A Message from the Lexington Philharmonic: repertoire and guest artist change to 2024-2025 season finale concert
The Lexington Philharmonic has made the difficult decision to remove the Cyber Bird Concerto by Takashi Yoshimatsu from our 2024-2025 Season Finale concert on Friday, May 2. Due to circumstances beyond our control, saxophonist Jichen Zhang and pianist Meng Lui are not able to perform with the orchestra.
Music Director Mélisse Brunet has decided to replace Cyber Bird Concerto with, Wolf Totem, a bass concerto by Tan Dun, that will feature LexPhil’s Principal Bassist Rachel Martin as soloist. Named for the novel by Jiang Rong, the piece is thematically tied by one Chinese-style melody and inspired by the story of wolves and their importance in the ecosystem. The Programming Advisory Council, made up of LexPhil Musicians, staff and Board members, were consulted about this repertoire change and it was unanimously supported. Brunet has conducted Wolf Totem with Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring before and is excited for another opportunity for this fantastic repertoire pairing.
Though we are disappointed we are not able to perform Cyber Bird Concerto for our community this season, we are excited to showcase a member of the orchestra as the soloist. Rachel Martin joined the Lexington Philharmonic as Principal Bass in late 2023 and was awarded tenure with the orchestra in late 2024. She also frequently performs with the Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony.
Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Rachel began playing double bass at age 8 and studied privately with Pittsburgh Symphony members Peter Guild and Betsy Heston. Since then, she has earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, studying with Timothy Pitts.
Rachel has spent her summers performing around the world, including Europe, Central America, and East Asia. She has also attended national music programs, including Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen Music Festival.
In her free time, Rachel is passionate about expanding literature for double bass. She loves composing and performing arrangements for double bass ensembles, finding joy in collaborating with friends.
We hope that everyone will join us on Friday, May 2 for the final concert of LexPhil’s 2024-2025 Season. Learn more about the full program at lexphil.org/rite-of-spring
