The Virtual Nutcracker 2020_Fairfax Symphony and Ballet

Nutcracker the

Broadcast on Fairfax County’s Channel 16

December 5th - 27th, 2020 &

OUR GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY!

WELCOME

Virtual Nutcracker! to the

Three Fairfax County institutions—Fairfax County Television Channel 16, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and the Fairfax Ballet Company—come together to present a special virtual production of the holiday masterpiece, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. This production was recorded in December 2019 at the George Mason University Center for the Arts and will air on Fairfax County Channel 16 throughout December, broadcast into the homes of more than 1 million Fairfax County residents to enjoy together this holiday season.

“We are delighted to partner with two of our premier Fairfax County arts organizations to bring this wonderful, holiday production into the homes of our residents for all to enjoy for free and safely this season.”

—Jeffrey C. McKay, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors “While our concert halls remain closed, we are thrilled to continue our annual holiday presentation of Tchaikovksy’s The Nutcracker—this year as a gift to our community in collaboration with our wonderful partners at The Fairfax Ballet and Fairfax County Television Channel 16. From the incredible dancers on stage, music by our Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and beautiful, digital scenery, we hope everyone will grab a hot chocolate, enjoy a cupcake from our holiday partner Georgetown Cupcake, and settle in to experience this magical performance that’s perfect for the whole family.”

—Jonathan Kerr, Executive Director, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra “We’re incredibly honored to join the Fairfax Symphony to share this virtual production of The Nutcracker. Viewers are in for a special treat, and this production provides a wonderful learning experience for our Fairfax Ballet Company dancers to perform with a live orchestra on the big stage at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts Concert Hall.”

—Karla Petry, Executive Director of The Fairfax Ballet and owner of The Russell School of Ballet

We hope you enjoy the performance and look forward to performing for you live next year!

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra Christopher Zimmerman, Conductor & Music Director The Fairfax Ballet Andrea Cook, Artistic Director

Nutcracker the

Tchaikovsky’s

Featuring

Elina Miettinen – Sugar Plum Sean Stewart – Cavalier Carlos Martinez – Nutcracker Prince Nicole Shortle – Clara Aleksey Kudrin – Herr Drosselmeier Phillip Smith-Cobb – Soldier Doll, Mouse King, Arabian Coffee Amy Martin – Snowflake, Peppermint Stick Kellyn McNulty – Snowflake, Arabian Coffee, Dew Drop Fairy Stephanie Murphy – Snowflake, Dew Drop Fairy Rebecca Rainhart – Snow Queen, Spanish Chocolate Heather Qian – Snowflake, Spanish Chocolate Jessica Werfel – Mechanical Doll, Snowflake, Danish Mirliton Katrina Raab, Chloe Shulsinger – Friend, Snowflake, Chinese Tea, Rose Meredith Rainhart – Fritz, Snowflake, Danish Mirliton, Rose Grace Reidenbaugh – Snowflake, Spanish Chocolate, Rose Ava Urben – Snowflake, Danish Mirliton, Rose Coralynn Schiefelbein – Maid Amanda Millward – Mother Ginger with Dancers from The Fairfax Ballet Company and the Russell School of Ballet: Aaliyah Cramer, Rocio DeLeon, Natalie DeSesso, Serena Edwards, Abigayle Elkhouri, Katherine Feng, Ava Fox, Jude Kelati, Sara Kelati, Kendall Lebowitz, Vivian Lee, Reagan Lentz, Asia Lewis, Hazel Lindquist, Rosabel Liu, Sophia Liu, Avery Miller, Gwyneth Moon, Caroline Musci, Lauren Musci, Melody Namvar, Moneli Namvar, Nura Patel, Sophie Peterson, Patricia Pobst, Emma Pullicino, Hannah Qian, Clara Rainhart, Charlotte Richmond, Greta Richmond, Piper Rowley, Zoe Rowley, Teresa Seraphin, Charlotte , Tolson, Lauren Wienke, Amelia Williams, Elizabeth Workman, Clare Yee, Layla Zeroual Christmas Party House Guests: Marcela Figueroa, Cathleen Karlsson, David Lebowitz, Nima Namvar, Rachael Pobst, Jennifer Preston, David Richmond, Josh Qian, David Werfel, Jen Wienke, Terence Yee This performance is made possible with generous support from

THANK YOU

FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS Visit Fairfax, Fairfax County’s ofďŹ cial destination marketing organization, would like to thank you for supporting the arts community that makes Fairfax County such a wonderful place to live and a beautiful place to visit.

For more opportunities to support the arts, visit fxva.com

Nutcracker the

It is Christmas Eve…

STORY SYNOPSIS

Herr Drosselmeier, the magical toy maker, attends a party at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum and his Godchild, Clara.

He brings gifts for all the children and, after teasing Clara, finally presents her with a wonderful Nutcracker doll.

In the midst of the party, her handsome Nutcracker is broken, but Drosselmeier mends it with a ribbon from Clara’s hair, and the party resumes.

When the guests have departed, Drosselmeier transports Clara into a world of fantasy where time is suspended.

With the aid of the toy soldiers, Clara and the Nutcracker battle the Mouse King and his army of mice. Together they slay the Mouse King and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince.

The Prince leads Clara on a journey through the Land of the Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets where, upon their arrival, they are greeted by the lovely Waltzing Flowers and reigning Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier.

After the Prince tells the story of how he and Clara defeated the Mouse King, they are entertained with dancers from many lands.

Drosselmeier re-appears and returns a sleepy Clara back to her home.

It was all just a dream…or was it?

We hope you enjoy the FSO’s 2020 offering of this annual tradition.

Happy Holidays,

from our house to yours!

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PROGRAM NOTES Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The Nutcracker

Composer: born May 7, 1840, Kamsko-Votinsk, Viatka province, Russia; died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg Work composed: Feb 1891 – March 23, 1892. Commissioned by the Imperial Theatres of Imperial Russia, based on Alexandre Dumas père’s L’Histoire d’un Casse Noisette, a version of E.T.A. Hoffman’s story, Nussknacker und Mausekönig (The Nutcracker and Mouse-King).

World premiere: December 17, 1892, on a double bill with Tchaikovsky’s one-act opera Iolanthe. Ricardo Drigo led the orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Who among us has not attended at least one holiday performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker? For many Americans, The Nutcracker is a regular and beloved holiday tradition, whether we have a child in the production or not.

Interestingly, The Nutcracker, an ostensibly “Russian” ballet, is in fact an international creation. E.T.A. Hoffman’s macabre German tale, as retold by a Frenchman, Alexandre Dumas père, was made into a Russian “ballet fairy tale,” which has become an American phenomenon.

After the success of The Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky initially refused the commission offered him by Ivan Alexandrovitch Vsevolozhsky, director of the Imperial Theatre, to create another ballet with choreographer Marius Petipa.

Neither Tchaikovsky nor Petipa cared for Dumas’ story; Petipa because there were no central roles for a prima ballerina and Tchaikovsky because he “liked the plot … very little” and also noted, “I feel a complete impossibility to reproduce musically the ‘Konfitürenburg’ (The Candy Kingdom).” Eventually Tchaikovsky agreed to The Nutcracker when Vsevolozhsky also commissioned a one-act opera to be presented on the same concert. (Tchaikovsky already had a story in mind for the opera, titled Iolanthe, about a blind princess who falls in love and regains her sight).

Tchaikovsky began work on both Iolanthe and The Nutcracker simultaneously, but made much faster progress with the one-act, which interested him, as opposed to The Nutcracker, which he wrote only as a contractual obligation.

When he finished the fairy-tale ballet, Tchaikovsky observed, “And now it is finished, [it] is all ugliness.” Over time, however, Tchaikovsky’s opinion mellowed.

“Strange that when I was composing the ballet I kept thinking that it wasn’t very good but that I would show them [the Imperial Theaters] what I can do when I

began the opera. And now it seems that the ballet is good and the opera not so good.”

Act I opens on a lavish Christmas Eve celebration. The adults decorate the tree; when the clock strikes nine, a group of children, led by Clara and Fritz, march round the room to a chorus of brasses. Children and grownups dance together, whereupon Clara’s godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, arrives loaded down with toys: a mechanical doll and a toy soldier, as well as a huge Nutcracker, also dressed as a soldier. Clara and Fritz fight over the Nutcracker, which Fritz accidentally breaks when he tries to crack an enormous nut. Clara picks up the broken Nutcracker, cradles it in her arms, and sings a lullaby, while the boys tease her. Meanwhile, Herr Drosselmeyer performs a creaky dance to an asymmetrical melody in the winds.

After everyone has gone to bed (sleepy oboe solo), Clara comes down to see her Nutcracker, which is glowing. Midnight strikes, and a horde of mice skitter to chattering wind music. The dolls spring to life, and gingerbread soldiers left over from tea begin to march to and fro. Clara tries to run away, but is frozen to the spot, marveling at the Christmas tree, which magically grows to an enormous height. Dolls and soldiers fight the mice in vain, until the Nutcracker engages the King of the Mice in a duel. At a crucial moment, Clara throws her slipper at the King of the Mice, killing him. The Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince, accompanied by a dreamy swirl of strings and harp arpeggios, and he asks Clara to join him on a journey to the Kingdom of Sweets. In the second scene, set in a snowy forest under a starry sky, gnomes guide Clara and the Prince through the woods. Snowflakes fall and the Snow King and Queen join their subjects in a waltz featuring flutes and a wordless chorus.

Act II begins with Clara and the Nutcracker Prince arriving in the Kingdom of Sweets; the rippling arpeggios and flowing melody in the strings suggest the gentle rocking of the ship that brings them to shore. Once they arrive, the citizens of the Kingdom put on a festival in their honor; a triumphal theme in brasses and strings alternates with colorful waltzes and fanfares. After the festival, a parade of characters performs. The Spanish Chocolates dance to the click of castanets and a virtuoso trumpet solo, while the Arabian Coffee creates an air of mystery with its brooding clarinets and exotic scales. The Chinese Teacups twirl to the piping of a piccolo and the Russian Dance (Trepak) leaps across the stage with breathtaking speed and agility. The toy flutes flutter about like butterflies, followed by Mother Gigone (Mother Goose) and her flock of bonbons. The horn chorus and clarinet solo from the Waltz of the Flowers, not to mention the main waltz theme in the strings, are instantly recognizable. Next, the Sugarplum Fairy and Prince dance their signature pas de deux, featuring a luxuriant melody for strings and harp. The Prince then performs a quirky little solo, barely 30 seconds long, followed by the famous dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, whose music, with its distinctive celeste part, has become a kind of musical shorthand for the entire ballet. The Nutcracker concludes with a celebratory waltz. © 2020 Elizabeth Schwartz

CHRISTOPHER ZIMMERMAN, Music Director Named Music Director of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra in 2009, Christopher Zimmerman celebrates his eleventh season with the FSO. Under his leadership, the FSO has received consistent praise from the media. The Washington Post chief arts critic, Anne Midgette, wrote: “the Bernstein was a note perfect end to a very refreshing evening that spoke well for the programming vision of Zimmerman.” Washington Post reporter, Stephen Brookes, commented: “Zimmerman has been injecting adrenalin into this determined ensemble… (and has) made the Fairfax players a serious force to be reckoned with.”

In the summer of 2013 Zimmerman accepted two additional appointments: Music Director of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and Principal Conductor of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras. He has also been the Music Director of the Eleazar de Carvalho Festival in Brazil, and, closer to home, a regular guest conductor at the Summer Performing Arts Festival in Wintergreen, Virginia. He has also been engaged as a guest conductor all over the world, with the Royal Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Prague Symphony, the Slovak Philharmonic, the Turku Philharmonic, the Seoul Philharmonic, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Caracas Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro to name a few, and, more recently, he has been on two guest tours of orchestras in China.

A recipient of numerous awards, the FSO under Zimmerman’s direction was honored as the 2013 winner of Washington Area Music Award (WAMMIE) for the best classical orchestra. In 2011, Zimmerman was selected as the first place winner in the professional orchestra category of “The American Prize in Conducting,” a new award for nationwide performances for conductors of all genres and categories. His U.S. operatic conducting debut, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, won first place in the National Opera Association competition.

A champion of contemporary music, Zimmerman has conducted more than 25 premieres for orchestra by recognized composers such as William Bolcom, Susan Botti, Martin Bresnick, Avner Dorman, Bright Sheng, Christopher Rouse, Chris Theofanidis, Ellen Taafe Zwilich and Judith Weir. On July 4, 2012, Mr. Zimmerman gave the world premiere of “Lingua Angelorum” by Czech composer Sylvie Bodorova, a 50 minute song-cycle with the internationally renowned baritone Thomas Hampson and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, Maestro Zimmerman and the FSO also gave the U.S. premiere of her first symphony.

Christopher Zimmerman graduated from Yale with a B.A. in Music, and received his Master’s from the University of Michigan. He also studied with Seiji Ozawa and Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood, and at the Pierre Monteux School in Maine with Charles Bruck.

Zimmerman served as an apprentice to Andrew Davis and the Toronto Symphony and in Prague, as assistant conductor to Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Christopher Zimmerman, Music Director & Conductor 1st VIOLIN Cristina Constantinescu, Concertmaster Timothy Kidder, Associate Mia Lee, Assistant Sharon Like Ae-Young Kristin Bakkegard Jenny Chao Sarit Luban George Pekarsky Shu-ting Yao VIOLA Gene Pohl, Principal Helen Fall, Associate Patti Reid Paul Bagley Linnea Marchie Ji Young Nam BASS Aaron Clay, Principal John Barger Erik Cohen Andrew Gantzer CLARINET/BASS CLARINET Patrick Morgan, Principal Wendi Hatton BASSOON Dean Woods, Principal Sean Gordon FRENCH HORN Eric Moore, Principal Neil Chidester Greta Richard HARP Nadia Pessoa TRUMPET Paul Johnson, Principal Chris Ferrari

2nd VIOLIN Melanie Kuperstein, Principal Karan Wright, Assistant Nancy Bovill Cynthia Crumb Jessica Mun Susan Manus Elena Smirnova Timothy Wade CELLO Marion Baker, Principal Jihea Choi Anne Rupert Rachel Sexton Kathy Thompson Barbara Van Patten Zach Whitacre FLUTE/PICCOLO Lawrence Ink, Principal Cheryl Hall Laura Kaufman Mowry OBOE/ENGLISH HORN Rick Basehore, Principal Meredith Rouse TROMBONE/ BASS TROMBONE David Miller, Principal TUBA Michael Bunn TIMPANI Douglas Day PERCUSSION Shari Rak, Principal Michael Gatti Joseph Connell KEYBOARD Laurie Bunn

MEET THE ARTISTS Elina Miettinen (Sugar Plum Fairy) Born in Belomorsk, Russia, Elina Miettinen moved, with her family to Helsinki, Finland in 1992. At the age of nine, Miettinen was accepted into the special training class at the Helsinki Dance Institute. In 2005, she was given a Pro Dance Scholarship and went to the Amsterdam National Ballet Academy in Holland.

In the Autumn of 2006, Miettinen joined the Finnish National Ballet. In 2002, Miettinen was a finalist in the Scandinavian Ballet Competition in Sweden. In 2005, she was a semi-finalist in the Helsinki International Ballet Competition. In 2007, Miettinen competed in the Scandinavian Ballet Competition and won a prize trip to the International Ballet Competition in Grasse, France where she won a bronze medal. In the Summer of 2007, Miettinen won the Igor Youskevitch Award at the New York International Ballet Competition. Miettinen danced with the American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet from 2008-2018.

Sean Stewart (Cavalier) Stewart began studying ballet at age 12 with Yanina Cywinska and was a professional ballet dancer by the age of 14, having joined the Joffrey II Dancers in New York under the direction of Jeremy Blanton and Gage Bush Englund.

He studied for a year at the Paris Opera Ballet School before joining American Ballet Theatre. Sean performed many roles with ABT including Lankendem and Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Benno in Swan Lake, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, Hortensio in Taming of the Shrew, the shy stepsister in Ashton’s Cinderella, as well as featured roles in modern and contemporary works by Merce Cunningham, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Nacho Duato, Lar Lubovitch, Christian Holder, Lauri Stallings, Aszure Barton, Benjamin Millepied and Stanton Welch among many others. He has performed with Lar Lubovitch’s company, as well as Complexions, Alabama Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, and Washington Ballet, and originated a role in The Times, They Are A’ Changin’, a musical play directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp. Stewart has taught at the ABT Alabama Summer Intensive, at Peridance in NYC, at Eglevsky Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet School, and currently serves as the artistic coordinator and rehearsal director of the ABT Apprentice Program, assistant director and ballet master at CoLab Dance and ballet master for Hamptons Dance Project as well as ballet master, stager, and company teacher of Duncan Lyle Dance.

Carlos Martinez (Nutcracker Prince) Carlos Alejandro Martinez Espinosa is from Guadalajara, Mexico. At the age of 10, he began studying dance at “Escuela de Artes” in Guadalajara, Mexico with Javier Zavala, Michelle Monreal, Diana Garcia, and Nazira Yakubova. At the age

of 13, he was awarded a major scholarship at the “National Ballet Competition of Mexico� to attend Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, California, joining the Academy in the Fall of 2014, where he trained with Patrick Frantz, Jonathan Sharp, Ellen Rosa-Taylor, Hai Cohen, Stephanie Gilliland and Lauren Smith.

Currently, Carlos is a Sophmore at George Mason University School of Dance.

He has worked with Alexandre Munz, John Pennington, Jean Emile, Ballet de Jalisco, BodyTraffic, California Dance Theater, Inland Pacific Ballet, and Parsons Dance.

Nicole Shortle (Clara) Nicole Shortle is a Junior at Oakton High School and a member of the Fairfax Ballet Senior Company. She has trained at the Russell School of Ballet for 10 years and has been a member of the Fairfax Ballet for 4 years. She has attended summer programs at the Nashville Ballet and Ballet Austin. Nicole has graced the stage in such roles as Fritz, Snowflake, and Rose in The Nutcracker and in numerous original works and story ballets with The Fairfax Ballet such as The Snow Queen, Carnival of the Animals and The Doll Shop.

Philip Smith-Cobbs (Soldier Doll, Mouse King, and Arabian) Philip Smith-Cobbs recently moved back to Northern Virginia after dancing with Atlanta Ballet for five seasons. At the age of eight, Philip began training with Classical Ballet Theatre in Herndon. He also attended summer intensives

at Richmond Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and School of American Ballet. After graduating from high school, he continued his training at Atlanta Ballet’s Centre for Dance Education. In 2010 Philip became a member of Atlanta Ballet’s prestigious Fellowship Ensemble. With the Ensemble, he performed in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Who Cares, and was also featured in John Mahler’s Cinderella, dancing the roles of the Prince and Stepsister, and in Bruce Wells’s Pinocchio, in the role of Geppetto. Dancing with Atlanta Ballet’s main company, Philip performed several solo roles in John McFall’s Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker, including Drosselmeyer’s Nephew, Trepak, and Chinese.

In addition to performing, Philip has had the chance to work with renowned choreographers Twyla Tharp, Wayne McGregor, James Kudelka, and Helen Pickett.

Aleksey Kudrin (Herr Drosselmeier) Aleskey Kudrin was born in Perm, Russia and trained at the Perm State Choreographic Academy. He danced with the Siktivkar Theater Opera and Ballet and the Grigorovich Ballet of Russia, under the legendary Yuri Grigorovich, before coming to the United States. After coming to the U.S., Kudrin danced with the Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Columbia Classical Ballet in South Carolina, and Manassas Ballet Theater, appearing in many original works as well as many classics. He performs regularly as a guest artist with several area companies and schools. He has been teaching in the Northern Virginia area since 2005.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS James C. McKeever Jr., Chairman McKeever Services Corporation Jose “Pepe” Figueroa, Vice-Chairman Priority One Services

John Lockhart, Treasurer PNC Bank Thomas Brownell, Secretary Holland & Knight LLP

Mark McLeod, Immediate Past Chairman Eric Moore American University Thomas Murphy, General Counsel Jackson Lewis P.C.

Nancy Bovill Players Committee Member Dean Woods Players Committee Member

HONORARY BOARD The Honorable Sharon Bulova The Honorable Thomas M. Davis Sidney O. Dewberry The Honorable James W. Dyke

Dr. Gerald L. Gordon John T. “Til” Hazel Julien Patterson

ARTISTIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Christopher Zimmerman, Music Director Jonathan Kerr, Executive Director Susan Petroff, Director of Development Lisa LaCamera, Marketing & Public Relations Ilycia Silver, Education & Operations Coordinator

Suzy Dawson, Accountant Cynthia Crumb, Personnel Manager Wendi Hatton, Librarian Timothy Wade, Stage Manager Heather Rhine, Graphic Designer

The FSO is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, ARTSFAIRFAX and the County of Fairfax.

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra • 2667 Prosperity Avenue • Fairfax,VA 22031 703-563-1990 • www.fairfaxsymphony.org info@fairfaxsymphony.org

ABOUT THE FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (FSO) The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra is the largest symphonic performing arts organization in Northern Virginia and has played a central role in Fairfax County’s cultural and civic life for more than 60 years.

Under the direction of conductor and Music Director, Christopher Zimmerman, the FSO holds a reputation as one of the finest, regional orchestras in the nation. Hailed by The Washington Post as “a crown jewel of the cultural landscape”, each season more than 15,000 members of the community enjoy concerts and educational outreach programs throughout the greater Washington area. The FSO features a roster of more than 60 professional musicians, with one-third of them being active-duty, retired, or former members of the nation’s U.S. Marine, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy national, military bands.

ABOUT THE FAIRFAX BALLET & RUSSELL SCHOOL OF BALLET The Fairfax Ballet, a 501(c)(3) non-profit performing arts organization, was established nearly 50 years ago to develop in each student a love of dance, a strong technical foundation, and an artistic education.

As one of the longest-running ballet companies in Northern Virginia, The Fairfax Ballet, under Artistic Director Andrea Cook, has trained exceptional dancers who have gone on to study and perform at some of the finest ballet companies, including the New York City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Basel Ballet, and Monte Carlo Ballet. The Russell School of Ballet, home of the Fairfax Ballet, is celebrating its 54th year of teaching and inspiring young dancers. It is their mission to develop in each student a love for dance, a strong technical foundation, and an artistic education.

Special thanks to the following for their support of this production: Jordan Kitt’s Music, ARTSFAIRFAX, David Werfel Group, IBM, Jos. A Banks, Mad Hatter Adventures, Salon Khouri, and the Nelson J. & Katherine Friant Post Foundation.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH MUSIC Beyond the concert stage, the Fairfax Symphony partners with teachers in classrooms across Fairfax County to enhance learning through music. Your support is essential to help bring vital education programs to thousands of students in our community each year.

Over 1,000 students in Grades 3-5 from across Fairfax County perform in our collaborative, Carnegie Hall Link Up concert.

CONNECTING THE CLASSROOM WITH THE CONCERT HALL In partnership with Carnegie Hall, the FSO joins orchestras across the globe to implement Link Up—a semester-long, music-learning program that engages young minds and connects over 500,000 students with the concert hall experience. Through our Link Up program, the FSO works together with teachers in schools across Fairfax County to implement evidence-based curriculum that builds creativity, communication, collaboration, and confidence. The students then join us in a culminating, collaborative performance at the GMU Center for the Arts!

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION The FSO inspires the next generation of classical musicians through our Fairfax Symphony All-Stars: Sharon Bulova Young Artists’ Program. This competitive program provides selected high school students with personalized coaching and mentoring from FSO orchestra members, with a unique opportunity to perform together Fairfax County All-Stars perform with the FSO. This innovative side-by-side with the FSO. program helps aspiring musicians gain valuable insight into the professional performance experience.

ENHANCING STEM LEARNING THROUGH ARTS INTEGRATION For over 40 years the FSO has partnered with Fairfax County Public Schools to integrate music across disciplines to enhance the learning process. Last season, we collaborated with teachers in Title 1 schools to enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills.

Studying the composer, Gustav Holst, students in Students’ planet-inspired original artwork was exhibited in the lobby during the concert of The Planets.

Grades 4-6, connected the theme of Holst’s The Planets through each of their classes. Students studied the solar system, math ratios, and problem-solving involving circumferences and areas of circles, and painted the planets to scale, using a size ratio chart that shows the relative diameter of the planets using the diameter of earth as a standard.

YOUR SUPPORT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE! Please donate today at www.FairfaxSymphony.org • by phone at 703.563.1990