Our Visions season invites reflection on where we are and how we got here, and this 2025 End of Year playlist does just that. Each Art of Elan team member selected a song that shaped them in some way, whether by sparking curiosity, marking a turning point, or simply staying with them over time. Together, these pieces tell a collective story of growth, influence, and shared love of music.
Kate Hatmaker
Executive and Artistic Director
"Les Baricades Mistérieuses," originally written for harpsichord by François Couperin in 1717, is a work I never tire of hearing. It's so complex and yet so very compact, with melody and harmony entwined in a way that causes me to listen closely each and every time. I especially love the version that composer / pianist Thomas Adès created in 1994, for the unusual combination of clarinet, bass clarinet, viola, cello and double bass. There's something incredibly mysterious about the way the instruments weave in and out of each other—it only works when everyone is really in sync. Art of Elan has presented both versions of the work over the years, and I have to say that the Adès version is my favorite. The layers, the intricacy of the writing, the overall sonic impression—it reminds me every time why chamber music is so special. It's basically a form of alchemy.
François Couperin - Les Baricades Mistérieuses (Arranged and Conducted by Thomas Adès)
Fiona Digney
Managing Director and Producer
Electric Counterpoint by Steve Reich was one of the first ensemble works I encountered as a teenager that truly excited me about chamber music—and about the power of a really good sound system. I remember listening to it on repeat at a friend’s house on an exceptional stereo, completely absorbed. It was the first piece of Steve Reich’s that I fell in love with, a gateway that led me to so much more of his music and quietly affirmed my choice to pursue a life in music.
The piece also, coincidentally, became the work of my conducting debut: I coached and directed my local conservatory’s guitar ensemble in a performance, learning in real time how to train players in this repertoire, how to build ensemble instinct, and how to lead a rehearsal process with clarity and purpose. It was formative in ways I only understood years later.
In three movements, this work—written for amplified guitar with either a live ensemble or pre-recorded tracks—is a shimmering study in interlocking patterns, rhythmic clarity, and gradually shifting harmonic landscapes. Even today, it remains a touchstone for me: a reminder of how a single piece can open a door to an entire musical world.
Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint
Emily Persinko
Personnel Manager and Marketing Associate
I was married this year, and we used Ludovico Einaudi’s Experience during the handfasting portion of our ceremony, so it’s become deeply meaningful to both me and my husband. It’s now inextricably tied to that day and everything it represented.
Later in the year, we had the chance to see Einaudi live in concert, which made my connection to the piece even more special. Hearing it performed in person after it had already become such an important part of our wedding made it feel like the music had followed me into the next chapter of my life.
Ludovico Einaudi - Experience
Anahita Pestonjamasp
Accounting & Donor Relations Coordinator
Some of my earliest memories include listening to Yanni’s music, and I remember being fascinated by the colors and textures he could create. In The Rain Must Fall, each soloist's artistry brings such a unique sound and evolves the piece to great heights. The incredible experience of his music is why I continue to be inspired by his work to this day.
Yanni - The Rain Must Fall
Vince Martinez
Graphic Design & Marketing
Alela Diane’s Dry Grass and Shadows reflects on memories and loss, and the tension between longing for the past and living in the present. The song was released around the time my two children were born, when the weight of new responsibilities and the transition into parenthood felt overwhelming, as it often does for first time parents. What began as a lullaby to help them fall asleep became a gentle reminder for me to slow down, reflect, and fully inhabit that early stage of life.
Now that my kids are 14 and 16 years old, I find myself returning to this song as a kind of catharsis, reconnecting with memories of a time that felt intense and uncertain then, but in hindsight feels so much simpler.
Alela Diane - Dry Grass & Shadows
Paige Kobdish-Raney
Development Director
When posed with the question of what song has shaped me, I immediately thought of the piece that quite literally changed the course of my life:
Strange Humors by John Mackey.
Rewind to my senior year of high school. I had been playing oboe for barely a year when I won 2nd chair in my county’s honor band. Being 2nd chair oboe, I also had the pleasure of playing the English horn. Our guest conductor that year was Dr. Shannon Kitelinger - Director of Bands at SDSU. After my performance on the opening English horn solo of Strange Humors, I was offered an invitation to attend SDSU on a music scholarship from Dr. Kitelinger after the concert. I said “yes,” and the rest is history! This piece will always hold a special place in my story and in my heart.
John Mackey - Strange Humors
Christine Martinez
PR Consultant
My family and I love binge watching shows together and none has captured the interest of each of us more this year than "Stranger Things." The main theme song for the show always gets us so hyped up for what's in store - especially as the show caps off its fifth and final season. The song is composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the synth band S U R V I V E. It has a strong 80s vibe and is full of synthesizers and drums, transporting you into the era and setting the mood of the sci-fi mystery. Personally, it reminds me of nights snuggled around the fireplace waiting for the next installment of our favorite show. This year, we travelled to New York City and saw "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" on Broadway and our kids loved it so much we saw it two nights in a row. We can't wait for the show to celebrate the end of "Stranger Things'" nearly 10 year run as it wraps up over the holidays. My whole family is going to be jamming to the theme song - definitely no "skip intro" for our crew!
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein - Stranger Things Main Theme