March comes in like a lion with Kholodenko
MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION WITH KHOLODENKO
Ward Stare conducts all March RPO concerts including Broadway Rocks
Also in March: RPO Intermediate Education concerts & RPYO/RPO Side-by-Side
Rochester, NY – March with your Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) comes in like a lion with Kholodenko Returns with Ward Stare on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Winner of the coveted gold medal at the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013, Vadym Kholodenko’s 2014 RPO debut literally stopped the show. Now he’s back by popular demand (made possible by The Alfred Davis and Brunhilde Knapp Artists Performance Fund), playing the concerto with which he won that gold: Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Also on the program: the RPO debut of American composer and clarinetist Stephanie Berg’s Ravish and Mayhem, premiered in 2012 by Alarm Will Sound; and Richard Strauss’ sweeping tone poem, Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life).
On Sunday, March 6 at 3 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO) and the RPO play their annual concert together: RPYO & RPO Side-by-Side: A Symphonic Fantasy. RPYO Music Director James Mick leads a program that includes Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave and Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique (mvts. 2, 4 and 5), along with RPYO Concerto Competition winners and high school seniors: Honeoye Falls marimbist Micha Harrow and Brighton cellist David Morse. Tickets are $15.
The RPO’s 2016 Intermediate Concerts will fill Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre with thousands of fourth-through-sixth graders from a six-county region to enjoy a one-hour, age-appropriate concert designed to connect orchestral music to the intermediate curriculum, Tuesday, March 8 – Friday, March 11 at 10:30 a.m. each day. Principal Conductor for Education and Community Engagement Michael Butterman (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair)will lead this year’s program, entitled Cheers, Tears, and Fears! Music Expressing Emotions, which will examine music’s unique power to convey what words cannot, as well as different emotional states and the elements of music associated with them. Supported in part by the Cornell Weinstein Family Foundation and Monroe County.
On Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, RPO Music Director Ward Stare leads a lineup of favorite rock-inspired Broadway musicals in Broadway Rocks. The Pops Series concert features Broadway vocalists Christiane Noll, Capathia Jenkins, and Rob Evan in hits from Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Rent, Mamma Mia!, Hairspray, and more. The Roberts Wesleyan Chorale (directed by David Chin) will also perform.
It won’t go out like a lamb, but March’s final concert, Stare Conducts Strauss’ Four Last Songs, takes place Thursday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 19 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. It begins with American composer Patrick Harlin’s Rapture, a piece that explores a phenomenon of the same name that can afflict supercave explorers, which Stare previewed during his 2015/16 season announcement concert last February. Barber’s Symphony No. 1 and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis follow, ending with Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs. This introspective, meditative farewell is some of the most moving music ever written, and will feature guest soprano, Erin Wall, in her RPO debut. Ms. Wall is world-renowned for her musicality and versatility, with an extensive opera and concert repertoire that spans three centuries from Mozart and Beethoven to Britten and Strauss.
TICKETS for the above concerts, except where noted, start at $22, and may be purchased in person at the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main St.) and at all Wegmans That’s T.H.E. Ticket! locations, by phone at (585) 454-2100, or online at rpo.org. Available student ticket prices can be found at RPO Student Tickets.
The RPO’s 93rd season is presented by Dawn and Jacques Lipson. The 2015/16 Philharmonics Series is sponsored by M&T Bank; the 2015/16Pops Series is sponsored by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust and Lightower Networks. RPO performances are also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional sponsors include Monroe County; the City of Rochester; the Alfred Davis and Brunhilde Knapp Artists Performance Fund; City Newspaper; Kids Out and About.com; WARM 101.3; the Katherine T. and Jon L. Schumacher Orchestra Musician Soloist Fund.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its founding in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 160 concerts and broadcasts a year, serving up to 170,000 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 22-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 endowed position of its kind in the country – the RPO reaches more than 12,000 children through its specific programs for school-aged children.
Media please note: High-resolution images are available, and interviews and photo/footage opportunities can be arranged.
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