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PSO Closes Season With Stories of Love

PORTLAND, Maine. — The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) will close its 2010-2011 season with music of Wagner and Mozart, and featuring Ravel’s luminously beautiful Daphnis et Chloé. Music Director Robert Moody will conduct two performances on Sunday, May 1, at 2:30 p.m. and Tuesday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium.

The concert opens with the Prelude and Liebestod (“Love-Death”) from Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde, followed by Mozart’s Concerto for Bassoon featuring PSO principal bassoonist Janet Polk. Ms. Polk is also the principal bassoonist for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and teaches at the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College.

The featured work on the program is the full score of the ballet Daphnis et Chloé by Maurice Ravel. Daphnis et Chloé is a setting of a classic Greek pastoral romance. The music is both rustic and radiant, especially notable for its lyricism and evocations of nature.

Joining the PSO for Daphnis et Chloé is the Brunswick-based Oratorio Chorale and Midcoast’s Vox Nova Chamber Choir, adding wordless choral lines that are used to gorgeous effect.

A Concert Conversation with Robert Moody and Janet Polk will be held an hour and 15 minutes prior to each performance, and both performances will conclude with a PostConcert Q&A on stage with the artists. Audiences from Tuesday’s concert are encouraged to join Robert Moody and members of the orchestra for Afterglow at Grace Restaurant (15 Chestnut St.) Students are invited to an Open Dress Rehearsal on Saturday, April 30 at 2:00 p.m. Space is limited; call (207) 773-6128 ext. 308 or email education@portlandsymphony.org for reservations.

The PSO’s season finale concerts are sponsored by KeyBank, with media support from MPBN. Ticket prices range from $17 – $70 and are available at porttix.com and by phone at (207) 842-0800 or in person at PortTIX (20 Myrtle St., Portland). Special pricing may be available for students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

The PSO’s 2010-2011 season is sponsored by IDEXX Laboratories and Wright Express.

For program notes, artist biographies, Online Insights and audio samples, as well as complete season information, visit www.portlandsymphony.org.

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