FROM THE BOARD ROOM

As we start the HHSO’s 2022-2023 season, I thought I might take a few minutes of your time and tell you the changes we have instituted as we start this year. First, regretfully we have had four of our outstanding directors retire from the board as their terms have ended: Ralph Drayer, one of our energetic and productive Vice-Chairs; Sandy Benson, a true stalwart; Mona Huff, who led the HHIPC to new heights of recognition and success; and Candi Hough, who admirably served as President of the League. Second, we have had the benefit of electing/appointing seven new members to the board for this forthcoming year. They are:  Don Flora, Carol Gyllenhoff, Carol Hack, Bret Jacobowitz, Jim Neumeister, Charles Sampson, Steve Shaiman and Barbara Harris Sorkin. The board membership now stands at 22, which is considerably higher than each of the last two years. We are delighted to welcome this group of energetic individuals who will help the HHSO grow to new levels of enjoyment and success for us all.

You might all wonder just what the directors do with their time and energy while serving on your behalf.  Let’s start with TIME: each of our directors serves on one or more committees (of which there are eleven) and provides many hours each month to the efforts to increase your enjoyment of and participation in the Symphony’s events.  For example, over the course of the summer months, our Resource Development Committee members spent hours encouraging the HHI and Bluffton business communities to support the HHSO with financial contributions which allow the Symphony’s budgeted needs to succeed. Another example is the League of the HHSO, where the members meet regularly with the focus of trying to meet or beat their contribution to the Symphony from the prior year—you may know that this summer has been spent setting up and promoting the next golf outing for the HHSO, which will be held on October 31 at the Wexford Golf Club—hopefully this will generate a large monetary contribution to your and my Symphony Orchestra.

The next skill set they provide is TALENT. Directors provide personal knowledge, energy, skills, experience, and community involvement to help their committees—and in turn, the Board of Directors—succeed in supporting the Symphony as a whole.

Lastly, we come to TREASURE. Seems easy to just write a check or provide other contributions for auctions or raffles, right? No way! Your board members and their families are asked to make a leadership level of personal monetary donations to the HHSO, so that each continuing year the organization can achieve levels of activity which are larger, more diverse and welcomed within our communities.

So why do the individual members of the Board—and the League—do this? The main reason is that they love music, but classical music is not all the Symphony stands for. Have you enjoyed the free summer concerts of differing music offerings at Lowcountry Celebration Park across from Coligny this summer?  And don’t forget our Symphony Under the Stars held each year in both Hilton Head and Bluffton. Some of you also attended the youth outreach special inaugural event in the Spring when Beaufort County school districts bussed in almost 800 elementary students to the First Presbyterian Church to participate and experience their first performance with the HHSO. All this takes time, planning and money for equipment and musicians.

Don’t get me wrong, we, your directors, enjoy what we do and with the League, want the Symphony to rise and prosper with our help.

We are very grateful for your participation and on-going financial contributions, and we will look forward to enjoying your company at our upcoming events.

Hopefully, you will too.  See you at our next event!

—Mike Harter, Chair

From the Corner Office

The HHSO is a treasured and unique component of the vibrant local arts and culture scene, to be shared with everyone in our community.

We are still a long way away from knowing the full impact that the pandemic will have had on our industry—orchestras and, more broadly, classical music—and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, in particular. We know that a national survey of orchestras recently released by WolfBrown noted that fully 26% of orchestra patrons are still hesitant to return to the concert hall. Our statistics from the just-completed 2021-2022 season show that attendance was at approximately 72% of pre-COVID levels. We are buoyed by subscription sales to date for 2022-2023, which have already exceeded last season’s levels, with nearly two months until opening weekend. Single tickets are just about to go on sale for the season, so it is too early to know how that important revenue source will fare.

We are assuming that all of our patrons will not want to return to First Presbyterian Church just yet. Some attrition is expected each year; however, if we follow the national trend and lose more than normal, it is important that we act now. So, the HHSO is undertaking a concerted effort to reach out to new residents “South of the Broad” this month. A season brochure that includes introductory information about the Orchestra is being mailed to our current mailing list along with approximately 1,200 new residents. In the coming days, you should receive a copy of this attractive and comprehensive piece. Feel free to hold onto it for handy reference for all upcoming HHSO events OR you could choose to pass it along to a neighbor, fellow church or club member, or a perfect stranger. We would be most grateful for this small ambassador effort on your part and, if you are so inclined, you could contact our office and we could send you more copies to distribute.

Calling All Volunteers

The pandemic has also been a major disruption to volunteer service. As Mike Harter notes in his Chair message, the HHSO Board has increased its membership this past year, which is great news. We have, however, experienced a decrease in the number of people willing to serve in direct service volunteer roles, namely, ushers. We have also lost a significant number of friends who are willing to open up their homes to host out of town HHSO musicians and HHIPC competitors. Membership in our wonderful HHSO League shrank during the height of the pandemic and, while there is a rebound in membership for the coming season, the numbers remain below previous peaks.

As with the attendance challenge noted above, the HHSO sees opportunities to “make lemonade” here. A communication last spring with our friends at Campbell Chapel/A.M.E. Church in Bluffton (with whom we look to find increasing partnerships in the future) resulted in seven members of their congregation expressing interest in joining our usher crew at FPC (and elsewhere). It is time to expand our appeal for new help. What follows is a list of opportunities for HHSO friends, old and new, to help our organization.

• Ushers
  We are looking for people interested in taking tickets, passing out programs, and seating patrons for both our Sunday and Monday performances at First Presbyterian Church. We also need ushers for our SoundWaves presentations.

• HHSO Musician Hosts
  The HHSO is obligated to provide housing for many of our out-of-town orchestra members. Over time, the tradition of accommodating musicians in private homes has both increased the appeal of playing with the HHSO for many musicians and created a close bond between musicians and their hosts. Hosts only need to provide a bedroom and bathroom for musicians, but many choose to go far beyond, sharing meals and a post-concert adult beverage. Dates for the entire concert season are already set, and hosts will be able to choose the date(s) which fit their schedule.

• HHSO Musician Host Coordinator
  When the hosting program was launched many years ago, a volunteer coordinated the housing and communications between musicians and hosts. This coordinator would work with HHSO COO Mario Incorvaia on this.

• HHIPC Competitors Hosts
  Our dedicated HHIPC Committee oversees many areas, including finding private homes for our 20 competitors and chaperones. Along with a bed, bathroom, and some meals, hosts provide a grand piano for the competitor to practice on (and enjoy hours of free live music in the home!) and ground transportation to competition sites. Again, long-term bonds tend to form between hosts and competitors.

• HHSO Office Volunteers
  There are many times that more hands would make the load lighter. Duties could include:

• helping our Librarian Angie Loizides with a massive refiling effort, transcribing bowings, and other tasks;
• assisting staff with a major mailing;
• database entry, maintenance, updating; or
• other “one-off” projects.

• HHSO League
  Our League’s efforts result in providing needed financial resources to the Orchestra annually. They do this through a number of events and programs, all of which need many hands. Membership is inexpensive ($40 for an individual and $75 for a couple) and provides access to the popular Musicales and other special events produced by the League. Many League members also contribute by volunteering for major efforts including the Golf Tournament and Concours d’Elegance car show.

Do you have a few extra hours to spare, to help Hilton Head Island’s premiere live music organization? If you are interested, call us at (843) 842-2055 or e-mail us at info@hhso.org.

—Alan Jordan, President and CEO

Speaking of the League, everyone should know how fortunate the HHSO is to have such a dynamic, positive, and valuable volunteer association.  Many orchestras have seen their groups shrink, wither, or completely evaporate over the past 20 years. Here at the HHSO, we have nearly 200 households of individuals and couples, totaling close to 300-strong, who support the HHSO through their League membership and contributions. Our League is a long-standing member of the Southeastern Orchestra Volunteer Association (SOVA) and proud to host this year’s gathering, called the SOVA Roundtable October 12-14, 2022, at SoundWaves and the Courtyard Hilton Head South. Volunteer and professional leaders from 10 orchestras will gather to discuss best practices and future directions for orchestra volunteers. Simon Woods, President and CEO of our national service organization, the League of American Orchestras, will offer a keynote address. Special thanks to Mary Princing and her SOVA Roundtable Committee for overseeing this important and impressive gathering.  If you would like to register, please do so by September 26^th at www.sovaonline.org/2022-roundtable-in-hilton-head.

WELCOME, STEVE SHAIMAN!

We are delighted to announce Steve Shaiman as the Director, Hilton Head International Piano Competition and Education and Community Engagement (EdCE). In this new full-time capacity, Steve will oversee all aspects of the piano competition as well as HHSO efforts in and with our Beaufort County schools and the larger community “South of the Broad.”

Steve comes to Hilton Head Island from another island (Long Island) where his wife Laura and he have built a life together for more than 25 years. The Shaimans will be transitioning to South Carolina this fall and winter. I have known Steve for most of my professional life, first at IMG Artists where he served in a variety of capacities managing such luminaries as Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, James Galway, André Watts, John Eliot Gardiner, The King’s Singers, and Canadian Brass. (No name dropping there!) For sixteen years, he was Senior Vice President/Director, Artist Management at Concert Artists Guild, a renowned community service organization dedicated to discovering young classical musicians and launching their careers. The latter experience made him the ideal candidate to fill the HHIPC position as we look to expand our mentoring of competition winners into successful professional careers. As a Trustee for the New York Youth Symphony for nearly thirty years, Steve has shown his passion for developing future musicians and audiences for orchestras. With Laura joining him as a newly-retired orchestra and string teacher, our Music Bridges in-school and after-school programs are in great hands.

I asked Steve to share some thoughts about his new life here:

AJ: What are you most looking forward to here on Hilton Head Island and at the HHSO/HHIPC?

SS: It’s difficult to pick any one thing that I am most excited about, but I am very much looking forward to getting to know the wonderful people who have been so supportive of the HHIPC and the HHSO over the years.  As I learned about the organization, it quickly became clear that there is an amazing community of people here in the Lowcountry who are passionate about our mission, and who believe in the importance of music and the arts in our lives.  This starts, of course, with Alan and the impressive folks on his administrative team at SoundWaves, and I feel lucky to be part of that team!  In addition, I have already enjoyed meeting numerous board members, volunteers, and sponsors, and I am eager to meet all of you very soon (although I know that will take some time, because there are so many of you)!  Indeed, this remarkable spirit of volunteerism that so many people told me about is one of the big things that helped convince me to come to Hilton Head.

AJ: How has the transition been going with our dear Mona Huff?

SS: I can’t say enough about how warm and welcoming Mona has been to my wife and me during this transition!  For anyone who knows Mona, I am sure this comes as no surprise, and as I’ve quickly gotten acquainted with her, it’s clear to me that, even in her retirement, Mona will enthusiastically continue to support the HHIPC and do whatever she can to help me to ensure our success.  I still feel like I have a huge amount to learn, but I am so relieved to know that Mona is here as an incredibly valuable resource—to me and to the HHIPC.  Thank you, Mona!

AJ: I know it’s early, but what are you envisioning, short-term and long-term, with the evolution of both the HHIPC and the HHSO’s EdCE programs?

SS:  For the HHIPC, I don’t anticipate any major changes anytime soon; just to give myself a chance to navigate through the 2023 competition and learn firsthand how it all works (with the essential assistance of all our terrific volunteers!).  Looking ahead, I am particularly excited about the next BravoPiano! Festival, which we are only just starting to plan now for spring 2024, but which I’m sure will be another great celebration of the artists whose lives and careers have been touched by their experience in Hilton Head.  In terms of the HHSO EdCE programs, I have always been an enthusiastic advocate for music education and the life-changing impact that live music can have on students of all ages, so I am hopeful that we can ramp up our efforts to bring our musicians (including our visiting guest artists) into the local schools and community centers.  Plus, those interactions will also help increase awareness of both the HHSO and the HHIPC in the community, which I hope will positively increase the number of supporters we have going forward.  And that is certainly a ‘win-win’ for us all!

—Alan Jordan

From The Podium

In these waning days of summer, as temperatures begin to moderate, planning for autumn concerts shifts into high gear. Opening weekend for the HHSO begins in a few short weeks and is packed with the kind of diverse musical experiences that define our orchestra. On Thursday and Friday evenings, the HHSO performs al fresco in a celebration of American musical style in Bluffton at Martin Park on October 20^th, and at Coligny’s Lowcountry Celebration Park on the 21^st. Come early to get a great spot; bring a comfy lawn chair, and your favorite beverages and nibbles. We’ll be performing Broadway favorites, including selections from Music Man, Jekyll and Hyde, Les Mis, and Man of La Mancha. Broadway veteran, Jonathan Christopher, in the midst of his national tour with Hamilton, joins us for his HHSO debut. The concert also features musical Americana, from The Charleston to our traditional Armed Forces Salute, as well as Hollywood classics from John Williams and everyone’s favorite Sound of Music sing-along. Par usual, we finish the concert with the stirring America the Beautiful, in the soulful style of Ray Charles, and Stars and Stripes Forever. It’s always a thrilling concert, as much for our music fans in the Lowcountry as it is for all of us on stage—reconnecting with everyone as we start the new season. Best of all, it’s FREE—it’s a great opportunity to bring friends and family, who might be unfamiliar with our orchestra, to check out what an awesome “band” we have!

Sunday and Monday of that same weekend (October 23, 24), we are back in the First Presbyterian Church for the opening of our subscription series, with a concert that features brilliant works that will undoubtedly be new to just about everyone, and also one of the most celebrated works in the repertoire: Dvořák’s 8^th Symphony. We’ve been itching to feature our concertmaster, Micha Gangwer, as soloist with the HHSO, but as you all know, planning has been kind of difficult for the last couple years. Micah and I both are excited about the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Violin Concerto in G minor, which was commissioned and premiered by Maud Powell, America’s first great violin virtuosa. Her life story is EXTRAORDINARY—worth a deep dive on the internet. She premiered some of the biggest concertos in the USA (including Tchaikovsky and Sibelius), and was a pioneer in the burgeoning recording industry. Coleridge-Taylor’s story is equally fascinating, and like Powell, his prematurely early death snuffed out an extraordinary musical light. He did leave us with many great works though, and his tours to the USA always included visits to HBCUs where he inspired a generation of black musicians and composers. We open the concert with an overture by Michael Abels—one of Hollywood’s fastest rising composers. He is film director Jordan Peele’s go-to guy, so if you’ve seen Get Out, Us, or the recent summer hit, Nope, you’ve already heard his work.

In November we continue to celebrate American music with a musical tribute to Benny Goodman, featuring the brilliant and eclectic clarinet virtuoso, Oran Etkin. Goodman is best known as the “King of Swing” but he also commissioned a dozen or so pieces by a who’s-who of mid-century classical composers, including a clarinet concerto by Aaron Copland. The program also includes “Sing On” a work created by Oran, and inspired by some of Goodman’s most famous jazz licks. His mélange of classical and jazz, like Copland, and Gershwin, and Joplin, and William Grant Still, is a hallmark of American music-making. Speaking of Still, we’ll be performing his most famous work, the Symphony No.1, on the second half of the concert. Still was also a clarinetist—he played in the pit orchestra of the original production of “Shuffle Along” in 1921, which Langston Hughes called the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. The sophistication, joy, anguish, and artistry of the Harlem Renaissance resonates throughout the work with jazz and blues styles woven throughout. It is as quintessentially American as apple pie and we’re all thrilled to be sharing it with all our Lowcountry music lovers.

I can’t wait to see everyone soon and get back to live music making around the island and throughout the region. Tell a friend, and share our unique and special orchestra with those you know and love. It is a thrilling time to come together and experience great music together.

Cheers.

—John Morris Russell, Music Director

From the Other End of the Hallway

I would like to start by sincerely thanking everyone for the wonderfully warm welcome I have received as I begin my tenure here in Hilton Head!  The HHIPC has flourished under Mona Huff’s amazing leadership for the last dozen years, and I am honored to be selected as her successor in this important role.  I am also incredibly excited to join Alan and the HHSO team as we begin this exhilarating new season!

Before we look ahead to what’s coming up in the fall, I think it’s worth reviewing some of the highlights of the spring and summer for our impressive 2022 HHIPC First Prize winner, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko!

I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for the HHIPC finals at First Presbyterian Church back in March, and to help revel in Jaeden’s victory that evening.  But little did we know that Jaeden’s success in Hilton Head was only the beginning of an extraordinary run of four consecutive First Prize competition wins in six months!

Within just weeks of his Lowcountry triumph, Jaeden was selected for First Prize at the 67th Maria Canals Competition, in Barcelona, Spain, and then in May, Jaeden enjoyed the ‘home turf’ of his native British Columbia, where he earned First Prize at The Shean Piano Competition in Edmonton, Alberta (which also includes a concerto engagement with the Edmonton Symphony!).

In early August, Jaeden completed the ‘Superfecta’ when he returned to Spain for the 20th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, where he was awarded the Gold Medal, along with a special prize for Best Chamber Music Performance and the Canon Audience Award! He also won numerous performance prizes, including recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall and Paris’ Salle Cortot, along with a CD recording for Naxos (which supplements the recording he will soon make for the Steinway label as part of the HHIPC prize package!).

All that great news allows us to shine the light ahead to October, which is indeed a very big month for Jaeden! On Oct. 9, he will make his Wigmore Hall debut as part of a gala celebration of the Santander Competition.  Jaeden’s ‘opening act’ will be internationally renowned Irish pianist Barry Douglas, and then Jaeden will play his own 50-minute recital program, along with a repeat collaboration with Cuarteto Casals (performing the same Brahms Piano Quintet, Op. 34, which earned him the Santander Chamber Music award).

From London, he flies to New York for the HHIPC’s presentation of his Carnegie Hall recital at Weill Recital Hall, which is Friday, Oct. 14 at 7:30pm.  I know that quite a few folks from our HHIPC/HHSO family already have plans to join us in NYC for this special event, but everyone is welcome and tickets are on sale now, so please contact me if you would like more details (including the special rates we’ve arranged at the Park Central Hotel around the corner from Carnegie Hall).  It will be a very exciting evening, so we hope you will consider attending!

In terms of what else we have cooking…  We will soon be announcing the 2022-23 Piano Recital Series at SoundWaves.  While I can’t say too much just yet, I can tell you that the first concert should be at the very end of October, and that the artists we’re inviting have strong ties to the HHIPC and also to me, personally, so I look forward to sharing these details with you shortly!

And last, but certainly not least, we are quickly approaching the deadline for the pianists (ages 13-17) to submit their applications for the 2023 HHIPC, as we also prepare for the Competition Selection Jury to join us in November to choose the 20 young pianists who will perform for us here next spring!  (And I hope you already have March 13-18, 2023, written in your own calendars to be with us here for that invigorating week!)

—Steven Shaiman, Director, Hilton Head International Piano Competition and Education and Community Engagement

From the SoundWaves Studio

A Second Course of Coastal Home Supper Club, The Sequel

Welcome to an exciting new season at HHSO and at SoundWaves. Perhaps in light of our recently concluded Jazz In The Park Series 2022, it seems like we just finished last season. Summer went by quickly. Good thing we have so much for which to look forward.

As we enter the new season, it is with great excitement that I report details on the renewal of last year’s hit series: Coastal Home Supper Club. Yes, our good friends at Coastal Home have signed on again as title sponsors of this popular dinner-followed-by-concert cabaret series at SoundWaves. We open September 18^th with Legacy, performing a show titled Legends Live On: From the Beatles to Donna Summer. You may remember these singers from last Fall when they performed their pop-soul Motown program alongside Supper Club vocalist Gretchen Kristine Steltzer. Speaking of Gretchen, she returns October 9^th with a Cole Porter program that you will not want to miss. Look for more information in the coming days.

In the under-construction portion of this article resides a few teaser announcements:

This year, in collaboration with various artists and members of the Gullah community including the Gullah Museum and Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and facilitated by past HHSO board member Lavon Stevens, the HHSO rolls out its inaugural Gullah Cultural Series. Highlights of this series will feature performances and presentations enlightening our audiences to many fascinating historical and cultural aspects of the Gullah culture native to our Island and surrounding region. Based at SoundWaves, a four-event feature series will launch this Fall and continue into the Spring. Aspects of the feature series will be incorporated into additional presentations delivered directly to Gullah churches and community gathering spaces.

Throughout the year, also part of our full return to concert activity at SoundWaves, we will highlight homecomings, of sorts. HHIPC Director Steve Shaiman will reintroduce past competitors through the HHIPC Recital Series, many of whom he has worked with for years, in solo and chamber programs, at Soundwaves.

We also will capture the opportunity to show off the versatility of Orchestra Series guest artists while they are on Island in small ensemble and solo performances carefully crafted for SoundWaves.

Join us as an audience member or as volunteer usher. Either way, you will find the experiences at SoundWaves most rewarding.

As always, there’s lots of great music ahead, so when you are out and about town, tell your friends about our cozy home.

Stay tuned and remember: I’ll see you at SoundWaves!

—Mario Incorvaia, Chief Operating Officer

Upcoming Events 

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Friday, October 14, 2022, 7:30 pm

Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

2022 HHIPC Winner Recital

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, piano

Works by Albéniz, Beethoven, Marc-André Hamelin, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin

Purchase Tickets

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Sunday, October 23, 2022, 4:00 pm
Monday, October 24, 2022, 7:30 pm

Buy Tickets for Sunday Buy Tickets for Monday

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Saturday, October 29, 2022, 7:30 pm

SoundWaves, HHI 

HHIPC Recital Series
Steven Lin In Recital

Watch for updates at hhipc.org. To reserve tickets, call (843) 842-2055.

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Friday, November 4, 2022, 7:30 pm, SoundWaves, HHI

An Evening with the Oran Etkin Quartet

Watch for updates at hhso.org. To reserve tickets, call (843) 842-2055.

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Sunday, November 6, 2022, 4:00 pm
Monday, November 7, 2022, 7:30 pm

Buy Tickets for Sunday Buy Tickets for Monday

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Saturday, November 26, 2022, 7:00 pm

St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church Parish Life Center, Bluffton

Sunday, November 27, 2022, 4:00 pm
Monday, November 28, 2022, 7:30 pm

First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Parkway, HHI

Buy Tickets for Saturday Buy Tickets for Sunday Buy Tickets for Monday

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Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors