October 8, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … The classic sound of big band music is performed in a fresh new style with full orchestral treatment as guest conductor Jeff Tyzik and vocalist Shirley Nanette join the Oregon Symphony Pops for a celebration of big band music and swing dancing on Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 1 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Media support is provided by 1190am KEX and Oregon Business Magazine.
Tyzik, whom audiences will remember from his Pops appearance last season, will conduct many of his own arrangements, including “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Take the A Train.” Nanette, a Portland audience favorite, will join Tyzik and the Symphony for “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “The Nearness of You,” “Night and Day” and “Every Day I Have the Blues,” among other memorable hits. The concert also features professional swing dancers Carla Heine and Kevin St. Laurent, who will take the floor for a medley of familiar swing dance tunes. Other music includes Rodgers and Hart’s “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” Ellington’s “Satin Doll” and the traditional “Song of the Volga Boatmen.” The evening winds up with dancers Heine and St. Laurent jitterbugging to the classic hit, “In the Mood,” made famous by the Glenn Miller Band.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range in price from $26 to $72 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.
Known for his innovative programming, unique arrangements and his engaging rapport with audiences of all ages, Jeff Tyzik has earned a reputation as one of America’s foremost pops conductors. The 2003-04 season marks his tenth anniversary as Principal Pops Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Tyzik will also serve as Principal Pops Conductor of both the Vancouver and Winnipeg symphony orchestras beginning in 2003-04.
As a guest conductor, Mr. Tyzik has appeared with many of the major orchestras in North America including the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Seattle and Toronto, as well as the Boston Pops and the Cincinnati Pops. In addition to his commitments in Rochester, Vancouver and Winnipeg, Mr. Tyzik’s guest conducting schedule for the 2003-04 season includes engagements with the Cincinnati Pops, the Naples Philharmonic and the Toronto, Seattle, Oregon and Nashville symphony orchestras, among others.
Mr. Tyzik’s pops programming is a reflection of his musical diversity. He has crafted many programs that include the greatest music from the jazz, classical, movie soundtrack, opera, Broadway, Irish, Latin, gospel, rock, R & B and big band/swing idioms. Mr. Tyzik has worked with such diverse artists as Tony Bennett, Art Garfunkel, Dawn Upshaw, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Mark O'Connor, Doc Severinsen, John Pizzarelli, Billy Taylor and Lou Rawls.
The success of Mr. Tyzik’s tenure in Rochester and his strong relationship with that orchestra has led to appearances on its classical subscription series on two recent occasions. In the 2000-01 season, Mr. Tyzik made his RPO Philharmonics Series debut in a program of William Schuman, Bernstein, Copland and Ravel. He returned to the series in 2002-03 with a special program featuring the world premiere of his own Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra, the result of a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
Recognized as a composer and arranger, Mr. Tyzik was commissioned by the publisher G. Schirmer to create symphonic orchestrations for many of Duke Ellington’s masterpieces including “Black, Brown and Beige” and the “Nutcracker Suite.” In addition, G. Schirmer also publishes many other Tyzik works for symphony orchestra.
Mr. Tyzik’s contemporary compositions have been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Summit Brass. His pops arrangements have been recorded by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony and Doc Severinsen with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
Mr. Tyzik’s record production skills earned him a Grammy Award in 1986 for an album titled “The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen.” Early in his career, Mr. Tyzik composed and arranged music for the Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman orchestras and worked closely with Chuck Mangione as performer and producer. Mr. Tyzik has also produced and composed theme music for many major television networks, including ABC, NBC, HBO, Cinemax, Arts & Entertainment and American Movie Classics. Mr. Tyzik has released six of his own albums on Capitol, Polygram and Amherst Records.
He received the Arts & Cultural Council of Rochester’s 2002 award for Performing Artist, and in 1997, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in recognition of his commitment to community service. That same year he was also recognized by the Monroe County Music Educators and the Rochester Philharmonic League for his work in public school and community education. In 2003 he was elected to the Board of Managers of the Eastman School of Music. He is also a board member of the Hochstein School of Music and Dance.
Mr. Tyzik holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He lives in Rochester, New York, with his wife, Jill.
Shirley Nanette has appeared as guest soloist in concert throughout the United States and Canada, on both commercial and public television. She has performed at many of Oregon’s musical events including: the Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz, Cascade Music Festival, Sunriver Music Festival and each year at Oregon Art Museum’s “Museum After Hours” Gospel Meets Jazz concert.
Shirley was honored by the Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade with her own float for two consecutive years, from which she sang through the entire length of the parade. She has been the opening act for Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons, Billy Eckstine, Diane Schuur, Lou Rawls and Eddie Harris and substituted for Tony Bennett with the Spokane Symphony when he became ill. Each year, Shirley performs with the Woody Hite Big Band and the George Reinmiller Big Band, usually in outdoor summer concerts.
Shirley made her debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1981, conducted by Norman Leyden. She appears as one of the “Pops” concert favorites. She has also appeared as guest soloist with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Seattle, Spokane, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Tucson, San Diego, Honolulu, Long Beach and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
In 1983, competing against several thousand contestants throughout the United States, she won the First “Star Search” aka “Fantasy” national talent competition on NBC Television. Shirley was recognized as “Best Female Vocalist in Portland” from 1981 to 1991. She appeared in the stage play “The Colored Museum” written by George C. Wolfe, in a parody of Josephine Baker. In 2000, she appeared in Truman Capote’s “The Grass Harp” performed at the Lakewood Theatre in Lake Oswego, for which she received an Artistic Merit award from the theatre company.
Shirley was chosen twice as the only jazz vocalist to be represented by the Oregon Arts Commission. In May of the following year, she began the task of making her first recording entitled “See You Later”. It was released in 1992. The album includes compositions of Cole Porter, Rogers and Hart, Irving Berlin, Michel LeGrand and George and Ira Gershwin.
Shirley’s incredible energy emerges when she is on stage doing what she does from the heart, performing for the audiences that love her and have watched her grow into the beautiful, talented and gracious lady she is today.
