Paul Levenson 508-754-1234 or Bobbie Chase 508-757-2881
The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra will present its 59th year of free, open-air summer concerts beginning Thursday, July 2 at 8:00 PM at East Park (Christoforo Colombo Park) on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. For the 11th consecutive year, the title sponsor of the series is Bank of America. Other concerts of the series include a "Salute to Disney" on Saturday, July 11 at 7:00 PM at Institute Park and "Classics to Broadway" on Saturday, July 18 at 7:00 PM at Institute Park. The rain date for the July 2 concert is Friday, July 3. Rain dates for the following two concerts of the series are the next day.
Conductor Alton Baggett will lead the orchestra on the first and second concerts. Maestro Myron Romanul will direct the orchestra for the third concert.
The opening concert will have an Independence Day theme with works primarily by American composers, including Williams, Rogers, Porter, and Styne. Vocal soloist with the orchestra will be Jane Shivick, one of the region's most popular sopranos. Ms. Shivick's credits include numerous appearances with Conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The concert will also include highlights from current Broadway musicals and will lead up to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with fireworks. The orchestra will conclude the concert with Sousa marches also played during the course of the fireworks display.
The "Salute to Disney" Concert will include selections from "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Prince of Egypt," "Pocahontas," "Beauty and The Beast," "Hercules," "Hunchback of Notre Dame," and others. Soloists will be Scott Wilson and Karen Hastie-Wilson.
The "Classics to Broadway" concert will feature music of Telemann, Mendelssohn, Smetana, Strauss, Bocke and Sayre. Featured soloist with the orchestra is renowned violist Gilad Karni, principal violist of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. Mr. Karni's credits include being one of the youngest members to join the New York Philharmonic, as well as holding principal viola positions with the Bamberg Symphony and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Conductor Myron Romanul is the First Kapellmeister of the State Theatre in Munich, Germany. He was formerly Arthur Fiedler's touring pianist with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Alton Baggett has performed with the Jackson Symphony, and Baton Rouge Symphony and is currently the Director of the Performing Arts Department at Oxford High School.
Paul Levenson, Executive Director of the Orchestra, said that the presentation of admission-free summer concerts in Worcester's public parks is a core mission of the Massachusetts Symphony. "These performances are part of the fabric of the community, and are enjoyed by over 40,000 concert-goers each year, commented Levenson. "This year," he said, "with the tough economy and people staying close to home this summer, these concerts will provide a welcome benefit for
countless area residents."
In addition to Bank of America as the title sponsor, other Major Program Underwriters this year include the Telegram & Gazette, The Hanover Insurance Group, Price Chopper Supermarkets, WXLO Radio 104.5 FM, Target, Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation, The Stoddard Charitable Trust, the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation, Hoche-Scofield Foundation, and Bose Corporation.
Major Sponsors include the following: Abbott Bioresearch Center, Checkerboard - Micah and Arthur Chase, The Golub Foundation of Price Chopper, Mirick O'Connell, Nypro, Inc., Rand-Whitney Container LLC, Worcester Restaurant Group (The Sole Proprietor, One Eleven Chophouse and Via Italian Table), Unum, and Whipple Construction.
Additional Sponsors for the series include the following: AAA Southern New England, Alden Research Laboratory, Inc., A. F. Amorello & Sons, Inc., George A. Barnard Company, Butler-Dearden Paper Service, Inc., DFR Apparel Co., Inc., Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company, L. Hardy Co., Inc., Marois Brothers, Inc., Masterman's, Providence and Worcester Railroad, Union Music, Webster Five Cents Savings Bank, and Wyman-Gordon Foundation.
The concerts will be broadcast by Nick Chase on radio station WCUW, 91.3 FM. Concert announcer is Bobbie Chase.
For more information on the concert series, call 508-754-1234, or visit the orchestra's web site at www.masymphony.org.
