April 15, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE OREGON SYMPHONY IN MAY
(AND ONE GREAT NIGHT IN JUNE):
A GRAND FINALE TO OUR 2010/11 CONCERT SEASON

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) – May 2011 is an important month in the Oregon Symphony calendar, with our Carnegie Hall debut and our first recording under music director Carlos Kalmar.  The Carnegie program is performed first in Portland for our home-town audiences and both performances will be recorded for a CD to be released next fall.  On our return from New York our classical season concludes with a program featuring some of our superb Orchestra members as well as the ensemble as a whole.  We then offer a pair of great American performers in concert with their own musicians in one-night-only concerts in late May and mid June.  Complete details follow:

 

SATURDAY and SUNDAY, MAY 7 and 8:
MUSIC FOR A TIME OF WAR
The Orchestra presents its Carnegie Hall program for our hometown crowd in two live recording sessions

• When and Where: Two performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7, and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, May 8; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. (NOTE: There is no Monday performance of this program.)
• The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar on the podium, joined by baritone Sanford Sylvan as soloist in John Adams’ The Wound-Dresser.
• The Program:
• Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
• John Adams: The Wound-Dresser
• Benjamin Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem
• Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4
• More Background Info and Photos:
• Baritone Sanford Sylvan’s management: http://www.calartists.com/ 
• Tickets: $20 to $90; at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, 923 SW Washington St., in downtown Portland. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, at the concert hall box office starting two hours before the performance, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, OrSymphony.org. 
• What’s So Special About These Concerts:
• Audiences at both performances will be part of a live recording of the Symphony’s first CD under music director Carlos Kalmar.
• These are the Oregon Symphony’s first performances of John Adams’ The Wound-Dresser.
• Baritone Sanford Sylvan makes his Oregon Symphony debut at these concerts in the Adams piece, which was written for him in 1989.
• It was the strength and dramatic coherence of this program that won the Oregon Symphony its invitation to the first annual Spring for Music festival at Carnegie Hall, to take place on Thursday, May 12.
• Immediately after the Sunday performance, backstage crew members at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall will start loading large instruments, music and some musicians’ concert dress clothes into a truck for the cross-country journey to West 57th Street.

 

SATURDAY to MONDAY, MAY 21 to 23:
CELEBRATING THE ORCHESTRA!
Our Classical season wraps up with an orchestral showcase

• When and Where: Three performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22, and 8 p.m. Monday, May 23; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. (NOTE: This concert will also be performed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, at Willamette University’s Smith Hall in Salem.)
• The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar on the podium for the Portland performances, joined by Oregon Symphony members as featured soloists. For the May 24 Salem performance, Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda will take over as conductor.
• The Program:
• Paul Dukas: Fanfare to precede La Péri (featuring the brass section)
• Paul Hindemith: Trauermusik (Joël Belgique, viola)
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Tarantelle for Flute, Clarinet and Orchestra (Alicia DiDonato Paulsen, flute; Todd Kuhns, clarinet)
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Pezzo capriccioso (Nancy Ives, cello)
• Michael Daugherty: Flamingo (Niel DePonte and Matthew McKay, percussion)
• Jeff Tyzik: Tango 1932 from Four Dances for Tuba (JáTtik Clark, tuba)
• Maurice Ravel: Tzigane (Jun Iwasaki, violin)
• Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
• Tickets: FOR THE PORTLAND PERFORMANCES: $20 to $90; at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, 923 SW Washington St., in downtown Portland. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, at the concert hall box office starting two hours before the performance, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, OrSymphony.org.

FOR THE SALEM PERFORMANCE: $35 to $48, available from AbsolutelyTix.com.

• What’s So Special About These Concerts:
• This program is sponsored by the attorneys of Stoel Rives, LLP.
• This program was conceived as a “victory lap” following the Orchestra’s debut at Carnegie Hall.
• Eight members of the Orchestra, from each of the sections, are showcased as soloists on the first half of the program.
• The Orchestra as a whole serves as soloist on the second half in Bartók’s great Concerto for Orchestra.
• Five of the featured works are receiving their Oregon Symphony premieres, including Tango 1932 from Four Dances for Tuba by our principal pops conductor Jeff Tyzik.
• These performances conclude the Oregon Symphony’s 2010/11 classical season, its eighth under music director Carlos Kalmar.

FRIDAY, MAY 27:
LEGENDARY CROONER TONY BENNETT RETURNS

• When and Where: One performance only, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 27; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
• The Performers: Singer Tony Bennett and his instrumental quartet (NOTE: The Oregon Symphony does not perform.)
• The Program: Mr. Bennett’s program will be performed without intermission and will be announced from the stage.
• More Background Info:
• Tony Bennett’s web site: http://www.tonybennett.net/
• Tickets: $55 to $150, pit seating $200; at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, 923 SW Washington St., in downtown Portland. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, at the concert hall box office starting two hours before the performance, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, OrSymphony.org.   
• What’s So Special About This Concert:
• The legendary singer’s performance at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall is his first visit to Portland in many years:  Tony Bennett last appeared here in a concert with the Oregon Symphony under James DePreist at the Rose Garden’s Theatre of the Clouds on October 10, 2000.
• The 84-year old remains a hugely popular singer, appreciated by all generations, though his music remains rooted in the American Songbook.
• Tony Bennett is the winner of an astounding 15 Grammies and 2 Emmy Awards, and a Kennedy Centre Honoree.

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 16:
TRUMPETER WYNTON MARSALIS BRINGS THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA

• When and Where: One performance only, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
• The Performers: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.
• The Program: The program will be announced from the stage.
• More Background Info and Photos:
• On Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra: http://www.jalc.org/about/a_press09.html
• Tickets: $20 to $95; at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, 923 SW Washington St., in downtown Portland. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, at the concert hall box office starting two hours before the performance, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, OrSymphony.org.   
• What’s So Special About This Concert:
• This performance is sponsored by Hoffman Construction Company.
• Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra last appeared in Portland three years ago, in July 2008.
• The Orchestra is comprised of 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players working today
• The Orchestra both conserves and extends the traditions of jazz.

 

OREGON SYMPHONY SPECIAL TICKET PRICES:

• $10 student tickets are available during the week prior to performances.
• Seniors may purchase tickets for half-price at the hall only, two hours prior to performance time. 
• The Oregon Symphony participates in the Music for All program, offering $5 tickets to Oregon Trail Card holders at our ticket office at 923 SW Washington Street during the week prior to performances. 
• There are no handling fees charged for any of these tickets.
• These programs are generously sponsored by BANK OF AMERICA. 
• We regret: none of these discounts can be offered for Tony Bennett or Wynton Marsalis.

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CONTACT:

For Classical programs:
Elaine Calder
President
(503) 416-6357
ecalder@orsymphony.org   

For Tony Bennett and Wynton Marsalis:
Jessika Allen
Vice President, Business Development
(503) 416-6375
jallen@orsymphony.org