RPO Announces M&T Bank Support for 14/15 Series
For Immediate Release: May 1, 2014
Media Contacts: Sally Cohen, 585-749-1795, sally@sallycohenpr.com
RPO Info: rpo.org, facebook.com/SuperRPO, twitter.com/SuperRPO, rpo-land.blogspot.com
Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) announces that M&T Bank will help to sponsor its 2014-15 Philharmonics Series, along with season presenters Dawn & Jacques Lipson.
“The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra makes a positive contribution to our community and quality of life,” says Dan Burns, M&T Bank regional president for Rochester. “Supporting the strong foundation of cultural institutions in Rochester is another way M&T can help our community succeed, and we look forward to enjoying a great Philharmonics Series with the RPO.”
An RPO supporter since 1991, M&T has underwritten the RPO’s Education Concerts—which include the Tiny Tots, Primary and Intermediate Concert Series reaching more than 13,000 children each year—since 2012.
“We’re excited and grateful that M&T continues to see the value of supporting the RPO,” adds RPO President and CEO Charles Owens. “Their support sends an important message that arts and culture represent a vital part of the very fabric of the Rochester community, and organizations like ours need to join hands with the corporate sector in order to thrive.”
The 12-weekend Philharmonics Series will officially open on September 18 (with a Gala Opening Celebration) and 20, 2014, with mega-star violinist Midori and Rochester native Ward Stare as guest conductor, and will close on June 4 and 6, 2015, with Orff’s haunting Carmina Burana. In between, it will showcase some of the world’s greatest virtuosos and familiar showstoppers: 2014 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year Jeremy Denk and 2013 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Vadym Kholodenko, along with returning favorites Jon Nakamatsu, Augustin Hadelich and Stephen Hough. The RPO shines the spotlight on its own luminaries as well: Principal Bassoonist Matthew McDonald (The Ron and Donna Fielding Chair) will make his first RPO solo performance with Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in Mozart & Prokofiev, and Concertmaster Juliana Athayde (The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair) will solo on Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony. The entire 2014/15 Philharmonics Series is as follows:
9/18 & 20, 8 pm: Season Opener with Midori and Ward Stare
Ward Stare, guest conductor; Midori, violin
10/2, 7:30pm & 10/4, 8 pm: Denk Plays Beethoven Plus Symphonie Fantastique
Jun Märkl, guest conductor; Jeremy Denk, piano
10/9, 7:30pm & 10/11, 8pm: An American in Paris
Jeffrey Kahane, guest conductor and piano
10/23, 7:30pm & 10/25, 8 pm: Mozart & Prokofiev
Case Scaglione, guest conductor; Matthew McDonald, bassoon (The Ron and Donna Fielding Chair)
11/6, 7:30pm & 11/8, 8pm: Brahms & Rachmaninoff
Christoph König, guest conductor; Douglas Humpherys, piano
11/13, 7:30pm & 11/15, 8pm: Van Cliburn Gold & Mozart’s “Jupiter”
José Luis Gomez, guest conductor; Vadym Kholodenko, piano
2/5, 7:30pm & 2/7, 8pm: Beethoven’s Fifth
Marcelo Lehninger, guest conductor; Stephen Hough, piano
3/5, 7:30pm & 3/7, 8pm: Copland & Dvořák
Daniel Hege, guest conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin
3/12, 7:30pm & 3/14, 8pm: A Night of Dance
Daniel Meyer, guest conductor; Rochester City Ballet, Jamey Leverett, artistic director; FuturPointe Dance, N’Jelle Gage and Guy Thorne, co-founders
4/30, 7:30pm & 5/2, 8pm: Seaman & Nakamatsu Return
Christopher Seaman, Conductor Laureate (The Christopher Seaman Chair, Supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford and the Conductor Laureate Society); Jon Nakamatsu, piano
5/21, 7:30pm & 5/23, 8pm: Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony
Yoav Talmi, guest conductor; Juliana Athayde, violin (The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair)
6/4, 7:30pm & 6/6, 8pm: Carmina Burana
Gregory Vajda, guest conductor; Rochester Oratorio Society, Eric Townell, director
Vocal soloists TBA
Subscription packages starting at $19 per concert are available in person at the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main Street), by phone at (585) 454-2100, or online at rpo.org. Single tickets will go on sale August 1, and will be available at all Wegmans That’s the Ticket! outlets as well.
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 more than 150,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Notable former music directors include 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 Outreach (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair)—the first endowed position of its kind in the country—the RPO reaches more than 13,000 children through its specific programs for school-aged children. The RPO’s 2013-14 season highlights include Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik’s 20th anniversary celebration, and a performance at Carnegie Hall on May 7, 2014, as part of the Spring For Music festival.
About M&T Bank
Founded in 1856, M&T Bank Corp. (www.mtb.com) is one of the 20 largest U.S. commercial bank holding companies, with more than 700 branch offices and 1,500 ATMs in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Media please note: View the season brochure at rpo.org. High-resolution images for Phils concerts are available at: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8FkJzlaIpThcVY4TS1ScWhlcDQ&usp=sharing; Interviews and photo and footage opportunities can also be arranged.
