UK Symphony Orchestra Opens 96th Concert Season
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2013) — The University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra (UKSO), under the direction of John Nardolillo, will open its 96th season this weekend with "Opening Night: Bohemian Celebration." The free public concert, featuring work by two celebrated Czech composers, begins 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
"Opening Night" will feature works by Antonin Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana. The performance of these Bohemian masterpieces will be conducted by UKSO music director John Nardolillo, as well as Jan Pellant, a conductor from Prague who is the UKSO's new assistant conductor.
Pellant will lead the orchestra in one of the most famous classical compositions of all time, the "Moldau" by Smetana, which describes the course of the Moldau River as it winds through the Czech countryside, and into the city of Prague. The orchestra will also be performing Smetana's "Polka" from "The Bartered Bride" and Antonin Dvorak's concert overture "Carnival" and Slavonic Dance No. 8, as well as his Symphony No. 8.
The UKSO season continues with the "All Hallows Eve Concert" 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, at the Singletary Center. The free public concert will feature guest violinist and UK faculty member Daniel Mason. The concert program will include Johannes Brahms' Tragic Overture, Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto and Richard Strauss’ "Death and Transfiguration."
In November, UKSO will accompany the Moscow Ballet in three performances of the holiday classic "The Great Russian Nutcracker." Times, dates and locations of the orchestra's tour with Moscow Ballet are:
· 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, at the Carson Center, in Paducah, Kentucky;
· 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Singletary Center, in Lexington; and
· 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
For this tour, Nardolillo will be joined by UKSO assistant conductor Lucía Marín to conduct.
Russian ballet music takes center stage in December. To celebrate Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s 175th birthday, UKSO will present music from his celebrated ballet scores "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker" at "Ballet Music of Tchaikovsky," beginning 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Singletary Center. This concert is free and open to the public.
The UKSO Concerto Competition winners from the UK School of Music will be featured at UKSO's next event. The free public concert, which also includes György Ligeti’s "Atmospheres" and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the Singletary Center.
In April, UKSO will be joined by one of the most renowned violinists of his time, Joshua Bell. The orchestra and Bell will perform Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Camille Saint-Saens’ "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso." The concert will close with Igor Stravinsky’s iconic ballet score "Firebird." The event, part of the Singletary Center’s Signature Series, is 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3. Tickets range from $45 to $85 and are on sale now through the Singletary Center Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 859-257-4929, online at www.scfatickets.com or in person at the ticket office.
The orchestra closes its season with Wolfgang Mozart’s "Requiem," 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, at the Singletary Center. In addition to "Requiem," this concert will feature the overture to Mozart’s "Le nozze di Figaro" and Symphony No. 38 “Prague.”
Since Nardolillo took the conductor's podium of the UKSO, it has enjoyed great success accumulating recording credits and sharing the stage with such acclaimed international artists as Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Marvin Hamlisch, as well the Boston Pops. In addition to its own concerts, UKSO provides accompaniment for much of the UK Opera Theatre season. UK's orchestra is one of a very select group of university orchestras under contract with Naxos, the world's largest classical recording label. To see the UKSO season brochure, visit http://finearts.uky.edu/sites/default/files/14-15_UKSO_layout.pdf.
The UK School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu