The Phoenix Symphony to Announce

its 2010/11 Season 

Unique event to incorporate musical stations, vignette displays and a special solo performance 

      PHOENIX – The Phoenix Symphony will formally announce its 2010/11 Season during the annual Season Launch event at Symphony Hall on February 16, 2010. Invited guests include current season contributors of $100 or more and 2009/10 full and half season subscribers.

      The event will begin with Check-In at 11:30 am followed by an on-stage introductory presentation by Virginia G. Piper Music Director Michael Christie, Board Chairman C.A. Howlett and President and CEO Maryellen Gleason. Concertmaster Steven Moeckel will give a special solo performance of Ysaye’s 2^nd Solo Sonata, “The Furies.”

      Following the introductions and performance by Mr. Moeckel, all will be welcomed into the lobby of Symphony Hall where seven musical stations and vignettes will guide attendees through the Symphony’s 2010/11 Season. Each station will include facts and information about the Symphony’s Classics, Pops and Specials concerts as well as the Spotlight Composer Narratives & Artistic and Community Collaborations to be highlighted during the season and Education & Community Engagement programs. Phoenix Symphony musicians & staff will be present at each of the stations to discuss the concerts and interact with attendees. Sandwiches, snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.

      A “Passport to the 2010/11 Season” will be distributed as a guide through the stations. Attendees will have the opportunity to win season subscriptions and other prizes by correctly answering Symphonic Music Trivia and having this passport stamped at each station.

      At 2 pm, the Symphony Hall doors will once again be opened to allow attendees to experience an Open Rehearsal of the Symphony’s upcoming concert “Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf.” This Open Rehearsal will be concluded at 4:30 pm.

      Invitations to The Phoenix Symphony’s 2010/11 Season Launch will be mailed and emailed Monday, January 25, 2010.  

      About The Phoenix Symphony: 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 almost 200 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 C.A. Howlett.

      The 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, as well as concerts in Scottsdale, Mesa, Prescott and throughout central Arizona. The Symphony performs for more than 80,000 students and children, helping to introduce music to new generations through a variety of education and youth-engagement programs.