The Southwest Florida Symphony presents the next concerts in its Small Stage Symphonies series of the season; Symphonic Folklore

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1 8290 College Pkwy Suite 103 Ft. Myers, FL NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Contact: (239) Amy Ginsburg at The Southwest Florida Symphony presents the next concerts in its Small Stage Symphonies series of the season; Symphonic Folklore Fort Myers, FL The Southwest Florida Symphony, Lee County s professional orchestra and one of the oldest symphony orchestras on Florida s gulf coast, presents the next concerts in its Small Stage Symphonies series, Symphonic Folklore at two Lee County venues. Concerts take place at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Wednesday, February 3 at 8PM and The Village Church at Shell Point on Thursday February 4 at 7:30PM. Symphonic Folklore is conducted by the Southwest Florida Symphony s music director, Maestro Nir Kabaretti, featuring three works influenced by folk music. The concert opens with Mendelssohn s sparkling Italian Symphony, his musical memories of his journeys through the Italian peninsula. Mezzo-soprano Barbara Rearick joins Maestro Kabaretti and the orchestra for Aaron Copland s Old American Songs, the composer s tender and humorous settings of American folk songs. Ms. Rearick is featured in the final work on the program, Manuel de Falla s fiery drama of love and magic, El Amor Brujo, influenced by both the folk songs and dances of the composer s native Spain. Tickets start at $25 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 or by calling the Symphony Box Office at (239) Box office hours are from 10:00AM-4:00PM on Monday through Friday.

2 Barbara Rearick bio American mezzo-soprano Barbara Rearick has been lauded by Opera News for her tonal beauty and Gramophone for her charm and finesse. Since her 1993 Carnegie Hall debut in Handel's Messiah, she has performed internationally with such orchestras as the Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The season will feature the Messiah with the Wichita Symphony, de Falla s El amor brujo and Copland s Old American Songs with the Southwest Florida Symphony. Recent concert appearances for Barbara Rearick include performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a part of their MusicNow series; Verdi s Requiem with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Huntsville Symphony; Beethoven s Symphony No. 9 with the Bozeman, Colorado, Syracuse, and Wichita Symphonies; Mahler s Symphony No. 8 with the Canterbury Choral Society; Mozart s Coronation Mass at the Spoleto Festival USA; Handel s Messiah with the symphonies of Baltimore, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, Orange County and Syracuse; Mozart s Requiem with Symphoria (Syracuse, NY); Mendelssohn s Elijah with the South Dakota Symphony; Bach s Magnificat and St. Matthew Passion with Voices of Ascension; Bach s St. John Passion with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica; and Mahler s Rückert Lieder at Princeton University. A prolific performer and champion of 20th-century music, Ms. Rearick gave the United States premiere of Nicholas Maw s Nocturne with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at Bard College; collaborated with the New York New Music Ensemble for the world premiere of Mary Wright s Sunflower; and performed A Winter s Journey, Douglas Cuomo s setting of Wilhelm Müller s text (from Schubert s Winterreise). Frequent collaborations with the New York Chamber Ensemble include Ravel s Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, Ravel s Chansons madécasses, and Berlioz s Les nuits d été. Barbara Rearick has appeared on BBC World Service Radio, New York City's WQXR, and National Public Radio and has recorded for Naxos, Gateway Classics, and ASV. Born in Pennsylvania, she is currently a member of the voice faculty at Princeton University and a founding member of the Britten-Pears Ensemble, a chamber group specializing in rarely heard contemporary works.

3 Southwest Florida Symphony General Information The Southwest Florida Symphony is the only professional orchestra in Lee County and the one of the oldest on Florida s gulf coast. It enters its 55 th season this year, having made its debut as a community orchestra 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 55th 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, entitled A Symphonic Storybook (November 21, Carmina Burana; January 23, One Thousand and One Nights; February 13, Love Triangle; March 5, A Night at the Opera; and April 2 & 3, The Shakespeare Experience), a special Holiday Pops concert entitled The Holidays in Paradise on December 16 & 17 at Flagler College in St. Augustine, December 19 at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, December 20 at BIG ARTS on Sanibel and December 21 at The Village Church at Shell Point; its Pops Series (Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration on January 8 & 9; A Night at the Oscars on February 5 & 6; and My Sinatra on April 2 & 3), a chamber series called Small Stage Symphonies, performed at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Island (January 13, February 3 and March 24), Faith Presbyterian Church in Cape Coral (August 12, 2015, January 15 and March 22), The Village Church at Shell Point (August 13, 2015, January 14 and February 4), and at the Sidney & Berne Davis Arts Center (August 14, 2015 and March 23). Maestro Nir Kabaretti bio Nir Kabaretti spends his second season with the Southwest Florida Symphony this year while he continues to serve as the Santa Barbara Symphony s Music Director in California. He enters his tenth season with Santa Barbara this year. He has been described as a conductor with immense musicality and warm personality by Maestro Zubin Mehta. Kabaretti has earned an impressive reputation across continents 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 the Salzburg Festival. He later advanced to positions as Assistant to the Music Director at the

4 Teatro Real in Madrid and 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. His guest conducting appearances have included the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires, Orquestre National du Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestra del Teatro dell Opera di Roma, Orchestra del Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid, Real Orquesta Sinfònica de Sevilla, La Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria and the Bochumer Symphoniker. He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra in Israel in 2002, and later as its Music Director till Kabaretti s operatic experience includes productions at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Real in Madrid, The Israeli Opera, Opéra de Lausanne, Avenches Opera Festival in Switzerland, Tokyo New National Theatre and Opera Santa Barbara. He conducted The Diary of Anne Frank, a guest production of the Vienna State Opera performed at both the Bregenz Festival and Expo 2000 in Hannover. In 2005, Kabaretti lead Teatro San Carlo di Napoli on its first tour to Japan, conducting Il Trovatore both in Kyoto and Tokyo. During the season he made his debut at Teatro alla Scala di Milano. In 2007 he was invited again for the ballet production of Mendelssohn's Midsummer night's Dream (broadcasted by Italian television RAI, and released as a commercial DVD). 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. Southwest Florida Symphony Sponsors The Southwest Florida Symphony s sponsors include The Southwest Florida Symphony s Board of Trustees, The Southwest Florida Symphony Society, The Southwest Florida Community Foundation, The City of Fort Myers, The State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, The Florida Council on Arts & Culture, The Southwest Florida Symphony Endowment Foundation, The L.A.T. Foundation, Uhler & Vertich Financial Planners, Enterprise

5 Rent-a-car, IberiaBank, The Neil Goldberg Dream Foundation, Rev. Gary & Mrs. Christine LaCroix, Mr. Charles B. Munsch, Mr. Don Fjellin, Eric Diefenbach & J.K. Brown, Ernie Fogg & Margot Flinn, Tween Waters Inn, Bailey s General Store, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Crowne Plaza, Mastello Ristorante, Advanced Pain Management and Spine Specialists, Alexander & Hoover, LCEC, The Cape Coral Community Foundation, The Friends of the Symphony on Sanibel, Mr. & Mrs. Steve and Charlotte Qua, Pamela Templeton and the Red Lipstick Foundation, Suncoast Schools Credit Union, The Foulds Foundation, Sheeley Architects, Madeleine Taeni and Mark Loren Designs. #### Event: Southwest Florida Symphony s Small Stage Symphonies Symphonic Folklore Dates: February 3, 8:00PM BIG ARTS, Sanibel Island, February 4 7:30PM Shell Point Village Church Tickets: from $24-$36 For tickets and more information, call the box office at or administrative office at or visit