February 11, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland , Ore. … A Scottish theme party with Music Director Carlos Kalmar, Oregon Symphony musicians and live bagpipes will highlight the third event hosted by Soirée, the Symphony’s new young professionals group, on Saturday, April 16 at a Classical concert featuring Peter Maxwell Davies’ “An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise.” This Soirée event is free to all Classical concert ticket holders who are from 21 to 39 years of age.
This final event of the 2004-05 season takes place at “Celebrate!” a Symphony Classical concert that revels in the joys of life. Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 35 to honor his childhood friend Sigmund Haffner upon the occasion of his elevation to the nobility. Davies’ “Orkney Wedding” is a colorful true-to-life musical depiction of a Scottish wedding he attended on the Orkney island of Hoy, while English composer William Walton’s lively “Portsmouth Point Overture,” inspired by an early 1800s picture of the docks, captures the lively and bawdy energy depicted in the image.
The party begins at 6 p.m. as Soirée members gather on the fourth floor balcony of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (across Main Street from the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall) for pre-concert cocktails featuring pints of McTarnahan’s beer and several special Scotch whiskies. Members will be able to sample Scottish-themed hors d’oeuvres laid out on colorful tartan plaid print tablecloths while enjoying live Scots-Celtic music provided by local musicians. A copy of the etching of Portsmouth Point, the inspiration for Walton’s music, will also be on display. Soirée guests will then attend the 7:30 p.m. concert, for which they will have discounted reserved seats, and enjoy an exclusive intermission party on the mezzanine with complimentary wine. Kalmar and Symphony musicians will join Soirée members at a post-concert reception at the PCPA Art Bar, where they will be ushered in by a bagpipe fanfare. There will also be a free raffle for Scottish-themed giveaway presents.
Soirée is designed for professionals ages 21 to 39 and includes exclusive parties, discounted concert tickets and the opportunity to meet others interested in arts and culture. The first two Soirée events, on November 12, 2004 and February 26, 2005, attracted over 100 people to pre- and post-concert activities. “Our second event confirmed that we now have a core group of Soirée members dedicated to the Symphony and committed to attending Soiree events. I’m also glad to see that our members are as interested in attending an educational lecture as they are a social function,” says the Symphony’s Director of Corporate Relations Jennifer Schlobohm. Soirée provides a relaxed social environment where young professionals can meet others with whom they share an interest in the performing arts and have fun at the same time, she adds.
Schlobohm has high hopes for Soirée’s future events in the 2005-06 season. “We’ll be working with our Soirée membership to select next season’s events based on their feedback. Our Soirée membership determines the success of this group and we want them to have an active part in shaping it.”
All Soirée events feature pre- and post-concert parties and intermission receptions. Members receive a 15 percent discount on concert tickets for Soirée event nights and a 10 percent discount on all other Oregon Symphony series concerts. Soirée membership is $40 for individuals, or $30 each when friends or couples join together.
For more information, call (503) 228-1353 or visit the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org/soiree.
