Variety the spice of spring orchestra season at ASU’s Herberger College School of Music

TEMPE, Ariz. – Shakespeare and Love and The French Connection are coming to Gammage Auditorium! No, Gammage hasn’t become a cinema. Rather, the two events are among six concerts planned by the Herberger College School of Music’s orchestra program for its spring season.

The spring schedule will feature a rich and varied selection of music programs performed by the School of Music’s three orchestras: the University Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra and the Sinfonietta. All programs in the season are free.

The season opens with a Concert of Soloists, Feb. 9, followed by With Strings Attached, Feb. 17, in which Chamber Winds joins forces with the Chamber Orchestra and world-renowned cellist Colin Carr. Shakespeare and Love, Feb. 23, will include music from Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Henry V and Merrymount, among others.

Grand and Glorious, March 10, will feature the world premier of Eugene Anderson’s Overture, in addition to other works. On April 7, The French Connection sees the Sinfonietta and Chamber Orchestra present an evening of music that includes works by Bach, Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel. A concert of Beloved Masterpieces will conclude the season and include Mendelssohn’s Music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Complete spring 2004 season schedules for the three orchestras are below. For more information on the orchestra season, the public should call (480) 965-TUNE or visit the Herberger College Web site at http://www.herbergercollege.asu.edu/ and click on “Things to Do.”

Concert of Soloists
7:30 p.m., Feb. 9
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
The annual University Symphony Orchestra concert, which features the top student musicians and composer in the School of Music for 2003, is dedicated to Katherine K. Herberger, who died in April 2003. Mrs. Herberger was a longtime supporter for the Herberger College, which is named in her honor. Winners of the 2003 Soloist Contest will each perform; they include pianist Solim Bae, mezzo-soprano Kristin Dauphinais, pianist Margarita Denenburg, bassoonist Ingrid Hagan, tubist Tom McCaslin, violinist Xian Meng and clarinetist Natalie Pascale. Theresa Murphy is the winner of the 2003 ASU Composition Contest and her work, Imprints for full orchestra will receive its world premiere by University Symphony Orchestra.

With Strings Attached 
7:30 p.m., Feb. 17 
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
Colin Carr, cellist
Chamber Winds joins forces with the Chamber Orchestra and world-renowned cellist Colin Carr for "With Strings Attached," an evening of disparate, but delightful, music. Chamber Winds is under the direction of Gary Hill, director of bands at ASU. Chamber Orchestra is under the direction of Timothy Russell, director of orchestras at ASU. Among the pieces to be featured will be Haydn’s Concerto in C major and Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1.

Shakespeare and Love
7:30 p.m., Feb. 23
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
Sinfonietta presents Prokofiev’s music from Romeo and Juliet, Hanson’s Love Duet from Merrymount, Tchaikovsky’s music from Swan Lake andRomeo and Juliet, Vaughan Williams’ Two Shakespeare Sketches, Walton’s music from Henry V.

Grand and Glorious
7:30 p.m., March 10 
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
Caio Pagano, piano
Thomas Landschoot, violoncello
Featuring the world premiere of Eugene Anderson’s Overture, as well as Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, opus 83, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in f minor, opus 36.

The French Connection 
7:30 p.m., April 7
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
Kayoko Dan, guest conductor
Sinfonietta and Chamber Orchestra present an evening of music including Bach’s Orchestra Suite No. 1, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, Couperin/Milhaud’s Overture and Allegro from La Sultane Suite, Debussy’s Claire de Lune, Ravel’s Pavane and Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2.

Beloved Masterpieces
7:30 p.m., April 28
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
Shared program with ASU Choral Union, Concert Choir and University Choir
Robert Barefield, bass-baritone
David Schildkret, conductor
Featuring Orff’s Carmina Burana and Mendelssohn’s music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream including Overture, Scherzo, Lullaby, Intermezzo, Nocturne, Wedding March and Finale.

The School of Music in the Arizona State University Herberger College of Fine Arts is one of the top music schools in the nation. More than 100 music faculty artists and scholars work with approximately 800 music majors each year in research, performance and scholarly activities. It presents approximately 700 concerts and recitals each season. To learn more about the School of Music, visit http://music.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Pringle
480-965-8795
jennifer.pringle@asu.edu