the national philharmonic - onstage …...welcome to the national philharmonic’s 2019-2020 season...

FALL & WINTER2019-2020 PROGRAM

at the Music Center at StrathmorePiotr Gajewski, Music Director & Conductor

THE NATIONALPHILHARMONIC

Welcome | 3

2019-20 Season Calendar | 4

Eroica + Beethoven | 6

The Music of ABBA | 12

Voices of Light | 14

Holiday Singin’ Pops | 19

Handel’s Messiah | 22

Jupiter Symphony | 32

National Philharmonic Orchestra | 36

National Philharmonic Chorale | 37

Board of Directors | 38

Supporters | 38

Heritage Society | 43

National Philharmonic Staff | 43

The National Philharmonic program is published in association with Onstage Publications, 1612 Prosser Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45409. The National Philharmonic program may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Onstage Publications is a division of Just Business!, Inc. Contents © 2019. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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WHAT’SINSIDE

N A T I O N A L P H I L H A R M O N I C 1

2 N A T I O N A L P H I L H A R M O N I C

Welcome to the National Philharmonic’s 2019-2020 Season at the Music Center

at Strathmore!

The year 2020 will mark the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, so we begin and end our season with several of his masterworks. The season opens on September 21 and 22 with the unique Triple Concerto, featuring the award-winning Eroica Trio, followed by the groundbreaking Symphony No. 3 (Eroica).

For those with more than classical tastes, the Philharmonic, in November, features the music of ABBA with the tribute band Arrival from Sweden. Later in the month, Voices of Light, an original composition for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Richard Einhorn, is performed as a backdrop to the silent movie classic The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928).

December brings Holiday Singin’ Pops with top Broadway talent and the Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale, all under the direction of pops sensation conductor Luke Frazier. Also in December: our popular performances of Handel’s Messiah.

In January, I look forward to the return of pianist Orli Shaham, who joins the orchestra and me for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, followed by my all-time favorite, the Jupiter Symphony.

I look forward to seeing you at the concerts!

Piotr GajewskiMusic Director & Conductor

Welcome

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NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC 2019-20 CALENDAR

EROICA + BEETHOVENSAT SEPT 21, 2019 8PMSUN SEPT 22, 2019 3PMSat + Sun: Member Encore Q&ASun 2-2:30pm: Meet the Musicians

Eroica TrioErika Nickrenz, pianoSara Parkins, violinSara Sant’Ambrogio, celloPiotr Gajewski, conductor

Beethoven Triple Concerto in C MajorSymphony No. 3 in E-flat Major (“Eroica”)

Sponsored by Ms. Jane Liu & Mr. Edward Brinker

THE MUSIC OF ABBA ARRIVAL FROM SWEDENSAT NOV 2, 2019 8PMNote: No pre-concert lectureFor Young People: Participate in the Color the Music Project

ABBA MusiciansPiotr Gajewski, conductor

Relive the musical and movie Mamma Mia as ABBA musicians perform the group’s greatest hits including Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Take a Chance, Waterloo, Fernando and more!

VOICES OF LIGHTSILENT FILM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA & CHORALEFeaturing The Passion of Joan of ArcSAT NOV 23, 2019 8PM

Suzanne Karpov, sopranoKatherine Pracht, mezzo-sopranoMatthew Loyal Smith, tenorKerry Wilkerson, baritoneNational Philharmonic ChoraleStan Engebretson, conductor

Sponsored by Rochelle Stanfield & Edward Grossman

HOLIDAY SINGIN’ POPSFRI DEC 6, 2019 7:30PMNote: No pre-concert lecture

Ali Ewoldt Phantom of the OperaHilary Morrow Birdland Jazz ClubKevin Rose international vocalistEvan Ruggiero acclaimed tap dancerLuke Frazier conductorNational Philharmonic Chorale

Join top-level Broadway and international talent for a fun and festive evening featuring fresh new takes on traditional and beloved holiday songs. Come early to take a festive photo with Santa, decorate an ornament and hear young carolers.

HALLELUJAH! HANDEL’S MESSIAHSAT DEC 21, 2019 8PMSUN DEC 22, 2019 3PM

Esther Heideman, sopranoMagdalena Wór, mezzo-sopranoMatthew Loyal Smith, tenorKevin Deas, bassNational Philharmonic ChoraleStan Engebretson, conductor

JUPITER SYMPHONYSAT JAN 18, 2020 8PMSUN JAN 19, 2020 3PMSat + Sun: Member Encore Q&ASun 2-2:30pm: Meet the Musicians

Orli Shaham, pianoPiotr Gajewski, conductor

Mozart Overture to Il Re Pastore (The Shepherd King) Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor with Beethoven cadenzas Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”)

PIANIST BRIAN GANZ CHOPIN—THE GROWTH OF GENIUSSAT FEB 1, 2020 8PMNote: No pre-concert lecture

Featuring Chopin masterpieces such as the great Polonaise-Fantaisie, the Funeral March Waltzes, Op. 34 and Nocturnes, Op. 27, along with the surprisingly engaging youthful efforts that made them possible.

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BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC PIONEERS SAT FEB 22, 2020 8PM

Melissa White, violin (Sphinx Competition winner)Piotr Gajewski, conductor

Wynton Marsalis Wild Strumming of Fiddle (from All Rise)Florence Price Violin Concerto No. 1 in D MajorGeorge Walker Lyric for StringsWilliam Grant Still Symphony No. 1 (“Afro-American”)

Sponsored by Patricia Haywood Moore & Roscoe M. Moore, Jr.

MOZART REQUIEMSAT MARCH 21, 2020 8PMMember Encore Q&A

Suzanne Karpov, sopranoMagdalena Wór, mezzo-sopranoNorman Shankle, tenorKevin Deas, bassJon Manasse, clarinetNational Philharmonic ChoralePiotr Gajewski, conductor

W. A. Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major Requiem in D Minor

MUSIC + PROSESAT APRIL 18, 2020 8PM6:45-7:30pm: Meet the ComposersMember Encore Q&A

Danielle Talamantes, sopranoZuill Bailey, cello (three-time Grammy winner)Piotr Gajewski, conductor

Samuel Barber Overture to The School for ScandalHenry Dehlinger The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock A Rhapsody for Voice and Orchestra (orchestral premiere)Alistair Coleman Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (world premiere)Michael Daugherty Tales of Hemingway

Sponsored by the Prufrock Fund

BEETHOVEN’S MISSA SOLEMNISSAT MAY 30, 2020 8PMFor Young People: Participate in the Color the Music Project

Esther Heideman, sopranoShirin Eskandani, mezzo-sopranoNorman Shankle, tenorKerry Wilkerson, baritoneNational Philharmonic ChoralePiotr Gajewski, conductor

Free pre-concert lectures are offered 75 minutes before concerts throughout the season. Please check nationalphilharmonic.org for up-to-date information.


EROICA + BEETHOVEN

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019, 8PMSUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2019, 3PM

The National Philharmonic

Piotr Gajewski, Music Director and Conductor

EROICA + BEETHOVENEroica Trio

Erika Nickrenz, pianoSara Parkins, violin

Sara Sant’Ambrogio, cello

Piotr Gajewski, conductor

All Kids, All Free, All The Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. and Dieneke Johnson.

The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Center Stage

Star-Spangled Banner Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major (“Triple Concerto”) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Allegro Largo Rondo alla polacca

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major (“Eroica”) Ludwig van Beethoven Allegro con brio Adagio assai (“Marcia funebre”) Scherzo—Allegro vivace Finale—Allegro molto

Weekend Sponsor: Ms. Jane Liu & Mr. Edward Brinker


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


“Immensely talented and insightful conductor, whose standards, taste and sensitivity are impeccable,” raves

The Washington Post. Piotr Gajewski, a student and disciple of the late Leonard Bernstein, continues to thrill audiences all over the world with inspiring performances of great music. “His courtly, conservative movements matched the music’s mood. A flick of the finger, and a fanfare sounded. He held up his palm, and the musicians quieted. It was like watching a race car in the hands of a good driver,” reports The Buffalo News.

With one foot in the United States, as the Music Director & Conductor of the National Philharmonic at the Music Center at Strathmore, and the other in Europe, as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Silesian Philharmonic (Katowice, Poland) and frequent guest at other orchestras, the jet-set maestro’s seemingly limitless repertoire, most conducted without a score, amazes critics and audiences alike.

Maestro Gajewski is one of a select group of American conductors equally at home in nearly all musical genres. A sought after guest conductor, a recent season saw him conduct Bach at the Northwest Bach Festival, Prokofiev with the South Florida Symphony and Copland in Jelenia Gora, Poland. While Gajewski freely admits that Mozart is perhaps his favorite composer, he ventures as far as Barry Manilow and beyond at Pops Concerts, and has led several dozen world premieres, including a recent one of the opera Lost Childhood by the American composer Janis Hamer.

A committed arts educator, Maestro Gajewski is the muscle behind National Philharmonic’s groundbreaking “All Kids, All Free, All The Time” initiative, as well as the creation of summer institutes

for young string players and singers, master classes with esteemed visiting artists, and a concerto competition for high-school students. Working with the local school system, Gajewski also established and conducts annual concerts for all Montgomery County second grade students, some 12,000 each year!

In his native Poland, Gajewski has appeared with the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Krakow Philharmonic and with most other major orchestras. Since 2007, he also regularly serves as the only American on the jury of the prestigious Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors.

Gajewski began studying piano at age four. After immigrating to the United States, he continued his studies at the Preparatory Division of the New England Conservatory, at Carleton College in Minnesota, and at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where he earned B.M. and M.M. degrees in orchestral conducting. His conducting mentors, in addition to Bernstein, with whom he studied at the Tanglewood Music Center on a Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship, include such luminaries as Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Gunther Schuller and Maurice Abravanel.

Maestro Gajewski’s many honors include Poland’s Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit bestowed on him by the President of Poland, and a prize at New York’s Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition.

A true Renaissance man, when away from music Gajewski continues to play competitive soccer, holds a law degree and a license to practice law in two states, and from 2007-2011 served on his hometown (Rockville, Maryland) City Council.

Piotr Gajewski is represented worldwide by Sciolino Artist Management.

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Eroica Trio

The most sought-after trio in the world, the Grammy nominated Eroica Trio enraptures audiences with flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible

enthusiasm and sensual elegance. The three women who make up this celebrated ensemble electrify the concert stage with their passionate performances. The New York Times writes, “There is an edge of the seat intensity to every note they produce.”

The Trio won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut and has since toured the United States, Europe, Middle East, South America and Asia. While maintaining their demanding concert schedule, the Eroica Trio has released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI classics Records, garnering them multiple Grammy nominations. The first all female chamber ensemble to reach the top echelon of the field, the women of the Eroica Trio has shattered the age-old gender barrier, leading the vanguard and inspiring many to follow.

The unique history of the players of the Eroica Trio goes all the way back to childhood. Sara Sant’Ambrogio and Erika Nickrenz first met at age 12, when Erika came to study with Sara’s Grandmother, the founder of Red Fox Music Camp. Two years later, Sara collaborated with violinist Sara Parkins at the renowned Meadowmount School of Music, where they became fast friends, and later became roommates when they were both students at The Curtis Institute of Music. Sara Parkins and Erika Nickrenz also met in their teens, playing together as students at the Pre-College division of The Juilliard School and at the Tanglewood Music Center. That same year the Eroica Trio was

formed at The Juilliard School. This intricate web of early connections helped forge a lifelong bond between the three women of the Eroica Trio.

The Eroica Trio performs the Beethoven Triple Concerto more frequently than any other trio in the world, having appeared with renowned symphonies such as Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Mostly Mozart Orchestra, Atlanta and Seattle and more. In addition, The Trio has performed the work abroad with Orquesta Sinfonica de Euskadi in Spain, Haydn Orchestra in Italy, with the Budapest Symphony in Germany, and on multiple tours in the United States with the Cincinnati Symphony as well as with the Prague Chamber Orchestra. The Eroica Trio’s recording of the Beethoven Triple with the Prague Chamber Orchestra was so successful it landed this piece on Billboards Top 20 for the first time in recording history. The Trio appeared on the German television program “Klassich!” performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Munich Symphony, which was aired throughout Europe. A multi-city tour of North America with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Fabio Luisi, culminated in a soldout performance on the “Great Performers at Lincoln Center” series in Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

The Eroica Trio has appeared on numerous television shows, including ABC’s The View, CNN’s Showbiz Today, CBS and ABC News, the CBS Morning Show and Saturday Morning, A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts, The Isaac Mizrahi Show, Pure Oxygen, Bloomberg TV and Fox’s The Crier Report. Eroica!, a special documentary about the Trio and its commissioning of a new triple concerto by Kevin Kaska, premiered on the PBS series Independent Lens and has had multiple airings worldwide. The group has


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

been featured in such magazines as Elle, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Detour, Marie Claire, Gotham, Entrée, Bon Appétit, Time Out New York, Gramophone, Piano, Vivace, Auditorium, and Chamber Music. In addition, the ladies have graced the covers of magazines as diverse as Fanfare, Cigar, Strings, Tall, and Strad. Grand Marnier® created a new cocktail dubbed “The Eroica” which was unveiled for the release of their “Pasión” recording. Chateau Sainte Michelle, a vineyard in Seattle, also named one of its Gold Medal winning Reislings in honor of the Trio.

Whether the Eroica Trio is interpreting the Baroque Masters, the power and strength of Beethoven, the jazzy tunes of Schoenfield or the Bluegrass toe tapping rhythms of Mark O’Connor, their performances are deeply personal and continue to thrill audiences around the world. To quote the San Francisco Examiner, “It has been decades since this country has produced a chamber music organization with this much passion…”

PROGRAM NOTES

Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (Triple Concerto)

Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized on December 17, 1770; died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria)

Perhaps no other composer in the history of Western music has elicited such visceral reactions as has Beethoven. His music often affects the listener with an intensity and immediacy of emotion that dispense with any critical or scholarly commentary, as if it gave expression to feelings that are known intimately to all of us. His life was a continuous struggle against many adversities (personal, emotional, social, familial) culminating in the greatest tragedy of his life, the hearing loss that started in his late 20s and rendered him completely deaf at the height of his maturity as a composer. Very early in his life, Beethoven realized that fate had not been very kind to him, and his resolve to “grab fate by the horns” and make it do his bidding was a resolution that sustained him through some of the most difficult moments in his career. One cannot help but sympathize with him, wondering at

his unsuccessful search for love (he kept falling in love with unattainable aristocratic women), his social ineptitude (he was the object of ridicule in some circles), his ongoing battle with compositional difficulties (his inspiration did not come easy), and the often appalling conditions under which he lived (he was constantly moving between apartments because his neighbors and landlords could not cope with his temper and his more than sloppy daily habits). And yet, against so many odds, this towering figure in the history of Western music (and one of the most volcanic artists in any field) managed to sublimate all the adversities of his life into music of transcendent beauty and unmitigated emotional power. The magnitude of his achievement is one of the greatest glories of human civilization.

It is customary to divide Beethoven’s career into three stylistic periods (early, middle and late), with the middle period (1802-1812) often associated with his “heroic” style, even though that label does not readily apply to all the works he composed in that period. The two pieces in tonight’s program, both of which were


PROGRAM NOTES

composed in 1803-04, stand at the very threshold of Beethoven’s middle period, and one of them (the “Eroica” Symphony) is one of the most arresting examples of Beethoven’s heroic style.

The Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (1803-04), generally known as the “Triple Concerto,” is unique among Beethoven’s works. It is a hybrid of two well-established classical genres of chamber music (the piano trio) and orchestral music (the concerto). It is also the only concerto that Beethoven ever wrote for more than one solo instrument. The work was composed for the Archduke Rudolf of Austria, one of Beethoven’s most devoted patrons, who also studied with Beethoven and became an accomplished pianist.

The unique nature of the instrumentation posed some compositional problems for Beethoven, the most pressing one being how to adequately divide the thematic material between three solo instruments and the orchestra. Beethoven solved this problem by having the three soloists sometimes perform as a regular piano trio, and also by ensuring that the cello has the lead in introducing new thematic materials, thereby placing this instrument on a par with the role of soloist that was already established for the violin and the piano. He also opted for short thematic motives, rather than long and elaborate melodies. The first movement displays all the richness of thematic variation that is a hallmark of Beethoven’s style, handled here with a mixture of grace and poise that are far from the forceful heroic tone of other works from this period. The second movement is very brief in comparison with the others, functioning mostly as an extended introduction to the final rondo, to which it leads without a break. It is economically scored, with the piano trio featuring prominently as the main carrier of the thematic material. The rondo finale is a spirited movement infused with a

perpetual buzz of rhythmic activity that, toward the end, acquires an almost frenetic intensity. It concludes the work in the best tradition of the rondos of the classical concerto, a relatively lighthearted movement that balances the seriousness and complexity of the opening sonata form.

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”)

The Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major (“Eroica”) (1803-04) is one of Beethoven’s most celebrated works and one of the most majestic pieces in the symphonic repertoire. Even though it is firmly anchored in the Classical tradition, the sheer scope of its form (it is twice as long as any symphony by Haydn or Mozart), the breadth of its thematic material, and its emotional and cultural content are harbingers of musical Romanticism. The structure of the symphony is such that the first three movements can be seen as sets of variations (in different forms) on the thematic material that is the basis of the fourth movement. This, in turn, derives from the themes used in the Variations and Fugue for Piano in E-flat Major, Op. 35 (now known as the “Eroica Variations”) composed in 1802.

The Symphony No. 3 was originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, whom Beethoven believed embodied the most democratic ideals of the French Revolution, But when Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in 1804, Beethoven scratched out the dedication in a fit of fury that actually damaged the manuscript. The work was eventually published, in 1806, with an inscription on the title page that read, Sinfonia Eroica … composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grande Uomo (“Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man”). The symphony embodies the lofty ideals which Beethoven hoped to find in Bonaparte. The work


PROGRAM NOTES

For more information, visit nationalphilharmonic.org

Young people age 7-17 attend all National Philharmonic concerts at the Music Center at Strathmore free of charge, making it easy for families to attend concerts together and for young adults to attend a live classical music performance with friends.

To order Kids Free tickets, visit the StStrathmore Ticket Office or call 301-581-5100.

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opens with two assertive and powerful musical gestures that lead to a musical texture of great richness and complexity, full of drama and energy. The funeral march of the second movement (the longest of the four) shifts the mood toward darker shades that are only partly relieved by music of subtle sweetness later in the movement. The short scherzo, with its suggestions of pastoral life evoked through the call of hunting horns, forms an immediate contrast with the funeral march. The finale is cast in a grand and majestic form, where a great variety of moods alternate and support each other. This movement by itself would

justify the subtitle “Eroica,” given to this work. With this symphony, Beethoven clearly and unambiguously left the world of the Viennese classicism behind and set his views on the broader and more tumultuous vistas of the Romantic period. The Symphony No. 3 has been justly revered as a groundbreaking work ever since, while its second movement has acquired the status of a cultural icon. In 1963, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed the “Marcia funebre” in an impromptu concert to mourn the recently assassinated John F. Kennedy.

@ James Melo, 2019


THE MUSIC OF ABBA

That’s MeKnowing Me Knowing YouWhen I Kissed the TeacherFernandoSOSMoney Money MoneyIntermezzo No. 1 Medley: Waiting/Honey/Brother S.OWaterlooMamma Mia

INTERMISSION

Voulez Vous As Good as NewMedley: Kisses/Angel/Lay AllGimme Gimme/Super TrouperOne Man One WomanThe Winner Chiquitita Take a Chance Summer Night City

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019, 8PM

The National PhilharmonicPiotr Gajewski, Music Director and Conductor

THE MUSIC OF ABBAARRIVAL FROM SWEDEN

ABBA musiciansPiotr Gajewski, conductor


The Music Center at StrathmoreMarriott Center Stage


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


(For Piotr Gajewski’s biography, please see page 7.)

ARRIVAL from Sweden

ARRIVAL from Sweden was founded by Vicky Zetterberg in 1995 in Gothenburg,

Sweden and very soon became one of the world’s most popular and most selling ABBA show band. Since the start in 1995 the band has toured in 60 countries and has appeared in several TV and radio shows all over the world. Since 2005 ARRIVAL from Sweden has made 58 successful tours in the USA.

ARRIVAL from Sweden in the production ”The Music of ABBA” has sold out arenas and venues all over the world since 1995 and is the absolute best and most authentic ABBA show there is. Hits like: Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Does Your Mother Know, Take A Chance, SOS, The Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper, Money Money Money, Waterloo, Honey Honey, Fernando, Chiquitita, Knowing Me Knowing You, Thank You For The Music, Lay All Your Love On Me, Gimme Gimme Gimme and many more are delivered with such accuracy that it’s hard to believe that it’s not the real ABBA on stage.

ARRIVAL From Sweden has also played with more than 60 symphony orchestras throughout the world. Successful shows with some of the finest orchestras in the USA such as Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

ARRIVAL from Sweden is the only group that has been given a previously unreleased ABBA song directly from Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA. The song “Just A Notion” will be due for a worldwide release.

This production has all the features a great ABBA show needs: lovely costumes, extremely talented musicians and breathtaking singers. Millions of people all around the world celebrate this show as the best ABBA show in the world; in fact this is the only ABBA show the world needs. This production is the closest you will ever get to see ABBA!

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VOICES OF LIGHT

Voices of Light Richard Einhorn (b. 1956)

Presented in connection with a screening of La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc by Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968)

1. Prelude: Exclamavati2. Victory at Orleans3. Interrogation4. The Jailers5. Pater Noster6. The Jailers Return7. Torture8. Illness9. Sacrament10. Abjuration11. Relapse12. Anima13. The Final Walk14. The Burning15. The Fire of the Dove: Protest16. Epilogue

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2019, 8PM


VOICES OF LIGHTSILENT FILM WITH

LIVE ORCHESTRA AND CHORALEFeaturing The Passion of Joan of Arc

Suzanne Karpov, sopranoKatherine Pracht, mezzo-soprano

Matthew Loyal Smith, tenorKerry Wilkerson, baritone

National Philharmonic ChoraleStan Engebretson, conductor

Sponsored by Rochelle Stanfield & Edward Grossman


The Music Center at StrathmoreMarriott Concert Stage


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Stan Engebretson, conductor

Stan Engebretson has served as the Artistic Director of the National Philharmonic Chorale since its inception. In addition

to the Chorale at Strathmore, Engebretson has appeared on concert stages throughout the United States and in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He studied with masters of choral music including Robert Shaw, Gregg Smith, Roger Wagner and the Swedish conductor Eric Ericson.

A Midwest native, he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Piano and Voice from the University of North Dakota, then went on for his Doctorate in Conducting from Stanford University. He held faculty positions in the University of Texas system and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, he served as the Artistic Director of the Midland-Odessa Symphony Chorale and was the Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Chorale.

In Washington, DC since 1990, Dr. Engebretson is Professor of Music at George Mason University and is the Director of Music at the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. In 2009, he served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Iceland, and abroad in recent seasons he performed in Europa Cantat and AMJ (Arbeitskreis Musik in der Jugend) events plus others in Germany, Estonia, Ireland, and Austria. In 2018, he co-edited a new collection, “Hallelujah! Spirituals and Gospels for European Choirs.” In 2019, he received the J. Reilly Lewis Ovation award for Outstanding Contributions to Choral Music, a prestigious honor presented by Choralis that marks his thirty years of choral leadership in the metropolitan area.

Suzanne Karpov, soprano

Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “elegant” soprano, both “incisive and tender,” Suzanne Karpov is quickly distinguishing herself

as one of the country’s leading young sopranos. Ms. Karpov recently made her Carnegie Hall debut as the soprano soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria with DCINY. Past season oratorio highlights as soprano soloist include performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Washington Bach Consort, and the Washington Opera Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, as well as soprano soloist in Haydn’s The Creation with the UC-Davis Symphony Orchestra. Operatic highlights include performances with Washington National Opera, and Boston Early Music Festival. Ms. Karpov has won numerous awards, including 1st place at the national NATS Competition in Chicago, and 1st place in the 2018 Handel Aria Competition, and an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Karpov is a graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio (University of Maryland, College Park), and earned her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

Katharine Pracht, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Katherine Pracht’s engagements in 2018-2019 season included Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles with Leon Botstein

and The Orchestra NOW as well as the role of Dunyasha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride in Russian at the Bard Festival; she reprised Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with York Symphony, and sang role debuts with Madison Opera as Charlotte in A Little Night Music and Ottavia in Florentine Opera’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. Performances in the 2019-2020 season include the role of Kate Julian in Britten’s Owen Wingrave for her debut with the Little Opera Theater of New York, the role

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

of Linette in Opera Philadelphia‘s The Love for Three Oranges, mezzo-soprano solos in Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light with the National Philharmonic and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the York Symphony. In 2016-17, Pracht made her Kennedy Center debut as soloist in Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5 with the Washington Chorus, then recorded the piece in NYC with Trinity Wall Street for release this summer (2019).

Ms. Pracht sang the US premiere of Richard Wernick’s …and a Time for Peace with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and created several roles in workshops of new operas: Florence Williams in a workshop of Susan Kander’s The News From Poems, Hester Prynne in Eric Sawyer’s The Scarlet Professor, Eve in Julian Wachner and Cerise Jacobs’ Rev 23 for the Prototype Festival. Additionally, Ms. Pracht performed Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles accompanied by Bright Sheng and Michael Barrett for The Intimacy of Creativity 2017 Festival in Hong Kong, and then again for her debut with New York Festival of Song with Barrett and Steven Blier. Pracht sang the role of Lady Wang in Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber on tour in China, the role of Mariam in Sheila Silver’s A Thousand Splendid Suns in workshop for American Opera Projects, a world premiere of Karl Jenkins’ Sing! The Music was Given and a reprisal of The Armed Man at Carnegie Hall with Distinguished Concerts International New York, and her critically-acclaimed title role debut in Elizabeth Cree for Chicago Opera Theater by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell.

Matthew Loyal Smith, tenor

Matthew Loyal Smith is an accomplished tenor soloist, having performed with many prestigious ensembles including the

Washington Bach Consort, the Cathedral Choral Society and the Washington Concert

Opera. Matthew received the Carmel Bach Festival’s Adams Fellowship for performance and study of the music of Bach in 2008. A finalist in the 2002 San Francisco Opera Center auditions and a semifinalist in the 2005 Montreal International Musical Competition, his operetta and operatic roles have included Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, Baron Zsupàn in Countess Maritza, The Prologue in The Turn of the Screw, and Torquemada in L’heure Espagnol. Matthew has studied voice with Beverley Rinaldi and Christine Anderson while earning a B.M. in Voice from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a M.M. in Opera from Temple University. Matthew currently serves with the Air Force Singing Sergeants in Washington, DC. With them, he performs at the White House, with the National Symphony Orchestra, for nationally televised events including the funeral of former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, and on tours across the United States.

Kerry Wilkerson, baritone

Kerry Wilkerson has sung with the professional choruses of the United States Air Force, United States Army, Carnegie Hall Choral Workshops and the

critically acclaimed Robert Shaw Festival Singers. He currently serves as Assistant Director of Music Ministries at Vienna Presbyterian Church where he oversees a program for teenage musicians that includes a chorus, orchestra, handbells and worship teams. As a military musician he has sung extensively throughout the United States and Canada in some of our nation’s finest performance halls. Washington, DC audiences also know him as a local recitalist and frequent guest soloist with community based orchestras and choruses. Mr. Wilkerson is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (BMEd) and George Mason University (MA).


PROGRAM NOTES

Voices of Light (composed 1994; premiered in February 1994 at the Academy of Music in Northampton, Massachusetts).

Richard Einhorn (born 1952 in Newark, New Jersey)

In the golden age of silent film, during the first three decades of the 20th century, the musical soundtrack that accompanied the images had a role far more significant than it has today. Because there was no sound that was inherent to the action on screen (including the absence of speech), music enabled the audience to respond emotionally to situations that would appear significantly tame without the soundtrack. It is no secret that music is capable of eliciting feelings in a manner that is visceral, primeval, and sometimes bordering on the irrational. Film music composers and film directors are highly sensitive to the dramatic impact of music, and the history of cinema offers numerous examples of highly successful collaborations between director and composer, one of the most famous of which is that between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann.

Music affects the dramatic impact of a film in two ways: through diegetic music, which is part of the fictional setting and is heard by the characters themselves as well as by the audience; and through non-diegetic music, which is heard only by the audience and has an important role in setting up a particular mood or in influencing the audience’s response to a dramatic situation. This latter type is what is more often understood when referring to the “soundtrack” of a film. By its very nature, then, all the music heard as accompaniment to a silent film is non-diegetic music, of which Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light is a supreme example, one of the most affecting and emotionally charged soundtracks in the history of film music.

Here is how Einhorn recounts the artistic epiphany that inspired him to compose Voices of Light: “I was idly poking around in the film archives of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, looking at short avant garde films, when I happened across a still from Joan of Arc in the silent film catalog. In spite of a deep love of cinema and its history, I had never heard of the director of the film, but … asked to take a look at it. Some 81 minutes later, I walked out of the screening room shattered, having unexpectedly seen one of the most extraordinary works of art that I know. I immediately began to plan the piece about Joan of Arc…” (from the composer’s notes for Voices of Light). The film that Einhorn had seen, La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, is one of the greatest masterpieces of silent film. It dramatizes the life and trial of the 15th-century teenage warrior, Joan of Arc, who was subjected to inhumane treatment in the hands of the Inquisition for claiming that she heard the voice of God urging her to fight for her country in the face of English oppression. She was tortured, excommunicated, and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431 in Rouen. Nearly 500 years after her death, she was declared a saint. In Dreyer’s film, the plight of Joan of Arc is presented through an ingenious combination of close-ups that are incredibly charged with the entire spectrum of human emotions: anger, doubt, scorn, fear, pity, cruelty, revenge, spite, indifference.

Einhorn conceived Voices of Light both as an accompaniment to Dreyer’s film and as a stand-alone musical work that could speak about the same emotions to other audiences and in other contexts. He compiled a libretto that draws from a rich literature by female mystics from the Middle Ages, blending texts in Latin, Old and Middle French, and Italian. The texts that ultimately correlate to each scene in the film bear different relationships to the image. Sometimes, the textual excerpt offers a direct description of what is happening on screen, but at other times the text functions


PROGRAM NOTES

as a reflection on subliminal or subjective meanings attached to the images. In his notes, Einhorn singles out the use of the Inquisition’s instruments of torture as an example: “Although the Inquisitors did not physically harm Joan, she was shown the instruments of torture. I thought that, rather than speak directly about this horror, it might be more interesting to explore some of the stranger aspects of the medieval view of physical pain, the tradition of suffering as a means of achieving spiritual ecstasy. Accordingly, the chorus obsessively repeats the phrase ‘glorious wounds’ while a solo soprano sings a combination of lurid texts from both Blessed Angela and Na Prous Boneta, a 13th century penitent and a 14th century heretic, respectively.” This example illustrates the multi-layered texture of Voices of Light, in which the very sounds of the words in the various languages function as musical elements as well. In order to create a mystical voice for the character of Joan of Arc, her singing voice is a composite of the soprano and alto range, so that her audible presence is as mysterious as her visual presence

was during her lifetime. It seems that no one could quite know exactly what Joan of Arc looked like. The soundscape that Einhorn created, then, hovers in a space that transcends immediate experience, while at the same time bridging the realms of earthly life and the promise of a spiritual redemption. The musical style resonates with historical references to the music of the Middle Ages, albeit inflected to respond to contemporary sensibilities. While visiting the village of Domremy, where Joan of Arc was born, Einhorn recorded the sounds of the bells from the small church, which still stands along with Joan of Arc’s house. These sounds were incorporated into the score, adding poignancy to the story of this fascinating figure. After all, her predicament stemmed mostly from what one would interpret today as auditory hallucinations. She claimed to hear the voice of God directing her on what to do, and for that she was charged with heresy, but the sound of the church bells was for her a daily pleasure as she lived her life in that humble French village.

@ James Melo


HOLIDAY SINGIN’ POPS

Selections to include:

Holiday Overture

Santa Baby/Let Me Entertain You—medley of Eartha Kitt & Gypsy

Merry Christmas Darling

Mele Kelikimaka

What Child Is This

Grown Up Christmas Wish

I’ll be Home for Christmas

Rudolph

River/Not a Day Goes By—medley of Stephen Sondheim & Joni Mitchell

Last Christmas

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

What Are You Doing New Year’s

The Christmas Song

Cool Yule

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

O Holy Night

The Snow-Elgar

Holiday Sing Along—led by soloists and choir

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019, 7:30PM


HOLIDAY SINGIN’ POPSAli Ewoldt, Phantom of the OperaHilary Morrow, Birdland Jazz ClubKevin Rose, international vocalist

Addalie Burns, tap dancerLuke Frazier, conductor

National Philharmonic Chorale




ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Luke Frazier, conductor

Luke Frazier is changing what it means to be the maestro of a cutting-edge orchestra. He is an innately musical conductor, a sensitive

and brilliant pianist and a visionary for presenting music we know and love with a fun, energetic and unique twist. Washingtonian Magazine named him one of their “Top 40 Under 40,” and most recently named five of Washington, DC’s “Men on the Move” by Modern Luxury. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and musical theatre legend, Marvin Hamlisch is quoted as calling Frazier “…so talented, and sensitive to every nuance.”

As founder and Music Director of the American Pops Orchestra (APO), Frazier has set the bar high for popular orchestral programming. His past seasons have brought Broadway, television and even Olympic stars to the stage alongside APO to dazzle his newfound audience of young, first-time attendees and longtime orchestra patrons alike. Each show is built from the ground up with original arrangements and innovative staging, all brought to life by a cast of stars, acclaimed and upcoming, to deliver what every audience wants to experience—a night they won’t forget!

Frazier doesn’t spend all his time conducting APO. He has earned his stripes conducting across the country and abroad. He has conducted at internationally acclaimed venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the White House, Kravis Center, the Kennedy Center and more. He is an avid proponent of the preservation and celebration of the American Songbook, as evidenced by his orchestral programming, his iTunes playlist, and his yearly tours to underserved schools in Appalachia. He

has also recently joined the board of the NY Festival of Song and is an Artistic Advisor for the Capitol Conversation and Performing Arts Series in Washington, DC.Frazier is thrilled to have worked with an arsenal of incredible artists, most of whom he calls friend. This list includes such luminaries as Chita Rivera, Harry Connick Jr., Patti LaBelle, Joshua Bell, Jessie Mueller, Renée Fleming, Darren Criss, Vanessa Williams, Liz Callaway, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Betty Who, Laura Osnes, Wynton Marsalis, Eric Owens, Marilyn Maye, Liza Minnelli, Rita Moreno, Lindsay Mendez, Michael Feinstein, Kathy Najimy, Paige Davis, Arturo Sandoval, and Norm Lewis, among many others.

Ali Ewoldt, vocalist and actress, Phantom of the Opera

Ali Ewoldt recently completed more than two years as Christine Daaé in The Phantom

of the Opera on Broadway. Her other credits include Cosette in Les Miserables (Broadway, National Tour); The King and I (Broadway, Tour, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Maria in West Side Story (National Tour, International Tour, PCLO, The Muny); Luisa in The Fantasticks (off-Broadway); and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Concert/symphony work includes Feinstein’s/54 Below, Alice Tully Hall, the Town Hall, Canyon Ranch, NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, American Pops Orchestra, Houston Symphony and Boston Pops with Maestro Keith Lockhart. Ali’s TV/Film credits include The Michael J. Fox Show, Yield, and the short film Mia. She has a BA in psychology from Yale University. www.aliewoldt.com


http://www.aliewoldt.com/

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Hilary Morrow, musical theatre performer and soloist

Hilary Morrow is an acclaimed musical theatre performer and soloist. She regularly sings at

famed jazz club, Birdland in New York City, including a recent sold-out performance in the new Birdland Theatre. She has performed alongside such luminaries as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Norm Lewis, Renee Fleming, Tommy Tune, Laura Osnes, Liz Callaway, Jeremy Jordan, Lindsey Mendez, Ashley Brown and many more. She is the only singer to have appeared in every season with the American Pops Orchestra with recent credits including: the Old Lady in An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Bianca in the tour of A Very Silly Vaudeville and Detective Fix in Around the World in 80 Days. Recent credits include Love, Factually with The Second City at The John F. Kennedy Center; King Cymbeline/Queen in Imogen: Shakespeare’s Cymbeline Reimagined with Pointless Theatre Company; and Mother in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at Adventure Theatre. She sings jazz and musical theatre for galas, private events and her own amusement. See what she’s doing next: www.hilarymorrow.com & Instagram @hcmorrow

Kevin Rose, international vocalist

Washington, DC-based vocalist Kevin Rose most recently toured in 2018 with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in more than

20 countries with his show Feelin’ Good. In 2017, Kevin performed in the U.S. tour of Dido and Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group, and was also invited to bring his cabaret series If Not Now, When? to the historic Metropolitan Room. He has performed throughout New York City in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Town Hall, Laurie Beechman Theatre, Dimenna Center for Classical Music, Merkin Concert Hall, and 92nd St. Y. Favorite regional credits include the pre-Broadway production of Frank Wildhorn’s Bonnie and Clyde (Asolo Rep.); The Life of Galileo (Asolo Rep.); Joseph and the Amazing…(Encore Musical Theater Co.), Forever Plaid (Encore Musical Theater Co.), and Songs for a New World (New American theater). Kevin can be seen headlining the DC Transit Band, a successful entertainment band that plays all over the DMV.

Addalie Burns, tap dancer

Addalie Burns is an eight year old dancer from Sacramento, California. Addalie has danced for four years but started

tap dancing at the age of five. She studies dance at Hawkins School of Performing Arts in Folsom, California. Addalie loves Shirley Temple and her goal is to tap dance on Broadway and own her own dance studio with an animal shelter in the lobby.


http://www.hilarymorrow.com/

HANDEL’S MESSIAH

Messiah George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

PART I

Sinfonia Recitative (tenor) Comfort ye, my people, saith your God Aria (tenor) Every valley shall be exalted Chorus And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed Recitative (bass) Thus saith the Lord of Hosts Aria (alto) But who may abide the day of His coming? Chorus And He shall purify the sons of Levi Recitative (alto) Behold, a virgin shall conceive Aria (alto) O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion Chorus O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, arise Recitative (bass) For behold, darkness shall cover the earth Aria (bass) The people that walked in darkness Chorus For unto us a child is born Pastoral Symphony Recitative (soprano) There were shepherds abiding in the field Recitative (soprano) And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them Recitative (soprano) And the angel said unto them: Fear not, for behold Chorus Glory to God in the highest Aria (soprano) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion Recitative (soprano) Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened Aria (alto and soprano) He shall feed His flock like a shepherd Chorus His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light

INTERMISSION

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2019, 8PMSUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2019, 3PM


Stan Engebretson, National Philharmonic Chorale Artistic Director

HANDEL’S MESSIAHEsther Heideman, soprano

Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano Matthew Loyal Smith, tenor

Kevin Deas, bass National Philharmonic ChoraleStan Engebretson, conductor


HANDEL’S MESSIAH

All Kids, All Free, All The Time is sponsored in part by Mrs. Patricia Haywood Moore and Dr. Roscoe M. Moore Jr. and Dieneke Johnson.


PART II

Chorus Behold the lamb of God Aria (alto) He was despised and rejected of men Chorus Surely He hath borne our griefs Chorus All we like sheep have gone astray Recitative (tenor) All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn Chorus He trusted in God that He would deliver Him Recitative (tenor) Thy rebuke hath broken His heart Aria (tenor) Behold and see if there be any sorrow Recitative (tenor) He was cut off out of the land of the living Aria (tenor) But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell Aria (bass) Why do the nations so furiously rage together Chorus Let us break their bonds asunder Recitative (tenor) He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn Aria (tenor) Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron Chorus Hallelujah!

PART III

Aria (soprano) I know that my redeemer liveth Chorus Since by man came death Recitative (bass) Behold, I tell you a mystery Aria (bass) The trumpet shall sound Chorus Worthy is the Lamb that was slain Chorus Amen


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Stan Engebretson, conductor

(For Stan Engebretson’s biography, please see page 15.)

Kevin Deas, bass

American bass Kevin Deas is especially celebrated for his riveting portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess with the New York

Philharmonic, National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore and Montreal Symphonies and at the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals. His recent recordings include Die Meistersinger with the Chicago Symphony under the late Sir Georg Solti and Varèse’s Ecuatorial with the ASKO Ensemble under Ricardo Chailly, both on Decca/London. Other releases include Bach’s B minor Mass and Handel’s Acis & Galatea on Vox Classics and Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society on the Telarc label.

Esther Heideman, soprano

A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Esther Heideman impresses

audiences around the world with her dynamic stage presence and her beautiful, angelic voice. Esther has even been described as having Stradivarius vocal cords.

Ms. Heideman has performed with major orchestras throughout the world, such as the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Orquestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Esther made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. In addition to performing the traditional concert repertoire, Ms. Heideman has featured prominently in premieres by some of today’s most respected contemporary composers, including Stephen Paulus, Libby Larsen, Wolfgang Rihm and Daniel Schnyder.

Upcoming performances include Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, Lucas Foss Time Cycle with the Aspen Music Festival, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the National Philharmonic, Brahms Requiem with Music Worcester.

Matthew Loyal Smith, tenor

(For Matthew Loyal Smith’s biography, please see page 16.)

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano

“…and Magdalena Wor almost stole the show as a well-defined and well-sung Suzuki.” proclaimed Anne Midgette of The

Washington Post following Magdalena’s role debut of Suzuki with Virginia Opera.

Ms. Wór has performed as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony for their performances of Messiah. She sang Maddalena in Opera Birmingham’s Rigoletto and Bach B Minor Mass and Messiah with the National Philharmonic. Magdalena has also sung Alexander Nevsky and Suzuki in Opera Birmingham’s Madame Butterfly. Magdalena has sung

Carmen for Lyric Opera of Virgina, Messiah with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, was soloist for Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with Cathedral Chorale Society of the Washington National Cathedral and for Bach Magnificat with the National Philharmonic, and gave recitals at the Polish and Hungarian Embassies in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Wór is a First Place Winner of the Heinz Rehfuss Vocal Competition, a Metropolitan Opera Competition National Finalist, an alumna of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Summer Opera Program and Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera. Magdelana is originally from Poland and has lived in the United States since 1991.


PROGRAM NOTES

Messiah

George Frideric Handel (born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany; died April 14, 1759 in London, England)

On April 10, 1742, the following note appeared in the Dublin News-Letter: “Yesterday morning, at the Musick Hall, there was a public rehearsal of the Messiah, Mr. Handel’s new sacred oratorio, which in the opinion of the best judges, far surpasses anything of that nature, which has been performed in this or any other Kingdom. The elegant entertainment was conducted in the most regular manner, and to the entire satisfaction of the most crowded and polite assembly.”

The announcement, coming immediately after a highly successful concert season that Handel had just completed in Dublin, raised high expectations for the premiere of the new oratorio, which took place on April 13, 1742. Advertisements went out requesting that gentlemen attended without their swords, and ladies without hoops in their dresses, in order to maximize the capacity of the concert hall, so that at the premiere 700 people crowded in the Musick Hall. The performance was a resounding success. Handel not only directed from the keyboard, but also played a selection of his own concertos for organ between the different sections of Messiah. The Dublin Journal summarized its review of the performance by stating that “the sublime, the grand, and the tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestic and moving words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished heart and ear.”

The man who composed the Messiah was, by all accounts, a very difficult person. Handel was subject to violent outbursts and often engaged in quite unreasonable behaviors. In one such tantrum, during rehearsals with the renowned soprano Francesca Cuzzoni, Handel lost patience

because she refused to follow his instructions and, in a fit of rage, grabbed her by the waist and threatened to throw her out of the window. This explosive side of his personality, however, was balanced by his open-hearted generosity to charities, orphans, retired musicians, and the ill.

At the time of the composition of Messiah, Handel was in the midst of a major career change. For most of his life, he had been known primarily as an outstanding composer of Italian operas, which he produced at a seemingly unstoppable rate. He was also a savvy businessman, well attuned to the expectations of his audience and his patrons. The opera season of 1740-41, however, was extremely disappointing, well below the kind of economic and artistic success with which Handel had grown accustomed. The failure of that particular opera season was not an isolated event, but an indication that his many years of undiminished success as an opera composer and producer were drawing to a close. It was then that he turned to the composition of English oratorios, which had the advantage of not requiring elaborate sets, costumes, or international opera stars. Among Handel’s closest friends was the Shakespearean scholar Charles Jennens (1700-1773), who had been a devoted champion of Handel’s music since 1725. At the time of the disappointing opera season of 1740-41, Handel had already produced a few successful English oratorios, and these early ventures may have given Jennens the impetus to propose a new subject. In a July, 1741 letter to his friend Edward Holdsworth, Jennens commented that he hoped to persuade Handel to “set another Scripture collection” that he had made for him, and he predicted that, if Handel lavished all his skills upon this new project, it would surpass everything he had done before, because the subject itself excelled all the others. This was the libretto for Messiah.


PROGRAM NOTES

Jennens’s libretto is rather unusual, consisting of references and allusions to the figure of Jesus Christ culled from several sections of the Bible (only one of which was taken directly from the Gospels), and from the version of the Psalms in the Book of Common Prayer. This approach produced a libretto in which there is no particular narrative center, as if everything were being told from an oblique and mediated perspective. The unusual nature of the libretto inevitably influenced Handel’s musical conception.

Unlike most of Handel’s oratorios, Messiah does not have well-defined characters. A cursory glance at its many arias, recitatives, choruses, and duets is enough to show that Handel conceived the musical structure of Messiah as an ongoing reflection on the story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, direct characterization is consistently avoided in Messiah. The singers do not assume dramatic roles, as happens in most of Handel’s other oratorios. Also, the chorus achieves an importance that remains unique among works of this genre. Handel wrote Messiah for modest vocal and instrumental forces (the choir for the premiere consisted of 26 boys and 5 men from the combined choirs of St. Patrick’s and Christ Church cathedrals), and the tradition of big Messiahs, with large choirs and orchestras, is a late development. Overall, the music of Messiah is characterized by a carefully balanced orchestration, in which Handel opted for restraint instead of rhetorical prowess. He uses instruments judiciously, such as the beautifully delayed use of the trumpets to create a highly effective contrast as they color the “Hallelujah” chorus and the final chorus, “Worthy is the Lamb.”

Handel composed Messiah at breakneck speed, in 24 days between August 22 and September 14, 1741. Statistics have placed the total number of notes in the oratorio at

approximately a quarter of a million, which means that Handel would have to write an average of 15 notes per minute, for 10 hours straight every day. The London premiere of Messiah took place at Covent Garden on March 23, 1743, almost a full year after the Dublin premiere. Legend has it that, during the “Hallelujah” chorus, King George II was so moved that he stood up, even though there is no evidence that he was ever present at that or any other performance of the oratorio. Since then, nevertheless, a tradition was established (mentioned for the first time in 1756) of standing during this portion of the oratorio. Handel gave a total of 36 performances of Messiah from 1742 to 1759, the year of his death. His fondness for Messiah is also attested by the fact that, eight days before he died, frail and blind, he insisted upon attending its performance at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden.

Among the most extravagant performances of Messiah on record was the one at the Crystal Palace in London in 1857 as part of a Handel festival, which included a chorus of 2000 singers and an orchestra of 500 instrumentalists. Performances of Messiah calling for large vocal and instrumental forces have continued to this day, as has the tradition of performing Messiah as a staple of the Christmas holidays. The version of Messiah that Leonard Bernstein recorded in 1956 with the New York Philharmonic and the Westminster Choir documents his extensive revision and rearrangement of the work, an approach that was rather controversial (and remains so), but which fits within a long tradition of different “versions” of Messiah. The work has been re-orchestrated and re-arranged several times by many composers (including Mozart), and Bernstein’s rather personal version stems from that tradition.

@ James Melo


TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS

Recitative (Tenor)Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Air (Tenor)Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low: the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

ChorusAnd the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Recitative (Bass)Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: The Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

Air (Bass)But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire.

George Frideric Handel’s Messiah

ChorusAnd he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Recitative (Mezzo-Soprano)Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, “God-with-us.”

Air (Mezzo-Soprano) and ChorusO thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up they voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

Recitative (Bass)For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth,and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Air (Bass)The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

ChorusFor unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

PART ONE

OVERTURE



Recitative (Soprano)There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock at night.

Arioso (Soprano)And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Recitative (Soprano)And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Arioso (Soprano)And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

ChorusGlory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards men.

Air (Soprano)Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is the righteous Saviour. And he shall speak peace unto the heathen.

Recitative (Mezzo-soprano)Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

Air (Mezzo-soprano and Soprano)He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: and he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

ChorusHis yoke is easy, and His burthen is light.

PIFA (“PASTORAL SYMPHONY”)



INTERMISSION

PART TWO

ChorusBehold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.

Air (Mezzo-soprano)He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He gave his back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. He hid not His face from shame and spitting.

ChorusSurely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.

ChorusAnd with His stripes we are healed.

ChorusAll we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Recitative (Tenor)All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn. They shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying:

ChorusHe trusted in God that He would deliver Him, let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him.

Recitative (Tenor)Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him.

Air (Tenor)Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow!

Recitative (Tenor)He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of Thy people was He stricken.

Air (Tenor)But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

Air (Bass)Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed.

ChorusLet us break their bonds asunder and cast away their yokes from us.

Recitative (Tenor)He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.

Air (Tenor)Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

ChorusHallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. King of Kings and Lord of Lords.


Air (Soprano)I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And tho’ worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep.

ChorusSince by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Recitative (Bass)Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be chang’d in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.

PART THREE


Air (Bass)The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised, incorruptible.

ChorusWorthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. Blessing, and honour, glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.


JUPITER SYMPHONY

Overture to Il Re Pastore W. A. Mozart (The Shepherd King) (1756-1791)

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor W. A. Mozart (with Beethoven cadenzas) Allegro Romanze Rondo: Allegro assai

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 41 in C Major, (“Jupiter”) W. A. Mozart Allegro vivace Andante cantabile Menuetto: Allegretto Molto allegro

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2020, 8PM SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020, 3PM

The National Philharmonic Piotr Gajewski, Music Director and Conductor

JUPITER SYMPHONYOrli Shaham, piano



The Music Center at Strathmore Marriott Center Stage


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


(For Piotr Gajewski’s biography, please see page 7.)

Orli Shaham, piano

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety and brilliance, Orli Shaham has established an impressive international reputation as one of

today’s most gifted pianists. Hailed by critics on four continents, Ms. Shaham is in demand for her prodigious skills and admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” The Chicago Tribune recently referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean” in a performance with the Chicago Symphony, and London’s Guardian said Ms. Shaham’s playing at the Proms was “perfection.”

Ms. Shaham has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego and Utah symphony orchestras; and internationally with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony, Filarmonica della Scala, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra della Toscana, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lyon, Stockholm Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Taiwan Philharmonic. A frequent guest at summer festivals, she has performed at Aspen, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Bravo Vail, Caramoor, La Jolla, Mostly Mozart, Music Academy of the West, Ravinia, Spoleto, Sun Valley, Tanglewood, and Verbier music festivals.

Ms. Shaham has given recitals at renowned concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Chicago’s Symphony

Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, and the Sydney Opera House, and has worked with many eminent conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, David Robertson, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, Hans Graf and Jacques Lacombe among others. In performance she has collaborated with the pianists Emanuel Ax, Joseph Kalichstein, Jon Kimura Parker and Marc-Andre Hamelin, the cellist Lynn Harrell, the violinists Gil Shaham (her brother) and Phillip Setzer, and the sopranos Christine Brewer and Michelle DeYoung, among many others.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth over the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, Ms. Shaham joined the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic, China NCPA Orchestra, Bochumer Symphoniker, Dallas Symphony, and San Diego Symphony for performances of Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 Age of Anxiety. Other concerto highlights of the 2018/19 season included performances with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, and John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (conducted by the composer). She continues to serve as the Artistic Director for Pacific Symphony’s chamber music series in Costa Mesa, California, a position she has held since 2007.

In addition to her activities on stage, Ms. Shaham gives frequent master classes and has served on the jury of numerous piano competitions, including the Cliburn International Junior, New York International, Sydney International, and Virginia Waring International piano competitions. Baby Got Bach, the interactive concert series for young children which Ms. Shaham launched in 2010 to immediate acclaim, is recognized by parents, media and the music community as a significant force in music education and entertainment for pre-schoolers.

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PROGRAM NOTES

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria; died December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria)

The name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has always been associated with very clear notions of musical elegance, formal balance, harmony, and flawless compositional craftsmanship. He is rightly considered to be the epitome of musical classicism, to which the above qualities are inextricably associated, but this assessment should not blind us to the substrate of passion and heightened emotion that pervades much of his music. Mozart was a passionate man who loved life in all its manifestations, and who was extremely sensitive to ideas of comfort, good living, and social graces. No wonder he was so adept at psychological commentary and was so keenly perceptive of human nature, as is particularly evident in his mature operas. Opera was one of Mozart’s favorite genres, and it is no surprise that some of the dramatic devices that he perfected in opera eventually influenced his approach to purely instrumental music. The concerto for piano and orchestra, a genre that Mozart cultivated throughout his career and which he brought to sublime heights of perfection, is a case in point. The possibilities for dramatic interaction between the soloist and the orchestra invite rhetorical and emotional gestures that are the common fare of operatic writing. In his symphonies, such techniques may be more elusive, but this does not invalidate the fact that Mozart was, first and foremost, a vocally oriented composer, just as Beethoven was guided primarily by instrumental techniques.

The three genres featured in tonight’s program—opera (overture), piano concerto, and symphony—were all very much part of Mozart’s professional life in Vienna, where he was free to pursue his own interests, free from the constraints that attended his job as court musician

for the Prince-Archbishop Colloredo in Salzburg. As part of his job, Mozart was obligated to compose religious music on demand, a task that he loathed and felt to be extremely limiting. By deciding to abandon his job (to the great frustration and anger of his father) and relocating to Vienna in 1781, Mozart set the stage for his musical talent to flourish without any restraints. He was then at the very center of European musical life, happy with the prospects of exploring musical genres that were essentially off limits to him while he worked for the Archbishop in Salzburg.

Overture to Il Re Pastore (The Shepherd King)

The opera Il Re Pastore (The Shepherd King), K.208, dates from Mozart’s time in Salzburg. It was performed on 23 April 1775 at the Residenz-Theater in the palace of the Archbishop Colloredo, as part of the festivities to welcome the Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria. Based on a subject from Aminta by Torquato Tasso, it is a relatively short opera in only two acts. The overture itself is rather concise, based on a three-note theme that is juxtaposed to a more lyrical second theme to create a dialogue that is often comical and witty. The brevity of both the opera and its overture may be attributed to the fact that Mozart was given very little time to compose the work: he completed all of it in six weeks.

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466

The concerto for piano and orchestra was one of the first genres to which Mozart turned his undivided attention upon settling in Vienna. In addition to the obvious compositional rewards inherent in such a dramatic genre, there were also practical considerations: Mozart could use the concertos, with himself as the soloist, as vehicles for promoting his music, and this soon became one of his most reliable


PROGRAM NOTES

sources of income. Mozart composed 23 original piano concertos, and the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor is universally regarded as one of his finest. He wrote it for his own performances in the 1785 concert season in Vienna, and when it premiered on February 11, 1785, at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna.

The Piano Concerto No. 20 is a work of great structural and emotional breadth, a splendid example of the level of sophistication that the piano concerto reached in Mozart’s hands. Despite its traditional layout in three movements (a framework that remained standard for the solo concerto well into the Romantic period), each of the movements displays the inexhaustible inventiveness of Mozart’s musical mind, as he enriches the patterns of the sonata form (first movement) and rondo (second—the “Romanze”—and third movements) with a wealth of melodic turns, chromatic inflections, subtle rhythmic irregularities, and surprising harmonic turns. The solo piano is treated with the highest level of virtuosic writing, display a range of keyboard techniques that was unprecedented, even among Mozart’s own piano concertos up to then. No wonder this was one of Beethoven’s favorite piano concertos by Mozart. He made it a regular feature of his repertoire and was inspired to write his own cadenza for the concerto. Since then, Beethoven’s cadenza has often been chosen in performances of this concerto, a fitting tribute by bringing together the two great masters of the high classicism in Vienna.

Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (“Jupiter”)

The Symphony No. 41 in C Major is Mozart’s last symphony, the third work in a set of three symphonies that he composed within a very short time of each other, during the summer of 1788. Each one of these symphonies is structured as a

summation of the techniques and scope of the classical symphony, as if Mozart had decided to create a musical testament of his artistry in this genre. The Symphony No. 41 is the longest of all Mozart’s symphony, and one of the longest in the classical style. It has a secure place in the pantheon of the greatest works of Western music, and has elicited sustained analytical commentary from many composers, theorists, and critics. It is all the more ironic, then, that there is no record that the symphony was ever performed during Mozart’s lifetime. This may seem absurd to us, but up until the late 19th century the likelihood of major works remaining unperformed during a composer’s life was very great. There is evidence that Mozart was involved in a systematic study of many compositional techniques, including Baroque counterpoint, at the time he was composing his last three symphonies. In the case of the Symphony No. 41, this is clearly evident in the massive five-voice fugato of the last movement, to which there is no parallel in Mozart’s works. The sonata form of the first movement is relatively traditional (albeit unusually dramatic in a Beethovenian way), while the slow movement is a charming recreation of a Baroque sarabande. The minuet is based on a Ländler, a traditional Austrian dance. According to some sources, the nickname “Jupiter” was given to the symphony by the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, while other attribute it to the English publisher Johann Baptist Cramer, who reportedly compared the opening chords of the symphony to Jupiter and his thunderbolts.

@ James Melo


NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN 1: Laura Colgate,

Guest Concertmaster Hanbing Jia, Guest

Concertmaster* Karen Johnson,

Guest Concertmaster Jody Gatwood,

Concertmaster Emeritus Brenda Anna Eva Cappelletti-Chao Claudia Chudacoff Doug Dube Lysiane Gravel-Lacombe* Laura Knutsen Regino Madrid Sara Matayoshi* Matthew Richardson Jennifer Rickard Leslie Silverfine* Kei Sugiyama Christian Tremblay Olga Yanovich* VIOLIN 2: Linda Leanza*,

Principal Elise Blake Kay Budner* Lisa Cridge Armine Graham* June Huang Patty Hurd Laura Knutson Alexandra Mikhlin Laura Miller Joanna Owen Jennifer Shannon* Ning Ma Shi Chaerim Smith Cathy Stewart* VIOLAS: Julius Wirth,

Principal Judy Silverman*

Associate Principal Viola Emeritus

Catherine Amoury Phyllis Freeman Jerome Gordon Leonora Karasina* Jim Kelly + Personnel ManagerStephanie Knutsen Mark Pfannschmidt*

Jennifer Rende Tiffany Richardson Derek Smith Elizabeth O’Hara Stahr CELLOS: Lori Barnet* Barbara Brown April Chisholm-Studney Jihea Choi Kathryn Hufnagle Catherine Mikelson Sean Neidlinger Todd Thiel* Fiona Thompson Kerry Van Laanen* Lauren Weaver BASS: Robert Kurz*,

Principal Shawn Alger Kelly Ali Christopher Chlumsky Alec Hiller Yoshi Horiguchi Laura Ruas Mark Stephenson Brian Thacker Greg Watkins FLUTES:David Whiteside*,

Principal David LaVorgna Nicolette Oppelt* PICCOLO:David LaVorgna OBOES: Mark Hill*,

Principal Katherine Ceasar-Spall * Fatma Daglar ENGLISH HORN:Fatma Daglar CLARINETS:Cheryl Hill*,

Principal Carolyn Alvarez-Agria* Suzanne Gekker

BASS CLARINET:Carolyn Alvarez-Agria BASSOONS:Erich Hecksher*,

Principal Rebecca Watson CONTRABASSOON:Nicholas Cohen FRENCH HORNS: Michael Hall*,

Principal Justin Drew Evan Geiger Amy Horn Mark Wakefield* TRUMPETS:Chris Gekker*,

Principal Robert Birch*,

Robert and Margaret Hazen Chair

Neil Brown Carlton Rowe TROMBONES:David Sciannella*,

Principal James Armstrong Jeffrey Cortazzo TUBA: Willie Clark TIMPANI & PERCUSSION:Tom Maloy*,

Principal Aubrey Adams Tony Asero Curt Duer Robert Jenkins Nobue Matsuoka Gerald Novak Bill Richards HARP:Rebecca Smith Astrid Walschott-Stapp KEYBOARD:Theodore Guerrant,

Theodore M. Guerrant chair Willian Neil Jeffrey Watson *=Core Orchestra

The musicians employed in this production are members of and represented by Washington, D.C. Federation of Musicians, Local 161-710 of the American Federation of Musicians.


NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC CHORALE

SOPRANOJuliana BaioniRosalind BreslowCheryl L. CastnerDestiny ClarkAnne ClaysmithNancy A. ColemanMarilyn Singleton DimasLisa EdgleyMeg FlanaganSarah B. FormanPatrice GarnetteCaitlin A. GarryStefanie GrayCarole L. HaasDenise R. HardingRoma HartLisa Wickman HarterKathleen HenryJessica HoldenJeanne Marie KavinskiRachel LacoretzJoanna LamLaurie LaneLydia LevyCarolyn Rodda LincolnLaila LindenAnna LipowitzAmanda Liverpool-CumminsSharon Majchrzak-HongMalina MarkovaAnaelise MartinezNatasha MaskalyKathryn McKinleySara W. MosesAllison MosesCecilia MunozKatherine Nelson-TraceyLisa Nevans LockeMary Beth NolanGloria NutzhornJuliana S. O’NeillLeila RaoStephanie Reuer Lisa RomanoTheresa RoysShanti SatyapalKatherine SchnorrenbergClara SeoCarolyn J. SullivanMaggie SullivanCathlin TullyEllen van ValkenburghGillian Vander TuigSusanne VillemaretteCindy Williams

ALTOHelen R. AltmanMary BentleyPascale BradyCarol BrunoEllen L. CarletonCarolyn ChuhtaJanet CrossenSandra L. DaughtonRachel DuChateauSanaa El AtiaDeirdre FeehanFrancesca Frey-KimMandy FriedMaria A. FriedmanElizabeth Bishop GemoetsSarah GilchristLois J. GoodsteinJacque GrenningGlenda GroganStacey A. HenningJean HochronSara Michael JoseyMarilyn KatzIrene M. KirkpatrickMartha Jacoby KriegerAngel Soriano LaraLaurie LeeMelissa J. LiebermanCorinne LoertscherEleanor LynchJulie MacCarteeKaren G. MalleyMeg McCormickLee MitchellMisato MiyamasuSusan E. MurraySharon NeubauerMartha NewmanPatricia PillsburyAnn E. Ramsey-MoorSallie K. RobertsLisa RovinNicole ShyongDeborah F. SilbermanCarol A. SternVirginia Van BruntSarah Wagoner MooreWendy J. WeinbergTENORKenneth BailesJ.I. CanizaresColin ChurchRuth W. FaisonEdward GrossmanDon JanskyTyler A. LoertscherJane LyleBenjamin MartinezJeff McCasland

Michael McClellanChantal McHaleDuncan McHaleWayne MeyerJoel C. MillerTom NessingerSteve NguyenAndrew Sungwoo ParkFelix PolendeyJason SaffellDennis Vander TuigBASSKen BogenRonald CappellettiPete ChangRichard ChittyMark H. CobbStephen CookMichael CreegerBopper DeytonCharles G. EdmondsRonald P. FrezzoJ. William GadzukRobert GerardTom HartFilbert HongJohn IobstWilliam W. JoseyGabriel KengniAllan K. KirkpatrickLarry MaloneyJohn MilbergMason MoleskyLeif NeveDevin OsborneDhruv PaiAlec PetkoffCarsten PortnerJoe PrendergastAnthony RadichHarry Ransom, Jr.Edward RejuneyFrank RoysCharles SerpanScott SimonJason James SmokerYale SosinDonald A. TrayerWeeun WangWayne WilliamsPaul Zoccola

ACCOMPANISTTheodore M. Guerrant

CHORALE ARTISTIC DIRECTORStan Engebretson


NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nancy AbelesPaul DudekCarol EvansRuth FaisonMichele FarquharJoan FidlerDieneke JohnsonAlbert Lampert

Chair Emeritus

Marie LeeDr. Wayne MeyerHarris MillerThaddeus MireckiDr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr.Julie PangelinanLisa RichardsonChuck Toner, M.D.Elzbieta Vande SandeKatya Vert-Wong

BOARD OFFICERSHarris Miller, ChairJulie Pangelinan,

Vice Chair & TreasurerPaul Dudek, Secretary

As of August 1, 2019

SUPPORTERS OF THE NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Maestro Circle $100,000+ President Circle $20,000 to $99,999 Concertmaster Circle $10,000 to $19,999Principal Circle $7,500 to $9,999Benefactor Circle $5,000 to $7,499

Sustainer Circle $2,500 to $4,999Patron Circle $1000 to $2,499Contributor $500 to $999Fellow $250 to $499Friend $125 to $249

ORGANIZATIONS

MAESTRO CIRCLEArts and Humanities Council

of Montgomery CountyMaryland State Arts Council

PRESIDENT CIRCLEThe Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz FoundationMontgomery County, MDPotter Violins

CONCERTMASTER CIRCLEClark-Winchcole FoundationPaul M. Angell Family FoundationNational Endowment for the Arts

BENEFACTOR CIRCLEThe Kresge FoundationA. James & Alice B. Clark FoundationAmeriprise FinancialKolar Charitable Foundation of BuckleySandler

SUSTAINER CIRCLEJim and Carol Trawick Foundation, Inc.Open Society InstituteHenry Luce FoundationWalbro, IncJohnson & JohnsonCapital BankThe Dallas Morse Coors Foundation

for the Performing ArtsWalboro, IncDimick Foundation

PATRON CIRCLECommunity Foundation for Greater WashingtonCharles and Margaret Levin Family FoundationNora Roberts FoundationExecutive’s BallStrathmore FoundationMetro Washington DC Federation of Musicians

FELLOWBrobst Violin ShopGailes Violin Shop, Inc.Lashof ViolinsAmerican String Teachers Association, Inc.Music & Arts CenterViolin House of Weaver

The National Philharmonic takes this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge the following businesses, foundations and individuals that have made the Philharmonic’s ambitious plans possible through their generous contributions.


INDIVIDUALS

MAESTRO CIRCLEAnonymous

PRESIDENT CIRCLEAnonymousMr. Edward Brinker & Ms. Jane LiuDr. Stan EngebretsonTisha & Piotr GajewskiMr. & Mrs. Douglas JacobsonJim Kelly & Mark BairdMr. Thaddeus Mirecki,

in memory of Irene MireckiMrs. Patricia Haywood Moore &

Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr.

CONCERTMASTER CIRCLEAnonymousAnne Claysmith*Mr. & Mrs. Paul DudekMr. & Mrs. Richard FidlerEd Grossman* & Rochelle StanfieldRobert & Margaret HazenDr. & Mrs. Val G. HemmingMs. Dieneke JohnsonJohn & Heather KetchpawMs. Kathleen KnepperMr. Stephen Langer & Ms. Allison FultzMr. & Mrs. Richard F. LarkinMs. Marie LeeHarris Miller & Deborah KahnMs. Lori J. SommerfieldMrs. Elzbieta Vande Sande,

in memory of George Vande Sande, Esq.Ms. Theodora Vanderzalm,

in honor of Dieneke JohnsonMs. Carla Wheeler & Mr. Jeffrey P. Naimon

PRINCIPAL CIRCLEAnonymousMr. & Mrs. Todd R. EskelsenDr. & Mrs. John V. EvansMrs. Joan M. Levenson

BENEFACTOR CIRCLEAnonymousMrs. Ruth B. BermanMs. Sheila CohenMr. Robert Dollison,

in memory of Krystyna DollisonMs. Michele FarquharMr. Bruce Gilchrist & Ms. Sarah Gilchrist*John & Julie HamreMr. & Mrs. David HofstadKenneth Hurwitz & Susan WeissMr. & Mrs. Albert LampertMr. William A. Lascelle & Ms. Blanche JohnsonMs. Florentina Mehta

Dr. Oliver Moles Jr.Mr. Thomas Nessinger*Mr. & Mrs. Edward Portner, Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Matthew RiddleMs. Deborah Silberman*Mr. & Mrs. Carl TretterMs. Katya Vert-Wong

SUSTAINER CIRCLEAnonymousFred & Helen R. Altman*Mr. Gaspare V. CastellanoMr. Steven C. Decker & Ms. Deborah W. DavisMs. Corinne DoughertyMr. & Mrs. David FultonMr. Devin M. GajewskiMs. Michelle GajewskiDarren & Elizabeth* GemoetsDr. Joseph E. Gootenberg &

Dr. Susan LeibenhautRADM & Mrs. Kenneth P. MoritsuguDavid & Lottie MosherMr. & Mrs. William E. PairoMr. & Mrs. Jim RichardsonMichael & Janet RowanMr. & Mrs. Peter RyanRick & Berit SilvaDr. Charles B. Toner & Dr. Cecile M. Toner

PATRON CIRCLEAnonymousMr. Kenneth Bailes*Mr. & Mrs. Roger BerlinerMs. Laurie BormanPascale Brady*Mr. Bill Catherwood & Ms. Jean SperlingMr. & Mrs. Colin B. Church*Ms. Susan CollinsonMr. & Mrs. Gary R. CorrellMr. Eric de WaardtDr. Lawrence Deyton* & Dr. Jeff LeviMs. Marietta EthierMr. Justin FidlerMr. & Mrs. Voytek FizytaDr. Maria A. Friedman*Mr. & Mrs. John HagnerMr. Kenneth G. HanceDr. Stacey Henning*Jean* & Jim HochronMr. & Ms. Gerald HoeflerMs. May IngMs. Tanjam JacobsonMr. & Mrs. Donald Jansky*Ms. Martha Jacoby Krieger*Mr. & Mrs. John R. LarueMr. Pardee Lowe Jr.Ms. Jane Lyle*Mr. & Mrs. Kevin MacKenzieDr. Gail E. Makinen


Mr. Larry Maloney*Dr. Elizabeth Marchut-MichalskiMr. Winton E. Matthews Jr.Ms. Claire Schwartz-Menyuk &

Mr. Curtis MenyukDr. Wayne Meyer*Mr. & Mrs. Kent MikkelsenMs. Laura W. MillerDr. Robert MisbinMr. Kevin MontgomeryMr. & Mrs. Raymond MountainSusan* & Jim MurrayMr. Thomas MurrayMs. Katherine Nelson-TraceyMr. & Mrs. Lloyd NeveMr. Leif Neve*Dr. & Mrs. Goetz OertelMs. Julie PangelinanPaul & Robin PeritoEvelyn & Pete PhilippsDr. Michael Sapko & Ms. Kari WallaceMs. Jan SchiavoneMs. Kathryn SennMr. Charles Z. Serpan*Carol A. Stern*Ms. Peggy TevisMr. Alan ThomasMs. Frances E. ThompsonP. TurkeltaubFrances UsherMs. Ellen van Valkenburgh*Mr. Hruaia VanlalMs. Sheralyn WatkinsMrs. Royce WatsonDrs. Jack & Susan YanovskiMr. & Mrs. Bernard J. Young

CONTRIBUTORAnonymousMs. Marsha Nye AdlerMs. Ann E. AlbertsonMr. & Mrs. Joel AlperMr. & Mrs. Benjamin AudetMr. Fred BaderMs. Elisabeth BahlMr. Steve BaldwinMr. Robert BarashDrs. John E. & Shirley BennettMr. & Mrs. Brian BenoitMs. Eileen BinnsMs. Sara D. BrownDr. Ronald Cappelletti*Ms. Nancy Chesser & Mr. J. Michael RoweDr. & Mrs. Gordon M. CraggMs. Sandra Daughton*Ms. Ann DeanMs. Emily DiekerMs. Margretta DiemerMs. Yin-Ying Djuh

Mr. John EklundMs. Ruth Faison*Mr. Douglas ForrestMs. Julia FriendJ. William* & Anita GadzukMs. Caitlin A. Garry*Dr. Robert Gerard* & Ms. Carol GoldbergMr. & Ms. Bruce GibbsMr. & Mrs. Richard O. GilbertMs. Gail GoldsteinDr. Renata GreenspanMs. Holly HamiltonDr. & Mrs. John HelmsenMr. & Mrs. William L. HickmanMs. Jessica Holden*Mr. Neil InglisMs. Ann R. JohnsonWilliam W. & Sara M. Josey*Dr. Laura KafkaMs. Francesca KimMr. David E. Kleiner & Ms. Mary Bentley*Dr. Mark A. Knepper & Dr. Cathy D. KnepperMr. & Mrs. Joseph KolarMr. & Mrs. Willard D. LarkinMr. & Mrs. Michael MaddenMr. Chase MaggianoMr. & Mrs. James MalleyMr. & Mrs. James MasonMs. Rachel MumfordMrs. Jeanne NoelMr. Carsten OertelDr. & Mrs. Joram PiatigorskyDr. & Mrs. Manuel PorresMr. & Mrs. Edward M. PortnerMrs. Dorothy PratsMr. John RobertsMr. & Mrs. Charles RothwellDr. Hanna Siwiec & Mr. Spencer MeyerMr. Stanley StollerMr. Michael Sullivan & Ms. Angela CampbellMr. Alan ThomasMs. Jane Von MaltzahnMs. Krystyna WassermanMs. Angela WuMr. David ZelinskyMs. Rosalind T. Zuses

FELLOWAnonymousMr. Edco BaileyMr. Paul Bennett & Ms. Carol HerndonMr. & Mrs. Brian BenoitMr. & Ms. Jeffrey BirnbaumMr. & Mrs. Jerome Breslow*Mr. & Mrs. Frederick BrownMs. Nancy P. BroyhillMs. Maria G. Carmona & Mr. Arl Q. FitzgeraldMr. Michael Casassa & Mrs. Joan SchmaderMr. Richard Chitty*


Dr. Mark Cinnamon & Ms. Doreen KellyMs. Janet S. Crossen*Mr. & Mrs. J. R. CroutMr. Dean CullerMr. Joel DorfmanMr. & Mrs. J. Steed EdwardsMs. Caroline EltonMs. Michelle FabianDr. & Mrs. Mayo FriedlisMs. Lori GallettoMs. Narendra GantiMr. Brian GanzMr. & Mrs. William Garry,

in honor of Caitlin GarryMr. Bernard GelbMr. James GrayMr. & Mrs. Mitch GreenMr. Ulf Griesmann & Ms. Gillian NaveMr. Plamen GurovMrs. Janice HamerMs. Shelly HaraMrs. Denise R. Harding*Mrs. Roma Hart*Nancy HauserMrs. Rue B. HelselMr. Kenneth L. HillDr. & Mrs. J. Terrell HoffeldMr. Nicholas IalongoMr. & Mrs. Douglas JacobsonMs. Carla H. JonesMrs. Marilyn Katz*Ms. Sheila KauttMs. Helen KavanaghMr. & Mrs. David KeatonMr. Mark KindigMrs. Elizabeth KingMr. & Mrs. Allan Kirkpatrick*Mr. Robert KlaymanThe Kranzdorf Family FoundationMs. Jennifer LetowtMs. Laura LetsonMr. & Mrs. Harry F. LincolnMs. Carolyn Lincoln*Dr. Marcia D. LitwackMs. Mary LowcockMr. & Mrs. Jerald C. MaddoxMs. Mary MalhiotMs. Jennifer MannerMr. Alphonsus J. MarcelisMr. Jim McIntyreMs. Laura MielkeMs. Lori MinasianMr. Robert MooreMs. Judith MroczkaDr. Stamatios Mylonakis &

Ms. Maureen O’ConnorMr. William NewhouseDr. Ruth S. NewhouseMs. Clare O’Meara

Ms. Sally OesterlingDr. Richard Z. Okreglak &

Dr. Edwarda Buda-OkreglakMrs. Juliana O’NeillMs. Sima Osdoby & Mr. Arthur KatzMs. Dolores PatrizioMs. Victoria J. PerkinsMr. & Mrs. Robert B. PirieMr. Kazimierz PukownikMs. Maggie RheinsteinMr. James ReedMs. Sandra Trent RothwellMs. Joanne SchmaderMs. Allison ShelbyMs. Lilian SilvaMr. Raymond SoukupMr. Brian ThielMr. Scott Thompson & Ms. Rebecca ThompsonMr. William Mark ThompsonMr. & Mrs. Dennis TorchiaDr. Julia TossellMs. Virginia W. Van Brunt*Mr. & Mrs. Gerald VogelMr. & Mrs. John F. WingMs. Michelle WongMr. Michael WuTerry Zerwick

FRIENDAnonymousMr. Daniel AbbottMs. Kathleen AbernathyMr. Fritz AndersenMr. David BalashMr. & Mrs. Stephen BaldwinMike & Cecilia BallentineMs. Sharon BauerMrs. Carol BesozziMs. Cheryl BeversdorfMs. Mary BlissMs. Katherine BowdringMr. Mark BrennanDr. Rosalind BreslowMs. Nancy BridgesJames K. Queen & Katherine BudnerMs. Patricia BulhackMs. Sunhee CarpioMs. Cheryl Castner*Ms. Reena ChakrabortyMs. Irene ChiMs. Wendy CimmetDr. F. Lawrence ClareMs. Nerissa CookMr. Selden F. CooperMr. William CopperMs. Elisabeth CourtnerMr. Alan T. CraneMs. Karen CyrMr. & Mrs. William D’Antonio


Mr. Mathew DanielsMr. Kamer DavisMs. Catherine DehoneyMs. Suzanne DonovanMr. & Mrs. Paul DragoumisMr. Andrzej DrozdMs. Jennifer DubesaMs. Joyce DubowMs. Harriet L. DuleepMs. Carla V. DurneyMs. Elaine DynesMs. Linda EdwardsMr. Sherman Edwards & Ms. Melinda SalzmanMrs. Nancy A. EnglishMs. Dianne Epperson & Mr. Keith RobertsMs. Nancy FallgrenDr. Ingrid FarrerasMs. Dianne FavreMr. Harold FreemanMr. & Mrs. Ronald Frezzo*Ms. Else H. FrobergMs. Wendy FroshDr. John GalottoMs. Livia N. GattiMs. Katherine GekkerDr. Daniela S. GerhardMr. & Mrs. Michael GoldMs. Barbara GoldMr. William Gordon & Ms. Linda CurrieMr. & Mrs. Barry GormanMr. Rolf GrafwallnerMs. Jacqueline Grenning* & Mr. John MulcahyDr. & Mrs. Richard F. GrimmettMs. Nancy GrissomMs. Eileen M. GuentherMr. & Mrs. Jordan HardingMs. Holly HarrisonMs. Lisa W. Harter*Mr. Mark HatzilambrouMrs. Jacqueline HavenerMs. Lisa HellingMr. Clifford Hendler & Ms. Deborah NeiprisMr. Myron HoffmannMs. Carla HoltMr. Smiley HsuMr. Richard H. Israel, Ph.D., P.A.Mr. Benjamin IvinsMr. & Mrs. Bill IwigMr. & Mrs. Harold JaffeBeth & Andy JewellMr. Robert JordanMr. & Mrs. Gerald KaizMs. Helen KavanaghMs. Kari Keaton*Dr. & Mrs. Meir KendeMs. Marianna KetchpawMr. James KleilerMr. Ron KlineMr. & Mrs. Steven KrasnowMrs. Dorothy Schlotthauer KrassMr. Warren La Heist

Mr. Sautsen LamDavid R. & Deborah S. Lambert Charitable TrustMs. Luisa LancettiMs. Laurie Lane*Mr. George LaudatoMr. & Mrs. Allan LauferMr. Douglas Leavens and Ms. Judith DavidBK LeeMs. Elisabeth Lejman-Jaworski, M.D.Mr. Michael LeonesioMr. Eliot Lieberman & Ms. Melissa Lieberman*Ms. Carolyn Lincoln*Ms. Sarah LivingstonMr. Dean LohmeyerMr. Wlodek LopaczynskiMr. & Mrs. Peter LovellMs. Eleanor Lynch*Ms. Renee MaccoonMrs. Dorothy MacPhersonMs. Anne Marie MalechaMr. & Mrs. Forbes ManerMr. & Mrs. Warren ManisonMr. Kenneth ManningMr. Robert MartinMrs. Nancy C. MayMr. & Mrs. Robert McGuireMr. & Mrs. Duncan McHale*Ms. Pamela MelroyMr. & Mrs. Michael MerchlinskyMr. & Mrs. James MielkeMs. Donna MikelsonMr. & Mrs. Marvin MillerMr. & Mrs. Milton L. MillerMr. & Mrs. Edward MillsMs. Jackye MilneMr. & Dr. Misato Miyamasu*Mrs. M. Elizabeth Moore & Mr. L. Wayne PorterDr. Herbert MoraisMr. Russell MunkMs. Stephanie MurphyMs. Deborah NeiprisMs. Julianne NelsonMs. Janet NelsonMs. Barbara NelsonMs. Martha Newman*Ms. Melissa NewmanMs. Raquel NoriegaMr. Charles A O'Conner & Mrs. Susan PlaegerMr. Lloyd OliverMs. Paula PappasMr. & Mrs. Edward ParrMs. Sue PetitoMs. Patricia Pillsbury*Mr. Luke PopovichMr. James PorterMr. Mark Price,

in memory of Dale CollinsonMs. Alyssa ProrokMs. Leila Rao*Ms. Annette RauhMr. Daniel Razvi


Piotr Gajewski, Music Director & Conductor

Stan Engebretson, Choral Artistic Director

Jim Kelly, President

Katie Tukey, Director of Development

Deborah Birnbaum, Director of Marketing & PR

Kyle Schick, Operations and Production Manager

Matthew Dannan, Orchestra Librarian

Jim Kelly, Orchestra Personnel Manager

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC STAFF

HERITAGE SOCIETY

Mr. Dan AbbottMr. David AbrahamMrs. Rachael AbrahamMr. Joel AlperMs. Ruth BermanMs. Anne ClaysmithMr. Todd EskelsenMs. Christine FeinthalMs. Wendy Hoffman,

in honor of Leslie SilverfineMs. Dieneke Johnson

Ms. Joanna LamMr. & Mrs. Albert LampertMrs. Margaret MakrisDr. Robert MisbinMr. Kenneth Oldham, Jr.Mr. W. Larz PearsonMs. Lori Sommerfield &

Mr. Dennis DullingerMs. Carol A. SternMs. Elzbieta Vande SandeMr. Mark Williams

Mr. & Mrs. James M. RenderMs. Sallie K. Roberts*Ms. Janet RochlinDr. & Mrs. Theodore R. RoscheMs. Beryl RothmanMs. Lisa Rovin*Mr. Peter RyanMr. Steven SabolMr. Mark SandstromMs. Katherine Schnorrenberg*Mr. Michael SchraderMs. Virginia SchultzMr. Werner SchumannMr. & Mrs. David ScottMs Jennifer ShannonMs. Katherine SheinkmanMr. Michael ShraderMr. & Mrs. Jay SilbergMr. Alexander StallThe Stempler Family FoundationMr. & Mrs. John R. StonerMr. Steven StosnyMr. Tom StroupMs. Irma TetzloffMs. Elizabeth ThomDr. Maria M. TomaszewskiMrs. Carol Trawick

Mr. Chengbiao TuMr. Anand VaishnavMr. & Mrs. Harold J.

Vander MolenMr. & Mrs. Dennis C.

Vander Tuig*Mr. Edward VernonMr. Michael WajdaMs. Mary E. WalshMr. Weeun Wang*Ms. Alexandra WarholMs. Kate WestraMr. Roy WhiteMs. Elizabeth WhitmanMr. Stephen WhitneyMr. Rienhard WieckMr. Wayne R. Williams*Mr. John WilsonMrs. Doris E. WrightMr. Hans WyssMr. & Mrs. Brad YoderMr. Enrique ZaldivarMr. Thomas Zellers

*Chorale Member


GENERAL INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION5301 Tuckerman LaneNorth Bethesda, MD 20852-3385www.strathmore.orgEmail: [email protected] Office Phone: (301) 581-5100Ticket Office Fax: (301) 581-5101Via Maryland Relay Services for MD residents at 711 or out of state at 1(800) 735-2258

TICKET OFFICE HOURSMonday, Tuesday, Thursday,Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.Wednesday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Sixty minutes prior to each performance in the Music Center through intermission.

GROUP SALESFor information, call (301) 493-9283or email [email protected].

TICKET POLICIESTickets may only be exchanged for shows presented by Strathmore or its resident partner organizations at the Music Center. Tickets for National Philharmonic concerts can be exchanged at any time for any concert, up to four hours before the performance through the Strathmore Ticket Office (subject to availability).

If a performance is cancelled or postponed a full refund of the ticket price will be available through the Ticket Office for 30 days after the original scheduled performance date.

TICKET DONATIONIf you are unable to use your tickets, they may be returned for a tax-deductible donation prior to the performance. Donations can be made by mail, fax or in person by 5 p.m. the day of the performance.

All tickets are prepaid and nonrefundable.

WILL CALLPatrons must present the credit card used to purchase tickets or a valid ID to obtain will call tickets.

MISPLACED TICKETSIf you have misplaced your tickets to any performance at Strathmore, please contact the Ticket Office for replacements.

CHILDRENFor ticketed events, all patrons are required to have a ticket regardless of age. Patrons are urged to use their best judgment when bringing children to a concert that is intended for adults. There are some performances that are more appropriate for children than others. Some presenters do not allow children under the age of six years to non-family concerts. As always, if any person makes a disruption during a concert, it is appropriate that they step outside to accommodate the comfort and convenience of other concert attendees.

PARKING FACILITIESConcert parking is located in the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro garage off Tuckerman Lane. At the end of each ticketed event in the Music Center at Strathmore, the exit gates to the garage will be open for 30 minutes to exit the garage. If you leave before, or up to 90 minutes after this 30-minute period, you must show your ticket stub to the stanchion video camera at the exit gate to exit at no cost. For all nonticketed events, Monday-Friday, parking in the garage is $5.20 and may be paid using a Metro SmarTrip card or major credit card. Limited short-term parking also is available at specially marked meters along Tuckerman Lane. To access the Music Center from the Grosvenor – Strathmore Metro garage, walk across the glass-enclosed sky bridge located on the fourth level. Valet Parking is $15 per vehicle for all public Concert Hall performances. Valet drop-off and pickup is located at the Circle Plaza entry to the Music Center at Strathmore at 5301 Tuckerman Lane.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONStrathmore is located immediately adjacent to the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station on the Red Line and is served by several Metro and Ride-On bus routes. See www.strathmore.org for detailed directions.

DROP-OFFThere is a patron drop-off circle off Tuckerman Lane that brings patrons to the Discovery Channel Grand Foyer via elevator. No parking is allowed in the circle, cars must be moved to the Metro garage after dropping off patrons. Both main entrances have power-assisted doors.

GIFT CERTIFICATESGift certificates may be purchased at the Ticket Office.


COAT CHECKLocated in the Promenade across from the Ticket Office. As weather requires, the coat check will be available as a complimentary service to our patrons. If you would like to keep your coat or other belongings with you, please place them under your seat. Coats may not be placed over seats or railings.

ALLEGRO KITCHENThe Café in the Promenade of the Music Center at Strathmore, operated by Ridgewells Catering, features a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches, entrees, beverages and desserts. It is open for lunch and dinner and seats up to 134 patrons.

FOOD & BEVERAGEThe intermission bars offer beverages and snacks on all levels before the show and during intermission. There are permanent bars on the Orchestra, Promenade and Grand Tier levels.

LOST AND FOUNDDuring a show, please see an usher. All other times, please call (301) 581-5112.

LOUNGES AND RESTROOMSLocated on all seating levels, except in the Upper Tier.

PUBLIC TELEPHONESCourtesy telephones for local calls are located around the corner from the Ticket Office, off the Circle Plaza entry, and at the Promenade Right Boxes.

ACCESSIBLE SEATINGAccessible seating is available on all levels. Elevators, ramps, specially designed and designated seating, designated parking and many other features make the Music Center at Strathmore accessible to patrons with disabilities. For further information or for special seating requests in the Concert Hall, please call the Ticket Office at (301) 581-5112.

ASSISTIVE LISTENINGThe Music Center at Strathmore is equipped with a Radio Frequency Assistive Listening System for patrons who are hard of hearing. Patrons can pick up assistive listening devices at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis prior to the performance at the coatroom when open, or at the ticket taking location as you enter the Concert Hall with a driver’s license or other acceptable photo ID. For other accessibility requests, please call (301) 581-5100.

ELEVATOR SERVICEThere is elevator service for all levels of the Music Center at Strathmore.

EMERGENCY CALLSIf there is an urgent need to contact a patron attending a Music Center concert, please call (301) 581-5112 and give the patron’s name and exact seating location, and telephone number for a return call. The patron will be contacted by the ushering staff and the message relayed left with Head Usher.

LATECOMER POLICYLatecomers will be seated at the first appropriate break in the performance as not to disturb the performers or audience members. The decision as to when patrons will be seated is set by the presenting organization for that night.

FIRE NOTICEThe exit sign nearest to your seat is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please WALK to that exit. Do not run. In the case of fire, use the stairs, not the elevators.


WARNINGSThe use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited by law. Violators are subject to removal from the Music Center without a refund, and must surrender the recording media. Smoking is prohibited in the building.

Please set to silent, or turn off your cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and beeping watches prior to the beginning of the performance.

the national philharmonic - onstage …...welcome to the national philharmonic’s 2019-2020 season...

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