N E W S R E L E A S E CONTACT: Katherine Blodgett Vice President, Public Relations and Communications phone: 215.893.1939 e-mail: kblodgett@philorch.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: October 4, 2012 Jesson Geipel Public Relations Manager phone: 215.893.3136 e-mail: jgeipel@philorch.org Tony and Emmy Award-Winning Actor Hugh Jackman Headlines Academy of Music 156th Anniversary Concert and Ball With New Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin The Stars Shine Brightly in Philadelphia,, January 26, 2013: Celebrate History and Toast to New Beginnings (Philadelphia, October 4, 2012) The Philadelphia Orchestra today announced details of its upcoming 156th Academy of Music Anniversary Concert and Ball to be held on Saturday, January 26, 2013, at 7:30 PM. This spectacular evening of music, dinner and dancing features special guest artist Hugh Jackman, internationally acclaimed actor of both stage and screen, who just wrapped production on the muchanticipated film adaptation of Les Misérables; as well as The Philadelphia Orchestra s own dynamic new music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. As a nod to the very first Academy Anniversary concert during which Eugene Ormandy shared his podium with Danny Kaye, the evening promises the ultimate in popular and classical programming which will be as dazzling as its guests with everything from sweeping orchestral works to Broadway favorites. This year s festivities begin at 5:30 PM with the event s first-ever President s Open House Reception at The Grand Old Lady of Locust Street the Academy of Music. Guests will mix and mingle enjoying cocktails and sumptuous hors d oeuvres while exploring the wonders of this National Historic Landmark. The evening continues with a concert in the Academy at 7:30 PM with a program featuring The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in his inaugural season. The celebration continues after the concert, with an elegant Dinner and Ball at the stunning Park Hyatt at the Bellevue. It will truly be entertainment at its finest, as guests saunter from room to room to listen and dance to the strains of six of the region s preeminent dance orchestras. With musical influences as varied as jazz, Latin, big band, contemporary, and ballroom, there will truly be something for everyone to enjoy. 1
Concert and Ball Gala tickets are available online starting October 17 at www.philorch.org/156ball or by calling the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1978. Concert-only tickets, priced at $200 and located in the Amphitheatre level, go on sale November 1, 2012, and can be purchased by calling 215.893.1999 or by visiting www.ticketphiladelphia.org. The evening s host and additional musical guests will be announced at a later date. The gala is co-chaired by Sarah Miller Coulson and Daniel J. Hilferty. This Concert and Ball are underwritten as of this release by Airgas, Inc., CIGNA, Cozen O Connor, Sarah Miller Coulson, Delaware Investments, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Hilferty, Independence Blue Cross, Jefferson Health System, Joanna McNeil Lewis, Jamie and Lisa Maguire, PNC, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, Wells Fargo & Co./Abbot Downing, A Wells Fargo Business. Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra are graciously donating their services for this concert. For additional information please call the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1978 or visit www.philorg.org/156ball. About the Artists Australian native Hugh Jackman made his first major U.S. film appearance as Wolverine in the first installment of the X-Men franchise, a role he reprised in the enormously successful X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006. Most recently in the franchise, he played Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which serves as a prequel to the popular series and grossed an outstanding $85 million domestically in its first weekend of release in May 2009. Audiences will again see Jackman in the popular role in the next X-Men chapter titled The Wolverine, which is currently filming in Australia. Jackman recently wrapped production on the much-anticipated film adaptation of Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper (of The King s Speech), costarring Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe. The film is currently slated for a December 2012 release. In October 2011, Jackman made his return to the Big Way in his one-man show Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway. Backed by an eighteen-piece orchestra, the revue, which previously opened to rave reviews during its limited engagements in San Francisco and Toronto earlier that year, was comprised of both Broadway hits and a selection of some of his personal favorite standards. Although the show ran only until the end of the year, Jackman s continued dedication to the Broadway community was feted at the 2012 Tony Awards, where he received a Special Award from the Tony Awards Administration Committee, recognizing his accomplishments both as a performer as well as a humanitarian. 2
Most recently on the big screen, Jackman starred in Dreamworks Real Steel. Directed by Shawn Levy, this thrilling story is set in the near future where 2,000-pound human-looking robots do battle and led the box office two weeks in a row in the fall of 2011.In the fall of 2009, Jackman made a return to Broadway in the Keith Huff penned A Steady Rain. Co-starring Daniel Craig, the play tells the story of two Chicago cops who are lifelong friends and whose differing accounts of a few traumatic days change their lives forever. On February 22, 2009, Jackman took on the prestigious role of hosting the 81 st Annual Academy Awards. Live from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, he wowed those in attendance and helped ABC score a 13% increase in viewership from the previous year. This wasn t, however, Jackman s first foray into Awards show hosting. Previously, Jackman served as host of the Tony Awards three years in a row from 2003 2005, earning an Emmy Award for his 2004 duties at the 58 th Annual ceremony, and an Emmy nomination for his 2005 appearance at the 59 th Annual ceremony. In late 2008, Jackman appeared in 20 th Century Fox s romantic action-adventure epic Australia directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film, set in pre-wwii northern Australia, sees Jackman as a rugged cattle driver who assists an English aristocrat (played by Nicole Kidman) in driving a herd of 2000 cattle across hundreds of miles of rough terrain where they must also face the Japanese bombing of Darwin, Australia. Additionally, Jackman has starred in Darren Aronofsky s The Fountain, Christopher Nolan s The Prestige, and Woody Allen s Scoop. In addition, he lent his voice to the animated features Happy Feet and Flushed Away. Other films in which he has had leading roles include Deception, Someone Like You, Swordfish, Van Helsing, and Kate and Leopold, for which he received a 2002 Golden Globe nomination. For his portrayal of the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, Jackman received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a musical as well as Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards. Previous theater credits include Carousel at Carnegie Hall, Oklahoma! at the National Theater in London (Olivier Award nomination), Sunset Boulevard (MO Award - Australia's Tony Award) and Disney's Beauty and the Beast (MO Award nomination). Jackman's career began in Australia in the independent films Paperback Hero and Erskineville Kings (Australian Film Critics' Circle Best Actor award and The Australian Film Institute Best Actor nomination). In 1999, he was named Australian Star of the Year at the Australian Movie Convention. 3
Yannick Nézet-Séguin became the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra with the start of the 2012-13 season. Named music director designate in June 2010, he made his Orchestra debut in December 2008. Over the past decade, Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. Since 2008 he has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and since 2000 artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal s Orchestre Métropolitain. He has appeared with such revered ensembles as the Vienna and Berlin philharmonics; the Boston Symphony; the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; the Dresden Staatskapelle; the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; and the major Canadian orchestras. His talents extend beyond symphonic music into opera and choral music, leading acclaimed performances at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, London s Royal Opera House, and the Salzburg Festival. Highlights of Yannick s inaugural season include his Carnegie Hall debut with the Verdi Requiem, two world and one U.S. premiere, and performances of The Rite of Spring in collaboration with New York-based Ridge Theater, complete with dancers, video projection, and theatrical lighting. In July 2012 Yannick and Deutsche Grammophon announced a major long-term collaboration. His discography with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for BIS Records and EMI/Virgin includes an Edison Awardwinning album of Ravel s orchestral works. He has also recorded several award-winning albums with the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique. In addition, his first recording with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mahler s Symphony No. 5, is available for download. A native of Montreal, Yannick studied at that city s Conservatory of Music and continued studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. In 2012 Yannick was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country s highest civilian honors. His other honors include Canada s National Arts Centre Award; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec; and an honorary doctorate by the University of Quebec in Montreal. To read Yannick s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/ conductor. History of the Academy of Music and the Anniversary Concert and Ball The Academy of Music 156th Anniversary Concert and Ball benefits the Academy of Music Restoration Fund and The Philadelphia Orchestra. A National Historic Landmark, the Academy of Music was home to The Philadelphia Orchestra for more than a century, from the ensemble s founding in 1900 to the opening of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in 2001. The first Anniversary Concert and Ball, which took place on January 26, 1957, showcased a star-studded line-up in which Eugene Ormandy shared his podium with Danny Kaye. The historic evening s guest performers included classical artists Marian Anderson, Hilde Gueden, Arthur Rubinstein, and Isaac Stern, and popular singer Dinah Shore. 4
Since 1957 numerous luminaries of the musical world have performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra as part of Academy of Music Anniversary concerts. Notable guest artists include sopranos Audra McDonald, Jessye Norman, and Kiri Te Kanawa; mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne; violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, and Isaac Stern; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; pianists Evgeny Kissin and Lang Lang; as well as popular artists such as Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Sting, and Paul Simon. The Philadelphia Orchestra Renowned for its distinctive sound, beloved for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of firsts in music-making, The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world. The Philadelphia Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, and Charles Dutoit, who served as chief conductor from 2008 to 2012. With the 2012-13 season, Yannick Nézet-Séguin becomes the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Named music director designate in 2010, Nézet-Séguin brings a vision that extends beyond symphonic music into the vivid world of opera and choral music. Philadelphia is home and the Orchestra nurtures an important relationship not only with patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts but also those who enjoy the Orchestra s other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn s Landing, and other venues. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association also continues to own the Academy of Music a National Historic Landmark as it has since 1957. Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, the Orchestra is a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the United States. Having been the first American orchestra to perform in China, in 1973 at the request of President Nixon, today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying a three-week residency in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and a strong partnership with the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. The ensemble maintains an important Philadelphia tradition of presenting educational programs for students of all ages. Today the Orchestra executes myriad of education and community partnership programs serving over 45,000 annually, including its Neighborhood Concert Series, Sound All Around and Family Concerts, and ezseatu. 5
For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org. ACADEMY OF MUSIC 156TH ANNIV NNIVERSARY CONCERT January 26, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening Academy of Music This concert will be performed without an intermission. The Philadelphia Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Hugh Jackman Special Guest Artist Concert-only tickets, priced at $200 and located in the Amphitheatre level, go on sale November 1, 2012. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215.893.1999 or by visiting www.ticketphiladelphia.org. For gala information, please call the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1978 or visit www.philorch.org/156ball. # # # 6