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Message from the President
The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra’s 27th season offers all of us much to look forward to, including three Main Stage performances, two Holiday Family Pops! concerts and the return of the Family Matinees chamber music series.
As part of the PSO’s mission to entertain, educate, and encourage the audiences of today and tomorrow, this year we’re also expanding our focus on educational programming. In addition to our small ensemble school visits, we’re pleased to be offering our Explore + Learn concert for students in May 2025 as part of The Music Hall’s School Day Series.
As the only symphonic music program of its kind within an hour of Portsmouth, Explore + Learn offers the musicians and audiences of the future an opportunity to discover a love and appreciation for classical music and the wide array of instruments that work together to create it.
Each season, the PSO relies on the collective financial support of our generous corporate sponsors, committed individual donors, community partners, and of course you, the audiences who purchase tickets and attend our performances. Thank you!
As a non-profit, the PSO is governed by a dedicated board of directors, many of whom are also musicians who perform alongside their talented colleagues under the inspirational baton of Music Director, John Page. If you share our love of classical music and want to lend your time and talents to the PSO as we navigate towards a bright future, I encourage you to consider joining our board of directors. You can always learn more from me or another of our board members, a list of which you can find at the end of this program.
If this is your first PSO concert, welcome! If you are an annual subscriber, thank you for your continued support. We’re pleased to welcome you back.
On behalf of everyone at the PSO, thank you for being part of our community of classical music lovers and for your ongoing support.
David Young
President of the Board of Directors
Message from the Music Director
The 2024-2025 Main Stage season is one of musical contrasts and partnerships.
We’ll open our 27th season in October with two musical portraits that reflect the stark contrasts of human experience: Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93 and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait.
In March, we’ll perform two works by Brahms and Dvořák, professional contemporaries and friends who regularly invited one another’s reflections of their work. As part of this concert, we’re honored to welcome Boston Symphony Orchestra cellist Roric Cunningham as the featured soloist for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, the first movement of which Cunningham first performed on The Music Hall stage as the 2017 winner of the PSO Young Artist Competition.
The season will close with two pieces that borrow from and amplify the natural world, Respighi’s neo-baroque piece The Birds and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. This concert will also feature a performance by the 2025 Young Artist Competition winner.
We’ll be returning to both Portsmouth High School and to York Community Auditorium in December to perform our Family Holiday Pops! concerts. This year we’ll be shaking up the focus of our blend of seasonal music, but you can trust it will continue to delight audiences of all ages and put your whole family in the holiday spirit!
Knowing that chamber music is a wonderful way for people of all ages to experience the delights, joys and range of emotions that classical music can evoke, we’ll also be continuing our Family Matinees series. Part entertainment, part relationship-building events, these concerts help to break down the invisible barrier between audience and musicians. They also provide an opportunity for younger members of the audience to ask questions about how an instrument works, about what sort of career the musicians have, and even share that the concerts have inspired them to pick up an instrument or attend future concerts.
And of course, we’ll be connecting with students across the Seacoast with our Explore + Learn concert in partnership with The Music Hall in and through our school outreach concerts and workshops.
We have a wonderful season ahead and I look forward to sharing more music together.
I’ll see you in the concert hall,
John Page
Music Director
Program Listing
Tuesday, December 17 at York Community Auditorium
| Christmas Festival Overture | Leroy Anderson |
Selections from the Nutracker March | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Hanukkah Festival Overture | Lucas Richman |
—Intermission— | |
| York High School Chamber Singers Rob Westerberg, Director | |
| Lully, Lulla, Lullay | Philip Stopford |
| Community Chorus at South Berwick Amy Kotsonis, Director Gail Adams, Piano | |
| Boruch Atoh | Solomon Golub, arr. Joshua Jacobson |
| Go Where I Send Thee | arr. André J. Thomas |
| The Very Best Time of the Year | John Rutter |
| Sing We Now of Christmas | arr. Barton Bradford |
| A Holly and Jolly Sing-Along! | James M. Stephenson |
| Sleigh Ride | Leroy Anderson |
Program Listing
Wednesday, December 18 at Portsmouth High School
| Christmas Festival Overture | Leroy Anderson |
Selections from the Nutracker March | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Hanukkah Festival Overture | Lucas Richman |
—Intermission— | |
| Suite from Polar Express | Ballard/Silvestri arr. Brubaker |
| Unter Donner und Blitz | Johann Strauss |
| Twas the Night Before Christmas with Monte Bohanan | Bill Holcombe |
| A Holly and Jolly Sing-Along! | James M. Stephenson |
| Sleigh Ride | Leroy Anderson |
Musicians
Violin I
- Zoia Bologovsky
Concertmaster - Nicole Wendl
Assoc. Concertmaster - Aniko Geladze
- Louise Kandle
- Tim Arnold
- Olga Kradenova
- Rachel Swanson
- Lorna Ellis
- Paul Pinard
- Megan Fedor
- Susan Holcomb
- Jill Good
Violin II
- Ashley Offret*
- Susan Streiff**
- Todd Hamelin
- Abigail Sykes
- Ashley Freeman
- Onur Dilison
- Jeffrey Sullivan
- Kristin Sullivan
- Caroline Drozdiak
- Evelyn Laux
- Diana Bourns
Viola
- Theresa Jaques*
- Karen McConomy**
- Jan Heirtzler
- Ken Allen
- Wendy Keyes
- Mary Barba
- Maggie Chutter
- Thalia Dain
- Jonathan Byrne
- Craig Peverly
Cello
- Gary Hodges*
- John Acosta**
- Zachary Larson
- Minyung Suh
- Fay Rubin
- Lauren Wool
- Kari Jukka-Pekka Vainio
- Kurt Villiard
- Molly Hutchinson
- Priscilla Chew
Double Bass
- Robert Hoffman*
- Joe Annicchiarico
- Nate Therrien
- David Hirsch
- Jason Noah Summerfield
Flute
- Aubrie Dionne*
- Erin Dubois
- Kylie Elliott
Piccolo
- Erin Dubois
Oboe
- Sarah Krebs*
- Amanda Doiron
Clarinet
- John Ferraro*
- Santiago Baena Flórez
- David Young
Bass Clarinet
- Santiago Baena Flórez
Bassoon
- Melissa Grady*
- Nicholas Pitcher
- Rick Shepard
Horn
- Orlando Pandolfi*
- Susan Williams*
- Dirk M. Hillyer
- Hannah Messenger
Trumpet
- Adam Gallant*
- Mark Zielinski
- David Shepherd
- Chloe Francis
Trombone
- Brandon Newbould*
- Ben Sink
- Phil Hyman
Tuba
- Crystal Metric*
Timpani
- Timur Rubinshteyn*
Percussion
- Spencer Wiles*
- Alyssa Ostrowski
- Halle Hayoung Song
- Colin Ward
Harp
- Sorana Scarlat
Keyboard
- Seth Hurd
Perform with the PSO
The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra seeks classical musicians in the community to audition for a place in the orchestra.
We invite all musicians, from professionals and educators to devoted amateurs and highly accomplished students to audition for a place in the orchestra.
York High School Chamber Singers
The York High School Chamber Singers have performed as invited guests throughout Maine, including for the Maine Principals Association and the Maine Music Educators state Conference. Rob Westerberg is in his 38th year teaching music, the last 25 at York High School. He is past President of several state Music Associations, has guest conducted nearly 70 Honors Choirs throughout New England, and was the York County Teacher of the Year in 2020.
Gabe Caraballo
Fabiola Crespo Cortes
Layla Dean
Emerson Diehl
Audrey Drennan
Callan Eves
Trey Fogg
Grady Geller
Audrey Johnston
Emma Liria-Gsottschneider
Kiara Melo
Brie Moulton
Kai Nelsen
Charlie Nichols
James Nichols
Gwen Parisi
Lucy Patterson
TJ Reagan
Ben Ring
CJ Rubin
Annie Sama
Clover Schramm-Downs
Carter Short
Tessa Spaulding
James Stack
Olivia Sutton
Beckett Treadwell
Darla Waters
Blake Wilson
Jacob Woodman
Community Chorus at South Berwick
CCSB was founded in 1975, when Dianne Colby Dean organized South Berwick’s church choirs to perform joint Christmas and Bicentennial Strawberry Festival concerts and then continued with musical excellence for 25 years. In 2000, Dr. Harry Moon began his remarkable 16-year tenure as conductor and music director. Harry led the chorus through tremendous growth musically, as well as expansion of the chorus’ program. In 2016, CCSB’s baton was passed to Dr. Nicolás Dosman, who led the group for seven years, while he was Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Southern Maine. He brought the chorus to new heights with his innovative and extraordinary approach to making music, teaching, and the repertoire
Dr. Amy Kotsonis took over as music director of CCSB in Spring 2024. Dr. Kotsonis is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of New Hampshire, where she conducts Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, and teaches choral methods. Dr. Kotsonis holds degrees from New York University, the University of New Hampshire, and Florida State University.
Today CCSB offers talented singers from throughout Seacoast Maine and New Hampshire the opportunity to perform challenging repertoire ranging from Renaissance to twenty-first-century music. The sense of community among CCSB’s singers is strong and vibrant.
Currently, the chorus has singers from Maine: Berwick, Cape Elizabeth, Cape Neddick, Eliot, Kittery, Kittery Point, Lebanon, North Berwick, Ogunquit, Parsonsfield, South Berwick, Saco, and Wells; and from New Hampshire: Barrington, Dover, Durham, Madbury, Milton Mills, Newmarket, Rochester, Rollinsford, Sanbornville, and Somersworth.
Rehearsals for the season typically begin in September and January. Starting September 2024, we will rehearse at Marshwood Middle School, 626 Dow Highway, Eliot, ME 03903.
-
Soprano I
-
Pat Christian*
-
Anita Haberzettl*
- Rebecca Kibler*
- Anne Michael Greene*
- Jenny O’Dell
- Michelle Poppleton-Chumsae*
- Laurie Smith
-
Soprano II
- Susan P. Adams
- Kristen Corapi
- Nancy Garnhart*
- Marsha Gibson*
- Janet Hugi
- Gail Kelley
- Léni Kraai*
- Phyllis Kraunz
- Kaylee Masury
- Morgan McCurdy*
- Susan Quigley
- Gabriela Saldana Parkes
-
Alto I
- Susan Beattie
- Becky Brand
- Susan Downey
- Marge Guerette
- Betsy Humphreys
- Martha Leathe*
- Ginny Lyness
- Madeline Martin
- Laurienne Missud Martin
- Barbara Westneat Morris
- Deborah Norton
- Brittany Reed-Martin*
- Patricia Scheller
- Rachel Schmardel*
- Amey Wieting
-
Alto II
- Sonjya Ahlberg*
- Helen Brock*
- Jen Buckley
- Denise L. Carver
- Donna L. Downes
- Suzanne Fong
- Bernie Harper
- Nancy C. Hubbard
- Gayle Hylen
- Emily Keaney*
- Judith Keaney*
- Lindsey Lum*
- Karen McCarthy Eger
- Marilyn Stanley
-
Tenor I
- Willie Brown*
- Matthew Di Nola
- Barbara Marmen
- Michael Scarpone*
-
Bass I
- Clay Curtis
- Doug Houck
- Hugo Mendez-Morcate
- Justin Ouellette
- Christopher Straub*
- Nathan Winsor
-
Bass II
- William Wieting*
- Grant Kingsley*
- Thomas Quigley
- Joe Stieglitz*
- Jeffrey Michael Velez*
Up Next
Donors
- Martha Fuller Clark
- Josephine Lamprey
(posthumously) - Dr. Clinton F. Miller
- Donna Saunders & Michael Chubrich
- Jameson and Priscilla French
- Bangor Savings Bank Foundation
- Fay Rubin
- Fuller Foundation
- Jeffrey & Penelope Gilbert
- Jessica McKeon
- David & Sarah Young
- The Allayne & Douglas Wick Foundation
- Lawrence & Linda Connell
- Katherine Wells Wheeler
- Mrs. Roger M. Doering
- Rosamond Thaxter Foundation
- Craig & Shirley Peverly
- Diana Bourns
- Judith Blake
- Kate & David Murray
- Lodowick Crofoot
- Lorraine T. Keazer
- M. Christine Dwyer & Michael Huxtable
- Michael Schwartz
& Sharyn Potter - Paul Lanzoni
- Robert & Cyndi Bear
- QHT Inc.
- A Caring Community
- Albert Lantinen
- Barbara & Robert Schultz
- Barbara Sweet
- Bruce Briggs & Katherine Kramer-Briggs
- Elizabeth Connell Nielsen
- Ellen G Saas
- Karen Furtado
- Lucinda Spaney
- Lawrence & Linda Ardito
- Lorraine Raleigh
- Margot Doering
- Mulhern & Scott, PLLC
- Sherrill Nixon
- Steve Cirillo
- Thomas Harford
- Anonymous
- Andrea Sullivan
- Bruce Valley
- Catherine Anderson
- Charles Doleac
- David & Marion Ellis
- Edward & Janet Caylor
- Elaine & Steven Molleur
- Elissa Margolin
- Fred & Barbara Engelbach
- Gary Hodges
- Jan & David Heirtzler
- John & Eimer Page
- John & Maureen Convery
- Judith Howard & David Meikle
- Kathleen Tutone
- Leslie K Mast
- Lynn DiElsi
- Michael Thiel
- Rachel & Nate Swanson
- Richard Mechaber
- Sally Crawford & Peter Wells
- Stephen Chinosi
- Wayne Shirley
- Anonymous
- Alan H Bennett MD
- Alex Lanzoni
- Ann H Tarlton
- Anthony Codding
- Aubrie Dionne
- Bessie Palmisciano
- Black Birch
- Brian Fitzgerald
- Brian Gibb
- Caroline & Nathanael Piper
- Carolyn Vinica
- Cliff Mommsen
- Cynthia & Michael Harvell
- Cynthia Ryherd
- David A. Taylor
- Dean & Sandra Quinlan
- Dianna Ferreira
- Don & Mary Jo Briselden
- Elaine X Fuller
- Elizabeth Gilbert
- Eric James Salas
- Erin Dubois
- Evelyn Laux
- Frances Bechtold
- Frank Manter
- Fred Siegfried
- Gail Drobnyk
- Geraldine Gerbereux
- Glenda & Ed Fischer
- Ivor Freeman
- James Rosenfield
- Jane Page
- Janet Bilodeau
- Jo Ann B. Price
- Jo Ellen Thomas
- John & Susan Herney
- Joseph Kenick, Jr
- Judith N Moyer
- Kathleen D Rockwood
- Kathryn Ellis
- Kathy Rockwood
- Keith Lauder
- Kenneth Fuld
- Kristin Sullivan
- La Belle Chocolat
- Linda Cunningham
- Lindsey Humes
- Lynn & John Pincomb
- Mara Witzling & Peter Cass
- Martha E Stone
- Martha Thyng
- Marvin Fry
- Mary Lou McElwain
- Matthew Dowd
- Melissa Ambrose
- Melissa Grady
- Mr & Mrs Richard F Topping
- Mrs. Louise Hirshberg
- Nancy Zadravec
- Paul & Linda Hamlen
- Peter Bowman
- Philip R Hepburn
- Pizza Hounds
- Prince/Bergh Family Fund
- Rick Stanton
- Robert Westerberg
- Roy William Helsel
- Seth A Hurd
- Susan Brett
- Susan Moniz
- Susanne Veal
- Terrie Harman
- The McElroy Family Foundation*
- Virginia Schneider
Board of Directors
- David Young, President
- Fay Rubin, Vice President
- Jeffrey Gilbert, Treasurer
- Jan Heirtzler, Secretary
- Lawrence Connell
- Melissa Grady
- Jan Heirtzler
- Paul Lanzoni
- James Mulhern
- Eric Salas
- Donna Saunders
- Rachel Swanson
Staff & Volunteers
- Caroline Amport Piper, Director of Communications
- Aubrie Dionne, Director of Outreach
- Erin Dubois, Operations Manager
- Jan Heirtzler, Librarian
- Adam Gallant, Musician Coordinator
- Rachel Swanson, Chair of Marketing Committee
- Paul Lanzoni, Chair of Development Committee
- Evelyn Laux, poster distribution
- Ushers and Box Office Volunteers
- Doug Knight
- Jill Brandt
- Sue Nelson
- Paul Kayne
- Chris Kayne
- Monique Shevlin
- Joan Cotter
- Karrie Bomar
