Performances Magazine | Pasadena Playhouse, April 2024

23/24 SEASON AT AMBASSADOR

APRIL 20, 2024

Vivaldi F r Seas s

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contents

P1 Program

Cast, performances, who’s who, director’s notes and donors

6 In the Wings

Grammy-winning Kronos Quartet marks 50 years at UCLA’s Royce Hall; Ed Ruscha retrospective at LACMA; L.A. Opera and artist David Hockney team on Turandot

12 Read All About It!

Business books about the performing arts—by Music Center president/CEO Rachel Moore and consultant Aubrey Bergauer—aim to guide performers and companies to a fulfilling and rewarding future.

20 Haute Couture Interiors

Inspired by classical themes, pop culture and her experience in the fashion world, designer Julia Wong creates interiors that are both dramatic and timeless

24 Reimagined Authenticity

Chef/restaurateur Sujan Sarkar showcases a playful, contemporary approach to India’s flavors and techniques at his Baar Baar downtown.

32 Parting Thought

Performances’ new program platform for shows and concerts can be accessed from any digital device.

PUBLISHER

Jeff Levy

EDITOR

Benjamin Epstein

ART DIRE CTOR

Carol Wakano

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Roger Grody, Libby Slate, Caleb Wachs

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Glenda Mendez

PRODUCTION ARTIST

Diana Gonzalez

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Walter Lewis

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Christine Noriega-Roessler

BUSINESS MANAGER

Leanne Killian Riggar

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Dawn Kiko Cheng

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Audrey Duncan Welch

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Lorenzo Dela Rama

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YOU’RE HERE.

Congrats, You’ve Picked a Great Performance!

Check out the interactive version of this theater program magazine and enjoy even more insight into the performers, creative talent and theater activities that are behind it all.

LINKS TO PERFORMERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS UNDERSTUDY UPDATES

MULTI - MEDIA PRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE.

THEATER SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES INSIDER SCOOPS FROM THEATER AND MUSIC PROFESSIONALS

UPCOMING SHOWS AND CONCERTS AROUND TOWN

It’s the new way to read the program, it’s

TAKE FIVE WITH KRONOS

EVER-EVOLVING, multi-Grammywinning Kronos Quartet marks 50 years of innovation with Kronos: Five Decades, April 28 at UCLA’s Royce Hall; it’s one of 50 events commemorating the milestone. “No one is ever going to say that Kronos Quartet is satisfied with the string quartet status quo,” writes The New York Times. The ground-breaking group “has, in its malleable virtuosity, become a wellspring for hundreds of new music commissions.” Other sources count well over 1,000 new works and collaborations with composers and musicians that challenge perceptions of the string quartet. Founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973, the ensemble also features violinist John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt and cellist Paul Wiancko. Over the years, the foursome has built a repertory that explores a broad spectrum of cultural expression and consistently responds to issues of the time; Sherba and Dutt retire in June. The CAP UCLA program features original compositions and new commissions as well as fan-favorite standards. 10745 Dickson Court, L.A., 310.794.4041, ucla.evenue.net

From left: Kronos violinists David Harrington and John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt and cellist Paul Wiancko.

Ruscha Retrospective

ED RUSCHA has consistently held up a mirror to American society by transforming some of its defining attributes—from consumer culture and popular entertainment to the ever-changing urban landscape—into the very subject of his art. Ruscha left Oklahoma City in 1956 to study commercial art in Los Angeles, where he drew inspiration from the city’s architectural landscape and colloquial language. Ed Ruscha / Now Then, his first comprehensive cross-media retrospective in more than 20 years, traces Ruscha’s methods and subjects throughout his career and underscores his remarkable contributions beyond the art world. The exhibition includes early works produced while traveling in Europe, installations such as the Chocolate Room and Course of Empire presented at the Venice Biennale in 1970 and 2005, respectively—and photographic documentation of the streets of L.A. beginning in 1965. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 323.857.6000, lacma.org

ART

EDWARD RUSCHA, ACTUAL SIZE , 1962

EDWARD RUSCHA, OUR FLAG , 2017

EDWARD RUSCHA, HOLLYWOOD , 1968

EDWARD RUSCHA, STANDARD STATION, TEN-CENT WESTERN BEING TORN IN HALF , 1964

RIDDLE ME THIS

GIACOMO PUCCINI’S FINAL opera, Turandot, is back on the L.A. opera stage after more than two decades; the fantastical production, new to Los Angeles, is designed by David Hockney. Based on an epic fairy tale set in a legendary Peking, China, the story centers on a princess who will only marry a man who can solve

her three riddles; all who fail must die, and many have perished trying. Now a prince on the run in enemy territory risks his life to win over the captivating beauty—then faces the even greater challenge of melting her icy heart. Angela Meade takes on the iconic title role. Russell Thomas— singing one of opera’s best known

tenor arias, “Nessun dorma”—plays her fearless suitor. Guanqun Yu is the woman who demonstrates the true meaning of devotion. Six performances take place May 18 to June 8 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; music director James Conlon conducts. The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.972.8001, laopera.org

Scene from David Hockneydesigned Turandot OPERA

Image: The Waltz (Allioli) (detail), about 1900. Camille Claudel. Bronze. Private collection. Photo: Musée Yves Brayer. Text and design © 2024 J. Paul Getty Trust

Run

Aubrey Bergauer

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

BUSINESS BOOKS ABOUT THE PERFORMING ARTS AIM TO GUIDE PERFORMERS AND COMPANIES TO A FULFILLING FUTURE.

/ BY LIBBY SLATE /

SOME YEARS AGO, for a book on the topic, Renee Fleming was asked to advise aspiring performers about a career in the arts.

The lauded singer—who returns to Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown in June for an L.A. Opera recital —addressed technique and artistry but added: “I would suggest taking courses in digital editing and website creation, personal finance and even general business

and marketing. Learning the business side of the arts is crucial.”

The book to which Fleming contributed is The Artist’s Compass: The Complete Guide to Building a Life and a Living in the Performing Arts, written by Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of the Music Center. Published in 2016 by Touchstone and available online, the book is one of a handful of tomes focusing on the business side of the arts, designed to help those involved navigate the various challenges of arts careers and companies.

Published in February by BenBella

Books was Run It Like a Business: Strategies for Arts Organizations to Increase Audiences, Remain Relevant, and Multiply Money—Without Losing the Art by Aubrey Bergauer. Scheduled for publication this summer, undergoing revision at press time, is Champions for the Arts: Lessons and Successful Strategies for Engaging Diverse Audiences by Donna Walker-Kuhne.

Moore, a former American Ballet Theatre corps dancer who went on to become ABT’s executive director and then its CEO, wrote the book because, she says, “When I was a

young performer, and I moved to New York, I felt really lost. I felt like there were all these rules and things I didn’t know. And I never wanted another young artist to feel quite so lost.

“There just didn’t seem to be a primer out there that was straightforward, for people who were starting out.”

The Artist’s Compass draws on Moore’s experience as an artist and administrator, pointing the way for performers to assess strengths and set goals, choose schools, network, self-promote, find representation and give interviews, and learn about budgeting and other financial matters, intellectual property and copyright.

Eight years after

publication, technology and social media have resulted in some changes, but most of its content remains relevant, such

It’s important “to understand that being a star is not the point. To have a sustainable career, it’s about how you’re able to live this vision that you have, or make sure that you have these gifts to give. It’s not about your name in lights.”

as finding one’s personal vision, artistic mission and definition of success.

“Why do you feel like you have something special to give to the world? Why do you think others would find it compelling? I think that’s a really important thing for an artist” to consider, Moore says.

“As is trying to understand that being a star is not the point,” she continues. “To have a sustainable career, it’s about how you’re able to live this vision that you have, or make sure that you have these gifts to give.

“It’s not about your name in lights.”

Much of Moore’s advice is useful for anyone, whatever the chosen path.

“No matter who you are, you’re going to face rejection and tough times,” she points out. “We all have our doubts, we have our down days, our days when we don’t feel like we’re being treated with respect or that our contributions are valued.

“We all need to figure out how to manage through, and then get up the next day and put your foot forward and keep aimed at the right stuff.”

The arts are very much

Music Center president/CEO and author Rachel S. Moore

a business, Moore says— “There’s a reason they call it showbiz,” she notes— and that thesis forms the basis as well for much of Aubrey Bergauer’s career as a consultant, coach and speaker.

A former arts administrator herself—Bergauer was executive director of the Bay Area’s California Symphony for five years and audience development and online media manager of Seattle Opera—she has parlayed her knowledge and experience to work with clients throughout the U.S. and internationally. Local clients have included L.A. Opera, the Pacific Symphony and Santa Barbara Symphony.

Her book, Run It Like a Business, shares proven methods for applying principles of for-profit companies such as Apple, Netflix and Peleton to nonprofit arts organizations in order to increase audience engagement, revenue and donor base.

“As an industry, we’ve misidentified the problem and the solution as the product, the art itself,” says the San Franciscobased Bergauer, who grew up playing classical tuba and knew she wanted to be an arts administrator as a teen. “We have collectively

/CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

AT THE LA ARBORETUM

Michael Feinstein Principal Pops Conductor

Harlem Nights: Duke, Ella and the Legacy of the Harlem Renaissance JUNE 29, 2024

A tribute to the explosion of music in 1920s New York that gave birth to the Jazz Age, Swing Era and beyond.

Michael Cavanaugh

Singer Songwriters: AUGUST 10, 2024

Cavanaugh returns for a night of sing-along favorites with the music of Paul Simon, James Taylor and Neil Diamond.

The Concert: A Tribute To ABBA JULY 13, 2024

The premiere ABBA tribute brings you “Mamma Mia,” “S.O.S.,” “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo” and much more.

Michael Feinstein

Sings Tony Bennett & Frank Sinatra

JU LY 27, 2024

“The Best is Yet to Come” for an evening of timeless hits and behind-the-music stories that only Feinstein can deliver.

California Dreamin’ AUGUST 24, 2 024

Music that shaped a state of mind from Chet Baker’s West Coast Jazz and the Latin sounds of Carmen Miranda and Santana to the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas.

Oscar Meets Tony SEPTEMBER 7, 2024

Award-winning music from stage and screen with Oklahoma, Gigi, Wicked, Chicago and composers Henry Mancini, Alan Menken and more.

| 626.793.7172

For over five decades, the Pasadena Symphony’s nationally-recognized Youth Orchestra (PYSO) has offered outstanding musical training and personal development for over 700 students grades 4-12 from 29 cities and 85 schools. We provide weekly instruction in public school classrooms with expert musicians who also teach and nurture students in 11 after school performance ensembles ranging from beginning strings to full symphony orchestras. Our goal is to give all children access to the competitive edge that music education can provide as a powerful life-building tool.

Music education at the PYSO ENSEMBLES

*Newly added ensembles as part of our expansion

All-City Orchestra & All-City Winds*

A tuition-free after school initiative started in 2012 for grades 3-6 in the Pasadena Unified School District. Students learn beginning winds, brass and strings in small group ensembles.

Prelude Strings*

A beginning-intermediate level all strings ensemble for grades 5-7. Students build their foundational skills of technical proficiency, listening and teamwork in large ensembles.

Wind Ensemble

An intermediate level winds/brass/percussion ensemble for grades 6-9 teaching fun and challenging repertoire, providing a strong foundation for full orchestra ensemble playing.

String Orchestra

An intermediate level all-string ensemble for grades 6-9 that teaches technical proficiency, providing a strong foundation for full orchestra ensemble playing.

Symphony

Overture Strings*

An intermediate level allstring ensemble for grades 6-9 providing a bridge between String Orchestra and Symphony.

An advanced middle/high school level ensemble of strings, winds, brass and percussion, PYSO symphony is a student's first introduction to performing in a full symphony orchestra with a fun and challenging curriculum.

An advanced level full symphony for middle and high school grades learning standard orchestral repertoire. Students may remain in this ensemble through their senior year while others may advance into the Philharmonic.

Sinfonia* Philharmonic

Our premier level full symphony orchestra, comprised of the most advanced students performing major symphonic works.

YOU BELONG

Enjoy our Outdoor Symphony Lounge

Before your concert and during intermission, enjoy our outdoor tented lounge for fine wines, coffee, sparkling conversation and uniquely prepared menus for each performance.

The Michero Family

Exclusive Wine Sponsor of the

Conductor’s Circle

Proudly presents an array of wonderful California and Imported wine from around the world, available at Pasadena Symphony beverage centers.

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Welcome!

Welcome to the Pasadena Symphony’s 23/24 Symphony Series, our landmark celebration of Classical music’s greatest hits! I am thrilled to have joined the Pasadena Symphony and POPS as your new CEO and am equally excited to share with you this vibrant season of virtuosic guest soloists, our incredibly talented orchestra, and the gifted conductors serving as our Artistic Partners this year, as we search for our next Music Director.

There is a sense of electricity in the air, as our Artistic Partners have curated many of your all-time favorite works alongside pieces from inspiring new voices including Mason Bates, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo and more, as part of our Composer’s Showcase. We are particularly honored that our November 18th performances of Patrick Harlin’s Earthrise with Rachmaninoff and Elgar are part of the statewide California Festival: A Celebration of New Music. A large part of what attracted me to this organization is its deep commitment to arts education and the community as embodied by the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras, serving more than 700 young musicians in grades 4 – 12 from 84 schools, across 29 cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley, and by welcoming our guests attending this concert through our Student Access Program. A highlight of our community outreach initiatives, this program annually provides more than 3,000 young people and their families the opportunity to attend a Pasadena Symphony and POPS concert, at no cost.

Thank you for joining us and for continuing to make live music a priority in your lives. I have already been so warmly welcomed by so many, and I look forward to getting to know more of you and learning about your own deep connections to this dynamic organization. Thank you for supporting the Pasadena Symphony!

Cheers!

Andrew Brown Chief Executive Officer Pasadena Symphony Association

23/24COMPOSERSSHOWCASE

We proudly present our fourth annual class of seasoned and emerging living artists in our COMPOSERS SHOWCASE, with today’s best and brightest talent featured on each concert. Meet our composers…these superstars are shaping the future of classical music.

MASON BATES

Composer of the Grammy®winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

The first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center, Mason Bates is transforming the way classical music is created and experienced as a composer, DJ and curator. His music is the first to receive widespread accolades for its unique integration of symphonic and electronic sounds, and he was named the most-performed composer of his generation in a recent survey of American music. Bates has also composed for feature film, including Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees and the Grammy® Award-winning Philharmonia Fantastique, and serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

PATRICK HARLIN

Patrick Harlin’s “aesthetics capture a sense of tradition and innovation” — New York Times Harlin’s music is permeated by classical, jazz and electronic music traditions, all underpinned with a love and respect for the great outdoors. His interdisciplinary research in soundscape ecology—a field that aims to better understand ecosystems through sound—has taken him to imperiled regions around the world, including the Amazon rain forest and the Book Cliffs of Utah. His work has been supported by several fellowships and awards, resulting in an ongoing body of works called The

Wilderness Anthology. Patrick is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Michigan.

JESSICA HUNT

“smart and fun” (TimeOut Chicago), Hunt’s “songs are creative crowd-pleasers.” (Chicago Reader)

Jessica Hunt’s music has been commissioned by orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Chamber Winds among others. Her eclectic works explore the aural and syntactical intersections between theatre, narrative, sound, truth and fiction. Hunt was named the 2018 Boontling Community Fellow at the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy and currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.

JESSIE MONTGOMERY

“turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life.”

— The Washington Post

Jessie’s upbringing in 1980’s Lower East Side Manhattan exposed her to activist rallies and art performances that uniquely informed her artistry. Her work merges composing, performance, education and advocacy, and her music interweaves classical with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, language and social justice. She was a two-time laureate

of the annual Sphinx Competition, serves as composer-in-residence for the Sphinx Virtuosi, and is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation.

SHAWN OKPEBHOLO

“devastatingly beautiful” and “fresh and new and fearless”

— The Washington Post

Grammy®-nominated composer Okpebholo’s music has been featured on PBS Newshour and radio broadcasts nationwide including NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition His work has won many awards, including The Academy of Arts and Letters Walter Hinrichsen Award, the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, First Place in the 2020 American Prize in Composition and NPR selected his art song The Rainas as one of the 100 Best Songs of 2021. His compositional and research interests have been a gateway for ethnomusicological fieldwork in East and West Africa.

SI-ANG CHEN

Chen’s work emphasizes the use of timbre and the exploration of various compositional approaches. His works have been performed by orchestras worldwide and have won many awards. A graduate from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Si-ang Chen is currently an associate professor of composition at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music.

2023-24 SEASON

Conductor’s Circle Sponsor

Individual Concert Sponsor:

Barbara & William Steinwedell

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1

Saturday, February 17, 2024 | 2pm & 8pm

Kyle Dickson, conductor

Wynona Wang, piano

JESSIE MONTGOMERY Strum for String Orchestra

TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23

Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso

Andantino simplice

Allegro con fuoco

INTERMISSION

SIBELIU S Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43

Allegretto

Andante, ma rubato

Vivacissimo

Finale (Allegro Moderato)

As a courtesy to the audience and performers, please silence or power off all cell phones, signal watches and other audible alarm devices. Photography (no flash) is permitted. Recording devices are strictly prohibited.

Insights SponsorWine Sponsor

Individual Concert Sponsor:

Hotel Sponsor 2023-24

The Michero Family

Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler

Beethoven Violin Concerto

Saturday, March 23, 2024 | 2pm & 8pm

François López-Ferrer, conductor Francisco Fullana, violin

SHAWN OKPEBHOLO

S TRAVINSKY

SEASON

BEE THOVEN

Kutimbua Kivumbi (Stomp the Dust!) for Orchestra

Suite from The Firebird (1919)

Introduction - The Firebird and Its DanceThe Firebird Variation

The Princesses’ Khorovad (Round Dance)

Infernal Dance of All Kaschei’s Subjects

Lullaby (Berceuse)

Finale

INTERMISSION

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 61 Allegro ma non troppo

Larghetto

Rondo

As a courtesy to the audience and performers, please silence or power off all cell phones, signal watches and other audible alarm devices. Photography (no flash) is permitted. Recording devices are strictly prohibited.

2023-24 SEASON

Conductor’s Circle Sponsor

Individual Concert Sponsor:

Shadi & Jennifer Sanbar

Vivaldi Four Seasons

Saturday, April 20, 2024 | 2pm & 8pm

Linhan Cui, conductor

Charlotte Marckx, violin

BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 1048

Allegro

Adagio

Allegro

SI-ANG CHEN Symphony No. 1 “Expedition” II. Adagio Affettivo

PUCCINI I Crisantemi (The Chrysanthemums) INTERMISSION

VIVALDI

The Four Seasons

Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, “La primavera” (Spring)

Allegro

Largo e pianissimo

Allegro

Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, “L’estate” (Summer)

Allegro ma non molto

Adagio

Presto

Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293, “L’autunno” (Autumn)

Allegro

Adagio molto

Allegro

Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, “L’inverno” (Winter)

Allegro non molto

Largo

Allegro

Artist Bios

Kyle Dickson CONDUCTOR

Kyle Dickson is quickly building a reputation as an innovative and compelling presence on the podium. Recipient of the 2021 GPMF Advocate for Arts Award, he is a Salonen Conducting Fellow with the San Francisco Symphony under the guidance of Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. In 2021 he became the recipient of the Concert Artists Guild Richard S. Weinert Award. Dickson is assistant conductor of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and previously served as Music Director of Chicago’s South Loop Symphony. He was a conducting fellow at the 2021 National Orchestral Institute’s Conducting Academy with Marin Alsop and James Ross, and from 2019 to 2021 was a Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting Fellow with Chicago. In 2020, he was selected as assistant conductor of Spoleto Festival USA for the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’s opera Omar Mr. Dickson began his career as a violinist and was a prizewinner at the 2010 NANM National Concerto Competition. In 2021, he earned his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University studying with Victor Yampolsky, and also received degrees in violin performance from Michigan State and DePaul Universities.

Wynona Wang PIANO

Pianist Wynona Wang was selected as First Prize winner of the 2018 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and of the 2017 Wideman International Piano Competition in Louisiana. Wynona also received the 2019 “Charlotte White” Career Grant awarded by the Salon de Virtuosi in New York City. An active performer worldwide,

Wynona’s recent North American festival performances include PianoTexas, Morningside Music Bridge in Calgary, Canada, and the Chautauqua Institution. Internationally, Wynona has been a featured soloist with the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine, and the Romanian Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra in Italy. She has also given numerous solo piano recitals in Madrid, Jakarta and throughout China.

Born in Beijing, Wang began playing piano at age four, and went on to study at the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing. She now lives in New York, NY while pursuing her undergraduate degree at Juilliard as a student of Dr. Robert McDonald.

François López-Ferrer CONDUCTOR

Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer came to international attention after a critically acclaimed debut at the 2018 Verbier Festival, where he jumped in for Iván Fischer in a shared program with Sir Simon Rattle and Gébor Takécs-Nagy. In demand as a guest conductor, López-Ferrer’s recent highlights include debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de España, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, among others.

López-Ferrer is one of six participants to be featured in the 2022 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. He previously served as Associate Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile (OSNCH), Principal Conductor of the Ballet Nacional Chileno, and was the youngest ever Conductor-in-Residence of the OSNCH’s Summer Concert Series.

Francisco Fullana VIOLIN

Spanish-born violinist Francisco Fullana, has been hailed as an “amazing talent” (Gustavo Dudamel) and “frighteningly awesome” (Buffalo News). His versatility as a performer has brought him to perform with ensembles across the artistic spectrum, from major orchestras including Vancouver, Aachen, Pacific and Buffalo Symphony Orchestras, to the new music driven Metropolis Ensemble and the baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, where he served as artist-inresidence. He has won numerous prestigious awards including the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Francisco is a committed innovator, leading new institutions of musical education for young people. He is co-founder of San Antonio’s Classical Music Summer Institute, where he currently serves as Chamber Music Director. He also created the Fortissimo Youth Initiative, a series of music seminars and performances with youth orchestras, which aims to deepen young musicians’ understanding of 18th-century music.

Francisco is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Juilliard studying with Donald Weilerstein and Masao Kawasaki, and holds an Artist Diploma from the USC Thornton School of Music, where he worked with the renowned violinist Midori. Fullana performs on the 1735 “Mary Portman” ex-Kreisler Guarneri del Gesù violin, kindly on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Linhan Cui CONDUCTOR

Conductor Linhan Cui has established herself as a soughtafter artist who recently won

second prize in the Malko International Conducting Competition. With natural expressivity at the core of her work, she has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Korean Symphony Orchestra, among others. As an Assistant Conductor, Linhan has worked with many world-renowned maestros including Leon Fleisher and Xian Zhang.

Linhan was Gustavo Dudamel’s Conducting Fellow for the 20222023 season, performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. During the 2019-2020 season, she was appointed Conducting Fellow by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra where she had the privilege of serving as Marin Alsop’s cover conductor.

Cui was born in Shenyang, China and began her piano study at the age of four. She started conducting at age 18 when she was the only accepted student at the Xinghai Conservatory, China. She holds a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, under the guidance of Arthur Fagen.

Charlotte Marckx

VIOLIN

Violinist Charlotte Marckx was a 2019 Davidson Fellowship Laureate and is a Jack Kent Cooke College Scholar. She won the Gold Medal and Bach Prize at the 2018 Stulberg International Competition and was a major prizewinner at the 2018 Johansen International Competition. Originally from the Seattle area, Ms. Marckx has won the KING FM Young Artists Awards and the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Concerto Competition. Ms. Marckx has soloed with many orchestras, including the Seattle

Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Kalamazoo Symphony, and has performed with the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and Colburn Chamber Music Society. She has also been featured on NPR’s From the Top and in Strings magazine. Charlotte is currently a student at the Colburn Conservatory, where she studies with renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett. In the summers, Ms. Marckx continues her studies with Mr. Lipsett at the Aspen Music Festival and Sounding Point Academy.

Program Notes

Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto No. 1

February 17, 2024

Strum

Jessie Montgomery b. 1981

Jessie Montgomery composed Strum in 2006 for string quartet and revised it in 2012 for string orchestra for the Sphinx Organization. The work was featured on The Black Composer Speaks concert series by Fulcrum Point New Music Project, which explores different voices within the generations of Black American composers, ranging from impressionistic to popinspired minimalism to free jazz improv.

Complex pizzicato lines on all instruments, sometimes as complex as in a Bartok quartet, other times recalling banjo strumming, provide a rhythmic base upon which Montgomery hangs bursts of fiddle music.

A review of her debut album, Strum, Music for Strings, exemplifies Montgomery’s dedication to Sphinx’s founding principles. “The album combines classical chamber music with

Program Notes

elements of folk music, spirituals, improvisation, poetry and politics, crafting a unique and insightful new-music perspective on the cross-cultural intersections of American history.”

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840-1893

It is ironic that Tchaikovsky’s two most popular works, the First Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto, were initially rejected by the greatest virtuosi of his country as unplayable fiascos. “...Utterly worthless, absolutely unplayable. Certain passages are so commonplace and awkward they could not be improved, and the piece as a whole was bad, trivial, vulgar.” This was the verdict of Nikolay Rubinstein, first director of the Moscow Conservatory and one of Tchaikovsky’s mentors, on hearing the composer play his new Piano Concerto on Christmas Eve 1874. The tirade raised Tchaikovsky’s hackles, and he refused to change a single note (although in later editions he made some minor modifications).

But with Rubinstein’s negative opinion, he had little chance of mounting a respectable performance with an unbiased reception in Russia. What has come to be the most popular piano concerto by Russia’s most popular composer was premiered in Boston on October 25 1875, with a pick-up orchestra and famed pianist Hans von Bülow, where it was a smashing success. The First Piano Concerto came relatively early in Tchaikovsky’s career and it was a personal triumph that he managed to withstand Rubinstein’s vicious assault.

Although the majestic introduction has become so well-known as to be recognizable

Program Notes

even to people unfamiliar with classical music, it was revolutionary for its time. It remains unlike any standard introduction in the orchestral repertory, replete with a fully developed theme and a cadenza

Introduced by a soft chordal transition, the exposition begins with a melody Tchaikovsky allegedly heard a blind beggar sing at a country fair, but this theme too is hardly touched on again. The two following themes, one for the winds, the other for the strings, become more important for the movement as a whole. The long cadenza is unusually restrained, a fine vehicle for highlighting the pianist’s control of pianissimo. The second movement opens with a gentle theme on the flute, accompanied by muted strings. The theme is then taken up by the piano with just a single note change. Instead of maintaining the tempo for the middle section of the slow movement, Tchaikovsky quixotically launches into a cadenza of pianistic pyrotechnics as a lead-in to a melody based on a popular cabaret song of the time.

In the rondo finale Tchaikovsky again uses a folk tune in triple meter, but with the accent always on the second beat. As momentum towards the climax builds, the violins sneak in a hint of the main theme of the first movement. In place of a formal solo cadenza, an excited coda with lavish pianistic flourishes concludes the Concerto.

It is probably fair to ask why this Concerto is such a popular competition piece. In keeping with the composer’s tumultuous emotional life, it requires of the performer a mastery of just about every artistic and technical resource: rapid passages in octaves, abrupt changes in mood, delicate passages of arpeggiated filigree, giant buildups of harmonic and emotional tension,

whispered legato pianissimos. Is it any wonder Rubinstein overreacted?

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43

Jean Sibelius 1865-1957

Sweden relinquished Finland to the Russian Empire in 1809, where it became an autonomous duchy with significant control over its own affairs. Beginning in 1870, however, these privileges were gradually taken away under the program of “Russifying” the many ethnic minorities within the Russian Empire. While Swedish had been the language of the educated middle class, Russian repression aroused such strong nationalist feelings that it sparked a revival of the Finnish language. Jean Sibelius was born into this nationalistic environment and in 1876 enrolled in the first grammar school to teach in Finnish.

Sibelius was by no means a child prodigy. He started playing piano at nine, didn’t like it and took up the violin at 14. He began toying with composition as early as ten, but his ambition was to become a concert violinist and all his life he regretted not following his dream. His first success as a composer came in 1892 with Kullervo, Op. 7, a nationalistic symphonic poem/cantata that met with great success but was never again performed in his lifetime. During the next six years he composed numerous nationalistic pageants, symphonic poems and vocal works, mostly based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. In order to enable him to work undisturbed, the Finnish government gave him a pension for life in 1897. For the next 28 years he composed the symphonies and tone poems that made him famous. But in 1925, at the age of 60, he essentially abandoned composing probably as the result of the ravages

of alcoholism and the bipolar disorder that had plagued him throughout his life. He remained silent until his death 32 years later.

Writing symphonies was for Sibelius a lifelong preoccupation that he described as “confessions of faith from different periods of my life.” Composed in the winter 1901-02, close on the heels of his patriotic Finlandia, Symphony No. 2, with its blazingly affirmative conclusion and optimism, reflected the nationalistic spirit of the time. His statement that all his music was either consciously or unconsciously programmatic opened up a Pandora’s box for interpretation. The public’s belief that the Symphony contained a fundamental political message made it an instant success despite the fact that Sibelius himself ascribed no program to it. The first movement opens with a lyrical theme by a pair of oboes in their middle range accompanied by the lower strings, creating the dark, cold sound characteristic of Sibelius, which hints at the stark Finnish climate and landscape. The movement consists of a string of melodic fragments, rather than full themes, woven together into a classic sonata form.

A timpani roll and a long pizzicato passage on the basses open the second movement, spiraling higher and higher, preparatory to a stark Russiansounding theme for the bassoons. It creates an even more desolate sound than the chilly oboes of the first movement. The ominous mood builds up to an outburst in the strings that has been interpreted as symbolic of Russian oppression.

The Scherzo for strings alone has a frantic quality about it, particularly in its irregularity of phrasing and refusal to settle on a tonic. The pace slows down considerably for the Trio, a

low oboe solo accompanied by winds. While the Trio begins on an emotionally neutral plane, it quickly adopts a plaintive mood that is taken up by the entire orchestra.

The Finale, which to its first audiences symbolized nationalistic triumph, is indeed both optimistic and grandiose, with heavy use of a trumpet fanfare motive. Like the first movement, it consists more of freely developed motives than full themes, but they are so frequently repeated as to be unforgettable even on first hearing.

Beethoven Violin Concerto

March 23, 2024

Kutimbua Kivumbi (Stomp the Dust!)

Shawn Okpebholo b. 1981

Shawn Okpebholo received his early music training at the Salvation Army Church, which made him passionate about music outreach to underserved communities. His interest in ethnomusicology has resulted in studies in East and West Africa, and Kutimbua Kivumbi is the result of a sabbatical in Kenya. He writes:

“...as a part of a sabbatical, I studied the music of the Akamba people in the Machakos region... The Machakos region, where I did most of my ethnomusicology study, has two short wet seasons, resulting in long dry spells throughout the year. Consequently, the terrain of the scenic plains in the low lands is extremely dusty. Many of the traditional songs and dances, especially the ones that plead for rain, are performed on the arid landscape, and as the people dance and stomp, dust rises, creating a beautiful and fascinating visual space.

In this piece, I tried to musically

create that unique atmosphere, using my own compositional voice and the inspired rhythms and sounds of the Akamba people. After a ferocious percussive invitation, the work begins with a violin solo, musically depicting the leader of a call-and-response, freely singing until the rest of the people join in and sing the synchronized tune. The primary theme of this piece is an adaptation of a welcome song that was performed for me by the Akamba people. The entire experience was moving: witnessing the drumming, the call-and-response singing, the dancing on the dry land, and, yes, watching the dust rise. The work culminates with a soundscape that musically depicts one final stomp, with dust slowly rising and gaining intensity—a final plea for rain.”

Suite from The Firebird

Igor Stravinsky 1882-1971

“He is a man on the eve of fame,” said Sergey Diaghilev, impresario of the famed Ballets Russes in Paris, during the rehearsals for Stravinsky’s The Firebird

In 1909 Stravinsky, a budding composer just emerging from the tutelage of Nikolay RimskyKorsakov, got what can be called his big break, thanks to the laziness of the composer Anatoly Lyadov. Early in the year Diaghilev had written Lyadov: “I am sending you a proposal. I need a ballet and a Russian one, since there is no such thing. There is Russian opera, Russian dance, Russian rhythm – but no Russian ballet. And that is precisely what I need to perform in May of the coming year in the Paris Grand Opera and in the huge Royal Drury Lane Theater in London…The libretto is ready… It was dreamed up by us all collectively. It is The Firebird – a ballet in one act and perhaps two scenes.” When Diaghilev heard that after three months Lyadov

Program Notes

had only progressed so far as buying music manuscript paper, he withdrew the commission and offered it to Aleksander Glazunov and Nikolay Tcherepnin, who both turned him down. In desperation he turned to the unknown Stravinsky.

Stravinsky finished the score in May 1910, in time for the premiere on June 25. It was an instant success and has remained Stravinsky’s most frequently performed work. Its romantic tone, lush orchestral colors, imaginative use of instruments and exciting rhythms outdid even Stravinsky’s teacher, the Russian master of orchestration RimskyKorsakov. It required an immense orchestra and the first suite Stravinsky extracted from the ballet in 1911 strained symphony orchestras’ resources. He made two subsequent revisions with modified orchestration; the final one in 1945.

The ballet takes its plot from bits of numerous Russian folk tales, telling the story of the heroic Tsarevich Ivan who, while wandering in an enchanted forest, encounters the magic firebird as it picks golden fruit from a silver tree. He traps the bird, but frees it as a token of goodwill. As a reward, the bird gives Ivan a flaming magic feather. At dawn the Tsarevich finds himself in a park near the castle of the evil magician Kashchey. Thirteen beautiful maidens, captives of Kashchey, come out of the castle to play in the garden, but one of them in particular, the beautiful Tsarevna, captures Ivan’s heart.

As the sun rises, the maidens have to return to their prison and the Tsarevna warns Ivan not to come near the castle lest he fall under the magician’s spell. In spite of the warning, the Tsarevich follows and opens the gate of the castle. With a huge crash Kashchey and his retinue of monsters erupts from the castle in a wild dance, whose drive and

Program Notes

clashing harmonies foreshadow The Rite of Spring. The Tsarevich uses the magic feather to call the Firebird who overcomes Kashchey and tames the monsters by lulling them to sleep. In the end the captives are freed from the spell and Tsarevich Ivan and the Tsarevna are married in a grand ceremony culminating in an apotheosis of the Firebird.

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827

Despite the typically long gestation of his music, Beethoven could work fast when pressed. In a letter to his publisher in mid-November 1806 there is no mention of the Violin Concerto as work in progress, but on December 23 it was premiered by his friend Franz Clement, leader of the orchestra at the Theater an der Wien. As was common with Beethoven, he made continual changes in the manuscript after the premiere until publication in 1808, but the changes were mostly in detail and not in the fundamental conception of the work.

Clement was a formidable musician with a prodigious musical memory, lauded both for his technique and his impeccable intonation and musicianship. From manuscript sources it becomes clear that he tried to advise Beethoven on phrasing and the technical possibilities of the instrument, but that the composer took only some of his suggestions. In the Concerto Beethoven provided him with immense challenges, both technical and musical. In retrospect, it is clear that the Concerto was the first major violin concerto of the late Classical period, acting as a model for subsequent works of Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms and Max Bruch.

The premiere, however,m was not a success, nor did the work fare better the following year. The public simply didn’t get it. The turning point for the Concerto came in 1844, when 13-year-old Joseph Joachim performed it in London with the Philharmonic Society under Mendelssohn’s baton. For the occasion, the Society set aside its rule against the appearance of child prodigies. Joachim at 13 was considered a fully mature artist.

It is an amusing and educational exercise in virtual time travel to put oneself in the shoes of an audience who rejected a work of art that subsequently went on to be hailed as a masterpiece. So what did Beethoven’s audience object to in the Violin Concerto?

First of all, there is the sheer heft of the piece - even Mozart’s five violin concertos were significantly shorter and lightweight by comparison. Then there’s the opening - Beethoven was no newcomer to controversial openings. Was it the four repeated identical solo timpani beats that form part of the main theme that amazed Beethoven’s contemporaries? Haydn had done the same thing in the Symphony No. 103, the “Drum Roll,” but that was a symphony, not a violin concerto. At the fifth beat, the woodwinds, and particularly the oboe, chime in with a gentle melody, but the four notes return immediately, now a motto that carries over as a part of all of the subsequent themes.

The Concerto contains cadenzas for all three movements, and also many cadenza-like passages. Clement’s virtuosity and pinpoint accuracy of intonation inspired the composer to give special prominence to the high E-string. The soloist’s entrance in the first movement is a telling example, and passages in all three movements occupy the instrument’s stratosphere where even Vivaldi had seldom trod.

The second movement, Larghetto, is a chorale-like gentle theme with a set of four variations. The theme is not the standard sequence of two repeated strains. Rather, it is a long melody with no internal repeats. Moreover, the soloist doesn’t simply embellish the melody with increasingly acrobatic and elaborate decoration, but rather builds the emotional intensity. Near the end of the movement, Beethoven provides a section of new material and a short cadenza, leading without a break into the Rondo Finale. This, a lively bravura movement based on a dancing folk-like theme, is the technical counterbalance to the emotional intensity of the first two movements. Brahms was to imitate the ebullient good humor in the finale of his own Violin Concerto.

One other reason for the initial rejection of Beethoven’s Concerto resides in the violin concertos of the Classical period. Like Mozart’s five concerti, these were modest, albeit elegant, in their requirements of the soloist. Unlike 20th century music lovers who revere the music of centuries past more than contemporary music, the challenging Italian-style concerti of Vivaldi or Bach had long since become passé in 19th century Vienna. Beethoven was virtually reinventing the genre, setting the stage for a rash of challenging virtuoso violin works by such performer-composers as Niccoló Paganini that soon took Europe by storm.

Vivaldi Four Seasons April 20, 2024

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750

The six Brandenburg Concertos stand at the crossroads in musical history where chamber music and orchestral music went their

separate ways. Titled Concerts à plusieurs instruments (Concertos for various instruments), the set was dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, who employed a modest orchestra that was in all probability too small and inexpert to play them. The Dedication Score, including Bach’s obsequious cover letter, has survived and now resides in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. The mint condition of the manuscript indicates that the Margrave’s orchestra seldom if ever performed them.

Bach assembled the Concertos between 1718 and 1721, although parts may have been written as early as 1708, borrowed from various orchestral works that Bach had already written over the years as courtly entertainment music on the highest level. Such recycling was standard practice for overworked composers of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Concerto No. 3 is a true ensemble work, as if composed for a group of friends spending a musical evening together. In its original form it interweaves three groups of strings, each one consisting of a violin, a viola and a cello, playing in turn the concertino (small group of instruments), and coming together to play the ripieno (all together). In other words, all nine musicians share in the solo parts equally. A harpsichord and a violone (a large viola da gamba), or double bass, fill out the continuo. In the last movement the violone joins the three cellos in unison throughout. The most unusual aspect of this concerto is the absence of a slow central movement. In its place Bach wrote a one-bar time signature plus two eighth-note chords. Some scholars think that the composer intended for one or two of the soloists to improvise the slow movement, ending with a cadence on the chords he specifically notated. The dedication score in the Deutsche

Staatsbibliothek in Berlin gives no clue as to Bach’s intentions.

The outer movements are essentially the spinning out and free variations on a single theme. The first movement roughly follows an ABA form with an excursion into the minor mode but no really new music for the B section. The third movement is literally a grand chase, full of Bach’s characteristic canons, involving all the instruments. It certainly puts the lie to the stereotype that canons are stuffy.

Symphony No. 1 “Expedition” II: Adagio Affettivo Si-ang Chen

Si-ang Chen’s Symphony No. 1 was premiered in September 2022 by the Guangzhou Symphony. The Adagio second movement, for strings and harp, is a gentle ebb and flow of sound, Late-Romantic, barely touched by the musical upheavals of the 20th century.

Translated from the score written by Si-ang Chen:

The entire piece uses the fourdegree ascending musical sequence as the main musical motif, which is continuously developed throughout the work. In the second movement, the musical theme of “Spring Breeze Prosperity” from Cantonese music is employed as the primary developmental element. The third movement utilizes the musical themes of “Hungry Horse Shaking Bells” and “Thunder in Dry Weather” from Cantonese music as the main developmental elements. The fourth movement integrates the main musical themes from the preceding three movements, creating a cohesive and unified composition with interconnected elements.

Sincerity and resilience are the core of the second movement. In this movement, the musical emotions of sincerity and unwavering resilience are used

Program Notes

to celebrate the greatness of mankind. The movement features the enchanting musical theme of “Spring Breeze Prosperity” from Cantonese music as the main developmental element throughout the entire movement. The second movement is performed by only the string orchestra and harp, requiring special attention to musical layers and texture. It is a movement filled with emotion and warmth.

I Crisantemi (The Chrysanthemums)

Giacomo Puccini 1858-1924

Like many opera composers of the Romantic era, including Donizetti and Verdi, Puccini rarely composed for instruments alone. His instrumental compositions are modest and seldom performed. Puccini composed Crisantemi in 1890 for string quartet, but it is frequently performed in an arrangement for string orchestra. It is a threnody composed in a hurry after the death of the Count of Savoy, a member of one of Italy’s oldest families. Shortly thereafter, Puccini reused the themes in his opera Manon Lescaut

Not surprisingly, Crisantemi is actually a da capo aria for strings. A solemn opening section with a murmuring ostinato accompaniment in the cello is followed by a more sentimental and slightly faster section. The piece ends with the return to the opening.

The Four Seasons

Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741

Beginning in 1703 and intermittently for many decades, Antonio Vivaldi served as music factotum at the Pio Ospedale della Pietá in Venice, an institution devoted to the care and education of abandoned, orphaned and indigent girls – mostly “inconvenient” children of upperclass parents – with a special

Program Notes

emphasis on musical training. In addition to his duties as virtuoso violinist, violin teacher, orchestra director and instrument purchaser, Vivaldi served as resident composer, producing hundreds of works for various instruments and ensembles, including nearly 450 concerti, usually at a rate of more than two per month. The resident girls were trained in both string and wind instruments, including the organ, and as part of their training Vivaldi composed concertos for every instrument and instrument combination. Many of them were apparently written with specific girl soloists in mind.

Vivaldi saw to it that his music reached far beyond Venice, and around 1711 an Amsterdam firm issued his first published concertos as Opus 3, L’estro armonico, a set of 12 concertos, four each for one, two or four violins, and four with added cello. They are at the boundary between the old tradition of the Sonata da chiesa (church sonata) with its stately slow-fast-slowfast movements, and the newer three-movement concerto form (fast-slow-fast). L’estro armonico was a sensation, becoming the most influential music publication of the first half of the 18th century. J.S. Bach admired these works and transcribed some of them as harpsichord concertos.

The four concertos, known as The Four Seasons, are part of a group of eight violin concertos published in Amsterdam in 1725 as Op. 8. They are among the earliest examples of program music - Vivaldi provided sonnets in Venetian dialect, probably his own, to head each of the four concertos, marking with capital letters sections of the sonnets and their corresponding music.

It is clear from the detailed notes Vivaldi made on the score that he enjoyed composing these concertos as well as performing them.

Concerto in E major, Op. 8, No. 1, Spring

Setting the mood of the opening movement, the opening ritornello (recurrent phrase) is marked in the score “Spring has returned.”

The first violin solo is marked “Song of the birds,” while after a return of the ritornello, comes a soft murmuring on the violin. After the next ritornello comes the lightning and thunder, followed by an extensive return to the singing birds and gaiety.

The slow movement is a musical description of the snoozing goatherd, watched over by his dog, whose bark is imitated throughout the movement on the violas with repeated notes to be played “very loud and abruptly.”

The third movement, a rustic dance, opens with a suggestion of rustic bagpipes, complete with an imitation of their drones by sustained notes on the low strings.

Concerto in G minor, Op. 8, No. 2, Summer

The opening phrases droop in sympathy with the suffering people. Suddenly the violin depicts the singing of the birds. The zephyr’s voice is heard gently on the violins and violas, interrupted by the wind squalls depicted by rapid scales on the violins and bursts by the entire ensemble. A lonely violin solo describes the weeping shepherd’s apprehension of a coming storm.

In the second movement, the shepherd’s rest (solo violin) is interrupted repeatedly by his fear of distant thunder (strong tremolo by the whole orchestra). He tries to sleep again, but the gnats and flies (repeated dotted notes on the strings accompanying the solo violin) don’t let him rest.

The third movement describes the violent storm, justifying the shepherd’s fears. Darting scales in the violins describe the lightning while the cellos and basses portray thunder.

Concerto in F major, Op. 8, No. 3, Autumn

The concerto begins with the rhythmic dances and songs of the peasants, followed by uncertain lurches by the solo violin to depict their drunkenness, which gets wilder and wilder, alternating with the dance music. With a sudden shift to Larghetto, some of the revelers go to sleep while the dances continue. In the second movement, the muted strings become increasingly gentle as the slumber becomes deeper and deeper.

Violins imitate the hunting calls in the third movement. A wild melee in the orchestra describes the confusion of the hunt, the fleeing prey and its death, with the strings imitating the baying dogs.

Concerto in F minor, Op. 8, No. 4, Winter

The strings, with trills in the violins, describe the shivering in the winter cold. Swift arpeggios and scales by the solo violin describe the horrid wind, while a series of abrupt chords suggest stamping feet and running to get warm. But rapid tremolos show that all this activity is useless, since the teeth continue to chatter.

Violin pizzicatos depict the falling raindrops, after which a warm melody on the solo violin describes the pleasant indoors with its roaring fire.

The finale opens with sliding phrases by the violin - walking and slipping on thin ice. The orchestra joins with a slower rhythm to indicate the hesitant steps and fear of falling. But then we are back indoors, enjoying the warmth while the winds howl outside.

Program notes by:

Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn

Wordpros@mindspring.com

www.wordprosmusic.com

The Orchestra

FIRST VIOLIN

Aimée Kreston

CONCERTMASTER

Paul & Georgianna Erskine Chair

Amy Hershberger

ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

Elizabeth Hedman

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Aroussiak Baltaian

Chair endowed by Mr. & Mrs. Herbert

Hezlep III

Mei Chang

Sharon Harman

Carrie Kennedy

Nancy Roth

Neil Samples

Audrey Solomon*

Irina Voloshina

SECOND VIOLIN

Sara Parkins

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by

Barbara Mann Steinwedell

Florence Titmus

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Sam Fischer

Pamela Gates

Chair endowed by Hazel B. Mason in memory of Albert W. Mason, Jr.

Joel Pargman

Rebecca Rutkowski

Hiromi Warren

Vivian Wolf

VIOLA

Andrew Picken

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler

Carrie Holzman-Little

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Board & Staff

OFFICERS

Kimberly S. Winick

PRESIDENT

Andrew Brown

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Sandford L. Frey

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Craig Colbath

VP INVESTMENT

Dr. Annette L. Ermshar

VP GOVERNANCE

Leslie Hockett Marble

SECRETARY

Greg Holcomb

VP COMMUNITYENGAGEMENT

Baird Marble

VP FINANCE

Maryam Shah-Hosseini

VP AUDIT

Barbara M. Steinwedell

VP DEVELOPMENT

Reggie Wilson

VP PERSONNEL

Robert Michero

PAST PRESIDENT

Shadi Sanbar

DIRECTOR AT LARGE

Priscilla McClure

DIRECTOR AT LARGE

Carole Castillo

Suzanna Giordano Gignac

Lynn Grants

Aaron Oltman

Qiang Wang

CELLO

Position Vacant

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed in honor of Edith Roberts by her children and their spouses

Dane Little

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by J. Richard Love in celebration of his high school music teacher, Rose Eneboe Steele

Trina Carey

Nadine Hall

Vahe Hayrikyan

Judith Henderson

Deborah Kollgaard

DOUBLE BASS

Drew Dembowski

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Allan W. Fink in memory of Elvera Doctor Fink

Christian Kollgaard

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Lorian W. Stillion in memory of Ardell Stillion

Peter Doubrovsky

Lisa Gass

Frances Liu

FLUTE

Heather Clark

PRINCIPAL

C hair endowed by Bridget Emerson

Sarah Weisz

Chair endowed by Dr. & Mrs. John D. F. Tarr in memory of Edna Mae Tarr

PICCOLO

Geraldine Rotella

Chair endowed by Richard P. & Jane Roe

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Pam Ackrich

Elizabeth Grossman Besch

Angel Chen

Carl Cooper

Dr. Alan Fisher

Jeff Hacker

Freddi Hill

Raymond Kepner

Judy Kolb

Clara Maarse

M. Brian McMahon

Stephen J. Miyabe

Steven T. Rosen

Anneila Sargent

Vicki Schwartz

OBOE

Lara Wickes

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Mrs. Uric Bray in memory of Henri Debusscher Lisa Geering-Tomoff

ENGLISH HORN

Position Vacant

Chair endowed by Richard P. & Jane Roe

CLARINET

Donald Foster

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Dr. George Housner

Philip O’Connor

Chair endowed by The Stans Foundation

BASS CLARINET

Position Vacant

BASSOON

Rose Corrigan

PRINCIPAL

Judith Farmer

CONTRABASSOON

Position Vacant

HORN

James Thatcher

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Charles Pankow Builders Limited

Dan Kelley

Chair endowed by Mr. & Mrs. John H. Glanville Todd Miller

TRUMPET

Marissa Benedict

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Dr. Clifford M. Hughes

Kevin Brown

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Supervisor Kathryn Barger

Claud Beltran

Diane Blum

Congresswoman

Judy Chu

Alicia Garcia Clark

Don Clark

Anita B. Fromholz

Beth Hansen

Marlene R. Konnar

Linda L. Krantz

Ronald M. LaBran

Councilmember

Steven Madison

Greta Mandell

Brian McDermott

Susan Shieff

Dr. Linda Tolbert

Chelisa Vagim

Mindy L. Ying

TROMBONE

William Booth

PRINCIPAL Chair endowed by Mr. & Mrs. David Traitel

2nd Position Vacant

BASS TROMBONE

Terry Cravens

Chair endowed by Alice Marie Simon

TUBA

James Self

PRINCIPAL Chair endowed by Mr. & Mrs. J.C. Massar

HARP

JoAnn Turovsky

PRINCIPAL

Chair endowed by Mrs. Ulric Bray

PIANO/KEYBOARD

Alan Steinberger

PRINCIPAL Chair endowed by the family and friends of Dr. Nelson J. Leonard in honor of his 85th birthday

TIMPANI

Wade Culbreath

PRINCIPAL Chair endowed by Linda & William Krantz

PERCUSSION

Theresa Dimond

PRINCIPAL Chair endowed by Barbara Mann Steinwedell

Position Vacant

Jason Goodman

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Ryan Sweeney

LIBRARIAN

Brent Anderson

*on leave of absence

STAFF

Kevin Batton DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Dana Bean

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Donald Brinegar

DIRECTOR OF CHORUSES

Pin Chen

PYSO SINFONIA CONDUCTOR

Alex Chu

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

April Guthrie

PYSO ALL CITY ORCHESTRA STRINGS CONDUCTOR

Tim Harwick

DIRECTOR OF PATRON SERVICES & TICKETING

Chris Kim PYSO PHILHARMONIC CONDUCTOR

Michael Kramberg

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Andrea Laguni

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION

Heather Lockie

PYSO ALL CITY ORCHESTRA STRINGS CONDUCTOR

Marisa McCarthy

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Nina Montoya

OFFICE MANAGER

Michael Nelson

PYSO STRING ORCHESTRA & OVERTURE STRINGS CONDUCTOR

Brian O’Donnell

EDUCATION MANAGER

Erica Sharp MARKETING & PATRON SERVICES ASSOCIATE

Kyle Smith PYSO PRELUDE STRINGS CONDUCTOR

Nathan Stearns PYSO ALL CITY WINDS CONDUCTOR

Jack Taylor PYSO SYMPHONY CONDUCTOR

Gary Yearick

PYSO WIND ENSEMBLE

Individual Donors

The Pasadena Symphony Association gratefully acknowledges our individual supporters. Your generous gifts ensure that audiences – both today and for generations to come – can experience the power of live music. There are a wide range of benefits available at various gifting levels. For more information, please call (626) 793-7172 or go to PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org/give. The following list recognizes contributors who made gifts totaling $100 or more from July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. We apologize for any errors or omissions.

LEAD AMBASSADORS

($50,000 or more)

Anonymous

Jerry & Terri Kohl

Linda & William Krantz

Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler

Rob Moore

DIAMOND CIRCLE

($20,000 or more)

Anonymous

Diane & Fred Blum

Dr. Alan Fisher

Freddi & Kenneth Hill

Mr. & Mrs. Ken Gouw

C. Bryan Johns & Alec Call

Gloria Koeppel

Jeannette & Warren Martin

Anne Akiko Meyers & Jason Subotky

Susan Napier

Gaylord E. Nichols*

Paul Rusnak

Shadi & Jennifer Sanbar

Ellyn & Rich Semler

Barbara Mann Steinwedell

Hon. Robert E. Willett

Alyce de Roulet Williamson

Reginald A. Wilson & English A. Heisser

EMERALD CIRCLE

($10,000 to $19,999)

Anonymous

John Adamick

Supervisor Kathryn Barger

Bea & Paul Bennett

Dean & Karen Billman

William Brownlie

Catherine “Tink” Cheney & Barry Jones

Donald & Sally Clark

Carl W. Cooper & Lynn Van Dam Cooper

Dorothy & Michael Doyle

Georgianna Bray Erskine

Jeff Hacker

Irwin Helford*

Greg Holcomb & Todd Nickey

Deborah & Bradley Howard

Manny Kaplan

Dr. & Mrs. Alan Karme

Sue & Paul Lowden

Clara Maarse

Greta & Peter Mandell

Janice Lee-McMahon & M. Brian McMahon

Julie & Tim McQuay

Charles & Caroline Norman

Dr. Jeffrey & Susan Postman

Lawrence Rubenstein, PHD & Susan Auyang, DDS

Anneila Sargent

Mr. & Mrs. George Strong

Patty Waggoner

Booker T. & Sarita White

Jill Wondries

PLATINUM CIRCLE

($5,000 to $9,999)

Anonymous

Jane & Dan Armel

Meghan & Monte Baier

Anne Blomstrom

Devrie Brennan

Patricia & Dennis Burke

Renate & Mel Cohen

Barbara Dawson

Sarah & Stephen Deschenes

Mr. & Mrs. Richard K. Durant

Dr. Annette L. Ermshar & Dan Monahan

Walt Fidler

Linda & Peter Flaherty

Patricia Frandson

Sandy & Sharon Frey

Mr. & Mrs. James Gallagher

Beth Hansen

Larry & Mireya Jones

Raymond & Cinty Kepner

Christopher M. Laquer

LeeRae Leaver*

Ilona Linden

Cynthia & Michael Malone

Gretl & Arnold Mulder

Christine M. Ofiesh

Barbara & Tony Phillips

Rosemary & Robert Risley

Janet J. Rose

Steven T. Rosen

Paula & Lloyd Ross

Helga & Gary Sherman

Susan & Bill Shieff

Laurie & Robert Silton

Gregory Stone & Cynthia Vail

Vicki & Brad Schwartz

Polly & Stender Sweeney

William E. & Fanya N. Thomson

Angel & Jeff Throop

Bridgette Sophia Tolbert

Jeffrey Treut

Ann & Richard Ward, Jr.

Kimberly Winick & Lawrence Chamblee cc

SUPPORTERS

$2,500 - $4,999

Anonymous

Pam & Jerry Ackrich cc

Brenda Baity & Scott Long

Robert Barnes

Barbara Barschak

Gary Carr

Garrett Collins & Matthew McIntyre

Bob Campos

Susan & Richard Feinberg

Megan & Rick Foker

Mr. & Mrs. George Forbes

Jenina & Donald Garrett

Dody & Tom Gilfoy

Carrie & Tim Grochow

Eric “Tony” Gronroos

Asm. Chris Holden

Kay Kochenderfer Toomey & Frank Toomey

Gale Kohl

Gary Kearney & Mary Lou Byrne

Steve Lazarian & Stephanie Pearl cc

Wende & Robert Lee

Adel Luzuriaga cc

Leslie & Baird Marble

Linda Massey

Robert & Kimberly Michero

Angela & Fritz Miller

Wendell Mortimer

Mona & Ron Neter

Judith & Donald Norquist

Debi & Stan Parkhurst

Antoinette Perpall cc

Anthony Portantino cc

Dallas & Dannie Raines

Gretchen McNally & Rufus Rhoades

Marciela Rodriguez-Gutierrez

Mrs. Halaine Rose

Leticia Sanchez

Julie Saper cc

Evelyn Shaffer

Eric Sigg

Maria & Albert Sun

Laney Techentin

Samuel M. Thomasson

Scott Vandrick & Tony Foster

Mark Waco

Monica J. Wahl & K . John Shaffer cc

Drs. Bart & Pam Wald cc

Fred & Becky Weaver

Jens Weiden

Mr. & Mrs. Henry A. Yost

Eileen Zimmerman

$1,000 - $2,499

Anonymous

Meghan Allen

Mark Anderson

Curtis Autenrieth cc

Shana Bayat & Tarun Kapoor cc

Eric W. Bell & Susanne Spangler

Pat & Jack Beauchamp cc

Adele Binder

Michael Blackman

John Blanchard

Chanel & Loakim Boutakidis

Gabrielle Bruveris

Andrew Van Horn & Kristine Chase

Kristen & Anthony Cannizzo cc

Cheryl & Phil Cannon

Linda Chang cc

Edward & Alicia Garcia Clark cc

Kathleen Colburn

Diane Conley-Hinchey

Rhonda Cotton cc

James & Suzanne Crisp

Gail & Jon Crotty

Gloria & Cleveland B. Crudgington cc

David Demers & Robert Tall

Stephanie & Ted Dencik

Linda S. Dickason

Wanda Dorgan

Calogero & Veronica Drago

Leah Estes

Gerald Fishbein & Millicent Reynolds

Mark Forbes

Joanne Freed & Richard C. Mendelson

Anita B. & Haley Fromholz cc

Bobbie & Jerry Furrey cc

Nelson & Priscilla Gibbs

James Giddens cc

Idan & Rodney Gould

Noel Hall cc

Beatrice Hamlin

Kristin & Berkeley Harrison

Ronald Lee Helmuth & M. Kelly Malone

Cyndee Howard

Ann Horton

Dennis Houlihan

Debi & Bryan Jacobs

Jim & Beverlee Bickmore Kelly

Terri & Tom Keville

Connie Knott

Judy & Brad Kolb

Ronald M. LaBran & Linda S. Relyea

Gayle Levant

Deborah B. Lewis cc

Laurence Lubka

Beverly Marksbury

Dr. & Mrs. J. Howard Marshall III

Rachel & George McClements

Nancy & Don McIntyre

Heidi & Steve McLean

Maggie Meline cc

Anne & Matthew Mettler

Margaret & David Mgrublian

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas H. Nogle

Chris & Noreen Norgaard

Corry Notkin

Dr. Philip Pearson & Idoya Urrutia

Douglas Parker

Regina & Norman Perry cc

Anne Breck Peterson

Gloria & Don Pitzer cc

Thomas & Daryl Pollock

Barbara Radford

Diane & Herb Rankin cc

Shelly Reisch

Keith Renken

Frances Richmond & Gerald Loeb

Matthew Rimmer

Vivian & Rey Rodriguez

Evelyn Shaffer cc

Warren Shafer

Jamie Shaheen

Brett Shurman cc

Cathy Sripramong

Steve & Melanie Summers

Phillip A. Swan

Paul Swerdlove cc

Lisa & David Takata

Cora Tam and Vince Zhou

Drusie Taylor

Roselyn & Saul Teukolsky

Martha Thompson

Lindsay & Bill Tilney

Laurie & David Turner

Mr. Eliott & Dr. Jodie Ullman

Beatrice Usher

Barbara & Ian White-Thomson

Grant Willcox

J. Dale & Joanne Williamson

Dr. David Woodley & Dr. Janet Fairley cc

Wendy & Philip Wyatt

Christine & Sean Yu

$500 - $999

Anonymous (4)

Dennis Awad

Olivia Arreola-Owen

Bruce & Judy Bailey

Dino Barajas

Sharon Barlow

Todd Bayer & Alexander Murray

Ruth Ann Bell

Margaret Bersch

Elizabeth Grossman Besch

Fran Biles

Sheri Bluebond

Alfred Boegh

Ronald Bossi

Shannon & Michael Bossi

Andrew Bradford

E. Thomas Brewer

Doug Brown

Mr. & Mrs. Bill Caswell

Pamela Conley

William & Diane Cullinane

Glenn Cunningham

Phyllis Currie

Gwendolyn Currier

Virginia & Stuart Cypherd

Mr. & Mrs. Larry DeBoer

Elizabeth Denniston & Jerry A. Williams

Michael Desplaines

Michele Doll

Donabeth & Thomas Downey

Jessie Duffy

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Felton

Dr. & Mrs. Steven Frautschi

Marcia Good

Veronica & Greg Garabedian

Joseph L. Grosso & Loren Escandon

Elizabeth Hall

Norma Hanlin

Angela Hawekotte & Casey Quinn

Victoria & Rex Heggem

Susan Hoffman

Mark Holdsworth

Dorothy K. Hull

Shawn Ingram

Ilene & Harry Jacobs

Missy & Paul Jennings

Jacqueline Knowles

Moon Ko

Debi & Scott Kroman

Mary Lyons

Fred Manaster

Dr. Marguerite Marsh

Diane & Craig Martin

Mr. & Mrs. Paul Martinet

Charles Mathews

Maribel Medina

Phil & Shelley Miles

Ooty Moorehead

Tony & Norah Morley

Terri Murdock

Susan Olsen

Bob & Arlene Oltman

Bruce & Nancy Payne

Donna & Gilbert Perez

Jake Poxson

Carolyn Hemann-Preator & Dale Preator

Peggy Quijada & Mathias Franke

Abel R. & Rosalia Ramirez

Nelson & Juan Rego

Norma Richman

Wallace J. Rogozinski

Marsha Rood

Jeannine Scheinhorn & Clifton Cates

Ann Schwab

James Self

Kathy Seuylemezian

Maryam Shah-Hosseini

Pete & Marianne Siberell

Gita Singh

Betty & Norri Sirri

Greg Smith

Robyn Sokol

Joseph A. Sposato

Tamara Stein

Cheri Strobel

Clare & Chris Tayback

Judith Tompkins

Anita Tsuji

Doug Waite

Janet Wall

Marsha Willhite

Scott & Helen Witter

John Wlassich

Kay A. Wolking

James Woolum

Monica Yap

George Young

Amy Zakiewicz

$250 - $499

Anonymous

Chris Adams

Mark & Carol Amico

Arden L. Albee

Wayne April & Jeffrey Gutstadt

Koko Archibong

Sylvia Ann Arreola

Robin & Dick Asjes

Douglas Barry

Jamie Beck

Doug Bello

Donald R. Bergmann

Mickey Bilsky

John Bird

Larry & Kaylyn Blank

Laurel Bossi

Patricia Bruce

Ali Buckner

Jennifer Burton

Karen Calborn

Annette Castro

Mary L. Charles

Sarah Chenetz & Gene Bush

Wei Sian Chia

Sandra Choi

Jana & Steve Cooley

Loring Davies

Mike & Jackie Don

Janet Doud

Kimberly Douglas & Mark Woods

Individual Donors

Kathleen & Jerry Eberhardt

Sarah Etemadi

Barbara Gamboa

Carol & Jerry Garrett

Sylvie & Roger Gertmenian

Dan Golden

Gail Schaper-Gordon

Yvonne Green

Barbara & Gary Grey

Lisa Griffiths

Patricia Grisinger

Dena & Ed Harte

Ellen & Michael Hatch

Mary & Erwin Helmich

Frank Hernandez

Alan Ho

Grant Holcomb

Noreen & Brian Ito

Devon Ivey

Tom Jacobson & Ramone Muñoz

Josie Jaramillo

Brian Hersky & Ben Bank

Brian & Deborah Jones

Hannah & Emmanuel Jung

Jerome & Rochelle Kaplan

Joanne Kerner

Dr. Rodanthi C. Kitridou, MD

Dr. Berjouhi Koukeyan

Judy Ku

Stephanie & Kent Kuster

Katherine L’Amour

Joyce Law

Jane Leese

Stephen Lenske

Arlene Lesh

Joann Li

Debbi & Kenneth Lowman

Sally & Otis Marston

Mr. & Mrs. Marshall Mathison

Robin McCarthy

William F. & Nancy McDonald

Lynn Mehl

Cathleen Meyers

Elissa Miller

Betsy Merchant

Eric Miller

Leslie Miller

Beverly Mitchum

Andrea Morseburg

Mary Nafisi-Movaghar

Michael & Maureen Murphy

Michael Nelson

Mei-Lee Ney

Jeanne Niotta

Mariann Nolan

Cynthia & George Null

Andrew Orth

Bob & Laurie Orvis

Jean Osher

Kevin Ostrov

Robert Packer

Lyda & Richard Patton

Janet Peterson

Edward A. Perez

Kremena Popova

Sally Pratt

Brock Robertson

Hannah & Brock Robertson

Gino Roncelli

Eugene & Nancy Rostkowski

McNally Sagal

Gale Samore

James Satterfield

Herb & Earlene Seymour

Charles Shamash

Gretchen Shepherd

Lei Shi

Melani & Craig Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Smith

Barbara Spaulding

Nadya Starr

Jack Taylor

John Tegtmeyer & Pamela Hillings Tegtmeyer

Margaret Thomas

Melinda Thompson

Evelyn Tucker

Gargi Upadhyaya

Chelisa & James Vagim

Irene Van Blerkom

Xiomara & Joseph Velasquez

Nancy & John Vogt

Aaron Walker

Nora Wang

Valerie & Aaron Weiss

Mary I. Wilson

Diana Yang

Eric Yang

Qingcheng Yang

Eric & Cindy Yap

$100 - $249

Anonymous (22)

Polly Allen

Andrea Ambler

Adriana Anderson

Patty and John Anderson

Janet Wendy Anderson

Carol Andreen

Donna M. Arcaro

Lisa Ashworth &

Allen McMullen

Sheryl Barnum

Colin & Megan Barr

Adrienne Bass

Robert Bender

Kay Benson

Betsy & Gary Birkenbeuel

Alison Bjorkedal & Phil Yao

Margaret Blair

Heather Blair-Pearce & Michael Pearce

Inga Boudreau

Noel Boyle

Cynthia V. Bradley

Ursula Bradshaw

Craig Brandin

Bruce Breiby

Marian M. Brown

Patricia Bruce

Jean Bruce Poole

Mary Bucur

Ray Bunch

Celia Butler

Gary Carr

Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Carter

Grace & David Cashion

Nancy & Martin Chalifour

Pin Chen

Jenny Cheng

Randall Chun

Dr. & Mrs. Michael Churukian

Russell Cinque Jr.

Justin Clapp

Cynthia Cohn

Dr. & Mrs. Harold G. Corwin, Jr.

Carollee & D. Courtney

Kimberly Covey

Don Crowell

Sally Cullman

Individual Donors

Deborah Curlanis

Judith P. Delafied, M.D.

Catherine Dent

Priya Desai

Janie & Steve Dickson

Valerie DiLoretta

Margaret Dixon

Mark Dorenfeld

Lynn & Richard Dotts

Patrick Dowling

Janet Doyle

Erin Dundee

Adrienne Edmonston

Faye Eggerding

Rita & Kenneth Farfsing

Gudrum Farkas

Fernando Flores

Marilyn Flynn

Matthew Franks

Joan Fraser

Jerald & Linda Froschauer

David & Natalie Fu

Melissa Fulmer

Yuxin Gao

L. Palmer Garberson

Elizabeth Gaspar

Mona Gerecht

Charles Giles

Kathryn Gillespie

Jean-Louis & Lynn Girard

Corinne Glassman

Dan Golden

Drs. David & Judith Goodstein

Carol & Gary Graf

Philip Grant

Jeffrey Grass

Teresa Grimes

Jean Grinols

Jose Gutierrez

Migum Gweon

Peggy Halcomb

Andrea & Charles Hargrove

Janet Harris

Albert Hasson

Nora & William Heinen

Judy Henderson

Matthew Henning

Elizabeth Hentz

Peter Herkey

Sara Hiner

Pamela Hogle

Vincent Houser

Sharon Hubanks

Alvin Hughes

Tina Ito

Linda Jackson

Michael M. Johnson &

Susan R. Romeo

Theresa Jolley

Chuck Jones

Andrew Kassan

Florence Kemp

Tuula Kennedy

Petra Kienel

Craig & Miyoko Kinard

Elizabeth Kolawa

Aimée Kreston & Andrew Picken

Anna Kuo

Robert & Grace Kwan

Sonya Lansdown

Anne & Thomas Laskey

Susan LaVoie

Bongkyu Lee

Hee Lee

Robert Lefkowitz

Ralph Levy

Judy Liao

Micki Lipson

Mary Anne Lower

Tony Lugo

Gayle & Steve Lund

Brian MacGregor

Sandra Macis

Ioana Masek

Shannon McCarty

Priscilla McClure

Liam McGuiness

Kristen McInnis

Michael McLean

Betsy Merchant

Edward Merchant

Jacqueline A. Miller

Charles Minsky

Candace Monroe

Tomoe Mori

Dave & Janice Moritz

Marissa Morrison

Ronald Morton

Judy & Terry Moss

Roger & Gloria V. Mullendore

Kathleen Mulligan

Vivian Nagy

Michael Nissman

Joseph Noga

George Null

Tony Oganesian

Cindy & Walter Okitsu

Julie & Robert Oropallo

John Pape

Bora Park

Michele & Ronald Perelman

Irene & Marvin Perer

Janet Pine

Sharon M. Pippen

Elizabeth & Peter Popoff

Barbara Poro-Smith

Mary Jane Prout

Ann Radow

Sonia Randazzo

Penny Ray

Glen Renowitzky

Cheryl Rigali

Jonathan Rios

Herb Rodgers

Robert Ruby

Erik Rynearson

Albert Sabo

Alicia Sanchez

Mary Schander

Richard Schuster

Dr. & Mrs. Hervey D. Segall

Kenneth Shapiro

Huiying Shen

Elaine Shibata

Floyd J. Siegal

Tamara Silver

Philip Simmons

Kerry Slater

Anita Sohus & James Margitan

George Sparks

Donna Spurrell

Robin & Benjamin Stafford

Timothy Stang

Amy Stein

Lindiwe Stenberg

Rhoads Stephenson

Steven L. Strange

Chris Strople

Gary Suess

Leif Swanson

Eric Swenson

Ben Tam

Jackie Taylor

Frode Teigen

John Tenfelder

Melinda Thompson

Clara & Michael Vanderpool

Marcia Vargas

Christine Wagner

Craig Ward

Marcia & Charles

Wasserman, Ph.D.

William Weber

James Weidner

Morton Weishar

Farryl Weitzman

Janet & William Wells

Michele West

Angela E. Whitaker

Helen Wilkins

Felicia Williams

Dr. Ronald Wing & Mr. Bruce Masten

Susan Woolley

Sue Wright

Sandy Wu

Lang Xu

Sonja Yates

Meixian Yuan

Jie Zhang

Gifts Given in Honor of Gifts listed are from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023.

Jeff Hacker

Floyd J. Siegal

Freddi & Ken Hill

Sally Pratt

Nancy Hardaway

Betsy & Gary Birkenbeuel

Greg Holcomb

Grant Holcomb

Warren Shafer

Vincent X. Kirsch

Janet Harris

Raymond Kepner

David & Margaux Kepner

Greta Mandell

Tom Jacobson & Ramone Muñoz

Bill Miller

Los Angeles Council of Charitable Planners

Barbara Steinwedell

Ann Horton

Lora Unger

Dr. Annette Ermshar & Dan Monahan

Christine Ofiesh

Kimberly S. Winick

Elissa Miller

Pasadena Symphony & POPS Staff

Vicki & Brad Schwartz

Gifts Given in Memory of Gifts listed are from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023.

Roger Gertmenian

Sylvie, Greta & Dan Gertmenian

Robert B. Hardaway, Jr.

Chris Adams

Dr. Robert “Rob” E. Hansen

Anonymous

Meghan & Monte Baier

Mary and Sasha Burcur

Priya & Amit Desai

Dr. Annette Ermshar & Dan Monahan

Beth Hansen

Kristen & Berkeley Harrison

Ellen & Michael Hatch

Amanda & Mark Holdsworth

Andrea Kassar

Katherine L’Amour

Hunt Ortmann

Sonia Randazzo

Millicent Reynolds & Gerald Fishbein

Bill & Sue Shieff

Lynn & Sam Stahl

Eric & Yukiji Swenson

Clare & Chris Tayback

Dina Kuntz

Douglas Parker

LeeRae Leaver

The LeeRae Leaver Family Trust

Cecile Linden

Robin McCarthy

Richard & Louise Major

Donna Spurrell

Gaylord E. Nichols

Bruce & Nancy Payne

Trischa O’Hanlon

Raymond & Cinty Kepner

Agnes Pape

John Pape

Nancy Sensenbach

Andrea Ambler

Carl D. Whitaker

Angela Whitaker

Sustaining Members

(recurring donations for a minimum of 12 months)

Patricia Bruce

Wei Sian Chia

Tony Foster

Noreen & Brian Ito

Robert Lefkowitz

Deborah B. Lewis

Joanna Linkhorst

Greta Mandell

Robin McCarthy

Mary Nafisi-Movaghar

Rosemary & Bob Risley

Janet J. Rose

John Tenfelder

Scott Vandrick

James Woolum

cc Conductor’s Circle Members

* Deceased

Corporate, Foundation and Institutional Gifts

Partnerships with institutions are vital to the success of the Pasadena Symphony Association. We grateful to acknowledge the following supporters. Gifts listed from July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. We apologize for any errors or omissions.

$50,000 - $99,999

Ahmanson Foundation

Ann Peppers Foundation

Bank of America

The Capital Group Companies

Helen & Will Webster Foundation

The José Iturbi Foundation

Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

Rusnak Auto Group

$25,000 - $49,999

Dwight Stuart Youth Fund

Financial Technology Solutions

International Green Foundation

Innovative Skincare

Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture

Michero Family Wine*

Northern Trust

Pasadena Community Foundation

Rose Hills Foundation

Chrisman Schlinger Foundation

Jet Propulsion Lab

$15,000 - $24,999

Anonymous

City of Arcadia

City of Pasadena Arts & Culture Department

Supervisor

Kathryn Barger, 5th District

Hear MD – Dr. Alan J. Fisher

Hollywood Piano*

Lucas, Horsfall, Murphy & Pindroh LLP

The Whittier Trust Company

Endowment Fund

$5,000 - $14,999

Anonymous City of Hope

City National Bank

Colburn Foundation

The Charles & Henrietta

Johnson Detoy Foundation

Holcomb | Durkovic Group

Jacob Maarse Floral Design*

Youssef & Kamel Mawardi Fund

Miller Kaplan Arase LLP

Motor Parks*

PRG Worldwide Entertainment*

Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

Santa Anita Park*

Screenworks*

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Shekels Foundation

Town & Country*

$1,000 - $4,999

John Blanchard Company

Claud & Co. Catering

EF Academy

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

GGE Foundation

Horizon Actuarial

Huntington Hospital

J.P. Morgan Chase Bank

Kepner Mediation LLC

Laird Norton Family Foundation

MonteCedro

Wolfe Foundation

*Gift in Kind

Gifts to the Endowment Fund keep on giving. The Pasadena Symphony Association maintains and draws on the Endowment in accordance with UPMIFA to sustainably fund our performances, music education and community engagement programs. To learn more about the Endowment Fund or to make a contribution, please call 626.793.7172.

ENDOWMENT GIFTS

$1,000,000 & UP

Dr. Clifford M. Hughes*

$500,000 - $999,999

Mr. Allan W. Fink*

Gloria Gartz Estate

$250,000 - $499,000

Mrs. Ulric B. Bray*

Mr. & Mrs. William E. Steinwedell

Lorion Stillion*

Mrs. Nora K. Sutliff *

Mr. Frank Whiting

$100,000 - $249,999

Mr. Orrin K. Earl*

Mrs. Richard H. Graham

Ms. Olive McCloskey

Dr. Marvin Piper

Mr. Herbert Rempel*

Mr. & Mrs. John Roberts

Mr. Frank S. Whiting

$50,000 - $99,999

Mrs. Ida Hull Lloyd Crotty*

Dr. George Housner*

Ms. Marlene R. Konnar & Dr. John D. Baldeschwieler

Mr. & Mrs. William L. Krantz

Mr. J. Richard Love*

Mr. & Mrs. J.C. Massar

Nelson J. Leonard & Peggy Phelps

Mr. Kenneth O. Rhodes

Ms. Jane Roe

$25,000 - $49,999

Mr. & Mrs. R. Stanton Avery

Mr. & Mrs. Edwin A. Barnes, Jr.

Ms. Bridget Emerson

Mr. & Mrs. Paul A. Erskine

Mr. & Mrs. John Glanville

Mrs. Mary E. Goodan*

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Grantham

Mr. & Mrs. Francis D. Logan

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Pankow, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Allen Roberts

Dr. Anne Roberts & Dr. John Arnold

Dr. John D. Roberts

Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Stephens

Mr. & Mrs. David Traitel

$10,000 - $24,999

Ahmanson Foundation

Lloyd Management Corporation

Mrs. Hazel B. Mason

Mountain View Foundation

Mr. & Mrs. James E. Mramor

Pasadena Community Foundation

Dr. & Mrs. Donald Roberts

Dr. John P. Roberts & Dr. Nancy Ascher

Mrs. Elizabeth M. Rockwell*

Mrs. Alice Marie Simon

The Stans Foundation

Dr. & Mrs. John D.F. Tarr

$5,000 - $9,999

Roger Engemann & Associates, Inc.

Mr. & Mrs. Patrick J. Everett

Mr. & Mrs Goik Hossepian

Mr. Richard E. Heckert

Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth D. Hill

Susan & Doug Kranwinkle

Mr. & Mrs. Lee Mothershead

Mrs. Nathaniel Paschall

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth L. Rinehart

Dr. Graham C. Walker

Mr. & Mrs. Warren Williamson

$2,500 - $4,999

Alicia G. Clark

Mrs. Louise Cook

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Hatch

Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Hezlep III

Mr. & Mrs. Millard W. Jacobs

Priscilla & Gordon McClure

Drs. Ananth & Margaret Natarajan

Northern Trust

Ms. Debra J. Paterson

C. Anthony Phillips

Mrs. Francis E. Schlueter

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Shockro

Mr. Glenn Wallmark

The Stanley Works

Mr. Henry A. Yost

$1,000 - $2,499

Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Adair

Mr. Daniel Alpert

American Express Gift Matching Program

Dr. & Mrs. Douglas Applequist

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Barkhurt

Mr. Carl D. Barnes

Mr. Richard Barr

Dr. & Mrs. Elkan R. Blout

Dr. & Mrs. Fred Blum

Prof. & Mrs. Theodore L. Brown

Dr. & Mrs. Sunney I. Chan

Mrs. Harrison Chandler

Mrs. Kathleen S. Chisholm

Dr. Francis H. Clauser

Mr. & Mrs. Harry W. Colmery, Jr.

Community Bank

Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth Cruickshank

Dr. & Mrs. Anthony W. Czarnik

Dr. Peter B. Dervan & Dr. Jacqueline K. Barton

Lawrence L. Frank Foundation

Dr. Glenn Fuller

Dr. Sidney M. Hecht

Mrs. Alexander P. Hixon

Mrs. Ann Horton

Dr. Ram Hosmane

Mr. & Mrs. John Joannes

Dr. Ulrich Jordis

Mr. & Mrs. David A. Leonard

Mr. & Mrs. James N. Leonard

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth J. Leonard

Ms. Marcia Leonard &

Mr. Tom Carlson

Mr. & Mrs. John C. Matthiessen

Mr. & Mrs. Lee A. Miller

Ms. D’Arcy Murray

Mr. & Mrs. Charles R. Norman

Prof. Michinori Oki

Dr. Seemon H. Pines

Dr. & Mrs. Craig Sloane

Dr. & Mrs. John H. Richards

Mr. & Mrs. J. Christopher

Schwarzenbach

Mr. William D. Smart

Dr. & Mrs. Lubert Stryer

Mr. James R. Walther & Dr. Robin J. Walther

Prof. Frank H. Westheimer

Mr. & Mrs. George Whitesides

$500 - $999

Prof. & Mrs. John E. Baldwin

Drs. Jorge & Maria Barrio

Beckman Coulter, Inc.

Dr. & Mrs. John E. Bercaw

Ms. Edith Bingham

Mr. Arnold Binney

Mr. W. Paul Blair

Mr. Arnold Brossi

Mr. & Mrs. John Caldwell

Dr. & Mrs. Stanley J. Cristol

Dr. & Mrs. Samuel Danishefsky

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Felton

Mr. & Mrs. Gerald L. Fishbein

Dr. & Mrs. Harry B. Gray

Mr. Thomas R. Henderson

Dr. & Mrs. Ralph Hirschmann

Mr. & Mrs. Jean Horton

Endowment Fund

Mr. & Mrs. Claire D. Johnson

Mr. Richard F. Miller

Ms. Connie M. Morgan & Dr. Matthew Golombek

Dr. & Mrs. Vasu Nair

Dr. Eric Oldfield

Dr. David M. Paisley

Prof. & Mrs. K. B. Sharpless

Mr. Mark A. Sprecker

Dr. & Mrs. Benjamin T. Stafford

Prof. Peter J. Stang

Ultra Oil & Gas

Reginald A. Wilson & English A. Heisser

$250 - $499

Mr. & Mrs. Bruce A. Blomstrom

Dr. Douglas T. Browne

Ms. Linda Coates

Dr. Scott E. Denmark

Prof. Harry G. Drickamer

Dr. Katharine J. Gibson

Prof. & Mrs. Stanley Ikenberry

Mr. & Mrs. John Katzenellenbogen

Ms. Margaret W. Kite

Dr. & Mrs. George A. Olah

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Oropallo

The Pfizer Foundation Matching Gifts Program

Ms. Evans Phelps

Mr. Mason Phelps & Mr. Ron Neal

Mr. Michael L. Stein

Sterling Group

Dr. Richard W. Thomas

Dr. & Mrs. David F. Wiemer

$100 - $249

Dr. & Mrs. Virgil Boekelheide

Mr. & Mrs. John I. Brauman

Mr. Robert Coates & Ms. Rosie Sandifer

Dr. Addison G. Cook

Mr. & Mrs. Carl Cooper

Prof. DeLanson R. Crist

Dr. David Y. Curtin

Dr. B. Devadas

Dr. & Mrs. Ernest Eliel

Dr. Jeremy R. Fox

Ms. Clarisse Gagnebin

Dr. & Mrs. Robert Grubbs

Dr. David R. Haines

Dr. & Mrs. Brian N. Holmes

Dr. & Mrs. Robert E. Ireland

Mr. Ronald Jernigan

Mrs. Margaret LeRoy

Mr. & Mrs. F. Jack Liebau

Dr. Rudolph A. Marcus

Mr. & Mrs. David MacMillan

Dr. Blaine C. McKusick

Mrs. Jane Peck Messler*

Mr. Gaylord E. Nichols, Jr.*

Pasadena Men’s Committee for the Arts

Prof. & Mrs. David Pines

Plains Marketing, L.P.

Mrs. Wallace Rowe

Misses Helen & Marie Salandra

Mr. & Mrs. Prem D. Sattsangi

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Severns

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen L. Silver

Dr. A. John Speziale

Mr. & Mrs. Victor Stone

Mr. Gilbert Stork

Dr. G. Edwin Wilson

Robert L. Zurbach*

In Memory of

Nelson J. Leonard for the Nelson

Leonard Piano Chair

Tim & Pamela Barnett

Margo Bowers

Carol & Jim Buchanan

Betye Burton

CCE Division, California Institute of Technology

Jane Forbes Clark

Sally & Don Clark

Linda Coates

Sallie & Harry Colmery

Carl & Lynn Cooper

DeLanson R. Crist

Matthew & Jennifer DeVoll

Robert Duerr

Mary Alice & Richard Frank

Clarisse Gagnebin

Sidney & Sally Hecht

Barbara & John House

Tom & Monica Hubbard

A. & Barbara Jacobson

Linda & William Krantz

Fernando & Madeleine

Maldonado

Stan & Margaret Manatt

Margaret H. Marsh

Courtney Marsters

Mary C. Marvel

Lydia S. Matthews

Priscilla & Gordon McClure

Wendy Munger

Emily Bernstein Fund

Judy Nazemetz & Michael Colasuonno

Tom O’Connor

Mr. & Mrs. I. Gordon Odell

Gordon J. Pashgian

Mason & Elizabeth Phelps

Peggy Phelps

Julia O’Grady Pollard

Edith & Jack Roberts

Rebecca Shehee

Rary & Frank Simmons

Elba & Leonard Smith

Karen Smits

Barbara & Bill Steinwedell

George & Gretel Stephens

Shirley Taylor

Anne & Richard Thomas

Elisabeth Versteegh-Vermeij & Family

Jim Watterson

Martha Williams

Edith M. Roberts

Endowment Fund

Anonymous

American College of Radiology

Mrs. Dian Anderson

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Anderson

Dr. & Mrs. Fred Anson

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel E. Apodaca

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Armel

Drs. David Baltimore & Alice Huang

Mr. Peter Barker

Dr. & Mrs. Albert L. Blumberg

Carol & Boardman Bressler

Mr. & Ms. Jerry H. Burnett

Mrs. Thomas Caughey

Dr. & Mrs. Sunney I. Chan

Dr. & Mrs. Donald S. Cohen

Mel & Renate Cohen

Dr. & Mrs. Fred Culick

Ms. Anna Demetriades

Mr. & Mrs. Gary Dicovitsky

Barbara & Harry Double

Janet Doud

Engemann Family Foundation

Mrs. Evelyn English*

Nancy H. Francis

Steven & Mie Frautschi

Mrs. Jean Freshwater*

Ms. Michelle Frey

Anita & Haley Fromholz

Mr. Gregory Fu

Cornelia Fuller & Lee Johnson

Mr. David Garrison

Drs. David & Judith Goodstein

Ms. Ruta Irene Hagmann

Mr. & Mrs. Harold H. Hennacy

Ms. Teri Hensley

Dr. & Mrs. John W. House

Dr. Marylou Ingram

Mr. & Mrs. George D. Jagels, Jr.

Maggie Jagels

John & Barbara Joannes

Ms. Virigina Jones

Dr. & Mrs. Aron Kuppermann

Dr. & Mrs. Paul A. Larson

Ms. Bonnie H. Ledyard

Mr. & Mrs. Stan Manatt

Ilene & Howard Marshall

Mr. & Mrs. Carson R. McKissick

Ms. Mary Patterson McPherson

Mrs. Mary L. Nevins

Dr. & Mrs. William Opel

Charles & Kathleen Peck

Ms. Jeanne Pimentel

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony C. Readhead

Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Reis

Ms. Sarah Reisman

Mr. William Titus Reynolds

Dr. John D. & Edith M. Roberts*

Mr. & Mrs. Don J. Sam

Mrs. Estelle Schlueter

Dr. Francesca Schlueter & Dr. Gregory Maletis

Mr. David I. Schuster

Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Smith

Society of Interventional Radiology

Ms. Norma Gay Sperry

Mr. & Mrs. William E. Steinwedell

Ed & Alice Stone

Dr. & Mrs. John D.F. Tarr

Mr. John D. Taylor

The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

Mr. & Mrs. Roy Thompson

Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas J. Turro

Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Tyson

Mr. James R. Watterson

The Family of R. Martin Wells

Women’s Committee of the Pasadena Symphony Association

Mr. & Mrs. James F. Woodard

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Yohalem

Dr. & Dr. Ahmed Zewail

*Deceased

Emily Bernstein was our beloved Principal Clarinetist from 1994 to 2004. After her passing in 2005, her life partner JoAnn Turovsky (currently our Principal Harp) established the Emily Bernstein Fund to ensure the continued excellence of the Pasadena Symphony, which was such an important part of Emily’s artistic life. Emily’s numerous achievements include serving as Principal Clarinetist of the Los Angeles Opera, faculty of the Henry Mancini Institute, and recordings for the Delos, Phillips, and Sony Classic labels. She was an active studio musician and performed on hundreds of motion picture and television scores including The Terminal, Catch Me if You Can, Pirates of the Caribbean, Seabiscuit and more.

The Emily Bernstein Fund directly supports the orchestra and the careers of emerging artists, allowing her devotion to music to live on for years to come. For more information and to make a gift visit: PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org/Emily-bernstein-fund.

Corporate Sponsorship and Major Supporters

Thank you to all of our supporters. Through your ongoing contributions, Pasadena Symphony Association is able to present high-quality live music performances and provide vital musical education and arts access to audiences of all ages. We are pleased to acknowledge the support of the following corporations, foundations and government partners for providing an annual gift to support the Pasadena Symphony Association’s performance and educational programming.

Gift list is from January 1, 2023 - September 30, 2023

Partial list of gifts $5,000 and above

THE MICHERO FAMILY

Women’s Committee of the Pasadena Symphony Association

Artistic Fund

Longtime supporters John D. Baldeschwieler and Marlene R. Konnar have always been passionate about the Pasadena Symphony’s musical vitality and have launched, through a lead gift, the creation of the Pasadena Symphony’s Artistic Fund. This newly dedicated fund helps sustain the orchestra and provides mission critical resources for the orchestra’s musicians and conductors. Inspired by John and Marlene’s commitment, the donors below have stepped up with stretch gift to match their generosity. On behalf of all of the musicians of the Pasadena Symphony and POPS, we salute you.

ARTISTIC FUND DONORS

Anonymous (2)

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bisetti

Patricia Bruce

Gabrielle Bruveris

Anna Davalos

Lauren Davies

Mrs. Linda Flaherty

Mr. & Mrs. George Forbes

Barbara George

Nelson & Priscilla Gibbs

Barbara & Gary Grey

Jean Grinols

Qintao Gu

Mrs. Russell L. Hanlin

Yolanda Head

William Heinen

Larry & Mireya Jones

Judith Juhasz

Joanne Kennedy

Shirley Knuth

Linda and Bill Krantz

Linda Massey

Jeannette & Warren Martin

Heidi & Steve McLean

Candace Monroe

Rob Moore

Gaylord E. Nichols*

Cynthia & George Null

Legacy Society

Linda O’Connor

Keiko Sugino-Decarvalho

Bernard & Joy Sullivan

Kay Kochenderfer Toomey & Frank Toomey

Scott Vandrick & Tony Foster

Xiomara & Joseph Velasquez

John Vogt

Bob Willet

Susan Williams

Jill Wondries

*Deceased

The Pasadena Symphony Association brings great music to life. You can help ensure our mission lasts for the next generation through a planned gift that will make a lasting contribution to your orchestra. As a tribute to Jack and Edith Roberts, the Pasadena Symphony Association launched the John D. and Edith M. Roberts Legacy Society to support building legacies through planned gifts.

WAYS TO GIVE

GIFTS NOW:

Appreciated Securities

IRA Charitable Rollover Gifts

Appreciated Property

GIFTS LATER: Bequest

Gift of Retirement Plan Assets

Endowment Gift

LEGACY SOCIETY MEMBERS

Listed as of September 30, 2023

Gertrude H. Bowlby*

Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler

Gloria & Cleveland Crudgington

Georgianna Bray Erskine

Chip Fairchild

Dr. Alan Fisher

Anita B. & Haley Fromholz

Dr. Marylou Ingram*

Gaylord E. Nichols

Elise Mudd Marvin*

Gloria & Roger Mullendore

Beebe Nuetzman

Dr. John R. & Edith M. Roberts*

Virginia N. Russell*

GIFTS THAT PAY INCOME:

Charitable Gift Annuity

Helen & Marie Saladra*

Margaret H. Sedenquist*

Laurie & Robert Silton

William & Barbara Steinwedell

Kay Kochhenderfer Toomey & Frank Toomey

Constance G. Zahorik*

*Deceased

To find out more about the Artistic Fund or joining the Conductor’s Circle or Legacy Society, call Kevin Batton at (626) 793-7172, ext 27, or visit pasadenasymphony-pops.org/give.

Gifts Given in Memory of Drew Flaherty

Pam & Jerry Ackrich

The Adamick Family

Janet Wendy Anderson

Patty & John Anderson

Brenda Baity & Scott Long

Alison Bjorkedal & Phil Yao

Laurel Bossi

Ronald Bossi

MaryAnn Bozek

Nancy & Martin Chalifour

Panela & David Conley

The Pasadena Symphony lost one of our family this summer when our Chief Operating Officer, Drew Flaherty passed away suddenly. Drew was the heartbeat of the organization and the driving force behind our operations for the past decade. We will always remember Drew as a warm, kind, fun person who was a stalwart in the California orchestral community. His loss is deeply felt, but his love for music and passion for togetherness and laughter lives on. Drew’s family is honored by those who have given in his memory.

Joanne Freed & Richard C. Mendelson

The Girard Family

Jeff Hacker

Nadine Hall

Judith Henderson

Matthew Henning

Elizabeth Hentz

Sara Hiner

Judd Hollander

Cyndee Howard

Diane & Michael Conley-Hinchey

Jana & Steve Cooley

The Dickson Family

Valerie DiLoretta

Jim & Marge Dixon

Patrick Dowling

Eli & Jean Essa

Dr. Alan Fisher

Peter & Linda Flaherty

Jonathan Flaksman

Deborah R. & Bradley D. Howard

Chuck Jones

Andrew Kassan

Joanne Kennedy

Ray & Cinty Kepner

Kay Kochenderfer-Toomey & Frank Toomey

Judy & Brad Kolb

Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler

Aimée Kreston & Andrew Picken

Cynthia Leary

Arlene Lesh

Marisa McCarthy

Shannon McCarty

Priscilla McClure

Rebecca Meneses

Jacqueline A. Miller

Rob Moore

Judith Moss

Sandy Norton

Thomas Porro

Rosemary & Robert Risley

Kenneth Shapiro

Barbara Porro-Smith

Erik Rynearson

Jamie Shaheen

Timothy Stang

Season Straaberg

Scott Vandrick & Tony Foster

Christine Wagner

Stay

Whatever

Passionate about pianos since 1928

Pasadena Symphony & Pops Official Piano Supplier

The USA 's Only 8X N.A.M.M. Top 100 Award Winner

Steingraeber • Grotrian • Mason & Hamlin• Estonia

Baldwin• Schulze Pollmann •Ritmuller• Hardman

Brodmann•Roland• Dexibell• One Smart• Casio

Pre-owned Steinway•Yamaha• Kawai

Burbank Santa Ana

323 South Front St. 2800 North Main St. 818-954-8500 714-432-1100

Pasadena (Factory Outlet & Clearance Center) 2084 East Foothill Blvd. 626-229-0999

www.hollywoodpiano.com

Haute Couture Interiors

Inspired by classical themes, pop culture and her experience in the fashion world, designer Julia Wong creates spaces that are dramatic yet timeless. / by

ROGER GRODY /

IINTERIOR DESIGNER JULIA WONG navigated ever-evolving trends while working in the fashion industry, an experience that also fostered her appreciation for timeless qualities and aesthetics. As principal designer at Julia Wong Designs, she brings those sensibilities to luxury homes throughout Southern California.

Reflecting on her seamless transition from fashion to interior design, Wong says, “Interiors are more permanent and incorporate my love of architecture, but involve the same emphasis on textures, colors and proportion as clothing design.”

She notes that the discipline and multitasking required in the fashion industry—the rigors of creating six to eight new collections every year— prepared her well for her new career and the demands of high-profile clients.

In Bel-Air, Wong mixes custom furniture and vintage elements for updated Old Hollywood glamour. Below: a sense of drama in every corner.

Wong's extensive travels, particularly during her tenure with designer John Galliano at Dior, helped shape her sensibilities for interior design. “Hotels have long been influenced by residential environments. Now, interior designers draw inspiration from hospitality,” she observes.

As for her own design philosophy, Wong says, “I enjoy using authentic materials that are timeless, and welcome a juxtaposition of traditional and modern elements.” Her signature style incorporates a European aesthetic combined with a touch of American pop culture.

Arches, curves and monochro-

matic color palettes continue to prevail in Southern California, but, Wong cautions, “trends are more complex than in the past. People want aesthetics to be timeless, but also fresh.”

Varied textures, including stone with fluting or edging details, are popular, and the all-white kitchen is evolving. Wong cites Africaninspired earth tones and occasional bursts of color as effective complements to the enduring neutral backdrop throughout the home.

Wong uses dramatic lighting fixtures as compelling focal points. She admires the products

of Jonathan Browning Studios in San Francisco and L.A.-based Fuse Lighting, but also appreciates Murano glass from Venini. “Holly Hunt furniture works very well with my aesthetic," she says. "For chinoiserie-inspired concepts, my go-to fabrics are Rubelli.”

When working with clients, Wong takes her role as listener seriously; she pays close attention to how they live in their current homes, their lifestyle, and what styles they view positively. “We then begin visualizing the design, but only after conducting space-planning,” says Wong. She insists that if the spatial

Clockwise from above left: Multifaceted primary bedroom; glamorous soaking tub; extravagant bathroom; and an example of Wong's emphasis on functionality.

ART IN BLOOM

This spring, CAP UCLA welcomes today’s most searching, innovative and compelling artists.

VISIT

The UCLA Nimoy Theater (opened in September 2023) Royce Hall and The United Theater on Broadway.

EXPLORE

A genre-defying lineup of music, dance, theater and literary arts.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

> Urban Bush Women > Molly Joyce and Jerron Herman > Third Coast Percussion

> Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana > Ronnie Burkett > Alfredo Rodriguez > yMusic > Kronos Quartet > Meshell Ndegeocello > Luciana Souza > LADAMA

cap.ucla.edu/2023–24

AND MANY MORE!

Kronos Quartet by Nación Imago

Urban Bush Women by Ian Douglas

DESIGN

distribution does not work, the artistic expressions are irrelevant.

“One of the great things about working in a creative community such as L.A. is that clients are not afraid of trying new colors, shapes or materials,” says Wong—but she also acknowledges occasional challenges. “With a strong, individualistic client, you have to execute a home that truly reflects the personality.”

At a 12,000-square-foot landmark estate in Bel-Air—whose previous owners included Charlie’s Angels actress Jaclyn Smith and socialite Kathy Hilton—Wong created furniture with rich fabrics for an updated Hollywood glamour. The tearoom at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris was her inspiration for the light-flooded conservatory.

For their contemporary Manhattan Beach weekend getaway, clients sought a warm modernism with Zen elements, a departure from their more traditional primary residence.

A clean Japanese aesthetic was the inspiration; the design showcases the clients’ extensive art collection. Julia Wong Designs, 818.223.8886 juliawongdesigns.com

Wong brings a modern Zen vibe to Manhattan Beach.

VERDI REQUIEM

GRANT GERSHON, conductor ANA MARÍA MARTÍNEZ, soprano

MELODY MOORE, mezzo-soprano

SATURDAY, JUNE 8 AT 2PM | SUNDAY, JUNE 9 AT 7PM

SEAN PANIKKAR, tenor

PEIXIN CHEN, bass

100 singers, orchestra

GIUSEPPE VERDI Requiem

Thunderous rhythms, sublime melodies, and rhapsodic solo passages express both the heights of salvation and depths of damnation in this epic and panoramic masterpiece. A performance of Verdi’s Requiem by the Grammy® Award-winning LA Master Chorale is not to be missed.

Courtney Taylor SOPRANO

REIMAGINED

AUTHENTICITY

Downtown’s Baar Baar showcases a playful contemporary approach to India’s diverse flavors and techniques.

/ by ROGER GRODY /

There,s no denying Indian food’s crave-worthiness, and every so often an inventive chef reinterprets the ancient cuisine, integrating European techniques and creativity that resonate in Los Angeles. Last year, chef/restaurateur Sujan Sarkar opened Baar Baar, the West Coast branch of a gastropub in Manhattan’s East Village, downtown.

Baar Baar occupies a handsome space in the aqua glass-ensconced Watermarke Tower, previously home to Faith & Flower. Curvy booths and crystal chandeliers infuse the space with glamour; a 50-foot quartzite bar heightens the drama. A pair of Indian women with intense eyes, peer over the lively scene from a mural by artist Jessica Kollar.

Sarkar, a native Indian but veteran of top London kitchens, and founder of multiple restaurants in the U.S.,

PHOTOS NEIL JOHN BURGER

Reimagined Indian fare at Baar Baar. Below: Slumdog Millionaire

2023/2024 SEASON

Firebird & Serenade

May/June 2024

Firebird

Possokhov | Stravinsky

Serenade

Balanchine | Tchaikovsky

Pasadena Civic Auditorium

May 11 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

Redondo Beach

Performing Arts Center

May 25 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

Royce Hall at UCLA

June 1 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

DINING

showcases the versatility of regional Indian cooking through a modern multicultural lens. Mixing centuries-old traditions with contemporary elements and unconventional ingredients, it's a culinary adventure geared to the adventurous.

Ease into a meal with a selection of chutneys, cheese-and-jalapeño naan, or fresh oysters with guava-chili granita.

Stylish cocktails are inspired by Bollywood cinema. South Asian ingredients and fanciful presentations contribute to mixed drinks such as a Slumdog Millionaire; Lagaan, named for a 2001 musical, blends gin, Midori, honeydew melon, kale and egg white.

Cocktails reign, but the restaurant also offers a relatively extensive international wine list with selections that stand up to the assertive flavors.

Servings can veer to the

small side; larger parties may want to double-up on some items for sharing.

Cauliflower 65, a vegetarian play on a dish of fried chicken nuggets that is popular in southern India, includes pickled carrot pachadi and peanut thecha.

Delicate dahi puri, popular on the streets of Mumbai, are elegantly presented here on a bed of glistening black lentils. Crispy balls of paper-

thin dough are filled with mango and potato, topped with yogurt mousse and dusted with a chat masala with freeze-dried raspberry.

A crock of lamb keema—curried minced meat layered with potato mousse, a Hyderbadi-style dish from south-central India—is reminiscent of a British shepherd’s pie.

Paneer, the classic soft Indian cheese, is rolled into playful pinwheel cakes with a mixture of almonds, pistachio and garam masala; topped with red-pepper chutney, the pinwheels are plated in a pool of rich, tomatobased lababdar gravy worth mopping up with naan. It’s a signature dish.

Unctuous pork belly is lacquered with a pomegranate barbecue sauce

and topped with pickled plum and cracklings. The chicken tikka here involves an Indian cheese fondue, walnuts and summer truffle.

Birria tacos, a dish conceived exclusively for L.A., receive an Indian makeover with Kashmiri duck, pickled ginger and cheddar; they’re served with a bowl of addictive yakhni dipping sauce standing in for salsa.

Desserts, inspired by traditional Indian concepts but seamlessly westernized, include kerala achappam—a crispy confection topped with coconut panna cotta—or an Indian riff on an opera cake.

Baar Baar, 705 W. 9th St., downtown, 213.266.8989, baarbaarla.com

JOHN NEIL BURGER AND, BELOW, REGAN NORTON

Sweet potato chat and, below, mural at Baar Baar

We’re

•

•

•

•

been working on optimizing the product, at incredibly high levels, for hundreds of years —we should be really proud of the art.

“For a symphony, people want to know, is the music a romantic comedy or is it a tragedy? What’s the theme? What’s the vibe?

‘Somebody conducts composer XYZ’ is not helpful to them.”

—Aubrey Bergauer

“So then, what is the problem? It’s time to optimize everything else around that product— that’s where we have so much opportunity before us.”

Those opportunities include maximizing a company’s website— “the most public-facing ambassador for the brand,” Bergauer says —and using regular English rather than arts terminology, such as “aria” in opera, to explain to first-time visitors what’s going on.

Excerpts

Sun., April 28 4:00 pm

Sat., April 27 7:30 pm FIRST

www.verdichorus.org

“For a symphony, people want to know, is the music a romantic comedy or is it a tragedy? What’s the theme? What’s the vibe? ‘Someone conducts composer XYZ’ is not helpful to them.”

Offering discounts at the beginning of the season as an incentive to subscribe is better than last-minute flash sales. Newcomer-friendly experiences that are welcoming, dispelling the intimidation of the unfamiliar, optimize chances of retaining new patrons.

Bergauer’s efforts with L.A. Opera to retain firsttime visitors began in 2019 but were cut short by the pandemic in 2020. Nevertheless, she says, “They shared with me that already they were seeing results in the tens of thousands of dollars.”

Despite arts administrators’ concerns and media reports about the gloomy state of the performing arts since the pandemic, Bergauer says, “Growth is possible. I really think there’s a future where we ... have full houses, places abuzz with energy, all different kinds of people there.

“I believe our arts organizations can provide that,” Bergauer adds. “And hopefully, this book provides a path to help them plot that future.”

Anne Marie Ketchum Artistic Director

Colin Ramsey Bass Baritone

Jamie ChambeRlin GRanneR Soprano nathan GRanneR Tenor

Laraine Ann Madden Accompanist

reprogrammed !

Performances Magazine unveils a digital program platform for shows and concerts

DROP DOWN MENU Table of app contents.

REGISTER

Stay arts-engaged, access past programs.

THE ESSENTIALS Acts, scenes, synopses, repertory and notes.

CONTRIBUTORS

Donors and sponsors who make it all possible—you!

NO RUSTLING PAGES, no killing trees . . . The new Performances program platform, accessed on any digital device, is among the more enduring innovations to have come out of the pandemic. The platform provides the programs for 20 Southern California performing-arts organizations, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Ahmanson Theatre to San Diego Opera, where the app made its debut.

The touchless platform provides cast and player bios, donor and season updates and numerous other

arts-centric features. Audiences receive a link and a code word that instantly activate the app; QR codes are posted, too.

Screens go dark when curtains go up and return when house lights come back on. Updates—such as repertory changes, understudy substitutions and significant new donations—can be made right up to showtime, no inserts necessary. Other features include video and audio streams, translations and expanded biographies.

For those who consider printed

SEARCH

Find whatever it is you want to know—easily.

SIGN IN

Link to your performing-arts companies and venues.

THE PLAYERS Bios and background for cast, crew and creators.

WHAT’S ON

What’s coming at a glance and ticket information.

programs to be keepsakes, a limited number, as well as commemorative issues for special events, continue to be produced. Collectibles!

Meanwhile, there is less deforestation, consumption of petroleum inks and programs headed for landfills. For the ecologically minded, the platform gets a standing ovation.

When theaters and concert halls reopened after their long intermission, the digital Performances was but one more reason for audience excitement. Activate your link and enjoy the shows. —CALEB WACHS