For Immediate Release
Date: October 4, 2011
Location: San Francisco, California
Contact: San Francisco Academy Orchestra
Email: sfacademyorchestra@gmail.com
Web Address: http://www.sfacademyorchestra.org/pressroom.html

OCTOBER 4, 2011 – SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Academy Orchestra Music Director Andrei Gorbatenko announced the orchestra’s 2011-2012 season today, which will open on October 28th with Grammy(r) winning conductor Kent Nagano in a gala performance celebrating composer Alden Gilchrist’s 60-year tenure as music director of San Francisco’s historic Calvary Presbyterian Church. The event, hosted by Calvary and made possible by a generous grant from the Calvary Foundation, will include many of Gilchrist’s long-term colleagues and feature sacred music from Monteverdi to Gilchrist’s award-winning Cantata of 1954.

The season will also include the third annual Sing-it-Yourself Messiah with a preparatory workshop the day before, the Chamber Music Showcase that annually raises funds for local humanitarian causes, and concerti featuring guest soloists Dan Carlson, Joy Fellows, and Amos Yang.

This season also marks the launch of Academy Live, an HD video series featuring select San Francisco Academy Orchestra performances. Available for free on the Orchestra’s YouTube channel, Academy Live provides a way for music enthusiasts to watch, listen, and share Academy Orchestra performances worldwide.

Founded in 2000, the San Francisco Academy Orchestra mission is to promote, present and preserve the art of musical performance as a vital form of human expression. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Classical Voice as venerable ùand simply amazing, the orchestra is dedicated to offering young professionals and conservatory graduates the opportunity to rehearse and perform alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony.

FEATURED ACADEMY LIVE PRODUCTIONS:
Mozart – Symphony No. 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7Dj5yUdf-w&feature=channel_video_title)
Composed by Mozart when he was just nine years old, Andrei Gorbatenko highlights its elegant melodies, riveting harmonies and rhythmic drive that hint at the prolific repertoire that is to come from this prodigious young composer.

Vanhal – Concerto for Double Bass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxnXMT7-9LQ&feature=relmfu)
San Francisco Symphony Principal Bassist Scott Pingel’s thought-provoking and masterful performance lends itself well to the unrivaled sound of the esteemed Koussevitzky Bass on loan for the performance.

2011-2012 SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Friday, October 28th, 2011, 6 p.m.
Kent Nagano, Conductor
The Calvary Chancel Choir, Soloists and Special Guests
Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Dvorak, Gilchrist

Saturday, December 17th, 2011, 10 a.m.
Workshop for those wishing to prepare for the Sing-it-Yourself Messiah
Alden Gilchrist, Clinician

Sunday, December 18th, 2011, 4 p.m.
Alden Gilchrist, Conductor
Handel- Sing-it-Yourself Messiah

Sunday, March 4th, 2012, 4 p.m.
Chamber Music Showcase

Sunday, May 6th, 2012, 4 p.m.
Andrei Gorbatenko, Conductor
Amos Yang, Cello
Dan Carlson, Violin
Joy Fellows, Viola
Purcell – Selections from Dido and Aeneas
Mozart – Sinfonia Concertante
Tchaikovsky – Variations on a Rococo Theme

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For more information and photos, please visit www.sfacademyorchestra.org/pressroom.html. For an interview, contact sfacademyorchestra@gmail.com

Check out the list of Popular Music Festivals, India & International | Music Museums | Famous International Music Awards | Choirs & Orchestras Around the World | Budding Music Artists, India | Institutes & Courses In Music | Artist Biographies – Artists In Focus | Promote Your Upcoming Music Performances | Indian Classical Music | Genres Of Music | Contribute Music Related Articles | Glossary Of Musical Terms | Share Your Musical Escapades

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY LAUNCHES AMERICAN ORCHESTRA FORUM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 WITH FREE PUBLIC EVENT FEATURING LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC MUSIC DIRECTOR GUSTAVO DUDAMEL AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER

First of three live events presented as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s Centennial Season
Broader conversation about the role of the American Orchestra taking place online at www.symphonyforum.org

SAN FRANCISCO, October 20, 2011 – The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will host the first event in its new American Orchestra Forum series this Sunday with a public forum titled “Talking About Community” from 2PM to 5PM at Davies Symphony Hall.  Full schedule follows.

This event is the first of three such public discussions hosted by the San Francisco Symphony that instigate a season-long, nationwide dialogue on the 21st century American orchestra, in conjunction with the visits of six other major American orchestras during its Centennial 2011-12 season.

San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert are the keynote speakers for two future free events during the season. The San Francisco Symphony has also launched an American Orchestra Forum website at http://www.symphonyforum.org, as a hub for the ongoing conversation.  Over the course of the year, the website will host blogs, video interviews, transcripts, and podcasts to help stimulate conversation about the state of American orchestras among global audiences. The events in San Francisco will be live blogged.

Gustavo Dudamel’s keynote conversation Sunday, October 23, “Talking About Community,” kicks off a two-concert residency of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Davies Symphony Hall October 23 and 24. Michael Tilson Thomas and Assink open a discussion of creativity on Saturday, March 17, 2012, in conjunction with San Francisco Symphony’s month-long American Mavericks festival of adventurous American music. Alan Gilbert initiates a discussion on the role of live music in a world of changing audience habits Sunday, May 13, and leads the New York Philharmonic for two concerts May 13 and 14. Composers John Adams and Mason Bates take part in a conversation and discussion following the MTT keynote during the American Mavericks festival event March 17.

Other participants in the forums include SF Symphony musicians; leaders in the classical music field, including the League of American Orchestras; scholars from Stanford University and the University of Chicago, as well as those in private enterprise, including executives from Silicon Valley technology firms and Major League Baseball. San Francisco-based cultural critic and journalist Steven Winn and University of Michigan musicologist Mark Clague will co-moderate the forums and host the podcasts.

AMERICAN ORCHESTRA FORUM: Talking About Community
Sunday, October 23, 2-5 p.m.
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco

Please note: This three-hour event is comprised of multiple sessions, with breaks in between.

Program: How have orchestras adapted to serve and respond to changing communities? How has the role of the orchestra as a civic partner in education evolved in the past century? What is an orchestra’s responsibility to its home city?

Keynote Conversation: Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director, Los Angeles Philharmonic and alumnus, El Sistema, Venezuela, in conversation with Deborah Borda, President and CEO, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (Note:  Dudamel’s appearance will begin at approximately 4:30)

Spotlight #1: Jesse Rosen, President/CEO, League of American Orchestras, in conversation with Neil Harris, Professor of History and Art History, University of Chicago; moderated by Mark Clague, professor of music, University of Michigan.

Spotlight #2: Amos Yang, Assistant Principal Cellist, San Francisco Symphony, and alumnus, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra; in conversation with Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, Artistic Director, Sphinx Organization, Detroit; moderated by journalist Steven Winn.

Roundtable discussion: Spotlight speakers, with Mark Clague and Steven Winn.

Tickets: These events are free; no tickets are required. Advance registration is recommended at www.symphonyforum.org.

Concert tickets: The Los Angeles Philharmonic performs October 23 and October 24 at Davies Symphony Hall; limited tickets sold separately at www.sfsymphony.org.

Check out the list of Popular Music Festivals, India & International | Music Museums | Famous International Music Awards | Choirs & Orchestras Around the World | Budding Music Artists, India | Institutes & Courses In Music | Artist Biographies – Artists In Focus | Promote Your Upcoming Music Performances | Indian Classical Music | Genres Of Music | Contribute Music Related Articles | Glossary Of Musical Terms | Share Your Musical Escapades

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL March 1, 2011 SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES 2011-12 CENTENNIAL SEASON CONCERT PROGRAMS AND FULL SEASON EVENT CALENDAR

ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES 100th SEASON WITH DISTINCTIVE ARTISTIC EVENTS AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATION AND MEDIA INITIATIVES

·        Iconic American Mavericks Festival returns in 2012 with three world premiere commissions by John Adams, Mason Bates, and Meredith Monk, and soloists Jessye Norman, Emanuel Ax, Paul Jacobs, Jeremy Denk, Joan La Barbara, Bates, Monk, the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the SF Symphony Chorus

·        Orchestra to bring American Mavericks concerts and events to audiences in New York, Ann Arbor, and Chicago in two-week national tour, with New York premieres of new John Adams, Mason Bates, and Meredith Monk works commissioned by the SF Symphony and performances by Monk, Bates, Paul Jacobs, Jessye Norman, Emanuel Ax, the St. Lawrence String Quartet and Joan La Barbara

·        MTT to lead Orchestra in works from the first year of the Symphony’s history, including a semi-staged production of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Debussy’s Le martyre de Saint Sébastien with visual elements, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and a week of semi-staged concerts of music from early San Francisco

·        Tilson Thomas leads the Orchestra in two additional SF Symphony commissions: the U.S. premiere of a new work by Sofia Gubaidulina, marking her 80th birthday, and the West Coast premiere of Thomas Adès and Tal Rosner’s new work Polaris, with video projections

·        Unprecedented series with the major American orchestras to celebrate the San Francisco Symphony at 100, with two-concert residencies by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra; all orchestras to bring commissioned works by composers such as Thomas Adès, Mason Bates, Elliott Carter, Enrico Chapela, Anna Clyne, Magnus Lindberg, and Kaija Saariaho

·        Joshua Bell and Mason Bates participate in the Orchestra’s Project San Francisco artist and composer residencies, with orchestra, chamber music, and recital performances and education activities throughout the Centennial season

·        Former Music Directors Edo de Waart and Herbert Blomstedt return to the podium for concerts

·        Centennial season opens September 7 with a week of civic celebrations, including the Opening Gala with Lang Lang and Itzhak Perlman to be broadcast on PBS-TV’s Great Performances, All-SF community concert, and free outdoor 100th “Birthday Bash” concert  with Lang Lang in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza

·        Living Heritage media projects include historical book, documentary film, visual art projects, and exhibitions and online experiences featuring archival items and rare recordings from the radio and broadcast archives

·        Expanded music education programs include comprehensive support for every San Francisco public middle school and high school with an instrumental music program, ensuring comprehensive music education for all students in grades 1-12 in SF public schools; the formation of a new Community Music Program to foster amateur music-making; and a unique partnership with University of California at Irvine Center for Computer Games and Virtual Worlds to develop new interactive children’s music website for sfskids.org

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 1, 2011 – The San Francisco Symphony celebrates its Centennial in 2011-12, and today announced its concert programs and the full season event calendar for the Orchestra’s milestone year.   Presenting an ambitious eleven-month season of concerts, programs, and events, expanded education programs, and Centennial media initiatives, the Orchestra’s 100th season celebrates the American orchestra and its vibrant role in its community as an artistic leader and civic institution.

Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the Orchestra will break new ground with a two-week American Mavericks Festival of music from the composers that defined 20th century American music. The Orchestra performs concerts including three world premiere commissions, from modern masters John Adams and Meredith Monk and classical/electronica composer Mason Bates, both in San Francisco and on a national tour.  MTT will lead the Orchestra in works from the first year of the San Francisco Symphony’s history, including Debussy’s complete music for the mystery play Le martyre de Saint Sebastien, incorporating video and multimedia. Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra also perform a semi-staged production of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle (1911), Stravinsky’s Petrushka, also written in 1911, and a week of semi-staged concerts of music from early San Francisco. Other major program highlights are two Project San Francisco artist and composer residencies, with violinist Joshua Bell and composer Bates; performances of Thomas Adès and Tal Rosner’s new SF Symphony co-commission Polaris: Voyage for Orchestra, also with video; and the U.S. premiere of a new co-commissioned work from Sofia Gubaidulina. The Orchestra’s 2011-12 Centennial season will also feature an unprecedented concert series of six of the most distinguished major American orchestras: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, performing two concerts each.

Tilson Thomas will conduct the Orchestra in 18 weeks of concerts, including the American Mavericks tour. In addition to the American Mavericks world premieres and first SFS performances during the festival of works by Morton Feldman and John Cage, he leads the first Orchestra performances of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, with Christian Tetzlaff.  Other first San Francisco Symphony performances include works by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Schreker, and C.P.E. Bach. Major works of the classical canon MTT conducts are Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastoral, and Symphony No. 9; Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, and his Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, orchestrated by Schoenberg.

The Symphony plans expanded music education programs during its Centennial season and beyond, including instrument training support for San Francisco public middle and high schools and an amateur music-making program for adults, unique events celebrating the period of the Symphony’s founding, and a variety of media projects that explore the living heritage of the Orchestra, its music, and its role in the community, including a book, a documentary film, and new online experiences.

“In marking the Orchestra’s first hundred years, this season is the moment to define what this Orchestra will be for its next hundred,” said John D. Goldman, President of the San Francisco Symphony.  “We celebrate the role our Symphony plays, not just in the lives of those who enjoy our distinctive brand of music-making here at home, but in sharing this great art form with the world and in celebrating its impact on all of our communities.”

Subscription ticket packages for the San Francisco Symphony’s 2011-12 Centennial season go on sale to renewing subscribers and the general public starting Tuesday, March 1 at 10 a.m.  Ticket information is available through the San Francisco Symphony website at www.sfsymphony.org/subscribe, through the SFS Patron Services Office at 415-864-6000, and at the Davies Symphony Hall box office, on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street in San Francisco.

ARTISTIC HIGHLIGHTS
AMERICAN MAVERICKS FESTIVAL 2012

For its Centennial season, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony will present a two-week American Mavericks Festival in March 2012, building upon the iconic presentation of music that drew the world’s attention to Davies Symphony Hall with the first American Mavericks Festival in 2000.  The 2012 festival celebrates the creative, pioneering spirit of the composers and musicians who created a new American musical voice for the twentieth century and beyond.  These concerts will examine the music of iconoclastic composers championed by MTT and the SFS in their 16-year partnership, such as John Cage, Lou Harrison, Lukas Foss, Henry Cowell, Meredith Monk, Morton Feldman, Edgard Varèse, and Charles Ives, and expand the maverick music repertoire through three world premiere commissions by Bay Area composers John Adams and Mason Bates, along with Meredith Monk. Concerts will feature performances by longtime and frequent SFS collaborators Jessye Norman, Emanuel Ax, Meredith Monk, Jeremy Denk, Paul Jacobs, and composer Mason Bates, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and the debuts of vocalist Joan La Barbara and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

MTT and the SFS will also bring the music of the mavericks to American audiences through a two-week, three-city U.S. American Mavericks Festival tour to New York, Ann Arbor, and Chicago. The tour features concerts and chamber music programs, as well as education activities, classes, and events in collaboration with major universities. Interactive online media components will further the discussion and exploration of the music of these musical pioneers and of the uniquely American creative spirit they embody.

“San Francisco has always been known for its independent spirit,” said Michael Tilson Thomas.  “Consistent with the city’s character, the Orchestra has been daring in exploring a variety of musical territories. In our Centennial season, we celebrate this spirit by building on the American Mavericks Festival of 2000 with a provocative mixture of music by iconic pioneers, as well as works new to our audience. We will also premiere commissioned pieces from Bay Area mavericks John Adams and Mason Bates, and by Meredith Monk.”

MTT will lead the Orchestra in John Adams’ new co-commission for American Mavericks and the Orchestra’s Centennial, Absolute Jest for String Quartet and Orchestra featuring the St. Lawrence String Quartet.  The new work is based on fragments of Beethoven scherzos, particularly from the late string quartets.  Adams and the San Francisco Symphony have enjoyed a strong artistic relationship that dates back more than 30 years. Adams was the Orchestra’s new music advisor in 1978 and its first composer-in-residence in 1982, a relationship that created a model for composer residencies at orchestras around the country.  In these three decades, through the end of 2010, the SFS has performed 22 of Adams’ works in 217 concerts, including six world premieres and six commissions. Absolute Jest was co-commissioned with Carnegie Hall, and MTT and the Orchestra will perform the New York premiere of the work at the American Mavericks Festival there.

MTT leads the SFS Chorus in the world premiere of Mass Transmission, an SF Symphony commission from Oakland-based composer Mason Bates.  Scored for electronica and chorus, with Bates performing on laptop, Mass Transmission will, according to the composer, “place emblems of found sounds from earth that have been captured electronically side-by-side with scraps of a shattered hypothetical mass made up of excerpts of sacred human texts.”  Bates credits the inspiration for his new work to the “Gemini in the Solar Wind” movement of his SFS commission The B-Sides, which utilized recordings from NASA. MTT and the Orchestra will also perform the New York premiere of the work with Mason Bates at the American Mavericks Festival in Carnegie Hall.

Composer and vocalist Meredith Monk comes to San Francisco for her first appearances with the Orchestra since the 2000 American Mavericks Festival. The Orchestra performs the world premiere of her new work, commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony. Monk, vocalist Joan La Barbara, and legendary soprano Jessye Norman also join forces with MTT and the Orchestra for their first performances of a work from John Cage’s song books. Jeremy Denk performs Henry Cowell’s Piano Concerto with the Orchestra and Tilson Thomas, and pianist Emanuel Ax joins the Orchestra for its first performances of Morton Feldman’s haunting work of abstract expressionism, Piano and Orchestra.

With organist Paul Jacobs, MTT and the Orchestra perform Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra, a work MTT and the SFS performed together during the 2000 American Mavericks Festival. American Mavericks programs also revisit several other works by composers that MTT and the SFS have advocated: Aaron Copland’s Orchestral Variations, Charles Ives’ A Concord Symphony as orchestrated by Henry Brant, Lukas Foss’ Phorion, and Edgard Varèse’s Amériques.  On February 8, 2011 the Orchestra’s in-house label, SFS Media, released the new recording of MTT and the SFS’ 2010 performance of Ives’ A Concord Symphony paired with Copland’s Organ Symphony, featuring Jacobs.

In addition to three orchestral programs, the American Mavericks Festival 2012 will present two chamber music concerts with SFS musicians. Repertoire will be announced at a later date. The festival will also offer a variety of symposia, classes, pre- and post-concert activities, and panel discussions with musicians, music experts, university students, and other scholars, both in the Bay Area and on tour. American Mavericks web content will include music from festival repertoire, video interviews with composers and performers, engaging background information on the music and musicians, and festival blog updates. American Mavericks Festival programs will also be broadcast on the radio nationally and internationally as part of the Symphony’s syndicated concert broadcast series, carried by 275 affiliates.

AMERICAN MAVERICKS FESTIVAL TOUR
Bringing the music and spirit of American Mavericks to audiences beyond Davies Symphony Hall, MTT and the SFS will make a three-city U.S. tour in March, performing the festival repertoire in orchestral and chamber music settings, holding master classes, educational events, and pre- and post-concert activities, and collaborating with university music students and faculty. Following the American Mavericks Festival performances in San Francisco, Carnegie Hall and the San Francisco Symphony co-present the American Mavericks Festival in New York March 27-30, 2012. Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra perform a total of four concerts: two orchestral concerts and two chamber music concerts. Repertoire includes three New York premieres: Adams’ Absolute Jest with the St. Lawrence String Quartet; Mason Bates’ Mass Transmission for chorus and electronica, with Bates performing on laptop with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City; and a new SFS-commissioned work by Meredith Monk. Monk and soloists Jessye Norman and Joan La Barbara join the Orchestra to sing selections from John Cage’s Song Books. Organist Paul Jacobs is soloist in Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra. In addition, the Orchestra performs Morton Feldman’s Piano and Orchestra with Emanuel Ax, and Charles Ives’ A Concord Symphony, arranged by Henry Brant. Works by Henry Cowell, Edgard Varèse, Carl Ruggles, Lukas Foss, David Del Tredici, Harry Partch, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick are also on the festival program.

As part of the American Mavericks Festival in New York, musicians perform a series of free neighborhood concerts. Artists include Alarm Will Sound, violinist Jennifer Koh, pianist Lisa Moore, a John Cage celebration with So Percussion, and the JACK Quartet with special guest Steve Mackey, performing works by Mackey, Charles Ives, and Ruth Crawford Seeger.

In March, New York’s classical music station WQXR/Q2 will present an interactive companion to the American Mavericks performances at Carnegie Hall, featuring interviews, videos, on-demand audio, and an online hub for conversation and debate. Festival-related activities and performances will also take place at other leading New York City cultural institutions, including the Anthology Film Archives, Baryshnikov Arts Center, The New York Public Library, Whitney Museum of American Art, The Kitchen, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and Roulette. Additional details of the Carnegie Hall American Mavericks Festival will be announced.

MTT and the SFS will also perform an American Mavericks concert on March 21 at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, presented by the CSO’s Symphony Center Presents: Visiting Orchestras series.  On March 22, 23, and 24, the Orchestra performs all three American Mavericks orchestral programs at Hill Auditorium on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  An American Mavericks chamber music performance is scheduled for March 25. Complete concert programs and details of the Ann Arbor tour residency, including master classes, educational events, pre- and post-concert activities, and collaborations with university music students and faculty will be announced.

SEMI-STAGED AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTIONS WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
In the Centennial season, the San Francisco Symphony presents four weeks of multimedia productions and semi-staged concerts. The music demarcates the century of the Orchestra’s existence. Thomas Adès and Tal Rosner’s Polaris: Voyage for Orchestra was premiered in 2011, and two of the others, Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Debussy’s Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, were written in 1911. In a week of semi-staged concerts in May 2012, Michael Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra celebrate the musical roots and heritage of San Francisco in Barbary Coast and Beyond: Music from the Gold Rush to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, with music written from the mid-1800s through the Orchestra’s founding in 1911 and its formative years.  With MTT as curator, conductor, and host, soprano Laura Claycomb and pianist Anton Nel join the Orchestra as they use music, costumes, evocative lighting, and imagery to journey through this transformative era in San Francisco history. Full program details for Barbary Coast and Beyond will be announced at a later date.

In September 2011, led by MTT, the Orchestra performs the West Coast premiere of Thomas Adès and Tal Rosner’s new work Polaris: Voyage for Orchestra, with video. The 15-minute work was premiered by Tilson Thomas with the New World Symphony in January, during the opening of its new Frank Gehry-designed performance complex. Adès’ orchestral score includes groups of brass instruments, with the melody derived from a magnetic series in which all 12 notes are presented, persistently returning to an anchoring pitch, as if magnetized. Rosner’s accompanying film was inspired by Rockwell Kent’s haunting Moby Dick illustrations. Polaris was co-commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony with New World Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Barbican Centre, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Tilson Thomas leads the SF Symphony in January 2012 performances of Debussy’s Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, with the composer’s rarely-performed complete original music, plus narration, along with visual elements. Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade makes her debut as narrator with the Orchestra, and soprano Karina Gauvin and mezzo-sopranos Sasha Cooke and Leah Wool join MTT and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. These are MTT and the Orchestra’s second performances ever of the complete Le martyre de Saint Sébastien; MTT conducted the complete work in his first season as Music Director, in 1995. Debussy’s incidental music for the mystery play was written in 1911, the year of the Symphony’s founding. MTT conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a highly-acclaimed 1993 recording of the work.

Semi-staged concerts led by Tilson Thomas of Bartók’s one-act opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, also written in 1911, will be a highlight of June 2012. These semi-staged versions of the hour-long opera, written in Hungarian, feature performances by mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Judith, and bass-baritone Alan Held makes his SFS debut in the role of Bluebeard. Dramatic visual and stage effects will convey the dark, complex story of Bluebeard’s hidden life, as his new bride gradually unravels the depths of his terrible past. The Orchestra has performed Duke Bluebeard’s Castle only once before, in 1981, and these will be MTT and the Orchestra’s first performances of the opera together.

SFS PREMIERES, COMMISSIONS, AND FIRST PERFORMANCES
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have commissioned five works for their Centennial season and will perform three world premieres during the year. The world premieres of John Adams’ Absolute Jest for String Quartet and Orchestra and Mason Bates’ Mass Transmission for chorus and electronica, with MTT conducting, and a new work by Meredith Monk take place during the American Mavericks Festival (see above). During the festival in New York, MTT and the Orchestra perform the New York premieres of these three works. The Davies Symphony Hall performances of Morton Feldman’s Piano and Orchestra with Emanuel Ax and John Cage’s Song Books are the Orchestra’s first.

The Orchestra has also commissioned and will perform the U.S. premiere of a new work from composer Sofia Gubaidulina in honor of her 80th birthday, also with MTT conducting. Gubaidulina’s music was the focus of a 2008-09 Project San Francisco composer residency with the Orchestra. MTT and the Orchestra performed the U.S. premiere of her Violin Concerto No. 2, In tempus praesens with Anne-Sophie Mutter, and one of her chamber works, Repentance, also had its world premiere. Gubaidulina is a native of the Tatar region of the former Soviet Union, and her work was supported early on by Shostakovich.  She uses unusual instrumental combinations and tunings, many of them informed by her interest in folk and ritual instruments from Russia, the Caucasus region, and Asia.  Her new work was co-commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The San Francisco Symphony is also co-commissioner of the new Thomas Adès-Tal Rosner work Polaris: Voyage for Orchestra, and will perform its West Coast premiere with Tilson Thomas conducting in September 2011. (see Semi-staged and Multimedia Productions, above).

In addition, the Orchestra will perform for the first time works including Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, with frequent collaborator Christian Tetzlaff; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz, with Salonen conducting the Orchestra for the first time since 2004; the Prelude to Act I of Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten; and Tchaikovsky’s Meditation from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, arranged by Glazunov.

MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS’ PROGRAMS
Michael Tilson Thomas celebrates his seventeenth season as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony in the Orchestra’s 2011-12 Centennial Season. Highlights of Tilson Thomas’ programs include:

·                      The two-week American Mavericks Festival in San Francisco and a two-week American Mavericks Festival tour, conducting three world and New York premieres by John Adams, Mason Bates, and Meredith Monk; the first SFS performances of works by John Cage and Morton Feldman; and music by Lou Harrison, Henry Cowell, Edgard Varèse, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Carl Ruggles, David Del Tredici, Harry Partch, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick (see American Mavericks Festival, above)

·                      Semi-staged concerts of Bartók’s 1911 opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and a week of Barbary Coast and Beyond concerts of music from early San Francisco (see Semi-staged and Multimedia Productions, above)

·                      Concerts of Debussy’s complete music from Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, with narrator Frederica von Stade and multimedia visuals; Janáček’s Sinfonietta opens the program (see Semi-staged and Multimedia Productions, above)

·                      Thomas Adès and Tal Rosner’s new work Polaris: Voyage for Orchestra, an SFS commission and West Coast premiere, also with visual elements (see Semi-staged and Multimedia Productions, above), on a program with Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, Haffner

·                      Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, with mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus and women of the SFS Chorus

·                       Beethoven’s triumphant Symphony No. 9, with  soprano Erin Wall, mezzo-soprano Kendall Gladen, tenor William Burden, bass Nathan Berg, and the SFS Chorus, and Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw

·             The U.S. premiere of the new Sofia Gubaidulina work commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, on a program with Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem (see SFS Premieres, Commissions and First Performances, above)

·             Performances with Yo-Yo Ma in Hindemith’s Cello Concerto, plus Lukas Foss’ Phorion and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1

·             Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham as soloist, his Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor (orchestrated by Schoenberg), and the Prelude to Act III of Wagner’s Lohengrin

·             The first SF Symphony performances of the Ligeti Violin Concerto with Christian Tetzlaff, with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, Winter Daydreams and Liszt’s Prometheus

·                       Performances with Itzhak Perlman and Lang Lang at the Centennial Season Opening Gala, and with Lang Lang at the Orchestra’s 100th Birthday Bash free concert and party at Civic Center Plaza

·                      Schnittke’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastoral, and Mahler’s Blumine

·                      Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Yuja Wang, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, and Faure’s Pavane

·                      An all-Schubert program of his Piano Quintet in A major, Trout with Juho Pohjonen, Mahler’s arrangement of Death and the Maiden String Quartet, and the Overture to Alfonso und Estrella

·                      Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Jeremy Denk

THE AMERICAN ORCHESTRA SERIES
In an unprecedented celebration of the American orchestra, six of the country’s most distinguished major symphony orchestras visit San Francisco, performing on the same stage during the same season.  Performing two concerts each as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s historic Centennial celebration in 2011-12 are the Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director James Levine; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Riccardo Muti; The Cleveland Orchestra, led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst; the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel; the New York Philharmonic, with Music Director Alan Gilbert; and the Philadelphia Orchestra, with Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit. Taken together with the San Francisco Symphony, led by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, these seven orchestras, among the largest and oldest in the country, will perform music designed to showcase the artistic strengths of the contemporary American orchestra.

The SFS has invited each of the six visiting orchestras to perform music commissioned by their organizations and music closely associated with each orchestra’s contemporary artistic identity. This repertoire will encompass commissioned works from some of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music, such as Thomas Adès, Mason Bates, Elliott Carter, Enrico Chapela, Anna Clyne, Magnus Lindberg, and Kaija Saariaho, music by John Adams and Iranian composer Behzad Ranjbaran, and music by core classical composers including Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Bartók, Ravel, Prokofiev, Berlioz, and Shostakovich.

“As we considered the many ways to mark the milestone of the San Francisco Symphony’s Centennial, we felt that one of the most significant things we could do was to celebrate the role that American orchestras have played, and continue to play, in our public life,” said Brent Assink, Executive Director of the San Francisco Symphony. “With this unprecedented gathering of orchestras, we invite everyone to join us on this journey to celebrate what orchestral music can offer, to expand the boundaries of what it can become, and cherish the meaningful connections that it makes.”

The American Orchestra series opens October 23 and 24, 2011, with two performances by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The programs include a new LA Philharmonic commission for electric cello written by Mexican composer Enrico Chapela and performed by Johannes Moser.  The orchestra also performs Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, Stravinsky’s Symphony in C, and two short pieces by John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Tromba lontana.

On December 6 and 7, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director James Levine perform two concerts with repertoire including Elliott Carter’s Flute Concerto, a Boston Symphony Orchestra commission featuring principal flutist Elizabeth Rowe, who was soloist in the American premiere performance by the orchestra earlier this year. The orchestra’s two programs also include the Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, its recording of which won the 2010 Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K.503 with Richard Goode, John Harbison’s Symphony No. 4, Bartók’s Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1.

On February 14 and 15, 2012, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra makes its first appearances in San Francisco since 1987, led by Music Director Riccardo Muti. These are Muti’s first conducting appearances in the Bay Area since 1990, when he led the Philadelphia Orchestra in Davies Symphony Hall.  Programs include two newly commissioned works by the Orchestra’s two Mead Composers-in-Residence: Mason Bates’ Alternative Energy and a new work by Anna Clyne. The orchestra also performs Franck’s Symphony in D minor and Schubert’s Symphony in C major, The Great; Honegger’s Pacific 231; and Schubert’s Entr’acte No. 3 in B-flat major from Rosamunde.

April 15 and 16, 2012 mark The Cleveland Orchestra’s first two concerts in the Bay Area since 2005. Music Director Franz Welser-Möst leads the orchestra in two of its commissions: Kaija Saariaho’s Orion, commissioned in 2002, and a co-commissioned orchestral suite of the Overture, Waltz and Finale from Thomas Adès’ Powder Her Face, a 1995 chamber opera. The opera centers on the Duchess of Argyll’s then-scandalous and explicit divorce proceedings. The orchestra will also perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with soloist Nicolaj Znaider; Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Scottish; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6; and three excerpts from Smetana’s Má Vlast.

On May 13 and 14, 2012, the New York Philharmonic and Music Director Alan Gilbert make their first San Francisco visit together, as part of a major tour of the West Coast, and marking the orchestra’s first performances here since 1999.  New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow performs Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and Yefim Bronfman joins the orchestra in a new Magnus Lindberg piano concerto commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, where Lindberg is currently Composer-in-Residence. Also on the program are Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Debussy’s La Mer, Ravel’s La Valse, and Berlioz’ Le Corsaire and Dvořák’s Carnival overtures.

Concluding the series on June 9 and 10, 2012 is the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit. The orchestra performs Iranian composer Behzad Ranjbaran’s Saratoga, a commissioned work it premiered in 2005; Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, written for and dedicated to the Philadelphia Orchestra; Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D Major for the Left Hand, with Louis Lortie; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5; Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber; Debussy’s Prélude à L’Après-midi d’ un faune, and Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy. The Philadelphia Orchestra last performed in San Francisco in 2007.

PROJECT SAN FRANCISCO COMPOSER AND ARTIST RESIDENCIES
Project San Francisco brings today’s foremost performing artists and composers to the SF Symphony to collaborate with the Orchestra in concerts, chamber music, lectures, and education and community events. In the 2011-12 centennial season, two artists with significant ties to the San Francisco Symphony, composer Mason Bates and violinist Joshua Bell, join the SFS for expanded creative collaborations.  An integral part of the San Francisco Symphony’s multi-year Centennial Initiatives, Project San Francisco celebrates the creative spirit while deepening connections between SFS guest artists, the Orchestra, and its community. Previous Project San Francisco guests include composers John Adams, George Benjamin, and Sofia Gubaidulina, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Lang Lang. The 2010-11 season Project San Francisco artist residency in June 2011 features pianist Yuja Wang.

Joshua Bell has been a frequent guest of the SF Symphony and is currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut with the Orchestra. In his Project San Francisco artist residency, Bell will join the Orchestra in a week of concerts under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, performing the Glazunov Violin Concerto. Bell also performs a Davies Symphony Hall recital, and will perform with and lead the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in an all-Beethoven program.  Bell will participate in additional chamber music, educational, and community events scheduled throughout the season as part of the residency.

The 2011-12 Project San Francisco programs will also celebrate the music of Bay Area composer Mason Bates. In addition to his new work Mass Transmission, to be premiered during the American Mavericks Festival at Davies Symphony Hall and performed on tour (see American Mavericks Festival, above), Bates’ work will also be featured in the course of the season, in chamber music concerts with members of the San Francisco Symphony, and in the American Orchestra series in February, during the visit by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he is currently Mead Composer-in-Residence. In addition, his Digital Loom will be performed in recital by organist Isabelle Demers. Bates will take part in various chamber music, educational, and community events as part of his residency.

In May 2009, Mason Bates performed the world premiere of his SFS commission The B-Sides with MTT and the SFS.  Earlier this year, the London Symphony Orchestra and Tilson Thomas recorded Bates’ Mothership, which invites soloists from around the world to ‘dock’ on the web with a live orchestra. A video of it can be seen on YouTube and it will have its world premiere at the next YouTube Symphony Orchestra performance to be held in Sydney, Australia on March 20, 2011, led by MTT.

2011-12 GUEST CONDUCTORS
Visiting conductors returning to lead the San Francisco Symphony in the 2011-12 season include Vasily Petrenko, Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra;  James Conlon, Music Director of Los Angeles Opera and the Ravinia Festival; Fabio Luisi, Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera; Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic; Semyon Bychkov, who has been a returning guest of the SFS since 1989; Esa-Pekka Salonen, Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra; Pablo Heras-Casado, who made his SFS debut last season; violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman, Music Director of National Arts Centre Orchestra; Charles Dutoit, Chief Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; violinist Itzhak Perlman; Stéphane Denève, Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chief Conductor Designate of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; Osmo Vänskä, Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra; David Robertson, Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; and Jane Glover, Artistic Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music and Music Director of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque.

The San Francisco Symphony’s 2011-12 season features two guest conductors making their SFS debuts:  Rinaldo Alessandrini, founder and conductor of Concerto Italiano, and Susanna Mälkki, Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain.

2011-12 GUEST SOLOISTS
The 2011-12 lineup of guest soloists includes eleven who are making their debuts with the San Francisco Symphony: pianists Khatia Buniatishvili and Olivier Cavé; sopranos Karina Gauvin, Olga Guryakova, and Sondra Radvanovsky; tenor William Burden; baritone Kyle Ketelsen; bass-baritone Alan Held; organist Isabelle Demers; vocalist Joan La Barbara; and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

Visiting soloists returning to the SFS in the 2011-12 season include violinists Joshua Bell, Renaud Capuçon, Hilary Hahn, Leila Josefowicz, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, and Christian Tetzlaff; pianists Emanuel Ax, Jeremy Denk, Kirill Gerstein, Horacio Gutiérrez, Lang Lang, Anton Nel, Garrick Ohlsson, Juho Pohjonen, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simon Trpčeski, and Yuja Wang; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; sopranos Jane Archibald, Laura Claycomb, Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, and Erin Wall; mezzo-sopranos Sasha Cooke, Michelle DeYoung, Kendall Gladen, Katarina Karnéus, Leah Wool, and Dolora Zajick; Frederica von Stade, who performs for the first time as a narrator with the Orchestra; tenor Frank Lopardo; bass Nathan Berg; baritone Sergei Leiferkus; vocalist Meredith Monk; composer Mason Bates; and organist Paul Jacobs.

SFS MUSIC DIRECTORS RETURN TO THE PODIUM
Two conductors who steered the San Francisco Symphony through almost two decades of critical artistic growth and expansion will return in consecutive weeks to conduct the SFS in its Centennial Season: Edo de Waart, Music Director from 1977-1985, and Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt, Music Director from 1985-1995.

For two weeks beginning in January 2012, Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt leads the Orchestra. Pianist Garrick Ohlsson joins Blomstedt and the SFS for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9. The Orchestra also performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5. Throughout his tenure, Blomstedt and the SFS repeatedly appeared to critical acclaim at major European concert venues and festivals, including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Munich, and Lucerne. The recordings he made with the SFS won prestigious awards, including the Orchestra’s first Grammy award, for Orff’s Carmina burana in 1993.  Also during his tenure, the Orchestra completed the $12 million acoustic and architectural renovation of Davies Symphony Hall. Blomstedt has also served as Music Director of the Dresden Staatskapelle, the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig.

In February 2012, former Music Director Edo de Waart, currently Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, returns to lead the SFS in a week of concerts, his first with the SFS since April 1997.  Simon Trpčeski is pianist for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, and de Waart leads the Orchestra in Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 in C minor. The first SF Symphony performances of Schreker’s Prelude to Act I of Die Gezeichneten open the concerts. During his tenure as the Orchestra’s ninth music director, de Waart oversaw a momentous time in the Orchestra’s growth, including the building of its own home, Davies Symphony Hall, opened in 1980. The Orchestra successfully expanded into a full-time, year-long performance schedule and launched many of its education programs, including the SFS Youth Orchestra.  In addition to his posts in Hong Kong and Milwaukee, Edo de Waart is currently Conductor Laureate of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Beginning in the 2012-13 season, he becomes Chief Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CONDUCTORS AND MUSICIANS
Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik, known to many as Sasha, celebrates his 10th anniversary in that leadership role with the Orchestra during the Centennial Season. In May 2012, he performs as soloist with Tilson Thomas leading the Orchestra in Schnittke’s Violin Concerto No. 4.  Also in May, Barantschik will lead and solo with the Orchestra in performances of Bach’s Brandenberg Concertos 1, 4 and 5 and Handel’s Water Music Suite No. 2 in D major. He will perform with SFS musicians at four Chamber Music Series concerts held at the Palace of the Legion of Honor throughout the season. Through an arrangement with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Barantschik has the exclusive use of the 1742 Guarnerius del Gesù violin, the favorite instrument of the legendary Jascha Heifetz. He joined the San Francisco Symphony as Concertmaster in September 2001.

San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra Music Director Donato Cabrera leads the Youth Orchestra in seven concerts, including four concerts of diverse orchestral repertoire in Davies Symphony Hall, and three December concerts of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, two at Davies Symphony Hall and one at the Flint Center in Cupertino. In the summer of 2012 the Youth Orchestra will embark on its ninth European tour, performing in some of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls. Cabrera will also conduct the Youth Orchestra at the Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival in Davies Symphony Hall. Program details will be announced at a later date.

The San Francisco Symphony Chorus, in its fifth season under SFS Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin, performs in six SFS concert weeks.  Tilson Thomas conducts the Chorus in five programs, with repertoire including Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Debussy’s Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and the world premiere of Mason Bates’ SFS commission Mass Transmission.  Guest conductor Fabio Luisi leads the Orchestra and SFS Chorus in performances of Verdi’s Requiem.

DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL ORGAN SERIES
Three dynamic organists perform recitals as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s 2011-12 Sunday organ series. Paul Jacobs returns to Davies Symphony Hall in January. In March, Isabelle Demers performs Mason Bates’ Digital Loom, which she recorded with him, as part of Project San Francisco’s focus on the composer’s music. Christopher Houlihan appears in concert in April. Also, on Halloween Eve, organist Cameron Carpenter performs his score of The Phantom of the Opera as the film screens, preceded by a 15-minute Carpenter mini-recital. The Ruffatti organ, with 8,264 pipes and a 1,600-square-foot façade, is the largest concert hall organ in North America and was handcrafted in Padua, Italy.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONCERTS
The San Francisco Symphony performs several special concerts during the 2011-12 season. In the fall, the Orchestra performs its fourth annual Día de los Muertos Family Concert, conducted by SFS Resident Conductor Donato Cabrera. Conductor Carolyn Kuan, recently named Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, returns to lead the SFS in its 12th annual Chinese New Year concert. The Orchestra also performs its yearly holiday concerts in December 2011, including Handel’s Messiah and its New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball, and its Summer & the Symphony concert series in summer 2012. Dates and complete programs will be announced at a later date.

COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony open their 100th season with a week of civic and community celebrations marking the Centennial of the Orchestra’s founding. The Black & White Ball also returns for the Centennial in 2012.

OPENING NIGHT CENTENNIAL GALA
The Centennial Season kicks off with an Opening Gala concert on September 7, 2011, with a program featuring pianist Lang Lang and violinist Itzhak Perlman and conducted by MTT. The Gala will be recorded for future national PBS broadcast on WNET New York’s Great Performances series. The Centennial Gala, titled Fanfare for a New Century, is chaired by two of the Orchestra’s most impassioned supporters, Charlotte Shultz, Chief of Protocol of the State of California and former SFS President Nancy Bechtle, with Honorary Chairs Ann and Gordon Getty.  Proceeds from the Centennial Gala benefit the Orchestra’s myriad education, community, and artistic programs, providing music education to more than 75,000 Bay Area children each year. The complete Gala program will be announced at a later date.

SFS “BIRTHDAY BASH” FREE CONCERT AND FESTIVITIES IN SAN FRANCISCO’S CIVIC CENTER PLAZA

In celebration of its 100th birthday, and as a gift to its city, the San Francisco Symphony invites the entire Bay Area community to celebrate its Centennial Season together with a free outdoor concert and birthday festivities at Civic Center Plaza on September 8, 2011.  Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the Orchestra in a noon outdoor Birthday Bash featuring pianist Lang Lang. Special 100th birthday party surprises and other activities are planned. Complete concert program and party details will be announced at a later date.

COMMUNITY CONCERTS
On September 9, 2011, MTT leads the San Francisco Symphony in a special Davies Symphony Hall concert for San Francisco social service and neighborhood organizations, organized through the Orchestra’s extensive Volunteer Council. In December, the Symphony presents its annual Deck the Hall concert and holiday party for children, a fundraiser that makes possible its free Community Deck the Hall performance for kids the following day.

BLACK & WHITE BALL
On June 2, 2012, San Francisco’s Civic Center will be transformed into one of the country’s most elegant party venues, as the Bay Area community comes together to celebrate music in multiple venues within the War Memorial Performing Arts Center.  A San Francisco tradition since 1956, the Orchestra’s Black & White Ball returns in the Centennial Season with a spectacular evening in support of the Orchestra’s myriad music education programs.

CENTENNIAL EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROGRAM EXPANSION
As the San Francisco Symphony embarks on its second century, the Orchestra continues its visionary leadership and advocacy for the importance of music in society. Ever since its third concert, a program for young people in 1911, the SFS has established and retained one of the most comprehensive music education programs of any orchestra in the world. In its 100th season, the Orchestra will further expand its comprehensive education and community music programs to include added instrument training for San Francisco public schools, a new online learning environment for children, and a community-based amateur music program.

COMMUNITY OF MUSIC MAKERS
Through a new multifaceted program, the SFS will serve amateur adult musicians and promote active participation in music-making and lifelong learning, with Davies Symphony Hall as a hub of music activity.  Community of Music Makers extends the Symphony’s role beyond its historic performance and teaching model by creating opportunities for SFS concertgoers to participate in music-making under the auspices of the SFS and with the support of SFS artistic resources.

Community of Music Makers will include an amateur orchestra and an amateur chorus that will rehearse in Davies Symphony Hall.  Participants in the orchestra and chorus will be able to improve their skills and receive mentoring from SFS musicians and artistic staff.  A chamber music convening service will support chamber music performance in the community and serve as a clearinghouse to help individual players and ensembles find each other, as well as communicate among each other and with the Symphony.  The innovative program will also include live and online coaching experiences.  All aspects of the initiative will fully launch in the Centennial season.

YOUTH ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL
While celebrating the Orchestra’s first 100 years, the SFS is also mindful that its community’s musical future depends on nurturing the Bay Area’s young musicians.  Building on the past success of the Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival concerts in Davies Symphony Hall, a biannual Youth Orchestra Festival under the auspices of the San Francisco Symphony will launch in the Centennial Season.  The Youth Orchestra Festival on January 15, 2012 will showcase the young talent of Northern California, allowing young musicians and their conductors to hear and be inspired by one another.  Each festival will include four to six participating orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, led by Wattis Foundation Music Director Donato Cabrera.

INSTRUMENT TRAINING EXPANSION
In this milestone season, the SFS reaffirms its commitment to providing music education experiences for children in the public schools of San Francisco.  Through the Instrument Training and Support (ITS) program, launched in 2006, the SFS provides artistic and technical assistance to instrumental music programs in San Francisco’s public middle schools and high schools.  In its Centennial Season, the SFS will expand the scope of this important program and support every instrumental program in the city’s public middle and high schools.

The Instrument Training and Support program provides weekly coaching by professional teaching musicians, resources and supplies such as instrument repairs and sheet music, and tickets to attend selected SFS and Youth Orchestra concerts. The program staff works directly with school music teachers and responds to specific needs at each school.

By expanding the ITS program to include every orchestra and band in SF’s public middle and high schools, the SFS further strengthens its in-school support to the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) serving students throughout their elementary and secondary years, grades 1-12.  In its second century, the SFS’ nationally acclaimed Adventures in Music (AIM) program – now in its 23rd year of partnership with the SFUSD – will continue to provide comprehensive music education in grades 1 through 5, while the Instrument Training and Support program covers grades 6 through 12. The SFS will continue to provide these services at no cost to children or schools.

NEW SFSKIDS.ORG CHILDREN’S WEBSITE
When SFSKids.org was launched in 2002 as one of the first music websites for children, it quickly became the pre-eminent free online music education resource for children, parents, teachers, and schools to learn about and engage with music.  The SFS will revamp this innovative and popular website into a state-of-the-art interactive virtual music world, utilizing current technical capabilities.  A model for online musical learning, SFSKids.org has reached more than four million users.   With an expanded and updated free SFSKids.org, the SFS will continue to empower young learners, their families, and schools, using modes of engagement which are at the forefront of online learning and which are familiar to today’s Internet-savvy users.

The SFS’s collaborative partner for the project is The Center for Computer Games and Virtual Worlds at the University of California at Irvine (UCI). The team from UCI will bring a research-based approach to creating the most effective, fun, and engaging online learning environment for today’s users utilizing the latest in computer game technology. UCI was among the first major research universities to establish educational and research programs in computer game culture and technology. The newly updated and expanded site will launch in the SFS’s Centennial Season.

LIVING HERITAGE MEDIA INITIATIVES
Chronicling the impact of the Orchestra’s first hundred years, the San Francisco Symphony is developing multimedia projects designed to showcase its past, present and vision of the future, including a book, a documentary film about the Orchestra’s history, and archival exhibitions. The Symphony also plans to make available rarely heard, historic recordings of the Orchestra from the last century, both as part of the historical retrospectives and on the web.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY BOOK:  MUSIC FOR A CITY, MUSIC FOR THE WORLD
The definitive history of the San Francisco Symphony, Music for a City, Music for the World: 100 Years with the San Francisco Symphony, will be published in the summer of 2011 by Chronicle Books. Written by Larry Rothe, longtime editor of the Symphony’s program book and co-author of the acclaimed essay collection For the Love of Music, the book traces the growth of the orchestra, from its founding five years after the 1906 earthquake as an orchestra “for the people” to the internationally renowned ensemble that today reaches millions annually through concerts, recordings, radio, television, and the web. Music for a City, Music for the World is based on interviews with musicians, conductors, and Symphony personnel, as well as on press reports, letters, board documents, and other local and national histories.  Accompanying Rothe’s narrative are hundreds of photos and images, assembled by Symphony Archivist Joe Evans. The oversized (9” X 12”), 272-page hardcover book will be available through the SFS store, in bookstores, and on the web through the SFS eStore at www.sfsymphony.org/store.

CENTENNIAL DOCUMENTARY FILM
A new documentary film will present highlights of the Orchestra’s 100-year history and the people behind its artistic achievements, education and community involvement, and recording projects.  Commissioned by the SFS and produced by SFS Media, the hour-long film will paint a compelling portrait of the role of an Orchestra in its community and the power of music to inspire it.  With rare archival footage, photographs, television broadcast excerpts, and new interviews with current and former members of the Orchestra and others, the film illustrates the impact the Orchestra has had in San Francisco and beyond, from its origin as an Orchestra “for the people” to its modern presence as a significant cultural institution with a reach far beyond San Francisco and the Bay Area. The documentary is scheduled for distribution during the Centennial Season.

LIVING HERITAGE EXHIBITIONS AND ARCHIVAL TREASURES
Web-based Interactive San Francisco Symphony Historic Timeline
Symphony and history fans will be able to explore a web-based interactive historic timeline with the Orchestra’s major milestones and accomplishments. The timeline will allow users to delve into archival SF Symphony recordings from 1926 to the present that have never been available anywhere else. Visitors can read about the San Francisco Symphony’s history, and view historic and contemporary video footage of concerts and interviews, photographs, and images, including scores and other unique archival finds. The timeline integrates the San Francisco Symphony’s legacy with events including the 1906 earthquake and the two World Wars. Fans can also share their stories related to the SF Symphony in an online “storybook” and through web-based sharing tools. The interactive timeline is being created for the SFS by Adobe Experience Design.

San Francisco Public Library
The Centennial exhibition Music for a City: Music for the World: 100 Years with the San Francisco Symphony will be held in the Jewett Galleries at the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library from September 8, 2011 through January 9, 2012. Organized by Joe Evans, SFS Archivist, the exhibition tells the story of the SF Symphony and the impact it has had on its city, from its formative years following the 1906 earthquake to its present day position as one of America’s most respected symphony orchestras. This exhibition will present over 200 historic objects and documents, all drawn from the San Francisco Symphony archival collection, including photos, concert posters, programs, and tickets, most exhibited for the first time. The display will be accompanied and enhanced by samples from the audio archive, lending depth and musical context to the items on view. In conjunction with the exhibit, a series of events in the Library’s Koret Auditorium are scheduled throughout the run, including talks, demonstrations and panel discussions. Event details and dates will be announced at a later date.

San Francisco International Airport
A photography exhibition titled The San Francisco Symphony on Tour will be on view in Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport from March 1 through May 31, 2012.  The exhibition will include fascinating and rarely seen photos drawn from the Orchestra’s extensive photo archives, highlighting the orchestra’s colorful touring history from its first to present day.

Museum of Performance and Design
San Francisco’s Museum of Performance & Design (MPD) will organize a major new exhibition on the San Francisco Symphony. With the working title San Francisco Symphony: A Century of Musical Mavericks, this exhibition will explore the unique pioneering spirit that has informed the evolution of one of the country’s great orchestras, which has been so closely linked with the growth of San Francisco over the past century.  Working with the Symphony, MPD will create an exhibition drawing on its own collection and the SFS archives, richly illustrated with rare photos from throughout the orchestra’s history and offering a special acoustic environment in which to sample treasures from the Symphony’s long recording history. The exhibition will be on view in MPD’s Main Gallery, with exact dates to be announced.

Exhibition of Gary Bukovnik Original Artworks
Every year since 1981, Bay Area painter Gary Bukovnik has created an original work of art inspired by the music of the San Francisco Symphony, which he has then donated to the Symphony for its own benefit. All proceeds from the sales of prints derived from the artist’s floral-themed watercolors have provided generous support to the Symphony’s education programs for 30 years. In honor of Bukovnik’s generous legacy, the Symphony will organize a retrospective exhibition of his original works in Davies Symphony Hall. The exhibit details will be announced at a later date.

ARCHIVAL RECORDINGS
Beyond the recorded music already familiar to SF Symphony audiences is a wealth of recordings now out of print, nearly impossible to find, or in antiquated formats, as well as extensive live recordings spanning decades from the San Francisco Symphony audio archives.  For the Orchestra’s 100th anniversary, Scott Foglesong, musicologist and frequent pre-concert lecturer, has researched and compiled the most extensive San Francisco Symphony discography to date of existing and available recordings. Beginning in its Centennial Season, the Symphony plans to excerpt the very best of those recordings for the public to hear and enjoy. These recordings will accompany and illustrate the San Francisco Public Library and Museum of Performance and Design exhibitions (see above), and selected recordings will be available for the public to hear through the web-based interactive timeline showcasing the Symphony’s music over the last 100 years.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Subscription ticket packages for the complete San Francisco Symphony 2011-12 Centennial Season go on sale to renewing subscribers and the general public Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 10 a.m.  For more information, please visit http://www.sfsymphony.org/subscribe or call the Davies Symphony Hall box office at 415-864-6000.

A complete 2011-12 Centennial Season concert calendar follows this press release. For further press information, please contact the SFS Communications Department at (415) 503-5474, email publicrelations@sfsymphony.org, or visit the SFS Press Room at www.sfsymphony.org/press.

ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
Founded in 1911, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) celebrates its Centennial Season in 2011-12 and is widely considered to be among the country’s most artistically adventurous and innovative arts institutions.  Under Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, the SFS performs and presents more than 220 concerts annually for an audience of nearly 600,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall and through an active national and international touring program. Since its inception and founding as an orchestra “for the people,” the SFS has played a leading role in the musical life of its community, offering one of the most comprehensive music education and community programs of any orchestra in the world.  The San Francisco Symphony maintains a wide-ranging series of educational programs serving over 75,000 children in the Bay Area and millions of children and families around the globe, including comprehensive music education for students K-12, concerts for families and young people, its own Youth Orchestra and the innovative children’s website SFSKids.org.   Since it became the first orchestra to have its concerts broadcast over the airwaves in 1935, the SFS reaches millions more around the world with its music through its Keeping Score multimedia projects, syndicated television and radio broadcasts, websites, and recordings on its own label, SFS Media.

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CENTENNIAL SEASON MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
The San Francisco Symphony is grateful for the support of its generous partners:

Centennial Partners
Centennial Partners have committed major, multi-year funding in recognition of the Orchestra’s 100th anniversary.
Bank of America, Chevron,

Inaugural Partner, Wells Fargo

Major Corporate Partners – AT&T, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., City National Bank, Franklin Templeton Investments, Macy’s
McKesson, Morrison & Foerster LLP, PG&E Corporation

Sustainability Partner Sybase, Inc.

The Westin St. Francis Preferred Hotel
William Hill Estate Winery Official Wine of the San Francisco Symphony

Media Partner KDFC Classical 89.9 and 90.3 FM

Public Funders Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund
National Endowment for the Arts
San Francisco Arts Commission

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For Immediate Release
THE TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND MUSIC DIRECTOR PETER OUNDJIAN TO PERFORM AT CARNEGIE HALL ON SATURDAY, MARCH 26 Concert to feature Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 4 & violinist Itzhak Perlman in a performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1

New York, NY, February 8, 2011 – The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Peter Oundjian, who have garnered attention for their remarkable resurgence since Mr. Oundjian was appointed Music Director in 2004, will perform at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium on Saturday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m.  One of Canada’s major cultural institutions, the TSO will perform Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 4, a stormy work that diverges from the composer’s usual folk-inspired musical language.  Following a recent performance of the work in Toronto, The Star wrote, “under the direction of Peter Oundjian, the virtuoso players of the TSO rose to the sonic challenges of the work, fashioning each moment for all its dramatic power.”  The Carnegie Hall program will also include a performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, Four Sea Interludes from Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, and the Carnegie Hall debut of John Estacio’s brisk concert piece, Frenergy.

The TSO last performed at Carnegie Hall in October 2008 to a sold-out audience.  Following the performance The New York Times critic Allan Kozinn wrote, “…when Mr. Oundjian led [the orchestra] in a wrenching, full-throttle account of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 on Saturday evening at Carnegie Hall, the orchestra proved to be in superb shape…his dramatic shaping of the work illuminated its searing passions, and the orchestra responded with a remarkable fluidity and power.  Under Mr. Oundjian the orchestra has maintained its shine, but now it packs a firm punch as well.”

The TSO’s Carnegie Hall performance is presented with the support of Official New York Tour sponsor, RBC Wealth Management. “RBC Wealth Management is thrilled to extend our long-standing support of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Official Sponsor of its New York Tour and performance at Carnegie Hall,” says John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management – U.S.  “As a firm, RBC is proud to contribute to important arts and cultural organizations like the TSO which serve to enrich lives and enhance the communities in which we live and work.”

Tickets, priced from $17.50 to $104, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, www.carnegiehall.org.
Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian, noted for his probing musicality, collaborative spirit, and engaging personality, has been an instrumental figure in the rebirth of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra throughout his seven seasons as Music Director.  In addition to conducting the orchestra in dynamic performances which have achieved significant artistic acclaim, he has been greatly involved in a variety of new initiatives which have strengthened the ensemble’s presence in the community and attracted a young and diverse audience. In 2004, he helped to establish an annual celebration of new music, showcasing new and premièring commissioned works. Now an audience favorite, the New Creations Festival celebrates the best in contemporary orchestral music and attracts celebrated contemporary composers.  In his tenure with the TSO, Mr. Oundjian has also released four recordings on the orchestra’s self produced record label, tsoLIVE.

In addition to his post in Toronto, Peter Oundjian will become the Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in the 2012-2013 season and has served as Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and played a major role at the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York for over a decade.  He was also the first violinist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet, a position he held for fourteen years.

Mr. Oundjian studied violin at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay, and Itzhak Perlman, with whom he formed a long-lasting musical relationship. After having met in London in 1975 when Mr. Oundjian was 19 years old, Mr. Perlman served as a mentor for the young musician, and the two have since collaborated in numerous performances with the orchestra, including a concert celebrating Mr. Oundjian’s announcement as Music Director of the TSO. Since Mr. Perlman’s debut with the TSO in 1970, the violinist has appeared each season with the orchestra as either solosist or conductor. In April 2012, during the TSO’s 90th anniversary season, Mr. Oundjian will play violin with Mr. Perlman in a performance J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins.

Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s major cultural institutions.  Under the leadership of Music Director Peter Oundjian, the orchestra has increased recording and touring projects to include a self-produced record label and performances throughout the United States and Canada. The Orchestra continues to develop its international presence by being an active commissioning body for new Canadian and international works, as well as attracting distinguished guest artists and conductors to performances at Roy Thomson Hall.  In addition to providing over 100 concert performances each season, the TSO serves the community with one of the largest educational programs in Canada, connecting students throughout Ontario with curriculum-based outreach.

The TSO is committed to innovative programming and showcases a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. Throughout its history, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has welcomed some of the greatest international artists, including Martha Argerich, Maxim Vengerov, Yo-Yo Ma, Evgeny Kissin, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, Karen Kain, Maureen Forrester, Lang Lang, and actor Christopher Plummer.  News of Mr. Oundjian and the TSO continues to spread worldwide through the documentary Five Days In September: The Rebirth of An Orchestra, which has won numerous awards at major international film festivals and has been released on DVD.

Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. In fall 2010, Mr. Perlman traveled to Chile and Brazil for both orchestral and recital performances and to six cities in Japan and South Korea with pianist Rohan De Silva. He joined the New York Philharmonic for their opening subscription week under Music Director Alan Gilbert.  Mr. Perlman also appears with students and alumni from the Perlman Music Program in New York, Washington, D.C., and Princeton.

In 2009, Mr. Perlman was honored to take part in the Inauguration of President Barack Obama.  In 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House.  Mr. Perlman devotes considerable time to education, both in his participation each summer in the Perlman Music Program and his teaching at the Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair.  Mr. Perlman is the recipient of four Emmy Awards and fifteen Grammy awards and was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Julliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in 2005.

Saturday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m.
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Peter Oundjian, Music Director and Conductor Itzhak Perlman, Violin
BRITTEN                             Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
BRUCH                               Violin Concerto No. 1
JOHN ESTACIO                   Frenergy
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS          Symphony No. 4

Tickets, priced from $17.50 to $104, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website,  www.carnegiehall.org .
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Official Sponsor of the New York Tour is RBC Wealth Management.
Post-concert Reception Sponsor is Livingston International, Inc. Breakfast at Tiffany Sponsored by Tiffany & Co. Canada
Tour Cartage Provided by Tippet-Richardson Limited Patrons of the Carnegie Hall Performance are Hans & Susan Brenninkmeyer, James & Joyce Gutmann, and Sharon Zuckerman

TSO Concert Season Sponsor is Tippet-Richardson Limited TSO Conductor’s Podium Sponsor is BMO Financial Group

Press contact: Lisa Jaehnig | Shuman Associates | (212) 315-1300 | ljaehnig@shumanassociates.net

Technorati Tags: toronto symphony orchestra

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What: Waltz  proudly  presents its 2nd Hindustani classical concert on the 4th.of December 2010 at INDUMATI  SABHAGRIHA at 6:00p.m. sharp

Artists:

• featuring Smt.Rakhi Chakraborty-THUMRI and DADRA
• accompanied on the Tabla by Shri Malay Banerjee Shri Indradeep Ghosh-Violin
• accompanied on the Tabla by Shri Chiranjeet Mukherjee
• Shri Kumar Mukherjee- KHAYAL,THUMRI and DADRA
• accompanied on the Tabla by Shri Ashok Mukherjee
• on the Harmonium by  Shri Sanatan Goswami

COMPERE- NAREN BHATTACHARYA

CONVENOR- SANJOY MAJUMDAR

PLEASE DO COME AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG TOO!

Check out the list of Popular Music Festivals, India & International | Music Museums | Famous International Music Awards | Choirs & Orchestras Around the World | Budding Music Artists, India | Institutes & Courses In Music | Artist Biographies – Artists In Focus | Promote Your Upcoming Music Performances | Indian Classical Music | Genres Of Music | Contribute Music Related Articles | Glossary Of Musical Terms | Share Your Musical Escapades

CREED’S “20-10″ TOUR KICKS OFF WITH FLOOD RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT AT NASHVILLE HARD ROCK ON JULY 26

Band to Donate 100% of Concert’s Proceeds to Hands On Nashville * * *
Creed’s “20-10 Tour” Kicks Off July 28 * *

Nashville, TN (June 15, 2010) – Creed has announced that to kick off the summer “20-10 Tour,” the band will perform a special show at the Hard Rock on July 26 to benefit the victims of the recent Tennessee floods.  Creed has pledged to donate 100% of their Nashville concert’s proceeds to local charity organization, Hands On Nashville (HON), which is spearheading the flood recovery efforts of thousands of volunteers in Middle Tennessee and surrounding areas.

“The 20-10 Tour” kicks offon July 28th in Washington D.C., and is named because the first 2,010 reserved seats are $20 all-in.  This means fans pay a flat rate with no added service charges, and the remaining seats will be priced at $20 or $10, plus applicable ticketing fees.

“The 20-10 Tour” will feature new songs from CREED such as “Rain,” “Overcome” and “A Thousand Faces” from Full Circle, the band’s 2009 release and first new album in eight years, as well as hits such as “Higher,” “My Sacrifice,” “With Arms Wide Open,” “One” and more.  SKILLET and THEFT will be special guests for select dates on the tour, with RED also appearing at several concerts.  A full itinerary and lineup can be found below.

Tickets for the Nashville show will be available through Ticket Alternative and at the venue on the night of the show, if there are any left!   Tickets for all “20-10 Tour” concerts are available now through all Ticketmaster outlets, through LiveNation.com,  VIP packages are available at creedworld.com/vip. Dates and times are subject to change without notice.  Visit www.creed.com for updated tour and ticket information.

Hands On Nashville (HON) was founded in 1991 to help people transform the world around them by volunteering. HON is a recognized leader in programs, partnerships and services that maximize volunteer impact for youth, adult, corporate, and nonprofit constituencies in the greater Nashville community. Each year, Hands On Nashville refers or places 38,000 volunteers to projects in more than 300 area service agencies and schools.  For more information, visit www.hon.org.

Creed has sold close to 35 million albums and has performed live in front of millions since forming in 1995.  Creed was the first act to have seven consecutive number one rock radio singles, four of which came off of their debut album, 1997′s My Own Prison.  That album has sold more than six million copies in the U.S., and the follow-up, Human Clay, was certified Diamond for sales in excess of 11 million copies.  Weathered, their third album, tied The Beatles’ Anthology for the most consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.  After disbanding in 2003, Creed reunited for a three-month North American tour in the fall of 2009.  Following the tour, the band released their fourth album, Full Circle, which debuted on Billboard’s Top 200 chart at number two, behind Michael Jackson’s This Is It.   Creed has received numerous accolades, including several American Music and Billboard Awards, and the band won the GRAMMY for Best Rock Song for “With Arms Wide Open.”

“THE 20-10 TOUR” Itinerary
WED 28-Jul    Washington, D.C.  Jiffy Lube Live # ^
FRI 30-Jul       Mt. Pleasant, MI    Soaring Eagle Casino * ^
SAT 31-Jul      Darien, NY            Darien Lake Performing Arts Center ^
MON 2-Aug     Uncasville, CT       Mohegan Sun Arena # ^
TUE 3-Aug      Mansfield, MA       Comcast Center + ^
THU 5-Aug      Orillia, ON             Casino Rama Entertainment Casino*
FRI 6-Aug       Cleveland, OH        Blossom Music Center + ^
SAT 7-Aug      Ft. Macoy, WI       Constitution Park * ^
MON 9-Aug     Sioux City, IA        Tyson Events Center / Gateway Arena # ^
TUES 10-Aug  Sturgis, SD            Rock N the Rally * # ^
FRI 13-Aug      Cincinnati, OH       Riverbend Music Center # ^
SAT 14-Aug     Indianapolis, IN      Verizon Wireless Music Center # ^
SUN 15-Aug     Chicago, IL            First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre # ^
TUE 17-Aug     Camden, NJ          Susquehanna Bank Center ^
WED 18-Aug    Scranton, PA        Toyota Pavilion # ^
FRI 20-Aug       Gilford, NH            Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion * # ^
SAT 21-Aug      Holmdel, NJ          PNC Bank Arts Center ^
TUE 24-Aug      Wantagh, NY        Nikon at Jones Beach Theater # ^
WED 25-Aug    Saratoga, NY        Saratoga Performing Arts Center # ^
FRI 27-Aug       Raleigh, NC          Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek  # ^
SAT 28-Aug     Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach Amphitheater + ^
SUN 29-Aug     Atlanta, GA           Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood # ^
TUE 31-Aug     West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre # ^
WED 1-Sep     Tampa, FL             Ford Amphitheatre # ^
FRI 3-Sep        Dallas, TX              Superpages.com Center # ^
SAT 4-Sep       Houston, TX           Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion + ^

*These select shows do not include specially priced tickets.
# with special guest Skillet
^ with special guest Theft
+ with special guest Red
Contact: Scoop Marketing Erik Stein, estein@solters.com
Anna Loynes, aloynes@solters.com

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Mr. Nézet-Séguin becomes Music Director in 2012-13 season and takes on title of Music Director Designate immediately Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit becomes Conductor Laureate of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2012-13 season

(Philadelphia, June 14, 2010)–Philadelphia Orchestra Association Chairman Richard B. Worley and President and CEO Allison Vulgamore announced today that Yannick (Yah-NEEK) Nézet-Séguin (NAH-zay SAY-gahn) has been named as the Orchestra’s next Music Director. His seven-year contract begins immediately, with Mr. Nézet-Séguin assuming the title of Music Director Designate for two seasons and taking on the full role of Music Director in the 2012-13 season. Mr. Nézet-Séguin will come to Philadelphia this Friday, June 18, 2010, to celebrate his appointment with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the City of Philadelphia.

With his appointment, Mr. Nézet-Séguin joins a distinguished history inclusive of young Music Directors of The Philadelphia Orchestra. When he assumes the Music Director title full time at the age of 37, Mr. Nézet-Séguin will join the ranks of Leopold Stokowski who was 30 years old when he became Music Director of the Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy who assumed the position at age 38, and Riccardo Muti who became Music Director at age 39.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin made his acclaimed debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in December 2008 conducting Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist André Watts and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”), and most recently led the Orchestra in Vivier’s Orion, Franck’s Symphony in D minor, and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Nicholas Angelich in December 2009. In addition to his position in Philadelphia, Mr. Nézet-Séguin will also remain Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal).

A captivating leader, Mr. Nézet-Séguin was chosen as the Orchestra’s next Music Director for his musicianship and diverse repertoire that ranges in both style and scope. Whether leading chamber, choral, symphonic, or large-scale operatic works, he applies his broad array of interpretive ideas to music spanning from the Baroque to the contemporary. Forthcoming guest appearances include conducting the Vienna Philharmonic for the 2010 Salzburg Festival production of Don Giovanni; regular productions for the Metropolitan Opera; debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony; and first productions for La Scala Milan and London’s Royal Opera House.

As The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Music Director Designate, Mr. Nézet-Séguin will lead two weeks of subscription concerts in Philadelphia during the 2010-11 season. On October 29, 30, and 31, 2010, he will conduct Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 (“Military”) and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, and on January 6, 7, and 8, 2011, he will lead Debussy’s Nocturnes and the Orchestra’s first performances of Mozart’s Requiem in 20 years. In the 2011-12 season, Mr. Nézet-Séguin will lead a total of five weeks.

In his first season as Music Director (2012-13), Mr. Nézet-Séguin will lead up to seven weeks of concerts; and in his second and third seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15) he will conduct 15 weeks. His fourth and fifth season (2015-16 and 2016-17) will increase to 16 weeks of concerts. His weeks each season will be inclusive of subscription concerts, special events, tours, and summer activities.

Charles Dutoit continues his musical leadership of The Philadelphia Orchestra in his role as Chief Conductor through the 2011-12 season. Over the next two seasons, his cultivation of the great “Philadelphia Sound” will be on display in his many ongoing appearances with the Orchestra in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., and on tour. With the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra will honor Mr. Dutoit by bestowing upon him the title Conductor Laureate. July 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of his debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra and since those first appearances, Mr. Dutoit has led hundreds of concerts as Artistic Director of the Orchestra’s summer concerts at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestra’s summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and now as Chief Conductor. His role as Conductor Laureate will extend this strong and steadfast relationship.

Of the appointment, Mr. Nézet-Séguin said, “I fell in love with music when I heard The Philadelphia Orchestra as a young boy, on a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony with Eugene Ormandy. Now I am deeply honored and thrilled to be named Music Director of this extraordinary ensemble. I felt an instant connection with these wonderful musicians, a connection that I am eager to continue and I so look forward to our opportunities to make music together. I am eager to get to know Philadelphia and its cultural riches and to work with Allison Vulgamore and her team of staff and the members of the Board of Directors.” Philadelphia Orchestra Association President and CEO Allison Vulgamore said, “I am truly excited for The Philadelphia Orchestra’s partnership with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a great musician and human being. In my many visits with Yannick, I have witnessed the warm fellowship he shares with musician colleagues and audiences around the world. His exceptional artistry and strong connection with our musicians combines in rich and impactful performances, and his contagious love of music endears him to our audiences and community. We welcome him to Philadelphia, a musical home which will flourish with his leadership.”

Philadelphia Orchestra Association Chairman Richard B. Worley said, “We are thrilled at the appointment of Yannick Nézet-Séguin as our next Music Director. Yannick was the overwhelming choice of the Search Committee and he joins Allison Vulgamore in completing the leadership team, which we have worked hard to put in place—her strength of leadership and his talent and vision will help propel this great Orchestra forward. I want to commend the Search Committee and its Chairman, Dick Klein, on a process that resulted in Board, administrative leadership, and musicians working together cohesively and unified in their enthusiasm about this choice. We are also delighted to honor Charles Dutoit’s 30-year legacy by naming him Conductor Laureate at the close of his tenure as Chief Conductor in 2012.”

“There is a palpable excitement to Yannick’s conducting that has energized us right from the beginning of his first rehearsal with us,” said Blair Bollinger, Chairman of the Musicians’ Music Director Search Committee and bass trombone player. “Throughout the duration of the search we’ve had many meetings and discussions in which each musician had a chance to have his or her voice heard. The result of these meetings enabled the musicians on the committee to enthusiastically put forth this recommendation to the Board. I’d like to thank the Board and administration for being so attentive and responsive to input from the musicians.”

The Music Director Search Committee, chaired by Board member Richard M. Klein, was composed of 10 members of the Board, 11 musicians, the President and CEO, and the Vice President for Artistic Planning. The musicians of the Orchestra elected the 11 musician committee members, who represented the various sections of the Orchestra. Each individually took responsibility for leading roundtable discussions and seeking the input of all of their colleagues.

“We are very excited today to be announcing our new Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin,” said Chairman of the Orchestra Members’ Committee and cellist John Koen. “The process, in which the Board sought the collaboration of the musicians in making its final decision, has reached a very successful and mutually gratifying conclusion. We know our audiences will respond with enthusiasm to the energy that Yannick brings to the podium, and his clear connection to the unique sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra, ensuring a respect for our history while putting his own personal stamp on the music. We remain grateful to Charles Dutoit for his musical leadership over so many decades, and we look forward to a rich continuing relationship with him.”

Yannick Nézet-Séguin At only 35 years old, Yannick Nézet-Séguin is one of the most well-respected and sought-after young conductors on today’s international classical music scene and has been widely praised by audiences, critics, and artists alike for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma. Mr. Nézet-Séguin has been Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra since 2008, Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since 2008, and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal) since 2000.

A native of Montreal, Mr. Nézet-Séguin has conducted all of the major Canadian orchestras and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Symphony from 2003 to 2006. Mr. Nézet-Séguin made his European debut in 2004 and has since become a regular guest conductor with many of Europe’s leading orchestras, including the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Orchestre National de France, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and he made his debut at London’s BBC Proms in 2009 conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. His recent symphonic highlights include highly successful tours of the Far East (summer 2008) and North America (winter 2010) with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, as well as his Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, and Philadelphia Orchestra debuts and his Vienna Symphony and Vienna Philharmonic debuts.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s upcoming orchestral engagements include his first performances of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony (“Symphony of a Thousand”) with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Orchestre Métropolitain in June 2010 and his debut with the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra in July 2010. In addition to concerts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s 2010-11 season will include a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Equally praised for his interpretations of the operatic repertoire, Mr. Nézet-Séguin recently made his critically-acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in December 2009 conducting a new production of Bizet’s Carmen, and he will return to the Met in November 2010 for a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo. At the Netherlands Opera he has conducted Janácek’s The Makropoulos Case and Puccini’s Turandot with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and he led Poulenc’s La Voix humaine and Debussy’s L’Enfant prodigue as part of the Rotterdam Opera Days in June 2010. Mr. Nézet-Séguin made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2008 conducting a new production of Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, and he will return this summer to conduct the same production again with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, as well as Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Vienna Philharmonic. In addition to his engagement at the Met during the 2010-11 season, Mr. Nézet-Séguin will make his debut at La Scala conducting Romeo and Juliet, and he will conduct Strauss’s Salome at the Montreal Opera. He will make his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2011-12.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s first three Rotterdam Philharmonic recordings on the EMI/Virgin label, all released during the 2009-10 season, comprise an Edison Award-winning album of Ravel’s orchestral works, the Beethoven and Korngold violin concertos performed by Renaud Capuçon, and Fantasy: A Night at the Opera with flutist Emmanuel Pahud. Mr. Nézet-Séguin conducts Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and The Death of Cleopatra on an upcoming series of recordings to be released by BIS Records, and his discography also includes several award-winning recordings with the Orchestre Métropolitain on the ATMA Classique label.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Montreal, and continued his studies with renowned conductors, most notably the Italian maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. As a teenager Mr. Nézet-Séguin spent several summers studying choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s honors include a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award, the Virginia-Parker Award from the Canada Council in 2000, numerous Prix Opus from the Conseil Québécois de la Musique, and most recently a coveted Canadian award, the National Arts Centre Award.

The Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is among the world’s leading orchestras. Renowned for its artistic excellence since its founding in 1900, the Orchestra has excited audiences with thousands of concerts in Philadelphia and around the world.

Artistic Leadership With only seven music directors throughout more than a century of unswerving orchestral distinction, the artistic heritage of The Philadelphia Orchestra is attributed to extraordinary musicianship under the leadership and innovation of Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), and Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08).

After 30 years of a celebrated association with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit continues the tradition as Chief Conductor. With the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra honors Mr. Dutoit by bestowing upon him the title Conductor Laureate. July 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of his debut with the Orchestra and since those first appearances, Mr. Dutoit has led hundreds of concerts in Philadelphia, at Carnegie Hall, and on tour, as Artistic Director of the Orchestra’s summer concerts at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestra’s summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and now as Chief Conductor. His role as Conductor Laureate extends this strong and steadfast relationship.

In June 2010 Yannick Nézet-Séguin was named the next Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, immediately joining the Orchestra’s leadership team as Music Director Designate. Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s leadership era as Music Director begins with the 2012-13 season. In addition to concerts led by Mr. Dutoit and Mr. Nézet-Séguin, audiences will be treated to the artistry of acclaimed guest conductors from around the world throughout the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

Philadelphia is Home The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide, through concerts, presentations, and recordings. The Orchestra enjoys residence during the winter season (September–May) at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it takes stage at both the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall as well as in the 650-seat Perelman Theater for chamber music concerts. Its summer schedule includes an outdoor season at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts as well as free Neighborhood Concerts throughout Greater Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association continues to own the Academy of Music, as it has since 1957, where it performed for 101 seasons. It returns to the historically-certified theater every January for the highly-anticipated Academy Anniversary Concert and Ball.

The Philadelphia Orchestra can also be found year-round throughout Greater Philadelphia with its many educational outreach and community partnership programs.

Performances throughout the U.S. Beyond Philadelphia the Orchestra presents a series of concerts each year at New York’s Carnegie Hall and a three-week residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Upstate New York. The ensemble also performs numerous concerts each year at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and regularly appears at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Firsts and Foremost The Philadelphia Orchestra has an unparalleled legacy of firsts. Signature to its reputation are world or American premieres of such important works as Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”), Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, and Barber’s Violin Concerto.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s tour history is characterized by landmark events. In 1936 the Orchestra became the first American orchestra to undertake a transcontinental tour; in 1949 it toured Great Britain as the first American orchestra to cross the Atlantic after World War II; in 1973 it became the first American orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic of China; and in 1999 it became the first American symphony orchestra to visit Vietnam.

On its 2010 Tour of Asia, the Orchestra was received with great enthusiasm in China, Japan, and Korea, marking another important milestone in its storied history of ambassadorship through powerfully uniting music.

Reaching Audiences through Ever-Evolving Media The Orchestra also boasts an extraordinary record of media firsts. It was the first symphonic orchestra to make electrical recordings (in 1925), the first to perform its own commercially sponsored radio broadcast (in 1929), the first to perform on the soundtrack of a feature film (Paramount’s The Big Broadcast of 1937), the first to appear on a national television broadcast (in 1948), and the first major orchestra to give a live cybercast of a concert on the internet (in 1997). The Orchestra also became the first major orchestra to multi-cast a concert to large-screen venues through the Internet2 network.

The Philadelphia Orchestra announced a collaboration with SpectiCast in June 2009 that enables the broadcast of select Orchestra concerts to private theaters and auditoriums, including senior living communities and colleges and universities. In January 2010 the Orchestra formed a new distribution partnership with IODA, through which live recordings are now made available on popular digital music services such as iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic, and HDtracks, among others.

Currently the Orchestra and Drexel University’s Music and Entertainment Technology Laboratory are working together to develop a new iPhone application that transmits real-time musical commentary to concert hall audiences during live performances.

Trusting the Future In the 2009-10 season the Orchestra Association took significant steps toward financial sustainability with the creation of a Bridge Fund to enable the organization to continue building upon its rich legacy and its pursuit of artistic excellence. To date an extraordinary $8 million has been pledged by Board members. In addition to this Fund, the musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra have recently agreed to generous contract modifications totaling more than $8 million over 2 and 1/4 years.

Another highlight of the Orchestra’s recent past was the conclusion of a $125 million endowment campaign, A Sound, A City, A Civilization. Commitments to the campaign included a lead gift of $50 million from the Annenberg Foundation, along with other major gifts from friends throughout the community.

For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

CONTACT:  Katherine Blodgett Vice President, Public Relations and Communications email: kblodgett@philorch.org

Lisa Jaehnig     Shuman Associates e-mail: ljaehnig@shumanassociates.net

Technorati Tags:  Philadelphia Orchestra, music director

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For Immediate Release: May 18, 2010

JAMES CONLON RENEWS CONTRACT WITH THE CINCINNATI MAY FESTIVAL THROUGH 2013

Mr. Conlon’s tenure will be the longest in the May Festival’s distinguished history, exceeding that of its founder, Theodore Thomas

CINCINNATI, OH- May 18, 2010–The Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Musical Festival Association announced today that Maestro James Conlon has renewed his contract as Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival for three more years (through 2013), thereby exceeding the tenure of the Festival’s founder, the renowned Theodore Thomas.

During his 31-year tenure, Mr. Conlon has provided the artistic leadership for more May Festivals than any other Music Director in the Festival’s 137-year history. He also holds a place among the longest-tenured music directors of any major classical music institution in the country: James Levine, Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera (33 years), Boston Symphony conductor Seiji Ozawa (29 years) and finally, Philadelphia Orchestra conductors Leopold Stokowski (28 years) and Eugene Ormandy (at 44 years the longest tenure in American orchestral history).

Of his affiliation with May Festival, Mr. Conlon said, “As I enter my fourth decade of artistic leadership, I continue to be inspired 1 Conlon by Chester Higgins.JPGby the traditions of the Festival’s past, and look forward to its bright future. For me, spring is unthinkable without the May Festival.”           During his distinguished tenure, Mr. Conlon has provided the artistic leadership for more May Festivals than any other Music Director in the Festival’s 137-year history. In addition to his directorship of May Festival, he manages several roles as Music Director at LA Opera, as Music Director at Ravinia Festival, and as an internationally celebrated guest conductor at opera houses throughout the world. He has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire, and developed enduring relationships with the world’s most prestigious symphony orchestras and opera houses.

Cincinnatians feel fortunate indeed to have someone of his international reputation committing so much of his life to a single institution, and are grateful for this exceptional relationship, which has given Cincinnati some of its greatest musical moments. In 2002, James Conlon received France’s highest distinction from the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac—the Légion d’Honneur. He also was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 2004. His other numerous awards include induction on May 14 into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, adding to other recent citations: the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Los Angeles; two 2009 Grammy Awards; the Music Institute of Chicago’s Dushkin Award, the Medal of the American Liszt Society; Italy’s Premio Galileo 2000 Award. He was an early recipient of the Opera News Award.  He has been honored with the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for his efforts in championing the works of composers silenced by the Third Reich, and the Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts in bringing the composer’s music to international attention.  He holds honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School and Brandeis University.

May Festival Board President Thomas L. Neyer, Jr. said, “The entire May Festival community joins me in thanking Maestro Conlon for his brilliant artistry, extraordinary tenure and personal commitment to the organization about which we care so deeply.  We are proud to be America’s premier choral festival, and the ongoing leadership of Maestro Conlon’s caliber ensures our ability to continue growing our service to the community and the music that we love.”

About the May Festival
Established in 1873, the May Festival is directly responsible for the development of Cincinnati’s modern music life. Music Hall, the city’s primary concert venue, was built specifically to house the Festival’s performance. The prestigious roster of Festival Music Directors has included, among others, Theodore Thomas, Max Rudolf, James Levine, and currently, James Conlon. For more information on the 2010 Season, visit www.mayfestival.com.

Technorati Tags: May Festival, Cincinnati, James Conlon

Press contacts:
Steven Sunderman, May Festival, ssunderman@mayfestival.com
Lisa Jaehnig, Shuman Associates, ljaehnig@shumanassociates.net

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / April 15, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S KEEPING SCORE WEBSITE NOMINATED FOR BEST EDUCATION SITE IN 14TH ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS

Fans can vote online to help KeepingScore.org win the Web’s top honor

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, April 15, 2010 – The San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score website (www.keepingscore.org) has been nominated for Best Education Site in the 14th Annual Webby Awards.  Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, the Webby Award is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Web.

The KeepingScore.org website was launched in 2006 and redesigned in 2009 to accompany the SF Symphony’s PBS-TV Keeping Score documentary series, hosted by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. KeepingScore.org explores the music and stories of some of the world’s most groundbreaking composers. Designed to appeal to high school and college age students and their teachers, KeepingScore.org also appeals to music lovers of all ages who want to learn more about classical music. Composers Ludwig van Beethoven, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Hector Berlioz, Charles Ives and Dmitri Shostakovich are featured on the site.

The richly interactive site enables users to follow scores for Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, as explanatory text and graphics unfold in time with the recordings. Exercises and games on the site allow the visitor to manipulate melody, balance, and other musical elements of a particular piece, or to play a simple conducting game led by Tilson Thomas to Stravinsky’s music, among other highlights. KeepingScore.org also makes use of extensive audio and video to explore the composers’ pertinent musical techniques as well as their personal stories. An historical timeline takes users deep into the composers’ political, social, and cultural worlds. KeepingScore.org is also a free, deep resource for teachers, and offers free downloadable lesson plans created by educators who have experienced the Keeping Score Education program. The website was developed by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony staff, with the guidance of musicologists and educators, and web development firm Rolling Orange of San Mateo, CA.

“Nominees like KeepingScore.org are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year.”

As a nominee, KeepingScore.org is also eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award, the winners of which are chosen by the global Web community through online voting. From now until April 29, KeepingScore.org fans can cast their votes in The Webby People’s Voice Awards at http://webby.aol.com/society/education

Other education sites nominated are Unit 9’s Simple Machines for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry; Aol’s We Choose the Moon; Your Life, Your Money by WNED/PBS.org; and the National Film Board of Canada’s Waterlife.nfb.ca.  The YouTube Symphony Orchestra website was also nominated in the Music category. Tilson Thomas was deeply involved in that project, helping choose musicians who auditioned through video on the site, and leading the orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall last April.

Webby winners will be announced on May 4 and honored at a star-studded ceremony in New York City on June 14, where they will have an opportunity to deliver one of The Webby Awards’ famous five-word speeches. Past Webby Award winners—and their speeches—include Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote.”), Stephen Colbert (“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”), and Michel Gondry (“Keyboards are full of germs.”).

The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

About The Webby Awards Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards are the leading international awards honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile websites. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, and WallPaper. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and partners of The Webby Awards include Microsoft Expression, Aol, YouTube, Pepsi, Aquent, Yahoo!, Tribal DDB Worldwide, East Media, IDG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2advanced.Net, KobeMail, Museum of the Moving Image, Behance, Business Insider, and Time Out New York. -SFS-

Contact: Public Relations
San Francisco Symphony
publicrelations@sfsymphony.org
www.sfspressroom.org

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New Production of Puccini’s Il Trittico and Staged Performances of Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat and De Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show All Led by Lorin Maazel to be Featured in the Second Castleton Festival, July 2-25

Festival to include revivals of Britten chamber operas The Turn of the Screw and The Beggar’s Opera

Four orchestral concerts to be performed by the Castleton Festival Orchestra

Recitals, master classes, art exhibitions and a concert of American music led by the Maazel Master Class participants included in the festival held at Castleton Farms, Rappahannock County, VA

February 16, 2010 — Artistic Directors Lorin Maazel and Dietlinde Turban-Maazel today announced that the second Castleton Festival will include a new production of Puccini’s Il Trittico that Maestro Maazel will conduct, his first performances of staged Puccini in the U.S. The festival will take place over four weekends at the Maazels’ Castleton Farms property in Rappahannock County, Virginia from Friday July 2 through Sunday July 25.

The Castleton Festival grew out of the Castleton residency program for young artists run by The Châteauville Foundation, founded by Lorin Maazel and his wife Dietlinde Turban-Maazel in 1997.  The Castleton Festival brings around 200 young artists including singers, conductors, instrumentalists, directors, costume designers and lighting designers to live on the property for six weeks to work with professional mentors and prepare the performances of the operas and concerts.

In addition to four performances of all three one-act operas in Il Trittico (Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi), Maestro Maazel will also conduct the operas separately or in pairs during the festival (full schedule below).  He will also lead staged performances of Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat and De Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show as well as a revival of the Britten/John Gay chamber opera The Beggar’s Opera.  Timothy Myers, who was a Castleton Conducting Fellow during the 2009 festival, will return to lead three performances of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.

All three opera productions and the staged Stravinsky and De Falla performances have been created especially for the Castleton stages by Castleton’s resident director, William Kerley, with sets and costumes designed by Nicholas Vaughan and lighting by Rie Ono.  The Beggar’s Opera is a revival of the 2008 Castleton Residency production and The Turn of the Screw is a revival of last year’s festival production.  The De Falla work, which is rarely presented as a fully staged piece, will feature puppets created and operated by Emily DeCola and Eric Wright from the New York-based Puppet Kitchen.

Four concerts featuring the Castleton Festival Orchestra, comprised of young professional musicians and advanced music conservatory students, will be held during the Festival.  Three concerts will be conducted by Maestro Maazel: an all-Italian program on Saturday, July 3; an all-French program on Saturday, July 10; and an all-Beethoven Festival finale concert on Sunday, July 25.  An all-American program will be presented on Friday, July 16 led by the young conductors selected for the Maazel Master Classes that are supported by Rolex as founding partner.  Maestro Maazel will conduct Gershwin’s An American in Paris at this concert.

Performances are held in the intimate 140-seat custom-built Theatre House which has an orchestra pit that holds 20 musicians, and a 400-seat Festival Tent that will be specially erected on the property.  This year’s tent is almost double the capacity of last year’s.

The 2010 Castleton Festival will open on Friday, July 2 with a Gala performance of Il Trittico.

“Last year’s inaugural Castleton Festival was the thrilling realization of a dream and far exceeded our expectations,” said Maestro Maazel.  “Dietlinde and I look forward to welcoming this year’s Castleton Fellows to Virginia and we are delighted that a larger Festival tent means we can share the talents of these enthusiastic and talented young artists with more music lovers this year.”

In addition to the music and opera performances, Ms. Turban-Maazel has incorporated a range of community oriented activities into the Castleton Festival, including an open house, film screenings, art exhibitions and opportunities to showcase local produce.

“Our inspiration comes not only from the wonderful work of our young artists, but the warm and enthusiastic engagement of the entire community, that so quickly adopted the Festival as its own. The response from volunteers and patrons last year only affirmed our desire to build upon the success of the first festival,” said Ms. Turban-Maazel.

2010 CASTLETON FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
www.castletonfestival.org
Weekend One
______________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 2
Festival Opening
7PM*   Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini – Production Premiere

Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono

*This performance will include a Gala dinner
______________________________________________________________________

Saturday. July 3

2PM     The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten
Revival of the 2009 Castleton Festival production

Venue:             Theatre House
Conductor:      Timothy Myers
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan

Lighting:           Rie Ono

7PM     Castleton Festival Orchestra – Italian Program
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Program to include opera overtures, preludes and intermezzos by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and Respighi’s The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 4
2PM     Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono

Weekend Two
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday, July 8

7:30PM            The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten
Venue:             Theatre House
Conductor:      Timothy Myers
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
_____________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 9
7:30PM            Il Tabarro & Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday, July 10
2PM                 Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
7PM                 Castleton Festival Orchestra – French Program
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel

Program to include works of Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel.
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 11

2PM                 Il Tabarro & Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono

7PM                 The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten
Venue:             Theatre House
Conductor:      Timothy Myers
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
Weekend Three
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday, July 15

7:30PM            The Beggar’s Opera by Benjamin Britten/John Gay

Revival of the 2008 Castleton Residency production
Venue:             Theatre House
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 16

7:30PM            Maazel Master Class Concert – American Program
Presented by Rolex as founding partner
Venue: Festival Tent

Maestro Maazel is joined by master class participants to lead the Castleton Festival Orchestra.

Program to include works of Barber, Bernstein, Copland and Lorin Maazel leading Gershwin’s An American in Paris.
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday, July 17

7PM                 The Beggar’s Opera by Benjamin Britten/John Gay

Venue:             Theatre House

Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 18

2PM                 Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
Weekend Four
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday, July 22
7:30PM            Suor Angelica & Gianni Scicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________

Friday, July 23

7:30PM            Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat
Manuel de Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show
Venue:             Theatre House
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Puppets:          Emily DeCola and Eric Wright of the Puppet Kitchen
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________

Saturday, July 24
7PM                 Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono
_____________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 25
2PM                 Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat
Manuel de Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show
Venue:             Theatre House
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel
Director:          William Kerley
Puppets:          Emily DeCola and Eric Wright of the Puppet Kitchen
Designer:        Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting:           Rie Ono

7PM                 Castleton Festival Orchestra – Festival Finale
Venue:             Festival Tent
Conductor:      Lorin Maazel

Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3

Little Washington Recitals
______________________________________________________________________
The Theatre at Washington at 291 Gay Street, Washington, VA
Monday July 5, 7PM
Monday, July 12, 7PM
Monday, July 19, 7PM

Artists and repertoire to be announced

Tickets to all Castleton Festival events available from March 20 from castletonfestival.org or by phone 540-937-4969/1-866-974-0767.

Individual Tickets from $20-85

Festival Pass – $475 for all 4 concerts plus an opera performance

Weekend Passes – $172 for 2 operas and a concert

Opening Night Gala & Dinner $250

About Castleton Farms

Castleton Farms is located at 663 Castleton View Road, Castleton, VA 22716, about 60 miles southwest of Washington, DC (approx 80 minutes drive); approx two hours drive from Richmond and Baltimore; and approx five hours drive from New York City.  Full driving directions and accommodation recommendations are available at castletonfestival.org

A Castleton Festival Shuttle will operate on the property during the festival to transport guests between the Festival Tent and carpark area to the Theatre House.  Meals and refreshments will be available for purchase on the property during the festival.

About The Châteauville Foundation
The Châteauville Foundation was established at Castleton Farms in 1997 by Lorin and Dietlinde Maazel. The Foundation’s mission is to nurture young artists, foster collaborative artistic enterprise and create opportunities within the community for shared cultural experience. An intimate, acoustically superb and highly versatile Theatre House on the Maazels’ 550-acre property is the focal point of the Foundation’s activities, which include a performance season of a dozen or more events, a multi-week summer festival that was inaugurated in 2009, and ongoing education and outreach activities for the community in Rappahannock County, Virginia, and beyond.

The Theatre House’s multi-purpose facilities make it ideally suited to a wide range of performances—recital and chamber music programs, jazz, world music, dance and theatre, in addition to the Residency program’s centerpiece chamber operas. The unique setting and intimacy of the space allow an unparalleled degree of communication between artists and audiences. To date, over 100 different performances have been offered at the Theatre House. The Foundation takes pride in presenting many of today’s most eminent artists (Emanuel Ax, Claire Bloom, Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, Itzhak Perlman, Pepe Romero, Gil Shaham, Randy Weston) alongside rewarding family programs (The Cashore Marionettes, Avner “The Eccentric” Eisenberg, Tomáš Kubínek) and new/young artists and ensembles, including the Amstel Saxophone Quartet, the Rincones Dance Company, percussionist Colin Currie, eighth blackbird, cellist Han-Na Chang, the Avalon and Attacca String Quartets, and many others. The presentations are truly international in scope from local songwriter/composer Paul Reisler to Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, to Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa.

The concept of The Castleton Residency & Festival emerged from tremendous creative energies unleashed by the Foundation’s first fully-staged chamber opera production in May 2006, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. The Castleton Residency is now a twice annual four- to five-week program designed to connect master artists with those who will carry the performing arts forward into the next generation. It is centered on a new, fully staged chamber opera production under the artistic leadership of Maestro Lorin Maazel. Up to 200 young artists (singers, instrumentalists, conductors, designers, stage directors, coaches and stage managers) are invited to live and work together intensively in the inspiring atmosphere of Castleton Farms. The artists rehearse and perform according to the highest professional standards, while receiving practical experience/training and career guidance from mentors and visiting faculty. The Festival includes additional recitals and workshops as well as a more formal program of coaching, master classes and workshops.

For more information, please visit http://www.chateauville.org.

Lorin Maazel (President and Artistic Director)

For over five decades, Lorin Maazel has been one of the world’s most esteemed and sought-after conductors. Maestro Maazel recently completed his seventh and final season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. He continues, now in his fourth season, as the first Music Director of the spectacular, Santiago Calatrava-designed opera house in Valencia, Spain, the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia” and as the founder and Artistic Director of the Castleton Festival.

Maestro Maazel is also a highly regarded composer, with a wide-ranging catalogue of works written primarily over the last dozen years. His first opera, 1984, based on George Orwell’s literary masterpiece, had its world premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in May 2005, and was broadcast on radio and television by the BBC and on many other national radio networks worldwide. A revival of 1984 took place at the Teatro alla Scala (Milan) in May 2008, and a Decca DVD of the original London production was released that same month. Maestro Maazel’s compositional catalogue also includes a trilogy of concertos (for cello, flute and violin), a symphonic movement (“Farewells,” Op. 14), premiered in 2000 by the Vienna Philharmonic, which commissioned the work; and several contributions to repertoire of narrated texts with orchestra, including two children’s stories, “The Giving Tree” and “The Empty Pot.”

A second-generation American born in Paris, Lorin Maazel began violin lessons at age five, and conducting lessons at age seven. He studied with Vladimir Bakaleinikoff, and appeared publicly for the first time at age eight, conducting a university orchestra. Between ages nine and fifteen, he conducted most of the major American orchestras, including the NBC Symphony at the invitation of Toscanini. At 17, he entered the University of Pittsburgh to study languages, mathematics and philosophy. In 1951 he went to Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship to further his studies, and two years later made his European conducting debut, stepping in for an ailing conductor at the Massimo Bellini Theatre in Catania, Italy. He quickly established himself as a major artist, appearing at Bayreuth in 1960 (the first American to do so), with the Boston Symphony in 1961, and at the Salzburg Festival in 1963.

In the years since, Maestro Maazel has conducted more than 150 orchestras in no fewer than 5,000 opera and concert performances. He has made over 300 recordings, including symphonic cycles/complete orchestral works of Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Mahler, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Richard Strauss, winning 10 Grands Prix du Disques.

Maestro Maazel has been music director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio (1993 until summer 2002), music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony (1988–96); general manager and chief conductor of the Vienna State Opera (1982–84) — the first American to hold that position; music director of The Cleveland Orchestra (1972–82); and artistic director and chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1965–71). He was named Honorary Member of the Israel Philharmonic in 1985 when he conducted its 40th Anniversary concert. He is also an Honorary Member of the Vienna Philharmonic, and is the recipient of the Hans von Bülow Silver Medal from the Berlin Philharmonic. His close association with the Vienna Philharmonic includes 11 internationally televised New Year’s Concerts from Vienna (often with Maestro Maazel making an added contribution to the festivities as violinist).

Alongside his prodigious performing activity, Maestro Maazel has found time to work with and nurture young artists, based on his strong belief in the value of sharing his experience with the next generation(s) of musicians. He founded a major competition for young conductors in 2000, culminating in a final round held at Carnegie Hall two years later, and has since been an active mentor to many of the finalists (and instrumental in launching their international careers). Through his Châteauville Foundation, in Castleton, Virginia, he has created a new Festival and residency program for young artists, centered around fully staged productions of chamber operas, bringing together aspiring singers, instrumentalists, conductors, designers, directors, and stage management personnel to work in an intensive, collaborative environment, with guidance from senior artists/mentors, Maestro Maazel included.

He has an equally strong commitment to environmental and humanitarian causes. He has raised millions of dollars on over 50 occasions for the benefit of such entities as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Wide Fund for Nature, the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

An avid reader, classic film buff, and theatergoer, he also enjoys playing tennis, swimming and collecting American paintings and Oriental art.

Dietlinde Turban-Maazel (Vice-President and co-Artistic Director)

Dietlinde Turban’s first stage appearance at the age of 19 as Gretchen in Goethe’s Faust in the Residenz-Theatre in Munich brought her national fame. In rapid succession she starred in new productions of Lessing’s Minna von Barnhelm (as Minna), Shakespeare’s Othello (as Desdemona), for which she received the Bad Hersfeld Festival’s prize for best actress, and in works of Anouilh, Giraudoux and others. She was invited as guest star at the State Theater in Bonn and the Josefstadt Theatre in Vienna.

Thanks to scores of films and plays filmed for television, Ms. Turban won Germany’s coveted Bambi Award by popular vote as Best Actress of the Year (1983).

Among her credits: the title role in Goethe’s Stella and Schiller’s Love and Intrigue (Luise), the role of Mozart’s sister-in-law Aloysia in the French film biography of the composer, a starring role in the American thriller Bloodline, and the part of Euridice in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s adaptation of Monteverdi’s Orfeo.  Her film credits include Die Kalte Heimat, Die Undankbare, Peter Schamoni’s The Castle in Königswald and the World War II story Mussolini and I, in which she played opposite Anthony Hopkins.

In 2004 Ms. Turban founded the New York based Crescent Theatre Company. She premiered Christopher Rothwell’s One Woman Play Constantly Risking Absurdity in Castleton and at the Cherry Lane Theatre, New York, performed it at the George Mason University and was also invited with this play to Salzburg, Austria, by the American Austrian Foundation. Recently the Crescent Theatre Co. merged with Kid Pan Alley (see www.kidpanalley.org).

Ms. Turban has recorded a number of audio books as well as CDs in collaboration with young composers. She also performs dramatic readings of literary masterpieces both in the United States and in Europe and regularly tours with recitals based on works by Andersen, Fontane, Heine, Kafka, Rilke, Schiller and Thomas Mann.

Ms. Turban studied violin, classical dance and voice in her home town Munich, Germany and in Aspen, Co. After a decade of an intense acting career she married the conductor Lorin Maazel and devoted much of her time to raising their three home-schooled children while traveling throughout the world. In 1996 she co-founded a private “charter” school on her Virginia estate, based on the holistic ideas of Rudolf Steiner, “The Hearthstone School”, and developed a pilot educational project designed to explore new ways of integrating vital artistic and aesthetic values into school curricula.

Ms. Turban coaches young opera singers in performance skills, song interpretation, German and French, and holds Acting Master Classes and Workshops in various summer programs.

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