Trumpeter Stripling Connects with Tyzik’s Take on New Orleans Jazz with RPO
Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s multi-talented Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik has a knack for putting his individual stamp on well-known jazz standards. Assisted by guest jazz trumpeter Byron Stripling, Tyzik will conduct the Orchestra in many of his own arrangements of early- to mid-20th century jazz classics in “Sounds of New Orleans” on the RPO’s Casual Sunday Matinee Series, Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 2:00 pm at Eastman Theatre. A 12:30 “Bagels with Jeff” at Miller Center Atrium is free to ticketholders.
With pieces by such jazz luminaries as “Fats” Waller (Honeysuckle Rose and Ain’t Misbehavin’), Jelly Roll Morton (King Porter Stomp), and Cab Calloway (Minnie the Moocher made famous by singer Billie Holliday), the RPO and Stripling will wail on tunes from the jazz-blues of the early 20th century, through the period between the two world wars, and up to What a Wonderful World, made famous in 1967 by Louis Armstrong. Two New Orleans jazz medleys by Jeff Tyzik bring the New Orleans jazz sound into the present day.
Trumpet virtuoso and Eastman School alumnus Byron Stripling has become a favorite with pops audiences, performing with symphony orchestras nationwide. He has been a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra under Keith Lockhart and was featured on the PBS television special Evening at Pops with conductors John Williams and Mr. Lockhart. Stripling was lead trumpeter and soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra, and played and recorded extensively with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, and other jazz icons. He currently serves as artistic director and conductor of the highly acclaimed Columbus Jazz Orchestra, as well as being an accomplished actor and singer.
General admission tickets are $15; $12 for seniors, students, subscribers and donors, available online 24/7 at www.rpo.org; by phone (454-2100); in person from the RPO Box Office, Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am-5:00 pm (non-concert Saturdays, 10:00 am-3:00 pm); and seven days a week at area Wegmans. A convenience fee may apply.
The Casual Sunday Matinee Series is sponsored by Rochester Magazine and the University of Rochester Medical Center; Jeff Tyzik’s appearance is made possible by Friends of Jeff. Bagels and coffee are generously provided by Bruegger’s Bakeries. RPO performances are made possible in part with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; the State of New York; Monroe County and the City of Rochester.
Celebrating its 86th season in 2008-09, the RPO inspires and enriches the community through the art of music, presenting nearly 200 performances each season to a combined audience of an estimated quarter of a million people, including more than 70,000 who experience the RPO’s broad range of educational and community programs. The Orchestra is passionately dedicated to outstanding musical performance at the highest artistic levels, and has a unique tradition of musical versatility, commitment to music education in the broadest sense and a deep and enduring engagement with the community. The RPO has been honored with the New York State Governor’s Arts Award and two recent ASCAP awards for adventurous programming.
