Texas Rising Stars

Program Notes for Texas Rising Stars, March 28, 2026

Tzigane
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) 

During one of Maurice Ravel’s visits to London, following a private musicale during which the Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Arányi performed the composer’s recent Sonata for Violin and Cello with the cellist Hans Kindler, Ravel asked Mlle. d’Arányi—who was a grandniece of the famed Austro-Hungarian violinist-composer-conductor-teacher Joseph Joachim—to play him some Gypsy melodies. This went on until five in the morning and presumably was the first event in the history of Ravel’s Tzigane for violin and orchestra. Ravel completed the Tzigane (which means “Gypsy”) just shortly before its premiere in April 1924; the orchestral version was given for the first time half a year later.

When it was new, a striking feature of Tzigane in its original violin-and-piano version was Ravel’s use of the recently devised piano-luthéal, a modified grand piano that allowed the player to alter the timbre of the instrument by employing harmonium-like stops set above the keyboard to produce a variety of sounds (lute- and harpsichord-like, as well as the normal timbre of the piano). One of these stops—fittingly, for Tzigane—created a sound similar to the Hungarian cimbalom, a hammered dulcimer whose use in that country is traceable back to the 16th century. Ravel also called for this instrument in his opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges (“The Child and the Magic Spells”), completed in 1925.

In any event, the first performance of Tzigane astounded both the composer and the audience, especially given the limited rehearsal time. Ravel’s ability to write for an instrument he had never studied also attracted notice. Tzigane is, simply and straightforwardly, a virtuoso showpiece, opening with an extended “quasi cadenza” for the soloist and, along the way, using just about every violinist trick in the book. — Marc Mandel

Carmen Fantasie
Franz Waxman (1906-1967) 

Georges Bizet (1838–1875) died only three months after the premiere of Carmen, convinced that it was a failure. Not so many years later, it was the most-often performed opera in the international repertoire, and for the better part of a century this music has been popular far beyond the lyric theatre.

Pablo Martin Meliton Sarasate y Navascuez (1844–1908) seems to have been the first to discern a specifically violinistic character in Carmen. He wove a virtuosic if somewhat patchy fantasy for violin and piano (Op. 25) out of themes from the opera, and later expanded his potpourri into a concert piece for violin and orchestra – though more than one reference book quite incorrectly ascribes this orchestral version to the Silesian-born American composer and conductor Franz Waxman (1906–1967).

Waxman did, in fact, compose the very different Carmen Fantasie. This work is not at all related to the Sarasate composition. Waxman hardly could have brought himself to rearranging what was already a hybrid composition at least once removed from the original. Instead, properly he bypassed Sarasate and went back to Bizet.

Franz Waxman “created” his Carmen and Tristan & Isolde Fantasies for the film Humoresque (Warner Brothers, 1947) for John Garfield to “play” on screen to Isaac Stern’s recording on the soundtrack. Jascha Heifetz saw the Joan Crawford–Oscar Levant melodrama based on the famous Fannie Hurst story about the budding career of a young New York violinist (Garfield) and his patron (Crawford). Heifetz asked Waxman to expand the work for him to play on the popular radio program, The Bell Telephone Hour. The composer revised the score between August 13 and October 18, 1946. The premiere performance of September 9, 1946 was a great success and Heifetz toured the world playing Carmen Fantasie.

Franz Waxman is best known for the 150+ film scores he composed in Hollywood beginning at Universal Pictures in 1935 with The Bride of Frankenstein. During his Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer period (1936 – 1942), he wrote the music for The Philadelphia Story and seven Spencer Tracy films including Captains Courageous and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Of the four scores for Alfred Hitchcock films, Rebecca is unforgettable. Carmen Fantasie is Waxman’s most-requested concert work and the post-Heifetz generation of violinists has championed the music on every continent. — FranzWaxman.com

Violin Concerto No. 2
Béla Bartók (1881–1945) 

Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 is one of the most significant works in the violin concerto repertoire. Written between 1937 and 1938, the concerto is a testament to the Hungarian composer’s unique compositional style and his love for folk music. It is a challenging piece that showcases the violinist’s technical and interpretive skills, and its emotional intensity is sure to move any listener. It is a testament to Bartók’s genius as a composer and his profound understanding of the expressive possibilities of the violin.

The concerto is divided into three movements, each with its own distinctive character. The first movement begins with a haunting melody played by the solo violin. The orchestra then enters with a pulsating rhythm, which builds to a frenzied climax before subsiding back to the soloist. The movement is characterized by a dark, brooding atmosphere, with hints of the composer’s signature use of dissonance. — Samuel Frois

Le Marchand d’oiseaux
Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983) 

Known as the only female member of 'Les Six,’ Germaine Tailleferre enjoyed acclaim with them in Paris in the 1920s. She was precociously gifted both as a musician and a painter, and won several first prizes at the Paris Conservatoire; she studied with Koechlin and Ravel. Satie called her his 'fille musicale', and she fitted naturally with the philosophy of 'Les Six,’ emphasizing in the spirit of Stravinskian neo-classicism, brevity, clarity and wit. She lived in America from 1926-7, where Charlie Chaplin was often a live-in guest. He tried to persuade her to come to Hollywood, which she declined, though she was much in demand as a skillful composer of film scores in France in the '30s and '40s. Her concertos of the '30s enjoyed some success and she continued to compose until the end of her long life. Her best compositions are characterized by spontaneity, freshness and charm. Always modest and lacking assertiveness about her work, she summed up her talent as follows: "I write music because it amuses me. It's not great music, I know, but it's gay, light-hearted music which is sometimes compared with that of the 'petits maîtres' of the 18th century. And that makes me very proud."

Le Marchand d’oiseaux (The Bird Seller) was premiered by Ballets Suédois on 25 May 1923 at Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Two sisters discover two bouquets on their doorstep. The elder disdains the flowers of the fields and leaves them to her younger one. Joyful, she lets herself be seduced by a simple bird trader. The other receives the homage of a rich masked foreigner. A schoolgirl tears off the mask of the rich man. He's the old merchant of the port; confusion, scaring. The applauded younger walks away gracefully to the arm of the bird trader.

This ballet has Tailleferre's characteristic verve and joi de vivre. Writing about her music in the weekly L'Intransigeant she said she "made allusions to several different styles, especially the light and pompous ballets of the 18th century which sparked with good humor." The Pavane for the bird sellers pays homage to both the 18th century and the turn-of-the-century fete galante styles, as well as those of Faure and Ravel. The vital and rhythmic neo-baroque manner is one in which Tailleferre wrote some of her best music.

Dr. W.P. Sterneman III, Interim Music Director

Dr. Gus, as he is affectionately known, earned his Doctorate in Opera/Musical Theatre Conducting at Arizona State University where his dissertation focused on Benjamin Britten as a conductor and musical interpretation and his Master’s degree at Butler University in Indianapolis with a double major in Instrumental Conducting and Music History. He also holds a Bachelors of Music in Music Theory from Southwestern University.

Dr. Gus has been on staff with the Austin Civic Orchestra since 2014, currently serving as their Interim Music Director, having also previously performed with the ensemble in the horn section from 2002-2007. In addition to conducting the educational concert, Link-Up, and the Austin ISD Music Memory Contest, Dr. Gus leads the annual outdoor Pops Concert in June and the Great Masked Waltz Ball for the University of Texas Ballroom Dance Society.

Dr. Gus joined the staff of Abiding Love Lutheran Church in South Austin in 2021 as their Director of Worship and Arts, overseeing all aspects of the music program, worship planning, and media technology. In addition to leading the Sanctuary Choir in weekly service, Dr. Gus occasionally joins the band Mixed Blessings on guitar, and directs the biannual Cantata Choir and Orchestra, recently having led Handel’s Messiah and John Rutter’s Requiem.

From 2018-2024, Dr. Gus served as the Music Director for the Heart of Texas Chorus, an acappella barbershop chorus in San Marcos, and worked as an active clinician with the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Dr. Gus has conducted a variety of ensembles from small chamber groups to full size orchestras, and has worked with ensembles from middle school through collegiate, amateur, and professional organizations on three continents. He has conducted orchestras, opera and musical theatre productions, wind ensembles, and choral organizations. In 2013, he received an AriZoni Award nomination for Best Music Direction in a Non-Contract Theatre for Little Women: The Broadway Musical at Arizona State University.

A strong advocate for technology in the classroom, Dr. Gus has taught music technology courses at multiple universities, and has been actively involved with the Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI), where he presented a paper on OpenSource music notation software in 2010.

Dr. Gus spends his free time playing tabletop games with his wife, teaching his two children the finer points of musical theatre, and practicing his passion for lutherie and painting miniatures. He feels Menotti is the epitome of English text setting, but always comes home to Beethoven. He enjoys a good pun, but loves a really bad one. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

Chris Tran, Guest Conductor

Chris Tran is co-director of The University of Texas University Orchestra and Graduate Teaching Assistant for the University of Texas Orchestras and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting with Farkhad Khudyev at the University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Tran taught for seven years in the Texas public school system as an orchestra director in the Plano, Highland Park, and Clear Creek Independent School Districts. Under his direction, the Clear Falls High School Symphony Orchestra placed 4th in the 2024 Texas Music Educators Association Honor Orchestra Contest. He is an in-demand clinician and adjudicator throughout the state of Texas and has served in many roles with the Texas Music Educators Association and the University Interscholastic League.

Mr. Tran has also been an invited conductor at several masterclasses and workshops in Boulder, Los Angeles, Eugene, St. Andrews (Scotland), as well as the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with Cristian Măcelaru, Thomas Sleeper, and Leonard Slatkin, and the International Conducting Workshop and Festival with the late Larry Rachleff and Donald Schleicher. He has also worked with conductors Neil Thomson, Jeff Grogan, and Sian Edwards.

Mr. Tran earned a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) with Gary Lewis. At CU-Boulder, he also studied opera conducting with Nicholas Carthy and violin with the late Charles Wetherbee, former concertmaster of the Boulder Philharmonic. Prior to this, he earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University, studying conducting with Paul Phillips and violin with Diane Kitzman, former principal violin of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Matthew Pavon, Guest Conductor

Matthew Pavon is a conductor and violist studying orchestral conducting under Farkhad Khudyev at The Butler School of Music. In his role as assistant instructor for university orchestras, Matthew is an active in conductor and administrator for the University Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as co-director for the University Orchestra.

Matthew holds viola performance degrees from Evangel University (B.M. '19) and Missouri State University (M.M. '22). While at Missouri State, he served as a graduate assistant for orchestral studies and led the Missouri State University Orchestra and the University Repertory ensembles for three years. After graduating, he continued as the assistant conductor for Missouri State University from 2022 to 2023.

Guest conducting appearances have included concerts with the Austin Civic Orchestra, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Missouri Philharmonic, Drury University Orchestra, and several orchestral clinics. Matthew believes in supporting the arts in his communities. In 2021, he founded the Galloway Chamber Orchestra in Springfield, MO, and served as their artistic director until July 2024. Matthew has also worked as both a guest conductor and workshop conductor for the Youth Symphony of Kansas City. As a violist, he was an active member of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra for seven years and a frequent substitute violist with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. Matthew’s passion is connecting with people of all ages and backgrounds through music. He lives in Austin, TX, with his wife, Leianna, and their two mini-Australian Shepherds, Koda and Ellie.

Shijie Li, Violin

Shijie Li is a global artist with Hemiola Music and an award‑winning violinist whose accolades include top prizes at the International Music Competition Paris – Grand Prize Virtuoso, the Iscart International Music Competition, the Primuz International String Competition, the Enkor International Violin Competition, the Hong Kong International Violin Competition, the Thomas Cooper International Violin Competition, the Kreutzer International Violin Competition, the Basel International Violin Competition, the Bellagrande International Musician Competition, and the Thaviu String Competition. He is recognized as one of the prominent young rising stars on today’s international concert stage.

Shijie has appeared at major festivals and summer programs worldwide, including the Verbier Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music, the Heifetz International Music Institute, the “Bravo” International Music Academy, and Young Euro Classic. He has served as Assistant Concertmaster of the China Youth Symphony Orchestra, performed with NYO‑China, and founded both the Tide Piano Trio and the ChenXing String Quartet. His artistic development has been shaped by collaborations and masterclasses with leading musicians such as Feng Ning, Kun Hu, Lucy Robert, Namyun Kim, Zhou Qian, Wolfgane Jahn, Hanxiang Gong, Garrick Ohlsson, Lynn Harrell, Ludovic Morlot, and members of the Amber, Amadeus, and Juilliard Quartets.

Born in Beijing, Shijie began violin studies at the age of five. His teachers include Wei Zhao, Tao Yan, and Gerardo Ribeiro at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and at Northwestern University, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. He is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the mentorship of Brian Lewis at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.

Yusong Zhao, Violin

Yusong Zhao is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Austin on a full scholarship. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, and earned his master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2025, he joined DFestival in Quanzhou, China, as a string faculty member and as a member of the resident ensemble, the Daedalus Quartet.

Yusong began violin studies at the age of four with Liu Mingjian and has since worked with distinguished teachers including Brian Lewis, Katie Lansdale, and Stephen Rose, principal second violin of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has been praised by leading artists such as Nurit Bar‑Josef, concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra, who described him as “a highly talented young musician with exceptional technical skill,” and by Edward Cumming, former artistic director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, who commended his “warm and expressive” tone.

Yusong has performed at major international festivals and competitions. In 2018, he toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO‑China). In 2023, he was selected for the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, where he served as concertmaster and collaborated with conductor Thomas Dausgaard and violinist Mayumi Kanagawa. His competition successes include first prize in the 2018 Hartt Chamber Music Competition, first prize in the 2021 Paranov Concerto Competition—performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with orchestra—and first prize in the 2024 BSOM Concerto Competition, where he performed Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 under conductor Farkhad Khudyev.

An active orchestral musician, Yusong has performed with the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Akron Symphony Orchestra. He has also participated in masterclasses with renowned violinists including Rainer Küchl, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic; Daniel Froschauer, member of the Vienna Philharmonic’s board of directors; and Nurit Bar‑Josef.

Mei Liu, Violin

Mei Liu is a violinist currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also earned her Master of Music under the mentorship of Professor Sandy Yamamoto. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Violin Performance and Psychology from Arizona State University, studying with Dr. Katherine McLin.

An active orchestral musician, Mei has served as Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin at both ASU and UT Austin, and she performs regularly as a substitute section violinist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician and member of the Soha Quartet, she recently won first prize in the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Competition and was named a semi‑finalist in the Plowman Chamber Music Competition. She was also a finalist in the Young Texas Artists Competition.

Mei has performed in masterclasses for distinguished artists including Frank Huang, Midori, Norman Fischer, Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween, and members of the Miró, St. Lawrence, and Borromeo Quartets.

Austin Civic Orchestra Roster

Violin 1
Carolyn Richards-Chacon, Concert Master
Raymundo Garcia, Assistant
Samantha Chavira
Raymond D'Alessio
Laura Jacobs
Vivian Kwong
Leianna Pavon
Lynn Petro
Dawn Smith
Sol Swords

Violin II
Dario Landazuri, Principal
Kyle Bryson, Assistant
Collin Bryson
Deb Byers
Ferris Duhon
Andrew Goolsbee
Carrie Houston
Adam Montenegro
Evan Nave
Kassandra Rocha

VIOLA
Eugene Gott, Principal
Brett Osburn, Assistant
Liam Cao
Mark Leger
William Satterfield
Paul Zagieboylo

VIOLONCELLO
Jarrod Tuikka, Principal
Tani Barr, Assistant
Ben Bachmeier
Claire DittlemierCl
Brigid Dever
Jacob Lambert
Carolin Magee
Apolinar Romero
Caleb Sebolt
Isabel Tweraser
John Whitney

DOUBLE BASS
James Sproat, Principal
Garrett Jaynes
Louis Handy
Alana Lopez
Noah Miller

FLUTE
Mattie Baker, Principal
Luis Diaz

OBOE
Madeline Warner, Principal
Elisa Pinno
Trish Olives, English Horn

CLARINET
YuHua Oliphint, Principal
Laura Gorman

BASSOON
Amy Crandell, Principal
Melissa Vauk

HORN
Christine Simpson, Principal
Alyssa Collins
Kathy Nolen
Denise Stiglich

TRUMPET
Jose Yznaga, Principal
Rick Kutcher

TROMBONE
Ross Ganske, Principal
Jesse Nolen
Robert Tung, Bass

PIANO/KEYBOARD
David Kaplan

HARP
Lisa Lamb

TIMPANI
Alan Smith

PERCUSSION
Paul Robertson, Principal
Matt Garcia
Kyle Garza
Jaxon Jedel
Collin Tracy