PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Sarah O’Halloran For Immediate Release: [email protected] 08/14/2015 www.capitalcitysymphony.org
Purchase tickets at the Atlas box office, at www.atlasarts.org or 202-399-7993. Adults $25, Students $15, Kids aged 16 or under FREE for main season concerts Build your own subscription options available here: http://bit.ly/capsymphsubs Concerts take place at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002 Press images available here: http://bit.ly/capsymphimages
Capital City Symphony presents our 48th season of concerts, including our popular Family Concert in November. Capital City Symphony is a community orchestra based in Washington, D.C. We are led by Artistic Director and Conductor, Victoria Gau. Our membership consists of both accomplished amateurs and professional players. We offer fun, creative, and accessible programing, featuring orchestral classics, new music, and exciting collaborations. We are committed to fostering a love of music in people of all ages, so we offer affordable ticket prices for adults and students and FREE tickets for kids.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, October 18th, 5pm (main season concert) Our season begins with An American Tale, a concert celebrating three American composers. The program features new treasures and old favorites united by their connection to dance. We will perform the world premier of Charlie Barnett’s Mid-Century Mambo, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and Symphonic Dances from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, November 22nd, 2.30pm and 4.30pm (main season concert) In November we give two performances of our Family Concert: Lets Make Music. Our fun, educational, and participatory program includes Bruce Adolphe’s Three Pieces for Kids and Chamber Orchestra. Thirty minutes before each concert we hold an Instrument Petting Zoo, so kids can discover their new favorite instrument.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, December 13th, 4pm and 7pm (special event) In December we collaborate with Congressional Chorus, American Youth Chorus, and Atlas Performing Arts Center on two performances of our Annual Holiday Concert and Sing Along. This popular family event has become a beloved H Street tradition. Tickets $10 for all patrons.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, March 13th, 5pm (main season concert) Our March concert, Haunted Topography, Heavenly Life, features two works linked by their touching meditations on life and death, heaven and healing. We open with David T. Little’s Haunted Topography and close with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, May 8th, 5pm (main season concert) Our season comes to an end in May with Great Masters, Young Stars. This concert continues our tradition of presenting performances by outstanding young artists. This year we feature Lara Boscherkor, winner of the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players. Ms Boscherkor will join us to perform Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major. Also on the program is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, “Pastoral”. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, October 18th, 5pm An American Tale http://www.atlasarts.org/event/capital-city-symphony-an-american-tale/ Join us in celebration of three American composers: you’ll find new treasures and old favorites united by their connection to dance. We’re excited to perform the world premier of Charlie Barnett’s Mid-Century Mambo; it’s all about rhythm and joy. It’s hard to believe that Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring was premiered way back in 1944. This iconic piece of Americana still feels fresh and new. Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story complete the program. This piece is a whirlwind tour through the memorable music of one of the greatest musicals of all time. It includes everything from the wild dance numbers to the touching romantic theme.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, November 22nd, 2.30pm and 4.30pm Family Concert: Let’s Make Music! http://www.atlasarts.org/event/capital-city-symphony-family-concert-lets-make-music/ Each year our family concert is a hit with kids of all ages. And remember, kids’ tickets are free! This year we continue our tradition of fun, educational and participatory programming. Bruce Adolphe’s Three Pieces for Kids and Chamber Orchestra is an interactive journey through the orchestra that is sure to be fun for all the family. Benjamin Britten’s Soirées Musicales (1933) reference themes by Rossini and are full of energy and fun. It’s no wonder they are popular additions to children’s concerts around the world. Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances Nos. 5, 6, & 7 are short and sweet works with lots of personality. We will also have an Instrument Petting Zoo for 30 minutes before each performance. Come along and discover your new favorite instrument. First performance: Instrument Petting Zoo, 2.00pm, concert 2.30pm Second performance: Instrument Petting Zoo, 4.00pm, concert 4.30pm
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, March 13th, 5pm Haunted Topography, Heavenly Life http://www.atlasarts.org/event/capital-city-symphony-haunted-topology-heavenly-life/ The two works on the program are united through their touching meditations on life and death, heaven and healing. We open with David T. Little, who is an accomplished contemporary composer called by The New Yorker ‘one of the most imaginative young composers’ on the scene. His piece Haunted Topography (2011/13) is inspired by the story of a mother who was still haunted by the loss of her son in Vietnam decades after his death. She longed to see a map of the place where her boy had died, and when she was finally shown one by Moe Armstrong of Vet2Vet she was finally able to begin to heal. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 was completed in 1900 and includes the touching song ‘Das himmlische Leben” (Heavenly Life), which reflects a child’s view of heaven.
Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sunday, May 8th, 5pm Great Masters, Young Stars http://www.atlasarts.org/event/capital-city-symphony-great-masters-young-stars/ This program brings together two perennial favorites, Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven. Our performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major will feature Lara Boscherkor, the violin winner of the Johansen International Competition, as our special guest soloist. We are looking forward to collaborating with this promising young player! We will also play Beethoven’s elegant and programmatic Symphony No. 6 in F Major, “Pastoral”. The work presents the composer’s interpretation of the joy of being in the countryside, the beauty and power of nature, and the fun and creativity of the country folk. About Capital City Symphony
Capital City Symphony (CCS) is a community orchestra based in Washington, D.C. We are one of the founding arts partners of the Atlas Performing Arts Center, located in Northeast DC’s Atlas District. We are funded by a combination of grants, corporate sponsorships and individual donations.
We were founded in 1967 as the Georgetown Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 we relocated to H Street, NE and took the name Capital City Symphony in order to better reflect our new location and city-wide focus. This move has given us the opportunity to make classical music performances accessible in an area of the city that has been traditionally underserved, both economically and culturally. The 2006-07 concert season marked our first season fully in residence as an Arts Partner at the new Atlas Performing Arts Center, which is the cornerstone of the H Street NE corridor revitalization project.
Capital City Symphony performs standard symphonic repertoire and explores the best of 20th and 21st-century music. Our orchestra consists of approximately 100 volunteer musicians of all ages. We provide engaging and informative introductions to each of our programs to help everyone enjoy the show, and we create a relaxed atmosphere in which classical musical accessible to all. A typical Capital City Symphony season offers four full orchestral programs (five to six performances), a chamber concert, and a community carol sing (two performances).
Victoria Gau, Artistic Director and Conductor Lauded by critics for her “strong sense of style and drama” and her “enthusiastic and perceptive conducting”, conductor Victoria Gau brings a wide range of musical experience and expertise to the CCS, which she has led since 1997. She is also Associate Conductor and Director of Education for the National Philharmonic.
Maestra Gau is well-known in the Washington DC area for her work as Artistic Director and Music Director/Conductor of the Other Opera Company in Bethesda, Maryland, which she co-founded in 1992. She has also served as music director for such Washington area companies as The Washington Savoyards, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Annapolis Opera Musicales, the Eldbrook Opera Ensemble, and the IN-Series. She has guest conducted the Heights Civic Orchestra (Cleveland, OH), the Akron (OH) Symphony, the Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra, and has been a guest conductor for the Kennedy Center Messiah Sing- Along. She is the former Conductor and Music Director of the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra in Richmond, VA.
Ms. Gau is in demand around the region as a conductor and string educator at youth orchestra festivals and workshops. She is the former conductor of the Young Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, an elite group of string players from the DC Youth Orchestra Program, and has conducted youth orchestras in Virginia, Ohio, and New York.
Ms. Gau has served on the opera faculty at George Mason University, and worked with vocalists privately and in the Crittenden Opera Studio. She has toured with Odyssey Opera Theatre and the Baltimore Opera Company, performing educational outreach in schools throughout the state of Maryland. Ms. Gau holds degrees in Viola Performance and Conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she won the Phi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship.