This film is rated R and is appropriate for viewers 18 and older

Free Admission and Free Parking!

Inspired by the instrument’s history, the story follows this perfect violin across five countries and through four centuries with tales of passion, sacrifice, love, and betrayal.

• Winner, 2000 Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score
• Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Monique Mercure, Don McKellar, Sylvia Chang
• Directed by François Girard with music by John Corigliano

For more information on this film, visit www.imdb.com

The Red Violin © Lion’s Gate Films
Image courtesy of Jessica Tam

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25 YEARS OF MUSIC AND THE MAESTRO

SATURDAY, MARCH 2
THE WESTIN HOTEL
400 COURTHOUSE SQUARE, ALEXANDRIA, VA

6:00 PM Reception & Silent Auction
7:30 PM Dinner, Dancing & Live Auction

Individual Tickets $200, Sponsorships available starting at $300

SOLA and Honorary Chair Mayor William D. Euille invite you to a Celebration Ball honoring the 25th Anniversary of Music Director Kim Allen Kluge. We hope you will join us for this wonderful evening in support of the ASO’s work to bring world-class music to Alexandria and inspire the next generation of musicians and music lovers through community engagement and arts education programs.

To purchase a ticket or become a sponsor for this year’s Ball,
contact Margherita Woods at 703-960-7994 or marg.woods@cox.net
or Jane Ring at 703-548-7454 or jring10@comcast.net

To donate an item to this year’s Live or Silent Auction,
contact Fran Vaughan at 703-765-0063 or fsvaughan@aol.com

If you have any additional questions,
contact Elaine Macchio at 703-549-2134 or ippolito1@comcast.net

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Sponsorships and Tickets go on sale Thursday, November 1. For more information or to purchase a sponsorship or tickets, please call 703-548-0885.

St. Paul’s Church in Old Town Alexandria

Members of the ASO performing at the 2010 Children’s Holiday Concert

The post ASO’s 2012 Children’s Holiday Concert appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

Senator Mark Warner and Senator John Warner are the Honorary Co-Chairs, while the event is being Co-Chaired by Julie Dyson, Jim Singerling, and Jeanne Warner.  Committee members include Liz Securro, Catie Peterson, Betty Quirk, Catherine Thompson, Judy Williams, Marybeth Dyson, and Robin Williams, while Margaret Bush and Craig Dyson have taken on the important role of auctioneers for the popular live auction.  Items open for bidding include a chance to drive a Ferrari race-car, a 5-bed beach house stay for week in SC, a week in Cocoa Beach, FL, and tickets to the tennis US Open in early September.

The Garden Party has raised over $50,000 in recent years to support ASO educational and concert programming.  Leadership gifts include Benefactor for $2500 (four tickets to event, $2400 of which is tax deductible), Patron for $1000 (two tickets to event, $950 tax deductible), and Sponsor for $500 (two tickets to event, $450 tax deductible).  Individual tickets are $175 each ($150 tax deductible).  To purchase, please visit alexsym.org or call (703) 548-0885.

Read more here: The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 Garden Party

The post Alexandria Symphony Annual Garden Party Fundraiser to Take Place at the Home of Donnan C. Wintermute appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

Auctioneers

Margaret Bush & Craig Dyson

Co-Chairs

Julie Dyson, Jim Singerling, & Jeanne Warner

Committee Members

Marybeth Dyson, Lauren Murray, Catie Peterson, Betty Quirk, Liz Seccuro, Catherine Thompson, Judy Williams, & Robin Williams

Benefactors

The Halpin Family

Patrons

Anne Rector & Tim Allen, Suzanne S. Brock, Julie & Eddie Dyson, Lisa & Ken Mountcastle, Molly & Jim Singerling, Jeanne & John Warner, Wells Fargo, Donnan C. Wintermute

Sponsors

Miriam & David Browning, Linda & Elliott Bunce, Jan & Hugh Campbell, Mollie Danforth & Steve Colangelo, Vicki & Nick Coward, Diana & Gerry Dreo, Dottie & Val Hawkins, Lisa & Phil Herget, Bethann & Leo Horey, Julie & Bill Howard, Pauline & Robert Hurd, Ann & Mark Kington, Eva & Frank Manning, Rita & Dennis Meyer, Lisa Brock & Craig Miller, Margaret & Bill O’Grady, Betty & Frank Quirk, Fran & Gant Redmon, Catherine & Tim Thompson, Judy & Forrest Williams, Nancy Ziegler

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ALEXANDRIA, VA – As of Wednesday, May 16, 2012, Carlos Rodríguez, pianist and long-time collaborator with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/Symphonica Nova, has sustained an injury and regretfully withdraws from his appearance with the ASO on Saturday, May 19.  Mr. Rodríguez is expected to make a full recovery and the ASO wishes him all the best.

“Because of a recently sustained hand injury, on doctor’s orders I regret that I am unable to perform this weekend,” said Rodríguez.  “My apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your continued support, and I am looking forward to future performances with the Symphony.”

The ASO will be honored to welcome Rodríguez back in an upcoming season but is thankful that talented pianist Thomas Pandolfi is able to step in at the last minute and perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, the exact piece that Rodríguez was scheduled to perform.

“We’ve dealt with situations such as this one before, but it is rare that the soloist who is asked to suddenly fill in is also prepared to perform the same repertoire that was originally planned,” said ASO executive director Adrien Finlay.  “Mr. Pandolfi is an incredible talent, and we were very fortunate that despite the change in performers, the music that was promised to our patrons will still be a part of this magnificent program.”

Pandolfi is an extremely accomplished musician, having been lauded by The Washington Post as “an artist who…possesses first-rate technical skills, an unerring command of phrasing, a quicksilver touch and cunning legerdemain when it comes to pedaling…etched with calm and crystal clarity…outstanding.”  He enjoys an extensive recording career and performance schedule that has led to appearances with the George Enescu Philharmonic, the Cluj Philharmonic, the Moravian Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic of the Republic of Moldova, and the Aberystwyth Symphony in Wales, as well as the American symphony orchestras of Mississippi, Cedar Rapids, Asheville, Princeton, San Angelo, York, Fairfax, Northbrook, Great Falls, and Owensboro.  A scholarship graduate of The Julliard School (bachelors and masters degrees), recital appearances have taken him to other parts of the globe including Canada, China, Germany, and Great Britain.  For more information and hi-definition press photos of Thomas Pandolfi, please visit his website at www.thomaspandolfi.com.

The ASO will also be performing Gustav Holst’s The Planets in its entirety.  The seven movement work calls for a massive orchestration that includes two harps, six horns, and two timpani players, to name a few.   Members of the Alexandria Choral Society will join the orchestra for the final movement, “Neptune.” 

Saturday, May 19, 8:00 p.m.
Kim Allen Kluge, conductor
Thomas Pandolfi, piano
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 18
            Thomas Pandolfi, piano
HOLST: The Planets
Members of the Alexandria Choral Society
Brian Gendron, Artistic Director

Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, 3001 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA

Tickets: $35-$65 adults, $30-$65 seniors, $10-$65 students and $5 for youth (18 & under).  Join Colleen Fay for a free preconcert chat one hour prior to the performance in the Concert Hall.  Free parking.

Please note that as of May 16, this concert has sold out. Tickets may still become available.  Please visit alexsym.org or call 703-548-0885. 

The post Pianist Thomas Pandolfi to Perform Rachmaninoff in Place of Carlos Rodríguez appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

For the second year in a row, the ASO Children’s Arts Festival will be held at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria.  The activities will be a full 2 hours, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm, and families may pick from one of two concerts, one at 2:30 and a second at 3:30, each lasting approximately 30 minutes each.   Selections from Holst’s work will include the popular “Mars,” “Jupiter,” and “Venus” movements, among others.

“Everyone’s abuzz with the Shuttle Discovery’s recent trek over Alexandria on its way to the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center,” said Executive Director Adrien Finlay.  “We’re hoping to add a fantastic soundtrack to that excitement.”

In addition to the concerts, children are encouraged to participate in the many art, music, and movement projects available throughout the festival.  Activities include an instrument petting zoo, yoga, art stations, reading centers, and the ever-popular hand bell demonstrations (hand bells courtesy of Browne Academy).  The ASO is pleased to partner with several organizations for this event including the Potter Violin Company, Hooray for Books, Del Ray Artisans, Alexandria Public Library, Music Together, and Minds Wide Open.

This year’s ASO Children’s Arts Festival is sponsored by Wells Fargo, SOLA (Symphony Orchestra League of Alexandria), and Washington Gas.  Additional funders including the Alexandria Commission for the Arts, Arlington Commission for the Arts, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra presents COSMIC QUEST:
The 2012 Children’s Arts Festival featuring Holst’s The Planets
Kim Allen Kluge, conductor
Sunday, May 20, 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.; concerts at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

General Admission: $5.  All persons regardless of age must have a ticket.

T.C. Williams High School
3330 King St.
Alexandria, VA, 22302

Call (703) 548-0885 or visit www.alexsym.org for tickets and information. Parking is free in the T.C. Williams garage.

One of Northern Virginia’s most active arts organizations, 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 ASO’s move in 2001 to the critically acclaimed Schlesinger Center established its reach and reputation as one of the region’s leading arts institutions. Under the baton of Music Director Kim Allen Kluge, the Symphony has distinguished itself through powerful performances marked by poetry and vision.

The post The ASO’s Children’s Arts Festival Celebrates the Planets with Cosmic Quest! appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

ASO friend and consummate pianist Carlos Rodríguez will also join the symphony once again on Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a piece that has crossed over into popular culture through films such as The Seven Year Itch starring Marilyn Monroe and, more recently, Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter. 

Originally from Venezuela, Mr. Rodríguez now resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and has become a well-known figure in the city’s classical music scene.  In addition to performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he was selected by the Smithsonian Institution to perform in its 150th anniversary of the piano as part of the museum’s Piano 300 exhibit.  Not just an accomplished performer of classical repertoire, Mr. Rodríguez also demonstrates a considerable capacity for composing and arranging numerous ballets, Spanish dance scores, and Latin-Jazz/Pop compositions.

Alexandria Symphony presents The Planets
Saturday, May 19, 2012, 8 p.m.
Kim Allen Kluge, conductor
Carlos Rodríguez, piano
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2
Carlos Rodríguez, piano
HOLST: The Planets
                  With the Alexandria Choral Society

Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, 3001 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA

Tickets: start at $35 adult, $30 senior, $10 students and $5 for youth (18 & under).  Join Colleen Fay for a free preconcert chat one hour prior to each performance in the Concert Hall.  Free parking. 703-548-0885.

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Midori also performed with the symphony in 2006.

Midori, a native of Japan, is a former child prodigy who for years has been regarded as one of the finest violinists of her generation. She will perform with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra on March 31 and April 1, featuring Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” and Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto.”

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“This was an exciting day,” said Midori, who selected Alexandria as one of only two communities in the nation to participate in the outreach program she founded in 2004. “This is the whole purpose of being here — working with the students and making music.”

As part of her ORP initiative, Midori is spending the week in Alexandria and Northern Virginia collaborating with local youth and adult orchestras, visiting public schools and meeting with community leaders to advance the cause of music and arts education.

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As a child prodigy at Julliard, Midori noticed a disconnect between students and working musicians. The young performers would only get glimpses of their adult idols let alone any collaborative time with them. Now, in addition to her own international career, Midori works hard to bring the professional music experience back to students—especially those who might not have such opportunities otherwise. Started in 2004, the ORP committee selects two sites for five to seven days of performance workshops, rehearsals, questions and answer sessions and even dinner with students and parents—all culminating with a final performance with a youth orchestra.

The post Alexandria News Features Midori’s First Days of Her 2012 Residency appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

The crowd at the Tanglewood Music Festival exploded to its feet, and Bernstein swept her up in a tearful hug as the orchestra broke out in cheers. The headline in the New York Times the next day summed it up: “Girl, 14, conquers Tanglewood with 3 violins.”

The post The Washington Post Profiles Midori For Her March 2012 Residency With ASO appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

The ASO/Symphonica Nova is one of only two orchestras selected by Midori’s Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) for a residency in the 2011-2012 season.  This program brings the violinist to the community in support of the efforts of local youth orchestras, to underscore the importance of music in their communities and to encourage collegiality between the musicians in local adult and youth orchestras. Midori works individually with the orchestras, their members, and music education programs through collaborative performances, master classes, and workshops. The Alexandria Symphony is pleased to be a part of Midori’s Orchestra Residencies Program, and to be partners with the following schools and their music programs for this highly important education initiative:

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/Symphonica Nova and the Midori Orchestra Residencies Program: Local Educational Partners, March 26-April 1

• Minnie Howard School, Alexandria City Public Schools
• T.C. Williams High School, Alexandria City Public Schools
• Wakefield High School, Arlington Public Schools
• Washington-Lee High School, Arlington Public Schools
• Yorktown High School, Arlington Public Schools

The highlight of the residency will be Midori’s work with the youth orchestras, and the week will conclude first with a free concert by the youth orchestras.  She will be featured in collaboration with several student soloists in a performance of J.S. Bach’s Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 (Emma West and Sarah Paez, violins; Tzu-Ching Tai, conductor), and Vivaldi’s Concerto for 4 Violins in B Minor, Op.3 #10 (Tom Hartman, conductor).Then on Saturday, March 31^st and Sunday, April 1^st, Midori will join the Alexandria Symphony and Maestro Kim Allen Kluge in a program that includes the impassioned Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor.   The ASO will also be performing the world premiere of a new composition by music director Kim Allen Kluge to remember the victims and survivors of the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, entitled 芽吹きMEIBUKI – Regeneration. The Arlington and Alexandria students who participated in the week-long residency with Midori will have the opportunity to join the ASO onstage which will also feature the Arlington Children’s Chorus led by artistic director Kevin Carr.

Midori with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/Symphonica Nova
Saturday, March 31, 2012, 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 1, 2012, 3 p.m.
Kim Allen Kluge, conductor
Midori, violin
Simeon Simeonov, violin

Orchestra Residencies Program Participants from Arlington and Alexandria
Arlington Children’s Chorus
Kevin Carr, Artistic Director

STRAVINSKY: Firebird Suite

KLUGE: 芽吹き MEIBUKI – Regeneration: In memory of the victims and for the survivors of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.  For Midori.  WORLD PREMIERE.

Simeon Simeonov, violin
Orchestra Residencies Program Participants

Arlington Children’s Chorus
MENDELSSOHN: Concerto for Violin in E Minor
Midori, violin

Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, 3001 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA

Tickets: start at $40 adults & seniors, $10 students and $5 for youth (18 & under).  Join Colleen Fay for a free preconcert chat one hour prior to each performance in the Concert Hall.  Free parking.  alexsym.org or 703-548-0885.

About Midori’s Orchestra Residencies Program

The Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) was initiated by Midori in 2004 as a way of connecting with and supporting American youth orchestras. ORP aims to provide collaborative music-making opportunities that inspire and educate the next generation of classical musicians. The program also strives to increase the community profile of youth orchestras by strengthening ties with the local professional orchestras. The program is especially important to Midori, and each is substantially subsidized by Midori herself.

The ORP residency lasts five to seven days.  Over the course of that time, Midori participates in a wide variety of different educational projects and community engagement activities with the students of the local youth orchestra. In the past, those activities have included Q & A sessions, master classes, short performances, arts advocacy trips, and more. For more information, visit www.GoToMidori.com/orp.

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Joining the ASO for this massive choral work are soprano Katharine Dain, recognized by The New York Times for her “rich tone,” “deep emotion,” and “lovely, passionate” performances; Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano; accomplished tenor Daniel Molkentin; and Thomas Stork, one of the D.C.-area’s most sought after bass-baritones.  The ASO also welcomes the Metropolitan Chorus and the Alexandria Choral Society to round out this Requiem performance.

Richard Stoltzman is a Grammy award-winning clarinetist who has been delighting audiences for decades. Having released over 40 recordings in addition to collaborations with similarly famed artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, and Richard Goode, he is also recognized for his work in the Emmy award-winning Concerto! program for PBS with Michael Tilson Thomas and Dudley Moore.  The New York Times has written, “his mastery of the clarinet and his impeccable musicianship are no secret by now, but one who has not heard him play for a time can easily forget how rich and fluid the instrument can sound from top to bottom of its range. If Mr. Stoltzman is not one of a kind, who might the others be?”  For the ASO’s concerts on February 11 and 12, Mr. Stoltzman performs Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

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The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will provide a festive soundtrack to the most wonderful time of the year during its annual Children’s Holiday Concert at St. Paul’s Church in Old Town, Alexandria on Sunday, December 11^th.

The year’s concert is co-chaired by Alexandria residents Elise Darden and Katie Wiegmann.  The duo has been diligently planning for months to ensure that this event is a successful fundraising endeavor for the ASO while also working to make it the most exciting Children’s Holiday Concert to date.  Musical selections will include sing-a-long medleys of traditional holiday favorites as well as swinging big band and jazz arrangements of popular holiday tunes as made famous by the Stan Kenton Orchestra including “Angels We Have Heard On High,” “Adeste Fideles,” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The Children’s Holiday Concert on December 11^th is not just an Old Town tradition and valuable fundraising effort, but also an opportunity for the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the support it receives from the local community year-round.  The ASO will thank its loyal patrons with a free reception after the concert that will include a visit from Santa.

Fans of the Children’s Holiday Concert also have the opportunity to purchase tickets for families in St. Paul’s Head Start program, an initiative that allows the less fortunate to enjoy music and the arts during this holiday season. For tickets or to donate, call 703-548-0885 or visit alexsym.org.

The post Sounds of the Season Return to the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra! appeared first on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

“We have been fielding a lot of inquiries from patrons over the past few months as to whether or not we will actually have an organ for this performance,” said ASO executive director Adrien Finlay.  “I am pleased to announce that yes, we will—the piece just would not be the same without it!”

David Brock, an accomplished solo and collaborative organist, has been tapped for this one-night-only event.  He will be playing an Allen Organ at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, brought in special for this occasion. 

Camille Saint-Saëns dedicated Symphony No. 3 to his friend Franz Liszt, who died shortly after its premiere in 1886. The ASO honors both composers in this concert as the Symphony is joined by world-class pianist and Catholic University professor Thomas Mastroianni performing Liszt’s transcription of Franz Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy. Mastroianni is well-versed in the works of Liszt, receiving a Medal of the Hungarian Liszt Society in 1992 and currently serving as president of the American Liszt Society.

Saturday, November 5, 2011, 8 p.m.
Kim Allen Kluge, conductor
Thomas Mastroianni, piano
David Brock, organ
SCHUBERT/LISZT: Wanderer Fantasy
                  Thomas Mastroianni, piano
SAINT-SAËNS: Symphony No. 3, “Organ”
                  David Brock, organ

Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, 3001 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA

Tickets: start at $35 adult, $30 senior, $10 students and $5 for youth (18 & under).  Join Colleen Fay for a free preconcert chat one hour prior to each performance in the Concert Hall.  Free parking. 703-548-0885.

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