February with the RPO
For Immediate Release: January 8, 2013
Media Contacts: Sally Cohen, 585-749-1795, sally@sallycohenpr.com
RPO Info: rpo.org, facebook.com/RochesterPhilharmonic, twitter.com/RochesterPhil, rochesterphilharmonic.blogspot.com
A FABULOUS FEBRUARY WITH YOUR RPO
From Beethoven’s Fifth with Stephen Hough to La Traviata with Ward Stare
Preservation Hall Jazz Band for Mardi Gras/Valentine’s Day Weekend
2015/16 Season Announcement • Primary Education Concerts
Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has a fabulous February in store, starting with Beethoven’s Fifth on Thursday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 7 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Beethoven’s groundbreaking Fifth Symphony has astounded generations of audiences, transforming from its simple opening with the most recognizable four notes ever written into a colossal epic of triumph and despair. The all-Beethoven concert, led by guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger, spotlights acclaimed British pianist Stephen Hough, hailed by the New York Times as “extraordinary,” in Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture completes the program.
On Tuesday, February 10, the RPO will announce its 2015-16 season—the first over which newly-appointed Music Director Ward Stare will have oversight and will conduct—in grand style. The celebratory evening event will take place in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, and feature Maestro Stare and the orchestra performing live. More details will be announced.
The RPO’s 2014-15 Primary Education Concerts take place in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday, February 11 and 12 at 10:15 a.m. These concerts are attended by approximately 3,500 first through third graders from area schools in a nine-county region, and introduce children to the instruments in the orchestra and how the musicians work together as a team to make music. This season’s program, Rumpelstiltskin: Straw into Gold, was written and will be conducted by Maestro Grant Cooper. The production is based on the original folk tale of a dwarf with supernatural powers to spin straw into gold. Sponsored by MVP Health Care, and supported by the Glover-Crask Charitable Trust, the concerts are free for Rochester City School District students, with a nominal charge for suburban and regional districts.
Just in time for Mardi Gras – and Valentine’s Day – is New Orleans’ own Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Friday and Saturday, February 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Guest conductor Grant Cooper leads this “best jazz band in the land” (San Francisco Examiner) that travels worldwide on its mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans Jazz. Many of the band’s charter members performed with the pioneers who invented jazz in the early twentieth century, including Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. Under the auspices of its current creative director and bassist, Ben Jaffe—son of Preservation Hall founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe—PHJB continues to embody and share a joyful, timeless spirit.
February’s fabulous finale will be newly-appointed RPO Music Director Ward Stare conducting the last Special Concert of the season: Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata (The Fallen Woman) in concert for one night only: Saturday, February 28 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (the originally scheduled Thursday, February 26 performance had to be cancelled due to scheduling issues). This timeless, poignant story of passion, life and death includes everything that makes opera such a unique and moving art form, as well as some of Verdi’s most unforgettable arias. The Rochester Oratorio Society (Eric Townell, director) performs, along with a national cast that features soprano Anya Matanovič as the courtesan, Violetta Valéry; Jennifer Panara (mezzo-soprano) as Violetta’s friend, Flora Bervoix; Marco Cammarota (tenor) as Violetta’s lover, Alfredo Germont; and Weston Hurt (baritone) as Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont. The concert is sponsored by The Haskell Rosenberg Memorial Fund for Opera.
Except where noted, tickets for all of the above concerts start at $23, and may be purchased in person at the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main Street) and at all Wegmans That’s T.H.E. Ticket! locations, by phone at (585) 454-2100, or online at rpo.org. The 2014/15 season is presented by Dawn & Jacques Lipson, and the Pops series by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust and Fibertech Networks.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its founding in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 150 concerts and broadcasts a year, serving up to 200,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Recently appointed 12th Music Director Ward Stare joins the ranks of former notable RPO music directors, including Eugene Goossens, José Iturbi, Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman. Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his 20-year tenure with the RPO. With Michael Butterman as Principal Conductor for Education and Community Engagement (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair) – the first position of its kind in the country – the RPO reaches more than 13,000 children through its specific programs for school-aged children.
Media please note: High-resolution images for Special concerts are available at https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8FkJzlaIpThdFBMU0JVWEVKcUE&usp=drive_web. Phils at: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8FkJzlaIpThcVY4TS1ScWhlcDQ&usp=sharing; Pops at: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8FkJzlaIpThNUxERDVDUkdmM0k&usp=sharing. Interviews and photo and footage opportunities can also be arranged.
###
