Hartford Symphony Present "Romeo And Juliet"

World-class virtuoso Julie Albers will appear with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra for a romantic Valentine's Day concert on Tuesday, February 13 at 7:30 pm and Wednesday, February 14 at 7:30 pm at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.

The program, conducted HSO Music Director Edward Cumming, will feature Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Symphonic Dances," excerpts from Sergei Prokoviev's "Romeo and Juliet" ballet score and Albers performing the Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra by the late American composer Stephen Albert. Composed in 1990, the concerto was written for Yo-Yo Ma and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Tickets for this concert are currently on sale.

For ticket-holders, both concerts offer a Free Concert Preview with Maestro Cumming in Mortensen Hall beginning at 6:30 pm. Also prior to each HSO Masterworks concert is a Free Pre-Concert Showcase in the Seaverns Room featuring students from The Hartt School Community Division of the University of Hartford beginning at 7:00 pm. It is suggested that interested patrons arrive early as these pre-concert events are well-attended.

The 2006-2007 Season is sponsored by RBC Dain Rauscher. The Masterworks Series is presented by MetLife Foundation. This concert is supported by The Saunders Fund for Innovative Programming and sponsored in part by Viking Fuel Oil Company.

This program, The Second Annual Alexander Campbell McNally Memorial Concert, is made possible in part by a gift from Mrs. Alexander Campbell McNally to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra Concert Endowment Fund in memory of her late husband. Alexander McNally, one of the most visible figures in the American wine trade during the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for introducing a generation of Americans to fine wines. He was a life-long lover of music.

The cello was his favorite instrument, making this week's concerts an especially fitting tribute. He was a trustee of The Hartt School, and for many years he traveled annually to Austria during operetta season.-- www.hartfordsymphony.org