Peninsula Symphony 75th Anniversary: Game Changers / October 27 & 28, 2023

Mitchell Sardou Klein Music Director & Conductor

LARA DOWNES

OCT 27 & 28 at 8PM FRIDAY / San Mateo Performing Arts Center SATURDAY / Heritage Theatre, Campbell

SINCE 1949

Table of Contents | October 27 & 28, 2023 2

WELCOME FROM PSO

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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM

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WELCOME FROM MAESTRO MITCHELL SARDOU KLEIN

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PROGRAM NOTES

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MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

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RESIDENT CONDUCTOR

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FEATURED ARTIST: LARA DOWNES

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PENINSULA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - OCTOBER 2023

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ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN

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SUPPORTERS

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BOARD, STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

PSO program copyright ©2023 Peninsula Symphony Orchestra PENINSULA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 146 Main Street, Suite 102 Los Altos, CA 94022 (650) 941-5291 peninsulasymphony.org

Welcome from PSO

Dear Friends, Welcome to Peninsula Symphony’s 75th Season! Since our inception in 1949 to today’s anniversary, we remain an ensemble formed of devoted community musicians committed to the vision of sustaining a thriving music-making scene on the Peninsula. Our first reaction to this milestone? Gratitude. For the years of support and engagement from you, our audience members and donors. We wouldn’t be here after so long without you!

Our organization has certainly changed shape over the last seventy-five years. From being run entirely by hundreds of dedicated guild members in the early decades to a small but mighty professional staff since the late 1980’s and countless hours from volunteers and board members, the music plays on. Our musicians are also committed to each other, to our dedicated and beloved Maestro Mitchell Sardou Klein, and to you in the audience. We are enthusiastic to see so many players who stay with us for years, but also new faces that add into our ranks from all walks of life. The feeling of a supportive community is alive and well both inside and outside the orchestra.

This season, we look forward to showcasing musical works and onstage talent that live up to all that Peninsula Symphony embodies - including a deep rooted respect for, and inspiration drawn from, composers and artists from a diversity of backgrounds and eras.

Whether your preference lies with traditional masterworks from the canon, or you relish the opportunity to hear something brilliantly new, we hope you will leave our halls feeling more inspired, informed, and invigorated than when you came. The icing on the cake would be that you return home feeling a new or deeper connection to the people in the Peninsula Symphony community than ever before. We certainly hope that is the case for you tonight.

Whether you are here as a single ticket buyer, subscriber, or friend or family of an orchestra member, thank you for attending. The greatest compliment we could receive is that you share a little about your experience at tonight’s concert with someone. Word of mouth is still the most likely way we’ll continue our mission of producing high quality music on the Peninsula.

Lastly, thank you to all our amazing donors. Because ticket sales do not cover the costs incurred to put on concerts, we depend on the generosity of our patrons to keep us operating. It is because of you that we’ve reached this milestone and can dream big about continuing our presence for another seventy-five years to come.

We sincerely hope you enjoy every aspect of your evening with us!

Sincerely, Chelsea Chambers, Executive Director Ron Miller, Co-Chair, Board of Directors Ben Hollin, Co-Chair, Board of Directors

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Game Changers October 27, 2023 / San Mateo Performing Arts Center October 28, 2023 / Heritage Theatre, Campbell Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor Nathaniel Berman, Resident Conductor Lara Downes, Piano

Micahel Abels, Global Warming Nathaniel Berman, conducting Scott Joplin (arr. Stephen Buck) Magnetic Rag Bethena Maple Leaf Rag Lara Downes, piano Florence Price, Piano Concerto in D minor in One Movement* Lara Downes, piano - Intermission Gustav Mahler, Symphony No.1 “Titan” in D Major I. II. III. IV.

Langsam, schleppend / Im Anfang sehr gemächlich Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen Stürmisch bewegt

*Piano Concerto in D minor in One Movement by Florence Price presented under license from G. Schirmer Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, copyright owners.

THESE CONCERTS ARE GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY Jacqueline Smith in memory of Pieter Smith Sheri Frumkin in honor of Mitchell Sardou Klein

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Season 75: A Celebration The Peninsula Symphony is thriving as we celebrate 75 years of presenting great music and great musicians to our audience and our community. I’m so energized by the high quality of musicianship and orchestral camaraderie that our magnificent players bring to every rehearsal and concert. Our repertoire has expanded and diversified in challenging and rewarding new ways. We perform with some of the most celebrated and brilliant soloists in the world in fine concert venues. And, as we reflect back on the last three turbulent years, it is deeply uplifting and gratifying that we have returned to the stage better than ever.

In fact, the challenges of the Covid era brought us closer together than ever, as a musical ensemble and as a community partner. During the year when we could not perform together, we developed on-line assets that kept the musicians knitted together as musical colleagues and broadened our reach to our audience. We now are able to present our concerts and outreach events to the larger web world with beautifully produced programs that hugely expand the notion of community. Our audiences, like those of many performing arts organizations, are gradually returning to live presentations. Our deeply engaged and loyal audience can see us in Campbell (Heritage Theater) and San Mateo (SM Performing Arts Center) for the traditional four pairs of Subscription Concerts, an annual Fall collaboration with the Stanford University Music Department at the magnificent Bing Concert Hall, a Springtime Family Concert, a summer outdoor pops concert, and special events like brass ensemble concerts at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, an outdoor Wind Ensemble concert in Los Altos, the Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition at Stanford, our Young Musicians Competition and special events throughout the year.

Amazing guest artists elevate our performing standards and thrill Peninsula audiences.

Recent years have seen illustrious musicians like Jon Kimura Parker, Lara Downes (tonight!), Anthony McGill, Joyce Yang, Natasha Paremski, Jon Nakamatsu, Tessa Lark, and a new generation of Klein Competition virtuosos join us in concert. Special musical events, like the Violins of Hope, our Jazz Reunion with David Benoit, Taylor Eigsti, and Chris and Dan Brubeck, and Broadway musicals like South Pacific and Brigadoon with 42nd Street Moon continue to expand our programming scope. Our musical vision grows and deepens as we explore superb works in previously neglected repertoire categories, with new and old music composed by inspiring minority diverse voices and underrepresented cultures. We look to new and more imaginative, multimedia-focused, and engaging ways to present all of this rich musical fabric.

Our superb volunteer musicians, our hard-working Board and our magnificent professional staff are dedicated to an ever-expanding vision of musical service the Peninsula. It is my privilege to work with them to bring great music to you, our wonderful audience, and to our wider community as we embark on the Peninsula Symphony’s next 75 years. Thank you for being with us tonight and into the future.

Mitchell Sardou Klein

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PROGRAM NOTES PSO Program Notes for October 27 & 28, 2023

By Larry Laskowski Game Changers Beethoven wrote: “Art demands of us that we shall not stand still.” The pace of change in our world has certainly accelerated in recent years, and music has followed suit. Styles evolve, significant influences from popular and folk music enter the picture, and a new inclusiveness has slowly but steadily welcomed new sorts of musicians into the world of classical music. The result is music that has opened our minds, eyes, and ears to new ideas and sounds. The compositions may be thrilling at times, puzzling at others, but the freshness encourages us to listen in new ways. Yes, the game has changed.

Michael Abels, Global Warming (1990) Michael Abels (born 1962) is an African American composer who has made his mark in multiple ways. He is well known as a composer of film scores. His opera Omar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2023. He has also written many orchestral and chamber works. His music tends toward the eclectic, and he displays an ability to be comfortable in many different styles. Abels is also co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, gaming and streaming media.

Global Warming is an orchestral work from 1990, when the Berlin wall had just come down and the possibility of a warming among nations was in the air. Abels said “I wanted to write a piece that explored the similarities I heard between music of various cultures … It begins with a desert scene, a depiction of a futuristic vast desert, with desert locusts buzzing in the background. But soon the piece turns quite uplifting. There are elements of Irish music, African music, Persian rhythms, drones, blended to display their commonalities in a way that is often quite joyous. But rather than end happily, the piece suddenly returns to its original, stark desert scene, leaving it to the listener to decide which version of global warming they prefer. At the time of its premiere, global warming was not the politically charged term it is today. The piece was not written as a political statement, but its political message has inevitably deepened as climate change has evolved from theory into reality.”

Scott Joplin, Three Rags (arr. Stephen Buck): Magnetic Rag, Bethena, Maple Leaf Rag Ragtime was extremely popular in America from about 1890 to 1920. It probably originated in African-American culture in Missouri and Arkansas, though it quickly spread nationwide. The African American Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was known as the King of Ragtime, and in his opinion there had been “ragtime music in America ever since the Negro race has been here, but the white people took no notice of it until about twenty years ago [in the 1890s].”

It was usually played by a solo pianist, though arrangements for instrumental ensembles of various sorts were common enough. On the piano it is characterized by the regular stride bass in the left hand, and a more complex right-hand part that is full of inventiveness and syncopation

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PROGRAM NOTES (“ragged” time). Joplin took ragtime very seriously and considered it to be a form of classical music. Ragtime is in one sense an important precursor to modern jazz and blues but is also quite different in that in ragtime there is no improvisation.

While its popularity waned after about 1920, ragtime never completely left the scene, and numerous revivals in the 1970’s by important classical musicians brought renewed interest and respectability to the genre. Ragtime also made its way back into popular culture in other ways, such as E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime, and the movie The Sting.

The three rags on this evening’s program are among Joplin’s most popular and represent the genre well. It’s a sound and style that will not be forgotten.

Florence Price, Piano Concerto (1933) Florence Price (1887-1953), an African-American musician, teacher, and composer, was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. She showed considerable musical talent at an early age and received thorough training in traditional classical music. She achieved some success as a composer and teacher and was well known to many important Black cultural figures, including Langston Hughes and Marian Anderson.

She was active in the Chicago Black Renaissance, an historic surge of artistic expression, community organizing, and social activity during the 1930’s through the 1950’s. However, prejudice against female composers and Black classical musicians in general prevented her from achieving the success she deserved in her lifetime. After decades of neglect her music is now firmly planted in the classical canon and is a wonderful example of the broader cultural reach of today’s classical world.

During her lifetime the piano concerto was performed only once (with Price as the soloist).

The piece was soon forgotten, and the score and orchestral parts were scattered about. The handwritten music was later rediscovered (2009-2019) and finally published in 2020. The publication made the piece available to all and has led to many performances in the last few years.

The concerto is firmly rooted in a late Romantic sensibility, but also shows the influence of spirituals, popular music, folk music, and even ragtime. There are three movements: The first begins with an imposing piano cadenza which leads to a sweeping Romantic theme. The second movement is a touching and intimate conversation between the solo piano and the orchestra.

The third movement is based on the juba, a dance with complex rhythms that was part of plantation slave culture in the American South. The integration of these fresh cultural elements, so skillfully woven into a traditional concerto, was new to the concert hall in the 1930’s, and still sounds fresh to our ears today.

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PROGRAM NOTES Gustav Mahler, Symphony #1 (“Titan”) (1888) After Beethoven, symphonic music took two different paths.

One path includes Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner and others who wrote symphonies that for the most part maintained the “absolute” music of Classical composers, that is music without explicit references to literary or nonmusical art. The music stands on its own. Classical structures were mostly maintained, though they were imbued with new Romantic sensibilities. On the other path, more radical composers (Berlioz and Liszt, Richard Strauss, for example) broke from that tradition and composed pieces (often called tone poems) that are freer in form and often incorporate a ‘program’ or story. The ‘program’ is sometimes explained by the composer or can be inferred from a title that points to a literary, mythological, or philosophical reference. In so doing these composers abandoned strict conformity to Classical forms, and instead opened the door to non-musical cultural elements. Hence their compositions tend to be somewhat experimental, more irregular and often intensely personal.

Mahler (1860-1911) began work on his first symphony in the late 1880’s when he was already well established as both a composer and conductor. Yet in this first symphony Mahler was faced with choosing between these two paths or somehow trying to reconcile them.

In some ways the symphony is progressive. Mahler quotes some of his own music in the symphony and included some notes about the ‘program’ of the symphony in early versions.

Indeed, at one point Mahler titled the work “Titan, a Tone Poem in the Form of a Symphony”.

(He later discarded the title.)

On the other hand, the symphony is in the usual four movements and at least nods to traditional symphonic form. Mahler seems to have wanted it both ways.

Early performances of the symphony pleased neither camp. The progressives found it too traditional, and conservative critics denounced it as incoherent, overly emotional and unbalanced.

The influential conservative Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick wrote: “The new symphony is the kind of music which for me is not music.” Another critic suggested that the work might have been meant as a parody of a symphony.

Mahler wrote “My time will yet come. Humanly I make every concession, artistically none.” With the benefit of hindsight and familiarity with Mahler’s eight subsequent symphonies, we can now appreciate that in this work Mahler took important steps in the development of the ‘dramatic’ symphony. It remains one of his most popular works and has become a staple in the orchestral repertoire. Mahler did his best to pay homage to Classical tradition, while at the same time greatly increasing the emotional scope of the symphony. He takes us on a personal journey that combines psychological introspection and overwhelming emotive power.

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PROGRAM NOTES Here are the four movements along with the programmatic titles that Mahler included in early versions: Introduction and Allegro comodo: Spring without End The introduction is mysterious and primal, very much like the introduction to the first movement of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony. But here we gradually hear pleasant sounds of nature that eventually coalesce into the charming main theme (borrowed from one of Mahler’s Wayfarer songs). The orchestration is remarkably inventive and evocative, and the wild climax at the end caps this movement, the movement that started with hushed mist.

Scherzo: Under Full Sail The scherzo is characterized by uncomplicated confidence as it depicts rustic Austrian simplicity.

No darkness here, no doubts.

Gestrandet! (Stranded): Funeral March in the Manner of Callot Callot was an important 16th and 17th century French printmaker who was well known for his highly detailed and often satiric etchings. Callot’s etching The Hunter’s Funeral Procession (based on a fairy tale) depicts a funeral procession, but it is the hunter who is deceased, and the forest animals that celebrate.

That irony permeates Mahler’s movement, which is a kind of mock funeral procession. It includes an ominous round based on a children’s song that we know as Frère Jacques), very unusual orchestration, and quick changes of mood and tempo. The result is decidedly eerie and we’re not sure if it is intended to be sad, funny, dreamlike, or maybe all of the above.

Callot’s The Hunter’s Funeral Procession

Allegro furioso: From Inferno to Paradise From the quiet ending of the funeral march comes a furious outburst of pain and angst. It’s as if we’ve suddenly descended into a kind of hell, one that is devoid of all hope. Yet gradually through the course of the movement (first tentatively, but then more steadily) Mahler brings glimmers of light. Those hints eventually grow and (it takes more than one attempt) bring us to triumph and celebration. Yes, the transformation is somewhat irrational but also immensely convincing, and is among the most famous, popular, and unforgettable such passages in all of music. Nothing is held back in the magnificent orchestration. The victory is complete, satisfying, and final.

Is this symphony program music? Is it a traditional symphony? Or is it something new? Answer as you wish, but no doubt this work is truly a game changer.

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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. During his 38 years on the Symphony’s podium, he has guest conducted the Seattle Symphony, New Polish Philharmonic, Suddetic Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Eastern Philharmonic and many other orchestras in 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 is 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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RESIDENT CONDUCTOR Nathaniel Berman Resident Conductor

Nathaniel Berman maintains an active presence as a performer and music educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. A faculty member at UC Santa Cruz since 2007, he is conductor of the UCSC Concert Choir and the UCSC Wind Ensemble and has appeared as guest conductor of the UCSC Orchestra and the University Opera Theater. Nathaniel has held the position of Music Director of the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony since 2011 and has appeared as guest conductor of the Santa Cruz County Symphony in annual collaborative concerts with the Youth Symphony.

A strong advocate for new music, Nathaniel is Artistic Director of the San Franciscobased new music ensemble Ninth Planet (formerly Wild Rumpus), with whom he has led premieres of commissioned works by dozens of composers, and he appears as conductor of new music on Innova, Other Minds, and Pinna recordings. Nathaniel has appeared as guest conductor with Empyrean Ensemble at UC Davis in June of 2019, as well as leading the world premiere of The Pressure by Brian Baumbusch, at San Francisco’s Other Minds Festival at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater. In March of 2023, he conducted the premiere performance of Prospero’s Island, a new opera by Alan Shearer, at Herbst Theater in San Francisco.

Nathaniel has been a member of the professional new-music chorus Volti, where he also served as Assistant Conductor, and has sung with early music ensembles Pacific Collegium and Euouae. Originally a trumpet player, he now keeps up his brass chops playing euphonium in the Balkan brass band Inspector Gadje.

Nathaniel received his Master’s degree in conducting from UC Santa Cruz, where he studied with Nicole Paiement. He grew up playing duets with his dad, a jazz pianist and singer.

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FEATURED ARTIST Lara Downes, piano Honored as 2022 Classical Woman of the Year by Performance Today, American pianist (and NY Times crossword clue) Lara Downes has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News and “an explorer whose imagination is fired by bringing notice to the underrepresented and forgotten” (The Log Journal). An iconoclast and trailblazer, her dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, a Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, a producer, curator, arts activist and advocate positions her as a cultural visionary on the national arts scene. Lara’s musical roadmap seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family, and collective memory, excavating a broad landscape of music to create a series of acclaimed performance and recording projects that serve as gathering spaces for her listeners to find common ground and shared experience.

Lara’s recent and upcoming onstage adventures include guest appearances with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, with recitals and residencies at Ravinia, the Gilmore Festival, Carolina Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, Caramoor, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Cabrillo Festival, and Oregon Bach Festival, among others.

Lara enjoys creative collaborations with an eclectic range of artists including folk icon Judy Collins, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, musical multi-hyphenate Rhiannon Giddens, former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, author John McWhorter, Broadway legend Brian Stokes Mitchell, baritone Thomas Hampson, and violinist Daniel Hope. Her close partnerships with prominent composers span genres and generations, with premieres and commissions coming from Adolphus Hailstork, Jennifer Higdon, Billy Childs, Paola Prestini, Arturo O’Farrill, Gerald Clayton, Jimmy Lopez-Bellido, Teddy Abrams, Clarice Assad, and many others.

Lara’s adventurous approach to concept and curation have created a unique series of acclaimed recordings, including her 2023 release Love at Last on the Pentatone label, which reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Chart and was featured as an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. In 2022, Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered, also reached the top of the Billboard chart and was featured in the New York Times and on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Other recent albums include Florence Price: Piano Discoveries, a world-premiere recording of recently discovered piano works by that groundbreaking composer; and Some of These Days, a collection of freedom songs and spirituals reflecting on social justice, progress and

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FEATURED ARTIST equality. In 2019 For Love Of You marked Lara’s concerto recording debut, celebrating the 200th birthday of the great pianist and composer Clara Schumann. In 2017, her Sony Classical release For Lenny was awarded the Classical Recording Foundation Award, and America Again was selected by NPR as one of “10 Albums that Saved 2016.”

Lara is a highly visible media presence in her role as the creator and host of AMPLIFY with Lara Downes, an NPR Music series now in its third season, featuring intimate, profoundly personal video conversations with visionary Black artists and cultural leaders who are shaping our creative present and future. She is a frequent guest on national programs including NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, City Lights and Performance Today, and she serves as Resident Artist for Classical KDFC in San Francisco and Classical KUSC in Los Angeles. Her work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sphinx Venture Fund, and the Center for Cultural Innovation, among others.

Lara is the creator and curator of Rising Sun Music, a recording series that shines light on the music and stories of Black composers over the past 200 years, featuring her collaborations with a wide range of leading instrumentalists and vocalists, including Davóne Tines, Will Liverman, Nicole Cabell and Regina Carter.

Lara’s fierce commitment to activism and advocacy brings her working with organizations including the ACLU, Feeding America, and Headcount, a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy.

Lara Downes is an artist represented by CADENZA ARTISTS LLC. www.CadenzaArtists.com.

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FEATURED ARTIST

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ORCHESTRA OCTOBER 2023 Music Director & Conductor Mitchell Sardou Klein Resident Conductor Nathaniel Berman Violin I Debra Fong, Concertmaster Kate Wahl, Asst. Concertmaster Kimberly Bonnett Peter Cheng Tara Iyer Jeffrey Lin Drew Mendinueto Girish Nanjundiah Judy Streger Alex Wang Tracy Wang Sarah Wu Yanzhao Yang Violin II Deborah Passanisi, Principal Brad Gibson, Assistant Principal Susanne Bohl Kevin Dong Vineet Mehta Frank Rahn Katherine Schmidtke Jshon Thomas David Williams Brittney Xiao Angie Yeh Hanna Yoshimoto Jane Zhang

Viola Elyse Ader, Principal Andrea Hata Elizabeth Ingber Andrew Lan Charlotte Lopez Silvio Rocha Jerry Saliman Jolynda Tresner Carolyn Worthington Cello Ami Nashimoto, Acting Principal Allen Chou Garth Cummings Victor Ha Jill Hirsch Julika Huber Tetsu Ishihara Susan Magrini Jason Shu Janet Sloan Bass Suesan Taylor, Principal David Herberg Rahul Iyer Andrew Salsbury Michael Tong Jeff Wachtel Flute Kay Saito Shafi, Principal Patricia Harrell Kristin Kunzelman Yukoh Hammura Piccolo Patricia Harrell

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ORCHESTRA

Oboe/English Horn Audrey Gore, Principal Dane Carlson Peter Stahl Joel Greene Clarinet Geoffrey Burr Nicole Galisatus Jimmée Greco Ron Miller Bass Clarinet Ron Miller Bassoon Juliet Hamak, Principal Kyoko Yamamoto Contrabassoon Mia Stormer Horn Brian W. Holmes, Co-Principal Randy Nickel, Co-Principal David Dufour Naomi Dushay Mika Imawaka Mark McMahon Paul Schneider

Trumpet Mike Marmarou, Principal Nicholas Toscan Robert Fitt Mike Pakaluk Trombone David Allmon, Co-Principal Rami Hindiyeh, Co-Principal Todd Weinman Tuba Johnathan Hsu, Principal Timpani Michael Jay Bresler, Principal Matt Springer Percussion Paul Burdick, Acting Principal Neal Goggans Benedict Lim Erica Richstad Harp Kristin Lloyd, Principal Music Librarian Joel Greene

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THE ELFENWORKS FOUNDATION ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN PROGRAM

LIFETIME ADOPTED MUSICIANS Mitchell Sardou Klein Deborah Passanisi Dr. Lauren Speeth

Conductor Violin II Violin II

Paula Uccelli Frank & Annette Rahn Elfenworks Foundation

MUSICIAN

INSTRUMENT

ADOPTED BY

Nathaniel Berman Resident Lily Tian & Victor Ge Conductor Debra Fong Concertmaster Katherine & Roy Bukstein David Allmon Trombone Jacqui Smith Abraham Aragundi Cello Diane Delu Lianne Araki Oboe Patricia L. Griffin Kathryn Barnard Flute/Piccolo Kenneth Shirriff Susanne Bohl Violin II Diana Lloyd Michael Bresler Timpani/ Celeste Everson Misfeldt Percussion Beatrice Chau Violin II Gayle Flanagan Peter Cheng Violin I Albert & Cheryl Cha Daniel Cher Violin I Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Garth Cummings Cello Sheri & Michael Frumkin David Dufour Horn Hannelore Draper Bob Fitt Trumpet Don & Cathy Draper Nicole Galisatus Clarinet Penny Barrows

in memomry of John Barrows Brad Gibson Violin II Teri Quick John Givens Principal Bassoon Emeritus Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak Audrey Gore Oboe Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Joel Greene Oboe Al & Liz Dossa; Jim Fung Juliet Hamak Bassoon John Givens Patricia Harrell Flute/Piccolo Krista & Jerry Terstiege Brian Holmes Horn Mary Gundelach Johnathan Hsu Tuba Yvonne Hampton Elizabeth Ingber Viola Robert Fitt Susan Macy Clarinet Jacqueline Smith Sue Magrini Cello Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Mike Marmarou Trumpet Ronald Miller Vineet Mehta Violin II Sheree Kajiwara Bruce Moyer Bass Margrit Rinderknecht

& Richard Siemon; Suesan Taylor Randy Nickel Horn Diana Lloyd Kristin Chesnutt Oro Violin II Karin Chesnutt, Dorothy Falman & Mildred Saxman

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ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN MUSICIAN

INSTRUMENT

Grant Parker Bass Frank Rahn Violin II Jerry Saliman Viola Kay Saito Shafi Flute/Piccolo Kirsten Shallenberg Cello Matt Springer Violin I/ Timpani Judy Streger Violin I Suesan Taylor Bass Jshon Thomas Violin II Renee Tostengard Violin I Jolynda Tresner Viola

Carolyn Worthington Viola Kyoko Yamamoto Bassoon

ADOPTED BY Suesan & Barr Taylor Nichole Edraos & Jim Augustus Dorothy Saxe Ronald Miller Jacqueline Smith Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Alan & Spike Russell Martin Chai & Gray Clossman Sheri & Michael Frumkin Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak Brian Holmes; Roy & Victoria Sasselli; Maureen Thrush Richard Izmirian John Givens

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 to learn more about this opportunity.

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SUPPORTERS

We are grateful to the following contributors who have supported Peninsula Symphony as we embark on the next 75 years of music-making for our local community. Our donor listing below is a compilation of total giving received between June 1, 2022 and September 26, 2023. 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 +) California Small Business Administration The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Maestro al fine ($25k - $49,999) Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation Fortissimo ($10k - $24,999) Katherine & Roy Bukstein Maria Shim & Nicholas Fox William Warren Wiesenfeld Trust Crescendo ($5k-$9,999) Gene Esswein Sheri & Michael Frumkin in honor of Lori Krauss, David Fernandez, and Mitchell Sardou Klein John Givens Mary Gundelach in memory of Charles M. Gundelach Richard Izmirian & Sheree Kajiwara in memory of Dr. Diana Koin Diana Lloyd Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens Ronald S. Miller Deborah Passanisi in honor of Sheri Frumkin William & Diane Reuland Shriners Hospitals Silicon Valley Creates Jacqueline Smith in memory of Pieter Smith Krista & Jerry Terstiege Paula Uccelli in honor of Sheri Frumkin

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SUPPORTERS Presto ($2,500 - $4,999) Anonymous (6) Anonymous in honor of Ruth and Roy Dunn Anonymous in appreciation of Jeffrey Wachtel Nathan Brookwood & Patricia Hendriks Barbara Erickson Joel Greene Russell Hurley Michael Marmarou Vineet Mehta Redwood City Arts Commission Paul Schneider in memory of Amanda Smith Schneider Jeff & Gwyn Wachtel Scherzo ($1,000-$2,499) Anonymous (3) Apple Inc Janet Averett Kathryn Barnard & Kenneth Shirriff Robert & Barbara Brandriff in memory of Dorothy Lunn Martin Chai & Gray Clossman Gregory & Chelsea Chambers in honor of our dedicated musicians and staff Tom Cooper & Mary Hom Howard & Diane Crittenden Stanley Dirks Al & Liz Dossa Pamela Ferris Gayle Flanagan Lily Tian & Victor Ge Brad Gibson Alexandra Gillen and Hartmut Koeppen Patricia L. Griffin Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak in appreciation of Sheri Frumkin Benjamin & Kaoru Hollin Alan Kalman Mitchell Sardou Klein & Patricia Whaley James Kleinrath & Melody Singleton Lauren Koenig

Alex Kurosawa Susan Lin in appreciation of Chelsea, Maestro, Jim, and all the Amazing folks at PSO! Bill & Linda Malmstrom in honor of Sheri Frumkin Joe & Mollie Marshall Debra McLean Celeste Everson Misfeldt Prudential Teri Quick in honor of Brad Gibson Caroline & Chris Rackowski Alan & Spike Russell Sara & Phillip Salsbury Marianne & John Silva-Oba in memory of Sharon Nora Silva Sue Larson Family Fund Suesan & Barr Taylor in appreciation of Bruce Moyer & Grant Parker Todd & Andrea Weinman Wells Fargo Foundation Anne Wharton David A. Williams & Hilary Benton in appreciation of Sheri Frumkin Carolyn & Tim Worthington Y&H Soda Foundation Rachel Youmans

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Vivace ($500-$999) Anonymous Anonymous in appreciation of the McGill Mahler Concert Anonymous in appreciation of Kay Saito Shafi David & Michelle Allmon Jim Augustus & Nichole Edraos Penny Barrows in memory of John Barrows Michael & Adrienne Bresler Kathleen Brown Albert Cha Sylvia & Fun Pang Chau Karin & Jim Chesnutt Erika Crowley in memory of Margot Haygood Don & Cathy Draper Hannelore Draper Anne Esparza Robert Fitt Meiying Forney & Steve Shatas Jim Fung Google, Inc. Dawn Grench in honor of Herb Grench Yukoh Hammura

SUPPORTERS

Brian Holmes & Jolynda Tresner Douglas & Susan Jacobs Amy Lit Susan Macy in honor of Anthony McGill concert Susan Magrini Angela Mogielski & Peter Cassini Beth Morris Anna Newman & Mueen Ghani in memory of Richard Newman Randy & Janie Nickel Craig & Wendy Nishizaki Peninsula Jewish Community Center Margrit Rinderknecht & Richard Siemon Deb & Dan Ross in appreciation of Alan Russell David Sacarelos & Yvette Lanza John & Christine Sanguinetti Dorothy Saxe Lorraine Smith in memory of Elsie Robertson Nathaniel & Marcia Sterling Anita Stewart & Kaj Rekola Jshon Thomas & Gary Carson Linda Wilson Hanna & Yoshihiro Yoshimoto

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SUPPORTERS Allegro ($250-$499) Anonymous (3) Anonymous in honor of Hanna Yoshimoto Judith & David Anderson Lianne Araki in memory of Edward C. Hattyar Susanne Bohl Katherine Boster Andre & Marina Broido in appreciation of Sheri Frumkin Dr. Patricia Campbell & John Miaullis in appreciation of the McGill Mahler Concert Louis Caputo Jenny Chan-Sakauye Sharon Chortack Sloane Citron Judy Davis in memory of Harold and Marilyn Mindell John DeLong & Sharon Peters Dolby Nicholas Duncan & Renee Tostengard Nancy Farmer Barbara Gilmore Mateo Go Robert Goldware John Gookassian David Greene in honor of Big Monkey David & Elisa Herberg Ernst & Susan Hoyer Johnathan Hsu Mela & Peter Hwang Sanjiv Kaul Sandy & Norman Koo Jeffrey Koseff & Thalia Anagnos in honor of Jeff Wachtel Kenneth Krieg & Carol Dolezal Ginger Kroft Larry Laskowski Eugene Lee & Claire Chang Nora & Galen Lemmon Marcia Leonhardt

Harvey Lynch Linelle Marshall Kirt Minor in appreciation of Dane Carlson Pamela Moore Vonya Morris Michelle Oberman & Lawrence Marshall in honor of Mitchell Sardou Klein Neil Panton Wesley & Linda Petit Laura Pitchford Frank & Annette Rahn Alison Ross in appreciation of Linda Dunn Bill & Sherrean Rundberg The Somersille Sibley Family Matt Springer & Wei Ai Judy & Ivan Streger Rachel Tasch Michael Tong & Luna Wang Mary Urbach in honor of Sheri Frumkin Barbara Weis in honor of Warren, Kay, and George Weis Cameron Wessel & Sapna Upadhyay Teri & Robert Whitehair Lan Zhang

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Dolce ($100-$249) Anonymous (6) Anonymous in honor of Sheri Frumkin Anonymous in honor of Gail Hammler John & Barbara Adams Karen Alden Michael & Merrie Asimow Jo Anne Bailey Wate & Johanna Bakker Barbara Barth Mark Beyer Lorraine Bodie Janice Boelke Juliette Bryson David & Janet Cain Alice L Carpenter Frank & Charlotte Cevasco in honor of Debbie Passanisi Mary Elise Clarity Joseph Coha Bill Enloe Howard Feinberg David Fernandez & Lori Krauss Melinda Fielding Shirley Foreman Ann & Stan Forman Kristine Forney Madeleine Frankel Nicole Galisatus Gilead Sciences, Inc. Marguerite Gonzales Lisa L. Gruman Ann Guerra Hillel Hachlili Linda Hagarty Yvonne Hampton Gayle Hansen Steven Hibshman Ward Hoffman & Karlette Warner Marshall & Roberta Hollimon Perry Hopkins Ben Hsu & Brenda Porter Jennie Johnson Marvin Kohn & Adele Salle Sandra Krakowski

SUPPORTERS

Sharon Krawetz Paul & Jackie Kuckein Lena Kuhar Amy Kuo Lori Lambertson in memory of John Biegenzahn Richard Leder & Cherrill Spencer in appreciation of Mitchell Sardou Klein & the staff Kenneth Lum Judi McManigal Diane Merchant Amanda & Walter Mok Vonya Morris Bruce Moyer Mary Ann Notz Donna Ornitz Anthony & Amy Oro Farrell Podgorsek in appreciation of Sheri Frumkin J. Richard & Karen S. Recht Marilyn Reisen Cheryl & John Ritchie Cynthia Robbins-Roth Heather Sanders Roy & Victoria Sasselli Marian Schmidt Dana Scoby in memory of Robert T. and Jane Anderson Cheatham Karen & John Scorsur in appreciation of Chelsea Chambers Kay Saito & Sayed Shafi Ruth A. Short Gang Situ Laura Sternberg Karl Talarico Anthony Tansimore Nicole Taylor Chris & Carol Thomsen in appreciation of Jeff Wachtel Maureen Thrush Carolyn Tucher Adam Wantz Andrew & Abigail Wen in appreciation of Thomas Shoebotham Alan Stern & Thomas Whatley

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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 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 October 2023:

Ellis Alden Anonymous 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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BOARD, STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

PENINSULA SYMPHONY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ben Hollin, Co-Chair / Chair, Marketing Committee Ron Miller, Co-Chair / Chair, Education Committee

Barbara Erickson, Treasurer / Chair, Finance Committee Randy Nickel, Secretary

Katherine Bukstein, Chair, Governance Committee Daniel Cher

Sheri Frumkin, Chair, Development Committee Juliet Hamak, Orchestra Rep Alex Kurosawa Lillian Lee

Diana Lloyd

Deborah Passanisi Jeff Wachtel

PENINSULA SYMPHONY STAFF Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor Nathaniel Berman, Resident 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 Richard Le, Stage Manager

Elizabeth Quivey, Stage Manager

Samantha Paschner, Rehearsal Setup Linda Dunn, Office Volunteer

Heidi Hau, Piano Competition Coordinator

Amelia Yee, Front of House & Volunteer Coordinator

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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

Prudential Financial Planning Services Atsushi “Alex” Kurosawa MS, CFP®, ChFC®, RICP®, RSSA® Financial Planner CA Insurance License 0I32272 3333 Michelson Dr., Suite 820 Irvine, CA 92612 T. 408-755-4019 C.408-497-0257 黒沢

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