September 21, 2010

Dear Friends of the Charlotte Symphony,

This is an exciting week at the Symphony! Today, we welcome the musicians back to the stage for the Symphony’s 79th season, as Christopher Warren-Green begins his first rehearsals as Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony. We are so pleased to have Christopher – and his family – here in Charlotte. Read about them in a recent profile in The Charlotte Observer.

We will celebrate Christopher and his wife, Rosemary, Thursday night at our Gala, co-presented with The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc. It has been many years since the Symphony presented a concert gala, and this one will be truly special – festive music by Johann Strauss, the “Waltz King.” This music is a particular favorite of Christopher’s (his CD with the Johann Strauss Orchestra was released in 2001). Then we officially open the season on Friday and Saturday with the first Classics concerts, featuring cellist Alisa Weilerstein. Those of you who attend the Friday night performance will be part of the exciting live broadcast of this historic occasion on WDAV 89.9 FM, and we look forward to radio broadcasts on WDAV throughout the season.  We are so grateful to Wells Fargo for their sponsorship of the 2010-2011 Classics Series! The Classics Series offers, in the words of our new Music Director, “something for everyone.”

This celebratory weekend ends on Sunday with a free performance by the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra at Festival in the Park. The young musicians in the youth orchestra are among the finest in the region. Come out to Freedom Park to hear the next generation of expert music makers!

Much has happened since the day in late May 2009 when we announced Christopher as the new Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony – struggles and successes. You’ll read about three of the recent successes in this newsletter: the hiring of Assistant Conductor Jacomo Rafael Bairos, the rebranding of the Symphony, and an extraordinary gift to our endowment.  Over the summer, the Symphony launched a number of new communications initiatives, including the CSO blog and the use of YouTube films. And, if you’re not a fan of the CSO on Facebook, sign up now!

After a successful performance this spring at Charleston's Piccolo Spoleto, the Oratorio Singers have a big season ahead, beginning with Haydn's Creation in November. Auditions in August brought 21 new members into the chorus! Hear from one chorus member in these pages.

Thank you for all you have done to help bring your Symphony to this exciting moment in its history. As we begin a new season of great music-making, the Symphony continues to work, with your help, toward a greater level of artistic excellence and community service.

See you at the Symphony,

Jonathan Martin
Executive Director

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Symphony Celebrates Inaugural Season of Christopher Warren-Green

This weekend, Christopher Warren-Green raises his baton for the first time as Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony. Warren-Green opens the Classics series Friday and Saturday (September 24 & 25) with a program of ravishing music by British composer Edward Elgar.

“I was born in Elgar country,” says Warren-Green, who moved with his family from London to Charlotte this summer. “This music is close to my heart.”

Elgar is best known in these parts for “Pomp and Circumstance,” the regal march played every spring at graduation ceremonies across the country. No one will parade in cap and gown down the aisles of the Belk Theater this weekend, but the concert does include two of Elgar’s other beloved pieces, the “Enigma Variations” and the Cello Concerto.

Elgar came home one evening after teaching violin and began to noodle at the piano, tinkering with a tune. Listening, his wife Alice speculated on what some of their friends might think of the music, leading Elgar to the idea of dedicating a series of variations to his chums. In all, 14 people and one dog are featured in the “Enigma Variations,” including a pianist, an architect, Elgar and his wife Alice, and the son of the poet Matthew Arnold.

Alisa Weilerstein makes her Charlotte Symphony debut in Elgar’s beautiful Cello Concerto, a piece she has performed to great acclaim with orchestras worldwide. “Every now and then you are privileged - truly privileged - to attend some performance.  And that was the case on Thursday when Alisa Weilerstein played the Elgar Cello Concerto with the New York Philharmonic,“ wrote the New York Sun in 2007. “Alisa Weilerstein gave the most technically complete and emotionally devastating performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto that I have ever heard live,” echoed The Guardian in 2010.

After introducing audiences to the music of his birthplace this month, Warren-Green will celebrate his new home in the second Classics concert in October. The eleventh conductor to serve as Music Director of the CSO, Warren-Green is the first in more than two decades to reside in the Queen City.

“It’s great that he’s here,” says Principal Timpanist Leo Soto. “When you get somebody who from Day 1 is so involved, not only with the community, but with the whole institution of the Symphony, that inspires us. We know that we’re working with someone who cares about everybody on stage and off stage.”

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Wells Fargo Sponsors 2010-2011 Classics

The Classics Series is the Symphony’s largest concert series, with 10 programs, each performed twice. Featuring orchestral masterworks and international guest artists, the Classics concerts present the finest orchestral repertoire from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Highlights of the 2010-2011 season include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Haydn’s oratorio The Creation, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, and Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor.

“This season is an especially exciting one for the Charlotte Symphony, as we welcome Christopher Warren-Green to our orchestra and our community,” says Executive Director Jonathan Martin. “We are profoundly grateful to Wells Fargo for their commitment to the arts in Charlotte and their generous sponsorship of the Classics Series.”

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New Assistant Conductor Has a Passion for Arts Education

The Charlotte Symphony and new Music Director Christopher Warren-Green are pleased to welcome Assistant Conductor Jacomo Rafael Bairos to the CSO family this fall. A native of Portugal reared in Miami, Jacomo studied tuba at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Juilliard School before pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He comes to Charlotte from Baltimore, where, at the invitation of esteemed conductor and teacher Gustav Meier, he received a graduate performance degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Institute.

Jacomo first tried his hand at conducting while serving as Principal Tuba for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Since his debut with the Singapore Symphony, about which the Singapore Straits Times wrote "...the musicians and the audience...could feel Jacomo's energy and enthusiasm for the music," he has developed an international conducting career, with engagements with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Porto Portugal, and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, among others.

An energetic advocate for music education, Jacomo recently developed and conducted education concerts in Portugal and was named Music Director of the 2010 National Youth Orchestra Festival of Portugal. As Director of Orchestras for the Baltimore School for the Arts, he created side-by-sides and education workshops for children in underserved urban communities. In addition, his recent posts in Baltimore include Director of the Young Artists Orchestra of the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra.

“I think that working with young people presents the ideal music-making situation,” Jacomo says. “Kids are like blank canvases: They want to be inspired; they want to have fun. That’s a big responsibility for me, to inspire them enough to love music and share music throughout their lives.”

His zeal for sharing music with young people will serve Jacomo well in the upcoming season. As Assistant Conductor, he will conduct three of the four Lollipops family concerts, as well as the Debbie Phillips Classical Concerts for Students. “The earlier we plant the seeds of classical music in kids and get them to understand how important it is to humanity, the better it is - for them, for the music industry, and for our community,” he says.

Jacomo will also cover all Classics concerts, assuming the podium in the event that a scheduled conductor is unable to lead a concert, and will conduct the Symphony in certain special and run-out concerts.

“Jacomo will be an outstanding addition to the Charlotte Symphony conducting staff,” says Christopher Warren-Green. “He is an excellent conductor and is passionate about community engagement, artistic collaboration, and the education of young people. I look forward to working with him.”

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Symphony's Got a Brand New Look

This summer, the Symphony was fortunate to receive a grant from The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation to fund a rebranding initiative. With the help of Wray Ward, a creative marketing and communications group, the Symphony has a new look, with fresh, vibrant logos for each of our series.

The new logos reflect the breadth of Symphony programming, from the elegance of the Classics to show-stopping Pops to the whimsical delight of the Lollipops family concerts. And the new look premieres along with the season's other exciting debuts: Music Director Christopher Warren-Green, Assistant Conductor Jacomo Rafael Bairos, and the sensational new series, KnightSounds.

For all the extraordinary musical variety, at its essence, the Charlotte Symphony is unified by the dedicated people who create the experiences: passionate professionals inspiring community through great music. At its core, that's what the Symphony's new look is all about.

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Symphony on the Silver Screen

OK. So it’s more YouTube than Hollywood, but new promotional videos are putting the CSO onto screens everywhere.

Through a partnership with George Cochran of Cochran Enterprises and the film department of Central Piedmont Community College, the Symphony is producing a series of mini-movies that highlight the concert season. Grab some popcorn and tune into your favorite computer for an entertaining look at what’s up.

Now showing:
Christopher Warren-Green and Albert-George Schram chat (and chuckle) about the new season.  http://www.charlottesymphony.org/SeasonOverview.asp

Coming soon to a YouTube near you!
Look for these promo films in the next week!

New Assistant Conductor Jacomo Bairos shares some laughs with a crowd of Lollipops lovers.

The new KnightSounds series will explode your notion of a “symphony concert.” Get a sneak peek.

And on the horizon:
The Symphony demystified, backstage at the Belk - Go on a behind-the-scenes tour of a concert, through the stage door into a world of tunings and warm-ups, up the aisles to the ticket counter and concessions.

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Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra to Perform at Festival in the Park

The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) will open its season with a free concert at Festival in the Park on Sunday, September 26. Appearing on the Main Stage of Freedom Park at 2 p.m., the youth orchestra will perform lively dances and stirring overtures: Brahms's Academic Festival Overture, Grieg's Norwegian Dances, Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances, and Rimsky Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture.

The CSYO first learned much of this music in early August during an intensive five-day camp at Converse College, sponsored by The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc. Click here to read about their experience this summer.

Founded in 1964, Festival in the Park is the city's premiere fall festival, with four days of crafts, food, games, and entertainment for families. The Charlotte Symphony enjoys a long friendship with the festival: The orchestra, with then-Music Director Richard Cormier, performed at the inaugural celebration 46 years ago.

The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra represents the finest young musicians in the region, chosen by audition. Conducted by Charlotte Symphony violinist Ernest Pereira, the CSYO performs throughout the year.

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Symphony Receives $1 Million Endowment Gift

The Symphony announced some wonderful news last week: a gift of $1 million from the trust of J. Mason Wallace, Jr. The bequest will be held in the Symphony’s endowment.

“This is an extraordinary gift from a man dedicated to his community and to his orchestra,” says Board Chair James G. Martin. “Mason Wallace’s generosity is the culmination of a lifelong commitment to the arts in Charlotte. As the Charlotte Symphony builds its endowment over the next several years, this gift will inspire our efforts. We are truly grateful to the Wallace family.”

A music lover and Charlotte Symphony subscriber for decades, along with his wife Nancy, J. Mason Wallace, Jr. served on the CSO Board of Directors in the early 1960s. Born and reared in Mecklenburg County, he graduated from Davidson College and fought in World War II, receiving three Purple Heart medals. In addition to the Symphony board, he served on the boards of Davidson College, Brevard Music Center, Queens University, Charlotte Country Day School, and Sharon Towers and as chairman of Presbyterian Hospital. He was a former member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. Mr. Wallace died in 2008.  He was a lifelong member of Sardis Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon and Elder.

“My father loved going to the Symphony with my mother, sitting with a group of friends, all fellow season ticket holders,” says son John Wallace. “He was a strong supporter of the arts and believed that they were an important part of the life and culture of any community. We hope that his generous gift will encourage others to give to the arts, and in particular, to the Charlotte Symphony.”

For more about Planned Giving to the Charlotte Symphony, visit http://www.charlottesymphony.org/Planned.asp

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ORATORIO PERFORMS AT PICCOLO SPOLETO

In May 2010, the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte Chamber Singers and director Scott Allen Jarrett performed at Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival. The program, If Music Be the Food of Love, featured Brahms’s Liebeslieder Waltzer, Op. 52(Love Song Waltzes); the Serenade to Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams; and works by American composers Elliot Carter and Irving Fine. Here, Oratorio member Cecilia Moneta Slatner writes about their experience.

“It was the spring of 2010 and that meant it was Piccolo Spoleto time.  Since my last experience as a participant of this event in 2005, I've missed the excitement and the anticipation that comes with preparing work for this festival. It was always nice to belong to something special, and this was no different.  As I stepped into the halls of the Bethel United Methodist Church, I was taken aback by the beauty of it all. The dark polished hardwood floors, unable to hide their 100 plus years of age. The contrasting colors of the pink walls and their delicate, light-aqua stenciling all around the multi-color 20-foot-tall stained glass windows, which allowed rainbows of light to shine through over the red velvet cushions on each pew.  On the back, under an impressive white arch, there were dark sage organ pipes with golden leaf appliques, giving the impression that they were nothing but old books - the kind that hold the knowledge and truth of many hearts and minds.

STACCATO NOTES

CSO Musicians led exciting lives over the summer break. Here’s a snapshot of activities:

• CSO Principal Trumpet Karin Bliznik played principal trumpet with the Santa Fe Opera this summer under the baton of Leonard Slatkin in the world premiere of Lewis Spratlan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera entitled Life is a Dream.

• Trombonist Tom Burge began hosting his own radio show on WDAV on July 4. For “Sunday Evenings with Tom Burge,” he plays and discusses his classical favorites, but is always open to suggestions for specific works, recordings or performers from CSO friends. Tune in on Sundays, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. for music for a quiet Sunday evening.

• Principal Violist Ali Kavadlo and Principal Clarinetist Gene Kavadlo performed two concerts with their trio, SIMKHE, in August for the Charlotte Yiddish Institute at Wildacres, near Little Switzerland, North Carolina. SIMKHE also includes pianist Paul Nitsch.

• CSO Violinist Tatiana Karpova and Violist Ning Zhao joined musicians Peter DeVrie and Tanja Bechtler for chamber music performances at Central Piedmont Community College (August 26) and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art (August 27 & 29). They performed music by Ravel, Shostakovich, and Borodin.

• Principal Flutist Elizabeth Landon taught at the Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Directed by Elizabeth’s former high school teacher, Nancy Sanderson, the six-week summer arts program takes place on the beautiful historic Wyoming Seminary Prep School campus.

• CSO Concertmaster Calin Lupanu and his wife, CSO Violinist Monica Boboc, returned to Boulder for the Colorado Music Festival, where Calin served again as concertmaster.

• Principal CSO Tubist David Mills taught trombone, euphonium, tuba, and musicianship at the Community School of the Arts Music Camp July 12-16, and coached the brass section for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra Music Camp August 4-8. In late August, he rode his bike on the 444-mile Natchez Trace, and also attended the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain, NC where he officially found and joined his Scottish clan, Clan Donald, by way of his maternal grandmother Annie Mae McKeithan. Look for the kilt, coming soon!

• CSO Cellist Janis Nilsen was invited to perform in mass cello works by Casals and Villa-Lobos for a June concert in the San Francisco Bay Area in memory of her teacher, Orlando Cole, who passed away in winter of 2009 at the age of 101. Mr. Cole was a music educator at Curtis and New School (now merged with Temple University) for 75 years.

The Charlotte Symphony welcomes these new members to the CSO Board of Directors:

• Catherine Connor
• Janet Haack
• Michael L. Kennedy
• Richard J. Osborne
• Lisa C. Phillips (by virtue of office)
• Jackie Slaugenhaupt (by virtue of office)
• Emily Smith

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