Asheville Symphony Spring 2025 Program Book

Orchestrating Your Perfect Smile

Welcome to an exciting new chapter in the Asheville Symphony’s history! This marks the first full season in our new Masterworks home of First Baptist Church of Asheville. Together, we are forging a dynamic new path for this organization and our musical community.

Because of your support, the Asheville Symphony has been on an amazing growth trajectory over the last few years. Our subscriber base is surging to new heights, sponsorships and philanthropy hit record highs last season, and we are offering our widest variety of experiences to educate and delight the people of Western North Carolina.

Last year, we welcomed more than 3,300 new patrons to our concerts, and more than 44% of last year’s donor base were new donors to the organization. The Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra, our core music education program, continues its impressive growth trend, increasing enrollment by 62%, setting new philanthropic records, and boasting higher retention rates than ever before.

I am thrilled that Music Director Darko Butorac has renewed his contract with the Asheville Symphony for three more years, which allows us to develop the artistic quality and deepen the creativity of our programming. We continue to draw top international artistic talent like Alexi Kenney and Joshua Roman. And, we are delighted to showcase the incredible talent of our own orchestra members as featured soloists this season, such as Principal Flute Lissie Shanahan.

One of our principal goals at the Asheville Symphony is to deepen our engagement with the community. To that end, our new Solo Recital Series aims to provide new ways to experience our soloists in a more intimate setting. Most excitingly, this season will see the continued expansion of the Asheville Amadeus Festival, which returns in May of 2025. This year’s Festival, co-headlined by electrifying classical trio, Time for Three, and genre-bending MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile (all GRAMMY Award winners in their own right), will bring our season to a stunning conclusion.

The bottom line: there has never been a more exciting time to be part of the Asheville Symphony community. Consider making a gift to support the Symphony’s Annual Fund and help fuel the passion and creativity that make our performances unforgettable. Invite your friends and neighbors to experience the magic of a live concert and share in the joy of music. Volunteer your time to help us continue our mission of bringing exceptional music to our community. The future of your Asheville Symphony is incredibly bright, and with your support, we can reach even greater heights together.

Please join us on this year’s thrilling journey and be a part of something truly extraordinary!

Daniel M. Crupi Executive Director

WITH EACH VISIT, AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE INSPIRED.

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Patti Quinn Hill

Patti Quinn Hill’s basketry is rooted in traditional techniques, drawing from Shaker, Nantucket, and Native American influences. She innovatively combines these historical methods with a contemporary approach, imbuing each piece with a distinct character. Hill works with archival paper, specifically 100% cotton heavyweight paper, which is intricately woven with metallic thread lashing. The paper is painted on both sides using a variety of surface design techniques before being cut into strips and then woven into embellished baskets.

Daniel M. Crupi Executive Director

DEVELOPMENT

Sara Henley Director of Development

Madeline Womack Assistant Director of Development

Dana Alward Development Associate

EDUCATION

Tyson Hamrick ASYO General Manager

Mika Hood Operations Coordinator

MARKETING & PATRON RELATIONS

Alex Hill Director of Marketing & Patron Relations

Claire M. Allen Art Director

Melissa Starkweather Patron Relations & Communications Manager

ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS

Sally J. Keeney Orchestra Manager

Michael Di Trolio Principal Librarian

Paul Stroebel Stage Manager

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Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Sue Luther President

Adarrell Gadsden

President-Elect

Michael Andry

Immediate Past President

Sallie Broach

Secretary

G. Edward Towson, II ⁺

Treasurer

DIRECTORS

Cliff Albertson

Jack Anderson ⁺

Michael Andry

Thomas C. Bolton ⁺

Sallie Broach

Susan Harrington Butts

Sean Comeaux

Dr. John Cuellar

George Dambach

John W. Ellis

Dr. Bolling Farmer

Adarrell Gadsden

Bill Gettys ⁺

Scott Gregg

Fred Groce

Mary Kirby

Pam Lowe-Hoyte

Sue Luther

Carol McCollum ⁺

Kevin Pasarilla

Patrick O’Cain

Jeffrey Owen

Cristian Rubiano

Richard Schaffer

Jayne Schnaars

Rachel Sossoman

James S. Thompson

G. Edward Towson, II⁺

Sarah Van Gunten

David Worley

Olivia Zahler

As I begin the second and final year of my term as President of the Asheville Symphony Board of Directors, I look back and am so grateful for all the support our wonderful Symphony has received. The Asheville Symphony has been a cornerstone of the arts in Asheville for over 60 years, and this institution is stronger than ever after our 23-24 venue adaptations. From the bottom of my heart, I want to express my deep appreciation to my fellow board members, our professional staff, the musicians, volunteers, and our wonderful patrons. We all pulled together to make our 23-24 season a resounding success!

On a personal level, I am deeply proud of our growing Music Education initiatives. Our Music in the Schools program continues to introduce the wonder of music to all 1st-4th grade students in Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools classrooms. 5th-graders experience a live, professional performance specifically curated for first-time concertgoers at our Young People’s Concerts. The Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra engages more student musicians than ever before, providing in-depth and high quality musical training and performance experience, including the opportunity to perform alongside Symphony artists. Our Board of Directors has also organized a Music Education Committee which for the last two years has offered scholarships for promising young students to Mars Hill University’s summer band camp. This committee has also provided a musical education component to Project Lighten Up, a summer program at Rock Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Shiloh. The dedicated generosity of our board members, patrons, and donors continues to ensure that each of these education programs flourishes, engaging Western North Carolina youth in music for years to come.

I am looking forward to another exceptional and vibrant year ahead. We still have work to do to ensure that the Asheville Symphony continues to grow with our community. Together, we are united in our passion for this orchestra and in a passion for sharing the richness of classical music with new fans of all ages. Thank you to our entire community for your support.

For those who are new to the Symphony, I look forward to welcoming you in person. Please join me in celebrating the 24-25 season ahead!

DIRECTORS EMERITI

George M. Bilbrey, Jr. M.D.*

J.K. MacKendree Day

Joyce R. Dorr, Ph.D.

George F. Goosmann, III

Gerald C. Kitch

Karl S. Quisenberry, Ph.D.*

John J. Sherman, Jr.

W. Herbert Smith, Jr.

PAST PRESIDENTS

1962-1964: Gaylord Davis

1964-1966: Rudolf Gumpert

1966-1968: John W. Rutland

1968-1970: Robert K. Weiler

1970-1971: Robert Saenger

1971-1972: William C. Spencer, Jr.

1972-1975: John K. Knight

1975-1977: Lawrence D. Ford

1977-1979: Mortimer Ryon

1979-1982: James E. Dooley

1982-1984: J.K. MacKendree Day

1984-1985: George Saenger

1985-1987: Spencer Atwater, MD.

1987-1989: George Goosmann, III

1989-1992: John J. Sherman, Jr.

1992-1994: G. Edward Towson, II

1994-1995: Stephen L. Barden, III

1995-1997: Joyce R. Dorr, Ph.D.

1997-1999: C. David Pheil

1999-2001: George M. Bilbrey, MD.

2001-2003: W. Herbert Smith, Jr.

2003-2004: James P. Topp

2004-2006: Thomas C. Bolton

2006-2008: Carol McCollum

2008-2010: Jack Anderson

2010-2012: Carolyn L. Hubbard

2012-2014: William L. Gettys

2014-2017: Irene Stoll

2017-2019: Doris Phillips Loomis

2019-2021: Bolling Farmer

2021-2023: Michael Andry

* Deceased

World-Class Art in the Heart of Downtown Art in the 20th and 21st Century American Art | ashevilleart.org 20th |

visit!

All seven Masterworks concerts will take place at First Baptist Church of Asheville.

The following page includes a floor plan of the ground level indicating entrances in addition to the surrounding streets and parking areas.

Following our successful performances at First Baptist Church of Asheville during the 2023-2024 season, we are pleased to announce it as the home of the Masterworks Series for three more years.

FBCA offers excellent acoustics, an intimate setting, ample parking, accessible seating, and many patron improvements. We are excited to extend our partnership with FBCA and produce more incredible, acoustically stunning performances for our dedicated audience.

We extend our sincere gratitude for your continued support. Your contributions to our Annual Fund sustain our artistic endeavors. Please consider donating to support our mission of promoting symphonic music for the people of Western North Carolina. Your generosity allows us to continue bringing outstanding performances to all.

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org for more details on the 20242025 season, our performances, how you can support your Asheville Symphony, and much more.

MASTERWORKS ENTRANCE

Performance Space SANCTUARY TO HOUSE LEFT TO HOUSE

CHAPEL Location of Symphony Talk

ACCESSIBILITY & SYMPHONY TALK ENTRANCE

Darko Butorac stands out as one of the most compelling conductors of his generation, praised for his “exceptional combination of passion, elegance, and well-timed pacing” (Westdeutsche Zeitung). He serves as the Music Director of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, where his innovative programming and dynamic leadership have captivated audiences.

Butorac has guest-conducted numerous prestigious orchestras across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Notable performances include the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Neuss and the Georgische Kammerorchester Ingolstadt (Germany), the Rubinstein Philharmonic of Lodz (Poland), the Xiamen Symphony (China), the Tallinn Sinfonietta (Estonia), the Belgrade Philharmonic, and the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra. His passionate and precise interpretations have earned him widespread acclaim.

He has collaborated world-renowned artists such as Renée Fleming, Garrick Ohlsson, Olga Kern, Lawrence Brownlee, Jon Kimura Parker, Noah BendixBalgley, Anthony McGill, and Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons. He has appeared at prestigious venues such as the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Gran Teatro Nacional of Lima, Belgrade’s Kolarac Hall, the Teatro Magnani in Italy, and the Tartu, Aspen, and St. Olav summer music festivals.

In addition to his work in Asheville, Butorac served as the Music Director of the Tallahassee Symphony, where he was known for innovative programming and community engagement. He broadened the orchestra’s reach, introducing eclectic repertoires that attracted new audiences and fostered a deeper appreciation for orchestral music.

A cornerstone of Butorac’s career is his commitment to education and outreach. He has led masterclasses and workshops worldwide, sharing his expertise with the next generation of musicians. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he pioneered virtual formats to keep the orchestral experience alive for audiences and students alike.

As a Grand Prix Laureate of the Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition, Butorac’s accolades reflect his exceptional talent and dedication to the art of conducting. His TEDx talk on leadership and the role of the conductor has garnered nearly 200,000 views, resonating with a wide audience and highlighting his ability to inspire both within and outside the concert hall.

Fluent in multiple languages and deeply rooted in a multicultural background, Butorac brings a unique perspective to his work, blending tradition with innovation. His vision for the future of orchestral music emphasizes inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic integrity, continually striving to break down barriers and bring the transformative power of music to all.

For more about Darko Butorac and his upcoming engagements, visit his official website, www.darkobutorac.com.

Violin

Open Chair • Concertmaster

Martha Gardner • Associate Concertmaster

⁺Karen Pommerich

Assistant Concertmaster

Katheryn Gardner Triplett

Principal Second Violin

Debra L. Anthony

Associate Principal Second Violin

⁺Pedro Oseias Maia

Assistant Principal Second Violin

Marianna Brickle

Teresa M. Curran

Elizabeth Fee-Elliott

Lori G. Hammel

Dorothy L. Knowles

Virginia Kowal

LuAda Malcom

Ruben Orengo

Mariya S. Potapova

Inez Hullinger Redman

*Paul E. Stroebel

Viola

Kara F. Poorbaugh • Principal

Open Chair • Associate Principal

Kathryn Bracewell

Hannah Dara

Martha L. Geissler (loa)

Gina Mashburn Heath

Edward J. Smith

Daphne Waggener

Cello

Daniel Mumm • Principal

J. Franklin Keel • Associate Principal

Paul Maxwell • Assistant Principal

Cherylonda F. Fitzgerald

Paul S. GhostHorse

Katie Hamilton

Patricia Koelling Johnston

E. Sojeong Park

Bass

*M. Lee Metcalfe • Co-Principal

Vance M. Reese • Co-Principal

Michael Di Trolio

Matthew P. Waid

Flute

Lissie J. Shanahan • Principal

Kellie Henry

Piccolo

Dilshad B. Posnock

Oboe

Alicia Chapman • Principal

*Cara Mia Jenkins

English Horn

Amanda J. LaBrecque

Clarinet

Harry H. “Chip” Hill • Principal

Karen Farah Hill

Bass Clarinet

Shannon Thompson

Bassoon

Michael J. Burns • Principal

Amber Ferenz

Contrabassoon

William L. Peebles

Horn

Jeffery B. Whaley • Principal

*Michael L. Brubaker

Anneka A. Zuehlke

Travis A. Bennett

Trumpet

T. Mark Clodfelter • Principal

⁺Christopher Underwood

⁺William Stowman

Trombone

Justin Croushore • Principal

L. Rienette Davis

Bass Trombone

⁺Michael Hosford

⁺Bill Reichenbach

Tuba

Bethany Wiese • Principal

Timpani

Todd D. Mueller • Principal

Percussion

Caleb Breidenbaugh • Principal

Michael Morel

Matthew Richmond

*Brian Tinkel

Harp

Open Chair • Vetust Study Club Chair

Keyboard

Open Chair • Susanne Marcus Collins Chair

Be a part of Asheville Symphony history!

This season, five outstanding finalists will audition for the role of our Concertmaster. Join us throughout the 2024-2025 Masterworks Series to experience all five candidates!

Masterworks 1

Nash Ryder

Masterworks 2

Benjamin Sung

Masterworks 4

Brian Allen

Masterworks 6

Jackie Tso

Masterworks 7

Evgeny Zvonnikov

Michael Di Trolio • Principal Librarian

Paul Stroebel • Stage Manager

* Orchestra Committee Member

⁺ One Year Appointment

Section string players are listed alphabetically.

(loa) = Leave of Absence

Thank you to our incredible musician hosts!

The generosity and warmth of our musician hosts creates a welcoming home-awayfrom-home for our traveling musicians. Thank you for being an integral part of the Asheville Symphony community!

Mary and Jack Anderson

John Boneparth and Gail Harris

Madison Brightwell

Linda and Tom Bushar

Georgia Case

Teresa Curran

Kathy and George Dambach

Suzanne and Steven Hageman

Stan Ingber and Laura Robbins

Mary and Peter Holmes

Mountaine Jonas

Pam and David Lane

Jill and Joe Lawrence

Robin and Cliff Lively

Susan and David Leader

Sue and George Luther

Jim McAllister

Carol and Hugh McCollum

Geoffrey Mitchell and Clair Griffith

Connie and Gary Wald

We applaud the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for sharing one of life’s greatest treasures with our community.

“Where Words Fail, Music Speaks” – Hans Christian Andersen

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The Asheville Symphony Guild proudly supports the Asheville Symphony and Asheville Symphony community initiatives through volunteer support and fundraising. For over 50 years, the Guild has worked as a volunteer organization providing numerous ways for members to contribute to the community, share a mutual love of music, and make a difference in the lives of children through support of music education programs.

How does the Guild provide support?

MUSICAL FEASTS: YOUR SOCIAL AGENDA AWAITS!

From garden parties to barbecues to elegant evenings — join the Guild and experience these fun Musical Feasts while supporting our Symphony!

GUILD-SUPPORTED MUSIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The Guild introduces thousands of elementary school children to classical music each year through the Music in the Schools program. The Guild also helps support our wonderful Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra.

GUILD GATHERINGS: SHARE THE LOVE!

From our Fall Potluck to the annual May Gathering, Guild members enjoy getting together to share their love of music and our wonderful Symphony.

If you love music and want to form a deeper connection to the Asheville Symphony, your community, and your peers, we invite you to join the Guild today! For more information and to join, visit AshevilleSymphonyGuild.org or scan the QR code.

The Asheville Symphony Chorus (ASC) seeks to enrich and inspire our community through impactful performances of the masterworks of choral music. Under the direction of Kyle Ritter, the ASC invites you to take part in their 33rd season.

SPRING CONCERT: MUSIC FOR KINGS & QUEENS

May 6, 2025

Featured pieces: Coronation Mass by W.A. Mozart and Zadok the Priest by G.F. Handel

CHAMBER CHORUS CONCERT

May 20, 2025

Location and program to be announced.

Check our website for Spring concert updates! You can also find more information about the chorus as well as audition dates online by scanning the QR code on this page or by visiting www.AshevilleSymphonyChorus.com.

The Asheville Symphonettes is a high school girl’s service club dedicated to supporting the Asheville Symphony since 2011. By involving students in the production of live symphony concerts, the club fosters a lifelong appreciation for classical music, while also cultivating enduring friendships and community improvement. The Symphonettes actively contribute to the Buncombe County music community by greeting Asheville Symphony patrons, distributing program books, and organizing service projects. Last season, the Symphonettes ran an instrument drive to donate lightly used instruments to local school music programs.

For membership and funding inquiries, please contact Lisa Owen at lisacort1@yahoo.com.

ALT ASO @ THE ORANGE PEEL

Darko Butorac, Conductor

Keri Fuller, Vocalist

Rock out with ALT ASO at The Orange Peel as we bring you a night of electrifying classic rock hits! Featuring the incredible Keri Fuller, known for her roles as Jane Seymour in the Broadway production of Six the Musical and her performances in Jagged Little Pill and Waitress. Don’t miss your chance to experience this program featuring your favorites from STYX, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Kate Bush and more.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 7:00 P.M.

SERIES PRESENTING SPONSOR

AMBER SPONSORS

Craig Allen & Julie Cowden

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

David & Dianne Worley

BOHEMIAN SPONSORS

GOLDEN SPONSORS

Michael & Catty Andry

First Baptist Church of Asheville

February 11, 2025

7:00 p.m.

A dynamic recital program by an acclaimed pianist that pairs works from the Baroque period with passionate Romantic compositions, creating a rich journey through two distinctive musical epochs.

Suite No. 7 in G minor, HWV 432

George Frederick Handel (1685-1759)

During most of his life and up to the present, George Frederick Handel’s fame has rested primarily on his large vocal works, operas, and later, oratorios. As a result, his instrumental music, especially his harpsichord works, suffered neglect. But, considering his harpsichord suites, he was probably one of the finest virtuosos on that instrument.

Handel wrote these suites for his own use and for teaching, possibly for his pupil, Princess Anne. In 1720, at the height of his popularity, pirated editions of his music appeared all over Europe. To counter this, he published eight suites in the first of three volumes of his harpsichord music, with the following comment: “I have been obliged to publish some of the following sessons, because surreptitious and incoherent copies of them had got abroad.” The date of the original composition of these works is unknown.

The six-movement Suite No. 7 opens with a somewhat grand French overture. It is best-known for the last movement, a passacaglia, a set of variations over a base chord sequence that becomes more elaborate and virtuosic as it progresses. Its popularity was enhanced in 1894, when Norwegian violinist, composer and conductor Johan Halvorsen (18641935) arranged and elaborated the Passacaglia for Violin and Viola, going far beyond Handel’s variations.

Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

It is difficult for us to realize that in his lifetime, Bach’s fame rested mainly on his virtuosity on the clavier (harpsichord) and organ, and less so on his compositions. This reputation was particularly true during Bach’s younger years when he was employed as a church organist and court instrumentalist. At that time, any respectable keyboard player was expected to be accomplished at improvisation, an art in which Bach excelled beyond any of his

contemporaries. The outlet for a musician’s improvisatory skill was the fantasia, a genre whose history dates back to the Middle Ages. The Baroque transformed this form — if it can truly be called a “form” — by making it a vehicle to demonstrate more than mere technical dexterity. In addition to instrumental bravura and virtuosity, freedom of structure and the incorporation of several moods were all expected of the improviser. This is not to say that all fantasias were necessarily improvised; but they certainly were supposed to sound as if they were. The freedom of the fantasy was often contrasted with a fugue, regarded as the strictest of musical genres.

We do not know the circumstances for which Bach composed the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. The latest scholarship places its composition during Bach’s employment in the court of Weimar, between 1708 and 1717. Whether Bach performed the work in some improvised form before he committed it to paper is, of course, unknown.

Despite its improvisatory style, the Chromatic Fantasy is a work of highly complex structure. The Fantasy contains two distinct sections — one might even say movements: the first a bravura exploration of sharp dissonances and unexpected modulations; the second an almost operatic recitative that becomes increasingly elaborate. Bach uses the departure into unusual modulations as a means of creating extreme tension, consistently setting up the listener to expect one key and then suddenly shifting into a distant one. In the slow “recitative” he uses the vocal nature of the melodic line and its strange modulatory twists and turns to create an almost tragic mood.

The Fugue, based on a chromatic subject, is appropriately less wayward in tonal shocks to the system. But the nature of the fugue subject itself continues the emotional intensity created by the Fantasy.

Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival Jest from Vienna), Tableaux fantastiques, Op. 26

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Schumann’s early piano works baffled his contemporaries, who called them eccentric, capricious, even bizarre. The Fantasie, Op. 12, composed between 1836 and 1838, made even its dedicatee, Franz Liszt, so uneasy that he seldom performed it. Clara dropped it from her repertoire after one public performance: “Listen Robert, could you just for once compose something brilliant, easy to understand, and without text inscriptions — a totally coherent piece, not too long, not too short?” she wrote in April 1839. Schumann took the hint; his works from later that year — the Arabeske Op. 18 and Faschingsschwank aus Wien — reflected his capitulation to his beloved.

In the fall of 1838, Schumann had traveled to Vienna with the idea of moving there and finding a new home for his magazine Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. He also wanted to take advantage of Clara’s success there, when earlier that year, she was awarded of the title “Imperial-Royal Chamber Virtuoso.” But the response of the publishers and the Court Censor was negative, probably at the instigation of Clara’s father, who vehemently disapproved of Robert’s courtship of his daughter. (Clara and Robert married in 1840 over her father’s objections.) Schumann nevertheless enjoyed Vienna’s cultural life and the winter festivities around New Year, sketching the first four sections of Faschingschwank in the city.

Of course, there’s the inevitable contrast between this work and Carnaval, Op. 9, where Schumann imbued nearly every movement with philosophical and literary references, not to mention autobiographical little puzzles

(continued on next page)

George Frederick Handel

Suite No. 7 in G minor, HWV 432

I. Ouverture

II. Andante

III. Allegro

IV. Sarabande

V. Gigue

VI. Passacaille

Music Sponsor

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J. S. Bach

Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903

Music Sponsor

Debbie Green

INTERMISSION

Robert Schumann

Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Tableaux fantastiques, Op. 26

I. Allegro

II. Romanze

III. Scherzino

IV. Intermezzo

V. Finale

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Aleksander Scriabin

Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand, Op. 9

Franz Liszt

Réminiscences de Lucia di Lammermoor, S. 397

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and anagrams. As per Clara’s “suggestion,” the five sections of the Faschingschwank are meant to display the pianist’s technical and emotional subtleties.

I. Allegro

The first movement is the longest, a five-episode rondo plus a coda in which each statement of the rondo is slightly different. In general, the episodes provide a gentle contrast with the rondo until the end. The fourth episode contains the “jest” of the title, a short reference to the Marseillaise, which for political reasons at the time was verboten in Vienna.

II. Romanze

A slow, even mournful, movement and the only one in a minor key; it fulfills the role of a second movement of a sonata. It is also the shortest.

III. Scherzino

The mood switches suddenly to “chirpy.”

IV. Intermezzo

Is the passionate analogue to the Romanze and is also quite short.

V. Finale

This bravura showpiece is also a rondo and contains a wealth of thematic material in the episodes.

Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand, Op. 9

Aleksander Scriabin (1872-1915)

Short of stature but long on ego, composer and pianist Aleksander Scriabin has been called the bad boy of Russian music. Considered a visionary and musical messiah by some — including himself — to others he was a charlatan and neurotic degenerate. He started formal piano study at the relatively late age of 10, but by 14 he was already composing feverishly. At 16 he entered in the Moscow Conservatory to study piano, where

one of his classmates was Sergey Rachmaninov.

Although Scriabin’s teacher, Nikolay Zverev, discouraged him from composing, he continued to pursue composition with characteristic defiance. His early models were Chopin and Liszt, but he soon avoided any musical influences in order to develop his own musical language; the innovative harmonies that characterize his later music present an instantly identifiable musical fingerprint. The Prelude and Nocturne for the left hand, composed in 1894, however, still reveal his early influences, the Prelude being more Chopinesque, the Nocturne more Lisztian.

Until the 1920s, compositions for the left hand — such as Brahms’s transcription of Bach’s chaconne from the Violin Partita No. 2 — were rare, and mostly designed as exercises. Why Scriabin placed this pianistic restriction on the Prelude and Nocturne is unknown, although they may have been inspired by a temporary right shoulder injury from a carriage accident.

Réminiscences de Lucia di Lammermoor, S. 397

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

In the nineteenth century, wellto-do families spent hours around the piano, playing and singing. Much of the repertoire was piano arrangements of everything from art songs to full symphonies and operas. At a time when travel was difficult and opportunities to hear live orchestral and operatic performances rare, piano transcriptions were the primary means of disseminating and accommodating the ears of the public to new repertoire and novel musical ideas.

Franz Liszt, the most flamboyant and virtuosic pianist of the century, enriched the piano literature with a steady flow of fantasies, transcriptions, paraphrases, reminiscence, etc. of the music of his forebears and contemporaries. His treatment of the music of other

composers can be broadly divided into two categories: works in which he expressed his own musical response to borrowed themes while showing off his pianistic and compositional prowess; and transcriptions in which he stayed close to the original score, using the piano to imitate the orchestral or vocal sonorities. In transcriptions of vocal music, he considered the text of such importance that he insisted it be printed above the piano part. In his “Réminiscences” Liszt often compressed an entire act into a short concert piece, combining and elaborating the themes, to make them sound as if composed originally for the piano rather than the human voice.

Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor premiered in Naples in 1835. It was an ideal topic for Liszt’s romantic nature, and he sat down to compose Réminiscences de Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835-36, basing it on the sextet at the opera’s finale. His original composition was too long for his publisher, who divided it into two issues, publishing the second, based on the scene at the tomb, as Marche et Cavatine de Lucia di Lammermoor de Donizetti.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

Martina Filjak, Piano

One of the most exciting artists to emerge in recent years, Martina Filjak is garnering international praise for her poetic passion and technical mastery at the keyboard as well as for her charismatic personality and magnetic stage presence. The New York Times praised her “brilliant, sensitive and imaginative playing with resourcefulness of technique and naturalness of musicality ... a striking individuality ... a pianist to watch.’’

Martina Filjak came to international attention by winning the Gold Medal, the 1st prize and the Beethoven prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2009, which brought her numerous engagements in the United States and internationally. Prior to that, she won 1st prizes at the Maria Canals Piano Competition (Barcelona) and the Viotti Piano Competition (Vercelli), and was a laureate at the Busoni Piano Competition.

During the past seasons Ms Filjak has performed with esteemed orchestras that include The Cleveland Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, Bilbao Symphony and the Granada Symphony, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra; the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the Staatskapelle Halle, the Staatskapelle Weimar; and many more. She has performed at international venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, l’Auditori and Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, and more.

The artist’s extensive repertoire ranges from Bach to Berio and encompasses more than 30 piano concertos. She is dedicated to continuous exploring of piano literature and various concert formats.

BRANDING WEBSITES DESIGN

Graphic design studio crafting notice-worthy brands, websites + more for creatives + creators. Proud to collaborate with your Asheville Symphony.

MASTERWORKS 4

First Baptist Church of Asheville February 15, 2025

2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

Darko Butorac

Only a few days into his visit to Italy, Mendelssohn, like many of us fortunate enough to visit Bel Paese, was already smitten: “This is Italy!” he wrote, “... and I am loving it.” He completed his Fourth Symphony shortly after his return home, and the piece — alongside the other Italyinspired works on the program by Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, and Charpentier — paints a vibrant picture of the country as seen through the eyes of fellow non-Italians, all united in affection for the vivacious Italian culture, food, wine, and spirit.

Conductor

Martina Filjak Piano

Le

carnaval romain (Roman Carnival), ouverture pour orchestre, Op. 9

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

Hector Berlioz was a gifted and innovative orchestrator. He freed the brass from its role as mere accompaniment, making it the equal of the other orchestral sections. He experimented with new instruments, such as the bass clarinet and the valve trumpet. And he virtually put the English horn on the map as the solo instrument par excellence for conveying musical melancholy. He was equally innovative in musical form and in stretching the limits of classical tonal harmony.

But one of Berlioz’s great fiascoes was his opera Benvenuto Cellini. A brilliant musical score could not hide an impossible libretto with fatal dramatic flaws. The premiere at the Paris Opera in 1838 survived for just three performances, and an attempt at a revival a few years later failed as well. Only its lively overture, using themes from the opera, has survived in the repertoire.

Never one to waste good music, six years later Berlioz took two of the most fetching musical segments of Act I of the opera and fashioned from them the Roman Carnival Overture, originally meant as the introduction to the opera’s second act. The overture is an orchestral showpiece, beloved by orchestra players, especially the brass. Berlioz took the gentle love duet between Benvenuto Cellini and Teresa, here played by the English horn, and pitted it against the irresistible choral carnival scene with its saltarello dance rhythm. The dance becomes wilder and wilder as the Overture progresses. Only in the last few bars, with their brilliant and unpredictable brass, did Berlioz digress significantly from the opera theme.

In contrast to the opera, the premiere of the overture, under the composer’s baton, was an instant success and had to be encored.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

It is said that at his first public concert in May 1846, after playing Mozart and Beethoven piano concertos as well as some solo works by Bach and Handel, ten-year-old Camille Saint-Saëns offered to play any one of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas as an encore — from memory. A child prodigy who grew to become a phenomenal polymath, Saint-Saëns wrote articles and books on many scientific topics, including astronomy, biology and archaeology in addition to his composing and musicological studies.

In his youth Saint-Saëns was considered an innovator, but by the time he reached maturity he had become a pillar of the establishment, trying to maintain the classical musical tradition, conventional forms and harmony in France. As an accomplished organist and pianist — he premiered his five piano concertos — he sported an elegant, effortless technique. But neither his compositions nor his pianism were ever pinnacles of passion or emotion. Berlioz noted that SaintSaëns “...knows everything but lacks in experience.” Saint-Saëns was supportive of some younger composers, but his visceral dislike of Debussy actually engendered endless headlines in the tabloid press.

Saint-Saëns composed the Second Piano Concerto in 1868 at the request of the famed Russian pianist, composer and conductor Anton

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Hector Berlioz

Le carnaval romain, ouverture pour orchestre, Op. 9

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Camille Saint-Saëns

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22

Martina Filjak, Piano

I. Andante sostenuto

II. Allegro scherzando

III. Presto

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Ann & Jerry McLellan Debbie Green

INTERMISSION

Gustave Charpentier Impressions d’Italie

IV. Sur les Cîmes

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Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major, “Italian,” Op. 90

I. Allegro vivace

II. Andante con moto

III. Con moto moderato

IV. Saltarello: Presto

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Dr.FarmerBolling

Media partner Blue Ridge Public Radio will air a recording of this performance, featuring conversations with the Asheville Symphony, on BPR Classic and bpr.org on Tuesday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, March 13 at 9:00 a.m.

Rubinstein, who wanted to use it to advance his conducting career. The composer gave the first performance with Rubinstein conducting, to general acclaim. A showy piece, recalling Liszt at his most bombastic and Chopin at his most lyrical, the Concerto is particularly popular among pianists with outstanding technique.

The first movement opens with a lengthy Andante sostenuto introduction, a massive and splashy solo fantasia in and of itself. There follows a thunderous introduction by the whole orchestra. The piano introduces the leisurely first theme, which develops as interplay between the soloist and the woodwinds, especially the flute. The second theme belongs to the piano with occasional upper woodwind accompaniment. The movement becomes a display of brilliant pianistic virtuosity, concluding with a reprise of the introductory material of both piano and orchestra.

The second movement, Allegro scherzando, opens with a rhythmic ostinato on the timpani that provides the pulse for the entire movement. The piano theme sparkles whimsically and is paired with a catchy melody in the orchestra. The movement concludes with a whisper.

The Presto, alla breve finale is a tarantella, too fast for human feet by far. It is a pure bravura piece, full of crashing chords and glittering runs, which received — not unexpectedly — the warmest praise from Franz Liszt.

Impressions d’Italie, IV. Sur les Cîmes (On the Summit)

Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956)

Gustave Charpentier is one of those composers who produced a blockbuster opera and then spent the rest of their life trying unsuccessfully to duplicate this success. Louise, first performed in 1900 at the Opéra Comique, was a tremendous success and achieved its 1000th performance there a few months after the composer’s death in 1956.

The son of a baker and amateur musician who taught him the rudiments of music, Charpentier started working in a spinning mill at fifteen, studying the violin in the evenings. At eighteen he became the mill’s bookkeeper. The mill’s owner, overhearing Gustave’s music making, helped send him to study at the Paris Conservatoire. After the obligatory three years in Rome as winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1887, he settled into the bohemian life of Montmartre where he stayed for the rest of his long life.

Impressions d’Italie, is a five-movement symphonic suite Charpentier composed after his return from Italy in 1889. In Sur les Cîmes he tries to describe the broad vistas with broad, long musical lines.

Symphony No. 4 in A major, “Italian,” Op. 90

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Felix Mendelssohn is one of a handful of composers whose families recognized and nurtured their gifts. He had inherited the intellect of his grandfather, the eminent Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn, while his banker father provided all the material comforts befitting a young aristocrat. The Mendelssohn household was a Mecca for the intellectual elite of Germany, and the many family visitors fawned over the prodigy and his talented sister Fanny. Fortunately for the development of his rare abilities, his carefully selected teachers were demanding and strict.

The Mendelssohns joined the many well-to-do families to do the Grand Tour in what was then considered the “civilized” world — Western Europe, Britain and Italy. Some of Felix’s most successful orchestral compositions represent musical travelogues recalling such trips: the “Scottish” and “Italian” symphonies and The Hebrides Overture. An added perk to all this travel was that the family’s connections, and Felix’s reputation as a Mozartian Wunderkind attracted attention to his music throughout Europe. Queen Victoria herself had several audiences with the young composer, during which he played and she sang.

Traveling to Italy in 1830, Mendelssohn stopped in Weimar, where he spent two weeks conversing with the forbidding grand old man of German literature, the 80-year-old Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was a heady experience for the young composer, and he continued on to Italy in high spirits. He was at once completely captivated by the sights and sounds of the sunny country and wrote home “...what I have been looking forward to all my life as the greatest happiness has now begun, and I am basking in it.” He immediately set about composing the “Italian” Symphony on commission from the London Philharmonic Society, conducting the premiere in 1833.

The first movement, Allegro vivace, opens with a buoyant theme reflecting the sparkle of the Italian sunshine and the young composer’s rush of excitement. The contrasting second theme is a lilting figure for two clarinets playing in parallel thirds.

The Andante con moto second movement is in a darker mood. It was composed after a visit to Naples, where Mendelssohn was greatly depressed by the poverty he saw. The doleful woodwinds and plodding ostinato in the cellos and double basses may allude to a religious procession he witnessed in the city’s streets.

The charming and graceful Con moto moderato third movement lightens the mood again and uses the traditional scherzo and trio form. The finale, Saltarello: Presto with its driving triplets is based on the nineteenthcentury folk version of a medieval Italian dance. In fact, Mendelssohn may have taken the two dance themes from folk music he had heard at a Roman carnival, which he described in detail in his letters. But this is one of those assumptions that is more guesswork than demonstrable fact. Both themes provide a difficult staccato workout for the upper winds reminiscent of the scherzo from the incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

Martina Filjak, Piano

One of the most exciting artists to emerge in recent years, Martina Filjak is garnering international praise for her poetic passion and technical mastery at the keyboard as well as for her charismatic personality and magnetic stage presence. The New York Times praised her “brilliant, sensitive and imaginative playing with resourcefulness of technique and naturalness of musicality ... a striking individuality ... a pianist to watch.’’

Martina Filjak came to international attention by winning the Gold Medal, the 1st prize and the Beethoven prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2009, which brought her numerous engagements in the United States and internationally. Prior to that, she won 1st prizes at the Maria Canals Piano Competition (Barcelona) and the Viotti Piano Competition (Vercelli), and was a laureate at the Busoni Piano Competition.

During the past seasons Ms Filjak has performed with esteemed orchestras that include The Cleveland Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, Bilbao Symphony and the Granada Symphony, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and many more. She has performed at international venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, l’Auditori and Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, and more.

The artist’s extensive repertoire ranges from Bach to Berio and encompasses more than 30 piano concertos. She is dedicated to continuous exploring of piano literature and various concert formats.

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MASTERWORKS 5

First Baptist Church of Asheville

March 15, 2025

2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

Darko Butorac Conductor

Lissie Shanahan Flute

Rebekah Hou Harp

Many 20th-century composers were approached to reinvent Bizet’s Carmen as a ballet, but only Shchedrin accepted the challenge; instead of struggling to outshine the legendary opera, he embraced Bizet’s work and reformed it into a modern, percussioncentric ballet suite. Written for strings, vibraphone, castanets, tamtams, and more, the suite brings the beloved melodies of Carmen to life in unexpected ways. Paired with the Carmen Suite is Montgomery’s Strum!, inspired by American folk idioms and the spirit of dance. Rounding out the program is Mozart’s Parisian concerto for the unique and delightful pairing of flute and harp.

Strum!

Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)

Jessie Montgomery is a violinist, composer and educator with a graduate degree in Composition and Multimedia from New York University. She is a member of the Catalyst Quartet, and toured with cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. She performs and composes regularly for the Sphinx Organization, the Detroit-based social justice ensemble dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts.

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 pop-inspired 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 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.”

Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K. 299/297c

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

In March 1778 Mozart arrived in Paris with his mother in the hope of obtaining lucrative commissions or even a position in the city’s musical community. The six-month stay turned into a disaster. Paris was in the grip of a fierce musical-political battle between the French operatic style of Christoph Willibald Gluck and the Italian style of Niccoló Piccini. As a result, few people of influence showed interest in helping Mozart secure an appointment, or even the opportunity to appear as a performer except in his own works. Teaching opportunities were few, and the only commissions were for the ballet Les petits riens, the Symphony No.31 in D (“Paris”), a lost Sinfonia Concertante (parts of which probably resurfaced in the Sinfonia Concertante K.anh.9/297b, considered spurious) and the Concerto for Flute, Harp & Orchestra. Money was scarce and father Leopold had to send help from Salzburg. To cap it all, Mozart’s mother died during the visit.

Obtaining commissions and fulfilling them is one thing; getting paid for them is another. The commission for the Concerto for Flute and Harp came from Comte Adrien-Louis de Guines, an amateur flutist, and his daughter, an excellent harpist. The work was premiered by the father/daughter team in April 1778, but in August Mozart complained that he had not yet been paid. Nor had he been paid in full for composition lessons he had given the daughter. Whether he ever got his just remuneration, we do not know.

Jessie Montgomery Strum!

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W. A. Mozart

Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K. 299/297c

Lissie Shanahan, Flute Rebekah Hou, Harp

I. Allegro

II. Andantino

III. Rondo: Allegro

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Beverly Briedis in memory of Chuck Briedis

Rodion Shchedrin

Carmen Suite, Op. 37

I. Introduction

II. Dance

III. First Intermezzo

IV. Changing of the Guard

V. Carmen’s Entrance and Habanera

VI. Scene

VII. Second Intermezzo

VIII. Bolero

IX. Torero

X. Torero and Carmen

XI. Adagio

XII. Fortune-Telling

XIII. Finale

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George & Kathy Dambach

Hank Young

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Media partner Blue Ridge Public Radio will air a recording of this performance, featuring conversations with ASO, on BPR Classic and bpr.org on Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, April 10 at 9:00 a.m.

The soloist combination in the Concerto is unusual. The harp of the time was a delicate instrument while the penetrating sound of the flute readily drowns out the much mellower harp. Mozart admirably solved the difficulty created by the large difference in the dynamic ranges of the two instruments by keeping the overall tone of the concerto softspoken.

In an unusual approach for concertos of Mozart’s time, both soloists enter with the entire orchestra in a fanfare motif for the first two measures, after which the themes are introduced by the orchestra alone. The flute and harp then enter together and elaborate on the themes, either echoing each other or playing duets with minimal orchestral accompaniment.

In the dreamily romantic second movement, Andantino, the strings alone accompany the solo instruments, which serenade each

other gracefully. To create a contrast in mood, the horns and oboes return in the rondo-allegro last movement for a lively gavotte rhythm. In the solo passages, the flute and harp alternate as principal and accompanying soloist.

Since the Comte and his daughter were amateurs, they could not be expected to improvise their own cadenzas, as was expected of professional soloists at the time. Although Mozart wrote out the cadenzas in full, they have been lost, allowing today’s presumably more proficient performers to choose from a variety of later cadenzas or compose their own.

According to his letters and comments, Mozart disliked the flute and hated to write for it. But although often infantile in his private behavior, he was a pro through and through as a musician. His personal feelings did not deter him from composing wonderful music for the instrument.

Carmen Suite, Op. 37

Rodion Shchedrin (b. 1932)

One of the most prolific of Russian composers of the second half of the twentieth century, Rodion Shchedrin was born in Moscow, the son of a composer and a professional violinist who taught at the Moscow Conservatory. He graduated from the Conservatory where he subsequently taught composition. Since 1969 Shchedrin has worked as a freelance composer. In 1973 he succeeded Dmitry Shostakovich as chairman of the Composers’ Union of the Russian Federation and in 1990 was made honorary chairman of the organization. Since 1992 he has divided his time between Moscow and Munich, composing and teaching. Shchedrin’s style is eclectic; he has a knack for combining the most avant-garde styles and methods with traditional folk and Russian church music. He has composed in all

Rebekah Hou, Harp

Rebekah Hou is currently pursuing a master’s degree in harp performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Yolanda Kondonassis, having graduated with honors from CIM with her bachelor’s degree in 2023. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Rebekah studied under Joan Raeburn Holland as a recipient of the Orchestral Fellowship and the Fine Arts Award for Harp. Most recently, Rebekah was a prizewinner of 2023 CIM Concerto Competition and performed Alberto Ginastera’s harp concerto with the CIM orchestra. She also received the Anne Adams Award from the American Harp Society’s National Foundation competitions in 2022.

As an orchestral musician, Rebekah has appeared as guest principal harpist of several orchestras in the Northeast Ohio area including Akron Symphony, Firelands Symphony, and Mansfield Symphony. She has also received fellowships from Round Top Orchestral Institute, Chautauqua Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States (NYO-USA). Her performances with each festival have included collaborations with acclaimed conductors including Larry Rachleff, JoAnn Falletta, Brett Mitchell, and Carl Topilow. Most notable orchestral performances were from the NYO-USA 2019 American and European tour, which was directed by Sir Antonio Pappano and joined by guest artists Joyce DiDonato and Isabelle Leonard. Highlights of the tour included Carnegie Hall in New York, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

musical genres, including three operas and five ballets, twelve concertos, two symphonies and many other orchestral, chamber and vocal works. His larger compositions are marked by non-traditional structures; the Third Piano Concerto is a set of variations on a theme that is heard only at the end. Much of his music, especially since the mid-1980s, is neo-Romantic and always laced with musical irony and humor.

In addition to his many original works, Shchedrin has enjoyed “recomposing” other composers’ music. In fact, the ballet Carmen, a recomposing of George Bizet’s opera, first brought him to the attention of the West. Shchedrin composed the ballet in 1967 for his wife, Maya Plisetskaya, then prima ballerina of the Bolshoi. He extracted from the ballet a suite of 13 movements, scored for strings and an army of percussion instruments requiring five percussionists. With sly humor Shchedrin took Bizet’s familiar melodies, serving them up in ways Bizet would never have dreamed of. Listeners should not seek a correspondence with the opera, except in the themes; Shchedrin changes the order of the melodies and does not attempt to follow the plot.

In love with Bizet’s music, he also could not resist adding to the stew the farandole from the incidental music to the play L’Arlésienne and the Danse bohèmienne from the opera La Jolie Fille de Perth. The Suite nearly foundered on the shoals of Soviet bureaucracy, who considered it “insulting to Bizet’s masterpiece.” Only intervention by Shostakovich rescued it and had it reinstated on the officially approved list.

Lissie Shanahan, Flute

Lissie Shanahan is the Principal Flutist of the Asheville Symphony, a position which she has held since 2009. She also serves as the Piccoloist of the Winston-Salem Symphony. Ms. Shanahan has previously served as Principal Flute with the Asheville Lyric Opera and Second Flute with the Western Piedmont Symphony. She has performed as guest Principal Flute with the New World Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, and more. She also performed in the National Repertory Orchestra and the Sarasota Music Festival. She has presented recitals at High Point University, Davidson College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, and St. Mary’s Music Academy in High Point and was a founding member of the Elektra Winds, an all-female woodwind quartet based in Winston-Salem. This performance serves as her return as a soloist with the Asheville Symphony, having previously performed the Orchestral Suite No. 2 by J.S. Bach in 2013. Additional concerto performances have been with the BirminghamBloomfield Symphony, the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra, and the High Point University Orchestra. Other honors include First Prize in the 2003 Detroit Bohemian Concerto Competition and Third Prize in the 2011 Myrna Brown Artist Competition.

Michigan native Shanahan lives in Winston-Salem with her husband Peter, also a flutist. Together, they lead the Winston-Salem Flute Academy and Youth Flute Ensemble. She serves as Instructor of Flute and Ensemble Director at High Point University, where she also performs as Principal Flutist in the HPU Orchestra. Her teaching experience includes positions at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Long Island Conservatory, Juilliard Pre-College, and more. She conducts masterclasses at local schools, and, as part of the Winston-Salem Symphony Woodwind Quintet, she performs educational concerts throughout Forsyth County.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

Ms. Shanahan received her Master of Music from The Juilliard School as a student of world-renowned flute soloist Carol Wincenc. She also holds a Bachelor of Music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she studied with eminent orchestral flutist Thomas Robertello.

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium

March 18, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.

Gregory Alan Isakov

Christopher Dragon Guest Conductor

Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and musician Gregory Alan Isakov performs a special headline show featuring the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. The show will include symphonic arrangements of favorites from Isakov’s six full-length albums, including his most recent, the acclaimed Appaloosa Bones, Evening Machines, and Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony. The orchestral versions of these songs were arranged by Tom Hagerman (DeVotchKa) and Jay Clifford (Jump Little Children). The performance will be conducted by renowned conductor Christopher Dragon.

$1 from the sale of each ticket purchased will be donated to Equal Plates Project, who source from local farmers, address food insecurity and build community through the sharing of scratch-made meals in Western North Carolina. Learn more at equalplatesproject.org.

Gregory Alan Isakov

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now calling Colorado home, horticulturist/musician Gregory Alan Isakov has cast an impressive presence on the indierock and folk worlds with his six full-length studio albums: That Sea, The Gambler; This Empty Northern Hemisphere; The Weatherman; Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony; Evening Machines, and Appaloosa Bones. Isakov tours internationally with his band, and has performed with national symphony orchestras across the United States.

Of his most recent record, Appaloosa Bones, the Associated Press praised, “His new songs are relentlessly majestic, a kind of musical morphine,” while Paste declared, “he’s continuing to make expertly-tooled music…it’s reliably beautiful and starkly self-possessed throughout.”

When he isn’t on the road, Isakov spends much of his time writing and recording songs in his barnstudio, as well as running Starling Farm (his farm in Boulder County, Colorado), which provides produce to the farm’s CSA members, local restaurants, and a community food bank.

Christopher

Dragon, Guest Conductor

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is the Music Director of the Greensboro and Wyoming Symphony Orchestras and Resident Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. Dragon has a versatile portfolio ranging from live-to-picture performances including Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert, Toy Story in Concert, and Star Wars in Concert, a wide variety of collaborations with artists such as Gregory Alan Isakov, Wu-Tang Clan, Nathaniel Rateliff, Violent Femmes, Lettuce, Cynthia Erivo, Joshua Bell, and Renee Fleming, to standard and contemporary orchestral repertoire; all areas of which he has become highly sought after.

ALT ASO @ WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

Darko Butorac, Conductor

Erica Gabriel, Vocalist

Wanna dance with somebody? Join us at White Horse Black Mountain for an evening of R&B, pop, and soul with the sensational Erica Gabriel. From classical elegance to the music of Whitney Houston and beyond, this concert promises to be a night of powerful vocals and soulful melodies.

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2025

7:00 P.M.

SERIES PRESENTING SPONSOR

AMBER SPONSORS

Craig Allen & Julie Cowden

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

David & Dianne Worley

BOHEMIAN SPONSORS

GOLDEN SPONSORS

Olivia & Gary Zahler

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MASTERWORKS 6

First Baptist Church of Asheville April 12, 2025

2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

Darko Butorac Conductor

Joshua Roman Cello

Artists have always been drawn to the troubling but profound notions of fate, destiny, and inevitability. Verdi’s La forza del destino explores destiny as an irresistible force, bringing lovers together only to tear them apart through tragic twists of fate. The Awakening cello concerto, composed and performed by Joshua Roman, charts a journey from darkness to personal rebirth through the affirmation that no one is alone. Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony completes our exploration of fate with emotional intensity and optimism, weaving a compelling theme through each movement that’s said to be symbolic of the unrelenting call of fate itself.

Overture from La forza del destino

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

In 1862, Giuseppe Verdi was at the zenith of his popularity, his name identified with the Risorgimento (unification of Italy) the previous year. The cry “Viva Verdi” not only hailed the composer but was also the acronym for Vittorio Emmanuele Rè D’Italia, the new king. Verdi was elected as a member of Italy’s first parliament.

While his early and middle period operas all premiered in Italy, Verdi began to receive important commissions from beyond the borders, especially from the Paris Opera. Two singers on tour in Russia started the ball rolling for the composer’s first and only Russian commission. Based on a contemporary Spanish play, La fuerza del sino by Angel Pérez de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, this Italian melodrama — as operas were called in Italy — fit perfectly into the cosmopolitan court of the liberal Tsar Alexander II. La forza del destino premiered in St. Petersburg in 1862. Verdi revised the entire opera, including the overture, for its Italian premiere in 1869.

As for the plot — an inexorable series of misfortunes pursues Don Alvaro and Leonora, whose father he has inadvertently shot while trying to elope with her. The lovers separate and attempt to find exculpation and inner peace, only to be hounded and finally defeated by fate. The Overture is replete with themes from the opera itself, outlining the inexorable course of the lovers’ destiny. The opening motive, three unison Es for the brasses followed by a repeated agitated figure in the low strings, represents fate and recurs each time destiny deals the lovers yet another blow. The motive, whether hovering in the background or blared out by the full orchestra, haunts each theme in Verdi’s brilliant orchestral thematic summary of this long, convoluted opera.

Awakening

Joshua Roman (b.

1983)

Cellist and composer Joshua Roman, a native of Oklahoma City, began playing the cello at the age of three on a quarter-size instrument, and gave his first public recital at age ten. He pursued his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has made it his commitment to bring Classical music to new and diverse audiences, using digital media to help spread the word.

Roman composed Awakening in 2015, his first cello concerto, and his first major work for cello and orchestra. It was an eye-opener, making Roman aware of the challenge of taking a few initial ideas — whether they come as a sound, a form, a gesture, a transitional mechanism — and turning them into a cohesive musical narrative: “The focus and skill required to compose a work for soloist and orchestra are not easy to come by.”

An unashamedly Neo-Romantic work, Awakening is in five sections, or movements (attacca), and although according to Roman there is no direct narrative, it follows the course of an unhappy love affair through its ups and downs to its ultimate collapse and the following moment of apotheosis.

The two beginning and two ending sections display the cello’s singing sound, with broad, lyrical themes. The abrupt middle section projects

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Giuseppe Verdi

Overture from La forza del destino

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John & Suzie Donahoe

Joshua Roman

Awakening

Joshua Roman, Cello

I. Momentum

II. Possibility

III. It’s You, Not Me

IV. Clinging

V. Awakening, Incorporated

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Carol & Hugh McCollum

INTERMISSION

Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

I. Andante — Allegro con anima

II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza

III. Valse. Allegro moderato

IV. Finale: Andante maestoso — Allegro vivace

CONCERT SPONSOR

David & Pamela Lane

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

Phil & Katie Osborn

Media partner Blue Ridge Public Radio will air a recording of this performance, featuring conversations with ASO, on BPR Classic and bpr.org on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, May 1 at 9:00 a.m.

the anger of the failing relationship with the percussion dominating, often wiping out the soloist and rest of the orchestra. The final section ends with what could be described as a sigh of relief.

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Throughout his creative career, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s inspiration went through extreme cycles, tied to his frequent bouts of deep depression and self-doubt. In midMay 1888 he wrote to his brother Modest that he was convinced that he had written himself out and that he now felt neither the impulse nor the inclination to compose. By the end of the month, however, he set about “...getting a symphony out of my dulled brain, with difficulty.” Inspiration must have started to flow, for by the end of August, the massive Fifth Symphony was finished.

As was the case with most of Tchaikovsky’s compositions, the premiere of the Symphony — in St. Petersburg, with the composer conducting — earned mixed reactions. The audience liked it, critics panned it and fellowcomposers were envious. Modest believed that the problem with the critics lay with his brother’s lack of confidence as a conductor. Tchaikovsky himself, however, was never at ease with the Symphony, and wrote to his benefactress, Nadeja von Meck: “Having played my symphony twice in St. Petersburg and once in Prague, I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure. There is something repellent in it, some exaggerated color, some insincerity of construction, which the public instinctively recognizes. It was clear to me that the applause and ovations were not for this but

for other works of mine, and that the Symphony itself will never please the public.” For the rest of his life he felt ambivalent about its merits, although after a concert in Germany, where the musicians were enthusiastic, he felt more positive.

The mood of the entire Symphony is set by the introduction, a somber motto in the clarinets that reappears throughout the work and hints at some hidden extra-musical agenda. Perhaps the motto reflects the melancholy and self-doubt Tchaikovsky experienced when he started composing the Symphony; certainly its mood is maintained throughout most of the work, where it casts a pall over whatever it touches. After the introduction, the first movement continues Andante con anima with a resolute march theme, almost a grim procession through adversity. A second beautifully orchestrated theme reveals how many ways there are to represent a sigh in music. Even the idyllic ambiance of the second movement, Andante cantabile, its main theme one of the repertory’s great horn solos, followed by a more animated theme for solo oboe, opens with ponderous introductory measures for the double basses and cellos, playing the underlying harmony of the motto. Later, the movement is interrupted by the sudden recurrence of the motto blasted out by a solo trumpet over the threatening rumble of the timpani.

The third movement is a waltz based on a street melody the composer had heard in Florence ten years before. It also has an undertone of sadness, and towards the end the somber motto is again heard, the mood continuing into the finale.

The last movement presents the motto as the focal point of a final struggle between darkness and

light, symbolized by the vacillation between its original E minor and E major. The stately introduction mirrors the opening of the piece, although in an ambiguous mood and mode. With the Allegro, the key returns decidedly to the minor, but the tempo picks up into a spirited Trepak, a Russian folkdance. Finally, following a grand pause, the key switches definitively to E major — with great pomp and fanfare — for a majestic coda based on the motto and a final trumpet blast of a version in E major of the first movement march.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

Joshua Roman, Cello

Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart” (The San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (The Seattle Times).

Committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED Conference — and his performance of the complete Bach Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. presidential election was the mostviewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers. Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/ MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, and more.

As a soloist, Roman’s “exceptionally high quality of performances” (The Los Angeles Times) combine “the expressive control of Casals with the creative individuality and virtuoso flair of Hendrix himself” (Gramophone). He has performed with leading orchestras around the United States and the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, and more. He was principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony from age 22 to 24.

Roman’s singular 2024-25 season opens with the launch of his ambitious and deeply personal project Immunity, an intimate musical exploration of his life-altering experience of ongoing Long COVID, with music ranging from J.S. Bach to George Crumb to Caroline Shaw, as well as Roman’s own compositions. A recording of the full program will be released October 4 on Bright Shiny Things, coinciding with a tour where Roman will perform music from Immunity in Long COVID clinics across the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and more. By sharing music and community with other Long COVID patients, Roman aims to raise awareness of the condition and communicate the project’s core message of finding strength in vulnerability.

Additional 2024-25 highlights include a national Trio tour with violinist Tessa Lark and double bassist Edgar Meyer, the world premiere of a new Cello Concerto composed by James Lee III with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, two Well-Being concerts with Carnegie Hall, a residency at Stanford University that will center around Immunity, concerto performances with the Pacific Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Asheville Symphony, and solo recitals around the country.

As a composer, Roman has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Grace Cathedral, and more, and he has written for the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Equally accomplished as an interpreter of the music of other contemporary composers, Roman has premiered works by Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lisa Bielawa, and others. Roman also curated a forward-looking chamber music series at Town Hall in Seattle for 15 years, presenting artists like Jennifer Koh, JACK Quartet, Sō Percussion, and more.

A native of Oklahoma City, Roman began playing the cello at the age of three on a quarter-size instrument, and gave his first public recital at age 10. He went on to pursue his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig, former principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. Roman plays an 1830 Giovanni Francesco Pressenda on a generous loan through The Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Exclusive Representation of Time for Three Management: Park Avenue Artists

Booking: Opus 3 Artists

May 1, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. The Orange Peel

Photo Credit Shervin Lainez

Time for

Three

Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass

Nick Kendall, Violin

Charles Yang, Violin

Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble, Time For Three (TF3), defies convention and boundaries by showcasing excellence across different genres, including classical music, Americana, and singersongwriter. Their unique sound captivates audiences, immersing them in a musical experience that merges various eras, styles, and traditions of Western music. TF3, consisting of Charles Yang (violin, vocals), Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (violin, vocals), and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals), combines their instruments and voices in a remarkable sound, establishing a distinct voice of expression that resonates with listeners worldwide.

TF3’s longstanding history of collaboration with contemporary classical composers continues to thrive. They have worked closely with esteemed artists such as Chris Brubeck and Pulitzer Prize winners William Bolcom and Jennifer Higdon. Their most recent commission, Contact, composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts, premiered with the San Francisco Symphony and The Philadelphia Orchestra in the summer of 2022. This extraordinary piece, alongside Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, was released on Deutsche Grammophon under the album title Letters for the Future. Conducted by Xian Zhang, the album’s exceptional quality propelled it onto the Billboard top 10 Classical Recordings charts. Additionally, it garnered a nomination for an Opus Klassik award and received a Grammy win in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category.

Renowned for their charismatic and energetic performances, TF3 has garnered praise from respected outlets including NPR, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Sun-Times. They have graced illustrious stages such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and The Royal Albert Hall, effortlessly adapting their inimitable and versatile style to intimate venues like Joe’s Pub in New York or Yoshi’s in San Francisco. TF3 was featured on the acclaimed “Night of the Proms” tour, sharing stages with renowned artists like Chaka Khan and Ronan Keating across several European countries. Their collaborations span a diverse range of artists, including Ben Folds, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Aoife O’Donovan, Natasha Bedingfield, and Arlo Guthrie.

TF3’s exceptional talents have not only earned them a Grammy win but also secured them an Emmy for their concert special, “Time For Three In Concert,” produced by PBS. Their appetite for new experiences led them to collaborate with cellist and composer Ben Sollee, creating the soundtrack for Focus Features’ film Land, directed by Robin Wright. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2021. TF3 has teamed up with Grammy-winning songwriter Liz Rose and Grammy-winning producer Femke Weidema for new recordings released through Warner Music. They have also contributed to Summer Walker’s R&B hit, Constant Bullsxxt, showcasing their versatility across genres.

Time For Three’s artistic achievements, fueled by their relentless pursuit of musical excellence, have solidified their status as a remarkable ensemble. Their Grammy win and extraordinary collaborations speak to their unwavering dedication to pushing creative boundaries and captivating audiences with their exceptional talent.

TF3’s Jukebox

This Jukebox program, a featured event in this season’s biennial Asheville Amadeus Festival, includes all three members of Time for Three and includes an eclectic mix of original songs, popular covers, and some of the most iconic music ever written. “In person, the members of Time for Three come off as just three dudes in a band,” said NPR. “But with their staggering technique and freewheeling genre-crossing, it’s hard not to be swept up in the force of their contagious energy.” Time for Three will announce all selections from the stage of The Orange Peel.

CONCERT CO-SPONSORS

Billie Marzullo, Rhonda & Marcus Grimes, and Kathy & George Dambach in fond memory of “Lambo” Larry Marzullo

This event is part of the fifth iteration of the Asheville Amadeus Festival, Asheville Amadeus: The Art of Storytelling, featuring co-headliners Chris Thile and Time for Three. The festival brings together some of Asheville’s most talented musicians, artists, creators and entertainers for 11 days of performances, education programs, collaborations and social events. Join us April 30May 10.

For information on the festival, events, and ways to get involved, visit AshevilleAmadeus.org.

PREMIUM SEASON SPONSORS

MASTERWORKS 7

First Baptist Church of Asheville

May 3, 2025

2:00 p.m. + 8:00 p.m.

Darko Butorac Conductor

Time for Three (TF3)

Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass

Nick Kendall, Violin

Charles Yang, Violin

Music possesses an almost magical ability to tell stories. It can paint vivid images of far off lands, enchanted forests, fairy tale villages, the timeless battle between good and evil — all without a single spoken word. Step into the enchanted world of German legends, filled with tales of mysterious swan knights, magic bullets, and mischievous tricksters. Then, delve into the otherworldly Contact; inspired by the idea of interstellar communication, this jazzy, bluegrass-infused, and ethereal concerto for trio was collaboratively written with and for Time For Three.

Overture from Der Freischütz, Op. 77

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)

The premiere of Der Freischütz (usually translated as “The Marksman”) in 1821 marked a turning point in the development of German opera. Until the early nineteenth century, German grand opera had been dominated by Italian composers. The Singspiel, native German-language opera with spoken dialogue instead of recitative, was regarded as more lowbrow. Beethoven elevated the Singspiel to higher level in Fidelio, but in Der Freischütz, Weber created a Singspiel combining all the trappings so dear to the early Romantics: the darkly supernatural, the idealization of the common folk, and, in part, German folksong style that skillfully combined popular music with elements of high art. An overwhelming success, it solidified the entire German school of operatic Romanticism that led directly to the music dramas of Wagner.

Weber based Der Freischütz on a German legend, involving a hunter who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for a set of charmed silver bullets that hit their mark regardless of where they are aimed. In this struggle between the forces of good and evil, virtue finally prevails — with the help of a good woman. The music is admirable for its charm, folk-like melodies and dance tunes, as well as moments of dramatic tension and excitement. While many of the ideas were to some degree old hat, Weber had managed to combine them in a way that “hit the mark” of the German soul.

Except for the opening horn theme, the overture is made up entirely of melodies from the opera. But rather than stringing the melodies together like a medley, Weber created a finished composition in the form of symphonic sonata form. Its string tremolo, pizzicato basses and pregnant pauses are the quintessence of German Romanticism.

Contact

Kevin Puts (b. 1972)

Creating an ensemble with an unusual instrument combination makes for a limited existing repertoire. Time for Three, an ensemble of two violins and a double bass assembled in 2003 at the Curtis Institute, has solved the problem by improvising and arranging their own music — a blend of classical, bluegrass, rock and jazz — and by commissioning new works for their unique combination. In 2020 Kevin Puts composed his triple concerto, Contact, utilizing the unique abilities of the trio — both instrumental and vocal — to create his own vision of space exploration and extraterrestrial contact. He used many of the musical gestures we have learned to associate with space travel through the movie industry, which disregards the reality that in the vacuum of space there is no sound.

The four movements of Contact all contain hints of Puts’s love of bluegrass fiddling:

I. “The Call” opens and closes with an eerie vocal refrain by the trio. It becomes an exchange between the trio and the orchestral winds, especially the woodwinds. Puts suggests that the refrain could be like a message sent into space, a call to intelligent life across the vast distances.

II. “Codes” is a rush of unrelenting energy, challenging the technical mastery of the trio, as well as the orchestra.

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Carl Maria von Weber

Overture from Der Freischütz, Op. 77

Kevin Puts

Contact

Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass

Nick Kendall, Violin

Charles Yang, Violin

I. The Call II. Codes, Scherzo III. Contact IV. Convivium

Music Sponsor

Michael & Catty Andry

INTERMISSION

Richard Wagner

Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin, WWV 75

Music Sponsor Ashley Sayre Bell

Anne Jarema & Cliff Albertson

Olivia & Gary Zahler

Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel lustige Streiche, Op. 28

Music Sponsor Dick Hall in memory of Yolanda Hall

CONCERT SPONSOR

Diane & Rich Byers

in memory of Katherine Armitage & Jack Jones

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

III. “Contact” opens with a grim contrast, cold and stark. Puts writes: “I had the image of an abandoned vessel floating inert in the recesses of space. The soloists interrupt this with a quiet, gently rolling meditation, eventually inviting a solo oboe and a solo clarinet to join in lyrical counterpoint high above. Eventually, the soloists recall the stark opening of the movement, rendering its rhythms into an unaccompanied phrase of tenderness and longing.”

IV. Puts writes about “Convivium”: “I was serendipitously introduced to the wonderful gankino horo (Ganka’s Dance), a traditional Bulgarian melody.... I began playing it on the piano and gradually my own compositional voice crept in. I was reminded of Bartok’s haunting Romanian Folk Dances and the composer’s fusion of his own musical sensibilities with age-old folk melodies. And so I set about composing a sort of fantasy on this tune, its asymmetric rhythmic qualities a fitting counterbalance to the previous three movements.”

But after a pause towards the end of the movement, a new theme emerges, which is a close ringer to a Spanish 16th century melody used by Joaquin Rodrigo in the third movement of his Concierto de Aranjuez. Puts subjects it to a series of free variations, way beyond what the conservative Rodrigo would have ever dreamed of doing.

Kevin Puts teaches composition at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and is currently Distinguished Visiting Composer at Juilliard. He is an accomplished pianist who frequently performs his own works, as well as other contemporary music and works in the standard repertoire. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he received his BA from the Eastman School of Music, his MA from Yale University, and his DMA from the Eastman School of Music.

Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin, WWV 75 Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Wagner based his libretto of the three-act opera Lohengrin, completed in 1848, on the medieval Germanic legend of Lohengrin, a knight of the Holy Grail, who, like the Dutchman and Tannhaüser, seeks spiritual completion through love and marriage. The paramount condition — isn’t there always one — is that his name and origin remain secret, even to his wife. But his chosen bride, Elsa, goaded by the wicked Telramund and his wife Ortrud, is unable to live with the mystery. No sooner is the couple in the bridal chamber, than Elsa asks the forbidden question and Lohengrin is forced to reveal his identity, leaving his hopes — and hers, one presumes — unfulfilled as he glides off on his trusty swan boat. Humorists have been relentlessly hard on this iconic moment; Leo Slezak, a noted Lohengrin of the early twentieth century, titled his autobiography What Time’s the Next Swan?

The prelude to Act I is based entirely on one theme, the motive of the Holy Grail, which, according to Wagner’s description, “…was the precious vessel from which our Savior drank at the last supper with his disciples; in which his blood was caught when, for love of His brethren, He suffered upon the Cross.” It is a view considerably simpler than the one stirred up by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code.

Till Eulenspiegel lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks), Op. 28

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

The term tone poem, or symphonic poem, a purely instrumental rendition of a text, usually poetic or narrative in nature, was coined by Franz Liszt in 1854 and became a standard medium for the late nineteenth-century Romantics, reaching its apex with Richard Strauss. Strauss’s attempts at musical semantics are far more detailed than Liszt’s, although they often present a difficult road map to follow in detail. “I want to be able to describe a teaspoon musically,” he is said to have

commented. In the ten years between 1888 and 1898 he produced a string of tone poems, beginning with Don Juan.

In the midst of composing this series of weighty tone poems — Don Juan, Tod und Verklärung, Also Sprach Zarathustra and Ein Heldenleben — Strauss allowed himself some tongue-in-cheek fun. Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche recounts in music the exploits of a well-known character from German folklore, an itinerant liar, imposter, practical jokester and general troublemaker. As he was run out of one town after another, Till lived by his wits, traveling and passing himself off as everything from handyman to priest. He was apparently based on a real figure, a fourteenth-century peasant from Brunswick named Tyll Eulenspiegel. And while the real Till apparently died of the Black Death, Strauss swings his anti-hero from the gallows. Strauss had originally conceived of making Till the subject of an opera, for which he himself wrote the libretto, but he abandoned the project before he had composed any music. The Till of the ensuing tone poem bears little resemblance to his operatic counterpart.

The music opens with four introductory bars (“Once upon a time” Strauss wrote on the score) followed by Till’s energetic first theme on the horn (familiar to all concert goers as a warm-up for the horns). The clarinet then introduces a second lighter, more mischievous theme leading up to his first prank. Strauss intricately weaves and transforms these two themes into the fabric of the musical narrative of Till’s antics. Yet, the composer was uncharacteristically vague when it came to describing the details of each adventure. Only the first antics and the end are spelled out.

Till first creates havoc galloping through the market near the city gate and upsetting the stalls. He then reappears as an unctuous priest. He transforms himself into a lothario but soon falls truly in love, only to be angrily rejected (with a “raspberry” on the muted trumpets). Furious, he grandly swears vengeance on the world. Till goes on to mock some pompous pedagogues, portrayed by four mocking bassoons and a bass clarinet.

Till is now in full tilt, the orchestra bouncing his theme from one instrument to the other. But the madcap, unspecified frenzy comes to an end when he is arrested and hauled before a court whose questions are represented by four pompous orchestral blasts. Till whimpers pitiably in defeat and the trombones proclaim his death sentence. Strauss portrays the release of his soul with a flute trill. The epilogue begins quietly, but the spirit of Till — like Stravinsky’s Petrushka — cannot be suppressed; his archetype lives on to bedevil the Establishment.

In Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche Strauss had a hidden agenda. He saw himself as Till, fighting the “bankers and merchants of low taste” who controlled the artistic life of his home town, Munich.

Time for Three

Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass

Nick Kendall, Violin

Charles Yang, Violin

Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three (TF3) defies conventions with their genre-bending excellence. Spanning classical music, Americana, and singer-songwriter styles, their captivating sound merges eras, styles, and traditions. Comprising Charles Yang, Nicolas Kendall, and Ranaan Meyer, TF3’s remarkable blend of instruments and voices resonates with listeners globally. Collaborating with contemporary classical composers like Chris Brubeck and Pulitzer Prize winners William Bolcom and Jennifer Higdon, TF3’s recent commission, Contact, premiered with the San Francisco Symphony and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Their album, Letters for the Future, conducted by Xian Zhang, reached the Billboard top 10 and won a Grammy. With charismatic performances on renowned stages, TF3’s versatility shines through collaborations with artists like Ben Folds and Arlo Guthrie. Their achievements, including an Emmy and collaborations with acclaimed artists, showcase TF3’s unwavering dedication to pushing creative boundaries and captivating audiences worldwide.

Visit page 56 to learn more about Time for Three.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com

Exclusive Representation of Time for Three

Management: Park Avenue Artists

Booking: Opus 3 Artists

Masterworks 7: Tall Tales is part of the Asheville Symphony’s biennial Asheville Amadeus Festival, returning this spring with co-headliners Chris Thile and Time for Three.

Asheville Amadeus Festival is back for its fifth iteration, Asheville Amadeus: The Art of Storytelling. The festival brings together some of Asheville’s most talented musicians, artists, creators and entertainers for 11 days of performances, education programs, collaborations and social events. Join us April 30 - May 10. For information on the festival, events and ways to get involved, visit AshevilleAmadeus.org.

Photo Credit Shervin Lainez

Proud Supporter of Local Performing Arts

ALT ASO @ THE ORANGE PEEL

Darko Butorac, Conductor

Get swept up in the timeless allure of cabaret. This ALT ASO program, which will also be part of Asheville Amadeus: The Art of Storytelling, will seamlessly blend classical masterpieces, timeless French standards, and more.

THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2025

7:00 P.M.

SERIES PRESENTING SPONSOR

AMBER SPONSORS

Craig Allen & Julie Cowden

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

David & Dianne Worley

BOHEMIAN SPONSORS

In 1960, you were created by a devotion to music, and the passion to share it You continue to inspire countless patrons who share that passion and devotion - and exemplify the nature of Asheville's creative spirit

Explore Asheville is honored to support your mission and talent in capturing the heart of the people of Western North Carolina and its guests. We are dedicated to shining our spotlight on the artists, makers, and musicians who help shape our community's distinct story

After all, we wouldn't be Asheville without artists like you.

the amount of support you need to pursue the passions you desire. With programs and services to fit your needs, no matter what level of care you require. From assisted living to dedicated memory care, Arbor Terrace invites you to join the symphonic harmony that each

May 10, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Thomas Wolfe Auditorium featuring ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra

Chris Thile Mandolin & Vocals

Acclaimed Grammy Award-winning mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and MacArthur Fellow recipient of the prestigious “Genius Grant,” Chris Thile is a multifaceted musical talent, described by The Guardian as “that rare being: an all-round musician,” and hailed by NPR as a “genre-defying musical genius.” Thile is a founding member of the highly influential string bands Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, and has collaborated with countless luminaries from Yo-Yo Ma to Fiona Apple to Brad Mehldau.

For four years, Thile hosted public radio favorite Live from Here with Chris Thile (formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion). With his broad outlook, Thile creates a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike, giving the listener “one joyous arc, with the linear melody and vertical harmony blurring into a single web of gossamer beauty” (New York Times).

Over the last year, Thile has been touring with Nickel Creek in support of the critically acclaimed 2023 release Celebrants, and captivating audiences with a playfully ambitious biographical composition entitled ATTENTION! (a narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra). Additionally, he has been focused on the production of a new musical variety show, “The Energy Curfew Music Hour.” Created with Claire Coffee and featuring Punch Brothers, season one is available on Audible and all podcasting platforms. Most recently, Chris debuted a new one-man show “The Manhattan Variations” in NYC’s Little Island about finding oneself in a little cocktail bar on the Lower East Side.

Bernard Hermann

Suite from Vertigo

I. Prelude

II. The Nightmare

III. Scéne d’amour

J. S. Bach

Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043

Chris Thile, Mandolin

Martha Gardner, Violin

III. Allegro

Samuel Barber

Violin Concerto, Op. 14

Chris Thile, Mandolin

III. Presto in moto perpetuo

INTERMISSION

Chris Thile

ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra

Chris Thile, Mandolin & Vocals

Claire Coffee, Director

1. Attention

2. Lord Starbucks

3. The Rooftop

4. Carrie Freaking Fisher

CONCERT CO-SPONSORS

ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra

Chris Thile (b. 1981)

I adore orchestras. Whether scaled up for grandeur, or down for intimacy, nothing makes me prouder to be human than hearing a stage full of highly skilled orchestral musicians practicing their craft together. It’s magic, and it’s something I’ve been desperate to participate in since the early aughts, when a hero of mine, Edgar Meyer, walked me through the score of a violin concerto he wrote for another hero of mine, Hilary Hahn. In the late aughts I wrote a

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mandolin concerto, but after performing it quite a bit for a year or so with some truly lovely orchestras, I realized that it was basically the musical equivalent of fan fiction (like I’m tempted to rename it “Bartok meets Adés for coffee at Edgar’s”). SO, I went back to admiring orchestral music from afar, even as I continued to monitor my inner ear for something that might justify another attempt.

A year or two ago, a tantalizing text from my pal, Eric Jacobsen (“Thile, whatever you wanna do with orchestra, we can make it happen!”) prompted more pro-active monitoring and I started hearing bits of what would eventually become “ATTENTION!” I was confused at first, ‘cause these little aural visions included not just mandolin and orchestra, but singing AND talking as well. Whoa, ok…FUN. Further dreaming led to the conviction that there should be an actual STORY, not just loosely related vignettes (which has pretty much been my MO on long form pieces with vocals up to this point). But WHAT story? I’ve always loved writing songs based on short stories, so I started there, widened the search to essays, then read a bunch of plays, but every time I got excited about something, a nagging little voice (probably remembering my last orchestral piece) would say “Yeah, but why would YOU be the one to musicalize this story?” Ugh. Fair. Ok, fine then: what is a story I like to tell about something that happened to me that my friends seem to like hearing? Ah HA! THIS ONE, hands down, no contest. If you’ve ever had a couple rounds with me at a good cocktail bar, chances are I’ve trotted it out, and the thought of turning it into a piece of orchestral music got my inner ear cranking like never before. It’s a ridiculous story, but it’s 100% true, and the more I’ve worked on the telling of it, the more aware I’ve become of what a profound impact the whole experience had on me as a person who loves to make things and show them to other people.

You can find the lyrics at christhile.com/attention, but I recommend only using it when my diction isn’t up to snuff (I’m working on it, swear to God!). Now, if you’ll just give me your attention…

Scan this QR code to review the lyrics to Chris Thile’s ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra

An Evening with Chris Thile is part of the Asheville Symphony’s biennial Asheville Amadeus Festival, returning this spring with co-headliners Chris Thile and Time for Three.

Asheville Amadeus Festival is back for its fifth iteration, Asheville Amadeus: The Art of Storytelling. The festival brings together some of Asheville’s most talented musicians, artists, creators and entertainers for 11 days of performances, education programs, collaborations and social events. Join us April 30 - May 10, 2025. For information on the festival, events and ways to get involved, visit AshevilleAmadeus.org.

PARTNERS INCLUDE

ALT ASO @ HIGHLAND BREWING

Darko Butorac, Conductor

Jonathan Christopher, Vocalist

Prepare to be dazzled as ALT ASO brings the magic of Broadway to Highland Brewing! Featuring the dynamic Jonathan Christopher, cast member of the Tony-winning 2023 Sweeney revival, this concert will offer an unforgettable evening of Broadway hits, timeless classics from the American Songbook, and beloved classical pieces.

MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

SERIES PRESENTING SPONSOR

AMBER SPONSORS

Craig Allen & Julie Cowden

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

David & Dianne Worley

BOHEMIAN SPONSORS

GOLDEN SPONSORS

Mary & Jim Kirby

Andry-HarrisGroup atMorganStanleyPrivateWealthManagement MichaelAndry FamilyWealthDirector SeniorVicePresident PrivateWealthAdvisor

500CollegeStreet Asheville,NC28801 +1828250-8744

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©2024Morgan StanleySmith BarneyLLC.MemberSIPC. PWM003B CRC506752711/22CS9899356

Drs. Joanne & Tom Parker

Thomas C. Bolton

Bill & Nancy Gettys

Henry A. LaBrun

David & Pamela Lane

James S. Thompson

Michael & Catty Andry

Lynne & John Eramo

Tony McLean Brown & Kelli Darlin

Olivia & Gary Zahler

Craig Allen & Julie Cowden

Diane & Rich Byers

Donald Gavin & Jayne Schnaars

Jim & Mary Kirby

Gerry & Nancy Kitch

Ed & Cindy Towson

Travis Worl & Richard Lindau

David & Dianne Worley in memory of Katherine Armitage & Jack Jones

Dr. Bolling Farmer

Gary & Patty Coleman

Richard Schaffer & Anastasia Bartlett

George & Kathy Dambach

Adarrell Gadsden & Marcie Ownbey

Dr. & Mrs. Ralph C. Loomis

Billie Marzullo, Rhonda & Marcus Grimes, and Kathy & George Dambach

Carol & Hugh McCollum

Phil & Katie Osborn

B.A. & Gary Schenk in fond memory of “Lambo” Larry Marzullo

Dr. John & Mrs. Wendy Cuellar

Debbie Green

Paul & Liz Hosier

Mountaine Jonas

Irene & Michael Stoll

Thomas G. Tachovsky & Lynn G. Baird

CAROL MARIN

Corporate and family sponsorships provide vital support through a variety of dynamic funding opportunities that enable our artistic, community outreach, and music education programs.

The Asheville Symphony is committed to providing unparalleled customer service to its corporate partners. Each sponsorship package can be tailored to meet your specific business objectives.

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS & BENEFITS

If your company or business is interested in sponsoring Asheville Symphony concerts, special events, or artists please call the Development office at 828.820.2520 or email development@ashevillesymphony.org to learn more about partnership opportunities and associated donor benefits.

IN-KIND SPONSORSHIPS

An in-kind sponsorship is a great way to introduce your products and/or services to an upscale audience while supporting your Symphony. Needs vary from season to season but generally include such items as wine, liquor, and catering. For more information, please contact the Development office at 828.820.2520 or email development@ashevillesymphony.org.

Here’s how we make music with your dollars:

$50

$170

Covers the music for one Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra Honors Strings Ensemble performance

Covers the cost of orchestra folders for ten Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra students

$375 Pays for one Music in the Schools program (one quintet, one school, one hour)

$750

$1,000

Allows us to offer one masterclass for emerging young musicians with an esteemed guest soloist

Provides tuition scholarships for two Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra students

$1,300 Covers the purchase of music for a single Beethoven symphony

$2,500

$5,000

Covers the cost of renting and moving a concert grand Steinway piano into our venue for piano recitals

Allows for one workshop for the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra

$10,000 Pays the fees and travel for one guest soloist

$30,000

Covers the cost of presenting one Young People’s Concert for Asheville City’s and Buncombe County’s fifth graders

Atelier

Thank you for supporting your Asheville Symphony.

Contributions to the Asheville Symphony support our artistic and educational programming — everything from the music performed on stage by our highly trained and talented musicians to the education programs our musicians implement when visiting local elementary schools.

You can choose how to direct your support:

• Annual Fund

• Sponsorship

• Asheville Amadeus Festival

• Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra

• Music Education Initiatives

• Endowment

The following recognition encompasses contributions made from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024.

$100,000+

Ingeborg Meeke*

JoAnne Setzer*

$50,000 - $99,999

Asheville Symphony Guild

Flow Volkswagen Porsche Audi of Asheville

iHeart Media

Kimpton Hotel Arras

Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker

$25,000 - $49,999

Thomas C. Bolton

Clover CBD Dispensary

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina

Explore Asheville

Bill and Nancy Gettys

Gerald and Nancy Kitch

Henry A. LaBrun

David and Pamela Lane

North Carolina Arts Council

The Payne Fund

Maurice and Bonnie Stone

James S. Thompson

Olivia and Gary Zahler

$15,000 - $24,999

Michael and Catty Andry

Gary and Patty Coleman

Lynne and John Eramo

Dr. Bolling Farmer

Donald Gavin and Jayne Schnaars

Givens Communities

Keith Keener

Jim and Mary Kirby

Carol and Hugh McCollum

Tony McLean Brown and Kelli Darlin

Morgan Stanley Private Wealth

Management: The Andry / Harris Team

Morgan Stanley Foundation

Penley Produce Vacation Homes

Ed and Cindy Towson

Sarah Van Gunten

$10,000 - $14,999

Craig Allen and Julie Cowden

ArtsAVL

Audrey Love Charitable Foundation

Blue Spiral 1

Rich and Diane Byers

Chaddick Foundation

George and Kathy Dambach

John and Suellyn Felker

Helle Creative

Carolyn Hubbard

Jill and Joe Lawrence

Amy Loether

Barbra and Keith Love

Bob and Martha Pierce

QC Kinetix

Jo Edda Rosskamp

Richard Schaffer and Anastasia Bartlett

Travis Worl and Richard Lindau

David and Dianne Worley

$7,500 - $9,999

Anonymous

Mary and Jack Anderson

Adarrell Gadsden and Marcie Ownbey

Hatchworks Coworking

Kathryn Theodore Travel Advisors

Dr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Loomis

McGuire, Wood & Bissette

Phil and Katie Osborn

Ralph Protsik and Susan Wolin

Roberts & Stevens, P.A.

Gary and Neesa Warlen

$5,000 - $7,499

Anonymous

Stephen Anderson and Janine Anderson-Bays

Awaken Skin & Body

The Balgley Family Charitable Foundation Bank of America

Ashley Sayre Bell

Diana Bilbrey

Buncombe County

Birch Carlson

City of Asheville

Dr. E. Brown Crosby

Dr. John and Mrs. Wendy Cuellar

First Bank

Debbie Green

Highland Brewing Company

HomeTrust Bank

The Matt & Molly Team

Ann and Jerry McLellan

Northwestern Mutual

Robert & Mercedes Eichholz Foundation

B.A. and Gary Schenk

Dr. Tony Sciara, Ph.D and Dr. Jill Vargo

Yvonne Smith

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

$2,500 - $4,999

Anonymous

Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Bayer

Lucy and Kirk Borland

Beverly Briedis

Bill* and Clarita Burton

Linda and Tom* Bushar

Margaret Butler

Jane Christiansen*

Crawley, Lee & Company, PA

Jerry and Diane Cunningham

D.R. Horton

Nancy and Ron Edgerton

Elaine and Michael Fulbright

Clair Griffith and Geoffrey Mitchell

Rhonda and Marcus Grimes

Fred and Cindy Groce

Richard and Yolanda* Hall in memory of Rikki Hall

Paul and Liz Hosier

Bill and Kitty Hunt

Anne Jarema and Clifford Albertson

Mountaine Jonas

Margarete W. Moon Endowment of the CFWNC

Carolyn Marlowe

Mercy Urgent Care

Carol Marin, Mosaic Community

Lifestyle Realty

Amy Neel

Ann Perry

Publix Supermarket Charities

Jim Reeves

The Sabri Foundation

Bill Schulz and Odile Perrenoud

Troy Schmidt and Diane Song

Irene and Michael Stoll

Thomas G. Tachovsky and Lynn G. Baird

Walnut Cove Members Association

Alan and Kathleen Young

$1,000 - $2,499

Anonymous

Don and Nancy Ackermann Cole

Brad and Diane Arnold

David and Sydney Atkinson

Blue Mountain Pizza

William Bond and Johnny Ko

Claude and Sallie Broach

Ed and Donna Broadwell

Timothy Butts and Susan Harrington Butts

Amy Campbell

Lynne Cannady

Lois S. Carlson and Jerome Mrowca

Randy and Martha Carson

Gene and Lee Casey

Charles Clogston*

John and Jeanne Condren

Daniel and Caroline Crupi

Al and Jamye Davis

Darilyn Dealy and Lee Pagel

Jurgen and Leslie Dierks

Lori Doerr

John and Suzie Donahoe

Gregory Dray

Karen Dugas

Patricia Eargle

Richard and Bridget Eckerd

Travis Elliot

John and Marsha Ellis

Dr. Alan and Suzanne Escovitz

Susan Fisher

Betty Fox

Judy Galloway

Neil and Cindy Garroway

Anne and Kent Gatling

Peter and Jasmin Gentling

Joseph Gigliotti

Clementine Gregory

Michael J. Grillot

Dr. and Mrs. Heinz K. Grohs

Sam and Robin Harben

Dr. John Hazlehurst

Jill and Dwight Healy

Jennine Hough

Fred and Heather Hudson

Barbara and Bill Hume

Judy and John Johnston

Gail Jolley*

Suzanne Jones

Jon and Ann Kemske

Susan and David Leader

The Leever Foundation

Rita Lenderman

Nancy Lilly and Marie-Odile Froment

John and Janet Long

Sue and George Luther

Jan and Bruce Manes

Carol and Pedro Martinez

Billie Marzullo

Barbara Mueller

Nachos & Beer

Russell and Ladene Newton

Dale and Barbara Phipps

Robin T. Rutledge and Karen Keeler Rogers

Rotary Club of Asheville Foundation, Inc.

Cristian Rubiano

Susie and John Ruhl

Patrick Ryan

Wade and Mary Margaret Saunders

Dianne and Charles Sawyer

J. Howard and Honey Solomon

Gary and Jeanne Ann Stroebel

Cathy Stryker

Kelly Thompson

Jill Tourtellot

Almudena Underwood-Lema

Judith Van Horne and Stephen Hendricks

Betty Walker

Steven and Michele Warner

Bonnie Wheeler

Hank Young

$500 - $999

Anonymous

Brad and Roberta Allen

Appalachian Mountain Brewery

Susan Arnold

Dr.* and Mrs. Luther Barnhardt

Mike Bauer

Tom and Kay Beardsley

Dr. Stephen D. and Mrs. Linda B. Brown

Nan Buschmann

Georgia Case

Karen L. Cianciulli

Joel and Carole Hampton Cotter

Virginia Craig

Lynn Crystal

Sharron Davis

Mary Ellen Dendy and Aaron Dahlstrom

Kristen Dusenbery

Drs. Louis Dwarshuis and Marilyn Kolton

Bruce and Day Ann Emory

William and Carol Falender

Cary and Koni Findlay

Linda and Jeffrey Fromson

Robin and Gordon Gaiser

Mrs. Edeltraut Gilgan-Hunt

George and Elaine Goosmann

Scott and Sally Gregg

Al and Betsy Gumpert

Virginia W. Hayes

Tom and Patricia Hearron

Stan Ingber and Laura Robbins

Bill Jacobs and Susan Posey

Elizabeth Justice

Amy and John Kelso

Al and Margareta Koch

Pat and Bud Kofron

Michael Kryzanek

Tom and Dian Leeper

Ned and Jane Lesesne

Virginia and Drew Litzenberger

Chuck Lockwood and Patrick Ryan

James Losse and Ellen Haack

Dr. Linda Lutz and Gary Ticknor

Henry and Elizabeth Mainwaring

Gail and Ron Manheimer

Diane and John Martin

Robert Maxwell and Shelia Elingburg

Anna and Michael Mazur

The Patricia McCauley Charitable Gift Fund

Anne McKenzie

James H. McMillan and Carol H. Kaufman

Lucille Mueller

Shirley Oltman

Jeffrey and Lisa Owen

Julene Reese Roberts

Irene Dillingham Richards Family

Foundation

Frank Rutland

William Scarborough

Kenneth and Elizabeth Schapira

Larry and Marilyn Shames

Ann H. Skoglund

James Storey and Janice Collins

Carol and Terrence Tinkel

Kathleen Busby and Razz Waff

Linda Walker

Donna and Randy Weast

Jeff and Susie Wellington

Paul B. Williamson

Thomas Young

Gregory and Marjorie Zack

$250 - $499

Anonymous

Altura Architects

Mike* and Lorna Anderberg

David and Ann Bottomy

Elizabeth Boys

Nancy Casey

Michael Cleveland and Maria-Grazia Nunzi

Bill and Meg Clontz

Kay Dambach

Ellie Daniels

Kim Eiring

Francis Erckmann

Polly S. Feitzinger

James and Linda Focareto

Christine Glaser

Tom Gurley

William Harlan and Stephanie Carpenter

Peter Wortham Hawes

Nancy Houha

Jan Hundhausen

John and Carol Jackson

Marian and Thomas Jerdee

Ruth Sieber Johnson

Jennifer Jones and Robert Steffen

Katherine and Jon Karraker

Margaret Kelso

Elfi LaPlante

Meredith Lenell

David Miller

Martha and Thomas Mills

John K. Orr

Todd and Kaye Phillips

Donald and Brenta Poole

Pam and Rex Prosser

Donna and Edward Reigner

Vicki Richards

Barbara Robinson

David Russell

Alexandria Sanford

Nancy Schuman

Ilona and Michael Sena

Courtney Smith

Barbara and Marty Stickle

Robert Stone

Jeff Sturkey and Beth Gettys Sturkey

Agnes and Jeff Vandergrift

George Wilds and Steve Connell

Marlene and John Yokim

$100 - $249

Anonymous

Joshua Aaronson

Frances Alexander

Dennis Ash and Sarah Lashlee

Asheville Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota

Douglas Atchley and Lee Davis

Sally Atkins

Betsy G. Atkinson

Robert Baldwin

Viva Banzon and Robert Evans

Richard Bogner

James Bond

Doris Brooks

Allan Brown

David G. and Lin Brown

Clinton Bugg and Jeff Nucey

Lana Burns

Bob and Bonnie Busby

Elizabeth Button

Dr. Sausan Campbell

Meredith Candler

John and Gail Carpenter

Carol Carson

Grace Chappell and Patrick O’Cain

Bishop Charles and Karen Crutchfield

Gary Clark

Marcia Clarkson

Marvin Cole

Michael and Marilyn Cortes

Scott and Katherine Counce

Elizabeth Culbreth

Support your Annual Fund

Your gift to the Asheville Symphony’s Annual Fund allows us to direct support to the area of greatest need.

The Annual Fund is the foundation of support for your Symphony. Your generosity will allow us to drive artistic collaborations with renowned musicians; enhance music education programs serving WNC kids ages 8-18; create new opportunities to experience the power of live orchestral music in unusual settings; and provide thought-provoking and inspiring programming for families, students, and audiences of all ages.

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org/Donate to make gift today.

To learn more about Annual Fund giving, contact the Development office at development@ashevillesymphony.org or call 828.820.2520.

Annual Fund Donor Benefits include:

Invitations to Patron Receptions featuring musicians, guest artists, and the Music Director ($500+ to the Annual Fund)

Access to exclusive, reserved parking section at Masterworks concerts ($1,000+ to the Annual Fund)

Priority access to purchase ALT ASO tickets

($2,500+ to the Annual Fund)

Mary Cunningham

Patti D’Angelo

Alexa and Rich Dann

Kathryn Daughton

Alan Davis

Mack Day

William N. Dorfman, Ed.D.

Erin and Tom Doyle

Amy Dragon

Martin and Ivy Dyckman

Julie Eckelbarger

Linda Engwell

Edward and Amy Euler

Stephen and Jackie Finstad

Deborah Francis

Ellenor Frelick

Jennifer Garnett

Mary Goodkind

Margery Greene

Amanda Hall and Robert Zeid

Dot and Wade Hampton

Gail Harris and John Boneparth

Richard Henderson

Phil and Jolene Hocott

Toby Hollenberg

Joel Horwich

Michael and Laura Hoskins

Charles Hudson

Steve and Nancy Hurst

Ralph and Sheryl Husby

Lisa Huxley

Christa Hyatt

John and Jill Hyman

Tom and Libby Irwin

Thorunn Ivey

Mindy Jaffe

John and Karla Jalocha

Susan Jensen and Lew Gelfond

Vinod Jindal

You’re the reason the Asheville Symphony is able to share exhilarating performances.

Your ticket and subscription mean the world to us. But did you know that tickets and subscriptions cover less than 35% of our operating costs? Donations to the Annual Fund make up the difference. Thank you.

Gayle Petty-Johnson

Walter and Anne Justice

Jess and Phyllis Key

Ann Batchelder and Henri Kieffer

Arthur Kirby

Karen Lachow

Rebecca Lance

Eric and Mala Lapp

Lynn Lederer and Leslie Long

Jeffrey Linzer

Alan Lipsky and A.J. Rhodes

Rev. Alexandra Lusak

Shane and Sarah Lympany

Suzanne and Jay Mahler

Margaret McAlister

Jerry McAninch

Glenda H. McDaniel

Amy McGuire and Brian Wallace

Elwood and Margaret Miles

Gina and Dale Nelson

Rita Nilsen and Carl Brickman

Francis Nullet

Eric and Lynn Ordnung

Lori Oxford and Alberto Centeno-Pulido

Betty J. Paine

Nicole Pasternak

Joseph Piccolo

Cynthia Pierce

Jack and Susan Pierce

Kathleen Quinlan and Marc Parham

Mary Racek

Lynnell W. Reese

Terry and Sarah Reincke

Michelle Rippon

Don Roberts

John and Pam Roeth

Sherree Roller and David Janson

Evan and Susan Rosenberg

Carol Rosenblum

Dorothy Sagel

Salt Face Mule

Bob Sarabia

Barbara Schrader

Frie and Liz Schulz

Stephen Sedgwick

Jane and Edward Smith

Dave and Sue Snook

Gail and Nelson Sobel

Thomas and Christena Southwick

Beth Stickle Schoenheit

Paul Stroebel

Kenny Sudnik

John and Mary Tadey

Janet Thatcher

Matthew and Sarah Volk

David Walters

Mariana G. Warner

Raymond Watkins

Susan and Don Watson

Norman and Janet Weeks

Robert and Joyce Weinberg

Sue and Robert White

Calvin and Susan Willis

Wellford Wilms

Larry and Janie Wilson

Barbara Witt

$1 - $99

Evan Agee

Alicia Albee

Max and Lillian Alexander

Brandi Andrade

Jennifer Aregood

Pauline Aridas

Devin Asaro

Jannice Ashley

Mary Ault

Anne Babcock

Shannon Baggett

Kathy Baker

Jeff and Elizabeth Baker

Eric Bank

Grace Bartlett

Michael Bashaw

Sylvia Bassett

Rush Battle

Robert Becker

Marty and Barbara Beckerman

Joseph and Sophie Beckham

Kathy Bellizio

John Bickart

Mark Bigelow

Diego Blanc

Adlai and Karen Boyd

Diana Brewster

Elizabeth and Kemper Brown

Chris Brownback

Rebecca Bruce

Nancy Buchanan

Sarah Cayson

John Chapman

Karen Clarke

Memphis Clayton

Sarah Cochran

Samuel Coley

Douglas and Lousia Combs

Harriet Cone

Patti Corozine

Debra Cowan

Karen Cowman

Vickie Cox

Debra Crabtree

Adrienne Crowther

Tala Dajani

David Daniels

Matthew Daughtry-Grubbs

Gerald Davies

D. Davis

Johnny Davis

Roger and Janese Derrough

John Dickson

Tom Doebber

Karen Doerr

Andrew and Jennifer Dukowicz

Mignon Durham

David Eads

Diane Edwards

Gaynor Eisenberg

Kyle Eliason

Jane Elliot-Hughes

Nancy Sue Ellyson

Deborah Engelkemier

Dale England

Don and Joy Erbes

Charles Erde

Carolyn Estes

Maria Eugenia Jael Vela Tijerina

Laura Fackler

Rachel Fagan

Linda Fallowes

Steve Felix

Shawn Feurer

Linda Flack

Douglas Flemons

Karen Fulmer

James Gatto

Jacob Gearhart

Kathryn German

Martha Gettys

Lynn Gilliland

Thomas Golden

Chowdhary Gondy

David Good

Jessie Goodwin

Susannah Gopalan

Susan Grabel

Barb Graff

Michael Groothuis

River Guerguerian

Carolyn Guthrie

Teresa Hammack

Mark Hardy

Ryan Harris

Michael Hartz

Brandi and Todd Henson

Summer Hettinger

Fredia Higgins

Gene Hill

Dennis Hillier

Carey Horne

Amanda Hughes

John Inman

Robin James

Stephanie James

Javier Jasminoy

Edward Joffe

Seth Johnson

Beth Juliar

Ruthanne Kah

Richard Kania

John Kapitan

Will and Jennifer Kaylor

Christopher Keene

Deborah Kenney

Dr. Donna Kerr

Jennifer Knox

Sandy Konkel

Alan Kotch

Taisiia Kovbasenko

Judith Kramer

Margaret Krusch

John Lang

Wendy Lapidus

Matthew Larkin

Walter Leginski

Bruce Leonard

Jeremy and Susan Lerner

Elizabeth Levitas

Debra Liles

Erynne Liniker

Arthur Litowitz

Gregory Lomas

Kathryn Long and Axel Graumann

Will and Diane Lopez

Beatriz Lothrop

Rudsel Lucas

Margie Mahan

John and Elaine Maimone

Gerald Malsbary

Robert Manasse

Gary Mannies

Ana Margarita Cebollero

Canter Martin

Dallas Martin

Adam Matar

Rose Mathis

Josh Matz

Barbara Mayer

Bill McClain

Carol McCrory

Michael McDermott

Manuel* and Karen Medeiros

Goitzen Meindertsma

Michael Miale

Nancy Miller

Hanne Miska

Lori Mitchell

Laura Mitchell

Julie Modaff

Nathanael Moretz

Frank Moretz

Alan Morgan

Elaine Muller

Joanne Neary

Aaron Nichols

Thomas Norman

Milena Orchard-Hays

Theresa Oscarson

Jennifer Ostendorf

Rebecca Pace

Richard Paul

Matching Gifts

Many companies offer a matching gift program for employee (and retiree!) charitable donations — this can double or triple your gift! Thank you to the following companies who have recently matched donor gifts:

AIG

Bank of America

Boeing

Steelcase Foundation

Shell Oil Company Foundation

Sue Ann Pinger

Dorothy Porter

Jon Prater

Caryn Preston

Rachel Raab

Philip Ramsey

Janet Randolph

Ryan Rapsys

Gail Reagan and Jim Graham

Dan Richards

Andre Richison

Billy Robinson

Michael Robinson

Jason Rodrigue

Stephanie Rosener

James Rowal

Christopher Rupp and Karine Rupp-Stanko

S.H. Burgess, Inc.

Larry Schadler

Wade Scheuritzel

Jan Schochet

Katherine Schofield

Jonel Schuster

Gary and Lillah Schwartz

Richard and Eula Shaw

Sara Shea

Mark Sheppard

Michael Sierra

Robert Sihler

Ronald Smart

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you believe that an error or omission has occurred, please call 828.820.2520 or send an email to development@ashevillesymphony.org

Carl Smedberg

Christine Smith and Jim Duffy

Christina Sobin

Mikki Sodergren

Harold Southern

Jeremy Spurlin

Ann Squire

Courtney Stephens

Fabienne Sterckx

Jill Stevenson

Rachel Sudnik

Marcus Thompson

Adi Toth

Lacey and Brandon Townsend

Dale Twomley

Eric Warncke

John Warner

Margaret Watson

Virginia Weaver

Natalya Weinstein Miller

Jennifer Westbrook

Terence Whitt

Richard Wilfong

Jay Williams

Bob and Mary Williamson

Laura Williamson

Susanne Willis

Lauren Ross Wilson

Mathew Winer

Tom Winsch

Jackie Wintle

Wooju Yang

Sarah Yamada

John Yuder

*Denotes Deceased

Tribute Gifts

In memory of Jack Jones and Katherine Armitage

Diane and Rich Byers

In celebration of Asheville and WNC Community after Helene

David and Sydney Atkinson

In celebration of the Asheville

Symphony Youth Orchestra

Judith Van Horne and Stephen Hendricks

In memory of Dr. John “Spencer” Atwater, Jr.

Julie Eckelbarger

In memory of Luther Barnhardt

Carol and Hugh McCollum

In honor of Bob and Audie Bayer

Mack Day

In memory of Chuck Briedis

Beverly Briedis

In honor and memory of

Clarita and Bill* Burton

Tony McLean Brown and Kelli Darlin

In memory of Thomas Bushar

Gary and Patty Coleman

Susan Grabel

Vinod and Manju Jindal

Irene and Michael Stoll

Calvin and Susan Willis

In memory of Gordana Butorac

Irene and Michael Stoll

In memory of John B. Campbell

Amy Campbell

In memory of Porter Claxton

Robert Baldwin

In honor of Daniel Crupi

Dale and Barbara Phipps

In honor of Sharron Davis

Mindy and Irvin Jaffe

In memory of my father

Dr. Sausan Campbell

In memory of Don Galloway

Judy Galloway

In Celebration of Big G on his 70th Birthday!

Joel and Carole Hampton Cotter

In honor of Bill & Nancy Gettys

Jeff Sturkey and Beth Gettys Sturkey

In memory of Yolanda Hall

Richard Hall

In memory of our son Rikki Hall

Richard and Yolanda* Hall

In memory of Linda Medeiros

Manny and Karen Medeiros

In honor of Frederick Mitchell

Hudson II

Charles Hudson Household

In memory of Doug Johnston

Kathy Baker

In honor of Mary and Jim Kirby

Arthur Kirby

In celebration of Charlie Lance

Rebecca Lance

In honor of Felix and Betty

Gayle Laughlin

Mack Day

In fond memory of “Lambo”

Larry Marzullo

Billie Marzullo

Rhonda and Marcus Grimes

Kathy and George Dambach

In memory of Alexander McKinney, MD

Ned and Jane Lesesne

In memory of Manny Medeiros

Irene and Michael Stoll

In memory of Ingeborg Meeke

Irene and Michael Stoll

In honor of Katie and Phil Osborn

Barbara Schrader

In honor of Jason Posnock

Patrick Ryan

In honor of Darko Butorac and Mikki Sodergren

Toby Hollenberg

In honor of Charlie B. Turner

Christine Glaser

In honor of Christpher Underwood

Almudena Underwood-Lema

*Denotes Deceased

This is one of the best ways to invest in the future of kids in Asheville and what music can do for them. It’s a legacy that will have benefits far beyond our lifetimes.

JOHN CUELLAR Legacy Society Member & Board Member

When Dr. John Cuellar attended the Asheville Symphony’s performance of Carmina Burana several years ago, little did he know that it would lead to an on-going, years-long commitment to the symphony. Awe-struck by the performance, he called the Symphony office the next morning and purchased season tickets. He has subscribed ever since.

John’s love for classical music was instilled in him as a child, attending concerts with his mother in Texas. “We weren’t wealthy, and music lessons were beyond our budget, but my mother loved classical music,” he recalls. “Hearing amazing musicians as I grew up made a lasting impression on me. I’ve had the good fortune to see and hear wonderful symphonies and performances across the country since.” John’s passion continued with the Asheville Symphony after his move here.

At one particular Asheville Symphony Annual Meeting, John stood up and spoke, sharing his admiration for the organization’s exceptional music and leadership, “The quality and musicianship in a city of this size was striking.” Shortly after, board member Jack Anderson invited him to lunch along with Steve Hageman, then executive director, and John was asked to join the Asheville Symphony’s board.

“Since then, I’ve seen the Symphony thrive under incredible leadership,” he says. “It’s a real pleasure to be part of something so inspiring and impactful.”

For John and his wife Wendy, that outreach is personal. Their daughter found her own connection to music at Asheville High School, and then on to the Asheville Symphony Youth

Orchestra, playing bassoon. “Music became her community,” John explains. She went on to study Music Therapy at Appalachian State University and now works as a music therapist at a children’s hospital. Seeing firsthand how music shaped their daughter’s life led John and Wendy to think about the future.

“The developmental data on children who play music is impressive, and we’ve seen firsthand what music can do for kids,” he shares. “It motivates them, teaches them skills they can carry throughout their lives, and creates opportunities they might not otherwise have.”

As members of the Asheville Symphony Legacy Society, John and Wendy know their gift will help sustain the Symphony for years to come. These contributions often support the Symphony’s endowment, providing vital resources and ensuring the Symphony’s excellence endures. “This is one of the best ways to invest in the future of kids in Asheville and what music can do

for them,” John says. “It’s a legacy that will have benefits far beyond our lifetimes.”

The Asheville Symphony Legacy Society recognizes individuals who make planned gifts to the Symphony.

Members enjoy unique benefits, including special events and educational opportunities, as well as acknowledgment in the season program. Please visit the following page to see Legacy Society members.

For John, the decision to give was simple. “Live music played by a full orchestra is such a rare and special experience. To sit in a concert hall and hear music that has been cherished for centuries is both invigorating and profoundly moving,” he reflects.

“Ensuring that experience continues for others is something I’m proud to be part of.”

Create Your Legacy Today

For more information about the Asheville Symphony Legacy Society and how you can make a difference, contact the Development team at development@ashevillesymphony.org or 828.318.8181.

Dorel Abbott*

Don and Nancy Ackermann Cole

Jack Jones and Katherine Armitage*

Mr.* and Mrs. Stephen Barden III

Dr.* and Mrs. Luther Barnhardt

Mary and Leland Bartholomew*

George* and Diana Bilbrey

Marion Bleyler*

Mr. and Mrs.* Thomas C. Bolton

Joyce Bost Hogan*

Mrs. Charles Butler*

Ken and Alma Chatfield*

Barbra and Beirne Chisolm*

Jane Christiansen*

Mr. and Mrs. Gary Coleman

Nancy Crosby

Dr. and Mrs. John Cuellar

Robert DiDiego

Lori Doerr

Mr. and Mrs. David Dolan

Drs. Joyce and Lawrence* Dorr

Mrs. C.H. Elmslie

Robert and Jeane* Etter

Dr. Linda Sokalski Farrell

Dr. Bolling Farmer

Francis Fee

The musicians of the Asheville Symphony Society, Inc., are the lifeblood of your Symphony: uniting our community, lifting hearts, and inspiring with the power of orchestral music. By making a Legacy Society pledge to the Endowment during your lifetime, you are demonstrating a commitment to the Asheville Symphony’s musicians today and our vibrant future.

For more information about joining the Legacy Society and supporting the Endowment (including naming opportunities), contact the Development office by emailing development@ashevillesymphony.org or calling 828.318.8181. If you have already included the Asheville Symphony in your estate plans, please let us know so that we may include you on this list and recognize your generosity.

Doris Kistler and Fred Wightman

William and Nancy Gettys

Lindley Garner* and Mary Goodkind

Mr. and Mrs. George Goosman

Michael J. Grillot

Paula J. Grillot

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Hageman

Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Hahner

Eleanor Hall*

Dick and Yolanda* Hall

Virginia and Emmet* Hayes

Anna and Anthony* Hayward

Carolyn L. Hubbard

Bill and Kitty Hunt

Bill Jacobs and Susan Posey

Pat and Doug* Johnston

Mountaine Jonas

James Laird*

Christine Longoria

Dr. and Mrs. Carlo Mainardi

Mabel Marlsbury*

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Mattson*

Carol and Hugh McCollum

Ann and Gerald McLellan

Manuel* and Karen Medeiros

Ingeborg and Kenneth Meeke*

Fred Meyer

Russell and Ladene Newton

Arch and Zeffie Nichols*

Mr. and Mrs. David Pheil

Mary L. Powell Education Fund in memory of Beatrice Wells

Monte Richardson*

Ernest Rosenau*

Dr. and Mrs. Joel Rosenberg

William* and Carole Roskind

August Schmidt*

Jill Vargo and Tony Sciara

John Schuler*

JoAnne Setzer*

Robert Sorton

Bonnie Stone

Norretta L. Taylor*

Edna Thompson*

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Towson

Sarah Van Gunten

Albert and Lucia Ward*

Eleanor Weil Schulmon*

*Denotes Deceased

Have You Considered Brevard?

Brevard offers the best of small town living with the conveniences of a modern city. Rich in natural beauty, cultural heritage, and social amenities, Brevard is a wonderful place to call home.

A Relaxed Lifestyle  A Vibrant Music and Art Scene

World-Class Fly Fishing  Extensive Hiking and Biking Trails  Pisgah National Forest

DuPont State Forest  Gorges State Park  Headwaters State Park

Brevard Music Center  Brevard College  The Paul Porter Center For The Performing Arts

Supporting

the

Arts

in

Western North Carolina

For Over 45

Years

Locations in Brevard, Lake Toxaway/Sapphire, and Highlands 10 Park Place West | Straus Park | Brevard, NC 28712 828-883-9895 | 800-634-5196 | Info@FisherRealtyNC.com 17527 Rosman Highway | Sapphire, NC 28774 | 828-966-9290 30 Pinecrest Road | Highlands, NC 28741 | 828-482-4503

Bringing world-class chamber music to WNC for over 70 years

Goldmund Quartet

Friday February 28 7:30 p.m.

Schubert, Haydn, Grieg Aspen String Trio

Friday

April 4 7:30 p.m. Strauss, Klien, Beethoven

Isidore String Quartet

Friday May 2 7:30 p.m.

Mozart, Schulhoff, Dvořák

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA

The Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO) is Western North Carolina’s premier orchestral training program, serving nearly 200 students ages 8-19.

With two string orchestras, two full orchestras, a beginner string class, a percussion ensemble, and various honors chamber groups, there’s an ensemble for every instrument and experience level.

Throughout the year, ASYO students have the chance to participate in masterclasses, retreats, and workshops, where they learn from professional musicians and guest artists alongside some of the best music educators in Western North Carolina. Through the ASYO, students grow as individuals, learn to work together as an ensemble, and gain everyday skills like perseverance, hard work, planning, self awareness, creativity, self evaluation and goal-setting.

Experience these talented young musicians at one of their performances this season.

SPRING CONCERT

May 5, 2025 at Asheville High School Auditorium

Featuring Time for Three as part of the 2025 Asheville Amadeus Festival. See pages 56-70 for more details on the festival.

Concert dates and times are subject to change. For more information, please visit AshevilleSymphony.org.

Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra Faculty & Staff

Tyson Hamrick

ASYO General Manager

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Rodney Workman Site Coordinator

Mika Hood Operations Coordinator

Jason Posnock Advisor

Cara Jenkins Advisor

Cynthia Roop Advisor

TEACHING STAFF

Dr. Alexandra Dee

Music Director, Youth Philharmonic & Concert Conductor

Amanda Tant

Sinfonia Conductor

Ashlee Booth Divertimento Conductor

Cady Robison

Overture Class Conductor

SPRING AUDITIONS

May 29 - 30, 2025: Winds and Percussion

May 31 - June 1, 2025: Strings

For more information, email jthamrick@ashevillesymphony.org or visit AshevilleSymphony.org/ASYO.

Dr. Brian Tinkel Percussion Director

Dilshad Posnock

Woodwind Coach, Honors Chamber Ensemble Coach

Franklin Keel

Strings Coach, Honors Chamber Ensemble Coach

Dr. Jason Slaughter

Brass Coach, Honors Chamber Ensemble Coach

Jared Dunn

Honors Percussion Coach

William Pooser

Honors Percussion Coach

A special thank you to Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker for their generous support of the ASYO this season. Their financial support will positively enhance music education for hundreds of students across Western North Carolina by providing scholarships, access to instruments, and unique experiences.

Tuition covers less than half of the ASYO’s operational costs.

Your gift empowers students to participate in performances, special workshops, retreats, masterclasses, and touring performances regardless of their economic circumstances.

Visit AshevilleSymphony.org/friends-of-theasyo to donate online today.

Friends of the ASYO

$25,000+

Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker

$15,000 – $24,999

Keith Keener

$5,000 – $14,999

Lynne and John Eramo

Gerald and Nancy Kitch

$2,500 – $4,999

Thomas C. Bolton

Jerry and Diane Cunningham

Bill and Nancy Gettys

David and Pamela Lane

$1,000 – $2,499

Michael and Catty Andry

Diana Bilbrey

Blue Mountain Pizza

Gene and Lee Casey

Clover CBD Dispensary

Dr. John and Mrs. Wendy Cuellar

Bill and Kitty Hunt

Jim and Mary Kirby

Henry A. LaBrun

Jill and Joe Lawrence

Susan and David Leader

Barbra and Keith Love

Nachos & Beer

Patrick Ryan

Donald Gavin and Jayne Schnaars

James S. Thompson

Ed and Cindy Towson

Sarah Van Gunten

Steven and Michele Warner

$500 – $999

Mary and Jack Anderson

Appalachian Mountain Brewery

Bill* and Clarita Burton

Jon and Ann Kemske

William Scarborough

Carol and Terrence Tinkel

Thomas Young

$250 – $499

Anonymous

Nancy Casey

Cary and Koni Findlay

Al and Betsy Gumpert

Gail Jolley*

Carol and Hugh McCollum

Bonnie Wheeler

David and Dianne Worley

Olivia and Gary Zahler

$100 – $249

Anonymous

Mike* and Lorna Anderberg

Dennis Ash and Sarah Lashlee

Asheville Alumnae Chapter of Sigma

Alpha Iota

Beverly Briedis

Dr. Sausan Campbell

Georgia Case

Gary Clark

Virginia Craig

Daniel and Caroline Crupi

Kim Eiring

Polly S. Feitzinger

Betty Fox

Ellenor Frelick

Jennifer Garnett

John and Jill Hyman

Susan Jensen and Lew Gelfond

Rebecca Lance

Alan Lipsky and A.J. Rhodes

Sue and George Luther

Margaret McAlister

Joseph Piccolo

Donald and Brenta Poole

Kathleen Quinlan and Marc Parham

Terry and Sarah Reincke

Vicki Richards

Barbara Robinson

Dorothy Sagel

Salt Face Mule

Dave and Sue Snook

J. Howard and Honey Solomon

Irene and Michael Stoll

Paul Stroebel

$1 – $99

Anne Babcock

Shannon Baggett

Karen Cowman

Erin and Tom Doyle

Andrew and Jennifer Dukowicz

Robin and Gordon Gaiser

Tom and Libby Irwin

Deborah Kenney

Jeremy and Susan Lerner

Gail and Ron Manheimer

Manuel* and Karen Medeiros

Laura Mitchell

S.H. Burgess, Inc.

Jill Stevenson

Matthew and Sarah Volk

Bob and Mary Williamson

Laura Williamson

Lauren Ross Wilson

Scholarships

These scholarships have been created to assist ASYO students with tuition, ensuring that all students have equal access to the best musical training and resources that Asheville has to offer. Thank you to all of our generous donors!

Philharmonia Scholarship

Given by Keith Keener

Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker Scholarship Fund

Given by Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker

Terrence and Carol Tinkel Scholarship Fund

Given by Terrence and Carol Tinkel

APPLAUDS THE ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY

Parker Concert Hall 2024-25 Series

OCTOBER 11, 2024

OPENING NIGHT with The Sphinx Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Raphaël Feuillâtre–Virtuoso Guitar

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Handel’s Messiah

DECEMBER 14, 2024

Kruger Brothers–In The Holiday Spirit

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Soprano Larisa Martínez in Concert

MARCH 13, 2025

A ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION with Dervish

APRIL 8, 2025

Pianist Zlata Chochieva in Recital

MAY 13, 2025

SEASON FINALE with Roberto Díaz, Peter Wiley, and The Erinys Quartet R ap

even

Kruger Brothers

2024 2025

Invest In Your Community

Asheville based, real estate focused private debt fund serving the Carolinas

What Is ALFIE? ALFIE is a private debt fund established in 2015. Based in Asheville, NC, our fund works by pooling investor capital to provide short term construction and bridge loans to builders, developers, and real estate entrepreneurs in NC and SC.

How Does ALFIE Fit My Portfolio? An allocation to ALFIE can complement a traditional stock and bond investment portfolio. Our historically consistent returns have a low correlation with other investment options.