YPSILANTI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO PRESENT ITS SEASON FINALE “UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL” CONCERT
APRIL 13 AT LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL SHOWCASING YSO SOLOISTS
CONDUCTED BY MUSIC DIRECTOR ADAM C. RICCINTO
Join YSO for music by American composers Randall Thompson and George Frederick McKay, as well as works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Henryk Wieniawski performed by YSO soloists Erin Himrod (cello) and Alyssa McNally (violin)
YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN, March 9, 2025— Music Director Adam C. Riccinto and the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra (YSO) will perform the final concert of their 26th season on Sunday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. at the Lincoln High School Performing Arts Center, offering a stirring conclusion to this year’s theme of “Up Close and Personal.” The YSO continues to engage audiences with creative programming, conversation from the stage, and outstanding performances highlighting the rich musical talents of members and friends of the orchestra. The April concert boasts a wide range of music from familiar and less well-known composers, including three works by 20th-century American composers: Randall Thompson’s Symphony No. 2 and choral Alleluia arranged for orchestra, and George Frederick McKay’s orchestral suite From a Moonlit Ceremony. The concert will also spotlight two standout YSO soloists, with cellist Erin Himrod performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s beautiful Vocalise, and violinist Alyssa McNally playing the enchanting Légende by Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski.
“We are so proud to again highlight two of our exceptional YSO musicians as soloists at our April concert,” noted Music Director Adam C. Riccinto. “This concert program is packed with musical gems, including fantastic solo pieces for cello and violin, and evocative orchestral works by American composers Randall Thompson and George Frederick McKay. Our season finale is certain to offer a memorable afternoon of music.”
Erin Himrod serves as both the Ypsilanti Symphony’s Principal Cellist and President of the Board of Directors. After joining the YSO cello section in 2007, she became their Associate Principal Cellist in 2012, and took on the role of Principal Cellist in 2021. She joined the Board of Directors in 2017, and was appointed as the Board President in 2019.
Erin began playing the cello at age 13, taking private lessons and playing with several youth orchestras through high school. In college, she played with the University of Michigan Campus Philharmonia Orchestra from 1994 - 1999, serving as their Principal Cellist for the last of those years, prior to setting the instrument aside. Erin began playing her cello again in 2007. In addition to the Ypsilanti Symphony, she performed with the University of Michigan Life Sciences Orchestra for their 2007-08 season, and has occasionally joined the Livingston Symphony Orchestra. Her cello is a Lothar Semmlinger made in 1990, which she has owned since 1992.
Erin earned a BS in Marine Biology from the University of Michigan in 2000, and a certificate as a Clinical Musician Intern from the Harp for Healing Clinical Musician Training Program in 2014. Since 2003, she has worked for Michigan Medicine’s Department of Research and is currently a research lab specialist intermediate. Additionally, she serves as the Chair for her unit’s awards committee and with the University of Michigan’s Voices of the Staff as a facilitator for one of their networking teams. Erin lives in Ypsilanti Township with her dog, Chuckie, and turtle, Wicket. Outside of work and the YSO, she enjoys reading, attending Detroit City Football Club games, painting banners with their main supporter group, the Northern Guard Supporters, and playing games or chamber music with friends.
Alyssa McNally has been an active member of the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra since 2013, first as a violist and now as a violinist. She previously performed as a violist with the Orchestra of Northern New York while a student at the Crane School of Music. She holds degrees in Music Education and Viola Performance. After moving to Michigan, Alyssa performed with the early music ensemble, “Young and Baroque,” for several years. One of Alyssa’s favorite pastimes is getting together with friends to play chamber music.
Alyssa currently teaches orchestral and vocal music at Meadow Montessori School in Monroe, MI, where she works with students from preschool through 12th grade. Prior to teaching at Meadow, Alyssa spent many years teaching violin and viola to children of all ages in the Ann Arbor area from her private studio. Alyssa plays a violin by Chicago maker Walter Stopka.
Alyssa lives in Saline, Michigan with her husband, Justin, her son, Owen, and their Australian Shepherd, Sandor. The entire family enjoys cycling and competes in cyclocross races together in the fall.
Randall Thompson (1899-1984) is particularly known for his three symphonies and his large output of choral music. He completed his youthful and passionate Symphony No. 2 in 1931. The four-movement work is marked by a characteristic light-hearted energy that strikes a balance between nationalism—with a distinctly straightforward, American style—and classical forms. The contrapuntal opening transitions to a slower, melodic second movement, followed by a Scherzo of jazzy, rhythmic complexity and colorful orchestration. The influence of Thompson’s choral writing and hints of popular music of the day are displayed in the symphony’s expansive and optimistic finale.
Thompson’s Alleluia for unaccompanied chorus was composed on commission from Serge Koussevitzky, the famed conductor, composer, and director of the Berkshire Music Center (now the Tanglewood Music Center). The work premiered at Tanglewood in 1940. Koussevitzky requested a fanfare for the opening of the festival, but in light of the growing war in Europe, Thompson instead composed this quiet, simple, and introspective work. Alleluia was arranged for orchestra by Randol Bass to recognized the 75th anniversary of the premiere.
George Frederick McKay (1899-1970) was a prolific composer in multiple genres. Born and raised in the state of Washinton, he was influenced by the music and spirit of the west coast, as well as American folk, and Native American, and popular music. McKay was the first composition graduate of the Eastman School of Music and taught at the University of Washington for more than forty years. The evocative orchestral suite From a Moonlit Ceremony, composed in 1945, is built upon and inspired by Native American themes and melodies, and includes four short sections: “Evocation,” “Demon Dance,” “Spirt Song,” and “Festival Dance.”
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s (1873-1943) Vocalise was composed in 1915 and published as the 14th and final song in his 14 Romances Op. 34. As a Vocalise, the song included no text, but rather was to be vocalized by the performer on a single syllable with piano accompaniment. Rachmaninoff wrote the piece for the star coloratura soprano Antonina Nezhdanova of the Moscow Grand Opera, and it premiered in 1916. By then, Rachmaninoff had already converted the piano accompaniment to an orchestral score, the first of many alternative arrangements of the popular work for a wide variety of solo and accompanied voices, instruments, and ensembles.
Polish violin virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) completed his Légende Op. 17 for solo violin and orchestra around 1860. He dedicated Légende to his future wife, Isabella Hampton. The work was instrumental in securing their engagement, as Isabella’s parents did not approve until they heard the impressive work. The showpiece for violin unfolds dramatically in three sections, with the soloist leading through melancholic intensity, to virtuosic sequences to that reach a peak in the orchestra before returning to the musical themes of the beginning, gradually slowing to a gentle conclusion.
The Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra will perform with YSO soloists Erin Himrod and Alyssa McNally on Sunday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. at Lincoln High School’s Performing Arts Center, 7425 Willis Road, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for students/seniors/children, and $30/ per family, and can be purchased at the door or online at A2Tix.com.
The Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra (YSO) is proud of its unique and significant cultural contribution to the Ypsilanti area. The YSO’s mission is “to share our passion for music through innovative programming, creative collaboration, and arts advocacy,” and to “actively contribute to the music appreciation and education of our musicians, organizational members and audience.” Led by Founder and Music Director Adam C. Riccinto, the Symphony marks its 26th anniversary with the 2024-25 season.
The YSO is grateful for the many businesses and individuals who shared their support by contributing auction items. The YSO also thanks its Corporate Sponsors: Bank of Ann Arbor, Dennis Green, The Dog Wizard Ann Arbor, Dykema, Faber Piano Institute, in2being, LLC., Dan and Linda Wagner, Washtenaw Parks & Recreation Commission, The Ypsilanti Performance Space (The Ypsi), and Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. As well as our Business Sponsors: Ann Arbor Smiles, Brewed Awakenings, The Brian Bundesen Team, Meadow Montessori School, Sidetracks Bar & Grill, and Wellspring Healing Center LLC.
More information about the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra can be found at www.ypsilantisymphony.org, on Instagram @ypsilantisymphony, on our YouTube channel, and on Facebook.
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Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra
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Jennifer Turner-Dold Administrative Assistant
- April 07, 2025
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