FWSO Gala

February 25, 2023

From whole patient to whole health.

TREATBOLDLY.UNTHSC.EDU

Students, faculty, patients and neighbors all have one thing in common: they’re people. And we put the needs of our people first. In addition to being a premier academic medical center, HSC believes in the bigger picture of health. Five schools and one shared purpose. Creating an environment where innovation and ideas can thrive, and all people feel informed, empowered and understood.

When we’re all connected, we’re in it together. HSC. ASK BRAVELY. TREAT BOLDLY.

Celebrating a Half Century of Excellence

The Kimbell at 50 Special Exhibition

Through October 4, 2023

Scan to explore the digital exhibition or visit 50.kimbellmuseum.org

FWSO STAFF

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Keith Cerny, Ph.D. President and CEO

OPERATIONS

John Clapp Vice President of Operations

Matthew Glover Director of Operations

Gillian Boley Artistic Services Coordinator

Joseph Dubas Interim Orchestra Personnel Manager

Christopher Hawn Orchestra Librarian

David Sterrett Assistant Orchestra Librarian

Branson White Production Manager

Wilson Armstrong Assistant Stage Manager

DEVELOPMENT

Meagan Hemenway Vice President of Development

Jennifer Yorek Director of Development

Courtney Mayden Grants Manager

Malia Lewis Development Associate

Veronika Perez Development Coordinator

FINANCE

Bennett Cepak Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Lucas Baldwin Staff Accountant

James Gonzalez Controller

HUMAN RESOURCES

Jacque Carpenter Vice President of Human Resources

MARKETING

Carrie Ellen Adamian Chief Marketing Officer

Melanie Boma Tessitura Database Manager

Jacob Clodfelter Box Office Manager

Laura Corley Box Office Associate

Katie Kelly Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications

Josselin Garibo Pendleton Senior Manager, Education Community Programs

Stephanie Hartley Marketing and Communications Specialist

Sydney Palomo Box Office Associate

Patrick Sumner Box Office Associate

Paul Taylor Box Office Associate

Megan Brook Senior Manager, Analytics and Marketing Strategy

ER T SP ANO, MUSIC DI RE CTOR

E V IN JOHN EDU S EI , P R IN CIPAL GUE ST COND U C TOR K E ITH CERNY, Ph.D., PRESIDENT AND CE O Keith Cerny,Ph.D., President and CEO

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN MERCEDES T. BASS

Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us for this spectacular Gala concert evening featuring the incomparable YoYo Ma. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I’d like to express our sincere gratitude for your patronage tonight. Your generosity will bolster the FWSO’s artistic programming, and music education programs which serve over 20,000 students a year in FWISD and throughout North Texas.

As tonight is sure to be memorable, don’t forget to save-the-date for February 17, 2024 for next year’s Gala concert. Next year’s event will feature soprano Renée Fleming, with baritone Rod Gilfry, under the baton of our very-own Maestro Spano. This concert is one of the many great performances planned for the newly announced 23/24 season which includes world-class artists, and unique collaborations. There is truly something for everyone!

When I joined the FWSO Board of Directors 30 years ago, I could only dream how far this great institution would go and here we are today, a true pillar of the North Texas cultural community. Thank you for helping to make this possible.

With much appreciation and gratitude,

Mercedes T. Bass Chairman of the Board of Directors

Dear FWSO supporter,

Welcome to this evening’s performance! Tonight, the stars have truly aligned, as the FWSO’s new Music Director Robert Spano shares the stage with the orchestra and the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Elgar’s superb Cello Concerto. Rounding out the program is Vaughn Williams’ famous “London” symphony. We know you will enjoy this pairing of British musical masterpieces. Thanks to Maestro Spano’s artistic leadership on, and off, the podium, the orchestra is playing better than ever.

This evening also represents a significant milestone for the FWSO, as we celebrate 30 years of distinguished leadership from the FWSO’s Chairman of the Board, Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass. It is no exaggeration to say that the FWSO would not be the outstanding ensemble it is today without her dedication and generosity, and we are all very grateful to her. We hope you will consider making a tribute gift in her honor.

And now, please enjoy the concert!

Yours sincerely,

Keith Cerny, Ph.D. President and CEO

ABOUT ROBERT SPANO

Spano leads the Fort Worth Symphony in six symphonic programs, three chamber music programs, and a gala concert with Yo-Yo Ma, in addition to overseeing the orchestra and music staff and shaping the artistic direction of the orchestra and driving its continued growth. Additional engagements in the 2022-23 season include a return to Houston Grand Opera to conduct Werther.

Robert Spano, conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher, is known worldwide for the intensity of his artistry and distinctive communicative abilities, creating a sense of inclusion and warmth among musicians and audiences that is unique among American orchestras. After twenty seasons as Music Director, he will continue his association with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Music Director Laureate. An avid mentor to rising artists, he is responsible for nurturing the careers of numerous celebrated composers, conductors, and performers. As Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 2011, he oversees the programming of more than 300 events and educational programs for 630 students and young performers. Principal Guest Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra since 2019, Spano became Music Director Designate on April 1, 2021, and begins an initial three-year term as Music Director in August 2022. He is the tenth Music Director in the orchestra’s history, which was founded in 1912.

Maestro Spano made his highlyacclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 2019, leading the US premiere of Marnie, the second opera by American composer Nico Muhly. Recent concert highlights have included several world premiere performances, including Voy a Dormir by Bryce Dessner at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and mezzosoprano Kelley O’Connor; George Tsontakis’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Dimitrios Skyllas’s Kyrie eleison with the BBC Symphony Orchestra; the Tuba Concerto by Jennifer Higdon, performed by Craig Knox and the Pittsburgh Symphony; Melodia, For Piano and Orchestra, by Canadian composer Matthew Ricketts at the Aspen Music Festival; and Miserere, by ASO bassist Michael Kurth.

The Atlanta School of Composers reflects Spano’s commitment to American contemporary music. He has led ASO performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Ravinia, Ojai, and Savannah Music Festivals. Guest engagements have included the Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Minnesota Orchestras, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New World, San Diego, Oregon, Utah, and Kansas City Symphonies. His opera performances include Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and the 2005 and 2009 Seattle Opera productions of Wagner’s Ring cycles.

Continued On Page 6

German conductor Kevin John Edusei is sought-after the world over, dividing his time equally between the concert hall and opera house. He is praised repeatedly for the drama and tension that he brings to his musicmaking, for his attention to detail, sense of architecture, and the fluidity, warmth and insight that he brings to his performances. He is deeply committed to the creative elements of performance, presenting classical music in new formats, cultivating audiences, introducing music by under-represented composers and conducting an eclectic range of repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary.

In the 2022/23 season, Edusei makes his debut with many orchestras across the UK and US, including the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Hallé, Utah Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and National Symphony (Washington) orchestras amongst others and he returns to the London Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony, Baltimore and Colorado Symphony orchestras. With the Chineke! Orchestra he returns to the BBC Proms for a televised performance of Beethoven 9 and also performs at Festivals in Snape, Hamburg, Helsinki and Lucerne. In recent seasons he has conducted many of the major orchestras across the UK, Holland, Germany and the US. He is the former Chief Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra and 22/23 marks the start of his tenure as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (Texas).

In the 2022/23 season Edusei also makes his debut with the Royal Opera House conducting La Boheme with Juan Diego Florez and Ailyn Pérez. He recently made his debut at the

KEVIN JOHN EDUSEI

English National Opera and previously has conducted at the Semperoper Dresden, Hamburg State Opera, Hannover State Opera, Volksoper Wien and Komische Oper Berlin. During his time as Chief Conductor of Bern Opera House, he led many new productions including Britten Peter Grimes, Strauss Salome, Bartók Bluebeard’s Castle, Wagner Tannhäuser and Tristan and Isolde, Janáček Kátya Kábanová and a cycle of the Mozart Da-Ponte operas.

In 2004 Edusei was awarded the fellowship for the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival by David Zinman, in 2007 he was a prize-winner at the Lucerne Festival conducting competition under the artistic direction of Pierre Boulez and Peter Eötvös, and in 2008 he won the First prize at the International Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition.

ABOUT TAICHI FUKUMURA

Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow.

Past engagements include guest conducting in the Boston Symphony’s Community Chamber Concerts, leading members of the BSO in Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Fukumura assisted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Philharmonic as cover conductor. Equally adept in opera conducting, he has led full productions of Britten’s Turn of the Screw and Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Northwestern University Opera Theatre.

Taichi Fukumura is a rising JapaneseAmerican conductor known for his dynamic stage presence, resulting in a growing international career. Acclaimed for his musical finesse and passionate interpretations, he is praised by musicians and audiences alike across the United States, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, and Japan. A two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award in 2021 and 2022, Fukumura is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the 2022-2024 seasons.

Highlights from the 2021/22 season include guest conducting debuts with La Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Selected by the Berlin Philharmonic as one of 10 Assistant Conductor Candidates, Fukumura conducted in the Siemens Conductors Scholarship Competition. Fukumura served as the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he previously received mentorship from Music Director

Born in Tokyo, Taichi Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age three on the violin. Professionally trained on the instrument, he received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, studying with Peter Zazofsky. Fukumura received both his Doctoral and Masters degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, studying with Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies include Aspen Music Festival Conducting Academy, Pierre Monteux School and Festival, Paris Conducting Workshop, and Hong Kong International Conducting Workshop.

ABOUT ROBERT SPANO

Continued From Page 4

With a discography of critically-acclaimed recordings for Telarc, Deutsche Grammophon, and ASO Media, Robert Spano has garnered four Grammy™ Awards and eight nominations with the Atlanta Symphony. Spano is on faculty at Oberlin Conservatory and has received honorary doctorates from Bowling Green State University, the Curtis Institute of Music, Emory University, and Oberlin. Maestro Spano is a recipient of the Georgia Governor’s Award For The Arts And Humanities and is one of two classical musicians inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. He makes his home in Atlanta and Fort Worth.

FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Robert Spano, Music Director

Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Chair

Kevin John Edusei, Principal Guest Conductor

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Music Director Laureate

VIOLIN I

Michael Shih, Concertmaster

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

Swang Lin, Associate Concertmaster

Ann Koonsman+ Chair

Eugene Cherkasov, Assistant Concertmaster

Mollie & Garland Lasater Chair

Jennifer Y. Betz

Ordabek Duissen

Qiong Hulsey

Ivo Ivanov

Izumi Lund

Ke Mai

Rosalyn Story

Kimberly Torgul

Albert Yamamoto

VIOLIN II

Adriana Voirin DeCosta, Principal

Steven Li, Associate Principal

Janine Geisel, Assistant Principal

Symphony League of Fort Worth Chair

Molly Baer

Tatyana Smith

Matt Milewski

Sue Jacobson°

Kathryn Perry

Andrea Tullis

Camilla Wojciechowska

VIOLA

DJ Cheek, Principal

Linda Numagami, Associate Principal°

HeeSun Yang, Assistant Principal

Joni Baczewski

Sorin Guttman

Aleksandra Holowka

Dmitry Kustanovich

Daniel Sigale

CELLO

Allan Steele, Principal

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

Emileigh Vandiver, Associate Principal

Keira Fullerton, Assistant Principal

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation Chair

John Belk

Deborah Brooks

Shelley Jessup

Jenny Kwak

BASS

William Clay, Principal

Mr. & Mrs. Edward P. Bass Chair

Paul Unger, Assistant Principal

Jeffery Hall

Julie Vinsant

The seating positions of all string section musicians listed alphabetically change on a regular basis.

FLUTE

Jake Fridkis, Principal

Shirley F. Garvey Chair

Gabriel Fridkis, Assistant Principal

Pam Holland Adams

PICCOLO

Pam Holland Adams

OBOE

Jennifer Corning Lucio, Principal

Nancy L. & William P. Hallman, Jr., Chair

Tamer Edlebi, Assistant Principal

Tim Daniels

ENGLISH HORN

Tim Daniels

CLARINET

Stanislav Chernyshev, Principal Rosalyn G. Rosenthal Chair*

Ivan Petruzziello, Assistant Principal

Gary Whitman

E-FLAT CLARINET

Ivan Petruzziello

BASS CLARINET

Gary Whitman

BASSOON

Joshua Elmore, Principal

Mr. & Mrs. Lee M. Bass Chair

Cara Owens, Assistant Principal

Samuel Watson

CONTRA BASSOON

Samuel Watson

HORN

Gerald Wood, Principal

Elizabeth H. Ledyard Chair

Alton F. Adkins, Associate Principal

Drs. Jeff and Rosemary Detweiler Chair

Kelly Cornell, Associate Principal

Aaron Pino

TRUMPET

Kyle Sherman, Principal

Cody McClarty, Assistant Principal

Dorothy Rhea Chair

Oscar Garcia

TROMBONE

Joseph Dubas, Principal

Mr. & Mrs. John Kleinheinz Chair

Steve Peterson, Principal°

John Michael Hayes, Assistant Principal

Dennis Bubert

BASS TROMBONE

Dennis Bubert

Mr. & Mrs. Lee M. Bass Chair

TUBA

Edward Jones, Principal

TIMPANI

Seth McConnell, Principal

Madilyn Bass Chair

Nicholas Sakakeeny, Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

Keith Williams, Principal

Shirley F. Garvey Chair

Nicholas Sakakeeny, Assistant Principal Adele Hart Chair

Deborah Mashburn

Brad Wagner

HARP

Position vacant

Bayard H. Friedman Chair

KEYBOARD

Shields-Collins Bray, Principal

Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn & Van Cliburn Chair

STAGE MANAGER

Branson White

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER

Joseph Dubas

ORCHESTRA LIBRARIANS

Christopher Hawn

David Sterrett

*In Memory of Manny Rosenthal

°2022/2023 Season Only

+Denotes Deceased

The Concertmaster performs on the 1710 Davis Stradivarius violin.

The Associate Concertmaster performs on the 1685 Eugenie Stradivarius violin.

Robert Spano, Music Director

2022-23 SEASON GALA

February 25, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Bass Performance Hall

Robert Spano, Conductor Nancy Lee & Perry R. Bass Chair

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 2 in G Major “A London Symphony”

I. Lento - Allegro risoluto

II. Lento

III. Scherzo (Nocturne)

IV. Andante con moto - Maestoso alla marcia

ELGAR Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

I. Adagio; Moderato

II. Lento; Allegro molto

III. Adagio

IV. Allegro; Moderato; Allegro, ma non troppo

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

Video or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited. Patrons arriving late will be seated during the first convenient pause. Program and artists are subject to change.

PROGRAM NOTES : RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

SYMPHONY No. 2, “A LONDON SYMPHONY”

I. Lento – Allegro risoluto

II. Lento

III. Scherzo (Nocturne)

IV. Finale – Andante con moto – Maestoso alla marcia – Allegro – Lento – Epilogue

DURATION: About 50 minutes

PREMIERED: London, 1914

INSTRUMENTATION: Three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drum, triangle, tam-tam, sleigh bells, cymbals, glockenspiel, harp, and strings

“I’d never written a symphony and never intended to… I suppose [George] Butterworth’s words stung me…From that moment, the idea of a symphony dominated my mind.”

— Ralph Vaughan Williams (Born 1872, England; died 1958

SYMPHONY: An elaborate orchestral composition typically broken into contrasting movements, at least one of which is in sonata form.

ABSOLUTE MUSIC: Music without any particular story or idea attached; works like symphonies, sonatas, or concertos that exists for the sake of their own beauty and passion and ingenuity or abstract music.

PROGRAM MUSIC: Music that follows a narrative or musically illustrate an idea; works like tone poems or works with descriptive titles.

FURTHER LISTENING:

Williams: Symphony No. 1 “A Sea Symphony”

Symphony No. 3, “Pastoral Symphony” Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

by Jeremy Reynolds

In an art museum, curators provide descriptions of the featured works on plaques that hang near the paintings or sculptures. These “glosses” contain a mix of historical and technical information as well as some suggestions about interpretation at times. In music, a program note does something similar, and at different points in history, debates have raged regarding how much “glossing” is appropriate for a piece of music.

Take Vaughan Williams’ “London Symphony.” Despite the title, the composer himself said he intended the work to be heard as absolute music, or music meant to be enjoyed purely on its own merits. This is in contrast to “program” music, or music inspired by or intended to illustrate a specific scenario or narrative. The “London” symphony falls between these two polls. It’s inspired by Vaughan Williams’ experiences and impressions in London, but it’s not a work of music about London or in any way describing life in London. “If listeners recognize suggestions of such things as the Westminster Chimes or the Lavender Cry, they are asked to consider these as accidents, not as essentials, of the music,” he wrote.

This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it’s key to the listening experience — knowing that a piece is intended to be about a specific place or region will likely encourage listeners to look for connections. This isn’t good or bad on its face, but perhaps a bit prescriptive. During the Romantic era of music, music that was written to be descriptive was thought to be entertainment, while absolute music was seen as more dignified and worthy.

Historical dickering aside, the symphony begins slowly, sleepily even. Soon, however, the movement takes off in earnest, winding melodies cascading. As in most of Vaughan Williams’ pieces, there’s a certain stiffness of upper lip in the music, no doubt thanks to the

Continued on Page 11

PROGRAM NOTES : EDWARD ELGAR

by Jeremy Reynolds

CELLO CONCERTO in E MINOR, Op. 85

I. Adagio — Moderato

II. Lento — Allegro molto

III. Adagio

IV. Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non-troppo – Poco più lento – Adagio

DURATION: Around 30 minutes

PREMIERED: London, 1919

INSTRUMENTATION: Solo cello, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings

“My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.

“I always said God was against art and I still believe it.”

— Edward Elgar (Born 1857, England; died 1934)

CONCERTO: A composition that features one or more “solo” instruments with orchestral accompaniment. The form of the concerto has developed and evolved over the course of music history.

CADENZA: A virtuoso passage in a concerto movement or aria, typically near the end and often played without strict adherence to meter or time.

SUGGESTED READING:

Edward Elgar: Letters of a Lifetime, edited by Jerrold Northrop Moore

FURTHER LISTENING:

Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, (“Enigma Variations”)

Violin Concerto Symphony No. 1 in A-flat major, Op. 55

Yo-Yo Ma may be the best recognized cellist of the 21st century, but in the 20th century, Mstislav Rostropovich was the household name as a cellist and conductor — but Elgar’s concerto was not in his repertoire: “The theme from the slow movement sounds like it’s about first love, so I think it’s more appropriate for a young person,” Rostropovich explained in an interview with the Internet Cello Society. “My pupil Jacqueline du Pré played it much better than I because I didn’t have the fresh perspective that a piece like that requires.”

And so the student surpassed the master. In this work, at least. (Yo-Yo Ma would later record the work in 1988, another triumph.)

As Elgar’s last significant orchestral work, the concerto was borne of frustration and despondency after the Great War. The piece’s opening strains are a plaintive, gut-wrenching cry in the cello, answered with what comfort winds and strings can provide. A modified scale in the cello gives way to the main tune in the violas, a sighing, lilting melody of melancholic strength that winds its way through emotional heights and depths in the cello and orchestra alike.

Under-rehearsed at its premiere, Elgar’s concerto failed to capture the imagination of a public more used to pyrotechnic virtuosity rather than this more intimate exploration of pain and disillusionment. At its premiere, critic Ernest Newman wrote scathingly, “There have been rumors about during the week of inadequate rehearsal. Whatever the explanation, the sad fact remains that never, in all probability, has so great an orchestra made so lamentable an exhibition of itself. ... The work itself is lovely stuff, very simple – that pregnant simplicity that has come upon Elgar’s music in the last couple of years – but with a profound wisdom and beauty underlying its simplicity.” Decades later, Rostropovich’s student du Pré’s 1965 recording with the London Symphony Orchestra would catapult the concerto into the public consciousness.

Continued on Page 11

Vaughan Williams, continued from Page 9

folk-like songs and tunes he weaves into the textures.

The second movement is chillier, more somber. The composer described the piece as “Bloomsbury Square on a November afternoon,” and the movement unfolds as a set of variations on three different themes. The first appears in the English horn (a slightly deeper, woodier cousin of the oboe). The second is a plaintive horn call atop pulsing strings, and the third appears first as a viola solo.

Next, the scherzo movement is fleetfooted, a light-stepping dance: “If the listener will imagine himself standing on Westminster Embankment at night, surrounded by the distant sounds of The Strand, with its great hotels on one side and the ‘New Cut’ on the other, with its crowded streets and flaring lights, it may serve as a mood in which to listen to this movement.” (This is an outright programmatic description.) Finally, after a grand introduction in the full orchestra, cellos introduce the theme of the final movement, another folkish, stately tune.

Elgar, continued from Page 10

The second movement opens with a plucked version of the opening solo before a great crescendo and an ad libitum transition brings about the first fast music of the concerto, a nervous, skittering romp in the scherzo style that borders on lightheartedness at times. The third movement, Adagio, is a flowing, lyrical melody in the cello — Rostropovich called it “naïve,” a touch of bittersweet nostalgia animating the spirit of this most confidential music.

This transitions directly into the finale, which launches with another crescendo and free-flowing section before settling into a stately tune with the sort of pomp and circumstance audiences could expect of the English master. Numerous

key changes, transformations, and restatements ensue, with callbacks to the third movement’s rhapsodic theme and, to close the opening bars of that first movement in cyclical fashion, a dramatic exclamation point by the orchestra stinging the final moment.

Despite maturing into the quintessential Edwardian gentleman, Elgar’s modest roots and continental musical influences contributed to a persistent feeling of being an outsider in his own circles. The cello concerto gives vent to some of those personal frustrations, so much so that on his deathbed the composer told a friend that if he heard the tune walking by the Malvern Hills, “Don’t be frightened. It’s only me.”

ABOUT YO-YO MA

Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is a testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.

In 2018, Yo-Yo set out to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo cello in one sitting in 36 locations around the world that encompass our cultural heritage, our current creativity, and the challenges of peace and understanding that will shape our future. And last year, he began a new journey to explore the many ways in which culture connects us to the natural world. Over the next several years, Yo-Yo will visit places that epitomize nature’s potential to move the human soul, creating collaborative works of art and convening conversations that seek to strengthen our relationship with our planet and to each other.

Both endeavors continue Yo-Yo’s lifelong commitment to stretching

the boundaries of genre and tradition to explore how music not only expresses and creates meaning but also helps us to imagine and build a stronger society and a better future.

It was this belief that inspired Yo-Yo to establish Silkroad, a collective of artists from around the world who create music that engages their many traditions. Through his work with Silkroad, as well as throughout his career, Yo-Yo Ma has sought to expand the classical cello repertoire, premiering works by composers including Osvaldo Golijov, Leon Kirchner, Zhao Lin, Christopher Rouse, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Giovanni Sollima, Bright Sheng, Tan Dun, and John Williams.

In addition to his work as a performing artist, Yo-Yo has partnered with communities and institutions from Chicago to Guangzhou to develop programs that advocate for a more human-centered world. Among his many roles, Yo-Yo is a UN Messenger of Peace, the first artist ever appointed to the World Economic Forum’s board of trustees, and a member of the board of Nia Tero, the US-based nonprofit working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and movements worldwide.

Yo-Yo’s discography of more than 100 albums (including 19 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. In addition to his many iconic renditions of the Western classical canon, he has made recordings that defy categorization, among them “Appalachia Waltz” and “Appalachian Journey” with Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer and two Grammy-winning tributes to the music of Brazil. Yo-Yo’s recent recordings include: “Sing Me Home,” with the Silkroad Ensemble, which won the 2016 Grammy for Best World Music Album; “Six Evolutions — Bach: Cello Suites;” and “Songs of Comfort and Hope,” created and recorded with pianist Kathryn

Stott in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yo-Yo’s latest album is “Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5,” with pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Leonidas Kavakos.

Yo-Yo was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and three years later moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies at the Juilliard School before pursuing a liberal arts education at Harvard. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010), Kennedy Center Honors (2011), and the Polar Music Prize (2012). He has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration.

Yo-Yo and his wife have two children. He plays three instruments: a 2003 instrument made by Moes & Moes, a 1733 Montagnana cello from Venice, and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius.

The Board of Directors of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Ashli Blumenfeld, Anne Marie Bratton, Kimberly Johnson, Mary Hart Lipscomb, and Misty Locke Gala Co-Chairs

HONOR Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass

In celebration of her 30 years of support and dedication to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

As Board Chairman of the FWSO, Mercedes Bass has lent her artistic sensibilities, passion for classical music, and leadership ability to steward world-class orchestral music in Fort Worth through her support of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

In celebration of her committment to the FWSO, we invite you to give a gift to the Mercedes T. Bass Tribute Fund.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers

Mercedes T. Bass +, Chairman of the Board

Marianne Auld +, Chairman of the Executive Committee

Teresa King +, Secretary

J.W. Wilson +, Treasurer

Keith Cerny, Ph.D., President and CEO

Amy Roach Bailey

Connie Beck +

Ashli Blumenfeld

Dr. Victor J. Boschini, Jr. +

Anne Marie Bratton +

Karen Burchfield

Brenda Cline

Barbara Cox

Juana-Rosa Daniell

Mitzi Davis

Dr. Asad Dean +

Vance A. Duffy

Charlotte French

Tera Garvey

Gail Aronoff Granek

Genie Guynn

Dotty Hall

Lee Hallman

Kathleen Hicks

Aaron Howard +

Qiong Hulsey

Kim Johnson

Dee J. Kelly, Jr.+

Mollie Lasater +

Mary Hart Lipscomb

Misty Locke

Michelle Marlow

Louella Martin +

Priscilla Martin

Colin McConnell

Dr. Stuart D. McDonald

Ellen Messman

Dr. Till M. Meyn

Erin Moseley

Don C. Plattsmier +

Dana Porter +

Jean Roach +

Henry Robinson +

Jude Ryan

Alann B. Sampson +

Jeff Schmeltekopf

Dan Sigale

Kal Silverberg

Kathleen B. Stevens

Clare Stonesifer +

Jonathan T. Suder +

Carla Thompson +

Chairmen Emerita

William P. Hallman, Jr.*

Adele Hart*

Ed Schollmaier*

Frank H. Sherwood

Life Trustee

Rosalyn G. Rosenthal

Rae and Ed Schollmaier*

FWSO President Emerita

Ann Koonsman*

* Denotes Deceased + Executive Committee Member

GET AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT LIFE AS A TARLETON TEXAN

Hear from 10 real students as they share their stories and experiences in Tarleton’s episode of The College Tour, a TV series streaming on YouTube and Amazon Prime!

DANCE

LIFE’S IN THE LITTLE THINGS.

Inspiration from the stage can open new worlds at home.

You won’t believe what’s possible with Realtors ® like ours.

Williams Trew is proud to support performances at Bass Hall.