We are well into our Spring season here at Hilton Head Island, and so looking forward to the remaining events. We have had a great three months in early 2022; with HHSO concerts, SoundWaves Sunday Supper Clubs totally sold-out, and surprises which have helped increase the strength of our balance sheet. We are grateful to Coastal Home for their suggestion and sponsorship of the Supper Clubs, which will continue into June. We have survived the limitations on concert attendance due to the ill winds of the pandemic, and we have begun to increase our audiences as COVID’s presence seems to wane. You all have been good-natured and forgiving of the restrictions we have had to endure between vaccination records and masks at performances, but we hope we are near to being able to close that restrictive chapter of the Symphony’s activity.

Those who have been hesitant to attend performances can now feel comfortable in returning to hear great music from a major orchestra. We need you back.

Before the new year, we were able to revel in listening to the Holiday Pops as the season of celebration began. In early February, we heard John Morris Russell’s Greatest Hits and the marvelous baritone of Michael Preacely as he sang an excerpt from Elijah. Michael also performed for the audience at the Musical Feast of the HHIPC, as we prepared for the 25th competition of the International Piano Competition. While we always look with anticipation towards the IPC activities in the Spring of each year, this season is tinged with a touch of sadness as Mona Huff will retire in June from her role as Music Director of the HHIPC after 12 years of leading this special activity to worldwide acclaim.

Have you ever heard Tessa Lark take her treasured violin from the 17th century and tune it to play as if it were a fiddle? She gave us the violin’s true symphonic sound when she performed a Dvořák concerto over a recent Symphony weekend before sitting in with the orchestra to play the Brahms Third Symphony. She stayed on with us for a couple of days to delight the audience at a spontaneous event at SoundWaves after also entertaining the participants at Memory Matters with the first performance of a “fiddle” playing true country music. Great fun!

We looked forward with great anticipation to experiencing the world premiere of a Jesse Montgomery piano concerto in March (which did not disappoint!), and now anticipate the season’s finish with a panoply of musical dance performances from regional dance studios and the HHSO Orchestra. The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra’s long-awaited collaboration with the HHSO during our Symphony Under the Stars (which became Symphony Under The Steeple, due to Mother Nature) really rocked First Presbyterian Church for our largest audiences of the season, to date.

Not only has this year’s music been wonderful, but we have also benefitted from the largesse of the League of the HHSO, which produced its first and very successful golf outing in November. From the estate of one of our patrons, we received an unexpected donation to assist the HHSO in its future endeavors. In the last few years, when finances have been stretched almost to the limit, these contributions to the Symphony’s coffers will help us continue to provide first class performances of true classical music.

Your Board of Directors has been active in all aspects of the Symphony’s year, and we have been pleased with Alan Jordan’s skills as he has led the organization through the tumult of change and into success as we left the 2020-2021 season behind. We are looking for the sun to shine as we plan for the Symphony to continue to delight us in the years ahead. As your Board chair, I wish to thank you for not only your financial contributions but also your concern and support that has helped us survive a very difficult couple of years at the HHSO.

—Mike Harter, Chair, Board of Directors

What Mike Harter said!

Seriously, I couldn’t have found better words to convey our feelings. To fill out my space, I will focus briefly on a number of items not mentioned elsewhere:

The staff is looking forward to our season-culminating events at First Presbyterian Church later this month and at SoundWaves with our unimaginably successful Supper Club in May and June. The “season turnover” will be very brief, as we will launch 2022-2023 in late June with the start of Jazz In The Park, the highly successful free six-concert series scheduled through August at Lowcountry Celebration Park at Coligny.  Watch for details soon.

Our 2022-2023 season will be announced to current Orchestra Series subscribers within weeks: watch your mailbox for your renewal packet. We anticipate a season full of thrilling concerts and being able to sunset all COVID-19 protocols, with the waning severity of the disease. The season will be announced to the public in May. As always, if you are not a current subscriber and want to receive materials about subscribing, simply call the HHSO at (843) 842-2055 to request them. We look to welcoming back many longtime patrons who have been unable to attend during the past season because of pandemic concerns.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce a new member of our HHSO staff. Susan Hartmann became the new Development Associate on April 4^th. Susan comes from a similar position at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. She is thrilled to be part of the HHSO and is working toward broadening opportunities to support the many worthwhile initiatives of our organization. She looks forward to meeting you at an upcoming HHSO event.

This week, the League of the HHSO provided two more gifts to the HHSO: a contribution to the HHIPC Mona Huff Carnegie Hall Fund (learn more about that below) and a second gift toward operating support.  In total during the 2021-2022 season, the League has contributed $71,000 to the HHSO. If this is not an all-time high, it comes close. Obviously, the League has gotten “back to normal.” We are extremely grateful to all League members for their support, and particularly to the dedicated members who comprise the League Board.  Thank you!!

Another group of indispensable HHSO volunteers is our usher corps. The pandemic impacted some longtime ushers’ availability this past season, but others maintained their help while a few new volunteers stepped forward. There is a need to replenish our usher corps, both at First Presbyterian Church and SoundWaves.  If you are interested, or know someone who would like to help, please send them our way. Heather Witherspoon, our dedicated head of ushers at First Presbyterian Church, has announced her retirement following this season. Under extraordinary circumstances these past couple of seasons, Heather stayed the course, working with depleted resources and overseeing pandemic-related complications. With her strong leadership, our patrons were able to enjoy relatively normal HHSO concert experiences.  We are extremely grateful to Heather, and her husband, John, for their many years of dedicated voluntary service. This also means we will be looking for a new head of ushers next season. If you know anyone who might be interested, please contact the HHSO office.

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming concert soon!

—Alan Jordan, HHSO President and CEO

What a year we have had!  Despite the many challenges presented by COVID, the war in Ukraine, visa issues and the like, we were able to present a full complement of 20 incredibly talented pianists, ages 18 – 30, from 8 different countries at the 2022 HHIPC. 

Canadian Jaeden Izik-Dzurko won First Prize this year. In addition to a $15,000 cash prize Jaeden also receives a solo debut recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to be held on October 14, 2022; a return as guest soloist with the HHSO in the 2022-2023 season, a recording on the Steinway & Sons label; a guest residency at the Green Lake Festival this June, and other performance opportunities. 

Jaeden’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra at the Finals brought the audience to its feet.

Shortly after finishing the HHIPC, Jaeden was off to Barcelona where he competed and won First Prize at the Maria Canals Piano Competition. Congratulations, Jaeden!

Garnering Second Prize and a $10,000 cash award was Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko with a stunning performance of the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto.  Third Prize and a $5,000 cash award was given to Seongwoo Moon of South Korea.  He gave a brilliant performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto. Also, American Anthony Ratinov was awarded the Sascha Gorodnitzki Memorial Prize and a Medalist Prize.  Yuzhang Li and Wynona Yinuo Wang, both from China, earned the other medalist prizes.

Despite all the COVID issues, we were able to have competitors visit schools and senior living communities, either in person or by Zoom, through the Ambassador program. Well over 300 seniors and 500 children were able to hear and interact with 16 of our competitors during Competition week.

It was a very good year!

What a spectacular opportunity we enjoyed in February having extraordinary crossover violinist Tessa Lark here in the Lowcountry. After delivering two inspiring Dvořák concerto performances as guest artist with the orchestra, the Kentucky native showcased her unique talent with a barefoot stomping pop-up solo bluegrass show the very next evening at SoundWaves. It was truly special for those who heard her play both styles.

Among the many Orchestra Series concerts to begin the year, here at SoundWaves we roll right along with our monthly Coastal Home Supper Club series. Recent shows have included themes from Hollywood, country western music, and smooth mid-century jazz. On May 15th, Gretchen Kristine Stelzer returns headlining a show all about George Gershwin, and while she brings back pianist Charlie Ancheta and bassist Karl Kimmel, she adds newcomer vocalist Richie Cook. We are poised to announce an incredibly fun and funny musical variety show set for Sunday, June 12 to close our inaugural season.

Thanks to students from the Cleveland Institute of Music, our annual major donor recognition event benefited from a stellar performance by some of the most select collegiate students in the country. Speaking of string quartets, we look forward to hosting our fourth annual Hilton Head Chamber Music Institute in June at which 16 talented high school students from all over the country will form four string quartets for ten days. You will have several opportunities to hear them at SoundWaves and throughout our community.

Before I close, I would like to extend a word of gratitude to our volunteers who have contributed many hours to help ensure the success of our programs. We couldn’t do it without you.
That’s all for now. There’s lots of great music ahead, so when you are out and about town, I invite you to tell your friends about our cozy home.

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

—Mario Incorvaia, HHSO Chief Operating Officer

The HHSO affirms that all races are equal. We intentionally and systematically support HHSO policies and practices in our organization that promote opportunities for full advancement of African-Americans and other marginalized groups that have been denied equal access and opportunity. Our local situation gives good historical example of the possibility for transformative change. That example is Mitchelville, one of our Lowcountry’s treasures. It was a bold and brave experiment of 1861, before the Emancipation Proclamation, in which formerly enslaved people were granted land and provisions to build homes and to establish a working town that was self-governing. The HHSO recognizes that self-governance and mastery depend on equal opportunity. So, we seize the current adverse racial situation as our opportunity to become a positive change agent that will actively pursue diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all of our policies, programs, staff, committees, and Board.

The HHSO recognizes that racial inequity is systemic throughout our society. The HHSO therefore will examine its operations to address any racial inequality in our organization. We will work to eradicate any such adverse influence and to ensure that racial equality is integral to our mission and to implementation of our administrative and programming activities. We commit to all processes that will help us achieve our racial equity goal. We are committed to a racially inclusive approach in all that we do because we respect and value diverse racial heritages and know that hearing diverse voices will enrich what we have to offer.

Programs and Musicians: We shall schedule more performances of orchestral music by composers of color. We will be conscientious in recruitment, hiring, and advancement of musicians of color for all standard programs and competitions.

Staff: We will be deliberate in our effort to attract racially diverse staff in our recruitment and hiring activities and commit to providing equitable advancement opportunities for them.

Board of Directors: The HHSO Board pledges to seek increased representation of racially diverse directors and actively encourage opportunity for their Board leadership.
We respect diverse life experiences and work to ensure that all voices are heard and valued, and commit to creating a more comprehensive action plan that addresses diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all marginalized groups.

Adopted August 12, 2020

Sunday, April 24, 2022, 4:00 PM
Monday, April 25, 2022, 7:30 PM

First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Parkway, HHI

Orchestra Series, Concert 9 (Season Finale)

John Morris Russell, conducting
Hilton Head Dance Theatre
Hilton Head Ballroom Dance Studio
The Studio for Dance (Cincinnati, OH)
Legacy Irish Dance Academy (Savannah, GA)
Abeni Cultural Arts Performing Dance Studio (Savannah, GA)

DANCE PARTY!

George Bizet Carmen: Danse Bohème
Samuel Akpabot Nigerian Dance No. 3
Stephen Foster/Tim Berens Foster’s Folly
Franz Lehár Gold and Silver Waltz
Arr. John Williams Por Una Cabeza
James P. Johnson Charleston
Arr. Richard Hayman Pops Hoedown
Reinhold Glière The Red Poppy: Russian Sailors’ Dance
Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5
Léo Delibes Coppélia: Csardas, Prayer, Friends, Galop
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov The Snow Maiden: Dance of the Tumblers
Ernesto Lecuona/Morton Gould La Comparsa
Jacques Offenbach/Antal Dorati La Vie Parisienne
Zequinka de Abreu/Carmen Dragon Tico Tico
Arr. Rebecca Pellett Simple Gifts

There will be no pre-concert discussions prior to these concerts.

Sponsored by

Saturday, April 30, 2021, 7:30 pm

SoundWaves, 7 Lagoon Road, HHI

HHIPC Recital Series

Zhenni LI-COHEN IN RECITAL

The program will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Ukrainian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz. A winner of the Grieg International Piano Competition and the Concours Musical de France, Zhenni Li-Cohen has appeared in debut recitals in Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the Smithsonian Museum. A Steinway Artist and 2010 HHIPC alumna, she has recorded multiple albums on the Steinway and Sons label.