OUR PEOPLE

Violin I

To Be Filled
Concertmaster
The Annabelle Lundy Fetterman Chair

 

Jessica Hung
Associate Concertmaster
The Assad Meymandi and Family Chair

 

Anna Black
Assistant Concertmaster
The Anne Heartt Gregory Chair

 

Karen Strittmatter Galvin
Assistant Concertmaster

 

Emily Rist Glover
The Jessie Wyatt Ethridge Chair

 

Paul Goldsberry
The Richard and Joy Cook Chair

 

Seula Lee
The Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. Chair

 

 

Maria Meyer
The Tom and Mary Mac Bradshaw Chair

 

Minjoo Moon*
The Harvey At-Large Chair

 

Pablo Sánchez Pazos
The Phyllis (“Pat”) Conrad Wells Chair

 

Jessica Ryou
The James C. Byrd and Family Chair

 

Erin Zehngut
The J. Felix Arnold Chair

 

Violin II

Principal
The Nancy Finch Wallace Chair

 

Tiffany Kang
Associate Principal
The Blanche Martin Shaw Chair

 

David Kilbride
Assistant Principal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viola

Samuel Gold
Principal
The Florence Spinks and Charles Jacob Cate and Alma Yondorf and Sylvan Hirschberg Chair

 

Kurt Tseng
Associate Principal
The Betty Ellen Madry Chair

 

Brian Sherwood
Assistant Principal

 

 

 

Amy Mason
The J. Sidney Kirk Chair

 

 

Sandra Schwarcz
The Samuel H. and Anne Latham Johnson Chair

Cello

Bonnie Thron
Principal
The June and Tom Roberg Chair

 

Elizabeth Beilman
Associate Principal
The Sarah Carlyle Herbert Dorroh Chair

 

Peng Li
Assistant Principal,
Anonymously Endowed

 

Yewon Ahn**
Anonymously Endowed

 

David Meyer
The Nell Hirschberg Chair

 

Marc Moskovitz*
The William Charles Rankin Chair

 

Lisa Howard Shaughnessy
The Sara Wilson Hodgkins Chair

 

 

Nathaniel Yaffe
The Secretary of Cultural Resources Betty Ray McCain Chair

 

Double Bass

Leonid Finkelshteyn
Principal
The Martha and Peyton Woodson Chair

 

Joshua DePoint
Associate Principal
The Dr. and Mrs. Preston H. Gada Chair

 

Craig Brown
The Mark W. McClure Foundation Chair

 

Erik Dyke
The Harllee H. and Pauline G. Jobe Chair

 

Bruce Ridge*
The John C. and Margaret P. Parker Chair

 

Flute

Megan Torti
Principal
The Mr. and Mrs. George M. Stephens Chair

 

Mary E. Boone
Assistant Principal
The Dr. and Mrs. Shaler Stidham, Jr. Chair

 

Alexandra Stokes*
The Jack and Sing Boddie Chair

 

Piccolo

Alexandra Stokes*
The Jean Dunn Williams Chair

 

Oboe

Melanie Wilsden
Principal
The Hardison and Stoltze Chair

 

Joseph Peters
Associate Principal
The Lizette T. Dunham Chair

 

Rachel Ahn*
The Clarence and Alice Aycock Poe Chair

 

English Horn

Joseph Peters
The Bruce and Margaret King Chair

 

Clarinet

Samuel Almaguer
Principal
The Mr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Walker, II Chair

 

Sammy Lesnick
Assistant Principal
The Kathryn Powell and Green Flavie Cooper Chair

Bassoon

Aaron Apaza
Principal
The Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald S. Hudson Chair

 

Wenmin Zhang
Assistant Principal,
The Beethoven Chair

 

French Horn

Rebekah Daley
Principal
The Mary T. McCurdy Chair

 

Kimberly Van Pelt
Associate Principal
The Paul R. Villard and Gabriel Wolf Chair

 

Gabriel Mairson
The James Marion Poyner Chair

 

Russell Rybicki
The Roger Colson and Bobbi Lyon Hackett Chair

 

To Be Filled
The Mary Susan Kirk Fulghum Chair

 

Trumpet

Paul Randall
Principal
The George Smedes Poyner Chair

 

Benjamin Hauser
Associate Principal
The Henry and Martha Zaytoun and Family Chair

 

Trombone

John Ilika
Principal
The Thomas Warwick Steed, Jr. Family Chair

 

Steven Osborne*
Assistant Principal
The Frances Armour Bryant Chair

 

Bass Trombone

Matthew Neff
Anonymously Endowed

 

Tuba

Seth Horner
Principal
The Governor and Mrs. James G. Martin, Jr. Chair

 

Timpani

Colin Hartnett
Principal
The Patricia R., Steven T. and George F. Hackney III Chair

 

Percussion

Richard Motylinski
Principal
The Margery and Earl Johnson, Jr. Chair

 

Rajesh Prasad
Assistant Principal
The Abram and Frances Pascher Kanof Chair

 

Organ

To Be Filled
The Albert and Susan Jenkins and Family Organ Chair

 

Library

Stephanie Wilson
Principal Orchestra Librarian
The Mary Colvert and Banks C. Talley Chair

 

Taylor Troyer
Assistant Orchestra Librarian

*Acting position

**Leave of absence

Carlos Miguel Prieto

Carlos Miguel Prieto, Music Director

The Maxine and Benjamin Swalin Chair

Mexican conductor and Grammy-winner Carlos Miguel Prieto started his tenure as Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony at the beginning of the 2023/24 season.

From 2007 to 2022, Prieto was Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México. In 2023 he received the Fine Arts Medal, Mexico’s highest honor for a musician. He was Music Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006 to 2023, where he helped lead the cultural renewal of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and won a Grammy in 2024. In 2008, he was appointed Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería (OSM), which he has led to a Latin Grammy nomination, a Grammy award, and a residence in 2024 at Bravo! Vail.

Prieto is in demand as a guest conductor for orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Dallas, and Toronto; The Cleveland Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra; and the San Francisco, Houston, and New World symphonies. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2023 and led the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 2024. Recent engagements include the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Spanish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Auckland Philharmonia.

Since 2002 Prieto has conducted the Orchestra of the Americas, which draws young musicians from the entire American continent—serving as Principal Conductor until 2011, when he was appointed Music Director. He has also worked with young musicians at The Juilliard School, the Colburn School, the Curtis Institute, and elsewhere, and leads the Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellowship at OAcademy, an online conservatory bringing together teachers and students from around the world. He has also worked with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and conducted both the National Youth Orchestra-USA and NYO2 at Carnegie Hall.

Prieto has conducted over 100 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many commissioned by him. He places equal importance on championing works by Black and African American composers such as Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Courtney Bryan, among others.

Prieto has an extensive discography and was recognized by Musical America as Conductor of the Year in 2019. He is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities.

Grant Llewellyn

Grant Llewellyn, Music Director Laureate

Grant Llewellyn served as North Carolina Symphony’s Music Director for sixteen seasons and now holds the title of Music Director Laureate.

Grant Llewellyn is renowned for his exceptional charisma, energy, and easy authority in music of all styles and periods. He concluded his tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre National de Bretagne (ONB) in 2023 after eight years.

Llewellyn’s guest engagements have included the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, among others. He has conducted widely across North America, most notably The Philadelphia Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Milwaukee, Montreal, St. Louis, and Toronto. During his time as Music Director of the Handel and Haydn Society, America’s leading period orchestra, Llewellyn gained a reputation as a formidable interpreter of music of the baroque and classical periods.

Notable recordings with the North Carolina Symphony include American Spectrum, featuring 20th century works with the saxophonist Branford Marsalis, and Britten’s Cello Symphony and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante with the cellist Zuill Bailey. He recently recorded a disc of Lowell Liebermann’s orchestral works with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Deeply committed and passionate about engaging young people with music, Llewellyn regularly leads education and outreach projects; in 2017 he led the first ever “relaxed” BBC Prom with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, a concert specially designed for those with autism, sensory and communication impairments, and learning disabilities.

Born in Tenby, South Wales, Llewellyn won a Conducting Fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts in 1985, where he worked with Bernstein, Ozawa, Masur, and Previn.

North Carolina Symphony Society, Inc.

The Society Board is the governing, policy, and operating board of the Symphony Society. It secures financial resources, approves program goals, engages in strategic planning, and oversees budgets, continuing the Society’s mission to achieve the highest level of artistic quality and performance standards, and embracing the dual legacies of statewide service and music education.

Mr. Joe Bastian, Chair, Chapel Hill
Mrs. Ashley Matlock Perkinson, Vice Chair & Chair-elect, Raleigh
Mr. Terry L. Stevens, Treasurer, Raleigh
Ms. Rosemary Gill Kenyon, Secretary, Raleigh
Mr. Don Davis, Past Chair, Raleigh
Ms. Sandi M. A. Macdonald, President & CEO, Raleigh

Ms. Deborah M. Aiken, Wake Forest
Dr. Tim Altman**, Garner
Mr. Chip Anderson*, Raleigh
Ms. Stephanie Bass, Clayton
Dr. Trude R. Bate, Cary
Ms. Denise S. Bennett, Raleigh
Mr. Jud Bowman, Durham
Ms. Patty Briguglio, Raleigh
The Honorable Roy Cooper*, Raleigh
Mr. Jeffrey A. Corbett, Raleigh
Dr. Roy Cromartie, Raleigh
Mr. Courtney Crowder, Raleigh
Mr. Jim Datin, Chapel Hill
Mr. Richard L. Daugherty, Raleigh
Mr. Keith Donahue**, Raleigh
Mr. James C. Gulick**, Raleigh
Mr. David Haines, Cary
Mrs. Elaine Bryant Hayes, Fayetteville
Ms. Kristen Hess, Raleigh
Mr. Richard E. Hinson, Chapel Hill
Mr. Kevin Howell**, Raleigh
Mr. L. Dwain Joyce*, Fayetteville
Mrs. Cecelia Eckert Kennedy, Apex
Dr. Mark Leithe, Raleigh
Rev. Dr. Christie Mabry, Raleigh
Mrs. Dawn MacLaren, Raleigh
Mr. Robert MacNeill, Jr., Raleigh
Mrs. Jane Marr, Wilmington
Mr. Branford Marsalis, Durham
Mrs. Louise A. Miller, Raleigh
Ms. Margaret Millett, Raleigh
Mr. James Morgan, Raleigh
Ms. Lori O’Keefe, Wake Forest
Ms. Rebecca Quinn-Wolf, Raleigh
Dr. Ramachandra P. Reddy, Cary
Ms. Donna Rhode, Cary
Mr. Jason Smith, Raleigh
Mr. David Sontag, Chapel Hill
Mrs. Linda J. Staunch*, New Bern
Mr. M. Gray Styers, Jr., Greensboro
Ms. Sandy Sully, Cary
Ms. Alison Trapp, Chapel Hill
The Honorable Catherine Truitt*, Cary
Mr. Dereck Whittenburg, Raleigh
Secretary D. Reid Wilson*, Raleigh
Mrs. Darliene S. Woolner, Cary

*Ex Officio Member
**Governor’s Appointee

 

Lifetime Trustees

The Society and Foundation Boards gratefully recognize the individuals listed below as Lifetime Trustees for extraordinary involvement and leadership of the Symphony over a significant period of time.

Dr. Assad Meymandi (deceased) – 2015 Inductee
Mr. Edward O. Woolner (deceased) – 2016 Inductee
Mrs. Florence Peacock – 2022 Inductee
Dr. Wm. Charles Helton, Raleigh – 2024 Inductee

 

North Carolina Symphony Foundation

The Foundation Board holds the permanent endowment of the Symphony, solicits additions to the endowment, safeguards and invests assets, and prudently expends funds for the exclusive use and benefit of the Symphony Society.

Mr. Chip Anderson, President, Raleigh
Col. Matt Segal, Treasurer, Cary
Ms. Dianne C. Sellers, Secretary, Raleigh
Mr. Larry Wilson, Past President, Raleigh

Ms. Catharine Biggs Arrowood, Raleigh
Mr. Joe Bastian*, Chapel Hill
Mr. Richard L. Daugherty, Raleigh
Dr. Wm. Charles Helton, Raleigh
Mr. Bill Hodges, Raleigh
Mr. D. S. (Steve) Hodges, Durham
Dr. Ted Kunstling, Raleigh
Mr. Robert Loweth, Wilmington
Dr. Emily Mann Peck, Raleigh
Dr. Shaler Stidham, Jr., Raleigh

*Ex Officio Member

 

North Carolina Symphony Chapter Boards

Craven County

Linda J. Staunch, President

Nancy Alexander
M.J. Bertsch
Susan Braaten
Dr. Jim Congleton
Tahira Copeland
Philip Evancho
Hannah B. French
Dr. Dwight Grady
Cille Griffith
John Haroldson
Drew Honeycutt
Christopher McCrudden
Champ Mitchell*
Dr. Joe Overby
Luana Palimetakis
Lauren Quinn
Pat Rowlett
Karen M. Skipper
Dawn D. Staats
Cindy Turco

*deceased

Cumberland County

Mr. L. Dwain Joyce, President
Mr. Worth Smith, Vice President

Mrs. Alisa Evans Debnam
Mr. Chima Enwere
Ms. Andretta Hales
Mrs. Elaine Bryant Hayes
Ms. Andrea Kelly
Ms. Ashley Martin
Mr. Calvin Mims
Mr. Alec Powers

Edgecombe County

Eric Greene, President
Nettie Williams, Vice President
Becky Johnson, Secretary
Ann Warren, Past President

Joy Chafin
Doneva Chavis
Kerrie Clayton
Joshua Dumbleton
Ronnie Ellis
Carol Ferri
Dr. Gregory McLeod
Johanna Owens
Nina Rountree
Angie Ruffin
Katie Schultz
Theresa Scott
Dave Sharpe
Suzanne Sharpe
Jessie Thorne
Joe White

Moore County

Ginger Minichiello, President
Deb Swanson, Secretary

Luke Arno
Judy Casey
Chris Dunn*
Lydia Gill
Audrey Kessler
Marie Riedesel
Elaine Sills*

*Honorary Member

Onslow County

Earl Taylor, President
Susan Edwards, Vice-President
Lyndsay Russell, Secretary

Michelle Baker
Meredith Best
Joli Brooks
Noell Broussard
Dr. Erin Chaney
Sally Figowy
Gloria Goodwin
Carolyn Harrod
Dr. Katy Kazel
Dr. Robert Kell
Vickie Kell
Catharine Koonce
Korene Marsh
Robin Moore
Marta Oyan
Dr. Lisa Peele
Marjorie Tredwell

 

TRUSTEE LISTS CURRENT AS OF OCTOBER 23, 2024

President’s Office

Sandi M.A. Macdonald – President & CEO

Stephen Thompson – Executive Assistant to the President & CEO

 

Artistic Operations

Donald Tippett – Vice President of Orchestra Operations

Samantha Gallup – Operations Manager

Hsing-I Ho – Director of Orchestra Personnel

Zumanah Kamal – Education Coordinator

Chris Moore – Stage Manager

José Muñiz – Artistic Coordinator

Bo Osborne – Production Manager

Mary Shannon – Orchestra Personnel Coordinator

Kerry Smith – Assistant Vice President of Artistic Planning

Jason Spencer – Director of Education

Taylor Troyer – Assistant Orchestra Librarian

Stephanie Wilson – Principal Orchestra Librarian (The Mary Colvert and Banks C. Talley Chair)

 

Finance & Administration

Robert Schiller – Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & CFO

Carol Brown – Accounting & Payroll Manager

Tiffany Debnam – Database & Fulfillment Manager

Tiffany Haddock – Director of Human Resources & Business Systems

Doe Lee – Information Processing and Database Coordinator

Stan Williams – Public Affairs Contractor

Jan Zimmermann – Assistant Vice President of Finance

 

Marketing & Audience Development

Linda Charlton – Vice President for Marketing & Audience Development

Riley Adams – Box Office Associate

Jennifer Blackman – Graphic Designer

Ashley Blankenship – Senior Director of Marketing & Sales

Rebecca Doel – Digital Sales & Engagement Manager

Maria H. Ewing – Director of Advertising & Corporate Partnerships

Andrew Gouck – Assistant Box Office Manager

Arianna Gulisano – Box Office Manager

Richard Hess – Communications Project Manager

Elle Jensen – Marketing Assistant

Graham Jones – Box Office Associate

Emma Wall – Assistant Vice President of Marketing & Sales

Keith Wood – Box Office Associate

 

Philanthropy

Lisa Ransom – Vice President of Philanthropy

Riley Bennett – Institutional Giving Coordinator

Rebecca Gunn – Assistant Vice President of Philanthropy

Olivia Pedigo – Annual Giving Manager

Emily Wilbourne – Leadership Giving Manager

Auditions

Concertmaster

Preliminary/Semi-final Auditions: January 26-27, 2025
Final Auditions: January 27, 2025

The audition will take place at the North Carolina Symphony’s home, Meymandi Concert Hall, in downtown Raleigh. All rounds will be screened except for the designated Unscreened Final Round. Musicians taking this audition should only do so with the intention of accepting the position if it is offered.

DOWNLOAD REPERTOIRE

Updated 11.01.2024. Please check back frequently as repertoire list is subject to updates.

TO APPLY
Please click here to submit your one-page resume as a PDF attachment. Resumes submitted otherwise will not be accepted.

Applications must be received by December 1, 2024.

ABOUT THE POSITION
The 2024/25 season is 40 weeks, plus 18 optional summer services at the position per-service rate. The base salary of the North Carolina Symphony is $1,697.50/week ($69,280 annual/40 wks, including EMG and ancillary payments, excluding overscale). Benefits include 9% employer retirement contribution – 403 (b), medical, life and instrument insurance.

Intended employment to begin in the 2025-2026 season, or at the earliest mutually agreed upon date, with satisfactory USCIS employment eligibility verification at the start and throughout the duration of employment.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SYMPHONY

Section First Violin (2 Positions)

Preliminary/Semi-final Auditions: February 23-24, 2025
Final Auditions: February 25, 2025

The audition will take place at the North Carolina Symphony’s home, Meymandi Concert Hall, in downtown Raleigh. All rounds will be screened. Musicians taking this audition should only do so with the intention of accepting the position if it is offered.

The repertoire list can be found here when it becomes available.

TO APPLY
Please click here to submit your one-page resume as a PDF attachment. Resumes submitted otherwise will not be accepted.

Applications must be received by January 10, 2025.

ABOUT THE POSITION
The 2024/25 season is 40 weeks, plus 18 optional summer services at the position per-service rate. The minimum salary for section position is $1,697.50/week ($69,280 annual/40 wks, including EMG and Ancillary payments). Benefits include 9% employer retirement contribution – 403 (b), medical, life and instrument insurance.

Intended employment to begin in September 2025, or at the earliest mutually agreed upon date, with satisfactory USCIS employment eligibility verification.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SYMPHONY

Third Flute/Piccolo

Preliminary Auditions: February 16-17, 2025
Semi-final Auditions: February 17-18, 2025
Final Auditions: February 18, 2025

The audition will take place at the North Carolina Symphony’s home, Meymandi Concert Hall, in downtown Raleigh. All rounds will be screened. Musicians taking this audition should only do so with the intention of accepting the position if it is offered.

The repertoire list can be found here when it becomes available.

TO APPLY
Please click here to submit your one-page resume as a PDF attachment. Resumes submitted otherwise will not be accepted.

Applications must be received by January 10, 2025.

ABOUT THE POSITION
The 2024/25 season is 40 weeks, plus 18 optional summer services at the position per-service rate. The minimum salary for section position is $1,697.50/week ($69,280 annual/40 wks, including EMG and Ancillary payments). Benefits include 9% employer retirement contribution – 403 (b), medical, life and instrument insurance.

Intended employment to begin in September 2025, or at the earliest mutually agreed upon date, with satisfactory USCIS employment eligibility verification.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SYMPHONY

Administrative positions

No positions are available at this time.

About the North Carolina Symphony

The North Carolina Symphony is an equal opportunity employer that maintains a policy of nondiscrimination with respect to all employees and applicants for employment including hiring, promotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay, selection for training, and recruitment. All considerations are administered without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or veteran status. Employment decisions, subject to the legitimate business requirements of NCS, are based solely on the individual’s qualifications, merit, experience and performance. NCS is proud to be a partner orchestra of the National Alliance for Audition Support.

THE AREA
The Symphony’s home base of Raleigh is the state’s capital, located in the Piedmont (central) region of North Carolina. Raleigh is the largest city in a 3,500-square mile metropolitan area known as the Triangle (Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill) and is among the fastest-growing cities in the US. Raleigh is located approximately 140 miles from the Appalachian highlands and 130 miles from the Atlantic Coast, making the ease of a day trip to the mountains or the beach a unique benefit of living here. Located within the area is Research Triangle Park, home to several corporate and regional headquarters: Fidelity Investments, Duke Health, IBM, Red Hat, SAS, GlaxoSmithKline, and Cisco all have large presences, to name a few.

The home of many creative and well-educated citizens, Raleigh has been lauded as a “Best City for Business and Careers” by Fortune magazine and a “Best Place to Live in America” by Money magazine. It provides its people and businesses with a world-class combination of economic vitality, low unemployment, tremendous educational opportunity, environmental quality, and exceptional quality of life. The park system offers a vast network of recreational greenway trails that connect neighborhoods, and the housing market continues to be strong compared to national averages.

Thirteen institutions of higher education provide affordable and premium educational opportunities for adult and extension classes and a well-educated citizenry of students, graduates, and faculty. The Triangle is also an area of tremendous resources where cultural and performing arts organizations thrive. Other major institutions include the North Carolina Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of History, Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Opera, American Dance Festival, Ackland Art Museum, Nasher Art Museum, Marbles Kids Museum, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Morehead Planetarium, and Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill. There are film, music, dance and crafts festivals, local theater groups and touring Broadway shows. Raleigh is also the current home of the IBMA World of Bluegrass Festival.

The Triangle is also a vital sports center. It is host to the NHL’s Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes, minor league baseball’s Durham Bulls, and the sports programs of ACC members Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University.