Season Announcement: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's 2010-2011 Season

Seventeen Guest Conductors Will Showcase Their Artistry in Classical Programs as

the Orchestra Continues its Search for a New Music Director 

Season Highlights Include Renowned Violinists Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, and Midori; Pianist

Andrˆ© Watts; Versatile Performer Wayne Brady, Cirque de la Symphonie, Plus Special Events Featuring Legendary Singer and Actress Liza Minnelli and Dennis DeYoung Performing the Music of Styx

               INDIANAPOLIS ’Äì The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra announced today its 2010-2011 season of Classical, Pops and Family series concerts and Special Events that will feature some of the great artists of our time, including violin sensations Joshua Bell and Midori, who will perform the Tchaikovsky and Beethoven Concertos, respectively; a one-night-only Opening Night Gala appearance by Itzhak Perlman, who will conduct and perform as violin soloist; and renowned pianist Andrˆ© Watts performing Beethoven’Äôs ’ÄúEmperor’Äù Concerto. 

The ISO’Äôs diverse and colorful Pops lineup includes versatile actor and singer Wayne Brady, the return by popular demand of new and updated productions of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony and Cirque de la Symphonie, plus Live & Let Die:  The Music of Paul McCartney featuring Classical Mystery Tour’Äôs Tony Kishman as Paul. Other Special Events will feature one-night-only performances by legendary singer and actress Liza Minnelli in October, plus the music of 1970s and ’Äò80s rock band Styx performed by one of its founding members, Dennis DeYoung, in March 2011 among the many highlights of the indoor season at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

’ÄúWe are very proud of the high quality and extraordinary variety of programs in our 2010-2011 season,’Äù said Simon Crookall, President and CEO of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. ’ÄúAs we continue our search for a new Music Director, the Orchestra will be joined by some of the brightest conducting talent available, with some return visits and some debuts. The outstanding quality of our guest artists, in both Classical and Pops programs, will make every event at the Hilbert Circle Theatre an extraordinary experience.’Äù

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCTORS AND VIRTUOSO SOLOISTS HIGHLIGHT CLASSICAL SEASON

               The spotlight this year will be on the podium as the Orchestra continues the search for its seventh Music Director, and on center stage, where some of the great classical artists of our time will showcase their superb artistry.

Renowned maestros who will return to the Hilbert Circle Theatre podium include the ISO’Äôs Conductor Laureate, Raymond Leppard, plus guests Juanjo Mena, James Gaffigan, Gilbert Varga, Carlo Rizzi, Jun Mˆ§rkl, Douglas Boyd, Ludovic Morlot, Jakub Hrusa, Robert Spano, Mark Wigglesworth, Arild Remmereit, Pietari Inkinen and Hannu Lintu. Conductors who will lead the ISO for the first time include Juraj Valcuha, Joanna Carneiro, Pablo Heras-Casado, and Christoph Eberle.

In addition to superstars Bell, Perlman, Midori, and Watts, other artists who return to perform with the Orchestra this season will include pianists Marc-Andrˆ© Hamelin, Alexander Toradze, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Ingrid Fliter; violinists Karen Gomyo, James Ehnes, and 2002 International Violin Competition Gold Medalist Barnabˆ°s Kelemen; plus percussionist Colin Currie and string trio Time for Three.  ISO musicians who will perform as soloists will include Concertmaster Zach De Pue, Principal Viola Michael Isaac Strauss and Principal Clarinet David Bellman.  Soloists who will make their ISO debuts will include pianists Jeremy Denk and Antti Siirala, cellist Zuill Bailey and vocalists Sarah Tynan (Soprano), Thomas Cooley (Tenor) and Matthew Rose (Baritone). 

LILLY CLASSICAL SERIES & SYMPHONIC HITS POWERED BY LILLY FEATURE

MANY POPULAR ORCHESTRAL MASTERPIECES

               The Indianapolis Symphony’Äôs 20-program Lilly Classical Series and Symphonic Hits powered by Lilly will feature a mix of timeless masterpieces that span more than 200 years in classical music history.  Among the symphonic highlights this season will be four of Ludwig van Beethoven’Äôs symphonies, including the powerful Symphony No. 9 and expressive Symphony No. 6 (’ÄúPastorale’Äù), Gustav Mahler’Äôs Symphony No. 5, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’Äôs Symphony No. 40, Franz Joseph Haydn’Äôs The Creation, Johannes Brahms’Äô Symphony No. 4, Bˆ©la Bartˆ„k’Äôs Concerto for Orchestra, Hector Berlioz’Äô Symphonie fantastique, Ottorino Resphighi’Äôs The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome, Cesar Franck’Äôs Symphony in D Minor and Antonin Dvo‰ôˆ°k’Äôs Symphony No. 8.

The season also will spotlight numerous crown jewels in the concerto repertoire, including Beethoven’Äôs Piano Concerto No. 5 (’ÄúEmperor’Äù), Piano Concerto No. 1, and his Violin Concerto, Dvo‰ôˆ°k’Äôs Cello Concerto, Franz Liszt’Äôs Piano Concerto No. 1 and his Totentanz, Camille Saint-Saˆ´ns’Äô Piano Concerto No. 2, Piotr Illych Tchaikovsky’Äôs Violin Concerto, Antonio Vivaldi’Äôs The Four Seasons, Jean Sibelius’Äô Violin Concerto and Brahms’Äô Piano Concerto No. 1.

   Many of these works will be a part of the Orchestra’Äôs six-weekend Symphonic Hits powered by Lilly programs, which offer affordable ticket prices, emerging classical artists and signature works that are among the most popular in classical music. In addition, all Symphonic Hits concerts feature Sound Off, the casual pre-concert chat with ISO musicians, and Reverb, the post-concert cocktail hour in the theatre lobby. All Symphonic Hits concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Prior to single tickets going on sale in August, Symphonic Hits concerts can be ordered via the flexible Your Season Your Way option or through a Symphony on Demand voucher packet (See Season Calendar for Symphonic Hits Programs). 

The Classical Series programs spotlight established artists, many of whom are Indianapolis audience favorites, and an eclectic blend of popular and critically acclaimed works that are presented in a more traditional concert format.  Prior to each Classical Series concert is the 30-minute, J. K. Family Foundation Words on Music program featuring conductors, guest artists and ISO musicians. These 14 concert-weekends may be ordered through traditional subscription packages.

CLAUDE BAKER WORLD PREMIERE & OTHER CONTEMPORARY WORKS

As part of the Indianapolis Symphony’Äôs continued commitment to creating new works and celebrating the music of living composers, the ISO, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition have commissioned a new Piano Concerto by former Saint Louis Symphony Composer-in-Residence and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Chancellor of Composition Claude Baker that will be performed by noted pianist Marc-Andrˆ© Hamelin.  Other works by living composers will include John Adams’Äô Lollapalooza and renowned Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara’Äôs Incantations featuring percussionist Colin Currie as soloist.

The ISO has joined eight orchestras across the country to commission a piece written by composer Chris Brubeck for its own ensemble-in-residence Time for Three. The concerto, Travels in Time for Three, premieres this season with the Youngstown Symphony and is a mix of musical genres from jazz to country, Irish folk music to funk and gospel to classical. Also to be announced will be the selection of a contemporary work from a young composer that will earn the ISO’Äôs Marilyn K. Glick Young Composer Award and will be performed as part of the Lilly Classical Series.

LEGENDARY VIOLINIST ITZHAK PERLMAN CONDUCTS & PERFORMS AT GALA CONCERT

               One of the great classical artists of our time, legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman will return to the Hilbert Circle Theatre in the Orchestra’Äôs Gala concert on October 2, at 6 p.m. Perlman conducts and performs two works by Mozart ’Äì the Adagio in E Major and the Rondo in C Major ’Äì and will conduct the ISO in two orchestral works by Dvo‰ôˆ°k ’Äì the Serenade for Strings and the popular ’ÄúNew World’Äù Symphony This annual event features a pre-concert reception with delicacies from local restaurants and a post-concert gourmet dinner under the large tent on Monument Circle and is the official kickoff to the Orchestra’Äôs season.

JACK EVERLY’ÄôS DIVERSE PRINTING PARTNERS POPS SERIES & STRATFORD AT WEST CLAY

COFFEE POPS SERIES SEASON HEADLINES WITH EMMY AWARD-WINNER WAYNE BRADY;

NEW START TIME FOR SUNDAY CONCERTS

A North American leader in innovative pops series programming, Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly will conduct six of the eight Printing Partners Pops Series programs featuring a broad spectrum of artists and musical styles. Headlining this year’Äôs Pops season will be versatile Emmy Award-winner Wayne Brady, who will showcase his prowess as a singer and dancer in his ISO debut, plus the return of new and revised versions of the colorful Cirque de la Symphonie and Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, the latter created and conducted by Indiana native and Emmy Award-winner George Daugherty. 

Other exciting Pops programs will include Live and Let Die:  The Music of Paul McCartney featuring Classical Mystery Tour’Äôs Tony Kishman as Paul, two-time Grammy Award winning soprano Sylvia McNair performing her new cabaret show plus the legendary vocal quartet The Four Freshman presenting many of their hits.  Noted jazz and cabaret star Ann Hampton Callaway will be joined by her sister, Broadway star Liz Callaway, for a weekend that will feature performances of many of their favorite songs plus other signature works from their careers in a program titled Sibling Revelry. In addition, Broadway leading lady Ashley Brown, who starred in Mary Poppins on the Great White Way, joins Maestro Everly and the ISO to perform many Broadway favorites, and the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir will sing The Great Choruses of Hollywood and Broadway to round out the Pops season.

In the 2010-2011 season, Sunday Pops Series concerts will move to 3 p.m. from 7 p.m.

SANDI PATTY HOSTS 25^th ANNIVERSARY OF DUKE ENERGY YULETIDE CELEBRATION

               An Indianapolis audience favorite, versatile singer Sandi Patty returns to join Maestro Everly and the ISO to perform the 25^th Anniversary Celebration of the Orchestra’Äôs holiday spectacular, Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration Friday, December 3 through Thursday, December 23.  An Indiana holiday tradition, Yuletide Celebration features a talented cast of singers and dancers, larger-than-life puppetry and the traditional ’ÄúTap-Dancing Santas’Äù in a massive Broadway-style holiday presentation that attracts more than 40,000 people to the Hilbert Circle Theatre in December. 

SPECIAL EVENTS ’Äì LIZA MINNELLI, DENNIS DeYOUNG PERFORMS THE MUSIC OF STYX,

PINK MARTINI AMONG HIGHLIGHTS IN WIDE VARIETY OF SINGLE EVENTS

Headlining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’Äôs 2010-2011 Season of special event concerts will be the highly anticipated ISO debut of legendary star of stage and screen Liza Minnelli, who will perform many of her signature works plus other pop standards and will share stories about her illustrious career in one concert on October 30. The Orchestra also will host noted rock star Dennis DeYoung, one of the founding members of the groundbreaking rock band Styx, to perform many of the band’Äôs hits from the 1970s and ’Äò80s on March 31. 

               Holiday special events will include a Thanksgiving week concert featuring versatile classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop crossover band Pink Martini on November 22, the 12^th annual Classical Christmas concert led by ISO Conductor Laureate Raymond Leppard on December 11 at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Ballroom, the Orchestra’Äôs presentation of George Frideric Handel’Äôs popular liturgical oratorio masterpiece Messiah with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir 0n December 18 at Clowes Memorial Hall, and the ever-popular New Year’Äôs Eve in Vienna concert on December 31 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.   The ISO will celebrate the significant contributions of African-American artists and culture on the world of music in the 26^th edition of its Celebration of Black History concert February 8.

DOW AGROSCIENCES FAMILY SERIES SERVES YOUNG AUDIENCES

               Since 1984, a key element of the Orchestra’Äôs mission is its programming for young audiences through the Dow AgroSciences Family Series concerts. This series features thematic programs of shorter classical and popular works performed in concerts that are one-hour long and designed especially for young listeners. This year the ISO will present an exciting, colorful and engaging lineup of Family Series programs to enlighten and entertain audiences of all ages. As an added treat, before each concert audiences are invited to go on a ’ÄúMusic Explorer’Äù journey to many interactive activities located in the lobby, and after the performance, guest artists meet informally with the audience near the stage for ’ÄúFamily Chat’Äù discussions about the program. This year, Family Series concerts will be performed on Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

The Dow AgroSciences Family Series kicks off on November 7 with The Classical Clown:  A Comedy Concerto starring noted actor and mime Dan Kamin, and features the popular puppet theater troupe Enchantment Theatre Company presenting its colorful production of Scheherazade February 27, and engaging guest conductor Thomas Wilkins will direct a program of lively majestic and inspirational melodies from classical music and film scores in Let’Äôs Get Moving on April 17.  The series also includes the December 5, 6 p.m. performance of Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration starring Sandi Patty.

STELLA ARTOIS HAPPY HOUR AT THE SYMPHONY RETURNS WITH PROGRAMMING CREATED BY ISO ENSEMBLE-IN-RESIDENCE, TIME FOR THREE

               The ISO’Äôs ensemble-in-residence Time for Three (with ISO concertmaster Zach De Pue) and conductor Steve Hackman return to program the Indianapolis Symphony’Äôs Stella Artois Happy Hour at the Symphony series. These four concerts feature familiar and popular classical works and contemporary music as well as original tunes written by the Time for Three and are designed to introduce new audiences to symphonic music. Patrons to Happy Hour at the Symphony are invited to sample appetizers and drinks from local restaurants during the pre-concert mix and mingle event and may take part in an after-party gathering at a local restaurant after the hour-long concert. Doors to the Happy Hour at the Symphony concerts open at 5 p.m. and the program begins at 6:30. Dates for this season’Äôs Happy Hour will be announced in the near future.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

The Indianapolis Symphony provides three options to music lovers who wish to subscribe. The traditional subscription package features a minimum of seven concerts in a package that provides the patron with the same seat for every performance in their package and the added benefit of a flexible exchange policy. The Your Season Your Way option allows patrons to create their own subscription package by choosing a minimum of five performances, with escalating discounted prices per seat as the buyer orders additional performances, and the Symphony on Demand option provides six or twelve vouchers that may be used in any combination for any subscription concert to provide ultimate schedule flexibility.

The public may renew current subscriptions or become a new subscriber beginning Friday, March 5, by visiting the ISO’Äôs website at www.IndianapolisSymphony.org, by phone at (317) 639-4300, by mail or in person at the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office.  Subscribers who renew by Friday, April 16, will receive a ten-percent ’ÄúEarly Bird Discount’Äù on their subscription package.  The deadline for subscription renewal is Monday, May 17.

All Special Event tickets will be on sale to subscribers beginning March 5, with a ten-percent price discount for subscribers and will go on sale along with other single tickets to the general public on August 23.  For more information about all Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra presentations, call the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office at (317) 639-4300.  Outside Indianapolis call toll free (800) 366-8457.

ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1930, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is the largest professional performing arts organization in Indiana, is one of only 17 full-time year-rounds orchestras in North America, and performs 200 concerts each year for more than 350,000 people.  Renowned for its 79-year legacy of acclaimed recordings, nationwide radio broadcasts and service to the community, the ISO serves a broad spectrum of audiences via classical, pops, family, holiday, educational and free community outreach concert programs.  A key part of the Orchestra’Äôs mission is education, and its diverse programs earned the Mayor’Äôs Award for Excellence in Education from the City of Indianapolis.  ISO musicians and staff have created 20 different pioneering learning opportunities that serve nearly 100,000 Hoosiers annually comprising audiences of all ages that are inspired by the power of music.