Paul Wiancko’s Violin Concerto No. 1: Agrifolia received its Spoleto Festival USA premiere on June 4, 2026, with the Festival Orchestra and acclaimed violinist Livia Sohn performing under the direction of music director Timothy Myers at the Charleston Gaillard Center. Wiancko, who serves as the Festival’s Director of Chamber Music, composed the concerto for Sohn as a tribute to her late husband, Geoff Nuttall, the beloved violinist and former Director of Chamber Music. Inspired by decades of friendship and artistic collaboration, the work celebrates Sohn’s extraordinary musicianship while honoring Nuttall’s enduring legacy within the Festival community.
Myers described Agrifolia as Wiancko’s “most personal orchestral statement.” Written in memory of Nuttall, the three-movement concerto traces a powerful emotional journey: Gnarl grows restlessly upward, Dream offers a moment of reflection and respite, and Burn evokes fire as a force of renewal. Myers noted that, like the landscapes Nuttall cherished, the work imagines hope as something living—“rooted, fierce, twisting toward the light.”
The concerto was co-commissioned by Spoleto Festival USA, Rogue Valley Symphony, and Palaver Strings. It was featured on the Festival Orchestra program alongside Paola Prestini’s My Brilliant Friend: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan.”
In an interview with the Charleston City Paper, Sohn reflected on the concerto’s deeply collaborative spirit, noting that it feels like an expansion of chamber music into an orchestral setting. Those themes of friendship, remembrance, and artistic fellowship resonated throughout Agrifolia, making the performance one of the Festival’s most poignant musical moments.