RPO Goes “Around the Town” With a Guest Conductor Sharing a Musical Message
Rochester, NY – Even before the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s “official” season opener at the Eastman Theatre, the Orchestra steps out into the community with guest conductor Marlene Pauley for two free concerts on Thursday, October 2 and Saturday, October 4 as part of its Around the Town series. The short, informal concert Musical Messages – with description and discussion by Ms. Pauley – demonstrates how the universal language of music can communicate human experience and emotion. Through works by Jacques Ibert, Shelley Hanson, Mendelssohn, Haydn and Beethoven, audience participation and discussion are encouraged.
The concerts venues and times are as follows:
• Thursday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m.; First Bible Baptist Church (990 Manitou Road, Hilton)
• Saturday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Luke’s Tabernacle (1261 Dewey Avenue, Rochester)
Conductor Marlene Pauley has made a name for herself through the education concerts she has designed and conducted for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s nationally recognized CONNECT Education Program. Created in 1999, the SPCO Family Concerts became the orchestra’s best-selling series by 2002. Pauley’s choice of repertoire, commanding stage presence and excellent rapport with young people have made her a favorite among audiences and musicians alike, as demonstrated by her recent RPO primary concerts at the Eastman Theatre. Pauley has toured with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra as clarinet soloist and assistant conductor, and she established and became conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica. In addition to her appearances with the RPO, Ms. Pauley has conducted the Naples (FL) Philharmonic, Grand Teton Music Festival and other orchestras.
The Around the Town program is a community partnership in which the RPO moves from the concert hall into various neighborhoods to perform six free concerts per year designed to engage audiences with light classics and familiar favorites. Venues include houses of worship and other community locations. The partner venues assist with promoting the concert in their neighborhood and serve as liaison between the RPO and their community. Around the Town concerts are sponsored by The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Rochester Gas & Electric, an Energy East Company, and the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
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.
