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InTUNE The Houston Symphony Magazine

Merry Christmas Baby!

December 17, 2025

ORCHESTRA ROSTER Steven Reineke, Principal POPS Conductor

Juraj Valčuha

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Conductor Laureate

Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair FIRST VIOLIN Yoonshin Song, Concertmaster Max Levine Chair Vacant, Associate Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Boson Mo, Assistant Concertmaster Qi Ming, Assistant Concertmaster Fondren Foundation Chair Marina Brubaker Tong Yan MiHee Chung Sophia Silivos Rodica Gonzalez Ferenc Illenyi Si-Yang Lao Kurt Johnson* Christopher Neal Sergei Galperin Timothy Peters+ Samuel Park+ SECOND VIOLIN Vacant, Principal Vacant, Associate Principal Amy Semes Annie Kuan-Yu Chen Mihaela Frusina Jing Zheng Tianjie Liu* Anastasia Iglesias Tina Zhang Yankı Karataş Hannah Duncan Alexandros Sakarellos Tianxu Liu+ James Gikas+ VIOLA Joan DerHovsepian, Principal Wei Jiang, Acting Associate Principal Samuel Pedersen, Assistant Principal Paul Aguilar Sheldon Person Fay Shapiro Keoni Bolding Jimmy Cunningham Meredith Harris+ Suzanne LeFevre+ CELLO Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice H. and Thomas D. Barrow Chair Christopher French, Associate Principal Jane and Robert Cizik Chair Anthony Kitai Louis-Marie Fardet Jeffrey Butler Maki Kubota Xiao Wong Charles Seo Jeremy Kreutz

COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED MUSICIAN Lindsey Baggett, Violin LIBRARIANS Ali Verderber, Associate Librarian Megan Fisher, Assistant Librarian

Anthony J. Maglione, Director, Houston Symphony Chorus Gonzalo Farias, Associate Conductor

DOUBLE BASS Robin Kesselman, Principal Timothy Dilenschneider, Associate Principal Andrew Pedersen, Assistant Principal Eric Larson Logan May Burke Shaw Donald Howey Avery Weeks

HORN William VerMeulen, Principal Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan Endowed Chair Robert Johnson, Associate Principal Nathan Cloeter, Assistant Principal/Utility Ian Mayton Barbara J. Burger Chair Brian Mangrum Spencer Bay+

FLUTE Aralee Dorough, Principal General Maurice Hirsch Chair Matthew Roitstein, Associate Principal Judy Dines Kathryn Ladner

TRUMPET Mark Hughes, Principal George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Chair John Parker, Associate Principal Robert Walp, Assistant Principal Richard Harris

PICCOLO Kathryn Ladner

TROMBONE Nick Platoff, Principal Bradley White, Associate Principal Phillip Freeman

OBOE Jonathan Fischer, Principal Lucy Binyon Stude Chair Anne Leek, Associate Principal Colin Gatwood Adam Dinitz ENGLISH HORN Adam Dinitz Barbara and Pat McCelvey Chair CLARINET Mark Nuccio, Principal Bobbie Nau Chair Vacant, Associate Principal Christian Schubert Alexander Potiomkin Ben Freimuth+ E-FLAT CLARINET Vacant Ben Freimuth+ BASS CLARINET Alexander Potiomkin BASSOON Rian Craypo, Principal Isaac Schultz, Associate Principal Elise Wagner Adam Trussell

BASS TROMBONE Phillip Freeman TUBA Dave Kirk, Principal TIMPANI Leonardo Soto, Principal Matthew Strauss, Associate Principal PERCUSSION Brian Del Signore, Principal Mark Griffith Matthew Strauss HARP Allegra Lilly, Principal KEYBOARD Vacant, Principal LIBRARIAN Luke Bryson, Principal

CONTRABASSOON Adam Trussell

*on leave + contracted substitute

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

PERFORMANCE CALENDAR 2025-26 season ! S

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony + Timpani World Premiere March 20, 21* & 22

Elf in Concert December 19, 20 & 21

Grieg’s Peer Gynt March 27, 28* & 29

A Nat King Cole New Year January 2, 3* & 4 S

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert January 9 & 10

Disney s Fantasia in Concert April 3 & 4

Mr. Symphonic: Shaggy with the Houston Symphony January 11

Marin Alsop Conducts Brahms 2 January 23, 24* & 25

Icon: The Voices That Changed Music April 24, 25* & 26

Piano Man: The Music of Billy Joel February 6, 7* & 8

Abracadabra! A Magical Musical Adventure April 25

When Instruments Roamed the Earth February 7 Symphonie espagnole + Symphonie fantastique February 13, 14* & 15

Chanticleer: Our American Journey April 28 Joshua Bell Returns: The Elements in Concert May 7, 9* & 10

Chamber Music Series: Musician Spotlight February 15

The Planets + Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto May 15, 16* & 17

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet February 20, 21* & 22

Chamber Music Series: Chamber 4 May 17

Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde February 28 & March 1

Valčuha Conducts Mahler 9 May 22, 23* & 24

Mozart + Elgar’s Enigma Variations March 13, 14* & 15

Lights! Camera! Music! 100 Years of Epic Film Scores May 29, 30* & 31

Chamber Music Series: Chamber 3 March 15

Bank of America POPS Series

Víkingur Ólafsson in Recital April 17 Adams Conducts Adams & Appalachian Spring April 18 & 19*

Arturo Sandoval: Journey to Freedom January 17 & 18*

Classical Series

Lang Lang in Recital April 1

PNC Family Series

Summer & Specials

Chamber Series

*Performance livestreamed

Juraj valČuha Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

Houston Symphony Music Director Juraj Valčuha is recognized for his effortless expressiveness and depth of musicianship. He is known for his sharp baton technique, natural stage presence, and the impressive ease of his interpretations that translate even the most complex scores into immersive experiences. Before joining the Houston Symphony in June 2022, Valčuha was Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, from 2016 to 2022 and first guest conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He was Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI from 2009 to 2016. In 2023, he assumed the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. The 2005–06 Season marked the start of his international career on the podium of the Orchestre National de France followed by remarkable debuts in the United Kingdom with the Philharmonia London, in Germany with the Munich Philharmonic, in the United States with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and in Italy with Puccini’s La bohème in Bologna. He has since led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic,

Orchestre de Paris, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome, Milan’s Filarmonica della Scala, Montréal Symphony, and the NHK and Yomiuri orchestras in Tokyo. He enjoys regular collaborations with the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the San Francisco Symphony , the Minnesota Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. International touring with the Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI took them to the Musikverein in Vienna, Philharmonie in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Zurich, and Munich; to the Enesco Festival in Bucharest; and to the Abu Dhabi Classics. With the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, he visited Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baltic nations. Valčuha champions the compositions of living composers and aspires to program contemporary pieces in most of his concerts. He has conducted world premieres, including Christopher Rouse’s Supplica with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Steven Mackey’s violin concerto with Leila Josefowicz and the BBC Symphony in Manchester, and Nico Muhly’s Bright Idea with the Houston Symphony. In 2005, he conducted, in the presence of the composer, Steve Reich’s Four Seasons at the MelosEthos Festival in Bratislava. Other composers

he has supported and continues to follow with interest are Bryce Dessner, Steven Stucky, Andrew Norman, James MacMillan, Luca Francesconi, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, Anna Clyne, Julia Wolfe, and Jessie Montgomery, among others. Including his engagements in Houston, the 2023–24 Season took him to the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, San Francisco Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra as well as to the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo. On the European stage, he performed La fanciulla del West and Tristan und Isolde at the Bavarian State Opera and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Jenůfa at the Opera di Roma. He led concerts with the RAI Orchestra, the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre National de France, the NDR, SWR, and the Bamberg Symphony, among others. In the 2024–25 Season, Valčuha joined the Semperoper in Dresden with Strauss’s Salome as well as the Paris Opéra Bastille with Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame. In addition to his concerts with the Houston Symphony, he returned to the Munich Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester, the San Francisco Symphony,

the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo. The 2025–26 season marks his fourth season with the Houston Symphony. His guest engagements will lead him to the San Francisco, Chicago, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. In Europe, he will join the Orchestre National de France, the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, the Bamberg Symphony, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, the Basque National Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and on tour, and the RAI National Orchestra in Turin. On the opera stage, he will conduct Pelleas et Mélisande at the Geneva Opera as well as Don Carlo and La bohème at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, Valčuha studied composition and conducting in his birthplace, then at the conservatory in St. Petersburg (with Ilya Musin), and finally, at the Conservatoire Supérieur de la Musique in Paris.

2025–26 SEASON

SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS Barbara J. Burger President John Rydman** Board Chair Chair, Artistic & Orchestra Affairs

Barbara McCelvey President-Elect Chair, Development Mike S. Stude** Chair Emeritus

Paul Morico General Counsel Jonathan Ayre Secretary Chair, Finance

Gary Ginstling^ Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Brad W. Corson Chair, Governance & Leadership

Mary Lynn Marks Chair, Volunteers & Special Events

Carey Kirkpatrick Chair, Marketing & Communications Evan B. Glick Chair, Popular Programming Sippi Khurana, M.D. Chair, Education & Community Engagement

Bobby Tudor^** At-Large Member

Joan DerHovsepian^ Musician Representative

Robert Orr Chair, Strategic Planning

Leslie Nossaman^ President, Houston Symphony League

Mark Hughes^ Musician Representative

Jesse B. Tutor** Chair, Audit

James H. Lee^ President, Houston Symphony Endowment

Janet F. Clark^ Immediate Past Chair Steven P. Mach^ At-Large Member

Juraj Valčuha^ Music Director Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair

Jeremy Kreutz^ Musician Representative Mark Nuccio^ Musician Representative

GOVERNING DIRECTORS Gary Beauchamp Eric Brueggeman MK Campion, Ph.D. John Cassidy, M.D. Khoa Dao Lidiya Gold

Claudio Gutiérrez Rick Jaramillo David J. M. Key Cindy Levit Isabel Stude Lummis Cora Sue Mach**

Rodney Margolis** Elissa Martin Chris Powers Brittany Sakowitz Ed Schneider Justin Stenberg

William J. Toomey II Betty Tutor** Robert Weiner Margaret Alkek Williams**

TRUSTEES Christopher Armstrong David Balderston David J. Beck Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl Nancy Shelton Bratic Terry Ann Brown** Ralph Burch John T. Cater** Robert Chanon Heaven Chee Michael H. Clark Virginia Clark Aoife Cunningham Andrew Davis, Ph.D. Denise Davis Tracy Dieterich Joan Duff Connie Dyer Kelli Cohen Fein

Jeffrey B. Firestone Lindsay Buchanan Fisher Eugene A. Fong Aggie L. Foster Julia Anderson Frankel Carolyn Gaidos Andrew Gould Lori Harrington Pablo Hernandez SchmidtTophoff Jeff Hiller Grace Ho Gary L. Hollingsworth John W. Hutchinson Brian James Dawn James Matthew Kades I. Ray Kirk, M.D. David Krieger

Matthew Loden Michael Mann, M.D. Nancy Martin Jack Matzer Jackie Wolens Mazow Aprill Nelson Tim Ong Edward Osterberg Jr. Gloria G. Pryzant Miwa Sakashita Ted Sarosdy Andrew Schwaitzberg Helen Shaffer** Becky Shaw Robert B. Sloan, D.D., Theol. Jim R. Smith Miles O. Smith** Quentin Smith Tad Smith

Anthony Speier Tina Raham Stewart Nanako Tingleaf Margaret Waisman, M.D. Gretchen Watkins Fredric A. Weber Vicki West Steven J. Williams David J. Wuthrich Ellen A. Yarrell Robert Yekovich

FOUNDATION FOR JONES HALL REPRESENTATIVES Janet F. Clark Barbara McCelvey

As of October 10, 2025

EX-OFFICIO Alejandro Gallardo Reverend Ray Mackey, III Frank F. Wilson IV

Fredric Weber

^Ex-Officio **Lifetime Trustee

LEADERSHIP GROUP Gary Ginstling, Executive Director/CEO Margaret Alkek Williams Chair Elizabeth S. Condic, Chief Financial Officer Vicky Dominguez, Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Renner, Chief Development Officer Mayenne Minuit, Executive Assistant DEVELOPMENT Leanna Aldis, Manager, Foundation Relations Sarah Bhalla, Board Relations Associate Lauren Buchanan, Development Communications Manager Alex Canales, Manager, Donor Services Jessie De Arman, Development Associate, Gifts, Records, & Research Timothy Dillow, Senior Director, Individual Giving Amanda T. Dinitz, Director, Principal Gifts & Endowment Vivian Gonzalez, Annual Giving Officer Kamra Kilmer, Manager, Corporate Relations Karyn Mason, Institutional Giving Officer Hadia Mawlawi, Endowment & Planned Giving Officer Meghan Miller, Development Associate, Special Events Emilie Moellmer, Membership Manager Megan Mottu, Annual Giving Officer Tim Richey, Director, Major Gifts & Board Relations Katie Salvatore, Director, Annual Giving & Membership Lena Streetman, Director, Development Operations Stacey Swift, Director, Special Events Sarah Thompson, Donor Events Manager Christina Trunzo, Director, Institutional Giving EDUCATION | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Olivia Allred, Education Manager Allis on Conlan, Senior Director, Education & Community Engagement Austin Hinkle, Education & Community Engagement Coordinator Jazmine Olwalia, Community Engagement Associate Sheridan Richard, DeLUXE K!ds In Harmony Site Manager Community-Embedded Musicians (CEM): Lindsey Baggett, Lead CEM Lucinda Chiu, CEM Teaching Artist David Connor, CEM Teaching Artist Stephen Hudson, CEM Education Specialist Rainel Joubert, CEM Teaching Artist Bianca Lozano, CEM Teaching Artist Alexis Mitrushi, CEM Teaching Artist Adrian Ponce, CEM Teaching Artist Lauren Ross, CEM Teaching Artist

FINANCE | ADMINISTRATION | IT | HR José Arriaga, Systems Engineer Henry Cantu, Finance Accountant Kimberly Cegielski, Staff Accountant Heather Fails, Database Administrator Joel James, Director of Human Resources Tanya Lovetro, Director of Budgeting & Financial Reporting Freddie Piegsa, Help Desk Technician Morgana Rickard, Controller Gabriela Rivera, Senior Accountant Pam Romo, Office Manager/HR Coordinator Lee Whatley, Senior Director, IT & Analytics MARKETING | COMMUNICATIONS Bryan Ayllon, Web Coordinator Rachel Cheng, Marketing & External Relations Assistant Bella Cutaia, Manager, Patron Services Ruben Gandara, Patron Services Representative Kathryn Judd, Director, Marketing Priya Kurup, Senior Associate, Group Sales Caroline Lawson, Patron Services Representative Lien Le, Patron Experience Coordinator Yoo-Ell Lee, Graphics & Media Designer Ciara Macaulay, Creative Director Ashley Martinez, Patron Services Coordinator Mariah Martinez, Email Marketing Coordinator Casey Pearce, Graphic Design Manager Aracely Quevedo, Patron Services Representative Eric Skelly, Senior Director, Communications Christian Sosa, Web Experience Director Lily Townsend, Patron Services Representative Alexa Ustaszewski, Manager, Revenue and Audience Insights Sophie Volpe, Digital Content Specialist Jenny Zuniga, Director, Patron Services OPERATIONS | ARTISTIC Stephanie Alla, Associate Director of Artistic Planning Becky Brown, Associate Director of Orchestra Personnel Juan Pablo Brand, Artistic Assistant Ryan Diefenderfer, Concert Operations Assistant Megan Fisher, Assistant Librarian Michael Gorman, Director of Orchestra Personnel Julia Hall, Assistant Director, Houston Symphony Chorus Parker Hart, Concert Operations Manager Adrian Hernandez, Concert Media Production Manager Hazel Landers, Chorus Library Intern Giancarlo Minotti, Audio Production Manager José Rios, Assistant Stage Manager Jennifer Romig, Interim Chorus Librarian Brad Sayles, Senior Recording Engineer Stefan Stout, Stage Manager Nathan Trinkl, Artistic Assistant & Assistant to the Music Director Ali Verderber, Associate Librarian Meredith Williams, Director of Concert Operations Rebecca Zabinski, Senior Director of Artistic Planning

Featured Program

Merry Christmas Baby! Tammy McCann, vocalist John Sutton, bass Arcoiris Sandoval, piano Corey Rawls, drums Program will be announced from the stage

About the Music

Wednesday, December 17

Jones Hall

7:30 p.m.

and emotionally charged voice paints pictures and tells stories by merging classical vocal technique and gospel aesthetic with jazz to create a sound that is completely her own. Alyce Claerbaut, President of Strayhorn Songs Publishing, Inc. says, “Tammy is a star with a one-of-a-kind voice.”

Bangkok, Thailand, to the Harrods Atticus in Greece, as well as this nation’s premier concert and jazz venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, The Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, and Chicago’s own Jazz Showcase. 

Program Bio

Tammy McCann, vocalist Tammy McCann is an internationally recognized jazz vocalist and is currently Artist in Residence for the Music Institute of Chicago. Her powerful, sultry,

Tammy has performed with such luminaries as Chicago’s own Ramsey Lewis and NEA Jazz Master Von Freeman, John Clayton, Branford Marsalis, Joe Locke, Charles McPherson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Carmen Bradford, and toured as a Raelette with the great Ray Charles. She has thrilled audiences in festivals and clubs worldwide from