The VSO���s BACH & BEYOND Series at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts begins on October 16th and 17th with Baroque specialist Martin Haselb��ck

October 2, 2009 - VANCOUVER, BC ��� Focusing on arguably the most important time in music's development, the VSO���s 5-concert Bach & Beyond series features the great masterpieces of Bach and the Baroque era, through the Classical style of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. Bach & Beyond takes audiences on an exciting, beautiful journey through the evolution of classical music. The series begins on Friday, October 16th and Saturday, October 17th with renowned conductor, organist, and founder of the Vienna Academy Ensemble, Martin Haselb��ck, in a concert celebrating the masters of the Baroque era.

The Bach & Beyond series is performed in the beautiful Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC, a concert hall built to showcase music from this era, and each concert is perfectly crafted to take advantage of this wonderful venue and its sparkling acoustics. The VSO is grateful to the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and the University of British Columbia for their generous assistance. The Bach & Beyond series has also been endowed by a generous gift from the Chan Foundation of Canada. The VSO is also grateful to the Chan Centre and the UBC Rose Garden Parkade for working together to provide free parking for VSO customers from 7pm on concert nights.

The Bach & Beyond series takes listeners on a beautiful journey from the Baroque era, represented by the music of Bach, Handel, Telemann, Purcell and Vivaldi, into the music of the Classical era, including Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

The 2009/2010 Season includes a lineup of internationally-renowned guest artists, including conductor/organist Martin Haselb��ck, conductor/violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch, conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, pianist Andrew Armstrong, and conductor/pianist Barry Douglas. VSO Music Director Maestro Bramwell Tovey conducts one of the concerts, and two VSO musicians take solo turns during the Season: Principal Flute Christie Reside, and Principal Oboe Roger Cole.

Order the series and save! Subscribing to all five concerts ensures guaranteed seating and savings of up to 25% over single concert ticket prices.

Single Concert Tickets: $35 - $62.50 (senior, student and subscriber discounts available)
Tickets available online at www.vancouversymphony.ca or by calling VSO customer service at 604.876.3434

CONCERT INFO

Bach & Beyond

Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17, 8pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
Baroque Masters

Martin Haselb��ck, conductor/organ

Telemann Concerto for Three Trumpets and Orchestra in D Major
Handel Concerto for Organ and Orchestra in F Major, Op. 4, No. 4, HWV 292
Bach Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068
Haydn Symphony No. 103 in E-flat Major, Drum Roll

Martin Haselb��ck may not be a name that you know, but you should want to: founder of the Vienna Academy Ensemble, acclaimed conductor and organist, Baroque specialist and prolific recording artist with over sixty records to his name, he has done it all ��� and continues to excel in his field. He leads and performs in a quintessential Bach & Beyond concert.

Friday and Saturday, December 18 and 19, 8pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
Vivaldi���s Four Seasons

Elizabeth Wallfisch, conductor/violin
Roger Cole, oboe d���amore

Purcell Abdelazar, Z.570: Suite
Handel Concerto Grosso, Op 6, No. 9, HWV 327, in F Major
JS Bach Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A major, BMV 1055
Vivaldi The Four Seasons

Wonderful violinist and Baroque conductor Elizabeth Wallfisch leads from the violin in a program that includes Bach���s deliciously beautiful Concerto for Oboe d���amore ��� with VSO Principal Oboist Roger Cole taking a solo turn ��� and Vivaldi���s timeless classic The Four Seasons, which has stayed on the top of the charts for over two hundred and eighty years.

Friday and Saturday, February 19 and 20, 8pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
A Little Night Music: Mozart and Haydn

Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor
Andrew Armstrong, piano

Haydn Il Mondo della Luna, Overture
Haydn Piano Concerto Hob XVIII: 4 in G Major
Mozart Serenata Notturna K 239
Mozart Notturno K 286
Mozart Concert Rondo in A Major K 386
Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Mozart and Haydn: Musical perfection. Haydn took hold of the torch passed to him by Bach and the great composers of the Baroque era and kept the flame ablaze; Mozart took that torch and turned it into a bonfire. Great young Canadian conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni will present their music with the style and grace it deserves.

Visit Andrew Armstrong at: www.andrewarmstrong.com

Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24, 8pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
Bach and Beyond

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Bach Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
Stravinsky/Pergolesi Pulcinella: Suite
Mozart Masonic Funeral Music, K.477
Haydn Symphony No. 73 in D Major, La chasse

Maestro Tovey conducts a concert that features Baroque and Classical music with an exciting twist. Bach���s Orchestral Suites are some of the pinnacle achievements of the Baroque era. Haydn���s Symphony No. 73 is another of his many great works of refined beauty. And here���s a twist: the suite from Russian composer Igor Stravinsky���s great ballet music Pulcinella, written in the twentieth century and based on the music of eighteenth century Italian Baroque composer Giovanni Pergolesi.

Friday and Saturday, May 21 and 22, 8pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
Barry Douglas plays Beethoven

Barry Douglas, conductor/piano

Mozart Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K.183
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1
Haydn Symphony No. 104 in D Major, London

Barry Douglas is truly an extraordinary musician. Studying piano, clarinet, cello and organ while growing up in Belfast; and in 1986 he became the first non-Russian to win outright gold in the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition since Van Cliburn in 1958. Douglas will conduct and perform in a concert that features Mozart���s scintillating little G minor symphony and Beethoven���s Piano Concerto No.1.

Visit Barry Douglas at: www.barry-douglas.com

The VSO Presents Final Fantasy in Concert

The VSO Presents the Canadian Premiere of FINAL FANTASY in Concert with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra!

Vancouver BC ��� The VSO announces its presentation of Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY, on Thursday, October 8, 2009, at the newly renovated Orpheum Theatre. The concert will feature Nobuo Uematsu���s award-winning music from Square Enix���s enormously successful FINAL FANTASY video game series, performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Grammy award-winner Arnie Roth. State of the art videos will be projected on screens to showcase the games most memorable and thrilling sequences. This concert will also feature the North American premiere performance of the FINAL FANTASY VII Main Theme.

FINAL FANTASY is a worldwide sensation, and one of the most successful video game franchises in the history of gaming. One of the top-selling video game franchises, FINAL FANTASY has created a lasting legacy in the video game world as one of the most innovative and influential role-playing games ever released. It has received worldwide critical acclaim for its originality, graphics, and of course, its rich, sumptuous, exciting music scores. Tickets go on-sale to the public on Monday, July 27^th at 10am. Tickets are available online at www.vancouversymphony.ca, or call 604.876.3434.

Video game music has become increasingly popular in the last decade with the advancement of gaming console technology and has become essential in enhancing a game���s overall experience. In fact, the music of FINAL FANTASY has become just as popular as the ongoing video game franchise due to its epic scores, which incorporate a variety of musical styles. The series veteran composer Nobuo Uematsu was named as one of the ���Innovators��� in Time Magazine���s ���Time 100: The Next Wave ��� Music��� feature.

A classically trained violinist, conductor, composer, producer and Grammy award-winning artist, Arnie Roth performs across a wide array of musical genres. Mr. Roth has performed with a host of artists, including Il Divo, Diana Ross, Jewel, and Josh Groban. He is also a long-time member of the Grammy award-winning group Mannheim Steamroller. Orchestras which Mr. Roth has conducted include the London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Tokyo Philharmonic. Mr. Roth was the music director and conductor of the ���Dear Friends: music from FINAL FANTASY��� and ���VOICES: music from FINAL FANTASY��� concerts. He then became the principal conductor and music director of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony featuring music from blockbuster video games such as FINAL FANTASY��, World of Warcraft��, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind�Ѣ and Battlefield 1942�Ѣ.

CONCERT INFO

Specials:

Final Fantasy in Concert

Thursday, October 8, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Arnie Roth, conductor

Tickets $25 to $65

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

BIOGRAPHIES

Arnie Roth, conductor

A classically trained violinist, conductor, composer, producer and Grammy award-winning artist, Arnie Roth performs across a wide array of musical genres. Mr. Roth has performed with a host of artists, including Il Divo, Diana Ross, Jewel, The Three Tenors, The Irish Tenors, Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Patrick Stewart, Branford Marsalis and Andrea Bocelli. He is also a long-time member of the Grammy award-winning group Mannheim Steamroller. Orchestras which Mr. Roth has conducted include the London Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, the WDR Rundfunkorchester K��ln, and the Sydney Symphony. Since 2004 Arnie Roth has brought critical acclaim to the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra as music director and principal conductor showcasing artists including Michael Feinstein, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Wynonna Judd, the Beach Boys and Johnny Mathis. Under his direction the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra appeared in a nationally broadcast PBS Special featuring The Irish Tenors.

Mr. Roth was the music director and conductor of ���Dear Friends: music from FINAL FANTASY.��� In 2006 Mr. Roth conducted the new ���VOICES: music from FINAL FANTASY��� concert in Tokyo with the Tokyo Philharmonic. He then became the principal conductor and music director of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony featuring music from blockbuster video games such as FINAL FANTASY��, World of Warcraft��, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind�Ѣ and Battlefield 1942�Ѣ. Mr. Roth conducted PLAY! with many international orchestras including the National Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Singapore Symphony and the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House. As both producer and music director, Arnie Roth premiered ���Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY��� in December 2007 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in Sweden. The release of the new ���Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY CD��� recorded by Roth and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic coincided with the start of the ���Distant Worlds��� 2008 world-tour.

As music director, conductor and arranger, Mr. Roth was involved in a number of PBS specials including: Charlotte Church: Enchantment - From Cardiff, Wales for Sony, The Irish Tenors: Heritage, the WTTW Soundstage shows featuring: Jewel, Peter Cetera and Symphony, An Evening with Dennis DeYoung, Lyle Lovett, Randy Newman, Michael McDonald and the Doobie Brothers, and WTTW���s Four Seasons in Chicago. In 2006 he was the music director and conductor for a ten part television series for RTE featuring the Irish Tenors. He appeared on NBC���s Today Show with Il Divo in 2006.

He is the producer, composer, conductor and arranger for nine of the Barbie�Ѣ Princess CGI animated films from Mattel Entertainment. Mr. Roth won the Best Score Award at the 2003 DVD Premier Awards for his score for the film Barbie�Ѣ as Rapunzel, and was nominated for an Emmy in 2007 for his original song ���Shine��� from the movie Barbie�Ѣ in The Twelve Dancing Princesses. 2007 also marks the premiere of Mr. Roth's first live concert creation with Mattel. Barbie�Ѣ at the Symphony is a special film with orchestra presentation of the best-selling Barbie�Ѣ Princess movies. Music director Arnie Roth is touring the world in performances featuring great works by classical composers and Barbie�Ѣ highlights from all of the CGI animated films.

Details of the 20th Birthday of Bayview Residences Victoria Symphony Splash announced today

The largest annual outdoor symphony concert in British Columbia turns 20!

Victoria, BC ��� Details of the 2009 Bayview Residences Victoria Symphony Splash were unveiled today in a Bayview Residences penthouse overlooking the event site. Sunday, August 2^nd marks the 20^th birthday of this spectacular community event. Twelve of the original Victoria Symphony orchestra members will make return appearances and 15 year old pianist Christine Wong and 18 year old tenor Josh Lovell make their debut as the 2009 Young Soloists.

In her opening remarks the Victoria Symphony���s Music Director Tania Miller stated ���This city has a wealth of gifts and I believe that Bayview Residences Victoria Symphony Splash and the incredibly talented musicians of the Victoria Symphony are two of them. This annual concert is such a great community event and one that I am proud to be a part of ��� I give my thanks on this 20^th Birthday to those that created it, Murray Glazier in particular, and the many supporters, including our title sponsor Bayview Residences, who keep it alive so that we can continue to bring orchestral music into the community.���

Ken Mariash, owner of Bayview Properties, announced that the corporate support of the event is stronger than ever with the Provincial Capital Commission and A British Columbia joining Bayview Residences, WestJet, Thrifty Foods, Splashes Kitchen and Bath, 98.5 The Ocean and JACKfm, the Times Colonist, Tom Lee Music, Seaspan International and Level Ground Trading as corporate sponsors of this event.

Maestra Tania Miller proudly announced that at least 12 members of the Victoria Symphony orchestra who performed in 1990 will be performing this year, among them Principal Cello Lawrence Skaggs, Principal Flute Richard Volet, Principal Oboe Michael Byrne, and Principal Bass Mary Rannie.

The Victoria Symphony���s concert program is full of musical favourites from previous years. Maestra Tania Miller has chosen Elgar���s Pomp and Circumstance March no. 4 to open the concert, which was performed in the very first Splash concert in 1990.Gershwin���s Rhapsody in Blue will be performed by 15 year old pianist Christine Wong. This same piece was performed by the first Splash Young Soloist, Timothy Haig, in 1994.

Symphony Splash founder, Murray Glazier gave a moving recollection of how, along with former General Manager C. Stephen Smith, and former Music Director Peter McCoppin, he brought the Victoria Symphony to the people on a sunny day in August. He recalled being moved to tears as he looked out over the crowd of over 30,000 people who flooded the Inner Harbour for what was initially thought to be a crazy idea.

Many traditions have been established during the two decades of this event, including the Canadian Scottish Regiment Pipe and Drum Band who not only have the distinction of playing a prominent role in Bayview Symphony Splash but also of having the only member to actually make an actual ���splash��� during the event when one of the pipers fell into the harbour.

Perhaps the best loved tradition is the Victoria Symphony performance of Tchaikovsky���s 1812 Overture accompanied by and fireworks. On August 2^nd it will be performed for 20^th time in as many years at the event.

The 20^th Birthday of Bayview Residences Victoria Symphony Splash takes place on August 2^nd, 2009. From a floating stage in Victoria���s picturesque Inner Harbour, Maestra Tania Miller, the Victoria Symphony and special guests celebrate the remarkable 20 year history of this incredible event. The day begins at 2pm with kids��� activities on the Provincial legislative lawn and ends with Victoria Symphony���s performance of Tchaikovsky���s 1812 Overture at 10pm accompanied by fireworks and cannons.

Bayview Residences is proud to be the title sponsor of the annual Bayview Residences Victoria Symphony Splash. A master-planned, 20 acre urban community, Bayview Residences overlooks Victoria���s world famous Inner Harbour. Bayview One is currently open for immediate occupancy. For further information, please visit us at 80 Saghalie Road, phone 250.388.9924 or visit www.bayviewvictoria.com.

Announcing the Vancouver Symphony Centre and VSO School of Music's first Executive Director

Announcing the Vancouver Symphony Centre and

VSO School of Music���s first Executive Director

Vancouver BC ��� The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce Shaun Taylor as the first Executive Director of the Vancouver Symphony Centre and VSO School of Music. Mr. Taylor will begin his new position in September 2009. As Executive Director, Mr. Taylor will play an integral role in managing the Centre and shaping the direction of the Music School, in accordance with the strategies and objectives for the School established by the VSO.

Originally from Los Angeles, Mr. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Tuba performance from the University of Southern California, and a Master of Music Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has worked as the Music Program Manager of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts, the Program Coordinator for the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, kindergarten through Grade 8 Music Teacher at the Central City Cyberschool of Milwaukee and as a freelance musician.

Now a Canadian citizen, Shaun has been the Principal of the Chilliwack Academy of Music since September 2004, and President of the BC Association of Community Music Schools since 2007. His track record at the Academy in the areas of student and faculty recruitment and retention, program development, fundraising, budgeting, strategic planning and facility management has been extremely impressive. He has also made important contributions to the creation of the Chilliwack Cultural Centre and in the acoustic, aesthetic and technical designs for that facility, which is scheduled to open next summer.

President & CEO Jeff Alexander stated: ���I am delighted we have been able to engage an administrator, educator, musician and person of Shaun Taylor���s experience to head up the Vancouver Symphony Centre and VSO School of Music. This exciting initiative continues to take shape and Shaun will be the ideal person to move it toward and beyond the grand opening in early 2011.���

The VSO School of Music within the Symphony Centre will be a locus of lifelong learning, providing programs from preschoolers to seniors. The School of Music, a distinct not ���for-profit charitable society, will see hundreds and eventually thousands of students attending the school on a weekly basis, taking private and group lessons, chamber music workshops, theory and composition classes from members of the VSO and Vancouver���s freelance musician community, as well as Master classes from VSO conductors and guest artists, and much more. Distance learning opportunities will also be provided to students from throughout British Columbia and further afield. The School of Music itself will include a recital hall, private teaching studios, classrooms, function space, recording capabilities, and a retail presence at street level.

The VSO School of Music will comprise a portion of the first four floors of Wall Financial Corporation���s Capitol Residences development, immediately adjacent to the Orpheum on Seymour Street (the former site of the Capitol 6 cinema).

-VSO-

The VSO Appoints New Concertmaster

VSO Appoints New Concertmaster

Vancouver BC ��� Maestro Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra are proud to announce the appointment of world-renowned violinist Dale Barltrop as VSO Concertmaster, effective September 2009.

Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Dale Barltrop earned his Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Maryland, followed by a Professional Studies Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with William Preucil, Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Barltrop has been Principal Second Violin of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 2003 and Principal Second Violin of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra in San Diego since 2005. He was also a co-founder and Director of the Philharmonia Ensemble at the University of Maryland from 2000 to 2002.

An accomplished violinist, Mr. Barltrop has won the Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2003, the Jules C. Reiner Violin Prize at the Tanglewood Music Festival in 2002, and First Prize at the University of Maryland Concerto Competition in 2000. He has been featured as a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in the works of Bach, Locatelli, Piazzolla, Schubert and Vivaldi.

In commenting on his appointment, Mr. Barltrop said: ���I'm honoured to be the Vancouver Symphony's new concertmaster. I had the opportunity to tour with the VSO this past May and the music-making was inspiring. They are wonderful musicians and I'm very much looking forward to joining them and calling Vancouver my home.���

Maestro Bramwell Tovey was enthusiastic in his praise of Mr. Barltrop, stating: "Dale is an exceptional musician in every way. He is not only a tremendous violinist and great classical artist, he is also a devoted advocate of music. I was so impressed with his professionalism and skill on our Central Canada Tour and the weeks in which he performed with us at the Orpheum, and look forward to Dale joining the orchestra on a full-time basis. I am delighted that Dale will make his home here in Vancouver, and he will become an indispensable part of the music community of British Columbia."

Equally enthusiastic was President & CEO Jeff Alexander, who noted: ���We are delighted to welcome Dale to the VSO family. I know the entire organization and the Vancouver arts community will benefit greatly from his extraordinary musicianship and leadership abilities.���

As Concertmaster of the VSO, Mr. Barltrop takes on a position central to the artistic success of a symphony orchestra. The Concertmaster is the leader of the orchestra���s string section, and he will serve as the artistic ���right hand��� to Music Director Bramwell Tovey. He will in fact be the conduit between every conductor and the orchestra during rehearsals and performances. Mr. Barltrop will appear as soloist with the VSO on a regular basis, and be a member of every audition committee for future appointments to the orchestra.

In addition to his substantial artistic role, Mr. Barltrop will be active in the VSO's extensive educational programs, serve as an ambassador of the VSO at public and private functions, and participate in various fundraising and social functions on behalf of the organization.

Biography:

Dale Barltrop has held the position of Principal Second Violin in The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 2003. He has appeared as soloist with the SPCO in works of Bach, Vivaldi, Locatelli, Piazzolla, Schnittke and Schubert. Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, Barltrop came to the United States in 1998 to study at the University of Maryland as a student of Gerald Fischbach and the Guarneri Quartet. He continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. Barltrop has appeared as soloist with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Maryland Chamber Orchestra, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra and back home with the Queensland Symphony and Queensland Pops Orchestras. Prior to joining the SPCO, he was associate concertmaster of the Akron Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Barltrop was a founding member of the Verkl��rte Quartet, grand prize winner at the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. His quartet was ensemble-in-residence at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival in Vermont and guest artists at the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy. Barltrop has also participated in the Mainly Mozart, Swannanoa, Kneisel Hall and Tanglewood Music Festivals and the New York String Orchestra Seminar. Barltrop has a keen interest in youth music and coaches regularly for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies. At the University of Maryland, he co-founded and directed the Philharmonia Ensemble, a highly successful student chamber orchestra. Dale also enjoys teaching, swimming, hiking and traveling.

- VSO -

The VSO's Exciting Season Finale!

The VSO���s Season Finale is a real barn-burner: Carl Orff���s extraordinary masterpiece Carmina Burana is a musical setting of medieval poetry, from the sacred to the profane, from devotional love and piety to drinking songs and debauchery! It also happens to be one of the wildest live concert experiences you can possibly have. Combined with Stravinsky���s Symphony of Psalms, this concert is a magnificent Season Finale for Lower Mainland audiences, and a prelude to the excitement of the 2009/2010 Season!

Maestro Bramwell Tovey wields the baton in this massive concert that features soprano Laura Whalen, tenor Colin Ainsworth, baritone Hugh Russell, the Vancouver Bach Choir, and the Vancouver Bach Children���s Chorus. Concerts take place on Saturday and Monday, June 13^th and 15^th, 8pm at the Orpheum Theatre.

Carmina Burana was German composer Carl Orff���s first and greatest success. It is a scenic cantata composed between 1935 and 1936 based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection of the same name. In 1803, at the monastery of Benediktbeuern in Upper Bavaria, musicologist J. A. Schmeller discovered a manuscript collection of lyrics, dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and eventually published it in 1847. The polite side of the collection includes six plays based on the Christmas, Passion and Easter mysteries. The earthier part contains some 200 drinking songs, love lyrics and recruiting songs.

When Orff came across the manuscript in 1935, he saw in it the ideal vehicle to express the kind of basic, uncomplicated human emotions he had in mind. Choosing two dozen poems from the collection, with the assistance of Michel Hofmann, he matched them with equally direct music, featuring simple yet striking rhythms, melodies and harmonies. ���It���s not sophisticated, not intellectual,��� he wrote, ���and the themes of my work are themes that everyone knows�ĶThere is a spiritual power behind my work, that���s why it is accepted throughout the world.��� The premiere took place in Frankfurt on June 8, 1937.

The illuminated pictures that accompanied the original poems intrigued Orff virtually as much as the words. The cover showed luck as a revolving wheel, blindly governing people���s destinies. Orff begins his Carmina Burana with a grandiose hymn, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Luck, Empress of the World), saluting this inscrutable, unpredictable concept. O Fortuna is one of the grandest statements in all of music, and has become famous world-wide. This extraordinary music from the beginning of Carmina Burana has been used in movies, commercials, and in sports arenas around the world as a trigger for creating feelings of drama and thrilling anticipation. Primo vere (In Springtime), follows. It deals, mostly in quiet, mysterious fashion, with the anticipated arrival of that season. Joy eventually breaks forth as Spring itself appears. It is celebrated in the section entitled Uf dem anger (On the Green).

The next segment, In Taberna (In the Tavern) salutes the juice of the grape in riotous fashion. The tenor soloist, singing in falsetto, takes the role of a swan roasting slowly and sadly on a spit. The baritone is an Abbot who launches the men of the choir into a rollicking ode to drink.

Cour d���amours (Court of Love) brings several of Orff���s loveliest, most lyrical moments. The soprano solo In trutina (In the Balance) a glowing anticipation of fulfillment, is a particular highlight. After the ecstatic fervor of Blanziflor et Helena (Blanchefleur and Helen, the principal characters in a medieval romance), Orff���s ode to luck returns, to close Carmina Burana as majestically as it began.

Igor Stravinsky���s Symphony of Psalms was commissioned in 1929 by conductor Serge Koussevitzky, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He used this opportunity to realize a project he had been considering for some time: a setting of selected Biblical Psalms for chorus and orchestra.

���I began with Psalm 150,��� Stravinsky wrote. ���After finishing the fast-tempo sections, I went back to compose the first and second movements�ĶThe first movement, Hear my prayer, O Lord, (Psalm 39) was composed in a state of religious and musical symbolism in any of my music before The Flood. It consists of an upside-down pyramid of fugues.

���The Allegro in Psalm 150 (Finale of the Symphony) was inspired by a vision of Elijah���s chariot climbing to the heavens; never before had I written anything quite so literal as the triplets for horns and piano to suggest the horses and chariot. In setting the words of this final hymn, I cared above all for the sounds of the syllables, and I have indulged my besetting pleasure of regulating prosody in my own way.���

Stravinsky, who had become a regular communicant of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1926, inscribed the score of Symphony of Psalms ���To the Glory of God.��� The orchestration includes enlarged wind and brass sections, but excludes violins and violas.

CONCERT INFO

Masterworks Diamond Series:

Carmina Burana!

Saturday & Monday, June 13 & 15, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Laura Whalen, soprano

Colin Ainsworth, tenor

Hugh Russell, baritone

Vancouver Bach Choir

Vancouver Bach Children���s Chorus

Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms

Orff Carmina Burana

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

The VSO Presents the legendary Frederica von Stade and Samuel Ramey together for the first time in Vancouver

Recognized as one of the most beloved musical figures of our time, the great mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade (affectionately known as ���Flicka��� worldwide to her friends, family and legions of fans) makes her VSO debut teamed up with Samuel Ramey, the world���s foremost operatic bass-baritone. In a concert for the ages, these two extraordinary artists at the peak of their careers perform music by Berlioz, Boito, Offenbach, Copland and Gershwin. Maestro Bramwell Tovey conducts.

���[Frederica von Stade is] one of America's finest artists and singers���

- The New York Times

���Even if she were not one of the great singers of our day�ĶFrederica von Stade could probably draw a full house of people eager just to be in her presence.���

- San Francisco Chronicle

���Ramey���s singing is the stuff of which operatic legends are made.���

The New York Post

A once-in-a-lifetime concert event, this evening will be a pairing of legendary artists the likes of which Lower Mainland audiences have never before seen: two of the greatest musicians of this or any era, on stage together with Maestro Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for one very special evening only.

CONCERT INFO

Specials

Flicka and Ramey: A Concert for the Ages

Thursday, June 11, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano*

Samuel Ramey, bass-baritone+

Berlioz Marche de R��k��czy from Le Damnation de Faust

Berlioz Vrai Dieu, messieurs�ĶUne puce gentile from Le Damnation de Faust+

Berlioz Devant la maison from Le Damnation de Faust+

Boito Ave Signor! From Mefistofele+

Boito Ecco il mondo from Mefistofele+

Heggie Don���t Say A Word from Dead Man Walking*

Heggie Primary Colors from The Deepest Desire*

Thomas Connais-tu le pays from Mignon*

Offenbach Vous, aimes le danger�ĶAh! que j���aime les militaries! from Le Grande-Duchesse de G��rolstein*

Copland Outdoor Adventure

Simple Gifts from Old American Songs, Set 1*

The Dodger from Old American Songs, Set 1+

Little Horses from Old American Songs, Set 2*

At The River from Old American Songs, Set 2+

I Bought Me A Cat from Old American Songs*+

Waltz from Billy the Kid

Rodgers People Will Say We���re in Love from Oklahoma!*+

Gershwin Let���s Call The Whole Thing Off from Shall We Dance*+

Tickets $45 to $165 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Mahler's Monumental Sixth Symphony

In the final Masterworks Gold concert of the Symphony Season, Maestro Bramwell Tovey leads the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Schubert���s beautiful Ballet Music from Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus and Mahler���s monumental masterpiece Symphony No. 6. Concerts take place on Saturday, June 6^th and Monday, June 8^th at 8pm at the Orpheum Theatre.

Franz Schubert composed the incidental music for Rosamunde, Princess of Cypress, a play by the eccentric German playwright Helmina von Ch��zy, in 1823. The score includes an overture, entr���actes, ballet music, choruses, and a romance for soprano. The play was so bad that it was pulled from production after two performances, and only the vocal numbers were published during Schubert���s lifetime. The orchestral selections dropped from sight until 1867, when English musicians Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir George Grove made a pilgrimage to Vienna, specifically in search of forgotten nuggets of Schubertiana. We have them to thank for this enchanting music���s survival and its entry into the repertoire.

Gustav Mahler began his Sixth Symphony during the summer of 1903, completing it a year later. This was one of the most idyllic periods of his life: his fame as a conductor reached its apex; regular and well-received performances of his music were taking place across Europe; and the companionship of his wife Alma and their two daughters was giving him great joy. Yet the music he was writing represents an enormous gulf between reality and his creative world. Symphony No. 6 is a sombre, even tragic work. It turned out to be a disturbingly prophetic one, as well.

Regarding the Symphony, Alma Mahler wrote in her memoirs, ���In the last movement he describes himself and his downfall; or, as he later said: ���It is the hero, on whom falls three blows of fate, the last of which fells him as a tree is felled.��� On him too fell three blows of fate, and the last felled him.��� This refers to the events of 1907: the death of their older daughter Maria of diphtheria and smallpox, aged four-and-a-half; Mahler���s being driven from his job as Music Director of the Vienna State Opera; and the diagnosis of his life-threatening case of heart disease. To represent these ���blows of fate,��� Mahler included a hammer in the orchestration of the Sixth Symphony���s finale. The sound he wanted from it wasn���t clangourous and steely, but a non-metallic thud, ���like an axe stroke.���

���But at the time he was serene; he was conscious of the greatness of his work,��� Alma continued. ���None of his works came as directly from his innermost heart as this one. The music and what it foretold touched us so deeply.��� The first performance took place on May 27, 1906, in Essen, under the composer���s direction. According to Alma, ���Out of shame and anxiety he did not conduct the symphony well. He hesitated to bring out the dark omen behind this terrible last movement.���

Mahler later made changes to the symphony���s orchestration, the most important of them the deletion of the last of the three hammer blows. He superstitiously feared it might hasten the arrival of the disaster that it predicted for him. He also harbored some uncertainty about the sequence of the inner movements. On every occasion that he conducted it, the sequence was Andante first, followed by the Scherzo. The symphony was published with that order reversed, but Mahler didn���t authorize this. The critical edition of his complete works that is sanctioned by the International Gustav Mahler Society uses the Andante/Scherzo sequence.

Mahler gave the Sixth Symphony the subtitle Tragic. In overall terms it is an appropriate designation. Yet it is only in the Finale that the work���s catastrophic nature becomes clear. The opening movement contrasts a menacing, march-like subject with a passionate second melody. Alma recalled, ���After he had drafted the first movement, he came down from the forest to tell me he had tried to express me a theme. ���Whether I���ve succeeded I don���t know; but you���ll have to put up with it.��� This is the great, soaring theme of the first movement of the Sixth Symphony.��� In the middle comes a peaceful interlude, atmospherically coloured with the sound of cowbells (Mahler may have included them as a recollection of his happy youth in central Europe. They will be heard again in the Andante and Finale). The ���Alma��� theme crowns the movement triumphantly.

The slow movement is a serene, gorgeously melodious lullaby. The climax, in contrast, is a searing outpouring of emotion. ���In the Scherzo, he represented the un-rhythmic games of the two children, tottering in zigzags over the sand,��� Alma wrote. ���Ominously the childish voices become more and more tragic, and at the end die out in a whimper.��� This is one of the bitterest and most bizarrely scored scherzos in any Mahler symphony.

The colossal, overwhelming Finale opens with an eerie, unsettling introduction in slow tempo. The movement proper is restless and striving. It consists of a series of waves of vigorous activity, each of which is crowned catastrophically by one of the hammer blows of fate. There is no recovery from the third and final climax. The music, its tragic destiny fulfilled, subsides into utter darkness.

CONCERT INFO

Masterworks Gold Series:

Classical Blockbuster: Mahler���s Titanic

Saturday & Monday, June 6 & 8, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

The VSO debut of pianist Benjamin Hochman

Pianist Benjamin Hochman plays Mozart���s rarely heard Piano Concerto No.9 in his VSO debut. This is followed up by the huge, exciting, passionate music of Russian master Sergei Prokofiev. Conductor Laureate Kazuyoshi Akiyama returns to conduct the final PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver concerts of the season, which take place on Saturday, May 30^th and Monday, June 1^st at 8pm at the Orpheum Theatre.

Benjamin Hochman came into prominence when he made his New York solo recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006. Since then, he has achieved widespread acclaim for his performances. Mr. Hochman has performed with several prominent orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras, Seattle Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Portland Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

"Hochman's demeanor is poised, and quietly confident. His playing is beautiful to hear. From the first moment, his crisp, articulated touch was noticeable, clear but not forceful, even with pedal, and he shaped the phrases in the long cadenza with grace."

- Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Hochman recently appeared at the Bard Music Festival, Bridgehampton Music Festival and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Just prior to travelling to Vancouver, Hochman returned to his native Israel for a special series of concerts and masterclasses. He will also be performing in London, Barcelona, and Amsterdam���s Concertgebouw later in the year.

Born in Jerusalem, Benjamin Hochman is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Mannes College of Music where his principal teachers were Claude Frank and Richard Goode. His studies were supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Mozart���s Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat Major was a groundbreaking, revolutionary work in its time, helping to ���raise the bar��� for the piano concerto as a genre and leaving its mark on later concertos by Beethoven and other Romantic composers. Certainly the greatest of the concertos written by Mozart in his time in Salzburg, Classical music author and commentator Charles Rosen also called it ���the first unqualified masterpiece in any genre,��� and legendary pianist Alfred Brendel characterized the work as ���one of the greatest wonders of the world.��� The relationship between soloist and orchestra is given unprecedented depth in this concerto, the dialogue and juxtaposition of ideas heightened to a remarkable degree compared to earlier piano concertos. The very opening of the concerto itself is a strong statement for change in the way in which piano concertos were previously written: the soloist is introduced right away after a short heraldic statement by the orchestra; afterword, the orchestra is given a typical, though brief, opening exposition, but it is on the piano���s terms. Later, Mozart goes so far as to turn this dialogue on its head, with the orchestra answering the piano. The second movement is one of utterly poignant expressive brilliance. The C minor atmosphere holds the listener in its thrall as the solo parts, written with such a highly personal and expressive voice, weave their way in and out of discourse with the orchestra in a dreamy, almost tragic manner. And though the finale ��� one of Mozart���s greatest Rondo finales ��� is one of virtuosic energy and joy, there is a serious undercurrent at play which keeps the concerto grounded, as if Mozart knew he was creating a work that would lasting impact through generations of composers.

CONCERT INFO

PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver Series:

Melody and Power: Mozart and Prokofiev

Saturday & Monday, May 30 & June 1, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Kazuyoshi Akiyama, conductor

Benjamin Hochman, piano

Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon: Overture, Op. 24

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, Jeunehomme

Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Generously Supported By:

Series Sponsor: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Video Screen Sponsor: TELUS

Video screen presentations created and produced by students and staff of digital video productions at Columbia Academy.

VSO's June Concert Listings

We���re hitting the home stretch, as June marks the final month of concerts for the VSO���s 2008/09 Season! We���re close to making it through another successful Symphony Season with just six performances in the month ��� but what a group of concerts!

June concerts begin right off the bat with pianist Benjamin Hochman making his VSO debut on June 1^st at the Orpheum. VSO Conductor Laureate Kazuyoshi Akiyama conducts the orchestra in a concert that features a rarely performed Mozart piano concerto and the passionate music of Russian master Sergey Prokofiev.

Next up is a classical blockbuster featuring Schubert���s Rosamunde and Mahler���s Symphony No.6. Mahler���s deeply tragic Symphony No.6 is one of the most extraordinary pieces of music ever written, one of the great canons of the symphonic literature. This concert is sure to be an epic musical experience; live concerts with music like this is why symphony orchestra���s exist.

Recognized as one of the most beloved musical figures of our time, the great Frederica von Stade (famously known as ���Flicka��� worldwide) makes her VSO debut teamed up with Samuel Ramey, the world���s foremost operatic bass-baritone. A concert for the ages, these two extraordinary artists at the peak of their careers perform music by Gounod, Berlioz, Boito, Offenbach, Copland and Gershwin. Bramwell Tovey conducts.

The VSO���s Season Finale is a real barn-burner: Carl Orff���s celebrated Carmina Burana. This work is a musical setting of medieval poetry, from the sacred to the profane, from piety to drinking songs and debauchery. It also happens to be one of the wildest live concert experiences you can possibly have. A wonderful Season Finale for Lower Mainland audiences, and a prelude to the excitement of the 2009/2010 Season!

CONCERT INFO

PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver Series:

Melody and Power: Mozart and Prokofiev

Saturday & Monday, May 30 & June 1, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Kazuyoshi Akiyama, conductor

Benjamin Hochman, piano

Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon: Overture, Op. 24

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, Jeunehomme

Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Generously Supported By:

Series Sponsor: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Video Screen Sponsor: TELUS

Video screen presentations created and produced by students and staff of digital video productions at Columbia Academy.

Radio Sponsor: CKNW AM980

Masterworks Gold Series:

Classical Blockbuster: Mahler���s Titanic

Saturday & Monday, June 6 & 8, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Schubert Rosamunde: Ballet Music (selections tbc)

Mahler Symphony No. 6 in A minor, Tragic

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Generously Supported By:

Radio Sponsor: CKNW AM980

Specials

Flicka and Ramey: A Concert for the Ages

Thursday, June 11, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano

Samuel Ramey, bass

Tickets $45 to $165 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Masterworks Diamond Series:

Carmina Burana!

Saturday & Monday, June 13 & 15, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Laura Whalen, soprano

Colin Ainsworth, tenor

Hugh Russell, baritone

Vancouver Bach Choir

Vancouver Bach Children���s Chorus

Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms

Orff Carmina Burana

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Generously Supported By:

Radio Sponsor: CKNW AM980

Twenty-Year Old Piano Prodigy Ran Jia makes her Vancouver Debut

Twenty-Year Old Piano Prodigy Ran Jia makes her Vancouver Debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Vancouver BC ��� Twenty-year-old wunderkind Ran Jia took her homeland China by storm, performing from the age of seven ��� now, she sets her sights on North America. The VSO is honoured to present her Vancouver debut in an all-Mozart series finale in the Bach & Beyond and Beltone Symphony Sundays series packages. She will perform Mozart���s Piano Concerto No. 12, while Maestro Bramwell Tovey leads the orchestra in Mozart���s Paris and Linz symphonies.

Pianist Ran Jia has been hailed as ���China���s new champion��� and a ���piano poet.��� The daughter of Professor Daqun Jia, Dean of the Graduate Study Programs at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and one of China���s leading composers, she began studying the piano at age 3 and immediately showed extraordinary natural abilities. Her professional career skyrocketed when she was the only concert pianist invited to perform at Thelonious Monk���s 90^th birthday in New York. The winner of numerous accolades the world over, she now studies with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

This concert celebrates the music of history���s greatest musical genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Symphony No.31, better known as the ���Paris��� Symphony, is one of Mozart���s most famous symphonies. Longing to escape from the tyrannical, unappreciative grip of his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg, in September 1777 Mozart and his mother set out to find him a new job. They arrived in Paris and over the next six months, Wolfgang and his music drew an indifferent response. To make matters worse, his mother died in July. One of the few bright spots of the Parisian period was his association with the Concert spiritual, a series of public musical events managed by Jean Le Gros. This impresario commissioned several works from Mozart including Symphony No.31 which was positively received by Parisian audiences.

Mozart composed Symphony No.36 in the autumn of 1783. After an emotionally strained visit with his family in Salzburg, he and his wife Constanze stopped in the city of Linz during their return journey to Vienna. They enjoyed the hospitality of Count Thun, a music-loving nobleman whose wealth allowed him the luxury of his own orchestra. As a gesture of gratitude to his host, Mozart composed this work for him. Written in just four days, it has been known as the Linz Symphony ever since.

Mozart launched his life as a freelance artist in Vienna in May 1781. Since he was best known there as a pianist, he composed numerous piano works, including Piano Concerto No.12 in A Major, to play at his own subscription concerts. Despite the modest nature and scoring of this concerto, it stands out in Mozart���s early works for that instrument.

CONCERT INFO

Bach & Beyond and Beltone Symphony Sundays Series:

Music of the Master: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Friday & Saturday, May 15 & 16, 8pm, Chan Centre

Sunday, May 17, 2pm, Orpheum Theatre

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Ran Jia, piano

Mozart Symphony No. 31, Paris

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12

Mozart Symphony No. 36, Linz

Tickets $35 to $59 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available through VSO Customer Service at 604.876.3434 and online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Chan Centre performance tickets also available at the Chan Centre Box Office, or Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone, 604.280.3311.

Generously Supported By:

The Bach & Beyond Series has been endowed by a generous gift from the Chan Foundation of Canada.

Radio Sponsor: CHQM-FM

Symphony Sundays Series Sponsor: Beltone

BIOGRAPHIES

Bramwell Tovey, conductor

A musician of striking versatility, Bramwell Tovey is acknowledged around the world for his artistic depth and warm, charismatic personality on the podium. Tovey���s career as a conductor is uniquely enhanced by his work as a composer and pianist, lending him a remarkable musical perspective.

Tovey garnered a 2008 Grammy Award and a 2008 Juno Award for his recording with violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony. Recently named Principal Guest Conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, he works frequently with the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, among many others. He has presided as host and conductor of the New York Philharmonic���s Summertime Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall since its founding in 2004.

As a composer, he was honored with the Best Canadian Classical Composition Juno Award in 2003 for his Requiem for a Charred Skull. New works include a co-commission for the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics��� 2008 summer seasons as well as a full-length opera for the Calgary Opera, The Inventor, to premiere in January of 2011.

Tovey has been awarded honorary degrees, including a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music in London, honorary Doctorates of Law from the universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba, and Kwantlen University College, as well as a Royal Conservatory of Music Fellowship in Toronto. In 1999, he received the M. Joan Chalmers National Award for Artistic Direction, a Canadian prize awarded to artists for outstanding contributions in the performing arts.

Ran Jia, piano

At twenty, pianist Ran Jia is already regarded as a striking musician with unusual natural abilities. Tan Dun hailed her a ���piano poet with dramatic skill in music-making���.

Born on December 31, 1988 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, Ms. Jia began studying piano at the age of three. She made her solo debut in 1995, and has since performed publicly in Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, Fuzhou, and Xiamen in China. Her numerous awards include The Special Prize for her performance of a Mozart Sonata in the Second Piano International-E-Competition in 2004; the Silver Medal in The National Cultural Ministry Dandelion Youth Arts Competition in Nanjing, China in 2001; First Prize and the Osaka Mayer Prize in the Shanghai-Osaka Chinese and Japanese Friendship Youth Piano Competition in 2000; First Prize in The Sichuan Youth Piano Competition in 1998; and Second Prize in The National Xinghai Cup Piano Competition in 1998.

In October 2001, Ms. Jia performed Mozart���s Sonata in F major (K. 533) at a master class at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Piano master Fou T���song praised her talent in the Evening News Standard in Shanghai as ���an amazing natural feeling for music.��� In May 2004, Ms. Jia presented an ambitious recital at the Heluting Concert Hall at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The program included sonatas by Mozart, Prokofiev, and Schubert, Chopin���s Ballade No. 1, Debussy���s Preludes and Liszt���s Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Her recital was received with great enthusiasm by the audience and the media. Oriental TV broadcasted two documentaries featuring Ran���s life as a young artist including her live performance at the Conservatory.

In November 2005, Ms. Jia was selected to perform at Lincoln Center���s Alice Tully Hall with her teacher, Gary Graffman, and the Orchestra of St. Luke���s at a ���Junior/Senior Concert��� organized by the Musicians Emergency Fund, Inc. Ms. Jia performed Mozart���s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 under Maestro Li Jian. Highlights of 2006 included a return, sold-out concert at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and a performance of two Mozart concerti with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra at the Shanghai Concert Hall. She has recently been featured in a live concert on Chicago���s classical music station WFMT and has given her recital debut at the concert series of Rockefeller University in New York. She was the only classical pianist invited to perform for a celebration concert in New York City in honor of Thelonious Monk���s 90^th Birthday. This concert was broadcast worldwide on WQXR. Ms. Jia will make her debut at the Klavierfestival Ruhr in Germany in the summer of 2008 and will make her Carnegie Hall recital debut in the 08/09 season and return to Shanghai for a solo recital.

Ran Jia is currently studying with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her father, Professor Daqun Jia, is one of the leading composers in China and Dean of the Graduate Study Programs at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.