The Odessa Philharmonic at Brooklyn Center - 3/13

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2009-2010 World Stages series with a concert by the acclaimed Odessa Philharmonic on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 8pm. Making its Brooklyn Center debut as part of its first U.S. tour in ten years, theOdessa Philharmonic perform will a program including Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor ("Unfinished"), Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A major, and Saint Sa‹ėns' Cello Concerto featuring soloist William DeRosa.

Founded in 1937, the Odessa Philharmonic performed regularly throughout the Soviet era under such conductors as Nathan Rachlin, Yuri Temirkanov, Kurt Sanderling, Arvid Jansons and Mariss Jansons. Because of Odessa's ranking as a "regional" city by the Soviet government, the orchestra was not allowed to travel outside the borders of the USSR. With the independence of Ukraine, the orchestra's status rose; in January of 1993 the Government of Ukraine formally awarded the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra federal status, making it the only performing arts organization in Ukraine outside of Kiev to attain this distinction.

Under the baton of Maestro Hobart Earle, the Odessa Philharmonic has performed in major concert halls of the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia and throughout Ukraine. Highlights of Maestro Earle's career include performances in the Musikverein (Vienna), the Philharmonie (Cologne), the Beethovenhalle (Bonn), the Barbican Hall (London), the National Auditorium (Madrid), the Liszt Academy (Budapest) the Great Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society. In the United States he has appeared in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Davies Hall in San Francisco and the General Assembly of the United Nations.

About Maestro Hobart Earle

Maestro Hobart Earle is currently in his fifteenth season as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra. He studied under Ferdinand Leitner in Salzburg and Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood. He also studied conducting at the Academy of Music in Vienna, received a performer's diploma in clarinet from London's Trinity College of Music, and is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University.

In addition to the Odessa Philharmonic, Maestro Earle has led such orchestras as the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Tonkuenstler Orchestra, the Noord-Nederlands Orkest in Holland, the Orchestra della Toscana in Italy, and in the U. S., the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. In recognition of his work with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, Hobart Earle was awarded the title "Distinguished Artist of Ukraine", the first and only foreigner in the history of Ukraine so honored.

About William DeRosa

William DeRosa has established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation. He has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Los Angeles, Florida, Ekaterinburg, and BBC Philharmonics, the Symphony Orchestras of Milwaukee, Utah, and San Francisco, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. As a recitalist, DeRosa has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Music Center in Los Angeles, Chicago's Orchestra Hall and Boston's Jordan Hall. He is also an active chamber musician, performing with many of the world's leading ensembles including the Artis, Emerson and Cleveland quartets. His festival appearances have taken him to Aspen, Marlboro and Seattle, as well as overseas. He has regularly performed on NPR and has been the subject of documentaries and television specials broadcast on PBS and CBS. DeRosa has recorded for EMI Classics and Audiofon Records. He performs on a rare and pristine cello crafted by Dominico Montangana (Venice, 1739).

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving schoolchildren from over 225 schools annually.

The Odessa Philharmonic at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Road, Brooklyn

Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 8pm

Tickets: $35, $25

Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1PM - 6PM

Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 33

Major support for Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' World Stages: Music series is provided by National Grid.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are made possible in part with public funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for the 2009-2010 season is provided by: Target; JP Morgan Chase; Brooklyn Community Foundation; Con Edison; Macy's; TD Bank; the Carnegie Corporation of New York; Air Jamaica; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; and the Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in the New York Community Trust by founders of The Reader's Digest Association. Additional support provided by CNG Publications, The Brooklyn Eagle, and WBGO. Marriott New York LaGuardia Airport is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts 2009-2010 season. Backstage catering graciously provided by Applebee's.

Brooklyn Center acknowledges the support of Assemblymembers Karim Camara, Steven H. Cymbrowitz, Rhoda Jacobs, Alan Maisel, Joan L. Millman, N. Nick Perry, Annette Robinson, and Helene E. Weinstein, members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York State Assembly, and New York State Senators Martine Malavˆ© Dilan, Kevin S. Parker, and John L. Sampson. Special thanks to Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. Councilmembers Kendall B. Stewart and Albert Vann, and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin.