• By Roger McBain
• Evansville Courier & Press
• Posted April 3, 2011 at midnight

The Evansville Philharmonic will celebrate "The American Spirit" with American music in the Classics and Pops lineup for the 2011-2012 season.

The season will feature one or more American compositions in each concert, exploring the rhythms and textures of orchestral works by composers including George Gershwin, Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, as well as the modern and contemporary flash and flare of swing, rock 'n' roll and Broadway rock musicals.

In keeping with that theme, next season's guest artists will include Elmar Oliveira, the only American violinist to ever win the gold medal in Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition; Kevin Cole, a Gershwin specialist who bills himself as "America's pianist;" the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight from Wright Patterson Air Force Base; and Flash Cadillac, a classic rock act featured on "American Bandstand" and in the soundtrack for the film "American Graffiti."

Elmar Oliveira

Kevin Cole Pianist will perform for an Oct. 1 Classics program.

Rob Evan

Kevin Bate - Photo credit: Gray Photography

Featured EPO horn players Jonas Thoms, Cristian Codreanu and Eric Powell - Photo credit:  Gray Photography 

William Shaltis

Capathia Jenkins

William Shaltis

Daniel Narducci

Anne Runolfsson

Flash Cadillac

A preseason gala will feature the orchestra's music director, Alfred Savia, as "Big Al" with his 18-piece big band (culled from the orchestra) for a big band ball titled: "The Spirit of America: A Sentimental Journey."

Concert times will change next season, but ticket prices will remain the same as this year's.

In order to accommodate other activities at the new Downtown Arena, evening performances for both Classics and Pops concerts will begin at 7 p.m., a half-hour earlier than this year. Sunday Pops concerts will continue to start at 2 p.m.

Depending upon seating location, season subscriptions will range from $75 to $250 for the five-concert Pops series, $90 to $300 for the six-concert Classics schedule and $165 to $550 for the combined Grand Series of Classics and Pops. Prices for the "Compose Your Own" package of four concerts will range from $89 to $149.

Here's the lineup:

Philharmonic Big Band Ball

Sept. 9 - "Big Al" Savia will conduct and play clarinet with an 18-piece band 6:30 p.m. in the corporate hangar at Tri-State Aero. The event, to honor Philharmonic patrons Richard and Rita Eykamp, will include cocktails, dinner, dancing and live and silent auctions to benefit the orchestra.

CLASSICS

Oct. 1 - Guest pianist Kevin Cole will play George Gershwin's Concerto in F on a program including Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" Overture and Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony No. 9.

Nov. 19 - Principal tympanist Bill Shaltis will play a featured part in contemporary American composer Michael Daugherty's "Raise the Roof" in a concert including Hector Berlioz' Rakoczy March from "Damnation of Faust."

Jan. 21, 2012 - Kevin Bate, the orchestra's principal cellist, will take the spotlight in Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto No. 2 on a bill with Ludwig van Beethoven's "Leonore" Overture No. 3 and Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1.

Feb. 18 - Elmar Oliveira, an internationally renowned soloist, recording artist and the only American to win the gold medal in Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition, will play Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto on a program including Gioacchino Rossini's Overture to "Italian in Algiers," Giacomo Puccini's "Crisantemi" and Felix Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony No. 4.

March 17 - The Evansville Philharmonic will showcase its horns in contemporary American composer James Beckel's "In the Mind's Eye: Images for Horns and Orchestra" on a playbill including Aaron Copland's "Three Latin American Sketches" and Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."

April 28 - The Philharmonic Chorus will join the orchestra for Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms on the same program with Gustav Mahler's "Titan" Symphony No. 1.

POPS

Oct. 29 & 30 - The Pops season will open with Flash Cadillac joining the Philharmonic for a show of classic rock 'n' roll favorites from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Dec. 3 & 4 - Baritone Daniel Narducci will join the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus for the traditional holiday Peppermint Pops.

Feb. 4 & 5, 2012 - The U.S. Air Force Band of Flight, the Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus will play "A Salute to Heroes," featuring music from the World War II Era and a salute to Evansville with the Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

April 14 & 15 - Broadway veterans Capathia Jenkins, Anne Runolfsson and Rob Evan will join the orchestra and chorus for "Broadway Rocks!" showcasing music from rock-inspired Broadway hits including "The Wiz," "Hairspray," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Mamma Mia!," "Tommy" and "Phantom of the Opera."

May 19 & 20 - The Pops season will close with a musical salute to Hollywood, featuring film score music from "Gone with the Wind," "Casablanca," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "The King's Speech" and more.

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