Ray Chen, Jorgensen Center | Apr 16, 7:30 pm

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SPRING 2024 EVENTS

Note: all artists, events, dates, programs and policies are subject to change.

*The Lenard Chamber Music Series is made possible through the Lenard Chamber Music Endowment. Thanks to the Lenard Endowment, UConn students, non-UConn students, and youth under 18 are invited to attend all chamber events for free. Jorgensen Front Cover: Step

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Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 7:30 pm

University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts

Alain Frogley, Interim Dean

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

Rodney Rock, Director presents

RAY CHEN

Lenard

Co-Sponsored by UConn Asian American Cultural Center and Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center

Media Sponsors

Ray Chen is managed by: Columbia Artists Music LLC www.camimusic.com

Julio Elizalde, piano

Chamber Music Series

PROGRAM

Giuseppe Tartini Sonata in G minor “Devil’s Trill” (arr. Kreisler) (1692–1770)

Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2 (1770–1827)

Allegro con brio

Adagio cantabile

Scherzo. Allegro

Finale. Allegro–Presto

— INTERMISSION —

Johann Sebastian Bach Partita No. 3 in E major for Solo Violin, (1685–1750)

BWV 1006

Preludio

Loure

Gavotte en Rondeau

Menuet I & Menuet II

Bourrée

Gigue

Antonio Bazzini La Ronde des Lutins, Op. 25 (1818-1897)

Antonín Dvořák

Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor, (1841–1904) Op. 72 (arr. Kreisler)

Chick Corea Spain (arr. Elizalde & Chen) (1941–2021)

RAY CHEN

Ray Chen is a violinist who redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st Century. With a media presence that enhances and inspires the classical audience, reaching out to millions through his unprecedented online following, Ray Chen's remarkable musicianship transmits to a global audience that is reflected in his engagements with the foremost orchestras and concert halls around the world.

Initially coming to attention via the Yehudi Menuhin (2008) and Queen Elizabeth (2009) Competitions, of which he was First Prize winner, he has built a profile in Europe, Asia, and the USA as well as his native Australia both live and on disc. Signed in 2017 to Decca Classics, Ray’s forthcoming recording with the London Philharmonic follows three critically acclaimed albums on SONY, the first of which (“Virtuoso”) received an ECHO Klassik Award.

Profiled as “one to watch” by the Strad and Gramophone magazines, Ray Chen’s profile continues to grow: he was featured on Forbes’ list of 30 most influential Asians under 30; made a guest appearance on Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle” TV series; has a multi-year partnership with Giorgio Armani (who designed the cover of his Mozart album with Christoph Eschenbach); and performs at major media events such as France’s Bastille Day (live to 800,000 people), the Nobel Prize Concert in Stockholm (telecast across Europe), and the BBC Proms.

Ray has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Munich Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra Nazionale della Santa Cecilia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and upcoming debuts include the SWR Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, and Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra. He works with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Vladimir Jurowski, Sakari Oramo, Manfred Honeck, Daniele Gatti, Kirill Petrenko, Krystof Urbanski, Juraj Valcuha and many others. From 2012-2015 he was resident at the Dortmund Konzerthaus and in 17/18 will be an “Artist Focus” with the Berlin Radio Symphony.

His presence on social media makes Ray Chen a pioneer in an artist’s interaction with their audience, utilizing the new opportunities of modern technology. His appearances and interactions with music and musicians are instantly disseminated to a new public in a contemporary and relatable way. He is the first musician to be invited to write a lifestyle blog for Italian publishing house, RCS Rizzoli (Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport, Max). He has been featured in Vogue magazine and is currently releasing his own design of violin case for the industry manufacturer GEWA. His commitment to music education is paramount, and inspires the younger generation of music students with his series of self-produced videos combining comedy and music. Through his online promotions his appearances regularly sell out and draw an entirely new demographic to the concert hall.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Ray was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15, where he studied with Aaron Rosand and was supported by Young Concert Artists. He plays the 1715 “Joachim” Stradivarius violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. This instrument was once owned by the famed Hungarian violinist, Joseph Joachim (1831-1907).

JULIO ELIZALDE

Praised as a musician of “compelling artistry and power” by The Seattle Times, the gifted Hispanic-American pianist Julio Elizalde is a multifaceted artist who enjoys a unique career as soloist, collaborator, curator, and educator. Julio has performed at many of the world’s major music centers including Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), Koerner Hall (Toronto), Alice Tully Hall (New York), Kioi Hall (Tokyo), Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), St. Paul’s Knightsbridge (London), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), National Concert Hall (Taipei), and the Esplanade Concert Hall (Singapore), among many others.

For nearly a decade, he has appeared as recital partner to famed violinists Ray Chen and Sarah Chang, and has collaborated with

renowned artists such as Pablo Ferrández, Kian Soltani, Pamela Frank, Robert McDonald, and members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Takács, Kronos, Brentano, St. Lawrence, and Dover string quartets. As a founding member of the N-E-W Trio with violinist Andrew Wan and cellist Gal Nyska, he won the grand prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and received the Harvard Musical Association’s prestigious Arthur W. Foote Prize. As part of the Trio, he performed for notable American politicians including President Bill Clinton and Secretaries of State Condoleeza Rice and Henry Kissinger.

A champion of new music, Julio has collaborated with composers such as Osvaldo Golijov, Stephen Hough, Adolphus Hailstork, and Michael Stephen Brown. In 2013, Julio was a featured artist on the soundtrack composed by Academy Award-winner Howard Shore for the film Jimmy P, starring Benicio Del Toro.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Julio is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he earned a bachelor’s degree with honors as a student of Paul Hersh. He holds master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Joseph Kalichstein, and Robert McDonald. Since 2014, Julio has served as artistic director of the Olympic Music Festival outside Seattle, Washington, and he currently teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 7:30 pm Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

The Lenard Chamber Music Series

Ray Chen

Julio Elizalde, piano

PROGRAM NOTES

Violin Sonata in G minor GT2.g05, (“The Devil’s Trill”) . . . Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770), arr. Fritz Kreisler (Born April 8, 1692, in Pirano, Republic of Venice [now Piran, Slovenia]; died February 26, 1770, in Padua, Republic of Venice [now Italy])

Tartini was one of the great early masters of the violin, a composer of distinction, and an important musical theorist. He enriched the violin repertoire with around 100 sonatas and 150 concerti, created substantial advances in violin-playing technique, and made important improvements in the violin bow. His “The Devil’s Trill” Sonata, composed in 1713, was published posthumously in 1798.

The sonata movements follow the alternating slow-fast-slow-fast sequence of many Baroque sonatas. The 1st, a moving Larghetto affettuoso, in the rhythm of a siciliano, (characterized by repeated dotted rhythms) precedes the witty Allegro energico 2nd movement, full of decorative trills. The 3rd and 4th movements are linked as The Author’s Dream and approximate the music Tartini heard in a vivid dream during which the devil appeared. Tartini described the experience: “At last I thought I would offer my violin to the devil, in order to discover what kind of musician he was, when to my great astonishment I heard him play a solo so singularly beautiful and with such superior taste and precision that it surpassed all the music I had ever heard or conceived in the whole course of my life . . . The work which this dream suggested, and which I wrote at that time, is doubtless the best of my compositions. I call it the Devil’s Trill Sonata.”

Tartini attempted to transcribe the Devil’s music of unending trills of unprecedented difficulty faithfully, but confessed he felt minimally successful. A short Grave leads into the finale, Allegro assai, where the trilling creates a diabolical difficulty for the violinist. Here, repeatedly, the Devil’s Trill requires the soloist to use two fingers to trill (alternate rapidly between two notes) while two other fingers play a countermelody. Tartini uses the trill for decoration, melodic material, and as a tension-building device. Before the slow coda at the work’s end, Tartini leaves room for a cadenza; the 19th century virtuoso, Fritz Kreisler (1875 1962), and the famous violin teacher, Leopold Auer (1845-1930) continued to display the trill in it.

Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 7, in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2. . . Ludwig van Beethoven (Born December 16, 1770, in Bonn; died March 26, 1827, in Vienna)

Beethoven wrote this sonata and the other two published in the same set in the early months of 1802, just months before he came to terms with symptoms he could no longer try to hide or rationalize away. Just after he wrote these three violin sonatas, on the advice of his doctor, Beethoven left Vienna for a stay of several months in the quiet country village of Heiligenstadt. It was a wrenching and tragic time for him and yet one that preceded the incomparably rich productiveness of his middle years. On October 6, shortly before he returned to Vienna, he wrote a will in the form of a letter to his two brothers, the famous Heiligenstadt testament, a moving document in which he laid out the horror and pain of a terrible handicap he had tried to keep secret. He was losing his hearing: “How could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more developed in me than in other people, a sense that I once possessed in the highest perfection, a perfection such as few in my profession enjoy or have ever enjoyed! I would have ended my life — but my art held me back. To leave the world until I have brought forth everything that I feel within me is impossible.” A few days later, he added a postscript in which he gave vent to even more utter despair, but he, nevertheless, returned to the city with the fruit of his unabated hard work and resumed his busy public career.

Beethoven had the violin sonatas published in the spring of the following year with the already antiquated designation “Three Piano Sonatas with the Accompaniment of a Violin.” They bore a dedication

to “His Majesty Alexander I, Emperor of all the Russias” who had ascended the throne in 1801. Protocol required that permission for such a dedication be granted in advance, and apparently Beethoven had secured it with the assistance of one of the many music-loving Russian noblemen he knew in Vienna. Beethoven did not ever receive the valuable diamond ring he had been led to expect as a gift from Emperor Alexander, nor any other acknowledgment.

The sentiments Beethoven expresses in the Op. 30 set of sonatas are elevated ones, the emotions powerful, and the forms original. They are rich and mature works. The instrumental writing is highly original and perfectly idiomatic for the piano and the violin. This work, the second sonata in the series, has great dramatic power. Occasionally the work is referred to by a subtitle, Eroica, identifying it with its orchestral counterpart written in the related major tonality. The Allegro con brio begins with a huge, extended statement, energetically developed. This passionate initial movement starts with a concentrated motive with Beethoven’s distinctive quality. The richness and the difficulty of the violin part are unmatched elsewhere in the set. Arthur Cohn has said that the “entire first movement is like Beethoven’s assertion that a sonata movement might be the conflict between head and heart.” The lovely slow movement, Adagio cantabile, is made up of, in essence, a set of free variations of ever-increasing intensity built on a central dramatic theme. The following light-hearted movement, an impish Scherzo, Allegro, provides relief. The odd phrase lengths and tricky rhythms of the contrasting Trio section reflect the sonata’s Russian association. The work closes with a fierce Finale, Allegro, of renewed intensity, balancing the first movement not only in concentration and fervor, but in structure. Both structures grow from a cell built from a single motive.

Partita for Unaccompanied Violin No. 3, in E Major, BWV 1006

Johann Sebastian Bach

(Born March 21, 1685, in Eisenach; died July 28, 1750, in Leipzig)

Baroque musicians gave the name “partita” to several different kinds of compositions, but for Bach, the term was more or less interchangeable with “suite.” Each partita consists of an introductory movement, followed by a set of stylized dances.

Bach seems to have taken the idea of writing the Partitas from the great success that his predecessor at St. Thomas’s, Johann Kuhnau,

had had with his. Kuhnau was a talented, imaginative musician and a worthy model, but he was not Bach, and his partitas now have only a modest historical interest. Bach’s listing of the movements indicates that he thought of each partita as a collection of separate pieces rather than as an organic, unified composition. Nevertheless, there are important internal relationships among the separate parts of some of them.

Partita No. 3 opens with a brilliant Prelude that reputedly was one of Bach’s favorites. Some years later, he arranged it as an organ solo, added an accompaniment for what was at the time a large orchestra, and used the new version as an introductory movement in two different church cantatas. Here five dance movements follow the Prelude.

The first of the dance movements is a Loure, a slowly rocking rustic or pastoral dance that originated in France in the 17th century and probably took its name from the bagpipes that accompanied it. It was made fashionable in the dramatic works of Bach’s French contemporaries such as Rameau. It is stately, almost haughty, developing a melodic line out of relatively short motives and doublestopping. Bach only wrote two Loures; the other he included in the French Suite in G Major for harpsichord. Following the Loure, he placed a Gavotte en Rondeau. A Gavotte was a 17th century French dance whose melodies and phrases characteristically begin in mid measure. This Gavotte is “in rondo,” which means it is a musical structure in which the opening theme recurs in alternation with contrasting material. It contains Bach’s sole indication of violin fingering, suggesting that he was able to play these very difficult pieces himself. He follows the Gavotte with a pair of contrasting Minuets, the first aristocratic and archetypally “French,” the second in a less dignified style as the Musette is a minuet in which the drone of a bagpipe is imitated. When the second has been played, the first is repeated. A lively Bourrée follows; then comes the final spirited Gigue of a type that was used in France, but one that was probably too unpredictable in rhythm and phrasing to have been danced.

La Ronde des Lutins (“Round of the Goblins”), Op. 25. . . Antonio Bazzini (Born March 11, 1818, in Brescia, Italy; died February 10, 1897, in Milan)

Encouraged by Paganini, Antonio Bazzini began his virtuoso violin concert career at an early age and became one of the most highly

regarded artists of his time. Schumann and Mendelssohn both admired his playing a great deal. Bazzini also became a widely admired composer. In 1882, he became director of the Milan Conservatory, where he taught composition to Pietro Mascagni and Giacomo Puccini. Bazzini was most known for his chamber music although he also composed religious music, dramatic cantatas, sacred works, overtures and symphonic poems. While in Germany, Bazzini performed with Mendelssohn’s Gewandhaus Orchestra, reputedly giving one of the first private performances of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, Op. 64 in E minor. Today, however, Bazzini is not known except for this single virtuoso showpiece for violin and piano, composed early in his career, in 1852. Along with Verdi, Bazzini had an important rôle in establishing standard concert pitch (440 Hz).

La ronde des lutins, one of his early violin works, was especially designed to show off technical prowess. This descriptive piece is a typical 19th century salon piece at its most engaging. A wild evocation of devilishly dancing goblins, it begins with a manic staccato theme. A great romantic miniature, this transcription has a compact, charmingly mischievous rondo pattern.

Bazzini described La ronde des lutins as a scherzo fantastique for violin and piano. A most demanding piece, Gil Shaham has commented that it is “like three minutes of hurdles, one after the other.” The scoundrel goblins force the violinist to stretch his finger power to the limit in order to keep pace with their devilish pranks. Ricochet bowings, doublestop tremolos, wild leaping from string to string while repeating the same note and false harmonics (seemingly a sine qua non in any mid-19th century violin showpiece) follow a compact and charmingly mischievous rondo.

Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, no. 2 in E minor. . . Antonin Dvořák (Born September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Bohemia; died May 1, 1904, in Prague)

Dvořák profoundly believed in the need for grounding art music in folk expression. During the years when he taught in the United States, he urged his pupils to study the music of both black Americans and what he called “American Indians,” as he did himself, in order that his students could find a way of expressing ideas about America in their compositions. At home, among Czechs, he wrote operas about

peasant life and composed a great deal of instrumental music based on themes patterned after popular folk songs and dances.

As a child, Dvořák studied organ, violin, and piano. He played at village dances and even was a solo violinist at the local church. His father, a butcher, played music semi-professionally. Since the future composer was the eldest child, it was expected that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a butcher, too, but he wanted to be a musician. One day when he was leading cattle home from the village on a rope, the animals dragged him into a lake; that was the day he vowed that he would never be a butcher. Soon he was a performing violist engaged by an orchestra, and then he became a church organist, which paid better and gave him more time to compose. He was passionate about his country’s traditional music.

Dvořák could not find musicians to play his first compositions, and he was so upset that he presumably burned some of his early pieces; nevertheless his music attracted the interest of a famous composer, Johannes Brahms, who helped him by introducing him to his own publisher in Berlin, who issued a group of Moravian songs Dvorák had set for two voices and piano. These were so successful that the publisher then asked him to write some dances for piano duet similar to Brahms’ Hungarian Dances. Dvorák set to work on a series of some Slavonic Dances in March 1878, and before the year was out, they were published in both four hand-piano and orchestral versions. They were so popular that the sheet music of the eight dances sold out in one day.

As the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, were immediately, enormously successful, for years the publisher pressed Dvořák to write more of them. Dvořák, however, wanted to concentrate his energies on big, serious works, and he was afraid that he would not be able to produce more dances that would be equally successful. “To do the same thing twice is devilishly difficult,” he wrote. Simrock, his editor refused to relent, and Dvořák snapped, “One can start only when one feels the proper enthusiasm for the thing!” In 1885, they struck a bargain. The publisher paid double his usual price for a new symphony, and Dvořák agreed to write eight more Slavonic Dances, for which he was to be paid ten times as much as he had gotten for the first eight.

Once he had begun, in 1886, in the course of little more than a month, he did find the inspiration to compose a second volume of dances,

originally for piano four-hands. The new group was less jovial in spirits and less outgoing than the first, but it was more varied; since it was composed eight years later than the first, it was more sophisticated. Also, while the first set was inspired specifically by Bohemian folk music, the later set drew its resources from a greater range of Slavic influences although again, these dances all are based on original melodies and all them have the character of folk-style dances. The second set was published as Op. 72.

No. 2 of this set, Allegretto grazioso, is the most familiar number in the series. In this piece, based on an original melody but written in the style of folk music, Dvořák mixed several kinds of dance, confusing commentators who have since tried to identify one particular dance. This Slavonic Dance has been called a mazurka because it emphasizes the second-beat, but it also includes elements of another dance called dumka, a sad sounding Ukrainian dance which alternates slow passages with much more lively ones. The dumka was originally sung as a lament; by Dvořák’s time, the term had evolved to refer also to instrumental compositions of similar character. This dance has also been identified as a polonaise called starodávný as well as a sousedská, which in Czech means “neighborly”; the sousedská is a rural Czech dance that has characteristics in common with the ländler, an Austrian folk dance, as well as with the minuet.

Spain . . . Chick Corea, arr. Elizalde and Chen

Born June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Massachusetts; died February 9, 2021 in Tampa-St. Petersburg area )

Chick Corea was one of America’s most prolific contemporary composers. He wrote in many genres: avant-garde to bebop, children’s songs to fusion to Classical music. By the age of four, he was already studying piano and enjoying a childhood home filled with the sound of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Beethoven, and Mozart. His early gigs with Willie Bobo, Cal Tjader, Herbie Mann, and Mongo Santamaria instilled his love of Latin music, prevalent in much of his early work.

A virtuoso on the piano and a variety of electronic keyboard instruments, in 1971, Corea changed focus, moving to a softer, samba-flavored sound, before he went on to electronic fusion. He formed his own band called “Return to Forever” that ruled the 70’s as one of the

preeminent “Fusion” bands combining Latin, rock, and jazz elements into ambitious recordings featuring virtuoso improvisation and complex long-form arrangements with quasi-classical conceptions. When RTF dissolved in 1975, Corea did a diverse series of recordings: electronic ensembles, solo piano, classical music and acoustic duos. In the mid80’s, he formed the Elektric Band and in 1992, Stretch Records, a label committed to stretching musical boundaries and focusing on freshness and creativity.

Corea worked with a variety of noteworthy artists including Bobo and Santamaria as well as Cab Calloway, Blue Mitchell, Stan Getz, and Miles Davis, and began more of his own groups (the Circle, the Akoustic Band, and Origin). He joined up with Miles Davis just as the avant-garde jazz experiments of the time incorporated unstructured jazz and “fusion” with electric rock; together they made such recordings as “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew,” both of which featured Corea as a sideman. Constantly stretching the limits of his art and winning twelve Grammys, Corea became one of jazz’s most influential keyboardists and composers. While he gained legendary status performing jazz, he proved his versatility by writing in Classical forms.

Corea said: “If there is any one song that listeners seem to know me best by, I guess that song is Spain, as I get the most requests for it and hear it mentioned more than any of the others. I wrote the song in 1971 and played it frequently with RTF and many other bands of mine. I reharmonized the theme and made a brand-new arrangement of it for the Akoustic Band trio in 1988, and have generally turned the song inside out through the years.” His most recent version he said “is a final visit to Spain in grand fashion and with a tip of the hat to the art cultures of Spain, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina and New York.” The original version began with a free rendition of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez theme and progressed into a driving, energetic Latin groove.

C oSt rs★

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

2023 - 2024 Co-Chairs: Jane Moskowitz & Ruth Buczynski

$750 per person, $1,500 per couple

Elena Sevilla & Paul Aho

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In Memory of Anne K. Smith

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Join the CoStars, Jorgensen’s Active Volunteers!

The CoStars is a special group of volunteers who generously donate not only $750 per person, but also their talent and time. The invaluable CoStars support Jorgensen through community advocacy by creative fund-raising activities, and by hosting pre- and post-concert receptions that often feature world-class luminaries. The CoStars have been instrumental in the purchase of the new portable chamber stage and acoustical shell, a new Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano, funding the JOY! Conservatory Program, the installation of the exterior Jorgensen message center, the renovation of the Jorgensen Gallery, and continued support of Jorgensen programming. By becoming a CoStar, you’ll join with other vibrant, thoughtful and devoted arts lovers who have made Jorgensen’s success a priority.

CoStars receive an honorary membership in the Jorgensen Circle of Friends at the Producers Circle level. Benefits include early ticket ordering privileges for one full year from the date of enrollment; reserved lower-level parking in the North Garage, providing a speedier exit after each Jorgensen event; and recognition in the Jorgensen playbill.

As a Special Thank You... An Invitation to the CoStars

CoStar members receive an exclusive invitation to attend the Annual Sneak Peek hosted by Jorgensen Director Rodney Rock. This party offers attendees an exciting preview of the coming season – prior to the public announcement. Join the CoStars and be the first to know what’s new!

If you are interested in becoming a CoStar, please contact Rodney Rock at 860-486-1983, or by e-mail at rodney.rock@uconn.edu.

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Circle of Friends 2023-2024

Become a Friend of Jorgensen!

We invite you to join Jorgensen’s Circle of Friends, a group of generous arts supporters who over the years have made vital contributions to Jorgensen’s special projects, commissioned works, and interior restorations. Your membership in the Circle of Friends entitles you to early ticket ordering privileges for one full year from the date of your enrollment; you will be recognized in the Jorgensen Playbill; and if you contribute at the Directors or Producers Circle levels, you will enjoy reserved parking in the North Campus Parking Garage for each Jorgensen performance you attend.

Please consider making your tax-deductible donation and become a Circle of Friends member today. Simply call 860-486-4226 for more information.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

gratefully acknowledges the support of its Friends.

Producers Circle

$500/person

$1,000 & above/couple

Elena Sevilla & Paul Aho*

Mona & Greg Anderson*

Marianne Barton*

Deborah Walsh Bellingham*

In Memory of Dr. Bruce A. Bellingham*

Honey & Harry Birkenruth*

Lynn Brown

Ruth Buczynski*

Carol Colombo*

In Memory of Maurice Thompson*

Michael Cucka

Susan & John DeWolf*

Ms. Joan N. Gionfriddo

Stan & Sandy Hale*

Judy & Peter Halvorson*

Patricia Hempel*

Shareen Hertel & Donald Swinton*

Jan Huber*

Lynn & Harry Johnson*

Blair T. Johnson & Blanche Şerban*

Janet & George Jones*

Lin & Waldo Klein*

James Knox*

Ann Kouatly*

Becky & Scott Lehmann*

Jean & John Lenard*

Gene Likens & Leola Spilbor*

Margarethe & Matthew Mashikian*

Antonia Moran*

Jane & Robert Moskowitz*

Craig & Karen Nass

Barbara Rhein & Stan Shaw

Constance & Rodney Rock*

Stella Ross & Eric Schultz

Cheryl A. & Mark J. Roy

Nancy & John Silander*

Beverly Sims & William Okeson*

Winthrop Smith*

In Memory of

Anne K. Smith*

Dana Wilder

Keith Wilson & Marjorie Hayes

Karen Zimmer & Roger Ingraham

Michael & Susan Zito*

*Members of the Jorgensen CoStars

Directors Circle

$250/person, $500/couple

Anonymous

Keith & Paula Enderle

Mr. David Johnson

David & Carol Jordan

Tom Martin & Susan Spiggle

Steven & Barbara Rogers

Ms. Joanne Sousa

Ms. Nancy A. Swiacki

In honor of

Janina W. Swiacki & Nancy A. Swiacki

Artists Circle

$125/person, $250/couple

Pat Anderson

Dorothy Blocker

Bennett & Linda Brockman

Dr. & Mrs. Steven & Elaine Cohen

M. Kevin & Jeanne Fahey

Betty Hale

Betty & Ken Hanson

Ms. Cathy Jameson & Ms. Renee Fournier

Mary Lacek & Neil Aldin

Gerald & Zoe Leibowitz

Carl Nawrocki

Len Oberg

Bonnie Ryan

Harriet Walker

Patrons Circle

$50/person, $100/couple

Anonymous

Roger & Cynthia Adams

Ms. Sandra Albom

Susan & John Boland

Irene & Richard Brown

Anne-Marie Campbell

Kevin Conklin

Paul D’Italia

Mary & Michael Donnelly

Dr. & Mrs. Ed & Susan Grace

Peter Jacques

Richard & Karin James

Col. & Dr. Leonard & Judith Kaplan

Art Kirschenbaum & Cheryl Pomerantz

Yves & Carol Kraus

Donald Kray

Shoshana Levinson & Chris Crossgrove

Julia J. & Carl W. Lindquist, MD

Robin Lubatkin

Jennifer Macionus

Kelly Olander

Susan Phillips

Edith Posselt

Yvonne & Joseph Prudente

Mrs. Laura T. Raccagni

Mr. & Mrs. Eric A. Santini

Jacqueline Seide

Paul & Annette Shapiro

Dr. Jay S. Shivers

Susan Stoppelman

Jamie Summers

Jeremy Teitelbaum

Adeline Theis

Ms. Susanna Thomas

Shirley Waldron

Critics Circle

$25/person, $50/couple

Joyce Armstrong

Ms. Joyce Donohoo

Howard & Carol Drescher

Drs. Rebecaa & Jacob Earp

Mrs. Joy Favretti

Margaret & Peter Files

Mrs. Audrey Gough

Wendy Leclair

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Linonis

Mr. & Mrs. Wesley & Mary Lord

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Madar

Donna Matulis

John H. Mayer & Irwin M. Krieger

Mr. & Mrs. Alan Miller

Robert G. Paris

Sari & James Rosokoff

Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz & Ms. Merle Potchinsky

Mrs. Pamela Sutkaitis

Patricia Tanaka

Denise Winland

Director’s Fund

Honey & Harry Birkenruth

Diane & Joseph Briody

Jo & George Fox

Mr. Thomas French & Dr. Carol Norris

Marsha Hilsenrad

Lin & Waldo Klein Fund

Ann Kouatly

NICABM

Jennifer Person

Endowed Sponsorship Program

The Endowed Sponsorship Program provides individuals and families with the opportunity to support Jorgensen by sponsoring any concert or other program. Benefits to Endowed Sponsors will include name recognition in the Jorgensen playbill, additional recognition in the community through press releases provided by the University, and an opportunity to visit with the guest artist.

Sponsorship could be a means of celebrating a special holiday or anniversary, or of dedicating an event to a loved one. Most importantly, by contributing to the cost of current programs, sponsors would help ensure that the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts will continue to present wonderful music and other programs in the future. Your gift would benefit not only Jorgensen, but also the community at large.

Patrons interested in sponsoring an event should contact Rodney Rock at 860-486-1983 or rodney.rock@uconn.edu for further information.

Jorgensen Outreach for Youth

Funded through private contributions as well as corporate support, JOY! provides school-age children, many from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, with access to live performances and special enrichment programs. Now in its 16th season, the JOY! Conservatory program offers instrumental and vocal students in grades 9-12 the opportunity for a rigorous course of study including private lessons, ensemble rehearsals and coaching, and basic musicianship courses. For more information, contact Jorgensen director Rodney Rock at 860-486-1983.

Corporate / Foundation Sponsors

SBM Charitable Foundation

Diamond / $1000+

Honey & Harry Birkenruth

Harry & Lynn Johnson

James Knox

Jean & John Lenard

Nancy & John Silander

Mrs. Nora Stevens

Ruby / $300+

Becky & Scott Lehmann

The University of Connecticut League, Inc.

Sapphire / $100+

Ms. Margaret Dillon & Dr. Larry Bowman

Maryellen Donnelly & James Krall

Jan Huber

Carol & David Jordan

Craig Knox

In memory of Jane L. Knox

The McChesney Family

In honor of James Knox

Pearl / up to $99

Sabrina & Daniel Bowersett

Paul D’Italia

Dr. Alain Frogley

Karen Jason

Robin Lubatkin

Bonnie Ryan

Lenard Chamber Music Endowment Fund

The Lenard Chamber Series is made possible through the generosity of longtime patrons Jean and John Lenard and the Lenard Chamber Music Endowment. Thanks to the generous philanthropy of patrons Jean and John Lenard, chamber music, one of the hallmarks and most dearly loved elements of the programming at Jorgensen, is secure well into the future. Also thanks to the Lenard Endowment, UConn students, non-UConn students, and area youth are invited to attend all chamber music events for free.

Please join this giving community and make your contribution today.

To make a gift, contact Jorgensen Director Rodney Rock at rodney.rock@uconn.edu or 860-486-1983, or visit jorgensen.uconn.edu/online/article/lenard-endowment.

Jean & John Lenard

Elena Sevilla & Paul Aho

Greg & Mona Anderson

Deborah Walsh Bellingham

Ruth Buczynski

Carol Colombo

Anne D’Alleva

Kenneth Doeg

Judy & Peter Halvorson

Patricia Hempel

George & Janet Jones

Carol & David Jordan

Lin & Waldo Klein

James Knox

June & Henry Krisch

Becky & Scott Lehmann

Shoshana Levinson & Chris Crossgrove

Julia J. & Carl W. Lindquist, MD

Joan & Austin McGuigan

Jane & Robert Moskowitz

Lauren & Eric Prause

Donald Shankweiler & Ruth Garrett Millikan

John & Nancy Silander

Beverly Sims & William Okeson

Kenneth & Janet Slavett

Marilyn & Arthur Wright

Support JOY! during UConn Gives 2024

APRIL 17-18

Givingday.UConn.edu

Gifts to the Jorgensen Outreach for Youth Program provide support to bring the arts to eastern Connecticut’s children, free tickets to Jorgensen events for underprivileged children and their families, and full scholarships and unique opportunities to talented and highly motivated young musicians.

2024-2025 JOY! Conservatory Program

Outreach for Youth Jorgensen

Now Accepting Applications!

Deadline: Friday, June 7, 2024

Now entering its seventeenth year, the JOY! Conservatory Program provides full scholarships and unique educational opportunities for talented and highly motivated young musicians who sing, play an instrument, or are interested in music composition, through a competitive application and audition process.

During the academic year, students accepted into the JOY! Conservatory Program participate in a rigorous course of study that may include:

• Weekly instrumental/vocal lessons with private teacher of choice or one school year.

• When available, the opportunity for instruction and participation in master classes and ensemble coachings.

• The opportunity to perform in a JOY! Conservatory recital.

Students enrolled in the JOY! Conservatory Program also have the opportunity to attend select professional performances, concerts, recitals, and master classes, at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and the UConn School of Fine Arts in Storrs at no cost.

For application and audition information, please visit the JOY! Conservatory Application page on our website:

jorgensen.uconn.edu

For questions or more information, please contact:

Dr. Ryan Burns

JOY! Conservatory Program Coordinator

joyprogram@uconn.edu

International musical superstars The Piano Guys return to Jorgensen with their innovative mashups of classical and pop music performed on piano and cello. Steven and Jon are gearing up to hit the road to perform their new music, with a brand-new show,and share that classic humor our Jorgensen fans have come to know and love!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Sat, Sep 21, 8 pm

Boston Camerata

Media Sponsors: Connecticut Magazine, CT Public, Lite 100.5 WRCH

A Medival Christmas

Dec 6

jorgensen.uconn.edu

Box Office

Administration

Marketing

860.486.4226

860.486.4228

860.486.5795

BOX OFFICE & ADMINISTRATION

2132 Hillside Road Unit 3104

Storrs, CT 06269-3104

jorgensen.uconn.edu

SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS

Alain Frogley Interim Dean

JORGENSEN ADMINISTRATION

Rodney Rock Director

Gary Yakstis Operations Manager

Leann Sanders Administrative Assistant

Diane Briody House Manager

BOX OFFICE

Jennifer Darius Box Office Manager

Amanda Salas Asst. Box Office Manager

MARKETING/PUBLICITY

Renee Fournier Marketing Manager

Carina Bies Marketing Coordinator

PRODUCTION TECHNICIANS

Bryan Wosczyna Technical Manager

Scott Fisher Technical Assistant

Abigail Golec Technical Assistant

timeless music all the time

The music you love is on Classical NEPM

William Kaufold, MD Specialty interests in cataract, glaucoma, and macular degeneration

Paul Hyder, OD Specialty interests in primary eye care, retinal disease, and contact lenses

Kevin Cranmer, MD Specialty interests in cataract, glaucoma, eye plastic surgery, and LASIK

board-certified physicians offer comprehensive medical and surgical eye care to children and adults. We also provide specialized services for complicated cases and second opinions.

Box Office: 860.486.2113

802 Bolton Road, Unit 1127

Storrs, CT 06269-1127

crt.uconn.edu

SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS

Alain Frogley, Interim Dean

CRT ADMINISTRATION

Megan Monaghan Rivas Artistic Director & Head, Department of Dramatic Arts

Michelle S. Polgar Managing Director

Vincent Tycer Associate Artistic Director

Annie Suite Box Office Manager

Carter Smith Interim Company/ House Manager

CRT PRODUCTION

Robert Copley Production Manager

Alison Savino Production Stage Manager

Michael Beschta Technical Director

John Parmelee Associate Technical Director

Daniela Weiser Scenic Charge Artist

Susan Tolis Costume Shop Supervisor

Michael Demers Production Master Electrician

Matthew Sorensen Puppet Arts Technical Supervisor

Jake Neighbors Sound Supervisor

Gino Costabile Properties Manager

Serving the best pizza in Tolland County for 46 years

860-429-7433

Rt. 32, Willington Trading Center

www.willingtonpizza.com

10% Discount w/tickets day of the performance only.

Award Winning Restaurant & Pub Brewery!

Willimantic Brewing Company

967 Main Street

Willimantic

860.423.6777

Willibrew.com

Please Visit Our Website: www.coyoteflacoct.com

Order Online

Order Gift Certificates

50 Higgins Hwy Mansfield, CT 860-423-4414

Willington Pizza

Rte 32, Willington Center • 860.429.7433

Italian Cuisine served in a 200-year-old home with lovely antique decor. Seating for 200. National award-winning pizza featured on CBS This Morning and ABC Good Morning America. Desserts.

Open Mon-Thurs 11am–11pm; Fri & Sat 11am–12am; Sun 11am–10pm. Casual attire.

Entrées $6–$13. No reservations. (MC, V, D, AE)

Best Pizza, Tolland County by Connecticut Magazine.

Willimantic Brewing Co. Main Street Café

967 Main Street, Willimantic • 860.423.6777

The Willimantic Brewing Co./Main Street Café is a living landmark restaurant & pub brewery located in Willimantic, in the heart of rural northeastern Connecticut. We offer an extensive menu from fun appetizers, daily specials, gluten free, vegetarian and so much more. Fresh craft beers brewed on site, ciders, cocktails, and guest beers we have something to please everyone. Visit us at www. willibrew.com for more information.

Coyote Flaco

50 Higgins Highway, Mansfield • 860.423.4414

Coyote Flaco is a family owned & operated restaurant. We invite you to try some of our favorite dishes such as our churrasco or one of our home-made tamales. Please try our many “Fresh-Lime Juice” margaritas, our full menu can be found at www.coyoteflacoct.com

Stix ‘n Stones

1029 Storrs Rd, Storrs • 860.477.0975

Enjoy An Exceptional Journey of Taste

Stix n Stones Marketplace offers fresh high quality food and baked goods, whether you are dining in or picking up to enjoy at home all prepared by Executive Chef, Sal Urso. Catering is available for all of your special occasions. Visit the Marketplace and find thoughtfully selected packaged foods, gifts and visit our floral shop. We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts.

Hilltop

39 Adamec Rd., Willington• 860.477.1054

Come and visit Hilltop Restaurant, Bar & Banquet to experience a delicious meal, live entertainment, full bar with flat screen TVs, and more, stop in today. If you’re looking for a place to hold a party or event, call and talk to us about our banquet rooms, Make sure that you call ahead to find out what our Chef’s Specials are. They change daily. hilltopct.net

Fenton River Grill

135A Storrs Road, Mansfield• 860.786.7870

A dynamic and friendly bar and restaurant located near the University of Connecticut and Eastern Connecticut University offering an enticing selection of craft beer, carefully crafted cocktails and an approachable menu including lighter shareable plates, salads, flatbreads, sandwiches, and full dinners. Lively Bar, Cozy Atmosphere, Shareable Food, Outdoor Patio, Craft Cocktails.

Dog Lane Cafe

One Dog Lane, Storrs • 860.429.4900

Northeastern Connecticut’s European/American cafe, offering something for everyone from early morning to late at night. Our menu and our daily specials emphasize seasonal, local and freshly-prepared food, all made to order. Offering a wide variety of sandwiches, grilled items and freshly tossed salads or help yourself to coffee at our self-service coffee bar. Offering indoor and outdoor seating. Whether you are in a hurry or want to take some time and relax with friends, our style of service lets you set your own pace. Serving beer & wine. doglanecafe.com

Beni’s American Bar and Grill

1280 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon Rockville

860.875.4443

Family and Locally Owned American bar & grill featuring fresh seafood, premium steaks, upscale pasta dishes, salads and sandwiches. Indoor, Outdoor, & Lounge Seating. Live Entertainment! Let Us Cater Your Next Event or Party. We have two banquet rooms available, accommodating 25 and 50 people each (or more!). Full and half trays are available for catering orders! Please allow us at least 24 hours of notice for large orders. Seasonal items, special requests, and some entrees require additional time.

www.benisct.com