I pcoming Events of the SeventySixth Season of The William

Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot

Belin Concerts

Unless otherwise noted, all programs

take place in the West Building,

West Garden Court.

Tomorrow’s Concert

New York Opera Society

The Three Lives ofRosinaAlmaviva

Celebrating Fragonard: The Fantasy Figures

November 26, 3:30

Inna Faliks and Daniel Schlosberg

Gustav Mahler, Symphony no. 6,

arranged for piano, four-hands,

by Alexander von Zemlinsky

December 3, 3:30

Caroling in the Rotunda

December 9, 10, 16 & 17, 1:30 & 2:30

The Swiss-American Musical Society

Igor Stravinsky, The Soldier's Tale

Christophe Sturzenegger,

The Snow Queen

Christophe Sturzenegger, conductor

Robert Baker, narrator

December 10, 3:30

Turtle Island Quartet

With special guest Liz Carroll

Winter's Eve

December 17, 4:00

Harlem Symphony Orchestra

Amadi Azikiwe, conductor

January 7, 2018, 3:30

Juho Pohjonen, piano

January 14, 3:30

Piffaro, The Renaissance Band

Celebrating Vermeer and the Masters of

Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry

January 21, 3:30

Admission to the National Gallery ofArt

and all of its programs is free of charge,

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the performance is not

allowed. Please be sure that all portable

electronic devices are turned off.

The department of music produced

these program notes. Copyright © 2017

Board ofTrustees, National Gallery of

Art, Washington

Concerts are made possible in part

through the generosity of donors to

the National Gallery ofArt through

The Circle. Reserved seating is available

in recognition of their support. Please 

contact the development office at 

(202) 842-6450 or circle@nga.gov for

more information.

CoverJean-LIonore Fragonard, The Singer

(detail), c. 1769, Private Collection

nga.gov/music

76TH SEASON OF CONCERTS

NOVEMBER 24 & 25, 2017 / NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

ca
Program

Living Art Collective Ensemble

Creation without Boundaries

Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, violin

Danielle DeSwert Hahn, piano

Bonnie Thron, cello (November 24)

Vonda Darr, harp (November 25)

Jennifer Cho, soprano (November 24)

Michele G. Cober, soprano (November 25)

Presented in celebration of Fragonard: The Fantasy Figures

NOVEMBER 24 & 25, 2017 / 3:30

WEST BUILDING, WEST GARDEN COURT

Music by Luigi Boccherini, Anne-Louise Brillon dejouy,

and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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The Musicians

The Living Art Collective Ensemble (LACE) is a fluid group of musicians, committed

to bridging the gap between the visual and performing arts. Issues of cultural relevance are brought to light within the context of vivid and engaging performances of

classical music. Curated by Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky and Danielle DeSwert Hahn,

each performance incorporates multiple facets of the arts and culture, including

poetry, politics, fashion, and food, and also highlights aspects of society that remain

unchanged irrespective of time and place.

JACQUELINE SAED WOLBORSKY

Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky is the associate principal second violinist of the North

Carolina Symphony and teaches violin at the University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill. Before coming to North Carolina, Wolborsky was a member of the Charleston

Symphony and an adjunct professor of violin at the College of Charleston. She has

been a featured soloist with the North Carolina Symphony and the Brussels Chamber Orchestra and received first prize and the audience choice award at the South

Carolina Philharmonic Competition. She was also honored with the Russell Award

at the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California.

In the spring of 2016, Wolborsky was featured at the National Gallery ofArt with

the North Carolina Symphony Trio, where she performed the complete Beethoven

String Trios. She performed for the late Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel in

Chicago, the family ofthe late Itzhak Rabin’s in Jaffa, Israel, and in 2001, for Vice

President A1 Gore and other government officials in Washington, DC. She has spent

past summers at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland and was invited by the Verbier

Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra to tour several European countries with Joshua

Bell,James Levine, and the late Mstislav Rostropovich.

Wolborsky has taught and performed at dozens of international festivals. She

received her bachelor’s degree in music from the Oberlin Conservatory, under

renowned professors Roland and Almita Vamos, and her master’s degree in music 

from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her Suzuki teacher training was at the

Cleveland Institute ofMusic, and she has taught violin privately for more than

twenty years.

DANIELLE DESWERT HAHN

Brussels-born pianist Danielle DeSwert Hahn is currently the head of music programs at the National Gallery ofArt in Washington, DC. Formerly principal pianist

of the Baltimore Opera Company and the Washington Concert Opera, she has also

worked on the music staffs at the Ash Lawn Highland Opera Festival, the New York

Opera Society, and the Chautauqua, Indianapolis, Kentucky, North Carolina,

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Portland, Sarasota, and Washington National Opera Companies. She performed on

two Western Opera Theater tours, formerly part ofthe San Francisco Opera Center.

In the fall of 2003, Hahn did the musical preparation for a world premiere opera by

Thea Musgrave, presented by the New Orleans Opera Association. She has worked

with world renowned singers, including soprano Elizabeth Futral, baritone Rod 

Gilfry, and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves.

Hahn regularly performs in chamber music and voice recitals, partnering with

members ofthe National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra,

the North Carolina Symphony, and many singers. In the Washington Metro Area, she

has performed at the Arts Club ofWashington, the Belgian Ambassador’s Residence, 

the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, the Kennedy Center, the

Mexican Institute of Culture, the National Gallery ofArt, the Russian Embassy, and

the White House. Recently she has performed in concert and recording with the

contemporary ensemble New Music Raleigh and as an extra keyboard player with the

North Carolina Symphony. In March of 2013, Hahn was invited by the Rotary Club

Paris Academies to be the accompanist for a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Francis Poulenc, held at L’eglise Notre-Dame d’Auteuil in Paris. 

She also performs regularly on the concert series at the National Gallery ofArt.

BONNIE THRON

Bonnie Thron joined the North Carolina Symphony as principal cellist in 2000. She

is an active chamber musician and has played with the chamber ensemble Quercus,

the Mallarme Chamber Players, and the Ciompi Quartet, and in concert with her

husband, clarinetist Fred Jacobowitz. In the Washington, DC, area she has recently

been a guest with the American Chamber Players, and she performs regularly on the

Washington Musica Viva series. For the past two summers, she has been a guest artist

and teacher at the East Carolina University Summer Chamber Music Institute. She

also plays in the Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival in Maine during the summer.

Previously, Thron was a member ofthe PeabodyTrio, in residence at the Peabody

Institute, during which time the group won the Naumberg Chamber Music Competition. Early in her career, Thron was assistant principal cellist ofthe Denver Symphony for one season and played and recorded with the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble.

She has had a long history with the Apple Hill Chamber Players as a guest artist and

chamber music coach and was involved in the group’s first Playing for Peace tour to

the Middle East in 1991. Thron has performed concertos with the North Carolina

Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, the Juilliard Orchestra, the Panama

National Orchestra, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and other orchestras in North

Carolina, as well as in her home state of New Hampshire. She received her bachelor’s

and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School.

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JENNIFER CHO

Jennifer Cho holds a double bachelor’s degree in opera music/performance and 

English literature/culture from Northwestern University. She also has a certificate in

piano performance from the Trinity Music College of London. Since completing her

studies, Cho has received numerous awards for her work.

In 2005, in pursuit of her passion for opera, Jennifer founded the New York Opera

Society (NYOS) and serves as its executive director. Under her stewardship this small,

start-up company has grown into a flourishing concern. The NYOS develops new 

audiences for opera by commissioning, creating, and funding distinctive and highquality productions. To that end, NYOS serves as a conduit to the public by disseminating important messages, musical inspiration, and seminal artistic performances

through partnerships with major performance venues, corporations, nonprofits, and 

governments, to present the work ofits artists in the United States and abroad. NYOS

is led by a dedicated board of directors and philanthropist Lesley Silvester.

MICHELE G. COBER

Michele G. Cober graduated with honors from the University ofMaryland, College

Park, with a bachelor’s degree in vocal music performance and a master’s degree

in opera performance. A regular performer with the Washington National Opera,

Cober made her company debut as a Handmaiden in Turandot. As a finalist in Placido

Domingo’s international competition of Operalia, Cober was selected for an eighteenmonth residency in the Washington National Opera’s Young Artist Program of the

Americas. She performed the role of Frankie in Cat-men Jones under the baton of

Maestro Domingo with the National Symphony Orchestra and appeared with opera

sensation Bryn Terfel on the nationally broadcast Kennedy Center Honors. In 2005,

she reprised the roles of Clara and Bess with New York Harlem Theater’s production

of Porgy and Bess, performed in Denmark, Germany, and Italy and previously performed

to great acclaim in Germany and the Netherlands. Also in 2005, Cober decided to

go to law school. She graduated cum laude from Howard University School of Law,

where she was executive publications editor of the Howard LawJournal. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk to Judge Deborah K. Chasanow in

the United States District Court for the District ofMaryland. She began her career

at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, and is currently a senior associate at Hogan Lovells US, 

LLP, in Washington, DC. Her practice focuses on a variety of litigation and arbitration matters, and she has also handled family law, tort, and criminal matters as part

of her pro bono practice. Cober has been named one of Super Lawyers Washington,

DC, “Rising Stars” in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

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VONDA DARR

Vonda Darr performs as principal harpist for the North Carolina Symphony classical

series. She began her musical journey at age four, taking piano lessons from her

mother. By age six, she was ready for a second instrument and insisted on the harp.

She began her studies with Gladys Hubner in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and soon

joined the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies. She studied with Gretchen Van

Hoesen in Pittsburgh, while earning her degree in harp performance. As a college

student, she had the opportunity to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

alongside her teacher, with Michael Tilson Thomas as guest conductor.

Darr has been the principal harpist for the Symphony Orchestra Augusta in

Georgia since 1993 and was principal harpist for the Augusta Opera for twelve years. 

She has been a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta, the Wilson Symphony

Orchestra, the Lyra Vivace Chamber Orchestra, the Augusta Symphony String

Quartet, the University of South Carolina Chamber Orchestra, and the Georgia

Southern Symphony. She has previously been acting principal harpist for the South

Carolina Philharmonic and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina.

An active chamber and solo recitalist, Darr has performed on the North Carolina

Symphony’s Manning Chamber Series and is a frequent guest artist with Chamber

Music Charleston. Darr has presented concerts for the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and 

for the American Harp Society National Conference. She is a founding member of

the Lyra Vivace Chamber Orchestra and performs as Duo Venandi with flutist

Wendy Cohen.

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Program Notes

During the period in which Jean-Honore Fragonard dashed off his series of portraits

known as the Fantasy Figures, a very important social, political, and educational arena

was flourishing in the homes of wealthy Parisians. Salons—gatherings of a select

group ofinvited guests—were private places in which poetry, music, and art, as well 

as philosophy and politics, were discussed and debated. It could be surmised that the

ideas brought about in these settings had eventual influence on the public sphere.

The salon was one area in the Age of Enlightenment that was dominated by women.

Salonierres, those who hosted these gatherings, had the power not only to choose

their guests, but also to determine the subjects and themes oftheir salons. While it

is true that most ofthese hostesses were already wealthy, educated women who used 

these forums to better themselves, they were also undoubtedly progressive individuals

who felt that women’s role in society was more important than generally thought.

Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy hosted a twice-weekly musical salon in the 1770s

and 1780s. Her home was in the Parisian suburb of Passy, where her neighbor also

hosted a salon for philosophers, artists, and literary figures. Mme Brillon is one of

Fragonard’s fantasy figures; her portrait was most likely commissioned by her husband, 

the financierJacques Brillon de Jouy. Mme Brillon was well-known throughout Europe

as a highly skilled keyboard player who also composed pieces for the keyboard. She

probably owned one ofthe first fortepianos in France. Travelers throughout the world

became regulars at her salon. When Benjamin Franklin served as American minister

to Paris from 1777 to 1785, he lived in Passy and delighted in not only the musical 

and social aspects ofMme Brillon’s salon, but also made close connections with the

French aristocrats who also attended the gatherings. The friendship between Mme

Brillon and Benjamin Franklin continued beyond his Paris years, through correspondence that ended only with his death in 1790.

This weekend at the Gallery, LACE performs music of the era, in a salon-style

setting. Some of the pieces heard here may have been performed for the first time in 

the home ofMme Brillon. These modern versions pay homage to the women who

fostered culture and ideas, and who paved the way for future generations to create

without boundaries.

Program notes by Danielle DeSwert Hahn, Head of Music Programs, National Gallery ofArt

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