April 4 & 5
KNIGHT THEATER
André Raphel, conductor
Edgar Meyer, double bass
Welcome!
Spring is a season of renewal, and here at the Charlotte Symphony, we embrace that spirit with music that awakens the senses and stirs the soul. This month, we welcome conductor André Raphel and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer for a program that blends the contemporary and the classical, from Jennifer Higdon’s ethereal blue cathedral to the brilliance of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, bookending two remarkable bass concertos.
Later in the month, Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees takes the podium to lead the Orchestra and cellist Andrea Casarrubios in a dynamic program, featuring the world premiere of her work MIRAGE: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra.
As the days grow longer, we’re eagerly anticipating the return of Summer Pops at Symphony Park this June. These beloved outdoor concerts are a hallmark of summer in Charlotte and offer the perfect setting to share great music, food, and fireworks under the stars with family and friends. We hope you’ll join us!
This spring, we’re also bringing music directly into neighborhoods as CSO Roadshow returns, with free performances throughout the six Corridors of Opportunity in partnership with the City of Charlotte.
Looking further ahead, our newly announced 2025–26 season will bring fresh perspectives under Music Director Kwamé Ryan. Highlights include a season-long reflection on the meaning of home, tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States; the launch of the CSO Spotlight Series featuring composer and singer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane; and a mix of beloved classics, like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, alongside new orchestral experiences such as Black Panther in Concert. Explore the season at charlottesymphony.org and subscribe for the best seats and prices.
Thank you for spending part of your spring with us. We can’t wait to share what’s next.
David Fisk President & CEO
Your Charlotte Symphony Experience
Whether you’re attending your first Symphony performance, or you’re a longtime subscriber, we’d like to extend to you a warm and inclusive welcome! Below is some helpful information to ensure you make the most of your Charlotte Symphony experience.
What should I wear?
The Charlotte Symphony has no specific dress code. We encourage you to be comfortable and come as yourself in a style of your choice.
When do I applaud?
Audiences applaud to welcome the concertmaster, conductor, and featured artists onstage. Some works may have several sections, or movements, separated by a brief silent pause. It is tradition to hold applause until the last movement. If you are unsure, wait for the conductor to face the audience. But if you feel truly inspired, do not be afraid to applaud!
Can I take photos?
Certainly! We welcome and encourage you to capture and share photos before and after the concert, as well as during intermission. Feel free to use your cell phone for photography without flash during the performance, but please refrain from video or audio recording.
Concert Program
THE NINETY-THIRD SEASON
André Raphel, conductor · Edgar Meyer, double bass
Friday, April 4, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts
JENNIFER HIGDON (b. 1962)
blue cathedral
EDGAR MEYER (b. 1960)
Concerto in D for Double Bass and Orchestra
I. ♩ = 109
II. ♩ = 74
III. ♩ = 190
- INTERMISSION -
GIOVANNI BOTTESINI (1821-1889)
Concerto No. 2 for Double Bass (arr. Meyer)
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
I. Allegro vivace e con brio
II. Allegretto scherzando
III. Tempo di menuetto
IV. Allegro vivace
[~26ʹ] [~17ʹ] [~13ʹ] [~17ʹ]
CONCERT DURATION: Approximately 2 hours, with one 20-minute intermission.
This concert is made possible in part by the generous support of Judith & Mark Brodsky
André Raphel guest conductor
Acclaimed for his creative programing and versatility, conductor
André Raphel is renowned for his compelling musical performances. A dynamic podium presence, he has also developed a reputation as a skilled communicator. Raphel has led critically acclaimed festivals, world premieres and commissioned works by Richard Danielpour, Jennifer Higdon, Kenneth Fuchs, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and Hannibal Lokumbe.
With the start of the 2024-25 season, André Raphel begins as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Hudson Valley Symphony Orchestra (NY). Conductor Laureate of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Raphel led the orchestra as Music Director for 15 years. Other key positions have included, Assistant Conductor to Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic, Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony. Raphel enjoys a busy career as guest conductor. In June 2025, André Raphel makes his Berlin debut leading the Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin. During the 24-25 season, Raphel also appears with the Charlotte Symphony and Wheeling Symphony. A recording of Uri Caine’s Passion of Octavius Catto with Raphel conducting has garnered acclaim. The Boston Globe named his performance of Caine’s Passion of Octavius Catto with the Boston Symphony, one of “10 Memorable Classical Music Moments from 2023.” Raphel has appeared with most of the major American orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra. He has led Germany’s Bamberg Symphony in two recordings for Bavarian Broadcasting. He made his Los Angeles debut conducting at the gala opening of The Broad museum.
André Raphel made his European debut with the Neubrandenburger Philharmonie and has also led the Moravska Philharmonie. In the United States he has appeared with the orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Seattle, the National Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra. He
made his Carnegie Hall debut leading Robert Shaw and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in a concert celebrating the centennial of mezzo-soprano Marian Anderson. Raphel’s international engagements have further included appearances with the Auckland Philharmonia, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Columbia, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica.
A guest conductor at major music festivals, Raphel has led concerts at the Blossom Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Center. He has also appeared at the Mann Center, Grant Park Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, and the Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil.
Raphel has a strong commitment to education and community engagement. His commitment to education is reflected in his work at leading conservatories and training programs. He has led the Juilliard Orchestra, New World Symphony, Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute, and National Orchestral Institute. During his tenure with the Saint Louis Symphony, he served as Music Director of the orchestra’s “In Unison” program, a partnership between the orchestra and local churches.
Born André Raphel Smith in Durham, North Carolina he began formal music lessons at age 11. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami, and pursued further study at Yale University where he earned his Master’s Degree. While at Yale, he began conducting studies with Otto-Werner Mueller. He continued studies with Mueller at the Curtis Institute of Music earning a Diploma in conducting and at The Juilliard School, where he was awarded the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship and received an Advanced Certificate in orchestral conducting.
Raphel is the recipient of numerous honors and awards which attest to his artistry. André Raphel received the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Brevard Music Center. The Philadelphia Orchestra issued a special commemorative CD featuring William Grant Still’s Symphony No.1 with Maestro Raphel conducting. He received the Distinguished Service Award from Yale University. Raphel is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from West Liberty University. The North Carolina Senate awarded Raphel the “Order of the Long Leaf Pine.” The award, presented annually, is the state’s highest honor for a civilian.
Edgar Meyer double bass/composer
Hailed by The New Yorker as “...the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively un-chronicled history of his instrument,” Edgar Meyer’s uniqueness in the field was recognized when he became the only bassist to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in addition to a MacArthur Award. He was honored with his sixth and seventh GRAMMY® Awards this year for the recording entitled As We Speak with Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Rakesh Chaurasia, and Meyer, released in May 2023.
Meyer recently completed a duo recording with Christian McBride, coming out this March, as well as a recording of his three concertos with The Knights, conducted by Eric Jacobsen and produced by Chris Thile. In June of 2023, to complete the concerto project, he recorded his Concertino for Bass and 14 Strings in the UK with the Scottish Ensemble led by Jonathan Morton, who commissioned and toured the piece with Meyer in spring of 2022. Additionally, Meyer is part of a five-composer group, each having composed a movement for a US premiere with Joshua Bell and the New York Philharmonic in September of 2023.
In fall of 2024, his newly formed trio with violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Joshua Roman began touring the US, performing string trios he composed in the 1980s as well as a newly commissioned work. Mr. Meyer is the subject of an ongoing documentary filmed and produced by Tessa Lark, Andrew Adair, and Michael Thurber.
As a solo classical bassist, Meyer can be heard on a concerto album with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra featuring Bottesini’s Gran Duo with Joshua Bell, Meyer’s own Double Concerto for Bass and Cello with Yo-Yo Ma, Bottesini’s Bass Concerto No. 2, and Meyer’s own Concerto in D for Bass. He has also recorded an album featuring three of Bach’s Unaccompanied Suites for Cello. In 2011, Meyer joined cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, and fiddler Stuart Duncan for the Sony Masterworks recording The Goat Rodeo Sessions which was awarded the 2012 G RAMMY® Award for Best Folk Album.
As a composer, Meyer has carved out a remarkable and unique niche in the musical world. His Double Concerto for Double Bass and Violin received its world premiere July 2012 with Joshua Bell at the Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the 2011-12 season, Meyer was composer in residence with the Alabama Symphony where he premiered his third concerto for double bass and orchestra. Meyer has collaborated with Béla Fleck and Zakir Hussain to write a triple concerto for double bass, banjo, and tabla, which was commissioned for the opening of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The triple concerto was recorded with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and featured on the 2009 recording The Melody of Rhythm, a collection of trio pieces all co-composed by Meyer, Fleck, and Hussain. Other compositions of Meyer’s include a violin/piano work which has been performed by Joshua Bell at New York’s Lincoln Center, a quintet for bass and string quartet premiered with the Emerson String Quartet and recorded on Deutsche Grammophon, a Double Concerto for Bass and Cello premiered with Yo-Yo Ma and The Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, and a violin concerto written for Hilary Hahn which was premiered and recorded by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Collaborations are a central part of Meyer’s work. His previous performing and recording collaborations include a duo with Béla Fleck; a quartet with Joshua Bell, Sam Bush, and Mike Marshall; a trio with Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall; and a trio with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor. The latter collaborated for the 1996 Appalachia Waltz release which soared to the top of the charts and remained there for 16 weeks. Joining together again in 2000, the trio toured Europe, Asia, and the US extensively and recorded a follow up recording , Appalachian Journey , which was honored with a GRAMMY® Award. Meyer began studying bass at the age of five under the instruction of his father and continued further to study with Stuart Sankey. He is an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a visiting professor at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Christopher James Lees
Resident Conductor
Christopher Warren-Green Conductor Laureate
2024 · 2025 MUSICIAN ROSTER
FIRST VIOLINS
Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, Concertmaster
The Catherine & Wilton Connor Chair
Joseph Meyer,* Associate Concertmaster
Kari Giles, Acting Associate Concertmaster
Dustin Wilkes-Kim,
Acting Assistant Concertmaster
Susan Blumberg°°
Jane Hart Brendle
Cynthia Burton
Ayako Gamo
David Horak†
Lenora Leggatt
Jenny Topilow
Angela Watson†
Hanna Zhdan
SECOND VIOLINS
Oliver Kot, Principal
The Wolfgang Roth Chair
Kathleen Jarrell, Assistant Principal
The Pepsi-Cola Foundation of Charlotte Chair
Carlos Tarazona°
Monica Boboc
Martha Geissler
Sakira Harley
Tatiana Karpova
Ellyn Stuart
VIOLAS
Benjamin Geller, Principal
The Zoe Bunten Merrillt Principal Viola Chair
Kirsten Swanson†
Acting Assistant Principal
Matthew Darsey†
Ellen Ferdon
Wenlong Huang
Viara Stefanova
Ning Zhao
CELLOS
Jon Lewis, Principal
The Kate Whitner McKay Principal Cello Chair
Allison Drenkow, Assistant Principal
Marlene Ballena
Jeremy Lamb
Norbert Lewandowski†
Sarah Markle
Oksana McCarthy†
DOUBLE BASSES
Jason McNeel, Acting Principal
Judson Baines, Assistant Principal
Justin Cheesman†
Jeffrey Ferdon
° Non-revolving position
°° Alternates between first and second violins
† Acting member of the Charlotte Symphony
‡ Funded by The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc.
* On leave
This roster lists the full-time members of the Charlotte Symphony. The number and seating of musicians on stage varies depending on the piece being performed.
HARP
Andrea Mumm Trammell, Principal
The Dr. Billy Graham Chair
FLUTES
Victor Wang, Principal
The Blumenthal Foundation Chair
Amy Orsinger Whitehead
Erinn Frechette
PICCOLO
Erinn Frechette
OBOES
Timothy Swanson, Principal
The Leo B. Driehuys Chair‡
Erica Cice
Jamison Hillian†
Terry Maskin*
ENGLISH HORN
Erica Cice
CLARINETS
Taylor Marino, Principal
The Gary H. & Carolyn M. Bechtel Chair
Samuel Sparrow
Allan Rosenfeld
E ♭ CLARINET
Samuel Sparrow
BASS CLARINET
Allan Rosenfeld
BASSOONS
AJ Neubert, Principal
Joshua Hood
Nicholas Ritter
CONTRABASSOON
Nicholas Ritter
HORNS
Byron Johns, Principal
The Mr. & Mrs. William H. Van Every Chair
Andrew Fierova
Bradley Burford
The Robert E. Rydel, Jr. Third Horn Chair
Richard Goldfaden
Paige Quillen
TRUMPETS
Alex Wilborn, Principal
The Betty J. Livingstone Chair
Jonathan Kaplan*
Peter Stammer†
Gabriel Slesinger, Associate Principal
The Marcus T. Hickman Chair
TROMBONES
John Bartlett, Principal
Thomas Burge
BASS TROMBONE
Scott Hartman, Principal
TUBA
Colin Benton, Principal
The Governor James G. Martin Chair
TIMPANI
Jacob Lipham, Principal
The Robert Haywood Morrison Chair
PERCUSSION
Brice Burton, Principal
The CSO is a proud member of the League of American Orchestras.
Musician Spotlight
Paige Quillen
Horn
CSO Member since September 2024
HOMETOWN: Marlboro, New York
Fun Facts
• Beyond music, Paige finds inspiration in painting, poetry, and exploring museums.
• Had she not pursued a career in music, she imagines she would have followed in her mother’s footsteps in the culinary world.
• Given the chance to meet one composer, Paige would choose Richard Strauss to ask about his father, an exceptional horn player.
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is one of the premier music organizations in the Southeastern United States and the oldest continuously operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas. As Charlotte’s most active performing arts group, the CSO presents around 150 concerts each season, reaching more than 150,000 music lovers.
The 2024-25 season marks a transformative era under the dynamic leadership of newly appointed Music Director Kwamé Ryan. With 65 full-time musicians, the Symphony performs throughout the community in a variety of venues, from the Belk and Knight theaters to parks, breweries, community centers, schools, senior care centers, and places of worship. With its new mobile stage, CSO Roadshow, the Symphony extends its reach directly into neighborhoods, bringing live music to communities across the region.
Engaging with more than 10,000 students each year, the Charlotte Symphony nurtures the next generation of musicians and music lovers through its four diverse youth orchestras, in-school education programs, instrument coaching, and Project Harmony — which offers free after-school lessons in music and life skills to over 200 students in under-resourced areas.
OUR MISSION
The Charlotte Symphony uplifts, entertains, and educates the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional musical experiences.
OUR VISION
Reaching out through the transformative power of live music, the Charlotte Symphony will be a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region.
Founded in 1932, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra continues to play a vital cultural role in the region and remains committed to the belief that music, accessible to all, enriches and unites our community. For more information, visit us online at charlottesymphony.org
Jennifer Higdon
BORN: December 31, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York
blue cathedral (1999)
PREMIERE: May 1, 2000 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia
Approximate performance time is 13 minutes.
Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed figures in contemporary classical music, receiving the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, a 2010 GRAMMY� for her Percussion Concerto, a 2018 GRAMMY� for her Viola Concerto, and a 2020 GRAMMY� for her Harp Concerto. In 2018, Higdon received the prestigious Nemmers Prize, awarded to contemporary classical composers of exceptional achievement who have significantly influenced the field of composition. Most recently, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Higdon enjoys several hundred performances a year of her works, and blue cathedral is today’s most performed contemporary orchestral work, with more than 700 performances worldwide. Her works have been recorded on more than 60 CDs. Higdon’s first opera, Cold Mountain, won the International Opera Award for Best World Premiere, and the opera recording was nominated for two GRAMMY� Awards. Her music is published exclusively by Lawdon Press.
Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral was commissioned in 2000 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Curtis Institute of Music. Composed after the death of her younger brother, the work reflects a deeply personal journey through a sacred space and upward toward the heavens. In her program notes, Higdon explains that cathedrals serve as “a symbolic doorway into and out of this world,” while blue represents the sky, “where all possibilities soar.” She envisions the listener “floating down the aisle, slowly moving upward at first and then progressing at a quicker pace, rising toward an immense ceiling which would open to the sky.” The piece prominently features solos for the clarinet, her brother’s instrument, and the flute, Higdon’s own. At the end of the work, the flute drops out, leaving the clarinet to continue its upward, progressing journey.
Edgar Meyer
BORN: November 24, 1960 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Concerto for Double Bass No. 1 in D Major (1993)
PREMIERE: 1993 with the Minnesota Orchestra Approximate performance time is 17 minutes.
The impetus for Edgar Meyer’s Double Bass Concerto in D Major came from Peter Lloyd, Principal Bass of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1986–2007. Meyer was the soloist in the 1993 world premiere of the concerto, with Edo de Waart conducting the Minnesota Orchestra.
The concerto is in three movements. Movement I opens with the soloist introducing an undulating, seductive, blues-tinged melody. That melody journeys throughout the movement, notable also for the orchestra’s delicate scoring.
Movement II is in A-B-A form, opening with an episode in which the solo bass is accompanied by pizzicato strings. Meyer notes: “I lifted the idea of using pizzicato strings as an accompaniment from the Haydn C-Major Violin Concerto.” The brief, agitated central episode resolves to a reprise of the opening, with the bass’s embellished line now joined by the oboe.
Movement III is based upon a recurring melody, “a fiddle tune with blues overtones.” Meyer “got the idea for this type of tune and the way of playing it from hearing Sam Bush play the violin and mandolin.” The energy of the finale’s opening measures continues to the concerto’s resolution.
Giovanni Bottesini
BORN: December 22, 1821 in Crema, Italy
DIED: July 7, 1889 in Parma, Italy
Concerto No. 2 for Double Bass in B Minor
arr. & cadenzas by Edgar Meyer (ca. 1850)
Approximate performance time is 17 minutes.
Giovanni Bottesini enjoyed a celebrated career as a double bass virtuoso, conductor, and composer. It is for his achievements as an instrumentalist that Bottesini is best remembered, earning him the nickname “Paganini of the Double-Bass,” a reference to the legendary Italian violinist. He astounded audiences with his extraordinary technical brilliance and musicality. After making his triumphant concert debut in 1840, Bottesini performed both as a soloist and as a member of various orchestras. Concert engagements took Bottesini throughout Europe and the New World. His American recitals included appearances in New York and New Orleans.
Bottesini most certainly showcased his technical and interpretive brilliance in his Concerto No. 2 in B Minor for Double Bass. The concerto is in the traditional three-movement form, with two quicktempo movements (Allegro moderato and Allegro) framing the secondmovement Andante.
Virtuoso double-bassist Edgar Meyer deems the work “my favorite piece in the bass concerto repertoire.” Meyer continues: “In my headlong desire to put my mark on the piece, I indulged in some rewriting of the concerto.” Meyer replaces the cadenza toward the close of the first movement with one of his own creation, composed several years ago: “It’s much more extroverted than what I would come up with now. It consists primarily of whatever tricks I knew on the bass at that point.” In the finale, Meyer provides yet another cadenza, this one ascending to the D three octaves above middle C. Meyer observes: “Of course, that last octave or so, once you get well past the end of the fingerboard, is really novelty material.” But those kinds of daredevil excursions are very much in the great tradition of 19th-century virtuosos like Bottesini, and his modern counterpart, Edgar Meyer.
Ludwig van Beethoven
BORN: December 17, 1770 in Bonn, Germany
DIED: March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria
Symphony No. 8 in F Major
Opus 93 (1812)
PREMIERE: February 27, 1814 at the Redoutensaal in Vienna
Approximate performance time is 26 minutes.
Beethoven began work on both his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies in 1811. After finishing the Seventh Symphony in June of 1812, Beethoven turned his full attention to the Eighth, completing that score on October 12. The premiere of the Eighth Symphony took place as part of a February 27, 1814 concert at the Redoutensaal in Vienna. The program also contained the composer’s Seventh Symphony — which had received its premiere the previous December 13 — and the (then) wildly popular Wellington’s Victory.
Beethoven’s Eighth is the Symphony that most emphatically reflects the composer’s humorous side. The Eighth also bears a kinship with another comic jewel: Giuseppe Verdi’s final opera, Falstaff (1893). In both works, the composers — at the height of their maturity and powers — employ techniques previously used for the composition of “serious” music to fashion masterpieces overflowing with playful humor. And, if the Eighth Symphony presages the future, it also pays tribute to the past. The work’s high spirits and economy of expression recall the greatest symphonic humorist of them all, Beethoven’s teacher, Franz Joseph Haydn.
The Symphony No. 8 is in four movements. The opening measures immediately establish the first movement’s (Allegro vivace e con brio) boisterous mood. A lighthearted Allegretto scherzando replaces the traditional slow-tempo second movement. The third movement (Tempo di Menuetto) is the only minuet among Beethoven’s symphonies (the First Symphony’s third movement is called a “Minuet,” but is in reality the first of the composer’s many symphonic scherzos). The finale (Allegro vivace) begins with a device familiar from many Haydn symphonies. The strings play a scurrying, pianissimo figure that suddenly, and without warning, explodes with tremendous force. The finale, a beehive of activity from start to finish, concludes with an extended and decidedly emphatic series of chords.
We gratefully acknowledge these generous donors to the Charlotte Symphony Annual Fund. This list reflects gifts received between July 1, 2023 through February 1, 2025.
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* The CSO recognizes donors of exceptional generosity whose cumulative giving exceeds $1 million with the designation of Music Director Society.
VIRTUOSO CIRCLE
$5,000 – $9,999
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Martha D. Jones
Helen & Gene Katz
Ginger Kemp
Michael Lamach
Dr. & Mrs. Randolph Mahnesmith
Anna Marriott
Rosemarie Marshall & Lee Wilkins
Louise & Gary McCrorie
Sally Staub Moore
Janet & Peter Nixon
Caroline Olzinski
Helen & Arvind Patil
Jeanine & Naeem Qasim
Dr. John & Susan Rae
Anne & Mark Riechmann
Brendan Reen
Audrey & Donald Schmidt
Dr. Stephen P. Schultz & Donna Dutton
Anjan Shah
Katy & Raleigh Shoemaker
Rebecca & Eric Smith
Patricia & Morris Spearman
Maxine & Robert Stein
Jean Summerville
Tillie S. Tice
James H. Trexler & Kelly Zellars
Vera Watson Grant Webb
Linda & Craig Weisbruch
Pam West
Cricket Weston & David Molinaro
Bryan Wilhelm
Elizabeth & Stephan Willen
Deems Wilson
Barbara Yarbrough
$1,000 – $1,499
Anonymous (5)
Michele & Ross Annable
Marc Aspesi & Paulette Isoldi
JWD Atchison
Dianne & Brian Bailey
Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln A. Baxter
Katherine & John Beltz
Shirley W. Benfield
Donald H. & Barbara K. Bernstein Family Foundation
Sam Blackmon
Ethan Blumenthal & Sara Kidd
Marilyn & Herb Bonkovsky
Jodie & Erik Bowen
Khary Brown
In Memory of Kyden Justice Brown
Jane & Larry Cain
Amanda & Kevin Chheda
Dr. & Mrs. Bill Chu & Jin Wang
John Colton
Dorothy & Mike Connor
Dr. Kilian Cooley
Ann F. Copeland
Kathleen Goldammer-Copeland
Annual Fund Supporters
Dr.
Priscilla
Dr.
Sabine
Thompson
Libby & Vint Tilson
Sarah S. Tull
Emily & Jeff Vaughan
Rebecca Waters
Linda & Craig Weisbruch Peter White
Williams John Drew Witherington
Judith Wood Sandy & John Yakob
$500 – $999
(5)
& Michael Abbott
Anderson
Natascha A. Bechtler
Cathy & Bob Becker
Emerson Bell
Dr. John L. Bennett & Mr. Eric T. Johnson
Nancy & Sam Bernstein
Nicholas Bonevac
James Broadstone Nelle & Ken Brown
Aram & Scott Bryan Angie & Howard Bush
Mary Lou & Greg Cagle
Barbara F. Caine
Catherine P. Carstarphen
Dr. W. Gerald Cochran & Mr. Timothy D. Gudger
Thomas E. Collins, Jr.
Dr. & Mrs. Charles E. Cook
Jack Cook
Margie & Alpo Crane
Ellen M. Crowley
Todd Croy
Libby & David Currier
Margaret & George Dewey
Diane & Doug Doak
Kris & Thomas Duffy
Heather & Gray Dyer
Kate & Trae Fletcher
Dr. John & Eileen Gardella
Jean & Stephen Geller
Stacy & Pete Gherardi
Walter H. Goodwin, Esq.
Linda & Dan Gordon
Cynthia Greenlee
Gloria Gunst
Dr. & Mrs. Michael D. Heafner
Stefan Heinzelmann
Mary & Steven Kesselman
Nancy H. Kiser
Moira Klein
Dorothy & Theodore Kramer
Jonathan Lamb
Barbara & Jerome Levin
Megan Levine
John J. Locke
Katherine & Mark Love
Dr. & Mrs. William W. MacDonald
The Encore Society
The Encore Society includes individuals who have made provisions for the CSO in their estate plans. We are honored to recognize their support:
Anonymous (3)
Geraldine I. Anderson†
Richard & Ruth Ault
Baldwin Family Trust
Barnhardt Thomas Trust
Lincoln A. Baxter & Helen M. Fowler
Larry & Joyce† Bennett
Dr. Milton & Arlene Berkman
Donald H. & Barbara K. Bernstein
Mark & Louise Bernstein†
Rosemary Blanchard†
Twig & Barbara Branch
Saul Brenner
Mike & Joan Brown†
Mrs. Joan Bruns†
Jan & Bob Busch
Dr. Helen G. Cappleman, Ph.D.†
Jim Cochran† Robin Cochran
Catherine & Wilton Connor
Tom Covington
Charles & Peggy Dickerson
Mr. Martin Ericson, Jr.
David J.L. Fisk & Anne P. O’Byrne
Peter & Ann† Guild
William G. &
Marguerite K. Huey Fund†
Dr. Nish Jamgotch, Jr.
Betty & Stanley Livingstone†
Lucille & Edwin Jones
Paula & Paul McIntosh
Nellie McCrory†
M. Marie Mitchell†
Cricket Weston & David Molinaro
Joan & Richard Morgan
Don C. Niehus
Eva Nove
Richard J. Osborne
Gwen Peterson & Tom Hodge
James Y. Preston†
Mrs. Clayton (Dusty) Pritchett
Ann & Fritz Rehkopf
Elizabeth Waring Reinhard
Nancy W. Rutledge
Mike Rutledge
Harriet Seabrook
Mr. & Mrs. William Seifert
Morris & Patricia Spearman
Bob & Maxine Stein
Dr. Ben C. Taylor III
Mr. & Mrs. Hans Teich
Cordelia G. Thompson
Tim Timson
Jenny & Ken Tolson
Ms. Deborra Wood & Mr. Russell Propst
† Deceased
Corporate Partners
We
Government & Foundations
The Trexler Foundation Dowd Foundation, Inc.
The Dickson Foundation
Cole Foundation
The Charlotte Assembly
The Jack H. & Ruth C. Campbell Foundation
The Mary Norris Preyer Fund
The George W. & Ruth R. Baxter Foundation
Barnhardt/Thomas Trust
For
Comprehensive Campaign
Comprehensive Campaign
We gratefully acknowledge these generous donors to the Charlotte Symphony Comprehensive Campaign. This list reflects gifts received through March 14, 2025.
$10,000,000+
Bank of America · The C.D. Spangler Foundation
$5,000,000 - $9,999,999
John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
$2,000,000 - $4,999,999
Jane & Hugh McColl · The Leon Levine Foundation
$1,000,000 - $1,999,999
Michele & Ross Annable · Atrium Health
Howard C. & Margaret G. Bissell Foundation · Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.
EY · Contributions Associated with Falfurrias Capital Partners
Lynn & Brian Good · Julie & Howard Levine
Loy & Susan McKeithen · Novant Health
$500,000 - $999,99 9
Anonymous Arlene & Milton Berkman Robin & Bill Branstrom · Deloitte Mary & Mike Lamach · Rich Osborne · Debbie & Pat Phillips
M.A. Rogers · Robert Haywood Morrison Foundation · Trane
Technologies Truist Financial Corporation
$250,000 - $499,999
Cathy Bessant · The Dickson Foundation · The Gambrell Foundation
The Gorelick Family Foundation · Moore & Van Allen PLLC
Janet Preyer Nelson · The Trexler Foundation
Betsy Fleming & Ed Weisiger
Comprehensive Campaign
$100,000 - $249,000
Anonymous · Jeannette & Francisco Alvarado · Joan & Mick Ankrom
Ruth & Richard Ault · NCFI/Barnhardt Foundation
Catherine & Wilton Connor · Robin Cochran
Denise & Peter DeMaio · The Dowd Foundation · Linda & Bill Farthing
Dr. Richard Krumdieck & Mrs. Sally Gregory · Elizabeth & Jay Monge Steelfab, Inc. · Andromeda & John Williams
$50,000 - $99,999
Amy & Robert Brinkley · Crescent Communities · The Fox Family
Eileen Friars & Scott Pyle · Mariam & Robert Hayes Charitable Trust
Ulrike & Alex Miles · Chris & Jim Teat
Rita & Bill Vandiver · Lisa & Richard Worf
$10,000 - $49,999
Anonymous · Wedge & Debbie Abels · Mary Lou & Jim Babb
Tiffany & Jason Bernd · Frank Bragg · Shirley & Mike Butterworth
Joye Blount & Jesse Knight, Jr. · The Cato Corporation
Margarita & Nick Clements · Mary Delk
Caroline & Ben Dellinger III · Carlos & Lisa Evans
David Fisk & Anne O’Byrne · Bill & Carol Lorenz
Leslie & Michael Marsicano · Virginia & Chan Martin
Dede & Alex McKinnon · Posey & Mark Mealy · Dale & Larry Polsky Wanda & Steve Phifer · Judy & Derek Raghavan
Shannon & Eric Reichard Sara & Daniel Roselli · Lori & Eric Sklut
Emily & Zach Smith · Melinda & David Snyder
Dr. John A. Thompson, Jr. & Dr. Lee Rocamora Jill & Kevin Walker
$5,000 - $9,999
Brian S. Cromwell Toni Burke & Bob Gaines · Sarah & Frank Gentry
Carol & Joseph Gigler · Lucinda Nisbet Lucas
Dee Dee & William Maxwell
Melissa & Dennis McCrory
Cyndee Patterson Betty & William Seifert Peggy & Pope Shuford
Nancy E. Simpson · Drs. Jennifer & Matthew Sullivan
Martha Ann & Craig Wardlaw
2024-2025 OFFICERS
Richard Krumdieck, Chair
Ulrike Miles, Vice Chair
Melinda Snyder, Vice Chair
Linda McFarland Farthing, Immediate Past Chair
Kevin Walker, Treasurer
Denise DeMaio, Secretary
David Fisk, President & CEO
Kwamé Ryan, Music Director
2024-2025 DIRECTORS
Mick Ankrom
Joye D. Blount
Krisha Blanchard
Mike Butterworth
Nick Clements
Mary Delk*
Sidney Fletcher
Carrie Galloway
Lucia Zapata Griffith
Byron Johns*
Valerie Kinloch
Stephen Makris
Alex McKinnon
Juliette Pryor
Sara Garces Roselli
Lindsay Schall
Ylida Scott
Cameron Sherrill
Jennifer Sullivan
Brienne Tinder*
Andrea Mumm Trammell*
Ken Walker
*ex-officio
2024-2025 TRUSTEES
Richard Osborne, Chair
Paul Anderson
Ruth & Richard Ault
Arlene & Milton Berkman
Jason & Tiffany Bernd
Mary & Charles Bowman
Frank Bragg
Robin & Bill Branstrom
Dr. William Charles & Dr. Cynthia Nortey
Derick & Sallie Close
Robin Cochran
Catherine & Wilton Connor
Jeanie & T. Thomas Cottingham III
Brian Cromwell
Susan Cybulski
Alessandra & Pasquale De Martino
Alvaro & Donna de Molina
Peggy & Richard Dreher
Lisa Hudson Evans
Karen Fox
Eileen Friars & Scott Pyle
Ralph S. Grier
Laurie Guy
Janet Haack
Reginald B. Henderson, Esq.
Mark & Whitney Jerrell
Jeff Lee Gov. James G. Martin
Jane & Hugh McColl
Stacie McGinn
Susan & Loy McKeithen
Elizabeth & Jay Monge
Mica Oberkfell
Patrick J. O’Leary
Debbie & G. Patrick Phillips
Paul Reichs
Nancy & Charles Robson
Patricia A. Rodgers
M.A. Rogers
Frank Schall
Laura & Mike Schulte
Carolyn Shaw
Emily & Zach Smith
Will Sparks
Bob & Marsha Stickler
Chris & Jim Teat
Kelly & Neal Taub
Adam Taylor
Elizabeth & Steve Willen
Braxton Winston
Richard Worf
Joan Zimmerman
Albert Zue
EXECUTIVE
David J. L. Fisk, President & CEO
Samantha Hackett, Executive Administrator
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
Scott Freck, Vice President for Artistic Operations & General Manager
Carrie Graham, Senior Director of Artistic Planning
Tim Pappas, Director of Operations
Bart Dunn, Principal Music Librarian
Emily Schaub, Assistant Music Librarian
Erin Eady, Senior Manager of Orchestra Personnel
Claire Beiter, Artistic Operations Manager
John Jarrell, Stage Manager
DEVELOPMENT
Shayne Doty, Vice President of Development
Libby Currier, Director of Individual Giving
Tammy Matula, Senior Manager of Development Operations
Jennifer Gherardi, Development Manager - Campaign & Special Events
Meghan Woolbright, Annual Fund Manager
Noel Kiss, Advancement Associate
Josh Bottoms, Institutional Giving Coordinator
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Christian Drake, Vice President of Finance & Administration
Amy Hine, HR Coordinator & Office Administrator
Chazin & Company, Financial Services
HUMAN RESOURCES
Maribeth Baker, Human Resources Counselor
LEARNING & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Aram Kim Bryan, Vice President of Learning & Community Engagement
Dylan Lloyd, Senior Manager of Youth Orchestras
Mark Rockwood, Education & Community Programs Manager
Michaela Sciacca, Project Harmony Manager
Gavin Fulker, Education & Community Programs Assistant
Lily Moore, Youth Orchestras Assistant
Bria Alexander, Learning & Community Engagement Assistant
MARKETING & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Frank Impelluso, Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development
Deirdre Roddin, Director of Institutional Marketing & Communications
Nicole Glaza, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing
Laura Thomas, Senior Manager of Marketing & Audience Development
Chad Calvert, Visual Communications Manager
Meghan Starr, Patron Experience Manager
Garrett Whiffen, Ticketing Manager
