NEWS RELEASE. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: Friday, January 6, 2017 Contact: (239)

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1 NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: Friday, January 6, 2017 Contact: (239) The Southwest Florida Symphony continues its 56 th season of Masterworks with Let s Dance! Featuring international recording artist, violist, Gilad Karni Fort Myers, Florida- The Southwest Florida Symphony, Lee County s only professional orchestra and one of the oldest on Florida s gulf coast, continues its 56 th season of Masterworks with Let s Dance! on Saturday, February 18 th, This performance, sponsored by Lotus/Sheeley Architects and the Southwest Florida Symphony Endowment Foundation, happens at 8:00 p.m. Prior to the performance, at 7:00 p.m., patrons are invited to attend a conductor led pre-concert lecture. These lectures are offered in order to better educate audiences about the pieces being performed. Tickets cost between $27 and $87 per person and may be purchased online at by visiting the Southwest Florida Symphony Box Office located at 8290 College Parkway, Suite 103 in Fort Myers, by calling the Symphony Box Office at (239) or at the door, one and a half hours prior to the concert. Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall is located at FSW Parkway in Fort Myers. Masterworks III: Let s Dance! is conducted by the Southwest Florida Symphony s internationally renowned music director, Maestro Nir Kabaretti. This concert features many popular and familiar pieces - Handel s bright and beautiful Water Music, Stravinsky s Firebird Suite, Ravel s sultry Bolero and Rozsa s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra with international recording artist, violist Gilad Karni. Maestro Kabaretti has performed with Karni to rave reviews around the world and now brings this unique artistic dynamic to the Barbara B. Mann stage.

2 Gilad Karni Bio Violist Gilad Karni has been praised throughout the world for his tone and interpretation. His technique and musicality have earned him countless honors, from first prizes at competitions to leadership roles in some of the world's finest orchestras. Equally at home in orchestral and solo or chamber music settings, Karni can be heard on concert stages around the globe in a range of repertoire, as well as on recordings. Karni was the First Prize winner of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition 1994, Third Prize at the ARD Munich among others. In May 2009 he made the world premiere of Prokofiev's "Romeo & Juliet" arranged for viola and orchestra with the Berlin Symphony at the famed Berlin Philharmonie, later that year the South American Premier with the Bogota Philharmonic and in February 2012, the North American premier with the Hartford Symphony. In 2007, he gave the Hungarian premiere of Miklos Rozsa's viola concerto with the Budapest Concert Orchestra at the renowned Spring Festival to mark the composer's 100 year centennial. This performance led to a recording of the Concerto on the Naxos label, which was released in 2008 to great critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy. His recording of Shostakovich s sonata and Lewensohn s ViolAlive with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra were recently released on the Sony Classical label receiving great reviews. Recent engagements found him on stage as soloist with the Tonhalle, Malaysian Philharmonic, Hannover Radio Symphony, Southwest FL Philharmonic, Biel /Bienne Symphony, Transylvanian Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, Bangor Symphony, as well as frequent performances in Europe and Israel. He has appeared in such festivals as, Aspen, Newport, and Bellingham in the USA at the invitations of conductors such as David Zinman, Claudio Abaddo and Charles Dutoit, Kaposvar, Dubrovnik Festival, Bastad and Lapland Festivals, Davos Music Festival, Kuhmo (Finland) among others. Gilad Karni is Professor for Viola at the Conservatoire de Lausanne and has given masterclasses at the Curtis Institute, New World Symphony in Miami, and at Lynn University in Florida, Israel and the far east to name a few. He has collaborated with the late Isaac Stern, the Guarneri String Quartet, and performed in Carnegie Hall, soloed both with cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Heinrich Schiff, soloed with Maxim Vengerov conducting, and was on tour with the Jerusalem Quartet and pianist Menachem Pressler among many of today s leading artists. In addition to being Prof. of Viola at HEMU Lausanne, in 2016 Mr. Karni was nominated Prof. of Viola & Chamber Music at the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. Additionally, Mr. Karni is president of the Swiss Viola Society and has a full schedule planned ahead with his pianist Anna Keiserman and guests.

3 Southwest Florida Symphony General Information The Southwest Florida Symphony is the only professional orchestra in Lee County and one of the oldest on Florida s gulf coast. It enters its 56 th season this year, having made its debut on April 15, Conducted by Arlo Deibler, the Symphony began its life as a community orchestra and its original roster consisted of 24 musicians. It performed in community centers and schools throughout Lee and Collier Counties. It has since grown to become Lee County s only professional symphony orchestra, filling Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall with symphonic music enthusiasts and a roster consisting of more than 65 world-class musicians. The Southwest Florida Symphony s 56 th year promises to be a season of continued enthusiasm as internationally acclaimed Maestro Nir Kabaretti leads the symphony into another season of blockbuster performances. Maestro Kabaretti is the fifth music director in the organization s history. His presence and caliber of musicality garnered record setting attendance at many of the symphony s Masterworks Concerts. The Southwest Florida Symphony s mission is to celebrate the joy of music and to inspire audiences with a variety of quality concerts performed by professional musicians that are accessible to all. This season features the Southwest Florida Symphony s signature Masterworks Classical Concert Series, (November 12, 2016, 30 Years at Barbara B. Mann Hall; January 21, Cellobration; February 18, Let s Dance; March 25, A Night at the Opera; and April 22, Magnificent Mahler), a special Holiday Pops concert entitled The Holidays in Paradise on December 12 at the Village Church at Shell Point, December 13 at First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs, December 15 at Flagler College in St. Augustine and December 17 at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall; its Pops Series (Big Band Through the Decades on February 3 & 4; A Gershwin Experience on March 3 & 4; and Debby Boone on April 7 & 8), a chamber series called Small Stage Symphonies SM, performed at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Island (January 12 and March 8) at Sanibel Community Church (on February 7) Southwest Florida Performing Arts Center (August 27, 2016, January 13 and March 10), The Village Church at Shell Point (August 25, 2016, February 9 and March 9), and at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (August 26, 2016 and February 8).

4 Maestro Nir Kabaretti Bio Nir Kabaretti begins his third season with the Southwest Florida and his tenth with the Santa Barbara Symphony in California, where he serves as Music and Artistic Director. He has been described as a conductor with immense musicality and warm personality by Maestro Zubin Mehta. Maestro Kabaretti has earned an impressive reputation worldwide for his command of a vast symphonic and operatic repertoire. Upon graduation from the prestigious University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Kabaretti began working as coach and Chorus Master at the Vienna State Opera and at the Salzburg Festival. He later served as Personal Assistant to Maestro Zubin Mehta at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy. Nir Kabaretti has worked with some of the world s most sought-after musicians, such as Lang Lang, Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, and Hélène Grimaud. He has conducted many of the great orchestras of the world, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra in Israel in 2002, and later its Music Director until Maestro Kabaretti s operatic experience includes productions at the Vienna State Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Real in Madrid, The Israeli Opera, Opéra de Lausanne, and Opera Santa Barbara, among many others. Maestro Kabaretti received the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Grant for Young Conductors. In 1993, he won the Forum Junger Künstler Conducting Competition in Vienna. In 1994 he was among the finalists in the International Competition for Conductors in Douai, France.

5 Our Generous Sponsors The Southwest Florida Symphony s sponsors include The City of Ft. Myers, The State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, The Florida Council on Arts & Culture, The Southwest Florida Symphony Endowment Foundation, The Southwest Florida Symphony Society, The L.A.T. Foundation, Bell Tower Shops, Uhler & Vertich Financial Planners, Burgess Brant Engineers, Sheeley Architects & Lotus Architects, Advanced Pain Management & Spine Specialists, Mrs. Madeleine Taeni, Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Munsch, The Enterprise Foundation, Tween Waters Inn, Bailey s General Store, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Crowne Plaza, Shoeless Joe s, IberiaBank, The Friends of the Symphony on Sanibel and Mr. & Mrs. Steve and Charlotte Qua, Mr. Don Fjellin, Mr. & Mrs. Rob and Ruth Diefenbach, Mr. Eric Diefenbach & JK Brown. #### Event: Masterworks III: Let s Dance Dates: Saturday, February 18 th, 2017 Location: Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall Time: Pre-Concert Lecture 7:00-7:30PM, Concert 8:00PM Tickets: Cost between $27 and $87 and may be purchased by calling , visiting the Southwest Florida Symphony box office or in person at Barbara B. Mann Hall s box office.