RPO Pops Opener Oct. 4 & 5: Midtown Men

For Immediate Release: September 25, 2013
Media Contacts:   Sally Cohen, 585-749-1795, sally@sallycohenpr.com, @PR4Arts
RPO Info:  rpo.org, facebook.com/SuperRPO, twitter.com/SuperRPO, rpo-land.blogspot.com

Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO)’s 2013–14 Canandaigua National Bank & Trust & Fibertech Networks Pops Series kicks off with The Midtown Men: 4 Stars from the Original Cast of Jersey Boys on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Tickets start at $22, with $10 student tickets available, 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, by phone at (585) 454-2100, or online at rpo.org. 

Tony Award winner Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and Tony Award nominee J. Robert Spencer shared the stage for more than a thousand performances of Broadway’s mega-hit musical, Jersey Boys, and delighted television audiences with appearances on the Today Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.

Formed in 2007, The Midtown Men are now on their third North American tour with this dynamic concert featuring iconic hits from a Who’s Who of the ‘60s, including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, The Jackson 5 and The Four Seasons. Their self-titled debut album, The Midtown Men: Sixties Hits, was met with critical acclaim and garnered five-star reviews.

The Midtown Men perform the entire concert, joined by their own rhythm section as well as the RPO for a packed program that includes Lennon/McCartney’s “Can’t Buy Me Love,” Smokey Robinson’s “Ain’t That Peculiar,” The Zombies’ “Time of the Season,” Gerry Goffin/Carole King’s “Up on the Roof,” Phil Spector/Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich’s “River Deep – Mountain High” and much more.

“Authenticity is the core of this musical brotherhood…the Midtown Men sound as crisp as their Rat Pack-inspired suits,” say the NY Daily News.

Conducting the Pops season opener will be Ron Spigelman, music director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta and principal pops conductor for the Fort Worth Symphony. More information on Spigelman is at rpo.org/Ron_Spigelman.

The first of two new Sunday matinees, Musical Connections, debuts on Sunday, October 6 at 2 p.m. at the Performance Hall at Hochstein.  Music and Art, with RPO Principal Conductor for Outreach and Education Michael Butterman (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair), will feature selections pertaining to music and visual art, including excerpts from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Jeff Tyzik’s Ritual Dance from Images: Musical Impressions of an Art Gallery (commissioned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Memorial Art Gallery). Local painter David Chamberlain will join the RPO during Carl Nielsen’s Helios Overture for a unique interactive experience as he creates a new work of art during its performance. Tickets are $25/$10 balcony for students, available as above.

The RPO’s four-concert Wendy’s OrKIDStra Season opens with Orchestra Games on Sunday, October 13 at 2 p.m. at the Performance Hall at Hochstein, with Maestro Butterman and narrator Samuel Krall.  This family-friendly concert features composer Greg Smith’s The Orchestra Games, which explores the personalities of various orchestral instruments, sprinting though an Olympic array of events – including the low-note limbo and the fast-note dash – in order to acquaint young audiences with basic musical elements. Tickets are $15 adults/$10 children/$40 family four-pack, available as above.

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 up to 150 concerts a year, serving nearly 200,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Notable former music directors include 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 19-year tenure with the RPO. With Michael Butterman as Principal Conductor for Education and Outreach (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair) – the first position of its kind in the country – the RPO reaches 14,000 children through its specific programs for school-aged children.
Media please note:  High-resolution images for Phils concerts are available at docs.google.com/folder; high-res photos for Pops and other concerts are available at docs.google.com/folder/d. More details are available at rpo.org and upon request. Interviews, as well as photo and footage opportunities, can also be arranged.