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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, October 26, 2007 12:00 AM
Phoenix Symphony Celebrates the Holiday Season with Festive Concerts
Holiday Concerts across the Valley Feature Baroque Christmas, Christmas Pops, and Handel's Messiah
(PHOENIX) - The Phoenix Symphony celebrates the holiday season with special offerings beginning this November. The concerts begin with " Christmas Pops Celebration" (November 29-December 2) at Symphony Hall followed by "Baroque Christmas" (December 7-9) presented at local churches across the Valley. The orchestra and chorus will also present three varieties of Handel's Messiah including a community sing-along (December 9), highlights of the work (December 13-19), and the complete oratorio (December 16 and 20). Messiah performances will take place at local churches across the Valley and at the Mesa Arts Center on December 20. The holiday season comes to a celebratory close with the annual New Year's Eve concert at Symphony Hall. These much-anticipated concerts have become Valley favorites for many families and friends gathering together during the busy holiday season. Christmas Pops The annual "Christmas Pops Celebration," will be held November 29 through December 2 for four performances at Symphony Hall. Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan leads The Phoenix Symphony and Chorus in these delightful concerts featuring sing-alongs, favorite carols, and a special appearance by the Desert Bells handbell choir. Thursday's concert begins at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday concerts begin at 8 p.m., with Sunday's matinee beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets to "Christmas Pops Celebration" are priced at $25, $35, $45, $54, $64, and $74 with special Thursday pricing at $20, $30, $40, $50, $60 and $70. The weekend of Pops concerts is sponsored by APS. Baroque Christmas Join Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan for a "Baroque Christmas" concert celebrating the music of the Baroque era and the yuletide season on December 7, 8, and 9. The Phoenix Symphony Baroque Ensemble presents works by Boyce, Gluck, and Handel alongside audience favorites such as Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and "Winter" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Tickets to hear "Baroque Christmas" are $28. Seating is general admission.
PHOENIX SYMPHONY PERFORMANCES OF HANDEL'S MESSIAH Continuing a cherished holiday tradition, Handel's Messiah is presented in partnership with churches throughout the Valley on December 9-19 and at the acoustically splendid Ikeda Theater at the Mesa Arts Center on December 20. These concerts, led by Music Director Michael Christie, feature three different presentations of the celebrated oratorio. Sing Along Messiah On December 9, vocalists from throughout the community are invited to participate in a Sing-Along Concert of the Messiah. Music Director Michael Christie leads community musicians, members of the Phoenix Symphony Chorus, and the entire audience in highlights from Handel's inspiring oratorio. Tickets are $15. (If you are a community musician interested in playing this concert, contact our Education and Community Engagement Office at 602-495-1117, extension 311.)
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About Music Director Michael Christie: Michael Christie begins his third season as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of The Phoenix Symphony with the 2007-08 season. He also serves as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival and of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has appeared with orchestras across the United States, Europe, and Canada, as well as with the Finnish National Opera, Queensland Opera, and Zürich Opera. In 1995, Mr. Christie was awarded a special prize at the First International Sibelius Conductor's Competition. Following the competition, he became an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony. Michael Christie graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance. His conducting teachers have included Daniel Barenboim, Robert Spano, Eiji Oue, and Peter Jaffe.
About Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan: Lawrence Golan joined the conducting staff of The Phoenix Symphony as Resident Conductor at the start of the 2006-07 season. In this role, he leads concerts in each of the symphony's major series - including Classics, Pops, and Family presentations. In conjunction with his role as Resident Conductor of The Phoenix Symphony, Mr. Golan leads the Phoenix Youth Symphony, helping to prepare these young musicians for future careers in music. He is also Music Director of Boulder Baroque and the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado, and of the Portland Ballet Company in Maine. In addition, he continues his work as Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, where he teaches graduate conducting and leads the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre.
About The Phoenix Symphony Chorus: Founded in 2001, the Phoenix Symphony Chorus provides a professional-level choral performing partner for Arizona's only fulltime orchestra. Created in the tradition of all-volunteer symphony choral groups in Atlanta, Cleveland, and Houston, the Phoenix Symphony Chorus is professionally led by Chorusmaster Gregory Gentry. In rehearsal and performance, over 150 volunteers of the Chorus collectively donate more than 12,000 hours of service to music and the Symphony each year.
About The Phoenix Symphony: Celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season, The Phoenix Symphony has been proudly serving the citizens of the Phoenix metropolitan area and Arizona since 1947. What began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year (in a city of fewer than 100,000 people) today serves more than 300,000 people annually, with 275 concerts and presentations throughout the greater Phoenix area and beyond.
Under the artistic leadership of Michael Christie as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director and administrative leadership of President Maryellen H. Gleason, the orchestra is overseen by the non-profit Phoenix Symphony Association under Board Chairman Gerald W. Murphy.
The 76-member Phoenix Symphony presents an annual season from September through the beginning of June, featuring full-length classical and pops concerts at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix, in Scottsdale, in Prescott, and throughout central Arizona. The Symphony performs for more than 50,000 students and children, helping to introduce music to new generations through a variety of education and youth-engagement programs.
--------------------------------------------------------- The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Media Sponsors are The Arizona Republic and KAET.
