Contact:
Carl Herko
Vice President, Media & Public Relations
503-416-6347
cherko@orsymphony.org
October 31, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE OREGON SYMPHONY IN DECEMBER:
‘TIS THE SEASON FOR ALL MANNER OF HOLIDAY MUSIC
(PORTLAND, Ore.) –The Oregon Symphony will deck the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in December with four concert programs that are sure to put even the Scroogiest Portlander in the mood to celebrate. The month’s calendar includes an all-Tchaikovsky Classical concert that features the best-of-the-best holiday music from the Nutcracker; the 10th anniversary of a not-to-be-missed Portland tradition, Gospel Christmas; the Oregon homecoming of the internationally known jazz trumpeter Chris Botti; and a special concert just for kids that celebrates all of the month’s holidays at once. Complete details on all of the Oregon Symphony’s December concerts follow:
SATURDAY-MONDAY, DEC. 6-8:
THREE WORKS BY TCHAIKOVSKY, ALL OREGON SYMPHONY PREMIERES
- When and Where: Three performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 and 7, and 8 p.m. Dec. 8; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
- The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar on the podium, joined by a Portland favorite, British pianist Stephen Hough.
- The Program:
Three works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
- Coronation March
- Piano Concerto No. 2
- Nutcracker (Act II)
- Tickets: $15 to $98; 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 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, orsymphony.org. Tickets are also available through ticketmaster.com or by calling (503) 790-ARTS.
- What’s So Special About These Concerts:
- The program includes three works by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky that the Oregon Symphony has never before performed in its 113-year history, including the Coronation March, his Second Piano Concerto and the entire second act of his ballet score for The Nutcracker.
- The piano soloist for the Second Piano Concerto will be British pianist Stephen Hough, a favorite of Portland audiences, who has appeared numerous times with the Oregon Symphony in recent years, most recently in April 2007, when he performed the Brahms Second Piano Concerto.
- Hough is a prolific recording artist who has recorded more than 40 CDs. His 2001 recording of the complete Saint-Saëns piano works with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on the Hyperion label was recently honored as the most popular recording of the past 30 years at the 2008 Classic FM Gramophone Awards in Great Britain.
- The presenting sponsor of these concerts is RBC Dain Rauscher.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY, DEC. 12-14:
GOSPEL CHRISTMAS CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
- When and Where: Three performances, at 7:30 p.m. each night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12, 13 and 14; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
- The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, led by Guest Conductor Charles Floyd, with the Brown Sisters and the Northwest Community Gospel Chorus under the direction of Gary Hemenway.
- The Program:
A variety of traditional and holiday Gospel favorites from the past 10 years of Oregon Symphony Gospel Christmas performances.
- Tickets: $20 to $100; 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 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, orsymphony.org. Tickets are also available through ticketmaster.com or by calling (503) 790-ARTS.
- What’s So Special About These Concerts:
- After nine consecutive seasons, the Oregon Symphony’s annual Gospel Christmas concerts have become a cherished Portland tradition, with many audience members buying their concert tickets a year in advance.
- The 105 singers in the Northwest Community Gospel Chorus join together specifically for these concerts each year. Chorus members come from the choirs of more than 30 local churches and meet every Saturday for three months to rehearse for Gospel Christmas under the direction of Gary Hemenway, pastor of Journey Church in Walla Walla, WA.
- Los Angeles-based conductor Charles Floyd – a nationally known pianist, arranger and composer himself – has conducted every Oregon Symphony Gospel Christmas performance since the first one in 1999.
- The Brown Sisters, a prominent family ensemble of gospel singers based in Chicago, makes its first appearance at Gospel Christmas since 2004.
- The presenting sponsor of these concerts is the Heathman Hotel.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, DEC. 19-20:
RENOWNED JAZZ TRUMPETER CHRIS BOTTI COMES HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
- When and Where: Two performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 19 and 20, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
- The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, led by Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda, with guest soloist Chris Botti, trumpet.
- The Program:
- The first half of the program features the Oregon Symphony performing a selection of popular seasonal favorites, including Jeff Tyzik’s “The Skater’s Overture,” Percy Grainger’s “Sussex Mummers’ Christmas Carol” and an arrangement of “Frosty the Snowman” by Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda.
- After intermission, Botti will announce his program from the stage.
- 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 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, orsymphony.org. Tickets are also available through ticketmaster.com or by calling (503) 790-ARTS.
- What’s So Special About These Concerts:
- Portland native Chris Botti, who grew up in Corvallis, is among the best-known jazz trumpeters in the world today. He’s a prolific performer who spends more than 300 days on the road each year performing.
- Botti has toured extensively with Paul Simon, Sting and Diana Krall; he has recorded 10 CDs and performed with music-world luminaries ranging from Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan to Rod Stewart and Aretha Franklin.
- Before heading to study at Indiana University and, later, to New York, Botti was a student of former Oregon Symphony principal trumpeter Fred Sautter.
- Botti last performed with the Oregon Symphony in April 2006.
SUNDAY, DEC. 21:
KIDS’ CONCERT CELEBRATES THE SEASON’S MANY ‘HAPPY HOLIDAYS’
- When and Where: 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
- The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda on the podium, joined by Beaverton’s Dance West and narrator Pam Mahon
- The Program:
A festive blend of holiday and seasonal favorites, including …
-- “The Snow Is Dancing” from Claude Debussy’s Children’s Corner
-- “Winter” from Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
-- ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (narrated by Pam Mahon)
-- Three dances from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (with Dance West)
-- Mi(h) zeh hidlik (with Karen Wagner, English horn)
-- And, of course, a selection of traditional carols.
- Tickets: $5 to $42; 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 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, orsymphony.org. Tickets are also available through ticketmaster.com or by calling (503) 790-ARTS.
- What’s So Special About These Concerts:
- Kids Concerts are short performances – about an hour in length, without intermission – programmed specifically to appeal to young audiences and are an ideal way to introduce children to classical music.
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CONTACT:
Carl Herko
Vice President, Media & Public Relations
(503) 416-6347
cherko@orsymphony.org