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CONTACT: Katherine Blodgett Vice President, Public Relations and Communications phone: 215.893.1939 e-mail: [email protected]

Kate Johnston Assistant Director of Public Relations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE phone: 215.893.3136 DATE: October 3, 2011 e-mail: [email protected]

Philadelphia Orchestra Award presented to Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit at 2011 Opening Night Concert

(, October 3, 2011)—TheThe Award will be presented to Charles DuDutoittoit at The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Opening Night ConcertConcert on October 13, 20112011. The award is given by the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association to one or more persons in the Orchestra family of Board members, volunteers, musicians, staff, and friends, or to an organization that has made exemplary contributions to The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

The recipient may be recognized for their musicianship, artistic leadership, philanthropy, fundraising, innovation, management, education, governance, or dedicated service.

The Philadelphia Orchestra Award recognizes Charles Dutoit for his steadfast artistic leadership of this ensemble for over 30 years, in addition to his consummate artistry and musicianship. Maestro Dutoit made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut on July 14, 1980, at the Mann Music Center, and has appeared with the Orchestra every season since, more than 500 different compositions in over 600 concerts. Among his milestones with the Orchestra are performances and recordings of the works of Rachmaninoff; concert performances of Bizet’s Carmen in 1991 and Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delilah in 1993 at the Mann Center; Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in 2000 at Saratoga; Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake at the Academy of Music and Carnegie Hall in 1995; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in 2010; and numerous works by Berlioz (including The Damnation of Faust, Romeo and Juliet, Symphonie fantastique, and the Requiem). In addition to his mastery of the central orchestral repertoire, Mr. Dutoit has also demonstrated a strong appreciation for the music of our time. Over the years he has presented the works of many modern composers, such as John Adams, Jennifer Higdon, and Krzysztof Pendericki. Maestro Dutoit has also encouraged the careers of many younger soloists, bringing such artists as Cecilia Bartoli, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Han-Na Chang, Kirill Gerstein, and to the Orchestra for the first time.

Opening Night 2011 marks the 14th presentation of the Philadelphia Orchestra Award. Previous recipients were Mrs. and Norman Carol; Doris Frankel and Polly Newbold; Joseph de Pasquale and

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Anthony Gigliotti; the Honorable and Mrs. Walter H. Annenberg; CIGNA Corporation; the Honorable Edward G. Rendell; David P. Eastburn; Mimi O’Malley; the Volunteer Committees for The Philadelphia Orchestra; Joseph and Jeanette Neubauer and the Neubauer Family Foundation; Joseph and Marie Field; Peter A. Benoliel; and Frank and Mollie Slattery.

Charles Dutoit

In the 2010-11 season The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrated its 30-year artistic collaboration with Charles Dutoit, who has held the title of chief conductor since 2008. With the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra will honor Mr. Dutoit by bestowing upon him the title of conductor laureate. Also artistic director and principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic, Mr. Dutoit regularly collaborates with the world’s pre-eminent orchestras and soloists. He has recorded extensively for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Philips, CBS, and Erato, and his more than 200 recordings have garnered over 40 awards and distinctions.

From 1977 to 2002, Mr. Dutoit was artistic director of the Montreal Symphony. Between 1990 and 2010 he was artistic director and principal conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s summer festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and from 1991 to 2001 he was music director of the Orchestre National de France. In 1996 he was appointed music director of Tokyo’s NHK Symphony; today he is music director emeritus. Mr. Dutoit has been artistic director of both the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival and the Miyazaki International Music Festival in Japan, as well as the Canton International Summer Music Academy in Guangzhou, China, which he founded in 2005. In 2009 he became music director of the Verbier Festival Orchestra. While still in his early 20s, Mr. Dutoit was invited by to conduct the Vienna State Opera. Mr. Dutoit has since conducted at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

In 1991 Mr. Dutoit was made an Honorary Citizen of the City of Philadelphia. In 1995 he was named Grand Officier de l’Ordre National du Québec, and in 1996 Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France. In 1998 he was invested as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest award of merit, and this past May was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music.

Mr. Dutoit was born in Lausanne, , and his extensive musical training included violin, viola, piano, percussion, music history, and composition in Geneva, Siena, Venice, and Boston. A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history and archaeology, political science, art, and architecture, Mr. Dutoit has traveled all the nations of the world.

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The Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is among the world’s leading orchestras. Renowned for its artistic excellence since its founding in 1900, the Orchestra has excited audiences with thousands of concerts in Philadelphia and around the world.

With only seven music directors throughout more than a century of unswerving orchestral distinction, the artistic heritage of The Philadelphia Orchestra is attributed to extraordinary musicianship under the leadership and innovation of (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), (1980-92), (1993-2003), and (2003-08). After 30 years of a celebrated association with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit continues the tradition as chief conductor.

Since Mr. Dutoit’s debut with the Orchestra in July 1980 he has led hundreds of concerts in Philadelphia, at Carnegie Hall, and on tour, as artistic director of the Orchestra’s summer concerts at the Mann Center, artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestra’s summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and now as chief conductor. With the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra honors Mr. Dutoit by bestowing upon him the title conductor laureate. Yannick Nézet-Séguin assumed the title of music director designate in June 2010, immediately joining the Orchestra’s leadership team. He takes up the baton as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s next music director in 2012.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of countless music lovers worldwide, through concerts, presentations, and recordings. Each year the Orchestra presents a subscription season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, education and community partnership programs, and annual appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center; it also regularly tours throughout the world. Its summer schedule includes performances at the Mann Center, free Neighborhood Concerts throughout Greater Philadelphia, and residencies at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

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OOOPENINGOPENING NIGHT OctoOctoberber 13 at 7:00 PM – Thursday evening – Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Soprano Dawn Upshaw begins the celebration of Maestro Dutoit’s tenure with an evening of favorites from the American Songbook by Gershwin, Bernstein, and Sondheim, plus Ravel’s Bolero .

The Philadelphia Orchestra Charles Dutoit Conductor Dawn Upshaw Soprano

The Philadelphia Orchestra Award is presented to Charles Dutoit before the start of the concert. Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 (“Classical”) Bernstein “Somewhere,” from West Side Story Duke “April in Paris,” from Walk a Little Faster Duke “Not a Care in the World,” from Banjo Eyes Gershwin “Someone to Watch Over Me,” from Oh, Kay! Rodgers “A Twinkle in Your Eye,” from I Married an Angel Sondheim “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” from Anyone Can Whistle Sondheim “What More Do I Need?” from Saturday Night Ravel Bolero

Principal Reception Underwriter: PwC Principal Sponsor: Dilworth Paxson Diamond Benefactors: KPMG, Trion, Anonymous Platinum Benefactors: Leslie Miller and Richard B. Worley, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Neubauer, PNC, Robert and Caro Rock Gold Benefactors: CCS, Sarah Miller Coulson and Frank Coulson, David and Jane Kim, Stradley Ronon, Ray and Joanne Welsh

Tickets: $39-$144, 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org.

All Opening Night concert ticket holders are invited to add a Gala Package onto their concert ticket and enjoy cocktails and a post-concert dinner in the Kimmel Center. For Gala details please call 215.893.1956.

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