Vancouver's own violin genius Corey Cerovsek with the VSO

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performs with Vancouver’Äôs own violin genius Corey Cerovsek

Vancouver BC ’Äì The VSO is proud to present Vancouver’Äôs own violin genius, Corey Cerovsek, at the Orpheum Theatre on November 29^th, 30^th and December 1^st. He will perform Sibelius’Äô Violin Concerto and guest conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto will lead the orchestra in Verdi’Äôs I vespri siciliani: Overture and Bartok’Äôs Concerto for Orchestra.

’ÄúCerovsek played with precision and eloquence, pure in tone and sure in motivation’Äù

- Los Angeles Times

’Äú(Carlos Miguel) Prieto led smart, suave-sounding performances’ĶPrieto and the orchestra offered vigorous, insightful music-making right up to the end.’Äù

- Houston Chronicle

Born in 1972 in Vancouver, Corey Cerovsek began playing the violin at the age of five. After early studies with Charmian Gadd and Richard Goldner he graduated at age 12 from the University of Toronto’Äôs Royal Conservatory of Music with a gold medal for the highest marks in strings. The word ’Äúgenius’Äù is often bandied about by zealous marketers (sorry about that’Ķ), but let’Äôs be honest here ’Äì with Corey, it applies and then some: that same year, he was accepted by Josef Gingold as a student and enrolled at Indiana University, where he received Bachelors degrees in Mathematics and Music at age 15, Masters in both at 16, and completed his Doctoral course work in Mathematics and Music at age 18. Concurrently he studied piano with Enrica Cavallo, until 1997 frequently appearing in concert performing on both instruments (www.artsmg.com/cerovsek). The VSO is thrilled to welcome Corey back home, to perform the beautiful, sublime Sibelius Violin Concerto.

The performances will be led by guest conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto, one of the most exciting young conductors of our time. A graduate of Princeton and Harvard Universities, Prieto was voted ’ÄúConductor of the Year’Äù in 2002 by the Mexican Union of Music and Theater Critics, and in 1998 he received the Mozart Medal of Honor presented by the Government of Mexico and the Embassy of Austria (www.dispeker.com). Prieto is the music director of four symphony orchestras in his native Mexico and the United States ’Äì the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, the Orquesta Mineria, the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Huntsville Symphony in Alabama. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is honoured to present him in his Vancouver debut.

CONCERT INFO

Masterworks Diamond Series:

The Genius of Corey Cerovsek

Saturday & Monday, November 29 & December 1, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor

Corey Cerovsek, violin

Verdi I vespri siciliani: Overture

Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47

Bartok Concerto for Orchestra

Violin wunderkind Corey Cerovsek returns home to perform the sublime Sibelius. Bartˆ„k’Äôs Concerto for Orchestra is a rarely performed gem, and will rock the Orpheum.

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Generously Supported By:

Radio Sponsor: CKNW AM980

Beltone Symphony Sundays Series:

The Genius of Corey Cerovsek

Sunday, November 30, 2pm, Orpheum Theatre

Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor

Corey Cerovsek, violin

Verdi I vespri siciliani: Overture

Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47

Bartok Concerto for Orchestra

Violin wunderkind Corey Cerovsek returns home to perform the sublime Sibelius. Bartˆ„k’Äôs Concerto for Orchestra is a rarely performed gem, and will rock the Orpheum.

Tickets $20 to $56 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Generously Supported By:

Series Sponsor: Beltone

BIOGRAPHIES

Carlos Miguel Prieto

Carlos Miguel Prieto, considered one of the most dynamic young conductors in recent years, has further widened his exposure by accepting a total of four music directorships in his native Mexico and the United States. He was named music director of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico (National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico), Mexico’Äôs most important orchestra, in July 2007, and remains music director at his other Mexican orchestra, the Orquesta Mineria. In the US, he completed his second season as music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic, where he leads the cultural renewal of ravaged New Orleans, and continues to serve as music director of the Huntsville Symphony (Alabama). 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 Philharmonic, Dayton Philharmonic, and every major orchestra in Mexico. He has also conducted orchestras throughout Europe, Russia, Israel, and Latin America, notably his recent Teatro Colon debut in Buenos Aires, his Netherlands Radio Orchestra debut in Utrecht, and performances with the Philharmonia of the Nations.

Prieto’Äôs 2008/09 season offers a slew of important debuts and re-engagements in the US. During the summer, he makes his first appearance with the Chicago Symphony and later with the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Festival, with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist. He also debuts with the Vancouver Symphony and Monterey Symphony, and returns to the Indianapolis Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, and Pacific Symphony.

During the 2007-08 season, Prieto was re-invited to the Milwaukee Symphony, and conducted several concerts with the Houston Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Colorado Symphony and Honolulu Symphony. In 2006-07 he gave his debut with the Milwaukee Symphony, Omaha Symphony and the symphonies of New Mexico and Nashville. He also appeared with the Dayton Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and returned again to the Houston Symphony and Louisville Orchestra. Overseas, Prieto made his Budapest Symphony debut at the Franz Liszt Academy in February 2007, the first time ever an all-Mexican program was performed in Hungary. Later that year he was also Mexico’Äôs delegate to the Davos World Economic Forum.

The 2005-06 season highlights included appearances with the Louisiana Philharmonic (including two fundraising dates in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic), and return engagements with the Phoenix and San Antonio symphony orchestras. In the summer of 2005, Prieto made festival appearances at Grant Park in Chicago and the Naumburg concerts in New York’Äôs Central Park. He also led the Youth Orchestra of the Americas on a tour of Brazil and guest conducted the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

During his tenure with the Mexico City Philharmonic from 1998 to 2002, Prieto conducted over 100 concerts ranging from classical subscription to educational and popular concerts. A champion of contemporary music, Prieto has conducted over 50 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which were commissioned by him. Exemplifying Prieto’Äôs commitment to education, he has conducted the Youth Orchestra of the Americas since its inception in 2002. He has performed with this enthusiastic ensemble at the United Nations and the Kennedy Center, and has toured throughout South America and Mexico.

Carlos Miguel Prieto is the founder and music director of the Mozart-Haydn Festival, an annual series of six concerts dedicated to the symphonic music of these two composers. In October 2005 he led the sixth festival in Sala Nezahualcoyotl of Mexico City.

Prieto, who is also an accomplished violinist, has been a member of the Cuarteto Prieto (a tradition of four generations) from an early age, with which he has performed in the most important halls of Mexico, in the U.S., and throughout Europe. 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.

He was voted "Conductor of the Year 2002" by the Mexican Union of Music and Theater Critics, and in 1998 he received the Mozart Medal of Honor presented by the Government of Mexico and the Embassy of Austria. He has recently made a series of recordings of Latin American and Mexican music for the Urtext label.

A graduate of Princeton and Harvard Universities (where he was concertmaster of the orchestra), Prieto studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Enrique Diemecke, Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo.

Corey Cerovsek

Corey Cerovsek has performed to constant acclaim with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, Neeme Jˆ§rvi, Andrew Litton, Yoel Levi, and Jesˆ†s Lopez-Cobos. His North American performances have included those with the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, among many others; and internationally with such groups as the Israel Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony, Prague Symphony, National Symphony (Ireland), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest of the Hague, Berlin Symphony, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphonies (Australia), Bournemouth Symphony, Sjaellands Symfoniorkester (Denmark), Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Poitou-Charentes and Montpellier Festival Orchestra (France). He has toured in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, China, Austria, the Netherlands, Brazil and Spain.

In recital, Cerovsek has performed throughout the world, including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), the Kennedy Center (Washington), Lincoln Center’Äôs Walter Reade Theatre and the Frick Collection (New York), the Place des Arts (Montrˆ©al), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), Wigmore Hall (London), Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall (Istanbul), the Thˆ©ˆ¢tre du Chˆ¢telet (Paris), and l’ÄôEspace Gianadda (Martigny). He is also an avid chamber musician, regularly appearing at the festivals of Verbier (Switzerland), Kuhmo (Finland) and Tanglewood (USA).

In July of 2006, he returned to the Verbier Festival and to the Festival International de Lanaudiˆ©re in Joliet, Quˆ©bec, where he performed the Bruch Scottish Fantasy with the Montreal Symphony. He also returned that season for a third year in a row to the Vancouver Symphony, where he played with and conducted the orchestra in performances of Vivaldi’Äôs Four Seasons. His 2007-08 season included return engagements with the orchestras of Quˆ©bec and Calgary, and appearances with the orchestras of Providence, Santa Rosa and Brevard. In summer 2008, he performed with the Orquestra Sinfˆ¥nica do Estado de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte Brazil, under the direction of Fabio Mechetti. A return to the Gardner Museum in 2007-08 included a performance with the Museum Chamber Orchestra under Douglas Boyd.

In addition to return engagements in Vancouver and Calgary, Cerovsek performs in 2008-09 with the New World Symphony in Miami, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, Springfield Symphony, New West Symphony, and Fresno Symphony. Recital and chamber music performances take him to concert halls in New York, Boston and Memphis.

His recording of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas, made in 2006 with pianist Paavali Jumppanen for the Claves label, received numerous awards, including Gramophone Recommends, 5 Diapasons, 4 stars from Le Monde de la Musique, Supersonic Pizzicato, and Fono Forum Stern des Monats. His Corigliano Violin Sonata, with Andrew Russo on the Black Box label, was nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award. Corey Cerovsek Plays Wieniawski, made with pianist Katja Cerovsek for the Delos label, also received much critical acclaim. Other recordings have been released on the Delos, Black Box, Aguavˆ° New Music Studio, and Cala Records labels.

He has been featured twice on NBC’Äôs Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, on the David Frost Show in England, on the PBS special Musical Encounters and on CBS’Äôs Sunday Morning.

Born in 1972 in Vancouver, Canada, and now residing in Paris, Cerovsek began playing the violin at the age of five. After early studies with Charmian Gadd and Richard Goldner he graduated at age 12 from the University of Toronto’Äôs Royal Conservatory of Music with a gold medal for the highest marks in strings. That same year, he was accepted by Josef Gingold as a student and enrolled at Indiana University, where he received bachelor’Äôs degrees in mathematics and music at age 15, masters in both at 16, and completed his doctoral course work in mathematics and music at age 18. Concurrently he studied piano with Enrica Cavallo, until 1997 frequently appearing in concert performing on both instruments.

Corey Cerovsek performs on the ’ÄúMilanollo’Äù Stradivarius of 1728, an instrument played, among others, by Christian Ferras, Giovanni Battista Viotti, and Nicolˆ¾ Paganini.