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4,000 Students to Attend Phoenix Symphony Educational Concert Devoted to "Our Arizona"
Concert will feature winners of Inaugural Phoenix Symphony Essay Contest
(PHOENIX) - The Phoenix Symphony's annual educational concerts continue with a special performance at the Maricopa County Events Center in Sun City West on January 30. In preparation for the month of February which is Arizona Month, the orchestra will perform before 4,000 students from over forty schools in a concert combining music and history in celebration of the beautiful state of Arizona. Students in grades three through eight and their teachers will travel from across the state from locations as far as way as Flagstaff to hear this concert. The Wednesday morning performance under the direction of Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan begins at 10 a.m. During the program entitled "Our Arizona," students will hear music inspired by the magnificent landscapes of Arizona such as Ferde Grofé's "On the Trail" from his Grand Canyon Suite and Peter Boyer's The Phoenix. Other selections celebrate the heritage of Arizona residents including Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" from Rodeo and José Pablo Moncayo's Huapango. Special guest and native Arizonan R. Carlos Nakai will perform on his Native American flute. In partnership with the Phoenix Museum of History and the Arizona Historical Society, The Phoenix Symphony created supplemental teaching materials that will prepare students for this musical celebration of Arizona. Before and after the performance, students will discover the people, landscapes, and events that inspired the music and make our state famous. As part of the special presentation of "Our Arizona," winners of the inaugural Symphony for the Schools Essay Contest will be announced at the morning concert. Students in grades three through eight were encouraged to create an essay discussing the people and places of Arizona and describing why they are special. A panel of judges from the Arizona Historical Society will select the winner who will appear onstage to read a portion of their winning essay during the January 30 concert. This special performance is part of Symphony for the Schools concerts during the 2007-08 season. By the end of the end of the season, more than 28,000 children will have experienced a live symphonic performance by The Phoenix Symphony. The Symphony for the Schools concerts are sponsored by Wells Fargo with additional support from The Arizona Republic, Harold and Jean Grossman Foundation, The Lodestar Foundation, Phoenix Convention and Theatrical Facilities Department, and the Scottsdale League for the Arts. For additional information about any of these educational programs, visit The Phoenix Symphony website at www.phoenixsymphony.org, contact the Education Office via email at education@phoenixsymphony.org, or by phone at 602-495-1117, ext. 311.
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About Phoenix Symphony Education programs: The Phoenix Symphony's education and community programs are designed to provide rich cultural experiences of symphonic music for children, students, and adults from around the Valley and greater Arizona. Through The Phoenix Symphony's Education and Community activities, The Phoenix Symphony engages over 85,000 students and adults each year, at over 275 schools valley-wide, and in over 35 cities state-wide. The Phoenix Symphony's Education Programs include "Symphony for the Schools," Whiteman Foundation Classroom Concerts, 21st Century Community Learning Center Program, and a variety of other requested school visits and speaking engagements. Other education initiatives include Student Rush Tickets, Student Discounts, Student Group Rates, and Target Family Concerts. Other community education opportunities include One Nation, Music Mentors, ¡Abraze La Música!, Armonía, Community Ticket Programs, Summer Radio Broadcasts on KBAQ, People's Pops Concerts, and "Musically Speaking."
About Native American Flutist R. Carlos Nakai: R. Carlos Nakai is the world's premier performer of the Native American flute. In addition to his educational workshops and residencies, Nakai has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. The famed American choreographer Martha Graham used Nakai's second album, Cycles, in her last work Night Chant. Nakai contributed music to the major motion pictures New World (New Line) and Geronimo (Columbia). A Navy veteran, Nakai earned a Master's Degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona. He was awarded the Arizona Governor's Arts Award in 1992, and an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1994. In 2005 Nakai was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Nakai has also authored a book with composer James DeMars, The Art of the Native American Flute, which is a guide to performing the traditional cedar flute.
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: 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.
___________________________________________ OUR ARIZONA! Wells Fargo Symphony for the Schools January 30 - Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Maricopa County Events Center THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Lawrence Golan, conductor R. Carlos Nakai, Native American Flute Celebrating our state, we explore music inspired by the land and people of Arizona. Grofé's "On the Trail" from Grand Canyon Suite celebrates the land, and works such as Moncayo's Huapango and Copland's "Hoe- Down" from Rodeo celebrate the heritage of many Arizona residents. Prepare for February which is Arizona Month with "Our Arizona."
--------------------------------------------------------- The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Media Sponsors are The Arizona Republic and KAET.
