. Franke *

Krissy and Jay Gathright

Jim and Millie Green

Ms. Karen Guliano

Mr. and Mrs. Brenton S. Halsey

$250 - $499

Anonymous

Samuel and Helen Adams

Mr. Romulo Alejandro

Mrs. Susan M. Allen

David and Chrissy Allen

Mr. and Mrs. S.

Wyndham Anderson

Pam and Dale Hartough

Drs. Neil W. Henry and Elizabeth S.Hodges

Rosemary Hodges

Karen and Barry Hofheimer

Linda and Roger Hultgren

The Huntly Foundation

Martina James

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jefferson III

Janet and Bruce Kay

Rinda Kieffer

Mr. and Mrs. Heyn v. K. F. Kjerulf

Mr. and Mrs. Floyd L. Lewis

Ben and Laura Lewis

Maia Linask & Grant Rissler

Ardyth J. Lohuis

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lott

Christopher J. Lumpkin

Jane Lyon

Beth & Ry Marchant

Doctors Marquina

John Moore

J. Dabney and Betty Booker Morriss

Sylvia and Alan Newman

Dr. and Mrs. Carl Patow

Mr. and Mrs. M. Dale Phillips

Mr. Bob Podstepny

Jack and Cindy Reasor

Dr. John Reynolds

Alice and Ed Rivas

Mr. and Mrs. Greg Robertson

Mr. and Mrs. Jay W. Robinson

Mr. Harold C. Rohrs

Mary and Joe Rotella

Jon Pildis and Christy Schragal

Mrs. Susan Bailey Scott

Ms. Cornelia C. Serota

Mr. Richard M. Simon

Micheal D. and Mary Beth Slack

Katherine Smallwood and Robert Gottschalk

Mary Lou & Charlie Sommardahl

Dr. and Mrs. R. P. Sowers III

Dr. Elliott Spanier

Wilson and Claudia Sprenkle

Mrs. John R. Williams Street

Terry & Sharon Troxell

Heidi & Jay Vaiksnoras

Thomas J. Vlahakis

Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. Warthen III

Jane G. Watkins

Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign

Jacqueline S. Westfall

Michael Wildasin

Suzanne P. Wiltshire

Mr. and Mrs. P W Young

Brad and Frazier Armstrong

Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Artz

Sally T. Bagley

Wesley Ball

Lisa Crutchfield and Olaf Barth

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

Betty Lou and Gregory Beach

Mrs. Myra T. Bennett

David H. Berry

Mr. and Mrs. Stuart W. Blain

Charles and Victoria Bleick

Mr. Brett Bonda

Mr. Lloyd W. Bostian Jr.

Ms. Mary Bowden

Thomas Bowden

Mr. and Mrs. David Braymer

Joan T. Briccetti

Mrs. Judy S. Brown

Lisa Caperton

Mr. and Mrs. J. Scott Carreras

Betty Chui

Barbara Cotter and Antonio Masullo

Stuart and Jennifer Craft

Mr. Mark D. Crean

Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Dendy III

David and Lisa Dickson

Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Dimitriou

Andrew J. Dolson and Elizabeth C. Manning

Mr. and Mrs. John Dowling

Mr. Robert Duntley

Jon W Elvert

Martin G. and Hope

Armstrong Erb

Marilyn Erickson

Dr. J. Mark Evans

Mr. and Mrs. John W. Fain

Mr. and Mrs. Leavenworth

M. Ferrell II

Fife Family Foundation Inc.

Friends of Richmond

Symphony Chorus

Mr. and Mrs. Richard

W. Gaenzle, Jr.

Kathleen and Ronald Garstka

Mr. and Mrs. William Childs Gay

Mr. Thomas S. Gay

Kevin Georgerian

Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Hains

Bodil H. Hanneman

Patricia Harrell

Philip Hart

Jean and David Holman

Lowrey and Beth Holthaus

Mr. and Mrs. William F. Jacobs Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. Robison B. James

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas S. Jones

Jack Kalbfleisch

Leslie Anne Kay

Lyn and Don Kocen

Peggy Kriha Dye

Maureen LaLonde

Dr. and Mrs. John Thomas Lanning

Constance M. Lewis

Elbert Lin

Celia K. Luxmoore and David J. Baker

Mr. and Mrs. James E. Mann III

Yvonne Mastromano

Ms. Marilyn L. Mauck

Mrs. Lavern P. Moffat

Dr. Dawn G. Mueller

Mr. and Mrs. David Naquin

Catherine T. Neale

Trudy Norfleet

Mr. and Mrs. Grayson Page

Jill Parker

PGA TOUR Charities

Ms. Sheryl Phillips

Mr. and Mrs. J. Cheairs Porter Jr.

Mr. Kamran Raika and Dr. Ana C. Raika

Mr. and Mrs. Gordon F. Rainey Jr.

Lynne and Steve Read

Mr. and Mrs. Newton Rector

Dr. and Mrs. P. Larus Reed III

Mr. and Mrs. David W. Rennolds

Linda and Michael Rigsby

Carrie Robeson

Millicent Ruddy

Barbara Null and Dan Rusnak

Douglas Sackin and Jessica C. Adelman

Ernesto and Savon Sampson

Mr. and Mrs. B. Hagen Saville

Karla and Dave Scanlan

Mr. and Mrs. Russell W. Scott

Mr. Jeffrey Sedgwick

Barbara A Slayden

Thomas and Laurie Smith

Tamara J Smith

Jim and Boo Smythe

Deborah C Solyan

Ray and Connie Sorrell

Lynn Spitzer

Mr. James H. Starkey III

Roger Tarpy and Jean Roberts

Andrew M. Thalhimer

Morton G. and Nancy P. Thalhimer Foundation

Ms. Judith Watson Tidd

TKL Products Corp.

Mr. Wilson R. Trice Esq.

Dr. Lillianne Troeger

Kay and William Tyler

Ned & Laura Valentine

Gary and Sara Wallace

Michele and John Walter

Mary Ann Wilson

Mr. William D. Wittorff

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to our sponsor

THIS GENEROUS SUPPORT ALLOWS THE RICHMOND SYMPHONY TO PROVIDE FREE, HIGH QUALITY COMMUNITY EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE RICHMOND REGION.

The Richmond Symphony Rennolds Society acknowledges those committed individuals who include the Symphony in their estate plans. These donors carry forward the legacy of support established by Edmund A. Rennolds Jr. and his wife Mary Anne Rennolds, their family and other benefactors. It’s easy to join the Rennolds Society – enjoy special events for members and help secure the future of the orchestra.

For information please contact Trish Poupore, Richmond Symphony Foundation Donor Relations Director, tpoupore@richmondsymphony.com.

Anonymous (6)

Tom and Elizabeth Allen

Dr. Virginia A. Arnold *

Joanne Barreca and Vic Bouril *

Mr. Matthew T. Blackwood *

Nancy * and Lewis T. * Booker

Laura E. McBride Box and Richard E. Box

Mrs. Caroline Y. Brandt

Drs. Meta and John Braymer

Dr.* and Mrs. O. Christian Bredrup, Jr.

Miss Goldie H. Burkholder *

Ann Turner Burks

Mrs. Royal E. Cabell, Jr. *

Stephen and Claire Capel

Miss Phyllis Cartwright *

Neal Cary

The Rev. Dr. Vienna

Cobb-Anderson

Miss Hannah Lide Coker *

Waverly M. Cole *

Lucille B.* and Robert O.* Cole

Dr. John R. Cook *

Janet C. Coon

Don Creach and Karen Raschke

Charles “Chuck” Dabney *

Elizabeth R. and Ellis M.* Dunkum

Emma Gray Emory * and Howard McCue, Jr. *

Ruth and James* Erb

Marilyn T. Erickson

David J. L. Fisk and Anne O’Byrne

Marilyn Lipsitz Flax and Robert L. Flax

Mark Flynn and Sue Rowland

Mrs. Suzanne Franke*

Lisa C. Fusco

The Honorable Barbara J. Gaden

Martin and Kathleen

Gary Charitable Fund

Ross S. Gibson Jr. *

Mrs. Ross S. Gibson Sr. *

Jane and Jim Hartough

Mr.* and Mrs. Robert E. Hill

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jefferson III

Lawrence Ryan Jones and Mary Lynn Jones

Glen and Marlene Jones

Frank* and Elinor Kuhn

Celia K. Luxmoore and David J. Baker

Jane S. and James T. * Lyon

Dr. Edgar E. MacDonald *

John B. Mann

Bob * and Mary Coleman * Martin

Ms. Sarah Maxwell *

Emma Gray Emory * and Howard McCue, Jr. *

Mrs. John H. McDowell *

David A. and Charlotte A. McGoye

Mr. Dana E. McKnight

Lynn and Pierce * McMartin

Pate and Bill Mears

Jane Milici and Mario DiMarco

Roger Neathawk and Chuck Miller

Mr. * and Mrs. * William

Read Miller

Virginia B. and A. Scott Moncure

Gerald Morgan, Jr.*

J. Dabney and Betty

Booker Morriss

Mr. * and Mrs. * Johnson

C. Moss, Jr.

Margaret I. * and Walter

J. * O’Brien, Jr.

James M.* and Lucia M. O’Connell

Mrs. Hunter R. K. Pettus (Patsy)

G. V. Puster, Jr.

Mrs. Gordon C. Raab *

June and Chuck Rayfield

Mr.* and Mrs. Charles L. Reed, Jr.

Edmund A. Rennolds, Jr. *

Mr. and Mrs. W. Taylor Reveley III

Robert E. Rigsby

David B. Robinson, CPA

Lisa and Leon Roday

T. Raysor Salley, Jr. *

Rick Sample

Eric L. Schellenberger and Joan M. Spyhalski

Mrs. Elizabeth G. Schneider *

Frank Dellinger and Jim Schuyler

Mr. Brian C. Lansing and Ms. Maura L. Scott

Lawson and Joanne Sherman

Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. * Steeber

Mr.* and Mrs.* Charles G. Thalhimer Sr.

Marcia and Harry Thalhimer

Mrs. Nancy White Thomas *

Rebecca R. Trader

Dr. E. Randolph Trice *

Dr. John R. Warkentin

Butch and Ludi Webber

Robert H. Welch *

Perry A. Weyner *

George Wheeler and Lucrezia Wheeler Leisinger

Cary Leigh WIlliams

Dr. Elisabeth M. Wollan

Cheryl G. and Henry A.*

Yancey, Jr., M.D.

John and Bucci Zeugner

RICHMOND SYMPHONY ENDOWMENT GIFTS

We are deeply grateful for gifts to the Richmond Symphony Endowment, which provides solid foundation for the orchestra. The endowment provides an ongoing source of income to ensure the Symphony’s financial stability well into the future.

Richmond Symphony Foundation recognizes endowment gifts in the playbill for the following periods of time: $.5 million or more – 25 years; $100,000 to $499,999 – 15 years; $25,000 to $99,999 – 5 years; $5,000 - $24,999 – 2 years; less than $5,000 – 1 year. We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this list through June 30, 2023. If, however, there should be an omission or error, we express our sincere regret and ask that you bring it to our attention by phoning (804) 788-4717, x 115.

$500,000+

Anonymous

The Cabell Foundation

Dr. William Jack Frable

Mr.* and Mrs. Robert E. Hill

Mr. and Mrs. Jose L. Murillo

James L.* and Lucia M. O’Connell

The Mary Morton

Parsons Foundation

Mr.* and Mrs. Hays T. Watkins

The Windsor Foundation Trust

$100,000 - $249,000

Anonymous (3)

Mr. Matthew T. Blackwood*

Mrs. Lewis T. Booker*

Esther Bunzl*

Community Foundation for a greater Richmond

Dominion Energy

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Goddard

Mr. and Mrs. James B. Hartough

$25,000 - $99,000

Anonymous (2)

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Allen

Meta and John Braymer

Mrs. Elizabeth Moncure Bredrup

$250,000 - $499,999

Anonymous

Nancy B. Booker

Charitable Trust

Mr.* and Mrs. Ellis M. Dunkum

Cecil R. and Edna S. Hopkins

Family Foundation

Mrs. John H. McDowell*

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth

M. Perry

Robert E. Rigsby

Mr. and Mrs. Richard

M. Smith

George Wheeler and Lucrezia Wheeler Leisinger

Mr. William Urban and Mrs. Anne Kenny-Urban

The Linhart Foundation

Wallace B. and Tina B. Millner

Mr. Gerald Morgan Jr.*

Robins Foundation

Marcia and Harry Thalhimer

Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Webber

Bucci and John Zeugner

Dr*. and Mrs. O. Christian Bredrup, Jr.

Mr. J. Alfred Broaddus Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Philip P. Burks Jr.

David and Karen Carter

$25,000 - $99,000

Mr. Ralph R. Crosby, Jr.

The Garner Family

Herndon Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Jennings III

Mrs. Anne W. Kenny

Mary Lloyd and Randy Parks

Mr. William H. Schwarzschild III

5,000 - $24,999

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur S. Brinkley III

Nico de León

Mrs. Suzanne B. Franke*

Mr. and Mrs. D. Brennen Keene

Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Morrill

Roger Neathawk and Chuck Miller

June and Chuck Rayfield

Up to $4,999

Anonymous

Dr. and Mrs. David F. Gardner

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Lannan

Read F. and Virginia W. McGehee

Wallace and Mary Gray Stettinius

Mrs. Charles G. Thalhimer Sr.*

Tilghman Family Foundation

VAMAC, Inc.

Dr. John R. Warkentin

Taylor and Helen Reveley

Mr. David Robinson

Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation

Veronica Wauford

Ms. Anne Marie Whittemore

Mrs. Christine E. Szabo

Mrs. Susy Yim

Frances Zehmer

CELEBRATE with family and friends on Thanksgiving weekend!

* deceased

SATURDAY NOV. 25 8:00pm

Carpenter Theatre

SUNDAY NOV. 26 3:00pm

Carpenter Theatre

Hear your Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Chorus perform carols, classics, and sparkling holiday favorites.

TRIBUTE GIFTS IN HONOR

IN HONOR OF KELLY ALI

Kirsten E. Franke

IN HONOR OF KEVIN BARGER

Ms. Barbara L. Baker

IN HONOR OF BILLY BAITES, RS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Robert T. Combs

IN HONOR OF WILLIAM BAITES

David Peake

IN HONOR OF MASON BATES

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF MARY BOODELL

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF DRS. JOHN AND META BRAYMER

Mr. and Mrs. David Braymer

IN HONOR OF MARGARET & J. ALFRED BROADDUS, JR.

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF DEBBIE AND SAM BRUCE

Nancy Wetherbee

IN HONOR OF ALANA CARITHERS

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF CATHERINE CARY

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF NEAL CARY

David and Kimberly Terzian

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF DAVID AND KAREN CARTER

Mr. David Meyers

IN HONOR OF ELLEN COCKERHAM-RICCIO

Kirsten E. Franke

IN HONOR OF TOM & MARGI E. DISHAROON

Margaret M. Disharoon

Charitable Lead Trust

IN HONOR OF ALYSSA EVANS

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF DAVID FISK

Ms. Maureen A. Neal

IN HONOR OF DAVID FISK & ANNE O’BYRNE

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF LISA C. FUSCO

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF MAGGIE GEORGIADIS

The Honorable Barbara J. Gaden

IN HONOR OF TREESA AND MATT GOLD

Anonymous

IN HONOR OF FAYE HOLLAND

Sherri Sledd

IN HONOR OF SUSANNA KLEIN

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF JOANNE KONG

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF RYAN LANNAN

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF CHIA-HSUAN LIN

Judith and Mary O’Brien

IN HONOR OF KIAYA LYNN

Ms. Maureen A. Neal

IN HONOR OF GEORGE MAHONEY

Mr. and Mrs. Stuart W. Blain

IN HONOR OF ANNETTE MARTINO

Lauren Straub

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF JUDY MAWYER

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF JASON MCCOMB

Kirsten E. Franke

IN HONOR OF PAT MURPHY

Brandon MacConnell

IN HONOR OF VALENTINA PELEGGI

Mr. Henry Ayon and Ms. Paula Desel

IN HONOR OF TRISH POUPORE

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF SVETLANA RUDAKOVA

Marina Hayes

IN HONOR OF RICK SAMPLE

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF STEPHEN SCHMIDT

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF MOLLY SHARP

Kirsten E. Franke

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF FRANCES STERLING

Ms. Maureen A. Neal

IN HONOR OF THE CHARLES TROXELL FAMILY

Mr. and Mrs. E. Jackson Luck

IN HONOR OF JOCELYN A. VORENBERG

Dr. Richard D. Adelman M.D.

Dr. and Mrs. Charles Cleland

Kirsten E. Franke

Virginia Holocaust Museum

Mr. and Mrs. Marcus M. Weinstein

IN HONOR OF LYNETTE WARDLE

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF VERONICA WAUFORD

Mrs. Henry A. Yancey, Jr.

IN HONOR OF RUSSELL WILSON

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF MARY DENNY WRAY

George Scott

Susan Bailey and Sidney Buford

Scott Endowment Trust

IN HONOR OF DAISUKE YAMAMOTO

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF THE YAMAMOTO FAMILY

Maria Elena Gallegos

IN HONOR OF SUSY YIM

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN HONOR OF BUCCI ZEUGNER

Mr. and Mrs. Leavenworth M. Ferrell II

IN HONOR OF THE RICHMOND SYMPHONY CHORUS BASS SECTION

Mr. Stephen Wright

IN HONOR OF JULIO AND ANGELA ROMAGNOLI

Rosella Levasseur

IN GRATITUDE FOR THE LABOR OF LOVE IN CREATING THE UPSEMINARY CERTIFICATE!

Mr. Romulo Alejandro

IN MEMORY OF EDWARD G ALTMAN

Susan K. Stoneman

IN MEMORY OF RALPH MCLEAN “MAC” ANGELL JR.

Anonymous

Suzanne P. Wiltshire

IN MEMORY OF TED BENNETT

Mrs. Myra T. Bennett

IN MEMORY OF MRS. NANCY BOOKER

Meta and John Braymer

IN MEMORY OF DR. O. CHRISTIAN BREDRUP

Meta and John Braymer

IN MEMORY OF MALCOLM BRIGGS

Ellis and Phyllis West

IN MEMORY OF CLAUDE W. CARMICHAEL, SR.

Ms. Alice Pool

IN MEMORY OF PAULINE KITTRELL CHRISTIAN

Sandra and John Christian

IN MEMORY OF MRS. FAITH SUSAN CROKER

Sean Collins

Colin McLetchie

Kate Powell

IN MEMORY OF MARSHALL H. EARL JR.

Alfred and Meredith Scott Nachman-Marks Foundation

Trust

Mrs. Henry A. Yancey, Jr.

IN MEMORY OF DR. JAMES ERB

Lynne and Steve Read

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

IN MEMORY OF SUZANNE BERWIN FRANKE

Mrs. Myra T. Bennett

Meta and John Braymer

Mr. and Mrs. Philip P. Burks Jr.

Dorothy R. Figg

Kirsten E. Franke

Mrs. Elinor Kuhn

Ms. Carrie Larson

Sheila Leckie

Mary U. McNeer

June and Chuck Rayfield

Richmond Symphony League

Deborah C. Solyan

Delores I. Thompson

Veronica Wauford

IN MEMORY OF DR. J. GARY MAYNARD AND FLORENCE R. GIVENS

Sally M. Maynard

IN MEMORY OF DR. DEAN GOPLERUD

Meta and John Braymer

IN MEMORY OF EDWARD E. HICKERSON JR.

Leslie Cash

IN MEMORY OF CORA WILLIS HONTS

Megan Duguay

IN MEMORY OF FRANK KUHN

Mrs. Joyce Wilson Clemmons

Dawn Edford

Sheila Leckie

Richmond Symphony League

Marcia and Harry Thalhimer

Veronica Wauford

IN MEMORY OF J.H. “BUDDY” KUHNS

Janice Kuhns

IN MEMORY OF CAROL LEEDES

Dawn Barber

IN MEMORY OF GOLDEN RETRIEVER MADISON

Sandra Bailey

IN MEMORY OF JOANNE MELDER

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Melder

IN MEMORY OF VIRGINIA NELSON

Kriss Glass

IN MEMORY OF ALAN PATERSON

Debra Sampson

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Spiers Jr.

IN MEMORY OF FRANK RAYSOR

Jane L. Bunnell

Dr. G. V. Puster Jr. and Dr. Martha

Schulman

Rob and Melanie Walker

IN MEMORY OF NED AND MARY ANNE RENNOLDS

Mr. and Mrs. Hatley N. Mason III

Mrs. William T. Reed III

IN MEMORY OF JOAN REXINGER

Richmond Symphony League

IN MEMORY OF DR. MARY JANE SALE

Celia K. Luxmoore

David J. Baker

Susan Dovell

Sandra Francisco

Peter Francisco

Martha Gilliam

John Hoogakker

Mr. and Mrs. William M. Rider

Dianne Hughs Shuler

IN MEMORY OF DR. MARY JANE

SALE AND HER DAUGHTERS

PLUM, REBECCA, AND MARY

Susan K. Stoneman

IN MEMORY OF HAROLD AND OJETTA SMITH

Yvonne Mastromano

IN MEMORY OF JOHANNA DIGESU SPIERS

Marsha Moseley

IN MEMORY OF ED VEST

Marc Vest

IN MEMORY OF DRS. ALEXANDER AND NANCY WAITKUS

Mr. Mark Waitkus

IN MEMORY OF HAYS WATKINS

Marcia and Harry Thalhimer

IN MEMORY OF JERRY L. WAUFORD

Anne S Allen

Brad and Frazier Armstrong

Frank Beale

Mrs. Myra T. Bennett

Mr. and Mrs. Philip P. Burks Jr. Carreras Jewelers Carreras

Mr. and Mrs. William L. Gray Jr. Lindeve Hostvedt

Richmond Symphony League

Sheila Leckie

Laura Markley

Mr. and Mrs. J. Lynn Parsons

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Perry

Jeff Siffert

Sherri Sledd

Mary Sisson-Vaughan

Matthew and Susan Williams

Jack and Helen Winn

Mrs. Henry A. Yancey, Jr.

IN MEMORY OF GWYN HILL WESTERFELD

Dr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Wayne

IN MEMORY OF LOU WILSON

Angela P. & André S. Basmajian

RICHMOND SYMPHONY LEAGUE GIFTS OF MERIT

The Richmond Symphony League is a non-profit corporation with the sole purpose of supporting the operating budget and education programs of the Richmond Symphony. The generosity of the Symphony League’s donors and event attendees allows it to make annual donations to the Richmond Symphony. This listing acknowledges donors during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

GIFTS OF $5,000

Phil and Ann Burks

Elinor Kuhn

GIFTS OF $1,000 - $4,999

Avery Point by Erickson Senior Living

Joanne Barreca

Dave and Linda Berry

David and Julie Brantley

GIFTS OF $300

Myra T. Bennett

Mike and Mary Ball

Ann and Paul Bolesta

Kathy and Tom Dale

Chuck and June Rayfield

George and Lisa Ruzek

Penny Tuthill

Cheryl Yancey

Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey Dean Cahill

Jim and Millie Green

Faye W. Holland

Terry N. and Cheryl Keller

Midlothian Tennis Club

Pre-Con, Inc.

Veronica Wauford

Matthew and Susan Williams

Alison Wood Eckis

Maria Gallegos

Hoover & Strong

Howell’s Heating & Plumbing

Liberty Homes, Inc.

McGriff Insurance Services

Andy Royalty

Wills Financial Group

Holiday Brass

Chia-Hsuan Lin CONDUCTOR

Deck the hallswith Holiday Brass.

A shimmering celebration of holiday hits for the whole family, and right in your neighborhood!

FRIDAY DEC. 01 7:30pm

Perkinson Center for the Arts

SATURDAY DEC. 02 7:30pm

St. Christopher School

SUNDAY DEC. 03 3:00pm

RandolphMacon College

Lara Downes PIANO

Pianist, cultural catalyst, and New York Times Sunday Crossword clue Lara Downes has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News. An iconoclast and trailblazer, her dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, a Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, a producer, curator, arts activist and advocate positions her as a force of innovation and change on the national arts scene. She was honored as 2022 Classical Woman of the Year by Performance Today. Downes’ recent and upcoming onstage adventures include guest appearances with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Ravinia®, Ojai and Tanglewood festivals, among many others.

Her creative collaborations with diverse artists including Rhiannon Giddens, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Daniel Hope, Yo-Yo Ma and the Miró Quartet explore shared creative perspectives across genres and traditions. Lara’s forays into a broad landscape of music have created a unique series of acclaimed recordings, including her most recent release “Love at Last” on the Pentatone label, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical charts and was featured as an NPR Tiny Desk concert.

Lara is a highly visible media presence in her role as the creator and host of AMPLIFY with Lara Downes, an acclaimed NPR Music video series now in its third season. She is the creator and curator of Rising Sun Music, a label dedicated to making first recordings of music by Black composers from the 18th century to the present day. Learn more at LaraDownes.com.

Edward Maclary CHORUS PREPARER

Edward Maclary is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Maryland School of Music and served as Director of Choral Activities from 2000 – 2022. Under his leadership the UMD Chamber Singers achieved international renown, winning top prizes in European competitions and representing the U.S. at the Tenth World Choral Symposium in Korea (2014). The UMD Concert Choir became the choral partner of choice for both the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performing with those ensembles at the Kennedy Center, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall. UMD choral ensembles have performed multiple times at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Collegiate Choral Organization. Alumni of the graduate conducting program now hold professional and academic conducting positions around the country and UMD ensemble alumni populate many top professional choruses and are represented in all our nation’s military choirs. Regarded as an outstanding clinician and educator, Maclary has conducted All-State and Honor Choirs throughout the country. He has been a guest teacher at institutions such as the Indiana University School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, Westminster Choir College, the University of Wisconsin, and Temple University. Known for his advocacy of early music, from 2014 through 2017 he was the Director of the Master Class in Conducting at the Oregon Bach Festival. In 2011 he was named the ‘Chef du Choeur’ at the Florilège Vocal de Tours, one of Europe’s most prestigious choral festivals. Edward Maclary has served as the chorus master for conductors such as Robert Shaw, Helmuth Rilling, Gianandrea Noseda, Christoph Eschenbach, Iván Fischer, Andris Nelsons, Marin Alsop, Donald Runnicles, Nathalie Stutzmann, and Nicholas McGegan, among many others.

Photo Max Barrett

Photo: courtesy Maclary

Paul Neubauer VIOLA

Paul Neubauer’s exceptional musicality and effortless playing led the New York Times to call him “a master musician.” He recently made his Chicago Symphony Orchestra subscription debut with conductor Riccardo Muti and his Mariinsky Orchestra debut with conductor Valery Gergiev. He also gave the US premiere of the newly discovered Impromptu for viola and piano by Shostakovich with pianist Wu Han. In addition, his recording of the Aaron Kernis Viola Concerto with the Royal Northern Sinfonia was released on Signum Records and his recording of the complete viola and piano music by Ernest Bloch with pianist Margo Garrett was released on Delos.

Appointed Principal violist of the New York Philharmonic at age 21, he has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras. He has premiered viola concertos by Bartók (revised version of the Viola Concerto), Friedman, Glière, Jacob, Kernis, Lazarof, Müller-Siemens, Ott, Penderecki, Picker, Suter, and Tower and has been featured on CBS’s Sunday Morning, A Prairie Home Companion, and in Strad, Strings, and People magazines. A two-time Grammy nominee, he has recorded on numerous labels including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, RCA Red Seal, and Sony Classical and is a member of SPA, a trio with soprano Susanna Phillips and pianist AnneMarie McDermott. Mr. Neubauer is the artistic director of the Mostly Music series in New Jersey and is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Mannes College.

Daisuke Yamamoto VIOLIN

Daisuke Yamamoto, known for exhibiting “immense virtuosity and probing musicianship,” is originally from Marietta, GA. Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony since 2013, he has been featured as a soloist on several occasions since his arrival, including a performance of the Theme from Schindler’s List for the Holocaust Remembrance Concert, which was broadcast statewide. Other performances include Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Ravel’s Tzigane and Vivaldi’s “Autumn” from The Four Seasons. Before coming to Richmond he was a member of the New World Symphony. While at New World, he soloed with the orchestra, performing Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. He has also collaborated with Jaime Laredo in a performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins. He was also hand-picked by Michael Tilson Thomas to participate in the Thomashefsky Project, an homage to Tilson Thomas’s grandparents who were pioneers of the American Yiddish Theater. The project was recorded for DVD and was aired on PBS Great Performances. He was also invited to Medellín, Colombia, where he led sectionals and masterclasses as well as performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín.

An avid orchestral performer, he has performed with many orchestras across the US, including The Cleveland Orchestra on numerous occasions both on tour and in Cleveland, New World Symphony, and the Spokane Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Robert McDuffie, Ida Kavafian, Peter Wiley, Steven Tenenbom, Jasper String Quartet, members of The Cleveland Orchestra, Tokyo String Quartet, Duo Patterson and Jerry Wong.

Yamamoto currently resides in Richmond with his wife, who is a math teacher at Atlee High School.

Photo Richard Termine Photo: Symphony Archives

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to our ON DEMAND sponsor

This generous sponsorship allows the Richmond Symphony to make excellent quality live recordings of its concerts and provide them to the Richmond community and beyond for years to come.

Please see our website for more details on how to access this season’s concerts online. www.RichmondSymphony.com

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONTACT

Richmond Symphony Patron Services

612 East Grace Street, Suite 401 Richmond, VA 23219

804.788.1212 x2

patronservices@richmondsymphony.com

HOURS

Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm Voicemail and email are checked 2 hours prior to concerts.

TICKET INFORMATION

• Child tickets are good for ages 3-18.

• Discounts are available for College Students with a valid student ID.

• Group discounts are available for groups of 8+. Some restrictions apply. Call Patron Services for more information.

• Subscribers may exchange tickets for free; some restrictions apply. Review your subscriber guide or contact Patron Services for more information.

• Single ticket buyers who feel ill or have been recently exposed to Covid-19 are asked to stay home. Please contact Patron Services prior to the performance for ticket options.

• If you are unable attend a concert contact Patron Services prior to the concert date to donate your tickets and receive a receipt for your taxes.

TICKETS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

Phone: 804.788.1212 x2

Online: richmondsymphony.com

In Person: Visit the Altria Theater box office to purchase single tickets to any Richmond Symphony concert. Tickets may also be purchased at the venue at least 1½ hours before any concert (subject to availability).

LATE SEATING

Late arrivals will be seated by ushers at an appropriate break in the music as determined by management.

COAT CHECK

The Carpenter Theatre offers a free coat check at the Concierge Desk. Altria Theater has a free coat check in the ballroom downstairs. Other venues do not offer a coat check.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Feel free to take pictures without a flash during the concert and share with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. We ask that you turn down the brightness of your screen and stay mindful of your neighbors.

VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDINGS

Due to copyright laws, audio and video recording devices are strictly prohibited inside the concert hall.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Go to the “Plan Your Visit” page at richmondsymphony.com or call Patron Services for information on restaurants and parking near the theater.

DONATE

• online at richmondsymphony.com

• by phone at 804.788.4717 x102

• by mail to the address above

Thank you for your support!

CONNECT WITH US!

facebook.com/richmondsymphony

instagram.com/rvasymphony

twitter.com/rvasymphony

@rvasymphony