Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: March, 2023

DEAR FRIENDS, M

usic in Our Schools Month is so important to us at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, both because our education programs serve dedicated music educators who are “in the trenches” on a day-to-day basis; and also because none of us would be where we are, working in music, if it weren’t for our own special music teachers. In our feature story this month, we have profiled a few of the great music teachers in the Atlanta area.

Speaking personally, my school music teachers were some of the most influential people in my life. The first teacher who lit a fire in me was our middle school band director, Mrs. Averill. Her down-to-business manner made us work hard to stretch our skills, and she gave us a great grounding in what it meant to be an ensemble. She also identified talented students and encouraged us to compete in solo and ensemble competitions and audition for youth orchestras.

In high school, our band director Mr. Seanor generously heaped extra help and praise on students he identified as having the talent to pursue further musical studies. He went above and beyond with one friend in particular, becoming like a second father to him. My friend is now an inspiring high school band director too.

School music teachers do so much more than just teach technical skills— they build community, provide leadership, and inspire students to do great things. Being a band, orchestra or choir director is a calling, not a job, requiring long hours and extra effort. I am thankful for my school music teachers, and am proud that in my job at the ASO we have the opportunity to support their essential work.

If you love music, I encourage you to take time to thank a music teacher this month, or take a moment to write to a school or district administrator in support of strong music programs.

Thank you for all you do to support great music in our community!

With gratitude,

Jennifer Barlament, Executive Director

ASO | NATHALIE STUTZMANN

The 2022/23 season marks an exciting new era for the ASO as Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann takes her role as our fifth Music Director, making her the only woman leading a major American orchestra. She has also served as the Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 2021 and Chief Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway since 2018.

Nathalie Stutzmann is considered one of the most outstanding musical personalities of our time. Charismatic musicianship combined with unique rigour, energy and fantasy characterize her style. A rich variety of strands form the core of her repertoire: Central European and Russian romanticism is a strong focus—ranging from Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Dvořák through to the larger symphonic forces of Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner and Strauss—as well as French 19thcentury repertoire and impressionism.

Highlights as guest conductor in the next seasons include debut performances with the Munich, New York and Helsinki Philharmonics. She will also return to the London Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris.

Having also established a strong reputation as an opera conductor, Nathalie has led celebrated productions of Wagner’s Tannhäuser in Monte Carlo and Boito’s Mefistofele at the Orange festival. She began the 2022/23 season with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Pikovaya Dama in The Royal Theater of La Monnaie in Brussels and will make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera this season with two productions of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte reunite with Wagner’s Tannhäuser for a production at the Bayreuth in 2023.

As one of today’s most esteemed contraltos, she has done more than 80 recordings and received the most prestigious awards. Her newest album released in January 2021, Contralto, was awarded the Scherzo’s “Exceptional” seal, Opera Magazine’s Diamant d’Or and radio RTL’s Classique d’Or. She is an exclusive recording artist of Warner Classics/Erato.

Nathalie was named “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur,” France’s highest honor, and “Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government.

SIMON FOWLER

ASO | LEADERSHIP | 2022/23 Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Patrick Viguerie chair

Janine Brown immediate past chair

Bert Mills treasurer

Angela Evans secretary

DIRECTORS

Phyllis Abramson

Keith Adams

Juliet M. Allan

Susan Antinori

Andrew Bailey

Jennifer Barlament*

Paul Blackney

Rita Bloom

Zachary Boeding*

Janine Brown

Benjamin Q. Brunt

Betsy Camp

S. Wright Caughman, M.D.

Lisa Chang

Susan Clare

Russell Currey

Sheila Lee Davies

Erroll Brown Davis, Jr.

Carlos del Rio, M.D. FIDSA

Lisa DiFrancesco, M.D.

Sloane Drake

Lynn Eden

Angela Evans

Craig Frankel

Sally Bogle Gable

Anne Game

Rod Garcia-Escudero

Sally Frost George

Robert Glustrom

Bonnie B. Harris

Charles Harrison

Tad Hutcheson, Jr.

Roya Irvani

Joia Johnson

Susan Antinori vice chair

Lynn Eden vice chair

Chris Kopecky

Randolph J. Koporc

Carrie Kurlander

James H. Landon

Donna Lee

Sukai Liu

Kevin Lyman

Deborah Marlowe

Shelley McGehee

Arthur Mills IV

Bert Mills

Molly Minnear

Hala Moddelmog*

Terence L. Neal

Galen Lee Oelkers

Dr. John Paddock

Howard D. Palefsky

Cathleen Quigley

BOARD OF COUNSELORS

James Rubright vice chair

Doug Reid

James Rubright

William Schultz

Charles Sharbaugh

Fahim Siddiqui

W. Ross Singletary, II

John Sparrow

Elliott Tapp

Brett Tarver

S. Patrick Viguerie

Kathy Waller

Mark D. Wasserman

Chris Webber

John B. White, Jr.

Richard S. White, Jr.

Kevin E. Woods, M.D., M.P.H.

Neil Berman

John W. Cooledge, M.D.

John R. Donnell, Jr.

Jere A. Drummond

Carla Fackler

Charles B. Ginden

John T. Glover

Dona Humphreys

Aaron J. Johnson, Jr.

Ben F. Johnson, III

James F. Kelley

Patricia Leake

Karole F. Lloyd

LIFE DIRECTORS

Howell E. Adams, Jr.

*Ex-Officio Board Member

Connie Calhoun

Meghan H. Magruder

Penelope McPhee

Patricia H. Reid

Joyce Schwob

John A Sibley, III

H. Hamilton Smith

G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr.

Michael W. Trapp

Ray Uttenhove

Chilton Varner

Adair M. White

Sue Sigmon Williams

C. Merrell Calhoun

Azira G. Hill

ASO | 2022/23 Musician Roster

Nathalie Stutzmann music director

The Robert Reid Topping Chair

FIRST

VIOLIN

David Coucheron concertmaster

The Mr. and Mrs. Howard R. Peevy Chair

Justin Bruns

associate concertmaster

The Charles McKenzie Taylor Chair

Vacant assistant concertmaster

Jun-Ching Lin assistant concertmaster

Anastasia Agapova acting assistant

concertmaster

Kevin Chen

Carolyn Toll Hancock

The Wells Fargo Chair

John Meisner

Christopher Pulgram

Juan R. Ramírez Hernández

Olga Shpitko

Kenn Wagner

Lisa Wiedman Yancich

Sissi Yuqing Zhang

SECTION VIOLIN ‡

Judith Cox

Raymond Leung

The Carolyn McClatchey Chair

Sanford Salzinger

SECOND VIOLIN

Vacant principal

The Atlanta Symphony Associates Chair

Sou-Chun Su acting / associate principal

The Frances Cheney Boggs Chair

Jay Christy acting associate / assistantprincipal

Dae Hee Ahn

Robert Anemone

Noriko Konno Clift

David Dillard

Sheela Iyengar**

Eun Young Jung•

Eleanor Kosek

Yaxin Tan•

Rachel Ostler

VIOLA

Zhenwei Shi principal

The Edus H. and Harriet H. Warren Chair

Paul Murphy associate principal

The Mary and Lawrence Gellerstedt Chair

Catherine Lynn assistant principal

Marian Kent

Yang-Yoon Kim

Yiyin Li

Lachlan McBane

Jessica Oudin

Madeline Sharp

CELLO

Rainer Eudeikis* principal

The Miriam and John Conant Chair

Daniel Laufer acting / associate principal

The Livingston Foundation Chair

Karen Freer acting associate / assistant principal

Thomas Carpenter

Joel Dallow

The UPS Foundation Chair

Peter Garrett•**

Brad Ritchie

Denielle Wilson•**

BASS

Joseph McFadden principal

The Marcia and John Donnell Chair

Gloria Jones Allgood associate principal

The Lucy R. & Gary Lee Jr. Chair

Karl Fenner

Michael Kenady

The Jane Little Chair

Michael Kurth

Nicholas Scholefield•

Daniel Tosky

FLUTE

Christina Smith principal

The Jill Hertz Chair

Robert Cronin associate principal

C. Todd Skitch

Gina Hughes

PICCOLO

Gina Hughes

Players in string sections are listed alphabetically | ‡ Rotates between sections | * Leave of absence |

Sir Donald Runnicles

principal guest conductor; The Neil & Sue Williams Chair

OBOE

Elizabeth Koch Tiscione principal

The George M. and Corrie Hoyt Brown Chair

Zachary Boeding associate principal

The Kendeda Fund Chair

Samuel Nemec

Emily Brebach

ENGLISH HORN

Emily Brebach

CLARINET

Vacant principal

The Robert Shaw Chair

The Mabel Dorn Reeder Honorary Chair

Ted Gurch acting / associate principal

Marci Gurnow

Alcides Rodriguez

E-FLAT CLARINET

Ted Gurch

BASS CLARINET

Alcides Rodriguez

BASSOON

Andrew Brady* principal

The Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation Chair

Anthony Georgeson acting / associate principal

Laura Najarian

Juan de Gomar

Jerry Hou resident conductor; music director of the atlanta symphony youth orchestra

The Zeist Foundation Chair

CONTRA-BASSOON

Juan de Gomar

HORN

Vacant principal

The Betty Sands Fuller Chair

Susan Welty acting / associate principal

Kimberly Gilman

Bruce Kenney

TRUMPET

Stuart Stephenson* principal

The Madeline and Howell Adams Chair

Michael Tiscione acting / associate principal

Anthony Limoncelli

Mark Maliniak

William Cooper•**

TROMBONE

Vacant principal

The Terence L. Neal Chair, Honoring his dedication and service to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Nathan Zgonc acting / associate principal

Jason Patrick Robins

BASS TROMBONE

Vacant

The Home Depot Veterans Chair

TUBA

Michael Moore principal

The Delta Air Lines Chair

Norman Mackenzie director of choruses

The Frannie & Bill Graves Chair

TIMPANI

Mark Yancich principal

The Walter H. Bunzl Chair

Michael Stubbart assistant principal

PERCUSSION

Joseph Petrasek principal

The Julie and Arthur Montgomery Chair

Vacant assistant principal

The William A. Schwartz Chair

Michael Stubbart

The Connie and Merrell Calhoun Chair

HARP

Elisabeth Remy Johnson principal

The Sally and Carl Gable Chair

KEYBOARD

The Hugh and Jessie Hodgson Memorial Chair

Peter Marshall †

Sharon Berenson †

LIBRARY

Vacant principal

The Marianna & Solon Patterson Chair

Hannah Davis asyo / assistant librarian

Members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Advisory Council is a group of passionate and engaged individuals who act as both ambassadors and resources for the ASO Board and staff. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra extends heartfelt gratitude to the members listed on this page.

2022/23 CHAIRS

Arthur Mills, IV advisory council chair

Justin Im internal connections task force co-chair

Robert Lewis, Jr. internal connections task force co-chair

Frances Root patron experience task force chair

Jane Morrison

diversity & community connection task force co-chair

Eleina Raines

diversity & community connection task force co-chair

Cindy Smith

diversity & community connection task force co-chair

Otis Threatt

diversity & community connection task force co-chair

MEMBERS

Dr. Marshall & Stephanie Abes

Krystal Ahn

Paul Aldo

Evelyn Babey

Keith Barnett

Asad & Sakina Bashey

Meredith W. Bell

Jane Blount

Carol Brantley & David Webster

Cristina Briboneria

Tracey Chu

Donald & Barbara Defoe

Paul & Susan Dimmick

Bernadette Drankoski

Diana Einterz

Bruce Flower

John Fuller

Tucker Green

Caroline Hofland

Justin Im

Baxter Jones & Jiong Yan

Brian & Ann Kimsey

Jason & Michelle Kroh

Scott Lampert

Dr. Fulton Lewis III & Mr. Neal Rhoney

Robert Lewis, Jr.

Eunice Luke

Belinda Massafra

Erica McVicker

Arthur Mills IV

Berthe & Shapour

Mobasser

Bert Mobley

Caroline & Phil Moïse

Anne Morgan

Sue Morgan

Jane Morrison

Tatiana Nemo

Gary Noble

Bethani Oppenheimer

Chris Owes

Margie Painter

Ralph Paulk

Regina Olchowski

Eliza Quigley

Eleina Raines

Felicia Rives

Frances A. Root

Thomas & Lynne Saylor

Jim Schroder

Suzanne Shull

Baker Smith

Cindy Smith

Peter & Kristi Stathopoulos

Tom & Ani Steele

Kimberly Strong

Stephen & Sonia Swartz

George & Amy Taylor

Bob & Dede Thompson

Otis Threatt Jr.

Cathy Toren

Sheila Tschinkel

Roxanne Varzi

Robert & Amy Vassey

Juliana Vincenzino

Robert Walt

Nanette Wenger

Kiki Wilson

Taylor Winn

Camille Yow

For more information about becoming an Advisory Council member, please contact Cheri Snyder at cheri.snyder@atlantasymphony.org or 404.733.4904.

CARLOS SIMON: Fate Now Conquers

BRITTEN: Violin Concerto

BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique

Stéphane Denève, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

APR 13/15

MOZART: The Magic Flute Overture

MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto

SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 9

Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor

Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Presented with support from

APR 20/21

LERA AUERBACH: Icarus

WAGNER: “Dawn” and “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey” from Götterdämmerung

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: A Sea Symphony

Nicholas Carter, conductor

Nicole Cabell, soprano

Lucas Meachem, baritone

ASO Chorus

APR 27/29

Season presented by Programs, dates and artists are subject to change.

ASO Salutes Music Educators

By Holly Hanchey

This month, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) joins communities across the country in celebrating school music programs and their teachers. For over 30 years, the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) has designated March as “Music in Our Schools Month,” with the purpose of raising awareness of the importance of music education for all children. Daily, school music programs are positively impacting the social, academic, and personal growth of the younger generation. The ASO is proud to partner in that mission for metro Atlanta schools and beyond.

Each year, thousands of young musicians engage with ASO education programs including the field trip series Students at the Symphony, the ASO’s Talent Development Program (TDP), a diversity youth training initiative now in its twenty-ninth year, and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO), now in its forty-ninth season. The ASO recognizes that none of this can be accomplished without the educators behind these young musicians. The list of music educators associated with the ASO is vast. Music educators facilitate ASO programs for families and schools. Hundreds of school music teachers are alumni of TDP and ASYO. And of course, every musician on the stage has a school music educator who assisted in their journey to Symphony Hall. In recognition of “Music in Our Schools Month,” the ASO shares the stories of a few exceptional educators special to the organization.

Jeffrey Rowser

Morgan County High School’s band director, Jeffrey Rowser, was inducted into the National High School Band Directors Hall of Fame, awarded the “Legion of Honor” from the John Phillip Sousa Foundation, and named the Georgia Music Educators Association Distinguished Career recipient, all in 2022.

Mr. Rowser has been a Georgia music educator for more than 40 years. His career accolades stem from the success of his ensembles: superior ratings in GMEA State Festival Concert Band performances and sight-reading for 40 consecutive years in addition to Superior, Best In Class and Grand Championship marching band awards.

Mr. Rowser’s collegiate marching band was barrier-breaking While attending Auburn University in the 1970s, he became the first black drum major at the university, and in turn the first in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Not surprisingly, he is an advocate for music education, but not just to create the next generation of musicians. Music education, says Mr. Rowser, is about more than learning notes and the mechanics of playing an instrument.

“I just think music education through symphonies and schools has such an impact on creating a whole person for today’s society,” he said. “I am really sold on the fact that music education can give kids the opportunity to work interpersonally with others, not only from a technological standpoint, but also in expression, communication and having a verbal lifestyle together.”

He is currently hosting many of the ASO’s UpTempo Teen Nights, where middle and high school students can participate in a pre-concert discussion, followed by a classical concert, all for just $5.

“I get so fired up about doing that, and I treat it just like I’m getting ready for the Grammys, or the Emmys or whatever, to be prepared to interact with the audience, or whomever I’m interviewing,” he said.

Mr. Rowser has also put together multiple ensembles to play in the Galleria during the ASO’s popular holiday concert series, and many of Mr. Rowser’s students have participated in the ASYO, including Harrison Buck, a percussionist and current member.

Stephen Lawrence-Carroll

Another music educator in Georgia with close ties to the ASO is Stephen Lawrence-Carroll, who is currently Director of Orchestral Activities and Department Chair at North Atlanta High School’s Fine and Performing Arts Department. An Atlanta native, Mr. Lawrence-Carroll started playing violin and cello at age 12, and later picked up the piano. He was concertmaster in multiple orchestras throughout his education, including Loyola University Symphony and Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta Public Schools Youth Symphony. He is also a graduate of the ASO’s TDP.

Dr. Sara Womack, Fine and Performing Arts Coordinator for Atlanta Public Schools, says “Atlanta Public Schools is continually grateful for Stephen’s award-winning instruction that enables students to use the knowledge gained through performance to solve real-world problems.”

Womack says, “It is encouraging to watch the enthusiasm of his students as

ALFRED WATKINS

they explain what they have learned, showcase their knowledge, and take on leadership roles that make an impact in their school and community. He treats each one of his students with great dignity and respect and has created a positive learning environment focused on building selfesteem through high standards and well-designed instruction. His ability to collaborate and lead is inspiring and has prompted other colleagues to strive for greatness.”

Currently in his eighth year at North Atlanta High School, Mr. LawrenceCarroll is active in GMEA and serves as District Orchestra Lead for Atlanta Public Schools Arts Resource Team, as well as the 2021-2023 State Orchestra Chair for the GMEA. He was also recently named American String Teacher’s Association Educator of the Year. Mr. Lawrence-Carroll regularly engages his students in the programs offered by the ASO, including the new Chamber Performance + Tour field trip option.

Alfred Watkins

Alfred Watkins retired after thirty seven years of teaching, with more than 30 years as Director of Band at Lassiter High School. He continues to serve school bands as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the country. Mr. Watkins is also the co-founder and musical director of the adult community band, Cobb Winds, an ensemble comprised primarily of metro-Atlanta area music educators.

Under his direction at Lassiter, his concerts bands performed nationally at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Music for All National Concert Band Festival, and College Band Directors National Convention. His marching bands were named Bands of America (BOA) Grand Champions in 1998 and 2002 and won nine BOA regional championships during his tenure. In addition, Mr. Watkins’s bands have performed in four Rose Parades, three Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades, two Orange Bowl Parades and one Citrus Bowl Parade.

His work at Lassiter and his life are the subjects of not one, but two doctoral dissertations. As a proud Florida A & M University alum, and alumni award recipient, he co-founded and currently serves as president of the Minority Band Directors National Association. Mr. Watkins was awarded the 2013 GMEA Distinguished Career Award, the same year he won the “Leader of the Band Award,” given by a poll of more than ten thousand band directors, making him one of the most admired band directors in the nation.

One of his many admirers includes former student and current ASO clarinetist Marci Gurnow, who said, “Alfred Watkins has been such

an enormous part of the journey that has led me to where I am today. In his role as my high school band director, Alfred not only inspired me musically, but strove to make sure that every one of his students gained the tools necessary to move forward as successful humans. The discipline and life lessons instilled in me under Alfred’s leadership are foundations I still value every day. It certainly feels like kismet to have ended up in his program, and I’m forever grateful to him.”

A common thread among these greats is the love and care they pour into their students and their profession. Thank you to these and all music educators who make more than music in their classrooms each day. For without music educators, the stage you see in front of you would be empty, and the hall would be silent. Join the ASO in celebrating “Music in Our Schools Month” and share the influence music programs, and their directors, had on you.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra reaches 100,000+ students a year with its Students at the Symphony concerts, classroom visits, tailored in-person programs, and virtual resources.

ASO | SEASON SPONSORS

We are deeply grateful to the following leadership donors whose generous support has made the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's season possible.

NOLA FRINK: Robert Shaw's Loyal, Iconic Lieutenant

Her planned gift helps ensure that the Orchestra, and her beloved ASO Chorus, will continue to be heard

Everyone called her “Nola,” but her real name was Flanola Frink. That first name? An acronym combining Florida, where her parents were from, with New Orleans, LA, where she was born. And for 26 years, she was Robert Shaw’s fiercely loyal lieutenant and an unforgettable, iconic presence at the ASO.

Over that time, Nola worked as Administrative Assistant to Shaw and as Choral Administrator for the ASO Chorus, in which she also sang. At her 2001 retirement, an AJC article quoted her friends' descriptions of her as “a firecracker,” “a spark plug,” and “a loaded pistol.” Definitely not a shrinking violet, she described herself this way: “Everybody important has to have a pit bull. Mr. Shaw needed one. I was his.” By all accounts, Shaw was a demanding boss, and often a difficult one. Nola was vital to his success and that of the ASO.

The ASO Chorus was Shaw’s glorious creation and legacy, and Nola did pretty much everything to keep it running smoothly, from helping recruit singers to arranging scores. “I get the water ready for Mr. Shaw to walk on,” she famously said. Working in a basement office she referred to as “the Low Museum” (vs. the High Museum next door), she was Shaw’s faithful right hand, devoted to him and to the Chorus, which she made into a family.

Nola died last September. Years earlier she had become a member of the Henry Sopkin Circle by making the ASO the beneficiary of her retirement plan as well as a bequest. By honoring the Orchestra in this way, Nola helped ensure that the Orchestra, and her beloved all-volunteer ASO Chorus, will continue to be heard by future generations.

For more information about Planned Giving, or to join the Henry Sopkin Circle (see page 50), contact Jimmy Paulk at James.Paulk@atlantasymphony.org or call 404.733.4485.

For 26 years, she was Robert Shaw’s fiercely loyal lieutenant and an unforgettable, iconic presence at the ASO

Concerts of Thursday, March 2, 2023

8:00 PM Saturday, March 4, 2023

8:00 PM

JERRY HOU, conductor

AWADAGIN PRATT, piano

JOAN TOWER (b. 1938)

1920/2019 (2020)

JESSIE MONTGOMERY (b. 1981)

14 MINS

Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra (2022) 20 MINS

Awadagin Pratt, piano

INTERMISSION

BÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945)

Concerto for Orchestra (1943)

I. Introduzione: Andante non troppo — Allegro vivace

20 MINS

38 MINS

II. Giuoco delle coppie: Allegretto scherzando

III. Elegia: Andante non troppo

IV. Intermezzo interrotto: Allegretto

V. Finale: Pesante — Presto

The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert is strictly prohibited. Please be kind to those around you and silence your mobile phone and other hand-held devices.

by Noel Morris Program Annotator

1920/2019

1920/2019 is scored for two flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, piano and strings.

During a career spanning more than 60 years, composer Joan Tower’s works have been commissioned by major ensembles, soloists, and orchestras, including the Emerson, Tokyo, and Muir quartets; soloists Evelyn Glennie, Carol Wincenc, David Shifrin, Paul Neubauer, and John Browning; and the orchestras of Chicago, New York, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Nashville, Albany NY, and Washington DC, among others.

Recent awards: in 2020 Chamber Music America honored her with its Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award; Musical America chose her to be its 2020 Composer of the Year; in 2019 the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. In 1990, Tower became the first woman to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Silver Ladders. She is the first composer chosen for a Ford Made in America consortium commission of 65 orchestras. The Nashville Symphony and conductor Leonard Slatkin recorded that work, Made in America, with Tambor and Concerto for Orchestra for the Naxos label. The top-selling recording won three Grammy awards in 2008.

Tower’s tremendously popular six Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman have been played by over 600 different ensembles. She is Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972.

Her composer residencies with orchestras and festivals include a decade with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Composer of the Year for their 2010–11 season, as well as the St. Louis Symphony, the Deer Valley Music Festival, and the Yale/Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. She was in residence as the Albany Symphony’s Mentor Composer partner in the 2013–14 season. She has received honorary doctorates from Smith College, the New England Conservatory, and Illinois State University.

From the composer: 1920/2019 was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden, Music Director. It is dedicated to Deborah Borda, the orchestra’s President and CEO, in recognition of her vision for the creation of Project 19.

These are the first ASO performances

Project 19 is the Philharmonic’s initiative to commission and premiere nineteen new works by women composers in honor of the 2020 centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Project 19 is the single largest commissioning project for women in history.

1920 was the year when the amendment was ratified and adopted— an important and long sought-after achievement. I began writing this music in 2019 as the #MeToo movement continued to grow. Victims of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment are ending their silence, finding strength by sharing their experiences and beliefs.

These two years—1920 and 2019—were probably the two most historically significant years for the advancement of women in society.

Rounds

Rounds is scored for solo piano and strings.

Jessie Montgomery is an acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator. She is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and her works are performed frequently around the world by leading musicians and ensembles.

Her growing body of work includes solo, chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. Some recent highlights include Shift, Change, Turn (2019) commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Coincident Dances (2018) for the Chicago Sinfonietta, and Banner (2014)—written to mark the 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner”—for The Sphinx Organization and the Joyce Foundation, which was presented in its UK premiere at the BBC Proms on 7 August 2021.

Since 1999, Jessie has been affiliated with The Sphinx Organization, which supports young African American and Latinx string players and has served as composer-in-residence for the Sphinx Virtuosi, the Organization’s flagship professional touring ensemble.

A founding member of PUBLIQuartet and a former member of the Catalyst Quartet, Jessie holds degrees from the Juilliard School and New York University and is currently a PhD Candidate in Music Composition at Princeton University. She is Professor of violin and composition at The New School. In May 2021, she began her three-year appointment as the Mead Composer-inResidence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

These are the first ASO performances. ADOBE STOCK JIYANG CHEN

From the composer:

Rounds for solo piano and string orchestra is inspired by the imagery and themes from T.S. Eliot’s epic poem  Four Quartets. Early in the first poem, Burnt Norton, we find these evocative lines:

At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity, Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,

Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.

(Text © T.S. Eliot. Reproduced by courtesy of Faber and Faber Ltd)

In addition to this inspiration, while working on the piece, I became fascinated by fractals (infinite patterns found in nature that are self-similar across different scales) and also delved into the work of contemporary biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber who writes about the interdependency of all beings. Weber explores how every living organism has a rhythm that interacts and impacts with all of the living things around it and results in a multitude of outcomes.

Like Eliot in  Four Quartets, beginning to understand this interconnectedness requires that we slow down, listen, and observe both the effect and the opposite effect caused by every single action and moment. I’ve found this is an exercise that lends itself very naturally towards musical gestural possibilities that I explore in the work—action and reaction, dark and light, stagnant and swift. Structurally, with these concepts in mind, I set the form of the work as a rondo, within a rondo, within a rondo. The five major sections are a rondo; section “A” is also a rondo in itself; and the cadenza— which is partially improvised by the soloist—breaks the pattern, yet, contains within it, the overall form of the work.

To help share some of this with the performers, I’ve included the following poetic performance note at the start of the score:

Inspired by the constancy, the rhythms, and duality of life, in order of relevance to form:

Rondine – AKA Swifts (like a sparrow) flying in circles patterns

Playing with opposites – dark/light; stagnant/swift

Fractals – infinite design

I am grateful to my friend Awadagin Pratt for his collaborative spirit and ingenuity in helping to usher my first work for solo piano into the world.

Commissioned by Art of the Piano Foundation for pianist Awadagin Pratt; Co-Commissioned by Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, IRIS Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

First ASO performance:

January 17, 1967

Robert Mann, conductor

Most recent

ASO performances:

April 4–6, 2019

Robert Spano, conductor

Concerto for Orchestra

Concerto for Orchestra is scored for three flutes (one doubling piccolo), three oboes (one doubling English horn) three clarinets (one doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, two harps and strings.

“Ishall pursue one objective all my life, in every sphere and in every way: the good of Hungary and the Hungarian Nation,” wrote young Béla Bartók in a letter to his mother. And over his lifetime, he did just that—at least until Hungary became a place he couldn’t recognize.

Starting in his early twenties, Bartók took rural treks with his friend Zoltán Kodály, traveling from village to village where they persuaded old-time musicians to sing into an Edison phonograph. With academic precision, they cataloged the songs, forever preserving them. Bartók developed an enduring affection for those rural communities, but upheaval was coming.

Under the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, country folk stood powerless as their homeland tumbled into World War I. Within six years, they lost a generation of fathers, brothers, and sons and were saddled with a peace deal that ceded 70 percent of Hungarian territory to other countries (Bartók’s birthplace is no longer in Hungary). Ethnic Hungarians were outraged. It was a recipe for extremism.

Through the 1920s and 30s, Hungary moved to the right and fell increasingly under German influence. Fascism and anti-Semitism crept into the mainstream. Bartók, a prominent composer and concert pianist, became a vocal opponent of the fascists. When Adolph Hitler came to power in 1933, Bartók boycotted Germany. When Hitler annexed Austria and extended his influence into Hungary, the composer no longer felt safe. Nevertheless, he stayed to care for his mother.

ADOBE STOCK

Paula Voit, mother of Béla Bartók, died December 19, 1939. By that time, Hitler had begun his drive to take over Europe. Bartók and his wife, Ditta Pásztory, steamed into New York Harbor on October 30, 1940, where he was classified as a visitor. When Hungary joined the Axis Powers, he became an “enemy alien.” Bartók’s status was diminished in the United States. From 1941–42, he worked as a “Visiting Assistant in Music” at Columbia University, where he edited a collection of Serbo-Croatian folk music. In the spring of 1942, he developed symptoms of leukemia, and his finances suffered. His son, Peter, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and arranged to have most of his earnings sent to his parents (or so he thought).

“Father was too proud to use the money,” he said. “When I returned, every bit of my pay was in a bank account.” This  pride, as Peter called it, became an ongoing problem for stateside fans of the composer. Through the war years, his friends and admirers conspired to support him, always under the guise of some shortterm job. (Bartók refused anything that smacked of charity.)

Through 1942 and into 1943, his condition worsened. He was in hospital when Fritz Reiner and Joseph Szigeti persuaded Serge Koussevitzky to commission a new piece. It would be dedicated to the memory of Natalie Koussevitzky, the maestro’s wife. The commission gave the composer a lift, and his condition improved. Under doctor’s orders, Bartók spent the summer in a quiet cabin on Saranac Lake, where he wrote the Concerto for Orchestra.

Koussevitzky conducted the premiere in Boston on December 1, 1944. The piece was an instant success; Bartók went on to write his Third Piano Concerto and his String Quartet No. 6. Although he became a United States citizen in 1945, he continued to long for his native Hungary.

Béla Bartók died on September 26, 1945. In his will, he requested that the Hungarian people refrain from memorializing him until all commemorations of Hitler and Mussolini had been expunged from Hungarian soil.

A Shostakovich Cameo?

On July 20, 1942, Soviet Composer Dmitri Shostakovich graced the cover of Time magazine. In one of the cultural coups of the year, his Seventh Symphony had been smuggled out of Leningrad in the middle of the 900-day Nazi siege. Western orchestras clamored to play it. Appropriate to the times, the Symphony culminates in

an insipid, Bolero-like march that repeats and repeats, each time becoming more twisted and pugilistic until it explodes into a grotesque indictment of militarism.

It’s possible that the irony and social commentary of the Shostakovich Seventh were lost on Béla Bartók. According to conductor Antal Dorati, Bartók confessed to him that he found the insipid melody just that—insipid. The tune turns up as a playful romp in the fourth movement of Concerto for Orchestra, after which Bartók blows a raspberry with trills in the trumpets. Many believe Bartók was lampooning the Russian composer. Others argue that the tune is not by Shostakovich but by Franz Lehár, a tune from The Merry Widow. As of now, this matter remains unsettled.

JERRY HOU, CONDUCTOR

Born in Taiwan and raised in a small town in Arkansas, TaiwaneseAmerican conductor Jerry Hou had a late start in music. Beginning on trombone in middle school band, Hou went on to work professionally in American and European orchestras before his playing career was ended by injury. He returned to school to study conducting, and is now recognized for his dynamic presence, insightful interpretations, versatility and commanding technique on the podium.

Hou is the Resident Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. He leads the Atlanta Symphony in classical, family, and education concerts. In March of 2023, Hou will make his official subscription debut in a program of music by Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, and Bela Bartók.

This past season, Hou began an association with the New York Philharmonic and their music director Jaap van Zweden, and recently conducted the orchestra in the tuning of the newly renovated David Geffen Hall. He continues to work as a cover conductor and this spring will make his debut with the orchestra.

During the summer, Hou serves as Resident Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival where he stepped in at the last minute this past August to lead a program of Gershwin, Prokofiev’s Symphony 5, and the Trumpet Concerto of John Williams. In addition, he serves on the faculty of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he is Artist Teacher of Orchestras and Ensembles.

Known for his flexibility in many styles and genres, Hou has conducted a wide range of repertoire from classical to contemporary.

In the spring of 2019, Hou led performances of a new collaboration between composer Steve Reich and artist Gerhart Richter to commemorate the opening of New York City’s new performing arts space and center for artistic invention, The Shed. A leading interpreter and conductor of contemporary music, he has collaborated with acclaimed composers such as Steve Reich, Anthony Davis, John Adams, Melinda Wagner, John Harbison, George Lewis, Bernard Rands, Joel Thompson, Gyorgy Kurtag, Helmut Lachenmann, Unsuk Chin, and Carlos Simon. He lives in Houston with his wife Jenny and son Remy, and has competed on the game show Jeopardy!

AWADAGIN PRATT, PIANO

Born in Pittsburgh, Awadagin Pratt began studying piano at the age of six. Three years later, having moved to Normal, Illinois with his family, he also began studying violin. At the age of 16 he entered the University of Illinois where he studied piano, violin, and conducting. He subsequently enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory of Music where he became the first student in the school’s history to receive diplomas in three performance areas: piano, violin and conducting.

Mr. Pratt won the Naumburg International Piano Competition and was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. His orchestral performances include the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra and the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, National, and New Jersey symphonies among many others.

In November 2009, Mr. Pratt was one of four artists selected to perform at a classical music event at the White House that included student workshops hosted by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, and performing in concert for guests including President Obama. He has performed two other times at the White House.

Mr. Pratt is currently a Professor of Piano at the CollegeConservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He also served as the Artistic Director of the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati and is currently the Artistic Director of the Art of the Piano Festival at CCM.

JACKY AZOULAI

Concert of Sunday, March 5, 2023, 3:00pm

WILLIAM R. LANGLEY, conductor

JOHN WILLIAMS (b. 1932)

Lost

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841—1904)

Carnival Overture, Op. 92 10 MINS

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)

“March of the Mogul Emperors” from The Crown of India 4 MINS

Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 (“Enigma”)

XI. (G.R.S.) Allegro di molto

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)

This performance is made possible through a generous grant from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, which is part of the family of foundations that also includes the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.

The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert is strictly prohibited. Please be kind to those around you and silence your mobile phone and other hand-held devices.

Performance time is approximately 45 minutes, and there is no intermission.

WILLIAM R. LANGLEY, CONDUCTOR

Founding Music Director of the Memphis Repertory Orchestra, William R. Langley began his career as an orchestral conductor at age sixteen. In 2009 he founded the Wolf River Chamber Orchestra and in 2011 the MRO. Langley also serves as conductor of the Blueshift Ensemble and frequent guest conductor with All of the Above Ensemble, contemporary ensembles dedicated to programming and promoting new and existing chamber works while incorporating multi-genre collaborations.

Langley has appeared as guest conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Starling Chamber Orchestra, Blueshift Ensemble, Concert:Nova, and All of the Above ensemble.

In demand as a cover conductor, Langley has been a frequent cover with both the Atlanta and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras covering such conductors as Sir Donald Runnicles, Louis Langrée, Carlos Kalmar, Juanjo Mena, Ramón Tebar, Peter Oundjian, Nathalie Stutzmann, Nicola Luisotti, Xian Zhang, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya, to name a few.

Langley holds a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati where he studied under the tutelage of Maestro Mark Gibson. He was selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the American Austrian Foundation to be awarded one of two esteemed Ansbacher Fellowships for Young Conductors with the opportunity to study in Austria at the 2019 Salzburger Festspiele.

SIMON PAULY

Concerts of Thursday, March 16, 2023

8:00 PM Saturday, March 18, 2023

8:00 PM

STEPHEN MULLIGAN, conductor

TIMOTHY MCALLLISTER, saxophone

CARL MARIA VON WEBER (1786–1826)

Overture to Der Freischütz (1821) 10 MINS

TYSHAWN SOREY (b. 1980)

Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith) (2022) 20 MINS

Timothy McAllister, saxophone

Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith) was commissioned by Lucerne Festival and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as part of New Music USA’s “Amplifying Voices” program.

INTERMISSION 20 MINS

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957)

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 (1902) 44 MINS

I. Allegretto

II. Tempo Andante, ma rubato

III. Vivacissimo —

IV. Finale: Allegro moderato

Amplifying Voices is a New Music USA initiative which is powered by the Sphinx Ventures Fund, with additional support from ASCAP and the Sorel Organization.

Notes on the Program by Noel Morris

Overture to Der Freischütz

This overture is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings.

by Noel Morris Program Annotator

First ASO performance: March 27, 1949

Henry Sopkin, conductor

Most recent

ASO performances: April 9–12, 2015

Der Freischütz (The Marksman) comes from the age of the gothic novel. Think Dracula, Frankenstein,  Turn of the Screw, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Because the composer taps into German folklore, some elements would even sound familiar to today’s gaming culture.

Lionel Bringuier, conductor

In the opera, Max is in love with Agathe and must win a shooting competition to earn her hand. Although he’s the best shot around, his skills abandon him, thanks to a spell by Kaspar, who has sold his soul to Zamiel, the Black Huntsman. Zamiel sees a chance to add Max’s soul to his collection and tempts him with magic bullets. Around this scenario, the composer crafted a brilliant and diabolical score. It is a rustic tale—notice the outdoorsy sound of the horns—as common folk battle temptation and the supernatural in pursuit of love.

Carl Maria von Weber came from a family of entertainers. His father founded a traveling theater company populated by the composer’s aunts, uncles, and siblings. His first cousin was the singer Constanze Weber, who was married to Mozart. As a gifted youngster, Carl received the best musical training (at least for a kid who spent his life on the road). He was a brilliant pianist and took to composition. As he grew, he bounced from job to job as a musician, lithographer, poet, music critic, music director, and court secretary. History took a left turn when Weber became director of the German opera in Dresden. Before that time, Italian opera had dominated the art form. (Mozart’s German hit The Magic Flute was the exception.) Weber took his company and Germanlanguage opera to new heights. Supervising the lighting, the sets, the costumes, the chorus and all aspects of the production, he built a first-class company.

Der Freischütz is a giant in the annals of German opera. When the show premiered in Berlin in 1821, influencers flocked to the theater, including E.T.A. Hoffmann, Heinrich Heine, and the prodigy composer Felix Mendelssohn. It became a favorite of Hector Berlioz, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Richard Wagner. As productions spread across Germany, Europe, Russia and America, Wagner rode that wave, seizing upon a new interest in German opera to become a dominant cultural

CAROLINE BARDUA

figure in the 19th century. One could argue that without Weber, there may not have been a Wagner.

Today, music critics speak of the gorgeous music that runs throughout  Der Freischütz, yet it is a difficult ticket to find; American opera companies seldom perform it.

In 1826, the 39-year-old Weber succumbed to tuberculosis while supervising a production of  Oberon in London. There, he was laid to rest until 1844, when Richard Wagner brought his remains back to Dresden. For the procession, Wagner composed his  Trauermusik and personally delivered a eulogy.

Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)

In addition to the solo saxophone, Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith) is scored for two flutes (one doubling bass flute), two oboes, clarinet, e-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, harp and strings.

Newark-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey (b. 1980) is celebrated for his incomparable virtuosity, effortless mastery and memorization of highly complex scores, and an extraordinary ability to blend composition and improvisation in his work. He has performed nationally and internationally with his own ensembles, as well as artists such as John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis, Claire Chase, Steve Lehman, Jason Moran, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, and Myra Melford, among many others.

The New York Times has praised Sorey for his instrumental facility and aplomb, “He plays not only with gale-force physicality, but also a sense of scale and equipoise”; The Wall Street Journal notes Sorey is, “a composer of radical and seemingly boundless ideas.” The New Yorker recently noted that Sorey is “among the most formidable denizens of the in-between zone…An extraordinary talent who can see across the entire musical landscape.”

Sorey has composed works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the International Contemporary Ensemble, soprano Julia Bullock, PRISM Quartet, JACK Quartet, TAK Ensemble, the McGill-McHale Trio, bassbaritone Davóne Tines, Alarm Will Sound, the Louisville Orchestra, and tenor Lawrence Brownlee with Opera Philadelphia in partnership with Carnegie Hall, as well as for countless collaborative performers. His music has been performed in notable venues such as the Walt Disney

JOHN ROGERS

These are the first ASO performances.

Concert Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Village Vanguard, the Ojai Music Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Kimmel Center, and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Sorey has received support for his creative projects from The Jerome Foundation, The Shifting Foundation, Van Lier Fellowship, and was named a 2017 MacArthur fellow and a 2018 United States Artists Fellow. Sorey has released 12 critically acclaimed recordings that feature his work as a composer, co-composer, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, and conceptualist. His latest release, Pillars (Firehouse 12 Records, 2018), has been praised by Rolling Stone as “an immersive soundworld… sprawling, mysterious… thrilling” and has been named as one of BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction 2018 albums of the year.

In 2012, he was selected as one of nine composers for the Other Minds Festival, where he exchanged ideas with such like-minded peers as Ikue Mori, Ken Ueno, and Harold Budd. In 2013, Jazz Danmark invited him to serve as the Danish International Visiting Artist. He was also a 2015 recipient of the Doris Duke Impact Award. Sorey has taught and lectured on composition and improvisation at Columbia University, The New England Conservatory, The Banff Centre, University of Michigan, International Realtime Music Symposium, Harvard University, Hochschule für Musik Köln, Berklee College of Music, University of Chicago, and The Danish Rhythmic Conservatory. Sorey joined the composition faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in the Fall of 2020.

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43

Symphony No. 2 is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.

In 1910, the Boston critic Arthur Elson wrote: “It is undoubtedly true that Italy has been the most important nation in musical history… her supremacy was of long duration, and dates from before the fall of the Roman Empire.”

First ASO performance: February 3, 1951

Henry Sopkin, conductor Most recent ASO performances: April 7–8, 2016

Robert Spano, conductor

To Elson’s point, Italy gave us opera and musical terminology and perfected the design of the violin. History sports a long list of composers who were forever changed by contact with Italy, including Bach, Handel, Mozart and Richard Strauss. Other composers wrote musical postcards from there, including Mendelssohn, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Liszt and Stravinsky. The Second Symphony by Jean Sibelius, is one of those pieces.

In March of 1900, Sibelius received a letter from an admirer that read:

“You have been sitting at home for quite a while, Mr. Sibelius, it is high time for you to travel. You will spend the late autumn and the winter in Italy, a country where one learns cantabile, balance and harmony, plasticity and symmetry of lines, a country where everything is beautiful—even the ugly.” The offer came from Baron Axel Carpelan, who raised a generous sum to send the composer on his way.

Sibelius had other reasons for a change of venue. In February, his 15-month-old daughter died of typhoid. He had also been drinking and racking up debts. It seemed an Italian getaway would help him to clear his head.

In early 1901, Jean Sibelius took his family to a villa near the seaside community of Rapallo, where pastel-colored houses hugged the Mediterranean. Until then, his only contact with such vistas had come from the theater. In Rapallo, thoughts of Mozart’s Don Giovanni flooded his brain. A scenario for a possible tone poem came to mind.

“Don Juan,” he wrote. “Sitting in the twilight in my castle, a guest enters. I ask many times who he is.—No answer. I make an effort to entertain him. He remains mute. Eventually, he starts singing. At this time, Don Juan notices who he is—Death.” Next to this scenario, Sibelius wrote down a melody.

Sibelius returned to a tense situation in Finland—the Russian tsar had begun to tighten the screws on Finnish culture, and there were rumblings of rebellion. Sibelius found his bearings in this tumultuous atmosphere and sat down to write. The Don Juan melody found its way into the second movement of the Second Symphony, which he worked on until early 1902.

Although Sibelius never ascribed a program to his Symphony No. 2, his close friend, conductor Robert Kajanus, wrote that the second movement “strikes one as the most broken-hearted protest against all the injustice that threatens at the present time to deprive the sun of its light and our flowers of their scent.” Whether or not this was the composer’s intention, the timing of the symphony, coupled with rising political tensions, forever linked the piece with the spirit of independence.

Sibelius as a National Hero

From the time of Napoleon, the Finnish people have had an 830-mile problem—their border with Russia. In 1809, they fell under the thumb of the tsar. Initially, the Russian monarch permitted the Finns some measure of autonomy. That changed in 1899 when Nicholas II instituted

WIKIMEDIA

a policy of Russification. With that, the Russian military began to draft Finns into service and force people to adopt the Russian language. The Finns pushed back just as Sibelius was emerging as an important composer.

Often, Sibelius’s music conjures associations with the boreal forests of Scandinavia— bone-chilling and impenetrable combined with a smoldering passion. Although he grew up in a Swedish-speaking household, his romance with Aino Järnefelt, daughter of a famous general, helped bring focus to his identity. Under the influence of his future father-in-law, he switched to the Finnish language and began writing music inspired by Finnish folklore. Before long, Jean Sibelius became a potent symbol of the resistance, prompting the Russians to ban performances of his anthem Finlandia

STEPHEN MULLIGAN, CONDUCTOR

Berlin-based American conductor Stephen Mulligan recently concluded his tenure as Associate Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Mulligan served as a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the 2018-19 season, leading the orchestra on the Toyota Symphonies for Youth series and assisting Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor Laureate EsaPekka Salonen, and guest conductors Lionel Bringuier, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Zubin Mehta, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

Mulligan’s 2022-23 season includes return engagements with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Arkansas, and Amarillo; and debut projects with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

During the 2017-18 season, his first with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Mulligan stepped in on short notice for three classical subscription programs over the course of six weeks, working with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano and pianists Jorge Federico Osorio and Behzod Abduraimov to critical acclaim. Mulligan is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Mulligan began his music studies with his father Gregory, former concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony and current violinist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He studied conducting at Yale University with Toshiyuki Shimada, at the Peabody Institute with Gustav Meier; Markand Thakar; and Marin Alsop; and at the Aspen Music Festival and School with Robert Spano.

JEFF ROFFMAN

TIMOTHY MCALLISTER, SAXOPHONE

Since his solo debut at age 16 with the Houston Civic Symphony, Timothy McAllister’s career has taken him throughout the United States, Australia, Russia, Canada, Japan, China, Mexico, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Switzerland, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria, with solo performances in Prince Royal Albert Hall in London, the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, among others. Other recent performances as soloist and recording artist include the London Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, the Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony, United States Navy Band, Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia, among others.

A dedicated teacher, McAllister is Professor of Saxophone at The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and other degrees in music education, conducting and performance from The University of Michigan where he studied saxophone with Donald Sinta and conducting with H. Robert Reynolds. He received the School of Music’s most distinguished performance award—the Albert A. Stanley Medal.

Timothy McAllister is on the artist roster of Jonathan Wentworth Associates, Ltd. Additionally, he is a ConnSelmer artist/clinician, while also serving as a Backun Woodwind Artist, assisting with research and mouthpiece design. He endorses Key Leaves and Peak Performance Woodwind products.

Concerts of Thursday, March 23, 2023

8:00 PM

Saturday, March 25, 2023

8:00 PM

NATHALIE STUTZMANN, conductor

Part I: BACH (performed without pause)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)

Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068

Gavottes I & II

Sinfonia from Cantata 42

Sinfonia from Cantata 12

Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

Vivace

Largo, ma non tanto

Allegro

David Coucheron, violin

Justin Bruns, violin

Thursday’s concert is dedicated to

SALLY & PETE PARSONSON in honor of their extraordinary support of the 2021/22 Annual Fund.

BRIEF PAUSE

Part II: FRIENDS (performed without pause)

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759)

“Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from Solomon

ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678–1741)

Concerto for Strings in G Minor, RV 156

Allegro

Adagio

Allegro

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

Saturday’s concert is dedicated to JEANNETTE GUARNER, MD & CARLOS DEL RIO, MD in honor of their extraordinary support of the Talent Development Program and for helping the ASO during COVID-19.

The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert is strictly prohibited. Please be kind to those around you and silence your mobile phone and other hand-held devices.

Sinfonia in B-flat Major, HWV 339

Adagio

Concerto grosso in D Minor, Op. 3, No. 5

Allegro, ma non troppo

Allegro

Concerto grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 3, No. 2

Largo

Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 6

Allegro

ANTONIO VIVALDI

Concerto for Four Violins in B Minor, RV 580

Allegro

Largo — Larghetto — Adagio — Largo

Allegro

David Coucheron, violin

Justin Bruns, violin

Jun-Ching Lin, violin

Anastasia Agapova, violin

by Noel Morris Program Annotator

BRIEF PAUSE

Part III: BACH (performed without pause)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Sinfonia from Cantata 174

Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, BWV 1067

Polonaise

Badinerie

Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068

Bourrée

Gigue

Please note: this concert will be performed without intermission. Approximate concert length is 80 minutes.

1685was a banner year. Two little boys were born in Germany, about 100 miles apart. One is among the world’s most influential composers. The other wrote Messiah. Six hundred miles to the south, a third boy was learning the violin. Today, they dominate western music written before the arrival of Mozart.

Each year, around the world, professional and community choirs—as well as many intrepid audience members—gather to sing George Frideric Handel’s massive oratorio written on the life of Christ. On YouTube, a single video of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons has over 248 million views. And, thanks to NASA’s Voyager mission, two pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach are hurtling through interstellar space at over 38,000 miles per hour.

Of the three, Bach was the least traveled. He lived his life in central Germany. Twice he hoped to meet Handel, but their schedules never aligned. He encountered Vivaldi through a book of Italian concertos and was so impressed he made keyboard transcriptions of them. (For many years, Bach’s transcriptions served as a tether between Vivaldi, who was largely forgotten, and oblivion.) Vivaldi became a jumping-off point for Bach as he wrote concertos of his own.

Probably, Handel and Vivaldi did meet. In his early twenties, Handel traveled to Italy, learning the language, learning to imitate Italian music, and readying himself for a brilliant career in Great Britain.

Johann Sebastian Bach

By the time Johann Sebastian came along, central Germany was littered with church musicians named Bach. A marvel of genetics, the Bach family trained male children for the trade from an early age, typically with older brothers, uncles, fathers and cousins serving as instructors. Johann Sebastian trained six future

musicians named Bach, in addition to his own children. In the Bach family, “Sebastian” was a fifth-generation church musician. In preparation, he studied the Bible in German and Latin. At 10, he was orphaned and went to live with his older brother Johann Christoph—already a successful organist. Sebastian thrived in his brother’s care and won his first church job in Arnstadt at the age of 18.

After a few years at Arnstadt, Sebastian’s music-making grew experimental, which rankled the conservatives in town, and so he moved to Mühlhausen. There, he landed in the middle of a battle over church doctrine. After a year, he took a job as a chamber musician and organist in Weimar, where he got his hands on a Dutch publication of Italian concertos, mostly by Antonio Vivaldi. From this book, he made organ and harpsichord transcriptions, opening his mind to new possibilities in instrumental writing.

The situation in Weimar was a happy time for Bach, lasting nine years until a feud broke out between different branches of the ruling family. Soon, Bach moved on. The next chapter was a revelation—at least for today’s classical instrumentalist. Bach went to work at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen, a Calvinist. Leopold was a fine musician and devoted patron but couldn’t permit music in the church. As a result, Bach went from composing sacred works to producing secular pieces for harpsichord and various string and wind instruments. Much of his instrumental music (other than for organ) comes from this period, including the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Cello Suites, the Orchestral Suites, the Violin Partitas and Sonatas, and likely some part of the Brandenburg Concertos.

George Frideric Handel

In 1705, a 19-year-old boy carried the manuscript of his first opera, Almira, into a theater in Hamburg. He presented it to his colleagues in the orchestra, where he had been working as a violinist and harpsichordist. Soon, that orchestra played the first performance Almira—it was a hit. Young Handel followed Almira immediately with a second hit opera and soon had the financial wherewithal to choose his next move—a trip to Italy, which was, in his mind, the center of the opera universe.

Handel stayed in Italy for more than three years, learning the language, soaking up the instrumental work of Italian composers—especially Arcangelo Corelli—and absorbing the Italian opera style. He rubbed elbows with members of the high nobility,

WIKIMEDIA

including Prince Ernst August, brother of the Elector of Hanover, who invited him to come for a visit. In 1710, Handel, now 25, crossed the Alps and made his way to Hanover, where he took the top job as Kapellmeister.

He was in Hanover for less than a year when the Elector granted him leave to go to England. There, the composer presented his “Italian opera” Rinaldo, and the Londoners received him like a rock star. Never mind the irony of a German composer writing Italian opera in London, people clamored to see his shows, and Handel postponed his return to Hanover. Soon Queen Anne granted him an annual allowance of £200, putting him in an awkward position with his employer across the Channel—it didn’t matter. Queen Anne died the following year, and the Elector of Hanover became King of England. Handel’s life in England was different from what it might have been in Hanover. Instead of serving at the pleasure of a prince, working as a church musician and entertainer at court, he was a freelancer. He depended on commissions and ticket sales, which he managed out of his house on Brook Street.

Handel wrote music at an astonishing pace. He composed his twelve Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, during the month of October in 1739. By this time, Londoners had lost interest in his Italian operas, so he shifted to writing English-language oratorios. During intermissions, he featured music from his Op. 6 Concerti Grossi, which are patterned after works by Arcangelo Corelli. With the sale of sheet music for his concertos, Handel turned a tidy profit.

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi came of age during a sweet spot in history. About a hundred miles away, the violin maker Antonio Stradivari was turning out his now priceless instruments (today, the “Messiah Strad” is valued at $20 million). In the history of the world, the overall quality of fiddles available to a poor instrumentalist had never been higher. The stage was set for someone to take violin playing to the next level. And in walked Antonio Vivaldi.

One witness said he was “terrified” by Vivaldi’s playing. Vivaldi brought fiery virtuosity to the instrument. At the same time, his growing success as an opera composer fed into a soulful lyricism that inhabited his playing in slower music.

Vivaldi was the son of a violinist at Saint Mark’s Basilica, the famous domed church in the heart of Venice. He learned music from his father before going to school to become a priest. Ordained in 1703,

Vivaldi soon was given dispensation from having to say mass due to “tightness in the chest.” This enabled him to focus on music. He took a job teaching music to “orphan” girls at the state-funded convent Ospedale della Pietà (a number of them weren’t orphans at all but illegitimate daughters of the nobility). Already, Venice was a center of tourism, a must-see for young European noblemen. With an international reputation, Vivaldi’s school supported an orchestra that was the pride of the city. For an ensemble of some forty girls, Vivaldi composed hundreds of concertos. On the side, he hustled for work as an opera composer and impresario.

Later in life, as his popularity waned, Vivaldi turned his attention increasingly to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. Moving to Vienna in 1740, he expected to revive his career and possibly win a royal appointment. Sadly, Charles VI died shortly after Vivaldi’s arrival. Stuck in a foreign city without work and without royal protection, the composer sank into poverty and died in 1741. His music was nearly forgotten until 1926, when a crate of manuscripts was discovered at a boarding school in Piedmont. There began an effort to recover, reconstruct, perform and publish Vivaldi’s music. Most recently, an entire opera was discovered at an Italian library in 2012.

ASO | SUPPORT

TheAtlanta Symphony Orchestra continues to prosper thanks to the support of our generous patrons. The list below recognizes the donors who have made contributions since June 1, 2021. Their extraordinary generosity provides the foundation for this world-class institution.

$1,000,000+ A Friend of the Symphony∞

$100,000+

1180 Peachtree

The Antinori Foundation

The Molly Blank Fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation∞

The Coca-Cola Company

Sheila L. & Jonathan J. Davies

Delta Air Lines

Lettie Pate Evans Foundation

Barney M. Franklin & Hugh W.

Burke Charitable Fund

Georgia Power Company

The Home Depot Foundation

Invesco QQQ

Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation∞

Charles Loridans Foundation, Inc.

Amy W. Norman Charitable Foundation

Ann Marie & John B. White, Jr.°∞

The Zeist Foundation, Inc.

Alston & Bird LLP

$50,000+

$75,000+ Accenture LLP

The John & Rosemary Brown Family Foundation

Cadence Bank

Thalia & Michael C. Carlos Advised Fund

$35,000+

Sally & Larry Davis

The Roy & Janet Dorsey Foundation

EY, Partners & Employees

John D. Fuller∞

$25,000+

Aadu & Kristi Allpere°

Jennifer Barlament & Kenneth Potsic

Paul & Linnea Bert

Mr. & Mrs. Paul J. Blackney

Janine Brown & Alex J. Simmons, Jr.

Connie & Merrell Calhoun

Chick-fil-A

John W. Cooledge

The Jim Cox, Jr. Foundation

Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes∞

Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation PNC Slumgullion Charitable Fund

Thalia & Michael C. Carlos Foundation

City of Atlanta

Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs

Ms. Lynn Eden

Emerald Gate Charitable Trust

Ms. Angela L. Evans∞

The Gable Foundation

Fulton County Arts & Culture

Google

Donna Lee & Howard Ehni

National Endowment for the Arts

John R. Paddock, Ph.D. & Karen M. Schwartz, Ph.D.

Betty Sands Fuller*

Dick & Anne Game°

Sally & Walter George

Jeannette Guarner, MD & Carlos del Rio, MD

The Halle Foundation

Bonnie & Jay Harris

League of American Orchestras

The Marcus Foundation, Inc.∞

Massey Charitable Trust

John & Linda Matthews∞

Moore Colson, CPAs & Bert & Carmen Mills

Anne Morgan & Jim Kelley

Georgia Council for the Arts

Graphic Packaging International, Inc.

The Graves Foundation

Gary Lee, Jr.

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Truist

David, Helen & Marian Woodward Fund, Atlanta

Sally & Pete Parsonson∞

Patty & Doug Reid

Mary & Jim Rubright

Patrick & Susie Viguerie

Mr.* & Mrs. Edus H. Warren, Jr.

Northside Hospital

Novelis

Victoria & Howard Palefsky

Mr. Tyler Perry

Publix Super Markets Charities, Inc.

Bill & Rachel Schultz°

June & John Scott∞

Ross & Sally Singletary

Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor & Ms. Triska Drake

Troutman Pepper

WarnerMedia

Kathy Waller & Kenneth Goggins

Mrs. Sue S. Williams

$17,500+

A Friend of the Symphony

Mr. Keith Adams & Ms. Kerry Heyward°

John & Juliet Allan

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Bailey

Benjamin Q. Brunt

Wright & Alison Caughman

Choate Bridges Foundation

Russell Currey & Amy Durrell

Mr. & Mrs. Erroll B. Davis, Jr.∞

Cari K. Dawson & John M. Sparrow

Maria & Rodrigo Garcia-Escudero

Mr. Max M. Gilstrap∞

Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Harrison

The Estate of John H. Head

The Hertz Family Foundation, Inc.

Azira G. Hill

James H. Landon

The Ray M. & Mary Elizabeth Lee

Foundation, Inc.

Mr. Kevin Lyman & Dr. Jennifer Lyman

Ms. Deborah A. Marlowe & Dr. Clint Lawrence

Terence L. & Jeanne Perrine Neal°

Lynn & Galen Oelkers

Ms. Margaret Painter∞

Martha M. Pentecost

The Hellen Ingram Plummer

Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Ms. Cathleen Quigley

Regions

Joyce & Henry Schwob

Mr. Fahim Siddiqui & Ms. Shazia Fahim

Dr. Steven & Lynne Steindel°

Ms. Brett A. Tarver

Carolyn C. Thorsen∞

The Mark & Evelyn Trammell Foundation

John & Ray Uttenhove

$15,000+

Phyllis Abramson, Ph. D.

Madeline* & Howell E. Adams, Jr.

Mr. David Boatwright

Ms. Elizabeth W. Camp

Ms. Lisa V. Chang

Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Clare°

Lisa DiFrancesco, MD & Darlene Nicosia

Eleanor & Charles Edmondson

Marina Fahim°

Fifth Third Bank

Craig Frankel & Jana Eplan

Georgia-Pacific

Pam & Robert Glustrom

Roya & Bahman Irvani

Mr. Sukai Liu & Dr. Ginger J. Chen

John F. & Marilyn M. McMullan

Ms. Molly Minnear

New Music, USA

North Highland Company

Mr. Edward Potter & Ms. Regina Olchowski°

Charlie & Donna Sharbaugh

Beverly & Milton Shlapak

Mr. John A. Sibley, III

Elliott & Elaine Tapp

Adair & Dick White

Drs. Kevin & Kalinda Woods

$10,000+

A Friend of the Symphony (2)

Paul & Melody Aldo∞

Mr. & Mrs. Calvin R. Allen

Paul & Marian Anderson*

Farideh & Al Azadi Foundation∞

Julie & Jim Balloun

Keith Barnett

Bell Family Foundation for Hope Inc

Mr. & Mrs. Gerald R. Benjamin

Kelley O. & Neil H. Berman

Bloomberg Philanthropies

The Boston Consulting Group

The Breman Foundation, Inc.

Lisa & Russ Butner∞

CBRE

Colliers International

Donald & Barbara Defoe°

Peter & Vivian de Kok

Marcia & John Donnell

Ms. Diane Durgin

Eversheds Sutherland

Dr. & Mrs. Leroy Fass

The Robert Hall Gunn, Jr., Fund

JBS Foundation

Ann A. & Ben F. Johnson III

James Kieffer

Stephen & Carolyn Knight

The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation

Pat & Nolan Leake

Meghan & Clarke Magruder

Mr. Nicholas Marrone

Belinda & Gino Massafra

Merrill Lynch

The Monasse Family Foundation∞

Moore, Colson & Company, P.C.

Mr. & Mrs. James F. Nellis , Jr.

Ms. Gail O'Neill & Mr. Paul Viera

Kathryn Petralia & Diane Bartlett

Leonard Reed°

David F. & Maxine A.* Rock

Thomas & Lynne Saylor

Peter James Stelling*

John & Yee-Wan Stevens

George & Amy Taylor

Judith & Mark K. Taylor

Dr. & Mrs. James O. Wells, Jr.

Deedee & Marc Hamburger°

Clay & Jane Jackson

°We are grateful to these donors for taking the extra time to acquire matching gifts from their employers. *Deceased

ASO | SUPPORT (cont.)

Dr. & Mrs. Jerome B. Blumenthal

$7,500+

Jack & Helga Beam∞

Karen & Rod Bunn

Patricia & William Buss∞

Mark Coan & Family

Sally W. Hawkins

Grace Ihrig*

Ann & Brian Kimsey

Jason & Michelle Kroh

Dr. Fulton D. Lewis III & S. Neal Rhoney

Mr. Robert M. Lewis, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Mills IV

Mr. Bert Mobley

Hala & Steve Moddelmog

Caroline & Phil Moïse

Judge Jane Morrison∞

Gretchen Nagy & Allan Sandlin

Margaret H. Petersen

Ms. Felicia Rives

Hamilton & Mason Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Edward W.

Stroetz, Jr.

Stephen & Sonia Swartz

Drs. Jonne & Paul Walter

Kiki Wilson

Mr. David J. Worley & Ms. Bernadette Drankoski

$5,000+

A Friend of the Symphony

Dr. Marshall & Stephanie Abes

Mrs. Kay Adams* & Mr. Ralph Paulk

Judy & Dick Allison

Dr. Evelyn R. Babey

Lisa & Joe Bankoff

Juanita & Gregory Baranco

Asad Bashey

Mr. Herschel V. Beazley

Meredith Bell

Bennett Thrasher LLP

Natalie & Matthew

Bernstein

Rita & Herschel Bloom

Jane & Gregory Blount

Mrs. Sidney W. Boozer

Carol Brantley & David Webster

Mrs. Cristina Briboneria

Margo Brinton & Eldon Park

Jacqueline A. & Joseph E. Brown, Jr.

Judith D. Bullock

CBH International, Inc

John Champion & Penelope Malone

Ms. Tena Clark & Ms. Michelle LeClair

Dr. & Mrs. Richard W. Compans

Carol Comstock & Jim Davis

Ralph & Rita Connell

William & Patricia Cook

Janet & John Costello

Mr. & Mrs. Paul H. Dimmick

Dorsey Alston Realtors

Xavier Duralde & Mary Barrett

Mr. & Mrs. John Dyer

Paulette Eastman & Becky Pryor Anderson∞

Diana Einterz

Dieter Elsner & Othene Munson

Robert S. Elster

Foundation

Ellen & Howard Feinsand

Bruce W. & Avery C.

Flower

David L. Forbes

Mary* & Charles Ginden

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Goodsell∞

Melanie & Tucker Green

William Randolph Hearst

Foundations

Tad & Janin Hutcheson

Mr. Justin Im & Dr. Nakyoung Nam

Mr. & Mrs. Baxter Jones

Paul* & Rosthema Kastin

Ms. Carrie L. Kirk

Mr. Charles R. Kowal

Mrs. Heidi LaMarca

Dr. & Mrs. Scott I. Lampert

Peg & Jim Lowman

Ms. Eunice Luke

Dr. & Mrs. Ellis L. Malone

Elvira & Jay Mannelly

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher D. Martin

Mr. Robert S. Mathews

Mary Ruth McDonald

The Fred & Sue McGehee

Family Charitable Fund

Ed & Linda McGinn°

Ms. Erica McVicker

Berthe & Shapour

Mobasser

Ms. Sue L. Morgan∞

Gary R. Noble, MD

Ms. Bethani Oppenheimer

Ms. Eliza Quigley

Mr. & Mrs. Joel F. Reeves

Margaret & Bob Reiser

Cammie & John Rice

Vicki & Joe Riedel

Betsy & Lee Robinson

Mrs. Nita Robinson

Ms. Frances A. Root

Mr. Joseph A. Roseborough

John T. Ruff

Katherine Scott

Suzanne Shull

Gerald & Nancy

Silverboard

Baker & Debby Smith

Ms. Cynthia Smith

Dr. K. Douglas Smith

Tom & Ani Steele

In memory of Elizabeth

B. Stephens by Powell, Preston & Sally∞

Richard M. Stormont & Sally C. Jobe

Ms. Kimberly Strong

Dr. Nossi Taheri & Ms. Hope Vaziri

Dede & Bob Thompson

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Toren

Trapp Family

Burton Trimble

Chilton & Morgan* Varner

Mr. & Mrs. Benny Varzi

Amy & Robert Vassey

Ms. Juliana T. Vincenzino

Mr. Robert Walt & Mr. Daniel J. Hess

Alan & Marcia Watt

Ruthie Watts

Dr. Nanette K. Wenger

Suzanne B. Wilner

Camille W. Yow

$3,500+

Mr. John Blatz

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis M. Chorba

Jean & Jerry Cooper

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.

Phil & Lisa Hartley

Martha Reaves Head

Barbara M. Hund

Fara & Ari Levine°

Deborah & William Liss°

Martha & Reynolds

McClatchey

Judy Zaban-Miller & Lester Miller

Donald S. Orr & Marcia K. Knight

Mr. & Mrs. Edmund F. Pearce, Jr.°

In Memory of Dr. Frank S. Pittman III

Dr. & Mrs. John P. Pooler

Ms. Kathy Powell

Mrs. Susan H. Reinach

S.A. Robinson

Dr. & Mrs. Rein Saral

Donna Schwartz

Ms. Martha Solano

Angela Spivey

Beth & Edward Sugarman

Mrs. Dale L. Thompson

Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Welch

David & Martha West

Mr. & Mrs. M. Beattie Wood

$2,000+ A Friend of the Symphony (4)

2492 Fund

Dr. & Mrs. Joel M. Adler, D.D.S.

Kent & Diane Alexander

Mr. & Mrs. Ivan Allen IV

Mr. & Mrs. Walker Anderson

The Hisham & Nawal Araim Family Foundation

Anthony Barbagallo & Kristen Fowks

Drs. Jay & Martin

Beard-Coles

Susan & Jack Bertram

Catherine Binns & Jim Honkisz*

Shirley Blaine

Leon & Joy Borchers

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew J. Bower°

Martha S. Brewer

Harriet Evans Brock

Dr. Aubrey Bush & Dr. Carol Bush

Mr. & Mrs. Walter K. Canipe

Mrs. Betty Case

Julie & Jerry Chautin

Mr. James Cobb

Coenen-Johnson Foundation

Susan S. Cofer

Liz & Charlie Cohn°

Malcolm & Ann Cole

Mr. & Mrs. R. Barksdale

Collins°

Ned Cone & Nadeen Green

Mrs. Nancy Cooke

Mary Carole Cooney & Henry R. Bauer, Jr.

R. Carter & Marjorie A.

Crittenden Foundation

Dr. & Mrs. F. Thomas

Daly, Jr.

Mr. John C. Dancu

Mrs. Anna F. Dancu

Mary & Mahlon Delong

Mr. & Mrs. Graham Dorian

Gregory & Debra Durden

Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge

Erica Endicott & Chris Heisel

Dr. & Mrs. Carl D. Fackler

Mr. Ramsey Fahs°

Mr. & Mrs. Paul G. Farnham

Ken Felts & A. Richard Bunn

Mr. & Mrs. William A. Flinn

Dr. Karen A. Foster

Ms. Elizabeth C. French

Gaby Family Foundation

Mr. & Mrs. Sebastien

Galtier

Raj & Jyoti Gandhi Family Foundation

Marty & John Gillin°

Sandra & John Glover

Mrs. Janet D. Goldstein

Mary C. Gramling

Richard & Debbie Griffiths

Mr. & Mrs. George Gunderson

Linda & Hank Harris

Mr. & Mrs. Steve Hauser

Mr. & Mrs. John Hellriegel

Ms. Elizabeth Hendrick

Mr. Kenneth & Ms. Colleen Hey

Sarah & Harvey Hill, Jr.°

Laurie House Hopkins & John D. Hopkins

James & Bridget Horgan

Mrs. Sally Horntvedt

Ms. & Mr. Carli Huband

Richard & Linda Hubert

Dona & Bill Humphreys

Mary & Wayne James

Nancy & John Janet

Ms. Rebecca Jarvis

Mrs. Gail Johnson

Mr. W. F. & Dr. Janice Johnston

Cecile M. Jones

Mr. & Mrs. David T. Jones

Lana M. Jordan

William L. & Sally S. Jorden

Teresa M. Joyce, Ph.D

Mr. & Ms. Josh Kamin

Mr. & Mrs. Todd E. Kessler

Mr. Lewis King

Wolfgang* & Mariana

Laufer

Mr. & Mrs. Theodore J.

Lavallee, Sr.

Lillian Balentine Law

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Le

Grace & Josh Lembeck

Elizabeth J. Levine

Mr. & Mrs. J. David Lifsey

Dr. Marcus Marr

Dr. & Mrs. David H. Mason

In Memory of

Pam McAllister

Mr. & Mrs. James

McClatchey

Birgit & David McQueen

Dr. & Mrs. John D. Merlino

Anna & Hays Mershon

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas B. Mimms, Jr.

Laura & Craig Mullins

Janice & Tom Munsterman∞

Michael & Carol Murphy

Melanie & Allan Nelkin

Dr. & Mrs. John Nelson

Mr. and Mrs. Solon P. Patterson

The Piedmont National Family Foundation

John H. Rains

Sharon & David Schachter°

Mrs. Dianna A. Scherer

Drs. Bess Schoen & Andrew Muir

Drs. Lawrence & Rachel Schonberger

Nick & Annie Shreiber

Helga Hazelrig Siegel

Diana Silverman

Jeanne & Jim Simpson

Mr. Matthew Sitler

The Alex & Betty

Smith Donor-Advised Endowment Fund

Anne-Marie Sparrow

Peggy & Jerry Stapleton

Candace Steele

James & Shari Steinberg

Dr. & Mrs. John P. Straetmans

Kay R Summers

Ms. Linda F. Terry

Ms. Lara C. Tumeh°

Dr. Brenda G. Turner

Wayne & Lee Harper

Vason

Vogel Family Foundation

Ron & Susan Whitaker

Russell F. Winch & Mark B. Elberfeld

Mrs. Lynne M. Winship

Ms. Sonia Witkowski

Zaban Foundation, Inc.

Herbert* & Grace Zwerner

Patron

Leadership

(PAL) Committee

We give special thanks to this dedicated group of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra donor-volunteers for their commitment to each year’s annual support initiatives:

Linda Matthews chair

Kristi Allpere

Helga Beam

Bill Buss

Pat Buss

Kristen Fowks

Deedee Hamburger

Judy Hellriegel

Nancy Janet

Belinda Massafra

Sally Parsonson

June Scott

Milt Shlapak

Sheila Tschinkel

Jonne Walter

Marcia Watt

°We are grateful to these donors for taking the extra time to acquire matching gifts from their employers. *Deceased

HENRY SOPKIN CIRCLE

Named for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s founding Music Director, the HENRY SOPKIN CIRCLE celebrates cherished individuals and families who have made a planned gift to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. These special donors preserve the Orchestra’s foundation and ensure success for future generations.

A Friend of the Symphony (22)

Madeline* & Howell E. Adams, Jr.

Mr.* & Mrs.* John E. Aderhold

Mr. & Mrs. Paul Aldo

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald R. Antinori

Dr. & Mrs. William Bauer

Helga Beam

Mr. Charles D. Belcher *

Neil H. Berman

Susan & Jack Bertram

Mr.* & Mrs.* Karl A. Bevins

The Estate of Donald S. & Joyce Bickers

Ms. Page Bishop*

Mr.* & Mrs. Sol Blaine

John Blatz

Rita & Herschel Bloom

The Estate of Mrs.

Gilbert H. Boggs, Jr.

W. Moses Bond

Mr.* & Mrs. Robert C. Boozer

Elinor A. Breman*

James C. Buggs*

Mr. & Mrs.* Richard H. Burgin

Hugh W. Burke*

Mr. & Mrs. William Buss

Wilber W. Caldwell

Mr. & Mrs. C. Merrell Calhoun

Cynthia & Donald Carson

Mrs. Jane Celler*

Lenore Cicchese*

Margie & Pierce Cline

Dr. & Mrs. Grady S. Clinkscales, Jr.

Robert Boston Colgin

Mrs. Mary Frances

Evans Comstock*

Miriam* & John A.* Conant

Dr. John W. Cooledge

Mr. & Mrs. William R. Cummickel

Bob* & Verdery* Cunningham

Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes

John R. Donnell

Dixon W. Driggs*

Pamela Johnson Drummond

Mrs. Kathryn E. Duggleby

Catherine Warren Dukehart*

Ms. Diane Durgin

Arnold & Sylvia Eaves

Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge

Geoffrey G. Eichholz*

Elizabeth Etoll

Mr. Doyle Faler

Brien P. Faucett

Dr. Emile T. Fisher*

Moniqua N Fladger

Mr. & Mrs. Bruce W. Flower

A. D. Frazier, Jr.

Nola Frink*

Betty & Drew* Fuller

Sally & Carl Gable

William & Carolyn Gaik

Dr. John W. Gamwell*

Mr.* & Mrs.* L.L. Gellerstedt, Jr.

Ruth Gershon & Sandy Cohn

Micheline & Bob Gerson

Max Gilstrap

Mr. & Mrs. John T. Glover

Mrs. David Goldwasser

Robert Hall Gunn, Jr. Fund

Billie & Sig Guthman

Betty G.* & Joseph* F. Haas

James & Virginia Hale

Ms. Alice Ann Hamilton

Dr. Charles H. Hamilton*

Sally & Paul* Hawkins

John* & Martha Head

Ms. Jeannie Hearn*

Barbara & John Henigbaum

Jill* & Jennings* Hertz

Mr. Albert L. Hibbard

Richard E. Hodges

Mr.* & Mrs. Charles K.

Holmes, Jr.

Mr.* & Mrs.* Fred A. Hoyt, Jr.

Jim* & Barbara Hund

Clayton F. Jackson

Mary B. James

Mr. Calvert Johnson & Mr. Kenneth Dutter

deForest F. Jurkiewicz*

Herb* & Hazel Karp

Anne Morgan & Jim Kelley

Bob Kinsey

James W.* & Mary Ellen*

Kitchell

Paul Kniepkamp, Jr.

Vivian & Peter de Kok

Miss Florence Kopleff*

Mr. Robert Lamy

James H. Landon

Ouida Hayes Lanier

Lucy Russell Lee* & Gary Lee, Jr.

Ione & John Lee

Mr. Larry M. LeMaster

Mr.* & Mrs.* William C. Lester

Liz & Jay* Levine

Robert M. Lewis, Jr.

Carroll & Ruth Liller

Ms. Joanne Lincoln*

Jane Little*

Mrs. J. Erskine Love, Jr.*

Nell Galt & Will D. Magruder

K Maier

John W. Markham*

Mrs. Ann B. Martin

Linda & John Matthews

Mr. Michael A. McDowell, Jr.

Dr. Michael S. McGarry

Richard & Shirley McGinnis

John & Clodagh Miller

Ms. Vera Milner

Mrs. Gene Morse*

Ms. Janice Murphy*

Mr. & Mrs. Bertil D. Nordin

Mrs. Amy W. Norman*

Galen Oelkers

Roger B. Orloff

Barbara D. Orloff

Dr. Bernard* & Sandra Palay

Sally & Pete Parsonson

James L. Paulk

Ralph & Kay* Paulk

Dan R. Payne

Bill Perkins

Mrs. Lela May Perry*

Mr.* & Mrs. Rezin E. Pidgeon, Jr.

Janet M. Pierce*

Reverend Neal P. Ponder, Jr.

William L.* & Lucia Fairlie*

Pulgram

Ms. Judy L. Reed*

Carl J. Reith*

Mr. Philip A. Rhodes

Vicki J. & Joe A. Riedel

Helen & John Rieser

Dr. Shirley E. Rivers*

David F. & Maxine A.* Rock

Glen Rogerson*

Tiffany & Richard Rosetti

Mr.* & Mrs.* Martin H. Sauser

Bob & Mary Martha Scarr

Mr. Paul S. Scharff & Ms. Polly G. Fraser

Dr. Barbara S. Schlefman

Bill & Rachel Schultz

Mrs. Joan C. Schweitzer

June & John Scott

Edward G. Scruggs*

Dr. & Mrs. George P. Sessions

Mr. W. G. Shaefer, Jr.

Charles H. Siegel*

Mr. & Mrs. H. Hamilton Smith

Mrs. Lessie B. Smithgall*

Ms. Margo Sommers

Elliott Sopkin

Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel

Mr. Daniel D. Stanley

Gail & Loren Starr

Peter James Stelling*

Ms. Barbara Stewart

Beth & Edward Sugarman

C. Mack* & Mary Rose* Taylor

Isabel Thomson*

Jennings Thompson IV

Margaret* & Randolph* Thrower

Kenneth & Kathleen Tice

Mr. H. Burton Trimble, Jr.

Mr. Steven R. Tunnell

Mr. & Mrs. John B. Uttenhove

Mary E. Van Valkenburgh

Mrs. Anise C. Wallace

Mr. Robert Wardle, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. John B. White, Jr.

Adair & Dick White

Mr. Hubert H. Whitlow, Jr.*

Sue & Neil* Williams

Mrs. Frank L. Wilson, Jr.

Mrs. Elin M. Winn

Ms. Joni Winston

George & Camille Wright

Mr.* & Mrs.* Charles R. Yates *Deceased

ASO | STAFF

EXECUTIVE

Jennifer Barlament executive director

Alvinetta Cooksey executive & finance assistant

Emily Fritz-Endres executive management

fellow

Dautri Erwin executive assistant

ARTISTIC

Gaetan Le Divelec vice president, artistic planning

Jeffrey Baxter choral administrator

RaSheed Lemon aso artist liaison

Ebner Sobalvarro artistic administrator

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Sarah Grant director of education

Ryan Walks

talent development program manager

Elena Gagon coordinator of education & community engagement

OPERATIONS

Paul Barrett

senior production stage manager

Richard Carvlin

stage manager

Hannah Davis, assistant librarian

Elizabeth Graiser manager of operations & asyo

Renee Hagelberg manager of orchestra personnel

Victoria Moore

director of orchestra personnel

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Ashley Mirakian

vice president, marketing & communications

Delle Beganie content & production manager

Leah Branstetter director of digital content

Meredith Chapple marketing coordinator

Adam Fenton director of multimedia technology

Will Strawn associate director of marketing, live

Caitlin Buckers marketing manager, live

Lisa Eng multimedia creative manager, live

Mia Jones-Walker marketing manager

Rob Phipps director of creative services

Bob Scarr

archivist & research coordinator

Madisyn Willis marketing manager

Robin Smith

patron services & season ticket associate

Jake Van Valkenburg sales coordinator

Milo McGehee guest services coordinator

Anna Caldwell guest services associate

ATLANTA SYMPHONY HALL LIVE

Nicole Panunti vice president, atlanta symphony hall live

Christine Lawrence associate director of guest services

Michael Tamucci

associate director of performance management, atlanta symphony hall live

Dan Nesspor

ticketing manager, atlanta symphony hall live

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Susan Ambo

chief financial officer & vice president, business operations

Kimberly Hielsberg vice president of finance

DEVELOPMENT

Grace Sipusic vice president of development

Cheri Snyder senior director of development

William Keene

director of annual giving

James Paulk

senior annual giving officer

Renee Contreras associate director, development communications

Julia Filson

director of corporate relations

Dana Parness

manager of individual giving and prospect research

Catherine MacGregor manager of donor engagement

Robert Cushing development associate, major gifts

Sarah Wilson development operations associate

Sharveace Cameron senior development associate

SALES

&

REVENUE MANAGEMENT

Russell Wheeler vice president, sales & revenue management

Nancy James front of house supervisor

Erin Jones director of sales

Jesse Pace senior manager of ticketing & patron experience

Dennis Quinlan

data analyst

Brandi Hoyos

director of diversity, equity & inclusion

April Satterfield controller

Brandi Reed staff accountant

ASO

CORPORATE & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

THE WOODRUFF CIRCLE

Woodruff Circle members have contributed more than $250,000 annually to support the arts and education work of the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art. We are deeply grateful to these partners who lead our efforts to help create opportunities for enhanced access to the work.

$1MILLION+

A Friend of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

$500,000+

The Antinori Foundation

Bank of America

A Friend of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

$250,000+

Accenture

AT&T Foundation

Farideh & Al Azadi Foundation

The Molly Blank Fund

Helen Gurley Brown Foundation

Chick-fil-A Foundation | Rhonda & Dan Cathy

The Goizueta Foundation

Invesco QQQ

Novelis

PNC

Mr. & Mrs. Shouky Shaheen

The Home Depot Foundation

Sarah and Jim Kennedy

The Rich Foundation, Inc.

Alfred A. Thornton Venable Trust

Truist Trusteed Foundations:

Florence C. and Harry L. English Memorial Fund

Thomas Guy Woolford Charitable Trust

UPS

WestRock

The Zeist Foundation, Inc.

THE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Leadership Circle corporations have committed to a contribution of $1,000,000 over one or more years to support the arts and education work of the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art.

Accenture

The Coca-Cola Company

Chick-fil-A

Delta Air Lines

Georgia Power

Graphic Packaging

Novelis

UPS

WestRock

THE BENEFACTOR CIRCLE

Benefactor Circle members have contributed more than $100,000 annually to support the arts and education work of the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art. We are deeply grateful to these partners who lead our efforts to help create opportunities for enhanced access to the work.

$100,000+

1180

Alston & Bird

Atlantic Station

John Auerbach

Sandra & Dan Baldwin

BlackRock

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Melinda & Brian Corbett

Sheila L. & Jonathan J. Davies

Barney M. Franklin & Hugh W. Burke Charitable Fund

Georgia-Pacific

Google

Graphic Packaging

Mr. and Mrs. James S. Grien

Louise S. Sams and Jerome Grilhot

The John H. & Wilhelmina D. Harland Charitable Foundation

The Hertz Family Foundation, Inc.

Mr. & Mrs. Hilton H. Howell, Jr.

The Imlay Foundation Institute of Museum & Library Services

Jones Day Foundation & Employees

Kaiser Permanente

Abraham J. and Phyllis Katz Foundation

King & Spalding, Partners & Employees

The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation

Charles Loridans Foundation, Inc.

The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc.

The Marcus Foundation, Inc.

John W. Markham III*

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Morris Manning & Martin LLP

National Endowment for the Arts

Newell Brands

Norfolk Southern Foundation

Amy W. Norman Charitable Foundation

Northside Hospital

Victoria & Howard Palefsky

Patty and Doug Reid

The Shubert Foundation

Carol & Ramon Tomé Family Fund

Dr. Joan H. Weens

Kelly and Rod Westmoreland

Ann Marie and John B. White, Jr.

wish Foundation

The David, Helen & Marian Woodward Fund

Peachtree ACT Foundation, Inc.

*notates deceased