RPO Bravo 8 (April 18-29)

CLOVERWOOD IFC

ANDREAS DELFS, MUSIC DIRECTOR

JEFF TYZIK, PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR

CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN, CONDUCTOR LAUREATE

The Christopher Seaman Chair, Supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford and The Conductor Laureate Society

IN THIS ISSUE:

The

The Orchestra 2025/26 SEASON

VIOLIN 1

Juliana Athayde+, Concertmaster

The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair, funded in perpetuity

Angelina Phillips, Associate Concertmaster

The Fred M. And Lurita D. Wechsler Chair, funded in perpetuity

Shannon Nance, Assistant Concertmaster

Jeongwon An

Tigran Vardanyan

James Zabawa-Martinez

Thomas Rodgers

Anna Leunis

Molly McDonald

Kurt Munstedt

Chihiro Kakishima

Perrin Yang

Jeremy Hill

An-Chi Lin

VIOLIN 2

Jeanelle Thompson, Principal

The Dr. Ralph F. Jozefowicz Chair

Daryl Perlo, Assistant Principal

The James E. Dumm Chair, funded in perpetuity

Patricia Sunwoo

Lara Sipols

Sooyeon Kim

Petros Karapetyan

Liana Koteva Kirvan

Margaret Leenhouts

Heidi Brodwin

Elin Schlichting

Ellen Stokoe

VIOLA

Joshua Newburger+, Principal

The William L. Gamble Chair, funded in perpetuity

Marc Anderson, Assistant Principal

Rebecca Christainsen

James Marshall

Olita Povero

Neil Miller

Melissa Matson

Ye In Son

David Hult

Grant Rieke

CELLO

Ahrim Kim, Principal

The Clara and Edwin Strasenburgh Chair, funded in perpetuity

Lars Kirvan, Assistant Principal

Samuel Pierce-Ruhland

Christopher Haritatos

Garri Hovsepyan

Benjamin Krug

Jennifer Carpenter^

Ingrid Bock

BASS

Cory Palmer, Principal

The Anne Hayden McQuay Chair, funded in perpetuity

Michael Griffin, Assistant Principal

Daniel Morehead

Edward Castilano

Fred Dole

Jeff Campbell+

Eric Polenik

FLUTE

Rebecca Gilbert, Principal

The Charlotte Whitney Allen Chair, funded in perpetuity

Sean Marron

Elise Kim

PICCOLO

Sean Marron

Elise Kim

OBOE

Erik Behr, Principal

The Dr. Jacques M. Lipson Chair, funded in perpetuity

Anna Steltenpohl

Megan Kyle

ENGLISH

HORN

Anna Steltenpohl

CLARINET

Hector Noriega*, Principal

The Robert J. Strasenburgh Chair, funded in perpetuity

Kamalia Freyling^

Andrew Brown

E-FLAT CLARINET

Kamalia Freyling^

BASS CLARINET

Andrew Brown

BASSOON

Matthew McDonald, Principal

The Ron and Donna Fielding Chair, funded in perpetuity

Karl Vilcins

Martha Sholl

CONTRA-BASSOON

Karl Vilcins

HORN

YiCheng Gong, Associate

Maura McCune Corvington+

Nathan Ukens

Stephen Laifer+

TRUMPET

Wesley Nance+

Herbert Smith

Paul Shewan

TROMBONE

David Bruestle, Principal

The Austin E. Hildebrandt Chair, funded in perpetuity

Lisa Albrecht

Jeffrey Gray+

BASS TROMBONE

Jeffrey Gray+

TUBA

W. Craig Sutherland, Principal

The Rob W. Goodling Chair, funded in perpetuity

TIMPANI

Charles Ross+, Principal

The Harold and Joan Feinbloom Chair, funded in perpetuity

PERCUSSION

Caleb Breidenbaugh, Principal

The Marie-Merrill and George M. Ewing Chair, funded in perpetuity

Brian Stotz

The Barbara and Patrick Fulford Chair, funded in perpetuity

HARP

Grace Browning, Principal

The Eileen Malone Chair. A Tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt M. Sylvester

Rosanna Moore

KEYBOARD

Chiao-Wen Cheng+, Principal

The Lois P. Lines Chair, funded in perpetuity

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Fred Dole

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN

Kimberly Hartquist

Kathalee & Ian Hodge Library

Operation Endowment

STAGE MANAGERS

Danielle Suhr

Cederick Martinez

+ Eastman faculty

^ Year leave of absence

* 1-year appointment

ANDREAS DELFS Music Director

Andreas Delfs has built a reputation over his 35-year career as one of the most dynamic and respected conductors on the international stage. Celebrated for his visionary leadership and deep musical insight, he is equally renowned as a masterful orchestra builder and an inspiring music director. Known for his emotionally charged and dramatically nuanced interpretations—particularly of the late Romantic repertoire—Delfs has earned critical acclaim across North America and Europe. His performances are marked by an ever-deepening artistic maturity, bringing a rare combination of passion, precision, and authenticity to every podium he graces.

Educated at leading conservatories on both sides of the Atlantic and shaped by mentorships with legendary conductors, Delfs has cultivated a style forged through decades of experience. At the same time, his unwavering curiosity and enthusiasm for contemporary music have made him a champion of living composers. He has established lasting collaborations with many of today’s most compelling musical voices, conducting numerous world premieres and commissioning new works. Among his many artistic inspirations are Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Philip Glass, and Roberto Sierra—composers whose diverse idioms have helped shape his unique interpretive voice. His artistry has also drawn world-class soloists to the stage, including André Watts, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, and Renée Fleming.

Delfs has held prominent leadership roles with orchestras on both continents. As Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2009—and later as its Conductor Laureate—he played a pivotal role in elevating the ensemble to national acclaim. He also led the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as Music Director (2001–2004) and Artistic Consultant (2004–2006). In Europe, he served as General Music Director of Hanover, Germany (1995–2000), overseeing both the city’s symphony orchestra and its distinguished opera company. Earlier appointments include Music Director of the Bern Opera, Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony during Lorin Maazel’s tenure, and Music Director—at an impressively young age—of the Orchestre Suisse des Jeunes.

Throughout his career, Delfs has conducted many of the world’s premier orchestras. His international credits include the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Danish National Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Beijing Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.

Born in Flensburg, Germany, Delfs began studying piano and music theory at the age of five. He studied under Christoph von Dohnányi and Aldo Ceccato at the Hamburg Conservatory, where, at just 20 years old, he became the youngest Music Director of the Hamburg University Orchestra and served as Musical Assistant at the Hamburg State Opera. He later continued his training at The Juilliard School, studying with Jorge Mester, Sixten Ehrling, and Leonard Bernstein, and was honored with the prestigious Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.

Our Conductors

JEFF TYZIK Principal Pops Conductor

25/26 marks Jeff Tyzik’s 32nd season as RPO Pops Conductor. But his musical journey began long before his permanent residency in Kodak Hall.

Born in Hyde Park, New York, he started playing cornet at age nine—inspired by the buglers during an Independence Day parade in nearby Poughkeepsie. He switched to trumpet at age 11, and eventually went on to attend Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, ultimately earning Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees.

Even before Tyzik’s schooling was completed, his star was on the rise. While at Eastman, Tyzik met Chuck Mangione, with whom he worked between 1973 and 1980 —both as lead trumpeter in Mangione’s band and as co-producer of four albums. During that time, Tyzik befriended Tonight Show band leader Doc Severinsen, who eventually invited Tyzik to London to record two albums. That relationship proved fruitful, with Tyzik producing the Grammy-winning The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen, Vol. 1. Severinsen’s albums with Tyzik would go on to earn three additional Grammy nominations.

Tyzik also recorded his own albums as a solo trumpeter between 1981 and 1990, when he and his big band frequently performed in Rochester.

In 1993, Tyzik proposed a four-concert series featuring RPO members dubbed “All in the Family.” The first debuted Oct. 22 and highlighted Kenneth Grant (clarinet), Joseph Werner (piano), and percussionists William Cahn and Dave Mancini. Less than a month later, Tyzik was asked to become Principal Pops Conductor.

Jeff quickly made his mark on the orchestra, in his second season performing the first in his endearing, enduring Gala Holiday Pops series. He also made RPO history conducting an all-Gershwin album featuring pianist Jon Nakamatsu. The recording topped the Billboard Classical chart and remained in the top 10 for three months.

Over five decades, Tyzik has guest-conducted more than 100 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, and Milwaukee Symphony. In September 2023, he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic and returned later that season to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2023–24 finale.

He’s also shared the stage with a remarkable range of artists across genres—from Tony Bennett and Leslie Odom Jr. to Wynonna Judd, Art Garfunkel, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Megan Hilty, Dawn Upshaw, and John Pizzarelli.

In 2012, Tyzik and his daughter Jami co-founded the management and production company Greenberg Artists. Since 2016, in partnership with Schirmer Theatrical, they’ve developed dozens of orchestral Pops programs now performed by nearly 200 orchestras.

In 2023, Tyzik launched TyzikMusic.com, a digital publishing platform featuring more than 150 of his arrangements, orchestrations, and compositions for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and wind ensemble.

CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN Conductor Laureate

The Christopher Seaman Chair, supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford and The Conductor Laureate Society

Christopher Seaman was music director of the RPO from 1998-2011, and was subsequently named conductor laureate. During his 13-year tenure, the longest in RPO history, he raised the Orchestra’s artistic level, broadened its audience base, and created a new concert series. This contribution was recognized with an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. In May 2009, the University of Rochester made him an honorary doctor of music.

Previous positions include music director of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (Florida) for 10 years, conductor-in-residence with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and artistic advisor of the San Antonio Symphony.

He is recognized for his wealth of repertoire, which ranges from baroque to contemporary, and in particular the works of Bruckner, Brahms, and Sibelius Seaman also is highly regarded for his work with younger musicians, and he served as course director for the Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program (Australia) for many years.

Recent conducting engagements include the Aspen Music Festival, Detroit, Houston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Seattle symphony orchestras; the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Kristians Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, and Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais in Brazil. He frequently visits Australia and Asia where he has conducted the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Taiwan, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Singapore symphony orchestras, among others.

RPO Board of Directors 2025/26 SEASON

Maintaining and operating the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (Founded in 1923 —Incorporated in 1930)

OFFICERS

Diana Clarkson, Esq., Chair of the Board

Katherine Lindahl, Chair-Elect of the Board

Cindy Yancey, Vice Chair of the Board

Karen Kessler, Secretary

Richard Stein, Treasurer

Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq., Immediate Past Chair

TERM EXPIRES

JUNE 2026

Daisy R. Algarin

Diana Clarkson, Esq.

George Daddis

Catherine Frangenberg

Allyson Hiranandani

Dr. Diane Lu

Sujatha Ramanujan

Elizabeth F. Rice

Ronald E. Salluzzo

Dr. Eva P. Sauer

George J. Schwartz, M.D.

Richard Stein

Dr. James Watters

TERM EXPIRES

JUNE 2027

Brian Bennett

Emerson Fullwood

Kimberly Gangi

Paulette Gissendanner

Catherine Gueli

Zuzanna Kwon

Katherine Lindahl

Jack McGowan

Sidney Sobel, M.D.

Cindy Yancey DIANA

CLARKSON, CHAIR OF THE BOARD

TERM EXPIRES

JUNE 2028

Ron Dougherty

Sreeram Dhurjaty

James Fulmer

Laurie A. Haelen

Ralph F. Jozefowicz. M.D.

Karen Kessler

Deborah Onslow

Sara Poe

Joseph B. Rizzo, Esq.

EX-OFFICIO

Curtis S. Long President & CEO

Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq., Immediate Past Chair

Kate Sheeran

Dean, Eastman School of Music

Nathan Ukens

Orchestra Representative

Wesley Nance

Orchestra Representative

James Englert

Chairperson, Honorary Board

HONORARY BOARD

James Englert, Chairperson, Honorary Board

Stephen B. Ashley

Nancy Beilfuss*

James M. Boucher

Paul W. Briggs*

William L. Cahn

Louise Epstein

Joan Feinbloom

Ilene Flaum

Betsy Friedman

Patrick Fulford

Ronald A. Furman*

Mary M. Gooley*

Suzanne Gouvernet*

David C. Heiligman

A. Thomas Hildebrandt

Harold A. Kurland, Esq.

Dr. Dawn F. Lipson

Jacques M. Lipson, MD*

Cricket and Frank Luellen*

Michael Millard

Elizabeth F. Rice

Nathan J. Robfogel, Esq.

Jon L. Schumacher, Esq.

Katherine T. Schumacher

Ingrid Stanlis

Betty Strasenburgh*

Josephine S. Trubek

Suzanne D. Welch

Patricia Wilder*

Deborah Wilson

Robert Woodhouse

The RPO expresses its gratitude to all those who have served as Honorary Board members in the past.

PAST RPO CHAIRPERSONS

1930–32: Edward G. Miner*

1932–34: Simon N. Stein*

1934–38: George E. Norton*

1938–41: Leroy E. Snyder*

1941–42: Frank W. Lovejoy*

1942–43: Bernard E. Finucane*

1943–46: L. Dudley Field*

1946–48: Edward S. Farrow, Jr. *

1948–51: Joseph J. Myler*

1951–52: Joseph F. Taylor*

1952–55: Raymond W. Albright*

1955–57: Arthur I. Stern*

1957–59: Thomas H. Hawks*

1959–61: Walter C. Strakosh*

1962–63: Ernest J. Howe*

1963–65: O. Cedric Rowntree*

1965–67: Frank E. Holley *

1967–69: Thomas C. Taylor*

1969–71: Thomas H. Miller*

1971–72: Mrs. Frederick J. Wilkens*

1972–73: Edward C. McIrvine

1973–74: Robert J. Strasenburgh*

1974–75: John A. Santuccio

1975–76: Robert J. Strasenburgh*

1976–78: Dr. Louis Lasagna*

1978–80: Edward C. McIrvine

1980–82: Peter L. Faber

1982–84: Paul F. Pagerey*

1984–85: Peter L. Waasdorp*

1986–89: Robert H. Hurlbut*

1989–91: Paul W. Briggs

1991–93: Karen Noble Hanson*

1993–95: Ronald E. Salluzzo

1995–98: A. Thomas Hildebrandt

1998–00: Harold A. Kurland, Esq.

2000–04: David C. Heiligman

2004–06: Ingrid A. Stanlis

2006–09: James M. Boucher

2009–11: Suzanne D. Welch

2011–13: Elizabeth F. Rice

2013–15: Dr. Dawn F. Lipson

2015-17: Jules L. Smith, Esq.

2017-19: Ingrid A. Stanlis

2019-2024: Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq.

* Deceased

SEASON & SERIES SPONSORS:

SEASON SPONSOR

POPS SERIES SPONSORS

ORKIDSTRA SERIES SPONSOR LENORE P. LESSER IN LOVING MEMORY OF SUNDAY MATS AT NAZ SERIES SPONSOR

RPYO SPONSOR

HOLIDAY SPONSOR

RPO FOR ALL SPONSOR

SEASON MEDIA SPONSORS

CONCERT SPONSORS:

BRAHMS

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT:

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EPISCOPAL SENIOR LIFE

FP

SAT APR 18

7:30 PM

SUN APR 19

2 PM

KODAK HALL AT EASTMAN THEATRE

Andreas Delfs, conductor

For Andreas Delfs’ biography, please see page 3. Julian Schwarz, cello

SAMY MOUSSA Elysium 12:00

JENNIFER HIGDON Cello Concerto (A Voices of Today Commission – World Premiere) 25:00

I. Poet

II. Dances

III. Fervent

IV. Lines

INTERMISSION

JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 33:00

I. Allegro con brio

II. Andante

III. Poco allegretto

IV. Allegro – Un poco sostenuto

SEASON

SPONSOR:

CONCERT

SPONSORS:

OFFICIAL COFFEE OF THE RPO

We kindly ask you to please silence all cellphones and electronic devices. Also, please note that photography and video recordings are prohibited during the performance.

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BRAHMS IN BLOOM

ARTISTS

JULIAN SCHWARZ, cello

Julian Schwarz has been heralded from a young age as a cellist destined to rank among the greatest of the 21st century. Julian’s powerful tone, effortless virtuosity, and extraordinarily large color palette are hallmarks of his style.

After making his concerto debut at the age of 11 with the Seattle Symphony, he made his US touring debut with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Since being awarded first prize at the inaugural Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong, he has led an active career as soloist, performing with the symphony orchestras of Annapolis, Arizona, Boise, Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbus, Delaware, Des Moines, Hartford, Jacksonville, Louisville, Memphis, Modesto, Omaha, Puerto Rico, Richmond, Rochester, San Antonio, San Jose, Sarasota, Syracuse, Toledo, Tucson, Virginia, West Virginia, Wichita, and Winston-Salem, among many others. Internationally, he made his Australian debut with the Queensland Symphony and his Mexican debuts with the Boca del Rio Philharmonic in Veracruz and the Mexico City Philharmonic with frequent collaborator Jorge Mester.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Schwarz performs extensively in recital with pianist Marika Bournaki. In 2016 Schwarz & Bournaki were awarded first prize at the inaugural Boulder International Chamber Music Competition’s “The Art of Duo”, and subsequently embarked on an extensive 10-recital tour of China in March 2017. Mr. Schwarz is a founding member of the New York based touring ensemble “Frisson” and was recently appointed the newest core member of the Olmos Ensemble in San Antonio, TX. He is a member of the Palladium Chamber Players (St. Petersburg FL), the Alaria Ensemble (New York NY), and has given over 100 performances at Brooklyn’s Bargemusic. He has appeared at the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival, Verbier Festival, and the Salzburg Mozarteum. In addition, he runs programming for the Tuesday evening chamber music series at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC. Mr. Schwarz is deeply committed to the future of American music, and will present the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s first Cello Concerto with a large consortium of orchestras in spring 2026, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. His championing of the cello music of Arthur Foote will result in the first commercial recording of Foote’s Cello Concerto (1894) with the Buffalo Philharmonic, to be released on the Delos label. Past commissioning projects include concertos by Lowell Liebermann (recorded with the Annapolis Symphony for release in 2025), Richard Danielpour, and Samuel Jones (recorded with the All-Star Orchestra for public television in 2012, subsequently released as a DVD on Naxos). Of special note is Mr. Schwarz’s ongoing commitment to the music of Jewish experience, including projects with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (music of Joachim Stutschewsky and his circle), the Defiant Requiem Foundation (music of Holocaust composers and their influence) Central Synagogue (yearly feature on Jewish Broadcasting), the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music—for which he has recorded the complete cello/piano works of Ernest Bloch, and a new association with South Florida Public Broadcasting to raise awareness of the history of Jewish music.

A devoted teacher, Mr. Schwarz serves as Associate Professor of Cello and String Area Coordinator at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University (Winchester, VA), and on the artist faculty of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Music. In the summer, he teaches and performs at the Eastern Music Festival and the Josef Gingold Festiva. As a writer, he has contributed frequently to Strings Magazine’s Artist Blog, has written learner’s guides for The Violin Channel, and has edited a series of Ernest Bloch editions with written prefaces for Carl Fischer Publishing. Past faculty appointments include artist-in-residence at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (Nova Scotia, Canada) and faculty teaching assistant to Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School.

Born in Seattle, WA in 1991 to a multigenerational musical family, Mr. Schwarz studied at the Academy of Music Northwest and the Lakeside School. He continued to the Colburn School in Los Angeles under Ronald Leonard, and then moved to New York City to study with mentor Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School (BM 14, MM 16).

Julian plays a Neapolitan cello made by Gennaro Gagliano in 1743 and American bows by Paul Martin Siefried.

ARTISTS

JENNIFER HIGDON, composer

Jennifer Higdon is a Pulitzer Prize and three-time GRAMMY winner and is a major figure in Classical music averaging 300 performances a year of her works in many genres: from opera to chamber, symphonic to band, and solo works to concerti. She has even written works in forms not tackled before: a bluegrass/classical hybrid concerto, a concerto for the entire low brass section of the Chicago Symphony (at the request of Maestro Ricardo Muti), and one that features 6 soloists (for the new music ensemble, Eighth Blackbird).

Additionally, in 2018 she was awarded The Nemmers Prize in Music from Northwestern University. She has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship, two awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, the Koussevitzky Fellowship, the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and funding from the NEA. A winner of the Van Cliburn Piano Competition’s American Composers Invitational, her Secret & Glass Gardens was performed by the semi-finalists in 2005. Her first opera, Cold Mountain, sold out its premiere run in Santa Fe, as well as in North Carolina, and Philadelphia (becoming the third highest selling opera in Opera Philadelphia’s history). Cold Mountain won the prestigious International Opera Award for Best World Premiere in 2016; the first American opera to do so in the award’s history. Her second opera, Woman With Eyes Closed, recently premiered in Pittsburgh, and sold out its tickets so fast that an extra performance was added, and then, because that performance sold out so quickly, tickets were then sold to the dress rehearsal.

Her music has been hailed by Fanfare Magazine as having “the distinction of being at once complex, sophisticated but readily accessible emotionally”, with the Times of London citing it as “…traditionally rooted yet imbued with integrity and freshness.” The Chicago Sun Times recently cited her music as “both modern and timeless, complex and sophisticated, and immensely engaging in a way that both charms and galvanizes an audience craving something new and full of urgency, yet not distancing.” John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune called her writing, “beautiful, accessible, inventive, and impeccably crafted.”

Higdon’s list of commissioners is extensive and includes The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony, the Munich Philharmonic and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well such groups as the Tokyo String Quartet, the Neave Trio, the new music ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, and the President’s Own United States Marine Band. She has also written works for such renowned artists as baritone Thomas Hampson and mezzo Sasha Cooke; mandolinist Avi Avital, pianists Yuja Wang and Gary Graffman; and violinists Joshua Bell, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Jennifer Koh, and Hilary Hahn.

Her orchestral work, blue cathedral, is one of the most performed contemporary works in the orchestral repertoire and is widely considered the first work in the 21st century to have become part of the standard repertoire. Since its premiere in 2000, it has received over 1200 performances. Higdon’s works have been recorded on more than 100 CDs. She has won GRAMMYs for her Percussion Concerto, Viola Concerto, and her Harp Concerto. Her work, All Things Majestic, written for the Grand Teton Music Festival, is part of that national park’s visitor center experience. The Library of Congress has added the recording of her Percussion Concerto to the National Recording Registry.

She has held residencies with orchestras and universities throughout the United States, and has worked with NPR and BBC Radio 3 on shows that featured her works. She assists in curating a series of new music for radio, with Brad Cresswell, through WGTE.

PROGRAM NOTES

SAMY MOUSSA

Elysium

B. MONTREAL, CANADA

June 1, 1984

Canadian composer Samy Moussa wants his music to speak to every listener, from lovers of Beethoven and Mahler to those who rarely attend concerts. “That’s why I try to at least write music that has a potential of communication,” he explained in an interview, “music that has the potential to talk if someone decides, ‘ok I’m sitting and listening, am I going to get something?’” His answer? “Yes, you will get something.” His works hold electrical charge, producing sizzling effects with musical materials that are sometimes minimal yet treated expansively, with Brucknerian influence. That sizzling charge provides developmental force in Moussa’s Elysium, which has no outright melody but instead relies on waves of sound and shifts of color, with ever-present brass and an array of percussion. The title alludes to the Elysian Fields, a utopian destination from Greek mythology. But unlike Greek mythology, where only the gods’ chosen heroes get to visit, Moussa’s Elysium is more inclusive. It’s a democratic paradise conceived by the fifth-century philosopher Empedocles as “the ultimate reward for an ethical life,” or as Moussa interprets, “a metaphor for a beautiful life, for a life well-lived on this planet.” Encompassing slides, oscillations, and scampers, the work ultimately luxuriates in heroic soundscapes, a sonic paradise for audiences. The work premiered in 2021 with the Vienna Philharmonic and has since made the rounds on orchestral programs around the globe.

JENNIFER HIGDON

Cello Concerto

B. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

December 31, 1962

It is one thing to write for instruments that don’t have a lot of concerto repertoire (as I did with my concerto for mandolin, or my bluegrass trio, or for orchestral low brass players); but when writing for an instrument like the cello, which has a vast amount of spectacular repertoire, it is good to recognize that a composer stands on the shoulders of an esteemed tradition of works. It is also important to highlight the talents of the featured soloist, Julian Schwarz. When getting to know Julian’s playing, I was struck by the lyrical gift that he brings to the cello; I knew immediately that melody would be at the heart of this work. The first movement (“Poet”) is based on a poem that I once set to music that includes the line, “…if I told you how I read your dream with a cello”. From the moment I read that line, the image of a cellist creating a poem with their instrument has stayed with me; it was the perfect inspirational spark to begin this work. To provide contrast, the second movement is a dance between the soloist and the orchestra. Instead of just accompanying the cellist, orchestra members play primary musical themes in a back-and-forth dialog between themselves and the soloist (thus the movement title: “Dances”). The third movement, “Fervent”, is the heart of this work, unfolding through slow music that allows Julian and his cello to “sing”.

The final movement, “Lines”, is a combination of footrace and joyous celebration, honoring the virtuosic skill that our soloist brings to his playing. In the early stages of composing, the first movement’s title of “Poet” inspired the idea that all the movement titles should be related in a way that if those titles were lined up sequentially, I’d have a little poem: Poet Dances Fervent Lines. It’s an apt description of this piece, and of the magnificent history of this noble instrument, as well as a tribute to the gifted cellist, Julian Schwarz.

The “Cello Concerto” was graciously commissioned by Robert and Vicki Lieberman.

PROGRAM NOTES

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90

B. HAMBURG, GERMANY May 7, 1833

D. VIENNA, AUSTRIA April 3, 1897

At the premiere of Brahms’ Third Symphony, a contingent in the audience hissed disapprovingly instead of clapping. The offenders? Wagnerians. Their reason had everything to do with the musical politics of the time, a contentious battle between old and new that Brahms was unwittingly pulled into early in his career. As a young up-and-comer, Brahms was touted publicly by his mentor, Robert Schumann, as the composer who would write the next great symphony after Beethoven. But before Brahms could get over his impostor syndrome to write one, a new wave of composition took hold in Germany, spearheaded by composers such as Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner. These composers wrote ‘tone poems’ and other programmatic works that followed vivid narratives, using chromatic harmonies to boldly shift tone with the ebbs and flows of epic plots. Not only was it considered the music of the future, but its composers coalesced around a new name, “The New German School,” which placed them as the rightful heirs of Beethoven’s legacy. Brahms lent his name to a petition in response, incensed more by the rhetoric than the music, but it was published prematurely with only four signatures, mocking the old guard that Brahms was now associated with. It only bolstered Brahms’s hesitation to produce a symphony, which he did not ultimately do until he was forty-three years old.

By the time Brahms got to his third symphony in 1883, now aged fifty, he had established himself as a symphonic master, proving that old forms could be both expressive and progressive. In the third symphony, he lets go of his prior self-consciousness, embracing a newfound freedom with a lighter, breezier touch than in his first two symphonies. But Wagner—one of the New German School’s ring leaders—died only months before the premiere, and his supporters came out to refute Brahms’ work in memorial by hissing, which was a common gesture of dissatisfaction in nineteenth-century concerts. But their protestations didn’t work. Brahms’ third symphony was a complete success, with ovations overpowering any dissent. The irony is that Brahms admired Wagner’s works, and there’s even a reference to Wagner in the symphony.

The third symphony opens, however, with references to old friends. The opening motif is a nod to his friend, violinist Joseph Joachim, whose personal motto was “Frei aber einsam,” meaning ‘Free but lonely,’ which he expressed with the pitches F-A-E. As a counter to his friend’s pessimistic outlook, Brahms’ opening three-note motive in the third symphony stands for “Frei aber froh,” meaning ‘Free but happy.’ Those notes—F-Ab-F—are the first notes heard.

That middle A-flat is most unusual in the key of F major, adding in a tint of minor-mode relationships and a tonal ambiguity that permeates the symphony. The strings finish the motto’s final F and then lead the way with an agitated melody taken right from Brahms’ mentor Robert Schumann’s Third Symphony, the Rhenish Symphony. At the close of the first theme, Brahms throws in a momentary homage to Wagner, with yearning chords that are adapted from Wagner’s “Siren’s Chorus” from his opera Tannhäuser, which also has Rhenish connections. The movement settles into an airy pastorale clarinet solo in an odd, nine-beat meter, the movement’s second theme. Brahms is inventive in the development section, setting his motives in unexpected modal shadings and variations, quietly sneaking up on the recapitulation of the main themes.

Robert Schumann’s widow, Clara, was also a close friend of Brahms (and perhaps more) and called the second movement of the third symphony “a pure idyll.” It opens on a tranquil, sunny day, the clarinet and lower strings in complementary conversation. The third movement is a woeful, lamenting scherzo of sighing patterns and chromatic pulls, possibly inspired by Romani (gypsy) music. The fourth movement opens with a sinewy line in the lower strings, repeated by the winds, before bursting out in a tempestuous F minor, the F-Ab-F motto woven in. The second theme is more resolute and processional. In a tension-filled development, the brass spring out with a momentary major chorale, but it’s just a ruse. With nearly zero preparation, the movement’s recapitulation arrives sounding the second, processional theme first. The storm winds down as memories of the first movement’s ‘free but happy’ motto appear in the coda, the symphony ending with the theme from Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony quietly floating down like pillowy clouds in F major.

WED APR 22

7:30 PM

KODAK CENTER

(200 RIDGE ROAD)

Brent Havens, conductor

Justin Sargent, lead vocals

George Cintron, lead guitar

Dan Clemens, bass guitar

Powell Randolph, drums

Selections will be announced from the stage and will include:

All My Love

Black Dog

Dancing Days

Going to California

Good Times, Bad Times

Heartbreaker

Immigrant Song

Kashmir

Moby Dick

The Ocean

Rain Song

Ramble On

Since I’ve Been Loving You

Song Remains the Same

Stairway to Heaven

Whole Lotta Love

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THE MUSIC OF LED ZEPPELIN

PROGRAM NOTES

THE MUSIC OF LED ZEPPELIN: A ROCK SYMPHONY

Bridging the gulf between rock n’ roll and classical music, conductor/arranger Brent Havens takes the podium to present The Music of Led Zeppelin, a program he scored to extend the listening experience of Led Zeppelin’s timeless tunes. Performed by an orchestra and amplified with a full rock band and screaming vocals, Havens and his ensemble capture Led Zeppelin’s “sheer blast and power” riff for riff while cranking out new musical colors,

“Our concept for The Music of Led Zeppelin was to take the music as close to the originals as we could and then add some colors to enhance what Zep had done,” says Havens. “The wonderful thing with an orchestra is that you have an entire palette of sounds to call upon. The band is reproducing what Led Zeppelin did on the albums, verbatim, and then having an orchestra behind the band gives the music richness, a whole different feel, a whole different sense of power.”

Heightened by rock concert lighting, the symphonic rock hybrid has met with riotous approval at both ends of the hall, explains Havens; “When we first came on stage, the audience gave us polite, almost classical applause. Then we hit the first note, and they realized it was a rock show.”

When the music was first discussed in 1994 Havens understood that Led Zeppelin fans would want to hear the original, familiar elements of the music. He therefore followed exact line arrangements and used the orchestra for enhancement. With a 50-piece orchestra hanging on his every cue, Havens had a large landscape to work with. Just among the double-reed instruments—the oboe, English Horn, bassoon—there are so many colors. Add violins, violas, cellos, basses, and woodwinds or more pure sounds from instruments like a flute or a clarinet and the selection grows. Then consider the entire brass section, like the trumpet, trombones, French horns, and the lower brass like the bass trombone and tuba and you realize the variety of choices available to accompany a distorted electric guitar, bass and drums. Bridge that with the addition of the electric violin as yet one more color and the palette becomes even larger.

Havens is Arranger/Guest Conductor for four symphonic rock programs – the Music of Led Zeppelin, the Music of the Doors, the Music of Pink Floyd, and the Music of the Eagles. Producer Robert W. Cross is Artistic Director of the Virginia Arts Festival, where he presents 130 performances for audiences of all ages throughout southeastern Virginia each spring. He is also principal percussionist of the Virginia Symphony, and has recorded for Northeastern Records, NPR Classics, Albany, and New Albion.

Additional Musicians: Bass – Daniel Clemens; Drums – Powell Randolph; Guitar – George Cintron; Electric Violin – Allegra

ARTISTS

JUSTIN MATTHEW SARGENT, vocals

Justin Matthew Sargent is a singer and actor who has starred in the Broadway smash hit Hamilton as King George, as “Drew” in the mega hit rock musical Rock of Ages, as “Peter Parker” in Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark (Music by Bono and The Edge) and was in the Original Broadway Cast of Bonnie and Clyde. Justin has performed along side music legends like John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles, Dee Snider, Kip Winger, Graham Russell, and has been a guest singer with the band Air Supply. Justin has toured the country singing everything from Queen to Andrew Lloyd Webber. His TV/FILM appearances include “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live” on NBC, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Mr. Robot”, “Delocated”, “Royal Pains”, and more! Born in Murphysboro, Illinois, and raised in Florida, Justin is incredibly honored to join the Windborne Music roster, and humbled to perform some of the best music ever written with some of the world’s best musicians.

BRENT HAVENS, arranger/conductor

Berklee-trained arranger/conductor Brent Havens has written music for orchestras, feature films, and virtually every kind of television. His TV work includes movies for networks such as ABC, CBS, and ABC Family Channel Network, commercials, sports music for networks such as ESPN and even cartoons. Havens has also worked with the Doobie Brothers and the Milwaukee Symphony, arranging and conducting the combined group for Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary Birthday Party Finale attended by over 150,000 fans. He has worked with some of the world’s greatest orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London, the CBSO in Birmingham, England, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, Orchestra of Opera North in Leeds, England and countless others.

7:30 PM

7:30 PM

KODAK HALL AT EASTMAN THEATRE

Jeff Tyzik, conductor

For Jeff Tyzik’s biography, please see page 4. Troupe Vertigo Madrigalia

Cary Ratcliff

Artistic Director to the artist

RICHARD STRAUSS Zarathustra 2:00

COURAGE/MCCARTHY CHATTAWAY, GOLDSMITH (ARR. CUSTER) Star Trek Through The Years 9:00

JOHN WILLIAMS Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind 10:00

JAMES

CLAUDE DEBUSSY Clair de Lune 5:00 (ARR. TYZIK)

JOHN WILLIAMS Star Wars Suite 9:30 Main Title The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)   6:55

Music from the Star Wars Saga

Cantina Band

Luke and Leia

Star Wars: Episode I Phantom Menace

Suite for Orchestra

Duel of the Fates

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CONCERT

SPONSORS:

SERIES SPONSORS: OFFICIAL COFFEE OF THE RPO

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7 PM

EDGERTON REC CENTER

Paul Shewan, conductor

Jeffery McGhee, narrator & baritone

Roberts Wesleyan University Chorale Manor Singers Children’s Choir

WOLFGANG Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 4:00

AMADEUS MOZART

GIUSEPPE VERDI Overture to La forza del destino 8:00

FLORENCE Symphony No. 1 in E minor: Juba Dance 5:00

BEATRICE PRICE

ARAM Suite from Masquerade KHACHATURIAN I. Waltz V. Galop 7:15

JOSHUA FUGATE Graham’s Grand Adventure 9:00

Jeffery McGhee, baritone

Roberts Wesleyan University Chorale Manor Singers Children’s Choir

SOON HEE NEWBOLD Voyager 2:00

WILLIAM HOFELDT Lullaby 2:30

PETER WARLOCK Capriol Suite Basse Danse 2:00

JOHANNES BRAHMS Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor 3:00

BAPTISTE & SYLVESTER Brandenburg 2:30 (ARR. LARRY MOORE)

ROCMUSIC

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ARTISTS

PAUL SHEWAN, conductor

Paul Shewan, Professor of Instrumental Studies at Roberts Wesleyan University, teaches conducting and trumpet, and directs the wind ensemble, orchestra, and brass ensemble. Dr. Shewan earned his Bachelor of Science degree (Music Education) from Roberts Wesleyan College, and his Masters (Trumpet Performance and Literature) and Doctorate (Conducting) from the Eastman School of Music.

At the Eastman School, Dr. Shewan studied conducting with Mendi Rodan, Neil Varon, Donald Hunsberger, and Mark Scatterday. He appeared in several concerts conducting the Eastman Wind Orchestra, the Eastman Conducting Orchestra, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. In the summer of 2004, he conducted the Eastman Wind Ensemble on a four-week tour of Japan, Taiwan, and Macau. He has also served semesters as Visiting Professor of Conducting.

Dr. Shewan is a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra trumpet section and has been a guest conductor with the RPO on numerous occasions. He has also conducted the Varna Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria). He has performed as principal trumpet at the Skaneateles Festival, NY, and from 1987-2002, he performed frequently with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has conducted performances for live public radio broadcasts (WXXI) and as soloist and conductor on the Live from Hochstein concert series.

Dr. Shewan has been a guest conductor with the Air Force Band of Liberty (Boston), the Air Force Heritage of America Band (Virginia), Concordia Santa Fe (New Mexico), and is an active conductor for high school district and regional music festivals. He has conducted the Syracuse Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO). In 2019 he received the Special Music Educator Award from the RPO for his musical and educational contributions to the community. Each summer, he conducts the high school orchestra at the Csehy Summer School of Music. Prior to coming to Roberts Wesleyan, Dr. Shewan taught instrumental music for five years in the Holland, NY Central School district. He and his wife Joy have four grown children and six grandchildren.

ARTISTS

STUDIO STRINGS

In Alphabetical Order by Instrument

STUDENT ROSTER

VIOLIN

Allycia McClendon

Alyse Lawhorn

Aurora Medina

Cherish Lovett

Cleo Bearden

Emery Butterfield

Island Miles

Ivan Xaysongkham

Journee Robinson

Joy Cashner

Justice-Aleese Simmons

Layla Owens

Le’La Hale

Liza Osuch

Louis Zhu

Mia Calucho

Nina Muhammad

Sergio Navedo

Solana Dennis

Taegan Butterfield

Zara Dennis

Zoey Jackson

VIOLA

Alex Eckert

Ella Eckert

Mariah Campbell

Micah Crawford

Raúl Zambrana

Xiamar Rosario

CELLO

Abrehet Doris-Eaton

Alice Mackenzie

Elson Di Fiore

Isaac Weaver

Jeremias Jackson

Leo Weaver

Marlie Wilson

Matthew Bain

BASS

Alex Prescod

Delmus Holton

Neteiri Gilbert

FACULTY

Anna Denfeld viola

Ciara McGuire

violin

David Ying cello

Emma Goldberg bass

Jherrard Hardeman

conductor

Rachel Mills cello

Sophia Klin

violin

Dan Morehead

RPO Bass Mentor

James Marshall

RPO Viola Mentor

James Zabawa-Martinez

RPO Violin Mentor

ARTISTS

DR. JEFFERY MCGHEE, baritone

Dr. Jeffery McGhee, baritone, is Professor of Voice at Roberts Wesleyan College. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his final DMA research project was entitled, IN PURSUIT OF CONNECTEDNESS: A Learning Guide for Young Singers and Those Who Teach Them. While at the University of WisconsinMadison, Dr. McGhee performed the roles of Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola; the poet in Salieri’s First the Music, Then the Words; the Baron in Verdi’s La Traviata; the Leader in Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars; and El Gallo in The Fantasticks

He received the Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi and his Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Akron. At Akron, Dr. McGhee performed as Sid in Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten, Matt in The Fantasticks, and the poet in Kismet. He was also soloist with the Akron Symphony Chorus in performances of the Fauré Requiem.

In a season with Opera for the Young, Dr. McGhee portrayed the role of Belcore in Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. With the Ohio Light Opera company, he has also performed the roles of the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and the Counsel in Trial by Jury, both by Gilbert and Sullivan. In 2009, Dr. McGhee was the featured soloist with the Rochester Oratorio Society in their concert, Partners in Freedom: Lincoln and Douglass, which also featured The Morgan State University Choir and the Bach Children’s Chorus.

He has appeared as a soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in A Holiday Concert (2010), as narrator for their Liberty for All: A Salute to Veterans program (2011), as narrator/soloist in their educational performances of The Composer is Dead (2012), and as narrator/soloist in their Around the Town concert: America’s Musical Roots (2015). Dr. McGhee has also performed art songs and spirituals on the Live from Hochstein (WXXI) radio broadcast (2012, 2015) with Dr. Michael Landrum.

During the summer of 2016, Dr. McGhee was awarded a summer scholarship grant to develop a lecture recital centering on the Life and Spirituals of H.T. Burleigh and those composers who have followed in his footsteps. In collaboration with Dr. Landrum, they have performed this recital at the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, at churches, and most recently at the NYSSMA Winter Conference (2017), with an upcoming performance in Jacksonville, Florida.

Dr. McGhee is currently in the final stages of completing a CD of hymns, spirituals, and spiritual songs, accompanied by retired Roberts faculty member Dr. Michael Landrum.

ARTISTS

ROBERTS WESLEYAN

UNIVERSITY CHORALE

CARINA TELESCA, conductor

Kendra Breton

Cara Williams

Miriam Labarr

Esther Knappenberger

Solki Martin-Lacayo

Lydia Roselund

Hannah Cousins

Katherine Buisch

Emmaline Verratti

Braden Hoyt

David Douglass

Cooper Wasson

Louis de Boncort

Roman Smith

Joshua Kratz

Jason Anstey

Jonathan Douglass

Connor Weyant

Zach Richard

Caleb Williams

Victoria Heffner

Anna Brewer

Juila Tones

Logan Smith

Claire Algarin

Hannah Milbrandt

Magdalene Ramich

Rachel Kim-Kubiak

Sophia Walter

Joanna Anderson

Naomi Nov

Naomi Raphael

Lauryn Beyer

Quasim Huzair

Miles Anderson

Lukas Heuttner

John "Jack" Mitchell

Robert Bowen

Jackson Doran

Xavier Rivera

Jackson Oliver

MANOR SINGERS CHILDREN’S CHOIR ROSTER

Alexa Zamaira

Andez Hamilton

Arianna Kesserling

Aubrey Filiatrault

Ava Leigh Lynah

Ezra Hoffman

Fiona McManus

Gemma Campbell

Hattie Ayuer

Jace Evans

JoJo Kelly

Lillian Rehler

Lilliana Creager

Lily Fiandach

Margaret Nikoderm

Michael Fillinger

Michael Telesca

Nathan Alexander

Noah Brandon

Nora Metzger

Piper Gurell

Theodore Gabrielsen

Thomas Thering

Vivienne Brown

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SYMPHONY

CORPORATE PARTNERS, FOUNDATIONS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the following corporate, foundation, and community organizations for their generous support. Please contact the Development Office at development@rpo.org with questions or corrections. Listings are in recognition of our current donors during the 2025-26 Season from July 1 through March 15, 2026.

($50,000 AND ABOVE)

Anonymous

The Gertrude Chanler RPO Fund at the RACF City of Rochester

G.W. Lisk Company, Inc.& Kimbo il Caffe di Napoli Konar Foundation

Lisk Morris Foundation, Inc. & M&T Bank

Monroe County

CONCERTO

($25,000–$49,999)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust

The Community Foundation MusicPower.org

NYS Council on the Arts

The Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Foundation

TwoPoint Capital Management

Waldron Rise Foundation in honor of Anne G. Whitman& Wegmans Food Markets

SONATA

($10,000–$24,999)

The Arbor Loft Community Bank, N.A. Farmhouse Table Food

B. Thomas Golisano Foundation

Guido and Ellen Palma Foundation Pittsford Federal Credit Union^ Riedman Foundation

St. Ann’s Community

Fred and Floy Willmott Foundation

SUITE

($5,000–$9,999)

Akerman LLP

Anonymous

Broadstone Net Lease

Melvin and Mildred Eggers Family

Charitable Foundation

Grace & Disgrace

Heathwood Assisted Living & Memory Care

Hoselton Auto Mall

Joseph and Anna Gartner Foundation

KeyBank

L3Harris Technologies

The Marilyn Lichtman Foundation

LSI Solutions, Inc.

Mengel Metzger Barr & Co.

Mary S. Mulligan Charitable Trust

Novem Group

Rochester Gas & Electric

Rochester Institute of Technology

Spindler Family Fund

OVERTURE

($3,000–$4,999)

Darn Good Marketing Ltd.^

Spall Management

St. John’s

Matthew Geherin, Matthew Hettinga, Bruce Marche, and Kristen Storey - Vision Financial Group

PARTNER

($1,000–$2,999)

Alliance Advisory Group, Inc.

AmaWaterways

Bank of Castile, a Tompkins Community

Bristol Mountain

Brown and Brown of New York

BRX Research

Andrew J. Burke, RE/MAX Realty Group

Davie Kaplan, CPA, P.C.

DGA Builders LLC

EFPR

Flaum Management Company, Inc.

Greater Rochester Signaling Foundation

PJ Green, Inc.

Harter Secrest and Emery, LLP

High Falls Advisors

Insero & Co.

The Johnson Browning Family Fund

The Judson Foundation

KPMG LLP

La Bella Associates P.C.

Music Performance Trust Fund

Nazareth University

Paris-Kirwan Associates, Inc.

Rochester Education Foundation

Schreiner Family Fund

T.M. and M.W. Crandall Foundation

Vision Financial Group

Wells Fargo Advisors

The Westport Fund

FRIENDS ($1-$999)

Fairport Musicale

Fox Pest Control

Victor and Helen Geisel Foundation, Inc.^

General Code

Morning Musicale

Princeton Club of Rochester

Fred M. and Lurita D. Wechsler

Memorial Fund

West Rush Media, LLC

MATCHING GIFT COMPANIES

Corning Glass Works

GE Matching Gift Foundation

The Gerber Foundation

Johnson and Johnson Matching

Gift Foundation

PayPal Giving Fund

Flanigan

Miers

Vitello

EXECUTIVE

MANAGING EDITOR Donna Hoke

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jean-Pierre Thimot

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RPO& COMPREHENSIVE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

Donors to the RPO& Comprehensive Capital Campaign are true believers in the future of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The RPO& Centennial Circle honors those individuals who have committed to a leadership level gift of $100,000 or more to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Listings are in recognition of our campaign donors from July 1, 2022 through January 31, 2026. The RPO’s team of development professionals are available to work with you and your advisors to create a plan that will help you meet your financial and philanthropic goals. For more information, please contact the Development Office at 585.454.7311 or development@rpo.org.

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Joseph and Judith Darweesh Davenport-Hatch Foundation

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Kathalee* and Ian Hodge

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Ralph F. Jozefowicz

Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq.

Kathy Lindahl

G.W. Lisk Company, Inc.

Lisk Morris Foundation

Jack McGowan and Kathy Muscato

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Pace Family Fund

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Ron and Sharon Salluzzo

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Richard and Sandy Stein

Waldron Rise Foundation

Patricia Ward-Baker

Joyce Wiedrich

Robert A. Woodhouse

Cindy and Geff Yancey

* Denotes donor(s) is/are deceased.

MAESTRO’S CIRCLE LEADERSHIP GIVING SOCIETY

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the generous individuals listed here who help us continue to enrich and inspire the community through the art of music. While space only permits us to list pledged gifts made at the Benefactor level and above in the printed program book, we value the generosity and vital support of all donors and have moved all donors from Contributor amount and above to be listed in our digital edition donor roll on www.rpo.org/donor-recognition. Please contact us at development@ rpo.org questions or corrections. Listings are in recognition of our current donors during the 2025-26 Season from July 1 through March 15, 2026.

MAESTOSO ($50,000 AND ABOVE)

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The Robert and Jean Freligh

Memorial Fund&

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Walter J.* and Jeanne M. Beecher& Hays and Karen Bell

Suzanne Bell and Chris Brown

Kristine Bouyoucos

Jennifer Bowen

Simon* and Josephine Braitman

Bernadette Brinkman

Eric and Wendy Bruestle

Josephine Buckley

Andrew Burke&

Brian and Mary Jane Burke

Bruce and Shirley Burritt

The Carpenter Family

Ms. Barbara J. Case

Michael Chabalik

Alan Cohen and Nancy Bloom

Dr. Mark Cohen

Sherwin* and Linda Weinstein

Rick and Sandra Crawshaw

Cathy Cushman and Jeff Sokol

Karen and Gerald Kral&

Marcy and Ray Kraus in loving memory of Dr. Allan and Charlotte Kraus&

Lynn Krauss-Prince

Chari and Joel Krenis

Deanna and Charles Krunsenstjerna

Jim Kurtz and Jan Kellner

Connie Leary and James O’Connell&

Philip and Susan Lederer

Norma and Anthony* Leone, M.D.

Marc Libman and Meghann Postgate

Kathy J. Lindsley

Curtis and Elizabeth LongS&

R. John Looney, M.D. and Nancy

Gadziala, M.D.

Edith M. Lord

Dr. Diane Lu and Jeremy A. Cooney, Esq.

Swaminathan and Janice Madhu

Barbara E. Marshall&

Tom and Emily McCall

William and Erin McCune, in memory of Vera McCune

Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert J.C. McCurdy*

Gilbert Kennedy McCurdy

Daniel M. Meyers&

John Muenter

Paul Marc and Pamela Miller Ness&

Maureen and Steve Neumaier

Noel and JoBeth NicholsL&

Deborah Onslow&S

James and Joyce Porrey

Suzanne and Richard Portland

Brock and Sandra* Powell

Bill Prest

Alice and Andrew Publow

Robert and Anne QuiveyS

David Rakov

Dick and Cathy Rasmussen&S

Nancy and Vincent Reale&

David and Betsy Riedman

Jacqueline Davis

Katie and Rob Dermody&S

Mr. and Mrs. Steven DeSmitt

Gary Domenico and Barbara Buscaglia

Roy Czernikowski* and Karin Dunnigan

Janice and James* Durfee

Rose Duver

Michael C. Dwyer

Ed and Rosemary Eichenlaub

Neal and Kathleen Elli

Mr. Craig Epperson and Dr. Beth Jelsma

Trevor and Elizabeth Ewell

James Farrar

David and Anne Ferris

Thomas and Janet Fink

Rebecca Firmani

Gail R. Flugel

Timothy and Marie Forget

Family Fund

Jonathan Foster

Davis Frame

Sandra and Neil Frankel

Evelyn Frazee and Thomas Klonick

Betsy and Jay* Friedman&

Kevin FrischS

Jerry J. Gambino, Jr.

Paul Gardella

Jill and Kent Gardner

Michael and Jane* Garrett

Jacquie and Andrew Germanow

Mary Anne Gillespie

Warren and June Glaser

John and Leslie Glynn

John and Roslyn Goldman

Patricia Goodwin

Debbie and Michael Gordon

Crofts* and Jane Gorsline

Jeanne and Bob Grace

Helen and George Greer**

Susan and James Haefner

Laurie Haelen and Mary McCrank

Robert and Deborah HallS

Nancy and Henry Hamlin

Martin and Sherrie Handelman

Marilyn* and Dick Hare&

Bob and Kathy Heinig

Matthew Hettinga

Walter B.D. Hickey, Jr.

David C. and Patricia M. Hinkle

Drs. Ryan and Makiko Hoefen^

Dr. Marvin and Nancy* Yanes

Hoffman

Mr. and Mrs.* Howard E. Holcomb, Jr.

Joseph Rizzo

Nancy Robbins

Marion Swett Robinson&

Dick* and Bea Rosenbloom

Mr. Fritz Ruebeck and Dr. Cecilia MeagherS

Dr. Charlotte Ryan

Mr. and Mrs. James Ryan, Jr.

Drs. Carl and O.J. Sahler&

Gary B. Schaefer

David and Antonia Schantz

Joan M. Schumaker&

George J. Schwartz, M.D., and Paula Maier

Richard and Vicki* Schwartz

Mr. and Mrs. Eugene P. Seymour

Kate Hickey Spencer&

Jeffrey and Lyn Springut

Ingrid Stanlis&

Georgine and James Stenger

Dr. David and Abby Stern

Richard Sterns and Suzanna Rubright

Nancy Stevens and David Williams

Bob and Gayle Stiles

David B. Stong and Marlane Juran

David and Grace* Strong

Aaron and Rachel Stuckey&S

Robert and Nancy Swain

Margaret and Charles Symington

Anthony and Christine Testa

Margaret Tonkinson

Sally Turner

Gary and Marie VanGraafeiland

James Viscardi, Lisa Brubaker, and Marja Wilson

Patricia Ward-Baker&

Skip and Karen Warren

Stephen R. Webb

David and Julie Weinstein

Carol Whitbeck&

Mr. John Williams and Mr. Chuck Lundeen*

Kitty J. Wise&L

John Yancey

John and Barbara Holder

Henry* and Ellen Thiede

Dr. Robert Horn and Dr. Patricia Nachman

Bob and Sarah Hurlbut

La Marr J. Jackson, Esq.

Ronald and Martha Jodoin

Douglas and Maryanne Jones

Nancy Jones

Steve and Gretchen Judge

Dr. and Mrs. Harold Kanthor

Judy and Norm Karsten

Heidi Katz and Carl Chiarenza

Robert J. Kennedy

Tom and Kate Kidera

James H. Kirkwood

Francine Koskinas

Barbara E. Kozel

Ronald and Nancy Kraus

John and Lisa Lacci

Alan and Deborah Lattime

Jennifer Leonard and David Cay Johnston

Katherine Lewis and Richard Chasman*

Margaret Lindsey, M.D.

Sue and Michael LococoS

Eric and Martha Logigian

Johnny and Shirley Lynn

Patrick Macey and Jeremiah Casey

Russell and Mary Lou Madsen

Scott Manspeaker

Saul and Susan Marsh

Richard and Kate Massie

Edward G. McClive

H. Winn McCray

Richard W. McGrath

John W. McNeill

Andrew and Kay Melnyk

Alice Messinger

Robert J. and Marcia

Wishengrad Metzger

Ralph and Martha Meyer

Dr. Michael T. Miller

Fritz and Maura Minges

Mary E. Miskell and Terrance Clar

James* and Geraldine Moore

Laura V. Morrissey

Pastor and Mrs. Donald Muller

Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Munson

Kevin Nasman

BENEFACTOR ($500-$999)

Karen Abbas

Barbara Agor

Anonymous

Edwin Austin

Karen Bancroft

Jim and Linda Baroody

Markus and Myriam Bauer

Richard J. Beard

Kate M. Bennett

Teresa and Tim Biehler

James and Lynette Blake

Jay and Beth BlaufussS

Richard A. Bloom, M.D.

Mitchell J. Boucher

Jeff and Kathy Bowen

Henra S. Briskin

Hugh and Anne Brodie

Eileen Buholtz

Gretchen and Paul Burke

Lori Busch

Drs. David Bushinsky and Nancy Krieger

Dan and Amanda Butler

Steven Cannell

Riley and Karen Carhart

Brendan and Suzanne Casey

Victor Ciaraldi and Kathy

Marchaesi

Jim Cook

Caroline Costanza

Elison and Donald Cramer

Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Delvecchio

Kathleen DillS

Michael DiSalle

Donald and Stephanie Doe

Terrence R. Doherty

Daniel DwyerS

Linda S. Eastman

Dr. Steven and Susan Eisinger

Mohsen Emami, M.D.

Sherman and Anne Farnham

Sarah Fitts-Romig

Susan and Leslie Foor

Ruth Freeman

Carolyn and Roger Friedlander

David and Linda FriedmanS

Nita Genova

Mr. and Mrs. Julian Goldstein

Dr. John W. and Mrs. Heather

Goodbody

Dr. and Mrs. William Grace

Dr. and Mrs. Curtis N. Nelson

Helene Newman

Mr. and Mrs. John Norris

Peter J. Obourn

Mr. Donald W. and Mrs. Jo-Ann

R. O’Brien

John and Tobie Olsan&

Elizabeth Osta and George

VanArsdale

Graham Ottoson

Thomas Parker

Tom Parker

Douglas and Rose Peet

David and Marjorie Perlman

Jerry Peters

Susan and Donald Pritchard

Marcia Rausch

Richard and Susan ReedS

Rene Reixach

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Richards

Linda and Michael Riordan

Family Fund at the RACF

Nancy and Art Roberts

Gay Greene and Robert Goeckel

Ed and Terry* Grissing

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Guerin

Stephen Gullace

Linda and John Haight

William and Cathy Haller

Barbara and A. Michael Hanna

John and Diane Hanna

William and Patricia Hayles

Merrill and Dianne Herrick

Carol Herring

K.L. Hersam and Paul Sawicki

Michael R. Herzog

Dr. Florence M. Higgins and Mr. John Lebens

Sanjay and Ally Hiranandani

Art and Barb Hirst

Sheila Hollander

Wayne and Anne Hulbert

William and Nancy Hunt

Agrp Ispentchian & Fulltec LLC

Dr. Dewey Jackson

Robert and Mary* Jackson

Lyle Jenks

Marilyn and James Jordan

Connie KaminskiS

Lori and Frank Karbel

Dr. and Mrs. Lester Katzel

Mr. and Mrs. James E. Keenan

Mary Kerr

Mr. Edward Klehr

Susan and James Knauer

Ann Knigge and Al Buckner

Ken Knight and Ann Curtin-Knight*

Mark and Mona Friedman Kolko

Mrs. Ellen Konar

Kraig and Susan Kummer

Mr. Thomas G. Lathrop

L. Janet Lawrence-Morse

Janet and James Leone

Ellen C. Lewis

Sarah F. Liebschutz, PhD

Rose and Roger Linscott

Jane S. Littwitz

John and Jane Littwitz

Quentin Llop

Janet and Haines Lockhart

Edwin Lopez-Soto and Patricia Braus

Susan and Chris Luedde

John and Judy Lynd

Dr. Gerald and Maxine Rosen

Hannah and Arnold Rosenblatt

Jamal and Pam Rossi

Carolyn and Charles RuffingS&

Tom and Ellen Rusling

Joan and James* Ryan, Sr.

Dr. Alvani D. and Carol M. Santos

Justin Schiess

Paul and Barbara Schmied

Peter Schott and Mary Jane Tasciotti

Mr. and Mrs. William Schultz

Heidi B. Schwarz, M.D.&

Catherine and Richard Seeger

David Segal

Libba and Wolf Seka

John and Jenny Servo

Leonard and Elaine Simon

Bruce and Laura Smoller

Phillip and Karen Sparkes

Mr. Richard R. Spellicy

Jim and Dora Stauffer

Ann H. Stevens and William J. Shattuck&

Chen and John MageeS

James and Rosa Mance

Russell J. Mandrino

Janice D. Manning

Sheron and Bruce Marche

Phillip Marcille

Dick and Sandra McGavern

Maureen McGlynn

Marilyn Merrigan

Jonathan Mink and Janet Cranshaw

Charles Morgan

David and Monika M. MullenS

Thomas C. Munger

Michael P.* and Wendy R. Murphy

Dr. Michael Nabozny

Michael D. Nazar

Maureen and Steve Neumaier

Joan R. Nusbaum

Peggy and David Oakes

Jason Oaks

W. Smith* and Jean O’Brien

Debra and George Orosz

David Patt

Marian Payson and Helen Wiley

Glen Pearson

Christian and Sarah Peyre

Douglas and Diana Phillips

Everett Porter

Beth and Lyle Prairie

Harry J. and Margaret H. Price

Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Przybylowicz

Stan and Anne Refermat

Ray and Judy Ricker

Richard and Margery Rosen

Warren and Pamela Rosenbaum

Dr. and Mrs. G. Theodore Ruckert

Hon. Franklin T. and Cynthia Russell

Jean Ryon

Ed and Gabriel Saphar

David and Naomi Schrier

Mrs. Arthur W. Schuster, Jr.

Theresa A. Seil and Debra Celestino

Rich Sensenbach

Joseph and Mary Kathryn Shanahan

Robert E. and Susan H. Shapiro

Glen and Lynne Suckling

Adam and Catherine Towsley

David Evans and Sheree

Usiatynski

Wayne and Anne Vander Byl

Timothy and Debbie Veazey

Stephen H. and Jody Waite

Harry and Ruth* Walker

James and Barb* Walker

James Watters

Jean and Sterling L.* Weaver

Pierce and Elizabeth Webb

Philip and Marilyn Wehrheim Fund

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Weingarten&^

Joyce and William Weir

Jeff Wright and Betty Wells

Eileen M. Wurzer

Dr. Charles Yates

Marsha Young

Bill and Wende Young

Albert and Irene Zaccor

Helen A. Zamboni

Gary and Cathleen Zdyb

Lily Shaw and Robert Hallstrom*

Mrs. Caroline Shipley

Eloise Shrag

Donna Broberg Shum

Harvey Simmons

Daniel and Sarah Singal

Heidi Smith

Janet H. Sorensen

Larry Sorrell

Ms. Maureen A. Stables

David Stacey

Eleanor Stauffer

Berl Stein

Jeffrey and Kristen Storey

Steve and Cheryl Swartout

Yoshiko Tamura and Bruce M. Lee

David and Carol Teegarden

Darbbie J. Thomas

J. Russell and Kathleen Thomas

Jeffrey J. Thompson

John* and Janet Tyler

Eugene and Gloria Ulterino

Lorraine Van Meter-Cline and Doug Cline

Jared and Beverly Voos

Robert Vosteen

Brian and Jean Waldmiller

John and Anne Walker

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wallace

Marsha Walton

Kathleen Weber

Warren Welch

Kathleen Whelehan

Charles and Carolyn Whitfield

Bob* and Mary Ann Whitmore

Jeff and Sarah Wight

Susan and Paul Wilkens

Nancy J. Williams

Les and Wanda Wood

Patty and Rich Yarmel

Susan Yee

Lawrence and Susan Yovanoff

Susan and Maurice Zauderer

Eric Zeise and Ellen Henry

Robert and Carol Zimmerman

& Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the RPO& Comprehensive Capital Campaign. S Denotes donor(s) has/have a recurring Sustaining Circle contribution to the RPO.

* Denotes donor(s) is/are deceased.

L Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the Rochester Philharmonic League (RPL).

^ Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO).

Scan to view the full listing from July 1, 2025 through March 15, 2026

IN MEMORY OF…

Betsy and Stuart Bobry

Michael and Linda Raff

R. Carlos Carballada

Sam and Mimi Tilton

Ann Christiansen

Leslie C. Rowe

Douglas Cline

Patte Bishop

BRAVO TRIBUTES

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the following individuals and organizations for their generous support by honoring or remembering in memory of the individuals listed below. Listings are in recognition of tribute gifts received from July 1, 2025 through January 31, 2026.

Tribute gifts are a special way to remember loved ones or commemorate special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, births or graduations. If you would like to make a memorial or honorarium gift, please visit www.rpo.org/donate or contact the Development office at 585/454-7311 ext. 249 or email development@rpo.org.

Frances R. Howell, Jr.

Jennifer McRae Fitzsimmons

Nancy Howell

Lew D. Jones

Itai Bronshtein

Elaine L. Kraus

James Kraus

Barbara Law

Stanley and Anne Refermat

Dr. and Mrs. Harry C. Law

Timothy and Marilyn Downs

Ellen Fenger

Charles Fujita and Dulcy Lecour

Mary Anne Gillespie

Faye Shea

Josephine Trubek

Margaret Vanas

Sheila Dermody

Catherine and Elmar Frangenberg, M.D.

Ellen Englert

Renee Brownstein

Robert and Frances Clawson

Judith Cruppe

Richard DeMallie

Catherine and Elmar Frangenberg, M.D.

Robert and Christine Guistina

Gregory and Judith Graham

Antony Gugino and Earlene Siebold

High Falls Advisors

Bruce and Ann Leonard

John W. Littwitz

Ray and Patrizia Macera

Russell J. Mandrino

Mary Ann Mrva

Tracy A. Romano

Bonnie B. Sale

Joann Smith

David Strasenburgh

Anthony and Raechel Taddei

Timothy M. Verna

Suzanne Verstraten

Cynthia Whitehouse

Jane L. Garrett

Michael Garrett

Dr. Warren Glaser

June Glaser

Terry B. Grissing

Edward Grissing

IN HONOR OF…

Maura McCune and Patrick Corvington

John and Lisa Lacci

Joseph Darweesh

Debbie Brand

Fred Dole

Carol M. Wolff

James Englert

Joann Smith

Edward H. Law

Paul Littrell

Laura Joy

Jane Oberwager

David and Lois Zebelman

Gregory Lombardo

Steven and Betsy Lombardo

Vera McCune

William and Erin McCune

Mildred Ness

Lana Rottenberg

Betty Schlemitz

Carl and Pamela Angeloff

Stifel Dublin Branch Office

Sam Vogel

Albert Serenati

Nancy Snyder and Family

Leonard Simon

Elaine Simon

Anne W. Sullivan

Philip and Eleanor Hopke

R. Alan and Deborah Lattime

Robert W. Sweeney

Gerald Estes

Ann Weintraub

Joseph and Rosemary Mitchell

Leon Williams

Jerry Maus

Sheri Unglaub Williams

Heather Fuller

Douglas and Sarah Hughes

Andrew and Elizabeth Swanson

Linda Iacelli

Stephen House

Dr. Harold Kanthor’s Birthday

Joseph Rapoport & Family

Neil Miller

Dr. Etta Eskridge

Deborah Onslow

Dr. Miriam R. Iker

Margaret Perticone

Deborah Dollinger

Grant Rieke

Marc Rieke

Nathan and Susan Robfogel’s 60th Wedding Anniversary

Charles and Kathleen Salitan

Valerie Salitan

Hannah and Arnold Rosenblatt

Alice Messinger

Robert and Harriet Seigel

Katherine Smith

James and Georgine Stenger

P. Robert and Mary Anne Fox

Jeff Tyzik

G. Theodore and Sherry Ruckert

Catharine “Kitty” Wise

J. Michael and Alice Smith

Don and Anna Womack

Daniel and Edith Rice

Scan to view the full listing from July 1, 2025 through March 15, 2026

Anonymous

Marie Aklin*

Betty Jane Altier*

Alva Angle*

Catherine N. Asmuth*

Jean Boynton Baker*

John B. and Margaret Barnell*

RPO GEORGE EASTMAN LEGACY SOCIETY

Members of the RPO George Eastman Legacy Society are true believers in the power of music. The RPO George Eastman Legacy Society honors those individuals who remember the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra through a planned gift. The RPO’s team of development professionals are available to work with you and your advisors to create a plan that will help you meet your financial and philanthropic goals. For more information, please contact the Development Office at 585.454.7311.

Barbara Jean Gray-Gottorff*

George Greer*

Jean Groff*

Sue C. Habbersett*

William B. Hale*

Martha and Fred Hamaker

Mrs. Laura J. Hameister

Walter J.* and Jeanne M. Beecher

Walter S. Beecher

Nancy and Harry Beilfuss**

Carol and John Bennett

Jack and Carolyn Bent

Donald Berens*

Ellen S. Bevan*

Michael Bobry

Stuart* and Betsy Bobry

James R. Boehler*

Marilyn Bondy

Beverly T. Bowen*

John W.* and Margaret Z.* Branch

William and Ruth Cahn

Mary Allison Callaway and Paul R. Callaway*

Catherine B. Carlson*

Norris F. Carlson*

Margaret J. Carnall*

Joan and Paul Casterline**

Susann* and Terence Chrzan

Nancy A. Clemens*

Barbara Colucci

Christine Colucci

Mary Consler*

Judy and Joe Darweesh

Alfred L. Davis*

Barbara Dechario*

Paul Donnelly*

Marilyn A. Drumm*

Amelia N. Dunbar*

Frederick Dushay

Richard and Harriet Eisenberg**

James T. and Ellen Englert

John R. Ertle*

Julia B. Everitt*

Glenn and Rebecca Fadner

Ruth H. Fairbank*

Joan and Harold* Feinbloom

Albert Fenyvessy*

Donald C.* and Elizabeth Fisher

Catherine and Elmar Frangenberg

Carolyn and Roger Friedlander

Betsy Friedman

Karyl P. Friedman

Linda and David Friedman

Patrick and Barbara Fulford

William L. Gamble*

Sharon Garelick

Rob W. Goodling

Mary M. Gooley*

Marilyn* and Dick Hare

Karen G. Hart*

Monica R. Hayden*

Warren* and Joyce Heilbronner

David W. Hinz*

Jean Hitchcock

Norman L. Horton*

Mrs. Samter Horwitz*

H. Larry and Dorothy C. Humm

Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Hursh*

Robert and Merilyn* Israel

Carol A. Jones

Nick and Kitty Jospe

Dr. Ralph F. Jozefowicz

Nancie R. Kennedy*

Robert T. Kimbrough*

Marcella Klein and Richard Schaeffer

Glenn and Nancy Koch

Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq.

Jeanne Lareau*

Marshall and Lenore* Lesser

Drs. Jacques* and Dawn Lipson

Sue and Michael Lococo

William C.* and Elfriede K. Lotz

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Mahar

Linda Malinich*

Joseph J. Mancini*

Dr. James and Janice* Maxwell

Gerard Mayer*

John T. McAdam*

Pete* and Sally Merrill

Donald R. Messina*

Robert J. and Marcia Wishengrad Metzger

Dan Meyers

Mrs. Elizabeth O. Miller*

Jane E. Miller*

Mary L. Mitchell*

Deanne Molinari*

Eleanor Morris*

Mrs. Marjorie Morris*

Patricia McCurdy Morse*

John S. Muenter

Diane F. Nelson*

Paul Marc and Pamela Miller Ness

Carolyn Noble*

Deborah Onslow

Margaret Paaschen*

Mary Anne Palermo

Ms. Lydia Susan Palmer

Eleanor T. Patterson*

Suzanne F. Powell

Robert and Ann Quivey

Ernest Rashiatore*

Eileen D. Ramos*

Marjorie Cohen Relin*

Doris Repenter*

Dr. Ramon L. and Judith S. Ricker

Gerard and Donna Roberts

Dr. Suzanne H. Rodgers*

Nellie J. Rosenberg

Dick* and Bea Rosenbloom

Elise and Stephen* Rosenfeld

Pearl W. Rubin*

Wallace R. Rust

Ron and Sharon Salluzzo

Wesley Saucke

Peggy W. Savlov*

James G. Scanzaroli*

David G. and Antonia T. Schantz

William and Susan Schoff

Peter Schott and Mary Jane Tasciotti

Jon L. and Katherine T. Schumacher

Vicki* and Richard Schwartz

Laura M. Seifferd*

Libba and Wolf Seka

Gretchen Shafer*

Virginia Durand Shelden*

Elbis A. Shoales, M.D.

Carol Shulman

Anna Rita Staffieri*

Ingrid Stanlis

Abby and David Stern

Patricia E. Stott

Betty Strasenburgh*

Martha Ann* and Daniel Tack

Amanda Tierson

Ivan Town*

Carol Van Hoesen*

Elizabeth Van Horn*

Harry and Ruth Walker

Patricia Ward-Baker

Margaret Webster*

Robin and Michael* Weintraub

Jean B. Wetzel*

Joyce Wiedrich

Mildred Wischmeyer*

Kitty J. Wise

John and Laurie Witmeyer

Helen W. Witt*

Mary Alice and Robert Wolf*

Susan and Lawrence Yovanoff

Nancy and Mark Zawacki

Alan Ziegler and Emily Neece

Mr. and Mrs. Ted Zornow

* Denotes donor(s) is/are deceased. ^Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO).

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, and we are so grateful for our volunteers who donate their time, talent, and treasure to the RPO! Thank you, volunteers!

ADMINISTRATION

Curt Long President and CEO

Kristen Zimmer Human Resource Director

Cass Lo Executive Assistant/Office Manager

DEVELOPMENT

Rob Dermody Vice President of Development

Bryce Davis Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives

Amy Gallaher Director of Development, Annual Giving & Special Events

Elizabeth Garijo-Garde Institutional Partnerships Officer

Dorian Delfs Development Officer

George DeMott Development Officer

MARKETING

Herb Griffith Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Lauren MacDonough Director of Marketing

Meg Spoto Creative Director

Kylie Beam Content/Digital Marketing Manager

Mike Cidoni Public Relations & Communications Manager

RPO.ORG/RPL

RPO.ORG/VOLUNTEER

585-454-7311 x254 rpl@rpo.org

Sal Uttaro Group and Corporate Sales Manager

PATRON

SERVICES CENTER

Charlene Beckwith Director of Ticketing

Daniel Long Director of Patron Experience, Data & Analytics

Daniel Traina House Manager

Connor Straight Patron Services Assistant Manager

Abby Chapman-Duprey

William Eby

Stephen House

Nathan Howton

Lauren Irschick

Jaewon Jun

Alyssa Koh

Jacob Kundu

Hannah Moreno

Grant Simon Patron Services Representatives

FINANCE

Katherine Rogala Vice President of Finance

Jennifer Clark Staff Accountant

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

James Barry Vice President of Artistic Planning & Operations

Fred Dole Orchestra Personnel Manager

Lily Wintringham Orchestra Operations Manager

Morgan Marama-Stout Artistic Coordinator

Danielle Suhr Stage Manager

Cedrick Martinez Assistant Stage Manager

Kim Hartquist Principal Librarian

Karl Vilcins Auditions Coordinator

EDUCATION

Chisato Eda Marling Director of Education & Community Partnerships

Interim VP of Education

Lisk Morris Foundation Chair

Ashlee Allaire

Youth Orchestra & Education Projects Manager

ROCHESTER PHILHARMONIC LEAGUE

Rachel Solomon Volunteer Administrator

ABOUT US

Since its founding by George Eastman in 1922, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music. Currently celebrating our 102nd Season, the RPO is dedicated to maintaining its deep commitment to artistic excellence, educational opportunity, and community engagement. Today, the RPO presents up to 120 concerts per year, serving nearly 170,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Nearly one-third of all RPO performances are educational or community-related. In addition, WXXI 91.5 FM rebroadcasts approximately 30 RPO concerts each year. For more information, visit rpo.org.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

TICKETS: The RPO Patron Services Center is located at 255 East Avenue in the back of the Farash Place building in downtown Rochester. Free parking is available in a small lot between the parking garage and building. Open Monday through Friday 10 AM–5PM.

GROUP SALES: Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts starting at 20%! Contact Group and Corporate Sales Manager: Sal Uttaro at suttaro@ rpo.org | Office: (585) 454-7311 ext. 267 | Mobile: (585) 530-0865

NIGHT-OF-CONCERT PURCHASES: RPO will-call tickets and concert tickets are available at the RPO tables in the Eastman Theatre Box Office lobby starting 90 minutes prior to concert time.

PARKING: Paid parking for Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre is available at the East End Garage, located next to the theatre. Open entrances/exits change frequently while the garage is under construction. Visit rpo.org/parking for the most recent updates. Paid parking for the Performance Hall at Hochstein is available at the Sister Cities Garage, located behind the school at Church and Fitzhugh Streets.

PRE-CONCERT TALKS: All ticketholders are welcome to attend free pre-concert talks held one hour before all Philharmonics concerts and all Jeff Tyzik-conducted Pops concerts. Ticketholders are asked to sit anywhere they would like in the orchestra level of the theatre, then head to their reserved seat for the concert.

SERVICES FOR PATRONS WITH DISABILITIES: Wheelchair locations and seating for those with disabilities are available at all venues; please see the house manager or an usher for assistance. Elevators are located in the Eastman Theatre Box Office lobby. A wheelchair-accessible restroom is available on the first floor.

SERVICES FOR HARD-OF-HEARING PATRONS: Audio systems are available at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre; headsets may be obtained from an usher prior to the performance.

CHANGING SEATS: If you find it necessary to be reseated for any reason, please contact an usher who will bring your request to the House Manager.

LOST AND FOUND: Items found in Kodak Hall will be held at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 E. Main Street. For more info, call 585-274-3000.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES: The use of cameras or audio recording equipment is strictly prohibited. Patrons are asked to silence all personal electronic devices prior to the performance.

REFRESHMENTS: Food and drink are not permitted in the concert hall, except for bottled water. Refreshments are available for purchase in Betty’s Café located on the orchestra level of Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.

TICKET DONATION: If you are unable to attend a concert, please consider donating your tickets to us as a tax-deductible contribution. Return your tickets to the RPO no later than 2 PM the day of the performance to make them available for resale.

Bravo is published cooperatively by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Buffalo Spree

Kylie Beam | Editor, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

Meg Spoto | Creative Director, m dash studio

Anna Reguero, PhD | Program Annotator

Editorial Offices: Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

255 East Avenue, Suite LL02

Rochester NY 14604

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