March: Mozart & Much More With Your RPO
MARCH: MOZART + MUCH MORE WITH YOUR RPO
Marvel’s Black Panther + Stewart Copeland: Police Deranged
Superstar pianists: Jonathan Biss + Stephen Hough
FREE 100 Acts of Giving Back Kickoff Concert
PLUS: RPYO/RPO Side-by-Side + Intermediate Education Concerts
Rochester, NY – Your Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) kicks off a mighty month of March concerts with Mozart & More on Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, March 4 at 8 PM in Kodak Hall. Swiss conductor Mario Venzago returns to Rochester for an evening of Classical masterpieces. Renowned American pianist Jonathan Biss takes the stage for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, a piece widely recognized as one of Mozart’s concerto masterpieces. Two reconstructions bookend the concerto: Rossini’s Overture to Il Viaggio a Reims was once lost to time and only recently reconstructed by scholars; and Schubert’s Seventh Symphony existed only as a piano score during the composer’s lifetime. Maestro Venzago will share a new, completed arrangement of Schubert’s Symphony No. 7 by Richard Dünser with audiences.
Continuing its 50th Anniversary celebration, the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra presents its annual RPYO/RPO Side-by-Side Concert on Sunday, March 5 at 3 PM in Kodak Hall. This year’s concert, entitled Golden Mentors, pays tribute to the many years of impactful mentorship provided by RPO musicians. The program includes Margaret Bonds’s Montgomery Variations, “Nimrod” from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Marquez’s Danzón No. 2, and Respighi’s Pines of Rome. A reception immediately follows the concert. Tickets are $15/$10 for students and available at https://my.rpo.org/1073.
March is “Music in Our Schools” Month, and the RPO’s annual Intermediate Education Concerts for students in grades 4-6 appropriately take place Tuesday-Friday, March 7-10 at 10:15 AM in Kodak Hall. Guest conductor Tong Chen leadsThe Orchestra Dances!, highlighting music from around the world. Approximately 6,000 students from 69 (including RCSD) schools in five counties will attend.
Guest conductor Anthony Parnther – who led Gateways Music Festival’s Carnegie Hall debut with Jon Batiste in April of 2022 – leads Marvel Studios’ Black Panther in Concert for one night only: Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 PM in Kodak Hall. In 2018, Marvel Studios’ Black Panther quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what SuperHero films could be. Rolling Stone raved: “The film lights up the screen with a full-throttle blast of action and fun. That’s to be expected. But what sneaks up and floors you is the film’s racial conscience and profound, astonishing beauty.” Now you can relive the excitement of T’Challa becoming king and battling Killmonger all while your RPO performs Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar®-winning score live to picture.
Next up, RPO Music Director Andreas Delfs conducts Stephen Hough Plays Brahms on Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, March 18 at 8 PM in Kodak Hall. (Pre-concert talk starts one hour prior to curtain.) Legendary British pianist Sir Stephen Hough joins your RPO to perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1, a piece that is romantic, inventive, and unapologetically Brahms. The first half of the program details two different composers in the process of developing their own unique harmonic language: Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”). This concert is sponsored by Deborah Ronnen.
A sell-out wherever performed, Stewart Copeland: The Police Deranged for Orchestra comes to Kodak Hall for one night only: Friday, March 17 at 7:30 PM. This RPO/Eastman School partnership features legendary drummer, composer, and founder of The Police, Stewart Copeland, with a high-energy orchestra celebrating four decades of his work. Hits to be performed include “Roxanne,” “Don’t’ Stand So Close to Me,” and “Message in a Bottle.” Tickets start at $45.
The RPO’s one-night-only 100 Acts of Giving Back Kickoff Concert takes place Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30 PM at Hochstein Performance Hall. Led by Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, it celebrates the start of the RPO’s Centennial 100 Acts of Giving Back initiative, which will bring 100 free events of all kinds to a wide variety of community venues. The 1920s ragtime theme coincides with the orchestra’s birth 100 years ago, and features music from Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, George Gershwin, and Rochester’s own Cab Calloway. The concert is FREE but tickets are required.
Closing out March, “rising star” (BBC Music Magazine) guest conductor Valentina Peleggi leads Mozart, Rossini & Shostakovich on Sunday, March 26 at 2 PM in Nazareth College’s Beston Hall at Glazer Music Performance Center. The program features RPO soloists and includes Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto in C Major, Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri Overture, and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony. General admission tickets are $40/$20 children.
Tickets for all RPO Kodak Hall shows start at $24/$12 for children ages 3-17 and are available online anytime at rpo.org, by phone at 585-454-2100, and in person at RPO Patron Services at 225 East Avenue (Monday -Friday, 10 AM-5 PM) and one hour prior to curtain at the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main St.). COVID protocols: vaccinations are no longer required to attend concerts and masking is currently optional.
The RPO thanks Season Sponsor M&T Bank, Pops Series Sponsors Canandaigua National Bank & Wegmans, and Special Series Sponsor Pittsford Federal Credit Union. RPO performances are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. The RPO is supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABOUT THE RPO: The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its origins in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 150 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. Andreas Delfs was named music director in 2020 following notable RPO music directors Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, Mark Elder and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman. Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, now in his 29th season, has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his tenure with the RPO. The RPO reaches more than 15,000 youth through its specific education programs.
Media please note: High-resolution images and other media assets for the 2022-23 Season can be found at https://bit.ly/3Rki4CL. Interviews and photo/footage opportunities are also available.
