HARRISBURG SYMPHONY
WINTER NEWSLETTER 2011
CATCH A RISING STAR at OUR JANUARY Masterworks
Twenty-five contestants from seven states participated in the second Rodney & Lorna Sawatsky Rising Stars Concerto Competition at Messiah College on January 22-23, 2010. Walking away with top honors was 15 year old pianist Yen Yu Chen from Philadelphia. Ms. Chen, a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, performed the Piano Concerto in A Minor by Robert Schumann. She was awarded a cash prize of $1,000 and will be the featured soloist performing Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with Stuart Malina and the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra at our January Masterworks concert on JANUARY 15-16 at the Forum. The Rodney & Lorna Sawatsky Rising Stars Concerto Competition was established in 2007 in memory of Dr. Rodney Sawatsky, former President of Messiah College and HSO Board member. Judges for the competition included pianist Ya-Ting Chang plus HSO musicians Eric Henry, Gail Ober, Peter Sirotin, and Fiona Thompson.
SImply Swingin’ with sinatra & friends
Steve Lippia joins the HSO with a romantic program of timeless classics on January 29-30 at the Forum. Hear the biggest hits of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Nat King Cole in smooth, classic, velvety style! Enjoy great hits like Beyond the Sea, Unforgettable, Mack the Knife, Almost Like Being in Love, On the Street Where You Live, What Kind of Fool Am I, Just in Time, The Good Life, and I Left My Heart in San Francisco.
Guest Artist Steve Lippia
Guest Artist Yen Yu Chen
La Bohème IN CONCERT La Bohème is the achingly beautiful, mesmerizing tale of doomed romance in Paris, the most romantic city in the world. Don’t miss this chance to hear the original sounds played by the HSO and sung by vocalists Inna Dukach as Mimi, Dinyar Vania as Rodolfo, Jane Redding as Musetta, and Grant Youngblood as Marcello along with the Susquehanna Chorale, Susquehanna Children’s Chorale and The Harrisburg Singers. La Bohème, one of the world’s most popular operas since its premiere in 1896, was the inspiration a century later for the hit musical Rent. Its plot centers around a community of artists in Paris, in particular the romantic relationship between poet Rodolfo and the seamstress Mimi. Like the parallel relationship of Rodolfo’s roommate Marcello and the beautiful Musetta, Mimi and Rodolfo’s love is not without conflict. At the end they are united tragically when Mimi dies surrounded by her friends. Sung in Italian with English Supertitles. February 26-27.
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GET TO KNOW
HSO! DAVID Byrd-Marrow On Sunday, January 16th from 11:30 a. m. to 2:00 p. m. the Symphony Society will present their Winter Musicale at Orchard Hill, the home of Dr. Kim Phipps and her husband, D. Kelly Phipps. Dr. Phipps is President of Messiah College. The weekend’s Masterworks guest artist, pianist Yen Yu Chen (winner of the Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Rising Stars Competition, held last January at Messiah College), will be featured guest. The Harrisburg Symphony Society is delighted that Dr. Phipps is generously welcoming Miss Chen back to Messiah College for the Musicale. The Musicale features brunch and a performance by Yen Yu Chen. Tickets are $100 per person and seating is limited. For more information, contact Musicale chair Julie Sullivan at (717) 599-4204 or visit www.harrisburgsymphony.org.
Each performance has a unique program book. If you don’t take your book home, please recycle in the receptacles provided at our performances.
ANNUAL FUND DRIVE Ticket sales cover only about 1/3 of the Symphony’s annual operating costs. We need YOU to continue the incredible performances and innovative educational initiatives of the HSO. Please support YOUR SYMPHONY today with a tax deductible gift to the HSO Annual Fund! For more information, please contact the HSO Development Office at 545-5527 or donate online at www.HarrisburgSymphony.org.
French horn player David Byrd-Marrow is the newest member of the HSO. David successfully won the highly competitive audition in September against 53 other candidates. He will perform his first concert with the HSO at our January Masterworks performances. David currently lives in New York, where he performs in a wide range of musical genres. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Jerome Ashby of the New York Philharmonic and William Purvis of the New York Woodwind Quintet. He continued his studies with Mr. Purvis at SUNY–Stony Brook, where he received his Master of Music degree. David has appeared with the Tokyo and
Horn
Atlanta Symphony Orchestras and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and has collaborated frequently with the Argento Ensemble and the International Contemporary Ensemble. He has performed as concerto soloist at the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina, and has also performed at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. As part of his fellowship program, David teaches in Brooklyn at the Vincent D. Grippo School, PS 69 K.
I am so glad to have these winter months filled with HSO concerts to look forward to – aren’t you? During the first concert weekend in January, Sunday the 16th, the Symphony Society will be hosting a Musicale at the home of Messiah College President, Kim Phipps. This intimate setting will feature the soloist and “Catch A Rising Star” winner of The Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Rising Stars Competition. The Annual HSS Member Reception was held in the fall and we were happy to introduce several new members to the board and existing membership. Joining the Symphony Society is a great way to support the HSO and to get connected to some enjoyable volunteer activities. Anyone and everyone can join by going to the website, www.harrisburgsymphony.org and clicking on the HSS link or by calling 545-5527 to request a membership brochure. Even easier, pick up a membership brochure in the Forum lobby at intermission! Begin the New Year with a new membership in the Harrisburg Symphony Society. Enjoy the concert!
Pat Ferris, Symphony Society President
HSO GIFT CERTIFICATES MAKE GREAT GIFTS!
HARRISBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA n www.HarrisburgSymphony.org n
Check out all the great things we’ve been up to since our last FanFare Newsletter!
MOULIN Rouge Gala a huge success!
Approximately 380 people gathered at the Hershey Lodge’s Chocolate Ballroom on November 7 for the Symphony’s annual fall Gala, this year entitled “Picture Yourself in Paris at the Moulin Rouge.” The Parisian-themed party featured an accordion player, strolling mimes and artistes in the lobby, plus a lineup of French-flavored entertainment following a sit down dinner that included a group of cancan dancers (compliments of Pennsylvania Regional Ballet), Lucy Daigle and Beau Jazz’s amazingly accurate take on several Edith Piaf songs, Meredith Mecum’s beautiful rendition of Musetta’s Waltz from La Bohème (accompanied by Stuart Malina), and the familiar hit tune from Cabaret rewritten as “Life is a Symphonie,” sung by Debra Smith-Voight. Tom Hostetter, former Artistic Director of Theatre Harrisburg, served as the very able (and funny) emcee. Phyllis Mooney and Alison Coppock (who wrote the evening’s clever script) served as event co-chairs. Merci beaucoup to Phyllis and Alison and their hardworking committee for pulling off an unforgettable and very successful evening. Moulin Rouge Gala
Harrisburg Symphony Society New Member Reception
Welcome to the Concert Pre-Concert Childrens Program
Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra Rehearsals & Coachings
HSYO Petting Zoo at the 2010 Literacy Festival
Young Persons Concerts (Masterworks II)
V.I.P. Backstage Pass Package (Masterworks II)
HARRISBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA n www.HarrisburgSymphony.org n
DATes to remember
Dec 12: Holiday Spectacular (HSYO) Dec 18: Play-a-Thon (HSYO) Jan 15-16: Catch a Rising Star (MW3) Jan 16: Symphony Society Musicale Jan 29-30: Simply Swingin’ (Pops 2) Feb 26-27: La Bohème (MW4) Mar 12-13: Dave Bennett Returns (Pops 3) Mar 26-27: Symphonic Revelations (MW5) Mar 23: Stuart & Friends Apr 3: Painted Violins Apr 10: The Little Dragon (Family) Apr 16-17: Mahler’s Majestic Landscapes (MW6) Apr 30-May 1: Franc D’Ambrosio’s Broadway (Pops 4) May 13: Hidden in Harrisburg May 14-15: Brahms, Brahms, Brahms (MW7) May 18-25: Ireland Trip
2010-2012 Campaign for the Future
The HSO has announced an ambitious campaign to raise new endowment funds for the orchestra. The campaign, entitled “Four Score and More,” is designed to sustain the Symphony’s level of artistry, to expand its many educational initiatives, and to implement Maestro Stuart Malina’s inspired vision for the Orchestra’s future. To date, more than $1.8 million has been raised toward the campaign and, thanks to
the generosity of Board leadership, the costs of the campaign have been covered. That means that 100% of the funds raised will be directed toward the HSO’s critically important permanent endowment. Chairing the 15-member Steering Committee
Dr. Stephen MacDonald (left) and Maestro Stuart Malina (right)
Beginning in January, the violins will be displayed at HSO concerts, online and in select galleries where patrons will be able to purchase raffle tickets. A limited edition violin pin created specifically for the event as well as note cards designed around Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons will be available for purchase surrounding this event. Co-Chairs Karen Shughart and Judy Mecum said, Twelve violins painted by local artists depicting different musical themes and compositions will be raffled at a champagne brunch on Sunday, April 3 at 11:30 a.m. at Hershey Country Club. At the brunch, violins signed by violinists and composers of note including Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Time for Three, Jennifer Higdon and the orchestra’s concertmaster, Odin Rathnam, will be auctioned to benefit the HSO.
is HSO Board member Dr. Stephen MacDonald, President of Lebanon Valley College. For more information about the campaign, contact Jocelyn Bowman, Endowment Campaign Manager, at the Symphony office at jbowman@harrisburgsymphony.org.
“We are excited to bring this unique event to symphony goers in the Harrisburg area. The project is a wonderful collaboration between the orchestra community and local artists, and we know the violins will become collectors’ items for those fortunate enough to obtain one or more of them.” For more detailed information about the event including raffle tickets and admission costs, visit www.HarrisburgSymphony.org
Ellen C. Brown has joined the the HSO as the new Director of Development. She replaces Rodger Clark, who left Harrisburg in July to become Director of Corporate Relations at the Mann Center in Philadelphia. Ellen is a lifelong resident of Central Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Dickinson College. She brings extensive fundraising experience to her new position, most recently as Executive Director of the Harrisburg SusqueCentennial Commission and, before that, as Director of Sponsorships for the Whitaker Center’s highly successful CowParade promotion. We welcome Ellen to the Harrisburg Symphony family.
HARRISBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA n www.HarrisburgSymphony.org n
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