January & February 2026 Fanfare Magazine by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

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JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2026

Magazine 9

Assistant Conductors

“It was like Cinderella and the glass slipper,” said CSO Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo, recalling Cristian Măcelaru’s “audition” concerts in 2024. She and CSO principals Dwight Parry and Gillian Benet Sella share their first impressions of the CSO’s new Music Director and how they see him shaping the Orchestra for the future, pp. 9-13. 9-13.

Orchestra Roster

Artistic Leadership: Cristian Măcelaru, John Morris Russell

Concerts in this Issue: • JAN 3 & 4: Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story in Concert Live to Film (Pops) • JAN 10 & 11: Trifonov Plays Beethoven (CSO) • JAN 16 & 17: American Voices (CSO) • JAN 22: Baroque and Beyond (Chamber Players) • JAN 23–25: Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony (Pops) • JAN 30 & 31: Slavic Legends (CSO) • FEB 1: Access to Music (CSO) • FEB 6 & 7: Mahler Symphony No. 4 (CSO) • FEB 7: Peter & the Wolf (Lollipops)

CONTENTS 4

Directors & Advisors

Welcome

Cover Story: The Glass-Slipper Conductor

Spotlight: Cincinnati and Black Spiritual Consciousness: A Case Study on Resilience

Musician & Staff Q&A: “What Does ‘Life is Good When You’re Surrounded by Music’ Mean to You?”

Inside the Orchestra: The CSO’s Percussion Team: More Than Just Drumrolls and Cymbal Crashes

20 Spotlight: The Orchestra Welcomes New

Spotlight: Poet Rita Dove Shares Why Poetry is Salvation

Financial Support

Opus 50 & 25 Subscriber Recognition

80 Administration ON THE COVER: From left: Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell (Credit: Mark Lyons), CSO Music Director Cristian Măcelaru (Credit: Alex Johnson), violinist Esther Yoo, singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, poet Rita Dove, bass Morris Robinson, Pops Principal Guest Conductor Damon Gupton.

We asked CSO musicians and staff “What does ‘Life is Good When You’re Surrounded by Music’ Mean to You?” Read their inspiring and illuminating answers, and find a link to where you can express your feelings about that phrase, on pp. 16–17. 16–17.

The CSO commissioned Pulitzer Prizewinning poet, and Ohio native, Rita Dove to write a poem inspired by Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, a poem Morris Robinson will read as the Orchestra plays the Adagio Jan. 16 & 17. On pp. 36–37, Dove discusses her life as a writer, artist and musician and explains why she once compared poetry to salvation.

buts e D i t a n n i c P res en tin g Ci n rtist s A ! l a n o i t p e of E xc

CINCINNATI DEBUT

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko

Ziggy & Miles

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Sunday, March 29, 2026

“…one of Canada’s most exciting classical music talents.”

“Personable, relaxed and utterly winning.”

PIANO

GUITAR DUO

— Anthony Miller, Maclean’s • In 2024, winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, recipient of the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal and awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship • In 2022, first prize winner of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the Maria Canals International Music Competition and the 20th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition • An experienced recitalist, he performs internationally, with performances widely broadcast

— Limelight • Australian brothers who became the first guitar duo to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions • Have over 50 awards between them in guitar competitions • First Australians and first guitar duo accepted into—and graduated from— The Juilliard School’s prestigious Artist Diploma program • Their album, Sidekick, was featured as one of New York’s WQXR’s “Best New Classical Albums of 2023”

Both recitals at 3 PM at Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm Street, OTR Tickets:

MemorialHallOTR.org or 513-977-8838 Visit us on Facebook.

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FANFARE

Magazine

CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CINCINNATI POPS Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Box Office: 513.381.3300 hello@cincinnatisymphony.org Group Sales: 513.864.0196 groupsales@cincinnatisymphony.org TTY/TDD: Use TTY/TDD Relay Service 7-1-1 cincinnatisymphony.org cincinnatipops.org

FANFARE MAGAZINE STAFF: Managing Editor Tyler Secor

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers Charla Weiss, Chair Dianne Rosenberg, Immediate Past Chair Sue McPartlin, Treasurer Gerron McKnight, Secretary

Directors Dorie Akers Nick Apanius Heather Apple Evin Blomberg** Kate C. Brown Trish Bryan* Otto M. Budig* Emma Compton Andrea Costa Adrian Cunningham Gabriel Davis Maria Espinola

Blair Fleischmann* Kori Hill** Francie S. Hiltz* Joseph W. Hirschhorn* Edna Keown Florence Koetters* John Lanni H. Spencer Liles* Robert W. McDonald Dean Moulas Ann E. Mulder Aik Khai Pung James B. (“Rick”) Reynolds* Jack Rouse* Patrick Schleker** Valerie Sheppard Brett Stover Kari Ullman Randolph (“Duck”) L. Wadsworth, Jr.*

Senior Editor/Layout Teri McKibben

Emeritus * Ex-Officio **

Assistant Editor Gabriela Godinez Feregrino CINCINNATI MAGAZINE: Advertising and Publishing Partners for Fanfare Magazine Publisher Ivy Bayer Production Director & IT Systems Administrator Vu Luong Advertising Designer Sophie Kallis Account Representatives Laura Bowling, Maggie Wint Goecke, Chris Ohmer, Julie Poyer, Sarah Riesenberger Operations Director Missy Beiting Business Coordinator Meredith Carroll

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMMITTEES and MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS COUNCIL We thank our many partners who serve on the following CSO Board of Directors committees, as well as the Multicultural Awareness Council (MAC), as we collectively work to realize our vision to be the most relevant orchestra in America.

CSO Board of Directors Committees Audience Engagement Audit & Ethics Inclusion Executive Finance & Investment Learning Nominating & Governance Officers Nominating

Non-Board Advisory Council Multicultural Awareness Council

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You are welcome to take this copy of Fanfare Magazine home with you as a souvenir of your concert experience. Alternatively, please share it with a friend or leave it with an usher for recycling. Thank you!

4 | 2025–26 SEASON

CMY

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Welcome

WE BELIEVE MUSIC LIVES WITHIN US ALL regardless of who we are or where we come from. We believe that music is a pathway to igniting our passions, discovering what moves us, deepening our curiosity and connecting us to our world and to each other. Our mission is to seek and share inspiration, and we exist to serve our community. Our entire community. Reflecting our community and the world around at every level — on stage, behind-the-scenes, and in neighborhoods throughout the region — is essential to our present and future and makes us a strong ensemble and institution.

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Along with the online version of Fanfare Magazine, the CSO has developed a digital platform to deliver concertspecific content.

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to the January and February 2026 issue of Fanfare Fanfare Magazine. Magazine. Cristian M Măcelaru’s celaru’s connection with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra musicians was forged through authenticity, trust and empathy. Writer Hannah Edgar spoke with three principal musicians to explore these connections, characterized by curiosity and a shared musical language, on pp. 9–13. Take a loo look k back at Cincinnati’s role in shaping the musical soundscape of the Civil Rights era on pp. 14–15. Writer Andre Jamal Cardine explores how the music of Black icons with Cincinnati ties has carried both the weight of injustice and the power of collective resilience. From small joys to life-changing memories, CSO musicians and staff open up about what M Măcelaru’s celaru’s words, “Life is good when you’re surrounded by music,” mean to them. Their answers on pp. 16–17 reveal just how deeply music shapes their lives. From twinkling triangle notes to thunderous blows, the CSO’s percussion team shapes some of the Orchestra’s most unforgettable moments. Writer Anne Arenstein pulls back the curtain on the precision and teamwork behind this dynamic orchestra section on pp. 18–19. Assistant Conductors Alex Amsel and Duo Shen are new to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra family this season. On pp. 20–21 writer David Lyman relates the story of Amsel’s journey to the CSO from orchestra musician to conductor, driven by community and connection as much as artistry, and conveys Duo Shen’s devotion to music and the musicians around him, and how this permeates Shen’s every moment on stage. On pp. 36–37, poet Rita Dove reflects on a life shaped by literature, music and the belief that poetry can act as a lifeline. Written by Mildred C. Fallen, this profile opens a window into Dove’s inspirations and creative process. Please enjoy these stories that have been curated for you in Fanfare Fanfare Magazine, Magazine, but also know that the Fanfare Fanfare Magazine Magazine experience is not limited to a print publication available only at Music Hall concerts. You can explore Fanfare Fanfare Magazine Magazine at any time via our website at cincinnatisymphony.org/fanfare-magazine, where you can also find web-exclusive articles. Along with the online version of Fanfare Fanfare Magazine, Magazine, the CSO has developed a digital platform to deliver concertspecific content to meet the CSO’s ongoing commitment to digital storytelling, innovation and accessibility. This digital platform offers early access to exclusive concert-specific content: fulllength program notes, artist biographies, feature stories, up-to-the-minute information and much more! As a bonus, program notes and artist biographies for the entire season will be available on this digital platform in advance of the season-opening concerts, allowing you to engage with all the content before you arrive at Music Hall. Unlike a print magazine, this digital platform is compatible with all smartphone accessibility features. The CSO’s digital platform is easily accessible — — no no app app to to download download or or subscription subscription to to manage. manage. To explore our digital content, visit cincinnatisymphony.org/ DigitalProgram, text the word PROGRAM to 513.845.3024* or scan the QR code at right with your mobile device. The CSO hopes you find inspiration within these pages and within the music — — past, past, present present and and future future — — that that reverberates reverberates at at Music Music Hall Hall and and in in the the community. Thank you for being with us! Fanfare Magazine | 7

INVEST ENGAGE INNOVATE LEAD

Program Spotlight: POETRY OUT LOUD Ohio Poetry Out Loud State Champion Zeke Moses of Bexley High School (Franklin County) reciting a poem at the 2025 state finals. He represented Ohio at the national finals in Washington, D.C. Image credit: Terry Gilliam

Investing state and federal dollars, the Ohio Arts Council funds and supports quality arts experiences for all Ohioans to strengthen communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

Learn more about our grant programs and resources, find your next arts experience, or connect: OAC.OHIO.GOV.

COVER STORY

The Glass-Slipper Conductor How Cristian Măcelaru won over the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and found a new musical home. by HANNAH EDGAR

Credit: JP Leong Fanfare Magazine | 9

COVER STORY

Cristian Măcelaru was different from other prospective music directors from the very beginning. Once the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra had narrowed down a few strong contenders, the music director search committee — comprising Orchestra administrators, board members and musicians from the Orchestra — called the candidates in for an interview. The committee asked candidates about their musical specialties. Responses varied: some had a passion for new works, others an affinity for symphonic warhorses, and some even singled out specific eras of music history. When Măcelaru was asked about whether he would bring any areas of special focus to the role, “he flat-out said, ‘No, and I don’t plan for it to be that way,’” remembers Concertmaster and committee member Stefani Matsuo. He’s a man of his word. In his first appearances as Music Director and Music Director Designate, Măcelaru anchored each program with a beloved Dvoăák’s Symphony work from the repertoire — Dvořák’s

No. 9, From the New World, in his February 2025 Designate appearance and the suite from Der Rosenkavalier for his October inaugural concerts — — but also included works by living composers. Anna Clyne’s Abstractions kicked off his inaugural concerts; in February 2025, it was an excerpt from Wynton Marsalis’ Blues Symphony, which Măcelaru will conduct more of on the Jan. 16 & 17, 2026 concerts (see p. 33 of this issue of Fanfare Magazine). He also nodded to his Romanian heritage, conducting George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 as an encore during the opening program and during a special concert featuring Yo-Yo Ma. “We saw different sides of him as a musician, because the repertoire demanded different kinds of leadership and different energies,” says Principal Oboe Dwight Parry. For Principal Harp Gillian Benet Sella, an important throughline through those disparate pieces was Măcelaru’s “inclusive approach” to the whole orchestra. “He understands the harp; he

Cristian Măcelaru led the CSO in music by Anna Clyne, George Gershwin and Richard Strauss for his debut as CSO Music Director, October 2025. Credit: JP Leong

10 | 2025–26 SEASON

COVER STORY

From left: Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo, Principal Oboe Dwight Parry and Principal Harp Gillian Benet Sella

knew when the harp could come out more, when it Măcelaru’s approachability and openness still make was enough and when he wanted different qualities him feel like a peer. in the playing,” Sella says. “Honestly, it’s rare to have someone who She also appreciates that he has picked repertoire musically communicates very well — which is the that not only uses the harp but also features some prerequisite for a music director — and is also meaty writing for the instrument. The Enescu a down-to-earth, relatable person,” he says. “He Rhapsody, for instance, is occasionally encountered projects his authority from the podium through as an audition excerpt. Despite that, Sella has rarely expertise, scholarship and genuine presence had the chance to play it in her 30 years in the CSO. with the music, rather than authoritarianism or “It was very rewarding to play something that I micromanaging.” practiced like crazy in my 20s,” she says. That trust goes a long way for a prominent Whether playing new works or familiar ones, orchestral voice like the first oboe. Encountering CSO musicians say Măcelaru manages to make the solo passages with Măcelaru, Parry says, feels like music feel fresh. Parry, for example, experienced “an invitation to sing.” this firsthand in what he described as the “mind“It feels like you’re flying,” he says. Dvoăák Symphony No. 9 performances. blowing” Dvořák Both Parry and Matsuo, another ensemble soloist, “We know that piece backwards and forwards, return to one adjective again and again to describe but he made it sound like a new composition,” he Măcelaru’s relationship with the Orchestra: says. “He inspired us to see new things in it, even “comfortable.” Part of that mutual comfort no after all these years.” doubt stems from Măcelaru’s own experience as an That energy leaves a strong first impression. orchestral musician. A former violinist, he played in Musicians at the level found in the CSO have the Miami and Houston symphony orchestras while worked with so many conductors that names, faces pursuing degrees in those cities. and programs tend to smear together. Matsuo has seen firsthand how that experience Not Măcelaru’s. Parry still remembers the first informs his approach on the podium. time they worked together at the New World “He understands the pacing of a rehearsal. Symphony, a training ensemble in Miami for young Holding people’s attention comes to him naturally, musicians seeking orchestral positions. Măcelaru because he’s sat on the other side of the podium, came to guest-conduct the orchestra for a week. and he knows what an orchestral musician needs “He was not much older than us at the time, going into a concert,” Matsuo says. “It makes all the actually, so he felt more like a colleague. I thought, difference in the world.” ‘Oh, this guy’s going somewhere.’” Parry chuckles. Matsuo first noticed Măcelaru’s knack with the “Clearly, that was true.” Orchestra during his Subscribe to the CSO’s YouTube Now, Măcelaru is his subscription debut, in channel and watch the three-part colleague — his boss, 2016. That program docuseries: Introducing Cristian Măcelaru.  technically. But to Parry, was classic Măcelaru: @CincySymphony

Fanfare Magazine | 11

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American Stories FEB 1/2, 2026 Clarinetist Anthony McGill and the Pacifica Quartet join together to perform a program that celebrates the rich tapestry of the American experience through the works of Richard Danielpour, James Lee III, Valerie Coleman, and Antonín Dvořák.

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Experience piano quartets that feature the vibrant spirit of Dvořák, brilliance and wit of Beethoven, and the distinctive voice of neoRomantic, American composer Richard Danielpour in a work that explores the cycles of life.

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Beethoven’s Ghost Trio MAY 3/4, 2026 CSO principals join pianist Benjamin Hochman to perform a trifecta of trios, including a tempestuous and triumphant masterpiece by Mendelssohn, a centerpiece by Beethoven known for its haunting beauty, and an animated gem by Haydn.

LINTONMUSIC.ORG

COVER STORY

It included not just Elgar’s beloved Enigma Variations, but a world premiere (Gunther Schuller’s Symphonic Triptych) and a work by a living composer (Julia Wolfe’s riSE and fLY). At that point, Măcelaru had technically led the CSO once before, in Cincinnati Opera’s Il trovatore the summer prior. But to Matsuo, their familiarity seemed forged in something deeper. “It didn’t feel like it was his first time there, and it didn’t feel like it was my first time working with him,” she says. Măcelaru’s visits apparently left an impression on her colleagues, too. The music director search began with a survey asking CSO musicians about

conductors they were interested in looking at closer in coming seasons. Reviewing the results with the search committee, Matsuo was floored. “The number of times that Măcelaru’s name came up, it was just amazing,” she says. By the time Măcelaru arrived for his “audition” concerts in 2024, during the formal search, “it was like Cinderella and the glass slipper,” Matsuo says. “The partnership was there; the camaraderie on and off the podium was there,” she says. “It was like this person was already part of the family.” A family that’s already made cherished musical memories together — with more to come. 

CSO Music Director Cristian Măcelaru, October 2025. Credit: JP Leong

Fanfare Magazine | 13

SPOTLIGHT

Cincinnati and Black Spiritual Consciousness: A Case Study on Resilience by ANDRE JAMAL CARDINE (he/him), Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology, Indiana University

“The artist’s role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely.” — Amiri Baraka

The protest songs of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s–1960s are a signifier on the state of Black American life during that period. As Amiri Baraka, one of the pioneers of the Black Arts Movement, reminds us, pivotal voices in Black music reveal the communal psyche of Black people and Black life. Black people’s essence, longings and endurance are sonically imprinted on this music, as is the continuum of Black people struggling for liberation despite sustained colonial violence. Cincinnati’s connection to protest music and civil rights is evident in the legacies of both Louise Shropshire and James Brown and sits in the constellation of several other Black voices in the movement. Research into the soundscape of protest music during the Civil Rights Era shows that protest songs are part of a deeply complex interconnection among Black communities dedicated to preserving, maintaining and achieving Black freedom. Though the movement had individual voices that were largely recognized as key vocalists, including Mahalia Jackson, Odetta and Bernice Johnson Reagon, it is congregational-style and call-and-response singing that proves most effective for mobilizing the country in combating racial injustice.

Rooted in a history of African American work songs, communal singing has always been a method to physically and emotionally uplift people. In the context of work songs, a leader typically sings a verse and the community responds with a chorus/refrain. In this call-response format, singing becomes communal, and participants synchronize with one another for a common purpose. Call-and-response singing thus became a mass mobilization technique directly tied to the Black church, which serves as an anchor to the Civil Rights Movement musically, physically and spiritually. Black church musicians were essential to the sound of the movement. The qualities that make up Black spirituals — the emotion, storytelling and rhythms — continue to be present throughout all iterations of Black music. The song “We Shall Overcome” is widely recognized as one of the most noteworthy of the movement. However, a key musical architect of the song’s construction has only recently received credit for her contributions to the piece, thanks to the efforts in recent years of musician and author Isaias Gamboa. Gamboa discovered that Louise Shropshire’s (a Black woman composer and activist from Cincinnati) 1942 hymn “If My Jesus Wills” — sung in churches across the country connected to the Civil Rights Movement due in no small part to the friendships Shropshire developed with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas

From left to right: Robert Shropshire, Sr.; Louise Shropshire; the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Sr. Credit: Louise Shropshire Family Papers, University of Cincinnati, Archives and Rare Books Library. 14 | 2025–26 SEASON

SPOTLIGHT

of Dr. King’s death, would incite more uprisings in the city. Brown’s concert was broadcast through the local PBS station to encourage residents to stay home and minimize the likelihood of civil unrest. Brown’s anthem served as a siren for Black pride and was released as a single just four months following Dr. King’s assassination. The song was released on the King Records label, a label not only known for James Brown performing on the ABC Television program Music Scene in 1969. Credit: From ABC Television, image in the public domain. arguably housing and facilitating the birthplace of rock and roll but also Dorsey (widely regarded as the father of gospel being one of the first racially integrated workplaces in music) — is the true origin of “We Shall Overcome.” the city of Cincinnati. In 1960, however, Pete Seeger was granted the James Brown is clear on the importance of copyright for the song, with no credit given to community, fellowship and joy. “When I’m on Shropshire for her contributions. stage,” he said, “I’m trying to do one thing: bring In April 2016, Gamboa sued Seeger and the people joy. Just like the church does. People don’t Richmond Organization, and, in 2017, Judge go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it.” Denise Cote ruled that the Richmond Organization Indeed, Brown’s ability to connect with people likely could no longer claim copyright to “We Shall stemmed from the unity that Black communities Overcome” and the song entered public domain. cultivate in the church. Brown’s words represent Shropshire now receives credit any time “We the power of Black joy: though there is always a Shall Overcome” is used, and her legacy is now continuous fight against oppression and injustice, increasingly Black people do in the public have a right to consciousness. celebrate. To further honor There is a her, Louise unique power Shropshire was in our ability to inducted into contemplate the Cincinnati’s struggles of the Black Music world and ask, Walk of fame “What’s Going in 2023. On?” (Marvin Another figure Gaye), while also with Cincinnati “Dancing in the associations, Street” (Martha the “Godfather Reeves and the of Soul” James Vandellas); to Brown, placed recognize that “A his own sonic Change is Gonna signature on the Come” (Sam communal psyche Cooke), even of the movement Classical Roots concert in March 2025. The Classical Roots Choir is made up of though “It’s a Long singers from all over the Cincinnati area, most from choirs in historically Black with his Black Walk to D.C.” (The churches. Credit: Mark Lyons power anthem Staples Singers); “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud.” Brown and to understand why we have to deal with the performed the song during his concert at the Boston “Backlash Blues” (Nina Simone) but also know that Garden on April 5, 1968, the day after Dr. King’s “We Shall Not Be Moved.” assassination, despite the fear from Boston’s mayor To understand Black life in America, the music of and local authority figures that the performance, Black Americans must be examined. Not only will we paired with the Black residents’ response to the news overcome someday, but we will always say it loud, be Black and proud.  Fanfare Magazine | 15

MUSICIAN & STAFF Q&A

What Does “Life is Good When You’re Surrounded by Music” Mean to You? Inspired by the words of CSO Music Director Cristian Măcelaru, the musicians and staff of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra responded to the question: “What does ‘Life is Good When You’re Surrounded by Music’ mean to you?” Stacey Woolley

Hannah Boettcher

Violin Brenda & Ralph Taylor Chair

Marketing Intern

Music is a great companion. With music, you’re never alone.

Madelyn McArthur Audience Engagement Manager

Music is a universal language that communicates endless emotion. It punctuates the most important parts of our lives, and it is hard to imagine the world without it.

To me, being surrounded by music makes life good because it enriches life. Music provides both an outlet and a source of comfort, and it enables us to connect with each other through shared passion and enjoyment.

Charlie Balcom Social Media Manager

Music helps us believe, be creative, become inspired. It can help lift our spirits and bring about emotions throughout different moments of our lives. It’s like having a personalized soundtrack.

Music Director Cristian Măcelaru conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for a special concert featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma, November 2025. Credit: JP Leong

16 | 2025–26 SEASON

MUSICIAN & STAFF Q&A

Maria Cordes

John Clapp

Video Editor

Chief Orchestra & Production Officer

Music is something that has always been there for me, no matter how I am feeling. It’s present in all of life’s celebrations and offers a silver lining when things are tough.

Experiencing live music brings physical and mental change to the listener. To surround oneself with music brings out goodness in all of us.

Catherine Hann

Devon Pine

Assistant Director of Individual Giving

Subscription Marketing Manager

How lucky are we to be surrounded by music? To be connected by a beauty that anyone can bask in. It’s a passport to faraway places or a road back home, carrying us through time. This phrase brings me back to a moment after a long hike, when I crested a hill and took off running, arms wide, music in my ears, sun on my face — unguarded, so grateful and completely free.

Gregory Lee Chief Financial Officer

Music has been a constant in my life from the moment my mother put on that first LP, shaping my emotions, guiding me through joy and struggle, and ultimately connecting me to my wife in a way that still feels profound. To me “Life is Good When You’re Surrounded by Music” means that music colors every part of my world, bringing depth, connection and meaning to my days, and without it my life would feel far lonelier and far less vibrant.

Tyler Secor Director of Communications & Content Development

I grew up in a small rural community in Northern Indiana. I didn’t fit in with most of my classmates and found the social aspect of school difficult. But in band and choir, I found my people and was able to develop a small community of friends that made middle and high school bearable. For me, the music is not what makes life good. Instead, it’s the community of people around the music that makes life good.

Music gives us the opportunity to express that which cannot be put into words. That is a gift that means more now than ever before.

Kaitlyn Driesen Digital Media & Label Services Manager

Music is boundless. Through harmonies, rhythms, styles — I experience an emotional connection to people throughout the world and time.

Craig Doolin Patron Services Representative

Music not only entertains, but it also opens new worlds. Art depicts images, drama depicts situations, but music makes you feel the same things that people felt sometimes centuries ago.

Shannon May Accounting Clerk

Music is my therapy and inspiration. It never fails to lift me up when I’m down.

Andrea Saavedra Ferreira Community Engagement Intern

Music means life to me, especially knowing how music was interlaced with me before I was born! My father dedicated a classical piece to my sister and I, to connect us with music the moment we were born: my younger sister’s dedication was “Water Music” by Handel, while I got The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. The same kind of connection my father instilled in my younger sister and me since birth is possible for others, given the nature of music and its ability to create life and impart meaning.

We would love to hear from you! Use the QR code or link below to submit your answer to the question: What does “Life is Good When You’re Surrounded by Music” mean to you? https://bit.ly/CSOLifeisGood

Fanfare Magazine | 17

INSIDE THE ORCHESTRA

The CSO’s Percussion Team: More Than Just Drumrolls and Cymbal Crashes by ANNE ARENSTEIN

If you think the CSO percussionists only hit drums or cymbals, think again. The percussion team plays an astounding range of instruments, tuned and untuned, bells to bundles of sticks, whistles, tap shoes, tambourines and cowbells — whatever a composer specifies. Some of the team may be backstage, striking the bells specially cast for the CSO’s performances of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, for example, or they can be highly visible, striking the hammer blow in Mahler’s Sixth Symphony or playing large crash cymbals. They’re versatile musicians with skill sets that can handle both classic works and new sounds incorporated into contemporary compositions. Joseph Bricker, Michael Culligan, David Fishlock and Patrick Schleker make up the team usually The CSO Percussionists (from left): David Fishlock, Principal Percussionist; Patrick Schleker, Principal Timpani; Michael Culligan, Associate Principal Percussionist; and Joseph Bricker, Association Principal Timpani and section percussionist.

18 | 2025–26 SEASON

seated at the back of the Orchestra, and when asked what they want audiences to know about what percussionists do, the response is immediate. “There’s so much more to it than it looks,” says Fishlock, Principal Percussionist. “Even if we don’t play as much as the other sections, there’s a lot of preparation we have to do, especially if we’re playing new instruments.” Bricker, Associate Principal Timpani and section percussion, points out that percussion instruments have no double, like the piccolo for the flute or the viola for the violin. Even the simplest percussion instruments are a challenge, like the triangle. Bricker explained that no instrument can do what a triangle does. He noted that if a composer puts it in the score, as Ravel does in a section of the Mother Goose Suite, only that instrument playing that one note can create the intended experience. “In the Mother Goose Suite,” he says, “there’s a

INSIDE THE ORCHESTRA

movement about Beauty and the Beast. At the moment in the piece when the Beast turns back into the Prince, Ravel orchestrates it with a sudden stop — a big, harp glissando all the way up to the top of the instrument, and then the only triangle note in the movement is placed atop a bed of string harmonics. That moment, and that triangle note, become particularly magical because they’re literally representing a magical transformation within the story.” “And there are moments of sheer terror,” adds Principal Timpani Schleker. “That triangle or gong or whatever has to be exactly on cue. The farther back you are, and even when we’re watching the conductor on a monitor backstage, the more you have to anticipate the sound, and that’s a very difficult thing to do.” Culligan compares their section to a sports team. “Depending on the piece, the four of us can be playing very different instruments, and we have to work together on style, dynamics and balance so that we’re a cohesive unit.” Fishlock joined the CSO in 1991, Schleker in 2006, Culligan in 2015 and Bricker in 2022. Their combined expertise and training often means an improved, more vibrant sound, especially in older

compositions. “There are composers who heard something they liked but had no experience with the actual instruments, so they wrote what I would call very square orchestrations for them,” says Culligan. And there are composers like Berlioz and Mahler who were masters of creating dramatic effects with percussion. In addition to the “Berlioz Bells,” the CSO has a box specially built to absorb the hammer blow for Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. Probably the most frequently asked question is for Schleker: why is he constantly leaning over to listen to the timpani? “My father-in-law says I have a radio inside and I’m listening for sports updates,” he laughs. “But I am listening closely to the drums because they’re tuned, and often to a key the Orchestra is not yet playing. So I lean over to listen and tune so I can hear what I’m doing.” There’s a lot of maintenance not only for timpani but for the rest of the percussion arsenal, as well as training and practice to perform everything convincingly. “I think the most interesting thing about us is just the sheer variety of what we do,” Fishlock concludes. “Every week it’s something different, which keeps things really interesting.” 

Fanfare Magazine | 19

SPOTLIGHT

The Orchestra Welcomes New Assistant Conductors by DAVID LYMAN

While assistant conductors are mostly “seen and not heard,” they play an important role — supporting and consulting the Music Director and guest conductors and assisting during rehearsals, among other duties. Learn more about the CSO’s two new assistant conductors and how they view their roles. Alex Amsel

Assistant Conductor Ashley and Barbara Ford Chair Alex Amsel had to delay our conversation for a few days. “I am out of town this weekend,” he emailed, “doing a little Mahler tune.” That “little tune” turned out to be Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. And he was leading the Phoenix Symphony, where he had been associate conductor before accepting a position as an assistant conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Born in Buenos Aires, Amsel came to the United States at the age of 10, when his father stepped into a job in Texas. “It’s the classic American Dream story,” says Amsel. “Argentina was heading into an economic collapse and my parents were looking for a slightly better life. We had family in Texas, so that’s where we ended up.” Neither of his parents was involved in the music world. Nonetheless, there always seemed to be music in the background. “When we took road trips — there were tons of them — we would sing for the 12 hours on the road,” he says. “It wasn’t classical music. It was music from Argentina. Or Mexico — my mother is Mexican. But we didn’t know a thing about the culture of being a professional musician. It never even crossed our minds.” That changed the year after the family arrived in Houston. 20 | 2025–26 SEASON

“I signed up for band without any idea about anything,” he recalls. “My English was not great at that time, but I had an uncle who had loved jazz. So band sounded like something I might like.” Since he was a beginner, he had to select an instrument to learn. He was told to list five instruments. Sax, of course, was first. “I tried to play the sax, but I couldn’t make a sound,” he says. “I also tried flute, but I didn’t think it would be cool to play the flute. So I started with the clarinet.” There was a problem, though. “I hated it,” he says. “I was bored. After a semester, I told my teacher I couldn’t continue with the clarinet. He said he had this other instrument I should try.” It was a bassoon. “I hate to sound so cheesy, but I watched my band director play one scale and it was like Harry Potter and his wand — the bassoon chose me,” he says. “It was love at first sound. The bassoon was everything I wanted and was looking for.” Two years later, he won a field trip to hear the Houston Symphony. “I was 13, maybe, and it blew me away. I finally understood what an orchestra was. And how it could sound.” It proved to be a defining moment in Amsel’s career. Many years later, that first band director made a confession to him. “One day, we were having a beer, and he told me that when I auditioned they already had too many saxophones, so he gave me a broken instrument so I couldn’t make a sound.” Clearly, the deception didn’t diminish his enthusiasm for music. He would go on to study music at the New England Conservatory and The University of Texas at Austin and finish up with a graduate degree under the tutelage of Marin Alsop at the Peabody Conservatory. Since then, he has built a busy career as a guest conductor, as well as serving as resident conductor at Houston Grand Opera, assistant conductor with

SPOTLIGHT

the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Phoenix Symphony. Along the way, he has become something of a proselytizer for orchestral music. “I could spend my life doing Mahler and Beethoven,” he says, “but the reality is that it doesn’t really matter what I want to do in a program. The program is not for me. What does the community want? And the orchestra? My work is about music. But it is also about community building.” That passion has manifested itself in many ways, from championing the work of underrepresented composers and creating a chamber orchestra program for students in Houston to working with students in underserved Baltimore schools and launching a composition project for middle and high school students in Phoenix. “We even premiered a symphony by an 11-year-old.” He also spent a summer as conductor-in-residence with the Cincinnati Opera, an experience that gave him a taste of Cincinnati’s rich cultural environment. “I love coming back to Cincinnati,” he says. “The amazing thing about the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is that they are already at the forefront of what an American orchestra should be. They do so many different sorts of things. They play the pops as brilliantly as they play the classics. They play for the Opera and Ballet. And the May Festival. It’s incredible. To me it’s just an honor to come here and be part of that.”

Duo Shen

Assistant Conductor Ashley and Barbara Ford Chair You didn’t see Duo Shen on the stage during Cristian Măcelaru’s debut concert with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. But he was there. In fact, he was there the entire week leading up to the performances, shadowing Cristi, consulting and advising him, and sharing musical know-how. Such is the life of an assistant conductor. Like a medical resident, an assistant conductor is always on call, always at the ready to offer support or, heaven forbid, step in as a replacement when some unforeseen problem occurs. It’s demanding and devoid of glamor. But Shen has no complaints. In fact, he says he feels privileged to be in such a position. “I was very, very fortunate to cover Cristi and to be with him the whole week,” says Shen. “The more I get to talk with him and get to know him, I realize why he is who he is. His focus is always about the music. Always. He wants to help the heart to feel more. It’s a very selfless approach.”

It’s an extremely generous description. But in some ways, Shen might be describing himself, as well. Soft-spoken and a bit reserved, he would rather deflect a conversation than talk about himself. He’ll talk about the music, his mentors or his family back in China. Or his fiancée, Emilee Syrewicze, executive director of Opera Cathy Lyons Grand Rapids. (As of this interview, they were scheduled to get married on October 31.) But stand him up in front of an orchestra and he radiates with passion for the music and the people playing it. “You have to give yourself up to the music,” says Shen. “It’s the experience every musician seeks. It’s wonderful when you reach that point.” He is quiet for a moment before he continues, “Last week, someone asked me how do I feel about all these changes taking place in my life. I tell you, it feels like living the dream. Once you get to a place and an orchestra like Cincinnati, there is no better place to be.” That’s lavish praise, especially when you consider the range of musical opportunities Shen had during his three years as associate conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony. He conducted more than 90 concerts, leading the orchestra through everything from chamber music and orchestral blockbusters to pops and family concerts. “There is a certain joy when you open a score, study it and let the music flow through your mind,” says Shen. “The feeling is difficult to explain, but when those notes flow through you and you share them with the orchestra, it’s like we become a collective, like an organ. It’s the best feeling.” Shen was born and raised in what he describes as a “relatively westernized family” in Beijing. “My grandparents are all professors,” he says. “And my father is a sociologist. He visited the U.S. quite regularly and was a visiting scholar at U.C. Berkeley.” But it was his mother’s deep love of Western classical music that had the earliest impact on his musical aspirations. “All of her music was on cassettes,” he laughs. ©

continued, p. 73 Fanfare Magazine | 21

CRISTIAN MĂCELARU, Music Director Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair

JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL, Cincinnati Pops Conductor Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair

Matthias Pintscher, CSO Creative Partner Damon Gupton, Pops Principal Guest Conductor Louis Langrée, Music Director Laureate Alex Amsel, Assistant Conductor Ashley and Barbara Ford Chair

Duo Shen, Assistant Conductor Ashley and Barbara Ford Chair

FIRST VIOLINS Stefani Matsuo

CELLOS Ilya Finkelshteyn

Felicity James

Lachezar Kostov*

Concertmaster Anna Sinton Taft Chair Associate Concertmaster Tom & Dee Stegman Chair

Philip Marten

First Assistant Concertmaster James M. Ewell Chair++

Eric Bates

Second Assistant Concertmaster Serge Shababian Chair

Principal Irene & John J. Emery Chair

CLARINETS Christopher Pell

Principal Emma Margaret & Irving D. Goldman Chair

Ona Hixson Dater Chair

Joseph Morris*

Karl & Roberta Schlachter Family Chair

Ixi Chen

[OPEN]

Drew Dansby§ Daniel Kaler

Peter G. Courlas– Nicholas Tsimaras Chair++

Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinet Robert E. & Fay Boeh Chair++ Vicky & Rick Reynolds Chair in honor of William A. Friedlander

Kathryn Woolley

Nicholas Mariscal

BASS CLARINET Ronald Aufmann

Anna Reider

Hiro Matsuo

BASSOONS Christopher Sales

Nicholas Tsimaras– Peter G. Courlas Chair++ Dianne & J. David Rosenberg Chair

Mauricio Aguiar§

Anne G. & Robert W. Dorsey Chair

Minyoung Baik‡

Jo Ann & Paul Ward Chair

James Braid

Marc Bohlke Chair given by Katrin & Manfred Bohlke

Rebecca Kruger Fryxell Clifford J. Goosmann & Andrea M. Wilson Chair

Marvin Kolodzik & Linda S. Gallaher Chair for Cello Laura Kimble McLellan Chair++

Alan Rafferty

Ruth F. Rosevear Chair

Tianlu (Jerry) Xu BASSES Owen Lee

Principal Mary Alice Heekin Burke Chair++

Luis Celis*

Thomas Vanden Eynden Chair

Elizabeth Furuta Gerald Itzkoff

Stephen Jones**

Joseph Ohkubo Luo-Jia Wu Jonathan Yi

Boris Astafiev§ Michael Martin Gerald Torres Rick Vizachero

Jean Ten Have Chair

SECOND VIOLINS Gabriel Pegis Principal Al Levinson Chair

Yang Liu*

Harold B. & Betty Justice Chair

Scott Mozlin**

Henry Meyer Chair

Kun Dong

Trish & Rick Bryan Chair

HARP Gillian Benet Sella

Principal Cynthia & Frank Stewart Chair

FLUTES Randolph Bowman

Charles Gausmann Chair++

Principal Charles Frederic Goss Chair

Sheila and Christopher Cole Chair

Haley Bangs

Ida Ringling North Chair

PICCOLO Rebecca Pancner

Cheryl Benedict Evin Blomberg§ Rose Brown Rachel Charbel

Chika Kinderman Charles Morey Hyesun Park Michael Rau Stacey Woolley

Brenda & Ralph Taylor Chair++

VIOLAS Christian Colberg

Principal Louise D. & Louis Nippert Chair

Gabriel Napoli*

Grace M. Allen Chair

Julian Wilkison** Rebecca Barnes§ Christopher Fischer Stephen Fryxell

Melinda & Irwin Simon Chair

Caterina Longhi Denisse Rodriguez-Rivera Dan Wang Joanne Wojtowicz 22 | 2025–26 SEASON

Henrik Heide*

Principal Emalee Schavel Chair++

Martin Garcia*

Christy & Terry Horan Family Chair

Patricia Gross Linnemann Chair

OBOES Dwight Parry

Principal Josephine I. & David J. Joseph, Jr. Chair

[OPEN]*

Stephen P. McKean Chair

Emily Beare

ENGLISH HORN Christopher Philpotts

Principal Alberta & Dr. Maurice Marsh Chair++

TUBA Christopher Olka

Principal Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair

TIMPANI Patrick Schleker

Principal Matthew & Peg Woodside Chair

Joseph Bricker*

Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair

PERCUSSION David Fishlock

Principal Susan S. & William A. Friedlander Chair

Hugh Michie

Michael Culligan* Joseph Bricker

CONTRABASSOON Jennifer Monroe

Marc Wolfley+

HORNS Elizabeth Freimuth‡ Principal

David Alexander†

Acting Principal Mary M. & Charles F. Yeiser Chair

David Smith†

Acting Associate Principal Ellen A. & Richard C. Berghamer Chair

[OPEN]**

Sweeney Family Chair in memory of Donald C. Sweeney

Lisa Conway

Susanne & Philip O. Geier, Jr. Chair

Duane Dugger

Mary & Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Chair

Charles Bell

Donald & Margaret Robinson Chair

Carol J. Schroeder Chair Jane & David Ellis Chair

BASS TROMBONE Noah Roper

TRUMPETS Anthony Limoncelli Principal Rawson Chair

[OPEN]

Jackie & Roy Sweeney Family Chair

Alexander Pride†

Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Chair++

Christopher Kiradjieff

David C. Reed, MD Chair

TROMBONES Cristian Ganicenco

Principal, in memoriam Dorothy & John Hermanies Chair

Joseph Rodriguez**

Second/Assistant Principal Trombone Sallie Robinson Wadsworth & Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Chair

Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair

KEYBOARDS Michael Chertock

James P. Thornton Chair

Julie Spangler+

James P. Thornton Chair

LIBRARIANS Christina Eaton

Principal Librarian Lois Klein Jolson Chair

Elizabeth Dunning

Associate Principal Librarian

Cara Benner

Assistant Librarian

Citlalmina Hernandez Orchestra Library Intern

STAGE MANAGERS Brian P. Schott Phillip T. Sheridan Daniel Schultz Mike Ingram Andrew Sheridan § Begins the alphabetical listing of players who participate in a system of rotated seating within the string section. * Associate Principal ** Assistant Principal † One-year appointment ‡ Leave of absence + Cincinnati Pops rhythm section ++ CSO endowment only

AND

ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

CRISTIAN MĂCELARU Music Director

JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL Cincinnati Pops Conductor

Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chair

Grammy-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru is Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, Artistic Director of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, Artistic Director and Principal Alex Johnson Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music Director and Conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Distinguished Visiting Artist at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He also serves as Artistic Partner of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, where he was Chief Conductor from the 2019–20 through 2024–25 seasons. Măcelaru’s 2025–26 guest engagements include debuts with the Münchner Philharmoniker and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, as well as returns with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Czech Philharmonic, Leipzig Leipzig Gewandhaus Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. Măcelaru’s previous seasons include European engagements with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouworkest, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Wiener Symphoniker. In North America, he has led the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra. He is equally at home as a conductor of opera, with career highlights including productions of Don Don Giovanni Giovanniwith withthe the Houston Grand Opera and Madama Madama Butterfly Butterflywith with Opera Națională Naăională București. Bucureăti. In 2020, Măcelaru received a Grammy Award for conducting the Decca Classics recording of Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti and The Philadelphia Orchestra. His highly anticipated recording of George Enescu’s complete symphonic works with the Orchestre National de France was released in April 2024 on Deutsche Grammophon. September 2025 marks the release of Măcelaru’s and the Orchestre National de France’s Ravel Ravel Paris Paris 2025 2025 album on the naïve label, featuring the symphonic works of Maurice Ravel in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

John Morris Russell’s (JMR) embrace of America’s unique voice and musical stories has transformed how orchestral performances connect and engage with audiences. As conductor of the Cincinnati Pops since 2011, the wide range and diversity of his work as a musical leader, Mark Lyons collaborator and educator continues to reinvigorate the musical scene throughout Cincinnati and across the continent. As Music Director of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina, JMR conducts the classical series as well as the prestigious Hilton Head International Piano Competition. A Grammy-nominated artist, JMR has worked with leading performers from across a variety of musical genres, including Aretha Franklin, Emanuel Ax, Amy Grant and Vince Gill, Garrick Ohlsson, Rhiannon Giddens, Hilary Hahn, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Cynthia Erivo, Sutton Foster, George Takei, Steve Martin, Brian Wilson, Leslie Odom, Jr., Lea Salonga and Mandy Gonzalez. For over two decades, JMR has led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s wildly successful Classical Roots initiative honoring and celebrating Black musical excellence. Guest artists have included Marvin Winans, Alton White, George Shirley, Common and Hi-Tek. JMR has contributed seven albums to the Cincinnati Pops discography, including 2023’s holiday album JOY!. JOY!. In In 2015, 2015, he he created created the the “American Originals Project,” which has won both critical and popular acclaim and features two landmark recordings: American American Originals Originals(the (the music of Stephen Foster) and the Grammynominated American American Originals Originals 1918 1918(a (atribute tributeto to the dawn of the jazz age). The 2020 “American Originals” concert King King Records Records and and the the Cincinnati Cincinnati Sound with Late Sound Late Show Show pianist Paul Shaffer honored legendary recording artists associated with the Queen City. In the 2024–25 season JMR took on the next installment of the project, offering a concert and recording celebrating the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, and presented a national PBS broadcast of Rick Rick Steves’ Steves’ Europe: Europe: A A Symphonic Symphonic Journey. Journey. JMR’s American Soundscapes American Soundscapes video series with the Pops and Cincinnati’s CET public television station has surpassed one million views on YouTube since its launch in 2016.

For more information about Cristian Măcelaru and John Morris Russell, please visit cincinnatisymphony.org/about/artistic-leadership.

Fanfare Magazine | 23

DISNEY AND PIXAR’S TOY STORY IN CONCERT LIVE TO FILM | 2025–26 SEASON SAT JAN 3, 7:30 PM | SUN JAN 4, 2 PM Music Hall

DAMON GUPTON conductor

Directed by

John Lasseter Produced by

Ralph Guggenheim Bonnie Arnold Executive Producer

Edwin Catmull Steven Jobs Screenplay by

Josh Whedon Andrew Stanton Joel Cohen Alec Sokolow Original Story by

John Lasseter Pete Doctor Andrew Stanton Joe Ranft Music by

Randy Newman There will be one intermission. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is grateful to Pops Season Presenter PNC. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. 24 | 2025–26 SEASON

DISNEY & PIXAR’S TOY STORY IN CONCERT LIVE TO FILM

CONDUCTOR BIOGRAPHY

Damon Gupton, Pops Principal Guest Conductor Damon Gupton is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops. A native of Detroit, he served as American Conducting Fellow of the Houston Symphony and held the post of assistant conductor of the Kansas City Symphony. His conducting appearances include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Detroit Symphony, Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Florida Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Chineke!, NHK Orchestra of Tokyo, Orquesta Filarmonica de UNAM, Charlottesville Symphony, Brass Band of Battle Creek, Brevard Music Center, and Sphinx Symphony as part of the 12th annual Sphinx Competition. He led the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra on two national tours with performances at Carnegie Hall, and he conducted the finals of the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition and the 2021 Classic FM Live at Royal Albert Hall with Chineke!. Gupton received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Michigan. He studied conducting with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin at the Aspen Music Festival and with Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. An accomplished actor, Gupton is a graduate of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School. He has had a number of roles in television and film, including in the Paramount+ series Happy Face and the film Lear Rex with Al Pacino, as well as on stage. He is represented by Harden Curtis Kirsten Riley Agency (HCKR), SMS Talent and Brookside Artist Management.

PRESENTATION LICENSED BY

Today’s performance lasts approximately 1 hour and 41 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission. The performance is a presentation of the feature film Toy Story with a live performance of the film’s score. Out of respect for the musicians and your fellow audience members, please remain seated until the conclusion of the end credits.

Fanfare Magazine | 25

Photo by JP Leong

Strengthening Our Community We consider Cincinnati the best place to live, work and celebrate life. Partners like Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra share our belief that the community prospers when its individuals and businesses succeed. That is why we support those playing critical roles in preserving Cincinnati traditions, enriching cultural experiences and helping the community thrive. westernsouthern.com

Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio. WS-40093-B 2402

TRIFONOV PLAYS BEETHOVEN | 2025–26 SEASON SAT JAN 10, 7:30 PM | SUN JAN 11, 2 PM Music Hall

Cristian Măcelaru conductor Daniil Trifonov piano Johannes Brahms

Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80

(1833–1897)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 19 Allegro con brio Adagio Rondo: Molto allegro

INTERMISSION

Daníel Bjarnason (b. 1979)

I Want to Be Alive — Trilogy for Orchestra

U u.S s. PREMIERE premiere, CSO cso co CO-COMMISSION commission

Echo (Man Needs Man) Narcissus (We Need Mirrors) Pandora’s Box

This performance is approximately 120 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group. This concert is lovingly donated to the memory of Laura Gamble Thomson from the Thomson Family Foundation. These concerts are endowed by Martha Anness, Priscilla Haffner & Sally Skidmore in loving memory of their mother, LaVaughn Scholl Garrison, a long-time patron of the Orchestra. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra co-commission and U.S. premiere of I Want to Be Alive — — Trilogy Trilogy for for Orchestra Orchestra by by Daníel Daníel Bjarnason Bjarnason is is made made possible possible by a generous gift from Ann and Harry Santen. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. Selections from this concert will air on 90.9 WGUC on February 15, 2026, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Fanfare Magazine | 27

CONCERT PREVIEW ABOUT THE PROGRAM with Cristian Măcelaru, Music Director

When Cristian Măcelaru and Daniil Daniil Trifonov Trifonov meet for this program, they’ll simply be picking up where they last left off. In the 2022–23 season, Trifonov was artist-in-residence at the Orchestre National de France, Măcelaru’s other orchestra. Trifonov toured Germany with the orchestra that season, then reunited with the ONF in November of 2025 for its first U.S. tour with Măcelaru. Trifonov was onstage for an even earlier Măcelaru milestone in 2015, when he made his much-anticipated podium debut with the New York Philharmonic. The The New New York York Times Times praised that debut as “impressive” and “auspicious,” with plaudits aplenty for the 24-year-old Trifonov as well. “Even when the music broke into intricate passagework and brilliant flourishes, Mr. Trifonov Alex Johnson

demonstrated crisp brio and an ear for detail, though there was plenty of fiery virtuosity as well,” the Times Times enthused. At the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music alone — — which which Măcelaru Măcelaru also leads — — he he estimates estimates he’s he’s led led somewhere somewhere between between 30 30 to to 35 35 new new commissions. Add U.S. or regional premieres to the mix, and “we’re adding another 30 to 35,” Măcelaru says. With the CSO, Măcelaru is adding to his (and the Orchestra’s) record of commissioning and performing new music. These concerts are the U.S. premiere of the complete trilogy II Want Want to to Be Be Alive Alive (which the CSO co-commissioned and first performed a portion of during the 2023–24 season). The concerts also mark the first time Măcelaru leads Daníel Daníel Bjarnason’s music. Bjarnason’s “Honestly, I find a tremendous amount of pleasure and satisfaction from opening a score that I have no idea what it will be like,” Măcelaru says of conducting new work. “I have a pretty good idea, but there are still elements to discover, and an interesting way in which the music starts to develop.” —Hannah Edgar —Hannah Edgar

To view the Digital Program for exclusive content, such as full-length program notes and artist biographies, please text PROGRAM to 513.845.3024*, use your mobile device to scan the QR code or visit cincinnatisymphony.org/digitalprogram. *By texting *By texting to to this this number, number, you you may may receive receive messages messages that that pertain pertain to to the the organization organization and and its its performances; msg performances; msg & & data data rates rates may may apply. apply. Reply Reply HELP HELP to to help, help, STOP STOP to to cancel. cancel.

28 | 2025–26 SEASON

CONCERT PREVIEW

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Cristian Măcelaru, conductor A complete biography for Music Director Cristian Măcelaru can be found on p. 23.

Daniil Trifonov, piano Grammy Award-winning Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov is a solo artist, champion of the concerto repertoire, chamber and vocal collaborator, and composer. His 2025–26 season includes three performances in Carnegie Hall, Schubert collaborations in the U.S. and Europe with German baritone Matthias Goerne, performances with Cristian Măcelaru and the Orchestre National de France of Saint-Saëns’ Second Piano Concerto and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, solo recitals in the U.S. and Europe, Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst and Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Trifonov’s existing DG discography has been recognized with BBC Music’s Concerto Recording of the Year, multiple Grammy nominations, and the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo Album of 2018. He has also been named Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, Musical America’s Artist of the Year and a “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government, while his earlier honors include third prize in Warsaw’s Chopin Competition, first prize in Tel Aviv’s Rubinstein Competition, and both first prize and Grand Prix in Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition. Trifonov studied with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music. daniiltrifonov.com

©Dario Acosta

PROGRAM NOTES

Johannes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80  Composed: 1880  Premiere: January 4, 1881, University of Breslau, Germany, Brahms conducting  Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons,

contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, triangle, strings  CSO notable performances: First: February 1912, Leopold Stokowski conducting. Most Recent: February 2012, John Storgårds conducting.  Duration: approx. 10 minutes

In 1879, the University of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) awarded Johannes Brahms an honorary doctorate in philosophy, inscribing his diploma with the distinction “the greatest living German master of the strict musical style.” In gratitude, Brahms composed a one-movement orchestral work titled Academic Festival Overture, and he conducted the premiere in Breslau in January 1881. The U.S. premiere took place during the following August, when Theodore Thomas conducted a well-attended performance in Chicago. When Thomas led a performance of it in Cincinnati the next month [1882, before the CSO’s founding in 1895], the critic of the Cincinnati Enquirer praised the powerful orchestration. American and European audiences responded so enthusiastically to the overture that, from 1890 to 1902, it was one of Brahms’ most frequently performed compositions. The Academic Festival Overture pays tribute to university life by weaving in four student songs that were well known in Germany at the time. Toward the end of the slow introduction, we hear the hymn-like “Wir hatten gebauet ein staatliches Haus” (“We Had Built a Stately House”). Quietly intoned in long notes by the wind and brass instruments, it evokes an aura of nostalgia. The following first main section of the overture, which the full orchestra plays fortissimo and un poco maestoso (a little majestic), introduces two other songs, “Der Landesvater” (“The Father of Our Country”) and “Was kommt dort von der Höh?” (“What Comes from the Heights?”), also known as the “Fuchslied” (“Fox Song”). The “Fuchslied,” which was associated with freshman hazing rituals, is particularly easy to identify because it is presented playfully by the bassoons. The final student song “Gaudeamus igitur” only appears

Born: May 7, 1833, Hamburg, Germany Died: April 3, 1897, Vienna, Austria

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in the coda, where it provides a majestic, yet also somewhat amusing, conclusion. Although this hymn is still heard during graduation ceremonies today, it originated as a lighthearted drinking song. Its original Latin lyrics exhort students to seize the day and enjoy life, for life is short. Although Brahms could have composed a highly complicated symphony that demonstrated his “strict,” or academic, style, he instead created a wry, witty overture. It celebrates the fun of student life, which so many of us fondly recall, as well as the formality of university customs. —©Heather Platt, Sursa Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts, Ball State University

Ludwig van Beethoven: Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 19  Composed: 1787–1801  Premiere: March 29, 1795, Vienna Burgtheater, Beethoven was pianist and

conductor

 Instrumentation: solo piano, flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings  CSO notable performances: First: January 1950, Thor Johnson conducting and

William Kapell, piano. Most Recent: September 2021 as part of MusicNOW, Louis Langrée conducting and Daniil Trifonov, piano.  Duration: approx. 28 minutes

Born: baptized December 17, 1770, Bonn, Germany Died: March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria

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Beethoven is often hailed as a genius, yet the protracted development of his Second Piano Concerto shows that his masterworks did not always emerge effortlessly. He began sketching the work in the late 1780s, but it was not published until 1801. When he started drafting it, at around 16 years of age, he was just beginning his career in his hometown of Bonn, Germany. By the time the score appeared in print, he was an acclaimed composer and virtuoso pianist living in Vienna, Austria, where he had settled in 1792. As with most of his piano concertos, Beethoven composed this work primarily for his own use. He performed the solo piano part during the premiere of an early version of the concerto in 1794 or 1795 and also for the premiere of the final version in 1798. While the earlier concert took place in Vienna, the latter was in Prague. Because he knew he would be playing the piano part, Beethoven did not take the time to fully notate it until preparing for the score to be published in 1801. Even then, he delayed publishing the first movement’s cadenza until 1809, by which point deafness had brought his performing career to an end and other pianists were playing the concerto. As a young composer, Beethoven closely studied the compositions of Mozart, and traces of Mozart’s style echo throughout the concerto in the size of the orchestra, the graceful melodic turns and the form of the first movement. But Beethoven’s emerging individuality is just as clear. While this is particularly the case in the dramatic contrasts of the first movement, the slow movement also features some unusual effects. In particular, toward the end of the movement, the pianist rests their left hand while using their right hand to play a long pensive melody, marked con gran espressione (with great expression). The rollicking finale, which immediately casts aside the piano’s introspection, exudes Beethoven’s energy. Nowhere in the music is there any sign of the struggles that shaped the concerto, only the vibrant voice of a composer already on the path to greatness. —©Heather Platt, Sursa Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts, Ball State University

CONCERT PREVIEW

Daníel Bjarnason: I Want to Be Alive — Trilogy for Orchestra u.s. premiere cso co-commission

 Composed: 2025  Premiere: May 2025, Gustavo Gimeno conducting the Toronto Symphony

Orchestra

 Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. alto flute, piccolo), 3 oboes (incl. English horn),

3 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, vibraphone, egg shaker, floor tom, kick drum, roto toms, xylophone, tuned gongs, tubular bells, tom-toms, suspended cymbals, sandpaper blocks, cowbells, guiro, clay pots, castanets, almglocken, temple blocks, snare drum, lion’s roar, tam-tam, crotales, bass drum, nipple gong, harp, piano, strings  CSO notable performances: These performances of the complete Trilogy are the work’s U.S. premiere.  Duration: approx. 45 minutes

Daníel Bjarnason is one of Iceland’s foremost musical voices today, in demand as a conductor, composer and programmer. He is artist-in-collaboration with Iceland Symphony Orchestra, an appointment that follows his tenures as principal guest conductor and artist-in-residence. Recent seasons have seen the world premiere of his Hands on Me for vocalist Mariam Wallentin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, as well as the world premiere of I Want to Be Alive with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which co-commissioned the work with, among others, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which is giving the work’s U.S. premiere. He has also written the score for an animated film, The Last Whale Singer, to be released in 2026. Other recent premieres include A Fragile Hope for orchestra and FEAST, a piano concerto written for Víkingur Ólafsson. A recipient of numerous accolades, in 2018 Bjarnason was awarded the Optimism Prize by the President of Iceland, won the 8th Harpa Nordic Film Composers Award for the feature film Under the Tree and was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize. He also won Composer of the Year, Best Composer/Best Composition and Best Performer at the Icelandic Music Awards in recent years. Bjarnason studied piano, composition and conducting in Reykjavík and pursued further studies in orchestral conducting at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He has released albums for several labels including Bedroom Community, Sono Luminus, Da Capo and Deutsche Grammophon. Bjarnason offers the following program note for I Want to Be Alive:

Credit: Saga Sig

Born: February 26, 1979, Iceland

We are only seeking Man. We have no need for other worlds. We need mirrors. We don’t know what to do with other worlds. —Stanisław Lem, Solaris While writing this work I wanted to think about how ancient archetypes resonate in the modern world, especially when viewed through the lens of technological innovation, such as artificial intelligence. To explore questions about humanity, consciousness, and the interplay between technology and myth and how that reflects on the human condition. What is our relationship with the machines we have created and what is the role of empathy and connection in a world increasingly shaped by these machines? The title is taken from an article in The New York Times published in February 2023, in which the Microsoft chatbot Bing revealed itself not as Bing, but Sydney, a hidden alter-ego behind the facade of the innocuous chatbot. From there, the conversation took an interesting turn, capturing the imagination (and fears) of readers around the world. Movement I: Echo (Man Needs Man). As the title suggests, the first part of the trilogy is inspired by the Greek myth of the goddess Echo. Echo has been cursed to be able to only repeat what she hears around her. She falls in love with the young man Narcissus but is unable to express her love to him, as she cannot express her feelings. She gradually withers away until nothing remains of her except her voice. The longing for connection and presence, recognition and conversation, and speculations about self-worship and the endless echo Fanfare Magazine | 31

CONCERT PREVIEW

cave are the basis. The title Man Needs Man is taken from the novel Solaris by Stanisław Lem and touches on the idea on which the work is largely based, that humanity actually desires to find ways to get to know itself better and is not ready for anything truly new or unknown. Movement II: Narcissus (We Need Mirrors). The second chapter deals with the myth of Narcissus, who is fascinated by his own reflection. The title of the chapter We Need Mirrors is also taken from Solaris, and it reflects the idea of man’s desire for introspection that manifests itself in his need to invent something that can mirror his existence, whether it is life on other planets, technological innovations or artificial intelligence. It is no coincidence that artificial intelligence only truly entered the public consciousness recently with the advent of chatbots such as ChatGPT that can imitate human conversations so well, i.e., when technology began to resemble humans as never before. We have created artificial intelligence in our own image and now we want to know what it can teach us about ourselves. Will artificial intelligence ultimately increase our self-knowledge or will we be lost in our own reflection like Narcissus? Movement III: Pandora’s Box. The final episode, Pandora’s Box, explores the myth of Pandora, the first woman created by the gods. According to some interpretations, Pandora opened a box entrusted to her, unleashing a multitude of evils into the world. One thing remained in the box, however, and that was Hope. This myth serves as a powerful metaphor for the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and technology. Just as Pandora’s curiosity had irreversible consequences, the development of artificial intelligence raises questions about the consequences of creating machines with intelligence and capabilities beyond our comprehension; the double-edged sword of technology as both a gift and a curse. Artificial intelligence can clearly improve our lives, but it could also set in motion a chain of events that would revolutionize our society in ways beyond our control. Can we harness the power of our creativity for good, or will we be faced with the chaos we have unleashed? Is it better to leave the box unopened or is it wishful thinking to imagine that this is even possible?

COMING THIS FEBRUARY TO AN INBOX NEAR YOU… the 2026–27 CSO & Pops Season Announcement!

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AMERICAN VOICES | 2025–26 SEASON FRI JAN 16, 11 AM | SAT JAN 17, 7:30 PM Music Hall

Cristian Măcelaru conductor Morris Robinson narrator and bass Rita Dove poet Margaret Allison Bonds

The Montgomery Variations

Samuel Barber

Adagio for Strings, Op. 11

(1913–1972) | arr. Cooper

I. Decision | II. Prayer Meeting | III. The March | VII. Benediction

(1910–1981)

Rita Dove, poet (b. 1952)

Aaron Copland

“Zion’s Walls” from Old American Songs

(1900–1990)

Traditional

“Deep River”

arr. Burleigh, orch. Trefler

Margaret Allison Bonds

“I, Too, Sing America” from Three Dream Portraits

orch. Trefler

Langston Hughes, poet (1901–1967)

INTERMISSION

Wynton Marsalis

Blues Symphony

(b. 1961)

II. Swimming in Sorrow | III. Reconstruction Rag VI. Danzón y Mambo, Choro y Samba

These performances are approximately 110 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group and Digital Access Partner CVG. The appearance of Morris Robinson is made possible by the Vicky and Rick Reynolds Fund for Diverse Artists. Newly commissioned work by Rita Dove is made possible by Kari and Jon Ullman. Sponsorship of Rita Dove is provided by Mr. Ron Ellis, Mr. Arthur Norman & Mrs. Lisa Lennon Norman, Ms. Nita Walker, Mrs. Sheila J. Williams, Ms. Diana Willen and an anonymous donor. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. This concert will air on 90.9 WGUC on March 29, 2026, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Fanfare Magazine | 33

CONCERT PREVIEW ABOUT THE PROGRAM with Cristian Măcelaru, Music Director

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Cristian Măcelaru assembled a program that would provide “a moment of reflection, understanding the story of who we really are as Americans.” That ranges from Margaret Margaret Bonds’ selected Bonds’ selected Montgomery Montgomery Variations, Variations, which the composer dedicated to Dr. King in 1964, to a commission from poet poet Rita Rita Dove, Dove, which bass bass Morris Morris Robinson Robinson narrates above Samuel Samuel Barber’s Barber’s Adagio for Adagio for Strings. Strings. Măcelaru’s “only request” was for Dove’s new poem to follow the dramatic line of the Barber. Otherwise, “the intensity of how she writes her poem is a direct response to the teachings and writings of Dr. King,” he says. To complete the first half of the program, Robinson again takes Alex Johnson

the stage to sing three American songs, including one with text by the great American poet Langston Hughes. If you attended last year’s Dvořák Dvoăák Symphony No. 9 concert — — Cristi’s Cristi’s debut as CSO Music Director Designate — then you already heard the fourth movement of Wynton Wynton Marsalis’ Marsalis’ Blues Blues Symphony, Symphony, “Southwestern Shakedown.” Măcelaru follows that with three more movements on this concert: “Swimming in Sorrow,” “Reconstruction Rag” and “Danzón y Mambo, Choro y Samba.” With his Blues Blues Symphony Symphony Marsalis uses many of the stylistic references that characterize much of his music, which Măcelaru describes as “an encyclopedia of American arts.” “Every page directs you to discover something that he’s trying to reference — — like, like, ‘This ‘This should should sound sound like like this this jazz jazz player player from from this this year,’ year,’ or or ‘this should sound like this city,’” Măcelaru marvels. “It blows my mind how creative it is, and how ingenious it is.” —Hannah Edgar —Hannah Edgar

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CONCERT PREVIEW

n CONDUCTOR AND SOLOISTS

Cristian Măcelaru, conductor A complete biography for Music Director Cristian Măcelaru can be found on p. 23.

Morris Robinson, narrator and bass Morris Robinson is one of the most fascinating and sought-after artists of his generation. In coming seasons, he sings his signature roles of Sarastro in Die Die Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera (where he has performed over 130 times) and Zauberflöte in Vienna, Ramfis in Aida Aida in the production of Arena di Verona at the Adelaide Oval and Il Grande Inquisitore in Don Don Carlo Carlo with Dallas Opera and Semperoper Dresden; makes his role debut as Hagen in Götterdämmerung Götterdämmerung with Atlanta Opera; and sings Titan in the world premiere of Lalovavi Lalovavi with Cincinnati Opera. Recent appearances include Verdi’s Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Angelotti in Tosca Tosca with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Sparafucile in Rigoletto Rigoletto with Cincinnati Opera, Mozart’s Requiem and Hagen in concert with Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Timur in Turandot Turandot at Los Angeles Opera, Ramfis and Il Re in Aida, Aida, as well as Sarastro in Die Die Zauberflöte Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera, Ferrando in Il Il trovatore trovatore at Houston Grand Opera, König Marke in Tristan Tristan und und Isolde Isolde at Seattle Opera and Cincinnati Opera, Verdi’s Requiem with James Conlon and the Baltimore Symphony, and the Echoes of America Concert with the National Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Morris Robinson received a Grammy Award for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under Gustavo Dudamel. He is artistic advisor at Cincinnati Opera and an artistic advisory council member for the Atlanta Opera, and he has been honored as a Doctor of Fine Arts (Hon. Causa) at The Citadel, artist-in-residence at Harvard University and winner of the George and Nora London Foundation Competition and Richard Tucker Competition. morrisrobinson.com morrisrobinson.com

Rita Dove, poet Rita Dove (she/her) was born in Akron, Ohio in 1952. A 1970 Presidential Scholar, she attended Miami University of Ohio, Universität Tübingen in Germany and the University of Iowa, where she earned her creative writing MFA in 1977. In 1987, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her third collection of poetry, Thomas Thomas and and Beulah, Beulah, and, from 1993 to 1995, she served as U.S. Poet Laureate at the Library of Congress. Dove is a recipient of the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. Author of a novel, a book of short stories, essays and numerous volumes of poetry, Dove wrote poetry columns for The The New New York York Times Times Magazine Magazine (2018–19) and The The Washington Washington Post Post (2000–02). Her drama The The Darker Darker Face Face of of the the Earth Earth opened at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1996. Her song cycle Seven Seven for for Luck, Luck, with music by John Williams, was premiered by Cynthia Haymon with the Boston Symphony in 1998, and her song sequence A A Standing Standing Witness, Witness, with music by Richard Danielpour, was premiered by Susan Graham with the Copland House musicians at the Kennedy Center in 2021. W.W. Norton published Dove’s latest volume of poems, Playlist Playlist for for the the Apocalypse, Apocalypse, in 2021. Dove’s numerous honors include Lifetime Achievement Medals from the Library of Virginia and the Fulbright Association, the 2014 Carole Weinstein Poetry Prize, the 2019 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets, and the 2021 Gold Medal for Poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1996, she received the National Humanities Medal from President Bill Clinton and, in 2011, the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama — — the the only only poet poet ever to receive both medals. Dove teaches at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she is the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing. poetryfoundation.org/poets/rita-dove poetryfoundation.org/poets/rita-dove

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SPOTLIGHT

Poet Rita Dove Shares Why Poetry is Salvation by MILDRED C. FALLEN

Rita Dove is a masterful storyteller who has spent decades championing poetry as an accessible and inclusive expression. Once comparing poetry to salvation, the interdisciplinary artist and author said that “in moments of extreme need, humans turn to the arts.” Since her emergence in the 1970s, her voice has added fresh perspectives and diversity to an artform once thought of as reserved for the elite and scholarly. Her evocative use of syncopated, free verse is rich in musicality and emotive imagery. Throughout her career, Dove has been lauded for bridging her personal voice with the universal, as her work often weaves family narratives with history and sociopolitical themes. Examples of this are showcased in works like Thomas and Beulah, a 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of poems based on the lives of her grandparents in early 20th-century Ohio. A phone conversation with Dove is an inviting glimpse into her processes and moves as fluidly as her poems. Speaking to Fanfare Magazine from her home in Charlottesville, VA, her voice often rises in joyful crescendos, and you imagine she’s smiling as she shares pivotal life moments that shaped her writing, including growing up in industrial 1950s Ohio.

“When I grew up in Akron, Akron was still the rubber capital of the world,” the 73-year-old recollects, adding that her father worked in the rubber industry as a chemist at the local Goodyear factory. “It was a bustling city; I remember feeling really very proud to be part of a city that was so connected to what I thought was the larger world. I mean, there were tires that were made, and they were put on cars, and they rolled basically all across America and beyond.” Dove adds that Quaker Oats was founded in Akron “by a German who missed his mother’s oats and figured out a way to make oatmeal.” “There was that incredible feeling of, ‘Wow, Akron is part of the world.’ I grew up feeling that though I had a private life … there was a connection to the outside world,” Dove says. At home, books were treated as valuable currency. Dove’s parents encouraged her and her siblings to finish library books before checking out new ones. She says it was a feeling of, “you don’t give up on a book — unless you have a reason and can explain why you gotta give up on it.” Because she read voraciously, books roused her writing instincts. “I began writing almost at the same time as I learned how to use a pencil,” she says, as her voice dips into a thoughtful pause. “It seemed natural to me to go from responding to those books by writing something back at them.” Despite being born during an era when Jim Crow laws dictated racial inequalities, Dove recalls how literature, music and sciences shaped her and her siblings’ hopeful worldview. All her siblings played woodwind instruments, and Dove gravitated to the strings and played cello. As a featured artist in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s American Voices program, Dove reconnects with her Ohio heritage, having been commissioned to write a poem in celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to accompany composer Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. “I thought this was a wonderful idea,” Dove says. “I think that so many artists today, more than just artists — all of us — we are looking for ways forward. Rita Dove playing the cello, 1968

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SPOTLIGHT

“I remember We’re looking for a looking out at the way to reach that kind U.S. Capitol, which of mountaintop, and, was right across the as an artist, I wanted street, and Lady also to be able to Freedom had been meld that imagining, taken down for that hope, with this cleaning,” she says. incredible music, After observing which is actually fairly the dirty drapery melancholic, or at wrapped around the least reflective. It’s majestic monument, like saying, ‘Yes, we it struck her because are still hopeful; but “[Lady Freedom] we’re also not going to looked so out of place go into this with roseand so homeless.” colored glasses.’ We “I began writing know that the world is the poem without rough, it’s always been thinking that it was rough, and we have to ever going to be certainly keep moving Rita Dove proclaimed in front of forward. So that was people,” Dove remembers. “It was my reaction to — my challenge.” in a certain way — rising to the dream of what this Dove appreciated the opportunity to collaborate country wanted to be. And here I was — what could I directly with CSO staff for the piece. She says she felt do about it?” the words she scribed and the music needed to “talk Dove’s televised performance helped reignite to one another,” and she spent months absorbing the appreciation for the artform. Though a selfmelancholy mood of Barber’s piece before writing a described introvert, Dove brought poetry into single word. schools and on Sesame Street, and “I just listened to the music “We’re looking for a she corresponded with people without thinking about the words, who wrote to her about poetry. just so that I had it in my body, so I way to reach that kind A memorable letter came from a can feel the music,” she recalls, as a of mountaintop, and, as white Kansas farmer who shared bird trills softly in the background. an artist, I wanted also how, after completing his chores, “It was a virtual sit-down; I talked to be able to meld that he discovered poetry through a with Anthony Paggett, the Chief imagining, that hope, with book of poems by Paul Laurence Artistic Officer of the Orchestra, this incredible music…” Dunbar he picked up when the and I sent him some of the drafts, —Rita Dove mobile library rolled into town. and these were basic little things in “Here you have this little white the margin, they were cross-outs,” boy who leaves the mobile [library] Dove explains. and sits down with a book of poems by a Black man,” “I said, ‘This is where I am headed. This is where Dove says. “And it’s the only book he had. So, he read it seems to want to go.’ And so we talked about some it, and he said, ‘It changed my life. I didn’t know of the difficulties that I saw as a writer and also what words could sing.’ That kind of story, when I read he thought of in terms of the orchestra, in terms of that, I thought, if you can change one person’s life by how fast or slow they were going to take the Adagio, telling them, ‘It’s all right; you do understand poetry; what it would be like to have a baritone recite it, you have poetry in you,’ then you know it’s worth all because that’s a different register from mine. It was of it.” so wonderful to be able to talk these things through Dove’s role also inspired a legacy of poets like with him, both as a poet, but also as a musician.” Amanda Gorman, who became a Youth Poet Later, Dove reflected to 1993, when, at 40, she Laureate in 2017 and performed at President Joseph became the youngest and first African American U.S. R. Biden Jr’s 2021 Inauguration. The same year, Poet Laureate Consultant to the Library of Congress. Dove released her 11th collection of poems, A Playlist She recalls the moment that inspired her to write for the Apocalypse, which was named one of NPR’s “Lady Freedom Among Us,” which she performed for Best Books.  President Bill Clinton at the Capitol’s bicentennial. Fanfare Magazine | 37

CONCERT PREVIEW

n PROGRAM NOTES

Margaret Allison Bonds, arr. Cooper: The Montgomery Variations  Composed: 1963–64  Premiere: unknown  Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. piccolo, alto flute), 2 oboes, English horn,

3 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, drum, hand cymbals, tambourine, triangle, wood block, harp, strings  CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of Bonds’ Montgomery Variations.  Duration: approx. 16 minutes

Born: March 3, 1913, Chicago, Illinois Died: April 26, 1972, Los Angeles, California

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By the time the Civil Rights movement commenced in 1955 with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Margaret Allison Bonds had already emerged as part of a Black intellectual vanguard that was using their intellectual and cultural labor as a means of advancing social change. Bonds’ early years were defined by her engagement with the community of Black intellectuals and artisans that defined Chicago’s Black elite. Bonds was identified early on as a musical prodigy, first receiving piano lessons from her mother, Estella Bonds. Her musical development, however, was jettisoned by her more direct engagement with the Black churches, conservatories and social and arts-based organizations that sustained Chicago’s Black classical music scene. Also important was the intellectual activity that took place in her mother’s home at 6652 Wabash Avenue. During the 1920s and 1930s, Estella Bonds’ home served as the epicenter of Chicago’s budding Black renaissance. It was one part boarding house, one part food pantry and one part cultural salon, where aspiring artisans engaged with composers such as Will Marion Cook, Noble Sissle and William Dawson; concert artists Lillian Evanti and Abbie Mitchell; and noted writers, painters and sculptors. In the decades that followed World War II, the compositions of Margaret Allison Bonds exemplified how the Black renaissance movement intersected with the emerging Black civil rights struggle. Her compositional approaches differed from her contemporaries, in that she advanced a sound identity that conflated neo-romanticism with elements of gospel, blues and jazz, while simultaneously promoting the liberation ideologies and cultural nationalism that permeated the intellectual circles she engaged with in New York and Los Angeles. With longtime friend and collaborator Langston Hughes, Bonds produced works that projected new understandings of Black life and Black identity. Most notable are the cantatas The Ballad of the Brown King and Simon Bore the Cross. These works, along with Montgomery Variations and Credo, are emblematic of how a number of Bonds’ compositions from this period aligned with other repertoires of protest music that were inspired by and used to advance the ideological scope of the Black civil rights struggle. Montgomery Variations is one of the few orchestral works found in Bonds’ vast catalog. She began working on the composition in 1963, after touring the Deep South with vocalist Eugene Brice and the Manhattan Melodaires. While the composition’s title references the Montgomery civil rights movement, its programmatic framework extends beyond it. Instead, Bonds sonically depicts the sites, sentiment, sounds and activity that defined the first two chapters of the mid-century Black civil rights movement. She described the work as a “group of freestyle variations based on the Negro spiritual theme, ‘I Want Jesus to Walk with Me’.” The first variation, titled “Decision,” captures the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott following the arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955. “Prayer Meeting,” takes the listener into the Black Church, one of the important cultural sites that has been at the center of the long struggle for racial and social equality. Bonds portrays the spirit of defiance and perseverance that sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the variation titled “The March.” The final variation, “Benediction,” is a statement of the determination and undeterred hope that underscored the continuous fight for social justice. —©Tammy L. Kernodle, University Distinguished Professor and the Park Creative Arts Professor of Music at Miami University

CONCERT PREVIEW

Samuel Barber; Rita Dove, poet: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11  Composed: 1936, originally as the second movement of String Quartet, Op. 11  Premiere: November 5, 1938, New York City, Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC

Symphony Orchestra

 Instrumentation: narrator, strings  CSO notable performances: First: October 1948, Thor Johnson conducting.

Most Recent: September 2020, conducted by Louis Langrée as part of a digital-only concert. Most Recent live, in-person performance: April 2017, David Robertson conducting.  Duration: approx. 10 minutes

Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings begins in an elemental way with a single held note. Soon, listeners become attuned to the full breadth of this music as more voices of the ensemble join, simultaneously individual in their shifting roles — melody, harmony, accompaniment — yet unified in purpose. Over time, this opening gesture has taken on a rare capacity for immediate listener recognition, likely a consequence of the work’s diverse uses, from funeral memorials for heads of state, scoring poignant film scenes, even inspiring interest in techno music. Barber composed the music in 1936 as the slow middle movement of his three-movement String Quartet, Op. 11. He would capitalize on this work, creating two additional versions of this middle movement. The first is the Adagio version for string orchestra, scored in 1936 for a larger ensemble of the same instruments plus added contrabass that deepens and enriches the sound. Much later, in 1967, he adapted the music for a choral setting of the Agnus Dei text from the Christian Mass ordinary. The success of this latter arrangement may draw from the original piece’s musical materials, Barber choosing to write each individual part in patient, even-sounding rhythms and exceedingly smooth melodic lines that seem to unfold in spirals, as one London reviewer described it in 1937. The result bears a striking resemblance to sacred choral music from Renaissance Europe, all without compromising originality or distinction. Structurally, the Adagio exhibits a kind of arching form that offers a satisfying conclusion reminiscent of its beginning. After its subdued opening in the strings’ lower registers, it strives ever upward to its climax approximately three-quarters of the way through. This moment, at which players push their instruments to their limits of volume and range, is contrasted by a breathtaking drop-off to the opposite end of the sonic spectrum, low in volume and low in register. The effect seems to encapsulate the full range of human emotion in just a few strokes of the composer’s pen. —©Jacques Dupuis

Born: March 9, 1910, West Chester, Pennsylvania Died: January 23, 1981, New York, New York

Aaron Copland: “Zion’s Walls” from Old American Songs  Composed: arranged for voice and piano in 1952, orchestrated in 1957  Premiere: (piano and voice) July 24, 1952, Castle Hill Concerts in Ipswich,

Massachusetts, vocalist William Warfield, piano Aaron Copland; (orchestral version) May 25, 1958, Ojai California, vocalist Grace Bumbry, Aaron Copland conducting  Instrumentation: solo vocalist, flute, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, trombone, strings  CSO notable performances: First and Most Recent: July 4, 2015, John Morris Russell leading the Cincinnati Pops, Nmon Ford, baritone  Duration: approx. 10 minutes

Soon after he completed the imposing song cycle on Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson in March 1950, Copland turned his creative attention to some lighter fare by “newly arranging” a set of five traditional 19th-century American songs for voice and piano on a commission from English composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears for performance at the Aldeburgh Festival. A second group of five followed in 1952, and Copland orchestrated Set I in 1954 and Set II three years later. In her study of Copland’s music, Julia Smith suggested that the Old American Songs form “a kind of vocal suite, the accompaniments, practical but exceedingly attractive, offer moods by turns nostalgic, energetic, sentimental, devotional and humorous.” The most familiar melody among these songs is “Simple Gifts,” the evergreen Shaker tune (also known with an original text by British poet and folk singer Sydney Carter as “The Lord of the Dance”) that Copland had earlier used with such excellent effect in Appalachian Spring.

Born: November 14, 1900, Brooklyn, New York Died: December 2, 1990, Sleepy Hollow, New York

Fanfare Magazine | 39

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Like the other Old American Songs, “Zion’s Walls” taps a deep, quintessentially American sentiment in its sturdy simplicity and its plain words, qualities that Copland captured perfectly in his colorful, atmospheric settings. Copland wrote, “‘Zion’s Walls’ is a revivalist song whose original melody and words are credited to John G. McCurry, compiler of The Social Harp,” a collection of folk songs and spirituals published in 1855 that was widely used in Appalachian camp meetings and revivals. Come fathers and mothers, come sisters and brothers Come join us in singing the praises of Zion. O fathers don’t you feel determined to meet within the walls of Zion. We’ll shout and go round the walls of Zion. —©Dr. Richard E. Rodda

arr. Harry T. Burleigh, orch. Trefler: “Deep River”  Composed: 1916  Instrumentation: solo vocalist, flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet,

trombone, timpani, harp, strings

 CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of “Deep River.”  Duration: approx. 3 minutes

The melodies of the Negro Spiritual hold a unique space within the context of American music. Born out of the conversion of enslaved Africans to an American context of Christianity during the Second Great Awakening, these songs reflected a radical worldview and spiritual intelligence that often goes unrecognized. Although often characterized as sorrow songs, these melodies expressed more. Spirituals were songs of resistance. Enslaved Africans constructed narratives that focused on deliverance over Pharaoh, faith that triumphed over lions’ dens and fiery furnaces, and Jordan rivers that served as pathways to freedom. In Reconstruction-era America, the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ performances of these songs shifted them from the insularity of Black communal spaces onto America’s concert stages. This aesthetic of jubilee singing developed into a prominent form of popular culture during the last decade of the 19th century. Forty-five years later, Harry T. Burleigh reimagined these songs as a new idiom of vocal music that situated the spiritual as an exemplar of American music. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1866, Harry T. Burleigh, Jr. learned spirituals and other Black folk song idioms from his maternal grandfather, Hamilton Waters, a former slave who purchased his freedom in 1835. The young man not only inherited his grandfather’s affection for these folk songs but also his rich baritone voice. During his formative years, Burleigh’s musical consciousness expanded to include classical music. His mother, Elizabeth, worked for Mrs. Elizabeth Russell, who regularly hosted recitals in her home. Recognizing her son’s passion for music, Burleigh’s mother asked Mrs. Russell to allow her son to serve as the doorman for her concerts. In 1892, he enrolled at the National Conservatory in New York. The conservatory’s curriculum and Burleigh’s engagement with faculty considerably shaped his perspectives on music and unlocked his potential as a composer. He served as librarian of the orchestra, which brought him in contact with composer Antonín Dvo ák. Burleigh eventually became the composer’s copyist, which shaped his understanding of harmony, form and compositional approaches. In return, he introduced Dvo ák to spirituals, which promoted the idea that these folk melodies could serve as the basis of an American nationalistic sound. In the years following his graduation from the National Conservatory, Burleigh immersed himself in various intellectual and creative circles. He became the first Black soloist hired at St. George Episcopal Church and later at the prestigious Temple Emanu-El. This brought him in proximity to New York’s wealthy elite. Through his connections with Dvo ák and the composer Edward MacDowell, he engaged with New York’s white café culture. While these interactions shaped his musical awareness, Black intellectual circles, which included activists like W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, as well as composers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, R. Nathaniel Dett and Will Marion

Born: December 2, 1866, Erie, Pennsylvania Died: September 12, 1949, Stamford, Connecticut

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Cook, influenced his racial consciousness. Burleigh was a strong advocate of the New Negro ideology, which grew in prominence during the last decade of the 19th century. Described as a type of Black intellectual reconstruction, the New Negro Movement attempted to circumvent the racist images promoted through minstrelsy that precipitated the enactment of policies that disenfranchised Blacks. In these circles, he found individuals who shared his beliefs in the cultural importance of the spiritual. “Deep River” appeared in Burleigh’s 1916 collection Jubilee Songs of the USA. It is one of his most acclaimed and performed spiritual settings. Rather than create elaborate settings, Burleigh retained much of the original melody, underscoring its beauty and simplicity with subtle, but harmonically rich, piano accompaniment. These arrangements not only provided repertoire for his performances but also for the generation of Black and white concert artists. In particular, Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson elevated these songs as part of their standard repertory, programming them alongside German lieder, French mélodie and Italian arias. —©Tammy L. Kernodle, University Distinguished Professor and the Park Creative Arts Professor of Music at Miami University

Margaret Allison Bonds, orch. Trefler: “I, Too, Sing America”  Composed: 1959  Instrumentation: solo vocalist, flute (incl. piccolo), oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet,

bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet,. trombone, timpani, crotales, snare drum, suspended cymbals, triangle, glockenspiel, harp, strings  CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of “I, Too.”  Duration: approx. 2 minutes

By the late 1920s, Black Chicago was already uttering premonitions of a promising career as a concert pianist for Margaret Bonds. However, the young woman’s aspirations extended much further. She aspired to be a composer. So, Bonds briefly studied harmony with Florence Price and arranging with William Dawson. Her compositional voice developed significantly during her years at Northwestern University, but her experiences with racism at the institution shifted her worldview. The University offered no on-campus housing for its few Black students, and they were unable to use student facilities. Daily, Bonds made a multi-hour trip from Chicago’s Southside to Evanston. It was also during these moments that Bonds’ racial consciousness began to take shape. She would later assert that it was the writings of Langston Hughes that inspired her and provided the mental strength needed to complete her studies. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Bonds worked in many different musical circles. As a pianist, she continued to concertize, but found substantial work writing pop songs, producing jazz arrangements and writing for theater productions. The eclecticism of sound that framed these different professional settings provided some of the key elements that mark Bonds’ compositional voice — beautiful melodies, sensitive settings of poetry, complex rhythmic ideas, and the employment of rich and colorful harmonic settings. The diversity of these professional spaces also brought Margaret Bonds into diverse social and intellectual circles that came to include poet and activist Langston Hughes, who significantly shaped her perceptions about the social responsibility of Black creatives and intellectuals. The alignment of Bonds’ music with the progressive political activity that became the mid-century Black civil rights movement can first be traced back to her professional connections with the Negro Theatre Project in Chicago and the infamous nightclub Café Society in New York. It was in these environments that Bonds’ radical consciousness surrounding blackness blossomed, and she gradually morphed into the persona of an artist-activist. In the 1950s, when some Black composers struggled to couple Black idioms with atonality and serialism, Bonds continued to nest Black cultural narratives in neo-Romantic settings tinged with harmonies, rhythms and nuances drawn from gospel, blues and jazz. Prominent examples include her settings of spirituals like “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” “You Can Tell the World,” and her signature solo piano work, 42 | 2025–26 SEASON

CONCERT PREVIEW

The Spiritual Suite, as well as the art song “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and the song cycle Three Dream Portraits. “I, Too, Sing America” is the last of the three songs that make up the Three Dream Portraits cycle, which draws its text from Hughes’ 1932 poetry collection, The Dream Keepers and Other Poems. Bonds began writing Three Dream Portraits in December 1955, so it is not difficult to believe that key events from that year were not on her mind when she began setting the poetry. That summer, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, beaten and tortured in Money, Mississippi, for allegedly offending a white woman. His mother, Mamie Till, refused to allow the lynching of her son to quietly fade into obscurity. She had an open casket funeral to illustrate the fragility of democracy for Black Americans and the brutality of racism and lynching. Then, there was the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to move to the back of the bus to accommodate white passengers. When considered in the social and political milieu of mid-century America, “I, Too, Sing America” reads not as a song of melancholy, but as a bold proclamation of the resilience exhibited by Blacks long denied a space at the table of democracy. This is strongly conveyed at the beginning when the piano introduction [an orchestration by Joseph Trefler is used for these performances instead of piano] shifts from fluid melodic lines to two punctuated chords that anticipate the voice entering in a declamatory manner with the words, “I too sing America.” The remainder of the song is an interplay between piano and voice, where at times the former imitates the latter. Bonds, in her signature way, constructs an intricate and complex accompaniment that does not overshadow the voice but establishes the shifting mood of the text. There is a certain level of poignancy and optimism for social change reflected in Bonds’ decision to omit the final line of Hughes’ poetry and end the song with the phrase “they’ll see how beautiful I am. And be ashamed.” —©Tammy L. Kernodle, University Distinguished Professor and the Park Creative Arts Professor of Music at Miami University

Wynton Marsalis: Blues Symphony  Composed: 2009, revised in 2014  Premiere: November 19, 2009 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano

conducting; revised version premiere February 4, 2025, Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, Jan Wagner conducting the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra  Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. 2 piccolos), 3 oboes (incl. English horn), 3 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, agogo bells, anvil, bass drum, blastix, bongo bell, brake drum, cabasa, china cymbal, claves, congas, cowbells, crash cymbals, field drum, glockenspiel, guiro, hand cymbals, high hat, marimba, pandeiro, piccolo snare drum, police whistle, ride cymbal, sizzle cymbal, small bass drum, small cymbal, small gong, snare drum, splash cymbals, suspended cymbals, tambour de Basque, temple blocks, timbales, tom-toms, triangle, tubular bells, washboard, whistle, wood blocks, xylophone, strings  CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of these movements from Blues Symphony.  Duration: approx. 36 minutes

Wynton Marsalis, the second of six sons born to Ellis Marsalis, one of New Orleans’ foremost jazz pianists, received his first trumpet when he was six, as a gift from Al Hirt. At age eight, he joined a children’s marching band led by banjoist-guitarist Danny Barker, and he soon started playing traditional jazz with Barker’s Fairview Baptist Church Band. Marsalis did not begin formal trumpet study until he was 12, but then he was trained in both classical and jazz styles, and within two years he had performed Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with the New Orleans Philharmonic. In 1978, he studied at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. A scholarship to The Juilliard School followed. Marsalis gathered a wide range of performing experiences in New York, and by 1980, he was touring with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and performing in a quartet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. He formed a quintet with his brother, saxophonist Branford, in 1982. In 1983, Marsalis was the first performer to win Grammy Awards in the same year for

Born: October 18, 1961, New Orleans, Louisiana

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recordings of both jazz (Think of One) and classical music (Haydn, Hummel and Leopold Mozart trumpet concertos). He repeated that feat the following year with Hot House Flowers and a disc of Baroque works, and he has since won five more Grammys, as well as the Grand Prix du Disque, an Edison Award and the Louis Armstrong Memorial Medal. In 1987, Marsalis co-founded a jazz program at New York’s Lincoln Center to nurture performance and education; in 1995, Jazz at Lincoln Center became a full member of that arts center’s constituent organizations. Marsalis continues as artistic director of jazz at Lincoln Center and conductor of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Marsalis is highly regarded as a composer for small and large jazz ensembles, ballet, film and concert — Blood on the Fields, his epic “jazz oratorio” based on the theme of slavery and celebrating the importance of freedom in America, won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in Music, the first jazz composition to be so honored. His many other distinctions include the National Medal of Arts, honorary degrees from more than 40 leading academic institutions, appointment as an International Messenger of Peace in 2001 by the United Nations, Frederick Douglass Medallion for Distinguished Leadership from the New York Urban League, the rank of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and the 2015 National Humanities Medal. “The Blues Symphony,” Marsalis wrote, “is a seven-movement composition that gives a symphonic identity to the form and feeling of the blues. It utilizes the language and form of the blues across regions and genres regionally to convey the basic attitude of the blues as music: ‘Tragic circumstances accepted, better times should be pursued and can always be found.’” He continues: This piece is intended to further the legacy of Gershwin, James P. Johnson, Bernstein, John Lewis and others who were determined to add the innovations of jazz to the vocabulary of the symphonic orchestra. I believe there is an organic and real connection between all Western traditions regardless of instrumentation and that the symphonic orchestra can and will swing, play the blues and feature melodic improvisation. Swimming in Sorrow begins on the open seas of the Middle Passage, utilizing the florid melodic language of Afro-American parlor music of the 19th century as a way to access cresting waves of orchestral dynamics. A pastoral interlude of brass and woodwinds is followed by the trombone preaching the gospel with a choir of French horns as elder deacons, in recognition of the centrality of church music to the blues and jazz. The trombone usually calls the beginning of New Orleans funerals and is considered the instrument closest to the voice of an exhorting preacher. In a reversal of roles, the clarinet actually leads us in a funeral march, and its solitary cry is answered by the introspective memory of tambourine and closely voiced woodwinds. A final clarinet cadenza brings us to the washboard and two-beat country shuffle of the slave and rural fiddler, with an organic evolution into the swing violin of masters like Claude Williams and Stéphane Grappelli. This movement requires the orchestra to identify the meaning of spirituals, of New Orleans funereal music and of the gospel-preaching tradition. It calls on the string sections to pursue the American fiddle and international swing traditions in order to play with a disciplined looseness and unforced naturalness. After a brief return to the opening seaborne theme, the French horn sings a spiritual. It is followed by a reprise of the clarinet dirge on cello with the introspective answer now becoming an exotic groove. The final call is a spiritual nocturne delivered by the trumpet with English horn response. The trumpet cry, as in the playing of ‘Taps,’ is often the final sound for the deceased. So the movement concludes with a repeated blues cry on the English horn above a sustained trumpet note sounded with respect to Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, From the New World. Reconstruction Rag begins in the world of circus waltzes and parlor music — New Orleans circa 1890. It features wide melodic leaps and clarinets making the sound of riverboat calliopes. Then it’s off into the world of ragtime with the breaks and call and responses idiomatic to early jazz. We hear from the trumpet, clarinet and trombone playing through the breaks in time that Jelly Roll Morton

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said were essential to jazz. These three instruments are the front line of a New Orleans Jazz ensemble and are pictured in the earliest-known portrait of a jazz group drawn around the same time. After a trio section featuring flute, clarinet and bassoon, we hear from the wawa mutes, swooping clarinets, whooping French horns and tom-toms, which bathe the music in American clichéd African mystique. The closely voiced and rhythmically complex woodwind soli above the drums and Chinese cymbal lead back to a romping New Orleans trumpet solo and ragtime ensemble statement … then … the train. That train symbolizes freedom. Once the train pulls into the station, we have a long coda based on permutations of the harmonic turnaround that concludes Jelly Roll Morton’s King Porter Stomp. As versions of this progression repeat, the orchestra expands in size, intensity and groove, eventually becoming one big train that stomps to a halt with a New Orleans-cymbal-choke tag. Danzón y Mambo, Choro y Samba begins with a New Orleans/Cuban concert music feel and a male–female dialogue between violin and cello, followed by the danzón and the mambo with cha-cha bell and swooping strings. This movement places a lot of responsibility on the percussion section to learn the subtleties of Latin percussion. A woodwind interlude leads into a Charanga-inflected flute solo in honor of Alberto Socarras from Cuba, who played the first jazz flute solo in 1927. Mr. Socarras was an ear-training teacher of mine in 1979–80, and I had no idea who he was. We get deeper in the groove and then trumpets with bell tones end the mambo. After another contrapuntal woodwind interlude comes the habanera, the most universal Afro-Latin rhythm. A transparent orchestral treatment of sultry themes is counter-stated by aggressive French horns and celli, with trumpets and trombones punctuating the groove. A brief bossa nova interlude leads to the ragtime of Brazil, the choro. Choro and samba bring us home, and the movement ends with a bossa nova tag. —©2025 Dr. Richard E. Rodda

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BAROQUE AND BEYOND | 2025–26 SEASON THU JAN 22, 7:30 PM Music Hall Ballroom

Johann Sebastian Bach

Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004

(1685–1750) arr. Jaffé and Perron

Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello Lachezar Kostov, cello

Bohuslav Martinů

String Quartet No. 4, H. 256

(1890–1959) Allegro poco moderato Allegretto scherzando Adagio Allegro

Kun Dong, violin Rachel Charbel, violin Christopher Fischer, viola Tianlu (Jerry) Xu, cello

INTERMISSION

Maurice Ravel

Piano Trio in A Minor

(1875–1937) Modéré Pantoum: Assez vif Passacaille: Très large Finale: Animé

Anna Reider, violin Lachezar Kostov, cello Anna Vinnitsky, piano

This performance is approximately 90 minutes long, including intermission.

YOU’RE INVITED to greet the musicians after the concert. The Winstead Chamber Series is endowed by a generous gift from the estate of former CSO musician WILLIAM WINSTEAD. 46 | 2025–26 SEASON

CONCERT PREVIEW PROGRAM NOTES

Johann Sebastian Bach, arr. Claudio Jaffé and Johanne Perron: Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004  Composed: 1720, arr. 1990  Premiere: unknown  Duration: approx. 16 minutes

Although it is known that Johann Sebastian Bach composed his three Sonatas and three Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin before 1720 (according to the dates on the manuscripts), there is not a letter, preface, contemporary account or shred of any other documentary evidence to shed light on the genesis and purpose of these pieces. They were written when Bach was director of music at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen, north of Leipzig, and represent the pinnacle of achievement in the unaccompanied string repertory. The greatest single movement among these works, and one of the most sublime pieces Bach ever created, is the majestic Chaconne that closes the Partita No. 2 in D Minor. Bach subjected his eightmeasure theme to 64 continuous variations, beginning and ending in D minor but modulating in the center section to the luminous key of D major. The noted Bach scholar Philipp Spitta wrote of the Chaconne: From the grave majesty of the beginning to the 32nd notes which rush up and down like the very demons; from the tremulous arpeggios that hang almost motionless, like veiling clouds above a dark ravine … to the devotional beauty of the D major section, where the evening sun sets in a peaceful valley: the spirit of the master urges the instrument to incredible utterances. This Chaconne is a triumph of spirit over matter such as even Bach never repeated in a more brilliant manner.

Born: March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Germany Died: July 28, 1750, Leipzig, Germany

The grand vision of the Chaconne has inspired numerous arrangements for other musical forces. The arrangement of the Chaconne for two cellos is by pedagogues and internationally acclaimed husband-and-wife cellists Johanne Perron, a native of Canada, and Claudio Jaffé, a native of Saõ Paulo, Brazil, who met at Yale while studying with the renowned teacher Aldo Parisot. —©Dr. Richard E. Rodda

Bohuslav Martinů: String Quartet No. 4, H. 256  Composed: 1937  Premiere: June 1938, at the home of Čestmír Puc and his wife, Helena  Duration: approx. 21 minutes

One of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, Martinů completed an astonishing 384 works in all genres, including 15 operas, 14 ballets, six symphonies and numerous other orchestral, choral and chamber works, among them seven string quartets. The Fourth Quartet was composed for the wealthy Czech businessman Čestmír Puc and his wife, Helena, who were living in Paris. After a single private performance and recording in 1938, the work disappeared from view until Martinů’s biographer Miloš Šafránek discovered the manuscript at Mrs. Puc’s home in 1956. The quartet is in four movements, with the scherzo coming second and the slow movement third. The first movement’s opening theme features an intriguing asymmetrical rhythm and a melody alternating between the major and the minor modes. The second theme features a long lyrical line, and the third consists of rapidmotion 16th notes. The principal section of the scherzo is made up of scurrying 16th-note figures, playful jumps and, once again, rapid switches between major and minor. A heartfelt viola solo opens the third movement Adagio and is enriched by expressive chromatic harmonies in the course of its development. The finale opens with a playful dance tune, developed brilliantly in combination with a singing second theme and some exciting ostinato passages.

Born: December 8, 1890, Polička, Bohemia Died: August 28, 1959, Liestal, Switzerland

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Harry Halbreich, who compiled the complete catalog of Martinů’s works, and assigned the “H” numbers used to identify the compositions, described the quartet as “cheerful, spirited music written for the joy of playing [Spielmusik], full of refinement and witty points.” —©Peter Laki

Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in A Minor  Composed: 1914  Premiere: January, 1915, Paris, with Gabriel Willaume, violin; Louis Feuillard, cello;

and Alfredo Casella, piano

 Duration: approx. 26 minutes

Born: March 7, 1875, Ciboure, France Died: December 28, 1937, Paris, France

Maurice Ravel expected to die fighting for France in World War I. In early 1914, before volunteering in the military, he put his affairs in order and began working furiously to complete his Trio for piano, violin and cello “with the sureness and lucidity of a madman.” Enlisting had become something of an obsession for the composer. At age 20, he had been exempted from conscription due to poor health. He had applied to the Air Force and had been turned away. By 1914, at age 39, Ravel noted that his brother and his friends were already serving, so he doubled down on his efforts. Following continued rejections due to his low weight and his weak heart, he pulled strings to secure a post as a truck driver on the front lines. Ravel did not produce a great deal of chamber music, but a decade before the Piano Trio he had composed several gems that still shine among the early 20th-century repertoire. His extraordinary string quartet and his otherworldly Introduction et Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet marked an abrupt break from the Teutonic angst that had dominated the late 19th-century Romantic tradition. The completed Piano Trio reveals Ravel’s desire to honor traditional forms while reaching for new sonorities, novel colors and original textures. The first movement opens with a classical sonata form that stands at odds with an exoticism in its harmonies, which Ravel described as “Basque in color.” The asymmetrical 3+2+3 syncopation that pervades the movement suggests the zortziko, a Euskadi dance accompaniment for folksongs such as the one hinted at in the opening string melody. The second movement is a scherzo in all but name. The eccentric title “Pantoum” is a literary reference to a form of Malaysian poetry that French poets such as Paul Verlaine and Charles Baudelaire popularized, in which the second and fourth lines of poetry reappear as the first and third lines of the subsequent stanza. Ravel’s ordering and repetition of musical phrases suggest a similar outline. The third movement is both haunting and haunted; a lament with a gravitas that suggests a eulogy. Titled Passacaille, it represents the French counterpart to the Italian passacaglia, a Baroque structure in which the tune sits above a repeating bass line and shifts keys and tonalities as it unfolds. The final movement opens with an exotic splash of tremolos and string harmonics accompanying a piano strain, colored in parallel fifths and double octaves, that suggests pentatonicism. Here too, the composer leaves the listener lost in rhythmic complexities, as the meter of the music vacillates between five and seven. Its primary theme invokes the Basque folk tunes of Ravel’s home region, building to a final, triumphant blast of euphoria. —©Dr. Scot Buzza

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DOLLY PARTON’S THREADS: My Songs in Symphony | 2025–26 SEASON FRI JAN 23, 7:30 PM | SAT JAN 24, 7:30 PM | SUN JAN 25, 2 PM Music Hall

Sarah Hicks conductor Katelyn Drye vocalist Hollie Hammel vocalist Blair Lamb vocalist Derek Drye acoustic guitar Lindsey Miller electric guitar Dean Berner banjo/mandolin Gary Lunn bass guitar Luke Woodle drums DOLLY PARTON’S THREADS: MY SONGS IN SYMPHONY

A Dolly Parton/Schirmer Theatrical/Sony Music Publishing Co-Production All songs written by Dolly Parton, unless otherwise noted Arrangements by David Hamilton

Threads Overture, arr. David Hamilton Two Doors Down My Tennessee Mountain Home Blue Smoke The Bridge Better Get to Livin’, co-written by Kent Wells Jolene If You Hadn’t Been There Backwoods Barbie Eagle When She Flies Light of a Clear Blue Morning

INTERMISSION Threads Entr’acte, arr. David Hamilton Here You Come Again, written by Cynthia Weil & Barry Mann Islands in the Stream, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb Coat of Many Colors Travelin’ Thru Baby I’m Burnin’ I Will Always Love You

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is grateful to Pops Season Presenter PNC. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Val Cook whose generous endowment supports this performance. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Fanfare Magazine | 51

DOLLY PARTON’S THREADS: MY SONGS IN SYMPHONY

All music under exclusive license from Sony Music Publishing to Schirmer Theatrical LLC unless otherwise noted. “Better Get to Livin’” under license from Sony Music Publishing and BMG Rights Management. “Islands in the Stream” under license from Universal Music Publishing Group. Creative Team Dolly Parton, Executive Producer & Songwriter Betsey Pertmutter, Creative Director & Producer Robert Thompson, Producer Todd Ellis, Producer David Hamilton, Arranger & Orchestrator Adam Grannick, Director of Video and Animation Alex Kosick, Associate Producer Creative Services Emily Yoon for Wasserman Music, Booking Agent Black Ink Presents, Technical Services Paul Bevan, Sound Design Ten Two Six Music Group, Vocal Coaching & Casting Stephen Lamb, Copyist Immediate Family, Digital Marketing NoisyBird Media, Logo Design

ALL SHOWS ON SALE NOW!

FEB 10 – 22, 2026

APR 21 – MAY 3, 2026

MAY 12 – 17, 2026

MAR 3 – 15, 2026

MAR 24 – 29, 2026

©Disney

JAN 13 – 25, 2026

JUN 10 – JUL 5, 2026

BroadwayinCincinnati.com | 800.294.1816 | Aronoff Center CincinnatiArts.org I Groups of 10+: Peggy.Hughes@BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com 52 | 2025–26 SEASON

SLAVIC LEGENDS | 2025–26 SEASON FRI JAN 30, 7:30 PM | SAT JAN 31, 7:30 PM Music Hall

Oksana Lyniv conductor Esther Yoo violin Evgeni Orkin

Five Interrupted Lullabies, Op. 91

(b. 1977)

Sergei Prokofiev

Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 19

(1891–1953) Andantino Scherzo: Vivacissimo Moderato

INTERMISSION

Bedřich Smetana

Vltava (“The Moldau”), No. 2 from Má vlast (“My Country”)

(1824–1884)

Antonín Dvořák

The Golden Spinning Wheel, Op. 109

(1841–1904)

These performances are approximately 110 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. This concert will air on 90.9 WGUC on March 15, 2026, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Fanfare Magazine | 53

CONCERT PREVIEW ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Oksana Lyniv, conductor

Oleksandr Samoilov

Renowned for her exceptional combination of precision and artistic temperament, Oksana Lyniv, music director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna since 2022, is a prominent figure on the international stage, ranking among the leading conductors of her generation. The 2025–26 season brings impressive highlights for Lyniv, including her longanticipated returns to the Metropolitan Opera with Turandot and to the Opéra national de Paris with Tosca. She debuts with the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, the National Orchestra of Spain and the Orchestra of the National Opera of Chile, and she returns to the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin for Verdi’s Requiem at the Berliner Philharmonie. In October 2025, Lyniv concludes her first Wagner Ring cycle at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna with concert performances of Götterdämmerung. In February 2026, she adds another Italian debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo. In July and August 2026, she returns to the Bayreuth Festival for its 150th anniversary with four performances of Der fliegende Holländer. In addition, Lyniv continues her close collaboration with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and leads several international tours with her Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, of which she is founder and chief conductor. Lyniv first gained international attention as a finalist in the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition, winning the third prize. In the following years, she continued her studies at the Dresden University of Music, and, from 2008 to 2013, she served as deputy chief conductor at the National Opera in Odesa, Ukraine. In 2022, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Oksana Lyniv became a coinitiator of the cooperation project “Music for the Future,” an evacuation music camp for young Ukrainian musicians in Ljubljana, Slovenia. oksanalyniv.com

Esther Yoo, violin

Je Won Kim

54 | 2025–26 SEASON

Praised for her profound depth of expression, freshness of interpretation and dazzling technique, Esther Yoo’s artistry has been recognized worldwide. Uniquely tri-cultural among classical soloists, she was born in the United States; educated in Belgium, Germany and the U.K.; and proudly embraces her Korean heritage. Highlights of Yoo’s 2025–26 season include the release of her new Deutsche Grammophon album Love Symposium, featuring Bernstein’s Serenade and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Long Yu. She returns to perform with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and she debuts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Presidential Symphony Orchestra and Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, among others. Yoo returns to the Z+ International Chamber Music Festival and makes her long-awaited recital debut at Seoul Arts Center with pianist JaeHong Park. In September 2025, Yoo joined the faculty at the Royal College of Music (RCM) as a professor of violin. Yoo passionately champions new music and has premiered several works throughout the span of her career. In addition to the recent premiere of Raymond Yiu’s Violin Concerto, a piece written for her, she has premiered pieces by Xiaogang Ye, Michael Fine, Andrei Golovin, Matt Laing and Iain Farrington, whom Yoo commissioned to write two compositions for her album Love Symposium. Yoo is a founding member of the Z.E.N. Trio alongside pianist Zhang Zuo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, and she appears frequently as a recitalist and chamber musician. A prolific recording artist, Yoo has released several critically acclaimed albums on Deutsche Grammophon. She is also featured prominently on the soundtrack of the feature film On Chesil Beach and is a guest artist on pianist Chad Lawson’s album breathe, both released on Decca. Yoo also engages with audiences through writing, broadcasting and podcasts. She is a frequent contributor to BBC Radio 3, BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, The Arts Desk and The Strad. estheryooviolin.com

CONCERT PREVIEW

PROGRAM NOTES

Evgeni Orkin: Five Interrupted Lullabies, Op. 91  Composed: 2024  Premiere: September 5, 2024, Odense (Denmark) Symphony Orchestra, Oksana

Lyniv conducting

 Instrumentation: 2 flutes (incl. 2 piccolos, alto flute), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets,

2 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, bongo, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, suspended cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, vibraphone, wood block, strings  CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of Five Interrupted Lullabies.  Duration: approx. 15 minutes

The multi-faceted career of Evgeni Orkin encompasses composing, conducting, teaching, scholarship and performing internationally as clarinetist and saxophonist. Orkin, born in 1977 into a musical family in Lviv, near Ukraine’s western border with Poland, studied at the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music in Kyiv before doing advanced work in Utrecht and at the Musikhochschule in Mannheim; he now teaches at the Mannheim Musikhochschule. As a clarinetist, Orkin has been a member of the Kyiv Camerata, appeared as soloist and chamber musician at concerts and festivals throughout northern Europe, and recorded both recent and earlier music on modern and historical instruments; his Methodical Introduction to Learning and Playing the Historical Clarinet has been published in German, English and Ukrainian. Evgeni Orkin is also a prolific, award-winning composer whose works include operas (Magister Ludi, after Hermann Hesse, and Das Märchen der Waldkönigin Ach, based on a Ukrainian fairy tale about the Forest Queen Ach); symphonies for chamber and symphony orchestra; concertos for violin, piano, saxophone and clarinet; vocal pieces; and chamber music. Among his honors are the Ukrainian President’s Award (1999), first prize in the 2004 Composition Competition of the Festival of the Jewish World Congress, first prize in the 2005 Composition Competition of the Goethe Institute Mannheim, and the European Music Prize from the City of Berlin (2023). “In Memory of the Children, Victims of War,” reads the wrenching phrase that Evgeni Orkin appended to the title of his Five Interrupted Lullabies. The work was commissioned by Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv to “commemorate the events of the night of March 2, 2024 in Odesa when a rocket attack claimed the lives of four infants and a baby.” Lyniv premiered Five Interrupted Lullabies with the Odense Symphony Orchestra in distant Denmark on September 5, 2024, and first performed it in Ukraine with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra on February 24, 2025 in a concert marking the third anniversary of the Russian invasion. That program also included Victoria Poleva’s Bucha. Lacrimosa (which captures the unspeakable horrors and war crimes committed in Bucha, near Kyiv, in 2022), Yuri Laniuk’s Grieving Thorn (which presents the inner monologue of a thornbush that foresees its branches becoming the crown of thorns for Jesus), and closed with Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont, Goethe’s play about political oppression overthrown in the name of freedom. For the program in Kyiv, Lyniv wrote:

Born: October 2, 1977, Lviv, Ukraine

The tragedy of war is that it does not single out individual heroes but, like a natural disaster, devastates everything — every family. It affects soldiers, men, brothers, women, infants, artists and poets who will never create new works again, as well as the youth whose future has been stolen. Through this concert program, we seek to share these harrowing stories and honor the countless victims who lost their lives due to the Russian invasion. War is the antithesis of humanity. That is why we must unite our efforts with all international partners to achieve a just peace for a democratic and sovereign Ukraine. —©Dr. Richard E. Rodda

Fanfare Magazine | 55

CONCERT PREVIEW

Sergei Prokofiev: Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 19  Composed: 1917  Premiere: October 18, 1923, Paris, Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Paris Opera

Orchestra, Marcel Darrieux, violin  Instrumentation: solo violin, 2 flutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, tuba, timpani, snare drum, tambour de Basque, harp, strings  CSO notable performances: First: November 1926, Fritz Reiner conducting; Lea Luboshutz, violin. Most Recent: April 2018, Louis Langrée conducting; Karen Gomyo, violin.  Duration: approx. 22 minutes

Born: April 23, 1891, Sontsivka, Ukraine Died: March 5, 1953, Moscow, Russia

Prokofiev was 24 years old when, in 1915, he first sketched the romantic violin melody that would eventually open his D major concerto. After the outbreak of World War I, the young composer had retreated to a small village in the Caucasus mountains, where he became involved in a secret romance with a girl named Nina Meshcherskaya. Her wealthy family, however, refused to have anything to do with a young Bohemian artist like Prokofiev, and they broke off the relationship. Other musical projects having intervened, Prokofiev did not complete the concerto until 1917, when he took a long steamboat trip along the Volga and Kama rivers. It was on the boat that he wrote and orchestrated the bulk of the composition. The melody sketched in 1915 plays a central role in the finished work, figuring prominently both at the beginning and at the end. But Prokofiev had developed an early reputation for writing “wild” music with relentless ostinatos and spicy harmonies, and this side of him dominates the second-movement Scherzo. The “lyrical” Prokofiev then makes his return in the last movement which, contrary to expectations, is only moderately fast in tempo and primarily melodic in inspiration, returning to the romantic melody to conclude the work. Because of the revolutionary events and Prokofiev’s subsequent departure from Russia, the First Violin Concerto could not be performed at the time. It received its premiere in Paris on October 18, 1923 with violinist Marcel Darrieux as the soloist. The conductor was Serge Koussevitzky, who had been a champion of Prokofiev’s music since both were still in Russia. Darrieux was the concertmaster of Koussevitzky’s orchestra at the time. Koussevitzky was also responsible for the concerto’s American premiere, given by the Boston Symphony on April 24, 1925, with BSO concertmaster Richard Burgin as soloist. Back in Russia, the work was played just three days after the Paris premiere by two 19-year-old musicians, Nathan Milstein and Vladimir Horowitz, who played the orchestral accompaniment on the piano. —©Peter Laki

Bedřich Smetana: Vltava (“The Moldau”), No. 2 from Má vlast  Composed: 1874  Premiere: April 4, 1875, Prague, Adolf Čech leading the Orchestra of the Prague

Provisional Theatre

 Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns,

2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, suspended cymbals, triangle, harp, strings  CSO notable performances: Most Recent: November 2016, Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducting. Other: September 2024 as part of a Pops subscription concert, John Morris Russell conducting.  Duration: approx. 12 minutes

Born: March 2, 1824, Litomyšl, Bohemia [now Czech Republic] Died: May 12, 1884, Prague, Czechia

56 | 2025–26 SEASON

Bedřich Smetana did more than anyone to create a characteristic Czech style in music, at a time when the Bohemian lands were struggling for independence from the Habsburg Empire — a goal they finally achieved in 1918. Smetana’s operas often dealt with Czech historical topics, and his cycle of six symphonic poems titled Má vlast (“My Country”) paid tribute to the rich cultural and natural beauties of his homeland. Vltava (“The Moldau”) is the second tone poem in the Má vlast cycle. The music follows the course of Bohemia’s longest river from its twin sources all the way to Prague and beyond, where it flows into the Elbe. The celebrated main theme “flows” through the entire piece, growing in intensity as the river traverses the countryside.

CONCERT PREVIEW

From the water, we see some hunters in the nearby forest, announced by their lively horn signals. Immediately afterward, a village band plays a lively Czech dance tune at a peasant wedding. Then we suddenly, and unexpectedly, leave reality to join the world of fantasies; as night falls, the place of the peasants is taken by the wood nymphs, who dance by the moonlight to the delicate sounds of high woodwinds, strings and harp. The orchestration gradually intensifies, and soon we are back to the main Vltava theme as we continue our journey. Before long, we reach St. John’s Rapids, where the music takes on a distinctly “wild” character. As the river approaches the capital city of Prague, the melody reappears in all its grandeur, and in the major mode instead of minor. We briefly glimpse the historic fort of Vyšehrad, and Smetana quotes the opening from his symphonic poem of that title from the Má vlast cycle. Vyšehrad, the one-time seat of the medieval Kings of Bohemia, is a symbol of the country’s ancient glory, and it is here that the symphonic poem reaches its emotional climax. But the piece doesn’t end there: the fanfare gradually fades away and the music almost comes to a standstill when two energetic chords suddenly bring it to an end. —©Peter Laki

Antonín Dvořák: The Golden Spinning Wheel, Op. 109  Composed: 1896  Premiere: October 26, 1896, Hans Richter conducting the London Symphony

Orchestra

 Instrumentation: 2 flutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets,

2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, suspended cymbals, triangle, harp, strings  CSO notable performances: First and Most Recent: February 1957, Thor Johnson conducting  Duration: approx. 22 minutes

The Golden Spinning Wheel falls into the genre of symphonic poem, a type of orchestral programmatic music evoking literary and poetic ideas. Antonín Dvořák came to this genre late in his compositional career, but the folklore and literature from which he drew had influenced his work throughout his life. Dvořák’s compositional style evolved over the course of his career, shifting through phases that resonated with contemporary German influences and phases that foregrounded classicism and Slavonic folkloric elements. By the 1890s, he was well known as a successful Czech composer significant for his nationalistic style. Due to this reputation, Dvořák was invited to the United States to help develop a national style of American music. He worked in the U.S. from October 1892 to April 1895, a fruitful “American period” that further bolstered his reputation. After returning to Bohemia, Dvořák took on the symphonic poem genre. He had dabbled in programmatic music earlier in his career, most notably in his 1891 trilogy of overtures, Nature, Life and Love: In Nature’s Realm, Op. 91; Carnival, Op. 92; and Othello, Op. 93. Elements of programmatic music also appeared as evocative titles and extra-musical associations in his American compositions, such as his String Quartet No. 12, The American, and his Symphony No. 9, From the New World. In 1896, Dvořák composed his first four symphonic poems: Vodník (“The Water Goblin”), Polednice (“The Noon Witch”), Zlatý kolovrat (“The Golden Spinning Wheel”) and Holoubek (“The Wild Dove”). These symphonic poems are based on ballads of the same titles by Karel Jaromír Erben (1811–1870), a Czech poet, historian and folklorist. Erben’s collection of Czech folk ballads was published in 1853 as Kytice z pověstí národních (“A Bouquet of Folk Legends”). Dvořák admired Erben’s writing, which inspired the composer’s creative work and influenced the Slavonic folklore elements he incorporated into his music. Long before composing his symphonic poems, Dvořák used Erben’s text to compose songs and a choral work. Writing compositions based on Czech subjects was an important way for Dvořák to pay homage to his heritage, and turning to the genre of the symphonic poem allowed him to give life to traditional folklore in his music in a new way.

Born: September 8, 1841, Nelahozeves, Czechia Died: May 1, 1904, Prague, Czechia

Fanfare Magazine | 57

CONCERT PREVIEW

To view the Digital Program for exclusive content, such as full-length program notes and artist biographies, please text PROGRAM to 513.845.3024*, use your mobile device to scan the QR code or visit cincinnatisymphony. org/digitalprogram. *By texting to this number, you may receive messages that pertain to the organization and its performances; msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP to help, STOP to cancel.

58 | 2025–26 SEASON

The ballads in Erben’s collection have dark subjects, poetic settings and dramatic themes that Dvořák translated into his music. He allowed the stories to drive the musical form and content, capturing the characters and their moods in musical motifs and expressing the plot through the structure and progression of the music. The Golden Spinning Wheel takes the form of a free rondo, with the main theme reappearing at the beginning of important episodes in the narrative. Dvořák also relied on Erben’s text in the creation of his musical motifs, using the declamation of Erben’s verses to guide the rhythms of the motifs in a style of “speech-melody.” The Golden Spinning Wheel begins with a low ostinato in the cello and bass, repeating a rhythm evoking the churn of a spinning wheel. A horn fanfare enters, representing the hunting party of the king on horseback. This fanfare is the main theme that reappears throughout the piece, providing structure to the musical story. As he rides through the countryside, the king comes across the beautiful maiden Dornička working at her spinning wheel in her cottage. He asks her for a drink of water, and she complies. Their meeting appears in the music as the woodwinds gently introduce a dialogue between the spinning wheel motif in the English horn and a flowing violin solo. The tranquil music proceeds as the king and Dornička continue their exchange and fall in love. Finally, as the music becomes more animated, the king declares his love for Dornička through an impassioned violin melody. The king’s fanfare theme reappears, announcing the next episode of the story in which the king confronts Dornička’s stepmother and demands that she bring Dornička to his castle. The stepmother is upset that the king has chosen Dornička and not her own daughter, who looks identical to Dornička. A low ominous line in the cellos and bass leads into a faster section of the stepmother, stepsister and Dornička entering the forest to journey to the castle. While in the forest, the stepmother and stepsister kill Dornička and take her hands, feet and eyes. After a tense build-up in the strings, the music slows to a grand fanfare of the king greeting the women when they arrive at the castle. Mistaking the stepsister for Dornička due to their identical appearances, the king takes the stepsister as his bride, celebrating the wedding with spirited music in the woodwinds. A slower section follows, a love scene during which the king tells his new wife that he will soon have to leave for battle. In the meantime, a mysterious magical hermit finds Dornička’s body in the forest and resolves to bring her back to life. He sends a page to the castle three times to get Dornička’s missing body parts from the stepsister. First, the lad asks for the feet in return for a golden spinning wheel. He then requests to trade the hands for a golden distaff, and, finally, he asks for the eyes in exchange for a golden spindle. These trades unfold slowly and successively in the music: three times, the trombones state the hermit’s instructions, followed by flute solos that represent the page presenting the requests to the stepsister. Desiring the golden items, the stepsister gives Dornička’s hands, feet and eyes to the boy, and the magical hermit restores the body parts to the body and brings Dornička back to life. The king returns from battle, announced by the reappearance of his fanfare theme. He asks his wife to spin on the new golden spinning wheel. As the wheel turns, it churns a song that reveals the deception of the stepmother and stepsister and the murder they committed. The king runs to the forest to find Dornička alive and well, accompanied by the music of the earlier love scene but now fuller with the joy of reunion. The impassioned music of their first meeting and the king’s initial declaration of love follows, as the king and his true bride return to the castle. Although Erben’s ballad concludes with a bloody punishment for the stepmother and stepsister, Dvořák concludes the piece with a final statement of the king’s fanfare and the triumphant joy of the two lovers. —©Dr. Rebecca Schreiber

ACCESS TO MUSIC | 2025–26 SEASON SUN FEB 1, 2 PM | Music Hall

Duo Shen conductor Antonín Dvořák

Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 1

Edvard Grieg

“Morning Mood” from Peer Gynt, Op. 46

Erik Satie

Gymnopédie No. 2

Edvard Grieg

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt

Bedřich Smetana

Vltava (“The Moldau”), No. 2 from Má vlast (“My Country”)

Ludwig van Beethoven

Movement I from Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67

Leroy Anderson

Jazz Pizzicato

Traditional | arr. Li

Mo Li Hua (“Jasmine Flower”)

Johann Strauss, Jr.

Unter Donner und Blitz (“Thunder and Lightning”) Polka, Op. 324

Claude Debussy

“Clair de lune” from Suite bergamasque

(1841–1904)

(1843–1907)

(1866–1925) | orch. Debussy

(1824–1884) (1770–1827)

(1908–1975)

(1825–1899)

(1862–1918) | orch. Mouton

This performance is approximately 60 minutes long. There is no intermission.

ABOUT ACCESS TO MUSIC: Access to Music is designed for all ages as a sensory-friendly performance that celebrates the connection between music and the mind, both of which exist on a vast spectrum. Produced in partnership with The Well (thewell.world), and featuring orchestral music from across genres, the program invites you to explore how sound shapes emotions, thoughts and interactions. Much like neurodiversity, music reminds us that there is no single way to experience the world — we hope this concert will inspire you to feel, imagine and connect with music in your own unique way. For this sensory-friendly concert, the house lights will be a little brighter; accessible seating and amenities will be available; audience members are free to move around and enter and exit the auditorium as needed; audience member noise is not restricted; trained volunteers, ushers and staff are present to help provide a quality experience for all audience members; and there are designated quiet areas in the hall for audience members to use. Visit cincinnatisymphony.org for more information. Fanfare Magazine | 59

MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 4 | 2025–26 SEASON FRI FEB 6, 11 AM | SAT FEB 7, 7:30 PM Music Hall

Tabita Berglund conductor Camilla Tilling soprano Anna Thorvaldsdottir

ARCHORA

(b. 1977)

Gustav Mahler

Rückert-Lieder

(1860–1911)

Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! (“Do not look at my songs!”) Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft! (“I breathed a gentle fragrance”) Um Mitternacht (“At Midnight”) Liebst du um Schönheit (“If you love for beauty”) Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (“I have lost touch with the world”)

INTERMISSION

Gustav Mahler

Symphony No. 4 in G Major

Bedächtig, nicht eilen In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast Ruhevoll (Poco adagio) Sehr behaglich

These performances are approximately 125 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson. WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. This concert will air on 90.9 WGUC on March 22, 2026, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay. The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. 60 | 2025–26 SEASON

CONCERT PREVIEW ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Tabita Berglund, conductor Tabita Berglund has established herself as one of the most in-demand conductors of her generation. She is principal guest conductor of both the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Dresdner Philharmonie, having been appointed to each position following her respective debuts. Berglund commences 2025–26 with Dresdner Philharmonie’s seasonopening concerts. Notable debut appearances across the season include Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and the Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras, while returns include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. Among the highlights of Berglund’s second season in Detroit is a specially curated two-week Northern Lights Festival. Berglund regularly collaborates with leading international soloists; recent and forthcoming partnerships include Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Hélène Grimaud, Pekka Kuusisto, Leila Josefowicz, Augustin Hadelich, Truls Mørk, Kirill Gerstein, Nicolas Altstaedt, Håkan Hardenberger, Alexander Malofeev and Camilla Tilling, to name a few. Her 2025–26 programming reflects her breadth of repertoire interests, from Mozart and Schubert to Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Mahler, Schoenberg, Bartók and Lutosławski, among others, and continues her championing of Nordic compatriots such as Thorvaldsdottir, Sibelius and Irgens-Jensen. Berglund studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music, first as a cellist with Truls Mørk and, later, orchestral conducting with Ole Kristian Ruud. She played regularly with the Oslo and Bergen Philharmonic orchestras as well as the Trondheim Soloists before conducting became her main focus. Her first titled position was principal guest conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (2021–24). Her debut CD, with the Oslo Philharmonic and violinist Sonoko Miriam Welde, was released in 2021 and nominated for a Norwegian Grammy in the 2022 Classical Music category. tabitaberglund.com; harrisonparrott.com

Nikolaj Lund

Camilla Tilling, soprano Undoubtedly one of Sweden’s most accomplished vocal talents, Camilla Tilling’s beguiling soprano and unfailing musicality have earned her enduring admiration from conductors, audiences and critics alike throughout a glowing international career. In the 2025–26 season, Tilling joins the Munich Philharmonic for Michael Haydn’s Requiem under Riccardo Minasi, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Ravel’s Sheherazade under Nicholas Collon, and Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova in Mendelssohn’s Elias under Diego Fasolis. In North America, she joins the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Bach’s Mass in B Minor under Nathalie Stutzmann, and she reunites with David Danzmayr for a program combining Golijov’s Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Camilla Tilling is an accomplished recitalist and has recorded many Lieder collections by composers including Strauss, Schumann, Schubert and Grieg. She has toured widely with her acclaimed “Swedish Nightingale” program Jenny Lind: Love and Lieder, and is a regular guest at the Bergen International Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival and London’s hallowed Wigmore Hall. Tilling’s impressive discography includes orchestral works by Haydn with Bernard Haitink, Handel and Purcell with Emmanuelle Haïm, Grieg with Paavo Järvi, Brahms with Marek Janowski, Cherubini with Riccardo Muti, and a critically

Maria Östlin

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CONCERT PREVIEW

acclaimed solo collection of Mozart and Gluck arias, Loves me … loves me not, with Philipp von Steinaecker and Musica Saeculorum. Camilla Tilling is committed to supporting the next generation of singers and regularly gives masterclasses and sits on jury panels. harrisonparrott.com/artists/ camilla-tilling

PROGRAM NOTES

Anna Thorvaldsdottir: ARCHORA  Composed: 2022; commissioned by the BBC Proms and co-commissioned by

the LA Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Klangspuren Schwaz  Premiere: August 2022 at the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall, London, Eva Ollikainen conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra  Instrumentation: 2 flutes, alto flute, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trombones, 2 tubas, bass drums, gongs, tam-tam, organ, strings.  CSO notable performances: These are the first CSO performances of ARCHORA.  Duration: approx. 19 minutes

Credit: Anna Maggý

Born: 1977, Reykjavik, Iceland

Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s music is described as being composed as much by sounds and nuances as by harmonies and lyrical material — as an ecosystem of sounds, where materials continuously grow in and out of each other, often inspired in an important way by nature and its many qualities, in particular structural ones, like proportion and flow. Thorvaldsdottir’s orchestral writing has garnered her awards from the New York Philharmonic, Lincoln Center, the Nordic Council and the U.K.’s Ivors Academy. Her music is widely performed internationally and has been commissioned by many of the world’s leading orchestras, ensembles and arts organizations. Currently based in the London area, Thorvaldsdottir regularly teaches and gives presentations on composition, in academic settings, as part of residencies and in private lessons. Thorvaldsdottir was composer-in-residence with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra 2018–2023 and in residence at the Aldeburgh Festival and the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music in 2023. In 2024–25, she was the Tonhalle Orchestra’s creative chair. She holds a Ph.D. (2011) from the University of California in San Diego. annathorvalds.com Thorvaldsdottir describes ARCHORA as follows: The core inspiration behind ARCHORA centres around the notion of a primordial energy and the idea of an omnipresent parallel realm — a world both familiar and strange, static and transforming, nowhere and everywhere at the same time. The piece revolves around the extremes on the spectrum between the Primordia and its resulting afterglow — and the conflict between these elements that are nevertheless fundamentally one and the same. The halo emerges from the Primordia but they have both lost perspective and the connection to one another, experiencing themselves individually as opposing forces rather than one and the same. As with my music generally, the inspiration is not something I am trying to describe through the music as such — it is a way to intuitively approach and work with the core energy, structure, atmosphere and material of the piece. ARCHORA is featured on Thorvaldsdottir’s latest orchestral portrait album, performed by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Eva Ollikainen.

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Gustav Mahler: Rückert-Lieder  Composed: 1901–02  Premiere: January 29, 1905, Vienna, conducted by the composer with baritone

Friedrich Weidemann as soloist

 Instrumentation: soprano solo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, oboe d’amore,

2 clarinets, bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, celeste, piano, strings  CSO notable performances: First: April 1976, Henry Lewis conducting; Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano. Most Recent: April 1991, Jesús López-Cobos conducting; Andreas Schmidt, baritone. Recording: November 1991, Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer, Kindertotenlieder, Jesús López-Cobos conducting; Andreas Schmidt, baritone.  Duration: approx. 20 minutes

Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866) was Professor of Oriental Literature at Erlangen and Privy Counselor for King Friedrich Wilhelm IV at Berlin from 1841 to 1848. Rückert was known as both a productive scholar, with many translations of texts from Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Armenian, Ethiopian, Coptic and Sanskrit, as well as a prolific writer of poems, many of which were influenced by the forms, images and content of Asian verses. His poems, which appeared in many periodicals, anthologies and collections during his lifetime, were popular and highly regarded, and they inspired musical settings from a number of 19th-century composers, including Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Heinrich Marschner and Henry Litolff. Among the most notable of Rückert’s thousands of poems were the 428 verses collectively titled Kindertotenlieder — “Songs on the Death of Children” — that he wrote in 1832–1834 to assuage his grief over the death of his infant son; they were published only posthumously, in 1872. Gustav Mahler came to know the Kindertotenlieder through his extensive readings in German philosophy and literature, and they appealed to him not only for the expressive quality of their poetic images and the refinement of their language and structure, but also for their firstperson viewpoint, the revelatory expression of self that he believed was the dynamic force driving artistic expression. When Anton Webern asked him in 1905 about his attraction to Rückert’s poems after having been immersed for many years in the folkish verses of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (“The Youth’s Magic Horn”), Mahler replied, “After Wunderhorn, Rückert was the only thing I could do — this is poetry at first-hand; all other poetry is second-hand.” In the summer of 1901, when he escaped from the pressures of directing the Vienna Court Opera to his country retreat at the village of Maiernigg on the Wörthersee in Carinthia, Mahler made orchestral settings of six of Rückert’s poems, three of which were from the Kindertotenlieder. Three years later, he added two more settings to the Kindertotenlieder cycle, which has remained one of his most esteemed works. Mahler did not regard the other three Rückert settings of 1901 — Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder, Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft and Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen — as a unified cycle, though their texts, which evoke love, nature and philosophical resignation, are related in the gentle contrast that they provide to the tragedy of the Kindertotenlieder. The following summer, after he had met and married the talented and beautiful Alma Schindler, he appropriated two more Rückert poems for musical treatment — Um Mitternacht and Liebst du um Schönheit. In her reminiscences of Mahler, Alma recorded a delightful tale about Liebst du um Schönheit, which her husband wrote to celebrate their love and new life together:

Born: July 7, 1860, Kalist, Bohemia Died: May 18, 1911, Vienna, Austria

I used to play Wagner a lot, and this gave Mahler the idea for a charming surprise. He had composed for me the only love-song he ever wrote — Liebst du um Schönheit — and he slipped it between the pages of Die Walküre. Then he waited day after day for me to find it; but I never happened to open the volume, and his patience gave out. “I think I’ll take a look at the Walküre today,” he said abruptly. He opened it, and the song fell out. I was overwhelmed with joy, and we played it that day twenty times at least. “The very text of Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder (‘Do not look at my songs’),” according to the composer’s close friend Natalie Bauer-Lechner, “is so Fanfare Magazine | 63

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characteristic of Mahler that he might have written it himself.” Its mood is playful and tinged with humor. Rückert wrote Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft (“I breathed a gentle fragrance”) when his wife decorated his desk with a lime-tree branch for his birthday. (The text plays on the pun of the German words Linde [“lime-tree”] and linde [“gentle”].) Mahler’s caressing treatment captures perfectly the poem’s sweetness and affirmation of love. Um Mitternacht (“At Midnight”), scored for full complement of winds but without strings, is one of the most dramatic of Mahler’s creations. A nighttime uneasiness dominates much of the music, which is haunted by a starkly eerie scale descending into the most subterranean reaches of the ensemble. The mood brightens for the closing stanza, the brass is marshaled, and the song ends in sun-bright affirmation as poet and composer entrust themselves to God’s care. Liebst du um Schönheit (“If you love for beauty”), Mahler’s paean to his marital love at the beginning of what proved to be the happiest period of his life, is rapturously lyrical and glowingly optimistic. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (“I have lost touch with the world”), which the composer told Bauer-Lechner represented himself, is both a vocal analogue to the transcendent introspection of the Adagietto of the Fifth Symphony, on which Mahler was also engaged in 1902, and a preview of the resigned, peaceful acceptance that closes both the Ninth Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde. This movement limns an ineffable elegiac emotion that Mahler was capable of expressing better than any other composer; it may well be the finest symphonic song that he ever wrote. —©Dr. Richard E. Rodda

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major  Composed: 1899–1900  Premiere: November 11, 1901 in Munich, conducted by the composer  Instrumentation: soprano solo, 4 flutes (incl. 2 piccolos), 3 oboes (incl.

English horn), 3 clarinets, (incl. E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, sleigh bells, suspended cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, harp, strings  CSO notable performances: CSO notable performances: First: March 1926, Fritz Reiner conducting. Most Recent: November 2021, James Gaffigan conducting.  Duration: approx. 54 minutes

Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, the most modest in length and orchestral requirements of his 10, had its roots as far back as 1892, when the composer was 32. Those were the years, extending through the composition of the Fourth Symphony, during which Mahler was imbibing the folk traditions of Germany as they were set down in an early19th-century anthology of poems titled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (“The Youth’s Magic Horn”). American musicologist Edward Downes noted a deep-seated personal need in Mahler’s interest in these simple peasant verses: “Like most German Romantic artists, Mahler felt a love for folk art amounting almost to worship. In part this may have been the nostalgia of the complex intellectual city-dweller for an Eden of lost innocence, of freshness, of naïveté.” That vein of innocence, of child-like simplicity, is at the heart of Mahler’s lovely Fourth Symphony. In 1892, Mahler set to music one of the Wunderhorn poems, Der Himmel hängt voll Geigen (“Heaven is chock full of violins”). He completed the song, which he named after its first line, Wir geniessen die himmlischen Freuden (“We revel in heavenly pleasures”), in February 1892 and made an orchestral arrangement for it the following month. When he set to work on his Third Symphony in 1895, he intended to include this song as the last of its movements. The vast musical panorama of the Third Symphony, perhaps the best example of Mahler’s philosophy that sought to embody “the world in a symphony,” was conceived to address individual movements to such matters as “What the flowers tell me,” “What the forest creatures tell me” and so forth for “the night,” “the angels” and “love.” The finale was to have included Wir geniessen die himmlischen Freuden to elucidate “What the child tells me.” Mahler, however, decided to drop that song from the 64 | 2025–26 SEASON

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Third Symphony, probably because it would have been an anti-climax after the stentorian ending of the preceding movement. Instead, he determined to explore the world of this “child of heaven” more extensively in a separate work. Thus was the Fourth Symphony born. It is important to understanding the Fourth Symphony to realize that its entire mood and structure are built to lead to the finale — the first three movements serve to prepare for and illuminate the closing vision of Wir geniessen die himmlischen Freuden. The composer is reported to have said, “In the first three movements there reigns the serenity of a higher realm, a realm strange to us, oddly frightening, even terrifying. In the finale, the child, which in its previous existence belonged to this higher realm, tells us what it all means….” The Symphony opens with the distinctive sound of sleigh bells that recurs at important structural points throughout the movement. A number of melodic ideas comprise the main theme group before the music moves to the second theme, a sweet, Viennese melody high in the cellos. The sleigh bells mark the beginning of a lengthy development section that explores much of the material heard thus far, with a particular emphasis on the clear pipings of the augmented woodwind choir. After one of the few large climaxes of the symphony, the development quiets before it comes to an abrupt stop. The music takes a quick breath, and the recapitulation begins in the sunny mood of the opening. The exposition themes are again assayed to bring the movement to an invigorating close. Mahler’s original designation for the second-movement scherzo was Freund Hein spielt auf (“Friend Hein plays”). “Hein” was the character of German legend who used his fiddle to lure reluctant travelers to the Great Beyond. This eerie movement, perhaps inspired by the not dissimilar visions of Liszt, Saint-Saëns and Berlioz, alternates a diabolical scherzo with brighter trios. Much of the mood comes from the solo violinist, who is instructed to tune a second instrument a full step higher than normal to produce a more strident tone quality. Of this movement, Mahler wrote, “The scherzo is so uncanny, almost sinister, that your hair may stand on end. Yet in the following Adagio, where all complications are dissolved, you will feel that it was not really all that sinister….” Rather like a bad dream followed by a reassuring sunrise. The serene third movement is in the form of a variation on two themes, though it follows the formal outlines of each theme only tenuously. The first set of variations, dominated by the string choir founded upon a resonant pizzicato bass line, alternates with the second set of variations, given largely to the winds. The oboe introduces the second theme. The vision of the closing movement is couched in the simplest of musical forms — the strophic song. Each verse of the text, filled with images of an idealized Medieval peasant life, ends with a chorale-like refrain borrowed from the music of the alto solo in the Third Symphony. The sleigh bells and accompanying music of the first movement return (the noted English musicologist Sir Donald Tovey dubbed these, rather ingloriously, “farm-yard noises”) to mark the beginnings of further stanzas. For the concluding stanza, Mahler executed a harmonic sleight-of-hand as the music floats upward from its G major base to the airy key of E major. More than just a technical device, this gesture gives a special meaning to the closing text, “There’s no music at all on earth, which can ever compare with ours,” sung by the heavenblessed child. Its beauty, calm and simplicity are among the most pacific moments in all of music. —©Dr. Richard E. Rodda

To view the Digital Program for exclusive content, such as full-length program notes and artist biographies, please text PROGRAM to 513.845.3024*, use your mobile device to scan the QR code or visit cincinnatisymphony.org/digitalprogram. *By texting to this number, you may receive messages that pertain to the organization and its performances; msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP to help, STOP to cancel.

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PROUD SPONSOR OF THE LOLLIPOPS FAMILY CONCERT SERIES

PROUD SPONSOR OF THE LOLLIPOPS FAMILY CONCERT SERIES 12 JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL • CONDUCTOR

LOLLIPOPS FAMILY CONCERT: Peter and the Wolf | 2025–26 SEASON SAT FEB 7, 10:30 AM Music Hall

Duo Shen conductor Tommy Thrall narrator Anthony Limoncelli trumpet Artwork by C.F. Payne Shepherd’s Hey

Percy Grainger

“The Wild Bears” from The Wand of Youth

Edward Elgar

Peter and the Wolf Flight of the Bumble Bee

Sergei Prokofiev Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

The Cincinnati Pops is grateful to Series Sponsor UDF & Homemade Brand Ice Cream and Show Sponsor Cincinnati Symphony Club. The Lollipops Series is made possible by a gift from Michael Bergan and Tiffany Hanisch. Lollipops Family Concerts are supported in part through the George & Anne Heldman Endowment Fund and the Vicki & Rick Reynolds Endowment Fund.

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2025–26 Financial Support  INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT Local and national foundations, businesses, and government agencies are integral to the Orchestra’s vibrant performances, community engagement work, and education activities. We are proud to partner with the following funders. ANNUAL SUPPORT

SEASON AND SERIES SPONSORS Pops Season Presenter

Foundation IDEA Series Sponsor

CSO Season Sponsor

Lollipops Series Sponsor

PLATINUM BATON CIRCLE ($50,000+)

CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE ($10,000–$14,999)

Anonymous ArtsWave Ellen and Richard Berghamer Foundation Charles H. Dater Foundation The Fifth Third Foundation Local Initiative for Excellence Foundation The Jeffrey & Jody Lazarow and Janie & Peter Schwartz Family Fund H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation Dr. John & Louise Mulford Fund for the CSO National Endowment for the Arts Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation Ohio Arts Council The Oliver Family Foundation PNC Bank Margaret McWilliams Rentschler Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation Nina Browne Parker Trust Robert H. Reakirt Foundation Equities Harold C. Schott Foundation / Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees The Unnewehr Foundation Western & Southern Financial Group

Bartlett Wealth Management Chemed Corporation CVG Airport Authority Crosset Family Fund Kelly Dehan and Rick Staudigel Graeter’s Ice Cream Messer Construction Co. The Daniel & Susan Pfau Foundation Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP YOT Full Circle Foundation Metro

GOLD BATON CIRCLE ($25,000–$49,999)

The Cincinnati Symphony Club HORAN Wealth Louis H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation Inc. George and Margaret McLane Foundation The Ladislas & Vilma Segoe Family Foundation United Dairy Farmers & Homemade Brand Ice Cream SILVER BATON CIRCLE ($15,000–$24,999)

BlaCkOWned™ BT Rise Johnson Investment Counsel Peter E. Landgren and Judith Schonbach Landgren Millstone Fund The Procter & Gamble Company The Rendigs Foundation Scott and Charla Weiss Wodecroft Foundation

CONCERTMASTER’S CIRCLE ($5,000–$9,999) Interact for Health JRH Consultants The Andrew Jergens Foundation Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL Richard and Carmen Kovarsky New Music USA Queen City (OH) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated The Willard & Jean Mulford Charitable Fund Thompson Hine LLP WOW Windowboxes

ARTIST’S CIRCLE ($2,500–$4,999) Duke Energy Foundation d.e. Foxx and Associates, Inc. Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA HUB International Learning Links Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation NAMI Urban Greater Cincinnati Charles Scott Riley III Foundation Southern Grace Eats Visit Cincy

BUSINESS & FOUNDATION PARTNERS (up to $2,499) AARP Ohio African American Chamber of Commerce Albert B. Cord Charitable Foundation American Red Cross, Greater Cincinnati-Dayton Region The Blue Book of Cincinnati William G. and Mary Jane Helms Charitable Foundation Hixson Architecture Engineering Interiors Journey Steel Robert A. & Marian K. Kennedy Charitable Trust The Kroger Co. League of American Orchestras Frances L. P. Ricketts Sullivan Memorial Fund The Voice of Your Customer

Join this distinguished group! Contact Sean Baker at 513.744.3363 or sbaker@cincinnatisymphony.org to learn how you can become a supporter of the CSO and Pops. This list is updated quarterly.

 2026 ARTSWAVE PARTNERS

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops acknowledge the following partner companies, foundations and their employees who generously participate in the Annual ArtsWave Community Campaign at the $100,000+ level. Thank you! $2 million+ P&G $1 million to $1,999,999 Fifth Third Bank and Fifth Third Foundation $500,000 to $999,999 GE Aerospace $250,000 to 499,999 The Cincinnati Insurance Companies The H.B., E.W. and F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Trustee Western & Southern Financial Group

68 | 2025–26 SEASON

$100,000–$249,999 altafiber Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati Reds Dinsmore & Shohl LLP The E.W. Scripps Company and Scripps Howard Foundation The Enquirer | Cincinnati.com Great American Insurance Group Greater Cincinnati Foundation The Kroger Co. Messer Construction Co. PNC

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

 PERMANENT ENDOWMENTS Endowment gifts perpetuate your values and create a sustainable future for the Orchestra. We extend our deep gratitude to the donors who have provided permanent endowments in support of our programs that are important to them. For more information about endowment gifts, contact Kate Farinacci, Director of Special Campaigns & Legacy Giving, at 513.744.3202. ENDOWED CHAIRS

Grace M. Allen Chair Ellen A. & Richard C. Berghamer Chair Robert E. & Fay Boeh Chair The Marc Bohlke Chair given by Katrin & Manfred Bohlke Trish & Rick Bryan Chair Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Chair Mary Alice Heekin Burke Chair Michael L. Cioffi & Rachael Rowe— the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones Chief Inclusion Officer Sheila and Christopher Cole Chair Peter G. Courlas– Nicholas Tsimaras Chair Ona Hixson Dater Chair The Anne G. & Robert W. Dorsey Chair+ Jane & David Ellis Chair Irene & John J. Emery Chair James M. Ewell Chair Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair for Assistant Conductor Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair for Assistant Conductor Ashley & Barbara Ford Chair for Principal Tuba Susan S. & William A. Friedlander Chair+ Charles Gausmann Chair Susanne & Philip O. Geier, Jr. Chair+ Emma Margaret & Irving D. Goldman Chair Clifford J. Goosmann & Andrea M. Wilson Chair Charles Frederic Goss Chair Jean Ten Have Chair Dorothy & John Hermanies Chair Christy & Terry Horan Family Chair Lois Klein Jolson Chair Josephine I. & David J. Joseph, Jr. Chair Harold B. & Betty Justice Chair Marvin Kolodzik & Linda S. Gallaher Chair+ Al Levinson Chair Patricia Gross Linnemann Chair+ Alberta & Dr. Maurice Marsh Chair Stephen P. McKean Chair Laura Kimble McLellan Chair The Henry Meyer Chair

The Louise Dieterle Nippert & Louis Nippert Chairs Rawson Chair David C. Reed, MD Chair The Vicky & Rick Reynolds Chair in honor of William A. Friedlander+ Ida Ringling North Chair Donald & Margaret Robinson Chair Dianne & J. David Rosenberg Chair+ Ruth F. Rosevear Chair The Morleen & Jack Rouse Chair+ Emalee Schavel Chair Karl & Roberta Schlachter Family Chair Carol J. Schroeder Chair Serge Shababian Chair Melinda & Irwin Simon Chair+ Tom & Dee Stegman Chair+ Mary & Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Chair+ Cynthia & Frank Stewart Chair The Jackie & Roy Sweeney Family Chair The Sweeney Family Chair in memory of Donald C. Sweeney Anna Sinton Taft Chair Brenda & Ralph Taylor Chair James P. Thornton Chair Nicholas Tsimaras– Peter G. Courlas Chair Thomas Vanden Eynden Chair Sallie Robinson Wadsworth & Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Chair Jo Ann & Paul Ward Chair Matthew & Peg Woodside Chair Mary M. & Charles F. Yeiser Chair

Fred L. & Katherine H. Groll Fund for Musical Excellence Fred L. & Katherine H. Groll Fund for Great Artists Fred L. & Katherine H. Groll Trust Pianist Fund The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation Endowment Fund Anne Heldman Endowment Fund** Mr. and Mrs. Lorrence T. Kellar+ Lawrence A. & Anne J. Leser* Mr. & Mrs. Carl H. Lindner** Janice W. & Gary R. Lubin Fund for Black Artists PNC Financial Services Group The Procter & Gamble Fund Vicky & Rick Reynolds Fund for Diverse Artists+ Whitney Rowe and Phillip Long Fund for Emerging Artists Melody Sawyer Richardson* Rosemary and Mark Schlachter Endowment Fund*+ The Harold C. Schott Foundation, Francie and Tom Hiltz Endowment Fund+ Peggy Selonick Fund for Great Artists Dee and Tom Stegman Endowment Fund*+ Mr. & Mrs. Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Fund for Great Artists U. S. Bank Foundation* Sallie and Randolph Wadsworth Endowment Fund+

ENDOWED PERFORMANCES & PROJECTS

Educational Concerts

Eleanora C. U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee Rosemary and Frank Bloom Endowment Fund*+ Cincinnati Bell Foundation Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Val Cook Nancy & Steve Donovan* Sue and Bill Friedlander Endowment Fund*+ Mrs. Charles Wm Anness*, Mrs. Frederick D. Haffner, Mrs. Gerald Skidmore and the La Vaughn Scholl Garrison Fund

Rosemary & Frank Bloom * Cincinnati Financial Corporation & The Cincinnati Insurance Companies The Margaret Embshoff Educational Fund Kate Foreman Young Peoples Fund George & Anne Heldman+ Macy’s Foundation Vicky & Rick Reynolds*+ William R. Schott Family** Western-Southern Foundation, Inc. Anonymous (3)+

OTHER NAMED FUNDS

Ruth Meacham Bell Memorial Fund Frank & Mary Bergstein Fund for Musical Excellence+ Jean K. Bloch Music Library Fund Cora Dow Endowment Fund Corbett Educational Endowment** Belmon U. Duvall Fund Ewell Fund for Riverbend Maintenance Linda & Harry Fath Endowment Fund Ford Foundation Fund Natalie Wurlitzer & William Ernest Griess Cello Fund William Hurford and Lesley Gilbertson Family Fund for Guest Pianists The Mary Ellyn Hutton Fund for Excellence in Music Education Josephine I. & David J. Joseph, Jr. Scholarship Fund Richard & Jean Jubelirer & Family Fund* Anne C. and Robert P. Judd Fund for Musical Access The Kosarko Family Innovation Fund Elma Margaret Lapp Trust The Richard and Susan Lauf Fund Jésus López-Cobos Fund for Excellence Mellon Foundation Fund Nina Browne Parker Trust Dorothy Robb Perin & Harold F. Poe Trust Rieveschl Fund Thomas Schippers Fund Martha, Max & Alfred M. Stern Ticket Fund Mr. & Mrs. John R. Strauss Student Ticket Fund Anna Sinton & Charles P. Taft Fund Lucien Wulsin Fund Wurlitzer Season Ticket Fund CSO Pooled Income Fund CSO Musicians Emergency Fund

*Denotes support for Annual Music Program Fund **Denotes support for the 2nd Century Campaign +Denotes support for the Fund for Musical Excellence

 GIFT OF MUSIC: August 23–October 20, 2025 The following people provided gifts to the Gift of Music Fund to celebrate an occasion, to mark a life of service to the Orchestra, or to commemorate a special date. Their contributions are added to the Orchestra’s endowment. For more information on how to contribute to this fund, please call 513.744.3271. In honor of Carole & George Bedde Mr. Walter C. Frank In memory of Jan Hardy Ms. Julie B. Northrop In memory of Norman E. Johns Kathy Finley Lenore Hatfield Caroline Phelps Richard S. Sarason & Anne S. Arenstein Gary & Dee Dee West

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FINANCIAL SUPPORT

 HONOR ROLL OF CONTRIBUTORS The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops are grateful to the following individuals that support our efforts by making a gift to the Orchestra Fund. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one and pay tribute to them here. You can join our family of donors online at cincinnatisymphony.org/donate or by contacting the Philanthropy Department at 513.744.3271. PLATINUM BATON CIRCLE

Gifts of $50,000 and above

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick E. Bryan, III § Sheila and Christopher C. Cole § David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation Robert W. Dorsey § Healey Liddle Family Foundation, Mel & Bruce Healey Harold C. Schott Foundation, Francie & Tom Hiltz Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Joffe Florence Koetters Jo Anne and Joe Orndorff Vicky and Rick Reynolds Irwin and Melinda Simon § Dee Stegman § Jackie and Roy Sweeney Family Fund* Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Ullman Mr. Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. § Ginger Warner Scott and Charla Weiss §

GOLD BATON CIRCLE

Gifts of $25,000–$49,999

Jan and Roger Ames Joe and Patricia Baker Dr. and Mrs. John and Suzanne Bossert § Robert and Debra Chavez Stephen J. Daush Mr. and Mrs. Tom Evans Dr. and Mrs. Carl G. Fischer Ashley and Bobbie Ford § Calvin and Patricia Linnemann Susan McPartlin & Michael Galbraith Carolyn Baker Miller Dianne and J. David Rosenberg Moe and Jack Rouse § Ann and Harry Santen § Sarah Thorburn

SILVER BATON CIRCLE Gifts of $15,000–$24,999

Michael P. Bergan and Tiffany Hanisch Mr. and Mrs. Larry Brueshaber Mr. Gregory D. Buckley and Ms. Susan Berry-Buckley Michael L. Cioffi & Rachael Rowe § The Garber Family Kathy Grote in loving memory of Robert Howes § Tom and Jan Hardy § Patti and Fred Heldman Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn § Mrs. Andrea Kaplan Marvin P. Kolodzik and Linda S. Gallaher §

Mrs. Erich Kunzel Will and Lee Lindner Mark and Tia Luegering Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Maloney Joseph A. and Susan E. Pichler Fund* Mark S. and Rosemary K. Schlachter § Jacqueline Sifri Carol B. Striker DeeDee and Gary West § Mr. and Mrs. James M. Zimmerman § Anonymous

CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE Gifts of $10,000–$14,999

Access Audio, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Akers Mrs. Thomas E. Davidson § Dianne Dunkelman and Clever Crazes for Kids Emory P. Zimmer Insurance Agency Dr. G. Russell and Renee S. Frankel Lynne Friedlander and Jay Crawford John B. and Judith O. Hansen Dr. Lesley Gilbertson and Dr. William Hurford § Ms. Barbara Johnson Robert Johnson John and Molly Kerman Michael and Marilyn Kremzar § John and Ramsey Lanni Phillip Long Alan Margulies and Gale Snoddy Linda and James Miller James and Margo Minutolo Martha and Lee Schimberg Mike and Digi Schueler Mr. Lawrence Schumacher Dr. Jean and Mrs. Anne Steichen In memory of Mary and Joseph S. Stern, Jr Ralph C. Taylor § Ms. Diana Willen § Anonymous (3)

CONCERTMASTER’S CIRCLE

Gifts of $5,000–$9,999

Heather Apple and Mary Kay Koehler Thomas P. Atkins Mrs. Thomas B. Avril Kathleen and Michael Ball Robert and Janet Banks Louis D. Bilionis and Ann Hubbard Robert L. and Debbie Bogenschutz Thomas A. Braun, III § The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Ms. Melanie M. Chavez Sally and Rick Coomes George Deepe and Kris Orsborn

Bedouin and Randall Dennison Dennis W. and Cathy Dern Dr. and Mrs. Stewart B. Dunsker Mrs. Diana T. Dwight In Loving Memory of Diane Harrison Zent David and Kari Ellis Fund* Dr. and Mrs. Alberto Espay Estate of E.J. and Jean Krabacher Mr. and Mrs. James T. Fitzgerald Dr. and Mrs. Harry F. Fry L. Timothy Giglio Jim and Jann Greenberg Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Hamby Ms. Delores Hargrove-Young William and Jo Ann Harvey Dr. James and Mrs. Susan Herman Ms. Sandra L. Houck § John M. and Lynda Hoffman Jeep for their 50th anniversary Barbara M. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Keenan Mrs. Barbara Kellar in honor of Mr. Lorrence T. Kellar Holly King Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kovarsky The Lewis and Marjorie Daniel Foundation Adele Lippert Mrs. Robert Lippert Elizabeth and Brian Mannion Mr. and Mrs. Donald Marshall David L. Martin § Mandare Foundation Barbara and Kim McCracken § Robert and Heather McGrath Ms. Mary Lou Motl § The Patel-Curran Family Poul D. and JoAnne Pedersen § David and Jenny Powell Drs. Marcia Kaplan and Michael Privitera Ellen Rieveschl § Elizabeth and Karl Ronn § Dr. E. Don Nelson and Ms. Julia Sawyer-Nelson Dr. and Mrs. Michael Scheffler Sandra and David Seiwert Brent & Valerie Sheppard Rennie and David Siebenhar Michael and Donnalyn Smith Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Stautberg Brett Stover § Christopher and Nancy Virgulak Nancy C. Wagner and Patricia M. Wagner § M Elizabeth Warner Donna A. Welsch § Mr. Donald White Cathy S. Willis Ronna and James Willis Wright Brothers, Inc. Anonymous (2)

ARTIST’S CIRCLE

Gifts of $3,000–$4,999

Ashley and Bobbie Ford, William Hurford and Lesley Gilbertson, Harry and Ann Santen, Carol Schroeder and Brenda Hausterman with President and CEO Robert McGrath and guest conductor Dame Jane Glover at the Gold Baton Onstage Rehearsal. Photo: CSO Staff 70 | 2025–26 SEASON

Dr. Charles Abbottsmith Mr. Nicholas Apanius Mr. and Mrs. Gérard Baillely Pamela & Jeffrey Bernstein Ms. Marianna Bettman Glenn and Donna Boutilier Peter and Kate Brown Dr. Ralph P. Brown Chris and Tom Buchert Daniel A. Burr Janet and Bruce Byrnes Peter G. Courlas § Marjorie Craft Jim and Elizabeth Dodd Hardy and Barbara Eshbaugh Mrs. Amy Forte Yan Fridman Linda P. Fulton § Frank and Tara Gardner Naomi T. Gerwin Dr. and Mrs. Ralph A. Giannella Lesha and Samuel Greengus John and Elizabeth Grover Esther B. Grubbs § Mr. and Mrs. Byron Gustin

Dr. and Mrs. Jack Hahn Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Heidenreich Mr. Fred Heyse Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hicks Ruth C. Holthaus In Memory of Benjamin C. Hubbard § Mr. and Mrs. Bradley G. Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Hughes Karolyn Johnsen Ms. Sylvia Johnson Dr. Richard and Lisa Kagan Dr. Robert W. Keith and Ms. Kathleen Thornton Don and Kathy King Lynn Keniston Klahm Marie and Sam Kocoshis Frank and Ann Kromer Carol Louise Kruse Mr. Shannon Lawson Richard and Nancy Layding Merlanne Louney Luke and Nita Lovell Larry and Mary Geren Lutz Mr. Jonathan Martin Glen and Lynn Mayfield Emily Terwilliger The Allen-McCarren Trust Ms. Sue Miller Mr. and Mrs. David E. Moccia § George and Sarah Morrison III Alice Perlman Rev. Dr. David V. Schwab Michael and Katherine Rademacher Dr. and Mrs. Robert Reed Sandra Rivers James Rubenstein and Bernadette Unger Carol J. Schroeder § Mr. Rick Sherrer and Dr. Lisa D. Kelly Sue and Glenn Showers § Elizabeth C. B. Sittenfeld § William A. and Jane Smith Nancy Steman Dierckes § Elizabeth A. Stone Peggy and Steven Story Mr. and Mrs. J. Dwight Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Tinklenberg Dr. Barbara R. Voelkel Dr. and Mrs. Matthew and Diana Wallace Mrs. Paul H. Ward § Dr. and Mrs. Galen R. Warren Jonathan and Janet Weaver Jim and George Ann Wesner Jo Ann Wieghaus Steve and Katie Wolnitzek Carol and Don Wuebbling Irene A. Zigoris Anonymous (4)

SYMPHONY CIRCLE

Gifts of $1,500–$2,999

Jeff and Keiko Alexander § Lisa Allgood Judy Aronoff and Marshall Ruchman Ms. Laura E. Atkinson Dr. Diane S. Babcock § Beth and Bob Baer Mr. and Mrs. Carroll R. Baker Ms. Henryka Bialkowska-Nagy David and Elaine Billmire § Neil Bortz Dr. Leanne Budde Gay Bullock Ms. Deborah Campbell § Tom Carpenter and Lynne Lancaster Stephen and Karen Carr Dr. Alan Chambers James Civille Carol C. Cole § Mr. and Mrs. Philip K. Cone Randy K. and Nancy R. Cooper Charles and Kimberly Curran § Mark Dauner and Geraldine Wu Robert B. Dick, Ph.D. Tom and Leslie Ducey David and Linda Dugan Mr. and Mrs. John G. Earls § Barry and Judy Evans § Dr. and Mrs. William J. Faulkner Ms. Barbara A. Feldmann

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Steve Daush, Susan Setty, Kelly Dehan and Rick Staudigel at the Artist’s Circle Dinner. Photo: Claudia Hershner

Mr. Robert Ferrell Philip Ficks Anne and Alan Fleischer Mrs. Charles Fleischmann Richard Freshwater § Carol S. Friel Dudley Fulton Anne E. Mulder and Rebecca M. Gibbs Louis and Deborah Ginocchio Donn Goebel and Cathy McLeod Dr. and Mrs. Glenn S. Gollobin Phyllis Myers and Danny Gray Bill and Christy Griesser § Mary and Phil Hagner Catherine K. Hart Mrs. Jackie Havenstein Mrs. Betty H. Heldman § Mrs. Carol H. Huether Mr. and Mrs. Paul Isaacs § Heidi Jark and Steve Kenat Andrew MacAoidh & Linda Busken Jergens § The Marvin Jester Family Christopher and Felecia Kanney Holly H. Keeler Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Keown, Jr. Bill and Penny Kincaid Jack & Sharon Knapp In Memory of Jeff Knoop Pat and Randy Krumm § Everett and Barbara Landen Evelyn and Fred Lang Charles and Jean Lauterbach Mary Mc and Kevin Lawson Mrs. Jean E. Lemon § Dr. Carol P. Leslie Andi Levenson Young and Scott Young Mr. Peter F. Levin § Mr. and Mrs. Lance A. Lewis Mr. and Mrs. Clement H. Luken, Jr. Ross Charitable Trust Mr. Gerron McKnight Ms. Nancy Menne John and Roberta Michelman Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Newcomer Susan E. Noelcke Nan L. Oscherwitz Mark and Kim Pomeroy Dr. Aik Khai Pung In Memory of Daniel H. Reigle Stephen and Betty Robinson Laurie and Dan Roche Marianne Rowe Mr. & Mrs. Peter A. Schmid Stanley and Jane Shulman Ms. Martha Slager Susan and David Smith Mark M. Smith (In memory of Terri C. Smith) Stephanie A. Smith Stephen and Lyle Smith Albert and Liza Smitherman Marian P. Stapleton Bill and Lee Steenken § Susan M. and Joseph Eric Stevens Mrs. Donald C. Stouffer Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stradling, Jr. Mr. Mark Stroud Rich and Nancy Tereba Susan and John Tew In Memory of Mr. William T. Bahlman, Jr. Michael L. Walton, Esq Ted and Mary Ann Weiss

Rev. Anne Warrington Wilson Judy Wilson Rebecca Seeman and David Wood David and Sharon Youmans Anonymous (5)

CONCERTO CLUB

Gifts of $500–$1,499

Christine O. Adams Dr. Mary Albers Mr. Thomas Alloy & Dr. Evaline Alessandrini Patricia A. Anderson Paul and Dolores Anderson § Dr. Victor and Dolores Angel Nancy J. Apfel Lynne & Keith Apple, Honoring our Family James Babb Mrs. Mary M. Baer Mrs. Gail Bain Jerry and Martha Bain Jack and Diane Baldwin Scott Balmos Glenda Bates Drs. Carol and Leslie Benet Fred Berger Barbara and Milton Berner Dr. David and Cheryl Bernstein Glenda and Malcolm Bernstein Milt and Berdie Blersch Randal and Peter Bloch Margaret Blomer Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Bloomer Michael and Pamela Boehm Ron and Betty Bollinger Clay and Emily Bond Dr. and Mrs. Kevin Bove David & Madonna Bowman William & Mary Bramlage Briggs Creative Services, LLC Joan Broersma Kathryn L. Brokaw Harold and Gwen Brown Jacklyn and Gary Bryson Bob and Angela Buechner Angie & Gary Butterbaugh Jack and Marti Butz Drs. Alan B. Cady and Anne K. Nestor Catherine Calko Joseph P. Cardone Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Carothers Mike and Shirley Chaney Gordon Christenson Dee and Frank Cianciolo Fund* Mr. and Mrs. John Clapp Bob Clary James Clasper and Cheryl Albrecht Fred W. Colucci Marilyn Cones Janet Conway Andrea D. Costa, Esq. § Robin Cotton and Cindi Fitton Dennis and Pat Coyne Martha Crafts Tim and Katie Crowley Susan and John Cummings Adrian and Takiyah Cunningham Jacqueline Cutshall Loren and Polly DeFilippo Stephen and Cynthia DeHoff Nancy and Steve Donovan Douglas & Kathy Dougherty Meredith and Chuck Downton Judy Doyle in Memory of James Johnson

Judith Schonbach Landgren, Peter Landgren, Board Chair Charla Weiss and Anyah Land at the Artist’s Circle Dinner. Photo: Claudia Hershner Tom and Dale Due Mrs. Shirley Duff Mr. Corwin R. Dunn Edgar J. and Elaine J. Mack Fund Dale & Kathy Elifrits Ron Ellis Ann A. Ellison Sally Eversole Mr. Douglas Fagaly Ms. Kate Farinacci Mrs. Michelle Finch Ilya Finkelshteyn and Evin Blomberg Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Fischer William and Carol Fisher Mr. and Mrs. James Foreman Janice and Dr. Tom Forte Mr. and Ms. Bernard Foster Dr. Charles E. Frank and Ms. Jan Goldstein Harriet and Bill Freedman Mr. and Mrs. John Freeman Mr. Gregrick A. Frey Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fricke Mr. and Mrs. James Fryman Marjorie Fryxell Mark S. Gay Drs. Michael and Janelle J. Gelfand Kathleen Gibboney Mr. and Mrs. Donald R. Gilb Dr. Jerome Glinka and Ms. Kathleen Blieszner Dr. and Mrs. Charles J. Glueck Dan Goetz Mr. and Mrs. Jim Goldschmidt Ms. Arlene Golembiewski Mr. William J. Gracie, Jr. Anita J. and Thomas G. Grau Robert and Cynthia Gray Carl and Joyce Greber Mary Grooms Nina Gross Kurt and Joanne Grossman Janet C. Haartz and Kenneth V. Smith Ham and Ellie Hamilton Walter and Karen Hand Roberta Handwerger, in memory of Dr. Stuart Handwerger Mr. and Mrs. William Hardie James and Sally Harper Dr. Donald and Laura Harrison Mariana Belvedere and Samer Hasan Dr. Deborah Hauger Mr. John A. Headley Amy and Dennis Healy Janet Heiden Angie Heiman Howard D. and Mary W. Helms Donald and Susan Henson Mr. Jeff Herbert Herman & Margaret Wasserman Music Fund* Michelle and Don Hershey Janet & Craig Higgins Mr. and Mrs. William A. Hillebrand Susan and Jon Hoffheimer Timothy and Constance Holmen Richard and Marcia Holmes Ben Houck Deanna and Henry Huber Melissa Huber Karen and David Huelsman Dr. Edward & Sarah Hughes Nada Christine Huron Mr. Michael Ilyinsky Judith Imhoff

Caroline Isaacs Ms. Idit Isaacsohn Dr. Maralyn M. Itzkowitz Mrs. Charles H. Jackson, Jr. Ruth and Frederick Joffe Ms. Anna R. Johnson Mrs. Marilyn P. Johnston Mr. Andrew Jones Elizabeth A. Jones Scott and Patricia Joseph Jay and Shirley Joyce § Mr. and Mrs. Robert Judd § Rabbi Kenneth Kanter and Dr. Toni Kanter Marilyn and Joseph Katz Dr. James Kaya and Debra Grauel Dr. and Mrs. Richard Kerstine Rachel Kirley and Joseph Jaquette § Mr. and Mrs. Dave Kitzmiller Paul and Carita Kollman Carol and Scott Kosarko § Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Kraimer Ken and Sue Kramer Kathleen B. and Michael C. Krug Fund* Mark and Elisabeth Kuhlman Maggie and Eric Kuhn Mrs. John H. Kuhn § Janice Kummer Pinky Laffoon Patricia Lambeck § Asher and Kelsey Lanier Ms. Sally L. Larson Janet R. Schultz Mrs. Julie Laskey Joe Law and Phil Wise Ms. Presley Lindemann Mitchel and Carol Livingston Mrs. Marianne Locke JP and Footie Lund David and Katja Lundgren Timothy and Jill Lynch Edmund D. Lyon Mrs. Mary Reed Lyon Marshall and Nancy Macks Jenea Malarik Barry and Ann Malinowski Ms. Cheryl Manning Ms. Wendy Marshall Mr. and Mrs. Dean Matz In memory of Bettie Rehfeld Ms. Elizabeth McCracken Dr. Janet P. McDaniel Tim and Trish McDonald Mark McKillip and Amira Beer Stephanie & Arthur McMahon Stephanie McNeill Charles and JoAnn Mead Michael V. Middleton Mr. Bradley Miller Terence G. Milligan Sonia R. Milrod Leslie and Michael Minutolo Mr. Steven Monder Eileen W. and James R. Moon Mr. and Mrs. Fred Moore Regeana and Al Morgan Janet Mott Dr. and Mrs. M. J. Mueller Mr. Scott Muhlhauser Kevin and Lane Muth Alan Flaherty and Patti Myers § Hochwalt Naumann Fund Amy Paul and Jerry Newfarmer Cheryl and Roy Newman



Fanfare Magazine | 71

FINANCIAL SUPPORT Ms. Jane Nocito Jane Oberschmidt § Gary Oppito Mr. Gerardo Orta Ms. Sylvia Osterday Ms. Eileen Ostrowski Anthony Paggett John A. Pape Rozelia Park and Christopher Dendy Leslie D. Payne Ms. Catherine J. Pearce Carol and Jim Pearce Barbara Persons Mr. and Mrs. Paul Piazza Ann and Marty Pinales Mr. James Quaintance II and Mrs. Catherine Hann Jerry Rape James W. Rauth § Mrs. Genie Redman Allan Reeves Kenneth and Danielle Revelson Becky and Ted Richards Stephanie Richardson Drs. Christopher and Blanca Riemann Mr. David Robertson Mr. Brian Robson Dr. Anna Roetker Ms. Jeanne C. Rolfes Dr. and Mrs. Gary Roselle Amy and John Rosenberg Mr. and Mrs. G. Roger Ross Dr. Deborah K. Rufner Mr. Tom Samuels Dr. Richard S. Sarason and Ms. Anne S. Arenstein

Cindy Scheets Ms. Carol Schleker Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Schleker Dr. and Mrs. Michael Schmerler Alice and Charles Schneider George Palmer Schober Tim and Jeannie Schoonover Glenda C. Schorr Fund* Dr. Joseph Segal and Ms. Debbie Friedman Elaine Semancik Mick and Nancy Shaughnessy The Shepherd Chemical Company Alfred and Carol Shikany Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Shoop, Jr. Jacqueline M. Mack and Dr. Edward B. Silberstein Ms. Joycee Simendinger Doug and Laura Skidmore Nancy McGaughey and Sally Skillman Alice E. Skirtz Jennifer S. Smith Phillip and Karen Sparkes Mrs. John A. Spiess Mary Stagaman and Ron Kull Dr. Jeffrey Stambough Dana A. Stang Mary M. Stein Christopher and Meghan Stevens Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stevie Stephanie and Joseph Stitt Nancy and Gary Strassel Ms. Susan R. Strick Mr. George Stricker, Jr. Tom and Keri Tami Dr. Alan and Shelley Tarshis Maureen Taylor

Cheryl Zalzal Mr. and Mrs. John Zeller Moritz and Barbara Ziegler Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Zierolf Mr. Richard K. Zinicola and Ms. Linda R. Holthaus David and Cynthia Zink Daniel & Susmita Zuck Mrs. Beth Zwergel Anonymous (27)

Mr. Fred Tegarden Carlos and Roberta Teran Linda and Nate Tetrick Dale and Yana Thatcher Marcia and Bob Togneri James and Susan Troutt Dr. Nicolette van der Klaauw Mr. D. R. Van Lokeren Dr. Judith Vermillion Jim and Rachel Votaw § Mrs. Barbara J. Wagner Ms. Barbara Wagner Mr. and Mrs. James L. Wainscott Jane A. Walker Rosemary Waller Sarella Walton Ping Wang Claude and Camilla Warren Mrs. Louise Watts Wendell & Mary Webster Jeff & Arlene Werts Janice T. Wieland Mr. Dean Windgassen and Ms. Susan Stanton Windgassen Craig and Barbara Wolf Donald and Karen Wolnik Judith R. Workman Linda Wulff Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wylly III Mr. John M. Yacher Edith and Leo Yakutis Drs. Marissa S. Liang and Y. Jeffrey Yang Judy and Martin Young Mr. David Youngblood and Ms. Ellen Rosenman Janice Zahn

List as of October 14, 2025

GIFTS IN-KIND

Graeter’s Ice Cream Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA Southern Grace Eats The T Shirt Co. WOW Windowboxes Carlos Zavala List as of October 17, 2025 * Denotes a fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. § Denotes members of The Thomas Schippers Legacy Society. Individuals who have made a planned gift to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops Orchestra are eligible for membership in the Society. For more information, please contact Kate Farinacci at 513.744.3202.

Welcome to JAN–FEB Groups! as of November 20, 2025

POPS Disney in Concert: Toy Story | JAN 3 & 4

POPS Dolly Parton’s Threads | JAN 23–25

Ms. Liza Bronner Friends & Family

Anderson Senior Center Bayley at Green Township Berkeley Square Maple Knoll Village Sarra Polisini Friends & Family Seasons Retirement Community

CSO Trifonov Plays Beethoven: JAN 10 & 11 Johnson Investment Counsel

CSO American Voices: JAN 16 & 17 Barrington of Oakley Christian Village at Mason Maple Knoll Village Otterbein Retirement Community Twenhofel Middle School Twin Lakes at Montgomery White Oak Middle School Mayerson Jewish Community Center The Kenwood Seasons Retirement Community The Knolls of Oxford ArtsWave

CSO Mahler Symphony No. 4: FEB 6 & 7 Barrington Of Oakley Christian Village at Mason Maple Knoll Village Otterbein Retirement Community Twin Lakes at Montgomery Calvary Christian School The Kenwood Seasons Retirement Community The Knolls of Oxford

Lollipops Family Concert Peter & the Wolf | FEB 7 Mr. and Mrs. Jim Rogers Friends & Family The Kincaid Family

ENJOY THE MUSIC, TOGETHER! • Groups of 10+ save 20% on most concerts and seniors and students save even more! • Curate your own event with a private reception, guided tour or meet and greet — the possibilities are endless. Contact CSO Group Sales: 513.744.3252 or wmarshall@cincinnatisymphony.org cincinnatisymphony.org/groups 72 | 2025–26 SEASON

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

 THE THOMAS SCHIPPERS LEGACY SOCIETY Thomas Schippers was Music Director from 1970 to 1977. He left not only wonderful musical memories, but also a financial legacy with a personal bequest to the Orchestra. The Thomas Schippers Legacy Society recognizes those who contribute to the Orchestra with a planned gift. We thank these members for their foresight and generosity. For more information on leaving your own legacy, contact Kate Farinacci at 513.744.3202.

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Adams Jeff & Keiko Alexander Mrs. Robert H. Allen Dr. Toni Alterman Paul R. Anderson Carole J. Arend Donald C. Auberger, Jr. The B & C Family Legacy Fund Dr. Diane Schwemlein Babcock Henrietta Barlag* Peggy Barrett* Jane* & Ed Bavaria David & Elaine Billmire Walter Blair Dr. John & Suzanne Bossert Dr. Mollie H. Bowers-Hollon Ronald Bozicevich Thomas A. Braun, III Joseph Brinkmeyer Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Bryan, III Harold & Dorothy Byers Deborah Campbell & Eunice M. Wolf Catharine W. Chapman Michael L. Cioffi & Rachael Rowe Mrs. Jackson L. Clagett III Lois & Phil* Cohen Leland M.* & Carol C. Cole Sheila & Christopher Cole Jack & Janice Cook Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cordes Ms. Andrea Costa Peter G. Courlas & Nick Tsimaras* Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Curran III Amy & Scott Darrah, Meredith & Will Darrah, children Caroline H. Davidson Harrison R.T. Davis Ms. Kelly M. Dehan Amy & Trey Devey Robert W. Dorsey Jon & Susan Doucleff Ms. Judith A. Doyle Mr. & Mrs. John Earls Mr. & Mrs. Barry C. Evans Linda & Harry Fath Alan Flaherty Ashley & Barbara Ford Guy & Marilyn Frederick Rich Freshwater & Family Mr. Nicholas L. Fry

Linda P. Fulton H. Jane Gavin Edward J. & Barbara C.* Givens Kenneth A. Goode Clifford J. Goosmann & Andrea M. Wilson Mrs. Madeleine H. Gordon J. Frederick & Cynthia Gossman Kathy Grote Esther B. Grubbs, Marci Bein, Mindi Hamby William Hackman Vincent C. Hand & Ann E. Hagerman Tom & Jan* Hardy William L. Harmon Mary J. Healy Frank G. Heitker Betty & John* Heldman Karlee L. Hilliard Michael H. Hirsch Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn Daniel J. Hoffheimer Kenneth L. Holford George R. Hood Mr. & Mrs. Terence L. Horan Sandra L. Houck Mrs. Benjamin C. Hubbard Susan & Tom Hughes Dr. Lesley Gilbertson & Dr. William Hurford Mr. & Mrs. Paul Isaacs Julia M. F. B. Jackson Michael & Kathleen Janson Andrew MacAoidh Jergens Jean C. Jett Jay & Shirley Joyce Anne C. & Robert P. Judd Margaret H. Jung Mace C. Justice Dr. & Mrs.* Steven Katkin Rachel Kirley & Joseph Jaquette Jay & Shirley Joyce Carolyn Koehl Marvin Kolodzik & Linda Gallaher Carol & Scott Kosarko Marilyn & Michael Kremzar Randolph & Patricia Krumm Theresa M. Kuhn Warren & Patricia Lambeck

Peter E. Landgren & Judith Schonbach Landgren Susan J. Lauf Owen & Cici Lee Steve Lee Mrs. Jean E. Lemon Mr. Peter F. Levin Janice W.* & Gary R. Lubin Mr.* & Mrs. Ronald Lyons Margot Marples David L. Martin Allen* & Judy Martin David Mason Barbara & Kim McCracken Laura Kimble McLellan Dr. Stanley R. Milstein Mrs. William K. Minor Mr. & Mrs. D. E. Moccia Mary Lou Motl Kristin & Stephen Mullin Christopher & Susan Muth Patti Myers Ms. Phyllis A. Myers Susan & Kenneth Newmark Dr. & Mrs. Theodore Nicholas Jane Oberschmidt* Marja-Liisa Ogden Julie & Dick* Okenfuss Dr. & Mrs. Richard E. Park, MD Charlie & Tara Pease Poul D. & JoAnne Pedersen Sandy & Larry* Pike Mrs. Harold F. Poe Anne M. Pohl Irene & Daniel Randolph James W. Rauth Barbara S. Reckseit Mrs. Angela M. Reed Melody Sawyer Richardson Ellen Rieveschl Elizabeth & Karl Ronn Moe & Jack Rouse Ann & Harry Santen Rosemary & Mark Schlachter Carol J. Schroeder Mrs. William R. Seaman Dr. Brian Sebastian Mrs. Robert B. Shott Sue & Glenn Showers

Irwin & Melinda Simon Betsy & Paul* Sittenfeld Sarah Garrison Skidmore* Denis & Lisa Skowronski Adrienne A. Smith David & Sonja* Snyder Marie Speziale Mr. & Mrs. Christopher L. Sprenkle Barry & Sharlyn Stare Bill & Lee Steenken Tom* & Dee Stegman Barry Steinberg Nancy M. Steman John & Helen Stevenson Mary & Bob Stewart Brett Stover Dr. Robert & Jill Strub Patricia M. Strunk Ralph & Brenda* Taylor Conrad F. Thiede Minda F. Thompson Carrie & Peter Throm Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Todd Nydia Tranter Dick & Jane Tuten Thomas Vanden Eynden* & Judith Beiting Mr. & Mrs. Robert Varley* Mr. & Mrs. James K. Votaw Mr. & Mrs.* Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Nancy C. Wagner Patricia M. Wagner Mr. & Mrs. Paul Ward Jo Anne & Fred Warren Mr. Scott Weiss & Dr. Charla Weiss Donna A. Welsch Anne M. Werner Gary & Diane West Charles A. Wilkinson Ms. Diana Willen Susan Stanton Windgassen Mrs. Joan R. Wood Alison & Jim Zimmerman * Deceased New Schippers members are in bold

The Orchestra Welcomes New Assistant Conductors, cont. from p. 21 “As a little boy I loved the music so much that she arranged for me to start violin lessons when I was 5.” In time, that led to joining a middle school orchestra, something Shen says is “very hard to do in China during my time, unless you’re in the conservatory. It changed my life.” With the help of his teacher in Beijing, Shen came to the U.S. for higher education, first to the University of Delaware, then to the University of Maryland and finally to the Cleveland Institute of

Music, where he received a professional studies diploma in conducting. “You have to be obsessed to succeed as a conductor, I think,” he says. “The career of a conductor is always on the move. I am inspired by Cristi and his suitcase. But for now, it is time for me to learn all about Cincinnati. I find it to be a charming city. The art museum, the hills, the library — I just got my library card, so I am ready to fill my Kindle. I am excited to explore.”  Fanfare Magazine | 73

Join Barbara Kellar as she showcases artists and cultural leaders from the Greater Cincinnati community.

SATURDAY 6:30PM CET SUNDAY 8:30PM CET ARTS

www.CETconnect.org Emmy Award Winner Regional - Interview/Discussion Program

Showcase Emmy NEW Barbara photo-02.indd 1

7/12/2023 10:57:35 AM

We Applaud Our Loyal CSO and Pops Subscribers We thank every subscriber whose investment in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops makes these concerts possible. We would not be on stage without you! Thank you especially to the following subscribers whose loyalty and support has extended 25–50 years or more.*

List as of November 12, 2025

Opus 50 & 25 Subscribers of 50 years or more:

*If we have inadvertently left your name off this subscribers-only list or if we need to make corrections to your listed name, please call us at 513.381.3800 or email us at hello@cincinnatisymphony.org. We are also grateful to those who have been loyal subscribers for 10–24 years, whose names we are unable to include here due to space limitations.

Mrs. Carol A. Grasha and Mr. Christopher B. Knoop Paul and Carita Kollman Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Krieg Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Kuhnell Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. LaChance Susan Laffoon Mr. Gordon Allen The Lazarus Family Theresa M. Anderson Mr. Gus Lewin Nancy J. Apfel Mrs. Linda Linker Mrs. Marvin Aronoff Judy and Donald Lomax Mr. and Mrs. Franchot Ballinger Mr. Phillip C. Long Michael A. Battersby Dr. and Mrs. Joseph T. Luttmer Mr. and Mrs. Herbert J. Beigel Peter and Angela Madden Glenda and Malcolm Bernstein Mr. Carl G. Marquette, Jr. Hon. Marianna Brown Bettman Tom and Nancy Matthew Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Bloch Mr. Howard Mayers Bill and Mary Bonansinga Barbara and Kim McCracken Eleanor A. Botts Mr. and Mrs. John S. McCullough Dr. and Mrs. William Bramlage Ted and Barb Mechley Mr. Don H. Brown Mrs. G. Franklin Miller Mr. Thomas H. Brown Ms. Lynn Miller Mr. and Mrs. R. Richard Broxon Mr. and Mrs. David A. Millett William Bryan David and Diane Moccia Chris and Tom Buchert Mr. and Mrs. David W. Motch Donald L. and Kathleen Field Burns Mrs. Mary Lou Mueller Jim and Nina Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Raymond D. Neusch Stephen and Karen Carr Mr. and Mrs. John Niehaus Mr. Timothy Clarke Dr. Cora Ogle Carol C. Cole Alice Perlman Mr. David S. Collins and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Piazza Ms. Sandra M. Gans Anne M. Pohl Dr. C. J. and Carolyn Condorodis Mrs. Stewart Proctor Sally and Rick Coomes Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Rohling Robin T. Cotton and Cynthia Fitton James Rubenstein and Peter G. Courlas Bernadette Unger Nancy Creaghead Mr. and Mrs. Eric Schaumloffel Lynne Curtiss Lee and Martha Schimberg Mrs. Lilian Estevez. de Pagani Mr. and Mrs. Frederick R. Schneider Sally H. Dessauer Mrs. William Schwerin Mrs. Mel B. Dreyfoos Dr. and Mrs. Rees W. Sheppard Mr. and Mrs. C. Thomas Dupuis Alfred and Carol Shikany Mr. John Eddingfield Sue and Glenn Showers Ms. Cathy C. Eubanks Jacqueline M. Mack and Mr. and Mrs. James T. Fitzgerald Dr. Edward B. Silberstein Dr. David Flaspohler and John and Janet Simpkinson Dr. Cynthia Crown Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Skirtz Mr. and Mrs. Ashley L. Ford Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Smith Mikki and Walter Frank Mr. and Mrs. John Spiess Harriet A. and William M. Freedman Mrs. Henry R. Stefanik Mrs. Nancy Gard Dee Stegman Mr. and Mrs. James K. Gehring Dr. Jean and Mrs. Anne Steichen Dr. and Mrs. Charles J. Glueck Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Dierckes, Jr. Steven and Shelley Goldstein Mr. and Mrs. Laurence G. Stillpass Mr. David Greulich Mrs. Lowella M. Stoerker Mary Grooms Elizabeth A. Stone Esther Grubbs and Karen Dennis Mrs. Joan C. Stouffer Dr. Janet C. Haartz Dr. & Mrs. Theodore W. Striker William P. Hackman Dr. and Mrs. Suranyi Dr. and Mrs. Edward Hake Mrs. George Tassian Ham and Ellie Hamilton Susan and John Tew Mrs. Joan D. Hauser Dorothy and Lowell Orr, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Hedeen Mr. and Mrs. J. Dwight Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Hinaman Dr. and Mrs. Samuel P. Todd, Jr. Mr. Michael H. Hirsch Mr. Robert Lindner, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn Dr. Ilse M. van der Bent Daniel J. Hoffheimer Mr. Randolph L. Wadsworth Jr. Mrs. Robert S. Holzman Jo Ann Ward Mrs. Benjamin C. Hubbard Dr. and Mrs. Galen R. Warren Charles and Doris Jackson Rev. & Mrs. Andrew MacAoidh Jergens Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Kathleen Wayman Ruth and Frederick Joffe Mrs. William N. Weed Dr. and Mrs. Earl Kisker Dr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Weinstein

Shirley Gershuny-Korelitz Dr. and Mrs. James B. Willis Louise Wolf Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wood William and Ellen Wyler John and Jean Zoller

Subscribers of 25 to 49 years: Peter Aamodt Terri and Tom Abare Jacqulynn Abdella and Shane Brown Robert Abrahams Hiro and Hiroko Adachi Brian Adams and Jilda Vargus-Adams Mrs. Christine O. Adams Mr. David Adams Mr. and Mrs. Greg Adams Mrs. Patricia Adams Richard and Mary Aft Gordon and Dorothy Air Dr. and Mrs. Khosrow Alamin David Alden James and Christina Allen Ken and Lois Allen Lisa Allgood Ruth Alpers Francisco Alvarez-Leefmans Bob and Karen Anderson Brian Anderson Mr. and Mrs. John G. Anderson Ms. Lynn R. Anderson R. Bruce and Patricia A. Anderson Paul and Dolores Anderson Tamara and Peter Anderson Ms. Christine M. Andrew Jean Ann Ankeney Peter and Tracey Annable Mr. and Mrs. John B. Anthony Mr. Jimmy E. Antia and Ms. Pheruza P. Tarapore Joan Arnold Thomas and Sharon Arntsen Kelyn and Anil Arora Brent and Kim Arter Paule Asch Andrew Asimus and Carolyn Royalty Mr. Thomas P. Atkins Ms. Laura E. Atkinson Mr. and Mrs. Philippe Audax Mrs. Connie Ault Steve Averdick Patricia Baas Diane Babcock Tom and Peg Bach Mrs. Mary M. Baer Beth and Bob Baer Todd and Ann Bailey Gerard and Susan Baillely Mr. Joseph Baker Mr. and Mrs. Jack W. Baldwin Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Ball Robert and Janet Banks Evelyn Banzhaf and Larry McCord Mr. and Mrs. Roger Barbe Mr. and Mrs. Dale Bardes Mr. and Mrs. Chris Barnes Mr. Jeff Barnes Robert and Frances Barnhorn Ms. Sallie Barringer

Thomas E and Claudia Barton Nancy Bassarab Mrs. Polly M. Bassett Michael and Amy Battoclette Ms. Glenda Bauer James and Valerie Baxter Theresa Beck Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Becker Kenneth Beckholt Daniel and Terri Beebe Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Beimesch Michael and Patricia Bell Dr. and Mrs Thomas E. Bell David Bella Ms. Peggy Bell-Lohr Mr. John A. Belperio Joyce Benge Anita Benning-Trennepohl Ms. Jean M. Bens Michael Bergan and Tiffany Hanisch Andrew and Linda Berger Mr. Bill Berger and Ms. Janet Landen Allen Bernard Mr. and Mrs. Hal Bernstein Jeffrey Berry and Agnes Nicholas Lloyd and Norah Bertschy Mr. and Mrs. John D. Bever Lisa Bezold Henryka Nagy Sanja Bias Mr. and Mrs. David R. Biddle Mr. and Mrs. Steven A. Biedenbach Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Bierer Mr. and Mrs. John C. Bierman James and Rebecca Bilbo Louis D. Bilionis and Ann Hubbard David and Elaine Billmire Ms. Sharon A. Kerns and Mr. Mike Birck Mr. and Mrs. Charles Birkenhauer Glen W. and Linda C. Bischof Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Bishop Kenneth and Cathy Blakeley Gifford Blaylock and Anne Reed Dr. Stuart Blersch Ann Blocksom Dr. Jeffrey B. Bloomer Ms. Mary Lou Blount Mr. and Mrs. Donald R. Blum Ms. Beverly Bodin Connie Boehner Dr. Christiane Boehr Ms. Traci L. Boeing Ms. Debbie Bogenschutz and Mr. Harold Tucker Robert L. and Debbie Bogenschutz Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Bohne Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Bolduc Ron and Betty Bollinger Denise Bond Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Bonhaus Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Borgmann Mr. Neil K Bortz Mr. and Mrs. Gaetano T. Bosco Andrew Botschner and Mindy Muenich Glenn and Donna Boutilier Dr. and Mrs. Kevin E. Bove Bruce Bowdon & Robin Bratt Ann Boylan Christian and Michelle Boyles Mr. and Mrs. George R. Bradley III Ms. Linda F. Brainard Thomas A. Braun, III 

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Opus 50 & 25 SUBSCRIBERS David Bray Ms. Mary Breighner Mr. and Mrs. Mark Breitenstein Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Bretz Mr. and Ms. Tony Brewer Virginia Brezinski Ms. Elizabeth Brice Mr. and Mrs. Mark O. Bricker Doug and Melinda Briggs Mrs. Kathy J. Bright Arlene Brill Kimberly Brindley Melinda Brisker Ms. Maria Britto Lisa Broaddus Mary Brodbeck Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Broersma Ms. Kathryn L. Brokaw Lynn and Michelle Brothers Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Brown Marian Brown Ms. Marinell Brown Mr. and Mrs. Bart A. Brown , Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Ralph P. Brown Sheila Brown Shirley Brown Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Brown Thomas and Mary Broxterman Paul and Mary Ellen Bruening Mr. and Mrs. Larry J. Brueshaber Douglas and Dawn Bruestle Matthew Bruestle Suzanne Brungs Mr. and Mrs. William T. Brungs Mrs. Hermine Brunner Ms. Rachelle Bruno and Mr. Stephen Bondurant Mr. and Mrs. Frederick E. Bryan, III Pamela Buck Gregory D Buckley and Susan Berry-Buckley William Budde Mr. and Mrs. Otto M. Budig, Jr. Robert and Angela Buechner Robert and Sandra Buhrlage Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Wagner , Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Bullock Mrs. Faye P. Nobis Mr. James Burger Susan Buring Mr. and Mrs. William R. Burleigh Mr. and Mrs. Fred Burnett Wendy Burnette David and Jenny Burns Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Burns Daniel Burr Kerry and Bonnie Burte Mr. and Ms. John Busam Mr. and Mrs. John B. Busche Mrs. Bruce L. Byrnes Mr. James Cadigan Mr. Alan B. Cady Mr. and Mrs. Cary R. Cain Jon Calderas and Corinne Lehmann Susan Callan Bernie Calonge Deborah Campbell Victor Canfield Ms. Susan E. Cannon Mr. and Mrs. Vincent N. Capasso Mr. and Mrs. Peter E. Carels Anna Carey Mr. R. P. Carey Mr. William Carey Shirley Carlisle Linda Carlson Dr. and Mrs. Gary G. Carothers Thomas and Annette Carothers Thomas Carpenter and Lynne Lancaster Chris and Kathleen Carr John and Kathy Carrithers Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Carroll Susan Carson Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Carter Robert and Lynne Carter Tricia Carter Mrs. Maria I. Carver Michael and Nancy Carver Ms. Sandra Case Michael and Ellen Cashman Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Cassady Cindy Cassell and David Uible Mary Catalanotto Jack and Terri Catanzaro Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. Chaiken

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Ms. Rosalind Chaiken Richard and Helen Challis Michael and Shirley Chaney Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chavez Mr. Eric J. Cheney Stephen and Denise Chenoweth Ms. Karen C. Cheyne Mr. David P. Cho Mr. Edmund M. Choi Christopher Church Ms. Karen T. Cianciolo Cincinnati Financial Corporation Mr. Michael L. Cioffi Kate Clarisey Barry and Martha Clark Charles Clark James Clasper and Cheryl Albrecht Mrs. and Mr. Ruth Claypoole Janet Cleary S. DeAnne Cleghorn Ms. Susan Cline Mr. and Mrs. James Coates Mr. and Mrs. Michael Coffey Dr. and Mrs. John S. Cohen Mel Cohen Anthony and Eric Cole Sheila and Christopher Cole Marc & Julie Colegrove Mrs. Lucille F. Collins Ms. Ricki L. Collins William J. Hahn Mr. F. W. Colucci Mrs. Thomas Cones Mrs. Jacqueline L. Conner David and Jane Conzett Joan Cook Randal Cooper Mr. and Mrs. Randy K. Cooper II Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Copanas Bradley Corey John Corson James and Christine Cory Mr. and Mrs. Anthony G. Covatta Mr. and Mrs. James Cox Ms. Melissa Cox Mr. and Mrs. Dennis P. Coyne David Cramer Mr. and Mrs. David D. Crane Kim and Jeff Crawford Martha Crawford Cynthia Crews Mr. Timothy Crowley Mrs. Carol A. Schradin James and Susan Crumpler Mr. and Mrs. William S. Culp Dottie Cummings Susan and John Cummings Steve and Deborah Cummins Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Cuni Janice Currie Daniel and Maureen Dahling Donald and Victoria Daiker Mrs. Susan Daniel Mrs. Micha Daoud Mr. and Mrs. Robert Darby Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Darner Georgie Ann Daub-Grosse Mr. Louis M. Dauner Stephen Daush Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Dauwe April and Harry Davidow Jon Davidson Marjorie Davies Eric Davis and Christine Wick Mr. Frank B. Davis Mr. Jeff Davis John S Davis Ms. Linda Sue Davis Ms. Yvonne M. Davis Dr. and Mrs. Rank O. Dawson, Jr. Ronda Deel Dr. George S. Deepe Loren and Polly DeFilippo Mark Dehler and David Moeller Stephen and Cynthia DeHoff Mr. and Mrs. Alan P. DeJarnette Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Dell James Dempsey Dexter and Ann Denney Genevieve Dennison Bedouin and Randall Dennison Mr. and Mrs. Dennis W. Dern Marian Dibert Robert Dick Mr. Noel J. Dickson Ms. Mary C. Diersing Ms. Marion DiFalco

Ms. Linda J. Diller Mr. and Mrs. Warren Dillon Robert and Gretchen Dinerman Patricia Dirr James and Elizabeth Dodd Mr. and Mrs. Bill Doll Mary Beth Donica and Carl Fichtenbaum Dr. Robert Donovan Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Donovan, Jr. Judi Dooley Mr. Robert W. Dorsey Jon and Susan Doucleff Mr. and Mrs. Roger Doughty John and Diane Douglass Charles and Michelle Dragga Elaine Drakos Mr. Claude Drouet Neil and Laurie Dubin Tom and Leslie Ducey Mrs. Shirley Duff Harold Dull Anne Dulle Mr. and Mrs. William L. Dunavant Fred and Royal Duncan Mrs. Dianne Dunkelman Mr. and Mrs. James Dunlevy Mr. and Mrs. Corwin R. Dunn Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Dunn M. Freeman Durham and Dean Clevenger Mr. Craig Duston Mrs. Diana T. Dwight Reginald Dyck Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Eagen Mr. and Mrs. John Earls Donald and Christine Earnhart Mrs. Victoria Eaton Mr. and Mrs. Harold K. Eberenz Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Ebersole Mrs. J. Kay Eby Dave and Kathy Eby Charles Eckert Judy Edell Mr. David G. Edmundson Mr. and Ms. Edward R. Ratterman Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Edwards Sister Margaret Efkeman Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey & Cathy Egbers Mr. and Mrs. Harold A. Eichell James and Delrose Eigel John Eilerman Wayne and Debbie Eilerman Mary Eisenzimmer Dale and Kathy Elifrits Mr. Dale B. Elliott John Ellis Mr. John Ellmore Sara Endicott-Bialczak John Endres Mr. Gary L. Ernst John and M. Kathleen Ernst W. Hardy and Barbara Eshbaugh Ms. Donna Esposito Robin and Joanne Estes Eric and Catherine Estill Mr. and Mrs. Allan W. Evans Mr. and Mrs. Barry C. Evans Ms. Judith A. Evans Rosie Evans David and Heidi Eveleigh Dr. Ralph O. Ewers Robert and Mary Ann Faelten Ms. Julie W. Fairbanks Anthony and Deborah Fairhead Dr. Douglas K. Fairobent and Dr. Paulette M. Gillig Dr. and Mrs. Horacio Falciglia William Fant and Jessie Leek Dr. and Mrs. William J. Faulkner Charles Faust Todd Fegelman Barry and Sandy Feist Barbara Feldmann Ms. Carol H. Fencl Robert Ferrell Andy Ferro Sandy and Robert Fielman Alexander and Bea Filimonov John and Barbara Fillion Ms. Gwendoline M. Finegan Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. FinkeIV Mr. and Mrs. Milton C. Finkes Dr. and Mrs. Carl G. Fischer Harold and Gloria Fischer Thomas Fischer

Mary Fisher Ms. Carol M. Fisher Ms. Elizabeth C. Fisher-Smith Mr. and Mrs. Barry A. Fittes Mark Fitzgerald Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Fitzpatrick , Jr. Mr. David B. Fleming Mr. and Mrs. Russell D. Flick Darlene Florence Sean and Amy Foley Mr. and Mrs. Winston E. Folkers Mr. and Mrs. Mathias F. Foltyn Gary and Eva Foose Ms. Judy Foreman Mrs. Amy Forte Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Forte Jeff and Cindy Foster Susan Foster Donna Foust Ms. Marjorie Fox Dr. Alan Frager Joyce V. Frame Ms. Barbara France Katherine Francis Dr. Charles E. Frank and Ms. Jan Goldstein John and Susan Frank Dr. and Mrs. Russel Frankel Toby Franklin Mr. and Mrs. Guy Frederick Mr. and Mrs. John Freeman Mary Fricke Mr. Michael Friedman Dr. Donald W. Fritz Mr. Gerald Froehlich Mrs. Peggy Frondorf Mr. Kelly Fulmer Mrs. John M. Gallagher Charles Ganelin and Patricia Klingenberg Mrs. Carol Gangwer Thomas and Molly Garber Frank and Tara Gardner Ms. Martha J. Gardner Joe and Barbara Gargiulo Judith Garratt Christine Garrett Penny Gates Mr. Joseph Gaudio Mark S. Gay GE Aviation Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Gehrig Dr. Sheila Gelman and Dr. David Greenblatt Gerard and Mary Genellie Ms. Annette v. Georgin M. Doug Gerrard and Janet Hackman Ms. Shelly Shor Gerson Naomi Gerwin Dr. and Mrs. Freidoon Ghazi Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Giannella Philip Giardina Franklin Gibboney Ms. Kathryn S. Gibbons Rebecca Gibbs and Anne Mulder Mr. L. Timothy Giglio Mr. and Mrs. Fred E. Gilliam Christopher Gilmore Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Ginocchio, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Gist Rick and Pamela Giuliano Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Givens Tracey Glancy Mrs. Mary Kay G. Glaser Dr. and Mrs. Seymour I. Glick Dr. Jerome Glinka and Dr. Kathleen Blieszner Mark and Renee Glogowski Ms. Karen L. Glover Mr. and Mrs. Haynes Goddard Perilou Goddard Mr. Paul Godfrey Ms. Edna M. Godsey Mr. Donn J. Goebel Richard and Carol Goetz Bella Golden Mr. and Mrs. Elden Dale Golden Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Goldman Arlene Golembiewski Glenn and Nancy Gollobin Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Good David and Mary Beth Goodale H. Drewry Gores and George Warrington John and Catherine Gorman Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gotoff Janice Grace

Opus 50 & 25 SUBSCRIBERS William Gracie Glenn and Jennifer Graf Mr. and Mrs. Karl R. Graham Larry and Lisa Graham Ms. Moira Grainger Mr. Tom W. Graler Mrs. Carolyn Grant Thomas and Anita Grau John and Rhonda Grause Gabriele Graves Judith Graves Joseph and Sheila Gray Mrs. Mary E. Gray Robert and Cynthia Gray Carolyn Green Claudia Green James M and Jann F Greenberg Garry Greene Dr. & Mrs. Samuel Greengus Anita Marie Greer and William Gatian Mr. Gary Gregory Ronald Greife Mark Greiner Dr. Sandra M. Grether William and Christy Griesser Jack and Linda Griffin Ms. Joan Griggs Ms. Margaret Groeber Kurt L and Joanne B Grossman Ms. Kathleen M. Grote Leo and Chrystabel Grote Jon and Deborah Grove Dr. and Mrs. John E. Grover Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Gruber Randall Gudvangen and Brett Siereveld Mrs. Andi Guess Steve and Julia Gunderson Mrs. Leo A. Haas Ms. Wendy C. Haas Daniel Hadley and Mary Huey Phillip Hagan Mark Hagee Rick and Terri Hagee Dr. and Mrs. Jack A. Hahn Rolf and Carolyn Hahne Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Hall Russell and Cathleen Hall Mr. and Mrs. David E. Haller Mr. and Mrs. David E. Halstead Dr. and Mrs. Robert Hamilton Ronald and Annie Hamilton Eric and Mindy Hammer Mr. Vincent C. Hand Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Handwerger Ms. Julie H. Hanley Cindy Hansel Ms. Jane F. Hansley Dolores Hard Steven and Lynn Harden Michael W and Rebecca Hardy Mr. Tom Hardy Tom and Theresa Hardy Mrs. Roslyn Harkavy William and Jennifer Harned Mary Pat Key and Wayne Harner Mr. Edward G. Harness , Jr. Ronald and Carol Harp Mr. and Mrs. James Harper Ms. Betty J. Harris Ms. Ellen A. Harrison Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hartle Reid Hartmann and Patricia Klein Mr. and Mrs. William Hartmann Patrick Hartnett and Katalin Ori Mr. and Mrs. William Harvey Samer Hasan and Mariana Belvedere Kenneth and Kathleen Hastings Jennifer Green-Hatcher Andrew and Barbara Hauck Sigrun Haude and Barbara Ramusack Dr. Deborah Hauger Mr. Gene Hawkins and Mrs. Margaret Tuxford-Hawkins Dale Hayes Jean Haynes Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Haynes Marylou Head James and Mary Healy John Heatherman Mr. and Mrs. Ron Heginbotham John and Alice Hehman Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Heidenreich Neil Heighberger Diane M. Heilmann Angie Heiman Mr. and Mrs. Eric W. Heineke

Mr. Stephen W. Heinzman and Ms. Sharon Bergman Geri Held Patti and Fred Heldman Susan Hengehold Jennifer Henz Mr. and Mrs. John Hepfinger Ms. Lynn M. Hericks James and Susan Herman Gerald and Deborah Hermann Manuel Hernandez Mrs. Cheryl Hern-Janovic Mr. Bruce Herren Sister Carren Herring Robert and Marilyn Herring Mr. and Mrs. William Herring Dr. and Mrs. Edward B. Herzig Mr. and Mrs. Todd Herzog Mrs. Jane A. Heskamp Phillip and Barbara Hester Shirley Heyob Nancy Hibbard Mr. and Mrs. Rick Hibbard Nancy Hickey James and Barbara Hilb Carrie Hill Miriam Hill Russell W and Holly Hill Mr. and Mrs. William C. Hill Mr. George M. Hillenbrand, II Ms. Karlee L. Hilliard Robert and Amy Hiltz Mr. and Mrs. Randy C. Hirtzel Laura A. Hobson Mrs. Wilma Hochstrasser Richard Hodapp Emily M. Hodges Mr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Hoerst Mr. and Mrs. Jon Hoffheimer Mr. Ronald J. Hoffman and Ms. Barbara Gomes Bonnie Hoffmann Mr. and Mrs. Don Hoffmann Irene A. Hofmann Tom and Katherine Hogan Richard and Michelle Hoge Robert Holcshuh Mr. and Mrs. Timothy A. Holmen Ms. Ruth C. Holthaus Elizabeth Holtzapple David and Barbara Holwadel Joan Honeck Barbara J. Hooker Mr. William Hopple Mr. and Mrs. Donald B. Hordes Mr. Douglas A. Horn Mr. and Mrs. Orson Hornsby Mr. Thomas Hotek Don and Judith Hotz Benjamin Houck Sandra Houck J. Lawrence Houk William and Lynn Housh Ms. Pamela A. Houston Maureen Howard Mr. and Ms. Robert H. Howard Dr. and Mrs. Ron Hsieh Henry and Deanna Huber Mr. Henry Huber David and Karen Huelsman Timothy and Leslie Huey Bradley and Karen Hughes Ed and Sarah Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Hughes Thomas and Susan Hughes Mel and Laurel Humes Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Humphrey Jacqueline Hunt William Hurford and Lesley Gilbertson Nada Huron Ms. Judythe A. Huston Mr. and Mrs. R. Douglas Hutchens Kim Hutchison Robert and Marilyn Hyland Richard and Carol Ihlendorf Judith Imhoff Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Inderhees Spence Ingerson Ms. Sue T. Ingraham Paul and Anna Isaacs Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Jackson Skip and Joan Jackson Jackie Jacobs John and Faye Jaeger Mrs. Mary B. Jasany Mark Jeanmougin

John M. Jeep and Lynda Hoffman-Jeep Ms. Laura Jenkins Ms. Louise K. Jenks Mrs. Barbara A. Jennings David and Penelope Jester Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Joffe John & Thomas Schiff & Co. Ms. Barbara M. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. James G. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Randy Johnson Robert and Sally Johnson Robert Johnson Adam Johnston and Douglas Griggs Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Johnston Robert and Betty Johnston Mark Jonas and Elza Marelic-Jonas Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Jones Deborah Jones Wayne and Marge Jones Steven and Elizabeth Joos Paula Jordan Jennifer Jostworth Martin and Shirley Joyce Mr. Robert P. Judd Ms. Susan L. Judis Charlie and Janet Juengling Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Junker Richard and Lisa Kagan Christine E. Kakehashi Ms. Marie Kalb Mr. and Mrs. Carl Kalota Linda Kamperman Lewis and Renee Kamrass Susan Kandt Mary Kaplan Jeanne Karrick Marilyn Katz Mr. Larry Kavanagh and Ms. Kelly Kusch Ms. Holly Keeler Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Keenan Robert Keith and Kathleen Thornton Janet Keller Mrs. Karen G. Keller Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kelley Rebecca Kelley Robert and Jane Kenney John and Molly Kerman Dr. and Mrs. Richard S. Kerstine Ms. Carol Kessler and Mr. Lawrence R. Becker Leslie and John Ketchum Nazanin Khodadad Jean-Luc and Karla Kiehm Marlene Kiely Ms. Susan S. Kies Kenneth and Kathleen Kihm Catherine Kiley Charles Killian Mr. and Mrs. James L. Kimble Bill and Penny Kincaid Susan and Thomas Kindervater Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. King Dr. Harry R. Kinlaw Todd Kinskey and Kristin M.. Carlson Mr. and Mrs. Bruce A. Kintner David and Charlotte Kirkendall Mary Klayer Mr. James Klein Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kleiser Joel and Ione Klekamp Jay and Diana Klenk Jack and Svetlana Klette Christina Klocke Dr. Marguerite J. Kloos Ms. Andrea and Mr. David Knarr Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. Knox David and Christy Knueven Mr. and Dr. Randy Lee Kobman Charles Koch Mr. and Mrs. William Koch Mr. and Mrs. Sam Kocoshis Mrs. Carolyn W. Koehl Mrs. Pamela Koester-Hackman Mrs. Ronald Koetters Mr. Marvin P. Kolodzik Mrs. Arlene Koon Walter and Patricia Koral Carol Kosarko Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kovarsky Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Kraimer Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Kramer Mr. Stephen Kramrech

Mr. and Mrs. Howard J. Krauss Barbara Kreider Mr. & Mrs. M. H. Kremzar Mrs. Kathleen Krug Mr. and Mrs. Randolph L. Krumm Charles and Mary Ann Krumpelman Carol Louise Kruse Richard and Margaret Kuck Tim Kuderer Mrs. Phyllis M. Kugler Mrs. Theresa M. Kuhn Mr. David M. Kundrat Ms. Marianne Kunnen-Jones Andrew Kutcher Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Kuy Mr. and Mrs. Paul Laemmle Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lamb Warren and Patricia Lambeck Ms. Robin G. Lambert Mrs. Barbara G. Landen Peter E. Landgren and Judith Schonbach Landgren Diane McKay Landi Ms. Margaret A. Landwehr Edward and Evelyn Lang Ms. Kathryn S. Lang Teresa T. Lange Mr. Walter E. Langsam Henry and Ruth Lapp Rita and Pete LaPresto Ms. Sally L. Larson Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Lauterbach Mr. Joe K. Law and Mr. Phil Wise Richard and Nancy Layding John and Marla Layne Mrs. Deborah L. Lease Setsuko LeCroix Daniel Ledford Ms. Elaine B. Lee Patricia Lee Mr. and Mrs. Terry W. Lee Dr. Donald W. Leedy Bruce and Luann Leetch Peggy Lenhart Mr. Michael Lenz Carol Leslie Mrs. Diane M. Collins and Mr. Jack W. Levi Leah Levy Ms. Jane Lewin Deborah Lewis Elaine Lewis Lance and Rosemarie Lewis Norman Lewis Mr. Robert E. Lewis Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Lieberman Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Lieberman Gilbert and Margaret Liechty Dr. and Mrs. Calvin C. Linnemann Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Lippert Mrs. Robert R. Lippert Mr. Steven J. Lippert Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan R. Lippincott Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Listermann Mr. Earl Litton Mr. and Mrs. Barry L. Loeb Mrs. Betty L. Long Bill and Julie Lonneman Catherine Love Luke and Nita Lovell Dr. G. Franklin Lowe Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Lowitz Mr. and Mrs. Gary Lubin Carolyn Ludwig John and Jennifer Luken Ms. Mary W. Lund Sally Lund Mr. and Mrs. David C. Lundgren Anne Lyon Mr. and Mrs. Ron Lyons Judith Lyons Sallie Lyons George and Genevieve Mabey Mr. and Mrs. Douglas MacCurdy Thomas and Denise MacFarland Ms. Carol A. MacGregor Russell and Sandra Mack Marshall and Nancy Macks Rick Maddux Dr. and Mrs. Bryan L. Madison Timothy and Maureen McCarthy-Magill Mr. Scott Maier Catherine Mains Mr. and Mrs. George S. Maley Mr. and Mrs. Barry C. Malinowski Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown 

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Opus 50 & 25 SUBSCRIBERS Kathy and Brad Mank Donn and Pamela Manker Alleen and Shayne Manning Bob and Cheryl Manning Dr. and Mrs. Brian A. Mannion Amy Marmer and John Ataman Mrs. Morita Marmo Ms. Dianne H. Marn Mr. and Mrs. Dan Marquardt Mr. and Mrs. Donald I. Marshall Daniel and Cynthia Marsman Andrea Martin Mr. David L. Martin James and Karen Martin Mrs. Judith Martin Mr. and Mrs. William C. Martin Sheila Martin David and Nancy Masters Mrs. Mary E. Mathers Margaret Mathile Mr. John A. Matulaitis and Dr. Siga M. Lenkauskas Dean and Susan Matz Douglas and Sheila Maxwell Mary Jane Mayer Steven Mayer Mr. and Mrs. John Mays Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. McClurg Mr. Martin P. McConnell and Ms. Patricia Stockman Ms. Tawny McCormick David and Leslie McCracken Dr. Janet P. McDaniel Robert and Alexandra McDonald Todd McFarland Charlene McGrath Ms. Janet McGrath Mr. Mark E. McKillip and Ms. Amira Beer Mr. Douglas J. McKimm Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. McKinney Steve and Jeri McLane Mr. and Mrs. Terry McMillen Ms. Nancy McNeal Janet McNeel Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. McOsker Susan McPartlin and Michael Galbraith Mr. Paul Medin and Ms. Carol Ray Carol Meibers Gene and Mary Meister Lynn Meloy and Lyle Cain Lon Mendelsohn Abe and Marla Merdinger Sharon Merrill Julie Metz Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Metzger Charles Meyer and Leila Case Mr. and Mrs. Dennis J. Meyer Karen Meyers and Bill Jones Mrs. Nancy L. Meyers Rebecca Miars James and Sarah Michael Mrs. Ann Michaels Alexander Miethke and Etsuko Adachi Les and Joan Miley Bradley Miller Tom and Carolyn Miller Dr. and Mrs. E. Huxley Miller Mr. and Mrs. James L. Miller Mr. James M. Miller Mark and Kate Miller Ms. Sue Miller Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Miller Drs. Robert and Elaine Miller Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Miller Dr. and Mrs. Theodore H. Miller Terence G. Milligan Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. Mills Becky Milostan Ms. Sonia R. Milrod James and Margo Minutolo Theodore Mitchel Veronica Mitchell Nora and Daniel Mollmann Ms. Kathy S. Molony Richard and Sue Momeyer Ms. Susanne E. Monteith Mr. and Mrs. Jesse F. Montgomery III Charles and Sally Moomaw Eileen W. and James R. Moon Leonard and Terry Moore Mr. Michael T. Moore, Jr. Joseph and Linda Moravec David and Judith Morgan Regeana and Al Morgan Mr. and Mrs. Russ Morrison Thomas and Fran Morrison

78 | 2025–26 SEASON

Kay Mosgrove Mr. and Mrs. Kevin R. Mosher Mr. and Mrs. Gates Moss Mary Lou Motl Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Mottola David Mueller Ms. Joyce A. Mueller Mrs. Kathleen Mueller Elaine Mueninghoff Ms. Jane Mueninghoff Mr. and Mrs. James E. Muething Renee Murray Gloria Murry Michael Murry Kevin and Lane Muth Faye Myers Patricia Myers and Alan Flaherty Ms. Phyllis A. Myers Adrienne Noble Nacev Mr. and Mrs. James S. Nash Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Nawalaniec Jeremy Neff Patricia Neidhard Larry Neuman Paul Neumann Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Newcomer Mr. Gerald Newfarmer and Ms. Amy Paul Mr. and Mrs. George W. Newman Mr. Robert B. Newman and Ms. Mary Asbury Roy and Cheryl Newman Mrs. Christine E. Neyer Victor and Luana Nichifor Jim and Sharon Nichols Ron Nicholson Joseph Nicolas Greg and Lisa Niehaus Margo Nienaber Hiroshi & Hiroko Nishiyama Mark Noe Mr. John C. Noelcke Susan Noelcke Ms. Julie B. Northrop Heather Norton Mr. and Mrs. Bruce F. Nutley Ms. Sylvia Imes O’Bannon Mrs. Deborah Oberlag Mr. and Mrs. Daniel B. O’Brien Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. O’Brien Bill and Mary Carol O’Brien Mr. Edward A. O’Connell and Ms. Susan Dreibelbis James O’Connell Kathleen O’Connell and Kenneth Peterson Maura O’Connor Dr. and Mrs. Alan E. Oestreich Erin O’Grady Ms. Erna Olafson Mr. R. Lee Oliver Mr. Gary S. Oppito Mr. Fred C. Orth III and Ms. Marlene Miner Dr. Nan L. Oscherwitz Hanna Osinska Mr. and Mrs. James Osterburg Acton Ostling Prof. and Mrs. Daniel E. Otero Mrs. Carol A. O’Toole Vicki Otting Jack and Sue Paas Marian Paola Jill and Aaron Parker Dr. and Mrs. Carl L. Parrott , Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Milton Partridge Manisha Patel and Michael Curran Waltke Paulding Roger and Marlene Paulinelli Mr. and Mrs. Graham Paxton Charlie and Tara Pease Claire Peasley Poul D. and JoAnne Pedersen Jeffrey and Anna Peloquin Mrs. Sue C. Pepple Susan Perry Mr. James S. Petera and Ms. Lora S. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Richard Peterson Rev. Dr. David V. Schwab Mr. and Mrs. Ken P. Petrus Daniel Pfahl Carol A. and Edwin A. Pfetzing Stefan and Ina Pfuhler Mr. Stephen L. Phillips Steve and Lynn Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Pichler

Richard and Cynthia Piening Jerry and Marcia Pike Mr. and Mrs. Martin Pinales John Pinney and Lyn Marsteller Dr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Pohlman George and Anne Polak Mark and Kim Pomeroy Chef Bill Porter Michael Potticary and Tellervo Juula-Potticary Dr. and Mrs. Peter S. Poulos Ms. Nancy M. Powell Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Powers Dennis and Bonnie Pratte Susan Prince and Matthew Ward Drs. Marcia Kaplan and Michael Privitera Ms. Priscilla J. Prouty Mr. and Mrs. Art Provenzano Robert Przygoda David and Brenda Puckett David and Susan Pugh Steven and Sharon Pyrak Gordon and Diana Queen Michael and Katherine Rademacher Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Rainey Ms. Mary Lou Rakel Mike and Beverly Ralston John Rapach Mr. and Mrs. Paul C. Rapien Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Raptis Ms. Constance S. Rave Mr. and Mrs. J. Kent Rawlings Mr. and Mrs. Mark Reckman Angela Reed Erin Reed Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Reed Clinton Reese Mr. and Mrs. Allan T. Reeves Mr. William D. Reid and Mrs. Anne Cushing-Reid Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Reigle Cheryl Reiman Judy Reinhold Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth A. Reis Mr. Michael Rench Patricia Ressler Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Revelson Mr. Frank Reynolds Vicky and Rick Reynolds Marsha Reynolds Dusty and Jo Ann Rhodes Mr. Jerry Rice Ms. Pamela S. Rice Becky and Ted Richards Mrs. Kathy F. Richardson Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Riesenbeck Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Riga Mr. and Mrs. J. Timothy Riker Ms. Janice Ring Karen and Mark RingswaldEgan Sparkle Rinsky Ms. Sandra Rivers Gale Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Robertshaw Mr. Douglas Robinson Herbert Robinson and Barbara Sferra Mr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Robinson Ms. Susan Robinson Suzanne and Craig Robinson Laurie and Daniel Roche John D and Linda N Rockaway Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Rodner Donald and Constance Roesch John and Beth Roeseler Dave and Tricia Roettker Mr. Tom Rolfes Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Rosborough Mr. and Mrs. J. David Rosenberg Jeanette Rosing Mrs. Bettina Ross Ms. Annette Roth Mrs. Monique Rothschild Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rouse Leonard and Julie Rowekamp Ms. Judy Ruehl Dr. Deborah K. Rufner Mr. Nick Ruotolo Krysia Rush Ms. Lisa Russell Peter and Joy Rutan Robert and Carolyn Rutter Margene Ryberg Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Rybolt Ryan and Kara Rybolt Mr. Gregory R. Saelens

Mrs. Iris M. Sageser Mr. and Mrs. Alan Sakalas Paul and Karen Saleba Ms. Cheryl A. Sallwasser Ms. Nancy L. Sanchez Lee Ann and John Sander David Sandor and Mary Zins Harry and Ann Santen Mrs. Germaine L. Santos Dr. Richard S. Sarason and Anne S. Arenstein Bradley Sarchet Cortlund and Holly Sattler Mr. and Mrs. David J. Savage , Jr. Dr. and Mrs. E. Don Nelson Christian Schaefer Susan Schapiro James and Renee Scharf Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Scharfenberger Cindy A. Scheets Mr. and Mrs. David Schieve David and Catherine Schildknecht Mark S. and Rosemary K. Schlachter Christopher Schleifer Mr. Wayne S. Schleutker Daniel and Diana Schloemer David Schloss David and Nancy Schlothauer David and Margaret Schlueter Richard Schlueter and Linda Knox Mr. Jeff Miller Dr. and Mrs. Michael Schmerler Mr. and Mrs. Michael Schmidt Mrs. and Mr. Philip Schmidt George Schmitz Mr. C. Robert Schmuelling and Ms. Susan Cohen Amy Schneider Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Schneider Mr. and Mrs. Paul Schneider Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Schnell Jerry and Ann Schoen Dennis Schoeny Mr. and Mrs. Timothy H. Schoonover Caryn Schraffenberger Julia Schrage Marylee Schreibeis Bill Schreiner Ms. Carol J. Schroeder Michael and Digi Schueler Dr.and Mrs. Fritz L. Schuermeyer Mr. Arthur K. Schuler Marcia Schulte Kenneth Schonberg and Deborah Schultz Mr. Steven R. Schultz Ms. Christine Schumacher Peter and Sany Schwaller Mr. Alan Schwartz Ms. Carol J. Schweitzer Mr. and Mrs. David Schwieterman Joseph and Stephanie Sciamanna Ms. Julia Scofield Mark Scott and Misa Ito Ms. L. Susan Pace David Scutt Linda Sears Beverly Seibert Bruce and Jan Seidel David and Sandy Seiwert Rachelle Sekerka Steven Selss Mrs. Thomas P. Semancik Ms. Jean Sens Ms. Stephanie Sepate Mr. and Ms. Thomas Sewall Martin and Barb Sexton Ms. Janice F. Seymour Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Shaffer Douglas and Janyce Sharpnack Ms. Martha Sharts Megan Sharts Drs. Mick and Nancy Shaughnessy Mr. and Mrs. Fred Shaw Robert Shaw Vickie Shei Mark and Mary Sherman Mr. and Mrs. Bruce M. Sherwood Mr. and Mrs. Laurence A. Shiplett Ms. Brenda R. Shonfield Samuel and Sharon Shreve Stanley and Jane Shulman Mr. Eli E. Shupe, Jr. Nancy Shupe Mr. and Mrs. David C. Siebenhar Cynthia Sieber Daniel and Karen Siegfried

Opus 50 & 25 SUBSCRIBERS Mr. and Mrs. Jay Sien Lise and Kevin Sigward Deborah Silverman, M.D. William Simms and Margaret Luongo Dr. and Mrs. Barry J. Simon Mr. and Mrs. Irwin B. Simon Ms. Kathleen Simon Mrs. Linda Simon Ashley Simpson Arthur and Inger Slavin Joanne M and John G Slovisky Mrs. Heidi M. Smakula David and Tracy M Small Anne Smith David and Margaret Smith Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Smith J. K. and Vicki Smith Ms. Michele A. Smith Dr. Jennifer S. Smith Mr. Richard K. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Smith , Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith Timothy Smith and Penny Poirier William Smith and Joan Jansen-Smith William and Jane Smith Yelena and Ilya Smolyansky Mrs. Joanne Sonnenberg Stanley D and Susanne T Sorensen Alexandre Sousa James Spence Brian and Christeena Spengler Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Speno Mr. Matthew J. Spiro Ms. Paula A. Spitzmiller Ron and Sue Spohr Mr. and Mrs. Richard R. Sprigg Kayla Springer Mary Stagaman and Ron Kull Sterling and Brenda Staggs Eric Stamler and Elizabeth Rabkin Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Staneck Sharon and Donald Stanton John Staup Matt and Shannon Stautberg Marlene Steele Mr. and Mrs. William G. Steenken Matthew Stegall Mrs. Trista K. Stegman Mr. and Mrs. Jacob K. Stein Susan and Jonathan Steinberg John Stengel Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Stenken Ms. Julia C. Stephen Carol Stephenson Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Stephenson Ms. Marjorie A. Stephenson Mr. Richard Sternberg Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Stevens Chester and Barbara Stewart Mr. and Mrs. Francis H. Stewart Jason Stitt Joseph and Stephanie Stitt Miss Judy Stockmeier and Mr. Raymond Dick Mr. and Mrs. Gary E. Stoelting Joe and Gladys Stolz Mr. John K. Stone Diana Stoppiello Ms. Margaret M. Story Mr. Victor Shaffer Mr. Brett A. Stover Samuel and Dottie Stover Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Stradling Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Strassel

Dr. Joseph Stratman Mrs. Gerri Strauss Kathy Street Teresa Stubbs Ms. Judith A. Stubenrauch Rodney and Mary Stucky Kay Sudbrack Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sugerman Glenda Suttman Jean Swartley and Steven Rodenberg Lora Swedberg Mr. and Mrs. Andrew E. Sweeny, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Francis R. Szecskay Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Tami Ms. Reiko Tanaka Alan and Shelley Tarshis Mr. Ralph C. Taylor , Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Tegarden Kathy Teipen Steven and Linda Templin Mr. and Mrs. John A. Tensing Jeanette Tepe Carlos and Roberta Teran Richard and Nancy Tereba Nate and Linda Tetrick Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thatcher Mr. and Mrs. Mark M. Thomas Rebecca Thomas Robert and Pamela Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Thomas James L. Thompson Minda Thompson Dr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Thompson Sarah and Neil Thorburn Mr. and Mrs. William P. Thurman David Tietsort Mrs. Helga Tillinghast Mr. and Mrs. William Tipkemper Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Tobin Matt Todaro Mr. Michael R. Toensmeyer Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Togneri Rita Tome Mr. and Mrs. Ed Topmiller Mr. Dennis Trchka Roger and Vickie Treece Paul and Diana Trenkamp McClellan and Paulette Tribble Mr. Timothy E. Troendle Suzanne Trubee Mr. and Ms. Robert H. Turner , Jr. Mr. and Ms. Clifford J. Turrell Twin Lakes at Montgomery Phil Tworek and Thomas Umfrid James Uber and Lotush Chang Ms. Mary M. Uhlenbrock Mr. and Mrs. Alan J. Ullman Kari and Jonathan Ullman Michael and Ann Ullman Randy Ulses and Michael Smith D. Van Lokeren Mr. and Mrs. David VanSice Cenalo and Mary Vaz Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Veid Mr. and Mrs. Todd W. Veigel Susan Vergamini Judith Vermillion Ms. Mary U. Vicario Mr. and Mrs. Miguel Villalba Mrs. Mary Ellen H. Villalobos Timothy Vincze Mr. and Mrs. Christopher F. Virgulak Kathy Vissman William Vodegel and Jennifer Molony Ms. Molly A. Vollmer Joan Von Handorf

Mr. and Mrs. James K. Votaw Devorah Waesch Barb Wagner Nancy Wagner and Patricia Wagner Elmer and Judy Wahl Mr. and Mrs. James A. Waldfogle Jeffrey Waldron Priscilla Walford Jane Walker Matthew and Diana Wallace Robert and Joan Wallace Dr. Ingrid M. Wallner-Ritschel Mr. and Mrs. Denis F. Walsh Patrick J and Bonnie A Walsh Gerry and Carenjean Walter Helen Walters Ms. Lesly Sue H. Walters Mr. Michael L. Walton Mr. Michael L. Walton Ms. Sarella M. Walton Daniel and Rebecca Ward Dr. Robert J. Warden Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Ware Mrs. Ginger Warner Mr. and Mrs. Howard P. Warner Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Warner Robert and Leslie Warnock Claude and Camilla Warren Frederick and Jo Anne Warren Mr. and Mrs. Chad Warwick Raymond and Maureen Wash Michael and Ellen Wathen Patrice Watson and Teresa Harten Mrs. Louise Watts James and Carol Waugh Laura Weaver Dr. and Mrs. Barry W. Webb Ms. Karen Webb Mr. and Mrs. Terry N. Webb Ms. Gretchen Webb Dr. and Mrs. Warren A. Webster Robert and Joann Weckman Ms. Marilyn J. Wehri J. Gregory and Diane Wehrman Mr. Gerald Weigle, Jr. Richard and Ervena Weingartner Alta Weinkam Mary Ann Weiss Jerome and Connie Wellbrock Mrs. Donna A. Welsch Suzanne Wera Ms. Anne M. Werner Mark Wert and Mark Johnson Mr. and Mrs. James E. Wesner DeeDee and Gary West Mr. and Mrs. John David West Dave Westendorf Mr. John H. Westenkirchner Carol Westermeyer Ray and Elaine Westrich Susan Westrick Mr. and Mrs. Howard Wetzler Dr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Whitlatch Jeffrey and Dorinda Whitsett Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Whittenburg Mrs. Ann Wicks Mrs. Constance C. Widmer David Wieczorek and Dorothy Sheehy-Wieczorek Glay and Nancy Wiegand Ms. Jo Ann Wieghaus Janice T. Wieland Mr. and Mrs. Garth Wiley Lucia Wilford

Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Wilhelm Justin and Jennifer Wilkey Daniel and Heidi Wilkin Charles Wilkinson Glenn and Elaine Williams Mr. and Mrs. James A. Williams Dr. Jeffrey C. Williams Ms. Sheila J. Williams Ms. Catherine S. Willis Steve and Nancy W Wills Joe and Ann Wilmers Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Winter Mr. and Mrs. John W. Wintz Linda Wisher Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Wissel Ms. Barbara J. Witte Jane Wittke Tom Woeber Mr. and Mrs. Craig V. Wolf Guy Wolf and Jane Misiewicz Gary and Cindy Mr. and Mrs. Donald Wolnik Steve and Katie Wolnitzek Regina and Joseph Wolterman Mr. and Mrs. David H. Wood Mr. and Mrs. Carl Woodrow Mr. Tom Woodruff Nancy Woods Dr. and Mrs. Mark Workman Mr. and Mrs. William A. Wortman Charles Wright Donald and Carol Wuebbling Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Wuestefeld Mr. Alvin Wulfekuhl Ms. Susan Mineer-Wulsin Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Wyght Mr. and Mrs. Wayne C. Wykoff Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Wylly Stavra Xanthakos & Helmut Roehrig John M. Yacher Emel Yakali Patricia Yates Robert and Judy Yeager Chuck and Carole Ann Yeazell Mr. and Mrs. David C. Youmans Dona Young Mr. Jim Young David Youngblood and Ellen Rosenman R. Scott and Kathy Youngquist Barbara Zahler Janet Zeigler Mr. and Mrs. John E. Zeller Patricia Zerbe Karen Ziegler Moritz and Barbara Ziegler Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Ziek , Jr. Joseph and Lisa Zielinski Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Zierolf Mrs. Irene Zigoris Mr. and Mrs. James M. Zimmerman Ms. Sue Zimmerman Richard Zinicola and Linda Holthaus Dr. and Mrs. David C. Zink David and Judy Zinn Ms. Judith P. Zinsser Mr. and Mrs. Jon Zipperstein Ms. Mary L. Zubelik Daniel Zuck and Susmita Kashikar-Zuck

THANK YOU, LOYAL SUBSCRIBERS!

Fanfare Magazine | 79

Administration SHARED SERVICES & SUBSIDIARIES. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s business model is unique within the orchestral industry because it provides administrative services for other nonprofits and operates two subsidiary companies — Music & Event Management, Inc. and EVT Management LLC. With the consolidation of resources and expertise, sharing administrative services allows for all organizations within the model to thrive. Under this arrangement, the CSO produces hundreds of events in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton regions and employs hundreds of people annually.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM Robert McGrath President & CEO Harold Brown The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones Chief Inclusion Officer John Clapp Chief Orchestra & Production Officer Gregory Lee Chief Financial Officer Felecia Tchen Kanney Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Mary McFadden Lawson Chief Philanthropy Officer Anthony Paggett Chief Artistic Officer Kyle Wynk-Sivashankar Chief People Officer EXECUTIVE OFFICE Shannon Faith Executive Assistant to the President & CEO ARTISTIC PLANNING Julia Gaines Artistic Planning Intern Theresa Lansberry Manager of Artistic Planning & Artist Servicing Shuta Maeno Manager of Artistic Planning & Assistant to the Music Director Sam Strater Senior Advisor for Cincinnati Pops Planning

FINANCE, IT & DATA SERVICES Julian Cann Accounting Clerk Leia Chan Finance Intern Kathleen Curry Data Entry Clerk Elizabeth Engwall Accounting Manager Spencer Enright Accounting Clerk Matt Grady Accounting Manager Sharon Grayton Data Services Manager Marijane Klug Staff Accountant

Hannah Boettcher Marketing Intern KC Commander Director of Digital Content & Innovation Maria Cordes Video Editor Jon Dellinger Growth Marketing Manager Drew Dolan Box Office Manager

Angelina Bush Philanthropy Intern

Kristina Pfeiffer Director of Finance

Jensen Fitch Publicity Manager

Maddie Denning Institutional Giving Coordinator

Judy Simpson Director of Finance

Gabriela Godinez Feregrino Publications Manager

Tara Williams Data Services Manager

Daniel Lees Assistant Box Office Manager

Kate Farinacci Director of Special Campaigns & Legacy Giving

HUMAN RESOURCES & PAYROLL Megan Inderbitzin-Tsai Director of Payroll Services

Michelle Lewandowski Director of Marketing

Monica Lange Payroll & Human Resources Assistant Natalia Lerzundi Human Resources Manager

Pamela Jayne Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager

Kyle Lamb School Programs Manager Jack Obermeyer Youth Orchestras Manager Anja Ormiston Learning Department Coordinator Hannah Ross Director of Learning

Tina Marshall Director of Ticketing & Audience Services Wendy Marshall Group Sales Manager Madelyn McArthur Audience Engagement Manager Nyla Nawab Communications Intern Amber Ostaszewski Director of Audience Engagement Devon Pine Subscription Marketing Manager Tyler Secor Director of Communications & Content Development Alexis Shambley Audience Development Marketing Manager Lee Snow Digital Content Technology Manager Elise Wells Digital Content Intern

80 | 2025–26 SEASON

PHILANTHROPY Sean Baker Director of Institutional Giving

Shannon May Accounting Clerk

LEARNING Hollie Greenwood Learning Department Coordinator

Andrea Saavedra Ferreira Community Engagement Intern

Leon Barton Website Manager

Patron Services Representatives Hannah Blanchette, Lead Talor Marren, Lead Lucas Maurer, Lead Marian Mayen, Lead Gregory Patterson, Lead Andy Demczuk Craig Doolin Abby Dreith Jacob Forte Ebony Jackson Grace Mattina Scott Molnar Kathleen Riemenschneider Mekhi Tyree

Kaitlyn Driesen Digital Media & Label Services Manager

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Key Crooms Director of Community Engagement

Molly Rains Community Engagement Events Manager

MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL MEDIA Charlie Balcom Social Media Manager

Ashley Coffey Foundation & Grants Manager

Catherine Hann Assistant Director of Individual Giving Rachel Hellebusch Corporate Giving Manager Leslie Hoggatt-Minutolo Director of Individual Giving & Donor Services Quinton Jefferson Research & Grants Administrator Ethan Mann Donor Engagement Coordinator D’Anté McNeal Special Projects Manager Emma Steward Leadership Giving Manager PRODUCTION Laura Bordner Adams Director of Operations Shawnta Hunter Production Intern Alex Magg Production Manager Isabella Prater Production Coordinator Brenda Tullos Director of Orchestra Personnel Rachel Vondra Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Upcoming Concerts Tickets on sale now

MAR 2026

CLASSICAL ROOTS MAR 28 SAT 7:30 PM*

BEETHOVEN & RAVEL

FEB 28 & MAR 1 SAT 7:30 PM & SUN 2 PM Samuel Lee conductor Jean-Efflam Bavouzet piano Louise Farrenc Overture No. 2 Maurice Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 4 Winstead Chamber Series

John Morris Russell conductor Classical Roots Community Choir Jason Alexander Holmes resident conductor For over two decades, Classical Roots has been a Cincinnati community staple celebrating the rich legacy of African American music.

APR 2026 BEN RECTOR: Symphonies Across America with Jon McLaughlin

QUARTETS THROUGH TIME

MAR 3 TUE 7:30 PM

Grażyna Bacewicz Quartet for Four Violins Bedřich Smetana String Quartet No. 1, From My Life Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 10, Harp

BRAHMS & SCHUMANN

MAR 6 & 7 FRI 11 AM & SAT 7:30 PM* Louis Langrée conductor Clayton Stephenson piano (2023 Nina Simone Piano Competition Winner)

APR 7 TUE 7:30 PM

Ben Rector singer-songwriter Jon McLaughlin singer-songwriter Enrico Lopez-Yañez conductor Ben Rector returns for a one-ofa-kind acoustic show blending the intimacy of guitar and piano with the strength of a full symphony orchestra.

RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 2 APR 11 & 12 SAT 7:30 PM & SUN 2 PM

Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 Robert Schumann Symphony No. 4

Ramón Tebar conductor James Ehnes violin

*This performance will be livestreamed on the CSO’s YouTube channel, cincinnatisymphony.org/live.

Margaret Brouwer Pulse Max Bruch Scottish Fantasy Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2

AMERICAN MOSAIC

MAR 13–15 FRI & SAT 7:30 PM; SUN 2 PM*

THE MUSIC OF STUDIO GHIBLI

John Morris Russell conductor Martin Sheen narrator

Wilbur Lin conductor

APR 14 TUE 7:30 PM

From Spirited Away to My Neighbor Totoro, conjure the animated universe of Studio Ghibli with the spellbinding music of Joe Hisaishi.

Celebrate the land, cities, towns, people and spirit of the United States for its 250th birthday.

BEETHOVEN, MOZART & HAYDN

M a rt

n in S hee

MAR 20 & 21 FRI & SAT 7:30 PM James Conlon conductor Renaud Capuçon violin Franz Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 103, Drum Roll Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3, Strassburg Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 2

MENDELSSOHN SYMPHONY NO. 3

APR 17 & 18 FRI 11 AM & SAT 7:30 PM Kristiina Poska conductor Lise de la Salle piano Julia Adolphe Underneath the Sheen Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3, Scottish

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