welcome from our music director Dear KSO Audience, Thank you so much for your devoted, enthusiastic presence at KSO concerts and events of all varieties over the course of our 83rd season! This year has included so many milestones and memories, starting all the way back in the Clarence Brown Theater for Candide, to a celebration of the great John Williams, to the bluegrass stylings of violinist Tessa Lark, to an electrifying El Amor Brujo, to a powerful, moving Beethoven’s Ninth with Tennessee School for the Deaf. And we wrap up our season with two showstoppers! To close out the News Sentinel Pops series, we welcome one of the most important and sought-after performing artists of our time: Leslie Odom, Jr., vaulted to fame and prominence following his Tony Award-winning performance Aram Demirjian as Aaron Burr in the game-changing Broadway show, Hamilton. Now a household name, Odom, Jr., has taken his talents on the road with a feel-good selection of jazz standards and Broadway hits. It’s exciting to have such a rare talent here in Knoxville as he continues on an illustrious musical journey. We wrap up the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks season with some lighter fare, as befits the freshness of the season. This program is an upbeat world tour, starting off with Michael Schachter’s 5-6-7-8, the composer’s “love letter to dance” encompassing musical styles from New Orleans jazz to South Indian classical to Jewish folk music and more. This endearing gem will be choreographed for the first time ever, and we’re delighted to feature Go! Contemporary Dance Works on our stage. We also welcome world-renowned guitar player Jason Vieaux, who will perform Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez,’ inspired by “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” in the gardens of Palacio de Aranjuez in Spain. We follow that up with a Spanish Rhapsody —but by a Frenchman, Maurice Ravel—and end with An American in Paris. Thank you for the support you show us each and every season. We have so much in store for the future, and we look forward to seeing you again in September! Sincerely, Aram Demirjian knoxville symphony orchestra 9 10 knoxville symphony orchestra musician roster Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Aram Demirjian, Music Director Natalie L. Haslam Music Director Chair James Fellenbaum, Resident Conductor and Youth Orchestra Music Director Sande MacMorran, Music Director Emeritus, Youth Orchestra Association Mark Zelmanovich, Concertmaster Emeritus VIOLIN I Bruce Wilhite TRUMPET William Shaub, D. Scot Williams Phillip Chase Hawkins, Concertmaster* Alice Stuart Principal* Clayton Family Chair Donald Grohman Brian Winegardner Gordon Tsai, Shawn White Associate Concertmaster* BASS Joseph A. Fielden Steve Benne, Principal* TROMBONE Family Chair Steve Clark* Samuel Chen, Principal* Sean K. Claire* Dan Thompson Josh Walker I-Pei Lin* Herb Hall Brad McDougall Ruth Bacon Yan Peng Rachel Loseke* § BASS TROMBONE Sarah Ringer FLUTE Brad McDougall Mary Ann Fee Fennell, Hannah Hammel, Principal* Principal Karen Keys & Keith Walburn TUBA Susan Eddlemon Bryan Chair Sande MacMorran, Principal Mary Pulgar* Jill Bartine* Jeffrey Brannen Cynthia M. D’Andrea TIMPANI Bing Kuang Fang Bob Adamcik, Principal* Daniel Zellars PICCOLO Michael Combs, Cynthia M. D’Andrea Associate Principal* VIOLIN II Edward Pulgar, Principal* OBOE PERCUSSION Gleb Mamantov Chair Claire Chenette, Principal* Bob Adamcik, Co-Principal* Ikuko Koizumi* Deniz Yayman* Clark Harrell, Co-Principal Zofia Glashauser Elizabeth Telling Andrew Adzima Audrey Pride* Jay Oberfeitinger Michael Acosta ENGLISH HORN Elizabeth Farr Elizabeth Telling HARP Julie Swenson Cindy Hicks, Principal* Peter Aguilar CLARINET Stacy Taylor Gary Sperl, Principal* KEYBOARD Mark Tucker* Emi Kagawa, Principal* VIOLA Traver Family Chair Kathryn Gawne, Principal* DIRECTOR OF Eunsoon Lee-Corliss, BASS CLARINET OPERATIONS Assistant Principal* Victor Chavez Rose Sampley Jennifer Bloch* Bill Pierce* BASSOON PERSONNEL MANAGER/ Hillary Herndon Aaron Apaza, Principal* LIBRARIAN Megan Tipton Jessica Findley Yang Mark Tucker Alicia Keener Cora Nappo Kristina Zeinstra * Member of CONTRABASSOON Knoxville Symphony CELLO Cora Nappo Chamber Orchestra Andy Bryenton, Principal* Theodore I. Kartal* FRENCH HORN § Leave of Absence Ildar Khuziakhmetov* Jeffery Whaley, Principal* Mary and Joe Sullivan Chair Sean Donovan Stacy M. Nickell* Brooke Ten Napel Kelsey Bentley knoxville symphony orchestra 11 12 knoxville symphony orchestra meet the music director ARAM DEMIRJIAN Aram Demirjian is the 8th Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and is internationally sought after for his dynamic performances, innovative programming and distinctive ability to forge connections with both audiences and performers. Under Demirjian’s galvanizing leadership, KSO audiences have continued to grow, and the orchestra has routinely found itself in the regional and national spotlight. Highlights of his two-year tenure include a landmark collaboration with Clarence Brown Theatre, presenting Bernstein’s Candide as part of the Bernstein Centenary celebration, the founding of KSO and Minnesota orchestras, the Detroit, UnStaged, a new series of multi- Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City sensory, music-centric events taking and St. Louis, plus appearances place in unconventional venues, plus at the Tanglewood Music Center two appearances on the Big Ears and Breckenridge Music Festival. Festival. In 2020, the KSO will be one Internationally, he has performed with of four North American orchestras Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, to be featured in SHIFT: A Festival of Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal American Orchestras at the Kennedy and Orquesta Sinfónico de Minería. Center, Washington, DC. Demirjian is the winner of a 2017 Solti Demirjian is deeply involved in a Foundation U.S. Career Assistance substantial breadth of education and Award and the 2011 Robert J. community outreach initiatives with the Harth Conducting Prize from the goal of ensuring that East Tennesseans of Aspen Music Festival, where he was all ages, backgrounds and circumstances a three-time Conducting Fellow in have access to great symphonic music. the Aspen Conducting Academy. He holds a joint Bachelor of Arts Beyond Knoxville, Demirjian has in Music and Government from conducted many of the most Harvard University and a Master of distinguished orchestras in the Music in Orchestral Conducting from country, including the Philadelphia New England Conservatory. knoxville symphony orchestra 13 14 knoxville symphony orchestra LESLIE ODOM, JR. SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2019 8:00 P.M. CIVIC AUDITORIUM Sponsored by Featuring Leslie Odom, Jr. Selections announced from stage. There will be one 15-minute intermission. Latecomers will be seated during the first convenient pause in the performance. The use of recording devices and/or cameras is strictly forbidden. Please remember to turn off all electronic devices and refrain from text messaging during the concert. Programs and artists subject to change. knoxville symphony orchestra 15 featured performer adaption of Leap of Faith. Off-Broadway he appeared in Venice and the original staging of Hamilton, both at the Public Theater. He also starred opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo in a 2014 City Center Encores! revival of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick ... Boom!. Odom, Jr. was most recently seen on the big screen starring alongside Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Judi Dench in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express for Twentieth Century Fox. Previous film work includes the 2012 historical drama, Red Tails, executive produced by George Lucas and co-starring Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and David Oyelowo, among others. On the small screen, Odom, Jr. starred on the cult-classic musical drama series, Smash, created by Theresa Rebeck. He had recurring roles on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and CBS’ Persons of Interest and CSI: Miami and made guest appearances on such shows as The Good Wife, Gotham, and Showtime’s House of Lies. In December 2017, Odom, Jr. returned to LESLIE ODOM, JR. the New York City stage in a solo concert at Jazz Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer, at Lincoln Center. The cabaret-style performance Leslie Odom, Jr., has taken the entertainment was crafted around signature songs and music world by storm across a variety of media— that shaped this artist's journey, all performed spanning Broadway, television, film, and music. with a world-class band in front of a live audience. The show was filmed for broadcast as an hour- A Grammy Award-winning recording artist, long PBS special as part of the 17-time Emmy Odom, Jr.’s self-titled debut album was part- Award-winning series, Live From Lincoln Center. funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign and released in 2014 by Borderlight This spring, Odom, Jr. added the title of Entertainment, Inc. In June 2016, the album “Author” to his resume with the release was re-released with additional material and of his book—FAILING UP: HOW TO charted at #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart. In TAKE RISKS, AIM HIGHER, and NEVER winter 2017, he re-released Simply Christmas STOP LEARNING. Written in the style of as a deluxe edition with new arrangements and a commencement speech, the book brings new songs. The holiday album hit #1 on iTunes together what Odom, Jr. has learned in life so and Billboard Jazz Charts. far, tapping into universal themes of starting something new, following your passions, Best known for his breakout role as ‘Aaron Burr’ discovering your own potential, and surrounding in the smash hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, yourself with the right people. FAILING UP is Odom, Jr. received a 2015 Drama Desk Award about unlocking your true potential and making nomination and won the Tony Award for “Best your dreams come true even when it seems Actor in a Musical” for his performance. He impossible. Odom, Jr. currently resides in Los also won a Grammy Award as a principal soloist Angeles with his wife, fellow actress Nicolette on the original cast recording. He made his Robinson, and newborn daughter.