PSO’s Fall Concerts Celebrate Musical Style and Innovation

July 20, 2010

PORTLAND, Maine – The Portland Symphony Orchestra’s fall 2010 concerts explore distinctive musical genres and stylistic innovation. Music Director Robert Moody leads the orchestra and special guests as he enters his third season with the PSO. All concerts take place at Merrill Auditorium.

Season Opening Celebration
Robert Moody, conductor
Edgar Meyer, bass

Sunday, October 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Music Director Robert Moody leads the PSO in the opening concert of the season, with special guest bassist Edgar Meyer, who will perform Bottesini’s virtuosic Concerto No. 2 and his own bluegrass-inspired Concerto No. 1. The powerfully passionate tone poem Don Juan by Richard Strauss opens the program, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, full of magnificent melodies and vibrant emotions, serves as a thrilling finale.

In demand as both a performer and a composer, Edgar Meyer has formed a role in the music world unlike any other. Hailed by the New Yorker as “…the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively unchronicled history of his instrument,” Meyer’s unparalleled technique and musicianship in combination with his gift for composition have brought him to the fore, where he is appreciated by a vast, varied audience.

Concert Conversations will be held an hour and 15 minutes prior to each program and a PostConcert Q&A will follow. Patrons are invited to Restaurant Grace after Tuesday’s concert for an Afterglow cocktail reception.

Sponsored by Maine Medical Center and New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland.

PSO Pops!
Eileen Ivers with Immigrant Soul
Robert Moody, conductor

Saturday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 10 at 2:30 p.m.

Fiddler Eileen Ivers will change the way you think about the violin! It’s a rare and select grade of artists whose work is so boldly imaginative and clearly virtuosic that it alters the medium while respectfully exploring the traditions and progression of the Celtic fiddle. Her performances and recordings continue to demonstrate why Ivers is called a “sensation” by Billboard magazine, “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by the New York Times, “a virtuoso” by The Irish Times and is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers of Celtic music. Ivers returns to Portland with her band Immigrant Soul for two exuberant performances.

Sponsored by L.L. Bean.

“The Planets”
Robert Moody, conductor
USM Chamber Singers

Tuesday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m.
(performed without intermission)

This majestic, haunting program features otherworldly sounds and images that blur the lines between traditional classical and popular music. An inspired pairing sets the Suite from Close Encounters of the Third Kind by John Williams with Gustav Holst’s celebrated suite The Planets. John Adams’ joyfully exuberant Short Ride in a Fast Machine opens the program. This is a concert with “universal” appeal.

A Concert Conversation will be held at 6:15 p.m. and a PostConcert Q&A will follow the program. Patrons are then invited to Restaurant Grace for an Afterglow cocktail reception.

Sponsored by Gorham Savings Bank.

PSO Pops! Simply Sinatra
Robert Moody, conductor
Steve Lippia, guest artist

Saturday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 14 at 2:30 p.m.

A powerful show celebrating the timeless talent of “Ol’ Blue Eyes,” PSO guest vocalist Steve Lippia is among the finest tribute artists in the country. His interpretations of the Sinatra songbook have been acclaimed from coast to coast.

Sponsored by Holiday Inn by the Bay and New England Coffee.

“Time for Three”
Robert Moody, conductor
Time for Three, guest ensemble

Sunday, November 21 at 2:30 p.m.

The groundbreaking, category-shattering trio Time for Three transcends traditional classification, with elements of classical, country western, gypsy and jazz idioms forming a blend all its own. Time for Three will perform a concerto written for them by Chris Brubeck (son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck), co-commissioned by the PSO and seven other orchestras. This Maine premiere of Travels in Time for Three will be performed along with Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphoses and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

A Concert Conversation will be held at 1:15 p.m. and a PostConcert Q&A will follow the program.

Sponsored by Dead River Company.

The PSO’s 2010-2011 season is sponsored by IDEXX Laboratories and Wright Express. Subscriptions (up to 20% off single ticket prices) and Compose Your Own packages (10% off single ticket prices) are available all season long, with details at PortlandSymphony.com. Single ticket prices range from $17 – $70 and are on sale at porttix.com starting at midnight on August 1, and by phone at (207) 842-0800 or in person at PortTIX (20 Myrtle St., Portland) starting at noon on August 2. Special pricing may be available for students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

For complete season information, including artist biographies; program notes; and Online Insights, provided with support from Digital Enrichment sponsor Fairpoint Communications, visit www.portlandsymphony.com

Press Contact
Gillian Britt
gBritt PR & Marketing
gillian@gbritt.com
207-775-2126