RPO opens 2015-16 season over next two weeks

September 4, 2015

For Immediate Release: September 4, 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

 

RPO OPENS 2015/16 SEASON OVER TWO WEEKS 

RPO Pops with Jeff Tyzik & Megan Hilty on Sept. 11 & 12

RPO Philharmonics with Ward Stare on Sept. 17 & 19

 

Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO)’s 93rd season, presented by Dawn and Jacques Lipson, kicks off with its 2015/16 Pops Series (sponsored by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust and Fibertech Networks) opener on Friday and Saturday, September 11 and 12, 2015at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. An Evening with Megan Hilty, led by Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, features the Broadway star in her RPO debut. Vocalist Hilty – who dazzled on NBC’s Smash – has  taken Broadway by storm with starring roles in Wicked and 9 to 5, and was crowned “the new princess of Broadway” by Time Magazine.

In addition, limited availability to a special meet-and-greet with Megan Hilty on the 11th is available for $75 per person in addition to ticket purchase. Call (585) 454-2100 or visit the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main Street) in person.

Other Pops Series highlights include:

  • Disney in Concert: Tale as Old as Time (October 23 & 24, 2015) with Jeff Tyzik (RPO first performance)
  • Gala Holiday Pops (December 18-20, 2015) with Jeff Tyzik, the Festival High School Chorale and the Community Children’s Chorus
  • Doc Severinsen (January 22 & 23, 2016)

Ward Stare kicks off his inaugural season as the RPO’s 12th music director with Season Opener: Ward Stare Conducts Pines of Rome on Thursday, September 17, 2015at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, September 19 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Showcasing the orchestra itself, this musical kaleidoscope includes four unforgettable sonic showpieces:  Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings, in addition to Respighi’s breathtaking Pines of Rome.  A pre-concert chat with Maestro Stare will take place in Kodak Hall one hour prior to each performance.

The season-opening celebration, dubbed Magnifico!, will begin with a gala event at the Genesee Valley Club on Wednesday, September 16 (please contact  Jason Polasek at jpolasek@rpo.org or (585) 454-7311, ext. x280 for tickets.) It continues with a pre-concert OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION at Max of Eastman Place on September 17 from 5:30-7 p.m. Included are a red carpet arrival, cocktails and Italian-inspired cuisine, music by the Kieran Hanlon Trio, and a meet-and-greet with Maestro Stare for $50 per person (concert ticket not included).  A Young-Professionals Promotion (sponsored by the Rochester Business Journal and in conjunction with Rochester Young Professionals) includes a concert ticket for $65 per person ($90 value), and is available online at https://www.facebook.com/events/819857964802625/.

All ticketholders for each performance will receive a complimentary post-concert dessert in Eastman Theatre, sponsored by Amore Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar by Wegmans. Ward Stare will be available to sign programs for audience members after the concert in the Wegman Family Gallery. Additional opening weekend support comes from the Elaine P. and Richard U. Wilson Foundation.

Although Stare was appointed to his position in July of 2014, this will be the first season that he has programmed and for which he will serve as main conductor for the Philharmonics Series. The Pittsford, NY native has taken up residence again in Rochester, and will conduct eight of the 12 Philharmonics Series (sponsored by M&T Bank) concerts.  

A few highlights for the remainder of the Philharmonics Series include:

  • Violin sensation, 18-year old Simone Porter, will make her RPO debut on Barber’s Violin Concerto in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (Nov. 19 & 21).
  • International phenomenon, pianist Yuja Wang, makes her RPO debut in the first-ever RPO Philharmonics performance of Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 1. (April 14 & 16, 2016)
  • Two Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winners return: Vadym Kholodenko (March 3 & 5), and Olga Kern (June 2 & 4)

“Our 2015/16 Philharmonics Series will not only showcase our world-class orchestra, but will expose audiences to new works – both contemporary as well as older repertoire never before performed by the RPO – and introduce rising star soloists,” says Stare.

For a full and detailed listing of 2015/16 concerts, please visit rpo.org. Tickets start at $22 for listed concerts, and 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. Discounted tickets are available for full-time students: $15 for Megan Hilty and $10 for Pines of Rome. Subscriptions for the upcoming season will continue to be available, starting at $98.

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.

###