RPO Memorial Day Concert at Genesee Country Village & Museum in Conjunction with Release of New Honor CD

Rochester, NY – On Monday, May 26 at 2 p.m., the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik take the stage at Genesee Country Village & Museum’s Exhibition Barn on Flint Hill Road in Mumford, NY to help celebrate a musical Memorial Day.  Nearly all the music will be from the RPO’s new CD, HONOR: Portraits of America, celebrating America’s heritage and recognizing the service and sacrifice of generations of Armed Forces veterans.  The concert is free with museum admission. The CD – only publicly released on May 22 – will be available for purchase at the concert; two dollars of the $20 price from each CD will be donated to the local Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester.  Tyzik will be on-hand to sign CDs immediately following the concert.  The recording was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation as well as individual donations.

Tyzik’s own works include Pleasant Valley Suite (narrator TBA) commissioned in 2003 by the Genesee Country Village & Museum (GCVM) to commemorate its 25th Anniversary; Bravo! Colorado, dedicated to the memory of President Gerald Ford (a World War II Navy veteran) – a supporter of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival where the RPO spends two weeks each summer; and Fantasy on American Themes.  The rest of the concert features the National Emblem March, Sousa’s uplifting Stars and Stripes Forever and Tyzik’s own arrangement of the Armed Forces Song Medley.  In addition, RPO Concertmaster Juliana Athayde (The Caroline W. Gannett and Clayla Ward Chair) will be featured in Mark O’Connor’s Strings and Threads Suite (not from the CD), continuing to give this concert a uniquely American feel.  Strings & Threads Suite traces O’Connor’s version of how folk music on the violin evolved in America through 13 charming and folksy dances in progressively more modern styles.

After Memorial Day, the CD will continue to be available at GCVM’s Flint Hill Country Store; 1410 Flint Hill Road.  For more information, please call the Genesee Country Museum at (585) 538-6822 or visit www.gcv.org.

Now in its 85th season, the RPO inspires and enriches the community through the art of music.  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.  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.