Peninsula Symphony: PSO Celebrates 75th Anniversary featuring Jon Kimura Parker

MAY 10 & 11 at 8PM

FRI / San Mateo Performing Arts Center SAT / Heritage Theatre, Campbell

Mitchell Sardou Klein Music Director & Conductor

Featuring JON KIMURA PARKER

MUSIC

FEATURED ARTIST

SPECIAL

PENINSULA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - SEASON 75

ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN

SUPPORTERS

BOARD, STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

PSO program copyright ©2024 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

As Peninsula Symphony concludes its 75th season, it stands as a remarkable milestone for a “professional” volunteer symphony, allowing us to reflect on the years during which our musicians and maestros (only two in its entire existence) have shaped the local community and firmly established a presence on the Bay Area peninsula.

I had the good fortune to be affiliated (as Managing Director) between 2014 and 2022 with this remarkable orchestra and observe the growth of meaningful and spot on programming. Between mainstage offerings, outreach into the schools and community performances, digital offerings (which grew substantially during Covid), student competitions, free concerts, and our co-production with Stanford’s Chorus each year, I am amazed at how much dedication comes from musicians, staff, board and most particularly our steadfast Maestro! We have also been fortunate to have such a community of steadfast patrons as all of you.

Since I retired from my role of Managing Director in 2022, I have subsequently joined the Board of Directors so that I can continue to remain connected and help make a difference particularly in the role of development. So many relationships were established and built during my tenure, and I believe it is so important for us to continue these partnerships as we build and expand our presence. We rely very heavily on our individual donor support as grant funding has dwindled substantially over the past few years for the arts in Silicon Valley. We are fortunate to have these relationships and benefit from the enthusiasm and generosity that comes from our engagement with all of you.

I am honored to be a board member of Peninsula Symphony and I encourage all of you to support this unique and highly professional and committed organization.

With gratitude,

Sheri Frumkin

Chair, Development Committee

Peninsula Symphony Board of Directors

Sheri Frumkin with Maestro Klein

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, 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

Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor

PSO Celebrates Season 75

May 10, 2024 / San Mateo Performing Arts Center

May 11, 2024 / Heritage Theatre, Campbell

Mitchell Sardou Klein, Music Director & Conductor

Nathaniel Berman, Resident Conductor

Jon Kimura Parker, Piano

Ron Miller, Celebration 75! A Fanfare for Orchestra (World Premiere)

Jean Sibelius, Finlandia

Nathaniel Berman, conducting

Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

i. Allegro molto moderato

ii. Adagio

iii. Allegro moderato molto e marcato – Quasi presto – Andante maestoso

Jon Kimura Parker, piano

- Intermission -

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

i. Andante sostenuto — Moderato con anima

ii. Andantino in modo di canzona

iii. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato — Allegro

iv. Finale: Allegro con fuoco

THESE CONCERTS ARE SPONSORED BY A generous friend of Peninsula Symphony

PROGRAM NOTES

By Larry Laskowski

Introduction

Opulence is sometimes defined as the aesthetic of abundance. Expression, variety, emotion: all good. More of them is even better. Big is good. Bigger is better. Restraint is optional, as is strict coherence. These are characteristics of multiple strains of European culture ca. 18501925. Wealth had spread from a tiny class of royals and high aristocrats to a new and much larger educated upper class that was anxious to take on the trappings of high society and enjoy its pleasures.

It was the age of the grand hotel and the large, elegant ballroom. High cuisine offered multiple courses in big quantities, heavy sauces, imported novelties, expensive ingredients, and fanciful dishes. High fashion came into its own, accompanied by expensive jewelry, supported of course by the requisite large billfold. Literature saw the flowering of the expansive novel (Dickens, Trollope, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, etc.). Architecture realized new possibilities based on contemporary engineering and building materials (e.g. the Eiffel Tower), and entirely new expressive styles emerged in the visual arts (e.g. Impressionism).

Music saw the erosion of strict classical form and the emergence of program music (music that coheres at least in part by telling a story). Harmony became more intensely chromatic and expressive. Nationalistic and folk elements entered the scene, as did exotic musical styles from distant lands. Orchestras became solid musical institutions as composers called for larger and larger ensembles that could produce new sounds, textures, and thrilling effects. This music could express a wide range of strong emotions, emotions that new audiences could relate to directly.

Tonight, we are treated to some prime examples of this remarkable opulence. No stressful trip to a foreign city to visit a museum. No tray table required to hold up the heavy novel for hours of reading. Expensive clothes not necessary. No calories and no hangover. Just sit back and luxuriate in the glorious music.

Celebration 75! A Fanfare for Orchestra (World Premiere)

Celebration 75! is a new composition by Ron Miller, dedicated to the members of the Peninsula Symphony and their music director, Mitchell Sardou Klein. What better way to celebrate the orchestra’s 75th anniversary as a major contributor to the arts in the Bay Area?

Dr. Ron Miller serves the Peninsula Symphony as clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and board member. He has degrees in math and music from UC Santa Barbara, where he was a faculty member for several years. He has lived in the Bay Area since 1985 and has performed with PSO since 1987. A retired Aerospace Engineer, he lives in Cupertino, and has two grown children.

Ron Miller

PROGRAM NOTES

Jan Sibelius Finlandia

For centuries what we now know as Finland was part of Sweden and then Russia. When in the late 1800’s Russian oppression became especially severe, Finns reacted with unrest and a surge of nationalistic fervor. Anti-Russian protests became more open in the late 1890’s. One such protest, the 1899 Press Celebrations, included new music composed by Finns specifically to highlight Finnish cultural identity. Finlandia, a tone poem contributed by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), has long outlived the event for which it was composed. It has become a favorite on orchestral programs and is often considered the purest and most notable expression of Finnish musical identity. Sibelius wrote, “We fought 600 years for our freedom, and I am part of the generation which achieved it. Freedom! My Finlandia is the story of this fight. It is the song of our battle, our hymn of victory.”

Sibelius was strongly influenced by Wagner, Liszt, and Bruckner, yet his brand of late Romantic style combines opulence with touches of Scandinavian discipline and severity. He was acquainted with more modern music (Schoenberg, Bartok, etc.), but consciously chose his own path, a kind of antimodern modernism.

The turbulent opening of Finlandia depicts the struggles of the oppressed Finnish people. That struggle gives way to steady determination and eventually to a solemn hymn (composed by Sibelius, i.e. not a folk song) which has become almost a national anthem for Finland. The jubilant triumphant ending is a celebration that presages Finland’s actual independence (achieved a few years later in 1917).

Sibelius stopped composing large works in 1926; he felt he had written enough. In fact, he often wondered why Finlandia, of all pieces, had become his most famous composition. The striking orchestration, the stirring dynamic and emotional contrasts, and the accessible thematic material have appealed to audiences for over a century, and the inspiring story of Finnish independence reminds us that with heroic effort oppression can indeed be overcome.

Edvard Grieg

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16

The Norwegian Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), while thoroughly educated in mainstream European classical traditions, was part of a generation of composers who crafted a musical language that was colored by the aesthetic of the folk music of their own country. Tchaikovsky wrote: “In Grieg’s music, there prevails that fascinating melancholy which seems to reflect in itself all the beauty of Norwegian scenery, now grandiose and sublime in its vast expanse, now gray and dull, but always full of charm … and quickly finds its way into our hearts to evoke a warm and sympathetic response.”

PROGRAM NOTES

Throughout his career Grieg specialized in small lyrical pieces, yet the Piano Concerto (1868) is a testament to his ability to handle large-scale forms as well. Grieg was completely taken by Clara Schumann’s performance of her husband’s piano concerto, and the influence of Schumann’s composition on Grieg’s concerto is plain to see. But Grieg’s concerto is bigger and broader in scope, more virtuosic, and in places influenced by Norwegian folk music.

The first movement shows great contrasts between the dramatic opening, the rhythmic persistence of the first theme, and the dreamy lyrical second theme. The solo cadenza near the end of the movement is brimming with Lisztian virtuosity. The piano sings plaintively, it roars, it glitters, and the emotional roller coaster ride is full of surprises. The lyrical slow movement is wonderfully atmospheric; the piano writing hints at the new pianistic colors that Rachmaninoff was to exploit a few decades later. The third movement begins with a flourish and then settles into a vigorous theme based on the “halling”, a Norwegian rural folk dance. In this traditional dance several rival male dancers display their vigor and virility with leaps, kicks and acrobatic stunts. The middle section of the movement, introduced by the flute, is slower and pastoral. The rhythmic dance eventually returns, leading to a climactic section in major. The movement ends with the flute’s pastoral theme, now transformed to form a rousing, virtuosic, and triumphant conclusion.

As Tchaikovsky wrote, “What warmth and passion in his melodic phrases, what teeming vitality in his harmony, what originality and beauty in the turn of his piquant and ingenious modulations and rhythms, and in all the rest what interest, novelty, and independence! If we add to this that rarest of qualities, a perfect simplicity, far removed from affectation and pretense … it is not surprising that everyone should delight in Grieg.”

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

Russia was growing fast in the mid-nineteenth century, and as influence from western Europe mounted, the country was conflicted about its future path. Some Russians, the “Westernizers”, wanted to bring Russia into the cultural mainstream by assimilating the best of European culture into a Russian context. Others proudly promoted a uniquely Russian cultural idiom and resisted what they saw as the constraints of purely western European artistic traditions. Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) managed to get along with both groups. His music stems directly from a European lineage and is also distinctly Russian. The seeming contradiction is made possible because his music’s strongest characteristic trumps all others: it is deeply and profoundly personal.

Tchaikovsky’s symphonies display an unrivalled gift for melody, innovative harmonies, scintillating orchestration, and new approaches to large-scale structure. The Symphony No. 4 (1877) has been an audience favorite since its premiere, and for good reason. It has the mark of lived and felt experience. Of this symphony Tchaikovsky wrote: “Of course my symphony is

PROGRAM NOTES

program music, but it would be impossible to give the program in words … But ought this not always to be the case with a symphony, the most lyrical of musical forms? Ought it not express all those things for which words cannot be found but which nevertheless arise in the heart and cry out for expression?”

Again, Tchaikovsky himself: “The introduction to the first movement is the kernel, the quintessence, the chief thought of the whole symphony. This is Fate, the fatal power that hinders one in the pursuit of happiness …” After the introduction, the main part of the movement presents two contrasting and evocative themes, each with its own emotional profile. But it is the Fate motif which menacingly triumphs at the end of the movement.

The second movement is full of melancholy and reflection. Again Tchaikovsky himself: “There comes a whole host of memories. It is both sad that so much is now past and gone, yet pleasant to recall your youth. You both regret the past, yet do not wish to begin your life again. Live has wearied you.”

The spectacular use of pizzicato strings in the third movement produces a light, balletic, and sometimes dizzying texture, like “after one has begun to drink a little wine and is beginning to experience the first phase of intoxication.” The music is capricious and thoroughly captivating. The ethereal soft end of the scherzo leads directly to the fast and furious bombast of the finale. The writing for the orchestra is supremely virtuosic, a spree of joyous ensemble celebration, opulence at its peak. The movement includes a Russian folk song as a contrasting theme. The first movement’s threatening fate motif threatens near the end, but ultimately gives way to euphoria as the movement roars to a conclusion. “Joy is a simple but powerful force. Rejoice in the rejoicing of others. To live is still possible.”

Strict modernists have complained of Tchaikovsky’s relentless heart-on-the-sleeve approach, but as the critic Joseph Horowitz wrote, “Tchaikovsky is today more admired than deplored for his emotional frankness; if his music seems harried and insecure, so are we all.”

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 39 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.”

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.

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.

FEATURED ARTIST

Jon Kimura Parker

Piano

Pianist Jon Kimura Parker is known for his charisma, infectious enthusiasm, and dynamic performances. A veteran of the international concert stage, he has performed regularly in the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House, and the Beijing Concert Hall. He was recently named Creative Partner for the Minnesota Orchestra’s Summer at Orchestra Hall, he serves as the Artistic Director for the Honens International Piano Competition and Artistic Advisor for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and is on the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

Highlights of his 2023-24 season include performances with the Taiwan Philharmonic, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach with Gary Hoffman and Arnaud Sussman.

A collaborator in a wide variety of styles, Jon Kimura Parker has performed with Doc Severinsen, Audra McDonald, Bobby McFerrin, Pablo Ziegler, and Sanjaya Malakar. As a founding member of Off the Score, he also performed with Stewart Copeland – the legendary drummer of The Police – for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season, featuring his own arrangements of music by Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinsky. In addition, he performs widely throughout North America and Europe with the Montrose Trio (together with violinist Martin Beaver and cellist Clive Greensmith).

Parker’s discography of a dozen albums features music ranging from Mozart and Chopin to Barber and Stravinsky. His most recent recording Fantasy, built around Schubert’s “Wanderer” Fantasy, was described by Musical Toronto as giving “a big, clear picture window of a rich soul and great artistic depth.” His YouTube channel features a series of Concerto Chat videos, which explore the piano concerto repertoire.

Jon Kimura Parker studied with Edward Parker and Keiko Parker, Lee Kum-Sing at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the University of British Columbia, Marek Jablonski at the Banff Centre, and Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School. After winning the Gold Medal at the 1984 Leeds

FEATURED ARTIST

International Piano Competition, Parker has gone on to become an Officer of the Order of Canada and to receive Honorary Doctorates from the University of British Columbia and the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto.

Known to friends as “Jackie,” Parker is married to violinist/violist Aloysia Friedmann, and their daughter Sophie graduated from Rice University in 2021. For further information, please visit www.jonkimuraparker.com, www.montrosetrio.com, www.offthescore.com, www.oicmf.org, and www.honens.com.

SPECIAL BRIDGES TO MUSIC PROGRAM

Debbie Passanisi Director, Special Bridges to Music Principal, Violin II

As part of PSO’s outreach program, the Special Bridges to Music Program in Redwood City public schools provides weekly music and singing lessons for elementary school students, including those with special needs. These lessons culminate in live performances aimed at building self-esteem through music creation and performance. The program, inclusive of all students, particularly benefits those who wouldn’t otherwise have opportunities to perform. Debbie Passanisi, Director of the program, teaches basic musical concepts, explores various instruments, and aims to bring joy through music in children’s daily lives. It is provided free of charge through individual donations and grant funding.

Testimonial

“Ms. Debbie Passanisi from Special Bridges to Music program, has been providing musical opportunities to our special needs students at Roy Cloud School in Redwood City School District. Debbie’s program has brought the joy of music into my students’ lives. Students were exposed and played a variety of musical instruments, listened and danced with a variety of songs. Ms. Passanisi provided my students who have a range of disabilities with a chance to grow and shine more by attempting to instill the love of music in them. This has increased their confidence in them by performing in concerts in front of large audiences.

This type of opportunity does not happen very frequently for our special needs students. They love the fact that they are the center of attention in these music concerts. They have gained more confidence in their own abilities and look forward to practicing more in order to improve their performance in concerts with larger audiences.”

Farah Khosravani

SLC 3-5 Teacher, Roy Cloud School

To support the Special Bridges to Music program, contact Chelsea Chambers, Executive Director at chelsea@peninsulasymphony.org

Symphony fan favorites the big stage in our blockbuster 76th Season, along with to the legendary cinema Williams in a January ‘25 that includes music from films: Jaws, Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone, Raiders of the Close Encounters of the E.T., Superman and more . Subscribe today!

MAR ‘25

Jon Nakamatsu

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2

season: an earlier start time at 7:30pm on Saturdays, Sunday matinees at 2:30pm - perfect for the whole family.

ORCHESTRA ROSTER SEASON 75

Music Director & Conductor

Mitchell Sardou Klein

Resident Conductor

Nathaniel Berman

Guest Conductor

Geoffrey Gallegos

Violin I

Debra Fong, Concertmaster

Kate Wahl, Assistant Concertmaster

Kim Bonnett

Peter Cheng

Daniel Cher

Colin Gaffney

Jungmee Hwang

Tara Iyer

Jeff Lin

Drew Mendinueto

Girish Nanjundiah

Matt Springer

Judy Streger

Alex Wang

Tracy Wang

Sarah Wu

Yanzhao Yang

Violin II

Deborah Passanisi, Principal

Moosa Azfar

Susanne Bohl

Kevin Dong

Brad Gibson

Vineet Mehta

Kristin Oro

Frank Rahn

Katharine Schmidtke

Jshon Thomas

David Williams

Brittney Xiao

Angela Yeh

Hanna Yoshimoto

Jane Zhang

Viola

Elyse Ader, Principal

Alessandra Aquilanti

Katherine Bukstein

Andrea Hata

Elizabeth Ingber

Andrew Lan

Charlotte Lopez

Silvio Rocha

Jerry Saliman

Judy Beck Sumerlin

Charlie Tian

Renée Toscan

Jolynda Tresner

Carolyn Worthington

Jennie Yang

Cello

Kirsten Shallenberg, Principal

Yosef Feinberg, Acting Principal

Ami Nashimoto, Acting Principal

Abraham Aragundi

Sandy Baratoff

Allen Chou

Garth Cummings

Victor Ha

Gail Hammler

Jill Hirsch

Julika Huber

Tetsu Ishihara

Tomoko Ishihara

Susan Magrini

Thomas Shoebothan

Jason Shu

Janet Sloan

Ryan Toulouse

Grace Yang

Bass

Suesan Taylor, Principal

Bob Crum

David Herberg

Rahul Iyer

Bruce Moyer

Grant Parker

Andrew Salsbury

Michael Tong

Jeff Wachtel

ORCHESTRA

Flute

Kay Saito Shafi, Principal

Yukoh Hammura

Patricia Harrell

Kristin Kunzelman

Anne Wharton

Piccolo

Patricia Harrell

Oboe

Audrey Gore, Principal

Lianne Araki

Dane Carlson

Gianna Colombo

Joel Greene

Peter Stahl

English Horn

Dane Carlson

Clarinet

Nicole Galisatus, Principal

Geoffrey Burr

Nick Cotter

Emily Dang

Jimmée Greco

Joan Hebert

Ron Miller

Bass Clarinet

Ron Miller

Alto Sax

Alex Lill

Bassoon

Juliet Hamak, Principal

Mia Stormer

Jonathan Westerling

Kyoko Yamamoto

Aidan Yang

Contrabassoon

Mia Stormer

Jonathan Westerling

Horn

Brian Holmes, Co-Principal

Randy Nickel, Co-Principal

Justin Privitera, Assistant Principal

David Dufour

Naomi Dushay

Mika Imawaka

Mark McMahon

Paul Schneider

ORCHESTRA ROSTER SEASON 75

Trumpet

Mike Marmarou, Principal

Nicholas Toscan

Bob Fitt

Mike Pakaluk

Trombone

Dave Allmon, Co-Principal

Rami Hindiyeh, Co-Principal

Todd Weinman

Bass Trombone

Todd Weinman, Principal

Tuba

Johnathan Hsu, Principal

Timpani

Mike Bresler, Principal

Matt Springer

Percussion

Emily Hendricks, Principal

Paul Burdick, Acting Principal

Aaron Balot

Mikael Chang

Michael Chen

Neal Goggans

Benedict Lim

Erica Richstad

Harp

Kristin Lloyd, Principal

Keyboard/Piano

Larry Laskowski

Music Librarian

Joel Greene

THE ELFENWORKS FOUNDATION ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN PROGRAM

LIFETIME ADOPTED MUSICIANS

Mitchell Sardou Klein

Conductor Paula Uccelli

Deborah Passanisi Violin II

Dr. Lauren Speeth

Violin I

Frank & Annette Rahn

The Elfenworks Foundation

MUSICIAN INSTRUMENT ADOPTED BY

Debra Fong

Concertmaster

Dave Allmon Trombone

Katherine & Roy Bukstein

Jacqueline Smith

Abraham Aragundi Cello Friend of PSO

Lianne Araki

Kathryn Barnard

Oboe

Flute/Piccolo

Susanne Bohl Violin II

Mike Bresler

Patricia L. Griffin

Kenneth Shirriff

Diana Lloyd

Timpani/ Celeste Everson Misfeldt Percussion

Katherine Bukstein Viola

Margrit Rinderknecht & Richard Siemon

Dane Carlson Oboe/ Kirt & Kelly Minor

English Horn

Beatrice Chau Violin II

Daniel Cher Violin I

Garth Cummings Cello

David Dufour

Linda Dunn

Bob Fitt

Nicole Galisatus

Gayle Flanagan

Laura & David Francis

Sheri & Michael Frumkin

Horn Hannelore Draper

Office Volunteer Ann & Ben Kong

Trumpet

Clarinet

Bradley Gibson Violin II

John Givens

Audrey Gore

Joel Greene

Don & Cathy Draper

Penny Barrows in memory of John Barrows

Teri Quick

Principal Bassoon Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak Emeritus

Oboe

Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens

Music Librarian Al & Liz Dossa; Jim Fung

Juliet Hamak Bassoon

Patricia Harrell

Yukoh Hammura

David Herberg

Brian Holmes

Johnathan Hsu

Elizabeth Ingber

Rahul Iyer

Tara Iyer

Flute/Piccolo

Flute

John Givens

Krista & Jerry Terstiege

Nina Brody

Bass Suesan Taylor

Horn

Tuba

Mary Gundelach

Yvonne Hampton; Teri Quick

Viola Bob Fitt

Bass Suesan Taylor

Violin I

Sue Magrini Cello

Mike Marmarou

Vineet Mehta

Ron Miller

Bruce Moyer

Trumpet

Violin II

Clarinet

Bass

Pauline Roothman

Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens

Ronald S. Miller

Sheree Kajiwara

Jacqueline Smith

Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens

ADOPT-A-MUSICIAN

MUSICIAN

INSTRUMENT

Randy Nickel Horn

Kristin Chesnutt Oro Violin II

Frank Rahn

Jerry Saliman

Kay Saito Shafi

Violin II

Viola

Flute/Piccolo

Kirsten Shallenberg Cello

Matt Springer Violin I

Judy Streger

Violin I

Suesan Taylor Bass

Jshon Thomas Violin II

Nicholas Toscan

Jolynda Tresner

Kate Wahl

Alex Wang

Trumpet

Viola

Violin I

Violin I

Carolyn Worthington Viola

Sarah Wu

Violin I

Kyoko Yamamoto Bassoon

ADOPTED BY

Diana Lloyd

Karin Chesnutt, Dorothy Falman & Mildred Saxman

Jim Augustus & Nichole Edraos

Dorothy Saxe

Ronald S. Miller

Jacqueline Smith

Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens

Alan & Spike Russell

Martin Chai & Gray Clossman

Sheri & Michael Frumkin

Robert & Karen Fitt

Brian Holmes; Roy & Victoria Sasselli; Maureen Thrush

Sheri & Michael Frumkin

Bichen Wang

Richard Izmirian

Alan & Spike Russell

John Givens

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 January 1, 2023 and April 16, 2024. 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

Fortissimo ($10k - $24,999)

Katherine & Roy Bukstein

Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation

David Cone

Sheri & Michael Frumkin

in honor of Mitchell Sardou Klein, Chelsea Chambers and Jim Fung

Monte Mansir & Susanne Stevens

Maria Shim & Nicholas Fox

Friend of PSO

Crescendo ($5k-$9,999)

John Givens

Joel Greene

Mary Gundelach in memory of Charles M. Gundelach

Deborah Passanisi

Teri Quick in honor of Brad Gibson

Jacqueline Smith in memory of Pieter Smith

Krista & Jerry Terstiege

Paula Uccelli

Jeff & Gwyn Wachtel

SUPPORTERS

Presto ($2,500 - $4,999)

Janice Boelke

Barbara Erickson

Gene Esswein

Pamela Ferris

Gayle Flanagan

Brad Gibson

Russell Hurley

Alex Kurosawa

Diana Lloyd in memory of Cliff Lloyd

Vineet Mehta & Karishma Sharma

Ronald S. Miller

William & Diane Reuland

Paul Schneider in memory of Amanda Smith Schneider

Friend of PSO in honor of Ruth and Roy Dunn

Friend of PSO in appreciation of Jeffrey Wachtel Friends of PSO (4)

Scherzo ($1,000-$2,499)

Apple Inc

Barbara & Robert Brandriff in memory of Dorothy Lunn

Nathan Brookwood & Patricia Hendriks

Martin Chai & Gray Clossman

Daniel Cher & Laura Wolfe

Tom Cooper & Mary Hom

Howard & Diane Crittenden

Stanley Dirks

Al & Liz Dossa

Hannelore Draper

Anne Esparza

Laura & David Francis in appreciation of Daniel Cher

Juliet Hamak & George Yefchak

Patricia Harrell

Sheree Kajiwara & Richard Izmirian in memory of Dr. Diana Koin

James Kleinrath & Melody Singleton

Lauren Koenig

Alexandra Gillen & Hartmut Koeppen

Susan Lin in appreciation of everyone at PSO

Susan Magrini

Bill & Linda Malmstrom

Joe & Mollie Marshall

Debra McLean

NVIDIA

Prudential

Caroline & Chris Rackowski

Redwood City Arts Commission

Rita’s Rainbows

Alan & Spike Russell

Jerry & Ellen Saliman

Sara & Phillip Salsbury

Margrit Rinderknecht & Richard Siemon

Marianne & John Silva-Oba

Suesan Taylor in honor of David Herberg and in memory of Craig Barr Taylor

Wells Fargo Foundation

David A. Williams & Hilary Benton

Hanna & Yoshihiro Yoshimoto

Rachel Youmans

Friends of PSO (3)

Vivace ($500-$999)

David & Michelle Allmon

Jim Augustus & Nichole Edraos

Kathryn Barnard & Kenneth Shirriff

Penny Barrows in memory of John Barrows

Nina Brody

Geoffrey W Burr

Chelsea & Gregory Chambers

Karin & Jim Chesnutt

Don & Cathy Draper

Robert Fitt

Meiying Forney & Steve Shatas in appreciation of Sheri Frumkin

Jimmée Greco

Patricia L. Griffin

Benjamin & Kaoru Hollin

Johnathan Hsu

Douglas & Susan Jacobs

Mitchell Sardou Klein & Patricia Whaley

Ann & Ben Kong in honor of Linda Dunn, the most dedicated volunteer

Amy Lit

Susan Macy in honor of Anthony McGill concert

Marcia & John Mehl

Kirt & Kelly Minor in appreciation of Dane Carlson

Celeste Everson Misfeldt

Angela Mogielski & Peter Cassini

Beth Morris

Randy & Janie Nickel

Craig & Wendy Nishizaki

Kristin Oro

Pauline Roothman

David Sacarelos & Yvette Lanza

John & Christine Sanguinetti

Dorothy Saxe

Gary Sears

Kay Saito & Sayed Shafi

Ruth A. Short

Lorraine Smith

Anita Stewart & Kaj Rekola

The Wachtel Pronovost Family in appreciation of Jeff Wachtel

Molly Wachtel in honor of Jeff Wachtel

Bichen Wang

Todd & Andrea Weinman

Linda Wilson

Friends of PSO (2)

Allegro ($250-$499)

Judith & David Anderson

Lianne Araki

Susanne Bohl

Katherine Boster

Michael & Adrienne Bresler

Andre & Marina Broido

Kathleen Brown

Sloane Citron

John DeLong & Sharon Peters

Nancy Farmer

Google, Inc.

John Gookassian

Alice Graham in honor of John and Dorothy Givens

Dawn Grench & Family in honor of Herb Grench

Ann Guerra

Yvonne Hampton

Charles Hanes

David & Elisa Herberg

Brian Holmes & Jolynda Tresner

Mela & Peter Hwang

IBM International Foundation

Sanjiv & Jazz Kaul

Sandy & Norman Koo

SUPPORTERS

Jeffrey Koseff & Thalia Anagnos in honor of Jeff Wachtel

Kenneth Krieg & Carol Dolezal

Ginger Kroft

Eugene Lee & Claire Chang

Nora & Galen Lemmon

Marcia Leonhardt

Harvey Lynch

Richard & Beverly Marconi

Linelle Marshall

Pamela Moore in memory of Bill Moore

Vonya Morris

Elizabeth Nyberg in memory of Paul Nyberg

Neil Panton

Grant Parker

Laura Pitchford

Frank & Annette Rahn

Alison Ross in appreciation of Linda Dunn

Ronald Smith

The Somersille Sibley Family

Matt Springer & Wei Ai

Nathaniel & Marcia Sterling

Rachel Tasch

Jshon Thomas & Gary Carson

Michael Tong & Luna Wang

Nicholas & Renée Toscan

Cameron Wessel & Sapna Upadhyay

Teri & Robert Whitehair

Lan Zhang

Friend of PSO in appreciation of the McGill Mahler Concert

Friend of PSO in honor of Hanna Yoshimoto

Friends of PSO (4)

Dolce ($100-$249)

John & Barbara Adams

Karen Alden

Judith & David Anderson

Michael & Merrie Asimow

Wate & Johanna Bakker

Barbara Barth

Jeanne Bertini

Mark Beyer

Jill Biegenzahn

Juliette Bryson

David & Janet Cain

Frank & Charlotte Cevasco in honor of Debbie Passanisi

Faye Chapman

Mary Elise Clarity

Helen Cockrum

Joseph Coha

Erika Crowley

Ronald Danielson

Judy Davis in memory of Harold and Marilyn Mindell

Dolby

Suzanne & Allan Epstein

Ruth Evans

David Fernandez & Lori Krauss

Ruth Finkelstein

Shirley Foreman

Ann & Stan Forman

Kristine Forney

Madeleine Frankel

Jim Fung

Nicole Galisatus

Mateo Go

Hillel Hachlili

Gayle Hansen in memory of James R. Hansen

Matthias Hausner

Steven Hibshman

Kathie Hillier & Bob Boen

Perry Hopkins

Intel Corporation

Alan Kalman

Sandra Krakowski

Sharon Krawetz

Kristin Kunzelman

Amy Kuo

Jay & Sylvia Ladenheim in appreciation of Randy Nickel

Lori Lambertson in memory of John Biegenzahn

Richard Leder & Cherrill Spencer in appreciation of Mitch Klein & the PSO staff

William & Lucille Lee

Kenneth Lum

Michael Marmarou

Jan McKim

Diane Merchant

Joyce Monda

Bruce Moyer

Chuck & Patty Ortenberg in honor of Jeff Wachtel

Karen & Douglas Perry in appreciation of Chelsea Chambers

Charles Polanski

J. Richard & Karen S. Recht

Marilyn Reisen

Cheryl & John Ritchie

Cynthia Robbins-Roth

Stephen & Joanne Rovno

Bill & Sherrean Rundberg

Heather Sanders

Victoria & Roy Sasselli

Marian Schmidt

Marvin & Ellen Schwartz

Dana Scoby

Karen & John Scorsur in appreciation of Chelsea Chambers

Marilyn Sefchovich

Marcyl Seidscher

Noel Shirley

Gang Situ

Lisa Steinback

Nicole Taylor

Elene Terry

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

Raymond & Cecilia Wong

Friends of PSO (4)

“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 April 2024:

Ellis Alden

Anonymous

The Elfenworks Foundation

Mitchell Sardou Klein & Patricia Whaley

Judi McManigal

Frank & Annette Rahn

Genny Hall Smith

Lorraine Smith

Marguerite Szekeley

William Warren Wiesenfeld Trust

Peninsula Symphony is seeking board candidates!

Our current board is composed of devoted community members with experience in the realms of finance, high tech, education, volunteer musicians and marketing. Meetings are held virtually and in person four to six times a year. Board members may serve up to three consecutive 3-year terms. Elections are held on an ongoing basis.

We are seeking new board members from diverse backgrounds who bring additional skills and perspectives in order to continue to move our symphony forward. We want our board to reflect our community and strive to find members who will add diverse voices to the team. We are a working board, so if you are looking for a way to get out and live your best life by helping to govern a vibrant, innovative non-profit organization and contribute to your local community in a meaningful way, this is a great way to do it!

We would love to see candidates with experience in:

· Financial Management

· Legal Expertise

· Human Relations

· Fundraising / Grant-Writing

· Event Planning

· Education / Youth / Community programs

· Passion for music and PSO

If you or someone you know may be interested in a board position or just want to learn more about what is involved, please reach out to me or our board co-chairwe’d love to talk to you!

Chelsea Chambers (Executive Director) - chelsea@peninsulasymphony.org

Ben Hollin (Co-Chair, Board of Directors) - ben@peninsulasymphony.org

BOARD, STAFF & VOLUNTEERS

PENINSULA SYMPHONY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ben Hollin, Co-Chair / Chair, Marketing Committee

Ron Miller, Co-Chair / Chair, Education Committee

Randy Nickel, Secretary

Katherine Bukstein, Chair, Governance Committee

Sheri Frumkin, Chair, Development Committee

Alan Russell, Treasurer

Juliet Hamak, Orchestra Rep

Barbara Erickson

Mariam Galvarin

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

Aleena Mehdi , Intern

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