Alexandria Symphony Orchestra - Arts Alexandria Virginia

Arts Alexandria Virginia

Alexandria, VA – Celebrating its 65th Season, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Kim Allen Kluge present O’ Passionate Voice, a spectacular series of programs focusing on the relationship between symphonic and vocal repertoires during 08-09.  Legendary saxophonist Branford Marsalis appears in March 2009 for music by Bach and Ibert.  The rest of the Season will certainly not disappoint, with masterworks by Tchaikovsky and Mozart to pieces by two of the most popular composers of all time, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Rodgers. Leading choruses Heritage Signature Chorale and Metropolitan Chorus join the ASO in Webber’s rarely heard Requiem.  Members of the Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia appear in a special Puccini love duet concert on Valentine’s Day Weekend.   

The ASO again performs at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center on the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College. More information on the Schlesinger Center can be obtained at www.schlesingercenter.com.

Season Summary:

O’ Inner Voice, Massenet, Brahms, Vaughan Williams: October 4/5, 2008 at 8pm/3pm

O’ Thankful Voice, Dvorak, Mozart, Wilder: November 15, 2008 at 8pm

O’ Lovers’ Voice, Ravel, Puccini: February 14/15, 2009 at 8pm/3pm

O’ Lyric Voice, Schubert, Webber, Ibert, Bach: March 7/8, 2009 at 8pm/3pm

O’ Passionate Voice, Wagner, Rodgers, Tchaikovsky: May 2, 2009 at 8pm

THE CONCERTS – 5 PROGRAMS TO ENJOY OVER 8 PERFORMANCES

A multidisciplinary extravaganza opens the ASO’s 08-09 Season on October 4, 2008 at 8pm and October 5, 2008 at 3pm, with local favorite pianist Jeffrey Watson and Bowen McCauley Dance in O’ Inner Voice.  Watson joins the ASO in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, with the program also featuring the same composer’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, and Massenet’s “Meditation” from Thaïs.  

O’ Thankful Voice on November 15, 2008 at 8pm, brings pianist Yuliya Gorenman to the ASO fresh from a sold-out recital at Harman Hall this Spring.  Gorenman is sure to please in Mozart’s ever-popular Piano Concerto No. 21 “Elvira Madigan.”  Principal ASO French horn player Amy Horn also joins her colleagues as soloist in Alec Wilder’s Suite for Horn and Strings.  Dvorak’s ever-popular Serenade for Strings rounds out the program.

Valentine’s Day Weekend 2009 offers a special collaboration between the ASO and Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia.  Ravel’s rarely-heard L’heure espagnole (The Spanish Hour) accompanies love duets from Puccini’s La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly on February 14, 2009 at 8pm and February 15, 2009 at 3pm. Award-winning Opera Theatre members Julia Rowling, Peter Burroughs, Leslie Mutchler, and Michael Hayes sing principal roles.

On March 7, 2009 at 8pm and March 8, 2009 at 3pm, Branford Marsalis, saxophonist extraordinaire, graces the stage of Schlesinger Hall with the ASO in O’ Lyric Voice.  In a crossover program of Ibert, Bach, and a work by the ASO’s own Maestro Kim Allen Kluge, Marsalis performs for the second time in Alexandria.  Kluge’s Vocalise for Branford was written both to celebrate Marsalis’ return and to capitalize on his ultra-vocal saxophone playing.  The Metropolitan Chorus and Heritage Signature Chorale return as well to showcase Andrew Lloyd Webber’s glorious Requiem, a work matching in scope and artistry those requiems of Verdi, Mozart, and Fauré.  

The final concert of the Season, O’ Passionate Voice, on May 2, 2009 at 8pm, brings to a close the ASO’s vocal/symphonic 08-09 Season with Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, Rodgers’ Medley, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.  In a fitting tribute to the great connections between the vocal and symphonic cannons, some of the most popular tunes of 20th century musicals intermingle with works by two of the most dramatic of composers, Wagner and Tchaikovsky.   

OTHER EVENTS

In addition to the performances listed above, the ASO continues its traditional Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 14, 2008, at Alfred Street Baptist Church. ASO’s Children’s Arts Festival, “The Magic of Music,” occurs June 7, 2009 at the Schlesinger Center. The Festival, recommended for children ages 5 – 11, features an instrument “petting zoo,” student art shows, and interactive art and dance stations.

EXPANDED SEASON DETAILS AND $5 YOUTH TICKET CAMPAIGN

In an effort to provide patrons with ample opportunities to enjoy orchestral performances of the highest quality, the ASO is pleased to offer its Sunday matinee series once again during the 2008-2009 Season. These performances repeat the previous Saturday night’s program at 3pm . Patrons interested in ticket packages for the upcoming Season are invited to consider the Sunday matinees in scheduling which concerts to attend.

The ASO remains committed to introducing music’s next generation to orchestral programs and is excited to offer $5 Sunday matinee youth tickets (8–18) at all Sunday matinees. Families interested in introducing their children to classical music are encouraged to take advantage of this incredible offer, especially since this includes tickets to Branford Marsalis’ Sunday performance in March 2009!

KIM ALLEN KLUGE, OUR MUSIC DIRECTOR

Maestro Kim Allen Kluge, 2006 Wammie Conductor of the Year, is the music director of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. A valedictorian of Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he pursued doctorates in Piano and Conducting from the University of Maryland and received a Conducting diploma from the Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. He has studied with many of the great conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Roger Norrington and Simon Rattle.

MEET THE ASO

Northern Virginia's premiere fully professional orchestra, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1954 and has established a reputation for thematic and inter-arts programming that features a mix of classical and contemporary music. The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra is committed to providing quality, affordable and accessible music in the greater Metropolitan area of Northern Virginia through its highly respected, innovative, professional performances and programming. The ASO is also dedicated to reinforcing arts education in school curriculums and introducing younger audiences to classical music.

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
2121 Eisenhower Ave., Suite 608
Alexandria, VA  22314
703-548-0885 (phone) 703-548-0985 (fax)

www.alexsym.org