Behind the Mask: Romeo and Juliet
Saturday March 7, 2026 – 7:30PM
Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville
Program:
Antonin Dvořák – Carnival Overture
Carl Nielsen – Maskarade Overture
Anna Clyne – Masquerade
Aram Khachaturian – Masquerade Suite: Waltz & Galop
Sergei Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet
Tamara Dworetz, Guest Conductor
“In my humble opinion, the music from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet suites is some of the most beautiful, haunting and open-hearted music ever written. While the concert title Behind the Mask points towards the secrecy in these stories' narratives, the music itself wears its emotions ‘on its sleeve,’ completely unmasked; the power of Prokofiev's writing will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride.”
About Tamara Dworetz
Tamara Dworetz is driven by her belief in the power of classical music to inspire, spread joy and enrich the human experience. Dworetz's 2025-26 season includes debuts with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA). She recently debuted with the Atlanta Ballet (The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker) and Sarasota Orchestra and will conduct the Boulder Philharmonic and Cincinnati Symphony this summer. Tamara is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Georgia Philharmonic, and she was recently featured in the Netflix documentary Maestra, directed by Maggie Contreras and produced by David Letterman.
Dworetz has conducted the St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Arkansas Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Paris Mozart Orchestra, Boston Pops, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and Mankato Symphony. She has served as an assistant and/or cover conductor for the Orchestre de Paris (Klaus Mäkelä), Gürzenich Orchestre Cologne (François-Xavier Roth), BBC Concert Orchestra (Bramwell Tovey), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Nathalie Stutzmann), and Minnesota Orchestra (Johnathon Heyward and Marta Gardolińska). She won 2nd prize in the Boston Pops' Leonard Bernstein Conducting Competition and was a recipient of the Bruno Walter Conducting Fellowship at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, selected by Cristian Măcelaru.
A devoted music educator, Tamara serves as Associate Conductor of Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestras, NYO-USA & NYO2. She is currently Director of Orchestral Studies at Georgia State University and Charles Thomas Wurm Distinguished Professor in Instrumental Music.
Tamara and her husband, Stephen, live in Chamblee, Georgia with their dog, Emmy.