Manning Music Series concert program for the North Carolina Symphony: The Four Seasons

Manning Music Series presents

VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | 7:30 PM

Filmed and recorded live from Meymandi Concert Hall Woolner Stage

Raleigh

The North Carolina Symphony, in grateful acknowledgment of its generous grant-in-aid, performs under the auspices of the State of North Carolina, the Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor.

The North Carolina Symphony gratefully acknowledges financial support from Wake County, the City of Raleigh, and the Town of Cary.

VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS Monday, April 26, 2021 | 7:30pm

Filmed and recorded live from Meymandi Concert Hall Woolner Stage

Raleigh Wesley Schulz, conductor Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, violin

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

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The Four Seasons for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 8, Nos. 1-4 Concerto No. 1 in E Major, RV 269 “La primavera” (“Spring”) I. Allegro II. Largo e pianissimo III. Allegro Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 315 “L’estate” (“Summer”) I. Allegro ma non molto II. Adagio – Presto III. Presto Concerto No. 3 in F Major, RV 293 “L’autunno” (“Autumn”) I. Allegro II. Adagio molto III. Allegro Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, RV 297 “L’inverno” (“Winter”) I. Allegro non molto II. Largo III. Allegro Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, violin

ABOUT THE MUSIC

The Four Seasons for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 8 Nos. 1-4 ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741) THE STORY: • Published in 1725, Vivaldi’s set of violin concertos The Four Seasons imaginatively gives musical expression to each season of the year.

• The concertos were inspired by landscape paintings by Italian artist Marco Ricci.

• They were published together with a set of sonnets—likely written by Vivaldi himself—that describe specific aspects of each season evoked by the music; it is uncertain whether the sonnets were written to accompany the music or viceversa.

• Each concerto is in three movements, following a slowfast-slow structure; likewise, each sonnet is broken into three sections.

• With very literal musical depictions of the poetry, The Four Seasons is one of the earliest examples of “program music”—or, music that is meant to describe an extramusical element.

• Vivaldi even wrote some of the lines of poetry and specific instructions directly into the score—for example, “play like a barking dog” in the viola part of the final movement of “Autumn,” which evokes a hunting scene.

• The Four Seasons is by far the best known of Vivaldi’s works—it has been used in more than 100 film and television soundtracks!

LISTEN FOR: • In the beginning of “Spring,” chirping birds portrayed by trills and fluttering figures in the violins • The slow tempo that opens “Summer,” representing the laziness of a hot day—and the merciless, dramatic hail storm that concludes the concerto • Rustic dance rhythms in the first movement of “Autumn” as peasants celebrate “the pleasure of the rich harvest,” followed by the slow second movement in which the revelers fall into a drunken sleep • Silvery, high-pitched pizzicato (plucked) notes in “Winter,” evoking icy rain

THE SONNETS: SPRING Allegro The festive Spring has arrived, The birds celebrate her return with happy songs, And the brooks of the gentle Zephyrs With sweet murmurs flow, but, The sky is covered in a dark mantle And lightning and thunder announce a storm.

When quiet returns, the birds Again take up their lovely songs.

Largo e pianissimo And in the flower-rich meadow, To the gentle murmur of leaves and plants The goatherd sleeps, his faithful dog at his side.

Allegro To the merry sounds of a rustic bagpipe Nymphs and shepherds dance in their beloved spot When Spring appears in its brilliance.

SUMMER Allegro ma non molto Under the merciless sun Languishes man and flock; the pine tree burns, The cuckoo begins to sing and at once Join in the turtle doves and the goldfinch.

A gentle breeze blows, but Boreas Joins battle suddenly with his neighbor, And the shepherd weeps because overhead Hangs the dreaded storm, and his destiny.

Adagio – Presto His tired limbs are robbed of their rest By his fear of the lightning and the heavy thunder And by the furious swarm of flies and hornets.

Presto Alas, his fears are well-founded There is thunder and lightning in the sky And the hail cuts down the lofty ears of corn.

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AUTUMN Allegro The peasants celebrate with song and dance The pleasure of the rich harvest, And full of the liquor of Bacchus They finish their merrymaking with a sleep.

WINTER Allegro non molto Frozen and shivering in the icy snow.

In the strong blasts of a terrible wind To run stamping one’s feet at every step With one’s teeth chattering through the cold.

Adagio molto All are made to leave off singing and dancing By the air which now mild gives pleasure And by the season which invited many To enjoy a sweet sleep.

Largo To spend the quiet and happy days by the fire Whilst outside the rain soaks everyone.

To walk on the ice with slow steps And go carefully for fear of falling.

Allegro At dawn the hunters With horns and guns and dogs leave their homes; The beast flees; they follow its traces.

Allegro To go in haste, slide and fall down: To go again on the ice and run, Until the ice cracks and open.

Already terrified and tired by the great noise Of the guns and the dogs, and wounded it tries Feebly to escape, but exhausted dies.

To hear leaving their iron-gated house Sirocco, Boreas and all the winds in battle: This is winter, but it brings joy.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS Wesley Schulz, Associate Conductor The Lucy Moore Ruffin Chair Wesley Schulz was appointed North Carolina Symphony Associate Conductor in the 2017/18 season and is also the Music Director of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra.

Previously, he served as Music Director of the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Festival Orchestra, and as Director of Orchestras at the University of Puget Sound. In the 2014/15 season, he was the Conducting Fellow at the Seattle Symphony. Recent conducting engagements include the Austin Symphony Orchestra, The Venice Symphony, Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, and the Juneau Symphony.

Wesley made his Seattle Symphony debut in a sold-out performance with singer/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov, led seven world premieres at the Merriman Family Young Composers Workshop, and assisted with recordings for the symphony’s Grammy-winning label, Seattle Symphony Media.

From 2009 to 2013, Wesley was the Assistant Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra, a professional summer orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. In addition to teaching at the University of Puget Sound and the Seattle Conservatory of Music, he has served as Music Director for both the Everett Youth Symphony Orchestras and Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestra.

From 2007 to 2011, Wesley directed the Texas Chamber Group, an ensemble he founded in Austin, Texas, dedicated to performing chamber orchestra works in creatively designed performance contexts.

Wesley graduated magna cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in percussion performance and music education from Ball State University and doctoral and master’s degrees in orchestral conducting from the University of Texas at Austin.

When not on the podium, he can be seen hitting the pavement in preparation for his next marathon.

Music Festival in Greensboro, with the Chautauqua Symphony in New York, at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in Connecticut, at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute in Chicago, at Keshet Eilon in Israel, and at the Weathersfield Festival in Vermont.

Jacqueline holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and Cleveland Institute of Music. She has performed at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., as a co-founder of LACE (Living Arts Collective Ensemble), and with fellow NCS musicians in a trio setting. She has worked with members of the Tokyo, Cleveland, and Vermeer Quartets, and has toured with Joshua Bell, James Levine, and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Beverly Biggs, harpsichord A North Carolina native, Beverly Biggs is a freelance harpsichordist and Artistic Director of Baroque & Beyond, a period-music concert series based in Chapel Hill. She plays continuo with various ensembles, including the North Carolina Symphony and North Carolina Bach Festival. She holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Southern Methodist University.

Joseph Peters, host Joseph Peters has been North Carolina Symphony Associate Principal Oboe and English Horn since 2018, and previously held Principal Oboe chairs with the Minnesota Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. To his role as host for this season’s streaming concerts, Joseph brings a great love for teaching and communication.

Please find bios for orchestra personnel performing on this evening’s concert linked on the following page.

Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, violin The Nancy Finch Wallace Chair Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky is Principal Second Violin of the North Carolina Symphony and Lecturer of Violin at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was previously a member of the Charleston Symphony and Adjunct Professor at the College of Charleston. Featured solo appearances with NCS have included, among others, Anna Clyne’s Prince of Clouds in 2019; works by Mozart, Kreisler, and J.S. Bach; and in 2016, “Summer” from The Four Seasons. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra and South Carolina Philharmonic, and was honored with the Russell Award at the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition.

Jacqueline has performed for Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Weisel in Chicago and, in 2001, for the Vice President of the United States in Washington, D.C. She has spent past summers at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, at the Eastern NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY • 5

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL Grant Llewellyn, Music Director Laureate The Maxine and Benjamin Swalin Chair

Janet Gayer Hall

Wesley Schulz, Associate Conductor The Lucy Moore Ruffin Chair

Anton Shelepov

VIOLIN I Brian Reagin, Concertmaster The Annabelle Lundy Fetterman Chair Dovid Friedlander, Associate Concertmaster** The Assad Meymandi and Family Chair To Be Filled, Assistant Concertmaster The Anne Heartt Gregory Chair Karen Strittmatter Galvin, Assistant Concertmaster

Oskar Ozolinch

Jeanine Wynton VIOLA Samuel Gold, Principal The Florence Spinks and Charles Jacob Cate and Alma Yondorf and Sylvan Hirschberg Chair Kurt Tseng, Associate Principal The Betty Ellen Madry Chair To Be Filled, Assistant Principal Petra Berényi

DOUBLE BASS Leonid Finkelshteyn, Principal The Martha and Peyton Woodson Chair Robert K. Anderson, Associate Principal The Dr. and Mrs. Preston H. Gada Chair Craig Brown The Mark W. McClure Foundation Chair Erik Dyke The Harllee H. and Pauline G. Jobe Chair Bruce Ridge The John C. and Margaret P. Parker Chair FLUTE Anne Whaley Laney, Principal The Mr. and Mrs. George M. Stephens Chair

Robert Anemone**

Paul Malcolm

Emily Rist Glover The Jessie Wyatt Ethridge Chair

Christine Martin

Mary E. Boone, Assistant Principal The Dr. and Mrs. Shaler Stidham, Jr. Chair

Amy Mason The J. Sidney Kirk Chair

Elizabeth Anderton Lunsford The Jack and Sing Boddie Chair

Paul Goldsberry The Richard and Joy Cook Chair So Yun Kim The Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. Chair Marilyn Kouba The Phyllis (“Pat”) Conrad Wells Chair Eric McCracken The James C. Byrd and Family Chair Maria Meyer The Tom and Mary Mac Bradshaw Chair Eileen Wynne The Harvey At-Large Chair Erin Zehngut The J. Felix Arnold Chair VIOLIN II Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, Principal The Nancy Finch Wallace Chair

Sandra Schwarcz The Samuel H. and Anne Latham Johnson Viola Chair CELLO Bonnie Thron, Principal The Herman and Marga Roberg Chair Elizabeth Beilman, Associate Principal The Sarah Carlyle Herbert Dorroh Chair Peng Li, Assistant Principal Anonymously Endowed Yewon Ahn Anonymously Endowed Sunrise Kim The William Charles Rankin Chair David Meyer The Nell Hirschberg Chair

PICCOLO Elizabeth Anderton Lunsford The Jean Dunn Williams Chair OBOE Melanie Wilsden, Principal The Hardison and Stoltze Chair Joseph Peters, Associate Principal The Lizette T. Dunham Chair Sandra Posch The Clarence and Alice Aycock Poe Chair ENGLISH HORN Joseph Peters The Bruce and Margaret King Chair

To Be Filled, Associate Principal The Blanche Martin Shaw Chair

Lisa Howard Shaughnessy The Sara Wilson Hodgkins Chair

CLARINET Samuel Almaguer, Principal The Mr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Walker, II Chair

David Kilbride, Assistant Principal

Nathaniel Yaffe The Secretary of Cultural Resources Betty Ray McCain Chair

To Be Filled, Assistant Principal The Kathryn Powell and Green Flavie Cooper Chair

Qi Cao

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BASSOON Aaron Apaza, Principal The Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald S. Hudson Chair Wenmin Zhang, Assistant Principal The Beethoven Chair FRENCH HORN Rebekah Daley, Principal The Mary T. McCurdy Chair Kimberly Van Pelt, Associate Principal The James Marion Poyner Chair Christopher Caudill The Roger Colson and Bobbi Lyon Hackett Chair Rachel Niketopoulos The Paul R. Villard and Gabriel Wolf Chair To Be Filled The Mary Susan Kirk Fulghum Chair TRUMPET Paul Randall, Principal The George Smedes Poyner Chair To Be Filled, Associate Principal The Henry and Martha Zaytoun and Family Chair Don Eagle Anonymously Endowed

TROMBONE John Ilika, Principal The Thomas Warwick Steed, Jr. Family Chair Jonathan Randazzo, Assistant Principal The Frances Armour Bryant Chair BASS TROMBONE Matthew Neff Anonymously Endowed TUBA Seth Horner, Principal The Governor and Mrs. James G. Martin, Jr. Chair HARP Anita Burroughs-Price Vonda Darr TIMPANI Colin Hartnett, Principal The Patricia R., Steven T. and George F. Hackney III Chair PERCUSSION Richard Motylinski, Principal The Margery and Earl Johnson, Jr. Chair Rajesh Prasad, Assistant Principal The Abram and Frances Pascher Kanof Chair

ORGAN To Be Filled The Albert and Susan Jenkins and Family Organ Chair LIBRARY Stephanie Wilson, Principal The Mary Colvert and Banks C. Talley Chair *Acting position **Leave of absence Named musician chairs are made possible through very meaningful gifts to the Symphony’s endowment. As such, these donor families are also members of the Lamar Stringfield Society.

Learn more.

All string players rotate stands on a periodic basis in each section with the exception of titled players: Principals, Associate Principals, and Assistant Principals.

The North Carolina Symphony is a member of the League of American Orchestras and the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians.

The North Carolina Master Chorale is the Resident Chorus of the North Carolina Symphony.

The North Carolina Symphony Foundation gratefully acknowledges the generous gift of the Lupot violin from Arnold and Zena Lerman.

ABOUT WILLIAM PEACE UNIVERSITY Founded in 1857, William Peace University is a nationally-ranked institution in the heart of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, serving almost 1000 students in 30+ undergraduate and 10 professional programs. William Peace University students enjoy the tight-knit community of a small school, and the opportunities of a growing, flourishing city. We offer an educational approach that’s hands-on, adaptive, and nimble – with career preparation built in from start to finish. Our immersive curriculum and innovative teaching methods ensure our students graduate career-ready, and prepared to thrive in the organizations of today and tomorrow. For more information please visit www.peace.edu.

SPECIAL THANKS WPU's Manning Music Series is made possible through the generosity of alumna Sara Jo Allen Manning. The Manning Music Series began nearly 15 years ago with a gift of support from alumna Sara Jo Allen Manning, who received two degrees from Peace 1958 and 1960. An avid supporter of the arts, Sara Jo wanted to provide Peace students, and the community, the opportunity to experience the bounty of benefits that come from the exposure to live music and performing arts. The series began, and continues today, with a strong partnership and collaboration with the North Carolina Symphony. Thank you for your continued support Sara Jo.

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