CBS SPORTS TAPS RPO FOR PGA FEATURE
More than 10 million viewers saw 2 1/2-min. piece during final round
ROCHESTER, NY – Your Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is proud to announce that a short “tease” produced by CBS Sports featuring the orchestra aired during it opening segment of Sunday, May 21’s broadcast of the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship.
The 105th PGA Championship may have taken place at Pittsford’s Oak Hill Country Club Thursday through Sunday, May 17-21, but a three-camera crew led by CBS Sports Segment Producer Chris Burns shot the RPO during rehearsals for Opera in Concert: Rigoletto in Kodak Hall earlier that week.
“The PGA Championship is one of the biggest sporting events we cover, so we try to capture a little bit of something local for our broadcasts as we rotate to different cities,” explains Burns. “Rochester has such a great music scene, and – when we found out that the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its Centennial next season – we knew we had to pursue that angle.”
The CBS crew even brought the PGA’s famous Wanamaker Trophy into Kodak Hall in order to juxtapose it with the orchestra. The two-and-a-half-minute piece compared the dedication and drama of golfers competing in the PGA Championship with that of the RPO musicians performing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, led by Music Director Andreas Delfs.
“It’s truly an honor to be asked by CBS to represent the significance of music in Rochester,” says Maestro Delfs. “We’re grateful for this rare opportunity to introduce our world-class orchestra to millions of viewers across the country.”