EPSO News

Music Director of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra

Peter Rubardt, currently the Music Director of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, is next to lead the El Paso Symphony Orchestra on February 24 & 25, 2012, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre in EPSO’s fifth classical concerts of the 2011-2012 Search Season. Sponsored by Western Refining, Rubardt and EPSO will perform: Adams’ The Chairman Dances, Foxtrot for Orchestra Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with soloist Chee-Yun, Violin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” “I can not tell you how excited I am to be coming to El Paso! On a scale of one to ten, my excitement is at a twelve. I've long been fascinated by the cultures and the landscapes of the Southwest, and I look forward to meeting as many people as possible. Most of all, of course, I'm excited about playing music with the El Paso Symphony, an orchestra I've heard great things about for a long time.” – Peter Rubardt A native of Berkeley, California, Peter Rubardt holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of the Bruno Walter fellowship. A Fulbright scholar in 1984, he studied piano and conducting at the Vienna Academy of Music, and pursued further studies at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. Now in his 15th season as Music Director of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Peter Rubardt continues to inspire artistic excellence and to create innovative programs for the Pensacola community. During his tenure with the PSO, Peter Rubardt is credited with significantly raising the orchestra’s artistic level, and with serving the Pensacola community by initiating pops, chamber orchestra, and family concerts. He played a central role in leading the successful renovation of the historic Pensacola Saenger Theatre, giving the orchestra increased visibility and vitality. Violinist Chee-Yun, who performed in the El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Music Festival in January, returns to El Paso, this time to perform with EPSO. Since her first public performance at age 8 in her native Seoul, Chee-Yun has enraptured audiences on five continents with her flawless technique, dazzling tone and compelling artistry. Since winning the Young Concert Artists competition in 1989, she has performed regularly with the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Toronto, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and National symphony orchestras. Recent and upcoming orchestral engagements include a return to the San Francisco Symphony, a concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek, and subscription weeks with the Dallas, Eugene, Virginia, Nashville, Ft. Worth, Fairfax, Elgin and Boise symphony orchestras and the National Philharmonic. Chee-Yun’s seven discs on the Denon label and one on the Naxos label have received exceptional acclaim, and she has been heard frequently on NPR’s Performance Today and on WQXR and WNYC radio in New York City. In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, Chee-Yun is an Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Violin at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Charming, charismatic and deeply passionate about her art, she continues to carve a unique place for herself in the ever-evolving world of classical music. VOTE: Audience members can vote on their favorite conductor via Facebook or Twitter. In addition, guests who miss a performance can still be a part of the show through our YouTube channel. Each vote counts and will help assist the Search Committee in naming the new leader of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. OPENING NOTES: Conductor Peter Rubardt will join EPSO Assistant Conductor Andres Moran in a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. SUBSCRIBERS: Symphony subscribers will have an opportunity to meet the Conductor, Peter Rubardt on Thursday, February 23 at a pre-dress rehearsal reception from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in the Plaza Theatre lobby. In addition, subscribers can stay for the dress rehearsal, which starts at 7:00pm, and observe the interactions between the musicians and conductor. TICKET PRICES: $40, $35, $30, $20 and $15 plus applicable fees. Student prices are $10 and $8 plus applicable fees. Tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Office (915) 532-3776, on-line www.epso.org or at www.ticketmaster.com. The El Paso Symphony’s 2011-2012 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. RECAP: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 5:30pm Plaza Theatre Lobby “Pre-Dress Rehearsal Reception – Meet the Conductor” Free Friday, February 24 & Saturday, February 25, 2012, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk Free: Open to public Friday, February 24 & Saturday, February 25, 2012, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Peter Rubardt, Conductor Chee-Yun, Violin Adams The Chairman Dances, Foxtrot for Orchestra Sibelius Violin Concerto with soloist Chee-Yun, Violin Dvorak Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” Single ticket prices: $40, $35, $30, $20, $15; Student prices are $10 and 8 plus applicable fees. Available at (915) 532-3776, www.epso.org or www.ticketmaster.com Peter Rubardt

The Orchestra Moves El Paso Electric Young People's Concerts

El Paso Symphony Orchestra “El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts” Presents in Partnership with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Concerts “The Orchestra Moves” February 29, March 1 and 2, 2012 10:30am & 12:30pm, Abraham Chavez Theatre The El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s “El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts,” led by Andres Moran, will be performed on February 29, March 1 and 2, 2012, 10:30am and 12:30pm at the Abraham Chavez Theatre. Approximately 15,000 5th grade students from El Paso and the surrounding area are expected to attend the concerts featuring, for the second year, the Link Up program in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI). Link Up shares Carnegie Hall’s educational expertise and resources with orchestras and school districts throughout the United States. Along with providing exceptional repertoire-based curriculum that aligns with national standards, this program provides orchestras with the resources necessary to expand their current education programs and to strengthen relationships with their surrounding schools and communities. Through a series of sequentially linked activities in the classroom and interactive orchestra concerts, Link Up is designed to increase each student’s skill set in performing, creating, and listening to music. Throughout the school year, students learn about composers' musical choices in creating music and are able to make their own musical choices while preparing for the concluding spring concert. The culmination of the yearlong program is a live performance in which students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder along with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s “El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts.” These performances often serve as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. Link Up’s national partnerships grew out of the program’s ongoing work with New York City schools, through which Carnegie Hall has engaged hundreds of thousands of students in musical learning since its inception in 1985. Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute provides each site with: • Link Up curriculum guide and CD for teachers (featuring lessons on singing, playing the soprano recorder or violin, reading and notating music, and composing and improvising music) • Link Up workbook for each student • Professional development for teachers and orchestra administrators • Complete concert script, repertoire list, and accompanying visuals • Access to Carnegie Hall's Online Resource Center with educational materials, including the Link Up Beginnings skills-focused curriculum and audio for teachers and students • Access to the Link Up Online Community, which connects teachers, Carnegie Hall staff, and featured contributors to share ideas, student work, videos, and photos • Ongoing support and consultation regarding professional development, program implementation, and media/publicity planning. The El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts, currently in their 72nd season and presented free of charge, are made possible through the generous support of the El Paso Electric Company; El Paso Symphony Guild; Apteckar Foundation; Frances R. Axelson; The Cardwell Foundation; Chase Bank, El Paso Independent School District; Hervey Foundation; Huthsteiner Fine Arts Trust; Robert E. & Evelyn McKee Foundation; J. Edward & Helen M.C. Stern Foundation; Shiloff Family Foundation; Socorro Independent School District; Target, Texas Commission on the Arts; Western Refining Company, L.P.; and Ysleta Independent School District. Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall The Weill Music Institute creates broad-reaching music education and community programs that play a central role in Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Woven into the fabric of the Carnegie Hall concert season, these programs occur at Carnegie Hall as well as in schools and throughout neighborhoods, providing musical opportunities for everyone, from preschoolers to adults, new listeners to emerging professionals. With access to the world’s greatest artists and latest technologies, the Weill Music Institute is uniquely positioned to inspire the next generation of music lovers, to nurture tomorrow’s musical talent, and to shape the evolution of musical learning itself. The Weill Music Institute’s school and community programs annually serve more than 115,000 children, students, teachers, parents, young music professionals, and adults in the New York metropolitan area and across the US, as well as 65,000 people around the world through its online and distance learning initiatives. For more information, please visit carnegiehall.org/weillmusicinstitute or call the El Paso Symphony Orchestra at (915) 532-3776. Teacher Packets

Michael Butterman on the Program

Hello El Paso! Teamwork is a hallmark of any great orchestra. It’s what conductors endeavor to engender among symphony musicians. It characterizes successful partnerships between leaders and organizations. And it’s at the heart of our upcoming EPSO concerts this weekend. I am so looking forward to these performances not only because the repertoire will make for a lively and varied evening, but also because they will highlight the value of teamwork and collaboration on several levels. We’ll enjoy the camaraderie among multiple soloists in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto and Peck’s The Glory and the Grandeur. We’ll also be highlighting “team members” from within the orchestra and celebrating the partnership between the EPSO and El Paso Pro-Musica. It all begins with the familiar Double Concerto by Bach. Our guests from Pro-Musica--Soovin Kim and Ik-Hwan Bae--are not only brilliant soloists but also experienced and deeply committed chamber musicians. The give-and-take and “wide-open ears” so essential to chamber music will also be central to our performance of the Bach. In order to provide the appropriate sense of intimacy, we’ll be scaling back the size of the orchestra a bit (it’s only strings, and even then, we’ll use fewer players than for the other pieces on the program). And rather than conducting in the conventional sense, I will join the ensemble and help guide the performance from the harpsichord--a common practice in the Baroque period. There’s a huge contrast in sound worlds between the string-based Bach and the piece that follows: the percussion showcase, The Glory and the Grandeur. And yet, as different as these compositions are, they both depend on partnership and cohesive teamwork between the multiple soloists and orchestra. The Peck even requires some deft footwork and elaborate traffic patterns from the soloists. This is a work that is as much fun to watch as it is to hear. Three terrific percussionists from the orchestra will have their star turns as they weave their ways through a battery of every percussion instrument imaginable out in front of the orchestra. This colorful piece has an irresistible rhythmic and melodic groove that builds to an absolutely thrilling climax. You will love it, I promise! After the intermission, the orchestra will present one of the great masterpieces of the Romantic era, Tchaikovsky’s emotional Symphony No.5. While one could consider the Bach cerebral and the Peck physical, this is a piece that goes for the gut and wears its heart on its sleeve, so to speak. Tchaikovsky, perhaps more than any other composer, really knew how to take a listener through the gamut of emotions. We have calm serenity in the second movement, with the French horn intoning one of the most beautiful and familiar melodies in all of music. We have lilting insouciance in the third movement waltz. Yet, throughout the symphony, we are repeatedly reminded of the brooding opening motive of the first movement. Is it fate or destiny? Tchaikovsky didn’t say. It’s up to each of us to attach our own meaning. What is clear, though, is the overall shape, the dramatic arc, of the work from beginning to end. As in Beethoven’s Fifth, we move from darkness to light, from minor to major, from tragedy to triumph. This initial motive, so dark and foreboding, is ultimately transformed--through sheer force of will, it would seem--into a confident affirmation of victory and transcendence. I find myself both exhausted and exhilarated at the end of this magnificent piece. I hope and expect that your experience will be similar! Throughout the week, there will be several opportunities for me to interact with and get to know symphony patrons and community leaders. The chemistry between a music director and a community depends on a great many intangibles and ultimately comes down to finding a congruence between a community’s attributes and a conductor’s vision. In making the EPSO not merely an orchestra in El Paso, but El Paso’s Orchestra, I would look to find ways to reflect and amplify the spirit of El Paso in the EPSO’s programming and outreach projects. It’s my firm belief that an orchestra can and should stand at the center of any city’s cultural life, and its ability to do so depends on an appreciation of the community’s profile. My wife and daughter are excited to be joining me in El Paso for the weekend concerts as they, too, begin to get a feel for this vibrant community. I hope you’ll be able to be part of the “team” this weekend as we celebrate collaboration through the great music of Bach, Peck and Tchaikovsky. I’ll see you at the Plaza! Michael Butterman Download Notes

The Search Continues in the New Year EPSO Collaborates with EP Pro-Musica

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra rings in the New Year on January 27 and 28, 2012, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre with the 4th conductor candidate, Michael Butterman. Butterman will lead the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and guest violinists, Soovin Kim and Ik-Hwan Bae, performing Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor. The program sponsored by the Beverly and Ken Jinkerson, continues with Peck’s The Glory and the Grandeur; Concerto for Percussion Trio featuring El Paso Symphony Orchestra percussionists: Larry White (Principal Timpani), Leo Valenzuela (Principal Percussion) and Mark Saenz (Percussion); and concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Michael Butterman is making his mark as a model for today's conductors and is recognized for his commitment to creative artistry, innovative programming, and audience and community engagement. He is entering his sixth season as Music Director for the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and also for the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, and is in his 12th season as Principal Conductor for Education and Outreach for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the first position of its kind in the United States. Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, he assumed the additional post of Resident Conductor for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. The Shreveport Times recently praised Michael Butterman’s “successful risk-taking,” noting a “season full of buzzing lobbies, standing ovations and full houses,” while the Daily Camera proclaimed, “Michael Butterman was clearly No. 1 on the classical-music scene in Boulder.” The January 2012 concerts mark the 7th consecutive season EPSO and the El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Music Festival have collaborated to present renowned artists to El Paso audiences. This season’s collaboration brings two talented violinists, Soovin Kim and Ik-Hwan Bae, to multiple stages in El Paso including the Plaza Theatre where they will perform Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Soovin Kim performs chamber music in some of the world's most prominent venues including Carnegie Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Lincoln Center, Strathmore Hall, and has appeared in concert with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, followed by a special concert at the American Embassy in Moscow. He has recorded Paganini's demanding 24 Caprices, which he performed in 2006 during the El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Music Festival. He recorded the Schubert Cello Concerto with Janos Starker in a special El Paso Pro-Musica concert featuring the esteemed cellist, and the Arensky Cello Quartet with Lynn Harrell in a special CD of the El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Music Festival. He performs on a 1709 "ex-Kempner" Stradivarius. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ik Hwan-Bae made his professional debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at the age of 12. His performances and recitals have taken him to major cities throughout the United States and Asia. His most recent project is as Concertmaster of the HWAUM Orchestra in Korea, a conductorless String Orchestra. This work has resulted in performances in Krakow, Poland and at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. A much sought- after pedagogue, he is a Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. VOTE: Audience members can vote on their favorite conductor via Facebook or Twitter. In addition, guests who miss a performance can still be a part of the show through our YouTube channel. Each vote counts and will help assist the Search Committee in naming the new leader of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. OPENING NOTES: Conductor Michael Butterman will join Assistant Conductor Andres Moran in a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. SUBSCRIBERS: Symphony subscribers will have an opportunity to meet the Conductor,Michael Butterman, on Thursday, January 26 at a pre-dress rehearsal reception from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in the Plaza Theatre lobby. In addition, subscribers can stay for the dress rehearsal, which starts at 7:00pm, and observe the interactions between the musicians and conductor. TICKET PRICES: $40, $35, $30, $20 and $15 plus applicable fees. Student prices are $10 and $8 plus applicable fees. Tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Office (915) 532-3776, on-line www.epso.org or at www.ticketmaster.com. The El Paso Symphony’s 2011-2012 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. RECAP: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 5:30pm Plaza Theatre Lobby “Pre-Dress Rehearsal Reception – Meet the Conductor” Free: For subscribers only Friday, January 27 & Saturday, January 28, 2012, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk Free: Open to public Friday, January 27 & Saturday, January 28, 2012, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Michael Butterman, Conductor Soovin Kim, Violin and Ik-Hwan Bae, Violin Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Peck The Glory and the Granduer; Concerto for Percussion Trio Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, op. 64, E minor Single ticket prices: $40, $35, $30, $20, $15; Student prices are $10 and 8 plus applicable fees. Available at (915) 532-3776, www.epso.org or www.ticketmaster.com Michael Butterman

A Holiday Afternoon with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra

The El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation presents “A Holiday Afternoon with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra” on Sunday, December 11, 2011, 4pm at the Plaza Theatre. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra led by Andy Moran, EPSO Assistant Conductor, will perform traditional holiday favorites – A Christmas Festival, Sleigh Ride, Carol of the Bells, Twas’ the Night Before Christmas to name a few. The program will also include special guests, the Destiny Family Christian Center Sanctuary Choir. This enchanting afternoon will culminate with audience joining in and singing along with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Tickets are $16.50 for adults; $11.50 for students, seniors and military; and $6.50 for Juniors (2-12years). Family Pack (2 adults & 2 juniors) are also available for $36. Tickets may be purchased at the Plaza Theatre Box Office, any Ticketmaster location, on line at www.ticketmaster.com or through the El Paso Symphony Orchestra (915) 532-3776. Proceeds from this event provide college scholarships for local high school students. RECAP: What: A HOLIDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Where: Plaza Theatre When: Sunday, December 11, 2011, 4pm Admission: $16.50 adults; $11.50 students, seniors, military; $6.50 juniors (2-12years); $36 family Pack (2 adults & 2 Juniors) Purchase: Plaza Theatre Box Office, any Ticketmaster location, www.ticketmaster.com or El Paso Symphony Orchestra (915) 532-3776. Program

A Symphony of Christmas Homes

THE EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS THE 3rd ANNUAL “A SYMPHONY OF CHRISTMAS HOMES” In the Prestigious “Park Hills” Neighborhood The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is pleased to present the 3rd annual “A Symphony of Christmas Homes” tour of homes, generously sponsored by Pizazz, featuring homes in the prestigious “Park Hills” neighborhood located in the Westside foothills of the Franklins. The homes decked in holiday cheer are incredible to tour any time of the year, but during the holidays they are a symphony of delights each capturing the spirit of the holidays, each in its own unique way. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better! It will include a fashion show, workshops and entertainment: Holiday Wear Fashion Show by Tres Mariposas and a variety of Santa’s Workshops: top to bottom Christmas tree decorating by Annie Mo’s, holiday decorating by Charlotte’s, wreath making by Laura Carrillo, holiday baking, cooking and more! The holiday tour begins with a preview tour, “Sip, See and Socialize in the Hills,” Friday, December 2, 2011 from 1pm-5pm. Participants can tour the homes before the general public while enjoying holiday treats and beverages from participating restaurants. Cost for preview tour is $40 per person includes complimentary food, wine and hot beverages, fashion show by Tres Mariposas, and a variety of Santa’s Workshops. Reservations are required (915) 532-3776. The public tours will start on Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 11am to 5pm and Sunday, December 4 from 12pm to 5pm. Tickets for the tours are: $25 for all homes, $20 active military discount, $7 for one home. (No strollers allowed in the homes.) For information or tickets call the symphony office (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org, ticket may also be purchased on site at any home the day of the tours. 1160 Calle del Sur Hacienda Christmas 1220 Calle del Sur Harlequin Christmas 1237 Calle del Sur Christmas Collage 1240 Calle del Sur Naturemade Christmas 1128 Calle Lomas Christmas Traditions Proceeds from this event benefit the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, allowing the El Paso Symphony to present world-class guest artists and performances to the citizens of El Paso, and fulfilling its mission of assuring that superior concert music is made available to entertain and educate the multicultural community of the greater El Paso region. View PDF Document

Lawrence Loh on this Weekend's Performances

I am thrilled to be coming to El Paso to lead a concert of music that is dear to my heart. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will perform a very special program of a variety of great music. I'm also very excited to work with pianists Christina and Michelle Naughton for the first time. If we think of the concert as an arc, we will catapult upward with our overture. The Roman Carnival Overture by Hector Berlioz serves as an exciting burst of frenetic energy, with moments of beauty and solace, but returning to craziness as only Berlioz can create. I've found that some of the best performances of the music of Berlioz contain a combination of pinpoint precision and abandon, thus embracing the carnivalesque nature of much of Berlioz's music. It's also a great opportunity for the orchestra to project a multi-dimensional soundscape to the audience and kick-off the concert in grand fashion. After our overture, the concert will take a turn to an oasis of beauty. I asked the Naughton sisters to perform the Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos. What an amazing duo they are! The Mozart will highlight their virtuosity, their unique musical connection, as well as the orchestra's ability to shine in a playful classical style. To round out the program, we will perform the magnificent Symphony No. 2 of Johannes Brahms! As many of you probably do, I feel an intense connection to the music of Brahms. His ear for tension and release, his focus on melody supported by rich and expressive harmony, and his pursuit of perfection are all especially prevalent in his 2nd Symphony. Many music-lovers see this symphony as Brahms' "Pastorale" Symphony, similar to Beethoven's Symphony No. 6. The music evokes the great outdoors with cavernous horn calls, country dances and wide landscapes. For these, and many other reasons, I fell in love with this symphony early in my conducting career, and it was the first Brahms Symphony I ever conducted. I was a 23 year-old conducting student, heading out to the mountains of the Aspen Music Festival. As one of 15 conducting students, our days were filled with classes, rehearsals and concerts. Because we are conductors, we can't go in the practice room and fine tune our technique. The only way to grow and learn is to actually conduct other musicians, and I decided that I wanted to lead a performance of Brahms’ 2nd Symphony. This was not an opportunity provided by the Festival, so I took it upon myself to put together an orchestra. Over several weeks, I recruited about 80 musicians, little by little, meeting them at concerts, parties and classes. I always carried with me a stack of rehearsal schedule sheets with a promise of a pizza party (musicians love food!) on the third rehearsal. I also recruited the audience by handing out flyers at other Aspen Music Festival events with FREE CONCERT in bold print. So for the price of about 15 large pizzas, my dream of conducting Brahms’ 2nd Symphony came to fruition on a summer night, and it has since remained a very special moment in my musical history! I’m excited to come to El Paso to share my passion for music! I’m looking forward to working with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and meeting all of you! With every good wish, Larry Notes

Candidate # 3 Lawrence Loh Takes Baton in November The Search Continues

The search continues on November 18 & 19, 2011, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre with conductor Lawrence Loh. Mr. Loh will lead the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and guest soloists, twin sisters and duo pianists, Christina and Michelle Naughton performing Mozart’s Concerto for 2 Pianos, No. 10, K.365. The program sponsored by the El Paso Community Foundation and Helen Susan Coles, begins with Berlioz’ Roman Carnival Overture and concludes with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2. Lawrence Loh is one of the most exciting young talents on the classical music scene today. He was brought to national attention in February 2004 when he substituted at the last minute for an ailing Charles Dutoit with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Conducting Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Loh received enthusiastic acclaim from orchestra players, audience members and critics alike. Mr. Loh is currently the resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and music director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Lawrence Loh received his artist diploma in orchestral conducting from Yale University n May 1998, also earning the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize, given to the most outstanding conductor in the graduating class. He received further training at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival and School, and has additional degrees from Indiana University and the University of Rochester. SOLOIST: Natives of Wisconsin, Madison, twin sisters Christina and Michelle Naughton began their piano studies at age 4. Now in their early twenties, they have distinguished themselves in their demanding medium. The Naughtons have been hailed by the San Francisco Examiner for their “stellar musicianship, technical mastery, and awe-inspiring artistry.” They made their European debut at Herkulesaal in Munich, where the Sueddeutsche Zeitung proclaimed them “an outstanding piano duo”. Of their Asian debut performance with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Sing Tao Daily said "Joining two hearts and four hands at two grand pianos, the Naughton sisters created an electrifying and moving musical performance." An appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra led the Philadelphia Inquirer to characterize their playing as “paired to perfection.” The Naughton sisters will perform Mozart’s Concerto for 2 pianos, No. 10, K.365 with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Christina and Michelle are graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music, where they were each awarded the Festorazzi Prize and are currently residing in New York City. VOTE: Audience members can vote on their favorite conductor via Facebook or Twitter. In addition, guests who miss a performance can still be a part of the show through our YouTube channel. Each vote counts and will help assist the Search Committee in naming the new leader of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. OPENING NOTES: Conductor Lawrence Loh will join Assistant Conductor Andres Moran in a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. SUBSCRIBERS: Symphony subscribers will have an opportunity to meet the Conductor, Lawrence Loh on Thursday, November 17 at a pre-dress rehearsal reception from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in the Plaza Theatre lobby. In addition, subscribers can stay for the dress rehearsal, which starts at 7:00pm, and observe the interactions between the musicians and conductor. TICKET PRICES: $40, $35, $30, $20 and $15 plus applicable fees. Student prices are $10 and $8 plus applicable fees. Tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Office (915) 532-3776, on-line www.epso.org or at www.ticketmaster.com. The November concerts are generously sponsored by the El Paso Community Foundation and Helen Susan Coles. The Naughtons are generously underwritten by Applebee’s and Village Inn. The El Paso Symphony’s 2011-2012 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. View PDF Document

David Handel on this weekend's program

Dear El Paso Music Lovers, As the newest contributor to the EPSO’s E-notes, it is a pleasure to be able to share some of my feelings and thoughts about the program we will be presenting on October 21st and 22nd. It is certain to be an exciting program and is one composed of music very close to my heart. Joining us will be the great Pepe Romero, one of the most renowned and beloved classical guitarists of our times. When formulating a program, I look for intrinsic connections and complementary elements, whether they imply shared or contrasting aesthetic values, historical links or even coinciding anecdotal details. Above all else, I select music which I believe is truly great. In selecting a soloist, my priority is his or her skill as an interpreter and artist. I think you will be pleased with our choices. In this program, there is an important French connection, Lopez-Buchardo having studied in Paris with the great symphonist Albert Roussel and Rodrigo having also studied in Paris, but with Paul Dukas, both Roussel and Dukas being important heirs to the towering figure of French orchestral music, Hector Berlioz. Berlioz was by training a guitarist, and the stylized rhythms of the Lopez-Buchardo score were in their folkloric origins to have been sung and accompanied by the singer on his guitar, an anecdotally appropriate context for the Concierto de Aranjuez. All three works on our program are effectively programmatic; in the case of the Escenas argentinas, the composer’s nostalgia for his native Argentina, in the Concierto de Aranjuez, the composer’s lament at the loss of his child, and in the case of the Berlioz, his tortured obsession with his beloved. The first and last works on the program serve as bookends and are both elaborately orchestrated symphonic poems. The popularity of both the Concierto de Aranjuez and the Symphony has demonstrated the expressive power of each, and well beyond the erudite confines of the concert hall, they have achieved a status that only a few works in the canon have attained, loaning themselves to the cinema and all kinds of popular manifestations. ESCENAS ARGENTINAS We open our program with Carlos Lopez-Buchardo’s brief three-part symphonic poem, Escenas argentinas or Argentinean Scenes (1920). Lopez-Buchardo, while not particularly well-known outside of Argentina, he was one of South America’s preeminent early 20th Century composers and is considered today as one of Argentina’s national treasures. I was first introduced to his music while I was Music Director of the Mendoza Symphony Orchestra (Argentina) and where I had the happy experience of conducting many scores with which I was previously unfamiliar. I loved this particular score on first reading and have since conducted it in many countries, the music always delighting publics. A student of the great 19th and early 20th Century French master, Albert Roussel, Lopez-Buchardo’s music is characterized by lush, romantic harmonies, but is always true to his musical roots and folklore. The Escenas argentinas is composed of three vignettes: “Día de Fiesta” (Holiday), “El Arroyo” (The Stream) and “La Campera” (The Jacket or “encoatment”). The first two parts are fused, to say performed without a pause between them. As one might expect, “Día de Fiesta” is boisterous and playful, employing all manner of orchestral gesture and color. In a lively 6/8 syncopated meter, it brings to mind the “Chacarera” rhythms of the Gauchos and the Argentinean provinces. This movement segues directly into “El Arroyo”, a very placid, lyrical and Impressionistic interlude which is soon interrupted by a reprise of the opening “Día de Fiesta” rhythm, leading to a brilliant close of the first two movements. Dedicated to his friend and illustrious writer-politician Miguel Cané, “La Campera” is the final and most emotive part of this brief orchestral poem. Its inspiration is clearly found in the “Tonadas”, “Milongas” and eventually “Tangos,” rhythms typical of the region and evokes the urbane sophistication so closely identified with Buenos Aires. This movement is just as intimate in character as it is passionate in gesture, ending its brief eighty-four measures on a nostalgic note. CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ While Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez is the most “contemporary” (1939) work on our program, its direct musical language and sentiment have secured its place as an unquestioned masterpiece of the 20th Century repertoire, gaining for itself pop status in arrangements like Uli Roth’s of the rock group the Scorpions, among many others. The historical context of the Concierto was the Spanish Civil War, the menacing Soviet involvement, the advent of fascism in Europe and the collapse of accepted norms with respect to the promise of civil and democratic society. The formal elements of the Concierto de Aranjuez can be described as Neoclassical, an artistic categorization or movement which drew from the creative energies of various important early and mid- 20th Century composers, among them Stravinsky, Ravel and Hindemith, and which is expressed in the Concerto’s austere dimensions, its formal procedures and “Classical” orchestration. It was a movement surely motivated by the turbulent times and the desire for coherence, in a world which was in the midst of social and political convulsions. While these factors were undoubtedly motivating influences, Rodrigo’s immediate inspiration for the Concierto was the miscarriage of his first child, so movingly elaborated in the tragic fixations and ornamented lyricism of the second movement. The outer movements of the Concierto are contrasting, adding weight to the second, as its emotional fulcrum. The first movement is defined by what we all immediately recognize as singularly Spanish in character, through its fiery spirit and alternating 6/8 - 3/4 rhythm, the rapid strumming, the dominance of minor tonalities and its virtuosic brilliance. The second movement and deeply intimate lament is followed by what might be described as good-humored and playful – perhaps forced –, and it might be understood as Rodrigo’s resignation that life must move onward, whatever the tragedy. We are indeed fortunate to be able to count on Maestro Romero’s presence as soloist. Pepe and the whole Romero-dynasty were all close to the composer, and his recorded version of the Concierto is widely considered the benchmark and reference for all others. FANTASTIC SYMPHONY Berlioz is often viewed as having been an enigmatic and revolutionary creative voice. Written only three years following Beethoven’s death, this early masterpiece demonstrates that Berlioz was a valid heir to his monumental predecessor. The stories abound about the composer’s inspiration for the Symphony and his opium-inspired dream. Considering his acute literary skills and the extremely precise elaboration of his works, I suspect that the usual interpretation is somewhat exaggerated and that the truth is that Berlioz was simply one of the most creative musical minds ever. His music is known for its volatile contrasts, often a challenge for the listener and performer alike. Nevertheless, he was able to capture something universal in the poetic drama which is his Fantastic Symphony, his best known and most loved work. Because the Symphony is programmatic and refers to a series of dreams about his passionate fascination with a famously beautiful actress of the day, Harriot Smithson, a perhaps more fitting English translation of the Symphony’s title might be “Symphonic Fantasies.” In terms of historically defined formal values, and considering Beethoven’s 9th, the Fantastic Symphony defies all previous expectations of how it is that a symphony is to be constructed and ought to evolve. It is an extended musical poem and, as the composer himself describes it, it is operatic in its implications and leads the listener through a series of travails and dramatic sequences. While in the later part of the 19th Century, Richard Wagner is credited with having developed a compositional technique known as the “Letmotiv” - a recurring theme which symbolizes a specific character of the opera, or a dramatic element -, indeed, Berlioz utilizes this very same compositional tool decades earlier, here known as the “Idee fixe”, and referring to his adored Ms. Smithson. The “Idée fixe” takes on many shapes and, as a unifying dramatic element, it is present in all of the five movements of the Symphony. Beethoven’s 9th is a work whose expressive objective is one of exalted and inspired human brotherhood. Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony is rather at once an intimate expression of his unrequited love, just as it is an explosive manifestation of his personal passions, imagination and internal turmoil, his adolescence and his adoration of the figure of a woman with whom he only desired to capture. His volatile emotions and musical genius, which he so assiduously applied to the score, this was Berlioz: volatile, articulate, brilliant and passionate. The five movements of the Symphony are I. Day-Dreams – Passions, II. A Ball, III. In The Meadows, IV. March To The Scaffold, and V. Sabbath Night’s Dream, all falling under the ubiquitous heading “An Episode in the Life of an Artist.” Berlioz has provided us with a synopsis for each of the movements and I urge the listener to be aware of the images the composer intended to conjure, as they are graphic and the dramatic fantasy evolves sequentially, each movement more fantastic than the previous, always returning to a variation of the “Idée fixe.” This progressive evolution is also propelled by an increasingly elaborated and colorful orchestration, the final movement employing an orchestra of enormous dimensions and demonstrative of the degenerative depth of the composer’s fantasy. Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony, while a standard of the orchestral repertoire, it is a work which imposes on the orchestra tremendous technical challenges, expressive finesse and physical stamina. It is every bit as audacious today as it was when it was written and it is a testament to the “Romantic” spirit, to creativity and youthful passion. I look forward to seeing you in El Paso and I hope you will all enjoy this extraordinary program. If you have a chance, I suggest the following links as points of reference. It is just the tip of the iceberg: •Concierto de Aranjuez - Pepe Romero: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SiHzjnJ-GU) •Milonga and Chacarera: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milonga_(place), and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chacarera •Albert Roussel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iez8IcRKtns •Paul Dukas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Dukas •Berlioz- Fantastic Symphony: http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Symphonie-Fantastique-Norrington-Classical/dp/B000F3T364 •Neoclassical: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulcinella_(ballet) Print Notes

The Search Continues David Handel Leads EPSO in Latin Program

“IS HE THE ONE?” DAVID HANDEL, CONDUCTOR CANDIDATE #2, LEADS EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND EL PASO AUDIENCE FAVORITE, CLASSICAL GUITARIST PEPE ROMERO, IN LATIN PROGRAM David Handel, EPSO Conductor Candidate #2, will take the baton on October 21 and 22, 2011, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre and lead the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and guest soloist Pepe Romero, guitar, in a Latin program including: Lopez-Buchardo’s Escenas Argentinas, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with Pepe Romero, and Berlioz’ Fantastic Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist. Handel is currently the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia. His achievements with the National Symphony of Bolivia have made that organization a model for orchestra-building in Latin America. Meanwhile, Handel’s energy and critical acclaim have made him one of the busiest guest conductors with many of the region’s most important orchestras. "I am really delighted to have the opportunity to work with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra on so wonderful a program and with the renowned Pepe Romero, surely the definitive soloist for the Concierto de Aranjuez. As an American conductor, and having spent so much of my professional life working in Latin America, I suspect I will feel right at home in the unique cultural mix that is the region's signature. I have heard marvelous things about the Orchestra and the community and I am very much looking forward to our collaboration." – David Handel In March 2011, Handel was named principal guest conductor of the highly acclaimed Russian Philharmonic — Moscow City Symphony at the Moscow Music Center’s Svetlanov Hall, where he will lead numerous programs, recordings and concert tours. Handel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and twice a Fulbright Senior Scholar. SOLOIST: There are very few true living legends in the world of classical music, few who have sustained greatness and grown throughout their lives. Pepe Romero is such an artist. He has been honored by kings, heads of state, and major institutions - the accolades continue to pour in. But to Romero, his most important contribution has been reaching the common man. He has communicated the richness and beauty of the classical guitar to millions of people throughout the world, becoming an ambassador of classical music and of the classical guitar. Visit www.peperomero.com for more information on Pepe Romero. VOTE: Audience members can vote on their favorite conductor via Facebook or Twitter. In addition, guests who miss a performance can still be a part of the show through our YouTube channel. Each vote counts and will help assist the Search Committee in naming the new leader of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. OPENING NOTES: Conductor David Handel and Guitarist Pepe Romero will join Assistant Conductor Andres Moran in a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. SUBSCRIBERS: Symphony subscribers will have an opportunity to meet the Conductor, David Handel, on Thursday, October 20 at a pre-dress rehearsal reception from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in the Plaza Theatre lobby. In addition, subscribers can stay for the dress rehearsal, which starts at 7:00pm, and observe the interactions between the musicians and conductor. TICKET PRICES: $40, $35, $30, $20 and $15 plus applicable fees. Student prices are $10 and $8 plus applicable fees. Tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Office (915) 532-3776, on-line www.epso.org or at www.ticketmaster.com. The October concerts are generously sponsored by Helen of Troy. Mr. Romero is generously underwritten by Rocky Mountain Mortgage. The El Paso Symphony’s 2011-2012 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. RECAP: Thursday, October 20, 5:30pm Plaza Theatre Lobby “Pre-Dress Rehearsal Reception – Meet the Conductor” Free: For subscribers only Friday, October 21 & Saturday, October 22, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk Free: Open to public Friday, October 21 & Saturday, October 22, 2011, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra David Handel, Conductor Pepe Romero, Guitar Lopez-Buchardo Escenas Argentinas Rodrigio Concierto de Aranjuez Berlioz Fantastic Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist Single ticket prices: $40, $35, $30, $20, $15; Student prices are $10 and 8 plus applicable fees. Available at (915) 532-3776, www.epso.org or www.ticketmaster.com

Kenneth Raskin on this weekend's program

I am very excited to be joining the musicians and staff of the El Paso Symphony to bring you this exciting season opening concert of great music that promises a special evening for all. Our program begins with Mozart’s Symphony No. 32 in G Major, a work hardly recognizable as a “symphony” as we know it today. It is proportioned more like the symphonies of Mozart’s friend Johann Christian Bach and earlier symphonic works of his own. Only nine minutes long, it is really a sinfonia, the Italian word for “symphony” and also the term traditionally used for an “overture”. An Overture in the Italian Style is exactly what this piece is: a spirited curtain-raiser designed for an opera or theater piece in the 1700s. In 1778, Mozart traveled to Paris with his mother in hopes of promoting himself in one of Europe’s great centers of culture and art. Unfortunately, the half year he spent there was one filled with many professional frustrations, and the personal sadness of his mother’s death. The only works Mozart produced during this time were the Symphony No. 31 in D (the “Paris” Symphony), and his Concerto in C for Flute and Harp. In January 1779, Mozart returned to Salzburg and took up a post as a church organist, with additional duties working with the choir and composing sacred and secular compositions. In April of that year, Mozart completed his Symphony No. 32. For many years, scholars believed that the work was written as an overture for a specific opera. One thought it to be the missing overture to Mozart’s comic opera Zaide, another suggesting it was written for Baron von Gebler’s dramtic opera Thamos, King of Egypt. Both theories have since been proven incorrect and it is most likely that this work was composed as a utility piece, to be played whenever an overture might be needed - a common practice in the day. Mozart approved the use of this symphony as an overture in 1785, not for one of his own works, but for a production of Francesco Bianchi’s comic opera, La Villanella Rapita (The Abducted Country Girl). The symphony is in three movements (fast-slow-fast), all played without breaks in between. Souvenirs of Mozart’s recent visits to Paris and Mannheim can be heard in this work, the opening with its premier coup d'archet the Parisians liked so much, plus the use of the typical Mannheim alternations of loud and soft passages. The music has great energy and spirit, balanced with the kind of grace and stylistic charm as one expects from Mozart. Three main melodies or musical ideas are presented, with only a trace of the usual thematic development. Then out of nowhere, the music comes to an abrupt halt, proceeding directly to the 2nd movement, a contrasting andante section in 3/8 time. One can easily imagine this lovely music being played as a court dance at some 18th century palace. Once again, just as unexpectedly as this movement began, we are launched back into the music of the opening allegro. Mozart revisits most all of the musical themes previously heard, including a variety changes in orchestration and color. But here’s the fun part: instead of presenting these melodies in succession as before, Mozart now puts them in reverse order! Thus, the construction of the entire symphony creates a unifying mirror-like symmetry, with the music of the outer movements balancing harmoniously around the inner slow movement. Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor Next, the Orchestra is joined by pianist Michael Gurt, for the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor by the French Romantic composer, Camille Saint-Saëns. Premiered in Paris in 1868 with the composer at the keyboard, this amazing concerto demands a combination of technical brilliance, dramatic power, and sensitive expression. Saint-Saëns was a terrifically prolific composer; of his own gifts, he said, “I write music as a tree produces apples.” Of J.S. Bach and Mozart, Saint-Saëns once wrote: “What gives Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great expressive composers never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-sufficient.” From the very beginning of the piece, Saint-Saëns challenges our expectations. The piano begins the movement alone with cadenza-like passage written in the style of a fantasia by J.S. Bach. It is just long enough to suggest this could be a work written only for the piano, but soon the full orchestra makes its first grand entrance on a powerful g minor chord. The music then flows into a somewhat sorrowful melody played first by the piano, then with the orchestra supporting underneath. The music is bittersweet and tear-laden, filled with moments of restlessness and melancholy. Toward the end of the movement, now in its usual spot, we hear a long piano cadenza, followed by the return of the Bach motif. Listen as the music heard at the beginning of the movement now has a mysterious and somewhat ethereal feeling to it, the piano playing very quietly along with hushed strings underneath. In stark contrast, the second movement is lively and jovial. Saint-Saëns surprises us with music that is marked leggieramente (light and brisk), in place of the expected slow movement found in most concertos from this time period. This movement is a witty conversation in 6/8 time between the soloist and the orchestra, filled with the same splashes of humor we hear in the composer’s Danse Macabre and his famous Carnival of the Animals. The final movement, marked Presto, is a fiery tarantella, a quick and spirited Italian form filled with dazzling passages for the soloist and orchestra alike, finishing with a brilliant coda that is sure to make your heart race. Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major “Titan” “The artist, like everyone else, draws all material and form from the surrounding world, though in a different and more extensive sense. Whether one’s relationship with nature is happy and harmonious, painful and miserable, or hostile and defiant, these attitudes provide the basis for an artistic style that is beautiful and sublime, sentimental, tragic, or humorous and ironic.” - Gustav Mahler This quote from a conversation Mahler had in 1897 with his friend, the Viennese violist Natalie Bauer-Lechner, sums up an artistic mindset that is clearly evident in the music of the composer’s Symphony No. 1. Mahler drew inspiration and creative ideas from his experiences growing up in the small Moravian town called Iglau, located between Vienna and Prague in what is now the Czech Republic. He was affected in a profound way by many of the sounds he heard all around him, from the military bands marching in the town square, to the sounds of folk music of various ethnic origins. He loved to escape from the bustle of the city by venturing out into nature, listening to the multitude of noises in the forest and the profound quiet of wide open spaces. While sketches for the First Symphony date back well into the 1870s, Mahler wrote this entire composition within a six week period during the Spring of 1888, all the while continuing to work at his primary job as a conductor at the Leipzig City Theater. Mahler wrote, “…for six weeks I had nothing but my desk in front of me. It became so overpowering – as it flowed out of me like a mountain river!” When he conducted the premiere in Budapest the following year, it carried the title Symphonic Poem in Two Parts; it was an immense five-movement work. In subsequent years, and following several revisions to the score, Mahler chose to drop one of the movements from the work (Blumine), and the piece took on its current form as his four-movement Symphony No. 1. It was from Mahler’s early experiences in nature that the first of movement of the symphony was born. Printed at the beginning of the score are the words Wie ein Naturlaut or “Like a Sound of Nature." Maher referred to the essence of the first movement as “the awakening of nature from a long winter’s sleep.” He once instructed a conductor that “the introduction to the first movement sounds of nature, not music!” The piece begins in a hazy, undefined mood with a single note “A”, played pianissimo by the strings and spanning a range of six octaves. We hear quiet “bird calls” in the form of a descending interval of a fourth in the woodwinds, the same figure that will permeate the entire movement. Distant brass fanfares of far away voices and “cuckoo” calls from the clarinet lead us to the main theme of this movement - a melody taken from the second song in Mahler’s own 1883 orchestral song cycle, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen or Songs of a Wayfarer (Mahler commonly borrowed music from his songs cycles in many of his symphonies). This uplifting song begins with a dialogue between the singer and a cheerful finch: “I walked across the fields this morning; dew still hung on every blade of grass. The merry finch spoke to me: “Hey you! Isn't it a good morning? Isn't it? Isn't it a lovely world? Tweet tweet! Beautiful and sweet! How the world delights me!’” The music ebbs and flows through various moods, until finally driving home to a recklessly happy ending. Mahler said that in this “boisterous” closing, he had Beethoven in mind “how his hero broke into loud laughter and ran away.” The second movement is a unique mixture of a ländler (an Austrian country dance) and a waltz. It is clearly a rustic peasant dance, with the composer having marked the score with the words Strongly moving. Mahler often heard this kind of music coming from beneath his family’s second floor home, where his father Bernhard owned a tavern. One can easily imagine tipsy townsfolk, all gathered to sing, dance their “stomper”, and whoop it up in grand fashion! We hear wild violins, shrieking clarinets, sneering horns, and buzzing basses. It is music of unbridled celebration! The trio slows things down a bit with a gentle and whimsical waltz, before returning to the general clamor of the opening section, driving the movement to a close. The third movement brings a stark change in mood. Mahler gave it the title Death March in Callot’s Manner, drawing inspiration in part from a well-known children’s book illustration called The Hunter's Funeral Procession. It depicts the forest animals pretending to be sad as they carry the hunter's coffin. Mahler was no stranger to death. Not only did he witness many military funeral marches held in the town square, but eight of his thirteen brothers and sisters all died before adulthood. Mahler begins the funeral procession by adopting a dull and shadowy minor-key version of the usually happy children's round, Brother Martin, Are you Sleeping (Frère Jacques). The sense of irony here is palpable and striking. Mahler soon interrupts this music with sounds of country-dance band music, with flavors of joyful Klezmer and Gypsy music combined. What is this juxtaposition? Late in his life, Mahler revealed to Sigmund Freud a powerful childhood incident where upon fleeing the house when his parents were having a terrible quarrel, he ran right into a street musician who was playing a well known Viennese song called Ach du lieber Augustin or Oh, you dear Augustin. From that point on, Mahler continually associated the sad and tragic with all that is ironic, superficial, and even grotesque. In the middle of the movement, Mahler again quotes music from his Songs of the Wayfarer in a quiet and incredibly beautiful passage. Here, the music reflects the words of the song that speak of peaceful times of forgetful sleep under the Linden tree. But this moment is too beautiful to last, as the music of the death march returns once again to conclude the movement. The final movement follows the third without a break, beginning with a horrible outcry, “springing suddenly like lightning from a dark cloud.” Mahler also wrote, “[My] hero is completely abandoned, engaged in a most dreadful battle with all the sorrow of this world.” The music here is certainly terrifying. Mahler’s programmatic title of this movement is Dall’ Inferno al Paradiso or From Hell to Heaven. Relief from the violence comes in the form of a gorgeous song-like passage in Db Major, but the battle resumes soon afterwards. Then, following a striking transition from C Major to the home key of D Major (you’ll know it when you hear it!), Mahler launches into his proverbial “paradise” with a victorious chorale played by the French Horns, a melody derived from the nature theme of the first movement. Quiet memories of days of youth come with more quotes from the first movement (bird calls and such), before the whole symphony builds to a glorious grand finale. The great conductor Bruno Walter best summed up the effect of this final movement: “Here, [Mahler] unleashes the tempest, a wild eruption, a life-and-death struggle leading to a triumphant conclusion.” Hope to see you at the concerts! Kenneth Raskin Download Notes

Mozart, Mahler Open Season in September Kenneth Raskin, Conductor Candidate #1

“IS HE THE ONE?” Conductor Candidate #1 programs Mozart, Mahler and Saint-Saens to Open EPSO 81st Season. The El Paso Symphony season will open its 81st season with Kenneth Raskin, the first of six conductors vying for the position of the new Music Director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, on September 23 and 24, 2011, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre. The concerts, sponsored by the Marlene & J.O. Stewart, Jr. Foundation, will feature pianist Michael Gurt performing Saint-Saëns Piano Concert No. 2. In addition, Raskin will lead EPSO in Mozart’s Symphony No. 32 and will spotlight the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 also known as the “Titan” due to Mahler originally conceiving it as a tone poem based loosely on Jean Paul’s novel “Titan.” The symphony is scored for a large orchestra consisting of approximately 85 musicians. Mr. Raskin is currently Associate Conductor of the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director of Camerata California. He has performed with several fine orchestras across the United States, including the Houston Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the San Francisco Sinfonietta, the University of Michigan Philharmonia, and many more. He was featured in the League of American Orchestra’s 2005 esteemed Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida. In 2004, he was a finalist for the League’s Conducting Fellowship Program, appearing with the Houston and Cleveland Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Raskin received his Masters degree in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Michigan School of Music, where he studied with Kenneth Kiesler. He pursued his career in conducting after distinguishing himself as a professional orchestral trumpeter, first as a member of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel, and later as a sought-after freelance musician in the San Francisco Bay Area. SOLOISTS: Pianist Michael Gurt is Paula Garvey Manship Distinguished Professor of Piano at Louisiana State University, serves as Piano Mentor at the Hot Springs Music Festival, and is also the head of the piano department at the Sewanee Summer Music Center. Gurt holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. In 1982 he won First Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and he was also a prize winner in international competitions held in Pretoria, South Africa, and Sydney, Australia. Gurt has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the Capetown Symphony, the China National Symphony Orchestra, and the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa. He has made solo appearances in Alice Tully Hall in New York, Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, City Hall in Hong Kong, the Victorian Arts Center in Melbourne, Australia, Baxter Hall in Capetown, South Africa, and the Attaturk Cultural Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Gurt has collaborated with the Takacs String Quartet, and he recently performed at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Queensland. VOTE: For the first time in The Symphony’s 81 year history, guests of our 2011-2012 performances can enjoy the show, and then cast their vote via Facebook or Twitter. In addition, guests who miss a performance can still be a part of the show through our You Tube channel. Each vote counts and will help assist the Search Committee in naming the new leader of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. TICKETS: Season tickets are still available, prices are: $63, $87, $150, $171 and $201. Discounts available in assigned sections: 20% senior citizens (65+), 20% active military, 30% educators and 50% students. Single tickets prices are $40, $35, $30, $20 and $15. Season tickets may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org. Single tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. OPENING NOTES: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran, with guests Kenneth Raskin and Michael Gurt, will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. SUBSCRIBERS: Symphony subscribers will have an opportunity to meet the Conductor, Kenneth Raskin, on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at a pre-dress rehearsal reception from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in the Plaza Theatre lobby. In addition, subscribers can stay for the dress rehearsal, which starts at 7:00pm, and observe the interactions between the musicians and conductor. TICKET PRICES: Season ticket prices are: $63, $87, $150, $171 and $201. Discounts available in assigned sections: 20% senior citizens (65+), 20% active military, 30% educators and 50% students. Season tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Office (915) 532-3776. Single tickets prices are: $40, $35, $30, $20 and $15 plus applicable fees. Student prices are $10 and $8 plus applicable fees. Single tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Office (915) 532-3776, on-line www.epso.org or at www.ticketmaster.com. The Vote

Cirque de la Symphonie

The magic of Cirque and the El Paso Symphony combine on one stage for one night only! The El Paso Symphony Orchestra presents Cirque de la Symphonie -- Thursday, August, 25, 2011, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre. This show has been thrilling audiences all over the United States and now El Pasoans will have the opportunity to experience and marvel in amazement as high flying aerialists and acrobats execute amazing feats set to classical masterpieces like Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Bizet's Carmen, Saint-Saens Samson and Delilah performed by the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Cirque de la Symphonie is an exciting production designed to bring the magic of cirque to the music hall. It is an elegant adaptation of some of the most amazing cirque performances witnessed anywhere, and it showcases many of the best artists in the world. The audience is thrilled and bedazzled by aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen. These are some of the most accomplished veterans of exceptional cirque programs from across the globe. They include world record holders, gold-medal winners of international competitions, Olympians and some of the most original talent ever seen. Their performances are uniquely adapted to be staged the symphony, and each artist’s performance is choreographed to the music. When the artists of Cirque de la Symphonie perform in front of the full orchestra, an incredible fusion of these two great art forms takes place. The aerialists and acrobats turn the concert into a three dimensional entertainment extravaganza, and the orchestra seems to play with enhanced enthusiasm. Veteran concert-goers and new patrons alike are thrilled by the exhilarating cirque performances combined with the majesty of a live symphony orchestra. Tickets are on sale now! Call (915) 532-3776. Go on line at www.epso.org. Tickets also available through any ticketmaster outlet or at the Plaza Theatre box office. Performers

Independence Day Concert EPSO Salutes Fort Bliss

EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SALUTES THE MEN AND WOMEN OF FORT BLISS WITH INDEPENDENCE DAY CONCERT & FIREWORKS The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will perform a free concert celebrating America’s Independence on Sunday, July 3, 2011, 7:30pm at Biggs Park, Fort Bliss. EPSO Assistant Conductor Andy Moran will lead the El Paso Symphony in a patriotic and pops concert culminating with a fireworks display in salute of the brave men and women of Fort Bliss and all those who served to protect our country. Music will include: America The Beautiful, popular Sousa marches The Liberty Bell and The Washington Post, Armed Forces Salute, The Patriot by John Williams from the film The Patriot, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone by John Williams, and Remembering the Beatles, arranged by Bob Lowden. The evening will end with spectacular fireworks display. “The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is honored to perform for our troops,” said Sue Woo, Chairman of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra Association. “We began planning this concert about five months ago in commemoration of the upcoming 10th anniversary of September 11 and have found our community to be very supportive of this event. We are especially thankful to our sponsors (Marco Delgado & Family, El Paso Orthopaedic Surgery Group and El Paso Specialty Hospital, Antonio Ghiselli, M.D., Bank of America, Mary Ann Dodson and Jobe Materials, L.P.) for making it possible for us to present this gift to Fort Bliss. With their support we hope to make this first-time concert an annual tradition.” The El Paso Symphony is working with the Fort Bliss, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) to make this event a fun-filled family day for everyone. Biggs Park will be open at 10:00am and family activities will begin at 5:00pm. The MWR will have vendors selling food, drinks and beer. A portion of the proceeds from the vendors benefit the Fort Bliss Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program. Mark Cauthers, Director of Fort Bliss MWR said "The Fort Bliss Community is very grateful to the El Paso Symphony Orchestra as well as the El Paso community for providing this wonderful opportunity. What better way to celebrate the Independence by giving such a special performance to soldiers and their families." The concert will be open to the general public. Access to the Fort Bliss will be through the Robert E. Lee gate. Drivers will be required to have a day pass which is easily attained at the Pass and Decal Building next to the gate. To receive a pass, drivers need to show driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. In addition, adult passengers will be required to show a valid picture ID. Lawn chairs are welcome. Coolers, pets, alcohol and glass containers are prohibited. Food and beer is available for purchase. A portion of the proceeds from the vendors benefit the Fort Bliss Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program. For more information call (915) 532-3776 View PDF Document

EPSO Announces 2011-2012 Program

EPSO AND MUSIC DIRECTOR CANDIDATES ANNOUNCE CONCERT PROGRAMMING 2011-2012 EPSO Season features: Dual Twin Pianists, Guitarist Pepe Romero, Dual Violinists, Percussion Trio, Zuill Bailey, a Foxtrot for Orchestra and more. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the program for the 2011-2012 Season selected by the six candidates vying for the position of Music Director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. The program selected by the conductors and approved by the El Paso Symphony Search Committee (consisting of five board members and five orchestra members) is filled with the most thrilling and inspiring works of the orchestral repertoire. The programs will offer audiences a spectrum of music ranging from the great orchestral classics to equally significant music of the 20th and 21st centuries, and chances for new discoveries. EPSO’s 81st Season will open on September 23 and 24, 2011 with the first conductor candidate Kenneth Raskin leading the Symphony in a program which includes Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, also known as “Titan,” orchestrated for a large orchestra and pianist Michael Gurt performing Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2. David Handel will step on the podium on October 21 and 22, 2011. Mr. Handel will lead the symphony in a Latin program featuring El Paso audience favorite, classical guitarist, Pepe Romero. On November 18 and 19, 2011, twin sisters and stellar pianists, Christina and Michelle Naughton will perform Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, No. 10 under the leadership of Lawrence Loh. The second half of the season continues on January 27 and 28, 2012 with Michael Butterman leading EPSO and dual violinists Soovin Kim and Ik-Hwan Bae (artists presented in collaboration with El Paso Pro-Musica) in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043. Mr. Butterman’s program also includes Peck’s The Glory and the Granduer; Concerto for Percussion Trio. Peter Rubardt takes over the podium on February 24 and 25, 2012 leading EPSO in a Foxtrot for Orchestra (Adam’s The Chairman Dances) and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” The season concludes with conductor Mariusz Smolij leading EPSO and El Paso’s own Zuill Bailey performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto on April 20 and 21, 2012. SEPTEMBER 23 & 24, 2011 Kenneth Raskin, Conductor Michael Gurt, Piano Mozart Symphony No. 32, K.318, G major Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.2, op. 22, G minor Mahler Symphony No. 1, D major (Titan) OCTOBER 21 & 22, 2011 David Handel, Conductor Pepe Romero, Guitar López-Buchardo Esceñas Argentinas Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez Berlioz Fantastic Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist NOVEMBER 18 & 19, 2011 Lawrence Loh, Conductor Naughton Sisters, Dual Pianist Berlioz Roman Carnival Brahms Symphony No. 2, op. 73, D major Mozart Concerto for two Pianos, No. 10, K.365, E-flat major JANUARY 27 & 28, 2012 Michael Butterman, Conductor Soovin Kim, Violin and Ik-Hwan Bae, Violin Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Peck The Glory and the Granduer; Concerto for Percussion Trio Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, op. 64, E minor FEBRUARY 24 & 25, 2012 Peter Rubardt, Conductor Chee-Yun, Violin Adams The Chairman Dances; Foxtrot for Orchestra Sibelius Violin Concerto, op. 47, D minor Dvořák Symphony No. 9, op. 95, E minor APRIL 20 & 21, 2012 Mariusz Smolij, Conductor Zuill Bailey, Cello Glinka Overture to Russlan and Ludmila Elgar Cello Concerto, op.85, E minor Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (movements from Suites 1 and 2) Wojciech Kilar Krzesany (symphonic poem for orchestra) Concerts are held at the Plaza Theatre, 7:30pm. Season tickets are on sale now through the El Paso Symphony office (915) 532-3776. Season ticket prices are: $63, $87, $150, $171 and $201. Discounts available in assigned sections: 20% senior citizens (65+), 20% active military, 30% educators and 50% students. The El Paso Symphony’s 2011-2012 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Six Conductors will Take The Stage in 2011-2012

This is a season of change for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, and we invite you to be a part of it. As six talented conductors take the stage, you will have a vote in which one will become the new leader of The Symphony. The 2011-2012 of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra will open on September 23 & 24, 2011 with conductor Kenneth Raskin. Mr. Raskin is currently the Associate Conductor of the Sacramento Philharmonic. He studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, received a B.M from Hartt School of Music and a M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan School of Music in 2001. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Toledo Symphony and the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few. He has also been named as a finalist in the League of American Orchestra’s Conductor Preview. Mr. Raskin pursued his career in conducting after distinguishing himself as a professional orchestra trumpeter, first as a member of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel, and later as a sought-after freelance musician in the San Francisco Bay Area. In October 21 & 22, 2011, conductor David Handel will lead the EPSO. Mr. Handel is currently the Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia, the La Serena Symphony in Chile, and tours and records with the Moscow City Symphony Orchestra. Twice a Fulbright Senior Scholar and graduate of the University of Michigan, Mr. Handel is a laureate of the Chicago Artists International Program and has received numerous awards including two Rackham Center for Graduate Studies awards, the Marguerite Lapp Scholarship for Exceptional Musical Talent, two Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council awards, the Decoration of Illimani for Outstanding Community Service in the Arts, the UNESCO Pro-Santa Cruz National Prize in Culture, the Pedro D. Murillo Medal of Honor and a fellowship from the Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany). In 1993, David Handel was one of a few young conductors selected to conduct the New York Philharmonic in a preview session at Carnegie Hall. As a guest conductor, he has performed in the United States, Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The classical concerts on November 18 & 19, 2011 bring in conductor Lawrence Loh, currently the Music Director of Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. In addition, Mr. Loh is the Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director/Conductor of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. A native of southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Lawrence Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale University, also earning the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize, given to the most outstanding conductor in the Yale graduating class. Mr. Loh’s recent guest conducting engagements include his debut with the Seoul Philharmonic and a return engagement with the Dallas Symphony where he was Assistant and Associate Conductor for four years. He has also served as the Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Other recent guest conducting appearances include the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the San Angelo Symphony. Conducting the El Paso Symphony on January 27 & 28, 2012 will be Michael Butterman currently in his fifth season as Music Director for the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and also for the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, and is in his 11th season as Principal Conductor for Education and Outreach for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the only position of its kind in the United States. Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, he assumed the position of Resident Conductor for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Butterman studied at the Tanglewood Music Center, completed doctoral studies in conducting at Indiana University School of Music and Master of Arts in Musicology at the University of Virginia. Mr. Butterman gained international attention as a diploma laureate in the Prokofiev International Conducting Competition and as a finalist in the prestigious Besançon International Conducting Competition. Conductor Peter Rubardt will take the podium with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra on February 24 & 25, 2012. Mr. Rubardt is in his fourteenth season as Music Director of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in Pensacola, Peter Rubardt served four seasons as the Associate Conductor of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, which followed three seasons as Resident Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. A native of Berkeley, California, Mr. Rubardt holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of the Bruno Walter fellowship. A Fulbright scholar in 1984, he studied piano and conducting at the Vienna Academy of Music, and pursued further studies at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. Wrapping up the 81st season on April 20 & 21, 2012 will be conductor Mariusz Smolij. Mr. Smolij is the current Music Director of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Lafayette, Louisiana and the Riverside Symphonia, New Jersey. He has guest conducted 101 orchestras in 26 countries, on five continents including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta, GA; Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit, MI; Houston Symphony, Houston, TX; Orquestra Sinfonica del Estado Mexico, Mexico ; Nova Scotia Symphony, Halifax, Canada; Orchestre de Lameoroux, Paris, France; Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam, Netherlands and the Israel Symphony Orchestra, Tel Aviv, Israel to name a few. Born near Katowice, Poland, Mr. Smolij is an accomplished violinist and was the founder and violinist of the internationally recognized Penderecki String Quartet, performing and recording with this ensemble in Poland, Germany, France, Italy and the United States. After his studies in Europe he studied conducting in the United States, earning a doctorate degree from the Eastman School of Music. We invite you to be a part of the show. Season tickets now available. Call us at (915) 532-3776.

Sarah Conducts Final Concerts of the Season

EPSO’s Final Concerts of the 2010-2011 Season Bid Farewell to its 80th Anniversary Season, Conductor Sarah Ioannides and Principal Cellist Ida Steadman. Special performances on April 15 & 16 feature Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and international violinist Dmitri Berlinsky. Sarah Ioannides will conduct the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in its 80th Anniversary season finale and her last classical concerts as Music Director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 15, 2011 and Saturday, April 16, 2011 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre. This special program, sponsored by BBVA Compass, will feature Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Sibelius’ Finlandia and Glazunov’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, op. 82 with guest violinist Dmitri Berlinsky. In July 2010, Sarah announced that she would be stepping down as Music Director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra at the conclusion of the 2010-2011 Season. Sarah became the first female conductor and the 6th music director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in June 2005. The April concerts will mark the end of her 6th season in El Paso. During her tenure, Sarah expanded the El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s repertoire with numerous first-time performances, commissioned world premieres and several multi-media performances. Through her dedication to EPSO’s Education and Outreach programs, Sarah has reached many El Paso students with her talents and expertise. She has made a positive impact on the artistic quality of the orchestra and the cultural life of our community. “We are appreciative of the contributions she has made to our orchestra and to El Paso throughout her career with EPSO. For the organization, we wish her the best and fully support her in her future endeavors.” Debbie Hand, Chairman of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra Association. In addition, Principal Cellist Ida Steadman will perform her final concerts with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra after 50 years of service. Ida has been an educator in the El Paso Independent School District for over 40 years, currently directing the orchestras at Coronado High School. Ida is recognized in our community for her dedication to educating and inspiring our youth. Many of her former students are now musicians performing with EPSO. “It has been a privilege and honor to have Ida sit in our orchestra.” Ruth Ellen Jacobson, Executive Director. Born in Petersburg, Russia into a family of musicians, Dmitri Berlinsky began studying the violin with his father. He performed as soloist with the St. Petersburg Symphony and the Moscow Philharmonic at a very early age. He arrived on the international scene as the youngest winner in the history of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. He received his Bachelors and Masters degree at the Moscow Conservatory and later was invited to work at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. Berlinsky has performed at Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Tokyo’s Suntory hall, and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory among others. His playing was featured in Emmy-Award documentary “Life on Jupiter” and “New York Canvas.” Tickets may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range from $11 to $37. Military and student discounts available. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Opening Notes: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran with guests Sarah Ioannides and Dmitri Berlinksy will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. RECAP: Friday, April 15 & Saturday, April 16, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk with Assistant Conductor Andres Moran Free: Open to public Friday, April 15 & Saturday, April 16, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Dmitri Berlinksy, Violin Program: Sibelius Finlandia Glazunov Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, op. 82 Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Tickets prices: $11, $17, $28, $32 and $37 (plus applicable fees) 10% Active Military Discount Available Student tickets: $6 and $8 (plus applicable fees) Tickets available online at www.epso.org, (915) 532-3776 or at www.ticketmaster.com

Assistant Principal Cello Auditions

EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HOLDS AUDITIONS FOR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL CELLO The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will be holding auditions on Saturday, April 16, 2011, 1pm to 3pm at the Plaza Theatre for Assistant Principal Cello, a one year contract for the EPSO 2011-2012 Season. Audition application and requirements below. For further information contact the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776. Applications are due by Friday, March 25, 2011. Audition Application Auditions PDF

Symphony and Pianist Perform Mozart

GUEST CONDUCTOR EDWIN OUTWATER LEADS SYMPHONY AND PIANIST IN MOZART PIANO CONCERTO NO. 22 Barnatan’s debut with the Houston Symphony orchestra, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22, K.482 with maestro James Gaffigan, was described as "electric" by the Houston Chronicle, adding that "Barnatan [was] born to play Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 with the elegance and intimacy that makes Mozart's music sparkle so much". Guest Conductor Edwin Outwater will take the podium with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra on February 18 & 19, 2011, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre. Mr. Outwater, currently the music director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Ontario, Canada, will lead the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and pianist Inon Barnatan in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22. The February concerts, sponsored by the El Paso Community Foundation and Helen Susan Coles, will open with Berlioz’ Le Corsaire Overture and conclude with Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3. Edwin Outwater, generously underwritten by Mrs. B.J. Graham, Sr., is a native of Santa Monica, California. Mr. Outwater attended Harvard University, graduating cum laude in 1993 with a degree in English literature. While at Harvard, he was music director of the Bach Society Orchestra, the Harvard Din and Tonics (an acclaimed a cappella group), and wrote the music for the 145th annual production of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. He received his master’s degree in conducting from UC Santa Barbara, where he studied with Heiichiro Ohyama, and Paul Polivinick. Mr. Outwater was the Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 2001-2006. On two occasions, Mr. Outwater stepped in for an ailing Michael Tilson Thomas, conducting performances of Stravinsky’s complete Pulcinella, as well as works by Beethoven, Wagner and Cherubini. In 2009, he made his professional opera debut with the San Francisco Opera conducting Verdi’s La Traviata. That season, he also conducted the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall with Michael Tilson Thomas and Tan Dun. Pianist Inon Barnatan is rapidly gaining international recognition for his poetic and passionate music making, communicative performances and engaging programming. Since moving to the United States in 2006, he has quickly made his mark in debuts with the Cleveland, San Francisco and Houston Symphony Orchestras, performing at New York’s Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Metropolitan Museum and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, touring throughout the United States and appearing at the festivals of Aspen, Vail, Music@Menlo, Santa Fe and Spoleto USA. His career has taken him to some of Europe’s most illustrious venues, including the Royal Festival, Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salla Verdi in Milan, Musikverein in Vienna and Salle Gaveau in Paris, as well as the Delft, Lanaudière and Verbier Festivals. In 2009 he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music. Born in Tel Aviv in 1979, Mr. Barnatan started playing the piano at the age of 3. He made his orchestral debut at 11, and studied with Professor Victor Derevianko. In 1997 he moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Maria Curcio (a student of the legendary Arthur Schnabel) and Christopher Elton, and Leon Fleisher was an influential mentor. In 2006 Barnatan moved to New York City, where he resides today. Tickets may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range from $11 to $37. Military and student discounts available. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Opening Notes: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran with guests Edwin Outwater and Inon Barnatan will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. RECAP: Friday, February 18 & Saturday, February 19, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk with Assistant Conductor Andres Moran Free: Open to public Friday, February 18 & Saturday, February 19, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Edwin Outwater, Guest Conductor Inon Barnatan, Pianist Program: Berlioz Le Corsaire Overture Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 Nielsen Symphony No. 3 Tickets prices: $11, $17, $28, $32 and $37 (plus applicable fees) 10% Active Military Discount Available Student tickets: $6 and $8 (plus applicable fees) Tickets available online at www.epso.org, (915) 532-3776 or at www.ticketmaster.com View PDF Document

Symphony Rings in the New Year with Teen Phenoms

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will ring in the New Year on January 28 & 29, 2011, 7:30 pm at the Plaza Theatre with a couple of 18 year-old prodigies -- cellist Matthew Allen and violinist Caroline Goulding. Under the direction of Sarah Ioannides, Allen and Goulding along with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra will perform Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, op. 102. EPSO will round out the program with Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C major, op. 61. Both 18, Allen and Goulding are already establishing themselves as leading young American artists performing with orchestras throughout the world. Born in Denton, Texas in 1992, Matthew Allen began studying cello at the age of four. At the age of 17, Allen was named the Gold Medalist in the Gaspar Cassado International Violoncello Competition in Hachioji, Japan, where he was also awarded the Audience Award. Mr. Allen has been featured as a soloist with a number of orchestras including the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. In 2008, Allen recorded the Popper Hungarian Rhapsody for TELARC Records released in August 2009. Caroline Goulding has been proclaimed as “A precociously gifted virtuoso…a violinist of impressive technical polish and musical maturity” by Gramophone magazine. She has performed as a soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, the Cleveland Pops, and the Aspen Concert Orchestra, to name a few. Goulding was featured on the cover of Strings Magazine in December 2009, which included her article about the Korngold Violin Concerto. She was on National Public Radio’s “From the Top,” hosted by (YCA Alumnus) pianist Christopher O’Riley, when she was 14. At 16, Telarc recorded a CD with Ms. Goulding and pianist Christopher O’Riley, which won a 2010 GRAMMY nomination. Born in Port Huron, Michigan, Goulding began violin lessons at the age of three under Juila Kurtyka, and continued her studies with Paul Kantor. At the age of 13, Ms. Goulding won the Concerto Competition at the Aspen Festival, and was soon to appear in orchestras including the Detroit Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Louisville Youth Orchestra. The January concerts, generously sponsored by Beverly and Ken Jinkerson, mark the 6th consecutive season EPSO and the El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Festival have collaborated to present renowned artists to El Paso audiences. Tickets for the January 28 and 29 concerts may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range from $11 to $37. Military and student discounts available. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Opening Notes: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran with guests Sarah Ioannides, Matthew Allen and Caroline Goulding will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. RECAP: Friday, January 28 and Saturday, January 29, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk with Assistant Conductor Andres Moran Free: Open to public Friday, January 28 and Saturday, January 29, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Matthew Allen, Cellist Caroline Goulding, Violinist Program: Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, op. 102 Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C major, op. 61 Tickets prices: $11, $17, $28, $32 and $37 (plus applicable fees) 10% Active Military Discount Available Student tickets: $6 and $8 (plus applicable fees) Tickets available online at www.epso.org, (915) 532-3776 or at www.ticketmaster.com Goulding and Allen

CATS Host First Concert & Party of the Season

The El Paso Symphony CATS are hosting their first after-concert party of the 2010-2011 Season on Friday, October 22, 2010 at the Oasis Lounge & Bistro. CATS is a young-professional association that is designed to cultivate the next generation of classical music enthusiasts. It is made up of young adults who are socially active, professionally focused and culturally curious. CATS members gather after the El Paso Symphony for entertainment, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and the opportunity to socialize and network with other young leaders in the community. All CATS parties take place in various settings throughout downtown El Paso and apply a modern spin to the classical themes of the Symphony performances. CATS membership includes: • Three Symphony concerts with pre-reserved seating at the Plaza Theater. CATS member will be seated among their peers. • Three CATS post-Symphony parties…including cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. • Access to the new CATS VIP Intermission Bar. • Access to other El Paso Symphony hosted parties. • The opportunity to meet, hear and experience some of the most gifted musicians in the world, as well as the famed Music Conductor, Sarah Ioannides. • Educational opportunities in the area of classical music appreciation. • Automatic entry into an EPSO Season-Ticket Raffle. • Two free tickets to Downtown Kidspalooza - Saturday, March 26, 11:00am-5:00pm. • 50% off any additional EPSO tickets throughout the season. CATS membership is available for $75.00 per person, per year (three symphony concerts and three after-concert parties.) Couples membership is available for a reduced rate of $135.00/couple. Individual evening tickets may be purchased for $30.00 per person (one symphony concert and one after-concert party.) CATS party only (no concert ticket) is $15 per person. Reservations are required (915) 532-3776. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. RECAP: Friday, October 22, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Concert Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Joan Kwuon, Violin CATS Party following the concert at Oasis Lounge & Bistro CATS Membership: $75.00 per person (three symphony concerts and three after-concert parties) $135.00 couple (three symphony concerts and three after-concert parties) $30 one CATS evening (one symphony concert and after-concert party) $15 CATS party only Symphony concerts included in CATS membership are: Friday, October 22, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Joan Kwuon, Violin Mozart Don Giovanni, K.528: Overture Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 61 Mahler Symphony No. 5: Adagietto Mahler Totenfeier Saturday, January 29, 2011, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Caroline Goulding, Violin & Matthew Allen, Cello Brahms Concerto for Violin & Cello, op.102, A minor Schumann Symphony No. 2, op. 61 C major Saturday, April 16, 2011, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Dmitri Berlinsky, Violin Sibelius Finlandia Glazunov Violin Concerto, op.82, A minor Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Membership Information and Order Form

Saxophone Takes Center Stage at EPSO Concert

Saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky will be the featured guest soloist with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra on November 19 and 20, 7:30 pm at the Plaza Theatre. Radnofsky and the symphony, led by Sarah Ioannides, will perform David Amram’s “Ode to Lord Buckley” Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra. Radnofsky premiered this work with the Portland Symphony in March 17, 1981. Mr. Radnosfky is founder of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, Inc. and has created a network of musicians commissioning today’s finest composers. Radnofsky has commissioned works by American composers including Chris Theofanidis, Larry Bell, Michael Horvit, John McDonald, and Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Harbison. As a soloist, he has appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles throughout the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New World Symphony, and BBC concert Orchestra. Composer David Amram is a pioneer player of jazz French horn and a virtuoso on piano. He has composed more than 100 orchestral and chamber music works, written many scores for Broadway theater and film, including the classic scores for the films Splendor in The Grass and The Manchurian Candidate. He wrote two scores for operas, including the groundbreaking Holocaust opera The Final Ingredient; and the score for the landmark 1959 documentary Pull My Daisy, narrated by novelist Jack Kerouac. The November program also includes Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Barber’s Music for a Scene from Shelley, and the third movement of Bloch’s America: An Epic Rhapsody – 1926 The Present –The Future featuring the “University Choirs” from the University of Texas at El Paso directed by Dr. William McMillan and Dr. Elisa Wilson. Tickets for the November 19 & 20 concerts, generously sponsored by Helen of Troy, may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range from $11 to $37. Military and student discounts available. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Opening Notes: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. RECAP: Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk with Assistant Conductor Andres Moran Free: Open to public Friday, Novmber 19 and Saturday, November 20, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Kenneth Radnofsky, Saxophone Program: Gershwin Cuban Overture Amram "Ode to Lord Buckley", Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra Barber Music for a Scene from Shelley, op. 7 Bloch An Epic Rhapsody “America”, 1926 The Present-The Future featuring the “University Choirs” from the University of Texas at El Paso. Tickets prices: $11, $17, $28, $32 and $37 (plus applicable fees) 10% Active Military Discount Available Student tickets: $6 and $8 (plus applicable fees) Tickets available online at www.epso.org, (915) 532-3776 or at www.ticketmaster.com NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information and photos of guest soloist contact Rosemary Flores at (915) 532-3776 or rosemary@epso.org. Bloch Audience Participation

EPSO Performs Mahler in October Violinist Joan Kwuon Joins EPSO

VIOLINIST JOAN KWUON PERFORMS WITH EPSO OCTOBER 22 & 23 Violinist, JOAN KWUON is praised by the New York Times for her “fiery, intensely musical and impassioned playing.” Born and raised in Los Angeles, Joan Kwuon made her solo debut at age twelve, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. On October 22 and 23, 2010, 7:30 pm at the Plaza Theatre, Kwuon will perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Led by Sarah Ioannides, the EPSO will also perform Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni and Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 and Totenfeier. Kwuon holds advanced music degrees from Indiana University, The Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is a member of The Juilliard School Assistant Faculty and has recently joined the faculty of The Cleveland Institute of Music. Ms. Kwuon has performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Lincoln Center, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in recital with Sir André Previn and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. She has toured with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and has been the featured soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. A young breast cancer survivor, Ms. Kwuon and her husband Joel Smirnoff founded Artists for Breast Cancer Survival, Inc., which has presented Artists for the Cure at Carnegie Hall, a series of benefit concerts featuring such artists as Kristen Chenoweth, Roberta Flack, Denyce Graves, Mandy Patinkin, and Itzhak Perlman. ABCS has raised over 1 million dollars for research and patient care while celebrating life and music. Tickets for the October 22 & 23 concerts, generously sponsored by Western Refining, may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range from $11 to $37. Military and student discounts available. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Opening Notes: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre. RECAP: Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk with Assistant Conductor Andres Moran Free: Open to public Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre El Paso Symphony Orchestra Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Joan Kwuon, Violin Program: Mozart Don Giovani, K.523: Overture Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 61 Mahler Symphony No. 5: Adegietto Mahler Totenfeier Tickets prices: $11, $17, $28, $32 and $37 (plus applicable fees) 10% Active Military Discount Available Student tickets: $6 and $8 (plus applicable fees) Tickets available online at www.epso.org, (915) 532-3776 or at www.ticketmaster.com Joan Kwuon

Beethoven's Fifth Opens 80th Anniversary Season September 24 and 25

The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 80th Anniversary Season will open on Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25, 2010, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre. Sarah Ioannides, in her final season with EPSO, will lead the orchestra in Beethoven’s quintessential Symphony No. 5, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkries, and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Valentina Lisitsa. Valentina Lisitsa has been described by critics as an "electrifying pianist" and one whose plays like "[a] bona fide angel.” Ms. Lisitsa is at home in a vast repertoire ranging from Bach and Mozart to Shostakovich and Bernstein and her orchestral repertory boasts more than forty concerti, all of which have been performed. Born in Kiev (Ukraine), Ms. Lisitsa began to study piano at the age of three and performed her first solo recital at four. After her studies - first in Lysenko School of Music and then in Kiev Conservatory – she moved to the United States and shortly thereafter became a citizen. She has performed in the world's most prestigious concert venues, and among recent collaborations have been tours with Sao Paolo Symphony, the New Zealand Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic and Prague Chamber Orchestras. Ms. Lisitsa has recorded 8 CDs on the Audiofon label and 3 independently released DVDs including her best-selling set of Chopin's 24 Etudes, which long held the #1 spot on the Amazon.com list. Tickets for the September 24 and 25 concerts may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range from $13 to $39. Military and student discounts available. The El Paso Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Opening Notes: Assistant Conductor Andres Moran will lead a discussion of the evening’s program 6:30 p.m. prior to both performances in the Philanthropy Theatre.

3rd Annual Downtown KidsPalooza Family Art & Music Festival

The 3rd Annual Downtown KidsPalooza is scheduled Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 10:30am to 5:00pm. Downtown KidsPalooza is an all-day family cultural event organized by the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Downtown area arts organizations will present “Make & Take” craft workshops, tours, performances and exhibits to educate and expose young participants to the many activities available in the El Paso area. The all-day event features free transportation to a variety of educational stops throughout the downtown area. Over 20,000 children and family members attended the premier event, which was held on March 28, 2008. Letters and emails of support for the event told us: • “I hope Downtown events such as these soon become the norm.” • “I sincerely hope your efforts in bringing entertainment and the arts to El Paso…get the recognition and support they deserve from the community and the City!!” • “You truly did change the lives of children and you truly did give El Paso a great gift!” Plans to expand this year’s event are underway. More booths and vendors will be invited to participate, present and demonstrate arts activities. Joining Downtown KidsPalooza partners this year are the El Paso Zoological Society, the El Paso Opera and the Magoffin Home State Historic Site. In addition, the El Paso Symphony is working with Fort Bliss to bring in families and their children and working with the USO to bring in Wounded Warriors and their families to the event. The goal is to provide free concert tickets to these families. Nowhere in El Paso can children experience so many various and rich programming in an all-day event involving all of the downtown arts and cultural organizations. Children are engaged at each venue with programming created especially for them and their families. Downtown KidsPalooza Partners: • El Paso Symphony Orchestra • The Children’s Hospital at Providence • City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department • City of El Paso Parks & Recreation Department • El Paso KidsExcel • El Paso Public Library • El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Centers • El Paso Museum of Art • El Paso Museum of History • El Paso Opera • El Paso Zoological Society • Insights El Paso Science Museum. • Lynx Exhibits • Magoffin Home State Historic Site • OLO Gallery, home of Creative Kids • Railroad & Transportation Museum of El Paso • Sun Metro • USO • Fort Bliss: FMWR Activities and Events: • The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will present two performances of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Dancers in costume will join the El Paso Symphony Orchestra to bring this beloved children’s musical story to life on the Plaza Theatre stage, 12pm and 2pm. Dance choreographed by Ingeborg Heuser and produced by Eden Enterprises. Cost is $5.00 general admission. Call (915) 532-3776 for tickets and information. Tickets will also be available at the door. •Arts Festival Plaza will be the location for the Wing Harp and Drum Cloud. Performances and hands on demonstrations on these large-scale instruments will occur throughout the day. Sponsored by The Children’s Hospital at Providence. (Free admission) •The City of El Paso Parks & Recreation Department will turn Cleveland Square into a fun zone with activities, games and music throughout the day. (Free admission) •Explore music at the El Paso Public Library through “Make and Take” musical instrument workshops from 1pm to 4:30pm. Percussionist Nancy Green will lead a drum circle “Music from the Heart” from 2pm to 4pm. Cri Cri Grillito Cantor (Cri Cri Singing Cricket) will be presented in Spanish at 1:30pm in the auditorium. (Free admission) •El Paso KidsExcel will teach some fun dance moves in front of the Plaza Theatre – 11am, 1pm and 3pm. (Free) •Through the community arts program the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department will provide performances and educational workshops throughout the day including Outrageous Fortune Theater Company’s performance of Hamelito, the Little Prince That Could, 11am at the El Paso Public Library and Capoiera Quinto Sol (Brazilian dance/maritial arts/acrobatics)12pm to 1:30pm at OLO Gallery. (Free admission) • El Paso Museum of Art will host a scavenger hunt of their permanent art collection. Tour guides will be on hand in the galleries to answer questions about art. Activities in the El Paso Museum of Art also will include an art gift basket drawing and free postcard making. (Free admission) •Children can make their own DaVinci helicopters, parachutes, and colorful drawings at the El Paso Museum of History from 1pm to 4pm. (Free) •The El Paso Opera will present Mozart’s One-Act Opera, The Impresario, 3pm and 4pm at the El Paso Public Library, auditorium. (Free admission) • “Make and Take” dragonflies, scorpions, and elephant trunks with the El Paso Zoological Society ZOO DO. Set-up at the Lynx Exhibit parking lot, kids and adults can craft their own interesting insects. (Free) •Lynx Exhibits will have a free outdoor fair with jumping balloon, El Paso Zoo, Live cargo reptiles, Dame La Mano food, contests and prizes! Then visit family-friendly, interactive EXTREME DEEP: Mission to the Abyss for $5 a person to pet live stingray, search ancient shipwrecks and explore deep sea discoveries. •Travel to the outer solar system and explore “Giant Worlds” from NASA at Insights El Paso Science Museum. All-day activities at Insights include: Space Tours, Scavenger Hunts & Cosmo Facts and Science presentations of Giant Ice Bubbles, Tesla Coil, and Star Lab. Costs: Adults $5; Seniors, Military & Students $4; Child 4 to 11 years old $3. •Free children’s tour will be provided at the Magoffin Home State Historic Site. A striking adobe structure, the Magoffin Home State Historic Site explores the stories of a multicultural family who influenced the development of the Southwest borderlands. Adults $4. Children free. •Creative Kids at OLO Gallery will focus on the art of music. Children will be able to build and paint their own instrument that they can take home. Cost for the "make and take" workshop is $5. Fee includes all materials. Visitors will also be able to view the artwork of the youth in the Creative Kids programs. Call 533-9575 for more information. •The Railroad & Transportation Museum of El Paso will have model train demonstrations throughout the day. In addition, kids will explore the sounds and vibes of streetcar and locomotive bells and train whistles, learn how to make music with pipes, and learn railroad songs with Carl Green. (Free admission) •Tour the historic Union Depot train station; passenger service and exhibit of Harvey House by Railroad Man and Harvey Girl. (Free admission) •Sun Metro will provide free bus rides in the downtown area. Downtown KidsPalooza is generously sponsored by Walmart, Sam’s Club, TVO North America, Hunt Family Foundation, The Cardwell Foundation, Village Inn, Applebee’s, Rocky Mountain Mortgage Company and Price’s Creameries. View PDF Document

Eroica Trio Performs at EPSO 80th Anniversary Celebration

The Eroica Trio will perform at the El Paso Symphony's 80th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, August 28, 2010, 6:30 at the El Paso Museum of Art. Please join us for this special evening of dining and entertainment by the most sough-after trio in the world. Tickets are $125 per person. Call us at (915) 532-3776 to reserve your tickets. The Grammy®-nominated Eroica Trio thrills audiences with flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm and sensual elegance. Whether playing the great standards of the piano trio repertoire or daring contemporary works, the three young women who make up this celebrated ensemble electrify the concert stage with their passionate performances. The New York Times writes, “They play chamber music for the concert hall. There is an edge of the seat intensity to every note they produce”. The Trio won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut and has since toured the United States, Europe, and Asia. While maintaining their demanding concert schedule, the Eroica Trio has released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI Classics Records, garnering multiple Grammy® nominations. Learn more about Eroica Trio

Run For A Margarita Benefits EPSO

Run for a Margarita 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk Saturday, July, 17, 2010 7:00 p.m. Support the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in a 5k Run and 1 Mile Walk on Saturday, July 17, 2010. Race starts at 7pm at the Riviera Restaurant, 5218 Doniphan. After the run/walk enjoy a complimentary Margarita (for those 21 and over), food and live music. Events and Fees: Before July 10th 5K Run - $25.00 (entry fee includes meal and a complimentary margarita) 1 Mile run/walk - $25.00 (entry fee includes meal and a complimentary margarita) Meal ticket only - $10.00 Late registration after July 11-16 5K Run - $30.00 (entry fee includes meal and a complimentary margarita) 1 Mile run/walk - $30.00 (entry fee includes meal and a complimentary margarita) Meal ticket only - $10.00 Register on-line: www.raceadventuresunlimited.com By Mail: postmarked by July 10, 2010 Check payable to Race Adventures 3233 N. Mesa, Ste. 205, El Paso, TX 79902 In Person: Up and Running 3233 N. Mesa, Ste 205, Rudolph Plaza Up and Running 10600 Montwood NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION - LIMITED TO 350 RUNNERS, ONLY 50 ADDITIONAL MEAL TICKETS AVAILABLE Packet Pick Up July 16th Up and Running, 3233 N. Mesa 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. July 17th at the race startline, 5418 Doniphan, 5:45 p.m - 6:45 p.m. Awards and Prizes All runners/walkers will receive a short sleeve colored t-shirt. Margaritas (for those 21 and over) and food provided by The Riviera! Live music! Trophies to top 3 overall Male and Female finishers in the 5K Run Medals to the top 3 male and female finishers in the following age groups in the 5K Run: 9 and under, 10-14, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 and over. For race information contact: Chris Rowley 915.478.5663. Proceeds benefit the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and its education and outreach programs. View PDF Document

13th Annual March Madness Fundraiser

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will hold its 13th annual March Madness Fundraiser on Monday, April 5, 2010 at the El Paso Country Club. The day begins at 10:30am with registration then lunch will be served at 11:00am followed by a friendly competition of 18 holes of golf offering special prizes to the top team (teams of four). Tee time is set for 1:00pm. The “Madness” continues at 6pm inside the El Paso Country Club to watch the men’s final game of the NCAA College Basketball Championship tournament, eat good food, have a few drinks and have plenty of fun. Pre-game activities and dinner start at 6pm – tip off is at 7:00pm. The game will be televised on multiple big screen televisions provided by Gorman Distributing. There is plenty of action going on prior to the game and during half time with great chances to win exciting, fun, and highly sought-after items at the silent and live auction including four 45-yard line tickets to the Dallas Cowboy’s Thanksgiving game including parking pass and access passes to the Cowboys Club and Field Club. There are also plenty of chances to win big at the raffle being held throughout the evening. Different sponsorship and participation levels are available: Team of Four for $1,000 includes green fees for a golf team of four and four individual tickets to the dinner and game. March Madness Table of ten for dinner and the game are available for $1,000. Team of Four and Table Package is available for only $1,500. The cost of an individual to the dinner and game is $100. Hole Sponsors are available for $200 which includes signage on tee box or green and one ticket to Dinner/NCAA game. The price includes a great meal and beverages provided by our friends at L&F Distributors and Magnolia Coca-Cola. Proceeds for this event benefit the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and its Education and Outreach Programs. For further information contact the Symphony Office at (915) 532-3776. View PDF Document

El Paso Electric Young People's Concerts Composition Competition Winners

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts “Composition Competition.” Lacey Paige LaFoe - 5th grade student at Scotsdale Elementary, Ysleta Independent School District, Teacher: Claudia Encarnacion. Aurora Salazar –5th grade student at John Drugan Elementary, Socorro Independent School District, Teacher: Cindy Hill. Connor Stone – 5th grade student at Kohlberg Elementary School, El Paso Independent School District, Teacher: Julie Arras. Caylee Robalin 5th grade student at Polk Elementary, El Paso Independent School District, Teacher: Mary Mendez. The four winning composition entries will be combined by Dominic Dousa into a fantastic orchestral medley that will be performed by the El Paso Symphony Orchestra led by Assistant Conductor Andres Moran at the El Paso Electric Young People’s Concerts on February 17, 18 and 19, 2010,10:30am and 12:30pm, at the Abraham Chavez Theatre. In addition, the winners will be recognized from the stage on the day their class attends the concerts. Approximately 15,000 5th grade students from El Paso and the surrounding area are expected to attend this year’s Americana program. The concerts, presented free of charge, are for many students their first introduction to a live classical concert. This wonderful experience is made possible through the generous support of the El Paso Electric Company; El Paso Symphony Guild; Apteckar Foundation; Frances R. Axelson; El Paso Independent School District; Hervey Foundation; Huthsteiner Fine Arts Trust; Robert E. & Evelyn McKee Foundation; J. Edward & Helen M.C. Stern Foundation; Shiloff Family Foundation; Texas Commission on the Arts; Western Refining Company, L.P.; and Ysleta Independent School District. Thank you for your support! For more information on these performances call (915) 532-3776

Van Cliburn Gold Medal Wiinner Haochen Zhang Performs with EPSO

Van Cliburn Gold Medal Winner Takes the Stage with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra October 23 & 24, 2009 The El Paso Symphony Orchestra and Sarah Ioannides welcome the gold medal winner of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Haochen Zhang performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23 on October 23 & 24, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre. Sponsored by the Marlene and J.O. Stewart, Jr. Foundation, the 2nd Classical Concerts of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s 79th Season also include Kabalevsky’s Overture to Colas Breugnon and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98. The youngest participant at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition and just four days after celebrating his 19th birthday, Haochen Zhang was awarded the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal on June 7th, 2009. Zhang, one of 31 participants selected from a pool of 225 pianists from around the world who applied to compete at the Van Cliburn Competition, tied for first with Nobuyuki Tsujii from Japan. Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News praised Zhang for his Van Cliburn Competition performances stating, “Zhang…demonstrated a musical maturity almost unimaginable in one so young.” Born in Shanghai, China, Zhang began his piano studies at age 3. At age 5, he made his recital debut at the Shanghai Music Hall performing all fifteen of Bach’s two-part inventions, as well as sonatas by Haydn and Mozart. In March 2005, at the age of 15, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and at age 17 he became the youngest winner ever of the China international Piano Competition. An accomplished pianist, Zhang has performed with the China National Symphony Orchestra, Krakow State Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is pleased to partner with the Van Cliburn Foundation and once again present a gold medal winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Zhang’s complete Cliburn Competition performances are available for viewing at www.cliburn.tv. Tickets for the October 23 & 24 concerts may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at (915) 532-3776, online at www.epso.org or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets start from $11 to $39 plus applicable fees. The El Paso Symphony’s 2009-2010 Season is presented with the support of the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Pre-Concert Events: Recital with Haochen Zhang - Saturday, October 24, 2009, 12pm in the home of Judy and Chuck Kohlhaas, 821 Rim Road. Tickets for this event are $100 – includes lunch. Space is limited. Reservations required (915) 532-3776. A “Backstage Pass” is available to anyone interested in experiencing an up close and personal behind the scenes look at a dress rehearsal. “Backstage Pass” begins with a Plaza Theatre tour at 5:30pm, Thursday, October 22, followed by a casual dinner with the conductor and musicians at 6:00pm. Rehearsal begins at 7:00pm. Reservations required – (915) 532-3776. Audience members can learn more about the program at “Opening Notes” 6:30pm in the Philanthropy Theatre prior to both the Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24 concerts. “Opening Notes” is an informal discussion of the evening’s program and composers. RECAP: Thursday, October 22, 5:30pm, Plaza Theatre “Backstage Pass” Behind the Scenes Look at a Dress Rehearsal Reservations required (915) 532-3776 Friday, October 23 & Saturday, October 24, 6:30pm, Philanthropy Theatre @ the Plaza Theatre “Opening Notes” Pre-concert talk Free: Open to public Saturday, October 24, 12:00pm, 821 Rim Road Piano Recital Haochen Zhang, Piano Tickets $100 – Reservations required – (915) 532-3776 Friday, October 23 & Saturday, October 24, 7:30pm, Plaza Theatre Gold Medal Performance Sarah Ioannides, Conductor Haochen Zhang, Piano Kabalevsky Overture to Colas Breugnon Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, B-flat minor, op. 23 Brahms Symphony No. 4, E minor, op. 98 Tickets range from $11 to $37 plus applicable fees. Student prices $6 and $8. Tickets available on line at www.epso.org or (915) 532-3776 NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information and photos of guest soloist contact Rosemary Flores at (915) 532-3776 or rosemary@epso.org.

EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA DEBUTS US PREMIERE OF DARIO MARIANELLI’S ATONEMENT CONCERT SUITE

For the fourth consecutive season, the El Paso Symphony will collaborate with El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Music Festival. This exciting program, January 23 & 24, 2009, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theater, will feature pianist Awadagin Pratt and cellist Ben Hong in the US Premiere of Academy Award-winning composer Dario Marianelli’s Atonement Concert Suite for Cello, Piano and Orchestra. The world premiere debuted on October 18, 2008 in Ghent, Belgium for the Flanders International Film Festival by the Brussels Philharmonic, conductor Dirk Brosse. Born in 1963 in Pisa, Italy, Dario Marianelli won the Best Original Score for the score of Atonement at the 80th Academy Awards and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and has recently collaborated with Joe Wright for the upcoming film The Soloist. Cellist BEN HONG joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1993, at age 24, making him the youngest member of the orchestra at that time. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Ben won his native country's National Cello Competition three years in a row before leaving home, at 13, for the Juilliard School. Later he studied with Lynn Harrell at the University of Southern California School of Music before joining the LA PHIL. Most recently, Ben was hired by Dreamworks to train several members of the cast of the upcoming movie, The Soloist scheduled for release in March 2009, including Jamie Foxx and Tom Hollander. He also served as an on-set technical advisor and his playing will be featured on the film's soundtrack. Frequent performer at the El Paso Pro-Musica Chamber Festival, pianist AWADAGIN PRATT, is acclaimed for his musical insight and intensely involving performances that receive tremendous audience response and press attention throughout the United States. Born in Pittsburgh, Awadagin began studying piano at the age of six. At the age of 16, he entered the University of Illinois where he studied piano, violin, and conducting. He subsequently enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory of Music where he became the first student in the school's history to receive diplomas in three performance areas - piano, violin and conducting. Awadagin Pratt has been the subject of numerous articles in the national press, including Newsweek, People Magazine, USA Weekend, New York Newsday, Emerge and Mirabella. He was named one of the 50 Leaders of Tomorrow in Ebony Magazine's special 50th anniversary issue. On television, Mr. Pratt has performed on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Sesame Street, been profiled on CBS Sunday Morning and was one of the featured soloists on PBS's "Live from the Kennedy Center - A Salute to Slava." He also performed twice at the White House at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton. Sponsored by a friend of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, “providing the essential sound of music for the revitalization of the heart of our great city, its downtown,” this weekend’s program also includes Dvořák’s In Nature’s Realm and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Written during one of the most difficult periods in Beethoven’s life (1811-1812), the Seventh Symphony is considered one of Beethoven’s most optimistic piece. The Seventh Symphony premiered in 1813, when the composer’s health and hearing were in decline. He would become completely deaf by 1814. The piece was very well received by audiences, and since critics and listeners have often felt inspired by the Seventh Symphony. Composer Richard Wagner called Beethoven's Seventh Symphony "the apotheosis of the dance." Audience members can learn more about the program with Awadagin Pratt, Ben Hong and Sarah Ioannides at Opening Notes, 6:30pm prior to the Friday, January 23 and Saturday, January 24 concerts in the Philanthropy Theatre. For tickets, call the Symphony office at (915) 532-3776 for information or visit www.epso.org. Tickets range from $11 to $37. The El Paso Symphony is made possible with the support of the city of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. In conjunction with El Paso Pro-Musica film series, the film Atonement will be shown on Wednesday, January 21, 7pm at the Philanthropy Theatre. Admission is free and tickets will be available at the door starting at 6pm.

The Red Violin: Music and Art

El Paso Symphony and El Paso Musuem of Art collaborate to bring The Red Violin to life through Music and Art. On October 17, 2007 from 12:10 to 12:50pm the El Paso Museum of Art, in partnership with El Paso Symphony Orchestra, will present a discussion and performance of art and music through the paintings and violin scores at the El Paso Museum of Art with Maestra Sarah Iaonnides, Museum Director Dr. Michael Tomor, and violinist Lara St. John. This unique presentation will include a live discussion on Francios Girard’s Oscar-winning 1998 film The Red Violin and Corigliano’s Red Violin Suite from his award-winning score to the film. The Red Violin tells the story of a cursed violin that travels the globe, passing from doomed owner to doomed owner until the violin disappears and reappears at the end of movie in the hands of a little girl. The real red violin, a 1720 Mendelssohn Stradivari, which inspired this film is currently owned by violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn. She was 16 years old when the Strad was presented to her as a gift from her grandfather. All that is known about the violin was that it vanished from sight soon after it was built and documented, and centuries later, in 1945, it quitely came into possession of a wealthy businessman. Elizabeth Pitcairn and the story of her red violin are currently highlighted on the latest issue of Strings Magazine – www.stringsmagazine.com. In response to the Red Violin's history, Dr. Michael Tomor, Director of the El Paso Museum of Art will give very brief vignettes on the art of the 17th century in Italy through St. Bernice (1640) by Bernardo Strozzi, 19th century France and Western Europe through Portrait of a Man by Nicoles Langilliere (1717), the 19th and 20th century Canada through Emil Carlson's Still Life and 21st century America through Still Life by Peter Max (2006). On display will be several rare and beautiful violins. Guest speakers, Dr. Joseph Sylan professor of Music History and Literature at NMSU and Laurence Gibson professor of Music at UTEP, will speak on the history of violins. Dr. Sylvan will have on hand his very own 1620 Giovanni Paolo Maggini. Maggini (1580 – 1630), born in Botticino,Italy, is considered one of the most important instrument makers of the Brescian school. Maggini is known to have made at least sixty violins, nine violas, two violoncellos, one double bass. Lara St. John and Laurence Gibson will compare and demonstrate their Guadagnini violins. Lara St. John currently performs on the 1779 “Salabue” Guadagnini, currently valued at around $1 million, thanks to an anonymous donor and Heinl & Co. of Toronto which she calls the “Resurrection”. Mr. Gibson owns and performs on a 1776 Guadagnini which was discovered in an old castle in Switzerland. Lara St. John’s violin has it own interesting background, at least that which is known, from the 20th century onwards. Ms. St. John’s writes about her violin “Apparently a loving father bought it back in the 20s or 30s for his young violinist son, in California. This boy was doing very well - he studied with Zimbalist - and at the age of 16 played a concerto at the Hollywood Bowl. At the age of 17, he contracted tuberculosis and died that year. His father was heartbroken, so much so that he entombed the Guadagnini and some bows along with his son. (The details are a bit sketchy, but I have to assume that he had a mausoleum erected for him). This was the case for about fifty years, until finally the violin came back to light again. I am not sure if the father passed away, or if he decided it should be played again, or what, but apparently it was sold to an amateur for a while in the 80s. Finally, it started making the rounds of various luthiers, some of whom were rather spooked by the story. A few years ago it came up for auction and was bought by an anonymous donor who has now lent it to me. I am somehow not at all freaked out by the history of this violin - mainly because the whole thing happened out of a father's love for his son. The Guad is in extraordinary condition, practically never having had a scratch or crack, and is beautiful to look at as well as to play. There is a depth and strength to it which I have never felt on any Stradivarius, or other violin. I am very lucky and grateful to have this living link to a past era, the violin presumably having much more history to it than the later portion that I know. I mean, when this fiddle was made, Beethoven himself was 9 years old! Cool. One can only imagine where it's been, and who has heard it.” At 5:00pm the film The Red Violin will be shown in the Museum’s El Paso Energy Auditorium. Discussion and film are free and open to the public. On October 19 and 20, 7:30pm at the Plaza Theatre, Maestra Sarah Ioannides and the El Paso Symphony with guest violinist Lara St. John will perform Corigliano’s The Red Violin Suite. The program will also include Liszt’s Totentanz arranged for violin and orchestra and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1. Tickets for the concerts range from $11 to $37 and are available through the El Paso Symphony Box Office, 532-3776. El Paso Symphony Orchestra Association P.O. Box 180 El Paso, Texas 79942 General Information and Tickets (915) 532-3776 (915) 533-8162 Fax www.epso.org