NAC Gala (with PM Stephen Harper) raises $575,000

National Arts Centre’Äôs annual Gala raises $575,000 for the NAC’Äôs National Youth and Education Trust Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a surprise appearance singing in concert with Yo-Yo Ma

Ottawa, Canada ’Äì The National Arts Centre’Äôs 2009 Gala has raised an impressive $575,000 for the National Arts Centre Foundation’Äôs National Youth and Education Trust. It also featured a surprise performance by Canada’Äôs Prime Minister Stephen Harper singing in concert with Yo-Yo Ma! The National Youth and Education Trust provides funds for the NAC’Äôs wide array of performing arts programming for young artists, young audiences and schools.

The NAC Gala on Saturday, October 3 had been sold out for months with audiences looking forward to an evening with superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, NAC Music Director Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, along with rising star pianist Avan Yu. Yo-Yo Ma together with Avan Yu had already thrilled the standing-room-only crowd with an encore duet at the end of the first half. Then to their astonishment and delight, Yo-Yo Ma led out Prime Minister Stephen Harper for an surprise performance of ’ÄúI’Äôll Get By With a Little Help From my Friends’Äù backed by cellist Ma and the local group Herringbone. The Prime Minister’Äôs wife Laureen Harper was the Honourary Chair of the Gala.

TELUS, Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, was once again the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala ’Äì a commitment that reflects TELUS’Äôs continuing support of this primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through educational materials, professional training, mentoring programs and young audience performances. The Trust is also supported by Michael Potter, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and members of the NAC Foundation’Äôs Donors’Äô Circle.

In addition to TELUS as the Presenting Sponsor, the Gala is supported by A&E, University of Ottawa and TD Bank Financial Group. Media partners are the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Business Journal, Le Droit, Embassy Newspaper and The Hill Times.

The Gala Committee was chaired for the fourth year by Janet Yale, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs of TELUS, the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala, and Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust.

Janet Yale said: ’ÄúWhat a thrilling night! To have the privilege of being able to see such consummate performers as Yo-Yo Ma and Pinchas Zukerman and our own NAC Orchestra share the stage with pianist Avan Yu, a shining example of the next generation of artists, is exactly what this Gala is all about. It is wonderful to have our community, including our Honourary Gala Chair Laureen Harper and our surprise guest performer Stephen Harper, come together in this way to show their support for this fantastic cause.’Äù

Jayne Watson in her new role as NAC Foundation CEO added: ’ÄúI am so grateful to all the supporters of the National Youth and Education Trust who have demonstrated through their attendance at this Gala just how important a place the arts have in their lives. Janet Yale and the Gala Committee have really done us proud by raising such an impressive amount in these challenging economic times. I applaud Pinchas Zukerman and the musicians of the NAC Orchestra for donating their services for the Gala, and also Yo-Yo Ma who took time on the afternoon of the Gala to give a workshop to local music students.’Äù

The crowd of over 2,100 included ambassadors, cabinet ministers, senators and members of Canada’Äôs corporate elite. A luxurious wine and canapˆ© reception in the lavishly decorated NAC Foyer was followed by the concert which featured Yo-Yo Ma performing the Dvorˆ°k Cello Concerto with the National Arts Centre led by Pinchas Zukerman. To conclude the evening, 650 Gala guests on the transformed Southam Hall stage dined on a spectacular gourmet dinner created by the NAC’Äôs new Executive Chef Michael Blackie.

The 2009 NAC Gala offers a Magical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma and the NAC Orchestra led by Pinchas Zukerman on Oct. 3

’ÄúYo-Yo Ma is the greatest cellist today. Everything he touches he turns to gold...gorgeous, almost voluptuous playing.’Äù Boston Herald

Ottawa, Canada ’Äì The upcoming National Arts Centre Gala featuring superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, ’Äúthe most popular artist in classical music today,’Äù on Saturday, October 3 is sold out. Those lucky enough to have tickets will hear Yo-Yo Ma together with the National Arts Centre Orchestra led by Music Director Pinchas Zukerman. This ’ÄúMagical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma’Äù is presented by TELUS. The Gala benefits the National Youth and Education Trust which provides funds for the NAC’Äôs wide array of performing arts programming for young artists, young audiences and schools.

Yo-Yo Ma has been a cultural beacon for decades. Young and old flock to his sold-out concerts, coming away moved, thrilled, and inspired. This astonishing artist has performed at the Oscars, the Grammys, the Olympics, and before a live audience of over a million at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He returns to the NAC Orchestra to perform Dvorˆ°k’Äôs beloved Cello Concerto with the NAC’Äôs own luminary Pinchas Zukerman leading the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

The concert will also feature rising star pianist AvanYu, a former participant in the NAC Summer Music Institute, performing Chopin’Äôs Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise brillante in E-flat major. Pinchas Zukerman will open the concert with ’ÄúBlumine’Äù from Mahler’Äôs Symphony No. 1. Additional programming will remain a surprise!

There will be a pre-concert reception for all patrons at 5:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 6:30 p.m. Those who have purchased Encore Seating will join Gala sponsors at a post-concert reception, followed by dinner on the Southam Hall stage.

The NAC is honoured once again to have TELUS, Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, as the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala ’Äì a commitment that reflects TELUS’Äôs continuing support of this primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through educational materials, professional training, mentoring programs and young audience performances. The Trust is also supported by Michael Potter, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and members of the NAC Foundation’Äôs Donors’Äô Circle.

In addition to TELUS as the Presenting Sponsor, the Gala is supported by A&E, University of Ottawa and TD Bank Financial Group. Media partners are the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Business Journal, Le Droit, Embassy Newspaper and The Hill Times.

Janet Yale, TELUS’Äô executive vice president, Corporate Affairs, is the Chair of the Gala Committee for the fourth year. Mrs. Laureen Harper is the Honourary Gala Chair.

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976. He has received numerous awards, including 15 Grammy¬Æ Awards from his discography of over 75 albums, the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the Glenn Gould Prize (1999), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), and the World Economic Forum’Äôs Crystal Award (2008). Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the United States Department of State in 2002, Yo-Yo Ma has met with, trained and mentored thousands of students worldwide. In 2006, Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a U.N. Messenger of Peace and in 2007 Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon extended his appointment.

Pinchas Zukerman has been Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1998, and his genius and prodigious technique have been a marvel to critics and audiences for over four decades. He is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, and chamber musician while his dedication to teaching has been a major catalyst for many of the education initiatives supported by the National Youth and Education Trust. Pinchas Zukerman’Äôs discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 21 Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards. He was named first-prize winner of the 1969 Leventritt Competition, and, in 1983, President Reagan awarded him a Medal of Arts for his leadership in the musical world. In October 2002, he became the first recipient of the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence at the National Arts Awards Gala in New York City.

Avan Yu has already, at the age of 21, performed in recital and with orchestras on four continents, consistently captivating audiences with his extraordinary musicianship and prodigious ability. He is the only pianist to win First Prize in both the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. Avan Yu won first prize at the Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of seventeen. In August 2008 he captured the Silver Medal and the Audience Award at the Paloma O’ÄôShea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

He says: ’ÄúI was 16 years old when I first tackled the Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante in preparation for the Canadian Chopin Competition. My love for it has only grown with time - it’Äôs a wonderful piece that combines elegance, youthful exuberance, and lyricism in a perfect balance. It is astonishing to realize that Chopin completed the work when he was only in his early twenties.’Äù

Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra donate their services for the NAC’Äôs annual Gala.

2009 NAC Gala: a Magical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma and Pinchas Zukerman on Oct. 3

The 2009 NAC Gala offers a Magical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma and the NAC Orchestra led by Pinchas Zukerman on Oct. 3

Ottawa, Canada ’Äì ’ÄúYo-Yo Ma is the greatest cellist today. Everything he touches he turns to gold...gorgeous, almost voluptuous playing.’Äù Boston Herald

The National Arts Centre is delighted to announce that superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, ’Äúthe most popular artist in classical music today,’Äù will return as special guest for the 2009 NAC Gala on Saturday, October 3. Music Director Pinchas Zukerman will lead the National Arts Centre Orchestra for this ’ÄúMagical Evening with Yo-Yo Ma’Äù, presented by TELUS. The fundraising evening benefits the National Youth and Education Trust which provides funds for the NAC’Äôs wide array of performing arts programming for young artists, young audiences and schools.

Yo-Yo Ma has been a cultural beacon for decades. Young and old flock to his sold-out concerts, coming away moved, thrilled, and inspired. This astonishing artist has performed at the Oscars, the Grammys, the Olympics, and recently before a live audience of over a million at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He returns to the NAC Orchestra to perform Dvorˆ°k’Äôs beloved Cello Concerto with the NAC’Äôs own luminary Pinchas Zukerman leading the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Additional programming will be announced at a later date.

There will be a pre-concert reception for all patrons at 5:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 6:30 p.m. Those who purchase Encore Seating will join Gala sponsors at a post-concert reception, followed by dinner on the Southam Hall stage.

Subscribers who sign up for the 2009-2010 National Arts Centre Orchestra season, which will be announced on March 3, will benefit from a priority purchasing period from April 1 to 15 before tickets go on sale to the general public on May 18.

The NAC is honoured once again to have TELUS, Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, as the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala ’Äì a commitment that reflects TELUS’Äôs continuing support of this primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through educational materials, professional training, mentoring programs and young audience performances. The Trust is also supported by Michael Potter and Vˆ©ronique Dhieux, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and members of the NAC Foundation’Äôs Donors’Äô Circle.

The NAC is delighted to announce that Janet Yale, TELUS’Äô executive vice president, Corporate Affairs, has agreed to chair the Gala Committee for the fourth year.

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976. He has received numerous awards, including 15 Grammy¬Æ Awards from his discography of over 75 albums, the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the Glenn Gould Prize (1999), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), and the World Economic Forum’Äôs Crystal Award (2008). Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the United States Department of State in 2002, Yo-Yo Ma has met with, trained and mentored thousands of students worldwide. In 2006, Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a U.N. Messenger of Peace and in 2007 Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon extended his appointment.

Pinchas Zukerman has been Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1998, and his genius and prodigious technique have been a marvel to critics and audiences for over four decades. He is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, and chamber musician while his dedication to teaching has been a major catalyst for many of the education initiatives supported by the National Youth and Education Trust. Pinchas Zukerman's discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 21 Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards. He was named first-prize winner of the 1969 Leventritt Competition, and, in 1983, President Reagan awarded him a Medal of Arts for his leadership in the musical world. In October 2002, he became the first recipient of the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence at the National Arts Awards Gala in New York City.

Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra donate their services for the NAC’Äôs annual Gala.

Concert tickets for the NAC Gala on Saturday, October 3 are priced at $70, $125 and $150 and include the pre-concert reception with wine and canapˆ©s at 5:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 6:30 p.m. These go on sale on April 1 to members of the NAC Donors Circle and to subscribers to the National Arts Centre Orchestra’Äôs 2009-2010 season which goes on sale on March 3. Orders can be made only with a valid order form which will be accepted online, by mail, by fax, or dropped off in person in the NAC Box Office from Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. This priority period lasts until April 15. The Box Office opens to the general public on May 18.

Silk Road Project Announces New Commissions

THE SILK ROAD PROJECT ANNOUNCES NEW COMMISSIONS

FOR YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE

Acclaimed Composers and Musicians Gabriela Lena Frank, Rabih Abou-Khalil,

Giovanni Sollima, Sandeep Das, Siamak Aghaei and Colin Jacobsen

Create New Silk Road Ensemble Repertoire at Commissioning Workshop

and Open Rehearsal at Tanglewood Music Center, September 7-15, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I., August 18, 2008 ’Äì The Silk Road Project, a non-profit organization founded by Artistic Director Yo-Yo Ma to connect musicians, composers, artists and audiences around the world, announces the commission of three new works by renowned composers Gabriela Lena Frank, Rabih Abou-Khalil and Giovanni Sollima, as well as two additional works by long-time Silk Road Ensemble members Sandeep Das, Siamak Aghaei and Colin Jacobsen. The works of these six composers and arrangers will offer a multitude of voices, echoes and overtones’Äîranging from Peru and Jewish Eastern Europe, to Lebanon and Germany, to Sicily, Iran, India and the United States. The new pieces will be introduced into the Silk Road Ensemble’Äôs repertoire during the Project’Äôs commissioning workshop at the Tanglewood Music Center from September 7-15, 2008. Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will hold an open rehearsal of these newly unveiled works at Tanglewood’Äôs Seiji Ozawa Concert Hall at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 15.

’ÄúNew music is the lifeblood of the Silk Road Ensemble,’Äù stated Yo-Yo Ma. ’ÄúOur commissioning program forms the foundation for the remarkable exchanges that take place between musicians from so many different countries and traditions. One of my favorite things about the Ensemble is the way members introduce musicians and composers whose work they are passionate about. We're constantly saying to each other ’ÄòYou’Äôve got to hear this!’Äô I think that enthusiasm, combined with the time and effort we put into incubating new works, really makes the Silk Road Project’Äôs commissioning program unique.’Äù

The Silk Road Project must commission and arrange new works for the Silk Road Ensemble, since very little existing music is written for the Ensemble’Äôs unique combinations of instruments. The Silk Road Project’Äôs commissioning program began at Tanglewood in Summer 2000, continued at L’ÄôAcademie Musicale de Villecroze in southern France in Summer 2001, Tanglewood in Fall 2004 and Fall 2006, and returned to L’ÄôAcademie Musicale de Villecroze in Summer 2007. Talented musicians, intrigued by the opportunity to compose music for instruments from the Western classical tradition and Silk Road regions, are selected to collaborate with Silk Road Ensemble members on the development of new pieces. The composers attend rehearsals of their works, which offers them the unique opportunity to refine their original ideas and test new approaches. The creation of new music is a constantly evolving process, with Ensemble members and composers working in tandem to create a diverse repertoire and expand opportunities for connections between artists and audience during performances. To date, the Silk Road Project has commissioned 64 works from composers from 17 countries, many of which have been recorded by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma and performed around the world.

’ÄúWith this round of commissions, I’Äôm especially excited because we are deepening some important relationships with Gabriela Lena Frank and Rabih Abou-Khalil and working for the first time with Giovanni Sollima, whose music embodies the centuries of wide-ranging influences that have long made Sicily a cultural crossroads,’Äù said Yo-Yo Ma. ’ÄúIt’Äôs also been thrilling to watch Siamak, Colin and Sandeep develop as composers and arrangers, as well as musicians, in the eight years I’Äôve known them. I can’Äôt wait to hear what they come up with.’Äù

Gabriela Lena Frank

Gabriela Lena Frank’Äôs compositions are inspired by her diverse heritage as an American of Peruvian, Chinese, Lithuanian and Jewish descent. She has committed herself to exploring South American culture and folklore, and has been lauded as a ’Äúmusical anthropologist’Äù as her work often incorporates Latin American poetry, mythology, and native music styles into a Western classical framework. Frank’Äôs Ritmos Anchinos, which combines Chinese and Andean musical influences, was commissioned for the 2006 workshop at Tanglewood and performed during the Silk Road Ensemble’Äôs 2008 tour of Japan, and will be featured in upcoming performances during the Silk Road Project’Äôs 10^th-anniversary season.

Rabih Abou-Khalil

An accomplished instrumentalist and composer raised in Beirut and Munich, Rabih Abou-Khalil’Äôs compositions intertwine Arabic and Western musical traditions in a contemporary context. The Silk Road Ensemble met Abou-Khalil at the 2007 workshop in Villecroze, France, and he has arranged a performance of his celebrated Arabian Waltz for the Silk Road Ensemble, which has been a favorite of Silk Road Ensemble members and audiences. This is his first commission expressly for the Silk Road Ensemble. Other recent commissions include works for the Sˆºdwesrfunk (Southwest German Radio) and BBC Concert Orchestra, and he has collaborated with the Ensemble Modern, one of the most renowned orchestras specializing in contemporary music.

Giovanni Sollima

Giovanni Sollima is an accomplished cellist and progressive composer whose diverse and eclectic approach is characterized by elements of classical, jazz and rock music. Sollima is influenced by ethnic sounds from his native Sicily, North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkan States. Despite his traditional Western classical roots, Sollima’Äôs compositions extend beyond conventionality, eluding fixed genres. In addition to performing as a soloist at world-renowned concert halls, his work has been commissioned for ensembles, film directors and choreographers. This will be Sollima’Äôs first collaboration with the Silk Road Ensemble.

Sandeep Das

A member of the Silk Road Ensemble since 2000, Sandeep Das is considered one of the premier tabla players today. His percussion expertise has made him a celebrity in India and earned him international renown. Das was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for one of his approximately 20 collaborative albums.

Siamak Aghaei

A talented santur player, Siamak Aghaei is regarded as among the best Iranian classical musicians of his generation. An integral member of the Silk Road Ensemble since 2000, Aghaei has studied folk music traditions of Iran for the past decade.

Colin Jacobsen

A graduate of the Juilliard School and regular performer with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center among other New York ensembles, Jacobsen has performed with the Silk Road Ensemble since 2000. His most recent arrangement for the Ensemble has been of an ancient Persian song, Ascending Bird.

About the Silk Road Project

The Silk Road Project is a not-for-profit arts, cultural and educational organization founded in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who serves as its artistic director, and led by Laura Freid, executive director and CEO. The Project has a vision of connecting the world’Äôs neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe. Inspired by the interchange of culture and ideas along the historic trade route, the Silk Road Project presents performances by the Silk Road Ensemble; commissions new musical and multimedia works; and develops educational materials and programming. Partnering with other institutions to present musical, visual and narrative traditions from Silk Road regions, the Silk Road Project engages audiences throughout the world through performances, educational programs, and residencies in universities, colleges, museums and schools.

About Yo-Yo Ma

The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras worldwide and his recital and chamber music activities. His discography includes more than 75 albums, including 16 Grammy award winners. One of Ma’Äôs goals is the investigation of music as a means of communication and as a vehicle for the migration of ideas; in 1998, he established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient Silk Road trade routes. Ma was born in Paris to Chinese parents who later moved the family to New York. He began to study cello at the age of four, attended the Juilliard School and in 1976 graduated from Harvard University. He has received numerous awards, including the 1978 Avery Fisher Prize, the 1999 Glenn Gould Prize, the 2001 National Medal of Arts, the 2006 Sonning Prize, the 2006 Dan David Prize, and the 2008 World Economic Forum’Äôs Crystal Award. In 2006, he was designated a United Nations Messenger of Peace by then Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki’Äìmoon extended his appointment.

About the Silk Road Ensemble

The Silk Road Ensemble is a select group of performers and composers drawn from a wide range of cultural and international musical heritages. The Ensemble presents innovative and energetic performances that explore traditional and contemporary music from their diverse backgrounds, provide a creative platform for their own artistic growth and engage audiences in further learning about the Silk Road.

May and June at the TSO

A Stellar Conclusion to the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra's 86th Season

Featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Yannick Nˆ©zet-Sˆ©guin and Jacques Israelievitch

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's 86th season will soon come to an end, but before you put on your sunglasses and head to the beach, there are still several concerts that are not to be missed!

Much-loved cellist Yo-Yo Ma, whose concerts sell out wherever he performs, returns to Toronto on May 3 to perform Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1, originally written for Mstislav Rostropovich. TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian will conduct this very special evening that will also include Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

Former TSO music director Gˆºnther Herbig returns to conduct the Orchestra on May 7 and 8 in Mendelssohn's The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) and Schubert's Symphony No. 9, in a concert titled Beethoven Piano Concerto 3. The Concerto will be performed by Jonathan Biss, the talented young American pianist, already recognized for his exceptional artistry, artistic maturity, and versatility. Biss comes from a long line of musicians: both of his parents were professional string players, while his grandmother was Raya Garbousova, for whom Samuel Barber composed his Cello Concerto.

Find out what happens when aliens plot to take over Roy Thomson Hall with conductor Rosemary Thomson and the Magic Circle Mime Company on May 10 at 1:30pm and 3:30pm. Orchestra from Planet X, the last of the Young People's Concerts Series this season, is an out-of-this-world concert experience!

Canadian violinist James Ehnes, a multiple Juno Award-winner and 2008 Grammy Award-winner, joins the TSO for the second time this season for Ehnes & Oundjian, on May 21 and 22. Ehnes will play the violin and lead the Orchestra in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4, and will be joined by TSO Principal Oboe Sarah Jeffrey for Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe. Peter Oundjian will conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, which will conclude the evening.

Rising Canadian star Kwamˆ© Ryan will make his TSO debut conducting Ravel's most popular and passionate work, Bolˆ©ro, on May 24 and 25. Ryan, who grew up in Trinidad, is charting a distinguished career in Europe, having recently been named Musical Director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine. He will be joined by another Canadian, violinist Karen Gomyo, who was born in Tokyo to a Japanese father and a French-Canadian mother. She won the 1997 Young Concert Artists International Auditions just one week after her fifteenth birthday and the following year became the youngest artist ever to be presented in the Young Concert Artist Series in New York. In addition to Ravel's Bolˆ©ro, his Mother Goose Suite, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and Grieg's Holberg Suite will also be on the programme.

Canadian sensation Yannick Nˆ©zet-Sˆ©guin returns to the TSO for a second appearance this season to conduct Brahms Symphony 4 on May 29 and 31. This all-Brahms evening features American pianist Stephen Kovacevich, renowned for his interpretations of Brahms, who will take the spotlight in Piano Concerto No. 2.

June will start with a Russian/American Festival, comprising two concerts: Oundjian & Dindo on June 4 and 5, and Thibaudet Plays Gershwin on June 11, 12, and 14.

As tickets are no longer available for Yo-Yo Ma's special appearance in May, the TSO invites you to experience another cello virtuoso, Enrico Dindo. In 1987, Dindo was invited by Riccardo Muti to be the principal cellist at the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, a post he held for 11 years. His solo career was launched in 1997 when he was the first Italian to be awarded first prize at the Mstislav Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris. Dindo returns to the TSO after his dazzling debut in 2002, playing both of Shostakovich's Cello Concertos on two consecutive days. This time he will play Prokofiev's Sinfonia concertante for two performances on June 4 and 5.

The second concert of the Festival promises a programme of drama and elegance as masterful French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays Gershwin's Piano Concerto and Peter Oundjian conducts Shostakovich's Tahiti Trot (variations on "Tea for Two") and selections from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet on June 11, 12, and 14.

Jacques Israelievitch bids farewell to the Orchestra after 20 years as the TSO Concertmaster (the longest such tenure in the ensemble's history) in two concerts titled Celebrating Jacques Israelievitch, one of which will take place at the George Weston Recital Hall. The TSO has commissioned a world premiˆ®re of the Double Concerto for Violin and Percussion from Kelly-Marie Murphy, which will be conducted by the TSO Composer Advisor Gary Kulesha, and performed by Israelievitch with his son Michael Israelievitch on percussion. Israelievich will play, as well as lead, Bach's Concerto for Two Violins, for which he will be joined by Associate Concertmaster Mark Skazinetsky. Finally, Peter Oundjian will conduct Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, on June 7 and 8.

The TSO season closes with the ever-popular Last Night of the Proms on June 17 and 18. The always entertaining and witty Bramwell Tovey returns to the TSO to conduct these concerts, filled with jovial flag-waving songs such as Rule Britannia, Jerusalem, and Land of Hope and Glory.

A STELLAR CONCLUSION TO THE

TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'S 86th SEASON

Featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Yannick Nˆ©zet-Sˆ©guin and Jacques Israelievitch

Yo-Yo Ma: Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 8pm

Beethoven Piano Concerto 3: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 8pm & Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 8pm

Orchestra from Planet X: Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 1:30pm & 3:30pm

Ehnes & Oundjian: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 8pm & Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 2pm

Bolˆ©ro: Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 7:30pm & Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 3pm

Brahms Symphony 4: Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 8pm & Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 8pm

Oundjian & Dindo: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 8pm & Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 8pm

Celebrating Jacques Israelievitch: Saturday, June 7, 2008 at 7:30pm & Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 3pm*

Thibaudet Plays Gershwin: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 8pm, Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 2pm

& Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 8pm

Last Night of the Proms: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 8pm and Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 2pm & 8pm

All concerts take place at Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto

unless otherwise indicated

For tickets to all TSO concerts, call Roy Thomson Hall box office 416.593.4828

or online http://www.tso.ca/

*George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge Street

Tickets to this concert can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 416.872.1111

or online at www.ticketmaster.ca