PRESS CONTACTS: Laura Farmer, 410.783.8024 [email protected]

Claire Berlin, 410.783.8044 [email protected]

Marin Alsop Leads the BSO and Principal Flute Emily Skala in ’s Fantasy, March 31 and April 3

BSO OrchKids perform world premiere of David Rimelis’ OrchKids Nation with 20% of single ticket sales to benefit OrchKids

Baltimore, Md. (March 15, 2011) – BSO Music Director will lead the

Symphony (BSO), Principal Flute Emily Skala and the Peabody Preparatory Flute and

Drum Ensemble in a performance of John Corigliano’s Pied Piper Fantasy on Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The BSO will collaborate with OrchKids—the BSO’s music and life enrichment program for youth in West

Baltimore—for the world premiere of a BSO commission by David Rimelis, OrchKids Nation. Also on the program is Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suite. In recognition of the OrchKids’ participation, 20% of the proceeds from single tickets sold (tickets not sold on subscription) will be donated to the

BSO’s OrchKids program. Please see below for complete program details.

John Corigliano’s semi‐staged flute , Pied Piper Fantasy, is a re‐creation of the legend of the , who endeavored to lead a town’s rats away to destruction. This work was first heard in Baltimore over two decades ago, led by former Music Director and featuring James Galway, the dedicatee. BSO Principal Flute Emily Skala will perform

Corigliano’s virtuosic Fantasy. The composer explains his inspiration, “The idea of a programmatic fantasy concerto based on the Pied Piper legend became a fascinating structural challenge. ...The biggest problem was that the legend per se had no elements of virtuosity in it. So I had to modify the story a bit ...In restructuring the legend, I had to provide a logical continuity for this story, but I also had to produce a satisfying purely musical structure. ... Inherent in my concept was the idea that the soloist would switch from flute to for ‘The Children’s

March.’ I also wanted the march to include other flutes and drums played by children and led by the soloist. I used the jaunty march against an independent orchestral background that evoked the sense of loss generated by the departure of the Piper and children...”

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program is currently is its third year and serves nearly 300 pre‐K through 3rd grade students with music training, tutoring, life enrichment activities and nutritious meals four days per week. OrchKids will join the BSO to perform the

BSO commission by ‐based composer David Rimelis, OrchKids Nation. Mr. Rimelis drew inspiration from the OrchKids for the piece. He derives the song’s lyrics from testimonials from the students and he drew the work’s percussive elements from the dance rhythms of the

OrchKids Bucket Band. Another section highlights the interplay of the OrchKids Rap with a vocal call‐and‐response. The commissioning of OrchKids Nation is generously made possible by a grant from Classical Movements, Inc. through the Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program.

Prokofiev’s colorful and romantic ballet score for the timeless fairy tale, Cinderella, is modelled after the ballet classics of Tchaikovsky. The Kirov Ballet Theatre in Leningrad originally commissioned the work in 1941, following the success of Romeo and Juliet, but as the advancing

German army besieged Leningrad, Prokofiev was evacuated and unable to complete the work for the city. When the war ended, Leningrad lay in ruins and the premiere was moved to the Bolshoi

Ballet theatre in Moscow in 1945 where it was received enthusiastically.

Marin Alsop, conductor Hailed as one of the world’s leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emerita at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002‐2008, and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California. At the start of the 2012 season, she will also take up the post of Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra (OSESP).

In 2005, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award; in 2008, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and in 2009, Musical America named her “Conductor of the Year.”

A regular guest conductor with the , The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and , Ms. Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with award‐winning cycles of Brahms, Barber and Dvořák.

Marin Alsop attended and received her master’s degree from The . In 1989, her career was launched when she won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at Tanglewood where she studied with .

Emily Skala, flute Principal Flutist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1988, Emily Skala regularly appears as a soloist and recitalist in the mid‐Atlantic and Midwest regions, has performed at the National Flute Association’s annual conventions, and has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious music festivals. Ms. Skala joined the Conservatory faculty of the of in 1989, and in 1991 she was awarded the Jean Frederic Perenoud Prize at the Second Vienna International Competition. Her debut CD, Voices Through Time, music for flute and by Brahms and Schubert, was released in May of 2002 by Summit Records. She can also be heard on many of the BSO’s recordings.

OrchKids OrchKids is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) year‐round after‐school music program designed to create social change and nurture promising futures for youth in Baltimore City neighborhoods. Under Music Director Marin Alsop’s artistic leadership and direction, OrchKids is a cornerstone of the BSO’s efforts to expand the Orchestra’s relevance within the City’s broad and diverse community. In collaboration with several community partners, OrchKids provides music education, instruments, meals and mentorship at no cost to Baltimore youth.

The program is inspired by Venezuela’s , the music program that in 30 years has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in that country’s most impoverished areas. Like El Sistema, OrchKids is intended primarily to address the most pervasive social challenges affecting underserved youth, using music to cultivate fundamental life skills such as self‐expression, cooperative learning, discipline and creativity. With assistance from The Family League of Baltimore City and the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the BSO has implemented several assessment tools to track if OrchKids participants are achieving social, academic and musical outcomes.

For the 2010‐2011 school year, OrchKids serves more than 250 pre‐K through fifth grade students at Lockerman Bundy Elementary School and at New Song Academy in West Baltimore. Under OrchKids Director of Artistic Programming Dan Trahey, students receive classroom music instruction during the school day and in after‐school sessions four days a week from 3:30‐6:15 p.m. A typical after‐school session includes classroom music instruction, group instrument lessons, tutoring assistance and a nutritious meal, courtesy of East Side Entrees. OrchKids also frequently have the opportunity to take field trips to local organizations and attend Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concerts.

Delandria Mills, Director of the Peabody Preparatory Flute and Drum Ensemble Flutist, singer and songwriter Delandria Mills is carving a place in the music industry with her unique combination of jazz, classical and gospel. As a classical flutist, she has served as principal of the Baytown Symphony and assistant/associate principal while at the Peabody Institute. Her skills earned her the top prize at the National Flute Association’s Jazz Flute Competition in 2003 and led to her being selected as one of six international young women to win the International Association of Jazz Educators’ Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Competition in 2005. She is the founder and leader of the Delandria Mills Jazz Collective; has served in Soundcheck, the critically acclaimed band behind gospel pioneer Tye Tribbett and Greater Anointing; and has collaborated with some of the industry’s finest jazz and gospel artists. Fall 2010 marked the release of Kingdom Goes Classical, Ephphatha, and Be Happy.

COMPLETE PROGRAM INFORMATION BSO Classical Concert: The Pied Piper Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.–Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH) Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.—JMSH

Marin Alsop, conductor Emily Skala, flute BSO OrchKids Dan Trahey, Director of Artistic Program Development Nick Skinner, Site Coordinator Peabody Preparatory Flute and Drum Ensemble Delandria Mills, Director

David Rimelis: OrchKids Nation (World Premiere, BSO Commission) John Corigliano: Pied Piper Fantasy Prokofiev: Cinderella Suite

Tickets range from $28 to $61. Tickets are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

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