Joyce Program Book Online

S77 Mitchell Sardou Klein Music Director & Conductor

JOYCE YANG JANUARY 17 & 18 SAT/ Heritage Theatre, Campbell SUN/ San Mateo Perf. Arts Center

Table of Contents | JANUARY 17 & 18, 2026 3

WELCOME FROM PSO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM

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PROGRAM NOTES

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MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

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ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

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FEATURED ARTIST: JOYCE YANG

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ORCHESTRA ROSTER: JANUARY 2026

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RISING STAR: KLEIN COMPETITION WINNER

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ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN

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SUPPORTERS

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BOARD, STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

PSO program copyright ©2026 Peninsula Symphony Orchestra PENINSULA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 146 Main Street, Suite 102 Los Altos, CA 94022 (650) 941-5291 peninsulasymphony.org

Welcome from PSO Board of Directors

On behalf of the PSO Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome you to our first concert of 2026—a concert that promises to be a true highlight of our 77th season.

Our program features the extraordinary pianist Joyce Yang and celebrates the enduring legacy of William Shakespeare. More than 450 years after his time, Shakespeare’s timeless brilliance—and his profound ability to illuminate the complexities of the human condition—continues to inspire us, challenge us, and bring us together through art.

And speaking of timeless brilliance and bringing us together through art, I would like to take a moment to reflect on someone who embodies those very qualities for our orchestra: our beloved Music Director, Maestro Mitchell Sardou Klein.

After our next season—Season 78, the 2026–2027 season—Maestro Klein will be transitioning into the role of Music Director Laureate in which he will continue to be an active organizational leader and conduct one concert each year. This transition is a collaborative decision by Maestro Klein and the PSO board leadership. Since 1985, his leadership has shaped and inspired the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra in extraordinary ways. He has influenced generations of musicians and guided this orchestra with dignity, brilliant musicianship, passion, and kindness. His remarkable musical vision has resulted in countless unforgettable moments—for our musicians and for all of you in the audience.

We view this transition not as an ending, but as an exciting and positive evolution for our orchestra. With strong planning, thoughtful leadership, and deep respect for Maestro Klein’s artistic legacy, we are confident in a smooth transition and a vibrant future for the Peninsula Symphony.

Thank you for being with us and for continuing to support the music, the musicians, and the community that make this orchestra so special.

Warmly, Katherine Bukstein Chair, Governance Committee Peninsula Symphony Board of Directors

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Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor

Joyce Yang JANUARY 17, 2026 at 7:30pm / Heritage Theatre, Campbell JANUARY 18, 2026 at 2:30pm / San Mateo Performing Arts Center Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor Samantha Burgess, Assistant Conductor

David Diamond, Music for Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) Overture Death of Romeo and Juliet Samantha Burgess, conducting

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.1 in C Major, Op.15 I. Allegro con brio II. Largo III. Allegro scherzando Joyce Yang, piano

- Intermission Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) Montagues and Capulets Minuet Romeo and Juliet Death of Tybalt Romeo at Juliet’s Grave Richard Strauss, Macbeth

THESE CONCERTS ARE GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY Pamela Ferris & a Friend of PSO

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PROGRAM NOTES

By Mitchell Sardou Klein SHAKESPEARE IN MUSIC The foundational literary canon of the “modern” instrumental era in music (other than the Bible) is the plays of William Shakespeare. From the Baroque (contemporary with the Bard), through the Classical, Romantic, Twentieth Century and contemporary musical periods, Shakespeare’s stories, images, and dramatic situations have inspired composers to write instrumental music that gives these familiar plays an added emotional dimension that only music can offer.

At least twelve Shakespeare plays have inspired important musical works.

Music also plays a significant role within these plays - Shakespeare savored the impact of music as a dramatic force in both comedies and tragedies. And of course, the rhythm of Shakespeare’s language is musical itself, with a distinctive cadence. As Duke Orsino opines at the beginning of Twelfth Night, “If music be the food of love, play on.”

From Henry Purcell (in Shakespeare’s century) to Thomas Adès (in our own time), operas, overtures, tone-poems, ballets, choral/orchestral collaborations, incidental music, songs and chamber music have heightened the story-telling emotion of the plays. These plays have all inspired major musical works: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry IV (Parts I and II), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Much Ado about Nothing, King Lear, and The Merchant of Venice.

Tonight’s program presents two interpolations of Romeo and Juliet and one of Macbeth, two of the most familiar plays by the Bard. These three compositions represent very different styles, musical languages and eras. Romeo and Juliet seems to have inspired the largest number of musical pieces, perhaps because the story is both powerfully emotional and familiar (most of us studied it in high school). Tonight, we will be performing excerpts that convey the high points in each composer’s retelling of the story.

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PROGRAM NOTES DAVID DIAMOND, MUSIC FOR ROMEO AND JULIET (EXCERPTS) David Diamond (1915 - 2005) joined Leonard Bernstein, Roy Harris, William Schuman, Howard Hanson, and Walter Piston in the “New York School” of composition that was among the most prominent forces in music in mid-century America.

Their influence waned somewhat in the years that followed, as atonal and serial music tended to dominate. In retrospect, their musical language and imaginations have much to offer, and their works are coming back into the orchestral repertoire.

Music for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was composed in 1947, and was always intended as strictly concert music (indeed Diamond refused to allow its use as incidental music for a Broadway production of the play, starring Olivia de Havilland in 1951). The Overture establishes the dark and combative mood of the Montagues and Capulets. The final movement (“The Death of Romeo and Juliet”) is a deeply affecting study in the emotional palette that the mid-century tonal language can create.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1 We are thrilled to welcome back the magnificent pianist Joyce Yang for these concerts, performing Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770 – 1827) great Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15. Beethoven was not enamored of story-telling symphonic music. The few exceptions are relatively minor works (Wellington’s Victory, The Ruins of Athens incidental music, etc.). He didn’t write explicit Shakespeare settings (although he owned a 12-volume set of the plays and often referred to the Bard in his letters, and he seemed to loosely reference Shakespeare with the Tempest Sonata). In his compositions, he generally preferred to establish an abstract world of musical contrasts and developments. His writing for his own instrument, the piano — for which he composed 32 sonatas and 5 concertos — exercised his deepest instincts and creativity.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 (composed and revised from 1795 to 1800) was actually not his first piano concerto. He had written and discarded one earlier effort, and completed another (officially titled Piano Concerto No. 2, written a decade earlier, but not published until 1801).

Though still under the influence of his mentors, Mozart and Haydn, this concerto was novel in its grand scope and power.

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PROGRAM NOTES The impressive first movement, marked allegro con brio, is in a fairly traditional sonata form, but with a wide range of key shifts and moods. Near the end of the movement there is an extensive solo cadenza and brief orchestral coda.

The second movement (largo) presents elegant and expansive lyricism, and features some remarkable dialogues between the solo clarinet and piano.

A boisterous rondo (allegro scherzando) rounds out this virtuoso work, with elaborate episodes that mark this as a fully mature Beethoven masterpiece, signaling his pre-eminent stature in the musical world, not unlike Shakespeare’s in the literary world.

SERGEI PROKOFIEV, ROMEO AND JULIET (EXCERPTS) Sergei Prokofiev’s (1891 - 1953) ballet score for Romeo and Juliet is among his greatest works, and one of the most beautiful and moving compositions in all of music. It was written and revised between 1935 and 1940 (when it had its Soviet ballet premiere).

Because of its immense success and impact on audiences, Prokofiev created three Suites for concert performance. We will hear five movements (from Suites 1 & 2) that give a sense of the continuity of the story.

1. Montagues and Capulets (from Suite No. 2): The brutal enmity of the two families as they confront one another in the town piazza of Verona is marked by edgy dissonance and harsh dotted rhythms. Suddenly we get a glimpse of the lovely Juliet, poised and charming, until the angry confrontation resumes.

2. Minuet (from Suite No. 1): The Ball. All the townspeople, dressed in their finest, parade into the ballroom. Juliet and Romeo encounter each other briefly and tenderly.

3. Romeo and Juliet (from Suite No. 1): The balcony scene. In the serene quiet of the evening, Juliet is seen preparing for bedtime. Her nurse interrupts with a harsh command, but then departs. Romeo appears, calls Juliet out to the balcony above him, and they embrace.

Here Prokofiev has created the most soaringly sumptuous music of romance ever written.

4. The Death of Tybalt (from Suite No. 1): The critical turning point of the story. Juliet’s temperamental cousin Tybalt clashes with Mercutio, and kills him. In turn, Romeo kills Tybalt.

Romeo is banished, and the fatal tragedy of the lovers is predestined. Prokofiev vividly depicts the feverish clash of taunts and swords, and ultimately, the brutal moment of Romeo’s death blow to Tybalt.

5. Romeo at Juliet’s Grave (from Suite No. 2): Romeo arrives at Juliet’s grave, hysterical with grief, and determines to take the apothecary’s potion and join Juliet in death. Prokofiev’s heartbreaking musical depiction of anguish here is profoundly beautiful and poignant.

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PROGRAM NOTES RICHARD STRAUSS, MACBETH Macbeth was Richard Strauss’ (1864 - 1949) first experimental effort into a new musical form – the tone-poem. These are large-scale narrative works that use the richest orchestral forces to bring vivid stories to life (e.g. Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration (performed by the Peninsula Symphony last November); Don Juan; Don Quixote; Ein Heldenleben, etc.). Strauss struggled with his new format, and revised this music over the years 1886 through 1888. At this point he was working closely within the orbit of Richard Wagner, as a conductor and organizer, and he began to adopt the idea of leitmotifs (signature tunes) as a narrative device. The premiere performance in 1890 was conducted by the composer himself in Weimar, Germany.

Strauss’ Macbeth begins with this fanfare leitmotif representing power and monarchy:

Macbeth is represented by this ambitious tune, developed boldly and extensively:

Here is Lady Macbeth’s sinuous and seductive leitmotif, played by woodwinds: Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s themes alternate in a passionate dialogue, as she implores him to carry out their plan for murdering Duncan and seizing the throne of Scotland. Duncan arrives (with the theme of monarchy), and Macbeth does indeed kill Duncan and assume the crown in a majestic statement of the fanfare.

The murderous couple are increasingly haunted by their regicide. Macbeth unravels in fits of madness. Macduff returns, kills Macbeth, and retakes the throne in an even more regal statement of the fanfare. Strauss ends with a coda (his last revision of the score), sadly reprising Macbeth’s leitmotif, and ending with a hasty and powerful flourish as the proper monarchy is restored.

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MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR Mitchell Sardou Klein

Music Director & Conductor Music Director and Conductor Mitchell Sardou Klein brings extensive conducting experience in the US, Europe, Australia and Japan to his leadership of the Peninsula Symphony. This year marks his 41st season on the Symphony’s podium. Over the past four decades, he has guest-conducted the Seattle Symphony, New Polish Philharmonic, Suddetic Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Eastern Philharmonic, and numerous other orchestras across the US and Europe. In California he has led Symphony San José (formerly Symphony Silicon Valley), the San José Symphony, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Inland Empire/Riverside Philharmonic, Ballet San José, the California Riverside Ballet and the Livermore-Amador Philharmonic and others. He co-founded and recently retired as Music Director of the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, which he has taken on concert tours of England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Latvia, and Estonia.

Maestro Klein directed over a hundred concerts as Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Philharmonic (where he was also Principal Pops Conductor and Principal Conductor of Starlight Theater, the Philharmonic’s summer home), and also served as Music Director of the Santa Cruz Symphony. He also has extensive experience in conducting ballet orchestras, including the Kansas City, Lone Star, Oakland, and Westport Ballets, as well as the Theater Ballet of San Francisco and les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Before turning to the podium, he performed as a cellist for many years. Known to most everyone as Mitch, he enjoys travel, photography, jazz and visual arts in his spare time.

Since 1984, he has been Director of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition.

Held in San Francisco each June, the Competition has become one of the most prominent in the world, featuring prizes totaling over $35,000, attracting applicants from more than twenty nations annually, and launching numerous major international concert careers.

Critics have consistently praised his work. The San José Mercury described his performance with Symphony Silicon Valley in 2012 as a “gorgeous performance; big, enveloping and wonderfully luxuriant.” The San Mateo County Times described him in 2007 as “Super Conductor: Mitchell Sardou Klein, music director of the Peninsula Symphony, led his musicians through another triumphant concert. The Peninsula Symphony just keeps getting better and better. Great works and great performances by all.” The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza proclaimed, “The American conductor quickly established a fine rapport with his orchestra. Klein is a musician who has the musical score in his head, rather than his head in the score, which he demonstrated ably. The creative conception and artistic shape which he brings to his work comes from deep inside him.”

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MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR Maestro Klein is a winner of many prestigious awards, including the 2008 Diamond Award for Best Individual Artist, the Silver Lei Award from the 2009 Honolulu Film Festival (for the World Premiere of Giancarlo Aquilanti’s La Poverta), the 2000 ASCAP Award for Programming of American Music on Foreign Tour, the 2001 Jullie Billiart Award from the College of Notre Dame for Outstanding Community Service, a 1996 award for the year’s best television performance program in the Western States (for the one-hour PBS program about him and the Peninsula Symphony) as well as the 1993 Bravo Award for his contribution to the Bay Area’s cultural life.

Mr. Klein was born in New York City, into a musical family that included members of the Claremont and Budapest String Quartets. He began cello studies at age four with his father, Irving Klein, founder of the Claremont Quartet. His mother, Elaine Hartong Klein, danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

Cited for his “keen judgment, tight orchestral discipline, feeling for tempo, and unerring control,” Maestro Klein has conducted many significant world, American, and West Coast premieres, including works by Bohuslav Martinu, Meyer Kupferman, Joan Tower, Hans Kox, George Barati, Benjamin Lees, Giancarlo Aquilanti, Melissa Hui, Rodion Shchedrin, Brian Holmes, Ron Miller, Lee Actor, Michael Thurber, Jonathan Russell, Alvin Brehm, and Margaret Garwood. He has appeared frequently on national and international broadcasts, including National Public Radio, the Voice of America, the WFMT Fine Arts Network, PBS Television, and KQED television. He lives in Oakland, California with his wife, violist Patricia Whaley. Their daughter, Elizabeth, lives and works in Washington D.C.

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ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Samantha Burgess Assistant Conductor

Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2022, Samantha has quickly become an in-demand conductor.

In the 2024 – 25 season she began her tenure as Music Director of the Community Women’s Orchestra, and she joins the Peninsula Symphony as their Assistant Conductor in the 2025 – 26 season. Also in the 2025 – 26 season, Samantha will be the first Music Director of Symphony Tierra, a semi-professional orchestra formed as the ensemble in residence at Napa Valley College. Samantha continues to work with the Berkeley Symphony as their regular Assistant Conductor, and will be Assistant Conductor for Dima Slobodeniouk at the San Francisco Symphony in May 2026. Her additional recent engagements include Guest Conducting Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Napa Valley Chorale, Assistant Conducting for Beethoven’s Ninth with the Oakland Symphony, and a tour of Paris and the Loire Valley with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, where she made her French debut. Previously, she has been Assistant Conductor with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, the Westerville Symphony (OH), the Galesburg Community Chorus (IL), and the Oxford University Philharmonia (UK).

Samantha holds masters’ degrees in Orchestral Conducting and Music Theory from The Ohio State University, where she was Music Director of the Ohio State Community Orchestra and Assistant Conductor for the Ohio State Symphony Orchestra. While at OSU, she was also a graduate teaching assistant in Music Theory and a member of the Cognitive and Systematic Musicology Laboratory. On the podium, Samantha combines conducting with her background in music cognition research to develop innovative, multimedia performances. She has presented her research at the Society for Music Theory Midwest Conference, Future Directions of Music Cognition, and the Oxford Conducting Institute International Conducting Studies Conference.

Samantha has conducted in masterclasses and competitions in the USA and abroad— notably in September 2023, when she finished as a semi-finalist in the International Academy and Competition for Orchestral Conducting in Portugal. She has also participated in the George Hurst Conductor’s Course at the Sherborne Summer School of Music, the London Conducting Workshop, the New York Conducting Workshop, and the International Conducting Workshop and Competition in Atlanta, GA.

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FEATURED ARTIST

Joyce Yang Piano

Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive sensitivity. She first came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant at 19 years old, she took home two additional awards: Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takàcs Quartet), and Best Performance of a New Work. In 2006 Yang made her celebrated New York Philharmonic debut alongside Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall along with the orchestra’s tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea. Yang’s subsequent appearances with the New York Philharmonic have included opening night of the 2008 Leonard Bernstein Festival – an appearance made at the request of Maazel in his final season as music director. The New York Times pronounced her performance in Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety a “knockout.”

Over the last two decades, Yang has blossomed into an “astonishing artist” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), showcasing her colorful musical personality in solo recitals and collaborations with the world’s top orchestras and chamber musicians through more than 1,000 debuts and re-engagements. She received the 2010 Avery Fisher Career Grant and earned her

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FEATURED ARTIST first Grammy nomination (Best Chamber Music/ Small Ensemble Performance) for her recording of Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann with violinist Augustin Hadelich (“One can only sit in misty-eyed amazement at their insightful flair and spontaneity.”

– The Strad).

Other notable orchestral engagements have included the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin, Hong Kong Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, as well as the Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand symphony orchestras. She was also featured in a five-year Rachmaninoff concerto cycle with Edo de Waart and the Milwaukee Symphony, to which she brought “an enormous palette of colors, and tremendous emotional depth” (Milwaukee Sentinel Journal).

In solo recitals, Yang’s innovative program has been praised as “extraordinary” and “kaleidoscopic” (Los Angeles Times). She has performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Chicago’s Symphony Hall, Zurich’s Tonhalle, and all throughout Australia on a recital tour presented

by Musica Viva.

As an avid chamber musician, Yang has collaborated with the Takács Quartet for Dvořák – part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series – and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet with members of the Emerson String Quartet at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center.

Yang has fostered an enduring partnership with the Alexander String Quartet and together released three celebrated recordings under Foghorn Classics.

As a champion of new music, Yang has premiered three piano concerti by Michael Torke, Jonathan Leshnoff, and Reinaldo Moya. In the fall of 2025, she will perform a new work by Jonathan Leshnoff: Rhapsody on America, a piece written expressly for her.

Yang has released 10 recordings, including celebrated solo discs (Collage and Wild Dreams, Avie Records), where she “demonstrated impressive gifts” (New York Times).

Yang also released a live-performance recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Denmark’s Odense Symphony Orchestra (Bridge Records), which International Record Review called “hugely enjoyable, beautifully shaped … a performance that marks her out as an enormous talent.”

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FEATURED ARTIST In recent years, Yang has focused on promoting creative ways to introduce classical music to new audiences. She served as the Guest Artistic Director for the Laguna Beach Music Festival in California, curating concerts that explore the “art-inspires-art” concept – highlighting the relationship between music and dance while simultaneously curating outreach activities to young students. Yang’s collaboration with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet of Half/Cut/Split – a “witty, brilliant exploration of Robert Schumann’s Carnaval” (The Santa Fe New Mexican) choreographed by Jorma Elo – was a marriage between music and dance to illuminate the ingenuity of Schumann’s musical language. The group toured nationwide, including five performances at the Joyce Theater in New York.

In the summer of 2025, Yang made a celebrated return to the Aspen Music Festival performing Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, and made her debut at San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival. In the 2025/2026 as one of the most in-demand soloists and recitalists today, Yang will continue to present her wide range of repertoire in over 30 cities around the world playing piano concerti with New Jersey Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and Belgian National Orchestra among many others, and give solo recitals at Celebrity Series of Boston, Meany Center for the Performing Arts in Seattle, and ECHO Chamber Music Series in San Diego. As a chamber musician, Yang will reunite with the Takàcs Quartet performing Schumann’s Piano Quintet.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Yang received her first piano lesson from her aunt at the age of four. She quickly took to the instrument, which she received as a birthday present. Over the next few years won several national piano competitions in her native country. By the age of ten, she had entered the School of Music at the Korea National University of Arts, and went on to make a number of concerto and recital appearances in Seoul and Daejeon.

In 1997, Yang moved to the United States to begin studies at the pre-college division of the Juilliard School with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. During her first year at Juilliard, Yang won the pre-college division Concerto Competition, resulting in a performance of Haydn’s Keyboard Concerto in D with the Juilliard Pre-College Chamber Orchestra. After winning the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Greenfield Student Competition, she performed Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with that orchestra at just twelve years old. She graduated from Juilliard with special honor as the recipient of the school’s 2010 Arthur Rubinstein Prize, and in 2011 she won its 30th Annual William A. Petschek Piano Recital Award. She is a Steinway artist.

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The spirit of community lives here When everyone comes together, the opportunities open.

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Alan Russell

Private Mortgage Banker 408-887-5141 homeloans.wellsfargo.com/Alan-W-Russell alan.w.russell@wellsfargo.com NMLSR ID 280182 Information is accurate as of date of printing and is subject to change without notice. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2024 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. NMLSR ID 399801. AS6091280 01/2025 IHA-7961605

HELPING PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC PAIN RETURN TO AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

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ORCHESTRA ROSTER - JAN 2026 Music Director & Conductor Mitchell Sardou Klein Assistant Conductor Samantha Burgess Violin I Debra Fong, Concertmaster Kate Wahl, Assistant Concertmaster Kimberly Bonnett Daniel Cher Colin Gaffney Julian Hsieh Tara Iyer Girish Nanjundiah Matt Springer Judy Streger Alexander Wang Sarah Wu Violin II Deborah Passanisi, Principal Moosa Azfar Isa Baratoff Susanne Bohl Kevin Dong Bradley Gibson Vineet Mehta Harrison Nicholls Frank Rahn Katharine Schmidtke Jshon Thomas David Williams Angela Yeh Hanna Yoshimoto Jane Zhang

Viola Elyse Ader, Principal Katherine Bukstein Elizabeth Ingber Andrew Lan Hunter Prince Jerry Saliman Judy Beck Sumerlin Renee Toscan Jolynda Tresner Alexander Wong Carolyn Worthington Cello Yosef Feinberg, Acting Principal Abraham Aragundi Sandy Baratoff Garth Cummings Paul Federighi Tetsu Ishihara Tomoko Ishihara Annette Lewis Ryan Toulouse

Bass Nicholas Dalton David Herberg Rahul Iyer Bruce Moyer Jeff Wachtel

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ORCHESTRA ROSTER - JAN 2026 Flute Kay Saito Shafi, Principal Patricia Harrell Kristin Kunzelman Piccolo Patricia Harrell Oboe Audrey Gore, Principal Dane Carlson Joel Greene

Trombone David Allmon, Co-Principal Rami Hindiyeh, Co-Principal Bass Trombone Todd Weinman, Principal Tuba Johnathan Hsu, Principal

English Horn Dane Carlson Clarinet Nicole Galisatus, Principal Alia Schoen Bass Clarinet Jimmée Greco Tenor Saxophone Rich Avila Bassoon Aidan Yang, Acting Principal Alex Hernandez Contrabassoon Mia Stormer Horn Brian Holmes, Co-Principal Randy Nickel, Co-Principal David Dufour Justin Privitera Paul Schneider Trumpet Michael Marmarou, Principal Bob Fitt Mike Pakaluk Nicholas Toscan

Timpani Mike Bresler, Principal Percussion Paul Burdick, Co-Principal Emily Hendricks, Co-Principal Erica Richstad Yujin Yin Harp Ricky Rasura, Acting Principal Piano/Celeste Tom Hansen Music Librarian Joel Greene

Bass Trumpet Bob Fitt

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RISING STAR

Pearl de la Motte, Viola Violist Pearl de la Motte is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at The Juilliard School where she studies with Hsin-Yun Huang and is a member of the Cabaletta Quartet. She is also the second of eleven children in a musical family.

She began playing the violin at the age of two then switched to viola when she was ten. After being inspired by the viola’s deep and expressive voice, she became very passionate about music and decided that she wanted to pursue a career as a musician while honoring God with her music.

Pearl received first place in the 2021 American Viola Society National Competition, third place in the 2024 Stulberg International String Competition, and first place in the 2024 Klein International String Competition. In April 2022 she performed the Higdon viola concerto with the La Jolla Symphony.

Pearl has participated in multiple projects during her time at The Juilliard school.

In 2023 she was invited to perform Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s piano quintet in “The New Series” and has regularly participated in the “If Music Be the Food...” benefit concerts.

In 2023 Pearl attended the Toronto summer music festival and collaborated with artists including Yura Lee, Daniel Ching, Matthew Zalkind, and Desmond Hoebig.

Pearl is also a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School.

- Coming May 2026 -

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ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN LIFETIME ADOPTED MUSICIANS Mitchell Sardou Klein Conductor Deborah Passanisi Violin II Dr. Lauren Speeth Violin I

Paula Uccelli Frank & Annette Rahn Elfenworks Foundation

MUSICIAN INSTRUMENT ADOPTED BY Lara Webber Guest Conductor Jacqueline Smith Debra Fong Concertmaster Katherine & Roy Bukstein Dave Allmon Trombone Jacqueline Smith Lianne Araki Oboe Patricia L. Griffin Sandy Baratoff Cello Jacqueline Smith Mark Beyer Clarinet/Saxophone Raymond Smith Kim Bonnett Violin I Bradley Gibson Mike Bresler Timpani/Percussion Celeste Everson Misfeldt & Todd Misfeldt Katherine Bukstein Viola Margrit Rinderknecht & Richard Siemon Samantha Burgess Assistant Conductor Jacqueline Smith Dane Carlson Oboe/English Horn Kirt & Kelly Minor Daniel Cher Violin I Laura & David Francis Garth Cummings Cello Sheri & Michael Frumkin David Dufour Horn Hannelore Draper Linda Dunn Office Volunteer Ann & Ben Kong Bob Fitt Trumpet Don & Cathy Draper Nicole Galisatus Clarinet Mike Marmarou Bradley Gibson Violin II Teri Quick Audrey Gore Oboe Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Joel Greene Oboe/Music Librarian Al & Liz Dossa Juliet Hamak Bassoon John Givens Patricia Harrell Flute/Piccolo Krista & Jerry Terstiege Emily Hendricks Percussion Pamela Ferris Rami Hindiyeh Trombone John & Christine Sanguinetti Brian Holmes Horn Mary Gundelach Tara Iyer Violin I Jacqueline Smith Kristin Kunzelman Flute/Piccolo Jennifer & Tim Kardos Rick Leder Trumpet Kathryn Barnard & Kenneth Shirriff Susan Magrini Cello Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Mike Marmarou Trumpet Ronald S. Miller Vineet Mehta Violin II Sheree Kajiwara Ron Miller Clarinet Jacqueline Smith Bruce Moyer Bass Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Randy Nickel Horn Diana Lloyd Frank Rahn Violin II Nichole Edraos & Jim Augustus Jerry Saliman Viola Dorothy Saxe Paul Schneider Horn Sheri & Michael Frumkin

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ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN MUSICIAN INSTRUMENT ADOPTED BY Kay Saito Shafi Flute/Piccolo Ronald S. Miller Matt Springer Violin I/Timpani Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Mia Stormer Contrabassoon Joel Greene Judy Streger Violin I Alan & Spike Russell Jshon Thomas Violin II Sheri & Michael Frumkin Nicholas Toscan Trumpet Bob & Karen Fitt Renée Toscan Viola Bob & Karen Fitt Jolynda Tresner Viola Brian Holmes, Maureen Thrush,

and Roy & Victoria Sasselli Jeff Wachtel Bass The Wachtel Pronovost Family Kate Wahl Violin I Sheri & Michael Frumkin Todd Weinman Trombone David & Elisa Herberg David Williams Violin II Family and Friends Carolyn Worthington Viola Richard Izmirian Sarah Wu Violin I Alan & Spike Russell Kyoko Yamamoto Bassoon John Givens Audrey Xiaowei Yan Violin II Pamela Cronin Hanna Yoshimoto Violin II Hironari & Yoshihiro Yoshimoto Jane Zhang Violin II Gayle Flanagan EMERITUS MEMBERS

John Givens, Principal Bassoon, adopted by Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak

Would you like to adopt a musician? It is our goal to have the entire orchestra adopted as a special way of supporting us.

For information on this meaningful program, please reach out to Chelsea Chambers, Executive Director at chelsea@peninsulasymphony.org or (650) 941-5291.

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SUPPORTERS We are grateful to the following contributors who support live symphonic music and education on the Peninsula. Our donor listing below is a compilation of total giving received between September 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025. If you see an error in this listing or would like more information on ways you can contribute to Peninsula Symphony, please reach out to Executive Director Chelsea Chambers by emailing chelsea@peninsulasymphony.org.

Risoluto ($50k +) Janice Boelke Lorraine Smith Maestoso al fine ($25k - $49,999) John Givens in memory of Dorothy Givens Friend of PSO in honor of Sheri Frumkin Friend of PSO Fortissimo ($10k - $24,999) Katherine & Roy Bukstein Sheri & Michael Frumkin in honor of Chelsea Chambers and Jim Fung Joel Greene Mary Gundelach in memory of Charles M. Gundelach Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation Uccelli Foundation in honor of Sheri Frumkin Jeff & Gwyn Wachtel Crescendo ($5k-$9,999) David & Michelle Allmon Apple Inc Erika Crowley in honor of Cary Kimler Rika & Shawn Ellis Pamela Ferris Brad Gibson Diana Lloyd Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Michael Marmarou Celeste E. & Todd M. Misfeldt in appreciation of Mitch Klein Nvidia Deborah Passanisi Paul Schneider Friend of PSO (2)

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SUPPORTERS Presto ($2,500 - $4,999) Kathryn Barnard & Kenneth Shirriff Hilary Benton & David Williams Nathan Brookwood & Patricia Hendriks Howard B. Crittenden Nicholas & Renee Toscan Meiying Forney & Steve Shatas Peter Gelfand & Sharon Childress Benjamin & Kaoru Hollin Russell Hurley Intel Corporation Richard Izmirian & Sheree Kajiwara Alex Kurosawa Susan R. Lin in appreciation of Maestro Klein, Chelsea Chambers, Jim Fung, and everyone at PSO Bill Malmstrom in memory of Linda, who loved music Ronald S. Miller Teri Quick in honor of Brad Gibson Redwood City Arts Commission Sara & Phillip Salsbury Margrit Rinderknecht & Dick Siemon Friend of PSO Scherzo ($1,000-$2,499) Maryam Aghamirzadeh Jill Biegenzahn Barbara & Robert Brandriff in memory of Dorothy Lunn Janet & David Cain Tom Cooper & Mary Hom Stanley Dirks Al & Liz Dossa in honor of Mitch Don & Cathy Draper Hannelore Draper David Dufour & Jennifer Co in memory of Hannelore Draper Barbara Erickson Anne Esparza Gene Esswein Robert & Karen Fitt Mariam S. Galvarin Google, Inc. Herbert Grench

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Patricia L. Griffin Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak Ann & Salek Hamer in memory of Tom Perry Yukoh Hammura in appreciation of Kay, Patti, and Kristin from Flute section Patricia Harrell David & Elisa Herberg Jennifer & Tim Kardos Mitchell Sardou Klein & Patricia Whaley James Kleinrath & Melody Singleton Ann & Ben Kong in honor of Linda Dunn, most dedicated volunteer Lillian Lee Susan Magrini Edith & Frederick Marmarou Joe & Mollie Marshall Lawrence Marshall & Michelle Oberman in honor of Maestro Mitchell Klein Vineet Mehta & Karishma Sharma

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SUPPORTERS Melly Metcalf Janie & Randy Nickel Prudential Caroline & Chris Rackowski David Sacarelos & Yvette Lanza Jerry & Ellen Saliman John & Christine Sanguinetti Dorothy Saxe Kay Saito Shafi & Yusef Shafi Dr. Lauren Speeth in appreciation of Maestro Klein Anita Stewart & Kaj Rekola Robert, Jenna, Ezra, & Ruthie Wachtel Pronovost in appreciation of Jeff (Popi) Wachtel Y&H Soda Foundation Hanna & Yoshihiro Yoshimoto Rachel Youmans Friend of PSO Vivace ($500-$999) Adobe Inc. Karen Alden Jim Augustus & Nichole Edraos Wate & Johanna Bakker in honor of Mitch Klein Shirley Bernadotti Michael & Adrienne Bresler Kathleen Brown Robert Cascone & Margaret Rich Dr. David & Victoria Chang Daniel Cher & Laura Wolfe Pamela Cronin John DeLong & Sharon Peters Tom Driscoll & Nancy Quinn in honor of Mitch Klein Dorothy Fahlman & Karin Chesnutt Gayle Flanagan Laura & David Francis in honor of Daniel Cher Alice Galenson & Lou Thompson Victor Ge & Lily Tian Alexandra Gillen & Hartmut Koeppen

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David Greene in honor of Joel Greene Victor Ha Brian Holmes & Jolynda Tresner Peter & Mela Hwang Rebecca Jaworski Rob Jaworski Kristin Kunzelman & Mark Inouye Marcia Lowell Leonhardt in honor of Judy and David Anderson Stephanie Leung Kathleen Lowry Marcia & John Mehl Kirt & Kelly Minor Joyce A. Monda Pamela Moore in memory of Bill Moore Vonya Morris The Anna Newman Group Fund in memory of Richard Newman Wendy & Craig Nishizaki Liz Nyberg Kristin Oro Mary & Neil Panton in honor of Ron Panton Grant Parker Farrell May Podgorsek in memory of Ken Podgorsek Justin Privitera Alison & Ken Ross in honor of Maestro Mitchell Klein Stuart & Lynne Rovin Ruth A. Short Ray Smith Sue Larson Family Fund

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SUPPORTERS Suesan W. Taylor in memory of Prof. C. Barr Taylor, Stanford Behavioral Medicine Krista & Jerry Terstiege Jshon Thomas & Gary Carson Todd & Andrea Weinman Anne Wharton Friend of PSO in appreciation of Maestro Mitchell Sardou Klein’s 40th Friend of PSO in appreciation of Katherine & Roy Bukstein Friend of PSO in memory of Sarah Williams Friend of PSO in honor of Hanna Yoshimoto Friend of PSO (3) Allegro ($250-$499) Sue Alvarez Thalia Anagnos in honor of Jeff Wachtel Michael & Merrie Asimow Barbara Barth Sylvia & Fun Pang Chau Lena Chow Joseph Coha Philip & Judy Davis in memory of Harold and Marilyn Mindell Nhan Do Dolby Andrew & Michele Epstein in honor of Sheri Frumkin Robert Goldware Dawn Grench & Family in honor of Herb Grench Charles Hanes Yujiro and Andrea Hata Steven Hibshman Kathie Hillier Marianne Kruze Susan R Larson Richard & Beverly Marconi Linelle Marshall Sandra & Brandon Martinez-Larragoiti Hannelore McCrumb

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Betsy Murray Wayne Phillips Frank & Annette Rahn Bill & Sherrean Rundberg Amy & Daniel Schiff in honor of Sheri Frumkin Marian Schmidt Marycliff Foundation Wei Ai and Matt Springer in honor of Magnificent Maestro Mitch Alan Stern & Thomas Whatley Laura Sternberg Friend of PSO (2) Dolce ($100-$249) John & Barbara Adams Lianne M. Araki AssetMark, Inc Jo Anne Bailey in memory of June Wisecarver Doron Bardas Marilyn Barlow in memory of Rachel Ann Youmans Penny Barrows Charlotte & David Biegelsen Lorraine Bodie Suzanne Boutin Juliette Bryson Les & Nancy Burger in appreciation of Jeff Wachtel Frank & Charlotte Cevasco in honor of Debbie Passanisi Faye Chapman Sharon J. Chortack Rebecca Coker Juan Carlos Colosso William Conlon in honor of Selma Bukstein Sherill & Ken Cotter Tina Ebey Bill Enloe Suzanne & Allan Epstein Ruth Evans Fredrika Felt David Fernandez & Lori Krauss Ruth Freeman & David Stoner

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SUPPORTERS Claudia Fromm & Leonard Weingarten in honor of Carole Valentine Nicole Galisatus in memory of Aunty Evelyn Ngim Dr. Jan Gaynor in memory of Barbara Cohn Alice Graham in memory of Dorothy Graham Givens Jimmée Greco David & Mara Grimes in memory of Lee Spice Lisa L. Gruman in memory of Parents Lois & Allen Gruman Hillel Hachlili Thomas Hansen in memory of Minsook Kang Hansen Nancy Heffner Joseph & Bette Hirsch Norma J Hoch Deborah & Craig Hoffman in appreciation of Jerry Saliman Marshall & Roberta Hollimon Perry Hopkins Neil Hornor William Howland Leslie Itano & Jerry Chang in memory of Dr. Samuel Chan Kevin Jim in honor of Mitch Klein Jackie Jones Seungja Kimn in memory of Steve Kimn KLA Howard & Elizabeth Klein Sharon Krawetz Sandra Krawoski Ancilla Kwok in memory of Dr. Sam Chan Joseph & Sharon Kwok in memory of Dr. Sam Chan Eugene Lee Stanley Levine Janet Louie Harvey Lynch Ann Marotta Melody Marshall Stephen Martin Judi McManigal

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David Mendel in appreciation of Jerry Saliman Arnold Miller Joan & Ronald Miller Margaret Nalbach Michael Nguyen Joan Norton Karen & Douglas Perry Anthony & Carol Ann Pleva Charles Polanski Marilyn Reisen Cheryl & John Ritchie Robert Roth & Cynthia Robbins-Roth Alan & Spike Russell Heather Sanders Dave Sargent in honor of Brian Holmes & Jolynda Tresner Doris Sayon Marvin & Ellen Schwartz Dana Scoby Karen & John Scorsur in appreciation of Chelsea Chambers Marcyl Seidscher Noel Shirley Jason Shu Tom Silva Lynne Simpson in honor of David Williams Dr. Patrick L. Smith Lisa & Bruce Steinback Linda Tan Maureen Thrush Katie Treu Kazumi Tsuchiyose Adam Wantz Wilton & Kathy Wong Kyoko Yamamoto Aidan & Jen Yang in appreciation of Mitchell Sardou Klein Jiaxi Zhu & Audrey Xiaowei Yan Miriam & Richard Zimmerman in honor of Jerry Saliman Friend of PSO in appreciation of the PSO bassoon section Friends of PSO (9)

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“Sostenuto” Legacy Society The future of Peninsula Symphony is sustained by the generosity of individuals who choose to give during or after their lifetimes. Their contributions safeguard the presence of symphonic music on the Peninsula for this and future generations to come. To find out more about how to join this special group of cherished supporters, please reach out to Executive Director Chelsea Chambers, chelsea@peninsulasymphony.org.

Sostenuto Legacy Society Members as of January 2026:

Ellis Alden Anonymous Janice Boelke David Cone Hannelore Draper The Elfenworks Foundation Mitchell Sardou Klein & Patricia Whaley Judi McManigal Frank & Annette Rahn Genny Hall Smith Lorraine Smith Marguerite Szekeley William Warren Wiesenfeld Trust

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MARCH2026

BOARD, STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

PENINSULA SYMPHONY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ben Hollin, Co-Chair Jeff Wachtel, Co-Chair Randy Nickel, Secretary Alan Russell, Treasurer Katherine Bukstein, Chair, Governance Committee Sheri Frumkin, Chair, Development Committee Nicole Galisatus, Orchestra Rep Mariam Galvarin Juliet Hamak Tara Iyer Alex Kurosawa Lillian Lee Diana Lloyd Ron Miller Carole Valentine

PENINSULA SYMPHONY STAFF Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor Samantha Burgess, Assistant Conductor Chelsea Chambers, Executive Director Jim Fung, Director of Marketing & Digital Content Jenny Ugale, Operations & Outreach Manager Tara Kariat, Box Office & Administrative Assistant Faye Chapman, Bookkeeper Joel Greene, Music Librarian Greg van der Veen, Stage Manager Samantha Paschner, Rehearsal Setup Linda Dunn, Office Volunteer Heidi Hau, Piano Competition Coordinator Amelia Yee, Front of House & Volunteer Coordinator Seona Sheth, Intern/Youth Ambassador

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The mission of the Peninsula Symphony is to enrich the lives of people in our community with inspiring, innovative, high-quality musical presentations at affordable prices, and to promote music education through engaging programs for children and adults.

The Peninsula Symphony Association of Northern California is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation, Federal Tax ID 94-6106974.

Peninsula Symphony 146 Main Street, Suite 102 Los Altos, CA 94022 (650) 941-5291 / info@peninsulasymphony.org PeninsulaSymphony.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR ON-SITE VOLUNTEERS Carol Dianda

Tanya Dubinsky Linda Dunn

Sharon Fuentes

Marian Galvarin

Maude Iggstrom Jan Rani

Kacy Tran

Teri Whitehair Amelia Yee

PEARL DE LA MOTTE Klein Competition Winner 2024

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MAY2026