Wesley Schulz, Conductor
TESSA LARK, VIOLIN
Fusion and Fantastique
FEBRUARY 17 & 18, 2024
PEACE CONCERT HALL
Don't miss a thing
Single tickets on sale July 10.
Program:
Wesley Schulz, conductor
Tessa Lark, violin
Anna Clyne: Masquerade
Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto is a showstopping piece that vibrates with energy at the intersection of jazz and classical music, a fusion genre often referred to as “Third Stream.” A native of Kentucky and highly-acclaimed fiddler as well as a classical virtuoso, GRAMMY nominated violinist Tessa Lark is the perfect artist to bring this piece to Greenville. Fusion is where this violin luminary lives.
In addition to being written for a huge orchestra of around 90 musicians, Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique stands out for the full-on macabre it provokes. Inspired by the composer’s romantic obsession with a Shakespeare actress, this Gothic-style piece’s most obvious literary counterpart is the work of Edgar Allan Poe.
Widely recognized for his imaginative programming and spirited yet heartfelt music making with orchestras, Wesley Schulz’s conducting has been deemed “spectacular.” Wesley is Music Director and Conductor of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra (WA) and recently completed four successful seasons as the Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony. In recent years Schulz has appeared with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Britt Festival Orchestra, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, and many others across the United States. In the 22-23 season Schulz makes his conducting debut with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.
Violinist Tessa Lark is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time, consistently praised by critics and audiences for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, and musical elegance. In 2020 she was nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category and received one of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Emerging Artist Awards: the special Hunt Family Award. Other recent honors include a 2018 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Silver Medalist in the 9th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and winner of the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition.
She solos regularly with many of the major orchestras around the world, from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to Seattle Symphony, and has appeared in recital in such prestigious venues and series as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debuts series in Weill Hall (2017).
HEAR FROM THE CONDUCTOR: FREE PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION AN HOUR BEFORE THE SHOW
Want to get to know the conductor and learn about the music before you experience it? Join Wesley Schulz and Greenville Symphony Executive Director Jessica Satava for a pre-concert chat about the program.
