Every Piece is a Classic

Vivaldi, Mozart, Mendelssohn

Tahoe Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus will celebrate Maestro James Rawie’s 20th Anniversary, with two of the finest monuments in Western music: Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor and Antonio Vivaldi’s rousing Gloria.

Minden, NV -CVIC Hall | Feb 16th | 3pm

Incline Village, NV - St Patrick's Episcopal Church

| Feb 18th | 7pm

Reno, NV - St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral | Feb. 21st | 7pm

Reno, NV - Reno Christian Fellowship | Feb 23rd | 3pm

Maureen Yuen, new UNR Faculty Violin Professor joins Tahoe Philharmonic, bringing to life one of the finest and most popular gems in the concerto repertoire.

The series is called Every Piece is Classic. The orchestra sets the tone for the Maestro’s 20thAnniversary Year with the overture to The Impresario, Mozart’s comic opera featuring two opera divas that do their best to outdo each other.

You will immediately fall in love with the main melodies of Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor”! Settle in and let yourself be swept away by the turbulent passion of the opening movement, the languid beauty of the slow movement, and the giddy, high-spirited energy of the finale. The piece is played so often because it is undeniably a masterpiece in the world of violin concertos.

Dr. Yuen was previously tenured at Drake University with a global career marked by creative artistic collaborations, pedagogical innovation, and fostering inclusivity within the world of classical music. She was honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in teaching. TahoePhil is privileged to present her in her first Reno/Tahoe concerto performance.

Vivaldi’s “Gloria” is the finest choral-orchestral achievement of his life’s (prodigious!) compositions. The work is in 12 movements, similar to Bach’s treatment of his Magnificat. Vocal soloists include Anne Davidson, Debbie Sessions and Ania Helwing, sopranos: Lorelei vanPeborgh, mezzo; and Stuart Duke, baritone. Cliff Richardson serves as concertmaster.

BUY TICKETS

Tahoe Phil Classical Concerts

Performers

Maureen Yuen

KEVIN MATHESON guest violinist, was awarded first prize in the 2021 Charleston International Music Competition for his performance
of Vieuxtemps’ “Souvenirs d’Amérique.” Kevin recently recorded the first movement from the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with
the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlin, Czech Republic for the Cicerone Music and Arts label.

Anne Davidson

ANNE DAVIDSON, soprano, started her solo singing career before she can remember under the direction of her mother Helen. She has studied voice with Bill Reed of Circle in the Square, New York City, and Patricia McGuinness of University of California, Santa Cruz. She was the soloist in Kim André Arnesen’s Magnificat with Vox Musica in 2022 under the direction of Daniel Paulson and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Reno Pops Orchestra in 2019.

Annie is a recording singer-songwriter and performs solo and with her folk-rock band Raggedy in the Reno/Tahoe region. She is also a Senior Associate with EdMetric, a small education research firm, when she is not following her two daughters around.

Stuart Duke

STUART ALAN DUKE, baritone, earned his B.S. in Music Education at the University of Vermont in 1976, with a specialty in voice. He made his European debut in 1994 as a soloist at the Pitten International Music Festival in Austria and toured New England under the direction of Robert DeCormier, performing as The Loudspeaker, in Viktor Ullmann’s Holocaust Opera, The Emperor of Atlantis. He was a founding member and soloist with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He received his Masters of Music at UNR in Vocal Performance. Local performances include Melchoir in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Don Alphonso in Cosi fan tutti, Baron Zeta in La Traviata, Reverend Olin Blitch in Floyd’s Susannah, and Mr. Gobenot in Menotti’s The Medium. His appearances with Nevada Opera include Fiorello in The Barber of Seville, & Yamadori in Madame Butterfly. He is a founding member of TahoePhil.

Anna Helwing

ANNA HELWING, soprano, was born and raised in Poland where she earned B.A. and M.A. in English and American Literature. She also studied piano and organ at the Wroclaw School of Organ. In 2008 she received her MA in vocal performance at Univ. Nevada, Reno, studying with with Dr. Katharine DeBoer. She performed solo concerts in Germany, Italy, and Poland, collaborating with international artists, including early music Swiss pan-flutist Philippe Emmanuel Haas. She regularly appears as a soloist with TAHOE PHILHARMONIC, Sierra Nevada College Choir, NorthStar Chamber Players, Opera Bel Canto of Reno, Nevada Opera, and organizers of Valhalla Arts Festival and San Francisco International Arts Festival. She resides in South Lake Tahoe, where she teaches piano and voice at Lake Tahoe Community College, and works as a church music director and organist. She conducted Tahoe Choir 2015-17

Debbie Sessions

Debbie Sessions, coloratura soprano began singing at a young age when she was cast in The Sound of Music as one of the von trap children. From there she studied Music and Art at Linfield College and sang in multiple choirs and light operas in the San Francisco bay area before coming to Reno in 2005. She has sung with Nevada Opera chorus, Reno Philharmonic chorus, and Toccata. She took a 13 year break from music to raise a family with 3 kids and a lot of pets. She is very glad to be back singing and now soloing with Tahoe Phil as well as managing marketing for the Phil and her own business, VintageDancer.com

Lorelei Van Peborgh

LORELEI VAN PEBORGH, mezzo, grew up in San Diego listening to classical music and attending operas and symphonic concerts. She learned to play the violin, piano and cello. In a Vermont high school she discovered her fourth instrument, the voice, and since then has thoroughly enjoyed singing in choirs. With a broad vocal range that allows her to transition between tenor, alto and soprano ranges. Her three children recognize her passion for singing as the "balm that feeds her soul". From 2011-2020 she was a soloist with Sierra Nevada College Community Choir, and is a regular soloist with North Tahoe Community Choir under the direction of Donna Axton.