WSO Supports Heart Month- Tchaikovsky 6

[] Tchaikovsky 6 Friday, February 13 at 8pm Centennial Concert Hall Saturday, February 14 at 8pm Centennial Concert Hall Sunday, February 15 at 3pm Brandon Western Manitoba Auditorium Featuring - Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor Gwen Hoebig, violin February 5, 2009 -- To commemorate Heart Month, The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra will give back to the Heart and Stroke Foundation on Valentine’s Day with Dinner and a Symphony, a stunning concert package featuring WSO Concertmaster Gwen Hoebig as our featured soloist and Tchaikovsky’s 6th and final symphony. As part of the package, concertgoers can enjoy a three-course dinner (beef or vegetarian menu options) at the Concert Hall prior to the concert. A portion of the proceeds from the dinner will be given to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. The concert features Gwen Hoebig performing Hungarian composer Béla Bartók’s optimistic Violin Concerto No. 2, a piece with which Gwen has a very personal history. In 1992, she studied the concerto with Zoltán Székely, a friend of musical collaborator of Bartók’s and the violin virtuoso who commissioned and premiered the work. In the concert’s second half, the WSO performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique). Premiering just nine days before his death, Tchaikovsky was convinced this was his greatest masterpiece, writing “without exaggeration, I have put my whole soul into this work.” Tchaikovsky 6 takes place on Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14 at 8pm at the Centennial Concert Hall and Sunday, January 15 at 3pm at the Western Manitoba Auditorium in Brandon. Concert tickets range from $26.25 to $61.00 and are available through the WSO box office at 949-3999, online at www.wso.mb.ca or at any Ticketmaster outlet. The Valentine’s Day dinner (February 14) begins at 5:30pm - tickets for the Dinner and a Symphony package start at $75.00 per person and the deadline for booking is Tuesday, February 10. Rehearsals Wednesday, February 11 1:30 to 4pm Thursday, February 12 10am to 12:30pm For additional information, photos or to schedule interviews please contact Sheena Stemler Marketing & Communications Coordinator (204) 949-3970 (204) 290-7484 sstemler@wso.mb.ca The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is the celebrated hub of Winnipeg's rich cultural life, delighting more than 100,000 audience members each year with innovative programming and musical excellence. The WSO presents educational programs for more than 25,000 students annually and tours outside the city reaching out to communities across Manitoba.