December 22, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Music from the films of legendary song and dance duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, including “Top Hat” and “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” is featured in Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda’s Oregon Symphony Pops concert debut with guest vocalist Doug LaBrecque on Jan. 28, 29 and 30 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Media support is provided by KEX and Oregon Business Magazine.
Astaire and Rogers are immortalized in many unforgettable dance numbers from their ten films such as “Girl Crazy” and “Shall We Dance?” Vajda is joined by LaBrecque, host of last season’s Yuletide Celebration, along with vocalist Susan Egan whose most recent appearance on Broadway was a starring role in “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” LaBrecque and Egan will sing some of the greatest hits first made famous by Astaire and Rogers’ films, including Gershwin’s “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and Porter’s “Night and Day.” Dancers Joan Hess and Jeffry Denman, who were both featured in the 2004 PBS Great Performance special “My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs,” will recreate some of Astaire and Rogers’ most famous routines, including “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails/Steppin’ Out,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
“This concert is an amazing tribute to two of the greatest entertainers ever,” says Vajda. “Imagine yourself at home alone in a great mood. What do you do? Sing. If you feel really good you start dancing to your own singing. Astaire and Rogers captured that feeling on film for audiences everywhere.” Vajda will lead the Symphony in Gershwin’s overture to “Crazy for You” and “Hooray for Hollywood.”
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m. and Monday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range in price from $27 to $76 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Customer Service Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Discounted tickets for groups of eight or more are available through the Group Sales hotline at (503) 416-6380. 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.
Doug LaBrecque thrilled theatre audiences as The Phantom and Raoul in the “The Phantom of the Opera.” In addition, LaBrecque has starred on Broadway as Ravenal in the Hal Prince revival of “Showboat.” He was featured in Oscar Hammerstein’s 100th Birthday Celebration on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre, and toured nationally with “Les Miserables.” Regionally, LaBrecque has performed leading roles in “Candide,” “A Chorus Line” and “Man of LaMancha,”among others. A graduate of University of Michigan, he was also featured in the world premiere of “A Wonderful Life,” written by Sheldon Harnick and Joe Raposo, and starred in the premiere revival of Kurt Weill and Alan Jay Lerner’s “Love Life.”
LaBrecque has been a soloist with some of America’s finest symphony orchestras including the National Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Outside the United States, LaBrecque has appeared with the Jerusalem Symphony, Puerto Rico Symphony, Orquestra Symphonica Brasilera (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil), Shanghai Radio Orchestra (Shanghai, China) and made three separate visits to sing with one of the great orchestras of the world, the Israel Philharmonic. In 2002, LaBrecque appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival, the Columbus Symphony and San Antonio Symphony, and had encore engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony and the National Symphony at Wolftrap.
A much requested actor and singer, LaBrecque has performed for world leaders including Mikhail Gorbachev and President Gerald R. Ford. He has appeared onstage with legends like Juliet Prowse, Harold Prince, Doc Sevrinson and Jessye Norman, and has performed for millions of people during his exciting 15-year career. He performs his solo show throughout the year and co-stars in the very popular “BRAVO Broadway!”
Gregory Vajda has been appointed to serve as the Oregon Symphony’s second Resident Conductor in its 109-year history beginning in summer 2005. Vajda conducted a Sundays at Two concert during the 2003-2004 season to great acclaim from both the orchestra and the audience. During the 2005-2006 season, he will conduct a Classical and a Pops concert, in addition to serving as the primary conductor for Youth Concerts and Kids Concerts.
Gregory Vajda has fast become one of the most brilliant conductors on the international scene. He was called a “young titan” by a Montreal Symphony Orchestra member during the 2003-2004 season run of Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” and Schönberg’s “Erwartung” with L’Opera de Montreal. Recognized for his strength and intensity in conducting 19th century, 20th century and contemporary repertoire, Vajda has just concluded his third and final season as assistant conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to his appointment with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, he served as music director to the New Theater Budapest, and artistic director of the Forras (Source) Chamber Music Workshop, founder and artistic advisor of the Valley of the Arts Summer Festival in Hungary, permanent guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera (1998-2003), artistic leader of the Brass in Five Ensemble, principal conductor of the Ernö Dohnányi Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, and was a member of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra. When appointed assistant conductor in Milwaukee, he resigned all permanent European posts to focus completely on his full time job as well as guest engagements.
Highlights of the 2004-2005 season for Vajda included a third appearance at the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris and appearances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Round Top Festival in Texas, and the Grant Park Festival in Chicago. Vajda also led the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in a subscription concert series, and was commissioned to compose and conduct a piece for the Making New Waves Festival in Budapest.
In the 2003-2004 season, Vajda’s schedule included the Oregon Symphony, Naumburg Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. All this in addition to the New Year’s Gala Performance and a classical subscription series with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Vajda also conducted at the Woodstock Mozart Festival and Mostly Mozart Festival in Lincoln Center to great critical acclaim.
As assistant conductor with the Milwaukee Symphony, he led several regional tours, conducted the Milwaukee Symphony in a classical subscription concert as well as performances with Canadian Brass, Maureen McGovern, Peter, Paul and Mary and the King Singers. In past seasons, Vajda appeared with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ensemble Intercontemporain at Cité de la Musique, led performances at the Vienna Klangforum of Péter Eötvös’s “As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams” and “Three Sisters”(as part of theVienna Festwochen), gave the premiere of his chamber opera “The Giantbaby” at the New Theatre in Budapest, and the premiere of Hungarian composer György Ránki’s opera “King Pomade’s New Clothes” at the Hungarian State Opera. He has also conducted at the festivals of Avignon and Strassbourg.
In addition to conducting, Vajda is also a clarinetist and composer. Recently, he conducted his own composition for the silent film “The Crowd” at the Auditorium of the Louvre with American pianist Jay Gottlieb. He has also recorded his own orchestral piece entitled “Duevoe” with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was honored with the Zoltán Kodály State Scholarship for composers for the year 2000, and the Annie Fischer State Scholarship for music performers in the year 1999.
Born in 1973 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of renowned soprano Veronika Kincses, Gregory Vajda studied clarinet and composition at Béla Bartók secondary school. He then studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music under Professor Ervin Lukács. He recently completed a half-year study session with the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris with Jonathan Nott. He has also been a conducting pupil of the well-known twentieth century composer and conductor, Péter Eötvös.
