The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra announces 2009/2010 season

Listen’Ķ Your ESO is Playing!

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra 2009-2010 Season

Edmonton, AB ’Ķ The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) and Music Director William Eddins today announced exciting details of the upcoming 2009-2010 season. Audiences are invited to experience the inspiration and indulge in the celebration of the new season which will feature rousing concerts, acclaimed conductors, and renowned guest artists. Leading the ESO into their 58^th season, and his fifth as Music Director, Bill Eddins will conduct concerts in every series including the Classic Landmarks Masters, Sunday Showcase, Robbins Lighter Classics, Midweek Classics, Robbins Pops, Symphony for Kids, and ESO Specials.

"In this uncertain time that we find ourselves living, it is comforting to know that some things do not change - great soloists, a great hall, and the fabulous Edmonton Symphony Orchestra back for another year of music to delight and surprise you with. Come join us as we hold the torch of civilization high and remind our community that these are still wonderful times to enjoy classic music, and that there are even better times ahead." ~ Bill Eddins

Internationally renowned artists Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Dawn Upshaw, Manuel Barrueco, Karen Gomyo, and Marc-Andrˆ© Hamelin are just a few of the very special guests who will grace the Winspear stage with the ESO throughout the 2009-2010 season.

While Mr. Eddins will conduct over 30 programs this upcoming season, the ESO will also be led by returning guest conductors and audience favourites Robert Bernhardt, Jacques Lacombe, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Giancarlo Guerrero, Bruce Hangen, Jack Everly, Erich Kunzel, and Steven Reineke. Making their conducting debuts with the ESO this season are Eri Klas and Alondra de la Parra.

Beginning his first season with the ESO will be new Resident Conductor, Lucas Waldin. He will begin his tenure with the ESO at the start of the 2009-2010 season, under the mentorship of Music Director Bill Eddins. This is a two-year appointment, funded in part by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Musicians of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra will take centre stage in a variety of series this coming season. Charles Pilon (Assistant Principal Viola) and Colin Ryan (Principal Cello) will be featured in the Classic Landmarks Masters series. Lidia Khaner (Principal Oboe) and Robin Doyon (Principal Trumpet) perform in both the Classic Landmarks Masters and Midweek Classics series. John McPherson (Principal Trombone) and Robin Doyon are both featured in the Sunday Showcase series, Nora Bumanis (Principal Harp) makes an appearance in both Sunday Showcase and Robbins Lighter Classics, and Elizabeth Koch (Principal Flute) appears in the Robbins Lighter Classic series.

The 2009-2010 season begins on September 14^th, 2009, as the ESO welcomes one of the great voices of the century, internationally acclaimed baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, for a special Gala performance with conductor Bill Eddins. In this spectacular orchestral event, ESO patrons have a rare opportunity to hear the expansive, refined, and powerful voice of this world-renowned Russian opera singer. This will be Mr. Hvorostovsky’Äôs debut with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Many ESO Specials highlight next season’Äôs calendar. The orchestra and conductor Bob Bernhardt proudly present the Canadian debut of Sonnenschein Express in Oktoberfest!, a family friendly event showcasing the lively tradition of Bavarian alpine music. Beloved Canadian tenor John McDermott will offer a heartfelt salute to those who have bravely served their country in Lest We Forget, while jubilant Christian artist Sandi Patty sings timeless hymns and inspirational classics about the struggles, joys, and moments of peace in our life’Äôs journey. And finally, it will be a potent panoply of piano pleasures in a tuneful evening of solos, duets, and excerpts from concerti. Piano Spectacular will present an unforgettable evening of enjoyment with pianists Angela Cheng, Jon Kimura Parker, Michael Massey, and Bill Eddins.

The ESO’Äôs flagship series, the Classic Landmarks Masters, features a diverse blend of great classics and captivating discoveries. From time-honoured masterpieces including Beethoven’Äôs Ninth Symphony, Vivaldi’Äôs Guitar Concerto, and Bartˆ„k’Äôs Violin Rhapsody, plus music by Brahms, Mahler, Mozart, Respighi, and Schubert, this series continues to serve as the core of the 2009-2010 season. Among a number of Edmonton Symphony Orchestra premieres is a titan of the opera repertoire, Wagner’Äôs glorious Die Meistersinger, arranged as a lush 50-minute orchestral tone poem and given its first Canadian performance.

Some of the most lauded musicians in the world today appear with the ESO in The Classic Landmarks Masters series lineup next season. Jacques Lacombe, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Giancarlo Guererro, Eri Klas, and of course Bill Eddins, all take to the podium to the lead the orchestra, while George Gao (erhu), cellist Julie Albers, violinists Karen Gomyo and Lara St. John, guitarist Manuel Barrueco, pianists Marc-Andrˆ© Hamelin and Katherine Chi, sopranos Dawn Upshaw, Laura Whalen and Lyne Fortin, and the Richard Eaton Singers all make guest appearances.

Audiences are invited to try something different next season. Late Night with Bill Eddins is all about being able to enjoy great music in a relaxed atmosphere. Taking place on two (2) Friday evenings at 9:30 pm, audiences can hear music of the masters in these spontaneous, intermission-free concerts. Following an evening celebrating Beethoven, and a springtime journey featuring the music of France, guests are also welcome to relax after the concert with some live music and cocktails in the lobby.

The ESO Presents is another new addition to the season lineup that will certainly appeal to all audiences. Working with some of today’Äôs brightest young musicians, the ESO will bring future stars on their way to the top right to the Winspear stage. These two (2) special concerts will feature debut artists in performance with the ESO in the first half, then in solo recitals in the second half. Dazzling pianist Gabriela Montero, who recently performed with former ESO Gala artist Yo-Yo Ma at the inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama, will first perform Rachmaninoff’Äôs Piano Concerto No.2, then proceed to connect to her audience in a completely unique and powerful way through improvisational performance. Cameron Carpenter will make his brilliant Canadian debut in a performance you’Äôll have to see to believe, with breathtaking performances on the Davis Concert Organ.

Meet a soloist from the ESO and a young, imminent musician in our Sunday Showcase performances which blend timeless masterpieces and new discoveries. Sparkling suites, medieval magic, tango tradition, and an enchanting fusion of ballet and salon music, are all highlights of this series’Äô rich music programming. Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra, renowned for her orchestral leadership and founding of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, will be joined by marimbist Pius Cheung. Young Canadian violinist Maia Cabeza and pianist Daniel Fung join conductor Bill Eddins.

The Midweek Classics series returns for its fourth season, as a sanctuary of beloved music from the heart of the baroque and classical repertoire. Providing audiences a refuge in the midst of their busy weeks, these four vibrant concerts interspersed throughout the season will feature soloists from the ESO, plus special guests including pianist Stewart Goodyear, soprano Simone Osborne and Edmonton organist Jeremy Spurgeon, performing a dramatic baroque concerto on the Davis Concert Organ. Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Lucas Waldin, and Bill Eddins all conduct colourful, inspiring, and groundbreaking showpieces, including Schubert’Äôs Unfinished Symphony and Mozart’Äôs Oboe Concerto in the Midweek Classics.

Accessibility continues to be the premise of the Robbins Lighter Classics series, as some of music’Äôs ’Äúgreatest hits’Äù are presented live on stage by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. These six Thursday evening themed concerts are hosted by engaging conductors including Bob Bernhardt, Bill Eddins, and Steven Reineke. Whether delving into the breadth of Celtic music, the treasure trove of Mozart, tapping into a rich vein of holiday sentiment, or celebrating athletic excellence through musical exuberance, this series will be an unforgettable musical journey for concertgoers. The ESO will be joined by soprano Jolaine Kerley, pianist Michael Massey, organist Jeremy Spurgeon, baritone Nathan Berg, pianist Sarah Ho, the Richard Eaton Singers, and the Knock School of Irish Dance.

The ESO is once again offering a remarkable lineup of Robbins Pops concerts. Pops master Jack Everly and an all-star cast of singers and dancers will kick-off this spectacular series with Disco Days and Boogie Nights, a tribute to the 70s featuring disco anthems, monster rock hits and classic ballads. Returning for a ghoulish evening of spine-tingling music is Bruce Hangen conducting Halloween: The Concert, while the ˆíran and Kokopelli Choirs join American pops legend Erich Kunzel to lead audiences down The Great White Way with Broadway’Äôs most recent hits. The excitement continues as violinist Roby Lakatos takes the passionate, hot-blooded tradition of gypsy music and creates musical fireworks as the ’Äúdevil’Äôs fiddler’Äù in an Eastern European feast for the senses. Rounding out this dazzling series will be the return of Edmonton-favourite Jack Everly with the Richard Eaton Singers performing a choral of classical and operatic treats, and Bill Eddins spending A Night at the Oscars, celebrating timeless cinematic music as film scenes are projected on a screen above the Winspear stage.

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra prides itself on offering innovative programs for young audiences. The ESO’Äôs family series Symphony for Kids will offer four eclectic and interactive orchestral matinees, best enjoyed by children aged 5 ’Äì 12. Families are first invited to haunt the hall in their Halloween costumes for Spooktacular with conductor Bruce Hangen, then bring the wee lads and lasses back to embark on A Celtic Adventure with Bill Eddins. Families will need to help the orchestra restore the musical silence that has plagued the hometown of a little girl who loves to sing, in Dandi Productions’Äô The Mysterious Maestro, adapted from the 2003 Governor General’Äôs Award-nominated book The Maestro. Conductor Lucas Waldin and the ESO bring Mozart to life through his stories and most famous classical works, with a guest appearance by the genius himself!

However you celebrate the holiday season, the ESO presents the perfect blend of festive music to add that extra sparkle to one of the most magical times of the year. Our perennially popular performances of Handel’Äôs Messiah will feature four young Canadian singers and two of Edmonton’Äôs finest chamber choirs, University of Alberta Madrigal Singers and i Coristi Chamber Choir. In one of the most anticipated performances of the season, lustrous baritone Tyler Hamilton, along with the Greenwood Singers will create A Very Merry Pops with conductor Steven Reineke. Mr. Reineke and the ESO will also tap into a rich vein of holiday sentiment and memory with A Lightly Classical Christmas, and they will be joined by conductor Lucas Waldin and special guests in A Family Christmas Concert. The incredibly powerful and diverse voices of the Canadian Tenors will return to the Winspear Stage for an evening of holiday favourites.

Concluding the summer festival season in Edmonton is Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky. Taking place Labour Day weekend, September 4^th ’Äì 7^th, 2009, this annual festival is sure to delight concert-goers of all ages, by bringing the invigorating sounds of the ESO to the beautiful river valley setting of Hawrelak Park. Conductor Bob Bernhardt returns to lead the ESO in five outdoor concerts, showcasing classical masterpieces, operatic classics, and Hollywood favourites. Not to mention a tribute show to Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Tchaikovsky’Äôs 1812 Overture, featuring the the guns and members of the Royal Canadian Artillery, will wrap up the festival in this tradition of grand proportions. Soprano Kathleen Brett, vocalist Steve Lippia, hometown favourite trumpeter Jens Lindemann, and Bill Eddins on piano are all part of the stellar lineup celebrating our festival’Äôs 15^th anniversary.

Purchasers of ESO subscription packages can save up to 36% percent off single ticket prices, depending on the series and the seating. Subscribers also have the opportunity to purchase single tickets to ESO concerts before they go on sale to the general public. Subscription prices have not been raised for the upcoming season.

Once again, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’Äôs innovative 2 for 1 New Subscriber Promotion will be offered for the upcoming season. This fantastic offer gives every new subscriber household the opportunity to purchase 2 subscriptions for the price of 1 in their first year. More subscriber information is available online at www.edmontonsymphony.com. The 2 for 1 subscription campaign is generously sponsored by Maclab Enterprises.

Subscription packages for the 2009-2010 season are on sale now.

Subscriber Single Tickets on sale & Sampler Pass redemption begins August 11^th.

Single tickets for the season go on sale to the general public on August 18^th.

For a full listing of the 2009-2010 season, please visit www.edmontonsymphony.com.