A genius bass player, a solid gold violinist, an Italian tenor and a couple
of hometown divas are among nationally and internationally recognized performers
who will take center stage in the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra's 2007-2008
classics and pops season.
They'll perform European and American classics along with a pops lineup that
will include show hits, jazz standards, Italian love songs and musical tributes
to the Beatles, Dean Martin, Mario Lanza, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Cab
Calloway.
Edgar Meyer, Bass
It's all part of "and the heat goes on..." the theme for a season that
picks up where this year's "Philharmonic on Fire" promotional campaign
leaves off.
It will all open Sept. 15 with a gala Classics performance featuring Edgar
Meyer, a 2002 MacArthur Genius Award winner known for his virtuosity on the
bass, his inventiveness as a composer and his ability to play multiple
instruments.
His most recent recording features Meyer playing piano, guitar, mandolin,
dobro, banjo, viola da gamba and double bass. He has recorded with Joshua Bell,
Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck and Emmanuel Ax. He's been a guest player with artists
ranging from Garth Brooks and Emmylou Harris to the Indigo Girls and the
Chieftains.
His performance will kick off a concert series of seven Classics concerts
presenting seven Evansville premieres. Other Classics guest artists this season
will include: Augustin Hadelich, winner of the 2006 International Violin
Competition of Indianapolis; pianist Andrew von Oeyen; and sopranos Kendra
Colton and DeVonna Lawrence, both Evansville natives who've gone on to careers
performing on stages around the country.
Members of the original Broadway "Beatlemania" will launch the four-show
Pops series Oct. 13, with "Classical Mystery Tour" a Beatles tribute that
takes moves from "A Hard Day's Night" to "Imagine" and "All You Need
is Love". Other guest artists will include Doug LaBrecque, a Broadway
singer back for his third Pops appearance; Italian tenor Don Bernardini, with
operatic and popular songs; and trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling.
Classics concert will begin at 8 p.m. Saturdays, Pops at 8 p.m. Saturdays and
2 p.m. Sundays at The Victory. Season ticket prices range from $57 to $224 for
the Pops series, $90 to $354 for the Classics, and $135 to $532 for both
Classics and Pops. For more information, call 425-5050.
Classics
Sept. 15 — Edgar Meyer will play Giovanni Bottesini Concerto No. 2 for double
bass as well as his own Concerto for Bass on an opening gala program that will
include Maurice Ravel's "La Valse", the prelude to Giuseppe Verdi's
"Aida" and the Evansville premiere of James Beckel's Toccata for
Orchestra.
Oct. 27 — Local talent will get the spotlight in "Bach to Romance" a
concert featuring harpsichordist Helen Skuggedal Reed, flutist Kara DeRaad
Santos and violinist Dawn Posey Ginter in J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
(for harpsichord, flute and violin) on a program that will includes Maurice
Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin", Richard Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll" and Franz Haydn's Symphony No. 88.
Nov. 17 — Kendra Colton, a soprano who has sung with orchestras and opera
companies across the nation, will sing Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 on a
program including W.A. Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate.
Jan. 19 — Augustin Hadelich will play Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto
on a program that will include Modest Mussorgsky's Introduction to
"Khovantchina" and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade".
Feb. 23 — The orchestra's own strings will be featured in an all-American
concert showcasing the Evansville premiere of Russell Peck's "Voice of the
Wood" for cello quartet, featuring cellists David Beem, Carrie
Cimildoro-Beem, Kevin Bate and Jennifer Wingert. Other works on the program will
include Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" Overture and Aaron Copland's
"Symphony No. 3", which includes "Fanfare for the Common Man".
March 15 — Pianist Andrew von Oeyen will play Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto
on a program with Hugo Alfven's "Midsummer Vigil" Swedish Rhapsody No. 1
and Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 2.
April 26 — The final Classics concert of the season will bring back DeVonna
Lawrence, who's been touring internationally with the show "Three Mo'
Divas". She and tenor Steven Stolen and baritone Richard Zeller will be
soloists for Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana", singing with the Evansville
Philharmonic Chorus and members of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Pops
Oct. 13 and 14 — The Pops series opens with "Classical Mystery Tour — a
Tribute to the Beatles".
Dec. 2 and 1 — Doug LaBrecque will solo in next season "Peppermint Pops"
concerts.
Feb. 2 and 3 — Don Bernardini will sing everything from operatic arias to
familiar love songs popularized by Dean Martin, Mario Lanza and others in
"That's Amore!"
April 12 and 13 — Byron Stripling will join the orchestra for "Misbehavin'
Tonight", a jazzy musical tribute to Louis Armstrong, Fats, Waller, Cab
Calloway and Irving Berlin.
Messiah
Dec. 7 — The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus and soloists will
present a candle-lit performance of George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" at 8
p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/mar/18/philharmonics-concert-season-heats-jazz-classics/
