YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN, January 9, 2025— Music Director Adam C. Riccinto and the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra (YSO) continue to mark their 26^th season in February with an exhilarating winter concert focused this year’s theme of “Up Close and Personal,” featuring guest artists and friends of the YSO in performance on stage and in conversation with the audience. The concert will offer works by master composers Beethoven, Mozart, and Vivaldi and also features chamber-like performances highlighting several exceptional soloists from the orchestra. YSO soloists Edwin Olson (violin), Dan Wagner (trumpet), and Joshua Cohen (trumpet) will perform with the orchestra on Sunday, February 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Lincoln High School Performing Arts Center.

The concert will include the YSO performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Mozart’s Symphony No. 36, K425, and will also shine a spotlight on talented soloists Dan Wagner and Joshua Cohen performing the Concerto for Two Trumpets by Antonio Vivaldi, and YSO Concertmaster Edwin Olson playing a Romance for violin by Ludwig van Beethoven.

“This concert will include some truly beautiful works by beloved composers Beethoven, Mozart, and Vivaldi, and it will be a terrific opportunity to get to know just how gifted our YSO orchestra members are,” said Music Director Adam C. Riccinto. “We are excited to showcase some of our remarkable musicians as they perform as soloists with the orchestra, and audiences are in for a special concert of classical treasures.”

Edwin Olson joined the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra in 2011 and has served as concertmaster since 2013. Prior to that, he was concertmaster of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts and played with the MIT Symphony Orchestra. In addition to orchestral work, he can occasionally be seen performing chamber music. Mr. Olson began playing at age five, and has played continuously ever since. He plays a violin by Ann Arbor maker Joseph Curtin.

Mr. Olson earned a PhD in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT in 2008 for his work on building large maps using robots. He joined the computer science department at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2008, and is a member of UM’s robotics department. With his students, his lab has studied and published in many areas of robotics, including mapping, planning, machine perception, and human interfaces. He has worked extensively on autonomous cars, first at MIT during the DARPA Urban Challenge, followed by U-M, Ford, and Toyota Research Institute. In 2017, Mr. Olson founded May Mobility, an Ann Arbor self-driving car startup where he serves as the chief executive officer. May Mobility’s vision is to make cities more beautiful, accessible, and equitable by creating new transit options that reduce the need for personal car ownership. Mr. Olson lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, son, and daughter– all violinists.

Dan Wagner is principal trumpet and a charter member of the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra. Dan has been playing the trumpet since age 10 and has studied under Phillip Warsop, Carter Eggers, and Ray Eubanks. Mr. Wagner has had the honor to perform with numerous groups and ensembles over the years, including the Ann Arbor Concert Band, Dodworth Saxhorn Band, Liberty Brass Quintet, St. Paul Brass, Tecumseh Pops Orchestra, Michigan Chamber Brass, and numerous other musical opportunities. In 1965 Dan attended the Summer Music Program at Interlochen Arts Academy. Dan graduated from Ann Arbor High School, attended Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and Wayne State University, and earned a degree in Mortuary Science. Dan owned and operated a precast concrete manufacturing company in Milan, Michigan for 32 years before his retirement. He lives in Milan, Michigan with his wife Linda, who is also a charter member and principal bassoon of the YSO.

Josh Cohen grew up in the Vermont mountains, where he began playing trumpet when he was nine years old. During high school, he attended Kinhaven Music School for three summers, and discovered the joys of playing in symphony orchestra and chamber ensembles. At the University of Michigan, he played in Concert Band, Campus Orchestra, and Lab Band (a jazz ensemble), and studied with Jean Morehead. He has played with the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra for about ten years. Other musical endeavors since college include the Ann Arbor Concert Band, a variety of small ensembles, and the occasional show. He’s dabbled in piano as well. Josh is a software developer in the Ann Arbor area, where he lives with his wife and cat “Kitty,” and has one daughter who is a senior in college and an avid vocalist and pianist. He enjoys reading, hiking, tennis, and games and puzzles.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) completed his Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Opus 36 in 1802, a time of activity and artistic success as well as turmoil and anguish as his hearing began quickly to deteriorate. The four-movement work hints at this mixed state of mind, beginning with a dark, heavy introduction moving into a dynamic and spirited Allegro. The ensuing Larghetto is lyrical and richly textured. The following Scherzo is innovative and highlights Beethoven’s offbeat rhythms and novel fragments of melody. The final Allegro molto is powerful and energetic, ending the work on a triumphant note.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) composed his Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 (“Linz”) over just four days during a visit with his wife to the Austrian town of Linz in 1783. While the first of the four movements begins with a slow and stately introduction, the work quickly transitions to a boisterous and spirited Allegro. The gentle second movement offers a lilting dance rhythm, interjected with bursts from the timpani and trumpets. The third movement Menuetto is a lively country dance, with more lyrical moments featuring the oboe and bassoon. The final Presto movement provides a rollicking finale of interwoven music themes that brings the work to a breathless close.

Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major, RV 537, was composed for two solo trumpets and string orchestra. It is the prolific composer’s only trumpet concerto. The work demonstrates Vivaldi’s characteristically brilliant and rhythmically exhilarating composition, as well as the intricate interaction between the two solo trumpets and the orchestra. The three-movement work includes fast-paced Allegro movements to begin and end the concerto, spotlighting the virtuosity of the two soloists, with a brief, slower middle movement for only strings, which provides a short moment of calm between the trumpets’ fireworks.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) Romance No.1 in G Major, Opus 40 for violin and orchestra was written in 1798 but not published until 1805, by which time he had completed and published his similar Romance No. 1 in G Major, Opus 40. Both romances were dedicated to violin virtuoso Ignaz Schuppanzigh, and both utilize a rondo structure distinguished by a return to the main theme at intervals throughout the piece. The popular works also share a singing, sentimental, and often lustrous quality throughout.

The YSO will perform with YSO soloists Edwin Olson, Dan Wagner, and Joshua Cohen on Sunday, February 16 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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