January 14, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Beethoven'sSymphony Nº 4
Moody Performance Hall
2520 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Respighi’s Trittico botticelliano opens this program, followed by prize-winning violinist Sarah Ma on Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending. After intermission, enjoy Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony; Richard McKay conducts.
Program
Main event starts at 7:30 p.m.
Richard McKay conducts
Ottorino Respighi
Trittico Botticelliano
La primavera
L’adorazione dei Magi
La nascita di Venere
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sarah Ying Ma, violin
The Lark Ascending
Intermission
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major
Adagio – Allegro vivace
Adagio
Scherzo-trio: Allegro vivace
Allegro ma non troppo
Program duration:
100 minutes, including intermission
You’ll always find our best available seats and prices online. Complete your purchase and have tickets emailed, shipped, or left under your name at will call.
(214) 449-1294
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday – Friday
Tickets may be purchased in our venue’s lobby, which opens 90 minutes before each event’s start time. Cash and major credit cards are accepted. Skip the lines by ordering online or by phone.
Looking for the perfect gift? Not sure if this event is the right one? Buy a gift card and let your loved one decide! Have your gift delivered by mail, email or text with your own personalized message!
Buying for a group of 10 or more? Visit our group tickets page to learn how to receive a discount and reserve a group meeting space in our lobby!
About the Artists
Sarah Ying Ma, violin
Chinese-American violinist Sarah Ying Ma is a 2024 Performance Today Young Artist in Residence with host Fred Childs, and the recent 2nd Prizewinner of the 2023 Dallas International Violin Competition: “Her impassioned account was gripping from start to finish. She commanded that rarest of effects, pianissimos at the threshold of audibility that still radiated intensity” (The Dallas Morning News). In 2024, Sarah was named a semifinalist in both the solo and ensemble categories of the 2024 Concert Artists Guild Louis & Susan Meisel Competition, and has advanced to the final round in May 2024 with their string quartet, the Poiesis Quartet.
Sarah has soloed with numerous orchestras, including the Dallas Chamber Symphony, Island Symphony Orchestra, North Shore Symphony Orchestra, New York Concerti Sinfonietta, Manhattan School of Music’s Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble 212, Accademia D’Archi Arrigoni (Italy), Indiana University’s Informatics Philharmonic, Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Chamber Players Orchestra, among many others. They were previously accepted as the youngest semi-finalist in the prestigious 2017 and 2019 Cooper International Violin Competition, the 2017 Blount Slawson Young Artists Competition, as well as the 2016 Il Piccolo Violino Magico in Italy, where they received the special prize for “Best Virtuoso Piece”.
An extraordinary chamber musician, Sarah has attended Kneisel Hall and the Heifetz International Music Institute, and was the Dorothy Richard Starling fellow at Aspen Music Festival as a student of Robert Lipsett, Donald Weilerstein, and Paul Kantor.
Most notably, Sarah is a founding member of the Poiesis Quartet, the Grand Prize, Gold Medal, and Lift Every Voice winners of the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Gold Medal and BIPOC prize winners at the 2023 St Paul String Quartet Competition’s Senior Division, and finalists in the 2024 Concert Artists Guild competition. Poiesis’ recent projects include recordings of new music by composers Rick Stout and Clint Needham, singer Nancy Maultsby, and multiple Grammy-winning producer Elaine Martone, as well as with producer Stefan Hersch at Guarneri Hall on Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Calvary” Quartet. The Poiesis Quartet is currently in residence at the University of Cincinnati’s Graduate Quartet Program studying with the Ariel Quartet.
After transferring from undergraduate and Pre-College studies at The Juilliard School with Donald Weilerstein, Li Lin, & Masao Kawasaki, Sarah holds a B.M. in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, where they studied with Sibbi Bernhardsson.
As a 2023 Oberlin College Research Fellow and 2023 Gilman Scholar of the U.S. Department of State, Sarah also received two minors from Oberlin College in Comparative American Studies and Gender, Sexuality, & Feminist Studies. Previously, Sarah was closely mentored by Aaron Rosand, Elizabeth Faidley, Li Lin, and Liu Xinlan. They are also grateful to have worked with Almita Vamos, Robert Levin, Ray Chen, Stefan Jackiw, and Richard Lin, among others.
Sarah is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music where they study with Kristin Lee and the Ariel Quartet. Sarah performs on a fine 1900 violin by Leandro Bisiach and bow by Eugène Sartory.
Richard McKay, music & artistic director
Richard McKay is a conductor of the symphonic and operatic repertory across the United States, Europe and South America. An established leader in the vibrant Dallas arts community, his recent performances have been hailed by critics as “spellbinding,” “finely paced,” and “perfectly shaped” (D Magazine and The Dallas Morning News).
McKay has worked with the Baltimore Symphony and Dallas Symphony, where he has assisted conductors Günther Herbig, Carlos Kalmar, Jaap van Zweden, and many others. He has led performances at the Aspen Music Festival where he was a fellowship conductor at the American Academy of Conducting. McKay has also conducted the Fort Worth Symphony, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Irving Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Mendoza Symphony, Estonian National Youth Symphony, and others. Other program highlights have included successful collaborations with Texas Ballet Theater and Bruce Wood Dance.
McKay holds a doctorate from the Peabody Conservatory where he trained with Gustav Meier, Markand Thakar, and Marin Alsop while serving as assistant conductor and chorus master of the Peabody Orchestras and Opera. He graduated with a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from The University of Texas at Austin, where he conducted performances at the Butler Opera Center and served as Music Director of the University Orchestra.