May 15 & 16
A Message from the President & CEO
It’s a privilege to welcome you to this evening’s performance — the finale of this season’s Classical Series, presented by Bank of America.
Tonight’s program is the culmination of our seasonlong exploration of “home.” Each work, in its own way, speaks to the ideas of place and belonging. From Copland’s Appalachian Spring to Jennifer Higdon’s musical tribute to Atlanta, we hear different reflections on home, both physical and emotional.
Music has always been shaped by its time and place — a way for composers to respond to the world around them, offering insights and new paths towards understanding. In that spirit, Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form is a deeply thoughtprovoking work, built from real stories shared with honesty and care, and brought to life in collaboration with members of our community who have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity. This is a reality for many in Charlotte, and Kahane’s work invites us to engage with perspectives that are often unseen or unheard.
We are deeply grateful to our partners at Roof Above, who have helped make this project possible, as well as to the neighbors who have shared their experiences so generously. Their voices are at the heart of this work, and their willingness to participate brings a special level of authenticity and meaning, for which we are profoundly grateful.
David Fisk President & CEO
About the CSO
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 2025–26 season marks the next chapter in the Charlotte Symphony’s artistic evolution under Music Director Kwamé Ryan. Framed by a seasonlong exploration of home — reflecting on belonging, identity, and place through a wide range of musical voices — the season offers bold new works, symphonic masterworks, and creative collaborations across the Classical, Pops, Movie, and Family series. Highlights include the debut of the CSO Spotlight Series, an ever-expanding look at the work of this season’s CSO Spotlight Artist, Gabriel Kahane; performances of audience favorites like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Ravel’s Boléro; and more events that showcase the Orchestra’s breadth, from the music of Dolly Parton to Black Panther in Concert.
Engaging with more than 15,000 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. With its new mobile stage, CSO Roadshow, the Symphony extends its reach directly into neighborhoods, bringing live music to communities across the 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.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to ignite the human spirit through the passion and unifying power of live symphonic music.
OUR VISION
Our vision is that the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is the musical heart of our region.
For more information, visit us at charlottesymphony.org
Thank you for being here, for listening, and for being part of this experience. join the musical dialogue
What did you think of the performance?
@cltsymphony #cltsymphony
CLASSICAL SERIES FINALE
Copland & Kahane
Friday, May 15, 2026, at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 7:30 pm
Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts
Kwamé Ryan, conductor
INTERMISSION
emergency shelter intake form what brings you here? chorus of inconvenient statistics where did you stay last night? if you answered yes to “living with family slash friends” have you ever been evicted? certainly we can all agree have you received any income in the past thirty days? do your co-workers know that you have lost your home? are you eligible for a section 8 voucher? has your physical health ever caused you to lose your housing? a brief history of the subprime mortgage loan crisis have you ever been denied a loan or a lease? thank you for completing this form
Alicia Hall Moran, mezzo-soprano Chorus of Inconvenient Statistics: Gabriel Kahane
Holland Andrews
Holcombe Waller
Community Chorus
Roof Above
The Charlotte Interdenominational Mass Choir
CONCERT DURATION: approx. 2 hours, including one 20-minute intermission.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TONIGHT’S CONCERT
GABRIEL KAHANE (b. 1981)
“SkyLine” from City Scape
JENNIFER HIGDON (b. 1962) [~7’]
Appalachian Spring, Suite from the Ballet
AARON COPLAND (1900-1990) [~24’]
Kwamé Ryan music director
Kwamé Ryan is a Grammy Awardwinning conductor, currently in his second season as Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Ryan formerly held the position of General Music Director of Freiburg Opera from 1999–2003 and served as Musical and Artistic Director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux-Aquitaine from 2007–13. As a guest conductor in Germany, he has led the Radio Orchestras of Stuttgart and Bavaria, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatsoper Saarbrücken, and Staatsoper Stuttgart. While in France, he worked with Opéra de la Bastille, Opéra de Lyon, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Work in the US and the UK has taken him to the Symphony Orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston, Boston Lyric Opera, English National Opera, and the London Philharmonia.
Ryan has been a regular guest of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Proms, and Dutch National Opera, at which he has worked with the Residence Orchestra, The Hague, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. In 2024, he returned to La Monnaie, Brussels for the revival of Kris De Foort’s The Time of our Singing, his 2021 premiere of which earned the International Opera Award for World Premiere of the Year.
The 2025–26 season sees returns to the Washington National Opera and the New York Philharmonic as well as his debut at the Metropolitan Opera.
Gabriel Kahane spotlight artist
Gabriel Kahane is a musician, writer, and storyteller. Highlights of the 2025–26 season include collaborations with Roomful of Teeth, Attacca Quartet, and Jeffrey Kahane; conducting debuts with Santa Fe Pro Music and the San Antonio Philharmonic; artist-in-residence posts with the University of Iowa and the Charlotte Symphony; the world premiere of a new song cycle at the 92nd Street Y; and the Carnegie Hall premiere of If love will not swing wide the gates, a clarinet concerto written for Anthony McGill.
An avid theater artist, Kahane opened last season at Playwrights Horizons with the off-Broadway debut of two solo works, Magnificent Bird and Book of Travelers, the latter inspired by an 8,980-mile train journey following the 2016 presidential election. His album and stage work The Ambassador premiered at BAM’s Next Wave Festival under Tony Award–winner John Tiffany. His musical February House, created with playwright Seth Bockley, premiered in New York at the Public Theater, and in 2018 he made his Broadway debut composing the score for Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery.
Kahane is known for addressing politically complex themes with nuance, notably in his orchestral work emergency shelter intake form, which explores housing insecurity and has been performed internationally. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times, and he publishes essays in his newsletter “Words and Music.”
His discography spans singer-songwriter albums, orchestral works, and chamber collaborations, including projects with Brooklyn Rider. He has worked with artists ranging from Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Simon to Caroline Shaw and the Danish String Quartet. A 2021 Charles Ives Fellow, Kahane lives in Portland, Oregon, and serves as Creative Chair of the Oregon Symphony.
Alicia Hall Moran
mezzo-soprano
Alicia Hall Moran is an awardwinning mezzo-soprano and collaborative vocal artist with two critically praised solo albums, Heavy Blue (2015) and Here Today (ranked the #1 album of 2018 by Mike West, NPR Music/Jazz) and a third, Coldblooded (2026), in the vein of other alt-operas by Moran that skate the divides between musical genres and mediums: the motown project, Breaking Ice, and Black Wall Street; Chantal with Jason Moran (Washington National Opera); the musical Family Ball (Boston ICA); and Work Songs (56th Venice Biennale). She directed Two Wings: The Music of Black America in Migration (premiered at Carnegie Hall), and conceived the Morans’ BLEED for 2012’s groundbreaking Whitney Biennial in the same season she made her Broadway debut in The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess (Tony winner “Best Revival”), earning an NAACP Los Angeles Theater Award nomination for her subsequent portrayal of Bess on National Tour. Moran is a noted collaborator inside visual artworks by Rosa Barba (The Ocean of One’s Pause), Joan Jonas (Reading Danté), Ragnar Kjartansson (Scenes from Western Culture), Christopher Myers (Feathers on the Waves), Liz Magic Laser and Simone Leigh (Breakdown), Adam Pendleton (three scenes/variation one), Carrie Mae Weems (Grace Notes), Suzanne Bocanegra (Valley), Sonya Clark (The Huest Eye), Lee Mingwei (My Labyrinth) and choreographer Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (Chapel/Chapter) with won the Bessie Award for Musical Collaboration. Recording Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form (Kalmar/Oregon Symphony) is a career highlight. Additional appearances include the San Francisco Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, BBC London, National Symphony Orchestra Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony with pianist Aaron Diehl, Austin Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Harlem Chamber Players, stargaze ensemble, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Allison Loggins Hull’s Diametrically Composed, the band Harriet Tubman, Kaoru Watanabe’s Bloodlines, Lyric Opera of the North, James Moore and The Hands Free, Opera Southwest, and esteemed music-making ensembles worldwide. She was a Ford Foundation Art of Change fellow and is the recipient of a Jerome Hill Artist award.
Holland Andrews vocalist
Holland Andrews is a composer, vocalist, clarinetist, and improviser whose work focuses on generating expansive sonic tapestries of cathartic and dissonant soundscapes. Andrews develops and performs soundscapes for dance, theater, and film. Notable music collaborations include Son Lux, Christina Vantzou, William Brittelle, Methods Body, West Thordson, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Nils Frahm. Notable artist and choreographer collaborations include Bill T. Jones, Dorothee Munyaneza, Will Rawls, Sonya Tayeh, Jenn Freeman, and poet Demian Dinéyazhi.
Holcombe Waller vocalist
Holcombe Waller is a singer of uncommon poise and a certain conspiratorial charm, delivering intimacy with the assurance of someone who knows exactly where the line between confession and performance ought to be drawn — and crosses it anyway. His voice, at once tender and exacting, has carried him across concert halls and more curious rooms, where audiences are invited not merely to listen, but to be quietly implicated.
Waller has fashioned a career that resists the usual filing systems. His work moves easily between contemporary song, classical influence, and original theatrical projects, often threading personal narrative with a cool, literary wit. He has performed internationally, composed for stage and film, and developed a body of work that feels as deliberate as it is disarming. Among his recognitions are a Creative Capital Award, four MAP Fund grants, and the United States Artists Berresford Fellowship in Music.
More recently, his creative life has expanded beyond the stage into the world of hospitality. As the proprietor behind The Klondike Tavern and the forthcoming Klondike Hotel in St. Helens, Oregon, he applies the same ethos to physical space: atmosphere as storytelling, service as performance, and the guest as participant.
He lives in Oregon, drives like an over-caffeinated Californian, and performs an annual holiday concert titled “A Very George Michael Christmas.”
Kwamé Ryan · Music Director
Christopher James Lees, Resident Conductor
FIRST VIOLINS
Calin Ovidiu Lupanu
Concertmaster
The Catherine & Wilton Connor Chair
Joseph Meyer *
Associate Concertmaster
Kari Giles
Acting Associate Concertmaster
Hanna Zhdan
Acting Assistant Concertmaster
Susan Blumberg°°
Jane Hart Brendle
Cynthia Burton
Fengwan Chen†
Ayako Gamo
David Horak†
Oliver Kot °°
Lenora Leggatt
Jenny Topilow
Dustin Wilkes-Kim*
SECOND VIOLINS
Kathleen Jarrell
Acting Principal
The Wolfgang Roth Chair
Carlos Tarazona°
Acting Assistant Principal
The Pepsi-Cola Foundation of Charlotte Chair
Monica Boboc
Martha Geissler
Sakira Harley
Laura Herrera†
Tatiana Karpova
Ellyn Stuart
VIOLAS
Benjamin Geller, Principal
The Zoe Bunten Merrillt Principal Viola Chair
Pin-Hao Liao
Assistant Principal
Ellen Ferdon
Wenlong Huang
Pedro Mendez
Viara Stefanova
Ning Zhao
Christopher Warren-Green, Conductor Laureate
MUSICIAN ROSTER
CELLOS
Jon Lewis, Principal
The Kate Whitner McKay Principal Cello Chair
Allison Drenkow
Assistant Principal
Marlene Ballena
Jeremy Lamb
Sarah Markle
Nicco Mazziotto
David Olson
DOUBLE BASSES
Jason McNeel, Acting Principal
Judson Baines, Asst. Principal
Jeffrey Ferdon
Eric Thompson†
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†
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
Christopher Caudill†
The Robert E. Rydel, Jr. Third Horn Chair (acting)
Richard Goldfaden
Paige Quillen
TRUMPETS
Alex Wilborn, Principal
The Betty J. Livingstone Chair
Jesdelson Vasquez†
Gianluca Farina†
Acting Associate Principal
The Marcus T. Hickman Chair
Gabriel Slesinger *
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is a proud member of the League of American Orchestras.
TROMBONES
John Bartlett, Principal
Thomas Burge
BASS TROMBONE
Scott Hartman, Principal
TUBA
Colin Benton, Principal
The Governor James G. Martin Chair
TIMPANI
Denis Petrunin†
Acting Principal
The Robert Haywood Morrison Chair
PERCUSSION
Brice Burton, Principal
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.
° Non-revolving position
°° Alternates between first and second violins
† Acting member of the CSO ‡ Funded by the Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc.
* On leave
Jennifer Higdon
born:
Dec 31, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York
“SkyLine” from City Scape (2002)
PREMIERE: November 14, 2002 in Atlanta, Georgia
Approximate performance time is 7 minutes.
BEHIND THE MUSIC
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 sixty 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.
Higdon’s “SkyLine” is the first movement of City Scape, a three-movement work commissioned and premiered by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
THE COMPOSER SPEAKS
“City Scape is a metropolitan sound picture written in orchestral tones.
Every city has a distinctive downtown skyline: that steely profile that juts into the sky, with shapes and monumental buildings that represent a particular signature for each city. The steel structures present an image of boldness, strength, and growth, teeming with commerce and the people who work and live there. This is the first movement, ‘SkyLine’.”
JENNIFER HIGDON
Aaron Copland
born: Nov 14, 1900 in Brooklyn, New York
died: Dec 2, 1990 in Tarrytown, New York
Appalachian Spring Suite from the Ballet (1944)
PREMIERE: October 30, 1944 in Washington, DC
Approximate performance time is 24 minutes.
BEHIND THE MUSIC
The American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham commissioned Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, choosing the title for the ballet from a poem by Hart Crane. Copland began work on the score in June of 1943. Because of various delays, the premiere of Appalachian Spring did not occur until October 30, 1944. Graham and Eric Hawkins danced the principal roles.
Copland scored the original ballet for a chamber group of thirteen instruments. Subsequently, Copland arranged a Suite from Appalachian Spring for a larger ensemble. The Suite received its premiere in 1945.
Appalachian Spring takes place in the early part of the 19th century in the hills of Pennsylvania. The story concerns the wedding of a young farmer and his bride. At the work’s conclusion, according to Copland, the couple is left “quiet and strong in their new house.”
WHILE YOU LISTEN
The Suite is divided into eight sections, performed without pause. About two-thirds into the piece, the solo clarinet introduces the Shaker melody “Simple Gifts” (“‘Tis the gift to be simple / ‘Tis the gift to be free,”). Five variations on the beloved Shaker melody follow. Copland later arranged “Simple Gifts” for voice and piano, part of Set 1 of the composer’s Old American Songs (1950).
THE
COMPOSER SPEAKS
“I felt that ‘Simple Gifts,’ which expressed the unity of the Shaker spirit, was ideal for Martha’s scenario and for the kind of austere movements associated with her choreography.”
AARON COPLAND
Gabriel Kahane
born:
July 10, 1981 in Venice Beach, California
2025-26 CSO SPOTLIGHT ARTIST
emergency shelter intake form (2018)
PREMIERE: May 12, 2018 in Portland, Oregon Approximate performance time is 51 minutes.
THE COMPOSER SPEAKS
In the spring of 2016, I received a phone call from Charles Calmer at the Oregon Symphony. He asked if I would write a substantial work for the orchestra having to do with housing and homelessness, twin crises facing nearly every major metropolitan area in the United States, Portland being no exception. My initial instinct was to run for the hills — an ivory tower institution commissioning and presenting a piece about poverty for their largely well-to-do audience? The optics seemed untenable. At the same time, I knew the Oregon Symphony to be a phenomenal band, and it seemed foolish to pass up the opportunity to write for them. More to the point, however: I couldn’t help but respect the organization’s desire to grapple directly with issues facing their community, even if it felt ethically complicated. I agreed to write the piece, but remained uncertain as to how I would address the prompt without either speaking on behalf of a community with which I have little experience, and/or creating a maudlin and sentimental portrait of homelessness.
When I began work on the piece, a few things had become clear. Homelessness, I came to understand, is best thought of as a symptom of inequality, and is but one of the myriad ways in which poverty is experienced. As I write this, inequality has become so extreme that billionaires are publishing open letters demanding that they be taxed at higher rates, and mainstream economists throughout the political spectrum acknowledge that the current distribution of wealth and income may increase the likelihood of societal breakdown. On the human level, inequality plays out in the lives of tens of millions of Americans whose sense of economic stability is increasingly precarious. One recent study found that nearly half of all American families struggle to balance a basic monthly budget of necessities.
Meanwhile, for those of us who have not experienced homelessness or do not work in the field, it is easy to make broad assumptions about what leads to loss of housing. These assumptions are often predicated on what we see on the street, where mental illness and substance abuse are frequently on display. But in studying housing insecurity more closely, one
learns that in many locales, the vast majority who experience homelessness are invisible: they are doubled up with family and friends, staying in shelters, hotels, motels, or even in encampments unseen by the broader public. And in these cases, it is frequently job loss, illness, accident, or the need to care for a loved one that leads to a situation in which an individual must decide between, say, paying rent or keeping the lights on. In that sense, emergency shelter intake form is not about a marginalized fraction of the population. Instead, it tries to depict all of those who have ever felt financial precarity, and to demonstrate that we are all more proximate to the experience of homelessness than we might at first imagine.
Finally, I knew that in order to have a fighting chance of doing this subject justice, I would need to include the voices of those whose lives bear witness to a society that fails to guarantee the basic economic dignity of its most vulnerable citizens. To that end, I asked the Oregon Symphony if it would be possible to assemble a chorus comprising individuals who’d experienced homelessness or other forms of housing insecurity, and the intrepid Monica Hayes, Director of Education and Outreach, sprang into action. A few weeks later, she’d made contact with the Maybelle Community Singers, a program of the Maybelle Community Center, which has for several decades sought to create community for those living in poverty, driven by the hypothesis (now borne out by scientific data) that poverty is often accompanied by social isolation, and that social isolation can have deleterious effects on health.
Although they sing in only the last movement, the Maybelle Community Singers are at the heart of this piece, and I am forever grateful to them for their generosity of spirit in contributing their hearts and voices to this project. I am grateful, too, for the moral clarity of my other collaborators: Alicia Hall Moran, Holland Andrews, Holcombe Waller, Carlos Kalmar, and last but not least, the incredible Oregon Symphony.
— GABRIEL KAHANE, NOVEMBER 2019
Explore a new musical voice each season with the CSO Spotlight Series. We start with a focused look at an artist’s work and gradually expand, illuminating more facets and revealing a fuller picture as the season unfolds.
This season, the Charlotte Symphony shines a light on composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Kahane, whose poignant musical storytelling traverses genres and themes with insight, empathy, and imagination.
emergency shelter intake form
I. WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE ?
What brings you here?
What happened?
Where did you sleep last night?
Have you ever had a lease in your name?
Have you ever had utilities in your name?
Have you ever had a name on the tip of your tongue?
Would prior landlord give you a bad reference?
A glowing reference?
Would prior landlord fail to mention The wondrous smells
That would emit from your kitchen?
Have you ever owned a home?
Have you ever lost a home?
Please use the following space
To draw a picture
Of the look on a man’s face
When he learns he has lost his home.
II. CHORUS OF INCONVENIENT STATISTICS
We are the chorus of inconvenient statistics, Legislation, and relevant documents. We do not wish to make any of you feel shitty.
(Excuse our language— We haven’t been properly socialized.)
But, we know that you, gentle listener, Sitting veiled in the gauzy dark, Did not come here this evening To be lectured or to be shamed.
Nevertheless…
We believe that the lifeblood of art is— How shall we put it?
Ambiguity—
Whereas to beat an audience
Over the head with ideological claptrap Would suggest, ipso facto, that ambiguity Had been sacrificed in favor of Making a point.
And yet we believe that In order to do justice
To this heady story, This gnarled complex of ideas,
We must from time to time
Dispense with politesse And share with you The cold hard facts.
III. WHERE DID YOU STAY LAST NIGHT?
Where did you stay last night?
Check one box only:
□ On the Street
□ Emergency Shelter
□ Transitional Housing
□ Psychiatric Facility
□ Hospital (non-psychiatric)
□ Hospital whose fluorescent light And whose scent of death
Make you feel all kinds of nauseous,
And from which you flee
In a flowered gown
At 3am into the April dark…
□ Jail/Prison/Juvenile Facility
□ Domestic Violence Situation
□ Living with Relatives/Friends
□ Living with Relatives/Friends Whose judgment of you is Trying your patience.
□ Living with Relatives/Friends Whose patience is being tried By you and your family.
□ Living with Relatives/Friends In a half-finished basement
Where you and your son and daughter Share a bed
In which you lie awake; Listen to footsteps upstairs, The breath of your children, And wonder what you did wrong…
□ Motel not paid for by Shelter Voucher
□ Motel not painted by Edward Hopper
□ Motel whose manager looks at you Sideways with a mouthful of rotten teeth, A look that you can’t help but think Has got something to do with The color of your skin…
□ Foster Care/Group Home
□ Permanent Supportive Housing
□ Place Not Meant For Habitation
□ Car/Bus/Subway/An Embankment
□ A Bridge
□ A Forest
□ A Ridge
□ A Clocktower
□ In the moon, in the sun
□ In a room overrun
With disappointment, despondency, And a broken flat screen tv screen Watched by rats enthusiastically You wonder what you did wrong…
IV. IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO “LIVING WITH FAMILY SLASH FRIENDS”
If you answered “Yes” to “Living with family slash friends, ” Please complete the following:
How do four people sleep in a room that’s meant for two, A game of Tetris that can’t be won?
How do you explain the word “foreclosure”
To your son?
What happens when your son Wets the bed that the three of you Are sleeping in and you speak to him harshly, And he cries?
And while you cannot pay for the car
That’s in the shop, how will you get to work
And the boys to school?
Does your pride catch in your throat?
Do you tell lies so that people don’t know?
When you receive the call from the school
In your office chair:
Please pick up your son.
Will you tell them the truth
That you had to choose: Mortgage or Medical?
So if my boy is acting out, Hit another boy in the mouth,
Our catalog of loss
Might have something to do with it.
Does your pride catch in your throat? Do you tell lies so that people don’t know?
V. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN EVICTED?
Have you ever been evicted?
How many times?
□ 0 □ 1 □ 2–3 □ 4–9 □ More than 10
If yes, how did it feel to hold the pink paper
You are hereby notified
As you stood in the melting snow that the county sheriff’s office
Where men in coveralls tossed your belongings has a court order
Your son’s baseball trophies, your cookbooks, requiring your immediate removal
Onto the pavement? from the premises.
On a scale of 1 to 5, How would you rate your Failure to vacate will be cause for Humiliation
the sheriff to remove your belongings. when you asked the men, If an eviction is choking on your pride, necessary, risk of damages or loss if you could use the bathroom of property shall be borne by you in what had been the defendant until that morning after delivery your home?
by the sheriff to the place of safe-keeping.
Have you ever been evicted After calling the police
To report the blue black bruises, To report the blue black bruises
On face, neck, chest, arms?
(check all body parts that apply)
“Public nuisance,” the landlord claimed, While you applied concealer Outside the courtroom.
Or perhaps you didn’t call— Your bruises burnish, fester, and increase? Or did the company move to Michigan? Did envelopes with plastic windows
Pile up on the table til you found yourself Balanced on steel girders?
A bridge over the Delaware Fistfuls of pills, Red, yellow, pink Then a little voice, “Either God or my grandmother,” You would later recall, Told you not to jump.
What was the last thought
That coursed through your mind
As you lay down on the sidewalk And waited to be found?
VI. CERTAINLY WE CAN ALL AGREE
Certainly we can all agree
That we are in the midst of a housing crisis For which the most effective solution Is to build new homes at more affordable prices.
The only nagging question that remains— The one that most nearly pertains— Is where these units should to be erected So that we might keep protected
Our sun-drenched, gut-renovated, acre-and-a-half Victorian domains, And so we’ve written these refrains:
To have shelter is a right we all hold dear
As long as it isn’t built too near
To our bespoke craftsman homes with their raisèd beds
Full of heirloom asparagus and ancient grain for our breads.
Baby, this doesn’t have to be hard— Put ’em anywhere at all, But not in my backyard.
We’ve always loved the unwashed masses, The hardscrabble working classes, So long as we can’t see or hear them ’Cause the truth is that we fear them.
Baby, this doesn’t have to be hard—
Put ‘em anywhere at all,
But not in my backyard.
Not in my backyard!
We don’t wanna have to have our windows barred.
Anywhere else is fine within the urban growth boundary line, Put ‘em anywhere at all, But not in my backyard.
Never mind the fact
That we live on plundered land. Those Natives whom we killed and conquered
Surely understand
That when Andrew Jackson held out His cold and bloody hand
They were consigning themselves
To live in squalid poverty
On inadequate tracts bereft
Of modern niceties
Like running water or electricity
But that ain’t no concern for you or me!
We believe in social justice at any price
As long as it don’t mean we have to make a sacrifice.
Mixed income housing’s nice in theory But in practice makes us leery, still this, This doesn’t have to be hard— Build it anywhere at all, Just not in my backyard.
Not in my backyard!
You can understand why we gotta stay on guard.
It’s a sacred old tradition
Of denying folks permission
To gain entry into our community— That is if they don’t look like you or me
And have an income north of a million two or three.
This doesn’t have to be hard—
Put ‘em anywhere at all
But not in my backyard.
VII. HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY INCOME IN THE PAST THIRTY DAYS?
Have you received any income in the past thirty days?
If yes, please describe:
Home Health Aid
Mortgage Broker
Legal Advisor
Conceptual Artist
Bike Mechanic
Brand Consultant
Construction Worker
Lemonade Stand Operator
Clerk at Kroger’s
Clerk at Walmart/Clerk at Fred Meyer
Oscar Meyer Weiner Mascot
Adjunct Faculty
Gas Station Attendant
Security Guard
Human Security Blanket
Singer in a Band
Violinist In An Orchestra
Oboist In An Orchestra
Head Usher
Visual Artist
Sandwich Artist
Con Artist
Escape Artist
If you have received Non-Cash Benefits In the past thirty days
And have still gone to bed hungry, You may not have been able to distinguish Between the emptiness in your stomach And your sense of resignation.
VIII. DO YOUR CO-WORKERS KNOW THAT YOU HAVE LOST YOUR HOME?
Do your co-workers know that you have lost your home?
Do they know you have sweated through sheets
In every bed you’ve slept in for the last six weeks?
Do your co-workers know?
IX. SECTION 8
Are you eligible for a Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher?
Have you applied for a Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher?
Are you on a waiting list for a Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher?
Were you given an estimate of how long you would be waiting?
If yes, were you told that the wait would be:
□ 3–6 months □ 7–12 months
□ 1–2 years □ 3–5 years
The duration of a presidency
A generation
If more than ten years, Please check box labeled eternity
Please make a list of the activities You intend to pursue
While on the waiting list.
Be descriptive.
Be creative.
You may choose to include illustrations.
Are you aware that despite having qualified for this voucher,
Intended to help low income, very low income, Extremely low income families to acquire housing,
That you and your family have only a one in five chance
Of receiving it?
If by, contrast, you were a homeowner, You would be eligible for the mortgage interest deduction,
Which after being capped at $750,000 Per annum (to facilitate corporate tax cuts) Will still result in federal loss
Of $50 billion dollars, (give or take)
90 percent of which will benefit families With household incomes greater than $100,000 or more per annum.
In plain English, this means That the federal government Subsidizes housing for the middle and upper classes
At a higher rate than it does for the poor.
How does this make you feel?
X. HAS YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH CAUSED YOU TO LOSE YOUR HOUSING?
Does your body ache
Like a bright light that’s also black, But no doctor, For fear of bills
You know that you can’t pay?
Do you worry your lip: Rent or electricity, Gasoline or groceries, What to sell?
Blood plasma
Your body
Check all that apply
Sell the plasma, Eat the cookies, Drink the juice, Stumble to the car.
Rest your head
On the steering wheel
And listen to the tape you made In 2004
Regain composure Drive to Walmart
Cash the forty dollar check
You received for opening a vein.
Does your body ache
Like a bright light that’s also black?
XI. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE LOAN CRISIS
Um, we’re super sorry to interrupt And we mean no disrespect, But we felt that this might be An opportune moment to interject
A brief history of the financial crisis Expressed through mortgages, subprime. But in order to do so
We must revisit an earlier time
Of Absolut vodka, perms, and wedge salad, Michael Milken indicted for junk bonds, invalid, Revolutions in the Eastern bloc, The first tremors in a worldwide shock, That would leave the old guard looking pallid.
But the suits on Wall Street They couldn’t be bothered, They were too busy toasting The new bond they’d fathered.
An industry-wide sensation:
The Collateralized Debt Obligation!
Say you’ve got yourself a pile of different loans:
Aircraft-lease and credit card, vacations homes—
Diversified assets you can slice and dice
Then repackage and re-sell for a reasonable price.
A means to redistribute the collective risk
Into a stew of debt or better yet, securitized bisque!
It made markets more efficient, at least that’s how it seemed:
The free market built as Milton Friedman had dreamed!
Can you hear the bull market roar?
That’s the sound of the rich buying debt from the poor!
And when they’ve bought it all, my friend, They’ve gotta make more,
And that’s where subprime mortgages come in!
Some years pass or to be exact a decade and a few,
We go from George Bush One to Bubba on to George Bush Two.
Wall Street got addicted to that CDO bet—
That’s the bet that says that folks will never default on their debt.
They needed lots of loans to feed their debt machine
That turns our IOUs and You Owe Me’s right back into green
So in the boom of new construction in the early to mid-aughts
With McMansions in production on these grand suburban lots
A plot was hatched behind the scenes
By fatcats in the backs of limousines: They’d offer toxic lines of credit
To those too poor to get it
By more or less any other means.
Can you hear the bull market roar?
That’s the sound of the rich buying debt from the poor!
And when they’ve bought it all, my friend, They’ve gotta make more,
And that’s where subprime mortgages come in!
The lenders knew the fine print of these loans contained
A mine field full of rate hikes that were never explained,
So folks who made subsistence wages, they got loans for half a mil—
Told to lie about their incomes on the forms they had to fill.
The lenders thought that housing prices couldn’t help but rise
So when folks couldn’t make a payment, they’d instead re-amortize, Then these loans were bought by Wall Street, cut in pieces, packed, and sold, They were seemingly innocuous, the truth, though never told,
Was that these new financial instruments, all rated triple-A Were in fact big piles of garbage that would putrefy some day,
And when these unsuspecting folks who’d bought these grand and lavish homes, They found the housing market stalled, began to default on their loans.
You see the boom turned to a bubble, and by fall ’07, well
The bubble turned to rubble, and it pains me much to tell
You that the CDOs we mentioned, that hedge funds all had stashed
As seemingly good money, now one by one they crashed.
Can you hear the bull market roar?
That’s the sound of the rich buying debt from the poor!
And when they’ve bought it all, my friend, They’ve gotta make more,
And that’s where subprime mortgages come in!
For their role in fiscal meltdown, and for judgment lacked You’d think you’d see the guys at Deutsche Bank and Goldman sacked, But instead they walked with millions, golden parachutes and more, Sure, the building was on fire but they danced right through the door
Because although more than nine million families’ homes were lost
If Wall Street made a profit, baby, it was worth the cost
Cause in America, my friend, you know, we love the dollar the most,
So what if folks are sleeping on the street from coast to coast?
Equality’s a concept for Norwegians, Finns, and Danes, Whereas we prefer our shirts and skins, our zero sum financial games, So in with Milton Friedman out with old John Maynard Keynes.
Can you hear the bull market roar?
That’s the sound of the rich buying debt from the poor!
And when they’ve bought it all, my friend, They’ve gotta make more,
So baby that’s where subprime mortgages
And predatory payday lenders
Certain kinds of credit cards
And a host of other strategies
To empty out the bank accounts
Of those who’re facing stagnant wages
Limited opportunity for gainful employment
Yes that’s where subprime mortgage loans come in!
XII. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN DENIED A LOAN OR A LEASE?
Natural or artificially established barriers
Have you ever been denied a lease? will prove effective
Have you ever been denied a loan? in protecting a neighborhood In Birmingham in 1886 in protecting a neighborhood In Chicago in 1933 and the locations within it Milwaukee 1964 from adverse influence, namely Queens 1978 the infiltration of business and industrial uses
Baltimore in 2007 lower-class occupancy, In Philadelphia and inharmonious racial groups. In 2016 and inharmonious racial groups.
Have you and your parents
Your grandparents, too Been corralled into districts
Whose borders somebody drew
In bright blood red greasepaint
On maps tacked to walls
In unadorned offices
In unadorned halls?
Bleeding Albina
The greasepaint to signify
That there shall not be
Any investment
By state or by industry
Ensuring decline
The seeds of decay
Of a once thriving neighborhood Til some impossible Sunday
When some nice young couple
Plant a flag with their towheaded son, Varnish the floors,
Re-do the doors, Reinvestment’s begun.
Bleeding Albina.
If somehow you managed
To take out a loan
And in spite of obstruction
You went and purchased a home
In a calm and suburban neighborhood
Where your presence was deemed no good
What were the tactics
Used to encourage you to leave?
Rock hurled through ground floor window
In the space provided below
Rock hurled through second story window
Please draw a straight line, if possible,
Crucifix driven into lawn and set ablaze
A straight line from your current hardship
Dead animal set on line to moulder, putrefy
And lack of assets
Bomb threats, idle threats
To the system discrimination
Casual tyranny
Waged from generation to generation
Dynamite strewn under porch and ignited
By government and private citizens alike
Prank phone calls
You may use
In the middle of the night
This red grease pencil. In the middle of the night
XIII. THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM
Thank you.
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for trekking from office to office. Thank you, thank you for enduring the long lines, The clutches of crying children, Thank you
The downturned mouth of your caseworker, Thank you
The bad fluorescent lighting. Thank you
Sleeping in chairs, Middle of summer, Way too much air-conditioning, Thank you for completing this form.
Thank you.
Thank you for enduring
Under the breath comments of family members, Thank you
Nights under scratchy blankets, On worn out sofas
Thank you
The inexperienced social worker, Breakfast and lunch at the senior center, Showers at the gym, Long hours at your job, In less than ideal circumstances, Thank you for completing this form.
For enduring this and more We are pleased to inform you
That tonight we can offer In a concrete church basement
In the room to the right as you enter the door An emergency shelter bed.
You will need to be gone By six thirty am.
—GABRIEL KAHANE
Roof Above and the Voices of Tonight’s Chorus
Roof Above is North Carolina’s most comprehensive homelessservice provider. Our mission is to unite the community to end homelessness in Charlotte — one life at a time.
To do that, we provide housing, shelter, and a day services center that offers daily lunch, basic services, and pathways to housing. We serve 1,400 people daily, and last year we moved 551 people from homelessness into housing.
This work is only possible through a compassionate network of volunteers, nonprofit partners, public leaders, and supporters.
Today, the need in our community is significant. In Mecklenburg County, about 2,700 people are experiencing homelessness. Rising rents, stagnant wages, and the loss of affordable housing continue to push more households to the brink. Eviction filings have surged, with nearly 30,000 granted last year alone.
Behind each of these numbers is a person. A story. A life.
Tonight’s chorus reflects just a small portion of those stories. Some singers have lived through homelessness. Others have experienced eviction or housing instability. Some walk alongside neighbors in this work every day — and for a few, these experiences overlap.
Every journey into or out of homelessness is different, but every person deserves dignity, compassion, and the opportunity to find a place to call home.
If tonight moves you, you’re not alone. Many in this room are already part of this work — and there is always room for more people to step in, in ways both big and small.
to First Baptist Church-West for generously providing rehearsal space throughout this project.
Annual Fund Supporters
We gratefully acknowledge these generous donors to the Charlotte Symphony Annual Fund. This list reflects gifts received through April 30, 2026.
BENEFACTOR CIRCLE
$100,000+
Anonymous Jacqueline B. Mars
Dr. Milton & Arlene Berkman Philanthropic Fund
Joan & Mick Ankrom
Ruth & Richard Ault
Judith & Mark Brodsky
Margarita & Nick Clements
Roberta H. Cochran
Jean & Dick Cornwell
Susan Cybulski
Linda & Bill Farthing
Heidi & Craig Froelich
Ralph S. Grier
Joye D. Blount & Jessie J. Knight Jr.
Catherine & Wilton Connor*
Denise & Peter DeMaio
Robin & Christoph Feddersen
Kristen & Paul Anderson
Katharine & Frank Bragg
Betsy & Alfred Brand
Lynne & Colby Cathey
Jeanie & Tom Cottingham
Peter De Arcangelis
Donna & Alvaro de Molina
Peggy & Richard Dreher
Lisa & Carlos Evans
Drs. Amy & Sidney Fletcher
Eileen Friars & Scott Pyle
Dr. Robert A. Gaines & Toni S. Burke
Caren & Charles Gale
$50,000 – $99,999
The Fox Family
$25,000 – $49,999
Maria & John Huson
Fran & Greg Hyde
Ginger Kelly
Sally Gregory & Richard Krumdieck
Betty P. & Jeffrey J. Lee
Ulrike & Alex Miles
Janet Preyer Nelson
Mica Post Oberkfell & Keith Oberkfell
Patrick J. O'Leary
Richard J. Osborne*
$15,000 – $24,999
Laurie & Barry Guy
Lina & Enrique Lopez-Ibanez
Tanya & Steve Makris
DeDe & Alex McKinnon
$10,000 – $14,999
Laura & Mike Grace
Andrea & Todd Griffith
Susan & Chris Kearney
Robert H. Lee
Leslie & Michael Marsicano
Susan & Loy McKeithen*
Elizabeth & Jay Monge
Robert Norville
Judy & Derek Raghavan
Kathy & Paul Reichs
Kelli & Michael Richardson
Rosalind S. Richardson
Sara Garcés Roselli & Dan Roselli
* The CSO recognizes donors of exceptional generosity whose cumulative giving exceeds $1
Douglas Young
Jane & Hugh McColl*
Debbie & Pat Phillips*
Ann Rehkopf
Pat Rodgers
Marjorie Moses Schwab
Carolyn Shaw
Cameron & Stuart Sherrill
Susan & John Shimp
Tara & Ken Walker
Juliette & Walter Pryor
Melinda & David Snyder
Annie & Matthew Spanjers
Drs. Jennifer Sullivan & Matthew Sullivan
Lindsay & Frank Schall
Glenn Sherrill, Jr. in Honor of Robin Branstrom
Parker & Stephen Shuford
Sabina & Wilfrid Schlumberger
Sherry & Thomas Skains
Leigh-Ann & Martin Sprock
Ann & Michael Tarwater
Jill & Kevin Walker
Michael Waterford
John Drew Witherington
Lisa & Richard Worf
Joan H. Zimmerman
Annual Fund Supporters
VIRTUOSO CIRCLE
$5,000 – $9,999
Debbie & Wedge Abels
Carol B. McPhee & Howard P. Adams
The Charlotte Assembly
Amanda & Zack Bacon
Dawn Beatty-Batten & Philipp J. Bischoff
Si & Michael Blake
Krisha & Andy Blanchard
Mary & Charles Bowman
Barbara & Twig Branch
Robin & Bill Branstrom
Shirley & Mike Butterworth
Paige & Steve Burgess
Dr. William J. Charles & Dr. Cynthia Nortey
Pauline & Bill Chinnis
Morgan & Brian Cromwell
Chris & Elizabeth Daly in Memory of Betty Haggerty
Mary & Phil Delk
Mary Anne Dickson
Dorne & Steve Eastwood
Anne O'Byrne & David J.L. Fisk
Joan & Parker Foley
Carol & Ron Follmer
Carrie & Jay Galloway
Sarah & Frank Gentry
Billy L. Gerhart, in memory of Judith Gerhart
Judith & Martyn Greene
Lucia Zapata Griffith & Michael Griffith
Janet M. Haack
Reginald B. Henderson, Esq.
Nina & James Jackson
Vivian & Robert Lamb
Katy Ross & Joseph Lees
Anna & Laszlo Littmann
Stacie McGinn
Susanne & Bill McGuire
Paula & Paul McIntosh
Chuck Miller & Marcy Thailer
Courtney Reichs Mixon
Emily & Nima Pirzadeh
Judy & Derek Raghavan
Anne Robinson
Nancy & Charlie Robson
Susie & Rick Schnall
Laura A. & Michael J. Schulte
Ylida & Bert Scott
Mr. & Mrs. Harley F. Shuford, Jr.
Erin & William Sparks
Elizabeth Connor Stewart
Kelly & Neal Taub
Chris & Jim Teat
Nancy & Dick Thigpen
Brienne Tinder
Judith & Gary Toman
Rocky & Curtis Trenkelbach
Daniel Troy, in Loving Memory of Kathleen Troy
Molly & Chris Tull
In Memory of Tess Verbesey
Elizabeth & Stephan Willen
Aimee & Chris Williams
Glenda Colman & Floyd Wisner
Abby & Albert Zue
$3,500 – $4,999
Jan & Bob Busch
Karen Gunther
Megan & Brendan Hoffman
Christy & Ben Hume
Posey & Mark Mealy
Dick Metzler
Holly & Jason Norvell
Linda & Tony Pace
Suan & Bob Salvin
Jane Perry Shoemaker
Teresa & Stuart Singer
Emily & Zach Smith
Dr. Mark R. Swanson
Deborah J. Cox & Bob Szymkiewicz
Susan & Paul Vadnais
Karen & Edgar Whitener
$2,500 – $3,499
Harriet B. Barnhardt
Georgia & Bill Belk
Tiffany & Jason Bernd
Lee & Alan Blumenthal
Dr. & Mrs. O. Robert Boehm
Frances & Herbert Browne
Maggie Callen
The Jack H. & Ruth C. Campbell Foundation
Dr. William H. Carson
Drs. Iris Cheng & Daniel Uri
Brent Clevenger
Amy & Alfred Dawson
Cheryl DeMaio
Peggy & Charles Dickerson
Michael & Polly Dyer
Elizabeth Betty Eaton
Lucy Quintilliano & Leonard Fumi
Melisa & Frank Galasso
Kara & Timothy Gallagher
Katherine G. Hall
Beverly & Jim Hance
Jennifer & Logan Henderson
Mathew Holladay
Leigh & Watts Humphrey
Peggy Hynes
Shirley & Bob Ivey
David S. Jacobson
Christopher James Lees
Meghan & Luis Lluberas
Jim & Kathleen Lynch
Dottie & Jim Martin
Cynthia L. Caldwell & Richard I. McHenry
Dee Dee McKay
Carolyn & Sam McMahon
Debbie Miller & Tim Black
Susan D. Montgomery
Janet & Peter Nixon
Laura & Tom Parrott
Laura Paschall & Brad Glaza
Pamela Pearson & Charles Peach
Daniel Peterson
Dr. Reta R. Phifer
Vincent Philips & Paul Pope
Kathleen D. Prokay
Michelle Richards
Lisa & Robert R. Rollins, Jr.
Dr. & Mrs. Mahesh Sardesai
Peggy & Pope Shuford
Nancy E. Simpson
Patricia & Morris Spearman
Ken Spielfogel & Richard Withem
Maxine & Robert Stein
Dottie Stowe,
in Loving Memory of Dickson Stowe
Jean M. Summerville
Jenny & Ken Tolson
Sandy & Greg Vlahos
Deborra Wood & Russell Propst
Barbara Yarbrough
PATRON CIRCLE
$1,500 – $2,499
Sharon Baker & Peter Moore
Merilyn & Craig Baldwin
Katie & Morgan Beggs
Barrie & Mark Benson
Donald H. & Barbara K. Bernstein
Sallie & Derick Close
Dr. & Mrs. Mark Couture
Jean E. Davis & Robert Metzger
Dr. Kandi & Gary Deitemeyer
Martin Ericson, Jr.
Angela M. & Michael D. Helms
Anne J. Henderson
Joan Irwin
Martha D. Jones
Helen & Gene Katz
Ginger Kemp
Mary & Michael Lamach
Lucinda Nisbet Lucas
Dr. & Mrs. Randolph Mahnesmith
Anna Marriott
Tammy & Steve Matula
Louise & Gary McCrorie
Cricket Weston & David Molinaro
Joan Morgan
Freddie & Kay Porter, Greater Golf Express
Dr. John & Susan Rae
Brendan Reen
Anne & Mark Riechmann
Rita & Thomas Robinson
Donald Schmidt
Dr. Stephen P. Schultz & Donna Dutton
Katy & Raleigh Shoemaker
Rebecca & Eric Smith
Linda & Morris Spil
Marsha & Robert L. Stickler
Gretchen & Jean-Claude Thill
Tillie S. Tice
Henry Ward
Vera Watson
Grant Webb
Pam West
Bryan Wilhelm
Deems Wilson
Kelly Zellars & James H. Trexler
$1,000 – $1,499
Anonymous
Mariam Abdul Hamid & Ferd Davis
Amanda Albrecht
Michele & Ross Annable
Larry Anderson
JWD Atchison
Dianne & Brian Bailey
Elsie & William Barnhardt
Ms. Helen Fowler & Mr. Lincoln A. Baxter
Emerson Bell
Shirley W. Benfield
Samuel Blackmon
Sara & Ethan Blumenthal
Marilyn & Herb Bonkovsky
Jodie & Erik Bowen
In Memory of Kyden Justice Brown
Joyce Cadesca
Jane & Larry Cain
Jennifer & Daniel Callahan
Amanda & Kevin Chheda
Rebecca & D. Mark Cody
Ann Thomas Colley
Annual Fund Supporters (continued)
$1,000 – $1,499 (continued)
Dorothy & Mike Connor
Dr. & Mrs. Charles E. Cook
Dr. Kilian Cooley
Kathleen Goldammer-Copeland & Mark Copeland
Ann F. Copeland
Larry J. Dagenhart
Heather & Gray Dyer
Caroline & Jed Dyson
Judy & Bob Erb
Heather & Thomas Finke
Kate & Trae Fletcher
Dr. John & Eileen Gardella
Karen Geiger
Jenn & Taylor Gherardi
Carol & Joseph Gigler
Audean & Berkley Godehn
Joyce & Ed Hamilton
Juliet & Brian Hirsch
Linda & Paul Ibsen
A’Keela Johnson
Jennie & Don Johnson
Lea & Stuart Johnson
Priscilla & Michael Johnson
Vickie & Eugene Johnson
Dr. Valerie Kinloch & Mr. Thomas A’Hearn
Joan Kirschner
Marilyn Kroll
Leigh & Bruce Marsh
Paula Goolkasian & Francis Martin
Holly & Christopher Maurer
Jill Maxwell
Anna & John McCoy
Arrington Mixon
Katelyn M. Morton
Sue Lin Tan & Rama Narayanan
Eleanor W. Neal
Juanita & Lonnie Newsom
Mr. & Mrs. E. O. Oakley
Caroline Olzinski
Patricia & James Petillo
Catherine Philpott
Dr. William G. Porter
Susanne & Mark Rascio Family
Joan Rasmussen & Morry Alter
Cynthia & Joseph Riedl
Jennifer & Manley Roberts
Sally Robinson
Linda Rosenfeld & Fred Krosner
Elizabeth & Robert Rostan
Anjan Shah
Sandra Shuster
Birte & Roman Streitberger
Rebecca Smith
Scott Smith
Tamara & Cassiel Smith
Susan Spaugh
Jennifer & Philip Stafford
Alice & Al Sudduth
Ann & Wellford Tabor
Annette & Eric Telljohann
Catherine Thompson
Libby & Vint Tilson
Tim Timson
Sarah S. Tull
Maureen Turner
Emily & Jeff Vaughan
Victoria & Mark Walker
Dr. & Mrs. Bill Chu & Jin Wang
Rebecca Waters
Linda & Craig Weisbruch
Jennie & Ry Winston
Judith Wood
Lauren Wooden
Velva W. Woollen
Sue Worrel, in Honor of Rich Osborne
Alanna & Richard Worrell
Sandy & John Yakob
$500 – $999
Anonymous (2)
Lynda & Doug Abel
Daphne A. Banks
Sharon Bartlett
Natasha A. Bechtler
Cathy & Bob Becker
Dr. John L. Bennett & Mr. Eric T. Johnson
Mary Ann & Timothy Beranek
Patricia Bialecki
Mrs. Christine Bieri
Black Notes Project & The Sol Kitchen
Jeffrey Boghosian
James Broadstone
Nelle & Ken Brown
Aram Kim Bryan
Mary Lou & Greg Cagle
Nan & Brooks Carey
Janelle & Todd Collins
Thomas E. Collins, Jr.
Jack Cook
Dedee & Irv Cygler
In Loving Memory of Ruth Jernigan
Gaither & Robert Deaton
Dr. Roy E. DeMeo, Jr. & Ms. Linda A. Evanko
Diane & Doug Doak
Dr. Kathleen A. Doman
Kris & Thomas Duffy
C. Thomas Fennimore & Gail H. Fennimore
Lucinda & Harvey Gantt
Dr. John & Eileen Gardella
Dr. & Mrs. Richard Gellar
The Gherardi Family
Cyndy & Larry Goodgame
Linda & Dan Gordon
Cynthia Greenlee
Gloria Gunst
Johanne & Patrick Hawk
Dr. & Mrs. Michael D. Heafner
Maria Felisa San Andres & Stefan
Heinzelmann
Ms. Yvonne DeBeauville & Mr. Roger Hill
Susan Keeble
John J. Kelly, Jr.
Mary & Steven Kesselman
Nancy H. Kiser
Constance C. & George W. Knight
Linda & Norman Kramer
Maria Kurtz
Jonathan Lamb
Barbara & Jerome Levin
Dr. Elissa & Joshua Levine
John J. Locke
Katherine & Mark Love
Dr. & Mrs. William W. MacDonald
Allison Malter
Rosemarie Marshall & Lee Wilkins
Wendy & Ed Matthews
Jill Maxwell
Lindsay & Stanton McCullough
Rob Roy McGregor
Constance & Kiran Mehta
Amanda & Matthew Molbert
Sally Staub Moore
Mary Beth & Bill Morgan
Kimbrel & Tripp Morris
Fran & Gary Morrison
Jennifer & Michael Neurohr
Mary Newsom
Dr. & Mrs. Paul Nitsch
Nancy Olah & Bill Pace
Ynez Olshausen
Janet & Rick Pfeiffer
Lisa & Tom Phillips
Barbara M. Pooley
Sabine & Haywood Rankin
Emily & Brian Reinicker
Joan & Albert Rodgers
Margaret Rogers & John R. Willis
Betty & Bill Seifert
Michael Silverman
Carol Smith
Dr. & Mrs. Henry L. Smith II
Scott Smith
Julia J. Souther
Tara & Joseph Spil
Mary & Bill Staton
Kathryn Stewart, MD, MPH
Susan & Jet Taylor
Melanie & James Twyne
Aishwarya & Krishna Varanasi
Kathleen & Henry Ward
Debi Wayne
Signature Web Design
Lyman Welton
Peter White
Karen & Charles Wolff
The Charlotte Symphony wishes to thank the following companies for matching their employee gifts in support of our Annual Fund Campaign:
Advocate Aurora Health
Albemarle Foundation
Ameriprise
ATRIO Health Plans
Bank of America
Corning
Deloitte
Duke Energy
Elasticsearch
EY
Harris Foundation
Honeywell
Johnson Controls
JPMorgan Chase
Lincoln Financial Foundation
Microsoft
Premier Health
TIAA
Truist
Wells Fargo
For more information, please contact Mary Nell Johnson at 704.714.5137
Comprehensive Campaign
We gratefully acknowledge these generous donors to the Charlotte Symphony Comprehensive Campaign This list reflects gifts received through August 1, 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 The Leon Levine Foundation · Jane & Hugh McColl
$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
Susan & Loy McKeithen · Novant Health
$500,000 - $999,999
Anonymous · Arlene & Milton Berkman · Robin & Bill Branstrom · Deloitte · Mary & Mike Lamach · Rich Osborne Debbie & Pat Phillips · Pat Rodgers · 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 · Ed Weisiger, Jr. & Betsy Fleming
$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 Fran & Greg Hyde · Dr. Richard Krumdieck & Mrs. Sally Gregory · Elizabeth & Jay Monge · Patricia & Thruston Morton Steelfab, Inc. · Linda & Craig Weisbruch · 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 · Dr. Ruth G. Shaw · 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 Lisa & Carlos Evans · David Fisk & Anne O’Byrne · Averill, Johanna, & Lauren Harkey · Carol & Bill Lorenz Leslie & Michael Marsicano · Virginia & Chan Martin · DeDe & Alex McKinnon · Posey & Mark Mealy · Wanda & Steve Phifer Ridgely & John Phillips · Dale & Larry Polsky · 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 · Jim Worrell
$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 · Mary Claire & Dan Wall · Martha Ann & Craig Wardlaw
Corporate Partners Government & Foundations
We are grateful for the following outstanding corporate funders:
We are grateful for the following outstanding foundation and government funders:
Anonymous
Robert Haywood Morrison Foundation
Dowd Foundation, Inc.
The Trexler Foundation The Dickson Foundation Cole Foundation
Maurer Family Foundation Triad Foundation
Barnhardt/Thomas Trust
The George W. & Ruth R. Baxter Foundation
The Blumenthal Foundation
The Charlotte Assembly
Minor Foundation, Inc
Music Performance Trust Fund
The Mary Norris Preyer Fund
For more information, please contact Tara Spil at 704.714.5138.
Leadership & Administration
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2025-26 OFFICERS
Richard Krumdieck, Chair
Ulrike Miles, Vice Chair
Melinda Snyder, Vice Chair & Secretary
Denise DeMaio, Treasurer
David Fisk, President & CEO
Kwamé Ryan, Music Director
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Francisco & Jeannette Alvarado
Paul Anderson
Ruth & Richard Ault
Rachel Gogal Badillo
Arlene & Milton Berkman
Mary & Charles Bowman
Frank Bragg
Robin & Bill Branstrom
Paige & Steve Burgess
Dr. William Charles & Dr. Cynthia Nortey
Derick & Sallie Close
Robin Cochran
Catherine & Wilton Connor
Jeanie & T. Thomas Cottingham III
Brian Cromwell
Susan Cybulski
2025-26 DIRECTORS
Krisha Blanchard
Joye D. Blount
Mike Butterworth
Nick Clements
Sidney Fletcher
Craig Froelich
Carrie Galloway
Lucia Zapata Griffith
Marcia & Jason Daily
Alessandra & Pasquale De Martino
Alvaro & Donna de Molina
Peggy & Richard Dreher
Lisa Hudson Evans
Bill Farthing
Karen Fox
Eileen Friars & Scott Pyle
Ralph S. Grier
Laurie Guy
Janet Haack
Reginald B. Henderson, Esq.
Mark & Whitney Jerrell
Jeff Lee
Dee & Joe Marley
Gov. James G. Martin
Jane & Hugh McColl
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
EXECUTIVE
David J. L. Fisk
President & CEO
Samantha Hackett
Manager of Executive Administration & Board Relations
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
Scott Freck
Vice President for Artistic Operations & General Manager
Erin Eady
Director of Orchestra Personnel
Laura Lindsay
Director of Orchestra Operations
Claudia Schmitz
Director of Artistic Planning
Bart Dunn
Principal Music Librarian
Ana Faithe Allen
Operations Coordinator
John Jarrell
Stage Manager
Byron Johns
Senior Stage Technician
Ross Jarrell
Stage Technician
DEVELOPMENT
Shayne Doty
Vice President of Development
Richard Riedl
Associate Vice President of Development
Mary Nell Johnson
Senior Director of Individual Giving
Tara Spil
Director of Corporate & Institutional Giving
Tammy Matula
Director of Development Services
Josh Bottoms
Manager of Corporate & Institutional Giving
Jennifer Gherardi
Manager of Development Services & Events
James Popper
Manager of Individual Giving
HUMAN RESOURCES
Maribeth Baker
Human Resources Counselor
Fran Hyde
Byron Johns*
Valerie Kinloch
Stephen Makris
Juliette Pryor
Manley Roberts*
Sara Garces Roselli
Lindsay Schall
Stacie McGinn
Susan & Loy McKeithen
Alex & DeDe McKinnon
Elizabeth & Jay Monge
Janet Preyer Nelson
Mica Oberkfell
Patrick J. O’Leary
Richard Osborne
Sarah Frances Peck
Daniel Peterson
Debbie & G. Patrick Phillips
Derek & Judy Raghavan
Paul Reichs
Nancy & Charles Robson
Patricia A. Rodgers
M.A. Rogers
Frank Schall
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Christian Drake
Chief Financial Officer
Amy Hine
HR Coordinator & Office Administrator
Kensloe Norrington
Staff Accountant
Chazin & Company, Financial Services
LEARNING & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Aram Kim Bryan
Vice President of Community Relations & Learning
Dylan Lloyd
Senior Manager of Youth Orchestras
Mark Rockwood
Senior Manager of Youth Education
Michaela Sciacca
Senior Manager of Youth Programs
Gavin Fulker
Education Programs Assistant
Bria Alexander
Community Engagement Assistant
Ylida Scott
Cameron Sherrill
Susan Shimp
Matthew Spanjers
Jennifer Sullivan
Brienne Tinder*
Andrea Mumm Trammell*
Ken Walker *ex-officio
Laura & Mike Schulte
Carolyn Shaw
Emily Smith
Will Sparks
Elizabeth Connor Stewart
Bob & Marsha Stickler
Kelly & Neal Taub
Adam Taylor
Chris & Jim Teat
Kevin & Jill Walker
Elizabeth & Steve Willen
Braxton Winston
Richard Worf
Joan Zimmerman
Albert Zue
MA RKETING & 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 Cole
Patron Experience Manager
Garrett Whiffen
Ticketing Manager
Linda McFarland Farthing, Chair
Thank you for joining us!
