MASTERWORKS.1
A MESSAGE FROM CONCERT SPONSOR
Orchestra’s Greatest Hits
Past Chairs Committee The WMS Past Chairs Committee is proud to sponsor this opening concert of the 2025-2026 Masterworks Series. As past leaders of the Board of Directors, we remain dedicated to supporting this vibrant, essential organization. It is our pleasure to remain engaged with the current leadership, providing our guidance, feedback and institutional memory wherever and whenever it is sought or needed. We wish you all enjoyment of tonight’s concert featuring the amazing Charlie Albright—and of every WMS and Block performance through the season.
Audience Choice Concert FRIDAY NOV 14 7:30 PM
Charlie Albright
SCOTT SPECK CONDUCTOR CHARLIE ALBRIGHT PIANO
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) Overture to William Tell Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 Charlie Albright, piano
SPONSORS CONCERT
Past Chairs COMMITTEE SEASON
Mike & Kay Olthoff MEDIA
Intermission Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World” I. Adagio - Allegro molto II. Largo III. Molto vivace IV. Allegro con fuoco
Mr. Albright will give a solo recital tomorrow, Friday, November 15, at The Block.
LUNCH N' LEARN Loop and Infrared Systems in place for the hearing impaired. Please inquire with an usher for use of this system. Please silence and dim screens of all cell phones and other electronic devices. The use of recording devices during the performance is strictly prohibited.
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WEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY SEASON MAGAZINE
American pianist, composer and improviser Charlie Albright breaks all the norms of classical music— and in the process connects with audiences like no other artist. Through his music, speaking, and unique improvisations that bring music to life, he crosses all genres...and makes each fun. Hailed as “among the most gifted musicians of his generation” by the Washington Post, Albright has been praised for his “jaw-dropping technique and virtuosity meshed with a distinctive musicality” by The New York Times. Recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and Gilmore Young Artist Award, Albright won the Ruhr Klavier Festival Young Artist Award presented by MarcAndré Hamelin (Germany) and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Albright regularly appears at major concert halls, festivals, and with artists of all genres worldwide. His celebrated 14-concert tour with Maestro Keith Lockhart and the BBC Concert Orchestra was chosen as one of the “Best of the BBC 2015.” He has enjoyed repeat performances with the Boston Pops, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Kymi Sinfonietta (Finland), National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Philly Pops, and the orchestras of Baltimore, Buffalo, Houston, San Francisco, Seattle and Victoria (Canada), among many others. He has concertized worldwide, including at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy and Lincoln centers, and the Salle Cortot in Paris. In June 2023, Albright performed a Peace Concert with conductor Gum Nanse and the Korean Seongnam Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War’s Armistice Agreement.
Albright regularly performs in programs featuring artists from all genres, including celebrated cellist YoYo Ma, vocalist/conductor Bobby McFerrin, violinist Joshua Bell, pianist Emanuel Ax, and vocalists Harry Connick Jr., Marc Martel, and Branford Marsalis. His compositions and improvisations have been likened to “the great Romantic-era composer-pianists” by Classical Source and have been praised as “thrilling” by the DC Metro Theatre Arts. The Philadelphia Inquirer raved that he “brought the art of classical-music improvisation to a new level.” In addition to performing, Albright is sought after as a speaker, masterclass instructor, teacher, and competition judge. His debut commercial recording, Vivace, has sold thousands of copies worldwide and the first two parts of a three-part series of live Schubert recordings was released in 2017 and 2020. A firm believer in education, Albright founded the Charlie Albright Scholarship and Charlie Albright Piano in collaboration with the Centralia College Foundation in his hometown. The Scholarship provides financial aid to music students, and money was raised to purchase and maintain a new 9-foot Steinway Piano for the college’s Corbet Hall. Born in Centralia, Washington, Albright began piano lessons at the age of 3. He studied with Nancy Adsit and earned an Associate of Science degree at Centralia College while still in high school. He was the first classical pianist in the Harvard College/New England Conservatory 5-Year AB/MM Joint Program, completing
VOLUME 14 • ISSUE 1 • OCT & NOV 2025
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