Photo: Jiyang Chen
Letter from the Director | A-2
Isidore String Quartet | A-4
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE | A-8
Jeremy Denk | A-16
Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices | A-21
Your Guide to Meany Center | A-26
Thanks to Our Donors | A-27
Alonzo King LINES Ballet | April 3–5
Lara Downes | April 8
Taj Mahal & Leyla McCalla | April 12
Third Coast Percussion & Jessie Montgomery | May 3
Complexions Contemporary Ballet | May 8–10
Jonathan Biss | May 13
Hamid Rahmanian’s Song of the North | May 17
We acknowledge that Meany Center is on unceded and traditional land of the Coast Salish, including the Duwamish People, the first pe ople of Seattle. We honor with gratitude the land itself and those who have cared for it, past and present. Meany Center is committed to better understanding our relationship with this land and to building authentic relationships with the first people of this region.
We are thrilled to have you here to share these extraordinary performances that celebrate creativity, culture and connection.
In February, we present the Meany debut of the visionary and critically acclaimed Isidore Quartet, performing jazz composer Billy Childs’ evocative “Unrequited” alongside classics by Mozart and Beethoven. Following that, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE appears at Meany after nearly two decades, in a seamless integration of African dance, contemporary choreography and spoken word that offers a profound exploration of heritage and storytelling.
In March, beloved pianist Jeremy Denk performs Bach’s magical Six Partitas for Keyboard. His imaginative artistry and technical brilliance breathe fresh life into
John Robinson, President
Kyra Hokanson Gray, Vice President
Sashi Raghupathy, Vice President
Robert Babs, Treasurer
Manisha Advani
Melinda Bitners
Sara Bowen
Darlene Cheatham
Margie Chen
Luis Fernando Esteban
Dr. M. Elizabeth Halloran
Hsiao-Wuen Hon
Cathy Hughes
Yumi Iwasaki
Susan Joslyn
Megan Kennedy
Sally Kincaid
Olivia Lee
these masterful works. Finally, Meany Center Artistic Partner Rhiannon Giddens has curated Silkroad Ensemble’s Uplifted Voices, weaving diverse musical traditions into a contemporary tapestry showcasing the transformative power of artistic exchange.
We could not bring these remarkable artists to the Meany stage without you… thank you for being a part of the Meany family,
With gratitude,
Michelle Witt Executive & Artistic Director
Jeff Lehman
Kambiz Parcham-Azad
Cecilia Paul
Jack Percival
Tina Ragen
Donald Rupchock
Marcie Stone
Scott VanGerpen
Gregory Wallace
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
Ana Mari Cauce
UW President
Dianne Harris
Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Gabriel Solis
Divisional Dean of the Arts
EMERITUS BOARD
Matt Krashan
Emeritus Artistic Director
Linda Linford Allen
Cynthia Bayley
Thomas Bayley
Cathryn Booth-LaForce
JC Cannon
Elizabeth Cooper
Gail Erickson
Brian Grant
Randy Kerr
Susan Knox
Kurt Kolb
Sheila Edwards Lange
Frank Lau
Craig Miller
Dick Roth
Eric Rothchild
Jeff Seely
K. Freya Skarin
Rich Stillman
Dave Stone
Donald Swisher
Lee Talner
Thomas Taylor
David Vaskevitch
Ellen Wallach
Kathleen Wright
IN MEMORIAM
Ellsworth C. “Buster” Alvord
Linda Armstrong
Betty Balcom
Ross Boozikee
Ruth Gerberding
Ernest Henley
Mina Person
Lois Rathvon
Jerry Sanford, Sr.
Sunday, April 27, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Nordstrom Recital Hall
PROGRAM
BEETHOVEN JANÁČEK BRAHMS
String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6
String Quartet No. 2, Intimate Letters
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2
James Ehnes, violin
Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin
Che-Yen Chen, viola
Edward Arron, cello
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
generously underwritten by
Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert and Eric & Margaret Rothchild
SEASON SUPPORT COMES FROM
SIGNATURE SUPPORT
Yumi Iwasaki & Anoop Gupta
Thomas McQuaid Jr.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT COMES FROM
Warren & Anne Anderson
Stephen & Sylvia Burges
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich
Daniela & Torsten Grabs
Lynn & Brian Grant Family
Matthew & Christina Krashan
Gary L. Menges
John C. Robinson & Maya Sonenberg
Donald & Toni Rupchock
Craig Sheppard & Gregory Wallace
David & Marcie Stone
Donald & Gloria Swisher
Anonymous
February 25 | 7:30 p.m.
Adrian Steele, violin (first on Childs and Beethoven)
Phoenix Avalon, violin (first on Mozart)
Devin Moore, viola
Joshua McClendon, cello
WOLFGANG
AMADEUS MOZART
String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465, “Dissonance”
Adagio—Allegro (1756–1791)
Andante cantabile
Menuetto (Allegretto)
Molto allegro
BILLY CHILDS
String Quartet No. 3, “Unrequited” (b. 1957)
INTERMISSION
LUDWIG
VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127
Maestoso—Allegro (1770–1827)
Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile
Scherzo. Vivace—Presto
Finale: allegro con moto
The Isidore String Quartet appears by arrangement with David Rowe Artists www.davidroweartists.com
Winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, the New York City-based Isidore String Quartet was formed in 2019 with a vision to revisit, rediscover and reinvigorate the repertory. The quartet is heavily influenced by the Juilliard String Quartet and the idea of “approaching the established as if it were brand new, and the new as if it were firmly established.”
The Quartet began as an ensemble at the Juilliard School and has coached with Joel Krosnick, Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween, Laurie Smukler, Joseph Kalichstein, Roger Tapping, Misha Amory and numerous others. They are currently completing their final year as Peak Fellowship Ensemblein-Residence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
In North America, the Isidore Quartet has appeared on major series in Boston, New York, Berkeley, Chicago,
Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Durham, Washington DC, Houston, Toronto and Montreal, and has collaborated with several eminent performers including James Ehnes, Jeremy Denk, Shai Wosner and Jon Nakamatsu. Their 2024–25 season includes performances in Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Kansas City, Portland (OR), Louisville, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Memphis, Vancouver, San Francisco and many other cities across the U.S. and Canada. In Europe they will appear at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and in Bonn (Beethoven Haus), Stuttgart, Cologne and Dresden, among many others.
Over the past several years, the quartet has developed a strong connection to the works of composer and pianist Billy Childs. His String Quartet No. 2, “Awakenings” was among the repertoire that delivered the Isidore their Banff victory, and this season they will play Childs’ Quartet No. 3, “Unrequited.” In the 2025–26
season, they will premiere a new Childs quartet written expressly for them.
Both on stage and outside the concert hall, the Isidore Quartet is deeply invested in connecting with youth and elderly populations, and with marginalized communities who otherwise have limited access to highquality live music performance. They approach music as a “playground” and attempt to break down barriers to encourage collaboration and creativity. The name “Isidore” recognizes the ensemble’s musical connection to the Juilliard Quartet: one of that group’s early members was legendary violinist Isidore Cohen. Additionally, it acknowledges a shared affection for a certain libation — legend has it a Greek monk named Isidore concocted the first genuine vodka recipe for the Grand Duchy of Moscow!
String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465, “Dissonance” (1785) WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
“The quartets are, indeed, the fruit of a long and laborious endeavor,” Mozart admits to Haydn in a letter dated September 1, 1785, in which he encloses six new quartets. And the many crossings-out, careful corrections and fragments of quartet movements from this period of Mozart’s life bear this out. Nowhere else did he labor so painstakingly over his music. “Please, then, receive them kindly and be to them as a father, a guide, a friend,” Mozart (a generation younger than Haydn) continues.
“I entreat you to be indulgent to those faults that may have escaped a father’s partial eye, and, in spite of them, to continue your generous friendship towards one who so highly appreciates it.”
The magnificent and disturbing C Major Quartet is the crowning point
of Mozart’s six “Haydn” quartets. The work is true evidence of Mozart’s triumph in emulating Haydn in his Op. 33 collection of quartets from 1782, and achieving a balance of structure, musical style and emotion. Mozart began work on the six quartets not long after moving from Salzburg to Vienna. It was then that he began to hear music by Bach and Handel on a regular basis at weekly gatherings in the Vienna home of Baron van Swieten. The power of contrapuntal writing began to have a deep and increasing effect on Mozart’s own part-writing at the time. The effect is at its most acute in the unsettling dissonances of the opening 22 measures of the C Major Quartet. They give the work a nickname (“Dissonance”) and arise from a synthesis of free counterpoint and chromatic, “highly spiced” harmonies, to use a term that was often thrown at the mature Mozart. The dissonances are calculated to shock — so much so that people at first accused Mozart of
releasing the printed music without having carefully proofed the parts! Even half a century later, Belgian music theorist François-Joseph Fétis proposed a “fix” to Mozart’s strident harmonies by moving the first violin entry one beat earlier. Many applauded the idea; few went along with it. Today were the opening to be played with this crass insensitivity to Mozart’s boldness, it’s certain that the stone statue of the Don Giovanni Commendatore would appear on stage to sort things out. The suspense and tension created by the dissonance is released in the ensuing Allegro. The profound, aching Andante cantabile is one of the most sublime movements Mozart wrote. Throughout the chromatic minuet and serene finale, the musical invention and disciplined working-out of short motifs are exemplary.
Notes by Keith Horner
String Quartet No. 3, “Unrequited” (2015)
BILLY CHILDS
String Quartet No. 3 “Unrequited” was conceived as a commentary on the story of Intimate Letters: String Quartet #2, by Leos Janácek. The first thing — the only thing, really — that popped into my mind was the tragedy of unrequited love (hence the name, “Unrequited”). When I first heard Janacek’s Intimate Letters performed live, the emotion of the piece jumped out at me: the wild shifts of tempo, the beautiful and plaintive melodies, the stark dynamic contrasts. I wanted to illustrate my perspective on this strange relationship between Janácek and Kamila Stösslová by telling the story of a man who goes through different phases of emotion, before finally coming to terms with the fact that his love for her is one-sided — it will never be returned the way he would like. I sought to compose “Unrequited” so that it moves, like the five stages of grief, through a variety of emotions — from romantic, pure love, through paranoid, obsessive,
neurotic possessiveness, arriving finally at despondent acceptance.
This piece was commissioned by Madelyn, Jerald and Lee Jackrel and is dedicated to and premiered by the Lyris Quartet.
Notes by Billy Childs
String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127 (1825) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Ludwig van Beethoven was a decade into what critics call his late period when he composed his String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127. It had been 15 years since he wrote his Quartet No. 11, a work he deemed so radical that he didn’t want it performed. Money from a commission convinced him to revisit the genre, setting off a late-life sequence of quartets even more iconoclastic. This quartet is perhaps the most lyrical of the set and, coming off the composition of his great celebration of joy in the 9th Symphony, the most exuberant.
The beginning maestoso chorale appears simple, but it is incredibly ambitious, offering the listener the most basic form of four-part writing that every student learns, as if to say, this quartet will contain everything. It is also an affirmation, as is what follows. Beethoven, though often considered the Classical to Romantic bridge, wanted to reclaim his classically inclined aesthetic in this period. An oversimplified tenet for the Romantics is that content dictates form. For Beethoven, form was a primary driver in the creation of his best writing. Commentary often focuses on the radicalism of the late quartets, and of course they are radical, but the paradox is that their originality emerges from Beethoven’s impulse toward conservatism, a retreat from certain contemporary trends to expand and loosen formal constraints. In this quartet, the retreat is toward Bach, Handel and
the baroque, with an emphasis on contrapuntal writing and heightened clarity of form.
The quartet promptly gets on with the business of restless counterpoint. In the context of the maestoso, each new theme sounds as if it has been gathered from a disassembled chorale and scattered across the Haydn-esque sonata allegro form. Typical of Beethoven’s late quartets, shifts are abrupt, and transitions are unceremonious, creating moments of comprehensive disintegration and unease in preparation for resolution.
The second movement is a theme and variations, a form Beethoven was somewhat obsessed with in his late period. The six variations, unlike some of Beethoven’s related works from this period, do not reach for higher and higher levels of virtuosity, but simply and steadily unearth the inherent depth of one of the most beautiful melodies the composer ever wrote.
The buzzing scherzo contains the most intricate contrapuntal writing of the piece. It is a masterclass in anticipation and deception — just when a phrase feels that it is settling in, it will stop abruptly, or a unison shout will compel it to a new section.
The final movement does not reconvene themes from the previous movements as is often the case, but introduces two fresh themes, a flowing melody whose shape is reminiscent of the first theme of the piece, and a joyous march that propels with its decisive articulation and wide-open harmonic accompaniment. The great pleasure of this movement is its ending, a contrasting coda in a shifted key and meter announced suddenly by a violin trill, the same technique that brought the quartet out of the maestoso at the start. It is Beethoven’s classicism shining through: clarity and unity, from beginning to end.
Notes by Connor Buckley
Faculty Recital:
Tekla Cunningham, violin
Works for solo baroque violin by Pisendel and Telemann and a new work by Melia Watras. With choreography by Anna Mansbridge.
7:30 pm Meany Hall—Gerlich Theater
Faculty Recital: Stephanie Richards and Friends
The renowned trumpeter and newly appointed UW professor of music is joined by UW faculty colleagues in her debut Meany Hall performance.
7:30 pm Meany Hall— Gerlich Theater
APR 24
Faculty Recital: Robin McCabe, Around Robin Robin McCabe performs solo works of Ravel and Fauré, then is joined by her students for arrangements of Bizet’s “Carmen Fantasy,” “Stars and Stripes Forever,” and others.
7:30 pm Meany Hall—Gerlich Theater
DANCE SERIES
generously underwritten by Ira & Courtney Gerlich
SEASON SUPPORT COMES FROM
YOUTH MATINEE & K-12 IN-SCHOOL ARTS RESIDENCY
UNDERWRITTEN BY
Colonel Ron & Mrs. Darlene Cheatham
Hans & Kristin Mandt
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT COMES FROM
Manisha Advani & Rajib Chakrabarti
Linda & Thomas Allen
Stephen & Sylvia Burges
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich
Lynn & Brian Grant Family
Hsiao-Wuen & Tiffany Hon
Tuck Hoo & Tom Lyons
Yumi Iwasaki & Anoop Gupta
Matthew & Christina Krashan
Terrel Dean & Robert Lefferts
Jeffrey Lehman & Katrina Russell
Gary L. Menges
Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert
Tina Ragen and son, Ian
Richard Szeliski & Lyn McCoy
Donna & Joshua Taylor
Scott VanGerpen & Britt East
Ellen Wallach & Thomas Darden
George S. Wilson & Claire L. McClenny
Anonymous
February 27–March 1 | 8 p.m.
Artistic Director: Ronald K. Brown
Associate Artistic Director: Arcell Cabuag
Dancers:
Demetrius Burns, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Stephanie Chronopoulos, Austin Warren Coats, Isaiah K. Harvey, Christopher Salango, Adanna Rae Smalls, Shaylin D. Watson
Interim Managing Director: Jane Penn
Company Manager: Kristina Varshavskaya
Technical Director/Resident Lighting Designer: Tsubasa Kamei
Rehearsal Director: Demetrius Burns
(2015 — Company Premiere 2023)
Choreography: Ronald K. Brown
Associate Choreographer: Arcell Cabuag
Music: “La Puerta” by Luis Demetrio; “Picadillo” by Tito Puente; “All of the Americas” the 2nd movement of “Afro Latin Jazz Suite” by Arturo O’Farrill; “Vaca Frita” by Arturo O’Farrill
Costume Design: Keiko Voltaire
Original Lighting Design: Al Crawford
Lighting Re-creation: Tsubasa Kamei
Open Door was originally choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2015. The creation of Open Door was supported by commissioning funds from New York City Center. Generous support was provided by The Jaharis Family Foundation, Tracy Elise Poole and The Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey — Sara & Bill Morgan New Works Endowment Fund.
“La Puerta” used by permission of Peer International Corporation o/b/o Editorial Mexicana de Musica Internacional S.A.; “Picadillo” used by permission of Peer International Corporation; “All of the Americas,” “Latin Jazz Suite” and “Vaca Frita” used by permission of Arturo O’Farrill and MADACAZ MUSIC. All songs are recorded by Arturo O’Farrill and The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, used by arrangement with ZOHO Music LLC
INTERMISSION
Choreography: Ronald K. Brown
Original Music: Jason Moran
Speeches: Angela Y. Davis
Image Curation: Deborah Willis
Scenography: Tsubasa Kamei
Costume Design: Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya
The Equality of Night and Day was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. This work has been commissioned by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance; Global Arts Live, a not-for-profit presenting organization located in Cambridge, MA; and the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation. Additional support was provided by The Harkness Foundation for Dance. Created in part during creative development residencies at LUMBERYARD and Center of Creative Arts (COCA) made possible by the Mellon Foundation, the work was also supported by additional creative development residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University.
Thanks and credit to Shawn Walker, Andrew Lichtenstein, Bob Adelman at Adelman Images, Bruce Davidson at Magnum Photos, and Charles Moore for their photography work seen in TEND.
The Equality of the Night and Day premiered at Jacob’s Pillow on June 29, 2022 and was supported in part by Jacob’s Pillow through a residency in the Pillow Lab and additional funding for live music. Music originally commissioned and performed by Jason Moran, with speech and spoken word by Angela Y. Davis. Used by permission.
INTERMISSION
(1998)
Choreography: Ronald K. Brown
Music: Oumou Sangaré, Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Original Lighting Design: Brenda Gray
Lighting Re-Creation: Tsubasa Kamei
Costume Designer: Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya
Upside Down is an excerpt from the evening-length work Destiny. The full evening work was created in collaboration with Rokiya Kone of the Ivory Coast and her company Jeune Ballet d’Afrique Noire, and premiered at Aaron Davis Hall in June 1998. The development and creation of Destiny received support from Africa Exchange, the Rockefeller Multi-Arts Projects and Production Fund, the Aaron Davis Hall Fund for New Work, and Evidence/Circle of Friends. Support for the re-creation of Upside Down costumes made possible by Peg Alston and Willis Burton, Judy Byrd-Blaylock, Dwayne Ashley, Darrell and Carmen Gay, Bruce Gordon and Tawana Tibbs, Joanne E. Hill, Bernard H. Jackson and Joyce Mullins-Jackson, Terry McMillan, and W. Omar Karriem.
Music “Kun Fe Ko” written and performed by Oumou Sangaré, publishing and master rights administered by BMG; “MAW Expensive” A Tribute to Fela, composed by Fela Anikulapo Kuti, remixed by Master at Work and Wunmi Olaiya, administered by MAW Records and BMG. Used by permission.
Founded by Ronald K. Brown in 1985 and based in Brooklyn, New York, EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, integrates African dance with contemporary choreography, music and spoken word. Through its work, the company provides a unique view of human struggles, tragedies and triumphs. Brown uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of African dance forms and rhythms. EVIDENCE tours to 30 communities in the United States annually, and has traveled to Cuba, Brazil, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Hawaii, Ireland, Holland, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and the United Kingdom to perform and teach. EVIDENCE is a dance company in demand, not only for the work presented on stage, but also for the company’s dance workshops, community classes and master classes
provided for dancers of all ages and levels of dance experience. Annually, the company reaches an audience of more than 30,000. EVIDENCE works in partnership with the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, The Billie Holiday Theatre and The Joyce Theater.
Ronald K. Brown (Founder/Artistic Director), raised in Brooklyn, NY, founded EVIDENCE, A Dance Company in 1985. He has worked with Mary Anthony Dance Theater, Jennifer Muller/The Works, as well as other choreographers and artists. Brown has set works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Jeune Ballet d’Afrique Noire, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Philadanco, Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago, Ballet Hispánico, TU Dance and Malpaso Dance Company.
He has collaborated with such artists as composer/designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, the late writer Craig G. Harris, director Ernie McClintock’s Jazz Actors Theater, choreographers Patricia Hoffbauer and Rokiya Kone, composers Robert Een, Oliver Lake, Bernadette Speech, David Simons and Don Meissner, and musicians Jason Moran, Arturo O’Farrill and Meshell Ndegeocello.
Brown is the recipient of the 2020 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. His other awards and recognitions include the AUDELCO Award for his choreography in Regina Taylor’s award-winning play Crowns, two Black Theater Alliance Awards, and a Fred and Adele Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography in the Tony Award winning Broadway and national touring production of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, adapted by Suzan Lori Parks, arranged by Diedre Murray and directed by Diane Paulus.
Brown was named Def Dance Jam Workshop 2000 Mentor of the Year and has received a Doris Duke Artist Award, New York City Center Fellowship, Joyce Theater Artist Residency Center Fellowship, Scripps/ADF Award, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Choreographers Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, United States Artists Fellowship, a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, Dance Magazine Award and The Ailey Apex Award. Ronald K. Brown was a Creative Administration Research artist at NCC Akron and, along with Arcell Cabuag, is a 2024 Dance Teacher Magazine Awardee of Distinction recipient.
Brown is Co-Artistic Director of the Restoration Dance Youth Ensemble and a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Arcell Cabuag (Associate Artistic Director/Dancer) is a first-generation Filipino-American from San Jose, CA. He moved to New York City in 1996 to attend the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, where he was introduced to Ronald K. Brown. Soon after, he joined EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, as its first apprentice, became a company member one year later, and has served as its Associate Artistic Director since 2004. He is thrilled to be the newly appointed Billie Holiday Theatre’s Youth Arts Academy Director of Education. Performance credits include: dancing with Camille A. Brown, Mekeda Thomas, Rock the House for Paramount Pictures; The Shoji Tabuchi Show (Branson, MO); the Richard Rodgers Centennial Production of The King and I; and dance festivals worldwide. Arcell taught classes and performed with EVIDENCE throughout Africa as a US Ambassador with Dance Motion USA and throughout Japan for the D.I.P JIKEI COM International Center. TV Credits include: Law & Order: SVU Choreographed episode
and Codorniu Cava commercial with PILOBOLUS shot in Barcelona and aired on Spanish television. He has assisted Mr. Brown in creating repertory on Philadanco Dance Company; MUNTU Drum and Dance Company; TU Dance; Ballet Hispánico; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company and served as associate choreographer for the Tony Award winning Broadway and national touring productions of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Mr. Cabuag is proud to serve the dance community as a long-standing educator and advocate nationally and abroad. Education, advocacy, and teaching EVIDENCE repertory work include: Professor of Dance at Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus); a guest instructor at NYU TISCH; University of Massachusetts; Peridance Certificate Program, The Ailey Fordham BFA and Certificate Programs, University of Washington, University of the Arts, Marymount Manhattan College, Ohio State, Princeton University, Boston Conservatory among others, Arcell received a 2004 New York Dance and Performance ¨Bessie¨ Award, an Abundance Dance Award as a Leader of the Path Honoree and along with Ronald K. Brown is a 2024 Dance Teacher Magazine Awardee of Distinction recipient.
Demetrius Burns (Rehearsal Director/Dancer) was born in Anniston, AL, and grew up in Boston, MA. He received his MFA in dance from Hollins University and his BFA with an emphasis in Choreography from Boston Conservatory where he performed repertoire by Karole Armitage, Mark Morris, Darrel Moultrie, and many more, as well as choreographed Urinetown in the musical theatre department. He spent several summers at the Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts as a student, intern and instructor. He attended the Bates Dance Festival and Sidra Bell Modules. Demetrius also attended Jacob’s Pillow Social dance program with the American Dance
Guild Scholarship under the direction of Camille A. Brown and Moncell Durden and returned the following summer for the Improvisation Traditions and Innovation program under the direction of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Demetrius is a recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship and became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2016.
Shayla Alayre Caldwell (Guest Artist) is from New Haven, Connecticut. She began dancing at a very young age with mother and dance teacher Shari Caldwell. She became heavily influenced by traditional West African dance after being introduced to Guinean culture by her parents and dance mentor Aly “Tatchol” Camara. She was introduced to various styles of dance, choreographers and performing artists while attending Educational Center for the Arts and Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts in CT. She was accepted into the B.F.A. program at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007. After studying briefly at the institution she landed a dream position with Ronald K. Brown/ Evidence. She was promoted to rehearsal director and proudly served in the company for twelve years. A few highlights of her dance career include representing the U.S. at the International Festival of Ballet held in Cali, Colombia, performing at the infamous Joyce Theater, Delacorte Theater in Central Park, The Kennedy Center, and being featured in The New York Times courtesy of Ronald K. Brown/ Evidence. She has taught and assisted dance classes at various theaters, performing arts schools and universities as community outreach and fitness awareness. She was elated to become an adjunct dance professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a focus in hip hop, modern contemporary and West African inspired styles. She was thrilled to have been a part of the ensemble in the Broadway revival of The Wiz.
Stephanie Chronopoulos (Dancer) is a first-generation Greek American, born and raised in New York City. She graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Dance from LIU Brooklyn where she had the privilege of performing works by choreographers Khaleah London, Frederick Earl Mosley, Erika Pujic, Doug Varone, and Ronald K. Brown. In 2015, she became a company member of Forces of Nature Dance Theater under the Direction of Abdel Salaam. During her time with the company, she performed in the Bessie Award winning Healing Sevens at BAM’s DanceAfrica, and in the revival of Terrestrial Wombs at the Apollo Theater. Stephanie has also apprenticed with Jennifer Muller / The Works and is the recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. Stephanie became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2019.
Austin Warren Coats (Dancer) is an interdisciplinary artist with a Magna Cum Laude bachelor’s degree in Dance Studies from Kent State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Reynoldsburg, OH, he has had the honor to work with artists such as Silvana Cardell, Angela
Luem, Catherine Meredith, Jess Pretty, and Jamal White. He has attended summer intensives at The Joffrey Ballet School, Ruth Page Center of the Performing Arts, and Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE on scholarship. Austin has many interests in the arts including fine art, dance, and fashion design. He is a published illustrator in college publications and illustrates for various dancers’ projects. His life goal is to become a choreographer and artistic director. Austin became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2021.
Isaiah K. Harvey (Dancer) began his early dance training at Innervisions Theater Arts Center in his hometown Queens, New York. Following high school, he pursued his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Dance at Montclair State University (MSU), graduating in 2018. Beyond MSU, he honed his skills at the Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and The Ailey School, where he was honored with the Bob Fosse Gwen Verdon Scholarship. Harvey has graced the stage alongside singer/actress Andra Day and played a significant role in Rashaad Newsome’s Bessie awardwinning production “Assembly.” His performance portfolio includes Earl Mosley Diversity of Dance, Black Iris Project: Vibrant Voices, and serving as a backup dancer for RuPaul’s Drag Race Contestant Olivia Lux. Throughout his training and career, Harvey has performed works by iconic choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Ulysses Dove, Camille A. Brown, Norbert De La Cruz, and danced professionally with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. In addition to his professional dance endeavors, he imparts his dance expertise through teaching in various venues across New York City and the country as a certified Lester Horton Technique Instructor. In 2023, he represented EVIDENCE as a faculty member at the New Orleans Ballet Associations dance intensive. Presently, Harvey is a member of Ronald K. Brown: EVIDENCE and is on
staff at the Youth Arts Academy and the Innervisions Theater Arts Center.
Shaylin D. Watson (Dancer), born in Prince George’s County, MD, is a dedicated dancer and choreographer who found her artistic voice at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts under the inspiring guidance of Charles Augins and Katherine Smith. She earned her BFA in Dance with a focus on choreography and performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2019. During her time there, her choreography was featured at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, an experience that deeply enriched her artistic journey. Shaylin is proud to be a recipient of the Evidence Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. She has performed works by renowned choreographers including Clarice Young, Ronald K. Brown, Donald McKayle, T Lang, Christopher Huggins, Marcus White, and Shen Wei. In 2021, she had the incredible opportunity to assist in setting repertory for EVIDENCE on students at the New Orleans Ballet Association. Since 2019, Shaylin has been an integral part of the Youth Arts Academy in Brooklyn, NY, where she serves on faculty and passionately contributes her expertise. Currently, Shaylin brings her passion for dance to Montclair State University as an adjunct professor while pursuing her MFA in Dance. Since joining Ronald K. Brown EVIDENCE in 2019, she has embraced the power of storytelling through movement, eager to inspire others on and off the stage.
Christopher Salango (Dancer) received his B.A. in dance from California State University Sacramento where he discovered his love for Dunham Technique, under the tutelage of honorary certified instructors Dr. Linda Goodrich, Dr. Halifu Osumare and Bernard Brown. After receiving his degree, he joined TwoPoint4 Dance Theater, directed by Tony Nguyen, and acquired skill for aerial performance. Subsequently,
he became a member of Bernard Brown’s BBmoves and performed throughout California and the western U.S. He continued his training with Urban Bush Women’s Summer Arts program, Elisa Monte Dance Summer Series and is a two-time recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. Joining EVIDENCE in 2019 as an apprentice, his inaugural performance was Lincoln Center’s “A Tribute to Donald McKayle” He became a company member in 2021. He is a third-year candidate with the Institute of Dunham Technique Certification and a recipient of Washington University St. Louis Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. Christopher is thrilled to continue his research in Filipino Queer Political Theory and Choreopolitics at WashU, in pursuit of his M.F.A. in dance.
Adanna Rae Smalls (Guest Artist) of Brooklyn, NY began her dance training at the Abrons Arts Center Henry Street Settlement in New York City. In 2021, she graduated as an Ailey dance major from the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan. She is currently enrolled as a Professional division student in the Certificate Program at the Ailey School and has also trained at Harlem School of the Arts and Steps. Ms. Smalls has worked with choreographers and artists including Clifton Brown, Freddie Moore, Daniel Catnach, Aubrey Lynch, and Natalia Johnson.
Tsubasa Kamei (Technical Director/ Resident Lighting Designer) has toured with EVIDENCE to more than 65 venues globally and internationally. Credits include: Scene and lighting for Mercy (World Premiere), lighting for Four Corners; Dancing Spirit (Company Premiere); New Conversations: Iron Meets Water (World Premiere), Percussion Bitter Sweet: Tender Warriors (Company Premiere), Serving Nia (Company Premier) for Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE. He has also designed The Call (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) and Where
the Light Shines Through (TU Dance), all choreographed by Ronald K. Brown.
A heartfelt thanks and appreciations to our supporters.
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE’s programs are made possible thanks to leadership support from the Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and SHS Foundation. Major funding provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, HSBC, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Harkness Foundation for Dance and FB Heron Foundation.
Additional generous support has been provided by Francine Alagappan, Monica F. Azare, Reginald Van Lee, Amber Chenevert, Judy Chambers, Carla Harris, Elizabeth Stoehr/Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation, Kathleen Tait, Susan L. Taylor and Amit Wadhwaney.
EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, works in partnership with Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation/The Billie Holiday Theatre and The Joyce Theater.
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EVIDENCE would like to thank the administrative and technical staff of Meany Center for their hard work and support.
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18 | 7:30 p.m.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Six Partitas for Keyboard, BWV 825–830 (1685–1750)
Partita No. 1, in B-flat Major, BWV 825
Praeludium, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Menuet I, Menuet II, Gigue
Partita No. 2, in C Minor, BWV 826
Sinfonia, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Rondeau, Capriccio
Partita No. 4, in D Major, BWV 828
Ouverture, Allemande, Courante, Aria, Sarabande, Menuet, Gigue
INTERMISSION
Partita No. 3, in A Minor, BWV 827
Fantasia, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Burlesca, Scherzo, Gigue
Partita No. 5, in G Major, BWV 829
Praeambulum, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Tempo di Minuetto, Passepied, Gigue
Partita No. 6, in E Minor, BWV 830
Toccata, Allemande, Corrente, Air, Sarabande, Tempo di Gavotta, Gigue
Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists, proclaimed by the New York Times as “a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs.” Also a New York Times bestselling author, Denk is the recipient of both the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In the 2024–25 season, Denk continues his collaboration with longtime musical partners Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis, with performances at the Tsindali Festival and Wigmore Hall, following on from his multi-concert artist residency at the Wigmore in 2023–24. He also returns to the Lammermuir Festival in multiple performances, including the complete Ives violin sonatas
with Maria Wloszczowska, and a solo recital featuring female composers from the past to the present day. He performs this same solo program on tour across the U.S., as well as continuing his exploration of Bach in ongoing performances of the complete Partitas. Denk is known for his interpretations of the music of American visionary Charles Ives, and in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, Nonesuch Records will release a collection of his Ives recordings later this year.
Highlights of Denk’s 2023–24 season included premiering a new concerto written for him by Anna Clyne, cocommissioned and performed by the Dallas Symphony led by Fabio Luisi, the City of Birmingham Symphony led by Kazuki Yamada, and the New Jersey Symphony led by Markus
Stenz. He also reunited with Krzysztof Urbański to perform with the Antwerp Symphony, and with the Danish String Quartet for their festival Series of Four.
Denk has performed frequently at Carnegie Hall, and in recent years has worked with such orchestras as Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. Meanwhile, he has performed multiple times at the BBC Proms and Klavierfestival Ruhr, and appeared in such halls as the Köln Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Boulez Saal in Berlin. He has also performed extensively across the UK, including recently with the London Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Denk is also known for his original and insightful writing on music, which Alex Ross praises for its “arresting sensitivity and wit.” His New York Times bestselling memoir, Every Good Boy Does Fine was published to universal acclaim by Random House in 2022, with features on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s Fresh Air, The New York Times and The Guardian. Denk also wrote the libretto for a comic opera presented by Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances and the Aspen Festival, and his writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New Republic, The Guardian, Süddeutsche Zeitung and on the front page of The New York Times Book Review.
Denk’s latest album of Mozart piano concertos was released in 2021 on Nonesuch Records. The album was deemed “urgent and essential” by BBC Radio 3. His recording of the Goldberg Variations for Nonesuch Records reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts, and his recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 111 paired with Ligeti’s Études was named one of the best discs of the year by the New Yorker, NPR and the Washington Post, while his account of the Beethoven sonata was selected by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library as the best available version recorded on modern piano.
Six Partitas for Keyboard, BWV 825-830 (1725–1730)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Partita No. 1, in B-flat Major, BWV 825
Baroque musicians gave the name “partita” to several different kinds of compositions, but for Bach, the term was more or less interchangeable with “suite.” There is no basic difference in form between his dozen English and French Suites and his six Partitas,
except that the Partitas include some of his very greatest keyboard music. Each partita consists of an introductory movement, followed by a set of stylized dances, transported from sixteenth-century ballrooms to eighteenth-century concert rooms.
Bach seems to have gotten 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 no Bach, and his partitas now have only a modest historical interest. Starting in 1726, Bach published the partitas singly, and then he issued the six together under the title Keyboard-Practice, Consisting of Preludes, Allemandes, Courantes, Sarabandes, Jigs, Minuets and Other Galanteries (i.e. miscellaneous other dances) to Refresh the Spirits of [Music] Lovers. 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.
Bach engraved the copper printingplates with his own hands and printed a small edition (of which less than a dozen copies have survived), but many movements were widely circulated in manuscript copies during his lifetime. Bach’s partitas were well received and brought him additional income and notoriety, but later generations acknowledged that they were too difficult for amateur pianists.
The author of the first book-length study of the composer and his music, published in 1802, said, “This work made a big stir in the musical world. Such keyboard compositions had not been seen or heard before. They are so brilliant, pleasant, expressive and original that anyone who could play them well was assured of success
with them.” To play them well still challenges any performer, for though the textures on the printed page may look thin and easy to deal with, the music is often fiercely difficult to play.
The partitas, with an opening piece that is followed by a collection of four stylized dances, might be understood to resemble a traditional Baroque suite, but 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 separate parts of some of them.
The First Partita has often been declared the best of the grouping, if in any way one can presume to differentiate between what are all unquestionably masterpieces. Its five movements are short, but Bach has somehow compressed an enormous quantity of musical information and expression into them.
The opening Praeludium is not a casual introduction that simply establishes the key of B-flat as the musical base but rather offers a powerful musical expansion of a tiny rhythmic figure into a perfect little structure in three-part counterpoint. The Allemande contains lightness and charm rather than being suffused with the gravity that sometimes appears in this German dance. Next comes an intricate Courante, originally a French running or jumping dance, although Bach’s resembles the fleeter Italian version, called the corrente. The Courante is followed by a richly ornamented, stately Spanish Sarabande and then a pair of Minuets, the second of which is played as a short interlude between two performances of the first. The closing Gigue, or jig, is a climactic showpiece, requiring quick crossing of the hands as its two musical elements range up and down the length of the keyboard.
Sunday, May 25, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Nordstrom Recital Hall
Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated Dover Quartet is one of the world’s most in-demand chamber ensembles. Making their SCMS debut, the Dover Quartet is an aural experience of the highest caliber.
Tickets to this concert will sell quickly! Get yours today before they’re gone at: www.seattlechambermusic.org | 206.283.8710
PROGRAM
MONTGOMERY
JANÁČEK
DVOŘÁK
R. SCHUMANN
Strum for string quartet/quintet
String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata”
String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, “American”
String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41, No. 1
Partita No. 2, in C Minor, BWV 826
The Second Partita, the only one of his partitas not to have six movements, opens with a grand and stately Sinfonia that combines elements of the two different kinds of overtures that were then written in France and in Italy. There is a slow introduction, grave, adagio, with a dotted rhythm, then a long aria, andante, which is followed by a sprightly section in two-part counterpoint and triple meter. (Some listeners may remember the brilliant vocal adaptation of this movement sung by the Swingle Singers in a recording that was immensely popular in the 1960s). Next are the three dances prescribed by convention, a traditional Allemande, which in this version includes some counterpoint; a graceful Courante, again characterized by its Bachian counterpoint texture; and a measured, solemn Sarabande; after which come two “galanteries,” an energetic and playful Rondeau, and a brilliant and witty Capriccio
Partita No. 4, in D Major, BWV 828
Partita No. 4 has as its first movement a grand Ouverture, a keyboard adaptation of the Frenchstyle opera overture. The music begins with a long, slow introduction, grave and noble, and then livens for a long fugal section of sparkling brilliance. The dances begin with a profound Allemande and a lively, loosely rhythmic Courante. A moving Aria intervenes, and then the dances continue with a richly figured Sarabande, a short, ornamented Minuet, and to close, a brilliantly contrapuntal Gigue
Partita No. 3, in A Minor, BWV 827
Partita No. 3 is particularly subtle and contains much understatement. Throughout the partita, there is a lightness of spirit that pervades the work, something fairly rare in Bach’s oeuvre. Each partita begins with an elaborate opening movement; Partita
No. 3, probably composed in 1725, begins with a movement, entitled Fantasia, a name that might make a listener expect an improvisatory loosely structured movement, when what Bach has written is a marvelous and extremely difficult strict, even austere two-part invention. Its first four notes are present in every measure.
Next come the three dances prescribed by convention: a traditional Allemande, which in this partita has a discreet, elegant air; the extremely spirited Corrente is characterized by sharp rhythms, wide interval skips, and building excitement; and the gentle, somewhat melancholy Sarabande, which was originally a wild and lascivious dance inherited from Mexico, through Spain, but by Bach’s day, had been completely re-imagined as a slow stately dance in triple meter. It was here that Bach confided his deepest reflections. Written in an elaborate three-part counterpoint, this Sarabande modulates with much variety and harmonic intensity. After it comes a Burlesca, originally entitled Menuet; this one is not really a dance, but rather a work of robust humor. The Burlesca is light in texture but not in mood. The Scherzo provides no contrast, but it projects forcefulness, set over chords that alternate with a running bass line. The final movement, Gigue, most often a lively dance, here has a powerful fugue subject; in the second half of it, Bach inverts the subject for a second fugue, modulating into remote keys.
Partita No. 5 opens with a brilliant introductory movement that Bach calls a Praeambulum or preamble. The Allemande, which is usually rather slow music, is filled with so many notes that it appears to be fast. The Courante that follows begins with fast notes in the right hand and slower ones in the left, but, at the midpoint, the distribution is reversed. Next comes a Sarabande that
sacrifices its usual Spanish stateliness to wander far from its home key. After this comes a movement in Tempo di Minuetto, whose harmonic and melodic accents are carefully misplaced so that the rhythm the ear thinks it hears is completely different from the one that is actually indicated on the printed page. The Passepied, on the other hand, is rather like the usual minuet. To close, there is the expected usual Gigue, but Bach here disguises its origins in the Anglo-Irish jig by writing it as a three-part fugue.
The Sixth Partita is somewhat different from the others. The ideas seem weightier, and the rhythmic manipulation to which Bach subjects them leads to enormous complications. In the gigantic opening Toccata, an improvisatory prelude runs into a big threevoiced fugue that is followed by a postlude and an astonishing coda that is an ornamented, ascending chromatic scale. Next come two of the more or less obligatory dances, a complex Allemande and a syncopated Courante. These are followed by an Air with the rhythmic structure and melodic leaps that are characteristic of a gavotte, and with the imitative texture of Bach’s Inventions. The heavily ornamented Sarabande precedes a movement that is marked Tempo di Gavotta because it is not a strict gavotte; at times it seems to swing like a gigue (or jig). The closing Gigue itself is no longer a dance but a big fugal piece that balances the opening Toccata.
© Susan Halpern 2025
March 28 | 7:30 p.m.
Curated by Artistic Partner Rhiannon Giddens as part of The Transcendence of Cultural Connections
Pura Fé, vocals, lap-steel slide guitar
Haruka Fujii, percussion
Maeve Gilchrist, Celtic Harp, vocals
Karen Ouzounian, cello, vocals
Layale Chaker, violin, vocals
Mazz Swift, violin, vocals
There will be no intermission.
The program will be announced from the stage.
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES generously underwritten by Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert and Eric & Margaret Rothchild
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Craig Sheppard & Gregory Wallace
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Anonymous SEASON SUPPORT COMES FROM
GRAMMY-winning musical ensemble Silkroad’s Uplifted Voices brings together a stellar lineup of performercomposers from the Silkroad Ensemble in a series of pieces that highlight each artist’s musical storytelling. These compositions, often inspired by their homeland, ancestors, community and family, represent previously under-recognized voices from around the world, offering a fresh perspective on the history and migration of music.
This unique program showcases a synthesis of global musical traditions and contemporary innovation, with each artist contributing their unique voice to craft a shared musical experience. From the Tuscarora Nation in North Carolina, singer-songwriter and activist Pura Fé blends traditional Native American sounds with contemporary Americana, honoring her indigenous heritage while celebrating its enduring relevance. Japanese multipercussionist Haruka Fujii has gained international acclaim as a prominent solo percussionist and marimbaist, known for her interpretations of contemporary music and premieres of works by leading composers. Scottish
harpist and composer Maeve Gilchrist intertwines jazz and folk while staying true to her Celtic roots, expanding the role of the harp into new, unexplored territories. Acclaimed cellist Karen Ouzounian centers her artistic practice in her love of the collaborative process and the development of adventurous new works. Lebanese violinist and composer Layale Chaker merges the intricate sounds of Arabic Maqam with jazz and contemporary classical elements, inviting listeners on a journey into new soundscapes. Mazz Swift, a violinist and composer, brings a deeply innovative approach, fusing classic African American music, electronica and mindfulness, with improvisation as a central theme across genres.
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998, recognizing the historical Silk Road as a model for radical cultural collaboration — for the exchange of ideas, tradition and innovation across borders. In an innovative experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a musical language founded in difference, thus creating
the foundation of Silkroad: both a touring ensemble comprised of worldclass musicians from all over the globe and a social-impact organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music by the GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble. For more information, please visit Silkroad.org.
Pura Fé (vocals, lap-steel slide guitar)
Pura Fé (Tuscarora/Taino) is an Indigenous activist, singer-songwriter and storyteller known for her distinct, soulful vocals and for breathing life into several musical genres. Her work as a musician has brought her around the world for work at festivals, benefits in classrooms, online and in the studio. As a Native activist and cultural leader, she has done work to combat the erasure of Native culture, restore traditions, build community, fight corporate takeover of Native land and give a voice to those facing social injustice. As the founding member of
the internationally renowned Native Women’s a cappella trio Ulali, Pura Fé helped to create a movement throughout Indian Country, which not only empowered Native Women’s hand drum and harmony, but also built a bridge for Native music into the mainstream music scene. Pura Fé’s solo career has produced six studio albums with her Native blues and lapsteel slide guitar work. While touring Europe with Music Maker Blues Review under Dixie Frog and Nueva Onda French labels, she won the Grand Prix du Disque from L’Académie Charls Cros (French GRAMMY) for Best World Album in 2006 for Tuscarora Nation Blues, and a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist for Follow Your Heart’s Desire in the same year. Pura Fé and Ulali appeared in and consulted for the Rezolution Pictures Documentary RUMBLE: The Indians That Rocked the World, which won first place at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Pura Fé commented on her experience with the documentary, “This gave me a chance to reenact a piece of the historical birth of blues music that no one considers or hears about.” As United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo once said, “We are systematically being written out of everything.” To have a platform to help bring awareness to the mainstream was crucial to Pura Fé and Ulali. Today, Pura Fé lives in Canada and is writing a film for Rezolution Pictures. She is also working with First Nations dance and theater troops while recording a new album.
Haruka Fujii (percussion)
Haruka Fujii, Associate Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble and a multipercussionist, has won international acclaim for her interpretations of contemporary music. She has commissioned and premiered numerous works by luminary living composers. Ms. Fujii has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, Munich
Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. She also performs as a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the New York-based Line C3 Percussion Group and the Utari Percussion Duo, a collaboration with her sister, Rika Fujii. Her recordings are available on the SONY, Kosei, ALM Records and Deutsche Grammophon labels.
In addition to her performance career, Ms. Fujii is on the percussion faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and frequently serves as a guest instructor at the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and several international percussion festivals. She is also the founder and Creative Director of the newly formed nonprofit performing arts organization Nippon Kobo, based in the Bay Area.
Maeve Gilchrist (Celtic Harp, vocals)
Edinburgh-born harpist and composer Maeve Gilchrist has been credited as an innovator on her native instrument and has taken the Celtic (lever) Harp to new levels of performance and visibility. Currently based in Kingston, NY, Maeve tours internationally as a solo artist and composer as well as being a member of the GRAMMYnominated Silkroad Ensemble, Arooj Aftab’s GRAMMY-winning Vulture Prince Ensemble and as part of the multi-disciplinary quartet Edges of Light. She has performed and recorded with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Frankie Gavin, Esperanza Spalding, Bruce Molsky, Ambrose Akinmusire and Solas. As a composer, Maeve straddles the worlds of folk and classical with pieces including her original concerto for symphony orchestra and harp (a co-commission with Luke Benton), a three-movement Samuel Beckett-inspired piece for harp, string quartet and sound samples which was premiered at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival in the spring of 2018 and a number of
other pieces for harp ensembles and strings. She is a regular visiting artist at the Berklee College of Music and has had a number of instructional books published by Hal Leonard and 80 Days Publishing. Maeve has released a number of albums to her name on the Adventure Music Record Label as well as being a featured soloist on the Dreamworks blockbuster movie soundtrack, How to Tame Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Her most recent album, The Harpweaver, has garnered international acclaim including a fivestar review from the Irish Times who described it as “buoyant, sprightly and utterly beguiling…a snapshot of a musician at the top of her game.” Maeve is the co-music director of the WGBH holiday show A Christmas Celtic Sojourn and the co-artistic director of the brand-new Rockport Celtic Music festival, an innovative new festival focused on cross-curation and the outer-fringes of Celtic Music.
Karen Ouzounian (cello)
Described as “radiant” and “expressive” (The New York Times), cellist Karen Ouzounian creates music from a deeply personal place. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, collaborator and composer, she is the recipient of the S&R Foundation’s Washington Award and sought after for her open-hearted, vibrantly detailed and fiercely committed performances. Recent projects include the creation of an experimental theater work with director Joanna Settle; the world premiere of Lembit Beecher’s cello concerto Tell Me Again with the Orlando Philharmonic; the world premiere of Anna Clyne’s Shorthand for solo cello and strings with The Knights, which she toured as soloist with The Knights throughout Europe and the U.S. and released on Avie Records; the release of Kayhan Kalhor’s Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur for solo cello, kamancheh and tabla; the development, touring and recording of Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of
Time; and the digital world premiere of Beecher’s A Year to the Day, filmed for The Violin Channel with Augustin Hadelich and Nicholas Phan. Additional recent and upcoming appearances include concertos with the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Sarasota Festival Orchestra, Greater Bridgeport Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, Chile, in repertoire ranging from the Elgar Cello Concerto to John Adams’s Absolute Jest.
Dedicated to the art of chamber music, she was a founding member of the Aizuri Quartet for eleven years, during which time the ensemble was awarded major chamber music prizes on three continents and earned a GRAMMY nomination. She has toured with Musicians from Marlboro, appeared at the Ravinia, Caramoor and Ojai festivals, and performs regularly as a member of the
Silkroad Ensemble and The Knights. Her evening-length video work In Motion, an exploration of heritage, family history and migration through interviews, her own compositions and collaborations with visual artists Kevork Mourad and Nomi Sasaki and composer-percussionist Haruka Fujii, was presented by BroadBand. Recent compositions include works for the Silkroad Ensemble, Noe Music and an upcoming work for solo cello, Armenian instruments and choir for Cantori New York.
Raised on the verge of several musical streams since her childhood, Lebanese violinist and composer Layale Chaker debuted her musical training at the National Higher Conservatory of Beirut in her native Lebanon. She later pursued her musical studies at Conservatoire de Paris and the Royal Academy of Music in London
and is currently working towards her doctoral degree at Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris. She has studied under professors such as Mohamed Hashem, Carmen Scripcariu, Jeanne- Marie Conquer and Nicholas Miller.
Layale has appeared as a soloist, performer, improviser and composer in concerts, recitals and projects around Europe, the Middle-East, North and South America and Asia, with collaborations and commissions with Oxford Orchestra, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Holland Baroque, Babylon Orchestra, Avignon Festival, Lucerne Festival, National Sawdust, London Jazz Festival, Wigmore Hall and New World Symphony among others. She is also the founder and leader of Sarafand, with whom she has released the album Inner Rhyme that received features in The New York Times, The Strad, and Songlines Top of the World in March 2019 with a 5-star review, and NPR’s #2 of 10
Best Releases of January 2019. Layale is a Ruth Anderson 2017 Competition Prize winner, the recipient of the Royal Academy of Music’s 2018 Guinness Award and the Nadia and Lili Boulanger 2019 Scheme, and a finalist of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé 2018 Prize.
Mazz Swift (violin, vocals)
Critically acclaimed as one of America’s most talented and versatile performers today, violin/vox/freestyle composition artist Mazz Swift has engaged audiences all over the world with the signature weaving of song, melody and improvisation that they call “MazzMuse.” As a singer, composer and Juilliard-trained violinist who plays electronic and acoustic instruments, Mazz has performed and recorded with a diverse accumulation of artists including the Silkroad Ensemble, William Parker, Butch Morris, Jason Lindner, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Valerie June, Whitney Houston, DJ Logic, Kanye West and D’Angelo. Mx. Swift is a 2021 United States Artist and 2019 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, currently working on a series of compositions that involve conducted improvisation, centered around protest, spirituals and the Ghanaian concept of “Sankofa”: looking back to learn how to move forward.
The House Manager desk is located at the entrance to the lobby. Ask the House Manager or any of our ushers if you need assistance or have questions.
The Meany Hall Box Office opens one hour before the performance and is located in Meany Hall’s main entrance.
Food and beverage options are available for Meany Center events. Food and beverage is not allowed in the theater.
Restrooms are located on the lower and upper lobby levels. Lower lobby restrooms are accessible by elevator.
Lobby doors open one hour before the show and seating begins 30 minutes prior to show time. Performances begin promptly as scheduled. Out of respect for the artists and seated patrons, late seating is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of the artists and theater personnel.
Please turn off these devices before performances. The use of photographic recording equipment is prohibited. Flash cameras can be disruptive and dangerous to some artists.
Contact the Meany House Manager in the lobby immediately following the performance or at bnancy@uw.edu or 206-543-2010.
Instruments, skateboards, large bags or other egress hazards are not allowed in the seating area.
Children 5 years of age or older are welcome at all Meany Center performances.
Earplugs are available available at the House Manager desk. Booster cushions are available in the lobby of the Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater. Large print programs are available at the House Manager’s desk.
Wheelchair locations and seating for patrons with disabilities are available. Check with an usher for assitance in storing mobility devices near seating.
Assistive listening devices amplify and clarify sound by cutting down on ambient noise. RF (radio frequency) assistive listening systems are installed in the theater. You can check out a receiver and induction loop (can use a personal neckloop with a 3.5 mm jack) for those that use hearing aids or cochlear implants with a “T” switch or a headset for those without hearing aids. Please ask at the House Manager’s desk for assistance. Photo ID deposit is required.
In case of fire or other emergency, please follow the instructions of our ushers, who are trained to assist you. To ensure your safety, please familiarize yourself with the exit routes nearest your seat.
Smoking is not permitted on the University of Washington campus.
Possession or use of firearms, without special written permission from UW Police, is prohibited on the UW Campus.
Our accessible drop off and pick up location is inside the Central Plaza Garage (4100 15th Ave NE), at the CPG 2 Elevator Lobby. For more information: meanycenter.org/visit/directions-parking
The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs and activities for individuals with disabilities. To request these services or other accommodations at no additional cost, please contact the ArtsUW Ticket Office.
Meany Center for the Performing Arts University of Washington Box 351150
Seattle, WA 98195-1150
206-543-4882
ArtsUW Ticket Office 1313 NE 41st Street
Seattle, WA 98105
206-543-4880 or 800-859-5342
Email: ticket@uw.edu
Hours: Mon–Fri, 12 p.m.–4 p.m.
MANY THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING DONORS WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT MAKE OUR PROGRAMS POSSIBLE:
PRODUCER’S CIRCLE
Sven & Melinda Bitners
Sylvia & Stephen Burges
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich
Hans & Kristin Mandt
Thomas McQuaid Jr.
Gary L. Menges
Margaret Dora Morrison †
Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert
Judy Pigott
John C. Robinson & Maya
Sonenberg
Sally Schaake Kincaid
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE
Nancy C. Alvord †
Warren & Anne Anderson
Ira & Courtney Gerlich
Lynn & Brian Grant Family
Hsiao-Wuen & Tiffany Hon
Yumi Iwasaki & Anoop Gupta
Sunil Paul & Michelle Odom
Tina Ragen & son, Ian
Eric & Margaret Rothchild
Donald & Gloria Swisher
Richard Szeliski & Lyn McCoy
Scott VanGerpen & Britt East
Ellen Wallach & Thomas Darden
Anonymous
Manisha Advani & Rajib
Chakrabarti
Linda & Thomas † Allen
Col. Ron & Mrs. Darlene
Cheatham
Terrel Dean & Robert Lefferts
Cynthia Gantz & Joshua Taft
Sharon Gantz Bloome †
Daniela & Torsten Grabs
The Hokanson Family
Tuck Hoo & Tom Lyons
Matthew & Christina Krashan
Jeffrey Lehman & Katrina Russell
Dennis Lund & Martha Taylor
Lois Rathvon †
Donald & Toni Rupchock
Craig Sheppard & Gregory
Wallace
David & Marcie Stone
Donna & Joshua Taylor
Jeff & Carol Waymack
George S. Wilson & Claire L.
McClenny
EVENT SPONSOR
Philip Anderson
Barbara Billings & Ernest Vogel
Paul Blinzer & Theodora Letz
Heidi Charleson & Louis
Woodworth
Jim & Margie Chen
Leonard Costello & Patricia
McKenzie
Susan & Lewis Edelheit
Phil Lanum & Gail Erickson
Justin & Tiffany Grimm
Dr. M. Elizabeth Halloran
Shuko Hashimoto
Elizabeth Hebert
Hugues Hoppe & Sashi
Raghupathy
David Kimelman & Karen Butner
Olivia Lee
Rebecca Norton & Craig Miller
Richard and Sally † Parks
Lorraine Toly
Manijeh Vail
Michelle Witt & Hans Hoffmeister
Anonymous
DISTINGUISHED PATRON
Kenneth & Marleen Alhadeff
Jillian Barron & Jonas Simonis
Mel Belding & Kate Brostoff
Cathryn Booth-LaForce &
W Kenneth LaForce
Kalman Brauner & Amy Carlson
Pat Braus & Holly Boone
James Bromley Jr. & Joan Hsiao
Shannon Bruce
Eric & Susan Carlson
Carol & Carl Corbin
Margaret Crastnopol & Charles Purcell
Sharon Ducey
Dunn Lumber Family
Susan Ewens & James Luby
Albert Fisk & Judith Harris
Corinne Fligner & Mark Wener
JoAnn Forman
Davis Fox & Rosemary Coleman
Judith Frey & Flick Broughton
Matthew & Michelle Galvin
Ruth Gerberding †
John Goodfellow Jr. & Barbara
Peterson
Arthur & Leah Grossman
Phyllis Hatfield
Susan Herring
Thomas Highsmith
Paul & Alice Hill
Paul Hopp
Gwen & J. Randy Houser
Mary, Mike & Emily Hudspeth
Weldon Ihrig & Susan Knox
Mike Dryfoos & Ilga Jansons
Jean & David Koewler
Connie & Gus Kravas
Eric Larson & Teresa Bigelow
Teresa Lawson
Hank Levy & Ronit Katz
Kathleen Lindberg & David Skar
Barbara Mack
Melodie Martin & Kenneth
Dayton
Rupal Mehta & Srivats Srinivasan
John & Gail Mensher
Jim & Pamela Murray
Gloria & Dan Overgaard
Gowri & Ramesh Pabbati
Cheryl Redd-Cuthbert & Richard Cuthbert
Joy Rogers & Robert Parker
Karen Sandeen
Cathy Sarkowsky
Noah & Kate Scooler
Virginia Sly
Clark Sorensen & Susan Way
Robert & Ethel Story Sr.
Keith Swartz
Dale Sylvain & Thomas Conlon
Jack & Gayle Thompson
Pieter & Tjitske Van der Meulen
Christine & Olaf Weckner
Melanie Ito & Charles Wilkinson
John & Lynn Williams
Igor Zverev & Yana Solovyeva
Anonymous
Dick Ammerman
Julia Bacharach & Daniel Cory
Heather & Mark Barbieri
Christopher & Cynthia Bayley
John & Carol Belton
Cristi Benefield
Robert Bergman
Michael Bevan & Pamela Fink
David Bobroff
Michelle & Matthew Bomberger
Heida Brenneke
Jonathan & Bobbe Bridge
Dave & Debbie Buck
Leo Butzel & Roberta Reaber
Rita Calabro & James Kelly
Katherine Graubard & William
Calvin
Myrna & Grayson Capp
Fran Clifton
R. Bruce & Mary-Louise Colwell Jr.
Jill Conner
Robert Cook
Judy Cushman & Robert Quick
Suzanne Dewitt & Ari Steinberg
Toby Diamond
Susan & David Dolacky
Christopher & Carrie Doring
Patricia Emmons & Shmuel El-Ad
In Memory of Toby Faber
Kai Fujita
Lisa Garbrick
Sergey Genkin
Virginie Grange
Denise Gregory Wyatt
J. David & Brenda Griswold
Richard Groomer & Betsy Lieberman
Susan & Richard † Hall
Steven Haney
Katherine Hanson & Michael Schick
Karen Henley & Laurie Goldman
Pamela Hinckley
Robert Hirsch
Kate Hokanson
Robert Jenkins
Nancy & Michael Kappelman
Paul Kassen
Aaron Katz & Kate Dougherty
Mary Kenny
Frederick Klein IV
Karen L. Koon
Peggy Larson
Joanna & Frank Lau
Martha Leonard
William Levering III & Susan Hert
Michael Linenberger & Sallie
Dacey
Arni Litt
Neil Ludman
Thomas Manley & Mariann Carle
Bernadette Margin
Tessa Matthey & Peter Durkee
Anna & Paul McKee
Christopher & Mary Meek
Robin Mendelson & Josse Delage
MANY THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING DONORS WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT MAKE OUR PROGRAMS POSSIBLE:
M. Lynn Morgan
Jonathan Newmark
Margarete Noe
Anne & Bill Nolan
Amanda Overly
John Nemanich & Ellendee
Pepper
William & Suzanne Phillips
Desiree Prewitt
Kristi Rennebohm & Eldon H.
Franz
John Rochford & Nick Utzinger
Mark & Barbara Roller
Richard Roth
Harriet Round
David & Joanne Rudo
Joseph Saitta
Werner & Joan Samson
Peter Seitel & Janet Geier
Mark & Patti Seklemian
Louise Shields
Sigmund Snelson
Sunita Sondur
Mark Taylor
Kris & Epaminondas Trimis
Linda Vangelos & Stephen Kaufer
Ann & Richard Weiner
Kai Wilhelm
Todd & Valerie Yerkes
Carol Young
Anonymous
GREAT PERFORMER
Mary Alberg
Nancy & John Angello
Robert Babs
Trudy Baldwin
Lisa Baldwin & John Cragoe
Melissa Belisle
James & Suzette Birrell
Peter Byers & Virginia Sybert
Erin Candee
Inez & Lior Caspi
Alan & Phyllis Caswell
Alan & Sandra Chait
Sandra & Dan Ciske
Libby & Leslie Cohen
Misti Davis
Annette de Soto
Karen Domino & Gene Brenowitz
Anne Eskridge
Gary Fuller & Randy Everett
Beatrice Graham
Martin Greene & Kathleen
Wright
Pamela & Stephen Gruber
Kirsten Gunn
Allison & Paulo Gutscher
Lynn Hagerman & James Hummer
Dianne Harris & Lawrence Hamlin
Robin Hendricks
Andrew Himes & Alexandra Wilber
Patricia Hynes
Robert Johnson & Heather Erdmann
Tamara & Randel Josserand
Marcia Kamin
Deborah Katz
Marcia Killien
Brandon Koeller & Kim Davis
Inge & Leslie Larsen
Margaret Levi & Robert Kaplan
Kris Lewis
Mary Louis & Robert Arnold
Gwendolyn Lundberg & David Aggerholm
Dean & Tomilynn † McManus
Christopher Miller
Sally Mizroch
Raymond Monnat Jr. & Christine
Disteche
Marion Nielson
David Owsiany & Everett Seven
James Packman & Andrew Cohen
Kathy Partida
James Phelps & Ena Urbach
Kerry Radcliffe & Michael Fox
Paula Riggert
Chester Robachinski
John & Margaret Sanders
Norman & Elisabeth Sandler
Jean Schweitzer
Michael Scupine & Kim Abson
Harold & Ruth Spalter
Sarah Stanley & Dale Rogerson
Bonnie Steele
David Stiner
Linda Stone
Ingvil Syversen
Diana Frumkes Thompson &
Richard Thompson
Michelle & Stephen Turnovsky
Raymond Tymas-Jones
Mary Vogelzang
Francine Walsh
Merle Weiss & Diana Pien
Tracey West
KEY PLAYER
Ann Adam
Jill Bader
Jonas Barklund
Michelle & Robert Berman
David Bird
Luther Black & C. Christina
Wright
Cleo Bloomquist
Helen Bodkin
Edward & Adele Bolson
Katherine Bourbonais &
Donald Ramsey
Lydia & Scott Brennan
Shannon Bryan
Kate & Jerry Campbell
Frances Carr
Connie Case
Marise Chan
Patricia Cirone
Alton & LeeAnn Cogert
Janet & William Corriston
Jean Crill
Christopher Curry
Dana Davoli & Bob Goldsmith
Lynne De Merritt
Susan Dorn & Adam Jonas
Michael Dryja
Laurie & C. Bert Dudley
Karen Elledge & Gerald Ginader
Hollie & Lynne Ellis
Michael Erickson & David Doody
L. Jay Field & Deborah Dwyer
Melanie Field & Vinaya Chepuri
Virginia Fitzhugh & Miguel Morales
Gerald Folland
Brenda Fong
Denise Fonseca
Jackie Forbes & Douglas Bleckner
William Friedman
Michael Furst
Brian Giddens & Steve Rovig
David & Anne Gilbert
George Gilman
Sara Glerum
J. David Godwin II &
Ginger Reeves
Joan & Steve Goldblatt
Harvey Greenberg
Tim Groggel & Annette Strand
Emile Haddad & Terryll Bailey
Keala Hagmann & Bur Davis
Lia & Benjamin Halasz
Keith Hawley
Bruce Horne
Nicholas Horvath
Travis Howland
Anne Huey
Lynne Iglitzin & Walter Bodle
Lowell Ing
M. Johnson
Christopher & Linda Johnson
Giff & Mary Jones
Carolyn Kast
Linda Katz
Kayla Kinnunen
James & Elaine Klansnic Jr.
Glen Kriekenbeck & Quentin King
John Lee & Pm Weizenbaum
Peter LeVeque
Kathryn Lew & Dennis Apland
Ariel Lopez & Thomas Finley
Sara Magee
Ronald & Lee Magid
Constance Mao
Janelle Martin
John Martines & Joel Gibson
Lila May
Robin McCabe
Pamela & David McDonald
Mary McGuire
Robert & Catherine McKee
Susan McNabb
Michael & Sarajane Milder
Jacquelyn & Gordon Miller
Reza & Carol Moinpour
Anne Morrison
Christine Moss
Susan Mulvihill & James Liverman
Joseph & Kay Neal
Michael Nelson &
Louise Durocher
Betty Ngan & Tom Mailhot
Marianne Nijenhuis
David Norman
Georgia Oistad
Dennis Oliver & Stephanie Prince
Robert Otto
Jae Paek
Anna Peterson
Jeanne Peterson
Gregory & Margaret Petrie
Wendy & Murray Raskind
Linda Reeder
Dennis Reichenbach
Jason Reuer
Cynthia Richardson
Carla Rickerson
Sharon Rodgers
Keith Rowe & Ann Stover
John & Janet Rusin
Jerret Sale & Rachel Klevit
Margaret Sandelin
Murl Sanders
Laura Sargent
Patricia Scott
George Sharp
Marc Sinykin
Sara Stamey & Winston Saunders
Derek Storm & Cynthia Gossett
Dawson & Lois Taylor
Kevin Thompson
Mary Thorbeck
Christian Torgersen & Emily Vason
Elena Trubnikova
John & Gail Wasberg
Robert & Andrea Watson
James Whitson & Patricia Adams
Karin Williams
Deborah Wilson & Ngan Teng
Eyva Winet
Grant Winther
Donna Wolter
Evgueni & Tatiana Zabokritski
Maxine Zemko
Reginald Zisette & Beth Gendler
Anonymous
Julia Adams
Adrianne Allen
Suzanne & Marvin Anderson
Dean Arnold
Samia Ashraf & Lewis Davidson
Lauret Ballsun
Holly Bays
Dana & Rena Behar
John Beierle
G. Carter Bentley & Lynda Emel
Thomas Bird
Jane Blackwell
Wayne Briscoe
Virginia Burdette & Gary Wieder
David Butterfield & Janice
DeCosmo
Dennis Calvin
Joan Casey
Carol Chellino & Robert Andrews
Thomas & Susan Colligan
Merrilee Conway & James
Young III
Trisha Davis & Eric Muller
Alban Dennis
Marsha Devine
Kathleen Dickeman
Janice Dilworth
Cliff Eastman & Leah Kleinman
Sally & Stephen Edwards
Gaylord Escalona
Nicole Faghin & David Spence
Molly Flemming
Bryant Fujimoto
Matthew Gani
Dolores Gill Schoenmakers
Harold Gillies
Jerry & Lyn Grinstein
Stephen Haeck
Susan Hamilton & Timothy Bates
Michael Harnisch
Erin Hawley
Maryetta & Tina Healy
Judith Herrigel
Katharine & Frank Holland
Lynn Holmes
Greg Hope & Sandra Hunt
Leslie Jacobson & Barbara Barnes
Natarajan Janarthanan & Ponni Rajagopal
Barbara & P. Redmond Johnston
Erica & Duane Jonlin
Margaret Kenrick
Linda Kent & James Corson
Lee Klastorin & Ralph Walden
Roger Kohn
Kent Koprowicz
Susan Krom
Elizabeth Leo
James & June Lindsey Jr.
Louise Lipnick
Robin Luke & John Casseday
Donna McCampbell
Meredith McClurg
Brian McHenry
Tim McTigat
Angela Medina
Sharon Metcalf & Randall Smith
Sheree Miller
Charles & Rene Murry
Matthew Nugent & Andrea Hanses
Shyril O’Steen
Jennifer & Robert O’Twomney
Jack Percival
Sandra Piscitello
Ann Rael
James & Ruth Raisis
Meryl Retallack
Tom & Nancy Roth
Eric Schmidt & Kristin Henderson
Lika Seigel
Dennis Shaw & Julie Howe
Luciana Simoncini & Todd
Scheuer
Mani & Karen Soma
Hank & Dorothy Stephens
Nancy Stewart
Myrna & Donald Torrie
Emily Transue
Bruno & Yvonne Vogele
Greta Ward
Lucy & Larry Weinberg
Robert Wood
Janice Yamauchi
Robert Zauper
Deceased †
This listing includes donors from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
MANY THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS FOR SUPPORTING THE FUTURE OF MEANY CENTER THROUGH PLANNED GIFTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR ENDOWMENT:
Planned Gifts
Linda & Thomas † Allen
Cathryn Booth-LaForce
Wimsey J.N. Cherrington
Cheryl Redd-Cuthbert & Richard Cuthbert
Bill & Ruth Gerberding †
Michael & Nancy Kappelman
Matthew & Christina Krashan
Teresa Lawson
Tomilynn † & Dean McManus
Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert
Lois Rathvon †
Dave & Marcie Stone
Donald & Gloria Swisher
Lee & Judy Talner
Ellen J. Wallach
Anonymous
Ellsworth C. & Nancy D. Alvord
Endowed Fund
Estate of Ellsworth C. Alvord*
Kathleen Dickeman
Arts Al!ve Student Fund for Exploring the Performing Arts
Lowell Douglas Ing
Susan Knox and Weldon Ihrig*
Mina Brechemin Person Endowed Fund
Estate of Mina B. Person*
Sylvia & Steve Burges Meany Center for the Performing Arts Endowment
Sylvia & Stephen Burges*
Nancy & Eddie Cooper Endowed Fund for Music in Schools
Kei Schafer
Marcie & Dave Stone*
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Endowment for Artistic Excellence
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich*
Elaine & Ernest Henley Endowment for Classical Music
Mary Johnke Alberg
Anne Futterman
Joel Gibson & John Anthony Martines
Elaine & Ernest Henley*
Dr. Karen Henley & Dr. Laurie Goldman
J. Randy and Gwen Houser
Catherine & David Hughes Asian Programming Endowment
Catherine & David Hughes*
Matt Krashan Endowed Fund for Artistic & Education Excellence in the Performing Arts Matthew & Christina Krashan
Lee & Judy Talner
(*Multiple Founders)
Gary L. Menges Endowment for Chamber Music and Dance
Gary Menges*
Live Music for World Dance Series Endowed Fund
Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert*
Meany Center Education Endowment
David Aggerholm & Gwendolyn Lundberg
Suzette & James Birrell
Jill Hanley Conner
Sandra Piscitello
(*Multiple Founders)
Meany Center Programming Endowment Fund
(*Multiple Founders)
Margaret Dora Morrison Meany Endowed Fund
Margaret Dora Morrison*†
Elizabeth Rennebohm Music
Performance and Education Memorial Endowment
Roger Kohn
Kristi Rennebohm Franz & Eldon H. Franz*
Gloria Wilson Swisher Music
Education & Outreach Endowment
Julia Adams
John and Nancy Angello
David Olmsted Bobroff
Jonathan Bridge
Paul Crawford
Kristin Henderson
Karen L. Koon
Jonathan Newmark
Kerry Radcliff e & Michael Fox
Alan & Susan Sherbrooke
Deborah Wilson & Ngan Chong Teng
George S. Wilson & Claire L. McClenny
* Endowment founder † Deceased
Note: Dollar amounts rounded to the nearest thousand.
This listing includes endowment founders and endowment donors from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. For more information on how to make a gift through your will or trust, or to name Meany Center for the Performing Arts as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or insurance policy, please call 206-616-6296 or visit uwfoundation.org/giftplanning.
A gala benefiting the artistic and educational programming of Meany Center for the Performing Arts
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2025, 5:00–8:00 P.M.
MEANY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
CONSIDER A GIFT to the Meany Center through your will, trust or retirement plan, and help future generations of artists and arts lovers see a little further by standing on your shoulders.
Contact:
Cristi Benefield, Director of Philanthropy, Meany Center 206-616-6296
cristi@uw.edu meanycenter.org/donate
WE ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO THE FOLLOWING CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND CAMPUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT MAKE OUR PROGRAMS POSSIBLE:
$25,000 AND ABOVE
4Culture
Classical King FM 98.1*
National Endowment for the Arts
Nesholm Family Foundation
$10,000-$24,999
ArtsFund
Microsoft Corporation
New England Foundation for the Arts
Peg and Rick Young Foundation
Seattle Office of Arts and Culture
The Robert Craft Igor Stravinsky Foundation
UW College of Arts and Sciences/
Jones Fund
University Inn*
Watertown Hotel*
UP TO $9,999
ArtsWA
College Inn Pub
Creative West
Ladies Musical Club
Macrina Bakery*
Pagliacci Pizza*
UW Graduate School
MATCHING CORPORATE GIFTS
Apple Inc.
Google, Inc.
IBM Corporation
Intel Corporation
Merck Company Foundation
Microsoft Corporation
Nordstrom
Starbucks Coffee Company
The Boeing Company
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS
ArtsUW
UW Department of Dance
UW School of Drama
UW School of Music
UW Alumni Association
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
Early Music Seattle
Henry Art Museum
Ladies Musical Club
Langston
NW Film Forum
NW Folklife
On the Boards
Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Sacred Music and Art
Unmute the Voices
Velocity Dance Center
Wa Na Wari
* full or partial In-kind donation
Join an impressive roster of companies of all sizes that support Meany Center, its mission, and its performances. Sponsors receive significant recognition throughout the season and an array of benefits catered to your organization’s goals. For more information, please contact the Meany Center Philanthropy Department at 206-685-2819.
Michelle Witt, Executive and Artistic Director
Sarah Wilke, Senior Director for Planning and Operations
Mahmoud Jaber, Assistant to the Executive and Artistic Director
Michelle J. Ward, Director of Finance
Yevgeniy Gofman, Accountant
Eric Schielmann, Fiscal Specialist
Elizabeth C. Duffell, Director of Artistic Engagement
Kristen Kosmas, Engagement Manager
Sara Jinks, Artist Services Coordinator
Alycia Zollinger, Artist Services Assistant
Gloria Gonzalez, Green Room Student Assistant
Cristi Benefield, Director of Philanthropy
Marianna Clair, Philanthropy Officer
Francesco D’Aniello, Philanthropy Coordinator
Kim Davis, Grants Officer
Bella Preciado, Philanthropy Student Assistant
Teri Mumme, Director of Marketing and Communications
Cynthia Mullis, Marketing and Communications Manager
Michaela Marino, Senior Digital Marketing Manager
Ana Alvira, Graphics Specialist
Yvonne Tran, Graphic Design Assistant
Jim Coleman, Arthur Grossman, Philip Lanum, Volunteer Photographers
Amber Sanders, Tessitura Administrator
Tom Burke, Technical Director
Brian Engel, Lighting Supervisor
Juniper Shuey, Stage/Video Supervisor
Matt Starritt, Audio Supervisor
Trevor Cushman, Studio Theatre Stage Technician
Rosa Alvarez, Director of Patron Services
Colette Moss, Assistant Director of Patron Services
Marchette DuBois, Patron Services Associate
Keeli Erb, Patron Services Associate
Liz Wong, Patron Services Associate
Cathy Wright, Patron Services Associate
Kai Arun, Melia Blumenfeld, Maggie Hedrick, Jingyun Li, Yokabed Ogbai, Andrea Yu, Ticket Office Student Assistants
Nancy Hautala, Director of Audience Services
Taylor Freeman, Lindsay Hanlon, House Managers
K Bailey, Joan Swartwood, Dominic Levenseller-Watland Lead Ushers
Ushers
Hunter Bradshaw / Cristian Chavez-Reyes / Kaipo Colston / Jayda Fitch / Kaylee Flawau-Pate / Carter Grose / Noor Hasan / Maleekah Khan / Heejin Kim / Jonah Miyashiro / Chloe
Osborn / Brianna Pak / Josha Paonaskar / Belle Pearson / Carlos Salinas / Sebastian Shacteau / Harry Schuckman / Shelby Smithson / Chloe Sprague / Susanna Stumph
Catering by Bay Laurel