WARD STARE CONDUCTS SIBELIUS 2, OCT. 1 & 3- Your RPO in October

September 30, 2015

For Immediate Release: September 28, 2015
Media Contacts:   Sally Cohen, 585-749-1795, sally@sallycohenpr.com
RPO Info:  rpo.org, facebook.com/RochesterPhilharmonic, twitter.com/RochesterPhil, rochesterphilharmonic.blogspot.com, instagram.com/rochesterphilharmonic

 

WARD STARE CONDUCTS SIBELIUS 2, OCT. 1 & 3
Christopher Seaman returns with Christopher O’Riley
Michael Butterman opens OrKIDStra Series with The Sneetches
Stare & RPO kick off Live from Hochstein on Oct. 7
Free Around the Town Fall Concerts Oct. 8-10

 

Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO)’s 93rd season, presented by Dawn and Jacques Lipson, continues with Ward Stare Conducts Sibelius 2 on Thursday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Maestro Stare leads Sibelius’ best-loved symphony – a towering musical journey that’s guaranteed to leave audiences uplifted. Also featured is a haunting masterwork by Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn, & Strings – that spotlights RPO Principal Horn, W. Peter Kurau (The Cricket and Frank Luellen Chair) and tenor Andrew Stenson.  Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances completes this all-twentieth-century program. Tickets start at $22/$10 students.

Maestro Stare and the RPO will kick off WXXI’s and Hochstein School of Music and Dance’s 2015/16 Live from Hochstein lunchtime concert series on Wednesday, October 7 at 12:10 p.m. with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”). The free concert, hosted by WXXI’s Mona Seghatoleslami, streams live (at wxxi.org), airs live on Classical 91.5 and 90.3, and repeats at 10 p.m. that day.

Next up are the RPO’s fall Around the Town concerts sponsored by Xerox, all of which are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. in area high schools:

  • Thursday, October 8 at Rush-Henrietta High School
  • Friday, October 9 at Churchville-Chili High School
  • Saturday, October 10 at Webster-Schroeder High School

RPO Principal Conductor for Education and Engagement Michael Butterman will lead all three concerts, which will feature 13-year-old guest pianist Raymond Feng, a sophomore at Pittsford-Sutherland High School and a violin student of the RPO’s Nancy Hunt. The program is a mix of popular and classical favorites that includes excerpts from Star Wars, Overture to West Side Story, Kabalevsky’s The Comedians, Beethoven’s Symphony 4 (mvt. IV), Brahms’ Serenade No. 2 (Scherzo) and Grieg’s Piano Concerto (mvt. 1). No tickets are required.

The 2015-16 OrKIDStra Series opens on Sunday, October 11 at 2 p.m. in the Performance Hall at Hochstein with Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches. Michael Butterman conducts and Brigitt Markusfeld narrates this beloved story about setting aside differences with music written for the RPO by Spanish composer Lorenzo Paloma (debuted in 2012).  A pre-concert activity for kids begins at 1 p.m. Tickets are $16 adults/$10 children. Subscriptions to all four concerts in the series (adult or child) are $38.

RPO Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman (The Christopher Seaman Chair, supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford and the Conductor Laureate Society) returns for Seaman Conducts Brahms 4 on Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 17 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Maestro Seaman will lead the RPO in Brahms’ fourth and final symphony, as well as the most popular of Debussy’s Images sections, “Iberia.” Special guest pianist Christopher O’Riley, host of NPR’s From the Top as well as a sought-after soloist, brings his formidable piano skills and “infectious passion” (Los Angeles Times) to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22. Tickets start at $22/$10 student.

TICKETS for the above concerts 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 (through September 30, 2015), by phone at (585) 454-2100, or online at rpo.org.

RPO performances are 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; the Mozart Performance Fund: Sarah D. Atkinson, M.D. and Steven Hess; 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 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 21-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 for the 2015/16 season are available, and interviews as well as photo and footage opportunities can be arranged.

 

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