February 14 & 15
Belk Theater
Olga
SCHUMANN
Piano Concerto
Ruth Reinhardt, conductor
Kern, piano
Welcome!
This month’s lineup at the Charlotte Symphony is a wonderful reflection of what makes live music so powerful — it meets us where we are. Whether you’re looking for a romantic evening with Schumann’s Piano Concerto on Valentine’s weekend, a lively escape to the rhythms of Havana Nights, a chance to explore the sounds of Charlotte with your family at Our Musical Neighborhood, or a laidback evening with friends at the final On Tap of the season, there’s something for everyone in February.
At the end of the month, we take a bold step into new territory at Blume Studios with Become Ocean, a breathtaking immersive experience presented in collaboration with Blumenthal Arts, the Knight Foundation, and the N.C. Aquarium Society. With 360-degree sound that ebbs and flows and lighting that shimmers like sunlight on the surface of the water, this performance will make you feel as though you’re submerged in the vast expanse of the ocean. It’s an opportunity to experience John Luther Adams’s Pulitzer Prizewinning work in a completely new and innovative way.
Each of these performances is a reminder of the many ways music connects us — whether by sparking emotion, celebrating our city’s unique soundscape, or offering new perspectives on the world around us. However you choose to experience the Symphony this month, we’re grateful to share it with you.
David Fisk President & CEO
THE NINETY-THIRD SEASON
Elgar’s E NIGMA Variations
Friday, February 14, 2025, at 7:30 pm Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Belk Theater at Blumenthal Arts
Ruth Reinhardt, conductor Olga Kern, piano
JOSEF SUK (1874-1935)
Pohádka (Fairy Tale), Op. 16
I. The True Love of Radúz and Mahulena and Their Sorrows
II. Intermezzo: A Game of Swans and Peacocks
III. Funeral Music
IV. Runa’s Curse and Victory of Love
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
I. Allegro affettuoso
II. Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso
III. Allegro vivace
Olga Kern, piano
[~30ʹ] - INTERMISSION -
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Elgar’s ENIGMA Variations
(continued)
EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934)
Variations on an Original Theme (“Enigma”), Op. 36
Enigma: Andante
I. (C.A.E.) L’istesso tempo
II. (H.D.S-P.) Allegro
III. (R.B.T.) Allegretto
IV. (W.M.B.) Allegro di molto
V. (R.P.A.) Moderato
VI. (Ysobel) Andantino
VII. (Troyte) Presto
VIII. (W.N.) Allegretto
IX. (Nimrod) Adagio
X. (Dorabella) Intermezzo. Allegretto
XI. (G.R.S.) Allegro di molto
XII. (B.G.N.) Andante
XIII. (***) Romanza. Moderato
XIV. (E.D.U.) Finale. Allegro
CONCERT DURATION:
Approximately 2 hours, with one 20-minute intermission.
Ruth Reinhardt guest conductor
Ruth Reinhardt is the newly appointed music director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, beginning her tenure in the 2025–26 season as the 5th music director in the orchestra’s 80-year history. She will serve as music director designate in the 2024–25 season.
In 2024–25 Reinhardt will conduct orchestras on four continents — in Europe, North America, and Asia, where she makes her debuts with both the Seoul Philharmonic and Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as in South America with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. She begins the season at the Lucerne Festival conducting a program dedicated to and celebrating the centennial of Pierre Boulez, with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. Other highlights include debuts with symphony orchestras in Bamberg, Nuremberg, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and the Residentie Orchester in The Hague, along with return visits to the RSB Berlin, Stockholm Philharmonic, and Malmö Symphony Orchestra. In the United States, Reinhardt will conduct the Rhode Island Philharmonic and make debut appearances with the St. Louis Symphony and Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and return engagements with the Milwaukee Symphony and San Diego Symphony.
Programmatically, Reinhardt’s interests have led her toward an indepth exploration of contemporary repertoire, leading the symphonic and orchestral world into the 21st century. Strongly centered on European composers, with significant emphasis on women composers of the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century, she brings new names and fresh faces to many orchestras for the first time. Among those whose works appear often in her programs are Grażyna Bacewicz, Kaija Saariaho, Lotta Wennäkoski, Daniel Bjarnason, Dai Fujikura, and Thomas Adès. Parallel programming can be complementary or contrasting, from the classic moderns such as Lutosławski, Bartók, Stravinsky, and Hindemith, or core composers of the symphonic canon, such as Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Dvořák.
Conductor
In recent seasons, Reinhardt has made an important series of symphonic debuts in North America with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras. In Europe, her appearances have been no less impressive — the Orchestre National de France, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, to name several.
Born in Saarbrücken, Germany into a family of physicians — both parents and her sister are doctors — Reinhardt knew early on that music would be her calling. She studied violin and composition, even writing an opera while still in high school. Her studies took her first to the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, studying violin with Rudolf Koelman and conducting with Constantin Trinks and Johannes Schlaefli, and continued at The Juilliard School of Music in the conducting class of Alan Gilbert and James Ross. Upon graduation, she joined the Dallas Symphony for two seasons as assistant conductor to Jaap van Zweden while also serving as a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. During the summer she was assistant conductor to the Lucerne Festival Academy working with artistic co-directors Wolfgang Rihm and Matthias Pintscher. Previous fellowships include the Seattle Symphony (2015-2016), Tanglewood Music Center (2015), and Taki Concordia associate conducting fellow (2015-2017). Reinhardt currently resides in Switzerland.
Olga Kern piano
With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicality, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike.
In 2001, Kern launched her U.S. career at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, winning a Gold Medal — the only woman in the last fifty years to do so. She has since performed extensively with top-tier ensembles, among them the St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), Czech Philharmonic, and Filarmonica della Scala. She has also scored successes with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, and Pittsburgh Symphony. She was a soloist on widely acclaimed U.S. tours with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine; and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2018, 2019, and 2022. Kern performs riveting recitals throughout the world, playing in places such as New York, Fort Worth, Minneapolis, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and Italy as well as with renowned organizations including The Gilmore Piano Festival, Chamber Music San Francisco, Hollywood Bowl, Ravinia Festival, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Bad Kissingen (Germany), Radio France Festival Montpellier, and others.
In the 2022–23 season, Kern appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado Symphony. She performed recitals at the American Pianists Association Conference in Indianapolis and the International Piano Festival of Oeiras in Portugal, as well as in Milan, Virginia Beach, Chicago, and San Francisco. Engagements in the 2023–24 season include performances of Rachmaninoff’s monumental four concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Austin Symphony and Virginia Symphony Orchestra and a nationally broadcast New Year’s concert with the Czech Philharmonic. Other 2023–24 engagements included the Santa Rosa Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony,
Pacific Symphony, Asheville Symphony, a tour of South Africa, and performances with the Prague Symphony, Taipei Symphony, and Tokyo Symphony.
Kern has served as a jury chairman of several high-profile competitions, including her own, the Kern International Piano Competition, of which she is Artistic Director. A dedicated educator, she has been on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music since 2017, and in 2019, she was appointed the Connie and Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival. She also established “Aspiration,” a foundation that provides financial assistance to musicians around the world.
Olga Kern is a Steinway Artist.
Her well-regarded discography includes works of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Brahms, and Shostakovich.
Kern’s iconic dresses are designed by Alex Teih (New York), and her jewelry is designed by Alex Soldier (New York).
olgakern.com | Facebook | Instagram
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
Nicholas Ritter
Member of the CSO since June 2023 · Received tenure Nov 2024
HOMETOWN: Vienna, Virginia
Fun Facts
• If Nicholas could meet any composer, he’d love to ask how Jean Sibelius drew inspiration from the world around him and shaped it into music.
• Outside of work, Nicholas enjoys hiking in the mountains and takes a few weeks each year to go backpacking.
• If he weren’t a professional musician, Nicholas might be a librarian. He spent several summers working in a library handling old and rare materials and found it fascinating.
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 130,000 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
Josef Suk
BORN: January 4, 1874 in Křečovice, Bohemia
DIED: May 29, 1935 in Benešov, Czechoslovakia
Pohádka (Fairy Tale)
Opus 16 (1901)
Approximate performance time is 30 minutes.
Josef Suk attended the Prague Conservatory from 1885–92, where he studied composition with Antonín Dvořák, who counted Suk among his favorite pupils. In 1898, Suk married Dvořák’s daughter, Otilie. During his long and distinguished career, Suk carried on the great tradition of Czech concert music as exemplified by Dvořák and his predecessor, Bedřich Smetana. Suk was an accomplished and successful composer and also a talented violinist. In 1891, he co-founded the Bohemian (later, the Czech) String Quartet, serving as the ensemble’s second violinist. He remained with the Quartet for over four decades, performing in more than 4,000 concerts. From 1922–35, Suk was a member of the composition faculty at the Prague Conservatory.
During the period of 1897–98, Josef Suk composed incidental music for a production of Julius Zeyer’s play, Radúz and Mahulena , the fairy tale romance of a prince and princess from rival kingdoms. Radúz and Mahulena are finally able to wed, but only after overcoming numerous challenges, including the sorcery of Queen Runa. Suk composed both orchestral and vocal numbers for Zeyer’s play. Later, Suk used the Radúz and Mahulena incidental music as the basis for a four-movement orchestral suite, entitled Pohádka (Fairy Tale) . The work is a marvelous example of Suk’s gifts of melodic inspiration, colorful orchestration, and his seamless blend of classical and folk elements.
I. O věrném milování Radúze a Mahuleny a jejich strastech (True Love of Radúz and Mahulena and Their Sorrows)
II. Intermezzo – Hra na labutě a pávy (A Game of Swans and Peacocks)
III. Intermezzo – Smuteční hudba (Funeral Music)
IV. Runy kletba a jak byla láskou zrušena (Runa’s Curse and Victory of Love)
Robert Schumann
BORN: June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Germany
DIED: July 29, 1856 in Endenich, Germany
Concerto for Piano in A Minor Opus 54 (1845)
PREMIERE: December 4, 1845 in Dresden, Germany
Approximate performance time is 32 minutes.
Robert Schumann composed the Piano Concerto for his beloved wife, the gifted pianist and composer Clara Wieck Schumann. The work originated in May of 1841 as a single-movement Fantasy in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra. In 1845, Schumann added two movements to the Fantasy. Clara Schumann wrote in her diary, “(The Fantasy) has now become a concerto that I mean to play next winter. I am very glad about it for I have always wanted a great bravura piece by him.” The following month, Clara enthused, “I am happy as a king at the thought of playing it with orchestra.”
Clara Schumann was the soloist in the December 4, 1845 premiere of Robert’s Concerto in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra. The first performance took place in Dresden at the Hall of the Hôtel de Saxe, led by the work’s dedicatee, conductor Ferdinand Hiller. On New Year’s Day, 1845, Clara Schumann played the new concerto with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, under Felix Mendelssohn’s direction. In many subsequent performances of the Schumann Piano Concerto, it was Robert who served as conductor/accompanist for his wife.
In a letter written to Clara a few years before their marriage, Robert Schumann described his conception of a piano concerto as “a compromise between a symphony, a concerto and a huge sonata. I see I cannot write a concerto for the virtuosos — I must plan something else.” And, despite the considerable technical hurdles for the soloist, there is throughout an admirable sense of partnership between pianist and orchestra. Further, it is remarkable that while four years separate
Program Notes
the composition of the first movement and the final two, the concerto is an organic composition that proceeds unerringly from start to finish. These admirable qualities, coupled with Schumann’s inspired lyrical gifts, are the hallmarks of a sublime work, one of the finest piano concertos of the Romantic era.
The concerto is in three movements, the final two played without pause. The first (Allegro affettuoso) opens in dramatic fashion, with a forte orchestral chord, immediately followed by an emphatic descending passage for the soloist. The winds sing the espressivo principal theme, soon repeated by the soloist. The brief second movement (Intermezzo. Andantino grazioso) is in A—B—A form. The soloist, in dialogue with the strings, presents the charming opening theme, derived from the ascending portion of the opening movement’s principal melody. The cellos launch the more rhapsodic “B” section. In the finale (Allegro vivace), the soloist introduces the joyous central theme, again related to the principal melody of the opening movement. The finale concludes with an expansive coda, in which the soloist takes center stage, closing with a dazzling, ascending flourish.
Robert and Clara Schumann
Edward Elgar
BORN: June 2, 1857 in Broadheath, England
DIED: February 23, 1934 in Worcester, England
Variations on an Original Theme (“Enigma”)
Opus 36 (1899)
PREMIERE: June 19, 1899 at St. James’s Hall in London Approximate performance time is 30 minutes.
After the premiere of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations in London, conductor Hans Richter called the composer to the stage to acknowledge the audience’s enthusiastic reception. On June 23, Elgar’s mother wrote to the composer’s wife: “What can I say to him, the dear one, I feel that he is some great historic person — I cannot claim a little bit of him now, he belongs to the big world.”
The word “Enigma” is found in the score above the introduction of the principal theme. In correspondence to Charles Barry, program annotator for the premiere concert, Elgar admitted:
It is true that I have sketched for their amusement and mine, the idiosyncrasies of fourteen of my friends, not necessarily musicians; but this is a personal matter and need not have been mentioned publicly.
The Enigma I will not explain — its “dark saying” must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme “goes,” but is not played...So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas...the chief character is never on the stage.
These comments have inspired musical sleuths over the past century to try to uncover Elgar’s mystery “principal Theme.” In a 1911 commentary, Elgar suggested that the “enigma” revolves not around some hidden melody, but the manipulation and development of the theme that is clearly presented at the opening of the piece: “This work, commenced in a spirit of humour and continued in deep seriousness, contains sketches of the composer’s friends. It may be understood that these
personages comment or reflect upon the original theme and each one attempts a solution of the enigma, for so the theme is called.”
Such intrigue and conjecture have never obscured the status of the Enigma Variations as a brilliantly crafted and often moving work, a testament to Elgar’s considerable gifts in a celebration of beloved friends.
Theme “Enigma” The strings, followed by the winds, present the various elements of the haunting principal theme.
Variation I. “C.A.E.” This warm, romantic music characterizes his loving spouse and most trusted advisor, Alice. It includes a tune Elgar would whistle to let her know he was arriving home.
Variation II. “H.D.S-P.” Hew David Steuart-Powell was an amateur pianist who, according to Elgar, would begin each session with “a characteristic diatonic run over the keys.”
Variation III. “R.B.T.” Richard Baxter Townshend was an author and amateur actor who regaled audiences with his ability to instantly shift his vocal range from the deepest basso profundo to the highest soprano.
Variation IV. “W.M.B.” The shortest of the variations depicts William Meath Baker, lord of Hatsfield Court and R.B.T.’s brotherin-law, informing his guests of arrangements he made for their transportation and then quickly leaving the room, “with a bang on the door.”
Variation V. “R.P.A.” Richard Penrose Arnold was the son of poet Matthew Arnold. Elgar delighted in the fact that Arnold’s “serious conversation was continually broken up by whimsical and witty remarks.”
Variation VI. “Ysobel” Isabel Fitton, Elgar’s long-suffering viola pupil, always had trouble with string crossings, which are depicted in the viola section.
Variation VII. “Troyte” Troyte Griffith was an architect and amateur painter. It seems that this stormy variation, with its thundering timpani, represents only one aspect of his character.
Variation VIII. “W.N.” Winifred Norbury served with Elgar as joint secretary of the Worcestershire Philharmonic Society. Elgar claimed that this genial variation was a portrait of Winifred’s country home, but the playful wind interjections offer “a little suggestion of a characteristic laugh.”
Variation IX. “Nimrod” “Nimrod” is Elgar’s depiction of his friend, August Jaeger (“jaeger” in German means “hunter,” thus the reference to the biblical hunter Nimrod). The glorious Adagio is the composer’s fond recollection of “a long summer evening talk, when my friend grew nobly eloquent (as only he could) on the grandeur of Beethoven, and especially his slow movements.”
Variation X. “Dorabella” Dora Penny was W.M.B.’s step-niece whom Elgar nicknamed “Dorabella,” after a character in Mozart’s opera, Così fan tutte . Both Dora Penny’s love of dance and her slight stammer are depicted in this fetching Intermezzo.
Variation XI. “G.R.S.” George Robertson Sinclair was an organist at Hereford Cathedral. According to Elgar, this brief episode is not a portrait of Sinclair, but rather, the music depicts Sinclair’s bulldog, Dan, plunging into the river, vigorously swimming to shore and finally landing with a “rejoicing bark.”
Variation XII “B.G.N.” Basil G. Nevinson was an amateur cellist who often played chamber music with Elgar. The variation begins and ends with a plaintive cello solo.
Variation XIII. “***” The penultimate variation is inspired by Lady Mary Lygon. During composition of the Enigma Variations, Elgar learned his friend would soon embark upon a voyage to Australia. Over undulating strings, a solo clarinet plays a descending phrase — a quote from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture.
Variation XIV. “E.D.U.” Finally, the composer himself appears (“E.D.U.” is derived from “Edoo,” Lady Elgar’s nickname for her husband). Elgar recalled he created this section “at a time when friends were dubious and generally discouraging about the composer’s musical future.” However, there is no lack of selfconfidence in the swagger of this Finale. Echoes of previous variations return — notably “C.A.E.” and “Nimrod” — leading to the grand final measures.
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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Brendan Reen
Audrey & Donald Schmidt
Dr. Stephen P. Schultz & Donna Dutton
Anjan Shah
Jane Perry Shoemaker
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
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
Dr. Kilian Cooley
Ann F. Copeland
Kathleen Goldammer-Copeland & Mark Copeland
Dr. & Mrs. Mark Couture
Larry J. Dagenhart
Gwin Dalton
Judy & Bob Erb
Heather & Thomas Finke
Melisa & Frank Galasso
Carol & Joseph Gigler
Mariam Abdul Hamid & Ferd Davis
Annual Fund Supporters
Joyce
Marsha
Libby
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
Priscilla & Michael Johnson
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
Allison Malter
Leigh & Bruce Marsh
Paula & Francis Martin
Wendy & Ed Matthews
Jill Maxwell
Constance & Kiran Mehta
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
Government & Foundations
We are grateful for the following outstanding foundation and government funders:
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
We gratefully acknowledge these generous donors to the Charlotte Symphony Comprehensive Campaign. This list reflects gifts received through February 1, 2025.
$10,000,000+ Ban k 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
Falfurrias
& Susan McKeithen Novant Health
$500,000 - $999,99 9
Anony mous 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 Betsy Fleming & Ed Weisiger
$100,000 - $249,000
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
Cresce nt Communities · Karen Fox · Eileen Friars & Scott Pyle Ulrike & Alex Miles Chris & Jim Teat 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 · 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
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
Lucia Zapata Griffith
Byron Johns*
Valerie Kinloch
Stephen Makris
Alex McKinnon
Sara Garces Roselli
Lindsay Schall
Ylida Scott
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
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
Laura & Mike Schulte
Carolyn Shaw
Emily & Zach Smith
Will Sparks
Bob & Marsha Stickler
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
Nixon Bustos, Senior 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
Mandy Vollrath, Director of Corporate & Institutional Relations
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
Chazin & Company, Financial Services
Amy Hine, HR Coordinator & Office Administrator
Channing Williams, Accounting Associate
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
