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Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Opens its Doors as Part of Citywide Free Fall, October 20

Community invited to free open rehearsal with orchestra and Guest Conductor Louis Langree

Baltimore, Md. (September 27, 2011) – The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra welcomes the public to experience the rehearsal process on Thursday, October 20 at 10 a.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The community is invited to observe Guest Conductor Louis Langrée lead a rehearsal that is set to include the works of Mozart and Debussy. This unique opportunity is offered through the BSO’s participation in “Free Fall Baltimore,” a citywide initiative aiming to expose the community to the area’s plentiful and diverse arts scene. The event is free and interested attendees must register in advance at BSOmusic.org/freefall. Please see below for complete event details.

In preparation for the upcoming weekend’s concert, the orchestra will be rehearsing Mozart’s Concerto No. 3 with Grammy Award-winning violinist James Ehnes. Also on the program is Mozart’s Symphony No. 31, “Paris,” as well as Debussy’s orchestral masterpieces Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and La Mer. The composers of this program provide a delightful contrast: one a musical genius of the classical period, whose compositions are characterized by melodic beauty and formal elegance, and the other a radically influential French composer who extended the contemporary limits of harmony and form in the early 20 th century. Along with this complimentary pairing of Mozart and Debussy, audience members will be able to witness the nature of orchestral rehearsal settings, and the interactions between conductor, soloist and orchestra members.

Advance registration is required and must be completed at BSOmusic.org/freefall — reservations will not be accepted by telephone. This event is general admission and no tickets will be issued. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. Admission after 10 a.m. will be at the discretion of BSO staff.

Louis Langrée, conductor The French musician Louis Langrée is Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in New York, a position he has held since 2002 and has recently been appointed Chief Conductor of the Camerata Salzburg. During the 2011/12 season, Louis Langrée conducts three productions at the Wiener Staatsoper (Eugene Onegin, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Clemenza di Tito ) and La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He will also conduct the Camerata Salzburg at the Mozartwoche and in subscription concerts. Last season Louis Langrée made two important debuts in Austria, at Wiener Staatsoper conducting La Bohème and with the Wiener Philharmoniker at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg. He also made his debuts with the Budapest Festival, St Louis and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras as well as conducting Camerata Salzburg in Munich, Paris and Salzburg and the London Philharmonic at the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, he conducted Pelléas et Mélisande in Paris and London with the Orchestre de Paris and returned to the Aix-en-Provence Festival for La Traviata with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Louis Langrée was Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1998-2000) and Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1998-2003) and has worked regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He has also conducted at La Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dresden Staatsoper, Grand Théâtre in Geneva, Opéra-Bastille and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam.

Louis Langrée’s discography includes recordings for Virgin Classics, Universal and Naïve. Many of these have won awards including Diapason d’Or, Gramophone and Midem Classical. In 2006 he was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

James Ehnes, violin Hailed as "the Jascha Heifetz of our day" (Globe and Mail), violinist James Ehnes is widely considered one of the most dynamic and exciting performers in . He has performed in over 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly with many of the world's most well- known orchestras and conductors.

His upcoming 2011-2012 season features performances in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway. Ehnes’s extensive discography of over 25 recordings has been honored with numerous international awards and prizes, including a GRAMMY, a GRAMOPHONE, and 6 JUNO Awards. His latest addition is a disc of Bartok’s two Violin Concertos and the Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda (Chandos) and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy (Onyx). His JUNO Award-winning release of HOMAGE (Onyx), a CD/DVD set featuring performances on 12 of the greatest and ever made, all belonging to the extraordinary Fulton Collection continues to garner exceptional reviews.

Other recent releases include Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Onyx) and a disc of works by with pianist Andrew Russo (Black Box). James’s CD featuring the violin concertos of Korngold, Walton and Barber with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, conducting (CBC Records) was widely considered a highlight of 2006 and won the 2008 GRAMMY and JUNO Awards. James Ehnes has recorded repertoire ranging from Bach Violin Sonatas to Road Movies. His CBC recordings with l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal of ’s Concertos nos. 1 and 3 (with Charles Dutoit) and Concerto no. 2 with the (with Mario Bernardi) won back-to-back Juno awards in 2001 and 2002 for Best Classical Recording. In January 2002, he was named Young Artist of the Year at the Cannes Classical Awards for his Six Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin by Bach (Analekta), which was also awarded a JUNO award in 2001.

James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, , Canada. He began violin studies at the age of four, at age nine he became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and from 1993 to 1997 at The , winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. Mr. Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so. At age 13, he made his orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the first ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts’ prestigious Virginia Parker Prize, and a 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant. In October 2005, James was honoured by with a Doctor of Music degree (honoris causa) and in July 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. In July 2010 he received the honor of being named a Member of the Order of Canada.

COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS Free Fall Baltimore: BSO Open Rehearsal Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10 a.m. –Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Louis Langrée, conductor James Ehnes, violin

Mozart: Symphony No. 31, “Paris” Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Debussy: La mer

Admission is free and audience members must register in advance at BSOmusic.org/freefall. For more information about Free Fall Baltimore visit freefallbaltimore.com.

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