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Archived NewsNMSO Announces Agreement with Musicians’ Union; 2009/2010 Season to Begin with Dec. 12 Concerts NMSO Trustees To Make Decision on Filing Bankruptcy If Agreement with Musicians Is Not Reached by Thanksgiving NMSO Management Informed That Musicians Fail To Approve Work Agreement Offer NMSO Provides Information on Negotiations with Musicians’ Union NMSO Postpones Pops Concerts on Oct. 24 and Classics Concerts on Oct. 30- Nov. 1 NMSO Presents Critically Acclaimed Tribute To ’50s Rockers NMSO Postpones Classics Concerts on Sept. 25-27 and Oct. 9-11 NMSO issues statent on Sept. 13 NMSOPA benefit New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Delays Start of 2009-2010 Season NMSO Tickets for 2009-2010 Season on sale Aug. 17 Matt Catingub joins NMSO as Principal Pops Conductor NMSO ends Pops season with Viva Las Vegas May 2-3 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season comes to a fabulous end at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus on May 2 and 3 with a tribute to the Strip, the stars and everything else that makes Las Vegas with a program called “Viva Las Vegas!” New York Pops Music Director Steve Reineke will lead the NMSO and a cast of veterans from the Vegas stage for these two performances. Some of the highlights of the program include salutes to Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, and other giants from the history of Vegas entertainment. Songs on the program include “Big Spender,” “Luck Be a Lady,” “New York, New York” and more. The cast includes Broadway and stage veterans: Joe Cassidy (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Les Miserables), Martin Preston (authorized by the Liberace estate to re-create the legendary pianist’s performances), Mamma Mia! and Law and Order: SVU actress Allison Briner, Scott Beck (Saturday Night Fever, Grease!), choreographer Jennifer Ladner and Anne Beck (Tommy, Evita). Reineke will begin his tenure as music director of the New York Pops in October. He will conduct the orchestra’s annual concert series at Carnegie Hall as well as tours, recordings and nationwide telecasts, including the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC Television. Reineke is also principal pops conductor of the Long Beach (Calif.) Symphony Orchestra and the Modesto (Calif.) Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he holds the title of associate conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, where for thirteen years he has served as a composer, arranger and conducting protégé of the celebrated pops conductor Erich Kunzel. As the creator of more than one hundred orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Reineke’s arrangements have been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. The May 2 performance begins at 8 p.m., while the May 3 concert begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are priced from $10 to $60 and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO lays off administrative staff, cuts salaries to adjust to budget shortfalls Taking more steps to address difficulties brought on by the recession, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra has eliminated three employees from its administrative staff. The remaining staff has also been given a ten percent reduction in salary effective April 1 and pension contributions are suspended, also starting April 1. In further response, the NMSO Board of Trustees has approved a measure to borrow funds from a limited liability corporation created specifically to lend money to the NMSO. These latest moves have been made to save approximately $90,000 toward a deficit in the current fiscal year’s budget, as well as minimize the direct effect on day-to-day cash flow. The NMSO has also asked to open formal contract negotiations with the union representing members of the orchestra, the American Federation of Musicians Local 618, seeking a voluntary ten percent salary reduction for musicians. “Despite our best efforts to avoid this kind of situation, and despite generous support from the community, the numbers have simply not worked in our favor,” said NMSO Board of Trustees Chair Cheri Solomon. “But, we hope that these actions will help improve our position moving forward.” The limited liability corporation (LLC) from which the NMSO will borrow money was created specifically for that purpose. The unique, innovative effort involves a group of investors taking part in the LLC for a combined funded goal of up to $1,000,000. The LLC will then, in turn, loan money to the NMSO who will pay interest only for three years, at which time the note will come due. “We chose to take a more innovative approach to finding the cash needed,” NMSO President/CEO Eric Meyer said about the LLC, adding that the arrangement is a win-win proposition. “The investors in the LLC get a better return than they might get in the stock market right now, and the NMSO can use the cash to adjust to the economic realities of these times.” These are the latest in a series of steps the NMSO has taken to address budget shortfalls brought on by the recession. In November 2008, the NMSO announced a set of budget cuts and a concert program change intended to save $200,000 for the current fiscal year, precipitated mostly due to a sharp downturn in revenue from corporate sponsorships. In January, the NMSO announced a reduction in the number of Classics Series programs for the 2009-2010 season, from 11 programs to ten. Other steps have been taken in planning the next season to reduce expenses. The NMSO has 78 orchestra members currently under contract. After the three positions eliminated, the NMSO employs 19 staff members in both part- and full-time capacities. All scheduled performances will go on as planned, and concert tickets are still available. All education programs and activities planned for the current season are still scheduled, and no further changes have been made to the 2009-2010 season. Anyone wishing to give a gift to the NMSO or secure corporate sponsorship at this time is invited to visit the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (Menaul at Washington) in Albuquerque, call 505-881-9590 or give online at NMSO.org. Violinist Urioste, world premiere highlight NMSO concerts April 24-26 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 2009-2010 season continues April 24, 25 and 26 as Sphinx Award-winning violinist Elena Urioste takes the stage to perform Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. The NMSO will also perform Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances as well as the world premiere of Alexis Aranda’s Khronos. All three performances will be led by Carlos Miguel Preito, returning to conduct the NMSO for the first time since December 2006. A student at the Curtis Institute of Music, Urioste has already made quite an impression on the classical music world, working with such artists as pianist Christopher O’Riley, Boston Pops director Keith Lockhart, Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim and many others. Winner of the Sphinx Competition – which highlights young African-American and Latino musicians – in both 2003 and 2007, Urioste also took first prize winner of the Sion-Valais International Violin Competition in 2007. She has had multiple appearances on the popular radio programs From the Top and Performance Today, and was recently selected by Symphony magazine as an emerging artist to watch. Urioste has roots in New Mexico, with family in the Las Vegas area. Prieto is currently serving as music director of four symphonies: the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Huntsville (Ala.) Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and the Orquesta Mineria in Mexico. He has also served as director of the Mexico City Philharmonic. Prieto has made guest appearances with numerous North American orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, Calgary (Canada) Philharmonic, Dayton (Ohio) Philharmonic and every major orchestra in Mexico. He has also conducted orchestras throughout Europe, Russia, Israel and Latin America. As a violinist, he has participated in the festivals of Aspen, Tanglewood, Interlochen, San Miguel Allende, Cervantino, and has played as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. Mexican composer Alexis Aranda’s Khronos is based on Roman mythology, and was dedicated to Carlos Miguel Prieto. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for these performances are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. NMSO concertmaster Zimowski takes center stage The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 2009-2010 season continues April 3, 4 and 5 as NMSO concertmaster Krzysztof Zimowski performs as soloist for three concerts featuring Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The program will also present Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Gabrieli’s Canzon Duodecimi Toni for Ten-Part Brass Choir. All three performances will be led by NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa. Krzysztof Zimowski joined the NMSO in 1986, becoming its concertmaster in 1999. He has also served as concertmaster of the State Opera Orchestra in his native city of Wroclaw, Poland, the Mexico City Philharmonic and the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque. He helped form the Helios String Quartet, an ensemble-in-residence at the Placitas Artists Series. Zimowski has performed with the Phoenix Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Santa Fe Pro Musica. Each summer, Zimowski also performs with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in the renowned Music Festival in Millennium Park in Chicago. Polish composer Karol Szymanowski’s 1916 concerto was inspired by the lushly erotic description of a spring night in a poem by Tadeusz Micinski titled “May Night.” The piece was chosen for these performances by Zimowski, who also introduced Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 to NMSO audiences in 2004. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for these performances are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. Maestro Figueroa solos in concerto written both for and about him The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven Festival continues with a program featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, his Coriolan overture and the Adagio from the Hammerklavier Sonata in three performances, Feb. 27, 28 and March 1. Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leon Botstein will conduct these performances which also feature Harold Farberman’s Double Concerto for Violin and Percussion with percussionist Simon Boyar and the NMSO’s own music director, Guillermo Figueroa, on violin. The concerto – premiered by the American Symphony at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall in 2007 – was written by Farberman both for and about Guillermo Figueroa, music director of the NMSO since 2001. Both a renowned conductor and violinist, Figueroa is a founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. With this group he has been concertmaster and soloist in performances throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, and made over fifty recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. In 1995, he gave the world premiere of Concertino for Violin and Orchestra by Mario Davidovsky at Carnegie Hall, written for him and Orpheus. Figueroa is also music director for the Music in the Mountains festival in Durango, Colo., as well as the principal guest conductor for the Puerto Rico Symphony. For ten years, Figueroa was concertmaster of the New York City Ballet, appearing in over a hundred performances of violin concerti by Barber, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Berg and Adams. He has appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards in California, Music from Angel Fire (N.M.) and the El Paso (Texas) Pro Musica Chamber Festival. Figueroa has recorded the Three Violin Sonatas by Bartók for the Eroica Classical label with pianist Robert Koenig, and an album of virtuoso violin music by Wieniawski, Sarasate and Kreisler for the NMSO label with pianist Ivonne Figueroa. Simon Boyar is perhaps the most electrifying and innovative young percussionist on the music scene today. He has performed in dozens of countries around the world and has appeared with such artists as John Adams, Evelyn Glennie and Joshua Bell among many others. He was the first percussionist ever to play and record a double concerto with violin and guitar. Upon his graduation from the Juilliard School, Boyar joined the faculty of the school’s Pre-College Percussion Department, ultimately becoming the youngest person ever to be named department director there. He uses and teaches the Boyar Method, a radical new technique for the marimba developed by Boyar, designed to expand the creative and rhythmic potential of the instrument. In addition to performing his own compositions, Boyar writes, mixes and produces music for numerous artists. Leon Botstein is music director and principal conductor of both the American Symphony Orchestra in New York and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the radio orchestra of Israel. He also founded and is co-artisic director of the acclaimed Bard Music Festival. He is the editor of Musical Quarterly, and the author of numerous articles and books. He has addressed the United Nations on “Why Music Matters” as part of Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s lecture series. For his contributions to music he has received the award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Harvard University’s prestigious Centennial Award, as well as the Cross of Honor First Class from the government of Austria. Since 1975, he has been president of Bard College in New York, where he also holds the Leon Levy Chair in Arts and Humanities. The NMSO is devoting a major portion of its 2008-2009 season to honor the works of classical music’s giant: Ludwig van Beethoven. Fourteen performances between Jan. 17 and March 22 comprise the NMSO’s Beethoven Festival, treating audiences to three symphonies, four concerti, a choral mass and a variety of other Beethoven masterpieces. Other highlights of the festival include the Emperor Concerto, the Missa Solemnis with the NMSO Chorus, a special concert with pianists Awadagin Pratt and Orli Shaham, and much more. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for these performances are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. Trumpeter Byron Stripling brings the Sounds of New Orleans to Popejoy The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season continues as jazz trumpeter Byron Stripling joins conductor Stuart Chafetz for a spectacular one-night-only tribute to New Orleans, Feb. 21 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. This special program will include such “Big Easy” favorites as St. Louis Blues, Sweet Georgia Brown, a New Orleans medley, a tribute to Louis Armstrong and much more. As soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Byron Stripling has been the featured soloist on the PBS television series, Evening at Pops, with conductors John Williams and Keith Lockhart. Since his Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, Stripling has become a pops orchestra favorite throughout the country. Stripling earned his stripes as lead trumpeter and soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Thad Jones and Frank Foster. He has also played and recorded extensively with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Louis Bellson and Buck Clayton in addition to The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and the GRP All Star Big Band. An accomplished actor and singer, Stripling was chosen to star in the lead role of the Broadway musical, Satchmo. He also had a memorable cameo performance in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and a critically acclaimed virtuoso trumpet and riotous comedic performance in the 42nd Street production of From Second Avenue to Broadway. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Resident Conductor and Maui (Hawaii) Pops Orchestra Music Director Stuart Chafetz has worked with a variety of classical and pop artists such as George Benson, Regina Carter, Richard Chamberlain, Roy Clark, Jean Phillipe Collard, John Denver, Marvin Hamlisch, Thomas Hampson, Jason Scott Lee, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., Jim Nabors, Randy Newman, Jon Kimura Parker, Bernadette Peters, Awadagin Pratt, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Chee Yun. Chafetz is also a powerful advocate for the musical education of young people and their families, conducting hundreds of performances nationwide focusing on the importance of classical music and the fine arts in our everyday lives. The performance begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are priced from $10 to $60, with a discount of 20 percent for children grades 1 through 12, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO Pops performes Broadway favorites Feb. 7 and 8 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season continues with a salute to the masters of Broadway with a program called Andrew Lloyd Webber and Friends. Two performances take place, Feb. 7 and 8, at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Conductor Randall Craig Fleischer leads the NMSO and Broadway singers Doug LaBrecque, Anne Runolfsson and Rachel York. Highlights of these performances include songs from Lloyd Webber’s masterpieces Cats, Evita and Phantom of the Opera, as well as other legendary Broadway shows like Chicago, Cabaret, Rent, Wicked and Little Shop of Horrors, just to name a few. Doug LaBrecque has become familiar to NMSO Pops audiences from his previous appearances here. He thrilled theater audiences as The Phantom and Raoul in the Harold Prince production of Phantom of the Opera. In addition, LaBrecque has starred on Broadway as Ravenal in the revival of Showboat, a role he also performed in Canada and Chicago. He was featured in Oscar Hammerstein's 100th Birthday Celebration on Broadway at The Gershwin Theatre and toured nationally with Les Misérables. Anne Runolfsson recently completed a two-year run on Broadway as the tempestuous diva, Carlotta Giudacelli, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. Prior to that she made a splash in Victor/Victoria where she had the honor of standing by for Dame Julie Andrews and Liza Minelli. The New York Times proclaimed, “Runolfsson has a flexible virtuosity, between ethereal melodiousness and piercing big-moment resonance,” while the Los Angeles Times has called her, “a savvy and thoughtful performer.” Rachel York is a dynamic and versatile actress, singer, dancer and comedienne. She is best known for her critically acclaimed Broadway performances in City of Angels, Les Misérables, Victor/Victoria with Dame Julie Andrews, Sly Fox with Richard Dreyfuss and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels co-starring Jonathan Pryce. York’s film credits include One Fine Day, Billy Bathgate, Killer Instinct, Second Honeymoon, Au Pair II and her courageous portrayal of Lucille Ball in the CBS made for television movie, Lucy. York has also appeared on several popular television series including Hannah Montana, Frasier, Reba, Numb3rs, Justice League, Close to Home, Arli$$, Spin City, The Naked Truth and Diagnosis Murder. York’s debut solo album, Let’s Fall in Love, has been an enormous success since its release in 2005. Randall Craig Fleischer, one of the candidates for the post of the NMSO’s principal pops conductor, has appeared as a guest conductor with many major orchestras in the United States and internationally. He is music director and conductor of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Anchorage Symphony and Flagstaff Symphony. Fleischer first came to international attention when, while serving as associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra when he conducted Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich as soloist during the a 1990 tour of Japan and the Soviet Union. Fleischer studied with Leonard Bernstein and has worked with artists such as John Densmore of The Doors, Natalie Merchant, Blondie, Ani DiFranco, R. Carlos Nakai and others. The Feb. 7 performance begins at 8 p.m., while the Feb. 8 concert begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are priced from $10 to $60, with a discount of 20 percent for children grades 1 through 12, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO reducing number of Classics performances next season The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is reducing the number of Classics programs in the 2009-2010 season by one, from 11 to ten. The change was approved by the NMSO Board of Trustees at a meeting Dec. 18, and has the full endorsement of NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa. The change is precipitated by a need to reduce expenses in the upcoming season given an expected drop in corporate sponsorship among other factors. It will allow the NMSO to better allocate financial and artistic resources for ten Classics programs. “We are taking responsible and sensible action in response to the recession,” said NMSO President and CEO Eric Meyer. “Guillermo and I both believe that these changes will not negatively impact our artistic excellence.” As a result, most current subscribers will see the same per-concert cost for their 2009-2010 season ticket packages as they paid in 2008-2009, resulting in less expensive ticket packages overall. The 2009-2010 season will begin in September 2009. Each of the ten programs will be performed three times. Specific programming information for each of the ten programs will be announced around the beginning of February. The NMSO has had 11 programs on the Classics series since the 2003-2004 season. There will be no change with regard to the six-program Pops series in 2009-2010, four of which will be performed twice each in same-day matinee and evening shows. And though there were two chamber orchestra concerts in the 2008-2009 season, none are planned next season. Like everyone else, the NMSO monitors the economy’s progress and will make any other necessary changes as circumstances warrant. NMSO opens Beethoven Festival with chamber orchestra concert The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 14-concert Beethoven Festival begins with the master’s first symphony. The concert takes place at Albuquerque Academy’s Simms Center for the Performing Arts 8 p.m., Jan. 17. The program features Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, Mozart’s Divertimento No. 11 in D Major and Frank Proto’s A Carmen Fantasy for Double Bass and Orchestra, featuring NMSO Bassist Ryan Walter as soloist. Walter, a Los Alamos native, is in his fifth season with the NMSO. He earned a degree in double bass performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Tim Cobb, principal bassist for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He also attended the University of Southern California where he studied with Dennis Trembly and David Moore, both members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Walter has been the recipient of fellowships to perform in the National Repertory Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Festival Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland under music director James Levine. He has also worked as an active freelance musician in the Los Angeles area as a member of the Santa Barbara and New West Symphonies. The NMSO is devoting a major portion of its 2008-2009 season to honor the works of classical music’s giant: Ludwig van Beethoven. Fourteen performances between Jan. 17 and March 22 comprise the NMSO’s Beethoven Festival, treating audiences to three symphonies, four concerti, a choral mass and a variety of other Beethoven masterpieces. Other highlights of the festival include the Emperor Concerto with pianist Christopher O’Riley, the Fifth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis with the NMSO Chorus, a special concert with pianists Awadagin Pratt and Orli Shaham, and much more. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Albuquerque Academy’s Simms Center. Tickets for these performances are priced from $20 to $50, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. NMSO stages ambitious Beethoven Festival in 2009 In an unprecedented move, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is devoting a major portion of its 2008-2009 season to honor the works of classical music’s giant: Ludwig van Beethoven. Fourteen performances between Jan. 17 and March 22 will comprise the NMSO’s Beethoven Festival, treating audiences to three symphonies, four concerti, a choral mass and a variety of other Beethoven masterpieces. The reasons for devoting a wide swath of the NMSO’s season to honor one composer are obvious, says NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa. “Beethoven is the greatest composer that ever lived, in my opinion and that of many musicians, scholars and music-lovers. He appears unquestionably as the central figure in the history of music, a colossus that strides and bridges music’s past and future, who needs to be encountered and experienced repeatedly and often.” He adds, “Living as we are in turbulent times, the lessons of Beethoven are particularly timely. His lifelong struggles, both inward and outward are more relevant than ever.” The festival begins with a one-night-only performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 at the Albuquerque Academy’s Simms Center for the Performing Arts, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. The concert also features Mozart’s Divertimeno in D Major, as well as the NMSO’s own Ryan Walter as soloist for Frank Proto’s A Carmen Fantasy for Double Bass and Orchestra. The festival moves to a larger venue as renowned pianist and From The Top host Christopher O’Riley performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 – better known as the Emperor Concerto – in three performances Jan. 23 and 24 at the University of New Mexico’s Popejoy Hall, and Jan. 25 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. This program also features Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Roberto Sierra’s Sinfonia No. 3, La Salsa. Then, the NMSO performs what is arguably Beethoven’s best-known work: the Fifth Symphony. That all-time great symphony is featured with Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano (known as the “Triple Concerto”). Guillermo Figueroa conducts three members of his family: his sister Ivonne Figueroa on piano, brother Narciso Figueroa on violin and cousin Rafael Figueroa on cello. Performances of this program are Jan. 30 and 31 at Popejoy Hall, and Feb. 1 at NHCC. Another Beethoven symphony – his Symphony No. 8 – takes center stage at the next Classics Series performances. Also, Maestro Figueroa trades the conductor’s baton for the violin, joining percussionist Simon Boyar as soloists on Harold Farberman’s Double Concerto for Violin and Percussion, written for and about Figueroa. The Adagio from Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata is also featured in these concerts, Feb. 27 and 28 at Popejoy, and March 1 at NHCC. Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and American Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leon Botstein conducts. The centerpiece concert for the Beethoven Festival takes place at Popejoy Hall on March 7 as the NMSO presents a special one-night-only concert devoted to Beethoven’s piano works. Called Beethoven & Friends, pianists Awadagin Pratt and Orli Shaham each take the stage to perform a Beethoven piano concerto with Pratt taking on Piano Concerto No. 3 and Shaham soloing on Piano Concerto No. 4. The nationally acclaimed NMSO Chorus also takes the stage with Pratt to perform the finale from Beethoven’s Fantasy in C Minor for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra. The festival concludes with the work Beethoven considered his greatest achievement: Missa Solemnis. This best-kept secret of classical music will be the sole work on the program at three performances featuring the NMSO Chorus, March 20 and 21 at Popejoy Hall, and March 22 at NHCC. “There are so many sides to the truly spiritual Beethoven,” says NMSO Chorus Director Roger Melone. “It has been said that in the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven makes a religion of humanity. But I feel that in the Missa Solemnis, Beethoven makes humanity of religion.” Tickets for Beethoven Festival events are on sale now with the exception of the Beethoven & Friends concert, which goes on sale to the general public on Dec. 15. They are priced from $10 to $250, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. For all events, with the exception of the Beethoven & Friends special concert, a limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each (limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the venue box office), and group discounts of 20 percent are available for groups of 20 or more. NMSO making budget cuts, program change The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is announcing budget cuts for the current season based on a plan announced to the NMSO Board of Trustees last night. The plan involves one major programming change and several targeted budget cuts. In total, the NMSO is reducing its expenses $200,000 for the current season. The most notable change will be the program for the final Classics Series performances, May 15-17, 2009, in which the announced program featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 will be changed to Orff’s Carmina Burana. The repertoire change will represent a substantial savings to the NMSO. Including the concert program change discussed above, the NMSO will save a total of $85,000 in artistic costs. An additional $77,000 in savings has been identified from concert production costs, with revised use of rehearsal spaces and reduced facility fees at Popejoy Hall due to less-than-budgeted attendance (a $2.50 per ticket fee is one of several fees charged by the University of New Mexico for renters of the hall). Finally, $61,000 in further savings has been identified from the marketing, development and administrative categories of the budget. These cost-saving moves are precipitated by shortfalls in two critical areas: corporate giving and single concert ticket sales. Corporate giving has been significantly impacted by the economy, down $100,000, while single concert ticket sales are down by $49,500. Individual giving is holding steady so far this season, while season ticket sales are up seven percent. “We must continue to appropriately manage the gifts we receive from our donors, subscribers and the community, and demonstrate to them that we’re doing that,” NMSO President and CEO Eric Meyer said of the decision. “In light of the current economic situation, we will continue to reward their trust as we rely on this essential support we hope to receive.” The NMSO is confident these steps will accomplish the goals of maintaining artistic quality, minimizing any impact on patrons and donors, as well as safeguarding the livelihoods of the musicians and staff who depend upon the NMSO for their own economic well-being. The NMSO is also confident that the aforementioned steps will afford the NMSO every opportunity to not only ride out the current economic storm, but to come out stronger than ever over the long term. Like everyone else, the NMSO monitors the economy’s progress. The NMSO closely watches its contributed and ticket income and will make any necessary changes as circumstances warrant. The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is the official orchestra of the State of New Mexico, serving over 130,000 people each year through its Classics, Pops and Symphony Under the Stars series, as well as many NMSO Family Concerts with no admission charge. The NMSO is the largest non-governmental provider of music education in New Mexico and has also been recognized by the Mellon Foundation for its innovative community engagement efforts. In its 76th season, the NMSO is under the baton of Guillermo Figueroa, the symphony’s tenth music director, and Resident Conductor and Chorus Director Roger Melone. For more information about the NMSO, visit nmso.org. Very Merry Pops returns for two performances The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season continues with what has become an all-time great Albuquerque holiday tradition: the Very Merry Pops. Two performances conducted by Matt Catingub take place at UNM’s Popejoy Hall, Dec. 19 and 20. This year’s program, which also features the Manzano Day School Chorus performing alongside the NMSO, includes classics like “Joy to the World,” “Sleigh Ride,” “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and medleys of well-known Christmas carols. Catingub has been the conductor for the Honolulu Symphony Pops since 1998, conducting, performing and producing 90 percent of the arrangements and orchestrations played by the orchestra. He is a musician of many talents: saxophonist, woodwind artist, conductor, pianist, vocalist, performer, director, composer and arranger. His music was heard in the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, and more recently, he wrote the music for George Clooney’s Goodnight, and Good Luck. That soundtrack went on to win a Grammy in 2005. The Dec. 19 performance begins at 8 p.m., while the Dec. 20 concert begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are priced from $10 to $60, with a discount of 20 percent for children grades 1 through 12, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO holds Family Concert in Rio Rancho The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce a free NMSO Family Concert in Rio Rancho, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at the Rio Rancho High School Performing Arts Center located at 301 Loma Colorado NE. The concert is free and tickets are not required for admission. Roger Melone will conduct a program of holiday favorites including Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and much more. The NMSO will share the stage with the Rio Rancho High School Orchestra and the Rio Rancho Mid-High Symphonic Band. Over the course of its season, the NMSO presents a series of free concerts at a variety of schools and community centers throughout New Mexico. In keeping with the NMSO’s music education mission, local middle and high school music ensembles such as the Rio Rancho High School Orchestra and the Rio Rancho Mid-High Symphonic Band serve as “opening acts” at these concerts. This provides another opportunity for area students and educators to partner with the NMSO. These concerts provide quality live performances of great musical literature to those who might not ordinarily have the opportunity to hear it, and are designed to appeal to the entire family. The free concert is sponsored by Sandoval County Commissioners Don Leonard and Jack E. Thomas, and Lovelace Health Plan. Community members needing more information about the concert should call 505-338-0078, ext. 221. The Rio Rancho High School Orchestra is led by Eric Walters, while Rio Rancho Mid-High Symphonic Band is led by Rene Pena. NMSO stages free holiday concert in North Valley The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce a free NMSO Family Concert in Albuquerque’s North Valley, Dec. 4, 7 p.m., at the Raymond Sanchez Community Center, located at 9800 4th Street NW. The concert is free and tickets are not required for admission. Roger Melone will conduct a program of holiday favorites including Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and much more. The NMSO will share the stage with the Garfield Middle School Orchestra. Over the course of its season, the NMSO presents a series of free concerts at a variety of schools and community centers throughout New Mexico. In keeping with the NMSO’s music education mission, local middle and high school music ensembles such as the Garfield Middle School Orchestra serve as “opening acts” at these concerts. This provides another opportunity for area students and educators to partner with the NMSO. These concerts provide quality live performances of great musical literature to those who might not ordinarily have the opportunity to hear it, and are designed to appeal to the entire family. The free concert is sponsored by Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners. Community members needing more information about the concert should call 944-2557. The Garfield Middle School Orchestra is led by Gloria Velasco. Nutcracker returns to Popejoy for five performances The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico Ballet Company are joining forces again this holiday season to present Tchaikovsky’s holiday favorite, The Nutcracker Ballet, in five performances Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 6-7 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Aside from being one of Albuquerque’s great holiday family traditions over the years, these Nutcracker performances are of unique and impeccable quality: They are the only traditional Nutcracker presentations in New Mexico with both live professional dancers and a live professional orchestra. Nutcracker is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann with music by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The story follows young Clara Stahlbaum as she dreams of toys coming to life on Christmas Eve, and is taken on an enchanted journey by a Nutcracker come to life. The orchestra will be conducted by NMSO associate concertmaster David Felberg. Showtimes are at 2 p.m. on Nov. 29, Nov. 30, Dec. 6 and Dec. 7, with a special 7 p.m. performance on Dec. 6. Tickets for these performances are priced from $11 to $40, with a 20 percent discount for children 12 and under. Tickets may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. Cellist Schepps takes on Bloch in three performances The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 2008-2009 season continues as another member of the orchestra takes center stage. Cellist David Schepps will perform as soloist for Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo (Hebraic Rhapsody for Violoncello and Orchestra) in three performances, Nov. 21-23. NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa will conduct this program, also featuring Richard Wagner’s overture to Rienzi and Pytor Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini. Schepps has been a member of the NMSO since 1999, and is also associate professor of cello and chamber music at University of New Mexico. He has been heard on NPR’s Performance Today as a soloist and chamber musician, and has soloed with the Calgary Philharmonic and several regional and university orchestras. He was principal of the Wichita (Kan.) and Baton Rouge (La.) Symphonies, and played with the Kansas City and Phoenix Symphonies, as well as L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva. Schepps has played in the Grand Teton (Wyo.) Festival for 15 summers, as well as several other festivals, including American Sinfonietta (Bellingham, Wash., and Germany), University of Texas Pan American, University of Veracruz in Xalapa, Mexico, Flagstaff (Ariz.) Festival, as a principal in the Arizona Opera Wagner Ring, Santa Fe Opera and Santa Fe Chamber Music. He is also a frequent soloist, chamber musician and teacher/coach. Premiered in 1916 and based on the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, Schelomo was Bloch’s effort to create an emotional expression of his Jewish heritage. Bloch wrote, “It is rather the Hebrew spirit that interests me, the complex, ardent, agitated soul that vibrates for me in the Bible. The vigor…of the Patriarchs, the violence…in the books of the Prophets, the burning love of justice…the sorrow and the grandeur of the Book of Job, the sensuality of the Song of Songs. All this is in us, all this is in me, and it is the better part of me.” The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for these performances are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. Arnaldo Cohen returns to perform Brahms with NMSO The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 2008-2009 season continues with pianist Arnaldo Cohen performing Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, and the NMSO taking on Aaron Copland’s classic Symphony No. 3 in three performances, Oct. 31 – Nov. 1. NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa will conduct this program. Cohen performed with the NMSO last season in what the Albuquerque Journal’s D.S. Crafts called, “an exquisitely lyrical rendition of the Liszt First Concerto, turning the solo part into Chopinesque piano poetry. With technique to spare, Cohen almost makes this formidably difficult work look easy.” An artist of diverse interests and talents, Cohen began his musical studies at the age of five, later graduating from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with an honors degree in both piano and violin while also studying for an engineering degree. He went on to become a professional violinist in the Rio de Janeiro Opera House Orchestra while continuing piano studies with Jacques Klein, a disciple of the legendary American pianist William Kapell. Cohen pursued further training in Vienna with Bruno Seidlhofer and Dieter Weber. Cohen came to prominence after winning First Prize at the 1972 Busoni International Piano Competition and making his debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. For five years he was a member of the acclaimed Amadeus Trio and has performed with many string quartets, including the Lindsay and Chillingirian Quartets. He is a frequent recording artist, with recent discs including a 2007 rendering of the two Liszt piano concerti and the “Totentanz” with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra for BIS Records. Cohen is the recipient of an honorary fellowship awarded by the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and until recently held a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After living in London for 23 years, he recently relocated to the United States with his wife Ann. He is a professor of music at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Ind. Brahms composed the First Piano Concerto between 1854 and 1858. Joseph Joachim conducted the first performance in Hanover, Germany, on Jan. 22, 1859 with the composer as soloist. The concerto was derived from an unfinished symphony and piano sonata, all written as a musical portrait of Clara Schumann, wife of composer Robert Schumann (who had declared Brahms as Beethoven’s successor), following her husband’s mental breakdown. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for this performance are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. Mariachi Cobre with the NMSO Pops Oct. 25 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season continues with one of the world’s premier mariachi ensembles, Mariachi Cobre, in a one-night-only performance at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, Oct. 25, 8 p.m. Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra Music Director Lonnie Klein will conduct. Founded in 1971 in Tucson, Ariz., by Randy Carrillo, Mariachi Cobre has played a key role in the preservation and dissemination of Mexico’s most representative musical folk form. Mariachi Cobre has long been a mariachi ambassador to the world through its work as the house band at the Mexican Pavilion of Walt Disney World’s Epcot in Orlando, Fla., where for 25 years they have given people from around the globe their first taste of the mariachi genre. Over the past decade, Mariachi Cobre has entered the symphonic pops arena, performing with 37 orchestras in the United States and Mexico including Boston, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Utah, Louisville, and Guadalajara to name a few. Mariachi Cobre is responsible for popularizing an educational/festival format which has come to be known as a Mariachi Conference. This concept has spread throughout the United States and as a result the importance and popularity of these events has caused an upsurge of dozens of youth mariachis and heightened the level of study and appreciation of this musical form. This contribution to mariachi music education is unprecedented. In addition to an extensive regular concert season with the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Lonnie Klein has guest conducted regularly with orchestras in Mexico, Canada, Italy, Germany, South America and Turkey, as well as orchestras in the United States. This season, Klein made his South American debut conducting the Orquesta Filarmonica del Valle del Cali in Colombia. In 2006, Klein guest conducted on two occasions the Orquesta Filarmonica del Estado de Chihuahua in Mexico, the Europa Philharmonie in Germany and the Orchestra Sinfonica Della Provincia in Italy. Other European concerts include conducting the Milano Classico Orchestra on two separate occasions in Milan and La Spezia and the Solisti di Perugia Orchestra in the Piazza Novembre for a concert attended by over 12,000 people. As a pops conductor, Klein has produced and conducted concerts with such celebrated artists as Doc Severinsen, The Temptations, The Contours, The Dukes of Dixieland, 5 By Design, Sandi Patti, Lee Greenwood and Daniel Rodriquez, among many others. From his inaugural concert with the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra at New Mexico State University in October 1999, Klein has led the orchestra to new levels of artistic excellence with high audience acclaim, rave reviews and ten consecutive seasons of sold out concerts. Renowned saxophonist James Houlik described Klein’s energy and vision “as a one man ant hill!” The program will feature works by Jose Pablo Moncayo, Ruben Fuentes and Alberto Ginastera among many others. Tickets are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO Chorus to perform Mendelssohn masterpiece The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 2008-2009 season continues with Felix Mendelssohn’s choral masterpiece, Elijah. Three performances conducted by Roger Melone, the NMSO’s resident conductor and chorus director, and featuring the NMSO Chorus take place Oct. 10, 11 and 12. Soloists Kathleen Clawson, Karl Dent, Jered Dominguez-Trujillo, David Grogan and Kelly Nassief also take the stage. This is the first of three programs in the 2008-2009 season featuring the all-volunteer NMSO Chorus. The current season marks the 36th anniversary of the chorus. Under Roger Melone’s direction since 1983, the chorus has gained a national reputation. In 1999 the chorus received the Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award for Excellence in Musical Performance for its 1998 performances of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. And in 2006, Christopher Seaman, music director of the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra, invited the NMSO Chorus to perform Mozart’s Requiem with his orchestra at the 2006 Bravo! Vail Valley (Colo.) Music Festival. Accolades from the audience, conductor and orchestra were overwhelming, leading to return engagements in 2007 and 2008 to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Additionally, the Vail festival has requested annual return engagements of the NMSO Chorus through 2010. Mezzo Soprano Kathleen Clawson has become familiar to the NMSO audience with her many appearances over the years, and has also been a guest soloist with the symphony orchestras of Annapolis (Md.), Dayton (Ohio), Evansville (Ill.), Fargo-Moorhead (N.D.), Grand Rapids (Mich.), Midland (Texas), North Arkansas, Sacramento (Calif.), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Santa Fe and Syracuse (N.Y.), among others. Her opera credits include the Banff (Canada) Festival of the Arts, the Dallas Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, New England Lyric Operetta Inc., Four Corners Opera, Dallas Lyric Opera, Southwest Opera and Theater Basel. She is consistently praised for the burnished, bronze beauty of her voice enhanced by an innate musicality and a persuasive, sensuous manner of communication. Clawson is a professor at the University of New Mexico. Tenor Karl Dent has sustained a successful career of singing engagements, singing a broad span of vocal repertoire. He has often received generous acclaim for his interpretations of the Evangelist role in J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion. For a ten-year period, Dent performed with famed choral conductor Robert Shaw. Under Shaw’s direction, he made his 1991 New York Philharmonic debut in Mozart’s Grand Mass in C Minor, and his Carnegie Hall debut in 1993 as soloist in the Berlioz Requiem. In addition, his collaboration with Shaw enabled appearances with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, St. Louis, San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Baltimore, Houston, Cleveland, Honolulu, and the National Symphony of Washington, D.C. Dent has numerous recording credits on the Telarc label. He received the Grammy award as principal soloist for best choral recording in a 1997 release of Rachmaninoff’s The Bells, and is also tenor soloist on the Rachmaninoff Vespers with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, awarded the best technical recording Grammy for 1990. In addition, Dent can be heard on the Naxos and Clarion recording labels. Boy Soprano Jered Dominguez-Trujillo has previously appeared with the NMSO in the title role of Stravinsky’s Petrouchka in 2007, Miguel del Aguila’s Time and Again Barelas in 2006, as well as NMSO Pops concerts. Dominguez-Trujillo has also performed in Chiristmas of Wales, TeDeum, Honk Jr. and Once Upon a Mattress. He has played with the Albuquerque Junior Strings Orchestra, has been selected for All State Chorus for three years, enjoys playing the violin, guitar, piano, and performing in choral events. He is currently in seventh grade at Albuquerque Academy. Baritone David Grogan has performed extensively throughout Texas and New Mexico to rave reviews. The Dallas Morning News hailed Grogan as the “perfect Christus” after a performance of the St. Matthew Passion with the Dallas Bach Society, and the Albuquerque Tribune, in reference to a performance of Messiah with the NMSO said, “Grogan had all the range and power required of the part, sounding like the voice of doom in ‘The people that walked in darkness’ and the light of revelation in ‘The trumpet shall sound’.” Recent performances include Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (in its Texas premiere) with the Round Top International Music Festival, Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Houston Chamber Chorus, Haydn’s Creation with the Austin (Texas) Choral Symposium, Ned Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen at Spivey Hall, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Angelo (Texas) Symphony, and Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor with the Orpheus Chamber Singers. Soprano Kelly Nasseif is a 2001 winner of the Sullivan Foundation Grant, a 1996 laureate of the Leonard Bernstein Jerusalem International Oratorio and Song Competition, a 1997 winner of a Richard Tucker Career Grant and a winner of the 1995 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Her opera highlights include performances as the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Opera Company of Philadelphia; Liù in Turandot with Atlanta Opera; Mimi in La bohème with Glimmerglass Opera, Arizona Opera and Atlanta Opera; and the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Arizona Opera, Portland (Ore.) Opera and Chautauqua Opera. Nassief’s orchestral highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Ah, perfido! with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, and Peer Gynt with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. She has appeared several times with the New York Philharmonic and Kurt Masur, most recently in Peer Gynt in a performance that was televised nationally on PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center, and also in Elijah and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In 1837, encouraged by the success of his first biblically themed oratorio, St. Paul, Mendelssohn sketched out some ideas for another oratorio about a subject that fascinated him: the prophet Elijah. “I see in my mind Elijah as a grand, mighty prophet,” Mendelssohn wrote, “energetic and zealous, but also stern, wrathful and gloomy; a striking contrast to the court henchmen and popular rabble—in fact, in opposition to the whole world, and yet borne on angels’ wings.” After setting the idea aside until 1845, Mendelssohn selected episodes from the biblical account that would provide vividly dramatic set-pieces: the resurrection of a dead child, the bringing of rain to drought-stricken Israel through Elijah’s prayers, a “battle of the gods” in which Jehovah consumes a sacrifice in a column of fire after prayers to the false god Baal prove fruitless and the assumption of Elijah into heaven on a fiery chariot and whirlwind. Elijah is the sole work on the program for these performances. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for this performance are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. NMSO to perform first Family Concert of season in Rio Rancho The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce a free NMSO Family Concert in Rio Rancho, Oct. 15, 7 p.m., at the Rio Rancho High School Performing Arts Center located at 301 Loma Colorado NE. The concert is free and tickets are not required for admission. Roger Melone will conduct a program which includes Glinka’s overture to Russlan & Ludmilla, Sibelius’ Finlandia, Goldman’s On the Mall, Suite No.1 from Bizet’s Carmen and selections from the musical My Fair Lady. The NMSO will share the stage with the Rio Rancho High School Choral Ensembles under the direction of Lee Ann Gibson. Over the course of its season, the NMSO presents a series of free concerts at a variety of schools and community centers throughout New Mexico. In keeping with the NMSO’s music education mission, local middle and high school music ensembles such as the Rio Rancho High School Choral Ensembles serve as “opening acts” at these concerts. This provides another opportunity for area students and educators to partner with the NMSO. These concerts provide quality live performances of great musical literature to those who might not ordinarily have the opportunity to hear it, and are designed to appeal to the entire family. The free concert is sponsored by Sandoval County Commissioners Don Leonard and Jack E. Thomas. Community members needing more information about the concert should call 505-338-0078, ext. 221. NMSO Pops opens season with Music of the Baby Boomers Sept. 27 and 28 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season opens with music that was a soundtrack for a generation: hits by the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, and many more, performed by the vocal group New York Voices and the NMSO in a program called “Music of the Baby Boomers.” Two performances will take place at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, Sept. 27 and 28. Chris Walden will conduct both performances. The program begins a Pops season with a significant new addition: a four-concert Pops matinee series, of which the Sunday performance of this program is the first. Each performance includes such classics as “California Dreamin’,” “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” “Mother and Child Reunion,” “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” and more. New York Voices is the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble renowned for its excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. The group was formed in 1987 and currently includes singers Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian and Lauren Kinhan. In recent years, they have worked with the Boston Pops to bring a new edge to the Pops orchestra circuit. In addition to the Baby Boomers program, they have a full program of Big Band arrangements which they have toured with the Boston Pops and many other prominent orchestras all over the United States, as well as a Christmas program. Jannelle Gelfand of the Cincinnati Enquirer says of New York Voices, “the group’s incomparable blend, hip delivery and great arrangements resulted in one swinging party. Their four-part harmonizing was so close, it was hard to tell where one voice ended and another began.” Conductor Chris Walden made a name for himself on two continents before the age of 30, from a teenage trumpeter writing big band arrangements for his high school band in Germany to composing for film and television in Hollywood and arranging for some of the biggest names in music. He has become known for creating big and passionate music, with a lush and emotional style uniquely suited to compliment Hollywood productions. Walden won the Ernst Fischer Prize twice for orchestral composition, has recorded 60 CDs and scored many films, including The Last Cowboy for Hallmark, The Lady In Question for A&E, Alien Siege and Crimson Force for Sci Fi Channel, and several TV movies for CBS and ABC. Walden has written arrangements for well-known stars of the music world including Sheryl Crow, Christopher Cross, Nancy Wilson, Michael Bolton and Bill Conti. His own big band in Los Angeles has been nominated for two Grammys and received critical acclaim. The Saturday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Sunday matinee performance starting at 2 p.m. Tickets are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO opens 76th season with Mozart concerto and Berlioz classic The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 76th season opens in grand fashion as Music Director Guillermo Figueroa conducts three performances featuring Berlioz’ haunting-yet-brilliant classic, Symphonie Fantastique, and NMSO Principal Clarinet James Shields performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. The three performances take place at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, Sept. 19, 20 and 21. Shields is currently the principal clarinet of the NMSO, a position he assumed in August 2006. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales, and is currently working toward a graduate degree in music composition at the University of New Mexico. Shields is a native of Austin, Texas, where he performed with the Austin Chamber Music Center. In 2001 he was an Emerson Scholar at the Interlochen Arts Camp where he performed with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra as both the principal clarinet and as a soloist, joining the orchestra in a performance of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. During the following year, he was the 2002 young artist winner of the statewide Texas Wind Symphony Concerto Competition. Along with his activities as a performer, Shields has made appearances as a conductor, organizing and leading several chamber orchestra concerts in New York. For these performances, Shields will be performing on a basset clarinet, a clarinet with extended lower range and closer to the type of early clarinet for which Mozart wrote the solo parts. Symphonie Fantastique tells the tale of a young artist, tortured by unrequited love, who ingests poison, launching him on a journey through his own nightmares inhabited by the object of his affection. He dreams of seeing her in a variety of settings – ranging from a grand ball to a gathering of witches and monsters – his love represented by a recurring melody. Berlioz wrote and premiered the work in 1830. Opening the NMSO’s season with Berlioz’ most beloved work is a special thrill for Figueroa, a Berlioz scholar who spearheaded the NMSO’s Berlioz Festival in 2003 to commemorate the composer’s 200th birthday. All three performances also feature Verdi’s overture for La Forza del Destino. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. and the Sunday performance at 2 p.m. Tickets for this performance are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org, or in-person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO Chorus invited to Vail festival in both 2009 and 2010 In what has become a regular yet truly significant honor, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, directed by Roger Melone, has been invited to return to the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Vail, Colo. to perform in both 2009 and 2010. The programs of the future performances, as well as which of the festival’s three resident orchestras the Chorus will perform with, will be announced as details are finalized. In its third summer performance there, the Chorus took the stage July 14 with the world-famous Philadelphia Orchestra to perform Orff’s Carmina Burana, receiving an eight-minute standing ovation complete with curtain calls. Previously, they joined Rossen Milanov and the Philadelphia Orchestra in July 2007 for a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The Chorus performed works by Mozart at the 2006 Vail festival with the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic and its music director, Christopher Seaman. Along with the orchestras from Philadelphia and Rochester, the New York Philharmonic is the third resident orchestra at the Vail festival. Each time the NMSO performs a choral work, it joins forces with the nationally acclaimed NMSO Chorus. Though a volunteer organization, all members of the Chorus are accomplished musicians. Among its ninety volunteer singers, many are professional musicians working in music-related fields, hold degrees in music or teach music privately. A majority have studied voice, and many also have had instrumental training. They are also bound by a common passion for music, and some travel weekly from Edgewood, Santa Fe and Socorro and other New Mexico communities to sing in the Chorus. The Chorus was founded in 1972, and for the past 26 years, Melone has been its director, developing the chorus and building its outstanding national reputation. For more about the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, visit their website at vailmusicfestival.org. Symphony Under the Stars at the Rio Grande Zoo May 24 and 30 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary season comes to a close with our annual Symphony Under the Stars outdoor concerts at the Rio Grande Zoo. The two programs conducted by NMSO Resident Conductor and Roger Melone will take place May 24 and 30, both at 8 p.m. A two-year winner of the “Best Place to hear Classical Music” award from Albuquerque: The Magazine’s “Best of the City” issue, Symphony Under the Stars is Albuquerque’s premier outdoor music event for music lovers of all ages. The Rio Grande Zoo serves as a unique setting, combining the sounds of family-friendly entertainment and superb musical artistry with the calls of the animal kingdom. The May 24 performance, entitled Stars, Stripes and the 1812 Overture, will include a plethora of patriotic favorites such as John Williams’ Liberty Fanfare, Sousa’s Liberty Bell March, a salute to the armed forces and much more. The evening will culminate in a rousing performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, as well as the first movement of his Concerto for Violin featuring NMSO Associate Concertmaster David Felberg as soloist. The May 30 performance, called Lion King and Friends, will feature animal-themed selections such as Elton John and Hans Zimmer’s music from the film The Lion King, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, performed in its entirety with narration, a suite from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Elgar’s The Wild Bears, among other favorites. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Picnic-style lawn seating is $14 for ages 5 and up, and free children under 5. Theater-style seating on the lawn for all ages is $28. And reserved chair seating at a four-seat table is $60. The NMSO also offers gourmet food baskets – with food for two, a tablecloth, napkins, cutlery, wine cups and a free gift, all of which can be taken home – for $36 with sparkling cider or $48 with choice of red or white wine. PNM customers are eligible for a discount on tickets to the Symphony Under the Stars performances. Check your PNM April bill or visit NMSO.org for more details. Pianist Wilson and Santa Fe Mastro Smith close out NMSO Classics season May 16-18 PIANIST WILSON, SANTA FE MAESTRO SMITH TO CLOSE OUT NMSO’S 75TH CLASSICS SEASON MAY 16-18 (ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 2, 2008) – The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary Classics Series season comes to an end May 16, 17 and 18 with three performances featuring virtuoso pianist Terrence Wilson playing Mozart’s legendary Piano Concerto No. 21, followed by Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. All three performances will be conducted by Santa Fe Symphony Music Director Steven Smith, May 16 and 17 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico’s main campus, and May 18 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Pianist Terrence Wilson is one of today’s most gifted instrumentalists. He has received numerous awards and prizes, including the Sony ES Award for Musical Excellence, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Juilliard Petschek Award. Wilson is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky. He is active as a recitalist and made his New York City recital debut at the 92nd Street Y and his Washington D.C. recital debut at the Kennedy Center. Wilson has appeared with many prestigious ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Washington D.C., San Francisco and St. Louis, as well as with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland and the Malaysian Philharmonic at the Dewan Philharmonik Petronas. Among the conductors with whom he has worked are Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Neeme Jarvi, Yoel Levi, Andrew Litton, Jesus Lopez-Cobos and Robert Spano. Steven Smith is now in his eighth season as music director of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He also serves as music director of the award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, an ensemble devoted to the performance of contemporary music. From 1997 to 2003, Smith served as the assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, leading subscription concerts, summer concerts at the Blossom Music Festival and various holiday programs. Smith is also an active ASCAP award-winning composer. Numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National, Indianapolis, Colorado Springs, Columbus and Grand Rapids symphony orchestras have performed his works. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance will take place at the Albuquerque Journal Theater at the National Hispanic Cultural Center beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. Beginning as the Albuquerque Civic Symphony in November 1932, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is now the official orchestra of the State of New Mexico and has taken its place among the great cultural institutions of our state. In addition to our Classics, Pops and Symphony Under the Stars series—which enrich the lives of over 130,000 people each year—the NMSO is the largest non-governmental provider of music education in New Mexico and performs many NMSO Family Concerts with no admission charge. The NMSO has also been recognized by the Mellon Foundation for its innovative community engagement efforts. The NMSO is currently under the baton of Guillermo Figueroa, the symphony’s tenth music director, Resident Conductor and Choral Director Roger Melone, and Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski. For more information on the NMSO, visit our web site at www.nmso.org. VIOLINIST KEEFE, YOUTH SYMPHONY PERFORM IN NMSO’S NEXT CLASSICS PERFORMANCES The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s season gives us a glimpse into the future with a program featuring up-and-coming violin virtuoso Erin Keefe, as well as the Albuquerque Youth Symphony. All three performances of this program will be conducted by NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa, April 25 and 26 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico’s main campus, and April 27 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. The program for these concerts will open with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony performing Joan Tower’s Grammy Award-winning Made in America. Then, the NMSO and Keefe will take the stage to perform Dvorák’s Violin Concerto. And the NMSO will conclude the program with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. Winner of the 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant, American violinist Erin Keefe is quickly establishing a reputation and earning praise as a compelling artist who combines exhilarating temperament and fierce integrity. A top prize winner of several international competitions, she recently took the grand prizes in the 2006 Schadt Competition, the 2004 Corpus Christi International String Competition, and was the silver medalist in the Carl Nielsen and Gyeongnam (Korea) International Violin competitions. Keefe has appeared in recent seasons with many leading artists including the Emerson String Quartet, Roberto and Andres Diaz, Edgar Meyer, Wu Han, Richard Goode, David Soyer, Peter Wiley, Gilbert Kalish and William Preucil. She also performed on a program with Michael Tilson Thomas premiering his own chamber music at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. Her recording credits include Schoenberg’s Second String Quartet with Ida Kavafian, Paul Neubauer, Fred Sherry, and Jennifer Welch-Babidge for Robert Craft and the Naxos Label, as well as live performances of the Bartok Contrasts and Dvorak Piano Quintet recorded for Deutsche Gramophone and iTunes. The NMSO and the Albuquerque Youth Symphony program have long enjoyed a partnership in the community. The AYS seeks to instill a lifelong passion for music in motivated young people in the greater Albuquerque area through the pursuit of excellence in orchestral musical performance. The AYS’ Albuquerque Youth Symphony – taking the stage for part of these three NMSO performances – is the premier orchestra of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony program. The AYS was formed in 1955 as a collaborative project between the Albuquerque Public Schools and the University of New Mexico. Kurt Frederick – the NMSO’s second music director – was the AYS’ first conductor. For more on the Albuquerque Youth Symphony, visit its web site at aysmusic.org. The Naxos recording of Tower’s Made in America by Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony recently won three Grammy Awards for the categories of best classical album, best orchestral performance and best classical contemporary composition. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance will take place at the Albuquerque Journal Theater at the National Hispanic Cultural Center beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. NMSO POPS CONCLUDES 2007-08 SEASON WITH A CELEBRATION OF HENRY MANCINI The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Pops season concludes with a salute to one of the most prolific and beloved film composers of all time, Henry Mancini. Conducted by Michael Berkowitz, the concert will take place at 8 p.m., April 19, at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. The program for this concert will feature the NMSO Pops performing “The Pink Panther,” “Moon River,” “Baby Elephant Walk,” “Peter Gunn,” “Days of Wine and Roses” and much more. Johnny Green, the great composer-conductor, called Berkowitz a “Drummer Conductor Extraordinaire.” He has performed as a drummer for Mancini himself, as well as Liza Minnelli, Michael Crawford, Billy Joel, Sting, Elton John, and Bette Midler. He has conducted orchestras for Marvin Hamlisch, Roberta Flack, Maureen McGovern, Michael Feinstein and Sarah Brightman. Berkowitz has led many orchestras in concert, including the Boston Pops, London Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, National Symphony. He is also featured on recordings with Steve Lawrence, Placido Domingo, Linda Eder, as well as on countless original cast albums, movies, jingles and television performances. For more on Berkowitz, visit his website at berkmusic.com. Mancini was best known for his work in film music, especially scores for the films of Blake Edwards – including The Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Victor/Victoria and Days of Wine and Roses among others – but is also remembered for scoring Hatari!, The Molly Maguires, Peter Gunn, Silver Streak and many others. He also composed the themes to television programs The Thorn Birds, Remington Steele, What’s Happening!! among others. Mancini recorded over 90 albums and made over 600 appearances as a guest conductor with orchestras including the Boston Pops and the London Symphony Orchestra before his death in 1994. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall box office. ACCLAIMED NMSO CHORUS HEADLINES BRAHMS REQUIEM MARCH 28-30 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary season continues as the NMSO Chorus joins the orchestra to perform Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem in three Classics Series performances. All three performances of this program will be conducted by NMSO Resident Conductor and Chorus Director Roger Melone, March 28 and 29 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico’s main campus, and March 30 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. The NMSO Chorus is gearing up for another performance at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Vail, Colo., with the Philadelphia Orchestra this summer. The Chorus will again join forces with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Rossen Milanov to perform Orff’s Carmina Burana, July 14. It will be the third consecutive year that the NMSO Chorus has appeared at the festival in recognition of their status as one of the finest symphony choruses in the country. Philadelphia, the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic are the resident orchestras at Vail. Inspired by the deaths of both his mother and his musical mentor, Robert Schumann, Brahms assembled the texts for the Requiem himself, elegantly and skillfully interweaving 16 different passages from the New and Old Testaments and the Apocrypha around the themes of consolation and hope. The music to which he set these texts reflects his love for the music of the Renaissance and Baroque—music that in his day was considered outmoded and primitive. He avidly collected and copied old scores of Palestrina, Isaak, Schütz, Bach and Handel, and over the years amassed a personal library of music and music books that totaled over 2000 volumes. The result of what his contemporaries considered an eccentric hobby was a gradual absorption into his own thoroughly Romantic musical language of the contrapuntal and structural techniques of the old masters. This love of antiquity was complemented by his early experiences as a choral conductor at the tiny Court of Detmold and with the Singakademie of Vienna. Although these amateur choruses were limited in ability, Brahms was able to prepare and perform the music of his beloved Bach, Handel and Schütz with them, and this hands-on experience bore inspired fruit in the magnificent choral writing of the Requiem. Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn will also be on the program for all three performances. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance will take place at the Albuquerque Journal Theater at the National Hispanic Cultural Center beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and only available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. NMSO POPS CELEBRATES ST. PATRICK’S DAY WITH CELTIC VIOLINIST IVERS MARCH 15 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s NMSO Pops season takes a trip to the Emerald Isle with Celtic violinist Eileen Ivers at a one-night-only St. Patrick’s weekend performace. Conducted by Carl Topilow, the concert will take place at 8 p.m., March 15, at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Called “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by the New York Times, Ivers is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, and has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Boston Pops, The Chieftains, Hall and Oates, Afrocelts, Patti Smith, Paula Cole and Al Di Meola, among many others. She was a longtime member of the Irish music group Cherish the Ladies, gained fame as part of the Riverdance dance troupe show and also performed on Howard Shore’s score for the film Gangs of New York. The program for these concerts will feature the NMSO Pops performing a mix of Ivers’ own material, as well as Irish favorites. These include “Danny Boy,” music from Riverdance, John Williams’ suite from the film Far and Away, “Blizzard Train,” “Rights of Man” and much more. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO Spring Tour brings the Symphony to Gallup and Shiprock The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce a spring tour with stops in Gallup on March 6, and Shiprock on March 7. The program for both performances, conducted by NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa, opens with senior members of the NMSO - principal flute Valerie Potter, associate principal oboe Melissa Peña, acting principal trumpet John Marchiando and concertmaster Krzysztof Zimowski - as soloists in J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Then, guest violinist Carmelo de los Santos takes center stage with the orchestra, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. And finally, the orchestra performs Stravinsky’s Suite from Pulcinella. The Gallup performance will take place at 7 p.m., March 6, at Gallup High School, 1055 Rico St. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. The Shiprock performance will take place at 7 p.m., March 7, at the Phil L. Thomas Performing Arts Center, located on Highway 64 next to Shiprock High School. Tickets are available at the Phil L. Thomas Performing Arts Center, Shiprock Quick Stop and City Market in Shiprock, and at Hastings in Farmington. Advance sale tickets are $15, $20 and $25. All ticket prices will increase by $5 the week of the show. As part of its education efforts, the NMSO has toured New Mexico extensively over its 75-year history, demonstrating a strong commitment to provide the diverse population of the state with the highest quality live performances of symphonic music. Many NMSO members are music educators themselves, including Potter, Marchiando and de los Santos who are all members of the University of New Mexico music faculty. During this tour, the NMSO will also present several music education events, including one at the Church Rock Academy on the Navajo Nation, a woodwind quintet performance at Gallup’s Roosevelt Elementary School and a concert for Shiprock students at the Phil L. Thomas Performing Arts Center. These events are not open to the public. This will be the NMSO’s second tour of the 2007-08 season. Earlier this season, the NMSO performed in Socorro and Ruidoso. Beginning as the Albuquerque Civic Symphony in November 1932, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is the state’s official orchestra and has taken its place among our great cultural institutions. In addition to Classics, Pops, Matinee and Symphony Under the Stars series-which enrich the lives of over 130,000 people each year-the NMSO is the largest non-governmental provider of music education in New Mexico and performs many NMSO Family Concerts with no admission charge. The NMSO has also been recognized by the Mellon Foundation for its innovative community engagement efforts. The NMSO is under the baton of Guillermo Figueroa, the symphony’s tenth music director, Resident Conductor and Choral Director Roger Melone, and Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski. For more information on the NMSO, visit our website at www.nmso.org. NMSO ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR KRAJEWSKI The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra announced the departure of NMSO Pops Principal Conductor Michael Krajewski at last Saturday evening’s “Dancin’ in the Rain” concert, effective at the end of the 2007-08 season. Krajewski has led the NMSO Pops since 2000. A search for a new principal pops conductor will commence next season. Details on the search will be forthcoming. Krajewski is a favorite with concertgoers across the country. The much sought after pops conductor is known for his imaginative and entertaining programs and his delightfully wry sense of humor. Audiences who attend his concerts leave smiling, remembering the evening’s music and surprises. Krajewski serves as principal pops conductor of the Houston Symphony and the Jacksonville Symphony. He completed his long tenure as Principal Pops Conductor at Long Beach in 2005. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Boston Pops Orchestra and and many other orchestras. He has performed with Judy Collins, Roberta Flack, Doc Severinsen, Cab Calloway, Al Hirt, The Kingston Trio, The Canadian Brass and Ben E. King, among others. Born in Detroit, Michael Krajewski holds degrees from Wayne State University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and furthered his training with studies at the Pierre Monteux Domaine School for Conductors. Krajewski has twice received awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for adventuresome programming of contemporary music. Michael Krajewski lives in Orlando, Fla., with his wife, Darcy. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel headlines NMSO Feb. 29-March 2 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary season continues with the New Mexico premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Orchestra featuring pianist Jeffrey Biegel, as well as the NMSO Chorus performing Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2. All three performances of this program will be conducted by NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa, Feb. 29, March 1 and March 2. The program also features Debussy’s Nocturnes and Wagner’s overture to The Flying Dutchman. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance at the National Hispanic Cultural Center begins at 2 p.m. Biegel was the man behind the massive, 18-orchestra commissioning of the Liebermann concerto, which had its world premiere in Milwaukee in 2006. Biegel is one of today's most respected artists and has created a multi-faceted career as a pianist, composer and arranger. His electrifying technique and mesmerizing touch has won critical acclaim and garners praise throughout the world. Biegel recently combined his performing and arranging gifts in the new Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and Orchestra based on four of Billy Joel's classical compositions from Fantasies and Delusions. In 1985, Leonard Bernstein said of Biegel: “He played fantastic Liszt. He is a splendid musician and a brilliant performer.” These comments helped to launch Biegel's 1986 New York recital debut, as the recipient of the coveted Juilliard William Petschek Piano Debut Award, in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Alice Tully Hall. His career has been marked by bold, creative achievements and highlighted by a series of firsts: He envisioned and performed the first live internet recitals in New York and Amsterdam in 1997 and 1998, enabling him to be seen and heard by a global audience. In 1999, he assembled the largest consortium of orchestras (over 25), to celebrate the millennium with a new concerto composed for him by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. The Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra was premiered with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he performed the Boston premiere of the restored, original 1924 manuscript of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops. He transcribed the first edition of Balakirev's Islamey Fantasy for piano and orchestra, which he premiered with the American Symphony Orchestra in 2001. Charles Strouse composed a new work titled Concerto America for Mr. Biegel, premiered with the Boston Pops in 2002. The NMSO Chorus, led by Roger Melone, is getting set for its third annual appearance at the Bravo! Vail (Colo.) Valley Music Festival with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2008. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. NMSO POPS GOES BACK TO THE DAYS OF FRED and GINGER FOR DANCING IN THE RAIN FEB. 23 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s NMSO Pops season continues with a trip back to the days of old-style Hollywood glamour, dancing and music as dancers Joan Hess and Kirby Ward join conductor Michael Krajewski for a concert entitled “Dancin’ in the Rain.” The concert will take place Feb. 23, 8 p.m., at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. In a nod to the style of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the NMSO Pops will perform many popular dance songs – from Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek” and “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails,” to George Gershwin’s “Slap that Bass” and “Embraceable You” – accompanying Hess and Ward dancing onstage. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall box office. Powwow Symphony and Marimba Concerto highlight NMSO salute to New Mexico The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary season rolls on as the NMSO salutes the Land of Enchantment with a unique program featuring Brent Michael Davids’ Powwow Symphony: A Gathering of Nations, as well as NMSO Principal Percussionist Jeff Cornelius as soloist for a performance of Ney Rosauro’s Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra. All three performances of this program will be conducted by NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa, Feb. 15, 16 and 17 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico’s main campus. Cornelius is the winner of the first-ever NMSO Concerto Competition, conceived of and instituted by Figueroa in 2007. Cornelius has played principal percussion with the NMSO since 1986. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining the NMSO, Cornelius played with numerous orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Canton Symphony, the Colorado Philharmonic, the Toledo Symphony and an assortment of other summer festivals and ensembles. Since joining the NMSO, he has also performed with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and the Santa Fe Symphony as well as several chamber venues including Taos Chamber Music Festival, Music at Angel Fire and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival where he appears on Stereophile's recording of Darius Milhaud's La création du monde. Davids’ Powwow, co-commissioned and premiered by the NMSO and premiered in 1999, is the world’s first symphonic powwow: a rich mixture of European symphonic tradition and Native American life, introducing the joys of the powwow to audiences familiar with orchestral repertoire. The symphony is structured like an actual powwow, complete with a grand entry and multiple dances. Also, there will be a group of Native American dancers performing with the NMSO at these concerts. Davids will perform as soloist in Powwow on a unique crystal flute. A member of the Mohican Nation, is an active participant with the First Nations Composer Initiative and has served as Composer-in-Residence with the Native American Composers Apprenticeship Project. Just as a master of ceremonies directs, explains, announces and entertains during a real powwow, his voice is heard throughout the symphony. Acting in that role for the Powwow Symphony will be Sammy Tone-kei White, a noted national powwow emcee and representative of the National American Indian Hall of Fame in Anadarko, Okla. Additionally, White is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and belongs to two Kiowa warrior clans: the Kiowa Gourd Clan and the prestigious Black Leggins Society. Each concert will also open with Richard Strauss’ classic, romantic tone poem, Don Juan. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. and the Sunday performance beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60. NMSO Pops welcomes clarinet great Eddie Daniels in salute to Benny Goodman, jazz The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s NMSO Pops season continues with the return of virtuoso clarinetist Eddie Daniels in a program honoring the all-time king of the clarinet, Benny Goodman. The concert will take place Jan. 26, 8 p.m., at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. In this one-night-only performance conducted by Bernard Rubenstein, the NMSO Pops will perform many popular songs by Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Leonard Bernstein, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. Eddie Daniels is that rarest of rare musicians who is not only equally at home in both jazz and classical music, but excels at both with breathtaking virtuosity. He first came to the attention of the jazz audience as a tenor saxophonist with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra. When Jones and Lewis first organized their band in 1966 to play Monday nights at the Village Vanguard in New York, Daniels was one of the first musicians they called. Later that year, Daniels entered the International Competition for Modern Jazz in Vienna where he won first prize on saxophone. A single clarinet solo recorded with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra’s garnered sufficient attention for him to win Downbeat magazine’s International Critics New Star on Clarinet Award. This conversion to clarinet was not new, as Daniels began clarinet at age 13 and received his Masters in Clarinet from Juilliard. Winning numerous Grammy awards and nominations, Daniels revolutionized the blend of jazz and classical. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall box office. Pianist, TV host takes stage for Beethoven Emperor Concerto The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven Festival enters full stride as pianist Christopher O’Riley takes on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 – known as the Emperor Concerto – in three performances, Jan. 23-25. NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa will conduct this program. From his groundbreaking transcriptions of Radiohead to his powerful interpretations of repertoire classic and contemporary, O’Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music. As host of the most popular classical music radio show on the air today, National Public Radio’s From the Top (heard locally on KHFM), O’Riley works and performs with the next generation of brilliant young musicians, demonstrating to audiences, with humor and a lack of pretense, that these young artists are as unique and diverse in their personal lives as they are in their music-making. Among his many solo releases are a Scriabin disc for Image Recordings and an all-Stravinsky disc on Elektra Nonesuch, featuring three movements from Petrouchka and O’Riley’s first foray into transcriptions with his own versions of Apollo and Histoire du Soldat. He also has performed and recorded transcriptions of songs by Radiohead, Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Pink Floyd and Nick Drake, among others. Premiered in 1811, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 was written two years prior, its unveiling delayed by the economic and political uncertainty following Austria’s surrender to Napoleon’s invading army. A strong believer in democratic principals, Beethoven despised the self-declared emperor of France, Napoleon. It is a historical irony that the concerto is well known as the “Emperor Concerto”, a nickname bestowed upon it years later by Beethoven friend and pianist Johann Cramer. The NMSO is devoting a major portion of its 2008-2009 season to honor the works of classical music’s giant: Ludwig van Beethoven. Fourteen performances between Jan. 17 and March 22 comprise the NMSO’s Beethoven Festival, treating audiences to three symphonies, four concerti, a choral mass and a variety of other Beethoven masterpieces. Other highlights of the festival include the Fifth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis with the NMSO Chorus, a special concert with pianists Awadagin Pratt and Orli Shaham, and much more. This program also features Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Roberto Sierra’s Sinfonia No. 3, La Salsa. Local audiences might remember Sierra from the NMSO world-premiere of his Beyond the Silence of Sorrow in 2004. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance takes place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre at 2 p.m. Tickets for these performances are priced from $10 to $60, and may be reserved by calling 505-881-8999, online at nmso.org or in person at the NMSO Box Office at 4407 Menaul NE (just east of Washington) in Albuquerque. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be sold at $8 each, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID and available beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices. World Premiere concerto highlights NMSO salute to founder The second half of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary season begins with the world premiere of Miguel del Aguila’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, featuring NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa on violin. All three performances of this program will be conducted by former Kansas City Symphony music director Anne Manson Jan. 7, 8 and 9. These performances, titled “Guillermo and Grace,” are also a tribute to the NMSO’s founding conductor, Grace Thompson Edmister. Edmister assembled the members of the then-Albuquerque Civic Symphony in 1932 for their first concert. A tuberculosis survivor from Ohio, she was the head of the University of New Mexico music department at the time, and was the first choice of community leaders to bring symphonic music to what was then a small but growing railroad town on the banks of the Rio Grande. She conducted the orchestra until 1941, and came back to the NMSO stage many times, including as guest conductor in 1982 to celebrate the NMSO’s 50th anniversary. She died two years later at age 93, the only woman founder of a professional symphony in American history. The new concerto was commissioned by the NMSO specifically for its 75th anniversary. Uruguyan composer Miguel del Aguila has written for the NMSO previously as its composer-in-residence in 2005-2006, as he lived in Albuquerque during the creation Time and Again Barelas, an opera written for the Albuquerque Tricentennial celebration and co-commissioned by the NMSO. The composer personalized the soloist in a unique way for this concerto. Over the course of five movements, “the violin soloist is turned here into a traveler who becomes the protagonist of the story,” del Aguila says. “The orchestra often represents the outside world as he sees it. As the work progresses, the actual trip becomes a symbol of a more existential journey: LIFE.” Both a renowned conductor and violinist, Figueroa is a founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. With this group he has been concertmaster and soloist in performances throughout the United States, Europe and Asia and made over fifty recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. In 1995, he gave the world premiere of Concertino for Violin and Orchestra by Mario Davidovsky, at Carnegie Hall, written for him and Orpheus. In 2007, he played the premiere of the Double Concerto written for him by Harold Farberman, with the American Symphony at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. For ten years he was concertmaster of the New York City Ballet, appearing in over a hundred performances of violin concerti by Barber, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Berg and Adams. He has appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards in California, Music from Angel Fire and the El Paso Pro Musica Chamber Festival. Figueroa has recorded the Three Violin Sonatas by Bartok for the Eroica Classical label, with pianist Robert Koenig, and an album of virtuoso violin music by Wieniawski, Sarasate and Kreisler for the NMSO label, with pianist Ivonne Figueroa. In addition to the new concerto, the program for these concerts opens with Jennifer Higdon’s Fanfare Ritmico, and finishes with Schubert’s Symphony No. 9. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. NMSO joins Romero Guitar Quartet December 14, 15 and 16 For the first time in many years, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra will bring the magic of the classical guitar to center stage as they join the world-renowned Romero Guitar Quartet for three performances, Dec. 14, 15 and 16. Conducted by NMSO Music Director Guillermo Figueroa, all three programs will also feature the return of former composer-in-residence Miguel del Aguila. The program for these performances features Ernesto Cordero’s Concierto Festival for Guitar and String Orchestra, de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 2, Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz for 4 Guitars and Orchestra, and del Aguila’s “Conga.” A veritable institution in the world of classical music, the Romero Guitar Quartet has dazzled countless audiences and won the raves of reviewers worldwide. The legendary Celedonio Romero, with his sons Celin, Pepé and Angel, founded the internationally renowned ensemble known to millions as “The Royal Family of the Guitar.” With the introduction of Celin’s son, Celino, into the quartet in 1990, and Angel’s son Lito joining in 1996, The Romeros encompass three generations of concert artists. Celebrated worldwide for his dazzling virtuosity, compelling interpretations, and flawless technique, guitarist Pepé Romero is constantly in demand for his solo recitals, performances with orchestras, as well as with the world-famous Romero Quartet. Although best known for his classical performances, Pepé’s passion for the traditional flamenco of his native Andalucia has never wavered. His first recording, Flamenco Fenómeno!, for Contemporary Records, was made when he was only fifteen. Since then, Pepé has made more than fifty recordings, among which are over twenty concertos with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner and Iona Brown, as well as collaborations with artists such as the renowned ensemble I Musici, flamenco singer Chano Lobato, and dancers Paco Romero and María Magdalena. Romero’s contributions in the field of classical guitar have inspired a number of distinguished composers to write works specifically for him, including Joaquín Rodrigo, Federico Moreno Torroba, Lorenzo Palomo, Rev. Francisco de Madina and Celedonio Romero. Miguel del Aguila will perform as pianist for “Conga.” He served as the NMSO’s composer-in-residence in 2005-2006 while working on Time and Again Barelas, an opera co-commissioned by the NMSO in celebration of Albuquerque’s tricentennial. del Aguila’s work will also take center stage next month as Figueroa and the orchestra will premiere his new violin concerto. Composer Ernesto Cordero, though not performing, will also be in attendance for these three performances. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. NMSO Pops performs Holiday favorites at Very Merry Pops The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s NMSO Pops season continues with what has become an all-time great Albuquerque Holiday tradition: The Very Merry Pops. Two performances conducted by Roger Melone take place at UNM’s Popejoy Hall Dec. 21 and 22. This year’s program, which also features choruses from Albuquerque Academy, Manzano Day School and Cibola High School performing alongside the Symphony, includes classics like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Three Hannukah Songs,” “The Christmas Song” and medleys of well-known Christmas carols. The Dec. 21 performance begins at 8 p.m., while the Dec. 22 concert begins at 2 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO and NMBC present the authentic Nutcracker The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico Ballet Company are joining forces again this holiday season to present Tchaikovsky’s holiday favorite, Nutcracker, in five performances Dec. 1, 2, 8 and 9 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Aside from being one of Albuquerque’s great holiday family traditions over the years, these Nutcracker performances are of impeccable quality: They are the only traditional Nutcracker presentations with both a live professional orchestra and live professional dancers in New Mexico. All performances are choreographed by NMBC artistic director Patricia Dickinson Wells. The orchestra will be conducted by NMSO associate concertmaster David Felberg. Nutcracker is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffman with music by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The story follows young Clara Stahlbaum as she dreams of toys coming to life on Christmas Eve, and is taken on an enchanted journey by a Nutcracker come to life. Showtimes are at 2 p.m. Dec. 1, 2 p.m. Dec. 2, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 8, and 2 p.m. Dec. 9. Tickets, priced at $11 to $37, may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. VIOLINIST JOSHUA BELL TO PERFORM WITH NMSO NOV. 27 Grammy and Avery Fisher Prize winning violinist Joshua Bell will join Maestro Guillermo Figueroa and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra for a special performance at UNM’s Popejoy Hall Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The program will feature Bell performing Bruch’s Concerto No. 1 for Violin. The NMSO will also perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, as well as his Ballet Music from Idonmeneo. For over two decades, Bell has been captivating audiences worldwide with his poetic musicality. He came to national attention at the age of 14 in a highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A Carnegie Hall debut, the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and a recording contract further confirmed his unique presence in the music world. Now in his thirties, Bell’s career is exceptionally varied. He is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra leader, and his restless curiosity and multifaceted musical interests have taken him in exciting new directions, forging a unique career that has earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” In addition to his concert career, Bell enjoys chamber music collaborations with artists such as Pamela Frank, Steven Isserlis and Edgar Meyer as well as occasional collaborations with artists outside the classical arena, having shared the stage with Josh Groban, Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, James Taylor and Sting. Bell made his first recording at the age of 18, and he has an extensive catalogue of classical recordings resulting in a distinctive and wide-ranging body of work. Bell and his two sisters grew up on a farm in Bloomington, Indiana. As a child, he indulged in many passions outside of music, becoming an avid computer game player and a competitive athlete. He placed fourth in a national tennis tournament at age 10 and still keeps his racquet close by. Bell received his first violin at age four after his parents, both psychologists by profession, noticed him plucking tunes with rubber bands he had stretched around the handles of his dresser drawers. By 12 he was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to the inspiration of renowned violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold, who had become his beloved teacher and mentor. From the classical repertoire, Bell has made critically acclaimed recordings for Sony Classical of the concertos of Beethoven and Mendelssohn (both featuring his own cadenzas), and Sibelius and Goldmark, as well as the Grammy Award winning Nicholas Maw concerto. His Grammy-nominated recording Gershwin Fantasy premiered a new work for violin and orchestra based on themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Its success led to an all-Bernstein recording (also a Grammy nominee) that included the premiere of the West Side Story Suite as well as a new recording of the composer’s Serenade. With the composer and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, Bell appears on the Grammy-nominated crossover recording Short Trip Home and a disc of concert works by Meyer and the 19th-century composer Giovanni Bottesini. Bell also collaborated with Wynton Marsalis on the Grammy-winning spoken word children’s album, Listen to the Storyteller and Bela Fleck’s Grammy Award winning Perpetual Motiom. He has twice performed on the Grammy Awards telecast in recent years, performing music from Short Trip Home and West Side Story Suite. For three years, Bell was deeply involved in the creation of John Corigliano’s Academy Award-winning score for the 1999 film The Red Violin, released on Sony Classical. Bell performed the virtuosic solos on the soundtrack, served as an advisor and even as a stand-in in for the film. In his Oscar acceptance speech, a jubilant Corigliano proclaimed, “Joshua plays like a God.” Bell collaborated with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on the world premiere in 2003 of Corigliano’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (“The Red Violin”), a concert work drawn from the film score. In June 2006, Bell, Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra recorded this concerto for Sony Classical and just released this year. In addition to Grammy Awards, Bell has won the Avery Fisher Prize, the Mercury Music Prize for the Maw concerto recording with Sir Roger Norrington and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Germany’s Echo Klassik for Sibelius/Goldmark concerto recording with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the performance cost $35-$150. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. Beginning as the Albuquerque Civic Symphony in November 1932, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is now the official orchestra of the State of New Mexico and has taken its place among the great cultural institutions of our state. In addition to our Classics, Pops, Matinee and Symphony Under the Stars series—which enrich the lives of over 130,000 people each year—the NMSO is the largest non-governmental provider of music education in New Mexico and performs many NMSO Family Concerts with no admission charge. The NMSO has also been recognized by the Mellon Foundation for its innovative community engagement efforts. The NMSO is currently under the baton of Guillermo Figueroa, the symphony’s tenth music director, Resident Conductor and Choral Director Roger Melone, and Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski. For more information on the NMSO, visit our website at www.nmso.org. NMSO, CHORUS PRESENT A MUSICAL FEAST WITH RACHEL BARTON PINE A superb choral work and a special 75th anniversary treat lead the way as the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Classics and Matinee series continue with violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the nationally acclaimed NMSO Chorus in three performances conducted by NMSO music director Guillermo Figueroa, Nov. 16, 17 and 18. A 75th birthday cake decorating event will take place in the lobby at each performance, complete with complimentary birthday cake directly following each concert. The NMSO Chorus, led by Roger Melone, is coming off its triumphant performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at both the Bravo! Vail (Colo.) Valley Music Festival with the Philadelphia Orchestra in July, as well as at the NMSO’s season-opening performances in September. Last summer was the second straight in which the NMSO Chorus was invited to the Vail festival – in which Philadelphia, the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic are the resident orchestras – to perform with recognition of their status as one of the finest symphony choruses in the country. The Chorus has been invited to take part in the 2008 Vail festival, performing Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra. American violinist Rachel Barton Pine has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Dallas, Baltimore, Montreal, Vienna, New Zealand and Iceland Symphonies, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, working with conductors including Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Marin Alsop, Neeme Järvi and Placido Domingo. Acclaimed collaborations include Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, William Warfield, Christopher O’Riley and Mark O’Connor. Her festival appearances include Ravinia, Marlboro, and Salzburg. Pine has been featured on St. Paul Sunday, Performance Today, From the Top, CBS Sunday Morning, and NBC’s Today. Her critically acclaimed albums for the Cedille, Dorian, and Cacophony labels include Brahms and Joachim Violin Concertos with Carlos Kalmar and the Chicago Symphony, and Scottish Fantasies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She holds top prizes from the J.S. Bach (gold medal), Queen Elisabeth, Paganini, Kreisler, Szigeti and Montreal international competitions, and has twice been honored as a Chicagoan of the Year. Her charitable activities include serving as a trustee of the Music Institute of Chicago and president of the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation. She plays the Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu (Cremona 1742), known as the “ex-Soldat,” on generous loan from her patron. Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, first performed on Oct. 8, 1931, is derived from the fifth chapter of the Biblical Book of Daniel and Psalms 137 and 81. It is the story of King Belshazzar, who is holding the enslaved Jews captive in Babylon. The king holds a great feast at which he commits sacrilege by profaning sacred vessels taken from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar. A mysterious hand appears writing the Aramaic words “mene, mene, tekel, upharsin” (“you are counted, counted, weighed, divided”) on the wall. The prophet Daniel interprets this as a Divine judgement foretelling the destruction of Babylon, and that very night, according to the story, Belshazzar is slain by the invading Persians whose leader Darius becomes King. The oratorio begins, after a short recited introduction, with a passionate setting of Psalm 137. The Jews lament the loss of their homeland and sing bitterly of their anger at their captors. After the solo Baritone sets the scene, the feast begins: a brilliant feat of sumptuous orchestration and powerful choral writing enlivened with just a rhythmic hint of jazz. The ominous appearance of the handwriting on the wall is eerily depicted with clattering castagnettes and muttering tuba. Brutal drumbeats and choral shouts announce the death of Belshazzar, and, with a grandly exultant hymn, the Jews celebrate the downfall of their oppressors. There is a sober moment of regret for the destruction of a great city, then the oratorio ends with a jubilant Alleluia. Pine will be performing Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3, which premiered in 1880 in Paris. He wrote the concerto for the reigning king of the violin, the Spanish virtuoso Pablo Sarasate. The first movement is intensely passionate, rising from the dark-hued opening theme in the violin's lower register to a spectacular ending at the upper limits of the instrument's range. The second movement is a gently swaying barcarole in which the solo violin spins out a sweetly refined melodic line. Near the end, Saint-Saëns creates a beautifully ethereal effect by having the solo violin play glistening arpeggios in harmonics doubled by a clarinet two octaves lower while the oboe sings the opening melody of the movement. The finale is a virtuoso showpiece that exploits the contrast between its stormy, gypsy-style opening theme and lyrical, chorale-like second theme. As these performances are the closest in this 75th season to the NMSO’s actual “birthday” – the first concert took place Nov. 13, 1932 – the NMSO Guild is sponsoring the Diamond Anniversary Cake Decorating Contest during this concert weekend. Members of the International Cake Exploration Societie plus local chefs, bakers, and caterers will display their cakes before the concert and during intermissions. Cake will also be served to the audience after the concerts. Three judges will select a winner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the grand winner Sunday afternoon. The NMSO Guild thanks the Albuquerque Publishing Company for supporting this event. Finally, each of the three performances will begin with Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingals' Cave). The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR AND NMSO POPS TAKE US BACK TO BEATLES HEYDAY The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s NMSO Pops season continues into classic territory when the Pops join forces with the Beatles performing group Classical Mystery Tour to present a night of Beatles classics performed with a live symphony. This is a one-night-only performance Nov. 10, 8 p.m., at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, conducted by NMSO Pops principal conductor Michael Krajewski. The four musicians in Classical Mystery Tour look and sound just like The Beatles, but Classical Mystery Tour is more than just a rock concert, and in the words of the Los Angeles Times, “more than just an incredible [Beatles] simulation...the crowd stood and bellowed for more.” Classical Mystery Tour features Jim Owen (John Lennon) on rhythm guitar, piano, and vocals; Tony Kishman (Paul McCartney) on bass guitar, piano, and vocals; Tom Teeley (George Harrison) on lead guitar and vocals; and Chris Camilleri (Ringo Starr) on drums and vocals. “We really make an effort to sound exactly like the originals,” explains Owen, who admits that he and the other three Classical Mystery Tour members are big Beatles fans. “The orchestra score is exact, right down to every note and instrument that was on the original recording. On ‘Got to Get You Into My Life,’ we have two tenor saxes and three trumpets. That’s what it was written for, and that’s what we use. And on ‘A Day in the Life,’ can you imagine that big orchestra crescendo happening live?” The tentative set list for their performance with the NMSO Pops also includes “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “The Long and Winding Road” and much more. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall box office. For more on Classical Mystery Tour, visit their website at classicalmysterytour.com. NMSO POPS BRINGS CIRQUE TO POPEJOY The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s NMSO Pops season kicks off with one of the most unique presentations in our 75-year history: Cirque de la Symphonie, where cirque nouveau-style acrobatics and artistry meet the full power of a symphony orchestra. This is a one-night-only performance Oct. 20 at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, conducted by NMSO Pops principal conductor Michael Krajewski. Cirque de la Symphonie is a new production intended to bring the magic of cirque to the music hall. It is an exciting adaptation of artistic performances widely seen in theaters and arenas everywhere, an organization of many of the best cirque artists in the world, including aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen. Performers include many amazing veterans of the famous Cirque du Soleil and other exceptional programs throughout the world. These artists are among the best, and they include world record holders and gold-medal winners of international competitions. Their performances are uniquely adapted to stage accommodations shared by symphonies, and each artist’s performance is choreographed to the music arrangement provided by the conductor. Their feats will all be performed to a wide array of orchestral selections, including Ravel’s “Bolero,” Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance,” John Williams’ “Across the Stars” love theme from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Healey’s “Celebration Fanfare” and much more. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets cost $18-$54. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall box office. NMSO CHORUS TO PERFORM WITH PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA IN 2008 The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Roger Melone, director, has been invited to perform for a second straight year with the world-famous Philadelphia Orchestra at the Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival in Vail, Colo., performing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The performance will take place July 14. It will be the Chorus’ third year performing at the Vail festival. Each time the NMSO performs a choral work, they join forces with the nationally acclaimed NMSO Chorus. Though a volunteer organization, all members of the Chorus are accomplished musicians. Among their over ninety volunteer singers, many are professional musicians working in music-related fields, hold degrees in music or teach music privately. A majority have studied voice, and many also have had instrumental training. They are also bound by a common passion for music, and some travel weekly from Edgewood, Santa Fe and Socorro and other New Mexico communities to sing in the Chorus. The Chorus performed works by Mozart at the 2006 Vail festival with the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic and their music director, Christopher Seaman. After garnering rave reviews, they were invited back to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Rossen Milanov and the Philadelphia Orchestra in July 2007. The Chorus was founded in 1972, and is celebrating its 35th anniversary during the NMSO’s 75th anniversary season in 2007-2008. For the past 25 years, Melone has led the Chorus, having developed the chorus and given it its present outstanding reputation. NMSO NAMES ERIC G. MEYER AS NEW PRESIDENT The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees named Eric Meyer as the institution’s new president at a meeting Sept. 25 in Albuquerque. Meyer succeeds Kenneth Hopper, who will continue serving the organization as its head of operations. Meyer served as director of development for the San Diego Symphony for the past three years. There, he helped maintain balanced budgets for an orchestra whose annual expenses grew over 75% in three years, and raising over $7 million from over 1,700 donors. Prior to that, Meyer served many years as the executive director of the Tucson (Ariz.) Symphony Orchestra, overseeing unprecedented expansion which included the annual operating budget growing from $300,000 to $2.5 million. He has also held development-related positions with the symphonies of Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. “I am honored to have been chosen to help guide the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra,” Meyer said. “Symphonic music has been my passion and I am pleased to be moving into a community that shares this passion. I look forward to building stronger organization, both artistic and financial.” Hopper joined the NMSO as general manager in February 2006, coming here from the Thousand Oaks, Calf.-based New West Symphony, where he had served as executive director for three years. Previous positions he has held include a music professorship at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, ten years as freelance pianist in New York and in other capacities as an arts organization executive. NMSO PERFORMS THE FAMOUS ADAGIO OF BARBER The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Classics and Matinee series continue as the NMSO pays tribute its long association with the University of New Mexico in a program featuring Barber’s well-known and beloved Adagio for Strings, Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7, Shostakovich’s Festive Overture and former UNM dean John Donald Robb’s Dances from Taxco. Three performances conducted by NMSO music director Guillermo Figueroa will take place Oct. 5, 6 and 7. The NMSO’s first-ever performance took place at UNM’s Carlisle Gymnasium in November 1932. Concerts by the then-Albuquerque Civic Symphony continued at Carlisle Gym for many years. UNM’s Popejoy Hall has been the orchestra’s primary performance venue since it opened in 1967. The orchestra’s founding conductor, Grace Thompson Edmister, was head of the university’s music department at the time of the orchestra’s genesis. Edmister’s immediate successors, William Kunkel and Kurt Frederick, were also professors in the department. Over the years, many UNM graduates have played in the orchestra. And onto the present day, many UNM music faculty also perform as NMSO members (a list which currently includes musician-professors oboe Kevin Vigneau, violist Kimberly Fredenburgh, bassist Mark Tatum among others). Barber’s Adagio for Strings was originally composed as the slow movement of a String Quartet, and is Barber's most popular work. A prime example of his lyrical neo-romantic style, it works its way inexorably from a subdued, almost chant-like opening to a climax of great emotional intensity, after which it returns to the medieval Phrygian-mode style of the beginning. The Adagio is well deserving of its familiarity as one of the most popular compositions by an American composer, and has been used in numerous motion picture soundtracks, most notably in the movie Platoon. The nationally acclaimed UNM Wind Symphony – performing with the NMSO on the Shostakovich piece – is comprised of the 50 most talented wind, brass and percussion students at the University of New Mexico and its purpose is to prepare musicians and music educators for the rigors of a professional life in music. Under the direction of Eric Rombach-Kendall, the Wind Symphony has performed at the regional and national conferences of the College Band Directors National Association. The UNM Wind Symphony can be heard on three recordings on Summit Records. John Donald Robb (1892-1989) was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn., and led a rich and varied life as an attorney, composer, arts administrator and ethnomusicologist. He first worked as an international lawyer in New York. Then in 1941, at the age of 49 and after having studied under several composers, Robb decided to leave his law career to become head of the music department at the University of New Mexico. He served as dean of the College of Fine Arts from 1942-1957 and was responsible for starting the UNM Symphony, as well as many other educational initiatives. Robb’s orchestral works have been played by many major orchestras in the United States and abroad and under noted conductors, such as the NMSO’s Hans Lange, Yoshimi Takeda and Maurice Bonney, as well as Maurice Abravenel, Leonard Slatkin, Gilberto Orellana, Guy Frazer Harison, Victor Alexander, Eleazar de Carvalho, Souza Lima and Ricardo del Carmen. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. NMSO OPENS 75TH SEASON WITH BEETHOVEN’S GREATEST WORK: THE NINTH SYMPHONY The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s gala 75th anniversary season begins with arguably the finest choral symphonic work ever conceived: the ninth symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by the NMSO and the NMSO Chorus. The three performances led by NMSO music director Guillermo Figueroa will take place Sept. 14, 15 and 16. The NMSO Chorus, led by Roger Melone, is coming off its triumphant performance of Beethoven’s Ninth at the Bravo! Vail (Colo.) Valley Music Festival with the Philadelphia Orchestra. This summer was the second straight in which the NMSO Chorus was invited to the festival – in which Philadelphia, the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic are the resident orchestras – to perform with recognition of their status as one of the finest symphony choruses in the country. All three performances will also feature violist Paul Neubauer performing Bartók’s Viola Concerto with the NMSO. Neubauer’s exceptional musicality and effortless playing distinguish him as one of this generation’s quintessential artists. Balancing a solo career with performances as an artist member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Neubauer at age 21 was the youngest principal string player in the New York Philharmonic’s history. He has appeared with over 100 orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Among Neubauer’s numerous awards are First Prize in the Mae M. Whitaker International Competition, the D’Angelo International Competition, and the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. He has been the recipient of a Solo Recitalist’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a special prize from the Naumburg Foundation which awarded him an Alice Tully Hall recital debut. Moreover, he has been sponsored by the Epstein Young Artists Program and in 1989 became the first violist chosen to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant. In a strange historical twist, Neubauer actually premiered this version of Bartók’s Viola Concerto in 1995, which he helped to revise along with Bartók’s son, Peter, and composer Nelson Dellamaggiore. The original version, premiered in 1945, was written by Bartók as he suffered from leukemia, and he never completed all four movements of the work. For Beethoven, his ninth and final symphony was the culmination of a lifelong quest to bring words and music together to create a transcendent experience. Since his youth he had been enthralled by the poetry of Friedrich Schiller. He felt a deep affinity with the idealism of Schiller’s poetic world, and expressed a determination as early as 1793 to set Schiller’s Ode to Joy to music. The famous, gigantic finale in the symphony’s fourth movement begins with a wordless recitative for cellos and basses in which the themes of the preceding movements are recalled, examined and rejected in turn. Cellos and basses then begin to hum a new melody---the tune of the Ode to Joy. The rest of the orchestra joins in gradually until the entire band is joyfully shouting it out. The featured soloists for the Beethoven performances will be soprano Korliss Uecker, mezzo Kathleen Clawson, tenor Karl Dent and baritone Zheng Zhou. Each performance of this program also includes the premiere of Daniel Stevens Crafts’ Celebratory Fanfare: Red or Green?, written specifically for the NMSO’s 75th anniversary. The Friday performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, also the site of the Saturday performance starting at 6 p.m. The Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Albuquerque Journal Theatre. Tickets may be reserved by calling (505) 881-8999, online at www.nmso.org, or in-person at the Symphony Store at 4407 Menaul NE (at Washington) in Albuquerque. Tickets for the Popejoy performances cost $12-$60, while tickets to the NHCC Journal Theatre performance cost $19-$60. A limited quantity of student rush tickets will be available, limited to two tickets per student with valid ID priced at $8 each for student rush, and only available 90 minutes prior to showtime exclusively available at the Popejoy Hall and NHCC box offices, respectively. Beginning as the Albuquerque Civic Symphony in November 1932, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is now the official orchestra of the State of New Mexico and has taken its place among the great cultural institutions of our state. In addition to our Classics, Pops, Matinee and Symphony Under the Stars series—which enrich the lives of over 130,000 people each year—the NMSO is the largest non-governmental provider of music education in New Mexico and performs many NMSO Family Concerts with no admission charge. The NMSO has also been recognized by the Mellon Foundation for its innovative community engagement efforts. The NMSO is currently under the baton of Guillermo Figueroa, the symphony’s tenth music director, Resident Conductor and Choral Director Roger Melone, and Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski. For more information on the NMSO, visit our website at www.nmso.org. |
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