Program

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Rick Prakhoff

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

Rick Prakhoff

Conducting was the obvious choice for Rick to allow him to perform the music which first engaged him as a child. It was during his second extended stay in London, seeking a career as a classical guitarist, that he realised he had heard far more orchestral, choral and operatic performances than guitar concerts. Conducting was the only career path which would allow him to finally perform the repertoire he truly loved.

Following his BMus in Perth at WAAPA (majoring in conducting) Rick’s training continued in Melbourne when he was selected for Symphony Australia’s Young Conductor programme, working for five years in intensive workshops with renowned conducting teachers Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Noam Sherif, Vernon Handley and Johannes Fritzsch, working with WASO, OV, QSO, ASO and the AOBO.

As a freelance conductor Rick has performed with orchestras, choirs and opera companies in Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne.

Rick was appointed as Artistic Director of the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra in 2018 and has been the Artistic Director of the Melbourne Bach Choir since its inception in 2005.

Following their first collaboration with a performance in the Melbourne Town Hall of the Verdi Requiem in 2019, Zelman, the MBC and bass Adrian Tamburini joined for a memorable performance in the Myer Music Bowl in March 2021 by Zelman’s commission of composer Luke Styles’ No Friend But the Mountains: A Symphonic Song Cycle, based on the remarkable book by Kurdish refugee Behrouz Bouchani, detailing his incarceration by the Australian Government.

Rick was honoured to lead Zelman and the MBC in their performance of Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2 in September 2023 to highlight Zelman’s 90th anniversary.

Sophia Kirsanova

Violin

Sophia Kirsanova

Latvian violinist Sophia Kirsanova enjoys a diverse career, having made numerous solo and chamber music appearances and held orchestral positions throughout Europe, Australia, Israel, and since 2019 she has been based in Melbourne.

In 2024, Sophia released her solo album The Morning Mist on the SKANI label dedicated to Latvian composers, which includes international collaborations and new commissioned works. The album received critical acclaim as “a fascinating and rewarding snapshot of violin-led Latvian music” (Limelight) and “outstanding playing” from The WholeNote. In recognition of her research and promotion of Latvian composers, she was awarded the K. Barona Award by the World Federation of Free Latvians.

Sophia’s orchestral career has included 1st Violin positions with Sinfonietta Riga (2006/7) and Israel Camerata (2009–2018), as well as guest principal and tutti roles with various orchestras. Sophia has been a member of the Piano Trio RAM (2009-12) and Duo Brozgul-Kirsanova (since 2022). Sophia has appeared as a soloist with orchestras, including the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and frequently with the Israel Camerata. She has given recitals in Europe, Israel and Australia (Melba Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre) and continues to appear regularly in concerts and festivals. In 2022, Sophia founded Melbourne Strings, of which she is the lead violinist and program curator.

Besides performance, Sophia is a devoted educator. Since 2021, she has taught violin at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, maintains an active private studio, gives masterclasses and serves as an adjudicator.

Her musical training began in Latvia at the Em.Dārziņš Specialist Music School with Nelli Sarkisian and continued at the Latvian Academy of Music with Prof. Juris Švolkovskis. She further developed through numerous courses and masterclasses in Europe and travelled to study with Prof. Michael Gaisler at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she completed Bachelor and Master degrees. Later, she received the Artist Diploma from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel-Aviv University in collaboration with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra practicum, studying with Prof. Hagai Shaham. In 2023, Sophia got her PhD in Performance from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, the University of Melbourne.

Jessica Zuk

Assistant Conductor

Jessica Zuk

Jessica is the Zelman Symphony's Assistant Conductor for 2026, Music Director of the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra, and was delighted to be appointed a 2026 Conductor Fellow of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She has previously conducted the Maroondah Symphony Orchestra and Adelaide Summer Orchestra, and enjoyed two years as a conducting scholar with the Melbourne Bach Choir. She is also a founding co-Artistic Director of Ascolta Qui, a youth-led not-for-profit organisation supporting young musicians.

In 2024, Jess completed an Honours year in conducting at the Elder Conservatorium, studying with Dr Luke Dollman in a program delivered in collaboration with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in masterclasses and training programs with Jessica Cottis, Alice Farnham, Guido Rumstadt, and Keitaro Harada.

Jess completed her prior tertiary music studies as a flautist (First Class Hons, University of Melbourne; BMus, Monash University), and has played in the Melbourne Opera Orchestra, the University of Melbourne Symphony and Monash Academy orchestra. She has been the recipient of several awards and prizes including the 2022 Barbara Bishop Hewitt Scholarship (Melbourne University) and the 2019 and 2017 Anna Chmiel Memorial Woodwind Prizes (Monash University).

Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

In 1860, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote to his friend and fellow composer Mily Balakirev explaining that he felt musically exhausted. The previous year he had destroyed the score to Fate, his first attempt at a programmatic orchestral work. Balakirev encouraged him to try again with a symphonic poem based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He even outlined a rough plan for the piece, focusing on Friar Laurence, the feud between the Montagues and Capulets, and the love between Romeo and Juliet.

Tchaikovsky followed this advice and premiered his Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture in 1870. After an unenthusiastic reception, he revised the work extensively, rewriting the introduction to better portray Friar Laurence and refining the orchestration. The final 1880 version is the one most often performed today.

The overture begins with a solemn slow introduction representing Friar Laurence and his church, with low woodwinds suggesting a small organ. This music grows into the violent conflict of the Montagues and Capulets, driven by ominous timpani and urgent strings. The famous love theme emerges in contrast, but the feud ultimately overwhelms it, leading to a tragic climax and a mournful coda that closes the work.

Roger Howell 2026

Violin Concerto no. 1 in D, Op. 19

Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)

In 1915, Sergei Prokofiev began work on a concertino for violin and orchestra. At the time, he had begun a love affair with Nina Mescherskaya who was thought to have inspired the piece’s opening lyrical melody. He soon abandoned this project in favour of completing his opera, The Gambler. When Prokofiev returned to the concertino in 1917, he expanded it into the three-movement Violin Concerto no. 1 Op. 19. The completed concerto was not performed until 1923 in Paris. The reception was mixed owing to a new modernist culture that had developed following the premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. One critic (who had obviously enjoyed the dissonance of Prokofiev’s earlier Scythian Suite) labelled the lyrical and conservative character of the concerto as “Mendelssohnian”. Others, however, welcomed the edginess of its central scherzo movement.

The first movement (marked ‘dreamily’) opens with the soloist’s lyrical first theme supported by hushed viola tremolos and interactive conversations with flutes, clarinets, and oboes. Gradually, the soloist’s music becomes more virtuosic, leading to the second theme which heralds a complete change of mood and pace. At this point in the movement, the violin virtuoso David Oistrakh recalled Prokofiev’s advice about its narrative character: “Play it as though you’re trying to convince someone of something”. The assertiveness of this music does not subside until the flute recalls the opening theme for a peaceful close.

The second movement is a powerful scherzo that is reminiscent of the composer’s Scythian Suite of 1916. A performance of Karol Szymanowski’s Myths for violin and piano that Prokofiev heard in the same year also inspired the scherzo. The music is set in motion by alternating octaves from the flute, harp, and strings whipping the soloist into a frenzy. The spell is broken by a march-like second theme. On the reprise of the scherzo theme, the tuba plays a more prominent role.

The finale opens with a bassoon initiating the main theme to a staccato accompaniment from the clarinet and upper strings. The soloist then takes over and transforms the melody into a song of utmost beauty. When the tempo quickens, the music becomes less lyrical with sudden bursts from the brass and percussion. In the coda, the dreamy textures from the first movement return as the music gradually fades into the distance.

Roger Howell 2026

Symphony no. 9 in E Minor
From the New World

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

In 1892, Antonín Dvořák began a three-year appointment as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. Soon after arriving, he developed a strong interest in African American spirituals and Native American songs and dances. These musical traditions helped inspire what would become one of his most celebrated works, the Symphony no. 9 in E minor. The subtitle “From the New World,” added later by the composer, simply acknowledged that the symphony was written in America rather than describing a specific programme. Nevertheless, the work blends features associated with American music – such as pentatonic melodies and syncopated rhythms – with elements of Dvořák’s Bohemian musical heritage.

The first movement begins with a mysterious slow introduction. Dark motifs in the strings, timpani and horns foreshadow the dramatic Allegro that follows. The first subject emerges gently in the horns over rippling strings before gathering momentum in the full orchestra. A more relaxed but still syncopated second theme appears in the woodwinds, followed by a lyrical third idea often linked with the spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

The famous second movement opens with solemn brass chords leading to a deeply expressive melody for cor anglais over muted strings. Contrasting episodes introduce more agitated and hymn-like ideas before the opening melody returns in a tranquil conclusion.

The lively third movement functions as a scherzo, blending rhythmic vitality with folk-like character. Dvořák briefly alludes to the scherzo of Symphony no. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven before introducing canon-like textures and dance-like passages that evoke both Native American and Czech influences.

The finale brings the symphony to a powerful conclusion. After a dramatic introduction, bold brass statements introduce the main theme, followed by contrasting lyrical and folk-like ideas. In the development and coda, Dvořák recalls themes from earlier movements, unifying the symphony and building toward a grand and triumphant close.

Roger Howell 2026

The Orchestra

Concertmaster: Susan Pierotti

* Principal Player
** Guest Principal Player