Acclaimed by the Baltimore Sun as “one of the biggest pianistic talents to have emerged in this country in the last 25 years” pianist Terrence Wilson has appeared as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Washington, DC (National Symphony), San Francisco, St. Louis, and with the orchestras of Cleveland, Minnesota, and Philadelphia. Abroad, Terrence Wilson has played concerti with such ensembles as the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Terrence Wilson has received several awards and prizes, including the SONY ES Award for Musical Excellence, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Juilliard Petschek Award. In 2011, he was nominated for a Grammy in the category of “Best Instrumental Soloist With an Orchestra” for his (world premiere) recording with the Nashville Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero of Michael Daugherty’s Deus ex Machina for piano and orchestra – written for Wilson in 2007. He serves as a member of the piano faculty at the Brevard Music Center (BMC) Institute and Festival and at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky.

A fabulous soprano with soaring range and adorable young choristers join the celebration. Sounds of the season include Sleigh Ride, O Holy Night, a Christmas carol singalong, Symph-Hanukkah, music from The Nutcracker and The Polar Express, and many more goodies!

Carrie Hennessey returns after her acclaimed Folsom Lake Symphony debut in Carmina Burana. Known for her soaring voice and portraying richly nuanced characters, she has built a diverse career spanning opera, theater, and education. Her performances around the globe have taken her to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Budapest, Reduta Hall in Bratislava, Rudolfinium Hall in Prague, Liederhalle in Stuttgart, and the Grand Rapids. Pacific, Duluth, and Houston Symphonies. She recently completed a one-woman show entitled How Did I Even Get Here?

A NIGHT FOR ROMANCE
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 7:30 pm

Tiffany Townsend, soprano
Cedric Berry, bass-baritone

Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
Gershwin: Summertime, I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’, and Bess, You is My Woman Now
          from Porgy and Bess
Mendelssohn: Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy

Tiffany Townsend has been praised for her “powerhouse soprano and expressive presence” (The Wall Street Journal) and “rich voice and interpretive talent” (Bachtrack). She was designated as a Resident Artist at Seattle Opera for the 2024-2025 season. She made her role debut as America Robinson in Jubilee and covered Tosca and Nedda in Pagliacci at Seattle Opera during that season. Ms. Townsend is the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation. She has performed with LA Opera, Wolf Trap Opera & Opera Philadelphia. She also has been in concert with the New Jersey Symphony, the Bakersfield Symphony, Artosphere Festival, the Missouri Symphony, Tacoma Symphony and The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Tiffany Townsend holds a Professional Studies Certificate in Opera from Curtis Institute of Music, a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Millsaps College.

Cedric Berry is making a triumphant return to our stage. He wields “a bass-baritone of considerable power and agility” (The Chicago Tribune), projecting “machismo and a voice of fabulous mettle to the theatre’s last row….tossing off difficult passagework and deploying dazzling thunderbolts of sound at the top of the range” (Voix des Arts). Roles include the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Lepporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Shaunard in Puccini’s La Boheme. Companies include Los Angeles Opera, The Industry Opera, Long Beach Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festival of Finnland, Banlieurs Bleues Festival of France and the Ravinia Music Festival, to name a few. He has appeared with Pacific Symphony, Arizona Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Pasadena Pops Orchestra, California Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Telemann Chamber Orchestra of Japan. He also won first place in the Metropolitan Opera Western Region Competition. He received his music diploma from Interlochen Arts Academy and both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California.

PASSION AND POWER
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 7:30 pm
Ava Pakiam, violin

Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
Brahms: Symphony No. 4

“A rising star” – San Francisco Classical Voice, Ava Pakiam is a fifteen-year-old violinist studying at the Pre College of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Ava was admitted into the Pre College program at age seven and is currently a student of Simon James. Ava made her solo debut at eight years old in California with the Fremont Symphony. Later that summer, she performed Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto with the Sempre Musik Orchestra and the New York Sinfonietta in Boston and New York City, making her solo debut at Carnegie Hall. In the Fall of 2021, Ava competed at age eleven in the Seattle Young Artists Auditions. Ava was named the Seattle Symphony Young Artist for the 2021-2022 season and performed as soloist with the Seattle Symphony playing Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Last season, Ava performed the Brahms, Bruch and Tchaikovsky concerti on both coasts as well as a solo tour with orchestras in Mexico and Honduras. She performs on an 1874 J.B. Vuillaume violin.

Build the excitement leading up to our nation’s 250th birthday! Festivities include iconic musical hits from American composers, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Bernstein’s Overture to Candide,Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, and musical favorites from stage and screen. Don’t miss this stellar season finale!

Omari Tau is a versatile performing artist, educator, director, and composer, equally comfortable narrating and vocalizing with over thirty years in the arts. He toured with the international company of Disney’s Lion King and other credits include roles in many musical productions and various recordings. With degrees from Michigan State University and the Moores School of Music-University of Houston, he feels at home in the operatic and musical theater worlds, as well as in jazz and pop genres. The Sacramento native is cofounding artistic director of Rogue Music Project, professor of vocal music at Cosumnes River College, and member of the band Solabel.