FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2013 CONTACT: Wayne Wilkins, Director of Marketing & Communications 401.248.7024 / wwilkins@riphil.org RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC PRESENTS SYMPHONIC MASTERWORKS: JEREMIAH & THE GREAT BERNSTEIN, SCHUBERT AND WORLD PREMIERE OF WATERPLACE PARK MEZZO SOPRANO SUSAN LORETTE DUNN RETURNS MARCH 23 Open rehearsal on Friday March 22 at 5:30 February 25, 2013 East Providence, RI The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra presents Symphonic Masterworks: Jeremiah and the Great on Saturday March 23 at 8pm at The Vets, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence. Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF and the Orchestra welcome mezzo soprano SUSAN LORETTE DUNN as soloist for Leonard Bernstein s Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah). The program includes Franz Schubert s Symphony No. 9 in C major, D.944 ( The Great ) and the world premiere of Waterplace Park by the Philharmonic s own Gregory Fritze the first member of the Orchestra to be commissioned as a composer. Resident Conductor FRANCISCO NOYA presents an informal talk about the concert program in the auditorium before the concert from 7:00 7:25. WPRO News Talk 630 is the media sponsor for the season. Tickets ($15-100) are available at www.riphil.org, the RIPO box office at 401.248.7000. The open rehearsal is Friday March 22 at 5:30pm. SUSAN LORETTE DUNN studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, Australia, graduating with both a Bachelor of Music and Post Graduate Music Degree in Voice/Opera. Miss Dunn has performed regularly with both Opera Australia and Opera Queensland, and has performed and recorded as soloist with ABC Australia and with many of Australia s major orchestras. Since moving to the USA in 2002 Miss Dunn has sung in concert with the Rhode Island, Chicago and Dayton Philharmonics, the San Antonio, Kansas City, El Paso, Spokane, Toledo and Chautauqua symphonies, the Camerata of San Antonio, the Martinu Philharmonic in the Czech Republic and the Charlotte Symphony. Susan Lorette Dunn, mezzo soprano This is a low-resolution thumbnail! Click here to download the high-resolution version of this photo.
This program features two great symphonies, said Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF. Leonard Bernstein s First Symphony, which we ll play for the first time, and Schubert s Great, which we haven t played in years and years. Schubert s C Major Symphony is one of the reasons why people come to concerts a monumental expression of the heavenly beauty of the human condition. Bernstein s First Symphony is a powerful voyage dealing with his own crisis of faith, drawing on biblical references. This symphony brought international fame to our Leonard Bernstein as a composer. And we re privileged to have Susan Lorette Dunn join us in singing the very emotional final movement. I am thrilled that we can present these two very important symphonic masterpieces in the same concert. Rachleff continued: Opening the concert is a piece that no one will have heard before our audience! We commissioned Waterplace Park from our very own Greg Fritze, our principal tubist, who is also head of composition at Berklee College of Music. GREGORY FRITZE is a prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar, as well as an active performer, conductor and educator. He is Professor of Composition and Tuba at Berklee College of Music, where he has served on the faculty since 1979. He has written over sixty compositions for orchestra, concert band, chamber ensembles and soloists. Fritze has been principal tubist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic since 1983. He started playing piano at age six and tuba at age ten. He has degrees from the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University. He lives with his wife Linda, a research scientist, in Sharon, Massachusetts. GREGORY FRITZE said: Maestro Rachleff asked for a piece composed solely for orchestral winds, brass and percussion. I wanted to write a fun and jovial piece showcasing the different colors and textures of the woodwind, brass and percussion sections. The piece is programmatic: it depicts five people on their way to Waterplace Park. Each solo instrument has its own thematic melody with a distinctive personality. Gregory Fritze, composer and principal tubist, RI Philharmonic This is a low-resolution thumbnail! Click here to download the high-resolution version of this photo.
AT A GLANCE: MARCH 23 CONCERT CONCERT: RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC: SYMPHONIC MASTERWORKS: JEREMIAH AND THE GREAT PLACE: The Vets, Providence CONDUCTOR: Larry Rachleff, Music Director SOLOIST: Susan Lorette Dunn, mezzo soprano DATE: Saturday March 23, 8:00pm BERNSTEIN Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah), RI Philharmonic premiere SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D.944 ( The Great ) FRITZE Waterplace Park, world premiere OPEN REHEARSAL: Friday March 22, 5:30pm SEASON MEDIA SPONSOR: WPRO News Talk 630 GUEST ARTIST SPONSORS: Marjorie & Robert Catanzaro TICKETS: $15 to $100, with discounts for students and groups in selected sections; $12 open rehearsal Buy online: riphil.org/tickets, 24/7 Buy by phone: Philharmonic box office: 401.248.7000; Monday-Friday 9 4:30 Buy in person: Philharmonic box office, Carter Center, 667 Waterman Street, East Providence: Monday-Friday 9 4:30 OR Vets box office, Avenue of the Arts, Providence: Friday 2 5:30pm; Saturday 3:30 8pm
ABOUT THE PROGRAM: stories behind the music Susan Lorette Dunn, mezzo soprano All in the family: Miss Dunn is married to Philharmonic Music Director Larry Rachleff. He describes her as a Bernstein scholar, in addition to being a great singer and a great mother and a great wife. Her recent performances with the Philharmonic include Mahler s Fourth Symphony (2008) and Beethoven s Ninth Symphony (2010). BERNSTEIN: Symphony No.1 (Jeremiah) A very good year: Bernstein conducted the premiere of his first symphony within a year of his famous lastminute-substitute debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1943, at age 25. The symphony won the New York Music Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Intensity of feeling: The first movement parallels the intensity of the prophet Jeremiah s pleas with his people; the Scherzo gives a sense of destruction and chaos brought by pagan corruption. The Lamentation is the cry of Jeremiah as he mourns his beloved Jerusalem, ruined, pillaged and dishonored after his desperate efforts to save it. The text is from the Book of Lamentations. SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 9 in C Major D.944 ( The Great ) Rescued from obscurity: Forgotten by the time of Schubert s death, the symphony was rediscovered in 1839 by Robert Schumann in the home of Schubert s brother. Schumann immediately set about getting the work played, reviewing it and promoting it, as was his habit with Schubert s music. Thanks, but no thanks: Schubert s Great C Major Symphony was his last symphony, composed during 1825-1826. When he dedicated it to the Vienna Philharmonic Society, the Society refused to perform it because it was too long and difficult. FRITZE: Waterplace Park A first: Waterplace Park is the first piece the Philharmonic has commissioned from a member of the Orchestra. A rare spotlight: Fritze said: I wanted to feature five instrumentalists who are not usually seen as soloists bass clarinet, marimba, bass trombone, piccolo and timpani. Chatter: The piece depicts five people on their way to Waterplace Park. Each solo instrument has its own thematic melody with a distinctive personality. The mischievous bass clarinet and marimba chat about their favorite cartoons from childhood. The romantic bass trombone walks alone, contemplating a lost love. The piccolo and timpani argue about domestic chores. As all five arrive at the park at the same time, all five themes are presented together in harmony. The magic touch: Fritze is a prize-winning composer who heads the composition department at Berklee College of Music. In the last ten years he composed extended symphonic works for five concert bands that participate in international competitions, and all five have won first prize. Among friends: I d like to thank Larry Rachleff for giving me the opportunity to compose a piece for my friends in the Philharmonic, Fritze said. I have greatly enjoyed playing with all of these fine musicians over the years.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School is the largest fully integrated orchestra and music school in the United States. Our mission is to enrich and transform Rhode Island and our region through great music performance and education. 2012-2013 is the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra s 68th Season, Music Director Larry Rachleff s 17th with the Orchestra. The season includes an eight-concert Classical Series with a roster of worldrenowned guest artists that includes pianists Jeffrey Kahane and Adam Golka, violinists Augustin Hadelich and Karen Gomyo, cellist Wendy Warner, soprano Ilana Davidson, mezzo sopranos Susan Lorette Dunn and Susan Platts and guest conductor Grant Llewellyn. Our Amica Rush Hour Series offers an early start time -- 6:30pm -- on four Fridays. These shorter, informal, accessible classical concerts feature repertoire from the Saturday Classical concerts. Our four Open Rehearsals offer audience members insight into the collaboration between the conductor, guest artists and orchestra musicians as they prepare for the upcoming classical concert. Special events include the perennial holiday favorite Handel s Messiah with the Providence Singers. Resident Conductor Francisco Noya conducts our Education Concerts and our Summer Pops Concerts. Now in its 25th year, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School serves approximately 1,500 children, youth and adults every week with lessons, classes, ensembles and community partnership programs, and an additional 13,000 students annually through partnerships, residencies, education concerts and in-school performances. Ensembles include five youth orchestras, two wind ensembles, eleven jazz ensembles and many chamber music ensembles and the RI Philharmonic Community Orchestra for adults. Information about classes and performances is available at www.riphil.org.
TICKETS AND DISCOUNTS TICKETS FOR ALL PHILHARMONIC CLASSICAL CONCERTS may be purchased 24/7 on the Philharmonic website: riphil.org/tickets. Tickets may also be purchased at the Philharmonic box office at 667 Waterman Avenue, East Providence, by phone (401.248.7000) or in person Monday Friday 9am 4:30pm. On Open Rehearsal and Rush Hour Fridays, ticket sales are also available at The Vets box office, from 2:00pm until showtime. On Saturday concert days, tickets are available onsite at The Vets box office in person from 3:30pm until showtime, or by calling 401.248.7000. Saturday Classical Series ticket prices range from $15 to $100 for adults with discounts in selected areas of the hall for full time students and groups of 10 or more. Tickets for Rush Hour Concerts are $15-$48, and Open Dress Rehearsals are $12. Student rush: On Saturdays at 7:30pm, if there are tickets remaining, a full time student presenting a valid student ID may buy one ticket for $12. There is free parking for all Philharmonic concerts at designated lots along Smith Street. The Philharmonic provides a free shuttle bus to and from the parking lots before and after the concerts. Due to construction at the Vets, Park Street is closed between the Providence Place Mall and Avenue of the Arts. Drop offs for patrons who need assistance can be made by pulling into Avenue of the Arts from Francis Street. UPCOMING RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC CLASSICAL CONCERTS BEETHOVEN S FIFTH!!!: On Saturday April 13 at 8pm, Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF and the Orchestra perform an all Beethoven concert featuring the Egmont: Overture, Symphony No. 1 in C major, op.21 and the ever popular Symphony No. 5 in C minor, op.67. Also: There will be an AMICA RUSH HOUR performance of Beethoven s Fifth, along with a RIPYO side byside performance, Friday April 12 at 6:30pm. THE RESURRECTION SYMPHONY: On Saturday May 4 at 8pm, Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF and the Orchestra conclude the Classical season with soprano ILANA DAVIDSON, mezzo soprano SUSAN PLATTS, and the PROVIDENCE SINGERS (BETSY BURLEIGH, Artistic Director) in a performance of Mahler s Symphony No. 2 in C minor (Resurrection). Also: An open rehearsal will be held Friday May 3 at 5:30pm. ###