Digital Program

Rising Stars

Saturday, May 3, 2025, 7:00pm

Jones Auditorium, Meredith College

A big thanks to our sponsors and in-kind partners, who help make our programs possible:

Sponsors:

Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, Inc. is supported by the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County as well as the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Community Partners:

Meredith College Department of Music | Ruggero Piano | the North Carolina Master Chorale | Cultural Voice of North Carolina | Raleigh Music Collective

Learn how to purchase program ads, become a sponsor or join us as a community partner! If you are interested in in-kind publicity exchanges or other community partnerships, contact Executive Director Andrea Luke at manager@raleighsymphony.org or (919) 546-9755.

Concert PrograM

The Consecration of the House Overture, Op.124 | Ludwig van Beethoven

Feed the Light | Ben Matney

Premiere Performance

2025 Winner of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra—University of North Carolina Greensboro Rising Stars Composer Competition

Symphony No. 8 in B-Minor, D759 | Franz Schubert

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante con moto

Piano Concerto in G Major | Maurice Ravel

I. Allegramente

Thomas Austria, Piano

2025 Winner of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Rising Stars Concerto Competition

Guest Composer: Ben Matney

Ben Matney (b 1995) is a composer and songwriter who has worked across a wide range of genres and stylistic mediums. His music is characterized by its immersive quality, relishing evocative texture and beveled dissonance as well as melodic lyricism. He draws from a bottomless well of influence—Arvo Pärt, Bill Evans, Gamelan, Trent Reznor, The Velvet Underground, Duke Ellington, Arooj Aftab.

Matney’s work has been performed by the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Chamber Division, and by renowned ensembles such as earspace, Red Pine Wind Quintet, Sounding Board, and Khemia. He has also written as a solo artist (under the name Cinematic Flares) and in collaboration with other musicians. Matney received his BA at UNC Chapel Hill and is currently finishing graduate work at UNC Greensboro. He is based in Raleigh.

Feed the Light

Program Notes from the Composer

Writing this piece, I came to see light as the guiding principle in much of my work. I define light in this case as revelation: the point at which the music’s “nature” is realized. Prior to then, all writing is an act of cultivating attention, a necessary condition for light to manifest. 20th century philosopher-mystic Simone Weil wrote that attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. She viewed it as a contemplative practice through which we reap “the deepest rewards of our humanity.” When attention finds a creative outlet, the work may become a conduit for light.

Ultimately, Feed the Light functions as ars poetica, consciously reflecting on its own craft as well as purpose. It attempts to do what the title instructs: what anyone does when left in the dark with a match and tinder.

Guest Soloist: Thomas Austria

Thomas Austria is an undergraduate at UNCW pursuing a bachelor’s in piano performance under Dr. Barry Salwen.  He has performed with distinction at departmental recitals, masterclasses with guest artists, and has contributed his talents to musical productions.  Most recently he was winner of the long-standing Richard Deas Concerto Competition which gave him the privilege of performing alongside the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra in January.  In March, Thomas and fellow undergraduate Guitare Le presented a joint piano recital to a live audience at WHQR classical radio studios in downtown Wilmington.  In addition to his efforts on piano, Thomas contributes as bassoonist with the UNCW Symphonic Band and the community-based Wilmington Symphonic Winds.  He also frequently plays music during Mass and holiday celebrations at Catholic churches across Wilmington.

Born and raised in Wilmington, Thomas was musically inclined from a young age.  His learning was enriched by a wide breadth of experiences from childhood piano lessons, recitals, chamber concerts, bassoon lessons to participation at high levels in school bands and summer music camps.  For high school, he attended UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.  There he gained a thorough musical education studying bassoon and piano under Saxton Rose and Dmitri Vorobiev, respectively.  He presented recitals and performed at concerts in both instruments.  He gained extensive orchestral experience in bassoon through participation in various UNCSA ensembles, and for four years with the Winston-Salem Youth Orchestra.  He took to the mountains of North Carolina in the summers of 2019 and 2021 to attend the renowned Glickman-Popkin Bassoon Camp.  In those same summers, he participated in the Lee University International Piano Festival in Tennessee.  Thomas is thankful to his music teachers in school as well as private teachers who were instrumental in nurturing his musical growth during his youth.

Concert Personnel

Violin I

Sara Maria Blanton concertmaster, Jean Bynum, Brian Jensen, Erin Howard, Keunjae Song, Jeongseon Hong, Ann Emery, Zach Aliotta

Violin II

Suzanne Bolt, Emily Phaneuf, Laura Green Levine, Christina Wohlford, Ardene Schafer, Hannah Vestal, Christina Morton, Elsa Godding, Francine Hunter 

Viola

Ken Rogerson Fei-Mei and Tsong-Wen Chou Memorial Chair, Kevin Yen, Kaela Burton, Catherine Morrison, Elisa Longoria, Nicolle Tulve, Bailey Clemmons

Cello

Matthew Holt, Julia Malone, Maria Fernanda Rodriguez Hurtado, Julia Malone, = Jeremy Smith, Jeffrey Rossman, Sarah Page, Robert Nosow

Bass

Dave Prodoehl, Steve Landis, John Gerken, Mark Underwood, Adam Burke

Flute

Irene Burke, Emma Morris

Oboe

Kaitlyn Michalak, Janet Shurtleff

Clarinet

Jim Williams, Brent Smith

Bassoon

John Caldwell, Brenda Balaz-Reylek

Horn

Caresse Virnig, Elliot Stanger, John Gallis, Mary Ruth Roth

Trumpet

Michael Mole, John Morrison

Trombone

Dave Beitzel, Christina Thompson, Alex Jenkins

Tuba

Rick Guptill

Percussion

Trevor Jennings, Nichada Jirawattanaphan

Keyboard/Harp

Chelsea Waddelow

Raleigh Symphony Orchestra  

For over forty years, the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra has brought musicians together in the belief that music has the power to affect the lives of all people. Each year, these professionally trained musicians come together to dynamically merge their talent and exuberance in response to the creative leadership of Maestro Jim Waddelow.

A community resource since 1979, RSO has premiered numerous works and choreography.  For its budget size, it produces more events than any other professional or community orchestra in North Carolina.  In a blind artistic survey conducted by the N.C. Arts Council, RSO ranked with orchestras having two to five times RSO's budget.

The Orchestra annually receives critical acclaim for its performance quality and innovative programming. It is frequently mentioned in the area’s print media "Ten Best" annual compilations of the top classical concerts in the Triangle. The RSO was awarded the Raleigh Medal of Arts for its inclusive and innovative programming, community outreach and high artistic standards.

Accessibility Updates

Our staff attended the 2022  and 2023 Kennedy Center Leadership in Arts and Disability Exchange Conferences and are working to improve our accessibility, including “Know Before You Go” guides, improved wayfinding, and large-print programs available upon request. If you have feedback or want to reach out about specific access needs, please contact us so we can better help you.

(919) 546-9755 www.raleighsymphony.org/kbyg

Dr. Jim Waddelow, DMA, Music Director & Conductor

Dr. Jim Waddelow is one of the most versatile conductors in the South. A native of Oklahoma, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Oklahoma Haydn Festival. Jim also serves Meredith College as Director of Instrumental Activities, conducting the Meredith Sinfonietta, Meredith Opera, and musical theater productions for Meredith Ensemble Theater.  In 2010 he founded White Iris Light Opera in Raleigh, and the following year he led Meredith musicians on a concert tour of Tuscany, Italy. Guest appearances have included Summerstock Productions at the University of Central Oklahoma, Lubbock Moonlight Broadway, Capitol Opera Raleigh, Durham Savoyards, the Triangle Youth Symphony, and numerous all-state and all-region orchestras. Equally at ease with music for the stage, Jim has conducted over 300 performances of more than 70 musicals and operas at the professional and college level.  Previous conducting affiliations include the Oklahoma Youth Symphony, Lubbock Youth Symphony, Texas Tech University, Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony in Eureka Springs Arkansas, and the University of Central Oklahoma. A strong advocate of music education, he has conducted orchestras, choirs, and musicals for youth music camps in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North Carolina.

He is currently the Director of Strings of the Next Generation Summer Music Camp in Joplin, Missouri.  He is a passionate proponent of the new music of younger composers and is known for innovative programming. Press reviews have referred to  performances as “bright, articulate, and beautifully balanced”, and “astonishing  precision and polish; a joy from start to finish.” He holds a doctorate in orchestral conducting from Texas Tech University.