admin April 25th, 2008
Auditions to be held May 17 at First Methodist Church
The Akron Symphony Chorus will be holding auditions for the John MacDonald Vocal Competition on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at First United Methodist Church located at 263 E. Mill St., Akron, OH 44308. The Akron Symphony Chorus will award the recipient $1,000.
In order to be eligible all applicants must be currently enrolled in a music degree program (Bachelors, Masters, or Artist Diploma). Applicants must have permanent home address, or attend a school in the Greater Akron Area: specifically Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage, Stark, Wayne and Medina counties. Applicants are not restricted in applying by age. There is a non-refundable application fee of $15.00 required. A CD must be submitted of not more than 15 minutes in duration. All applications, fees and CD’s must be received at the Akron Symphony office by Friday, May 2, 2008. Continue Reading »
admin April 17th, 2008
Saturday’s concert to feature orchestra, chorus, guest vocalists
Akron—The Akron Symphony will present Haydn’s master work, The Creation, this Saturday, April 19 at 8:00 p.m. at E.J. Thomas Hall on the campus of The University of Akron. Music Director Christopher Wilkins will lead the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, and guest vocalists Joyce Guyer (soprano), Karl Dent (tenor), and Timothy Jones (bass-baritone) through Haydn’s musical depiction of the seven days of the creation of the world as recounted in the Biblical book of Genesis. The Creation is the seventh and final Akron Symphony Classic concert of the 2007-2008 season.
Listen to a commercial for The Creation!
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admin April 16th, 2008
Shawn Klush and Imperials headline Elvis tribute concert May 17 at Civic Theatre
/>Akron, OH—The Akron Symphony will present Fanfare 2008: The Ultimate Elvis Experience on Saturday, May 17, 2008. The event will begin with a dinner and live auction at the Radisson Hotel Akron City Centre and culminate in a one night only concert celebrating the music of Elvis Presley at the Akron Civic Theatre.
Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. and feature an Elvis-themed menu of fine southern cuisine. During dinner, attendees will have the opportunity to bid on a variety of exciting live auction items including several trips to see other symphony orchestras in cities around the United States. Those attending dinner will enjoy complimentary transportation to the Akron Civic Theatre for the concert.
The concert begins at 8 p.m. and will star award-winning Elvis tribute artist, Shawn Klush— winner of the BBC’s “World’s Greatest Elvis” competition and recently crowned by Elvis Presley Enterprises as the “Closest to the King.” Performing with Klush will be Elvis’ longtime backup singers, the legendary Imperials Quartet. A special post-concert dessert reception, compliments of West Side Bakery, will follow the performance.
Listen to a commerical for The Ultimate Elvis Experience!
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admin April 10th, 2008
Akron Youth Orchestras Hold Auditions for 2008-2009 Season
Open to Students in Grades 6-12
AKRON—The Akron Youth Orchestras, both the Akron Youth Symphony (AYS) and the Akron Youth Philharmonic (AYP), will hold auditions for their 2008-2009 season May 2nd through 4th at the University of Akron’s Guzzetta Hall. The Akron Youth Orchestras offer talented area high school and middle school students opportunities to perform orchestral repertoire in a professional setting. AYS Music Director and Akron Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Christopher James Lees says of the orchestras, “We believe in supplementing our students’ musical education with meaningful high-caliber performing opportunities prepared in a focused, supportive, and energized environment.”
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admin April 9th, 2008
Akron Symphony Brings Fairy Tales To Life With Giant Puppets Of Madcap
Cincinnati-based Puppet Theatre Company joins ASO on final Odyssey of 08-09 season
Akron—The Akron Symphony’s new Odyssey series wraps up the 2008-2009 season with A Fairy Tale Fantasy on Sunday, April 13th at 3:00 p.m. at The University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall. A Fairy Tale Fantasy brings the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the giant puppets of Madcap Puppet Theatre together for an enchanting program of fairy tales set to great orchestral music, led by Akron Symphony Assistant Conductor, Christopher James Lees. Works to be performed during the concert include Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte: Overture, Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance in C Major, and Copland’s Hoe Down from Rodeo, among others.
Odyssey, which made its debut this season, is a series of concerts that explore music through narration, dance, drama, and the visual arts. The series is aimed at bringing the entire family together to experience symphonic music combined with informative, engaging, and entertaining visuals.
Listen to a commerical for A Fairy Tale Fantasy!
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admin March 5th, 2008
Akron Symphony’s March 15 Concert Goes All Beethoven
Concert To Feature Award-Winning Violinist, Feng Ning
Akron—The Akron Symphony will present Gold Medal Beethoven on Saturday, March 15 at 8:00 p.m. at E.J. Thomas Hall on the campus of The University of Akron. Music Director Christopher Wilkins will lead the Akron Symphony through three transcendent works from the legendary composer, including the Coriolan Overture and Symphony No. 4 in B-flat. Guest violinist and 2006 Paganini Gold Medalist Feng Ning will perform with the orchestra during Violin Concerto in D. Gold Medal Beethoven is the sixth Classic concert for the ASO and the penultimate for the 2007-2008 season.
Maestro Wilkins had originally wanted Feng Ning for a concert last season, but there were some problems. Wilkins explains:
I first worked with Feng Ning in New Zealand as part of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, which he eventually won. I was so taken with his musicianship and technical fluency that shortly thereafter I invited him to perform with the Akron Symphony. This was to have been during our 2006-2007 season, but due to visa issues we were unable to secure a date. When I approached him again this season, he accepted immediately and then asked gently whether I knew that he had just won the Paganini Competition. Attached to his e-mail was a photograph of Feng playing Paganini’s Stradivarius. It will be a privilege to present him to Akron.
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admin February 12th, 2008
Gospel Meets Symphony Celebrates 15 Years February 23
15th Anniversary Celebration reunites Wilkins and Wise and pays tribute to Balter
Gospel Meets Symphony celebrates its 15th Anniversary on Saturday, February 23rd at E.J. Thomas Hall on the campus of The University of Akron at 7:30 p.m. Akron Symphony Music Director, Christopher Wilkins, will share the podium with returning guest chorus master and 2007 audience favorite Dr. Raymond Wise as the two conduct the Akron Symphony Orchestra and a 150-voice choir in an uplifting program of spirited gospel works.
The 15th Anniversary Concert will look back at years past with a loving tribute to former Akron Symphony Music Director, the late Alan Balter, who co-founded Gospel Meets Symphony in 1994 and conducted the first five concerts. Native Akron gospel group Divine Hope will also be featured during the concert.
The Gospel Meets Symphony 15th Anniversary concert is chaired by Virginia Robinson.
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admin February 4th, 2008
Akron Symphony’s “Elms” Series Continues February 17
Diverse program to feature works by Eccles, Bartók, Gershwin, and Dvorak
Members of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and their friends will present an afternoon of chamber music at Our Lady of the Elms Chapel on Sunday, February 17. The 3:00 p.m. concert will showcase the talents of Ann Gilbert, Sue Yelanjian (bass); Michael Leamon (piano); Leslie Braidech, Amy Glick (violin); Lara Dudack (viola); and Greg Fiocca (cello). The duo of Gilbert and Leamon will perform Henri Eccles’ Sonata in G minor. Gilbert and Yelanjian will play selections from Béla Bartók’s Duets for Two Violins—arranged for two basses. The pair will then be joined by Michael Leamon for George Gershwin’s Slap That Bass. The program will finish with a performance of Antonin Dvorak’s Quintet in G major played by Braidech, Glick, Dudack, Fiocca, and Gilbert.
The chapel at Our Lady of the Elms provides a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, giving audiences the opportunity to get to know members of the ASO better through the intimacy of the performances.
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admin January 16th, 2008
Akron Symphony Plays Host to World Renowned Conductor, Teacher: Zander
Free events, Mahler’s 2nd, and a debut in Severance Hall mark “Zander Week” in Northeast Ohio
Akron—January 16, 2008—Next month, the Akron Symphony will begin a week-long collaboration with world renowned conductor, teacher, speaker, and author Benjamin Zander. From Classical Fever, a free concert for the people of Akron (February 3), to a free lecture on Zander’s leadership philosophy, The Art of Possibility (February 5), to an Akron Symphony Classic Series concert featuring Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (February 9), and culminating with an encore performance of the Mahler in Cleveland’s Severance Hall (February 10), “Zander Week” will take Northeast Ohio audiences on a journey that offers startling new perspectives on music and personal growth.
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admin January 7th, 2008
Akron Symphony Begins New Year With Double Feature Weekend In January
Akron—January 7, 2008—The Akron Symphony will present two concerts in January as it begins the second half of the 2007-2008 season. Both concerts will be held at E.J. Thomas Hall the weekend of January 19 and 20.
Orchestral Alchemy
On Saturday, January 19 at 8:00 p.m., the Akron Symphony will continue its Classic Series with Orchestral Alchemy. The concert will feature three works that evoke the fantastic and supernatural. The first half of the concert opens with Samuel Barber’s Music for a Scene from Shelley, a piece inspired by poet Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound, and concludes with Paul Dukas’ famed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice—known to generations through Disney’s Fantasia. The second half of the concert is devoted to Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a musical tale of unrequited love as seen through the veils of obsession and hallucination.
Musical Wizardry
The Akron Symphony’s new Odyssey series continues with Musical Wizardry on Sunday, January 20 at 3:00 p.m. The series combines great music with strong visual elements to engage audiences of all ages. Magician John Pyka will join Maestro Wilkins and Akron Symphony Assistant Conductor Christopher James Lees on stage to perform some of his trademark illusions set to music by the Akron Symphony Orchestra. Works to be performed during the concert include Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, highlights from Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Hovaness’ Mysterious Mountain Elgar’s Enigma Variations and de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance. The Akron Youth Symphony will also perform alongside the ASO during selected pieces.
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