InTune | November 2023

InTUNE Valčuha Conducts Rachmaninoff

Valčuha Conducts Ravel’s La valse

November 2023

“I Will Survive” —Diva Legends

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Your Houston Symphony Welcome to the Houston Symphony Your Symphony Experience Reviving Jones Hall: An Update on Hall Renovations Juraj Valčuha, Music Director Orchestra Roster Society Board of Trustees Administrative Staff Music & Wellness: The Symphony's Dementia Center Visits 2023 Houston Symphony Opening Night Concert and Gala Meet the Musician: Nathan Cloeter Meet the Musician: Brian Mangrum

Programs Valčuha Conducts Rachmaninoff Valčuha Conducts Ravel’s La valse “I Will Survive”—Diva Legends

Our Supporters Houston Symphony Donors Music Director Fund Young Associates Council Corporate, Foundation & Gov. Partners Houston Symphony Endowment Legacy Society Musician Sponsorships Jesse H. Jones Hall Renovation Donors

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16 24 34

44 46 47 48 50 51 52 53

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1

INTUNE July 2023

welcome to the houston symphony

Dear Music Lovers, This is the time of year when we think about what we’re thankful for. First on the list: our incredible musicians of the orchestra, our fantastic music director, and all of the great guest performers who bring life to Jones Hall with their artistry. This month, we kick things off with John Williams’s thrilling score to Raiders of the Lost Ark, live-to-film, conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos. Then Music Director Juraj Valčuha returns for two weeks exploring orchestral music inspired by dance with his Symphonic Dances project. One of the highlights: the U.S. premiere of groundbreaking composer Julia Wolfe’s Pretty, which we co-commissioned with the Berlin Philharmonic.

We’ll also welcome two phenomenal pianists to the stage as part of these two weeks, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Behzod Abduraimov. The project is a testament to Juraj’s artistic and programmatic vision, embodied in the exciting artists and projects he’s bringing to our Symphony.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we celebrate Diva Legends with “I Will Survive,” our third entry in this season’s Bank of America POPS series, featuring LaKisha Jones and Nova Payton, conducted by our friend Lucas Waldin. And just before the month ends, we welcome Conductor Laureate Andrés OrozcoEstrada back to Houston for the first time since he stepped down as music director, to start rehearsals for his concerts the first weekend in December.

Houston Symphony

We’re also thankful for the opportunities we get to serve our great city. We’ve just wrapped up our first Student Concerts of the season, with upper elementary concerts here at Jones Hall and at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands and middle school concerts here as well. By the time we finish the season in June, we will have served more than 50,000 students with these concerts, and select schools will receive a visit from a Symphony member or Community-Embedded Musician in their classroom before and after the performance. We also continue to provide free youth (ages 10 to 18) tickets to all Classical Series concerts, as well as our work with high-school students under the auspices of our High School Nights program, as well as our work with more than 100 community partners.

Most of all, we’re thankful for you, our audience and our supporters. Your ticket purchase and your donations (two-thirds of our revenue comes from charitable giving to the Symphony) make these concerts and all of our education and community engagement work possible. So thank you for being with us and for supporting your Houston Symphony.

Enjoy the performance!

John Mangum Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

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Jazz, Love & Gershwin: A Century of Rhapsody in Blue February 2, 3 & 4

February

September

Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe September 29 & 30

Get Up and Dance!

February 3 Perlman Conducts Tchaikovsky 5 February 8, 10 & 11

Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe October 1 Lang Lang October 6 Seong-Jin Cho Plays Ravel October 7 & 8

At Last! A Tribute to Etta James March 1, 2 & 3

Barber’s Violin Concerto + Duke Ellington October 14 & 15

Valčuha Conducts Mahler 6 March 15, 16 & 17

GO NOW! A Tribute to The Moody Blues October 27, 28 & 29

Season

Eschenbach Conducts Bruckner 8 February 24 & 25

March

S

October

Mozart + Beethoven’s Eroica March 22, 23 & 24 Romeo and Juliet + Dvořák’s Cello Concerto March 29 & 30

Halloween Spooktacular for Kids October 28

Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert November 4 & 5

November

Valčuha Conducts Rachmaninoff November 10, 11 & 12 Valčuha Conducts Ravel’s La valse November 17, 18 & 19

I’m a Superhero!

April 6

April

S

21st Century Broadway April 5, 6 & 7

“I Will Survive”—Diva Legends November 24, 25 & 26

S

S

Andrés Returns December 1, 2 & 3

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Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker December 12

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Handel’s Messiah December 15, 16 & 17

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Very Merry POPS December 20, 21, 22 & 23

January

Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony + Yoonshin Song January 12, 13 & 14 Takemitsu + Brahms’s Requiem January 19, 20 & 21 S

Víkingur Ólafsson Plays Bach January 28

S

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in Concert May 10 & 11 Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler’s House May 12 The Music of Star Wars May 17, 18 & 19

Holly Jolly Holiday December 23

Swingin’ Sinatra: A New Year’s Celebration January 5, 6 & 7

Disney’s Encanto™ in Concert Live to Film April 20 & 21

Pines of Rome + Grieg’s Piano Concerto May 2, 4 & 5

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas December 9 & 10

May

December

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Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to The Beatles April 18 & 19

Carmina burana April 26, 27 & 28

Adams’s El Niño May 25 & 26

June

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Blockbuster Broadway with Norm Lewis September 22 & 23

An Alpine Symphony June 1 & 2 Salome in Concert June 7 & 9

Classical Series Bank of America POPS Series

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Specials PNC Family Series

your symphony experience JONES HALL

ETIQUETTE

Since the opening of Jones Hall in 1966, millions of arts patrons have enjoyed countless musical and stage performances at the venue. Dominating an entire city block, Jones Hall features a stunning travertine marble facade, 66-foot ceilings, and a brilliantly lit grand entrance.

Jones Hall is a monument to the memory of Jesse Holman Jones, a towering figure in Houston during the first half of the 20th century.

For Classical concerts, if a work has several movements it is traditional to hold applause until the end of the last movement.

If you are unsure when a piece ends, check the program or wait for the conductor to face the audience. If you feel truly inspired, however, do not be afraid to applaud!

CHILDREN

Children ages six and up are welcome to all Classical, Bank of America POPS, and Symphony Special concerts. Children of all ages are welcome at PNC Family Series performances.

Children must have a ticket for all ticketed events.

CONCERT DISRUPTION

We strive to provide the best possible auditory experience of our world-class orchestra. Noise from phones, candy wrappers, and talking is distracting to the performers on stage and those around you. Please help us make everyone’s concert enjoyable by silencing electronic devices now and remaining quiet during the performance.

LATE SEATING

Each performance typically allows for late seating, which is scheduled in intervals and determined by the conductor. Our ushers and Patron Experience Coordinator will instruct you on when late seating is allowed.

FOOD & DRINK POLICY

TICKETS

The Encore Café and in-hall bars are open for Symphony performances, and food and drink will be permitted in bar areas. Food is not permitted inside the auditorium. Patrons may bring drinks into the auditorium for Bank of America POPS Series concerts and Symphony Specials. Drinks are not permitted inside the auditorium for Classical concerts.

Subscribers to six or more Classical or Bank of America POPS concerts, as well as PNC Family Subscribers, may exchange their tickets at no cost. Tickets to Symphony Specials or single ticket purchases are ineligible for exchange or refund.

If you are unable to make a performance, your ticket may be donated prior to the concert for a tax-donation receipt.

Donations and exchanges may be made in person, over the phone, or online.

LOST & FOUND

For lost and found inquiries, please contact Patron Experience Coordinator Freddie Piegsa during the performance. He also can be reached at freddie.piegsa@houstonsymphony.org. You also may contact Houston First after the performances at 832.487.7050.

THANK YOU to our sponsors

Principal Corporate Guarantor

Houston Symphony

Official Health Care Provider

Official Television Partner

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REVIVING JONES HALL AN UPDATE ON HALL RENOVATIONS You may have noticed a few changes at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts this season. These updates are a part of a four-summer-long renovation plan that will bring the historic Jones Hall up to date with the highest technology standards, state-of-the-art acoustic and infrastructure improvements, and accessibility updates.

In the Nancy and Charles Davidson Performance Hall, you may have already acquainted yourself with the new seats and seating layout. Adding more aisles and handrails to the auditorium makes it easier for audiences to navigate the Hall. The new Janet F. Clark Orchestra Shell visually brightens up The Brown Foundation Stage and provides better sound quality for audiences and the musicians. No doubt, you’re also enjoying the new and increased restroom facilities on the Wortham Foundation Courtyard level—making intermission restroom breaks quicker and more efficient than ever.

Other improvements are still being made and will be completed throughout the season. Those include the all-new and expanded David and Shirley Toomim Family Green Room, a reconfiguration of the lobby, which will include an area for pre-concert performances and lectures and a new staircase for access to the lower-level restrooms, and a wheelchair lift and accessible entry on Texas Avenue. Many other improvements that aren’t necessarily seen every day—but are very important, nonetheless—were made as well. Over the summer, we replaced the roof and the glass elevator in the main lobby to take audiences to the Mezzanine level and the Jane and Robert Cizik Family Balcony. We also made extensive upgrades to the audio and visual infrastructure of the building.

Having finished three out of the four summers of construction designated in the renovation plan, we have only one more year to go until all the updates are complete! The planned summer 2024 renovations will bring more updates to the backstage of Jones Hall— the new Elkins Foundation Rehearsal Room for Symphony musicians, the refurbished Artist Suites sponsored by Barbara and Pat McCelvey, and the redesigned loading dock, which will be reconfigured to make it easier to load and move equipment. We’re excited to share these updates with you and to provide you and Symphony musicians with the caliber of venue you deserve!

The Houston Symphony thanks the generous Jones Hall Renovation Donors who have contributed $43.6 million towards the $60 million renovation goal. To see a full listing of the donors who made this renewal possible, see pg. 53.

—Lauren Buchanan

The new Janet F. Clark Orchestra Shell on The Brown Foundation Stage.

5

INTUNE November 2023

Juraj valČuha Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

Houston Symphony Music Director Juraj Valčuha is recognized for his effortless expressiveness and depth of musicianship. With sharp baton technique and natural stage presence, the impressive ease of his interpretations translate even the most complex scores into immersive experiences.

Rome, Milan's Filarmonica della Scala, Montréal Symphony, and the NHK and Yomiuri orchestras in Tokyo.

Before joining the Houston Symphony in June 2022, Juraj was Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, from 2016 to 2022 and first guest conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He was Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai from 2009 to 2016.

The 2005–06 Season marked the start of his international career on the podium of the Orchestre National de France followed by remarkable debuts in the United Kingdom with the Philharmonia London, in Germany with the Munich Philharmonic, in the United States with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and in Italy with Puccini's La bohème in Bologna.

He has since led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Houston Symphony

He enjoys regular collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony.

International touring with the Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai took them to the Musikverein in Vienna and Philharmonie in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Zurich, Munich, to the Enesco Festival in Bucharest, and the Abu Dhabi Classics. With the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, he visited Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baltic nations.

In Europe, he is acclaimed on the podium of the Munich Philharmonic, the NDR Hamburg and Frankfurt Radio orchestras, as well as the Vienna Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony and Philharmonia London, and the Swedish Radio Orchestra.

Juraj champions the compositions of living composers and aims to program contemporary pieces in most of his concerts. He has conducted world premieres, including Christopher Rouse’s Supplica with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Steven Mackey’s violin concerto with Leila Josefowicz and the BBC

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Symphony in Manchester, and Nico Muhly’s Bright Idea with the Houston Symphony. In 2005, he conducted, in the presence of the composer, Steve Reich’s Four Seasons at the Melos-Ethos Festival in Bratislava. Other composers he has supported and continues to follow with interest are Bryce Dessner, Steven Stucky, Andrew Norman, James MacMillan, Luca Francesconi, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Anna Clyne, and Jessie Montgomery, among others.

Including his engagements in Houston, the 2023–24 Season takes him to the Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Chicago, and Minnesota Orchestras as well as to the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo. On the European stage, he performs Fanciulla del West and Tristan and Isolde at the Bavarian State Opera and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Jenufa at the Opera di Roma, and Salome at the Semperoper in Dresden. He leads concerts with the RAI Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre National de France, the NDR, SWR, and the Bamberg Symphony, among others.

Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, Juraj studied composition and conducting in his birth place, then at the conservatory in St. Petersburg (with Ilya Musin), and finally, at the Conservatoire Supérieur de la Musique in Paris.

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INTUNE November 2023

ORCHESTRA ROSTER Juraj Valčuha

Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

FIRST VIOLIN Yoonshin Song, Concertmaster Max Levine Chair Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Marina Brubaker Tong Yan MiHee Chung Sophia Silivos Rodica Gonzalez Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Kurt Johnson Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin SECOND VIOLIN MuChen Hsieh, Principal Teresa Wang+, Associate Principal Amy Semes Annie Kuan-Yu Chen Mihaela Frusina Jing Zheng Martha Chapman* Tianjie Lu Anastasia Ehrlich Tina Zhang Boson Mo Tianxu Liu+ Samuel Park+ VIOLA Joan DerHovsepian, Principal Wei Jiang, Acting Associate Principal Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Keoni Bolding Samuel Pedersen Suzanne LeFevre+ Elizabeth Golofeev+ Meredith Harris+ Yvonne Smith+ CELLO Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Anthony Kitai Louis-Marie Fardet Jeffrey Butler Maki Kubota Xiao Wong Charles Seo Jeremy Kreutz

COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED MUSICIANS Lindsey Baggett, violin David Connor, double bass Rainel Joubert, violin ASSISTANT LIBRARIANS Hae-a Lee Anna Thompson

Houston Symphony

Steven Reineke, Principal POPS Conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Conductor Laureate Allen Hightower, Director Houston Symphony Chorus Gonzalo Farias, Assistant Conductor

DOUBLE BASS Robin Kesselman, Principal Timothy Dilenschneider, Associate Principal Mark Shapiro Eric Larson Andrew Pedersen Burke Shaw Donald Howey Ryan Avila+ FLUTE Aralee Dorough, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair Matthew Roitstein*, Associate Principal Judy Dines, Acting Associate Principal Mark Teplitsky+ Kathryn Ladner PICCOLO Kathryn Ladner OBOE Jonathan Fischer, Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Anne Leek, Associate Principal Colin Gatwood Adam Dinitz ENGLISH HORN Adam Dinitz CLARINET Mark Nuccio, Principal Bobbie Nau Chair Thomas LeGrand, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin E-FLAT CLARINET Thomas LeGrand BASS CLARINET Alexander Potiomkin, Tassie and Constantine S. Nicandros Chair BASSOON Rian Craypo, Principal Isaac Schultz, Associate Principal Elise Wagner Adam Trussell

STAGE PERSONNEL Stefan Stout, Stage Manager José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager Nicholas DiFonzo, Head Video Engineer Justin Herriford, Head Audio Engineer Connor Morrow, Head Stage Technician Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager

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CONTRABASSOON Adam Trussell HORN William VerMeulen, Principal Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Endowed Chair Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Nathan Cloeter, Assistant Principal/Utility Brian Thomas Brian Mangrum Ian Mayton Barbara J. Burger Chair TRUMPET Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John Parker, Associate Principal Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Richard Harris TROMBONE Bradley White, Acting Principal Ryan Rongone+ Phillip Freeman BASS TROMBONE Phillip Freeman TUBA Dave Kirk, Principal TIMPANI Leonardo Soto, Principal Matthew Strauss, Associate Principal PERCUSSION Brian Del Signore, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss HARP Allegra Lilly, Principal KEYBOARD Scott Holshouser, Principal LIBRARIAN Luke Bryson, Principal

*on leave + contracted substitute

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2023–24 SEASON

SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Barbara J. Burger President

John Rydman Immediate Past President

Paul Morico General Counsel

Janet F. Clark Chair

Mike S. Stude Chairman Emeritus

Barbara McCelvey Secretary

Jonathan Ayre Chair, Finance

Mary Lynn Marks Chair, Volunteers & Special Events

Bobby Tudor^ At-Large Member

Mark Hughes^ Musician Representative

Mary Fusillo^ President, Houston Symphony League

Adam Trussell^ Musician Representative

Brad W. Corson Chair, Governance & Leadership Manuel Delgado Chair, Marketing & Communications

Robert Orr Chair, Strategic Planning Ed Schneider Chair, Community Partnerships

Evan B. Glick Chair, Popular Programming

John Rydman Chair, Artistic & Orchestra Affairs

Lidiya Gold Chair, Development

Jesse B. Tutor Chair, Audit

Sippi Khurana, M.D. Chair, Education

Steven P. Mach ^ Immediate Past Chairman

James H. Lee^ President, Houston Symphony Endowment Juraj Valčuha^ Music Director, Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

Houston Symphony

Mark Nuccio^ Musician Representative Sherry Rodriguez^ Assistant Secretary ^Ex-Officio

Joan DerHovsepian^ Musician Representative

GOVERNING DIRECTORS Jonathan Ayre Gary Beauchamp Eric Brueggeman Bill Bullock Barbara J. Burger John Cassidy, M.D Janet F. Clark Lidiya Gold Claudio Gutiérrez William D. Hunt Rick Jaramillo Sippi Khurana, M.D. Carey Kirkpatrick Kenny Kurtzman

John Mangum^ Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

EX-OFFICIO Cindy Levit Isabel Stude Lummis Cora Sue Mach ** Rodney Margolis** Jay Marks ** Mary Lynn Marks Elissa Martin Barbara McCelvey Paul R. Morico Robert Orr Chris Powers John Rydman** Anthony Speier William J. Toomey II

Bobby Tudor ** Betty Tutor ** Jesse B. Tutor ** Gretchen Watkins Robert Weiner Margaret Alkek Williams **

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Brad W. Corson Manuel Delgado Joan DerHovsepian Mary Fusillo Evan B. Glick Mark Hughes James H. Lee Steven P. Mach John Mangum Mark Nuccio Sherry Rodriguez Ed Schneider Adam Trussell Juraj Valčuha

TRUSTEES David J. Beck James M. Bell Jr. Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl Nancy Shelton Bratic Terry Ann Brown** Lindsay Buchanan Ralph Burch Dougal Cameron John T. Cater** Robert Chanon Michael H. Clark Virginia Clark Brad W. Corson Andrew Davis, Ph.D. Denise Davis Manuel Delgado Tracy Dieterich Joan Duff Connie Dyer Jeffrey B. Firestone

Eugene A. Fong Aggie L. Foster Julia Anderson Frankel Ronald G. Franklin Carolyn Gaidos Evan B. Glick Jeff Hiller Grace Ho Gary L. Hollingsworth Brian James I. Ray Kirk, M.D. David Krieger Matthew Loden Steven P. Mach Michael Mann, M.D. Jack Matzer Jackie Wolens Mazow Alexander K. McLanahan** Marilyn Miles Aprill Nelson

Tammy Tran Nguyen Leslie Nossaman Edward Osterberg Jr. Zeljko Pavlovic Gloria G. Pryzant Miwa Sakashita Ed Schneider Andrew Schwaitzberg Helen Shaffer** Robert B. Sloan, D.D., Theol.

Jim R. Smith Miles O. Smith** Quentin Smith Mike S. Stude ** Ishwaria Subbiah, M.D. Shirley W. Toomim Margaret Waisman, M.D. Fredric A. Weber Vicki West Steven J. Williams

David J. Wuthrich Ellen A. Yarrell Robert Yekovich

Robert M. Hermance Gene McDavid Janice H. Barrow Barry C. Burkholder Rodney H. Margolis Jeffrey B. Early Michael E. Shannon Ed Wulfe

Jesse B. Tutor Robert B. Tudor III Robert A. Peiser Steven P. Mach Janet F. Clark John Rydman

Nancy Strohmer Mary Ann McKeithan Ann Cavanaugh Mrs. James A. Shaffer Lucy H. Lewis Catherine McNamara Shirley McGregor Pearson Paula Jarrett Cora Sue Mach Kathi Rovere Norma Jean Brown Barbara McCelvey Lori Sorcic Jansen Nancy B. Willerson Jane Clark Nancy Littlejohn Donna Shen

Dr. Susan Snider Osterberg Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein Vicki West Mrs. Jesse Tutor Darlene Clark Beth Wolff Maureen Higdon Fran Fawcett Peterson Leslie Siller Cheryl Byington

EX-OFFICIO John Steven Cisneros, Ed.D. Juan Zane Crawford, Ph. D. Kirby Lodholz Frank F. Wilson IV

**Lifetime Trustee

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY SOCIETY Mrs. Edwin B. Parker Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. H. M. Garwood Joseph A. Mullen, M.D. Joseph S. Smith Walter H. Walne H. R. Cullen Gen. Maurice Hirsch

Charles F. Jones Fayez Sarofim John T. Cater Richard G. Merrill Ellen Elizardi Kelley John D. Platt E.C. Vandagrift Jr. J. Hugh Roff Jr.

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY LEAGUE Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. John F. Grant Mrs. J. R. Parten Mrs. Andrew E. Rutter Mrs. Aubrey Leno Carter Mrs. Stuart Sherar Mrs. Julian Barrows Ms. Hazel Ledbetter Mrs. Albert P. Jones Mrs. Ben A. Calhoun Mrs. James Griffith Lawhon Mrs. Olaf LaCour Olsen Mrs. Ralph Ellis Gunn Mrs. Leon Jaworski Mrs. Garrett R. Tucker Jr. Mrs. M. T. Launius Jr. Mrs. Thompson McCleary

Mrs. Theodore W. Cooper Mrs. Allen W. Carruth Mrs. David Hannah Jr. Mary Louis Kister Mrs. Edward W. Kelley Jr. Mrs. John W. Herndon Mrs. Charles Franzen Mrs. Harold R. DeMoss Jr. Mrs. Edward H. Soderstrom Mrs. Lilly Kucera Andress Ms. Marilou Bonner Mrs. W. Harold Sellers Mrs. Harry H. Gendel Mrs. Robert M. Eury Mrs. E. C. Vandagrift Jr. Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Terry Ann Brown

FOUNDATION FOR JONES HALL REPRESENTATIVES Dougal A. Cameron

Janet F. Clark

Barbara McCelvey

11

INTUNE November 2023

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF SENIOR MANAGEMENT GROUP John Mangum, Executive Director/CEO, Margaret Alkek Williams Chair Elizabeth S. Condic, Chief Financial Officer Vicky Dominguez, Chief Operating Officer Nancy Giles, Chief Development Officer Gwen Watkins, Chief Marketing and External Relations Officer DEVELOPMENT Lauren Buchanan, Development Communications Manager Alex Canales, Development Ticket Concierge Jessie De Arman, Development Associate, Gifts and Records Timothy Dillow, Senior Director, Development Amanda T. Dinitz, Senior Major Gifts Officer Vivian Gonzalez, Development Officer Karyn Mason, Development Officer Hadia Mawlawi, Senior Associate, Endowment and Planned Giving Ben McAndrew, Institutional Giving Associate Meghan Miller, Special Events Associate Emilie Moellmer, Annual Fund Manager Chelsea Murray, Senior Development Associate, Administration Tim Richey, Director, Individual Giving Sherry Rodriguez, Corporate Relations Manager & Board Liaison Katie Salvatore, Development Officer Christine Ann Stevens, Senior Director, Development Lena Streetman, Manager, Research and Development Operations Stacey Swift, Director, Special Events Sarah Thompson, Donor Stewardship Manager Christina Trunzo, Director, Foundation Relations Alexa Ustaszewski, Major Gifts Officer FINANCE | ADMINISTRATION | IT | HR Henry Cantu, Finance Accountant Kimberly Cegielski, Staff Accountant Richard Jackson, Database Administrator Joel James, Director of Human Resources Tanya Lovetro, Director of Budgeting and Financial Reporting Morgana Rickard, Controller Gabriela Rivera, Senior Accountant Pam Romo, Office Manager/HR Coordinator Lee Whatley, Senior Director, IT and Analytics

Houston Symphony

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MARKETING | EXTERNAL RELATIONS Education and Community Engagement Olivia Allred, Education and Community

Engagement Coordinator Jarrett Bastow, Education Manager Allison Conlan, Interim Director, Education and

Community Engagement Marketing and Communications Mark Bailes, Marketing Revenue Manager Olivia Cantrell, Content Marketing Coordinator David Early, Marketing and External Relations

Assistant Heather Fails, Manager, Ticketing Database Kathryn Judd, Director, Marketing Yoo-Ell Lee, Junior Graphic Designer Fiona Legesse-Sinha, Graphic Design

Manager Ciara Macaulay, Creative Director Mariah Martinez, Email Marketing Coordinator Eric Skelly, Senior Director, Communications Alex Soares, Senior Director, Marketing Patron Services Freddie Piegsa, Patron Experience Coordinator Ashlan Walker, Manager, Patron Services Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services OPERATIONS | ARTISTIC Stephanie Alla, Associate Director of Artistic Planning Becky Brown, Associate Director, Orchestra Personnel Suré Eloff, Chorus Manager Michael Gorman, Director, Orchestra Personnel Julia Hall, Assistant Director, Chorus Nick Kemp, Artistic Operations Assistant Hae-a Lee, Assistant Librarian Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager Lauren Moore, Associate Director, Concert Media and Production José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager Brad Sayles, Senior Recording Engineer Claudia Schmitz, Artist Liaison and Assistant to the Music Director Stefan Stout, Stage Manager Anna Thompson, Assistant Librarian Meredith Williams, Associate Director, Concert Operations and Production Rebecca Zabinski, Senior Director, Artistic Planning

MUSIC

&

WELLNESS The Symphony’s Dementia Center Performance Series Music has the unique ability to evoke powerful emotions and visceral memories. A simple melody can take us back to our childhoods, trigger memories of a loved one, or remind us of a favorite movie—all of this serves to reconnect us with our past and our identity.

This relationship between music and memory is what inspired the Houston Symphony to partner with local healthcare facilities, CarePartners Dementia Day Center and Amazing Place, to bring the healing power of music to dementia patients.

In the 2021–22 Season, the Houston Symphony began a relationship with CarePartners Dementia Day Center to provide monthly interactive concerts for dementia patients. After our Community-Embedded Musicians (CEMs) David Connor and Rainel Joubert were trained on how to best engage with individuals with dementia, we created a unique program of interactive concerts designed specifically for these patients. Concerts include music from genres and eras conducive to eliciting memories and reducing agitation, as well as audience participation strategies.

Last season, the Houston Symphony expanded our work through our new partnership with Amazing Place, and the response from patients has been enthusiastic.

“There are typically at least a handful of participants who ask to refrain from scheduled activities, but all of our members are always excited to attend the performances with the Houston Symphony,” says Emile Unverzagt, Participant Program Director at Amazing Place. “In fact, some participants who only come on certain days each week have changed the day they come in so that it lines up with the Houston Symphony performances.”

Community-Embedded Musicians and concert participants at CarePartners Dementia Day Center.

anxiety and depression, and reduce agitation,” says Katie Scott, President of CarePartners. “More importantly, these improvements can last long past when the music stops.” Last season, the Symphony completed 18 interactive performances for 720 participants. What started as a simple partnership has grown into a true connection between the musicians and the patients. At our holiday concert at CarePartners last year, patients were as integral to the performance as the CEMS were—singing songs and reading poems alongside the musicians.

Whether the CEMs are performing holiday favorites like “This Christmas” and “Silent Night” or other non-holiday classics like “My Girl” or “Eleanor Rigby,” patients and staff alike can relate and connect to the music. “Music has both emotional and behavioral benefits for someone with dementia,” says Katie. “I have witnessed firsthand the powerful impact this program has on the emotional and mental health of our participants, and I hope we can continue to grow our partnership in the future.”

These dementia center visits are a part of the Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement initiatives. These initiatives rely on patron support to bring groundbreaking music programs to Houstonians. If you’d like to support this initiative and others like it, scan the QR code below.

—Lauren Buchanan

Scan here to donate to our Education and Community Engagement initiatives

Every month, our CEMs visit CarePartners Dementia Day Center and Amazing Place to perform and interact with patients—taking song requests from the participants, inviting participants to clap or sing along, and sharing personal stories about what a particular song means to them. “Music can relieve stress, reduce 13

INTUNE November 2023

317.697.7642 karelbutz.com karel.butz@sothebys.realty

As a lifelong musician and arts advocate myself, I am proud to support our Houston Symphony and their unwavering commitment to enhancing the cultural life of our diverse city ~ Karel Butz

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INTUNE November 2023

Featured Program

VALČUHA CONDUCTS RACHMANINOFF Juraj Valčuha, conductor Behzod Abduraimov, piano 0:07

G. ORTIZ – Kauyumari

0:31

PROKOFIEV – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 16 I. Andantino—Allegretto II. Scherzo: Vivace III. Intermezzo: Allegro moderato IV. Finale: Allegro tempestoso

INTERMISSION 0:35

RACHMANINOFF – Symphonic Dances, Opus 45 I. Non allegro—Lento—Tempo I II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) III. Lento assai—Allegro vivace

Houston Symphony

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About the Music

Friday, November 10 Saturday, November 11 Sunday, November 12

Jones Hall Jones Hall & Livestream Jones Hall

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Program Insight

Robert G. Weiner & Toni Blankmann Sponsor The 2023–24 Classical Season is in thanksgiving for Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Thank you to our Houston Symphony Livestream Consortium Donors: Barbara J. Burger Guarantor Alana R. Spiwak & Sam L. Stolbun Underwriter John & Dorothy McDonald Supporter Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert & Ethel Herzstein Foundation through a special gift celebrating the Foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015 The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc., in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham

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This weekend, Music Director Juraj Valčuha welcomes you to the Houston Symphony’s Symphonic Dances Festival, a celebration of orchestral rhythm and color. Classical composers have long drawn on dance forms to evoke emotional responses from listeners and create poetic allusions that fire our imaginations. Kauyumari, a brilliantly crafted concert-opener by contemporary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, is no exception. Written to celebrate the reopening of concert halls after the COVID-19 pandemic, this festive piece is based on a traditional melody of the Huichol people of western Mexico. Throughout the work, the melody transforms through a series of dancing variations inspired by peyote, a cactus with psychoactive properties sacred to the Huichol people. Hailed by critics as a “gift from God,” award-winning Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov returns to Jones Hall for Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a virtuoso work which requires the soloist’s fingers to dance across the keyboard at top speed. The program concludes with Rachmaninoff’s final masterpiece, his Symphonic Dances. The material for the first movement may derive from sketches Rachmaninoff made for an earlier, unrealized ballet. Titled The Scythians, this ballet was inspired by prehistoric people who settled around the Black Sea between the seventh and third centuries BCE. Combining vigorous rhythms and singing melodies, this music may be Rachmaninoff’s response to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. —Calvin Dotsey

Program Notes G. ORTIZ Kauyumari (2021) Among the Huichol people of Mexico, Kauyumari means “blue deer.” The blue deer represents a spiritual guide, one that is transformed through an extended pilgrimage into a hallucinogenic cactus called peyote. It

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Program Notes G. ORTIZ Kauyumari (2021)

allows the Huichol to communicate with their ancestors, do their bidding, and take on their role as guardians of the planet. Each year, these Native Mexicans embark on a symbolic journey to “hunt” the blue deer, making offerings in gratitude for having been granted access to the invisible world, through which they also are able to heal the wounds of the soul.

When I received the commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to compose a piece that would reflect on our return to the stage following the pandemic, I immediately thought of the blue deer and its power to enter the world of the intangible as akin to a celebration of the reopening of live music. Specifically, I thought of a Huichol melody sung by the De La Cruz family—dedicated to recording ancestral folklore—that I used for the final movement of my piece, Altar de Muertos (Altar of the Dead), commissioned by the Kronos String Quartet in 1997.

I used this material within the orchestral context and elaborated on the construction and progressive development of the melody and its accompaniment in such a way that it would symbolize the blue deer.

This in turn was transformed into an orchestral texture that gradually evolves into a complex rhythm pattern, to such a degree that the melody itself becomes unrecognizable (the imaginary effect of peyote and our awareness of the invisible realm), giving rise to a choral wind section while maintaining an incisive rhythmic accompaniment as a form of reassurance that the world will naturally follow its course.

While composing this piece, I noted once again how music has the power to grant us access to the intangible, healing our wounds and binding us to what can only be expressed through sound.

Although life is filled with interruptions, Kauyumari is a comprehension and celebration of the fact that each of these rifts is also a new beginning.

—Gabriela Ortiz

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 16 (1913)

Content advisory: the following program note mentions self-harm and may not be appropriate for all readers.

In 1912, Prokofiev established his reputation as a brash, up-and-coming composer with the success of his Piano Concerto No. 1, a work of youthful irreverence that shocked many of his professors at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. For his second concerto, he decided to write a dark, brooding work that would contrast with the first. A voluminous diarist, Prokofiev first mentions his Second Piano Concerto in an entry dated November 27, 1912. He made considerable progress on the piece over the winter; a typical diary entry reads, “In the evening I composed some of the Concerto, then Max came around [...]”

One of Prokofiev’s best friends during this time was his classmate, Max Schmidthof. The two first met in the spring of 1909, but by the winter of 1912–13 they were practically inseparable. Max was among the first to hear Prokofiev’s concerto as he wrote it. On January 12, Prokofiev

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Program Notes PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 16 (1913)

wrote, “[...] Max came at eight o’clock. […] I played him parts of the Second Piano Concerto: he likes the third movement and especially the first movement cadenza. The Finale elicited vociferous approval; I had to repeat the opening theme three times.”

Like Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, the work is cast in four movements instead of the traditional three, giving the concerto a symphonic scope.

The first movement opens with one of Prokofiev’s most haunting melodies. After a more ironic second theme, this main melody develops into an extended cadenza, a passage for the soloist alone. The cadenza reaches an incredible intensity of both emotional expression and virtuoso piano technique, leading back to a reprise of the main theme.

Because the first movement has a rather broad tempo, Prokofiev dispenses with the traditional slow movement, replacing it with a pair of contrasting, intermezzo-like pieces: the second movement is a fleet, nervous scherzo, while the third takes the form of a ponderous, grotesque march. The finale begins with a maniacal theme that gives way to a quieter, more introspective melody, a passage that particularly impressed another of Prokofiev’s friends—the composer Nikolai Myaskovsky. With virtuoso passages verging on the edge of madness, the concerto’s final pages are among the composer’s most riveting.

Prokofiev had all but completed the concerto when he received a horrendous shock on April 27: “Hardly had I woken up when a letter from Max struck me like a blow to the head: ‘I must give you the latest news—I have shot myself.’” Prokofiev soon discovered that although Max had spent money recklessly, claiming to be the heir to a vast fortune, he was in fact penniless. Max’s finances had become so strained that he had chosen to end his life. Prokofiev was devastated, and immediately dedicated the concerto to his friend’s memory.

Prokofiev premiered the concerto on August 23 in Pavlovsk. “Following the violent concluding chord there was silence in the hall for a few moments. Then, boos and catcalls were answered with loud applause,” Prokofiev recalled. “I was pleased that the Concerto provoked such strong feelings in the audience.”

Prokofiev left the original score behind when he emigrated from Russia in the wake of the 1917 Revolution. During the subsequent unrest, the concerto was lost in a fire. Prokofiev rewrote it from memory in 1923, creating the version we know today. —Calvin Dotsey

RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances, Opus 45 (1940)

Houston Symphony

After fleeing Russia during the Revolution of 1917, Rachmaninoff dedicated the rest of his career to the piano. The grueling tours he made each year as a traveling virtuoso were the fastest and surest way to recoup his family’s lost fortune, but they left little time for composing; during his last 26 years, Rachmaninoff would finish only six original compositions.

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Program Notes RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances, Opus 45 (1940)

Composed on a quiet Long Island estate during the summer of 1940, Symphonic Dances is his last work. When a reporter asked about the piece, Rachmaninoff offered a typically cryptic answer: “A composer always has his own ideas of his works, but I do not believe that he should ever reveal them.” Rachmaninoff did leave a few clues as to “his own ideas,” however, in the form of musical quotations and the suggestive movement titles “Noon,” “Twilight,” and “Midnight,” which Rachmaninoff supplied for an unrealized ballet adaptation of the work.

After a quiet, hesitant opening, the first movement (“Noon”) launches into a forceful dance, and a long, haunting melody for saxophone soon follows. A mysterious bass clarinet solo then initiates a strange, fantastical development. After a reprise of the opening, tremolo strings introduce a dreamy coda. Near the end, the violins quote Rachmaninoff ’s First Symphony, a brilliant work that met with failure at its 1897 premiere and remained unknown until after Rachmaninoff’s death. In his First Symphony, this theme recurs throughout the work as an ominous, Tchaikovskian “fate” motif—indeed, its first four notes bear a strong resemblance to those of the Dies irae, a medieval chant associated with death. Here, however, it sounds like a wistful memory.

The “Twilight” second movement begins with a figure played by muted brass instruments; it stands like a gate leading into a world of memories.

This figure recurs throughout the movement, demarcating a series of ghostly waltzes that seem to evoke a vanished epoch. Near the end, the waltz swells to a ghastly climax, and the music accelerates to a powerful rhythmic passage.

The “Midnight” finale begins with a flashing chord for full orchestra followed by sighing woodwinds. This introduction leads to a fantastical main theme. Though its influence is subtle at first, the Dies irae permeates this movement: this is a dance of death. Another force is also at work, however; the Dies irae is answered by a vigorous, marchlike theme played by the lower strings, as if in imitation of a men’s chorus. Indeed, this theme is a traditional Russian Orthodox chant that Rachmaninoff used in his All-Night Vigil, a major choral work he composed in 1915. In the original, the melody sets praises of the divine, ending with the words, “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God.” The "Alleluia" theme builds to a dramatic fanfare for full orchestra. In the slower, contrasting middle section, the Dies irae appears lugubriously in the cellos amid strange, sliding violin glissandi. Gradually, the faster dance returns, this time full of grotesquely glittering appearances of the Dies irae. After a climactic statement of the Dies irae, the "Alleluia" melody makes a militant return. With these two forces locked in combat, the dance races defiantly to its end.—Calvin Dotsey

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Program Bios Juraj Valčuha, conductor See p. 6 for bio

Behzod Abduraimov, piano Behzod Abduraimov’s performances combine an immense depth of musicality with phenomenal technique and delicacy. He performs worldwide with renowned orchestras and prestigious conductors.

In addition to these performances with the Houston Symphony, 2023–24 Season performances include the Chicago Symphony, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, including a tour of Spain, and Belgian National Orchestra. Behzod will return to Israel Philharmonic and appear with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

In recital, Behzod has appeared in the world’s leading venues. This season, he will perform twice at Carnegie Hall—returning to the Stern Auditorium for a solo recital, followed by a duo recital with Daniel Lozakovich at the Weill Auditorium. The duo will present recitals elsewhere, including Bing Hall, Stanford, and the Vancouver Recital series. Behzod will also perform in recital at the Seoul Arts Centre, Shanghai Concert Hall,

Houston Symphony

Amare Hall, Hague, and the Tuesday Evening Concert Series, Charlottesville. Regular festival appearances include Aspen, Verbier, Rheingau, La Roque Antheron, Lucerne, and Ravello.

Behzod’s second recital recording (Alpha Classics) will be released in March 2024 featuring works by Ravel, Prokofiev, and the Uzbek composer, Dilorom Saidaminova.

In 2021, he enjoyed the highly successful release of his first recital album (Alpha Classics) based on a program of Miniatures, including Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In 2020, recordings included Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under James Gaffigan, recorded on Rachmaninoff’s own piano from Villa Senar (Sony Classical) and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Concertgebouworkest (RCO Live).

Both recordings were nominated for the 2020 Opus Klassik awards in multiple categories. His 2012 debut CD of Liszt, Saint-Saëns, and Prokofiev (Decca) won the Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Behzod began the piano at age five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum. In 2009, he won first prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Missouri, where he is artist-in-residence. 

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Featured Program

Valčuha Conducts Ravel’s La valse Juraj Valčuha, conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano 0:17

BARTÓK– Dance Suite I. Moderato II. Allegro molto III. Allegro vivace IV. Molto tranquillo V. Comodo VI. Finale: Allegro

0:23

RAVEL – Piano Concerto in G major I. Allegramente II. Adagio assai III. Presto

INTERMISSION 0:25

J. WOLFE – Pretty*

0:12

RAVEL – La valse, poème chorégraphique

*Houston Symphony co-commission, U.S. Premiere

GOLD CLASSICS

Houston Symphony

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About the Music

Friday, November 17 Saturday, November 18 Sunday, November 19

Jones Hall Jones Hall & Livestream Jones Hall

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Program Insight

Underwriter The 2023–24 Classical Season is in thanksgiving for Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Thank you to our Houston Symphony Livestream Consortium Donors: Barbara J. Burger Guarantor Alana R. Spiwak & Sam L. Stolbun Underwriter John & Dorothy McDonald Supporter Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert & Ethel Herzstein Foundation through a special gift celebrating the Foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015 The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc., in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham

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The Houston Symphony’s Symphonic Dances Festival continues this weekend with a program that combines dances from the old world and the new. Inspired by folk music traditions ranging from Eastern Europe to North Africa, Bartók’s wild and wonderful Dance Suite uses ancient materials to create music that was thrillingly modern when it premiered on November 19, 1923, exactly 100 years ago this Sunday. Julia Wolfe’s Pretty likewise looks to folk music for inspiration, but this time from a source closer to home: the traditional fiddle music of America. A co-commission of the Houston Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, this exciting new work receives its North American premiere in Jones Hall this weekend. Bridging the Atlantic, so to speak, is Ravel’s enchanting Piano Concerto in G major, a delightful work that combines the sounds of American jazz with Ravel’s characteristic Gallic flair. The program concludes with Ravel’s whirling deconstruction of the Viennese Waltz, La valse, a virtuoso showpiece that gives every instrument in the orchestra a chance to shine. Featuring Music Director Juraj Valčuha and internationally renowned guest soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, these dancing masterpieces are sure to get your toes tapping. —Calvin Dotsey

Program Notes BARTÓK Dance Suite (1923) Bartók’s Dance Suite dates from a turbulent period in the Hungarian composer’s personal life; after an unrequited infatuation with the violinist Jelly Arányi (to whom he dedicated his violin sonatas) during a series of international concerts in 1922–23, he began an affair with one of his piano students at the Budapest Academy, Ditta Pásztory.

Understandably, his wife, Márta, asked him for a divorce in August 1923.

Bartók and Pásztory were wed a few weeks later.

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Program Notes BARTÓK Dance Suite (1923)

There is, however, no apparent trace of these dramas in the Dance Suite Bartók completed on August 19. The work was commissioned by the municipal council of Budapest to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the union of the cities Buda, Óbuda, and Pest. For the occasion, Bartók composed what would become one of his most thrilling and attractive works.

The Suite can be seen as a summation of Bartók’s artistic development thus far; having begun his career as a Straussian Romantic, Bartók soon thereafter became enamored of the folk music of his native Hungary and neighboring lands. Like a number of avant-garde artists and thinkers of the early 20th century, Bartók sought to revivify what he saw as a stultified European culture with a return to nature, the earth, and more “primitive” modes of being. In his case, he believed he had found the way through the study of authentic folk music, which he feared was in danger of being supplanted by more urban, commercial styles. Together with fellow composer Zoltán Kodály, he became one of the founders of ethnomusicology (the study of folk music), embarking on long treks to remote villages to record and transcribe the songs of local musicians.

The irregularities of folk music—its departures from the “rules” of classical music taught in conservatories—inspired Bartók to develop a personal, modern musical language that is fully mature in the Dance Suite.

The Suite blends Hungarian, Slovak, Ruthenian, Arabian, and North African folk influences, reflecting Bartók’s wide-ranging travels, but also possesses an almost classical clarity of form. The suite contains six dances; as a unifying device, they are frequently joined together by what Bartók calls a “ritornell,” a variant spelling of ritornello, a returning musical idea found in early 18th-century concerti. The first dance features the double reeds—bassoon, English horn, and oboe—in an intentionally ungainly, “primitive” melody, which builds to a furious climax before dying away. The violins then introduce the ritornell, a wistful melody whose subjectivity contrasts with the dances’ intense physicality.

The second dance is a violent “Allegro molto” featuring strings punctuated by wild trombone glissandi. Returning in the clarinet, the ritornell then introduces the third, a light, spritely dance marked “giocoso” (“playful”) that employs the pentatonic scale. A grand pause leads straight into the fourth dance, marked “Molto tranquillo”; this slow interlude features the delicate sound of divisi strings in alternation with dry double reeds. High in the violins, the ritornell reappears, leading to the fifth dance, a brief, hushed episode featuring a twirling, “spinning” motif. The sixth dance takes the form of a fast, brassy finale. Fragments of the ritornell and earlier dances reappear as the suite whirls to a breathless conclusion. —Calvin Dotsey

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Program Notes RAVEL Piano Concerto in G major (1931)

Ravel had long toyed with the idea of composing a work for piano and orchestra, but did not complete his piano concerto until he was in his mid-50s. He planned to play it himself on a grand (but ultimately unrealized) world tour that would include not only Europe and the United States, but also South America and East Asia. Reacting against the bombast of many 19th-century concertos, Ravel said, “The music of a concerto should, in my opinion, be lighthearted and brilliant, and not aim at profundity or at dramatic effects.” Lest one misinterpret his rejection of “profundity,” however, it bears mentioning that Ravel’s music often reveals depths of feeling beneath its glittering surfaces.

The concerto opens with the crack of a musical whip as the piccolo and trumpet introduce the playful main theme of the first movement.

More meditative, lyrical piano solos alternate with jazzy motifs and fast, virtuoso passages. Just after the middle of the movement, Ravel shows off his genius for orchestration with an entrancing passage featuring airy harp harmonics.

The slow, poignant second movement begins with a long melody for solo piano. Part of its secret is that the simple, pulsing accompaniment is in 6/8 while the melody is in 3/4. The two meters tug against each other throughout the movement, creating a subtle tension beneath the music’s tranquil surface.

The finale returns to the effervescent humor of the first movement.

Fragmentary motifs rotate in a kaleidoscopic array, beginning with the pert chords that open the movement. Two other ideas play important roles: a march-like melody and brassy fanfares. In a characteristic witty twist, the movement ends exactly as it began. —Calvin Dotsey

J. WOLFE Pretty (2023)

American composer Julia Wolfe took a circuitous path to a career in music. Although she grew up playing the piano, she was initially more interested in politics. At 17, she enrolled in the University of Michigan’s Residential College—an alternative educational program that encouraged intellectual exploration. Quite by chance, a friend encouraged her to enroll in a class titled “Creative Musicianship” that would alter the course of her life. In a 2018 interview, Wolfe recounted that “my teacher at Michigan [Jane Heirich] had no idea about any kind of hierarchy in music, so she played everything in her class. She saw that I was really getting into composing, so she connected me with someone up at the music school. That person, Laura Clayton, took me under her wing and started to show me this crazy stuff like Ligeti and Charles Ives.”

Wolfe would combine these influences with her love of popular artists such as Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and Aretha Franklin, as well as the burgeoning new musical sensibility that has come to be known as minimalism—a style with an emphasis on the gradual evolution of repeated musical ideas. Near the end of her studies in Michigan, she met composers Michael Gordon (who would become her husband) and

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Program Notes J. WOLFE Pretty (2023)

David Lang. Together, the three founded an epochal new music collective in New York City in 1987: Bang on a Can (the name, incidentally, was Wolfe’s idea). She has since become one of this nation’s most lauded composers, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 and a MacArthur Grant in 2016.

A co-commission from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pretty received its world premiere in Berlin this past June. These concerts mark its first performances in the United States. In her own program note, Wolfe explains, “The word ‘pretty’ has had a complicated relationship to women. It implies an attractiveness without any rough edges, without strength or power. And it has served as a measure of worth in strange, limited, and destructive ways. It has a less sweet origin from the old English—‘cunning, crafty, clever.’ As words evolve, it morphed to a much softer sentiment. My Pretty is a raucous celebration—embracing the grit of fiddling, the relentlessness of work rhythms, and inspired by the distortion and reverberation of rock and roll.”

This substantial work has a truly symphonic scope. In terms of form, Pretty can be interpreted as having four large sections, perhaps an allusion to the traditional four-movement structure of a symphony, which typically would have a fast first movement, a slow second movement, a dance-like third movement, and a fast finale; however, the different sections of Pretty all interpenetrate each other with premonitions of what is to come and memories of what has already passed. The music’s relationship to time is more cyclical than teleological; ideas cycle throughout the orchestra, evolving gradually rather than progressing toward a goal through a process of logical development. The driving first section transitions to the more relaxed second section with the emergence of long, upward-sliding glissandi, and the third begins with solo violins playing licks reminiscent of Appalachian fiddling. These folk elements then evolve into a high-octane, rock-and-roll inflected finale.

—Calvin Dotsey

RAVEL La valse (1920)

Music is a famously subjective art form; different listeners often find different meanings in the same sounds. Even so, it is rare that a piece of music inspires reactions totally opposite to its composer’s intentions.

Perhaps no work illustrates music’s potential for paradox better than Ravel’s La valse.

Ravel first conceived of La valse in 1906 as a tribute to the Viennese waltzes of Johann Strauss II. Ravel himself described his vision of the opening: “Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth at the fortissimo. An imperial court, about 1855.” However, he would not begin serious work on the piece until

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Program Notes RAVEL La valse (1920)

1919. After World War I, the waltz was increasingly seen as a relic of a bygone era—an era the war had destroyed.

Many heard La valse not merely as a brilliant development of waltz motifs, but as the distortion and disintegration of the waltz itself: a symbol of a decadent civilization out of control, tearing itself apart. Even Ravel’s student, Manuel Rosenthal, discerned in it, “a kind of anguish, a very dramatic feeling of death.” In 1922, the music historian Maurice Emmanuel asked Ravel about the meaning of the piece. Ravel responded: “I believe this work needs to be illuminated by footlights, as it has elicited so much strange commentary. While some discover an attempt at parody, indeed caricature, others categorically see a tragic allusion in it— the end of the Second Empire, the situation in Vienna after the war, etc.— This dance may seem tragic, like any other emotion—voluptuousness, joy—pushed to the extreme. But one should only see what the music expresses: an ascending progression of sonority […]” In an interview with a Dutch newspaper that same year, he went even further: “In the course of La valse, I did not envision a dance of death […] It is a dancing, whirling, almost hallucinatory ecstasy, an increasingly passionate and exhausting whirlwind of dancers, who are overcome and exhilarated by nothing but ‘the waltz.’”

Of course, a work of art takes on a life of its own once its creator releases it into the world, and artists seldom have the final word in what their works mean. Whatever Ravel intended, darker interpretations of La valse have proved remarkably persistent over what is now nearly a century of the piece’s existence. —Calvin Dotsey (2019)

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Program Bios Juraj Valčuha, conductor See p. 6 for bio

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Through elegant musicality and an insightful approach to contemporary and established repertoire, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s finest pianists. He is especially known for his diverse interests beyond the classical world, including numerous collaborations in film, fashion, and visual art. A recording powerhouse, Jean-Yves appears on more than 70 albums and six film scores. A devoted educator, he is the first artist-in-residence at the Colburn School, which awards several scholarships in his name.

Jean-Yves appears as soloist in seven compositions this season, performed with 19 orchestras: Gershwin’s Concerto in F, SaintSaëns’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto, Ravel’s Concerto in G, Debussy’s Fantaisie, Messiaen’s TurangalîlaSymphonie, and Scriabin’s Prometheus. In addition to his orchestral dates, he joins longtime collaborators Gautier Capuçon and Lisa Batiashvili for a trio tour

of the United States. He also continues his multi-season focus on Debussy’s Préludes, performing both books in recitals throughout Europe. With Michael Feinstein, he continues the acclaimed program Two Pianos: Who Could Ask for Anything More? this season, presenting works by Gershwin, Rodgers, and more in new arrangements for piano, voice, and orchestra.

Jean-Yves records exclusively for Decca. His most recent solo album, 2021’s Carte Blanche, features a collection of deeply personal solo piano pieces never before recorded by the pianist.

Other highlights from his catalog include a 2017 recording of Bernstein's “Age of Anxiety,” recordings of the complete solo piano music of Debussy and Satie, and Grammy-nominated recordings of Ravel’s complete solo piano works and Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerti Nos. 2 & 5. He is the soloist on Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch; his playing can also be heard in Pride and Prejudice, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Wakefield, and the Oscar-winning and critically acclaimed film Atonement. His concert wardrobe is designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet's worldwide representation: HarrisonParrott.

He records exclusively for Decca Classics. 

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INTUNE November 2023

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HSINFO@HORSESOLDIERBOURBON.COM

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Featured Program

“I WILL SURVIVE” —DIVA LEGENDS Lucas Waldin, conductor LaKisha Jones, vocalist *Nova Y. Payton, vocalist

Program to be announced from the stage *Houston Symphony debut

POPS SERIES

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INTUNE November 2023

About the Music

Friday, November 24 Saturday, November 25 Sunday, November 26

Jones Hall Jones Hall & Livestream Jones Hall

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Program Insight •

Whitney Houston charted seven consecutive Number One Billboard 100 songs for “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know,” “Greatest Love of All,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?”.

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Lady Gaga shares the same vocal coach as Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys, the legendary Don Lawrence.

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In 1988 on her world tour for her album Break Every Rule, Tina Turner broke a then-Guiness World Record in Rio De Janeiro for the largest paying audience for a solo performer, selling 180,000 tickets.

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The 1996 Super Bowl halftime show featured Diana Ross. Rolling Stone magazine characterized her performance as the “diva-est halftime ever” as she made a grand entrance by descending from the stage with a sparkler-adorned crane and left via helicopter.

Holiday Series

Grand Guarantor Ms. Carolyn Faulk Sponsor Thank you to our Houston Symphony Livestream Consortium Donors: Barbara J. Burger Guarantor Alana R. Spiwak & Sam L. Stolbun Underwriter John & Dorothy McDonald Supporter Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert & Ethel Herzstein Foundation through a special gift celebrating the Foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2015

Houston Symphony

8:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

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Program Bios school, LaKisha entered and won the top prize at Flint’s local talent contest, The Super Show, in 1997.

Lucas Waldin, conductor

LaKisha Jones, vocalist

Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose performances have delighted audiences across North America.

He has collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen, The Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies, Ben Folds, The Canadian Brass, and Buffy SainteMarie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live, Cirque de la Symphonie, and the groundbreaking symphonic debut of R&B duo Dvsn as part of the global Red Bull Music Festival.

Best known to millions of TV viewers as a top-four finalist during the 2007 season of American Idol, LaKisha Jones is ready to reclaim center stage in music, theater, and television.

In addition to the Houston Symphony, Lucas has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in the United States and Canada, including The Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Dallas Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, and National Arts Centre Orchestra, among many others.

A native of Toronto, Ontario, he holds degrees in flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music. 

Having worked with hit-making songwriters and producers, including Tony Nicholas (Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross), Ro & Sauce (Brandy, Ne-Yo) and Greg Curtis (Keyshia Cole, Yolanda Adams), LaKisha’s album, So Glad I’m Me featured a spirited mix of R&B and soul. A few noteworthy songs included the single “Same Song,” penned by award-winning songwriter Dianne Warren, Whitney Houston’s “You Give Good Love,” the gospel song “Just As I Am,” and LaKisha’s soaring ballad to her daughter “Beautiful Girl.”

Her drive and motivation date to her childhood in Flint, Michigan. Raised by her mother and grandmother, LaKisha was exposed to music by legendary singers such as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle, with her grandmother urging the young girl to “let your voice shine” thereby prompting her to sing in church choirs and music programs.

Joining various choral groups and a cappella choruses throughout high

37

She then went to New York to audition for American Idol and segued from Idol to the Broadway stage for The Color Purple where she played Sophia, which she alternated with R&B icon Chaka Khan, who became her mentor.

LaKisha participated in Khan’s 35th Anniversary Tour. Following her Broadway stint, LaKisha provided vocal coaching on MTV’s reality competition Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods, a show designed to find and hone Broadway’s next star.

A frequent soloist with orchestras around the world, LaKisha has performed as a guest soloist in Houston and with the National Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Utah Symphony and Opera, Winnipeg Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Windham Chamber Singers, Grand Rapids Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Symphony, Battle Creek Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, Long Bay Symphony, and the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, among many others. 

INTUNE November 2023

Program Bios

Nova Y. Payton, vocalist Chances are you have heard the amazing soprano voice of Nova Y. Payton in internationally staged musicals, on PBS in one of the specials with The American Pops Orchestra, in 3 Mo’ Divas, or in countless regional theatre productions across the country.

Boasting a prolific catalog of artist collaborations, the former American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) student has shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Levi Kreis, Bobby McFerrin, John Michael Higgins, Yolanda Adams, Betsy Wolfe, Michael Uris, Anthony Hamilton, and Michelle Williams. She has also opened for heavyweights like Ashford and Simpson, Will Downing, Stephanie Mills, Melba Moore, The Chi-Lites, and the Dramatics. Nova has performed in more than 150 major cities in the United States, as well as Canada, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Europe.

Divas received a 2010 NAACP nomination for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration. In 2012, she was honored as the Helen Hayes Award Recipient as the Best Supporting Actress in a Resident Musical for her portrayal of MotorMouth Maybelle in Hairspray. For her performance as Effie White in Dreamgirls during the 2012-13 Season at Signature Theatre, Nova was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical. In 2015, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Musical) for her role in Elmer Gantry. And she was nominated in 2018 for Lead Actress (Musical) in Caroline, Or Change and Supporting Actress (Musical) in Ragtime.

Other honors have come in the form of singing for President Biden and Vice President Harris and performing the National Anthem at the dedication of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial as the world watched on C-SPAN. Nova has also appeared on Jimmy Fallon‘s late-night talk show accompanying artist Glen Hansard. In 2022, she starred in Grace, the Musical; The Color Purple; Into the Woods; and Fela! 

Nova has been recognized with many nominations and awards for her talents. She starred in a soulstirring rendition of Effie White in Dreamgirls, which earned her the 2006 Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical. The DVD/CD for 3 Mo’

Houston Symphony

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Sweet Treats —

Even Sweeter Savings.

Be the stand-out at your holiday party with a handmade Maple Pecan Pie made with Crown Royal Whisky.

Spec’s has all your fine wine, spirits and gourmet food needs!

DOWNLOAD THE SPEC’S APP FOR DELIVERY! *SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE.

c

Family series

December 23, 10 & 11:30 a.m.

All ages · Wiggles welcome

Corporate Spotlights

Shell USA, Inc., a longtime leadership contributor to the Houston Symphony, underwrites the Houston Symphony's Favorite Masters Series of classical subscription concerts as part of the company’s continuing commitment to the communities it serves.

Since it was founded, Shell USA, Inc. has invested more than $1 billion in charitable, cultural, and educational organizations throughout Houston and the United States. Shell’s support of culture and the arts encompasses a wide range of symphony, opera, and theater groups, as well as the visual arts and science museums.

In recognition of its broad range of award-winning support, the Houston Symphony salutes Shell USA, Inc. and applauds its support of the Symphony and other arts and culture institutions.

Founded in 1963, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global consulting firm that partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities.

BCG was a pioneer in business strategy when it was founded, and it continues to lead the charge by embracing a transformational approach that empowers organizations to grow, builds sustainable competitive advantage, and drives positive societal impact. Today, BCG has more than 25,000 employees with more than 100 offices in more than 50 countries, and its clients rank among the world’s 500 largest corporations. BCG’s global teams of diverse individuals are passionate about delivering leadingedge solutions through management consulting, technology and design, and corporate, digital, and green ventures.

Visit bcg.com to learn more about BCG’s services and capabilities.

Houston Symphony

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Thankful for the Gift of Music?

This Thanksgiving, give thanks for live orchestral music with a donation to the Houston Symphony. When you contribute to the Annual Fund, you make it possible for us to provide unforgettable musical experiences in Jones Hall, free performances at venues around Houston, industry-leading educational programs for children, and more!

Music has the power to connect us all, especially during the holiday season. As you gather with loved ones to count your blessings, please consider giving a gift to the Houston Symphony.

Scan here to donate to the Annual Fund:

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INTUNE November 2023

2023 HOUSTON SYMPHONY

OPENING NIGHT CONCERT AND GALA

Diana Fisher, Bernie Cantu, and Jasmine Reese

Opening Night Concert and Gala Honoree Beth Madison

The annual Houston Symphony Opening Night Concert and Gala, chaired by Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn, raised $638,000 for the Symphony’s industryleading Education and Community Engagement initiatives. ConocoPhillips served as the Concert Sponsor and Lead Corporate Gala Underwriter for the 37th year.

Houston Symphony Executive Director/CEO John Mangum and Janet F. Clark

The event celebrated the start of the Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow 2023–24 Classical Season and the second season of Juraj Valčuha as the Houston Symphony’s 16th Music Director and holder of the Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair. Upon arrival at Jones Hall, partygoers enjoyed a pre-concert champagne reception on the Mezzanine level before making their way into the concert. The evening featured Juraj leading the orchestra and Houston Symphony Chorus through a night full of dazzling French masterworks alongside world-renowned soprano Erin Morley. He started the show with Messiaen’s Les offrandes oubliées, then led the orchestra and chorus through Poulenc’s playful and celebratory Gloria, before building to a rapturous ending with Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe. Following the performance, more than 300 guests were transported to the Corinthian Houston for a spectacular seated dinner catered by City Kitchen.

Opening Night Concert and Gala Chairs Stephen and Mariglyn Glenn

The event also celebrated honoree Beth Madison for her philanthropic contributions to the Houston Symphony, the University of Houston, and many other nonprofit organizations. She was recognized in the presence of special guests and friends.

The décor, created by The Events Company, drew inspiration from Paris. Tables were dressed in French inspired blue linens and topped with candelabras and varying high and low floral centerpieces. Additionally, a recreation of the Arc de Triomphe adorned with florals greeted guests upon their arrival. The guests enjoyed a multi-course dinner with wine pairings provided by Spec’s Wine, Spirits, & Finer Foods. Following dinner, guests danced the night away to musical entertainment

by Divisi Strings.

The Opening Night Gala dinner at The Corinthian

Tammie and Dr. Charles Johnson

Houston Symphony

Concert Sponsor and Lead Corporate Gala Underwriter

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holidays with the TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS December 9 & 10 ©Disney

DUKE ELLINGTON’S NUTCRACKER December 12

HANDEL’S MESSIAH December 15, 16 & 17

BANK OF AMERICA POPS SERIES

VERY MERRY POPS December 20, 21, 22 & 23

PNC FAMILY SERIES

HOLLY JOLLY HOLIDAY December 23

Grand Guarantor

Our Donors Annual Support

$150,000+

The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges those who support our artistic, educational, and community engagement programs through their generosity to our Annual Fund and Special Events. For more information, please contact Tim Richey, Director, Individual Giving, at tim.richey@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8531.

Gary and Marian Beauchamp/ The Beauchamp Foundation Barbara J. Burger Janet F. Clark Dr. Sippi and Mr. Ajay Khurana** Barbara and Pat McCelvey

Bobbie Nau John & Lindy Rydman / Spec's Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods Mike Stude Bobby and Phoebe Tudor Margaret Alkek Williams

As of October 31, 2023

$100,000+ Drs. Dennis & Susan Carlyle Jane and Robert* Cizik Virginia A. Clark** Joan and Bob Duff Drs. M.S. and Marie-Luise Kalsi Max Levit Cora Sue and Harry* Mach** Michael H. Clark & Sallie Morian Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

$50,000+ Edith & Robert Zinn

Edward and Janette Blackburne** Mr. Robert Boblitt Jr. Anne & Albert Chao Aggie L. Foster & Steve Simon Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Gary L. Hollingsworth & Kenneth J. Hyde Mr. and Mrs. Bashar Kalai Mr. and Mrs. J. Stephen Marks John L. Nau III

Ms. Leslie Nossaman Robin Angly & Miles Smith Alana R. Spiwak & Sam L. Stolbun Terry Thomas Shirley W. Toomim Hallie A. Vanderhider Robert G. Weiner & Toni Blankmann Stephen and Kristine Wallace**

Joan & Marvin Kaplan Foundation/The Kaplan, Brooks, and Bruch Families Mr. and Mrs. Parker Johnson Cheryl Boblitt and Bill King Mr. and Mrs. David B. Krieger Mr. & Mrs. U. J. LeGrange Cindy E. Levit Joella & Steven P. Mach Beth Madison Mrs. Carolyn and Dr. Michael Mann Barry and Rosalyn Margolis Family Mr. & Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis** Muffy and Mike McLanahan

Dr. Miguel & Mrs. Valerie Miro-Quesada Katie and Bob Orr / Oliver Wyman Mr. David Peavy and Dr. Stephen McCauley Revati Puranik Laurie A. Rachford Donna Scott and Mitch Glassman Mr. Glen A. Rosenbaum Margaret & Joel Shannon Toni A. Oplt and Ed Schneider Mr. Jay Steinfeld and Mrs. Barbara Winthrop Kathy & Ed Segner Dr. John R. Stroehlein and Miwa Sakashita Tad & Suzanne Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tsuru Drs. Carol & Michael Stelling Mr. & Mrs. Fredric A. Weber Steven & Nancy Williams Jeanie Kilroy Wilson & Wallace S. Wilson Cecilia and Luciano Vasconcellos Margaret Waisman, M.D. & Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. Jay & Gretchen Watkins Ellen A. Yarrell** Dede Weil Vicki West Mr. Daniel Irion Ms. Laurie Rachford Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tsuru Anonymous

Eugene Fong Steve and Mary Gangelhoff Clare Attwell Glassell Suzan & Julius Glickman Mr. & Mrs. Fred L. Gorman Claudio J. Gutiérrez Claudia & David Hatcher Mark & Ragna Henrichs Mrs. James E. Hooks Rebecca & Bobby Jee Gwen & Dan Kellogg Dr. & Mrs. I. Ray Kirk** Ms. Nancey G. Lobb Cindy Mao and Michael Ma John & Regina Mangum Jay & Shirley* Marks

Mr. and Mrs. Jarrod Martin Michelle & Jack Matzer Dr. Eric McLaughlin and Mr. Eliodoro Castillo Marvin and Martha McMurrey Tammy and Wayne Nguyen Scott and Judy Nyquist Dr. Susan Osterberg and Mr. Edward C. Osterberg, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan E. Parker Gloria & Joe Pryzant Jean and Allan Quiat Ron and Demi Rand Ed & Janet Rinehart Mr. Floyd W. Robinson Ann Roff

Mrs. Sybil F. Roos Mr. Glen A. Rosenbaum Toni A. Oplt and Ed Schneider Kathy & Ed Segner Tad & Suzanne Smith Drs. Carol & Michael Stelling Cecilia and Luciano Vasconcellos Margaret Waisman, M.D. & Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. Jay & Gretchen Watkins Dede Weil Vicki West

$25,000+ Farida Abjani Dr. Angela R. Apollo Ann & Jonathan Ayre Dr. Saúl and Ursula Balagura Dr. Gudrun H. Becker Eric D. Brueggeman Michael H. Clark & Sallie Morian Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Elsenbrook Ms. Carolyn Faulk The Marvy Finger Family Foundation** Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey B. Firestone Mr. & Mrs. Russell M. Frankel Evan B. Glick Catherine and Brian James

$15,000+ Nina K. Andrews** Anne Morgan Barrett Nancy and Walter Bratic Mr. Gordon J. Brodfuehrer Terry Ann Brown Mr. Bill Bullock Mr. Robert Bunch and Ms. Lilia Khakimova Mary Kathryn Campion & Stephen Liston Roger and Debby Cutler Valerie Palmquist Dieterich and Tracy Dieterich Mike and Debra Dishberger Connie Dyer Sidney Faust

** Education and Community Engagement Donor * Deceased Houston Symphony

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Our Donors $10,000+ Marcie & Nick Alexos Edward H. Andrews III Mr. and Mrs. David J. Beck James and Dale Brannon Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Brueggeman Lindsay Buchanan Ralph Burch Dr. Robert N. Chanon Coneway Family Foundation Brad and Joan Corson Andrew Davis & Corey Tu Dr. Alex Dell Vicky Dominguez

Drs. Rosalind and Gary Dworkin Mrs. Mary Foster & Mr. Don DeSimone Ron Franklin & Janet Gurwitch Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Gaidos Nancy D. Giles Grace Ho and Joe Goetz Jo A. & Billie Jo Graves Mr. and Mrs.* Jerry L. Hamaker Ms. Katherine Hill Marzena and Jacek Jaminski Dr. Rita Justice

Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Leeke Marilyn G. Lummis Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Mason Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm L. Mazow John & Dorothy McDonald Terry & Kandee McGill The Carl M. Padgett Family Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pastorek Mr. Zeljko Pavlovic Lila Rauch* Robert K. Rogerson Lori Harrington and Parashar Saikia

Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Dr. & Mrs. Robert B. Sloan Houston Christian University Mr. and Mrs. Jim R. Smith Anthony and Lori Speier Mr. and Mrs. Karl Strobl Drs. Ishwaria & Vivek Subbiah Mrs. Marguerite M. Swartz Mr. & Mrs. Tony Williford Doug and Kay Wilson Ms. Beth Wolff Robert and Michele Yekovich Nina and Michael Zilkha Anonymous

Edwin Friedrichs & Darlene Clark Dr. Eugenia C. George Amy Goodpasture Mr. Mark Grace and Mrs. Alex Blair The Greentree Fund Mr. David Grzebinski Mary N. Hankey Deborah Happ & Richard Rost Mr. & Mrs. Frank Herzog Maureen Y. Higdon Mrs. Ann G. Hightower Katherine and Archibald Hill Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Hiller Steve and Kerry Incavo Mr. Michael Jang Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Jankovic Stephen Jeu and Susanna Calvo Phil and Josephine John Beverly Johnson Dr. Charles Johnson & Tammie Johnson Mr. and Mrs. John F. Joity Debbie & Frank Jones Ms. Linda R. Katz Carey Kirkpatrick Mr. Mark Klitzke and Dr. Angela Chen Dr. William and Alice Kopp Mr. Kenneth E. Kurtzman Mr. Steve Lee Golda Anne Leonard Matthew and Kristen Loden Richard Loewenstern Alison and Ara Malkhassian Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Matiuk Ms. Kathy McCraigh

Carol and Paul McDermott Mr. & Mrs. William B. McNamara Mr. Stephen Mendoza Dr. and Mrs. Jack Moore Rita and Paul Morico Jo Ann and Marvin Mueller Aprill Nelson Katherine & Jonathan Palmer Kusum and K. Cody Patel Michael P. and Shirley Pearson Mr. Robert J. Pilegge Mrs. Jenny Popatia in Memory of Dr. Tajdin R. Popatia* Heather & Chris Powers Tim and Katherine Pownell Darla and Chip Purchase Edlyn & David Pursell Cris & Elisa Pye Kathryn and Richard Rabinow Radoff Family Dr. and Mrs. George H. Ransford Vicky & Michael Richker Jill and Allyn Risley Dr. Douglas and Alicia Rodenberger Linda & Jerry Rubenstein Susan D. Sarofim Garry and Margaret Schoonover Susan and Ed Septimus Laura & Mike Shannon Donna and Tim Shen Mr. & Mrs. Steven Sherman Mr. and Mrs. Lance Smith Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Smith Sam & Linda Snyder Richard & Mary Spies Susan L. Thompson

Carol and Eric Timmreck Nanako & Dale Tingleaf Pamalah* and Stephen Tipps Dr. Brad and Mrs. Frances Urquhart Mr. and Mrs. David Vannauker David and Robin Walstad Nancy B. Willerson** Ms. Barbara E. Williams Doug Williams and Janice Robertson Loretta & Lawrence Williams Ms. Tara Wilson Woodell Family Foundation Mrs. Lorraine Wulfe Erla & Harry Zuber Ms. Tama Lundquist Ms. Jacqueline Baly Elizabeth and Alan Stein Mr. & Mrs. Hans Strohmer Mr. & Mrs. C. Clifford Wright, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Bowman Ms. Cynthia Diller*/** Ms. Mandy Kao Anonymous (8)

$5,000+ Dr. & Mrs. George J. Abdo Mr. Tom Anderson Lilly and Thurmon Andress Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey B. Aron Mr. Jeff Autor Mrs. Bonnie Bauer Kimberly and James Bell Joan H. Bitar, MD Mrs. Vada Boyle James and Judy Bozeman Mr. and Mrs. Sverre Brandsberg-Dahl Mr. Chester Brooke and Dr. Nancy Poindexter Barbara A. Brooks Ms. Deborah Butler Kori and Chris Caddell Marilyn Caplovitz Tatiana and Daniel Chavanelle Dr. Ye-Mon Chen and Mrs. Chaing-Lin Chen Darleen & Jack Christiansen Barbara A. Clark & Edgar A. Bering Donna M. Collins Evan and Carin Collins Mr. & Mrs. Byron Cooley Ms. Miquel A. Correll Ms. Elisabeth DeWitts Jeanette and John DiFilippo Kathy and Frank Dilenschneider The Ensell Family Mr. Parrish N. Erwin Jr. Paula & Louis Faillace Kelli Cohen Fein & Martin Fein Ms. Ursula H. Felmet Dr. Richard Fish and Marie Hoke Fish Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Franco Bill & Diana Freeman

** Education and Community Engagement Donor * Deceased

45

INTUNE November 2023

Our Donors $2,500+ Pat* and John Anderson Dr. Julia Andrieni and Dr. Rob Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Stephen J. Banks Consurgo Sunshine Drs. Henry & Louise Bethea Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bickel George Boerger Mr. Russell Boone Joe Brazzatti Justice Brett and Erin Busby David Bush Cheryl & Sam* Byington Mr. Steve Carroll & Ms. Rachel Dolbier Margot & John Cater Ms. Sandra Cooper Mrs. Myriam Degreve Mrs. Edward N. Earle Mr. William P. Elbel and Ms. Mary J. Schroeder Dr. and Mrs. Robert H. Fusillo Ms. Leslie Gassner Wm. David George Ph.D. Dr. Michael Gillin and Ms. Pamela Newberry Kathy & Albrecht Goethe Ms. Lidiya Gold Julianne & David Gorte Rebecca and Andrew Gould Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Hall Dr. & Mrs. Carlos R. Hamilton Jr. Barbara and Christopher Hekel Mr. Stanley Hoffberger Mr. and Mrs. John Homier C. Birk Hutchens Mr. and Mrs. Rick C. Jaramillo Mady & Ken Kades Anna Kaplan Kathryn L. Ketelsen

Stephanie and Richard Langenstein Dr. Hilary Beaver & Dr. Andrew Lee Mr. William W. Lindley Kirby and David Lodholz Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Lubanko Mr. & Mrs. Peter MacGregor William D. & Karinne McCullough Stephen & Marilyn Miles Larry and Lyn Miller Ginni and Richard Mithoff Richard & Juliet Moynihan Stephanie Weber and Paul Muri Mr. & Mrs. Richard Murphy Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Nelson Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey B. Newton Macky Osorio Dr. Michael A. Ozer and Ms. Patricia A. Kalmans Nancy Parra George & Elizabeth Passela Roland and Linda Pringle Mrs. Dana Puddy Mr. & Mrs. Florante Quiocho Clinton and Leigh Rappole Dr. Michael and Janet Rasmussen Mr. & Mrs. J.B. Reimer Mr. & Mrs. John Ryder Mr. Robert T. Sakowitz Harold H. Sandstead, M.D. Lawrence P. Schanzmeyer Ms. Becky V. Shaw Mr. Carlos Sierra Leslie Siller Hinda Simon Georgiana Stanley Jeaneen and Tim Stastny Dr. and Mrs. Van W. Teeters

Juliana and Stephen Tew Musicians of the Houston Symphony Inc. Jean and Doug Thomas Courtney & Bill Toomey Sal and Denise Torrisi Patricia Van Allan H. Richard Walton Nancy Ames and Danny Ward Alton and Carolyn Warren Dr. and Mrs. Richard T. Weiss Scott and Lori Wulfe Mrs. Linda Yelin Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zabriskie Ms. Tina Maddox Ms. Debra Laws Ms. Mary Marquardsen David and Heidi Massin Ms. Kristen Meneilly Dr. and Dr. Stephen Chen Jane & Kevin Kremer Jane and Ron Brownlee Lynn Coe Mr. and Mrs. David Smith Mr. and Mrs. R. O. Hunton Mr. Matt Brams and Mrs. Alice Mao Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Burns Mr. and Mrs. John Dabbar Mr. John Egbert and Ms. Kathy Beck Mrs. Christina Fontenot Mr. and Mrs. David French Mr. William Gray and Mrs. Clare Fontenot-Gray Cortney Guebara Mr. and Mrs. Wallis Marsh Dr. and Mr. Vanitha Pothuri Mr. and Mrs. David Reeves Mr. William W. Stubbs Ms. Greta Carlson Dorian Vandenberg-Rodes Ms. Diana Skerl

Dr. Mark A. Schusterman Dr. Robert Wilkins and Dr. Mary Ann ReynoldsWilkins Mrs. Diane Roederer Drs. David A. Cech and Mary R. Schwartz Emily H. & David K. Terry Joseph and Rebecca Demeter Linda Tarpley Peterson Mary Ann & David McKeithan Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Ruez Mr. Per Staunstrup Christiansen Mr. Tony W. Schlicht Ms. Barbara Nussmann Richard and Arianda Hicks Rick Ankrom Dr. and Mrs. Edward Baumgartner Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Bodzy David and Jamie Ming Mr. and Mrs. Steven Schwarzbach Mr. and Mrs. Steve Yatauro Anonymous (4)

Music Director Fund The Houston Symphony has entered a new era with the introduction of internationally acclaimed conductor, Juraj Valčuha, as our Music Director. The purpose of the Music Director Fund is to provide leadership support to allow Maestro Valčuha to realize his artistic vision.

To join the Music Director Fund, supporters make a leadership gift of S100,000 above and beyond their annual giving. To participate, please contact Christine Ann Stevens, Senior Director, Development at christine.stevens@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8521.

Margaret Alkek Williams Robin Angly & Miles Smith Janice Barrow* Gary and Marian Beauchamp/The Beauchamp Foundation Barbara J. Burger

Houston Symphony

Albert & Anne Chao Jane and Robert* Cizik Janet F. Clark Michael H. Clark & Sallie Morian Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Dr. Sippi and Mr. Ajay Khurana

46

Barbara and Pat McCelvey John & Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods Mike Stude

Young Associates Council The Houston Symphony’s Young Associates Council (YAC) is a philanthropic membership group for young professionals, music aficionados, and performing arts supporters interested in exploring symphonic music within Houston’s flourishing artistic landscape. YAC members are afforded exclusive opportunities to participate in musically focused events that take place not only in Jones Hall, but also in the city’s most sought-after venues, private homes, and friendly neighborhood hangouts. From behind-the-scenes interactions with the musicians of the Houston Symphony to jaw-dropping private performances by world-class virtuosos, the Houston Symphony’s Young Associates Council offers incomparable insight and accessibility to the music and musicians that are shaping the next era of orchestral music.

YOUNG ASSOCIATE LEADERSHIP Kirby Lodholz, Chair

Laurel Flores, Communications Chair

Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl, Vice Chair

Jeff Hiller, Membership Chair

YAC - CONDUCTOR'S CIRCLE ($5,000+) Carrie and Sverre Brandsberg- Dahl# Eric Brueggeman Lindsay Buchanan# Denise and Brandon Davis

Vicky Dominguez

Elaine and Jeff Hiller#

Justin Stenberg#

Carolyn and Patrick Gaidos

Carey Kirkpatrick

Liana and Andrew Schwaitzberg#

Claudio Gutiérrez

Elissa and Jarrod Martin

Aerin and Quentin Smith#

Lori Harrington and Parashar Saikia

Aprill Nelson#

Ishwaria and Vivek Subbiah

Ryan Cantrell

Gwen and Jay McMurrey

Kusum and K. Cody Patel#

Andria Elkins

Emily and Joseph MorrelPorter Hedges LLP

YAC - VIRTUOSO CIRCLE ($2,500-$4,999) Christopher P. Armstrong and Laura Schaffer Lauren and Mark Bahorich Tim Ong and Michael Baugh Emily Bivona and Ryan Manser Haydée del Calvo and Esteban Montero

Laurel Flores#

David R. Moore

Allegra Lilly and Robin Kesselman#

Stephanie Weber and Paul Muri

Kirby and David Lodholz#

Carlos Sierra Kristin and Leonard Wood Owen Zhang

Kelser McMiller#

Maxine Olefsky and Justin Kenney

Amber Ali

Adam Ewald

Jonathan T. Jan

Anna Robshaw

Fiona Anklesaria

Florence Francis

Anna Kaplan

Luisa Banos and Vladi Gorelik

Kallie Gallagher

Marisa and Tandy Lofland

Clarice Jacobson and Brian Rosenzweig

Amanda Beatriz

Patrick B. Garvey

Joel Luks

Adair and Kevin Brueggeman

Amy Goodpasture

Miriam Meriwani

David Chaluh

Rebecca and Andrew Gould

Shane A. Miller

Lincoln Chen

Nicholas Gruy

David Moyer

Megan and John Degenstein

Kendall and Chris Hanno

Trevor Myers

Chante Westmoreland Dillard and Joseph Dillard

Ashley and John Horstman

Lee Bar-Eli and Cliff Nash

C. Birk Hutchens

Lauren Paine

Mariya Idenova

Blake Plaster

YAC ($1,500-$2,499)

Evin Ashley Erdoğdu

For more information, please contact Katie Salvatore, Development Officer, at katie.salvatore@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8544.

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Chicovia Scott Tim Sesby Leonardo Soto Bryce Swinford Elise Wagner# Alexander Webb Marquis Wincher

# Steering Committee

INTUNE November 2023

Corporate, Foundation & Government Partners The Houston Symphony is proud to recognize the leadership support of our corporate, foundation, and government partners that allows the orchestra to reach new heights in musical performance, education, and community engagement, for Greater Houston and the Gulf Coast Region.

CORPORATE PARTNERS (as of October 31, 2023) Principal Corporate Guarantor ($250,000 and above) Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods / Spec’s Charitable Foundation**

Grand Guarantor ($150,000 and above) ConocoPhillips**

KTRK ABC-13*

Guarantor ($100,000 and above) Bank of America Boston Consulting Group* Frost Bank

Houston Methodist* Kalsi Engineering Oliver Wyman*

PaperCity* Shell USA, Inc.**

Kinder Morgan Foundation** Kirkland & Ellis The Lancaster Hotel* Nexus Health Systems Oxy** PNC** Rémy Martin Sewell

Silver Eagle Beverages Truist

Neiman Marcus* One Market Square Garage* Rand Group, LLC* Silver Eagle Distributors Houston, LLC

Univision Houston & Amor 106.5FM Vinson & Elkins LLP

Jackson & Company* Lockton Companies of Houston

USI Southwest

Underwriter ($50,000 and above) Amerapex Baker Botts L.L.P.* Cameron Management* Chevron** CKP* Houston Christian University Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo**

Sponsor ($25,000 and above) EOG Resources The Events Company* ExxonMobil H-E-B/H-E-B Tournament of Champions**

Partner ($15,000 and above) City Kitchen* Faberge Gorman’s Uniform Service

Supporter ($10,000 and above) Accordant Advisors* American Tank & Vessel, Inc. Houston First Corporation* Marine Foods Express, Ltd.** Mark Kamin & Associates

Quantum Energy Partners Sire Spirits Beth Wolff Realtors Zenfilm*

New Timmy Chan Corporation Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, L.L.P.

Benefactor ($5,000 and above) Beck Redden LLP Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc.

University of St. Thomas* Wortham Insurance & Risk Management

Patron (Gifts below $5,000) Amazon Avatar Innovations Baker Hughes Christian Dior KPMG US Foundation, Inc.

Mercantil ONEOK, Inc. Nippon Steel North America, Inc. Quantum Bass Center* SEI, Global Institutional Group

For information on becoming a corporate partner, please contact Timothy Dillow, Senior Director, Development at timothy.dillow@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8538.

Houston Symphony

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SERCA Wines Smith, Graham & Company Stewart Title Company TAM International, Inc.

* Includes in-kind support **Education and Community Engagement Support

Corporate, Foundation & Government Partners FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES (as of October 31, 2023) Diamond Guarantor ($1,000,000 and above) The Brown Foundation, Inc. Houston Symphony Endowment**

Houston Symphony League The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

Premier Guarantor ($500,000 and above) The Alkek and Williams Foundation

City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance The Cullen Foundation

The C. Howard Pieper Foundation

The Hearst Foundation** The Humphreys Foundation MD Anderson Foundation National Endowment for the Arts

Texas Commission on the Arts**

Grand Guarantor ($150,000 and above) City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board** The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts

Guarantor ($100,000 and above) The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation

The Houston Arts Combined Endowment Fund

Underwriter ($50,000 and above) Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Beauchamp Foundation The Elkins Foundation

The Fondren Foundation Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment LTR Lewis Cloverdale Foundation

John P. McGovern Foundation** The Powell Foundation**

William S. & Lora Jean Kilroy Foundation The Vivian L. Smith Foundation**

The William Stamps Farish Fund

Sponsor ($25,000 and above) The Melbern G. & Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation**

Partner ($15,000 and above) Ruth & Ted Bauer Family Foundation** William E. & Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Foundation** The Hood-Barrow Foundation

The Schissler Foundation Sterling-Turner Foundation The Vaughn Foundation

Supporter ($10,000 and above) Edward H. Andrews The Carleen & Alde Fridge Foundation George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation

Petrello Family Foundation The Pierce Runnells Foundation Strake Foundation**

Benefactor ($5,000 and above) Leon Jaworski Foundation

The Radoff Family Foundation

Keith & Mattie Stevenson Foundation

Patron (Gifts below $5,000) The Lubrizol Foundation The Scurlock Foundation For information about becoming a foundation or government partner, please contact Christina Trunzo, Director, Foundation Relations, at christina.trunzo@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8530.

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**Education and Community Engagement Support

INTUNE November 2023

Houston Symphony Endowment The Houston Symphony Endowment is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of the Houston Symphony Society. Your contributions to the Endowment ensure the financial sustainability of your orchestra now and for generations to come.

A named endowed fund is a wonderful way to honor a loved one or to celebrate you and your family’s passion for the Houston Symphony. Named funds may be permanently established within the Houston Symphony Endowment with a minimum contribution of $250,000. Your fund can be designated for general purposes or specific interests.

One of the most impactful funds you can create is an Endowed Orchestra Chair. Opportunities to endow an Orchestral Chair begin at $1,000,000. Endowing a chair provides the Houston Symphony with funds to attract, retain, and support musicians of the highest caliber.

For more information about how you may support the Houston Symphony Endowment through a bequest or with a gift during your lifetime, please contact Hadia Mawlawi, Senior Associate, Endowment and Planned Giving, at hadia.mawlawi@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8532.

TRUSTEES James H. Lee, President David Krieger

William Dee Hunt Ajay Khurana

Lynn Mathre Scott Wise

ENDOWMENT FUNDS $250,000+ Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Chair Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Cello Barbara J. Burger Chair Ian Mayton, Horn The Brown Foundation Guest Pianist Fund The Brown Foundation Miller Outdoor Theatre Fund in memory of Hanni and Stewart Orton, Legacy Society Co-Founders Margarett and Alice Brown Fund for Education Janet F. Clark Fund Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair Juraj Valčuha, Music Director The Cullen Foundation Maestro’s Fund The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Fund for Creative Initiatives The Margaret and James Elkins Foundation Fund The Virginia Lee Elverson Trust Fund Fondren Foundation Chair Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster

The General and Mrs. Maurice Hirsch George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Memorial Concert Fund in memory of Summer Concerts Fund Theresa Meyer and Jules Hirsch, beloved Bobbie Nau Chair parents of General Maurice Hirsch, and Mark Nuccio, Principal Clarinet Rosetta Hirsch Weil and Josie Hirsch Bloch, beloved sisters of General C. Howard Pieper Foundation Fund Maurice Hirsch Walter W. Sapp Fund, Legacy Society General Maurice Hirsch Chair Co-Founder Aralee Dorough, Principal Flute Fayez Sarofim Guest Violinist Fund through Houston Symphony Chorus Fund the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Joan and Marvin Kaplan Fund

The Schissler Foundation Fund

Ellen E. Kelley Chair Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster

Spec’s Charitable Foundation Salute to Educators Concert Fund

Max Levine Chair Yoonshin Song, Concertmaster

The Micijah S. Stude Special Production Fund

Mary R. Lewis Fund for Piano Performance

Bobby and Phoebe Tudor Fund

M.D. Anderson Foundation Fund Mary Lynn and Steve Marks Fund Barbara and Pat McCelvey Fund Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Endowed Chair William VerMeulen, Principal Horn

William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Monroe L. Mendelsohn Jr. Fund Education Programs

Houston Symphony

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Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Endowed Fund Margaret Alkek Williams Chair John Mangum, Executive Director/CEO The Wortham Foundation Classical Series Fund in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham

Legacy Society The Legacy Society honors those who have included the Houston Symphony Endowment in their long-term estate plans through a bequest in a will, life-income gifts, or other deferred-giving arrangements.

For more information, please contact Hadia Mawlawi, Senior Associate, Endowment and Planned Giving, at hadia.mawlawi@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8532.

CRESCENDO CIRCLE $100,000+ (as of October 31, 2023) Dr. and Mrs. George J. Abdo Priscilla R. Angly Jonathan and Ann Ayre Myra W. Barber Janice Barrow* Jim Barton James Bell Joe Anne Berwick* Joan H. Bitar, MD James and S. Dale Brannon Walter and Nancy Bratic Joe Brazzatti Terry Ann Brown Mary Kathryn Campion and Stephen Liston Drs. Dennis and Susan Carlyle Janet F. Clark Virginia A. Clark Mr. William E. Colburn Elizabeth DeWitts Andria N. Elkins

Jean and Jack* Ellis The Aubrey* and Sylvia Farb Family Helen Hudspeth Flores* Eugene Fong Mrs. Aggie L. Foster Stephen and Mariglyn Glenn Evan B. Glick Jo A. and Billie Jo Graves Mario Gudmundsson Claudio J. Gutiérrez Deborah Happ and Richard Rost Marilyn and Bob Hermance Dr. Charles and Tammie Johnson Dr. Rita Justice Dr. James E. and Betty W. Key Mr.* and Mrs. U. J. LeGrange Joella and Steven P. Mach Martha and. Alexander Matiuk

Michelle and Jack Matzer Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm L. Mazow Bill and Karinne McCullough Muffy and Mike McLanahan Dr. Georgette M. Michko Dr. Robert M. Mihalo* Alfred Cameron Mitchell* Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Mueller Drs. John and Dorothy Oehler Gloria G. Pryzant Constance E. Roy Donna Scott Charles and Andrea Seay Mr. and Mrs. James A. Shaffer Michael J. Shawiak Jule* and Albert* Smith Louis* and Mary Kay Snyder Ronald Mikita* & Rex Spikes

David and Helen Stacy Frank Shroeder Stanford in memory of Dr. Walter O. Stanford Mike and Anita* Stude Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Elba L. Villarreal Margaret Waisman, M.D. and Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. Mr. and Mrs. Fredric A. Weber Robert G. Weiner & Toni Blankmann Vicki West in honor of Hans Graf Susan Gail Wood Jo Dee Wright Ellen A. Yarrell Anonymous (3)

Farida Abjani Dr. Antonio Arana* Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey B. Aron George* and Betty Bashen Ann Baker Beaudette* Dorothy B. Black* Kerry Levine Bollmann Ermy Borlenghi Bonfield Zu Broadwater Dr. Joan K. Bruchas* and Mr. H. Philip Cowdin* Mr. Christopher and Mrs. Erin Brunner Eugene R. Bruns David Neal Bush Cheryl and Sam* Byington Sylvia J. Carroll Dr. Robert N. Chanon William J. Clayton and Margaret A. Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Byron Cooley The Honorable* and Mrs. William Crassas Dr. Lida S. Dahm Leslie Barry Davidson Susan Feickert Ginny Garrett Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Gendel Christine E.* and Michael B. George

Mauro H. Gimenez and Connie A. Coulomb Bill Grieves* Mr. Robert M. Griswold Randolph Lee Groninger Mr. and Mrs. Jerry L. Hamaker Gloria L. Herman* Timothy Hogan and Elaine Anthony Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth Dr. Edward J. and Mrs. Patti* Hurwitz Dr. Kenneth Hyde Brian and Catherine James Barbara and Raymond Kalmans Dr. and Mrs. I. Ray Kirk Mrs. Frances E. Leland Samuel J. Levine Mrs. Lucy Lewis Sandra Magers David Ray Malone and David J. Sloat Mr. and Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis Jay and Shirley* Marks James G. Matthews Mary Ann and David McKeithan Dr. Tracey Samuels and

Mr. Robert McNamara Mr. and Mrs. D. Bradley McWilliams Catherine Jane Merchant* Marilyn Ross Miles and Stephen Warren Miles Foundation Sidney and Ione Moran Janet Moynihan* Richard and Juliet Moynihan Gretchen Ann Myers Patience Myers John N. Neighbors* in memory of Jean Marie Neighbors Mr.* and Mrs. Richard C. Nelson Bobbie Newman John and Leslie Niemand Leslie Nossaman Dave G. Nussmann* John Onstott Macky Osorio Edward C. Osterberg Jr. Susan and Edward Osterberg Mr. and Mrs. Edmund and Megan Pantuliano Christine and Red Pastorek Peter* and Nina Peropoulos Linda Tarpley Peterson Sara M. Peterson

Jenny and Tadjin* Popatia Geraldine Smith Priest Dana Puddy Patrick T. Quinn Lila Rauch* Ed and Janet Rinehart Mr. Floyd W. Robinson Walter Ross* Dr. and Mrs. Kazuo Shimada Lisa and Jerry Simon Jean Stinson* Tad and Suzanne Smith Sherry Snyder Marie Speziale Emily H. and David K. Terry Douglas Thomas Stephen G. Tipps Ann Tornyos Steve Tostengard*, in memory of Ardyce Tostengard Jana Vander Lee Bill and Agnete Vaughan Dean B. Walker Stephen and Kristine Wallace Geoffrey Westergaard Nancy B. Willerson Jennifer R. Wittman Lorraine and Ed* Wulfe David and Tara Wuthrich Katherine and Mark Yzaguirre *Deceased

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INTUNE November 2023

Musician Sponsorships Donors at the Sponsorship Circle level and above are provided the opportunity to be recognized as sponsoring a Houston Symphony Musician.

For more information, please contact Alexa Ustaszewski, Major Gifts Officer, at alexa.ustaszewski@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8534.

(As of October 31, 2023) Dr. Angela Apollo

Scott Holshouser, Principal Keyboard

Dr. Saúl and Ursula Balagura Charles Seo, Cello

Gary and Marian Beauchamp/ The Beauchamp Foundation Martha Chapman, Second Violin

Evan B. Glick

Michelle and Jack Matzer

Mr. and Mrs. James A. Shaffer

Suzan and Julius Glickman

Barbara and Pat McCelvey

Margaret and Joel Shannon

Fay Shapiro, Viola Thomas LeGrand, Associate Principal Clarinet and E-flat Clarinet

Christopher French, Associate Principal Cello

Mark and Ragna Henrichs

Mr. Gordon J. Brodfuehrer

Gary L. Hollingsworth and Kenneth J. Hyde

Maki Kubota, Cello

Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Trumpet

Mrs. James E. Hooks

Ralph Burch

Drs. M.S. and Marie-Luise Kalsi

Robin Kesselman, Principal Double Bass

Barbara J. Burger

Andrew Pedersen, Double Bass

Mary Kathryn Campion, PhD Rodica Gonzalez, First Violin

Drs. Dennis and Susan Carlyle

Louis-Marie Fardet, Cello

Jane Cizik

Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster

Janet F. Clark

MuChen Hsieh, Principal Second Violin

Michael H. Clark and Sallie Morian

Assistant Principal Viola

Virginia A. Clark

Lindsey Baggett, Violin - Community-Embedded Musician

Roger and Debby Cutler Tong Yan, First Violin

Mike and Debra Dishberger

Phillip Freeman, Bass Trombone

Joan and Bob Duff

Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Horn

Aggie L. Foster & Steve Simon Mihaela Frusina, Second Violin

Steve and Mary Gangelhoff Judy Dines, Flute

Stephen and Mariglyn Glenn Christian Schubert, Clarinet

Houston Symphony

Muffy and Mike McLanahan

William VerMeulen, Principal Horn

Dr. Eric McLaughlin and Mr. Eliodoro Castillo

Jonathan Fischer, Principal Oboe

Donald Howey, Double Bass

Mr. Robert Bunch and Ms. Lilia Khakimova

Alexander Potiomkin, Bass Clarinet and Clarinet

Adam Dinitz, English Horn

Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Gorman

Nancy and Walter Bratic Christopher Neal, First Violin

Kurt Johnson, First Violin

Martha and Marvin McMurrey Rodica Gonzalez, First Violin

Dr. Miguel & Mrs. Valerie MiroQuesada Leonardo Soto, Principal Timpani

Burke Shaw, Double Bass

Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster

Joan & Marvin Kaplan Foundation/The Kaplan, Brooks, and Bruch Families

Mark Nuccio, Principal Clarinet

Dr. Sippi and Mr. Ajay Khurana

David Connor, Double Bass – Community-Embedded Musician

Dr. and Mrs. I. Ray Kirk

John C. Parker, Associate Principal Trumpet

Cindy E. Levit

Adam Trussell, Bassoon and Contrabassoon

Max Levit

Sergei Galperin, First Violin

Rita and Paul Morico

Elise Wagner, Bassoon

Scott and Judy Nyquist Sheldon Person, Viola

Dr. Susan Osterberg and Mr. Edward C. Osterberg Jr. MiHee Chung, First Violin

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan E. Parker Jeffrey Butler, Cello

Mr. David Peavy and Mr. Stephen McCauley Jeremy Kreutz, Cello

Gloria and Joe Pryzant

Matthew Strauss, Percussion

Allan and Jean Quiat

Richard Harris, Trumpet

Laurie A. Rachford

Timothy Dilenschneider, Associate Principal Double Bass

Cora Sue and Harry* Mach Joan DerHovsepian, Principal Viola

Joella and Steven P. Mach Eric Larson, Double Bass

Mrs. Carolyn and Dr. Michael Mann

Ian Mayton, Horn

Ron and Demi Rand

Annie Chen, Second Violin

Ed & Janet Rinehart

Amy Semes, Associate Principal Violin

Mrs. Sybil F. Roos

Mark Hughes, Principal Trumpet

Cindy Mao and Michael Ma Si-Yang Lao, First Violin

Mr. and Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis

Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster

Mr. and Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Brian Del Signore, Principal Percussion

Mr. Jay Marks

Sergei Galperin, First Violin

Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster Rainel Joubert, Violin– Community-Embedded Musician

Tad and Suzanne Smith

Marina Brubaker, First Violin

Alana R. Spiwak and Sam L. Stolbun

Wei Jiang, Acting Associate Principal Viola

Mike Stude

Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Cello

Bobby and Phoebe Tudor Bradley White, Acting Principal Trombone

Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Joan DerHovsepian, Principal Viola

Judith Vincent

Matthew Roitstein, Associate Principal Flute

Margaret Waisman, M.D. and Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. Mark Griffith, Percussion

Stephen and Kristine Wallace Rian Craypo, Principal Bassoon

Mr. & Mrs. Fredric A. Weber Allegra Lilly, Harp

Robert G. Weiner and Toni Blankman

Anastasia Ehrlich, Second Violin

Vicki West

Rodica Gonzalez, First Violin

Steven and Nancy Williams MiHee Chung, First Violin

Jeanie Kilroy Wilson and Wallace S. Wilson Xiao Wong, Cello

Nina and Michael Zilkha

Kurt Johnson, First Violin

Mr. Glen A. Rosenbaum

Aralee Dorough, Principal Flute

John and Lindy Rydman / Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods Anthony Kitai, Cello

Kathy and Ed Segner

Kathryn Ladner, Flute & Piccolo

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*Deceased **Retired

Jesse H. Jones Hall Renovation Donors Thank you to our Donors. We are grateful to the generous donors who have contributed $43,650,000 to date toward our $60 million goal.

(As of October 31, 2023)

$10 MILLION+ Nancy and Charles Davidson

$5 MILLION+ The Brown Foundation, Inc. The City of Houston / Houston First Corporation

$1 MILLION+ Janice H. Barrow The Robert and Jane Cizik Family Janet F. Clark ConocoPhillips The Cullen Foundation The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Elkins Foundation Houston Endowment Barbara and Pat McCelvey The Shirley and David Toomim Family The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

FRIENDS OF JONES HALL Anne and Albert Chao Mr. & Mrs. J. Stephen Marks Beverly and James Postl Vivian L. Smith Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

For more information, please contact Nancy Giles, Chief Development Officer, at nancy.giles@houstonsymphony.org or 713.337.8525.

53

INTUNE November 2023

CELEBRATE WITH THE WORLD’S #1 CLASSIC COCKTAIL. *

SCAN HERE to learn more

*Drinks International 2023 Campari® Liqueur. 24% alc./vol. (48 Proof). ©2023 Campari America, New York, NY. ©2023 Imbibe Media, Inc. Please enjoy responsibly.

Meet the musician:

NATHAN CLOETER

Assistant Principal Horn Hometown: Lake Jackson, Texas

How long have you been playing your instrument, and what do you love the most about it?

I have been playing the horn for 11 years, starting at age 11. When I started horn, I was drawn toward the challenge of playing, and practicing was like a fun puzzle to solve each day. As I have grown on the instrument, the challenge is still renewed each day! In addition, I love how the horn has so much versatility in the orchestra. It can be scored as a brass instrument, naturally, but it is frequently scored with woodwinds and as a major solo voice within the orchestra.

What concert are you most looking forward to performing this season?

My brothers, John and Andrew, and me at our family cabin in Minnesota.

Eine Alpensinfonie (Alpine Symphony). The second to last concert of the entire season will include this colossal pastoral symphony.

The piece features a gigantic orchestra, including a mighty eight horns onstage and 12 more horns offstage for an exciting hunting fanfare. This work has truly reached a legendary status among orchestra musicians for its beautiful motives and themes, and I think just about everyone on stage has a fun part to play. There is just not another piece like it!

What is your favorite piece of music?

For the longest time, Mahler’s Third Symphony has been my favorite piece of music. This symphony is also special to me because it was one of the first concerts I saw at the Houston Symphony in 2015.

Seeing this concert was one of the “sparks” that began to inspire me to love music. I simply could not believe something so awesome and incredible could be achieved with an orchestra. From then on, I knew that I wanted to play in a major symphony orchestra.

Posing with the Founder's Statue on Rice University's campus on a nice day.

Houston Symphony

Scan here to read the full interview with Nathan Cloeter!

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“

Hello! I have lived in the Houston area my whole life, and I joined the Houston Symphony this past May after graduating from Rice University. It is such an immense privilege to be a part of the orchestra I have been watching since middle school!

Meet the musician:

BRIAN MANGRUM

Third Horn Hometown: Montreal, Quebec

“

Hello! I’m thrilled to be joining the Houston Symphony as Third Horn. It’s an honor to follow in the footsteps of Nancy Goodearl in this position, and I’m excited to be a member of this tremendous horn section. Previously, I served five seasons as principal horn of the Columbus Symphony, and before that I was completing my bachelor’s degree at Rice University. It’s great to be back in Houston!

How long have you been playing your instrument, and what do you love the most about it?

I started playing horn when I was 12, and what initially attracted me was its rich, beautiful sound. I think the horn has, as a default, a noble character, and I love playing with the wide variety of timbre achievable on the instrument.

How did you get started playing your instrument?

Actually, I started at age four on violin. In the summer before sixth grade, my chamber ensemble coach at music camp was a horn player. I heard him perform at a faculty concert and the next day, I requested to try his horn. He humored me and an hour later I’d decided to become a professional horn player.

What concert are you most looking forward to performing this season?

Blindfolded mouthpiece experiment.

Strauss’s Salome in Concert.

What is your favorite piece of music?

Stravinsky’s Pulcinella.

Outside of classical music, what genre of music is your favorite?

These days, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan.

Me and my buds at our good friend's wedding.

Houston Symphony

Scan here to read the full interview with Brian Mangrum!

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INTUNE November 2023

Want to secure the future of the Houston Symphony?

JOIN THE LEGACY SOCIETY!

As a Legacy Society member, you will enjoy special benefits that enhance your Symphony experience, including: •

Recognition (if desired) in our monthly InTune Magazine and on the Legacy Society website

•

An invitation to the annual Legacy Society luncheon

•

VIP ticketing services, and more!

Making a planned gift to the Houston Symphony Endowment helps ensure the orchestra’s continued success and vitality for future generations of Houstonians. When you include the Houston Symphony Endowment in your will or estate plans, we celebrate your generosity by inviting you to join the Legacy Society. There are many ways to create a planned gift, but a few of the most popular ideas include naming the Houston Symphony Endowment as a beneficiary of your: •

Will or Living Trust

•

Life Insurance Policy

•

Charitable Remainder Trust

•

IRA or other Qualified Retirement Plan

•

Donor Advised Fund

In the Legacy Society, you will join approximately 170 friends who share your passion for the Symphony and want to have a meaningful impact on the Houston Symphony.

An estate gift of any size benefiting the Houston Symphony qualifies you for membership. To become a member of the Legacy Society, let the Houston Symphony know that it is included in your estate plans!

DISCLAIMER: You may find that including bequest in your estate planning provides tax and income benefits to you and your family.

Before you decide on your gift, please consult your own legal and financial advisors. The information on this page does not constitute legal or tax advice.

Please contact Hadia Mawlawi at 713.337.8532 or Hadia.Mawlawi@HoustonSymphony.org for more information on creating your legacy gift and becoming a member of the Legacy Society or scan this code to request information:

Juraj Valčuha, Music Director

Jones Hall – 615 Louisiana Street houstonsymphony.org