USUO Winter 2025 by Mills Publishing Inc.

TRUST IN POSSIBILITY

CELEBRATIONS AND TRADITIONS ARE PART OF OUR UTAH HERITAGE. This is a season for both, and whether this is your first time hearing us live or part of a tradition, we are pleased that you have chosen to share this performance with us.

We’re thrilled to share our stages and make music with a host of incredible musicians from around the world this winter season. (Read about some of our musicians’ favorite holiday traditions on pp. 49–50.) From familiar, esteemed conductors like our Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer and Assistant Conductor Jessica Rivero Altarriba to our newest colleagues Principal Guest Conductor Delyana Lazarova and Music Director Designate Markus Poschner, along with thrilling guest artists (like Bountiful native Wendy Bryn Harmer, read about her on p. 69), our stages will be filled with unforgettable performers and performances.

As one of only 17 full-time orchestras in the United States, you could call our organization major league. Like elite athletes, our musicians have dedicated their lives to becoming experts at their craft. They compete against hundreds of other extraordinary artists from across the globe to win their position on this musical team, your team, that performs in and lives in your community. But it’s not just our symphony that’s in the big league. Did you know that Utah Opera is one of only six opera companies in the U.S. with the full production capabilities to build an opera from the ground up? It takes an exceptional team of artisans to realize the vision of designers from concept to our stage.

Whether it is the baroque music of Handel’s celebrated Messiah; the classical perfection of Mozart and Beethoven; the rich romanticism of Strauss, Dvořák, Rachmaninoff, and Mahler; the 21st century music of Unsuk Chin, Tania Leon, Mel Tormé, or John Williams; you can hear your Utah Symphony demonstrate their extraordinary versatility and expertise as they deliver moments that will live long in your memory. You can also experience the original multi-media enterprise of opera with a brand-new production of Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio, incorporating modernized dialogue and thought-provoking projections that underscore the power of the human spirit (learn more in a note from director Tara Faircloth on p. 68 and see a preview of costumes created by our in-house costume artisans on pp. 72–74).

Because of the generosity of friends like you, this non-profit organization brings the gift of music year-round to audiences throughout our state and region—with a remarkable one third of that audience comprised of students experiencing one of our many free educational performances. Thank you for being our ambassadors and reminding your friends and family of the gifts we bring to our community.

Sincerely,

Steven Brosvik President & CEO

Annette W. Jarvis Chair, Board of Trustees

p.s. Thinking of holiday gift-giving? Contributions can be made in honor of others and tickets or gift cards for our performances make wonderful gifts for those special people in your life. Share a performance with them and create musical memories together!

400,000+

ELECTED BOARD

Annette W. Jarvis* Chair

Judy Moreton* Vice Chair

Joanne F. Shiebler* Vice Chair

Thomas Wright* Vice Chair

Jason Englund* Secretary

Steven Brosvik*

President & CEO

The O.C. Tanner Chair

Dr. Stewart E. Barlow

Larry Brownstein

Paul E. Burdiss

George Cardon-Bystry

Gary L. Crocker

John D’Arcy*

David L. Dee*

Barry L. Eden*

Senator Luz Escamilla

Jonathan Freedman

Brandon Fugal

Marie Gochnour Gardner

Dennis H. Hranitzky

Stephen Tanner Irish*

Thomas N. Jacobson

Abigail E. Lowder

Derek B. Miller

Dr. Dinesh C. Patel

Frank R. Pignanelli*

Gary B. Porter

Jennifer Price-Wallin

Shari H. Quinney

Miguel R. Rovira

Stan Sorensen

Aaron Starks

Clint Stone

Dr. Shane D. Stowell

Thomas Thatcher

W. James Tozer

David Utrilla

Sharlene Wells

Don Willie

Kim R. Wilson

Henry C. Wurts*

MUSICIAN REPRESENTATIVES

Andrew Keller*

Lissa Stolz*

EX OFFICIO REPRESENTATIVES

Christina Myers Onstage Odgen

Curtis Woodbury Associate Board

LIFETIME BOARD

Kem C. Gardner

Brian Greeff*

Jon Huntsman, Jr.

G. Frank Joklik

Thomas M. Love*

David T. Mortensen

Scott S. Parker

David A. Petersen

Patricia A. Richards* Harris Simmons

HONORARY & TRUSTEES EMERITI

Carolyn Abravanel

Jesselie B. Anderson

Howard S. Clark

Geralyn Dreyfous

Lisa Eccles

Spencer F. Eccles

* Executive Committee Member

Kristen Fletcher

Julie Aiken Hansen

Richard G. Horne

Ronald W. Jibson

Dr. Anthony W. Middleton, Jr.

Edward Moreton

Marilyn H. Neilson

Stanley B. Parrish

Marcia Price

Jeffrey W. Shields, Esq. E. Jeffery Smith

Tickets for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera events can be purchased online at usuo.org, by calling USUO Patron Services at 801-533-NOTE (6683), in person at Abravanel Hall during regular business hours, and through authorized ArtTix sellers.

Discounts may be available for subscribers, students and under-30s, groups of 10 (or more), educators, and military (with valid ID). Contact Patron Services for assistance.

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Patron Services

Abravanel Hall Ticket Office

123 W South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101 801-533-NOTE (6683) info@usuo.org

Box Office Hours

• Monday through Friday: 12 PM–6 PM

• CLOSED Saturdays and Sundays without a scheduled performance.

• Saturday with performance: 2 PM–showtime* (by phone and in person)

• Sunday with performance: open 90 minutes prior to showtime* (in-person assistance, only)

*Showtime: The USUO box office will remain open for approximately 30 minutes after the start of each performance for in-person assistance. Phone lines will redirect to voicemail after 6 PM.

Patron Services is available by phone or in person at Abravanel Hall during regular Box Office hours. For hours of operation during weekends, holidays, and special events, please visit us online or contact Patron Services for more information.

Accessibility

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is committed to making our programming, community engagement, and overall audience experience accessible to people with disabilities. Some features and accommodations include:

• Website Accessibility Interface

• Assisted hearing devices, available by request at Guest Services

• ASL-Interpreted performances

• Closed-captioned or supertitled performances

• Braille or large print programs available by advance request

• Wheelchair, limited mobility, transfer, and bariatric seating available

• Weighted lap pads, earplugs, and other sensory aids available by request at Guest Services

We understand that accessibility needs and standards are shifting daily, so if you see something you would like us to implement or change, please contact our Access Services Administrator, Melissa Robison, at mrobison@usuo.org or 801-869-9067.

Group Tickets

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• Personalized service from a dedicated Group Sales Representative

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• Recommendations on local attractions and restaurants

**There must be a minimum of 10 persons/students per performance. No discounts are available for Signature performances.

Subscriber Benefits

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PROTECT YOUR WALLET

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STAY IN TOUCH

Share your symphony or opera experience—tag us in your photos and memories! @utahsymphony #utahsymphony @utahopera #utahopera

Markus Poschner

Music Director Designate

The Maurice Abravanel Chair, endowed by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation

Thierry Fischer

Music Director Emeritus

David Robertson

Creative Partner

Jessica Rivero Altarriba Assistant Conductor

Austin McWilliams

Chorus Director & Opera Assistant Conductor

VIOLIN*

Madeline Adkins

Concertmaster

The Jon M. & Karen Huntsman Chair, in honor of Wendell J. & Belva B. Ashton

Kathryn Eberle

Associate Concertmaster

The Richard K. & Shirley S. Hemingway Chair

Laura Ha 2nd Associate Concertmaster

Claude Halter Principal Second

Evgenia Zharzhavskaya Acting Associate Principal Second

Karen Wyatt

Acting Assistant Principal Second

Erin David

Emily Day-Shumway~

Joseph Evans

Wen Flatt

Lun Jiang

Rebekah Johnson

Tina Johnson~

Alison Kim

Amanda Kofoed~ Jennifer Kozbial Posadas~

David Langr

Hannah Linz

Yuki MacQueen

Alexander Martin

Rebecca Moench

Suni Norman~

Hugh Palmer

David Porter

Lynn Maxine Rosen#

Elina Rubio

Barbara Ann Scowcroft

Ju Hyung Shin

Bonnie Terry

Julie Wunderle

VIOLA*

Brant Bayless

Principal

The John C. Kish Chair

Yuan Qi

Associate Principal

Julie Edwards

Joel Gibbs

Carl Johansen

Scott Lewis

John Posadas

Leslie Richards~ Whittney Sjogren

CELLO*

Matthew Johnson

Acting Principal

The J. Ryan Selberg Memorial Chair

Andrew Larson

Acting Associate Principal

John Eckstein

Walter Haman

Anne Lee

Louis-Philippe Robillard

Kevin Shumway

Hannah Thomas-Hollands~ Pegsoon Whang

BASS*

David Yavornitzky Principal

Corbin Johnston** Associate Principal

Andrew Keller

Edward Merritt

Masaru Podgorny~

James Stroup~

Jens Tenbroek

Thomas Zera

HARP

Louise Vickerman** Principal

FLUTE

Mercedes Smith Principal

The Val A. Browning Chair

Lisa Byrnes Associate Principal

Caitlyn Valovick Moore

PICCOLO

Caitlyn Valovick Moore

OBOE

Zachary Hammond Principal

The Gerald B. & Barbara F. Stringfellow Chair

James Hall

Associate Principal

Lissa Stolz

ENGLISH HORN

Lissa Stolz

CLARINET

Tad Calcara Principal

The Norman C. & Barbara Lindquist Tanner Chair, in memory of Jean Lindquist Pell

Erin Svoboda-Scott

Associate Principal

The Shane & Stacey Stowell Chair

Lee Livengood

BASS CLARINET

Lee Livengood

E-FLAT CLARINET

Erin Svoboda-Scott

BASSOON

Lori Wike Principal

The Edward & Barbara Moreton Chair

Leon Chodos# Associate Principal

Jennifer Rhodes Acting Associate Principal

Jaquain Sloan~

CONTRABASSOON

Leon Chodos#

Jaquain Sloan~

HORN

Jessica Danz Principal

The Marcia JS Richards Chair

Edmund Rollett** Associate Principal

Lauren Robinson~ Acting Associate Principal

Jonathan Chiou

Julia Pilant~ Stephen Proser

TRUMPET

Travis Peterson** Principal

Alex Mayon~ Acting Principal

Jeff Luke

Associate Principal

Seretta Hart~

Paul Torrisi

TROMBONE

Mark Davidson

Principal

The Nathan & Shannon Savage Chair

In Memory of Neal Savage

Sam Elliot

Associate Principal/Second Trombone

BASS TROMBONE

Graeme Mutchler

TUBA

Alexander Purdy Principal

TIMPANI

Micah Harrow~ Acting Principal

Eric Hopkins

Associate Principal

The Theodore & Elizabeth Schmidt Family Foundation Chair

PERCUSSION

Keith Carrick Principal

Eric Hopkins

Michael Pape

KEYBOARD

Jason Hardink Principal

LIBRARIANS

Clovis Lark Principal

Anna Thompson~ Acting Associate Principal Librarian

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

Hannah Thomas-Hollands Orchestra Personnel Manager

String Seating Rotates

On Leave

Sabbatical

Substitute Member

Unmatched Academic Results

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UTAH SYMPHONY | UTAH OPERA SEASON SPONSOR

MASTERWORKS SERIES SPONSOR

FAMILY SERIES SPONSOR

UTAH OPERA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SPONSOR

EMMA ECCLES JONES FOUNDATION

CONCERT SERIES AT THE NOORDA SPONSOR

POPS SERIES SPONSOR

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR SPONSOR

CREATIVE PARTNER SPONSOR

OFFICIAL VOICE CARE PROVIDER OF USUO

UTAH OPERA RESIDENT ARTISTS

2025-26 Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Season Sponsor

Enriching excellence in the arts in Utah for more than half a century

1. Almost 500 high school students attended one of our Masterworks concerts in September with their High School Music Clubs.

2. Our Resident Artists demonstrated how simple props and costume pieces help them tell a story in their “Who Wants to Be an Opera Star?” assembly for elementary students.

3. Anja Bihlmaier made a powerful Utah Symphony conducting debut leading Grieg’s Piano Concerto, performed by Orion Weiss.

4. Hagrid surprised young witches and wizards in the Abravanel Hall lobby before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in Concert.

5. Ballet Las Americas de Utah made their Utah Symphony debut in our September Celebración Sinfónica concert wearing folkloric costumes.

6. Utah Opera regular Craig Irvin in The Shining surrounded by two current Resident Artists (Aaron McKone and Rodney Sharp II) and former Resident Artist Christian Sanders.

7. Jeff Luke, our Associate Principal trumpet player, gave Bumble a fist bump at the Bees game in Daybreak this fall before our trumpet section played the National Anthem.

8. Utah Opera Chorus members had a ghostly warmup before a dress rehearsal of The Shining.

ADMINISTRATION

Steven Brosvik

President & CEO

The O.C. Tanner Chair

David Green

Senior Vice President & COO

Micah Luce

Director of Human Resources & Organizational Culture

Julie McBeth

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Natty Taylor

Human Resources Manager

Farrah Valdez

Executive Assistant to the Senior VP & COO

SYMPHONY ARTISTIC

Kerry Smith

Vice President of Artistic Planning

Hannah Thomas-Hollands

Orchestra Personnel Manager

Morgan Moulton

Artistic Planning Manager

Jessica Rivero Altarriba

Assistant Conductor

OPERA ARTISTIC

Christopher McBeth

Opera Artistic Director

Austin McWilliams

Chorus Director & Opera Assistant Conductor

Deborah Robertson

Principal Coach

Michelle Peterson

Director of Production

Ashley Tingey

Production Coordinator

Stephanie Chee, Soprano

Julia Holoman, Mezzo-Soprano

Aaron McKone, Tenor

Rodney Sharp II, Baritone

Jie Fang Goh, Piano

Resident Artists

SYMPHONY OPERATIONS

Jen Shark

Director of Orchestra Operations

Melissa Robison

Front of House Director

Chip Dance

Director of Production

Sarah Madany

Stage Manager

Garrett Vargo

Assistant Stage Manager

OPERA TECHNICAL

Kelly Nickle

Properties Master

Dusty Terrell

Scenic Charge Artist

JR Orr

Head Carpenter/Shop Foreman

COSTUMES

Carol Wood

Costume Director

Marcos Ambriz

Cutter/Draper & Costume Manager

Abby Gehring

First Hand

Mallory Goodman

Costume Rentals & Collection Manager

Spencer Smith

Costume Rentals & Collection Assistant Manager

Milivoj Poletan

Master Tailor

Kathryn Wieland

Assistant Tailor

Julie Porter

Crafts Artisan/Milliner

Amy Fernelius

Kelsey Nichols

Lee Sego

Stitchers

DEVELOPMENT

Leslie Peterson

Vice President of Development

Garrett Murphy

Director of Development

David Hodges

Director of Development, Institutional Giving

Calli Forsyth

Assistant Director of Institutional Sponsorships and Engagement

Katie Swainston

Assistant Director of Individual Giving

Lisa Poppleton

Grants Manager

Dallin Mills

Development Database Manager

Ellesse Hargreaves

VIP & Sponsorship Benefits Manager

Lindsey Perlman

Donor Engagement Manager

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Meredith Kimball Laing

Vice President of Marketing &

Communications

Julia Lyon

Communications Manager

Emma Price

Marketing Manager

Nina Starling

Website Content Coordinator

Camila Baltazar

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

PATRON SERVICES

Faith Myers

Director of Patron Engagement

Jaron Hatch

Patron Services Manager

Caitlin Marshall

Sales & Engagement Manager

Toby Simmons

Patron Services Assistant Manager

Genevieve Gannon

Group Sales Associate

True Moore

Chloe Toyn

Patron Services Specialists

Michael Gibson

Ananda Spike

Val Tholen

Samantha Morris

Kjelbi Elassali

Tanush Saran

Patron Services Associates

ACCOUNTING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Jeffrey Andreasen

CFO

Mike Lund

Director of Information Technologies

Melanie Giles Controller

Jared Mollenkopf

Patron Information Systems Manager

Bobby Alger

Accounts Payable Specialist

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Ben Kipp

Vice President of Education & Community Engagement

Kevin Nakatani

Opera Education Manager

Beth Foley

Education Coordinator

We would also like to recognize our volunteers, interns, and temporary and contracted staff for their work and dedication to the success of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera.

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DANCING IN THE STREET: THE MUSIC OF MOTOWN

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

JESSICA RIVERO ALTARRIBA, conductor

SHAYNA STEELE, vocalist

CHESTER GREGORY, vocalist

MICHAEL LYNCHE, vocalist

UTAH SYMPHONY

SMOKEY ROBINSON

JAMES BROWN, BETTY JEAN NEWSOME, & DWIGHT GRANT

HOLLAND, DOZIER, & HOLLAND

MICHAEL MASSER & RONALD NORMAN MILLER

JIMMY GEORGE & LOUIS PARDINI

HOLLAND, DOZIER, & HOLLAND

NICK ASHFORD & VALERIE SIMPSON

LEON RUSSELL

STEVIE WONDER

“Dancing in the Street”

“You Really Got A Hold On Me”

“Man’s World”

“Reach Out I’ll Be There”

“Touch Me In The Morning”

“Just To See Her”

“How Sweet It Is”

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

“Song For You”

“Superstition”

INTERMISSION

MAURICE WHITE & WAYNE LEE VAUGHN

JAMES BROWN

SMOKEY ROBINSON

SMOKEY ROBINSON & RONALD WHITE

LIONEL RICHIE

MELVIN STEALS & MERVIN STEALS

KENNETH GAMBLE, LEON HUFF, & CARY GILBERT

GARY JACKSON, RAYNARD MINER, & CARL WILLIAM SMITH

LIONEL RICHIE

STEVIE WONDER, LEE GARRETT, LULA MAE HARDWAY, & SYREETA WRIGHT

“Let’s Groove Tonight”

“I Feel Good”

“My Guy”

“My Girl”

“Endless Love”

“Could It Be I’m Falling In Love”

“Don’t Leave Me This Way”

“Higher and Higher”

“All Night Long”

“Signed Sealed Delivered”

MARVIN GAYE, IVY GEORGE HUNTER, & WILLIAM STEVENSON

CONDUCTOR SPONSOR

NUANCED INTERPRETATIONS, dynamic energy, and a charismatic stage presence are hallmarks of Cuban conductor Jessica Altarriba. Praised for her communicative skills, impactful performances, and equally vested in both established and wellknown repertoire as well as contemporary compositions, Altarriba currently serves as Assistant Conductor for the Utah Symphony and is a Taki Alsop Fellowship Award Recipient (2024–26). Altarriba is concurrently pursuing her master’s degree in conducting at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

This past summer, she conducted the Utah Symphony’s summer community concerts as well as select concerts at the Deer Valley Music Festival, including Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, closing the festival. She also participated in the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles National Festival in California, collaborating with LA Philharmonic Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, YOLA Artistic Director Gaudy Sanchez, and the YOLA National Team in festival programming and conducting a final concert in collaboration with Dudamel.

THROUGHOUT HER CAREER, Shayna Steele has lent her talent to leading artists such as Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti and electronic music producer Moby, whose tracks “Raining Again,” “Disco Lies,” and “Extreme Ways” featured Steele’s blockbuster vocals. The band Snarky Puppy’s Michael League handpicked Steele’s original track, “Gone Under,” for inclusion in their hit album Family Dinner, Volume 1 (Ropeadope Records), which has become a viral sensation with more than 2 million views and countless covers from musicians globally. No stranger to both the small and silver screens, Steele has sung on the soundtracks of Hairspray, The Bourne Identity, and Sex and the City 2, as well as making a guest appearance on The Sopranos. Steele recently made an appearance in two episodes of the DC series The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, on MAX.

Steele holds a music degree from the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Interdisciplinary Music Studies and teaches private vocalists virtually. Steele has also been a guest for many college masterclasses and workshops globally.

Jessica Rivero Altarriba Conductor

Shayna Steele Vocalist

CHESTER GREGORY is an award-winning Broadway actor, singer, and recording artist, renowned for his extraordinary vocal talent, commanding stage presence, and deep emotional resonance. With starring roles in iconic productions such as Hairspray, Dreamgirls, Sister Act, Disney’s Tarzan, and Motown: The Musical, Gregory has become a dynamic force in musical theater and live performances, captivating audiences with a unique energy that resonates across both grand Broadway stages and intimate concert settings.

A recipient of the NAACP Theatre Award, Joseph Jefferson Award, and Black Theatre Alliance Award, Gregory has performed across the U.S., gaining recognition not only for his vocal abilities but also for his emotional depth and stage presence. His influence extends beyond live performances through his social media, where he engages millions, sharing his artistic journey, humor, and passion for wellness.

AMERICAN IDOL finalist Michael Lynche is a new breed of soul singer with completely classic influences. Traces of Donny Hathaway, Al Green, Luther Vandross, Sam Cooke, and James Brown all seem to flash in this uniquely talented performer. Undeniable charisma, well-crafted song arrangements, and a voice soaked in soul give the big man a class all his own. “Big Mike”—as he was known while winning over the hearts of a nation during his stint on American Idol—has talent so versatile that he’s played intimate jazz and blues clubs, 20,000-seat arenas, and opera halls with 100-piece orchestras backing him. Through it all, “Big Mike” has always had one goal: to spread a message of love wherever he goes.

His show credits include R&B Legends, Kings of Soul, Dancing in the Street: The Music of Motown, and Holiday Pops: Soulful Christmas

Chester Gregory Vocalist

Michael Lynche Vocalist

MESSIAH SING-IN

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

JESSICA RIVERO ALTARRIBA, conductor

STEPHANIE CHEE, soprano

JULIA HOLOMAN, mezzo-soprano

AARON MCKONE, tenor

RODNEY SHARP II, baritone

UTAH SYMPHONY CHORUS

AUSTIN MCWILLIAMS, chorus director

UTAH SYMPHONY

Messiah

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

PART THE THIRD

CONDUCTOR SPONSOR

AUSTIN MCWILLIAMS is a conductor and countertenor who specializes in contemporary vocal music. He strives to present compelling, intriguing art that is directly relevant to the communities in which it is performed. This season marks his second as Chorus Director & Opera Assistant Conductor at Utah Symphony | Utah Opera.

Previously, McWilliams was Associate Conductor and Chorus Master at Opera Grand Rapids, Head of Music at West Michigan Opera Project, and Co-Artistic Director at Ad Astra Music Festival. In Grand Rapids, he was the choir director at Fountain Street Church, a non-denominational, non-creedal institution that serves as a venue for heterodox speakers and ideologies.

A dedicated conductor and educator, McWilliams has served as Director of Choral Activities at Aquinas College and as adjunct faculty at Western Michigan University. He is also a faculty member at Missouri Scholars Academy, a governor’s school for gifted high school juniors in his native state.

ORIGINALLY FROM SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, soprano Stephanie Chee returns to Utah Opera as a Resident Artist for the 2025–26 season, performing Mrs. Grady in The Shining, Marzelline in Fidelio, Gianetta in The Elixir of Love, and Annina in La traviata. She last appeared with Utah Opera as Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel. An accomplished musician, Chee was a winner in the Utah District of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She was also awarded an Emerging Talent Award in the 2023 Lotte Lenya Competition, first place in the 2022 Fox Valley Collegiate Voice Competition, second place in the 2022 Upper College Treble Voices Division of the National Student Auditions, and the Farwell Trust Award in the 2022 Musicians Club of Women Voice Competition. Chee received her master’s degree from Rice University in 2024.

JULIA HOLOMAN is a mezzo-soprano from Raleigh, North Carolina, and a recent graduate of the master’s program at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Over the past year, Holoma has performed the role Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina and was named a semi-finalist in Houston Grand Opera’s Concert of Arias. Other recent roles include The Sorceress and Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. This past summer, Holoman was a Lehrer Artist at Music Academy of the West where she sang the alto solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Academy Festival Orchestra under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya. She performed the role of Mrs. Massey in Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s The Shining and is greatly looking forward to performing the role of Flora in Verdi’s La traviata this season with Utah Opera.

This perfomance is her Utah Symphony debut.

Austin McWilliams Chorus Director

Stephanie Chee Soprano

Julia Holoman Mezzo-Soprano Sponsored by Charles Boynton

AARON MCKONE, deemed a “rising star” and praised for his “ardent tenor,” is very excited to return to Utah Opera for the 2025–26 season during which he will perform the roles of Lloyd/Watson (The Shining), Jaquino (Fidelio), and Gastone (La traviata). In past seasons, McKone was an Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera, Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera, Resident Artist with Opera Naples in Florida, and Vocal Fellow at the Spoleto Festival USA. He also performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with Paris’ Opéra Comique and was a featured soloist with the National Orchestral Institute and Festival. Some notable roles McKone has sung are Faust (Faust), Rinnuccio (Gianni Schicchi), and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus). McKone received his bachelor’s degree from Winthrop University as well as a master’s degree and Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Tom Baresel and Stuart Skelton.

RODNEY SHARP II is a proud native of Fort Worth, Texas, and holds a bachelor’s degree in music, voice performance from Prairie View A&M University and a master’s degree in opera performance from Arizona State University. Some of Sharp’s favorite roles performed are Peter (Hansel and Gretel), Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), and Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress). He has performed as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Kodály’s Missa Brevis, and Schubert’s Mass in G. Praised for his “…deep and robust voice combining strong vocalism and magnetic presence, he is a natural scene stealer.” Sharp is an advocate for classical music by African American composers and strives to present works representing the African American experience. As a second-year Resident Artist at Utah Opera, Sharp will perform the roles of Horace Derwent (The Shining), Don Fernando (Fidelio), and Marquis d’Obigny (La traviata), in addition to performing in schools and communities throughout the state of Utah beside his fellow Resident Artists to spread the good word of opera.

Aaron McKone Tenor

Rodney Sharp II Baritone

Soprano

Joanna Armstrong

Cydnee Barnum Farmer

Caitlyn Bramble

Christina Brandt

Anadine Burrell

Jana Conrad

A. Elizabeth Davis

Julie Fleming

Kaylynne Fox

Emelia Hartford

Elliott Jeppsen*

Alexandra Montoya

Kate Olsen

Michelle Reid Quinn

Anna Roelofs

Anna Sangrey Roussel

Natalie Sandberg

Hannah VonHatten

Jennifer Way Zemp

Breanne White

Alto

Caite Beck

Joan Jensen Bowles

Sylvia Fisk

Kate Fitzgerald

Gabriella Gonzales

Erika Gray

Jennifer Hancock

THE UTAH SYMPHONY CHORUS is composed of volunteer singers from the Salt Lake City area who come from all walks of life. The chorus typically performs three concerts each season with the Utah Symphony in Abravanel Hall, which may include choral masterworks, pops concerts, and the annual Messiah Sing-In. Singers have performed under the baton of Utah Symphony Music Directors Maurice Abravanel, Varujan Kojian, Joseph Silverstein, Keith Lockhart, and Thierry Fischer, as well as numerous guest conductors including Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis, Roger Wagner, Peter Eros, Bernard Labadie, Andrew Litton, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, and many others.

The Utah Symphony Chorus rehearses Tuesday evenings for several weeks before each concert and most evenings the week of a performance. Visit usuo.org/Choruses to learn more about joining the chorus.

Annette W. Jarvis

Catherine Jeppsen

Raenell Jones

Samantha Lange

Ruth Rogers

Isabella R. Sausedo*

Jenica Sedgwick

Sue Sohm

Michelle Swenson

Jennifer Taylor

Maizie Toland

Sammie Tollestrup

Dawn Veree

Kathy Wight

Ruth Wortley

Tenor

Stephen Anderson

Drake Bennion

Mosiah Cipriani

Holden Deitsch

Elijah Hancock

Samuel Hancock

Tim Hanna

Nate Kemp

Isaac Lee

Jeanne Leigh-Goldstein

John Pearce

Joshua Peterson*

Alan Robertson

Kevin Rowe

Ben Schneider

Jesse Skeen

John P. Snow

Scott Tarbet

Carl Wadsworth

John Woeste

Edgar Zuniga

Bass

Aaron Asay

Olivier Bauer Simon

Bruce Boyes

Colton Butler

Richard Butler

Carson Hancock

Michael Hurst

Camden Lawrence

Lyman Moulton

Michael Moyes

Vincent Nguyen

Richard Olsen

Chris Patch

Gabriel Poulson

Nathan Scott

Marc Titcomb

Matthew Toone

*The Cathedral of the Madeleine High School

Choir Member

Utah Symphony Chorus

Dining AT

CELTIC WOMAN

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2025 / 7:00 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

LLOYD BUTLER, conductor

CELTIC WOMAN, vocals and violin

UTAH SYMPHONY

SELECTIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED FROM THE STAGE.

CONCERT SPONSOR

IN THE STILLNESS OF WINTER, as the world quiets, familiar melodies drift like snowflakes: gentle, timeless, and full of wonder. Celtic Woman’s Symphony Tour is a reflection of that magic. It moves between light and shadow, tradition and newness, capturing the spirit of Christmas in its most delicate form. Each song is a window into a winter’s evening, some familiar, some reimagined, all wrapped in a feeling of joy. Celebrate the holiday season with the celestial voices of Grammy-nominated multi-platinum Irish singing sensation Celtic Woman. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear Celtic Woman’s angelic harmonies with the thrilling live sound of a full symphony orchestra in an intimate concert setting. Join sopranos Mairéad Carlin & Muirgen O’Mahony and two brand-new Celtic women: Sean-Nós singer Caitríona Sherlock and fiddle player, Ciara Ní Mhurchú for a show featuring all of your favourite Yuletide songs: “O Holy Night,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Silver Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” & more, along with Celtic Woman classics and some Irish tunes with a Christmas twist. So, take your seat, and prepare for the new era of Celtic Woman with an enchanting evening filled with holiday cheer. Celtic Woman is the most successful all-female group in Irish history, with a legacy of 12 Billboard number ones, over 10 million album sales, and over 3 billion online streams to date.

Celtic Woman Guest Artists

TO THE COMFORTS OF HOME THIS HOLIDAY

MARKUS POSCHNER CONDUCTS STRAUSS’ A HERO’S LIFE

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2025 / 5:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

MARKUS POSCHNER, conductor

VADIM GLUZMAN, violin

UTAH SYMPHONY

SHOSTAKOVICH

Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor, Op. 99 (34’)

I. Nocturne

II. Scherzo

III. Passacaglia

IV. Burlesca

INTERMISSION

R. STRAUSS

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), Op. 40 (46’)

MARKUS POSCHNER is Music Director Designate of the Utah Symphony, assuming full duties as Music Director beginning in the 2027–28 season. This season, Poschner begins his tenure as Chief Conductor of Sinfonieorchester Basel and, in 2026–27, he becomes Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.

He was Chief Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana from 2015 to 2025, leading the orchestra in two International Classical Music Award-winning recordings: the complete Brahms symphonies in 2018 and a Hindemith/ Schnittke recording in 2025. His recording of Offenbach’s Maître Péronilla with the Orchestre National de France was honored with the German Record Critics’ Award 2021. In 2024, Poschner received the Special Achievement Award from the ICMA jury for the complete recording of all Bruckner symphonies with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, of which he has been Chief Conductor since 2017, and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Together with Bruckner Orchestra Linz, he was given the Orchestra of the Year and Conductor of the Year prizes at the Austrian Music Theatre Awards 2020.

UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED among today’s top performing artists, Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman is acclaimed for his appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnányi, Tugan Sokhiev, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and other leading conductors.

Gluzman has introduced audiences to new works by Sofia Gubaidulina, ErkkiSven Tüür, Pēteris Vasks, Giya Kancheli, Moritz Eggert, Elena Firsova, and Lera Auerbach, and currently serves as Artistic Director of both the Music in the Mountains and North Shore Chamber Music Festivals.

Accolades for Gluzman’s striking catalogue of recordings on the BIS, Platoon, and EuroArts labels include the Diapason d’Or of the Year, Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, Classica magazine’s Choc de Classica award, and Disc of the Month by The Strad, BBC Music Magazine, and Classic FM.

Distinguished Artist in Residence at The Peabody Conservatory, where he teaches a selected group of young violinists, Gluzman performs on the extraordinary 1690 “ex-Leopold Auer” Stradivari, on loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Markus Poschner Conductor

Vadim Gluzman Violin

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

BY NOEL MORRIS

Key notes to know

Richard Strauss wrote his hero’s tale, “A Hero’s Life” (Ein Heldenleben), alongside his tragicomedy Don Quixote and even recommended they be performed together.

Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his first violin concerto for David Oistrakh, who remained a consummate musician and loyal friend. In appreciation, the composer presented him with a second violin concerto (1967) for his 60th birthday.

Richard Strauss was a superstar several times over: as a conductor, as a composer of tone poems, as a songwriter, and, after 1900, as an opera composer.

What to listen for

Shostakovich based the third movement of the Violin Concerto No. 1 on a Baroque form called the passacaglia. Here, the composer makes a daisy chain of a repeated 17-bar tune heard first in the baseline. A gigantic cadenza at the end of the movement puts the soloist through an endurance test. The story goes that, originally, the soloist was to launch the finale, but violinist David Oistrakh asked the composer for a break to wipe the sweat from his face. Shostakovich laughed and good-naturedly rescored the finale’s opening bars.

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

born September 25,1906 in St. Petersburg, Russia died August 9, 1975 in Moscow

Violin Concerto No. 1

composed 1947–1948 premiered in Leningrad on October 25, 1955

The Backstory

During the 1930s, Joseph Stalin rounded up millions of his own people—teachers, scientists, Communist Party officials, clergy, farmers, Red Army officers, and cultural figures. Stalin murdered many and sent others to gulags. Everyone was touched, but they learned not to grieve in public. It wasn’t safe.

Dmitri Shostakovich lost friends and family but personally got off with a warning. It started with his wildly popular

opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Stalin walked out mid-performance. A scathing review followed. And overnight, the composer’s income vanished, and friends started crossing the street to avoid him. He recovered in 1937 with his dazzling Fifth Symphony.

During World War II, Stalin was too busy fighting Hitler to persecute artists, and so Shostakovich took risks. His terrifying Seventh Symphony depicts mindless militarism, which he directed at Hitler. The Eighth is funereal (he described it as “bright and gay”). For the Ninth, written in 1945, he’d promised an epic victory symphony—it’s actually short and slapsticky. In his way, Shostakovich danced the line between compliance and defiance.

The Music

In the summer of 1947, Shostakovich started work on his Violin Concerto No. 1. Already, Communist Party officials had been cracking down on literary figures. In 1948, they trained their wrath on composers. They dismissed Shostakovich from his conservatory jobs, burned his Eighth and Ninth Symphonies, and forced him to apologize for writing them. When he finished his Violin Concerto, he showed it to the violin virtuoso David Oistrakh, but stuck the piece “in the drawer”—Shostakovich’s phrase for works he considered too risky to make public.

The Violin Concerto No. 1 is unconventional, as far as concertos go. It has four movements, like a symphony, and opens with a nocturne. Eschewing the typical soloistic show-off piece, the Nocturne conveys restrained sorrow, as if someone were weeping into a pillow at night.

Keeping with the symphonic vibe, Shostakovich wrote a scherzo for the second movement, complete with a sassy Klezmer-like theme (likely, a response to Soviet persecution of Jews in 1948).

The scherzo introduces the Shostakovich monogram, in which he used the German spelling of his name, D. Schostakovich, to build a musical cipher. (Because E-flat and B-natural are called S and H in German, the notes D-Eb-C-B spell D-S-C-H.)

In the flamboyant finale, Shostakovich returns to the bittersweet sound of Klezmer—not a popular—or safe— reference in 1940s Soviet circles.

The Violin Concerto No. 1 remained in the drawer until after Stalin’s death in 1953. David Oistrakh played the premiere in 1955. Two months later, he played it at Carnegie Hall.

RICHARD STRAUSS

born June 11, 1864 in Munich, Bavaria died September 8, 1949 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

“A Hero’s Life” (Ein Heldenleben)

composed 1897–1898 premiered in Frankfurt, Germany on March 3, 1899

The Backstory

Ein Heldenleben means “a hero’s life,” which plays into our loose conception of a hero, from firefighters to ball players to rock stars.

19th-century creatives liked the idea of an artist as a hero, someone gifted with intuition, who gains access to higher truths and shares them with the world. At first, the artist feels lonely and misunderstood. But the fire in the belly grows ever stronger until the artist risks everything— financial security, rejection, disapproval, and social isolation to glean those higher truths.

History and literature offer famous examples of hero-artists, from Goethe’s Young Werther to Beethoven, who overcame deafness to write the Ninth Symphony It’s the essence of Romanticism—individualism, personal struggle, and the triumph of the human spirit.

Richard Strauss contributed to the genre with Ein Heldenleben, complete with epic battles, true love, and public affirmation. When Strauss conducted the first performance, most everyone figured out his hero’s identity: himself (Ein Heldenleben has a mélange of snippets from his other works).

“He was not conceited,” insisted a family friend, “but he

knew his force—that he was a somebody.”

Indeed, he was. Richard Strauss enjoyed a long run as (arguably) the world’s then most popular musician and composer. He was a wunderkind conductor, landing a job at the Munich Court Opera at 22. He added rocket fuel to his career with the tone poem Don Juan at 23, then scored one hit after another (pun intended).

The Music

Strauss believed the tone poem would replace the symphony as the go-to standard orchestral composition. Of course, this notion played into his uncanny ability to describe things using musical instruments. As he wrote Ein Heldenleben, he added verbal cues as if scoring a movie, writing things like, “he bestirs himself and looks and sinks back into G-flat.”

Since then, fans have made a sport of sleuthing all the Strauss tunes embedded in the piece, from Don Juan to Don Quixote. The dramatic arc follows the composer, his wife named Pauline, their love making, and the abuse levied by carping critics played by squawking woodwinds.

Strauss wrote Ein Heldenleben for Willem Mengelberg and The Concertgebouw, where they carved his name into the Great Hall in giant gold letters. To this day, people snort at Strauss’ act of immodesty. On the other hand, he lived to witness the manifestation of heroism gone awry during the world wars.

“Our future lies in art, especially in music,” he said. “In times when spiritual goods are rarer than material ones, and egoism, envy, and hatred govern the world, music will do much to re-establish love among mankind.”

Perhaps we all need heroes like that.

Take the memory home with you.

UTAH SYMPHONY | UTAH OPERA SHOP

DVOŘÁK’S SYMPHONY NO. 7

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2025 / 10 AM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL (FINISHING TOUCHES)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2025 / 7:30 PM / MAURICE ABRAVANEL HALL

PIETARI INKINEN, conductor

SHAI WOSNER, piano

UTAH SYMPHONY

UNSUK CHIN

BEETHOVEN

(HANS-WERNER KÜTHEN, ED.) DVOŘÁK

subito con forza (05’)

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 (34’)

I. Allegro con brio

II. Largo

III. Rondo: Allegro

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 (38’)

I. Allegro maestoso

II. Poco adagio

III. Scherzo: Vivace

IV. Finale: Allegro

FINISHING TOUCHES SPONSOR

FINNISH CONDUCTOR Pietari Inkinen is recognized internationally for his expressive artistry and technical mastery. He has led many of the world’s leading orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Inkinen has held chief positions with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Ludwigsburg Festival Orchestra, and KBS Symphony in Seoul. A talented violinist as well, he studied with Zakhar Bron at the Cologne University of Music before continuing his conducting studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

GUEST ARTIST SPONSOR

PIANIST SHAI WOSNER has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity, and creative insight. This season, he makes solo appearances with Mason Bates’ Piano Concerto in Italy and Vijay Iyer’s Handmade Universe with East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) in Seattle. Other highlights include a program with the JACK Quartet at the Frick Collection in New York, the three Brahms violin sonatas with Pinchas Zukerman, and a U.S. tour with Joshua Bell. Shai’s chamber arrangements of various Beethoven symphonies have been premiered and toured by Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma, and are available in Grammy-nominated recordings released by Sony Classical. His own recordings for Onyx Classics range from Schubert sonatas, to chamber works by Bartók and Kurtág, to concertos by Haydn and Ligeti. He has received Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

Pietari Inkinen Conductor

Shai Wosner Piano

BY NOEL MORRIS