An Afternoon in Spain
Saturday, February 13, 2027
Escape the dreary cold of February for an afternoon in invigorating Spain, with music that evokes the spirit, color, and landscape of Spanish life.
The concert opens with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, a joyful, festive work inspired by Spanish folk dances, conducted by WSO Associate Conductor Yoona Jeong. We then continue with Leanna Primiani’s Visions, a new work commissioned through the prestigious Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
From there, we return to Spain for Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain, featuring the Wheeling premiere performance of exciting young pianist Natalia Kazaryan. Written in three movements, each named for a specific Spanish garden, the piece takes listeners on an evocative journey, showcasing the orchestra with the same richness and imagination as the solo piano.
To close the concert, we return to the music of Leanna Primiani with her Triptych, a work originally inspired by Wheeling’s own Betty Zane.
Featuring
Nataliza Kazaryan, piano
Pianist Natalia Kazaryan has built a multifaceted career as a performer, curator, educator, and artistic leader. A Fulbright Scholar and founder of Counterpoint Concerts in Washington, DC, she is known for bringing fresh perspectives to the classical concert experience through programs that combine classic works with contemporary music, technology, and immersive visual design. Praised by The New York Sun for her “prodigious ability” and for creating “an atmosphere of strength and confidence,” Kazaryan has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, Harrisburg Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and other ensembles. Her performance of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, conducted by James Ross, was featured on WETA Classical’s Front Row Washington. She has also appeared on major recital series including the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Portland Piano International, and the Phillips Collection, with international appearances at venues including Salzburg’s Schloss Mirabell, Monaco’s Théâtre des Variétés, Madrid’s Auditorio Sony, Paris’s Salle Cortot and Musée Carnavalet, and the Palazzo Tornabuoni in Florence. Kazaryan holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio, and completed doctoral studies at the University of Michigan under Logan Skelton. She studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid with Dmitri Bashkirov, where she received the Sobresaliente Award for outstanding work and excellence from Queen Sofía of Spain. A Fulbright Scholar in Paris, she continued studies with Michel Béroff and focused her research on Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus. Kazaryan serves as Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Area Coordinator at Howard University.
John Devlin, conductor
Conductor John Gennaro Devlin is an ardent champion of American music, an innovator of concert design, and a thought leader in the field of classical music. Currently in his eighth season as Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WSO), Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title. In 2025, Devlin began his tenure as the Music Director of the Lancaster (OH) Festival Orchestra. For his work with the WSO, Devlin was named a recipient of the 2023 Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Also in 2023, Devlin was honored by Wheeling’s mayor, Glenn F. Elliott, with the Mayor’s Award for “distinguished service, loyalty, and dedication to our city.” Devlin’s primary artistic goal is to advocate for American music from many different types of genres and creators. With this programmatic focus, Devlin has premiered and/or commissioned over 50 new American works, including pieces by Clarice Assad, Adolphus Hailstork, Arlene Sierra, Leanna Primiani, Eric Nathan, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Enrico Lopez-Yañez, Michael Ellis Ingram, Evan Meier, and Quinn Mason. For its commitment to American music, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra was granted the prestigious Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Award through the League of American Orchestras in both 2023 and in 2025. Devlin has recent or upcoming performances with many significant American soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Time for Three, Chris Thile, Sasha Cooke, Clarice Assad, Joshua Roman, Stefan Jackiw, Tessa Lark, Shara Nova, Xavier Foley, Eunice Kim, Third Coast Percussion, Soloman Howard, Madeline Adkins, Tracy Silverman, and Maxim Lando. Music of the stage and of the cinema are also focuses of Devlin’s work with American artists. A lover of all things Broadway, he has collaborated with Sutton Foster, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sierra Boggess, Hugh Panaro, Scarlett Strallen, Capathia Jenkins, Morgan James, Dee Roscioli, Christiane Noll, Debbie Gravitte, Anne Runolfsson, and Ryan Shaw. He is also active as a conductor of films with live orchestra soundtrack, including the Harry Potter series, other John Williams scores such as Jurassic Park, and Disney Films projects. For more information, please visit www.JohnDevlinMusic.com.
Yoona Jeong, conductor
Fueled by a passion for bringing music to life, South Korean conductor Yoona Jeong won First Prize at the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra Conducting Competition and received the Best Interpretation Prize at the 17th Khachaturian International Competition. This year, she received the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. Jeong was among 14 candidates selected from 197 applicants from 47 countries to participate in the prestigious La Maestra Paris International Conducting Competition. She was also invited to the Järvi Academy to study with Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Kristjan Järvi, and Leonid Grin, as well as the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music to study with Cristian Măcelaru. Jeong has collaborated with professional orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Paris Mozart Orchestra, the Pärnu City Orchestra, and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. She assisted Manfred Honeck and worked with guest artists such as Lang Lang and Ray Chen when she worked with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she worked on the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Pops Concerts alongside Byron Stripling. She also appeared as an assistant conductor with the Dallas Symphony, working with Fabio Luisi and Augustin Hadelich. Her talents were showcased in the documentary film "Symphonic Sketches," which selected and received nominations at various film festivals, including the Charlotte Film Festival and the Mesa International Film Festival. Jeong is the first female Asian conductor to be named Assistant Conductor of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and the Reno Chamber Orchestra. Her other current and previous roles include Music Director of the Slippery Rock University Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the University of Texas University Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Jeong’s international experience is extensive, with invitations to the Pärnu Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Princeton Festival, the Medomak Music Festival, and the Pierre Monteux School and Music Festival. She was also a participant in the 1st Korean Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Competition and the 11th International Conducting Competition Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest.
