Houston Symphony Magazine September 2011

Contents

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Official Program Magazine of the Houston Symphony 615 Louisiana, Suite 102, Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 224-4240 • www.houstonsymphony.org

September • 2011

Programs 12 September 2-4 14 September 8-10 22 September 11 24 September 16-18 27 September 22-25

15

Hans Graf celebrates the beginning of the season with an Opening Night performance of Beethoven’s resounding Symphony No. 9.

27

Brilliant Russian pianist Olga Kern returns to Jones Hall in a breathtaking performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

On Stage and Off 30 Chorus 4 Credits 32-39 Donors 9 From the Orchestra 7 Hans Graf 11 Letter to Patrons 10 Orchestra and Staff 31 Symphony Society

Features 40 Backstage Pass 6 Celebrate the Symphony 20 Upcoming Performances 8 With Gratitude

6

Don’t miss out on the Symphony’s joyous celebrations this season. Turn to page 6 for the full events calendar.

Cover photo by Leah Polkowske.

Musicians on the cover: Eric Larson, Kevin Dvorak, Kiju Joh For advertising contact New Leaf Publishing at (713) 523-5323 info@newleafinc.com • www.newleafinc.com • 2006 Huldy, Houston, Texas 77019

www.houstonsymphony.org

Credits...........................

Mark C. Hanson Executive Director/CEO Holly Cassard Editor Carl Cunningham Program Annotator Elaine Reeder Mayo Editorial Consultant

www.newleafinc.com (713) 523-5323 Janet Meyer Publisher janetmeyer@newleafinc.com Keith Gumney Art Director kgumney@newleafinc.com Jennifer Greenberg Projects Director jenniferg@newleafinc.com Frances Powell Account Executive divascenes@aol.com Carey Clark CC Catalyst Communications Marlene Walker Walker Media LLC Sarah Hill Intern Ann Zhu Intern The activities and projects of the Houston Symphony are funded in part by grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Houston.

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion at The Woodlands is the Summer Home of the Houston Symphony.

Digital pre-media services by Vertis APS Houston Contents copyright Š 2011 by the Houston Symphony

LATE SEATING In consideration of audience members, the Houston Symphony makes every effort to begin concerts on time. Ushers will assist with late seating at pre-designated intervals. You may be asked to sit in a location other than your ticketed seat until the end of that portion of the concert. You will be able to move to your ticketed seat at the concert break.

CHILDREN AT CONCERTS In consideration of our patrons, we ask that children be 6 years and older to attend Houston Symphony concerts. Children of all ages, including infants, are admitted to Weatherford Family Concerts. Any child over age 1 must have a ticket for those performances.

CAMERAS, RECORDERS, CELL PHONES & PAGERS Cameras and recorders are not permitted in the hall.

Patrons may not use any device to record or photograph performances. Please silence cell phones, pagers and alarm watches and refrain from texting during performances. www.houstonsymphony.org

Celebrate the Symphony!. ...............................................................................

SAVE THE DATES Opening Night Gala

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Vintage Virtuoso

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Magical Musical Morning Sunday, December 4, 2011

Houston Symphony Ball Friday, March 23, 2012

Children’s Fashion Show and Luncheon Saturday, April 21, 2012

Maestro’s Wine Dinner Sunday, May 20, 2012

For information on any of these special events that provide important support for the Houston Symphony, contact our Special Events Team at: (713) 238-1485 or specialevents@houstonsymphony.org Exclusive Media Sponsor, Events

www.houstonsymphony.org

Photography courtesy of Jenny Antill and PWL Studios’ Fulton Davenport and Selena Garza

Join us for these joyful celebrations throughout the year!

Hans Graf Biography..........................................................................................

Photo by Sandy Lankford

Known for his wide range of repertoire and creative programming, distinguished Austrian conductor Hans Graf—the Houston Symphony’s 15th Music Director—is one of today’s most highly respected musicians. He began his tenure here on Opening Night of the 2001-2002 season.

Prior to his appointment in Houston, he was music director of the Calgary Philharmonic, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra.

A frequent guest with all of the major North American orchestras, Graf has developed a close relationship with the Boston Symphony and appears regularly with the orchestra during the subscription season and at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Houston Symphony in January 2006 and returned leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in March 2007. He and the Houston Symphony were invited to appear at Carnegie Hall in January 2010 to present the New York premiere of The Planets—An HD Odyssey and will return in May 2012 to participate in Carnegie’s Spring for Music Festival.

Internationally, Graf conducts in the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan and Australia. In October 2010, he led the Houston Symphony on a tour of the UK to present the international premiere of The Planets—An HD Odyssey.

He has participated in the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bregenz, Aix en Provence and Salzburg Festivals. His recent U.S. festival appearances include Tanglewood, Blossom Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and the Grant Park Music Festival in downtown Chicago.

An experienced opera conductor, Graf first conducted the Vienna State Opera in 1981 and has since led productions in the opera houses of Berlin, Munich, Paris and Rome, including several world premieres. Recent engagements include Parsifal at the Zurich Opera and Boris Godunov at the Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg.

Born in 1949 near Linz, Graf studied violin and piano as a child. He earned diplomas in piano and conducting from the Musikhochschule in Graz and continued his studies with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Arvid Jansons.

His career was launched in 1979 when he was awarded first prize at the Karl Böhm Competition. His extensive discography includes recordings with the Houston Symphony, available through houstonsymphony.org: works by Bartók and Stravinsky, Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, Berg’s Three Pieces from the Lyric Suite and a DVD of The Planets—An HD Odyssey.

Graf has been awarded the Chevalier de l’ordre de la Legion d’Honneur by the French government for championing French music around the world and the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria. Hans and Margarita Graf have homes in Salzburg and Houston. They have one daughter, Anna, who lives in Vienna.

September 2011

With Gratitude. .................................................................................................

“More than 1,200 people made first-time gifts to the Houston Symphony’s Annual Fund and joined more than 3,000 renewing donors in contributing a record $8.4 million and qualifying the Symphony for an extra $1 million gift from Houston Endowment.

I echo the praise from the Houston Chronicle’s Editorial Board.

Thank you, Houston!”

– Mark C. Hanson, Executive Director & CEO

www.houstonsymphony.org

From the Orchestra...........................................................................................

Photo by sandy lankford

Welcome! As we celebrate Maestro Graf’s penultimate season, we also welcome some of the best new conducting talents in the world as we continue the search for his successor. Add to this, visits from many of the world’s top soloists, a season full of the greatest music ever written, a world premiere, a visit from former Music Director Christoph Eschenbach and a return engagement at Carnegie Hall next spring, and you can see why we are so eager to share this season with you!

The beginning of our season coincides with the start of the school year and a time when many children consider learning a musical instrument. There are a growing number of studies showing the broad benefits children gain from studying an instrument: everything from improved spatial perception and concentration to improved self-confidence and self-expression, before even beginning to consider the cultural value music adds to the child’s life.

Venezuela’s El Sistema program takes at-risk children off the streets and trains them to play classical instruments. Some go on to become professional musicians, but the discipline and devotion they learn in the study of classical music helps them all become successful adults. Indeed, the more the evidence mounts of the broad-ranging beneficial effects of musical study, the more it seems wrong that not every child has a chance to learn. The Houston Symphony partnered with Fidelity Investments and began a new program to help restore and enhance music programs to as many schools as we can reach, but for those fortunate Brinton Averil Smith enough to have the opportunity, nothing replaces private study with an instructor.

Principal Cello Many of my friends tell me “my child took lessons, but he didn’t like it” or “she didn’t show any great talent and didn’t like practicing, so we stopped.” I could never imagine the same parents saying “my child tried reading, but didn’t really like it, so we stopped.” I promise you that every person onstage tonight had times when they didn’t like it and fought against practicing. Practicing is hard, and not always fun, but it is precisely because we try something difficult, and slowly learn to master it, that music builds our confidence and our brains. Today we are conditioned by the myth of genius to feel that if our children don’t show instant talent or passion for something, we should look for some area where they can excel with less effort. But the notion that most successes are Mozart-like prodigies is just wrong. Even Mozart didn’t write his greatest works until he was in his thirties, and virtually every musician is more the product of hard work than inherent gifts. The greatest benefit of music study is not for those for whom it is easy, but for those for whom it is hard.

I teach my daughter music not because I want her to become a musician, but because I want her to know that with persistence and consistent work she can master any challenge in her life. I hope all of you will consider giving your children and grandchildren the gift of music education—the benefits are truly life-changing. Enjoy the concert!

September 2011

Orchestra and Staff. ..........................................................................................

Mark C. Hanson, Executive Director/CEO

Hans Graf, Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair Michael Krajewski,

Associate Conductor

Sponsor, Cameron Management

Sponsor, Madison Charitable Foundation

double Bass: David Malone, Acting Principal Mark Shapiro, Acting Associate Principal Eric Larson Robert Pastorek Burke Shaw Donald Howey Michael McMurray

First Violin: Frank Huang, Concertmaster Max Levine Chair Eric Halen, Associate Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Assia Dulgerska, Assistant Concertmaster Cornelia and Meredith Long Chair Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Marina Brubaker, Hewlett-Packard Company Chair Alexandra Adkins MiHee Chung Sophia Silivos Rodica Gonzalez Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Kurt Johnson Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin

Flute: Aralee Dorough, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair John Thorne, Associate Principal Judy Dines Allison Jewett**

Second Violin: Jennifer Owen, Principal Hitai Lee, Acting Associate Principal Kiju Joh Mihaela Oancea-Frusina Ruth Zeger Margaret Bragg Martha Chapman Kevin Kelly Christine Pastorek Amy Teare Sarah Ludwig* Emily Herdeman*

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10 www.houstonsymphony.org

Keyboard: Scott Holshouser, Principal Neva Watkins West Chair

Bass Clarinet: Alexander Potiomkin*** Tassie and Constantine S. Nicandros Chair

Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager: Michael Gorman

Contrabassoon: J. Jeff Robinson Horn: William VerMeulen, Principal Jacek Muzyk, Associate Principal Brian Thomas Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Chair Nancy Goodearl Philip Stanton Julie Thayer

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Harp: Paula Page, Principal

Orchestra Personnel Manager: Steve Wenig

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Percussion: Brian Del Signore, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss

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Timpani: Ronald Holdman, Principal Brian Del Signore, Associate Principal

Bassoon: Rian Craypo, Principal** Stewart Orton Chair Eric Arbiter, Acting Principal American General Chair J. Jeff Robinson, Acting Associate Principal Elise Wagner

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Bass Trombone: Phillip Freeman

Oboe: Anne Leek, Acting Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Xiaodi Liu, Acting Associate Principal Colin Gatwood Adam Dinitz

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Trombone: Allen Barnhill, Principal Bradley White, Associate Principal Phillip Freeman

Tuba: Dave Kirk, Principal

Clarinet: David Peck, Principal Thomas LeGrand, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin***

Cello: Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice and Thomas Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Haeri Ju Jeffrey Butler Kevin Dvorak Xiao Wong Myung Soon Lee James Denton Anthony Kitai

Trumpet: Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John DeWitt, Associate Principal Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Anthony Prisk Speros P. Martel Chair

Piccolo: Allison Jewett**

English Horn: Adam Dinitz

Viola: Wayne Brooks, Principal Joan DerHovsepian, Associate Principal George Pascal, Assistant Principal Wei Jiang Linda Goldstein Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Daniel Strba Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Chair Thomas Molloy Phyllis Herdliska

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Robert Franz,

Principal Pops Conductor

Steinway is the official piano of the Houston Symphony. James B. Kozak, Piano Technician. Local assistance is provided by Forshey Piano Co. The Houston Symphony’s concert piano is a gift of Mrs. Helen B. Rosenbaum.

Librarian: Thomas Takaro Assistant LibrarianS: Erik Gronfor Michael McMurray Stage Manager: Donald Ray Jackson Assistant Stage Manager: Kelly Morgan Stage Technician: Toby Blunt Zoltan Fabry Cory Grant *Contracted Substitute **Leave of Absence ***Regular Substitute

Martha GarcĂ­a, Assistant to the Executive Director Meg Philpot, Director of Human Resources Amanda Tozzi, Director, Executive Operations

Steven Brosvik, General Manager Roger Daily, Director, Music Matters!

Kristin L. Johnson, Director, Operations and Production Steve Wenig, Orchestra Personnel Manager Michael Gorman, Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager Donald Ray Jackson, Stage Manager Kelly Morgan, Assistant Stage Manager Meredith Williams, Operations Assistant Carol Wilson, Manager, Music Matters!

Michael D. Pawson, Chief Financial Officer Sally Brassow, Controller Philip Gulla, Director, Technology Amed Hamila, Director, Database Support Heather Fails, Manager, Ticketing Database Janis Pease LaRocque, Manager, Patron Database Kay Middleton, Receptionist Maria Ross, Payroll Manager Armin (A.J.) Salge, Network Systems Engineer Chris Westerfelt, Manager, Accounts Payable and Special Projects

Aurelie Desmarais, Senior Director, Artistic Planning Merle N. Bratlie, Director, Artist Services Lesley Sabol, Manager, Popular Programming Thomas Takaro, Librarian Erik Gronfor, Assistant Librarian Michael McMurray, Assistant Librarian Rebecca Zabinski, Artistic Associate

Glenn Taylor, Senior Director, Marketing Allison Gilbert, Director of Marketing, Subscription & Group Sales Melissa H. Lopez, Director of Marketing, Special Projects Carlos Vicente, Director of Marketing, Single Tickets Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services Natalie Ferguson, Graphic Designer Jeff Gilmer, Group Representative, Inside Sales Jason Landry, Senior Manager, Patron Services Erin Mushalla, Marketing Assistant Melissa Pate, Assistant Manager, Patron Services Representatives Derrick Rose, Group Representative, Outside Sales Melissa Seuffert, Marketing Manager, Digital Media/ Young Audience Engagement

Jennifer R. Mire, Senior Director, Communications Holly Cassard, Manager, Communications Clair Studdard, Assistant, Communications

Tara Black, Director, Major and Individual Giving Stephanie Jones, Director, Events Vickie Hamley, Director, Volunteer Services Brandon VanWaeyenberghe, Director, Corporate Relations Peter Yenne, Director, Foundation Relations and Development Communications Jessica Ford, Gifts Officer Samantha Gonzalez, Manager, Events Robin Lewis, Development Assistant, Gifts and Records Sarah Slemmons, Development Associate, Administrative Services Lena Streetman, Manager, Prospect Research

Letter to Patrons.................................................................................................

Photo by Alexander Portraits

Bobby Tudor President Photo by bruce bennett

Mark C. Hanson Executive Director/CEO

Welcome back to Jones Hall for the start of our exciting 2011-12 season!

We are launching our season with a Viva Italia! weekend of Pops concerts and performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony that feature both the Houston Symphony and Chorus. As always, our classical opening weekend is generously sponsored by ConocoPhillips, and Fidelity Investments returns as our Classical Series sponsor. BBVA Compass returns as the presenting sponsor of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pops Series.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony will also be the inaugural concert of our new Sugar Land Series on September 8, and the Symphony extends special thanks to Regions Bank for its help in launching this series.

We congratulate and thank Kathi and Bill Rovere for their tireless efforts as chairs of our Opening Night Gala “Ode to Joy” on Saturday, September 10. Honorees Helen and Jim Shaffer have been longtime patrons, and we look forward to saluting their years of support at the party! This year, we are delighted to extend a special Community Partner Award to another longtime supporter, The Methodist Hospital System, the official healthcare provider of the Houston Symphony.

In addition to the spectacular start to the 2011-12 season, we invite you to experience all of the season’s offerings including the new Friday night ACCESS Series debuting in November; the three-week RachFest! in January; and Orbit—An HD Odyssey, the Earth-focused sequel to the hit Planets project, with its world premiere February 18, 2012.

As a non-profit organization, all of the Houston Symphony’s activities are made possible by the generous support of thousands of Houstonians along with numerous corporations, foundations and government agencies.

In fact, donors contributed a record $8.4 million to our Annual Fund last year and helped us achieve the first million dollar challenge grant set forth by Houston Endowment. A second challenge is already underway, giving us another opportunity to qualify for an additional one million dollar grant during the 2011-12 season. The impact of meeting the Houston Endowment challenge has been affirming. It’s encouraging to know that more than 1,200 donors made first-time gifts to the Annual Fund and that the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board recognized this achievement and congratulated the community in their June 18 opinion piece for supporting the Symphony. We couldn’t agree more! Turn to page 8 to see a reprint of the column.

Key to our success has been the unwavering and strong support of our Board of Trustees, and we enthusiastically welcome our newest members: Samuel Abraham, Marie Bosarge, Ralph Burch, Michael Doherty, Ryan Krogmeier, Billy McCartney, Kevin Meyers, Jim R. Smith and Cary P. Yates. We also recognize the continued and outstanding service of Jesse Tutor, current chairman, past president and lifetime trustee, and Bob Peiser, president-elect.

September 2011 11

Program

Viva Italia!

Michael Krajewski, conductor Poperazzi Janien Valentine George DeMott Cody Shawn Gay Arr. R. Wendel

Balli il Tarantella!

Verdi

Libiamo, ne’lieti calici (Brindisi) from La Traviata

Puccini

O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi

C. Bixio/J. Matthys

Mamma, son tanto felice

Rossini/R. Nelson

Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville

Arr. Nelson

Salute to the Italian Tenor

Sager-Foster/W. Ross

The Prayer

Puccini

Nessun dorma from Turandot

Denza/G. Chiaramello

Funiculì-Funiculà

INTERMISSION Arr. F. Barton

That’s Volare!

Yeston/J. Wasson

Be Italian from Nine

M. Frangoulis/Matthys

Sometimes I Dream

Rota/G. Prechel

Music from The Godfather

Arr. T. Berens

Sinatra Suite

Arr. Matthys

Singing Italian Songs

B. Gaudio/S. Reineke

Selections from Jersey Boys

Arr. Wasson

Jump Jive Boogie Woogie

Presenting Sponsor

Appearances by Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski are generously sponsored

by Cameron Management.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

12 www.houstonsymphony.org

Michael Krajewski, conductor

Photo by michael tammaro

Friday, September 2, 2011 8 pm Saturday, September 3, 2011 8 pm Sunday, September 4, 2011 7:30 pm Jones Hall

Krajewski

POPS

Cynthia Woods Mitchell at Jones Hall

Biographies. ........................

Much in demand across the United States and Canada, Michael Krajewski delights concertgoers with his imaginative and entertaining programs and his wry sense of humor.

Audiences leave his concerts smiling, remembering the evening’s music and surprises.

Maestro Krajewski joined the Houston Symphony as Principal Pops Conductor in 2000.

His fans especially enjoy his Star Spangled Salute at Miller Outdoor Theatre and The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and the Houston holiday tradition, Very Merry Pops.

Krajewski also serves as principal pops conductor of the Jacksonville and Atlanta symphony orchestras. He previously held that position with the Long Beach, New Hampshire and New Mexico symphony orchestras.

At BBVA Compass, we work for a better future for people, understanding that we have a responsibility as a financial institution to use our expertise and resources to benefit the communities where we live, work and play. Central to all communities are performing arts and arts education, and BBVA Compass is committed to supporting them across our footprint.

As an institution, BBVA Compass also strives to meet our clients’ needs through innovative products and services – with a strategic focus on providing customers with financial solutions that are simple, straightforward and built to address individual needs.

We understand a mutual dependence exists between business and society – healthy communities are good for business and strong businesses are the foundation of healthy communities. The Houston Symphony is a cultural and artistic cornerstone of the Houston community. BBVA Compass is proud to lend our support once again to this world-class orchestra.

For more information on BBVA Compass, visit www.bbvacompass.com.

....................................................................................................................

As guest conductor, he has performed with the Boston Pops and the Hollywood Bowl orchestras, and with symphonies across the U.S., including those of Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Francisco and more. In Canada, he has led Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Edmonton and Winnipeg symphonies.

Krajewski has performed with an eclectic group of artists including Sir James Galway, Marilyn Horne, Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Al Hirt, Cab Calloway, The Kingston Trio, Ben E. King, Mary Wilson, Patti Austin, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Pink Martini.

He conducts the upcoming video Silver Screen Serenade with violinist Jenny Oaks Baker that airs worldwide on BYU Broadcasting.

He has led the Houston Symphony on two holiday albums: Glad Tidings and Christmas Festival.

With degrees from Wayne State University and the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music, Krajewski furthered his training at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians. He was a Dorati Fellowship Conductor with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and later served as that orchestra’s assistant conductor.

Michael Krajewski lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife, Darcy.

with his unique contemporary style. He has won several awards and competitions including the 1993 Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition’s regional finals and the National Italian-American Foundation’s Luciano Pavarotti Scholarship. DeMott has produced two albums: Serenade, a collection of Mario Lanza’s signature songs and classic tenor serenades, and Two for My Baby, featuring pop-opera favorites, Broadway and jazz classics.

Valentine, the beautiful ingénue of the trio, started her career at 16 by getting her first

recording contract with Amherst Records.

She landed her first audition for the hit Las Vegas show, Starlight Express. She has starred in three world premiere musicals: Notre Dame de Paris, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and, most recently, the title role of Carmen. Valentine has been voted Best Female Singer and Thespian by the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Las Vegas Sun. Currently, she co-stars in PeepShow, the hit show at Planet Hollywood.

Visit www.PoperazziVocalGroup.com.

© tiffany fong

Poperazzi Poperazzi

Tenors George DeMott and Cody Shawn Gay and soprano Janien Valentine make up the explosive trio, Poperazzi. Their performances are relevant to today’s Pop-Opera genre and groundbreaking in originality. Their show is delighting audiences across the United States and Canada and was recently featured on a PBS broadcast from Madison, Wisconsin.

Currently performing on the Las Vegas Strip, Gay brings a diverse range of singing talents that have delivered him to destinations from Tokyo to Berlin. Gay studied vocal performance and musical theater at several U.S. universities and the University of Urbino, Italy, where his vocal capacity and acting diversity led him to title roles in Jekyll and Hyde and Phantom, among others.

Classically trained DeMott is a mix of classic masculinity and charm, capturing the essence of great singers from days gone by September 2011 13

Program

Notes.........................

by Carl Cunningham

SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN D MINOR, OPUS 125 (Choral) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Thursday, September 8, 2011 8 pm Sugar Land Baptist Church

Beethoven 9: Ode to Joy Hans Graf, conductor Jessica Rivera, soprano *Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano Gordon Gietz, tenor Nathan Berg, bass-baritone Houston Symphony Chorus Charles Hausmann, director

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125 (Choral) I Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso II Molto vivace III Adagio molto e cantabile—Andante moderato IV Presto—Allegro assai—Allegro assai vivace

There will be no intermission. *Houston Symphony debut

Recording: Kurt Masur conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Leipzig Radio Chorus, with Anna Tomowa-Simtow, Anneliese Burmeister, Peter Schreier and Theo Adam as soloists (Pentatone) Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion and strings Could any experience bring a stronger mix of pity and joy than the sight of the deaf Beethoven being gently turned toward the audience, to be made aware of its wild applause at the premiere of an epic symphony he created but could not hear?

Several eyewitnesses, including members of the orchestra, recalled that event at the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on May 7, 1824, at Vienna’s Kärntnertor Theater. By that point, the composer was profoundly deaf and, although he insisted upon standing next to the conductor, turning pages of his own score and beating time, the musicians were instructed to pay no attention to him. At one point, he fell so far behind the pace of the music that he was furiously turning pages and beating time to the second-movement Scherzo, well after the orchestra had begun the seraphic Adagio that forms the symphony’s third movement.

Anton Schindler, Beethoven’s loyal friend, Continued on page 16

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 7.

Tonight’s performance is sponsored by

The printed music for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was donated by Tim and Katherine Pownell.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

14 www.houstonsymphony.org

Regions Financial Corporation, with $140 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 100 Index and one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, trust, securities brokerage, mortgage and insurance products and services.

Regions has 27 locations in and around the Greater Houston area featuring full-service commercial banking, business banking and private banking lines of business. In addition, Regions also has a newly created energy group and closely partners with its investment and securities brokerage trust and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., to serve its diverse customer base.

Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas and operates approximately 1,900 banking offices and 2,300 ATMs. For more information: www.regions.com.

Program

Friday, September 9, 2011 7:30 pm Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:30 pm Jones Hall

Opening Night: Ode to Joy Hans Graf, conductor Jessica Rivera, soprano Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano Gordon Gietz, tenor Nathan Berg, bass-baritone Houston Symphony Chorus Charles Hausmann, director

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125 (Choral) I Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso II Molto vivace III Adagio molto e cantabile—Andante moderato IV Presto—Allegro assai—Allegro assai vivace

There will be no intermission.

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 7.

Opening Night is sponsored by

The printed music for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was donated by Tim and Katherine Pownell.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

Friday’s concert is being recorded for future broadcast and Saturday’s concert will be broadcast live on Classical 91.7 FM the Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony.

16 www.houstonsymphony.org

Notes continued from page 14..............

by Carl Cunningham

helper, general secretary and first biographer, told a similar story of unexpectedly encountering the deaf composer working on the Ninth Symphony’s companion piece, the Missa Solemnis, five years earlier. “In one of the living rooms, behind closed doors,” Schindler wrote, “we heard the master singing, howling and stamping his foot over the Credo fugue.

We had listened for some time to the awful scene and were about to leave, when the door opened and Beethoven stood facing us with features so distorted as to fill one with alarm.

He looked as though he had just survived a life-and-death battle with the whole host of contrapuntalists, his perpetual opponents.”

These anecdotes make one realize how firmly the door to the world of actual musical sound had been closed upon Beethoven’s ears in the final years of his life. His music, sometimes Olympian, sometimes beatific, lived entirely within his mind. Unlike most composers, he could not test his musical ideas out at the keyboard, nor could he revise the music or its orchestration after the first performance.

Later generations of musicians have commented upon certain technically impractical aspects of Beethoven’s late works, such as choral parts placed in terribly high voice registers in the finale of his Ninth Symphony.

By and large, however, the work stands as a mighty testament to the keen accuracy of Beethoven’s interior hearing and the mastery he had achieved over his compositional craft.

As a musical document, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is not so much a summation of everything that came before, as a great cannon blast that set a precedent echoing throughout the entire 19th century. Symphonic composers stood in awe of the work and attempted to duplicate Beethoven’s unique idea of using a choral finale, though few equaled its powerful thrust and huge scale. Two choral-orchestral

ConocoPhillips has been a proud sponsor of the Houston Symphony for more than 25 years and commends the Symphony on its leadership in advancing Houston’s vibrant arts community. The Houston Symphony has enriched the lives of countless individuals through the performance of exceptional music.

Headquartered in Houston, ConocoPhillips is an integrated energy company with interests around the world.

The company applauds the Symphony’s efforts to promote music education and cultural awareness in the Houston community.

..................................................................................................................... symphonies by Berlioz, Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony (subtitled Song of Praise), Liszt’s Faust Symphony and at least three symphonies

by Mahler all drew upon the choral example of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. And though they were purely instrumental works, the monumental symphonies of Anton Bruckner’s mature years may have found their inspiration in the huge scale of the Beethoven symphony.

Musical statements of such importance and immensity do not spring suddenly from a composer’s imagination. Alexander Thayer, who wrote the first comprehensive 19th-century biography of Beethoven, indicated that the composer first considered setting to music Friedrich Schiller’s poem, the Ode to Joy, in 1793, some 40 years before he included several verses of the poem in the closing movement of the Ninth Symphony. Modern scholar Maynard Solomon finds hints of philosophical or musical ideas for the Ninth Symphony even earlier, in two 1790 cantatas Beethoven composed marking the death of Austrian Emperor Joseph II and the coronation of his successor, Leopold II. Beethoven’s Fantasia, Opus 80 for Solo Piano, Chorus and Orchestra, is a much more obvious preparatory study for the final choral movement of the Ninth Symphony. Composed in 1808, it is a curious blend of a piano concerto and a cantata, but it does contain a prototype of the famed melody that became the main theme of the Ode to Joy in the Ninth Symphony.

The Seventh and Eighth symphonies, the Emperor Concerto, the final version of Beethoven’s opera, Fidelio, and various instrumental and/or keyboard sonatas were among the main works that intervened between the Fantasia and the Ninth Symphony. Beethoven also went through several years of psychological turmoil because of a brief, failed love affair and his protracted legal dispute with his sisterin-law over custody of his nephew. It was not until 1817 that he accepted a commission from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and began sketches for two new symphonies, one of which became the Ninth Symphony. Work on it was put aside until he completed another huge choral/orchestral work, the Missa Solemnis, in 1821. But the years 1822-23 and the first two months of 1824 were given over to the Ninth Symphony, along with other major works.

Three more months were spent arranging for its premiere.

In certain aspects, the Ninth Symphony builds upon achievements of Beethoven’s earlier symphonies, while exploring new vistas.

Its orchestration, adding piccolo, contrabassoon, three trombones and extra percussion to the standard 18th-century ensemble, is an outgrowth of the orchestral ensembles found in the Fifth and Sixth symphonies. Its huge

Scherzo and Trio is prefigured in the scherzos from the Third through the Seventh symphonies. The long hesitant slow introduction to the first movement is a successor to the introductions of the Fourth and Seventh symphonies, but also to the rather significant introduction to Beethoven’s First Symphony.

But the hollow, primordial character of the introduction to the Ninth Symphony heralds a new, larger and more significant architectural scale than that found in any previous Beethoven symphony. The sonata form that evolves from it is an immense, imposing movement that wrestles heroically with its themes.

The Scherzo that follows is equally large in its design and is unprecedented in Beethoven’s music in several respects. It is his first symphonic scherzo to precede, rather than follow the slow movement, and it is famous for numerous little timpani strokes that punctuate the music throughout the movement. It also combines elements of fugue and sonata form with the typical scherzo plan and changes the meter to a broad, sharply contrasting 4/4 time signature in the Trio section.

The Adagio is one of Beethoven’s most sublime movements, comparable to the great slow movements of his late string quartets and

September 2011 17

Notes continued..............................................................

Jessica Rivera, soprano

© ken howard

Rivera

Biographies. ...............

© peter hurley

18 www.houstonsymphony.org

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano Radiant American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke caused a sensation as Kitty Oppenheimer in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic. The New Yorker praised her “fresh, vital portrayal, bringing a luminous tone, a generously supported musical line, a keen sense of verbal nuance, and a flair for seduction.”

Cooke has performed with leading conductors and orchestras. A former member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she has performed in the Met’s Doctor Atomic, which was broadcast live in high definition to cinemas around the world. In 2010, she was awarded First Place and the American Prize in the José Iturbi International Music Competition, Top Prize in the Gerda Lissner Competition and the Kennedy Center’s Marian Anderson Award.

A graduate of Rice University and The Juilliard School, Sasha Cooke also attended the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute, the Wolf Trap Foundation, the Marlboro Music Festival and Central City Opera’s Young Artist Training Program.

Gietz

Jessica Rivera has garnered artistic collaborations with many of today’s most celebrated composers and conductors.

She was heralded for her performance as Kumudha in the world premiere of John Adams’ A Flowering Tree at the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna. Her European operatic debut, with the Netherlands Opera performing Kitty Oppenheimer in John Adams’ Doctor Atomic, led to debuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera, as well as concert performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; performances in Amsterdam are available on the BBC/Opus Arte label.

San Francisco Performances welcomed her to its artist residency program in 2010-11, where she conducted workshops for young people. Committed to the art of recital, she did a concert tour of North America which supported a recital disc (Urtext Records) that examined works for soprano, clarinet and piano. She gave a recital program at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival and received a commission from Carnegie Hall for the world premiere of a song cycle by Nico Muhly, The Adulteress.

As a member of the Los Angeles Opera Resident Artist Program, she received critical acclaim from the New York Times for creating the role of Anastasia in the world premiere of Deborah Drattell’s Nicholas and Alexandra.

© Nick Granito

Cooke

piano sonatas. It is a free variation form, built upon two long-spun melodies that become more florid as the movement progresses. The vocal/choral/orchestral finale, rejoicing in Beethoven’s lifelong philosophy of freedom and human solidarity, is a sprawling movement that embraces several kinds of musical structures. Essentially, it is a vast cantata blending vocal elements of recitative, aria, duet, solo and choral ensembles with the instrumental forms of variation, fugue and rondo. Beethoven’s sketches indicate that he expended enormous amounts of time, labor and energy in shaping the finale into a towering capstone of his symphonic career. ©2011 Carl R. Cunningham

Gordon Gietz, tenor Gordon Gietz’s career is focused equally on operatic and concert repertoire, encompassing a wide range of musical styles.

Gietz opened the 2010-2011 season with a performance of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Toronto Summer Music Festival.

Other concert performances included Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as Stravinsky’s Les Noces and the world premiere

.......................................... of Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

He has performed the title role in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Heinrich in Tannhäuser, Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Kudrjas in Katya Kabanová (Houston Grand Opera), Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gietz created the role of Camille Raquin in Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin.

His concert experience includes Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with this orchestra, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. He has worked with Maestro Graf leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Gietz has performed with the Boston Baroque, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He made his London debut with John Eliot Gardiner in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the BBC Proms Concerts.

Berg Nathan Berg, bass-baritone Nathan Berg’s career balances concert, recital and operatic performances, ranging from Bach and Handel to Mahler and Verdi.

This season, his performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony will be recorded with the San Francisco Symphony. He tours Europe with Le Concert Spirituel in Theodora with stops in Paris, Metz, Brussels and Vienna.

2010-2011 included the role of Zoroastro in Handel’s Orlando, presented by Opéra de Lille, Opéra de Dijon and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; Dvorˇák’s Te Deum with Cleveland Orchestra; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Mozart Requiem at San Francisco Symphony, among others.

His discography includes Handel’s Messiah and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Harmonia Mundi), Mozart’s Requiem (Erato), Dvorˇák‘s Stabat Mater with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Boston Baroque.

Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Juno award-winning Nathan Berg studied in Canada, the U.S., France and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he won the Gold Medal for Singers. He has won prizes in the Royal Over-Seas League, Peter Pears, Kathleen Ferrier and Walther Gruner Lieder competitions.

September 2011 19

Upcoming Performances.................................................................................. © steve j. sherman

classical concert

Watts Plays Beethoven’s Emperor

Fidelity Investments

Classical Series September 30, October 1, 2, 2011 David Afkham, conductor André Watts, piano Beethoven: Coriolan Overture Schubert: Symphony No. 8, Unfinished Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor Striking in manner, Beethoven’s brilliant Emperor concerto opens with a shining piano cadenza. Get ready to experience a work as original and exciting as anything Beethoven ever wrote. At the keyboard, we welcome back legendary American pianist, André Watts.

Tickets from: $25

family concert

Once Upon a Dream: Princes & Princesses

Weatherford Family October 15, 2011 Concert Series Robert Franz, conductor Royalty doesn’t only live in castles! Princes and princesses have always lived in the hearts and imaginations of composers, whose music has brought their heroic stories to life. Hear music you know and love, tell the tales of your favorite princes and princesses. Dress in character!

Tickets from: Child $14; Adult $22

POPS

pops concert

Cynthia Woods Mitchell at Jones Hall

Idina Menzel

October 14, 15, 16, 2011 The star of Rent, Wicked and Glee debuts with the Houston Symphony!

This Tony® Award-winning Broadway powerhouse and star of Glee joins your Houston Symphony to dazzle you with hits from her starring roles in Wicked as Elphaba and in Rent as Maureen, songs from her album I Stand and more. This exciting performance will demonstrate why Menzel is selling out concert halls across the country!

Tickets from: $35

classical concert

Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe

October 20, 22, 23, 2011 Gilbert Varga, conductor Daniel Mueller-Schott, cello Haydn: Symphony No. 49, La Passione Haydn: Cello Concerto in D major Ravel: Suite from Mother Goose Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe Poetic and ethereal, Daphnis and Chloe evokes a meadow of nymphs on a spring afternoon. Come hear some of Ravel’s most splendorous, colorful music.

Tickets from: $25

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Program

Chevron Fiesta Sinfóníca Familiar *Jaime Morales-Matos, conductor *Rolando Morales-Matos, percussion *Mariano Morales, piano Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio espagnol, Opus 34 I Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso— II Variazioni: Andante con moto— III Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso— IV Scena e Canto gitano: Allegretto— V Fandango asturiano Piazzolla Tangazo Falla Three Dances from El Sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) III Final Dance (Jota): Poco mosso—Allegro ritmico, molto moderato e pesante INTERMISSION Ginastera Danzas del Ballet Estancia, Opus 8a I Los trabajadores agrícolas (The Land Workers): Tempo giusto II Danza del trigo (Wheat Dance): Tranquillo III Los peones de hacienda (The Cattlemen): Mosso e rúvido IV Danza final (Malambo): Allegro A. Castillo-Olivari Elegy for String Orchestra M. Morales Cha-Cha-Chá Dulzón M. Morales Saturday Night

*Houston Symphony debut Fiesta Sinfóníca Familiar is sponsored by Media Sponsor: Univision Channel 45 The printed music for Falla’s Three Dances was donated by Mr. Randall Spalinger.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

This concert is being recorded for future broadcast on Classical 91.7 FM, the Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony and Classical Season Media Sponsor.

22 www.houstonsymphony.org

J. Morales-Matos

Sunday, September 11, 2011 6 pm Jones Hall

Biographies. ........................

Jaime Morales-Matos, conductor

Born in Puerto Rico, conductor Jaime MoralesMatos graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in music and an artist diploma in trombone, the first such award granted to a brass player. He received a master’s degree in music from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He studied with Sergiu Celibidache in Munich, Harold Farberman in Bulgaria and Hans Graf in Vienna, where he received a diploma in conducting.

Morales-Matos has conducted in the United States, Germany, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, as well as in his native Puerto Rico.

He made his conducting debut at the prestigious Casals Festival (2003); the concert was recorded and broadcast on public television.

In 2007, he was selected by the American

The Houston Symphony wishes to thank Chevron, sole sponsor of its Fiesta Sinfóníca and Lunada concerts. These free performances celebrate the music and culture of Latin America and entertain thousands of Houstonians each year.

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry.

Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron has more than 9,000 employees and contractors in the Greater Houston area.

More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

....................................................................................................................

Symphony Orchestra League as one of the most promising young conductors and participated in the Bruno Walter Conductor Preview with Florida’s Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

Morales-Matos was appointed music director of the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra in 2002 and has enjoyed great success in a broad range of programming. In 2008, he became music director of the Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra. Previously, he served as music director of the Miami University Symphony Orchestra and cover conductor with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a trombonist, Morales-Matos, has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic and the New World Symphony, and with the Granada Orchestra and the Asturias and Galicia Symphony Orchestras in Spain. He is very active in chamber music with the Gabrieli Brass Quintet, Top Brass and the Upbeat Brass. He has premiered works written especially for him.

Morales-Matos is a composer and arranger of popular music, including music for Puerto Rico, an Omni vision film presented at the World Expo’92.

have been performed throughout the U.S. and Europe. His broad background in classical, popular and folk music has distinguished him for his versatility of style and genre.

Morales has been recognized for achievements as an educator, performer, musical director for various ensembles and guest lecturer. He conducts masterclasses in composition, jazz composition and arranging. Morales has served on juries and panels for a number of competitions and governmental programs including The Indiana Arts Commission and

the American Composer’s Orchestra Forum in New York, among others. A former professor at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, the University of Puerto Rico and the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, he has taught at the Escuela Libre de Música for the Department of Education of Puerto Rico since 1995.

Mariano Morales holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz composition and arranging from Berklee College of Music and master and doctorate degrees in music composition from Indiana University.

Rolando Morales-Matos, percussion

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rolando Morales-Matos began his musical studies at the prestigious performing arts high school Escuela Libre de Música. He received his B.F.A. in music from Carnegie Mellon University, his M.A. from Duquesne University and a certificate of professional studies from Temple University. He is a percussionist and assistant conductor with Disney’s Lion King and performs and records regularly in New York City with various Latin jazz groups and chamber orchestras.

He has recorded soundtracks for the films Failure to Launch and The Pink Panther and performed onscreen in Enchanted. MoralesMatos is a member of Ron Carter Foursight Jazz Quartet and is an extra percussionist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra. Traveling all over the world, from Spain to New Zealand, he has held principal timpani and percussion positions with state orchestras. He is the recipient of the 2006 Drum Magazine world beat percussionist-ofthe-year award.

Morales-Matos joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2001 and also teaches at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York.

Mariano Morales, piano

The artistic life of Puerto Rican composer, pianist and violinist Mariano Morales encompasses a wide spectrum of activities. He has received numerous commissions, and his works September 2011 23

Program

Notes..................................

by Carl Cunningham

SHADES OF MEMORY (world premiere) Pierre Jalbert (1967- ) Recording: none available

Fidelity Investments Classical Series Friday, September 16, 2011 8 pm Saturday, September 17, 2011 8 pm Sunday, September 18, 2011 2:30 pm Jones Hall

Brahms’ Violin Concerto Hans Graf, conductor James Ehnes, violin

P. Jalbert

*Shades of Memory

Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 77 I Allegro non troppo II Adagio III Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace INTERMISSION Dvorˇák Symphony No. 6 in D major, Opus 60 I Allegro non tanto II Adagio III Scherzo (Furiant) and Trio: Presto—Poco meno mosso IV Finale: Allegro con spirito

*World premiere, Houston Symphony commission Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 7.

Shell Favorite Masters Series

Instrumentation: three flutes (two doubling piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (one doubling E-flat clarinet), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta doubling piano and strings Pierre Jalbert, professor of composition at Rice University, has provided the following program note for his newly-commissioned Shades of Memory, composed this year. This is his second Houston Symphony commission and his third work performed by the orchestra.

“A few months after 9/11, I remember being in New York, riding the subway past the World Trade Center station, and I overheard a woman comment: ‘I don’t want to stop there—get me away from this place…’ Now 10 years out, the memory is still raw, if somewhat darkly muted by time. When I think about that day, what comes to mind are the individuals who lost loved ones and the individuals who sacrificed themselves to help others.

“My musical starting point for this work was two Gregorian Chants: Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) and Agnus Dei which ends with the line, ‘Grant us Peace.’ These chants are not literally quoted, but simply used as points of departure for melodic development. The beginning and ending of the piece make use of two sets of chimes, placed on opposite sides of the stage to sound like antiphonal bells. A solo trombone played from offstage as a lone voice heard from afar, sounds against a cluster of soft strings providing a suspended background.

“In the middle section of the work, we build a monument. The brass and percussion come to the fore and the chimes toll forcefully.

Parts of the opening section return to complete the arch-like form of this elegiac work, and the chimes, which played fragments of the Dies Irae at the opening, now play fragments of the Agnus Dei chant.”

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, OPUS 77 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

James Ehnes is this season’s Fayez Sarofim Guest Violinist endowed by The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts.

This weekend’s concerts are generously sponsored by Drs. M.S. and Marie-Luise Kalsi.

The printed music for Dvorˇák’s Symphony No. 6 was donated by Mr. Philip Booth.

The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

These concerts are being recorded for future broadcast on Classical 91.7 FM, the Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony and Classical Season Media Sponsor.

24 www.houstonsymphony.org

Recording: Violinist Joshua Bell, with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the Cleveland Orchestra (Decca) Instrumentation: pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings Brahms’ Violin Concerto is often paired with his Second Symphony as an expression of the broad, sunny side of the composer’s nature. It was composed in 1878, a year after the symphony, and the two works share the same

.......................................... tonality and similar thematic materials

The concerto was a product of Brahms’ early association and long friendship with violinist Joseph Joachim, for whom he had served as piano accompanist during their shared tours in the early 1850s. It is the most noteworthy of several 19th-century concertos Joachim helped to shape, advising the composer of each one on the technical feasibility of certain passages. Joachim composed the solo cadenza, and it remains the standard cadenza heard today.

Technically, the Brahms Violin Concerto is more difficult than showy. While brilliant virtuoso passages are kept to a minimum, the solo part is full of wide leaps and chordal passages requiring the bow to play on several strings simultaneously. It is also pitted against a typically thick Brahmsian orchestration, presenting the soloist a considerable challenge in keeping his or her tone afloat.

Though the work was composed rather late in the 19th century, Brahms reverted to the old Classical-era precept of a double exposition, with the orchestra presenting the first group of themes before the violin enters, presenting them again before going on to the ravishing waltz-like second theme. In typical Brahms fashion, the development is long and rigorous, finally leading to a climactic recapitulation and solo cadenza.

Originally, Brahms planned a four-movement concerto, after the manner of a symphony. However, he deleted the second-movement Scherzo at the last minute and composed a new Adagio as the song-like centerpiece of the three-movement concerto that exists today. The finale is a zestful Hungarian rondo, one of many musical tributes to Brahms’ association with the Hungarian-born Joachim and his youthful introduction to Hungarian music.

SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN D MAJOR, OPUS 60 Antonín Dvorˇák (1841-1904) Recording: Neeme Järvi conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Chandos) Instrumentation: two flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings Being a Czech musician in the 19th-century Austrian empire was no cultural privilege.

German was the prevailing official language, and it was not until late in life that Dvorˇák persuaded his publisher to print the titles of his works in Czech. Although the Sixth Symphony had been requested by none other than its dedicatee, Hans Richter, for the Vienna Philharmonic, biographer John Clapham cited opposition within the Vienna Philharmonic Society as the cause for repeated delays in scheduling its premiere following the work’s September 2011 25

Notes continued................ completion in October 1880.

Finally, Dvorˇák awarded the premiere to Adolf Cˇech in Prague, where it was brought to life on March 25, 1881. It was the first of Dvorˇák’s symphonies to be published and soon gained a performance in Leipzig, two in London and finally one in Vienna by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in 1883. Over the next decade, Dvorˇák himself conducted several performances of the Sixth Symphony during visits to England, St. Petersburg and with the New York Philharmonic in 1893, at the beginning of his three-year stay in America.

Dvorˇák scholars have frequently commented upon similarities between this symphony and the Brahms Second Symphony, composed two years earlier. Not only have they cited the tonal identity (both were composed in the key of D major), but the similarly buoyant spirit that pervades both symphonies.

Though this aspect of the Sixth Symphony has been discounted by leading Dvorˇák scholar Otakar Šourek, there is some truth to the claim. One hears little traits of Brahms’ musical profile in the orchestral colorings, his turns of phrase and some of his frowning counterpoint from time to time in the first movement, and again in the hushed opening theme of the final movement, first stated by the strings, then followed by a sudden brassy outburst.

But the rustic character of Dvorˇák’s dance-like themes keeps bubbling to the surface in these movements, revealing the signature of his inherent musical style. And remembering the influence of other composers on Dvorˇák’s youthful works, one must think back just two symphonies earlier, to the slow movement of the Fourth Symphony where the music reminds one very strongly of the overtures to Wagner’s Tannhäuser.

Considered on its own merits, the Sixth Symphony is most significant for the forward progress Dvorˇák made in reconciling his penchant for dance music with the organic developmental processes required in large symphonic forms. Its two outer movements are big sonata-form structures, full of energy and enhanced by appealing folk-flavored themes. A quiet lyrical mood dominates the pensive slow movement, while the thirdmovement Scherzo exudes the lusty spirit of a Czech Furiant. It is Dvorˇák’s first symphonic use of this ethnic dance rhythm and a favorite piece among his examples of the form. ©2011, Carl R. Cunningham

Biography...................

James Ehnes, violin

Violinist James Ehnes, hailed as “the Jascha Heifetz of our day” (Globe and Mail ), has Continued on page 29 26 www.houstonsymphony.org

Program

Notes..........................

by Carl Cunningham FLOURISHES Carlisle Floyd (1926- ) Recording: none commercially available

Fidelity Investments Classical Series Thursday, September 22, 2011 8 pm Saturday, September 24, 2011 8 pm Sunday, September 25, 2011 2:30 pm Jones Hall

Richard Strauss’ A Hero’s Life Hans Graf, conductor Olga Kern, piano

C. Floyd Flourishes C. Rouse Odna Zhizn (A Life) Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major INTERMISSION R. Strauss Ein Heldenleben, Opus 40

Hans Graf’s biography appears on page 7.

TOTAL Gold Classics Series

The SoundPlusVision series is sponsored by the Alkek & Williams Foundation and supported in part by an endowed fund from The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Fund for Creative Initiatives.

The Classical Season is endowed by The Wortham Foundation, Inc. in memory of Gus S. and Lyndall F. Wortham.

The printed music for Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was donated by J.R. & Aline Deming.

The printed music for R. Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben was donated by Dr. & Mrs. Gage VanHorn.

The Houston Symphony currently records under its own label, Houston Symphony Media Productions, and for Naxos. Houston Symphony recordings also are available on the Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and Koch International Classics labels.

These concerts are being recorded for future broadcast on Classical 91.7 FM, the Radio Voice of the Houston Symphony and Classical Season Media Sponsor.

Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, three clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, piano and strings Although Carlisle Floyd is primarily regarded as a composer of significant American operas, his limited number of non-operatic works show him to be a highly skilled composer in other musical media, as well. His festive orchestral fanfare, Flourishes, was written for the Houston Symphony’s celebration of the City of Houston’s sesquicentennial. Guest conductor Sir Neville Marriner gave the world premiere of the piece on February 14, 1987.

The four-minute fanfare begins as a rousing but melodically jagged duet between high and low brass soloists, and proceeds in a similar manner through all the major instrumental colors in the orchestra—including the timpani!

With this performance, Music Director Hans Graf and the orchestra have now revived more than a third of the 21 fanfares commissioned for the Houston sesquicentennial.

ODNA ZHIZN (A Life) Christopher Rouse (1949- ) Recording: none commercially available Instrumentation: three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta and strings “Odna zhizn” is a Russian term meaning “a life,” Christopher Rouse tells us at the beginning of a cryptic commentary on his recent tone poem, premiered by the New York Philharmonic two seasons ago. The piece is dedicated to “Natasha,” and he composed it in 2008 “in homage of a person of Russian ancestry who is very dear to me. Her life has not been an easy one, and the struggles she has faced are reflected in the sometimes peripatetic nature of the music.”

“While quite a few of my scores have symbolically translated various words into notes and rhythms, this process has been carried to an extreme degree in ‘Zhizn,’” Rouse states. “Virtually all the music is focused on the spelling of names and other phrases, and it was an enormous challenge for me to fashion these materials into what I hoped would be a satisfying musical experience that functions both as the public portrayal of an extraordinary life, as well as a private love letter.”

Like several of Rouse’s earlier tone poems performed here, Odna Zhizn is an intensely September 2011 27

Notes continued................................................................................................... dissonant piece employing a large, colorful orchestra. It begins and ends softly with longheld chords supporting passages of fluttering flutes and other woodwinds. At the center of this 15-minute work, the music turns ominous and explosive, with a characteristic emphasis upon the percussion instruments, strong rhythms and virtuosic orchestral gestures favored in many a Rouse score.

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 IN A MAJOR Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Recording: Pianist Nelson Freire, with Michel Plasson conducting the Dresden Philharmonic (Brilliant Classics) Instrumentation: three flutes (third doubling piccolo), pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings

28 www.houstonsymphony.org

EIN HELDENLEBEN, OPUS 40 Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Recording: Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Apex) Instrumentation: three flutes, piccolo, four oboes (one doubling English horn), two clarinets, bass clarinet, E-flat clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, eight horns, five trumpets, three trombones, tenor and bass tubas, timpani, percussion, two harps, three offstage trumpets and strings Depending upon one’s point of view, Strauss’ seventh symphonic poem is either considered the summit of his art in that medium, or the work one meets on the way down from the artistic crest Strauss reached in his preceding orchestral character study, Don Quixote.

Most of Strauss’ previous symphonic poems had been based on independent literary sources and many of them were full of those human sentiments that sparked Strauss’ imagination when it came to bringing a musical personality to life. But the quasi-autobiographical personality represented in Ein Heldenleben was a product of his own creation and turned out to be a far less colorful, multi-faceted character than Don Juan, Don Quixote and Till Eulenspiegel.

With the possible exception of Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, the piece is unequaled in the size of the orchestral ensemble and the complexity of its thematic interplay. But, in keeping with the careful public image heroes must maintain, it displays a narrower musical personality than many of Strauss’ earlier symphonic poems.

The work, composed in 1897-98, is a very large, freely designed sonata form in six sections, three of which occur in the exposition of the movement. The opening section, titled “The Hero,” sets forth his character in five different thematic motives. A transition, given over to the chatter of several mean-spirited woodwind themes representing “The Hero’s Adversaries” (in this case, the critics), seems insignificant at this point. However, it periodically interrupts the thematic progress later in the exposition and becomes crucial in the development section.

“The Hero’s Companion” (evidently Strauss’ wife, Pauline) is introduced as a capricious, temperamentally volatile woman by means of an extraordinarily long, demanding violin solo played by the concertmaster. Unable to tame her personality, the hero goes his own way, and she soon joins him in a long, sweetly sentimental Straussian episode of wedded bliss. But the hero is abruptly roused from his marital bed by those carping critic themes and “The Hero’s Deeds of War” forms a bombastic development section in which Strauss’ protagonist unsheathes his sword and finally banishes

them—at least for another 100 measures.

The surging arpeggiated hero’s theme heard at the outset of Ein Heldenleben ushers in the recapitulation in the movement’s original key of E-flat major, this time appended by a brilliant victory motive, bouncing off the full orchestra like a thunderclap. This introduces the fifth section, “The Hero’s Works of Peace.”

Here, Strauss combines 31 thematic excerpts from his six previous tone poems, his early opera, Guntram, and two of his early songs—all mixed together in a splendid contrapuntal potpourri that has delighted every theme detective since the work’s premiere.

However, a feeling of dejection overtakes the hero, and the carping critic themes indicate that his adversaries have not been permanently silenced. The sixth section, “The Hero’s Retirement from the World,” brings the 45minute symphonic poem to a close in a typically extended, but quietly shimmering, Straussian epilogue. ©2011, Carl R. Cunningham

Biography...................

Kern

Franz Liszt’s A major Piano Concerto has sometimes been called “the adventures of a theme.”

That is a slight exaggeration, since the work does have a contrasting secondary theme, but the subtitle describes the remarkable continuity and concentration of musical ideas Liszt achieved in the concerto.

Building upon the experiments undertaken in his earlier E-flat Concerto, Liszt constructed the A major Concerto in a single continuous movement. But he obscured the traditional structure of the concerto form to a greater degree than in the earlier work, so that the sequence of a sonata-allegro, slow movement, scherzo and finale imbedded in the E-flat Concerto is set aside in the A major Concerto.

Instead, one hears a free alternation of slow and fast sections within the 20-minute time span of the piece. One might call it a tone poem for piano and orchestra.

The poetic, rather than the exhibitionistic side of Liszt’s talent shows itself at the outset, as the clarinets and bassoons present the main theme in a simple, chorale-style setting. It is a beautiful, if plaintive melody, delicately tinted with chromatic inflections that lend a tinge of sadness to the music. The piano joins in, decorating the musical texture with a broken-chord accompaniment while maintaining the sweetsad mood of the work.

However, a series of pianistic flourishes leads to a gruff, militant episode that eventually brings on a new theme, urgently stated by most of the orchestra over a brassy fanfare. After being thoroughly explored, this theme gradually dissolves into a lyrical restatement of the opening theme, this time featuring a solo cello. More pianistic display leads to a militant restatement of the second theme and, after considerable development, a martial transformation of the opening theme. Another lyrical, highly decorated statement of the theme in the piano brings on a short solo cadenza and coda.

Liszt initially composed the concerto in 1839, and then revised it at least four times before it was published in its final form in 1861.

Olga Kern, piano

Olga Kern’s career began with her goldmedal performance at the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2001). Her second catapulting triumph came in 2004, with a recital debut at Carnegie Hall and an unprecedented invitation to return eight days later.

This season, Kern debuts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, and makes this return to Houston, as well as Saint Louis, Colorado, Phoenix and Ottawa. In 2012, she will make an extensive North American recital tour with violinist Vladimir Spivakov, their first chamber music collaboration outside Europe.

The past season included performances with leading orchestras; a co-presentation by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Van Cliburn Foundation; recitals at Drake University and Longwood Gardens, Sanibel and Winter Park Music Festivals; and her debut at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. At Lincoln Center, she performed for Chopin’s

Biography continued from page 26. ..................................

..........................................

200th Anniversary Celebration.

Kern first toured South Africa in 2002 and returned in 2005, performing all four Rachmaninoff piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, with her brother, Vladimir Kern, conducting. She is now artistic director of the Cape Town Festival in South Africa and returns there annually.

Kern is from a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and began studying piano at 5 years old. She won the first Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at 17, is a laureate of 11 international competitions and has toured throughout her native Russia, Europe, North and South America, as well as in Japan, South Africa and South Korea. A member of Russia’s International Academy of Arts, she trained at the Moscow Central School, continued at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and studied at the Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro in Imola, Italy.

Olga Kern appearances are courtesy of Columbia Artists Management LLC, R. Douglas Sheldon/Denise A. Pineau, 1790 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. She records exclusively for harmonia mundi. Her dresses are designed

by Harry Robles.

His recordings have received many awards, including a Grammy®, a Gramophone® and six Juno awards.

James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began violin studies at age 4; at age 13, he made his orchestral debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He studied at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, where he won the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music.

Ehnes has won many prestigious awards, including Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian

Music Competition (1987), First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival (1988), the first Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts’ Virginia Parker Prize and an Avery Fisher Career Grant (2005). He was honored by Brandon University (2005) with a Doctor of Music degree, and he was the youngest person elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada (2007).

The Governor General of Canada appointed Ehnes a Member of the Order of Canada (2010).

James Ehnes plays the 1715 “Marsick” Stradivarius. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida with his wife, Kate.

Biography................... continued from page 26 performed in more than 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly with many of the world’s most well-known orchestras and conductors.

Last season featured a challenging balance of concerto concerts, chamber music and recitals in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Europe, the UK and North and South America.

This season is equally full. © benjamin ealovega

Ehnes

Ehnes will add to his extensive discography of more than 25 recordings with a disc of Bartok’s Violin Concertos and the Viola Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic (Chandos) and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony (Onyx). His most recent release, featuring the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Octet (Onyx), has earned raves worldwide.

September 2011 29

Houston Symphony Chorus..............................................................................

Photo by jeff fitlow

Hausmann Charles Hausmann, director

Dr. Charles S. Hausmann was named director of the Houston Symphony Chorus in 1986 and is celebrating his 25th anniversary in the 2011-12 season. He has prepared the group for more than 600 concerts, led them on numerous tours to Mexico and Europe, and worked with more than 40 acclaimed conductors including Hans Graf, Christoph Eschenbach, Claus Peter Flor and Robert Shaw. His extensive repertoire includes most of the major choral/orchestral masterworks.

As director of graduate choral studies and professor of conducting at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music since 1985, Hausmann supervises the master’s and doctoral programs in choral conducting, teaches choral conducting and literature and conducts the Moores School Choral Artists—a graduate chamber choir.

An active church musician, he has conducted church choirs in Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey and Texas. He currently serves as Director of Choral Music at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston where he led the Houston Symphony and Chorus in a performance of Mendelssohn’s St. Paul (spring 2008).

Hausmann frequently appears as a guest conductor, lecturer, clinician and soloist. He led the Chorus on its fourth European tour in 2007, appearing as guest conductor during the Prague Spring Festival. He and the Chorus share a 24-year collaboration with Mexico City’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, recently performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah with former Houston Symphony Associate Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto.

This season, Hausmann prepares the Chorus for Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, A Very Merry Pops, Handel’s Messiah and Orff’s Carmina Burana, among others.

Support the Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment The Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment supports activities that enrich Houston’s musical life and enhance the high professional standards of the all-volunteer Chorus.

For more on how you can help ensure the artistic future of the Chorus, call the Symphony’s Development office at (713) 3378528 or visit hschorus.org.

30 www.houstonsymphony.org

Charles Hausmann, Director Paulo Gomes Assistant Director First Soprano Ramona Alms Alice Beckstrom Robyn Branning Monica M. Davis Kathleen Forbes Clarice Gatlin Marta Giles Elizabeth Good Amanda Harris Sophia Hou Allison Jewett Sarah Keifer Gillian Kruse Veronica Lorine * • Pamela Magnuson Lydia Musher Theresa Olin Megan Owen Karen Rennar Wendy Ridings Rhonda Ryan Jennifer Klein Salyer Heidi Sanders Beth Slaughter Deborah Spencer Annie Treverton Lisa Trewin Tania Van Dongen Beth Anne Weidler Megan Welch Natalyn Whitis Jessica L. Williams Second Soprano Yoset Altamirano Lisa Anders Laura Bohlmann • Nancy Bratic Anne Campbell Debby Cutler Vickie Davis Corita Dubose Karen Fess-Uecker Kellie Garden Lorraine Hammond Debbie Hannah Alexis Hazel • Megan Henry Sylvia Hysong Yukiko Iwata Natalia Kalitynska • Carol Ostlind Linda Peters Susan Scarrow Vicki Seldon Paige Sommer Veronica A. Stevens Cecilia Sun Caryssa Treider

Scott Holshouser Accompanist Megan Truelson Nancy Vernau Jennifer Young

First Alto Krista Borstell Jami Bruns Patricia Bumpus Barbara Bush Thea Chapman Nancy Christopherson Robin Clarkson Christine Economides Mary Gahr • Susan Hall Judy Hill Kristin Hurter Berma Kinsey Joyce Lewis * • Mary Lopushansky Ashley Maack Heather Maclaughlin Garbes Lisa Morfin Cynthia Mulder Jennifer L. Phan Linda Renner Linda Richardson Carolyn Rogan Holly Rubbo June Russell Maria Schoen Andrea Slack Vicki Westbrook Patsy Wilson Shelby Wilson Second Alto Melissa Bailey Adams • Sarah Wilson Clark M. Evelyn Clift Rochella Cooper Andrea Creath Robin Dunn Holly Eaton Rachel El-Saleh Thi Ha Juli Herbert Denise Holmes Catherine Howard Lois Howell * • Crystal Meadows Lynne Moneypenny Nina Peropoulos Laurie Reynolds Holly Soehnge Mary Voigt Kaye Windel-Garza

Tony Sessions Librarian

First Tenor Robert Browning James R. Carazola Patrick Drake Richard Field • Robert Gomez James Patrick Hanley Steven Hazel Donald Howie Francisco J. Izaguirre Frank Lopez Christopher Lund Darrell Mayon * • Jim Moore Peter Peropoulos Douglas Rodenberger David Schoen Tony Sessions Charles Thornburg Aaron Verber Second Tenor Bob Alban Randy Boatright Harvey Bongers William Cole Donn Dubois Jorge Fandino Mark Ferring Joseph Frybert John Grady Craig Hill Philip Lewis William L. Mize Dave Nussmann Greg Railsback Rick Selby Lesley C. Sommer Dewell Springer Tony Vazquez Leonardo Veletzuy * • Lee Williams First Bass Joe Anzaldua Greg Barra Justin Becker Claude Bitner John Bond Bruce Boyle Christopher Burris Peter Christian Steve Dukes Leigh Fernau Taylor Harper Scott Hassett Stephen M. James

* • Jay Lopez Clemente Mathis William McCallum Chris Ming Matt Neufeld Kevin Newman Gary Scullin Stephen Shadle Mark Standridge Sam Stengler Paul Van Dorn Joe Villarreal Kevin Wallace Second Bass Steve Abercia * • Wilton T. Adams Bill Cheadle John Colson Roger Cutler Paul Ehrsam Tom Everage Chris Fair Ian Fetterley David M. Fox Yevgeny Genin Michael Gilbert Matt Henderson Terry Henderson George Howe Chuck Izzo Cletus Johnson Nobuhide Kobori Alan MacAdams • Ken Mathews Scott Mermelstein Clyde L. Miner Greg Nelson Bill Parker John Proffitt • Robert Reynolds Daniel Robertson Doug Sanders Richard White

* Section Leader • Council Member

As of July 20, 2011

Houston Symphony Chorus Endowment Donors......................... $1,000 or more Paul & Vickie Davis ExxonMobil David & Joyce Fox

Robert Lee Gomez Philip & Audrey Lewis Mr. Dave B. Nussmann

Susan Scarrow

Symphony Society Board. .................................................................................

Executive Committee...............................................................................................

President Chairman of the Board Robert B. Tudor III Jesse B. Tutor President-elect and Vice President, Finance Robert A. Peiser

Executive Director/CEO Mark C. Hanson Chairman Emeritus Mike Stude

Vice President, Artistic and Orchestra Affairs Brett Busby

Vice President Board Governance, and Secretary Steven P. Mach

Vice President, Volunteers Barbara McCelvey

Vice President, Popular Programming Allen Gelwick

Vice President, Education Cora Sue Mach

Vice President, Development David Wuthrich

Vice President, Audience Development and Marketing Gloria Pryzant

General Counsel Paul R. Morico

President, Endowment Gene Dewhurst

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Martha GarcĂ­a, Assistant Secretary Mark Hughes, Orchestra Representative Rodney Margolis Burke Shaw, Orchestra Representative Donna Shen, President, Houston Symphony League Brinton Averil Smith, Orchestra Representative Ed Wulfe, Immediate Past Chair

At-Large Members Ulyesse LeGrange Jay Marks Helen Shaffer

Governing Directors..................................................................................................... * Janice Barrow Darlene Bisso Marie Bosarge Terry Ann Brown Ralph Burch Prentiss Burt Brett Busby * John T. Cater Janet Clark Michael H. Clark Scott Cutler Lorraine Dell Viviana Denechaud Gene Dewhurst Michael Doherty Susanna Dokupil Kelli Cohen Fein

Julia Frankel David Frankfort Allen Gelwick Stephen Glenn Susan Hansen Gary L. Hollingsworth Ryan Krogmeier Ulyesse LeGrange Rochelle Levit Nancy Littlejohn April Lykos Cora Sue Mach Steven P. Mach Beth Madison Rodney Margolis Jay Marks Mary Lynn Marks

Jackie Wolens Mazow Billy McCartney Barbara McCelvey Gene McDavid * Alexander K. McLanahan Kevin Meyers Paul Morico Arthur Newman Robert A. Peiser Fran Fawcett Peterson Geoffroy Petit David Pruner Stephen Pryor Gloria Pryzant Kathi Rovere John Rydman Manolo Sanchez

Helen Shaffer Jerome Simon Jim R. Smith David Steakley Mike Stude Robert B. Tudor III * Betty Tutor * Jesse B. Tutor Margaret Waisman Fredric A. Weber Vicki West Margaret Alkek Williams * Ed Wulfe David Wuthrich Cary P. Yates Robert A. Yekovich

Trustees. .................................................................................................................

Samuel Abraham Philip Bahr Meherwan Boyce Walter Bratic Nancy Bumgarner Lynn Caruso Brandon Cochran Louis Delone Tom Fitzpatrick Craig A. Fox Kathleen Hayes

Brian James Joan Kaplan I. Ray Kirk Carolyn Mann Paul M. Mann Judy Margolis Elisabeth McCabe Marilyn Miles Tassie Nicandros Scott Nyquist Edward Osterberg Jr.

J. Hugh Roff Jr. Michael E. Shannon Jule Smith Michael Tenzer L. Proctor (Terry) Thomas Stephen G. Tipps Mrs. S. Conrad Weil David Ashley White James T. Willerson Steven J. Williams

Ex-Officio Martha GarcĂ­a Mark C. Hanson Mark Hughes Susan Osterberg Donna Shen Glenda Toole Burke Shaw Brinton Averil Smith * Life 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. 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 Past Presidents of the Houston Symphony League

Miss Ima Hogg Mrs. John F. Grant Mrs. J. R. Parten Mrs. Andrew E. Rutter

Mrs. Aubrey Leon Carter Mrs. Stuart Sherar Mrs. Julian Burrows Ms. Hazel Ledbetter Mrs. Albert P. Jones Mrs. Ben A. Calhoun Mrs. James Griffith Lawhon Mrs. Olaf La Cour 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 H. Carruth

Mrs. David Hannah Jr. Mary Louis Kister Ellen Elizardi Kelley 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 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 Nancy Willerson Jane Clark Nancy Littlejohn September 2011 31

Annual Campaign Donors. ...............................................................................

The Houston Symphony gratefully acknowledges those who support our artistic, educational and community engagement programs through their generosity to our Annual Fund and our Special Events. Donors receive a wide array of benefits for the current season and recognition for the 12 months following the date of their gifts. Below you will find a listing of those who have so generously given within the past 12 months. The $8.4 million raised for our Annual Fund was a record and topped the previous year’s total by nearly $2.2 million. We are honored to count these donors among our closest Houston Symphony friends, and we invite you to consider becoming a member of one of our giving societies, if you have not joined in the past. For more information, please contact our Development Department at: (713) 337-8500.

Leadership Gifts Ima Hogg Society – $150,000 or More Anonymous (1) Dr. & Mrs. W. E. Bosarge Lieutenant Governor David H. Dewhurst Mr. Alfred C. Glassell III Ms. Beth Madison Madison Benefits Group Inc. Mr. M. S. Stude Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Tudor III Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

President’s Society – $75,000 - $99,999 Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Kaplan

Maestro’s Society – $50,000 - $74,999 Gene & Linda Dewhurst Maestro Hans Graf & Mrs. Graf Mrs. Margaret Alkek Williams

Concertmaster’s Society – $25,000 - $49,999 Anonymous (2) Janice Barrow Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Blackburne Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Russell M. Frankel Ms. Sharin Shafer Gaille Mrs. Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth & Dr. Ken Hyde Drs. M.S. & Marie-Luise Kalsi Mr. & Mrs. Ulyesse J. LeGrange Rochelle & Max Levit Joella & Steven P. Mach Jay & Shirley Marks Barbara & Pat McCelvey Mr. & Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Nancy & Robert Peiser Mr. & Mrs. David R. Pruner Mrs. Sybil F. Roos Mr. & Mrs. Jim R. Smith

32 www.houstonsymphony.org

Annual Campaign Donors. ...............................................................................

Patron Donors Principal Musician’s Society $15,000 - $24,999 Captain & Mrs. W. A. “Cappy” Bisso III Mr. & Mrs. J. Brett Busby Janet F. Clark Leslie Barry Davidson & W. Robins Brice Angel & Craig Fox Allen & Almira Gelwick - Lockton Companies Cora Sue & Harry Mach Mr. & Mrs. Rodney H. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. Billy McCartney

Ann & Hugh Roff Mr. & Mrs. Clive Runnells Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Laura & Michael Shannon Mr. Louis H. Skidmore Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Springob, Laredo Construction, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Fredric A. Weber Dede & Connie Weil Mr. & Mrs. Steven Jay Williams

Artist/Conductor’s Society $10,000 - $14,999 Anonymous (2) Marian & Gary Beauchamp Mr. & Mrs. W. T. Carter IV Mr. & Mrs. Gerald F. Clark Mr. & Mrs. Brandon Cochran Ms. Jan Cohen Dr. Scott Cutler Mr. Richard Danforth Dr. & Mrs. Alexander Dell Mrs. William Estrada Mr. S. David Frankfort Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Hansen Mr. Brian James Dr. & Mrs. I. Ray Kirk Mr. & Mrs. Meredith J. Long Dr. & Mrs. Michael Mann Mr. & Mrs. J. Stephen Marks

Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm L. Mazow Betty & Gene McDavid Stephen & Marilyn Miles Mr. & Mrs. Steven Owsley Gloria & Joe Pryzant Mr. & Mrs. William J. Rovere Jr. Mrs. Maryjane Scherr Mr. & Mrs. Haag Sherman David & Paula Steakley Paul Strand Thomas Alice & Terry Thomas Stephen & Pamalah Tipps Margaret Waisman, M.D. & Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. Vicki & Paul West Cyvia & Melvyn Wolff Mr. & Mrs. Ed Wulfe

Musician’s Society $7,500 - $9,999 Anonymous (1) Mr. & Mrs. Philip A. Bahr Mr. & Mrs. Charles G. Black III Dr. & Mrs. Meherwan P. Boyce Mr. & Mrs. Walter V. Boyle Mr. & Mrs. Walter Bratic Ms. Terry A. Brown The Robert & Jane Cizik Foundation Roger & Debby Cutler Mr. & Mrs. Michael Dokupil Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Mr. & Mrs. Fred L. Gorman Jo A. & Billie Jo Graves Christina & Mark Hanson Dr. & Mrs. Bernard Katz Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Lykos Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Paul M. Mann Miss Catherine Jane Merchant Mr. & Mrs. Kevin O. Meyers Dr. & Mrs. Robert M. Mihalo

Mr. Cameron Mitchell Sue A. Morrison Bobbie & Arthur Newman Ms. Peggy Overly & Mr. John Barlow Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan E. Parker Kathryn & Richard Rabinow Mr. & Mrs. William K. Robbins Jr. Mr. Glen A. Rosenbaum Ms. Amanda Savo Donna & Tim Shen Mr. & Mrs. Tad Smith Julia & Albert Smith Foundation Dr. Alana R. Spiwak & Sam Stolbun Mr. Stephen C. Tarry Ann & Joel Wahlberg Dr. Jim T. Willerson Isabel B. & Wallace S. Wilson Mr. & Mrs. C. Clifford Wright Nina & Michael Zilkha September 2011 33

Annual Campaign Donors. .........................................................................................

Conductor’s Circle $5,000 - $7,499 Anonymous (1) Mrs. Bonnie Bauer Mr. & Mrs. Karl H. Becker Dr. Alan Bentz & Ms. Sallymoon S. Benz Ruth White Brodsky Mrs. George L. Brundrett Jr. Marilyn & Coleman Caplovitz David & Nona Carmichael Mrs. Lily Carrigan Margot & John Cater Mr. Michael H. Clark & Ms. Sallie Morian Mr. & Mrs. Rodney Cutsinger Mr. & Mrs. James D. Dannenbaum Judge & Mrs. Harold DeMoss Jr. Mr. & Mrs. David Denechaud Ms. Sara J. Devine Mr. & Mrs. Paul F. Egner Jr. Mr. Roger Eichhorn Aubrey & Sylvia Farb Diane Lokey Farb Mary Ann & Larry Faulkner Mr. George B. Geary Mrs. Aileen Gordon William A. Grieves & Dorothy McDonnell Grieves Mr. & Mrs. W. R. Hayes Mr. & Mrs. Frank Herzog Mr. & Mrs. David V. Hudson Jr. Debbie & Frank Jones Drs. Blair & Rita Justice Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Kinder Mary Louis Kister Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Lasher III Dr. & Mrs. Fred R. Lummis Jr. Mr. & Mrs. George McCullough Mrs. Beverly T. McDonald Mr. Robert McNair Sidney & Ione Moran Paul & Rita Morico Mr. & Mrs. Lucian L. Morrison Jr. Mary & Terry Murphree Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Edward C. Osterberg Jr. Mr. John M. Petrosky Mr. Howard Pieper Mr. Robert J. Pilegge Mrs. Lila Rauch Mr. & Mrs. Ken N. Robertson Mr. & Mrs. Manolo Sanchez Mr. & Mrs. Mark R. Smith Mr. & Mrs. Antonio M. Szabo Ann Trammell Stephen & Kristine Wallace Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin Warren Robert G. Weiner Ms. Jennifer R. Wittman Woodell Family Foundation Mr. & Mrs. David J. Wuthrich Winthrop A. Wyman & Beverly Johnson Dr. & Mrs. Robert Yekovich Erla & Harry Zuber

34 www.houstonsymphony.org

Grand Patron’s Circle $2,500 - $4,999

Anonymous (1) Eric S. Anderson & R. Dennis Anderson Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey B. Aron Mr. Richard C. Bailey Dr. & Mrs. Devinder Bhatia Ms. Dianne Bowman Mr. & Mrs. James D. Bozeman Mrs. Catherine Campbell Brock & Dr. Gary Brock Mr. & Mrs. Sean Bumgarner Mr. Ralph Burch Alan & Toba Buxbaum Mr. & Mrs. Thierry Caruso Mr. William E. Colburn Lois & David Coyle Mr. & Mrs. Louis F. DeLone J.R. & Aline Deming Mr. James Denton Mr. & Mrs. Michael Doherty Mr. William Elbel & Ms. Mary J. Schroeder Mr. Parrish N. Erwin Jr. Mr. & Mrs. J. Thomas Eubank Mr. & Mrs. Donald Faust Sr. Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein & Martin J. Fein Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Ference Mrs. Arvia Few Ron & Tricia Fredman Mr. Edwin C. Friedrichs & Ms. Darlene Clark Thomas & Patricia Geddy Mrs. Lila-Gene George Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Glanville Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Hayes Mr. & Mrs. James E. Hooks Mr. & Mrs. Francis S. Kalman Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Keeton Mr. & Mrs. Gary Kenney William & Cynthia Koch Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Krogmeier Mrs. Margaret H. Ley Mr. James Lokay Mr. & Mrs. Stevens Mafrige Mr. & Mrs. William B. McNamara Mr. & Mrs. Pershant Mehta Mr. & Mrs. Richard Mithoff Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Moynihan Edward Oppenheimer Mr. & Mrs. Gary Petersen Mr. Michael H. Price Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Pryor Mr. & Mrs. Thomas R. Reckling III Michael & Vicky Richker Drs. Alejandro & Lynn Rosas Dr. Philip D. Scott & Dr. Susan E. Gardner Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Simon Mr. & Mrs. Louis J. Snyder Joel V. & Mary M. Staff Dr. & Mrs. C. Richard Stasney Mr. & Mrs. Keith Stevenson Mr. & Mrs. Leland Tate Mr. & Mrs. Gene Van Dyke Mr. & Mrs. Wil VanLoh C. Harold & Lorine Wallace Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Wray Edith & Robert Zinn

Sustaining Patron’s Circle $1,000 - $2,499

Anonymous (6) Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Abraham Mr. & Mrs. Elliot Abramson Mr. & Mrs. Edgar D. Ackerman Mrs. Harold J. Adam Joan & Stanford Alexander Mrs. Nancy C. Allen, President Greentree Fund Frances & Ira Anderson John & Pat Anderson Mr. & Mrs. William J. Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Anthony P. Apollo Mr. Maurice J. Aresty Mr. & Mrs. John M. Arnsparger Mr. Alan Aronstein Mr. Jeff Autor Mrs. Nancy Bailey Stanley & Martha Bair Mr. & Mrs. John A. Barrett Ms. Deborah S. Bautch Dr. & Mrs. Arthur L. Beaudet Drs. Henry & Louise Bethea Ms. Joan H. Bitar Mrs. Thomas W. Blake Mr. Teodoro Bosquez Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bray Joe Brazzatti Mr. & Mrs. John B. Brent Mr. & Mrs. Maurice Bresenhan Katherine M. Briggs Steve & Diana Brown The Honorable & Mrs. Peter Brown Mr. & Ms. Bruce Buhler Lilia Khakinova & C. Robert Bunch Mrs. Anne H. Bushman Dr. & Mrs. William T. Butler Ms. Marjorie Carter Cain Mr. William Caudill Mr. & Mrs. Paul D. Chapman Mr. & Mrs. Allen Clamen Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Clarke Mr. & Mrs. James G. Coatsworth Mr. Mark C. Conrad Dr. & Mrs. James D. Cox Mr. & Mrs. Robert Creager Sylvia & Andre Crispin Mr. & Mrs. T. N. Crook Mr. & Mrs. James W. Crownover Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Cullen Jr. Mr. Carl Cunningham Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy Davis Dr. & Mrs. Clotaire D. Delery Mr. & Mrs. Mark Diehl Mr. & Mrs. Carr P. Dishroon Mr. & Mrs. Jack N. Doherty Mr. & Mrs. James P. Dorn Drs. Gary & Roz Dworkin Mr. & Mrs. Edward N. Earle Mrs. Carolyn Grant Fay Jerry E. & Nanette B. Finger Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Fischer John C. Fitch Mr. & Mrs. Tom Fitzpatrick Mr. Jeff Fort Ms. Beth Freeman Paula & Alfred Friedlander Mr. Douglas Garrison Mr. John Gee Mr. Michael B. George Mrs. Joan M. Giese Dr. & Mrs. Jack Gill Walter Gilmore

.....................................................................................................................................

Mr. Mauro Gimenez & Ms. Connie Coulomb Mr. & Mrs. Morris Glesby Gary & Marion Glober Mr. & Mrs. Bert H. Golding Helen B. Wils & Leonard Goldstein Robert & Michelle Goodmark Mr. Robert Grant Ms. Joyce Z. Greenberg Mary & Paul Gregory Mr. Charles H. Gregory Mr. & Mrs. Robert M. Griswold Mr. & Mrs. Joseph A. Hafner Jr. Mr. Michael Haigh Mrs. Thalia Halen Dr. & Mrs. Carlos R. Hamilton Mr. & Mrs. Bob Hammann Mr. & Mrs. Paul Hanson Marion & Jim Hargrove Mr. & Judge Frank Harmon III Ms. Claudia Hatcher Dr. & Mrs. Eric J. Haufrect Mr. & Mrs. David Hemenway Mark & Ragna Henrichs Marilyn & Robert M. Hermance Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. Herrmann Mr. & Mrs. Doug R. Hinzie Mr. Tim Hogan Mrs. Holly Holmes Mr. & Mrs. Alex Howard Mr. & Mrs. Norman C. Hoyer Eileen & George Hricik Mr. Mark Hughes Mr. & Mrs. R. O. Hunton Mr. Bradford Irelan Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Jankovic Mr. & Mrs. John F. Joity Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Katz Sam & Cele Keeper Linda & Frank S. Kelley Mr. & Mrs. Mavis Kelsey Jr. Ms. Deborah Kosich Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Lane Ms. Joni Latimer Ms. Barbara Lister Ms. Nancey Lobb Mr. & Mrs. John Lollar Robert & Gayle Longmire Mr. & Mrs. Paul F. Longstreth Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Mason Mr. & Mrs. J.A. Mawhinney Jr. Mr. & Mrs. William L. Maynard Mr. & Mrs. James W. McCartney Mr. & Mrs. Andrew McFarland Mr. & Mrs. John M. McGill Mr. & Mrs. Michael McGuire Mr. & Mrs. Martin McIntyre Mr. & Mrs. Lance McKnight Barnett & Diane McLaughlin Alice R. McPherson, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. David A. Mire Mr. & Mrs. Robert Mitchell Mr. & Mrs. John C. Molloy Ms. Marsha L. Montemayor Mr. & Mrs. Gerarld Moynier Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Mueller Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Newman Steve & Sue Olson Mr. & Mrs. John S. Orton Mr. Austin M. O’Toole & Ms. Valerie Sherlock Mr. & Mrs. Robert Pacini Mr. Robert Pastorek Mr. & Mrs. Raul Pavon

Michael & Shirley Pearson Mr. & Mrs. James D. Penny Mr. John Petzold Dr. & Mrs. Jorge Pinera Mr. James D. Pitcock Dr. & Dr. Eduardo Plantilla Mrs. Dana Puddy Darla & Chip Purchase Mr. Dale Qualls & Mrs. Melissa McWilliams Dr. & Mrs. Henry H. Rachford Jr. Mr. Thomas P. Randt Anne D. Reed Mr. Charles M. Reimer Mr. & Mrs. Allyn Risley Ms. Janice Robertson & Mr. Douglas Williams Ms. Regina J. Rogers Ms. Franelle Rogers Dr. & Mrs. Franklin Rose Mr. Edward Ross Mr. Carlos Rossi Mr. Kent Rutter Mr. Barry Samuels Mr. & Mrs. David Saperstein Mr. & Mrs. Raymond E. Sawaya Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Schanzmeyer Beth & Lee Schlanger Mr. Ed Schneider & Ms. Toni A. Oplt Drs. Helene & Robert Schwartz Mr. Ralph D. Sikes Mr. & Mrs. Steve Sims Barbara & Louis Sklar Mr. & Mrs. William T. Slick Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Wesley Smith Mr. & Mrs. William A. Smith Dean & Kay L. Snider Carol & Michael Stamatedes Richard P. Steele & Mary J. McKerall Mr. & Mrs. James R. Stevens Emily C. Sundt Mrs. Mary Swafford Ms. Jeanine Swift Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas L. Swyka Mr. & Mrs. Albert S. Tabor Jr. Mr. Mark Taylor Mr. Jim Teague & Ms. Jane DiPaolo Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Thielke Jean & Doug Thomas Mr. & Mrs. Ralph B. Thomas Ms. Virginia Torres Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Unger Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Vallee Mr. & Mrs. William A. Van Wie Mr. Danny Ward & Ms. Nancy Ames Mr. & Mrs. Peter S. Wareing Mr. & Mrs. James D. Webb Mr. & Mrs. Eden N. Wenig Mr. John Wetsel & Mrs. Joanne Breihan-Wetsel Mr. & Mrs. Patrick J. Whelan Mr. David Ashley White Carlton & Marty Wilde Dr. & Mrs. Rudy C. Wildenstein Nancy Willerson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Wilson Ms. Elizabeth Wolff Dr. & Mrs. Jerry S. Wolinsky Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Yankowsky Mr. & Mrs. William A. Young Mr. & Mrs. Charles Zabriskie Mrs. Betsy I. Zimmer

Composer’s Circle $500 - $999

Anonymous (11) Wade & Mert Adams Ms. Henrietta K. Alexander Mr. & Mrs. Thurmon Andress Corbin & Char Aslakson Mr. & Mrs. John C. Averett Julie Ann & Matthew Baker Mr. & Mrs. David M. Balderston Mr. & Mrs. Carlos Barbieri Dr. David Barry Mr. Allen J. Becker Ms. Bernice Beckerman Carolyn & Arthur Berner Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Bolam Mr. Edward P. Bornet Ms. Joan Boss Bob F. Boydston Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Brackett Ms. Sally Brassow Ms. Lisa Brenskelle Mr. Malcolm Brewer & Mrs. Irina S. Dudley Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Brophy Mr. & Mrs. Jos C. Brown Fred & Judy Brunk Mr. & Mrs. Fred Buckwold Mr. Christopher Buehler & Ms. Jill Hutchison Ms. Cheryl Byington Mr. & Mrs. Raul Caffesse Mr. & Mrs. Charles Callery Mr. & Mrs. Joseph L. Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Cantrell Jr. Mr. & Mrs. E. Thomas Chaney Mr. William H. Choice III Virginia A. Clark Mrs. Barbora Cole Mr. & Mrs. Todd Colter Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Colton Mr. H. Talbot Cooley Mr. & Mrs. Dave Coolidge Michael T. Coppinger Ms. Miguel A. Correll Mr. William S. & Dr. Mary Alice Cowan Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Crull Ms. Ann Currens Ms. Aurelie Desmarais Paul & Debbie Dougharty Mr. Paul Dougharty Elizabeth H. Duerr Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Dumestre Ms. Consuelo Duroc-Danner Dr. Kenneth L Euler Mr. & Mrs. William Evans Robert H. Fain Jr., M.D. Mr. Robert Fisher Rachel Frazier Ms. Martha Garcia Martha & Gibson Gayle Jr. Ms. Lucy Gebhart Mr. & Mrs. Harry Gendel Ms. Carolyn Gibbs & Mr. Rick Nelson William E. Gipson Mr. & Mrs. Herbert I. Goodman Ms. Melissa Goodman Mr. Bert Gordon Dr. & Mrs. Harvey L. Gordon Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Greenaw Dennis Griffith & Louise Richman Mr. Doug Groves Gaye Davis & Dennis B. Halpin

Rita & John Hannah Bruce Harkness & Alice Brown W. Russel Harp & Maarit K. Savola-Harp Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Harrell Dr. & Mrs. William S. Harwell Mr. & Mrs. Brian Haufrect Ms. Ann Lents & Mr. J. David Heaney Ms. Lynn Herbert Mr. & Mrs. Fred D. Herring Mr. & Mrs. John R. Heumann Mr. & Mrs. W. Grady Hicks Ann & Joe Hightower Mr. & Mrs. Ross K. Hill Mr. John Hodgin Mr. & Mrs. John Homier Dr. Matthew Horsfield & Dr. Michael Kauth Mr. Steve Hulsey Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth C. Isham Mrs. Paula Jarrett Mr. & Mrs. Wesley A. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Okey B. Johnson Dr. & Mrs. Robert E. Jordon Ms. Karen Juul-Nielsen & Mr. Rick Garnett Mr. Guido Kanschat Ms. Karen Kelley Mr. & Mrs. Edward Kelley Mr. John Kelsey & Ms. Gaye Davis Mr. & Mrs. Tom Kelsey Dr. & Mrs. Sherwin Kershman Lucy & Victor Kormeier Mr. & Mrs. Wilfred M. Krenek Mr. James Leatherby Ms. Golda K. Leonard Mr. James C. Lindsey Lisle Violin Shop Mr. Kelly Bruce Lobley Mrs. Sylvia Lohkamp Mr. & Mrs. Robert Martin Ms. B. Lynn Mathre & Mr. Stewart O’Dell Mr. & Mrs. Rod McAdams Mr. & Mrs. James McBride Lawrence McCullough & Linda Jean Quintanilla Dr. A. McDermott & Dr. A. Glasser William E. Joor III & Rose Ann Medlin Mrs. Diane Merrill Mr. Ronald A. Mikita Mr. & Mrs. Arnold M. Miller Ms. Kristen Miller Mr. & Mrs. Herbert G. Mills Mr. Willis B. Mitchell John & Ann Montgomery Ms. Deborah Moran Mr. & Mrs. Richard Murphy Daniel & Karol Musher Alan & Elaine Mut Ms. Jennifer Naae Mr. Robert Nichols Nils & Stephanie Normann Mr. & Mrs. D. D. Oldham Mr. & Mrs. Rufus W. Oliver III Katy Optiks Mr. & Mrs. Morris Orocofsky Mr. & Mrs. Enrique Ospina Mrs. Caroline Osteen Jane & Kenneth Owen Mr. Patrick C. Oxford Mr. & Mrs. Robert Page Mr. Jonathan Palmer September 2011 35

Annual Campaign Donors. .........................................................................................

Rachel & Michael Pawson Mr. & Mrs. James L. Payne Mrs. Preston A. Peak Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Penn Ms. Glena Pfenning Grace & Carroll Phillips Ms. Meg Philpot Mr. Carmelo Pieri Mr. Robert W. Powell Mr. Arthur Preisinger Elias & Carole Qumsieh Mr. & Mrs. Dwain Reeves Dr. Alexander P. Remenchik & Ms. Frances Burford Mrs. Constance Rhebergen Hilda & Hershel Rich Mrs. Barbara Riddell Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Rinehart Drs. Herbert & Manuela Roeller Mr. & Mrs. Keith A. Rogers Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Rubbo Brittany Sakowitz Charles & Andrea Seay Mr. & Mrs. Vic Shainock Ms. Marcia Smart Mr. & Mrs. William Smith Mr. Hilary Smith Mr. Brinton A. Smith & Ms. Evelyn Chen Mr. Marcus B. Smith Mrs. Lynn Snyder Mr. Nicholas Sollenne Mrs. Donna Sprudzs Mr. Myron F. Steves Mrs. Louise Sutton Mr. & Mrs. George Tallichet Mrs. Nina P. Tate Mr. & Mrs. Glenn Taylor Mr. Kerry Taylor Ms. Betsy Mims & Mr. Howard D. Thames Jacob & Elizabeth Thomas Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thweatt Ms. Cathleen J. Trechter Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Tremant Mr. Gerard Trione Mr. & Mrs. D.E. Utecht Dr. & Mrs. Gage VanHorn Ms. Jana Vander Lee Mr. Earl Vanzant Dean B. Walker Betty & Bill Walker Mr. & Mrs. David Ward Mr. & Mrs. William B. Wareing Mr. Kenneth W. Warren Mr. & Mrs. James A. Watt Drs. A. & J. Werch Mr. Burt Wilson Ms. Laura Woods Mr. Randall Wright Mr. & Mrs. Emil Wulfe

Patron’s Circle $250 - $499

Anonymous (19) William & Nancy Akers Mr. & Mrs. Edward Allen Mr. & Mrs. Steve Ameen Mr. & Mrs. Les Antalffy Dr. & Mrs. Roy Aruffo Mr. John B. Ashmun Mr. & Mrs. Gabriel Baizan The Honorable & Mrs. James A. Baker III 36 www.houstonsymphony.org

Mr. & Mrs. Saul Balagura Ms. Virginia C. Ballard Mr. & Mrs. Don Barnhill Mr. & Mrs. Seth Barrett Mr. Daniel Barretto Mr. A. Greer Barriault & Ms. Clarruth A. Seaton Dr. & Mrs. Robert C. Bast Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Joshua L. Batchelor Ann B. Beaudette Father Albert J. Beck Barbara & Jim Becker Ms. Roberta Benson Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Beshears Mr. & Mrs. Randall Beste Mr. & Mrs. Ed Billings Mr. & Mrs. George Boerger Mr. Arno S. Bommer Mr. Philip Booth Ms. Suzie Boyd Dr. Arthur W. Bracey Ms. Cynthia Breneman Mrs. Barbara Britt Mr. Chester Brooke & Mrs. Nancy Poindexter Mr. & Mrs. Steven Brosvik Mr. J. W. Brougher Sally & Laurence Brown Joan K. Bruchas & H. Philip Cowdin Mr. Frank Bryan Ms. Courtney Brynes Mr. & Mrs. William Bumpus Mrs. Shirley Burgher Mr. Gary Cacciatore Virginia & William Camfield Mr. Carlos Campo Mrs. Marjorie H. Capshaw Mr. Petros Carvounis Mr. & Mrs. Kevin J. Casey K.D. Charalampous, M.D. Dr. Diana S. Chow Jim R. & Lynn Coe Mr. & Mrs. Clayton A. Compton Mr. & Mrs. Michael F. Cook Mr. David Corder Ms. Jeanne A. Cox Nigel Curtlet Mr. Michael Deavers Ms. Caroline Deetjen Mr. & Mrs. Rene Degreve Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Demeter Ms. Kay S. Derry Mr. & Mrs. Joseph B. Derzapf Mr. John A. Dickinson Ms. Dora Dillistone Ms. Judy Dines Mr. & Mrs. Ira Dinitz Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm Ditto Mr. & Mrs. Clifford C. Dukes Mr. Kevin F. Dvorak Mr. & Mrs. Alfred H. Ebert Jr. Mrs. Karen A. Edgmon Mr. & Mrs. William J. Eggleston Mr. Paul Ehrsam Mr. & Mrs. Dean Eicher Mr. Ramsay M. Elder Ms. Leslie Elkins Mildred & Richard Ellis Mr. & Mrs. Peter Erickson Dr. Lillian R. Eriksen & Dr. James Turley Mr. Mike Ezzell Mr. & Mrs. John R. Farina Ms. Ann S. Farrell

Ms. Ursula H. Felmet Mr. & Mrs. Theodore C. Flick Mr. James B. Flodine & Ms. Lynne Liberato Mrs. Lisa Forgan Dewitts Mr. & Mrs. John M. Forney Ms. Johnella V. Franklin Ms. Diane L. Freeman Robert A. Furse, M.D. Dr. Abdel K. Fustok Mr. & Mrs. Mike Gallagher Mrs. Holly Garner Mr. & Mrs. Neil Gaynor Mr. & Mrs. Duane V. Geis Mr. Glen Gettemy Debbie & Kyle Gibson Mr. & Mrs. Peter Gillette Mr. Charles J. Gillman Ms. Heidi Good Mr. Ned Graber Mrs. Howard Grekel Mr. Steve K. Grimsley Ms. Jo Ann C. Guillory Dr. & Mrs. Howard Gutstein Zahava Haenosh Mr. Teruhiko Hagiwara Mr. & Mrs. Curtis D. Haines Ms. Vickie Hamley Mr. & Mrs. Vernon C. Hammersley Mr. Jeff Hansen & Mrs. Kelly Marts Michael D. Hardin Mr. & Mrs. Tod P. Harding Ms. Karen Harding Mr. Paul Harmon Mr. & Mrs. William Haskins Ms. Anna K. Hathaway-McKee Mr. & Ms. Malcolm Hawk William & Lana Hazlett Mr. & Mrs. Walter A. Hecht Mr. David T. Hedges Jr. Mr. John Heiny Mr. & Mrs. Dean Hennings Ms. Hilda R. Herzfeld Ms. Constance Holderer Jacque Holland S.y. & Y.j. Kim Hong Ms. Denene Hooper Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Howes Mrs. Patricia P. Hubbard Ms. Vicki Huff Mr. & Mrs. Dean Huffman Mr. & Mrs. James R. Hutton Ms. Jennifer Isadore Mr. Joseph Ivey Ms. Ariel James Mr. & Mrs. Edwin R. Janes Mr. & Mrs. Mark Johnson Mr. & Mrs. John W. Johnson Mr. Robert E. Johnson Mr. Raymond Jones Dr. & Mrs. Andrew P. Kant Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Kantor Dr. & Mrs. Ira Kaufman, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. Curtis R. Kayem Ms. Arlette Keene Mr. & Mrs. James A. Keller Mr. & Mrs. David Kendall Mr. & Mrs. Hermen Key Ms. Malgorzata Kloc-Stepkowska Mr. & Mrs. John Klug Dr. & Mrs. Michael Koehl Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Koski Mr. & Mrs. Sam Koster Mr. & Mrs. William J. Kretlow

Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Krezer Jr. Mr. Quin Kroll Suzanne A. & Dan D. Kubin Mr. Vijay Kusnoor Mr. Tom Kvinta Mr. Kent Lacy Mr. & Mrs. James C. Lamoreux Mr. Doug Lawing Mr. & Mrs. William Leighton Dr. & Mrs. William R. Leighton Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Robert Leonard Mr. & Mrs. Earl L. Lester Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Philip Lewis Sharon Lipsky, M.D. Mr. William Looser Mr. Carlos J. Lopez Louise & Oscar Lui Mr. & Mrs. Peter MacGregor Tom & Kathleen Mach Mr. & Mrs. N. K. Maer Jr. Mr. John Maguire Mrs. D.B. Marchant Ms. Renee Margolin Dr. & Dr. A. J. Marian Mr. Mark Matovich Dr. Toshimatsu Matsumoto Ms. Suzanne McCarthy Bill & Karinne Mc Cullough Mr. & Mrs. Edward McCullough Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence McManus Mr. & Mrs. James L. McNett Mrs. Dorri Melvin Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Mireles Mr. & Mrs. Michael Mithoff Mr. & Mrs. John H. Monroe Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Jess R. Moore Ms. Lauren Morgan Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Moss Mr. & Mrs. Robert N. Murray Mr. Arturo Narro Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey B. Newton Marjory & Barry Okin Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon I. Oster Ms. Jennifer Owen Ms. Linda Peterson Mr. & Mrs. W. Hugh Phillips III Mark H. & Lynn K. Pickett Mr. Timothy N. Pitts & Mrs. Kathleen Winkler Mr. Warren B. Pond Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Roland W. Pringle Mr. & Mrs. Larry & Nita Pyle Mr. & Mrs. Paul Ramirez Mr. & Mrs. Venu Rao Ms. Joanna Raynes Loreta & Ronald Rea Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Reans Ralph & Becky Reed Robert & Anne Reed Mr. & Mrs. Norman T. Reynolds Mr. & Mrs. Walter Rhodes Mr. & Mrs. Claud D. Riddles Mr. & Mrs. William F. Rike Mr. James L. Robertson Ms. Shari Rochen Mr. Daniel J. Romero Ms. Charlotte A. Rothwell Mr. & Mrs. John E. Ryall Mr. & Mrs. Kent Savage Mr. Donald Schmuck Mrs. Jill Schroeder Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Schwaab Jonathan & Marcia Shear Pamela & Richard Sherry

.....................................................................................................................................

Mr. & Mrs. Charles C. Shumaker Mr. Barrett Sides Mr. & Mrs. Richard Smith Mr. & Mrs. Tom Smith Mrs. Josephine Smith Hans C. Sonneborn Ms. Georgiana Stanley Ms. Blanche Stastny Mr. & Mrs. Donald K. Steinman William F. Stern Cassie B. Stinson & Dr. R. Barry Holtz Mr. & Mrs. James W. Stovall Mr. & Mrs. William G. Straight Mr. & Mrs. Hans Strohmer Dr. & Mrs. David Sufian

Ms. Lori Summa Mr. & Mrs. John L. Sutterby Ms. Barbara Swartz Ms. Rhonda J. Sweeney Ms. Jessica Taylor Ms. Susan L. Thompson David & Ann Tomatz Mr. Tom Tomlinson Mr. & Mrs. Louis E. Toole Dr. & Mrs. Karl Tornyos Mr. Jon D. Totz Mr. Herbert Towning Dr. Robert Ulrich & Ms. June R. Russell Dr. & Mrs. Brad Urquhart

Mr. & Mrs. Dixon Van Hofwegen Dr. Allen R. Vogt Jan & Don Wagner Mr. William Walker Mr. & Mrs. Bill Warburton Ms. Sandria Ward Leone Buyse & Michael Webster Mr. Paul Wehner Mr. & Mrs. Kane C. Weiner Ms. Bryony Jane Welsh Mr. Richard White Mrs. Amber Wilbanks Mr. Patrick Wilson Miriam & Marcos Witt Mr. & Mrs. Stephen R. Wood

Miss Susan Wood Mrs. Michael Woolcock Ms. Kristi Wright Mrs. Peggy J. Wylie Mr. Le Roy Yeager Mr. Ray Young Ms. Carmen Zatorski As of August 1, 2011

Houston Symphony Pops Patrons............................................................................................................

Principal Pops Conductor’s Circle $5,000 or More Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Blackburne Jr. Ms. Sara J. Devine Allen & Almira Gelwick Lockton Companies Mr. & Mrs. Fred L. Gorman Dr. & Mrs. Bernard Katz Dr. & Mrs. Paul M. Mann Paul & Rita Morico Mary & Terry Murphree Mr. Robert J. Pilegge Mr. & Mrs. William K. Robbins Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Ken N. Robertson Mrs. Sybil F. Roos Mrs. Maryjane Scherr David & Paula Steakley

Grand Patron Pops $2,500-$4,999

Rita & Geoffrey Bayliss Mr. & Mrs. Byron F. Dyer Mrs. Barry Lewis Mr. & Mrs. Allan Quiat Mr. & Mrs. George A. Rizzo Jr. Linda & Jerry Rubenstein Mr. & Mrs. Leland Tate Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence D. Wallace Sally & Denney Wrightt

Pops Patron $1,500-$2,499

Jim & Ellen Box Mr. & Mrs. James E. Dorsett Carol & Larry Fradkin

Mr. Robert Grant Mr. & Mrs. Jerry L. Hamaker Mr. & Mrs. Mark S. Rauch Mr. & Mrs. Ben A. Reid Shirley & Marvin Rich Dr. & Mr. Adrian D. Shelley Ms. Jody Verwers Mr. & Mrs. William B. Welte III

Headliner $1,000-$1,499

Headliner $1,000-$1,499 Ms. Tara Black Mrs. Alan Gaylor Mr. & Ms. Eric J. Gongre Mr. & Mrs. George A. Helland Michael & Darcy Krajewski Dr. & Mrs. Raghu Narayan Roman & Sally Reed Mr. & Mrs. John T. Riordan Mrs. Annetta Rose Mr. Morris Rubin Ms. Amanda Tozzi Mr. Roger Trandell

Producer $500-$999

Rev. & Mrs. H. Eldon Akerman Mr. John S. Beury Ms. Barbara A. Brooks Mr. John Carmichael Mr. & Mrs. Warren J. Carroll Barbara Dokell Mr. & Mrs. Barry H. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. Joe T. McMillan

Mr. Gerard & Mrs. Helga Meneilly W. R. Purifoy Ms. Phyllis Schaffer

Director $250-$499

Mr. Jay T. Brown Mr. & Mrs. Rick A. Burris Marilyn & Tucker Coughlen John & Joyce Eagle Mr. & Mrs. Charles Grant Mr. & Mrs. Jim Gunther Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Hansen Mr. & Mrs. Dale Hardy Jess Hines Jr. Mr. Larry January Mr. & Mrs. Bill Johnston Ms. Mary Keathley Dr. George S. Knapp Charles C. & Patricia Kubin Ms. Doris M. Magee Mr. & Mrs. Carrol R. McGinnis Mr. James Miner Judy & Bill Pursell Mr. Robert Schick Mr. & Mrs. David K. Smith Ms. Beth Stegle Ms. Jane B. Thompson Mr. & Mrs. Carl N. Tongberg Mr. Lam Tran Dr. Holly & Mr. Michael Varner Dr. & Mrs. William C. Watkins Mr. & Mrs. Don Wilton As of August 1, 2011

In Kind Donors.........................................................................................................

As of August 1, 2011

Alexander’s Fine Portrait Design Baker Botts Bergner & Johnson BKD, LLP Bright Star Classical 91.7 FM Cognetic Mr. Carl R. Cunningham Darryl & Co. Deville Fine Jewelry

DocuData Solutions The Events Company Foster Quan LLP Hilton Americas - Houston Houston Chronicle Jackson and Company Jim Benton of Houston LLC The Lancaster Hotel Limb Design Music & Arts Neiman Marcus

New Leaf Publishing, Inc. Nos Caves Vin PaperCity Pro/Sound Saint Arnold’s Brewery Shecky’s Media, Inc. Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods United Airlines Valobra Jewelry & Antiques John Wright/Texprint

September 2011 37

Annual Campaign Donors. ...............................................................................

Foundations........................................................................................................

As of August 1, 2011

$1,000,000 & above * Houston Endowment, Inc.

* Houston Symphony League The Wortham Foundation Inc.

$500,000-$999,999

* M. D. Anderson Foundation

The Alkek & Williams Foundation * Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Educational Fund * John P. McGovern Foundation

$25,000-$49,999

Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation The Humphreys Foundation * Sterling-Turner Foundation

$10,000-$24,999

$100,000-$499,999

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation * The Brown Foundation The Cullen Foundation The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation Madison Charitable Foundation * Spec’s Charitable Foundation

$50,000-$99,999

Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation

* Bauer Family Foundation Carleen & Alde Fridge Foundation * The Melbern G. & Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation * George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation * Houston Symphony League Bay Area * The Powell Foundation * Vivian L. Smith Foundation The Schissler Foundation * Vaughn Foundation Warren Family Foundation

$2,500-$9,999

Stanford & Joan Alexander Foundation * The Becker Family Foundation * Ray C. Fish Foundation William E. & Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Trust Huffington Foundation Leon Jaworski Foundation William S. & Lora Jean Kilroy Foundation * Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Foundation Lubrizol Foundation * Kinder Morgan Foundation * Lynne Murray, Sr. Educational Foundation The Helmle Shaw Foundation Strake Foundation Susman Family Foundation

Government Donors

* City of Houston National Endowment for the Arts State Employee Charitable Campaign * Texas Commission on the Arts * Sponsors of Houston Symphony Education & Outreach Programs

Corporations........................................................................................................ $25,000-$49,999 American Express

As of August 1, 2011

$100,000-$499,999 BBVA Compass Fidelity Investments United Airlines

$50,000-$99,999

* Cameron Chevron ConocoPhillips ExxonMobil Frost * GDF SUEZ Energy North America Marathon Oil Corporation The Methodist Hospital System Shell Oil Company Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods TOTAL UBS * Weatherford International Ltd.

Andrews Kurth, LLP Baker Botts LLP Chubb Group of Insurance Companies Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. JPMorgan Chase KPMG LLP Vinson & Elkins LLP

$10,000-$24,999

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation * Bank of America * Boeing Bracewell & Giuliani LLP * CenterPoint Energy Cooper Industries, Inc. * Devon Energy Corporation Ernst & Young H. E. Butt Grocery Company Margolis, Phipps & Wright, P.C. Memorial Hermann Northern Trust The Rand Group, LLC Spir Star, Inc. Star Furniture

St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital USI Insurance Services LLC * Vitol Inc. * Wells Fargo * Wood Group Management Services

$500-$9,999

Beck, Redden & Secrest, LLP * Bloomberg L.L.P. GEM Insurance Agencies, L.P. Intercontinental Exchange Ironshore Insurance Services, LLP Lockton Companies Neiman Marcus Oceaneering International, Inc. Porter & Hedges, LLP * Randalls Food Markets, Inc. Regions Bank Seyfarth Shaw LLP * Smith, Graham & Company Stewart Title Company * Swift Energy Company Texas Children’s Hospital Wortham Insurance & Risk Management * Sponsors of Houston Symphony Education & Outreach Programs

Corporate Matching Gifts........................................................................................

Aetna Akzo Nobel AT&T Bank of America Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Coca-Cola 38 www.houstonsymphony.org

El Paso Corporation Eli Lilly and Company ExxonMobil Fannie Mae General Electric General Mills Goldman, Sachs & Co. Halliburton

Hewlett-Packard IBM ING Financial Services Corporation JPMorgan Chase KBR Kirby Corporation Occidental Petroleum SMART Modular Technologies, Inc.

Spectra Energy

Legacy Society. .................................................................................................

The Legacy Society honors those who have included the Houston Symphony in their long-term estate plans through bequests, life-income gifts or other deferred-giving arrangements. Members of the Legacy Society enjoy a variety of benefits, including an annual musical event, featuring a renowned guest artist. The Houston Symphony would like to extend its deepest thanks to the members of the Legacy Society – and with their permission, we are pleased to acknowledge them below. If you would like to learn more about ways to provide for the Houston Symphony in your estate plans, please contact our Development Department at: (713) 337-8500 or plannedgiving@houstonsymphony.org.

Anonymous (9) Mrs. Jan Barrow George & Betty Bashen Dorothy B. Black Ermy Borlenghi Bonfield Ronald C. Borschow Anneliese Bosseler Joe Brazzatti Zu Broadwater Terry Ann Brown Dr. Joan K. Bruchas & H. Philip Cowdin Eugene R. Bruns Sylvia J. Carroll William J. Clayton & Margaret A. Hughes Leslie Barry Davidson Harrison R. T. Davis Judge & Mrs. Harold DeMoss Jr. Jean & sJack Ellis The Aubrey and Sylvia Farb Family Ginny Garrett Michael B. George Stephen & Mariglyn Glenn Mr. & Mrs. Keith E. Gott Randolph Lee Groninger Marilyn & Robert M. Hermance Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth Dr. Edward J. & Mrs. Patti Hurwitz Kenneth Hyde Mr. Brian James Drs. Rita & Blair Justice Dr. & Mrs. Ira Kaufman, M.D. John S. W. Kellett Ann Kennedy & Geoffrey Walker Dr. & Mrs. I. Ray Kirk Mr. & Mrs. Ulyesse LeGrange

Mrs. Frances E. Leland Dr. Mary R. Lewis E. W. Long Jr. Sandra Magers Rodney H. Margolis Mr. & Mrs. Jay Marks James Matthews Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Mazow Mr. & Mrs. Gene McDavid Charles E. McKerley Mr. & Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Miss Catherine Jane Merchant Dr. & Mrs. Robert M. Mihalo Ron Mikita Katherine Taylor Mize Ione Moran Sidney Moran Sue A. Morrison and Children Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Moynihan Gretchen Anne Myers Bobbie & Arthur Newman Mr. Dave B. Nussmann Edward C. Osterberg Jr. Joan D. Osterweil Imogen “Immy” Papadopoulos Sara M. Peterson Mr. Howard Pieper Geraldine S. Priest Daniel F. Prosser Gloria & Joe Pryzant Mrs. Dana Puddy Walter M. Ross Mr. & Mrs. Michael B. Sandeen Charles K. Sanders Charles King Sanders

Mr. & Mrs. Charles T. Seay II Mr. & Mrs. James A. Shaffer Dr. & Mrs. Kazuo Shimada Jule & Albert Smith Mr. & Mrs. Louis J. Snyder Mike & sAnita Stude Emily H. & David K. Terry Stephen G. Tipps Mr. & Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor Dr. Carlos Vallbona & Children Margaret Waisman, M.D. & Steven S. Callahan, Ph.D. David M. Wax & Elaine Arden Cali Robert G. Weiner Geoffrey Westergaard Jennifer R. Wittman Mr. & Mrs. Bruce E. Woods Mr. & Mrs. David Wuthrich As of August 1, 2011 sDeceased

In Memoriam.....................................................................................................

We honor the memory of those who in life included the Houston Symphony in their estate plans.

Their thoughtfulness and generosity will continue to inspire and enrich lives for generations to come!

Mr. Thomas D. Barrow W. P. Beard Mrs. H. Raymond Brannon Anthony Brigandi Lawrence E. Carlton, M.D. Mrs. Albert V. Caselli Lee Allen Clark Jack Ellis Mrs. Robin A. Elverson Frank R. Eyler Helen Bess Fariss Foster Christine E. George

Mrs. Marcella Levine Harris General & Mrs. Maurice Hirsch Miss Ima Hogg Burke & Octavia Holman Mrs. L. F. McCollum Joan B. McKerley Monroe L. Mendelsohn Jr. Mrs. Janet Moynihan Constantine S. Nicandros Hanni Orton Stewart Orton, Legacy Society co-founder Dr. Michael Papadopoulos

Miss Louise Pearl Perkins Walter W. Sapp, Legacy Society co-founder J. Fred & Alma Laws Lunsford Schultz Ms. Jean R. Sides John K. & Fanny W. Stone Dorothy Barton Thomas Mrs. Harry C. Wiess Mrs. Edward Wilkerson

September 2011 39

Backstage Pass. .................................................................................................

Steven P. Mach, musician sponsor

Eric Larson, double bass

Birthplace and Education: Houston; I am a fifth-generation Houstonian.

St. Thomas High School, Houston; Trinity University, BA, San Antonio.

I serve on the Board of Trustees of Trinity.

Birthplace and Education: Olympia, Washington. Bachelor’s in music performance from Boston University.

Joined the Houston Symphony: Became a Trustee in 2005; chair, Finance Committee, 2008-2011; chair, Board Governance and Leadership Committee & Board Secretary, 2010-present; Executive Committee, 2008present; chair, CEO Search Committee, 2010.

All in the family: My mother enjoys the piano, as does my brother, who also plays the guitar. I also played the clarinet.

None of us are professional players.

Current listening: I have a diverse music selection on my iPod. I probably listen to Coldplay and Willie Nelson the most; however, my most recent iTunes purchase was Aaron Copland and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Looking forward to in the 2011-2012 season: A repeat of last season’s successful attainment of the goals set for the Houston Endowment Challenge, including a record Annual Fund and balanced budget. I am very proud of the work that everyone did in the past year— management, staff, the orchestra, Maestro Graf and the Board—to make sure that the Houston Symphony arrives in its 100th year stronger than ever and ready for the next 100 years.

Favorite Symphony experience: Interestingly enough, it’s all of the work we do as Board members behind the scenes, working with management, the staff and the orchestra to keep the Houston Symphony heading in the right direction. Like many of my fellow Board members, I actually spend far more time at Jones Hall in meetings than I do in my seats! I enjoy concerts, for sure, but I find my work on behalf of the Symphony the most rewarding. I believe that great cities need great arts organizations, and Houston and the Houston Symphony are no exception. I am proud to do my part to keep orchestral music thriving in our great city.

Pastime and good company: I volunteer my time serving on various boards, including those of Family Services of Greater Houston, The Good Samaritan Foundation, The Moores School of Music Society, The Men of Distinction Steering Committee and Trinity University. I also serve on the Board of River Oaks Baptist School, where all of my children attend, and I am presently serving as chair of the school’s endowment campaign.

Becoming a Musician Sponsor: I became a musician sponsor at least six years ago, and Eric was assigned to us when we started supporting the program. He and I recently did a photo shoot for the 2011-2012 season brochure. It was really fun!

Pass it on: I think that many of our patrons are not aware that the cost of a ticket for a performance only covers about half of the expenses, with much of the balance coming from the Annual Fund. Your support of the Annual Fund is critical, and we’re especially thankful for those who are able to participate as Musician Sponsors. It’s not only a great opportunity for patrons to be involved, but also of significant benefit to our operations as an orchestra.

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Looking forward to in the 2011-2012 season: It’s going to be fantastic! I am really looking forward to performing Gustav Mahler’s 5th Symphony with Christoph Eschenbach, who was the Music Director of the Houston Symphony when I won my job.

I must admit, I am a Mahler junkie, and I love performing his music on the double bass.

Mahler was both a composer and a conductor, so he knew how to specifically write for an orchestra. He had intimate knowledge of how each instrument worked, and more importantly, how to put all of the instruments together to create one powerful cohesive idea. If there is one concert this season that you should not miss, it would be this one. © Leah Polkowske

Earliest musical memory: The most meaningful was learning to play the piano, attending weekly piano lessons. I also remember attending concerts in Jones Hall as an elementary school student.

Joined the Houston Symphony: 1999

Began studying my instrument: I started playing the double bass when I was 12. Many people ask why I chose to play such a large instrument, but the truth is that the instrument actually chose me. When I was in sixth grade, a man came to our class and asked everyone to raise their hands. He walked up and down the aisles inspecting each of our hands; he tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to follow him into the hallway. I didn’t know who this man was and why he was removing me from the classroom—I thought I was in trouble! It turns out he was the music teacher and the school orchestra was in need of a bass player. I had the largest hands in my class, so he asked if I would be interested. At the time, I was playing the piano and not enjoying it, so I thought giving the bass a try would be fun. Twenty-five years later, I am still having fun and can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

Discovering my vocation: When I was a kid, I always loved playing music; however, I had never really thought of it as an actual career. At age 15, I had the pleasure of attending the Boston University-Tanglewood Institute, a summer music program for high school students located at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony. I heard the Boston Symphony play Mahler Symphony No. 2 at the first concert of the summer, and it was after this performance that I knew playing music was the only thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Keeping it fresh: Teaching—it’s through my students that I continue to grow and learn.

Pastime and good company: Outside of work, my wife, Melissa, and I enjoy traveling to cities with great culinary offerings (NYC, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Boston, Charleston). When we are not traveling, we are kept busy by Bert, a 2-year-old collie with LOTS of energy. I love to golf, and I really enjoy cooking, so when I am not cooking at home, I am exploring the many outstanding restaurants in Houston. I feel very lucky to live in a city with such a diverse culture. I have enjoyed getting to know Houston’s heritage and people through food.