August 3, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE OREGON SYMPHONY IN SEPTEMBER:
NEW SEASON KICKS OFF WITH A FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) – After its annual summer hiatus, the Oregon Symphony launches into its 2009/10 concert season in September with a bang – literally – as the orchestra returns to downtown Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park for its only absolutely free concert all year, a pull-out-all-the-stops extravaganza that culminates in a rousing performance of the Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture complete with military cannons and fireworks. The orchestra then moves a few blocks farther downtown to its usual home, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, for two more September concerts that promise to be no less thrilling. Complete details follow:

THURSDAY, SEPT. 3 [RAIN DATE: FRIDAY, SEPT. 4]:
THE ANNUAL AL FRESCO CONCERT AT TOM McCALL WATERFRONT PARK

• When and Where: One performance only, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3; Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Southwest Naito Parkway, just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. (Rain date is Friday, Sept. 4, same time and location.) The Oregon Symphony’s performance will be preceded by a 30-minute Portland Taiko performance from 4:30 to 5 p.m. and a one-hour Portland Youth Philharmonic concert from 5 to 6 p.m.

• The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar and Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda sharing the podium, joined by dancers from Oregon Ballet Theatre. (Portland Taiko and the Portland Youth Philharmonic also perform prior to the Oregon Symphony concert.)

• The Program: A stirring selection of crowd favorites ideal for the summer outdoor setting, including operatic overtures by Mikhail Glinka  and Giuseppe Verdi; familiar marches by Edward Elgar, Johann Strauss Jr. and John Williams; and excerpts from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings for which the orchestra will be joined by dancers from Oregon Ballet Theatre. The concert’s grand finale, as always, will be a performance of Tchaikovsky’s perennially popular 1812 Overture with cannons and fireworks. 

• Tickets: Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Bring chairs or blankets for lawn seating. Concertgoers are also invited to bring school supplies to donate for use in Portland public schools. Volunteers from the Portland non-profit group Schoolhouse Supplies will be on hand with collection barrels to receive the donations. Complete information on the web: https://www.schoolhousesupplies.org/donate.html

• What’s So Special About This Concert:
• A popular Portland end-of-summer tradition now in its 14th year, the waterfront concert is the Oregon Symphony’s only free performance of the year and annually draws its biggest audience. A crowd of 15,000 or more is expected.
• Music Director Carlos Kalmar and Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda share the conducting duties.
• Dancers from Oregon Ballet Theatre will also take part, performing excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.
• The traditional grand finale – and everyone’s favorite outdoor show-stopper, the Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture – will herald an elaborate fireworks show, complete with military cannons from the Oregon Army National Guard 218th Field Artillery.
• Before the Oregon Symphony takes the stage, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, led by Music Director David Hattner, will perform an hour-long concert of its own from 5 to 6 p.m. PYP musicians also join the Oregon Symphony for the 1812 Overture.
• The concert is funded by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Metro, and Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Additional support is provided by Portland Parks & Recreation. The presenting sponsor is NW Natural.  

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, SEPT. 12-13:
ORCHESTRA SHARES ITS HOME STAGE WITH CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE

• When and Where: Two performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, and 3 p.m.  Sunday, Sept. 13; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

• The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, led by Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda, joined by the acrobats, aerialists and jugglers of Cirque de la Symphonie.

• The Program: A wide variety of short-and-thrilling circus-appropriate melodies, including excerpts from George Bizet’s opera Carmen, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballets The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, and film scores by John Williams.

• Tickets: $25 to $130; 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. Tickets are also available from Ticketmaster.com.

• What’s So Special About These Concerts:
• The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall will take on a decidedly three-ring aura as the always awe-inspiring sound of the Oregon Symphony is enhanced with equally thrilling visuals supplied by a troupe of world-class circus performers.
• Apart from elephants and tigers, the show includes virtually everything one might expect to find at a circus: aerialists, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers and strongmen – all performing live in front of, and above, the orchestra. There’ll be more than a little humor and magic.
• It is an ideal way to introduce children and symphonic newcomers to the wonders of orchestral music.
• The presenting sponsor of these concerts is Washington Trust Bank.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 26:
ONE SINGULARLY SENSATIONAL NIGHT WITH BÉLA, EDGAR AND FRIENDS

• When and Where: One performance only, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

• The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar on the podium, joined by bluegrass/folk/world music greats Béla Fleck (banjo), Edgar Meyer (double bass), Chris Thile (mandolin) and Zakir Hussain (tabla).

• The Program:
• Antonin Dvorák: Carnival Overture
• Chris Thile: Mandolin Concerto
• Béla Fleck/Edgar Meyer/Zakir Hussain: Triple Concerto
• Franz von Suppé: The Poet and the Peasant Overture
• An hour-long jam session featuring the four soloists follows the concert
• More Background Info and Photos:

• Downloadable images of the four soloists are available on the media page of the Oregon Symphony’s web site: http://www.orsymphony.org/newsroom/artists.aspx

• Tickets: $25 to $130; 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. Tickets are also available from Ticketmaster.com.

• What’s So Special About This Concert:
• This is a one-of-a-kind gala performance to open the Oregon Symphony’s season with a splash: The four soloists, each of whom is widely regarded to be among the best in the world on his instrument, come together in a unique musical collaboration.
• Two of them have appeared as guest soloists with the Oregon Symphony in recent seasons – Fleck in February 2008 and Meyer in January 2009 – to wide critical and audience acclaim. Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile was among the crowd favorites at this summer’s Chamber Music Northwest festival.
• One work on the program – Thile’s new Mandolin Concerto – receives its West Coast premiere at this concert. The concerto is a co-commission of the Oregon Symphony, the Colorado Symphony and other ensembles.

In terms of musical value for the buck, this could well prove to be one of the season’s biggest entertainment bargains: Following their full-length concert with the orchestra, the four soloists plan to stick around onstage for an hour-long jam session.

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CONTACT:
Carl Herko
Vice President, Media & Public Relations
(503) 416-6347
cherko@orsymphony.org