Seattle Symphony Announces Popular Culture Series

Singer-songwriter and pianist Rufus Wainwright will make his Benaroya Hall debut on November 8. Max Raabe and Palast Orchester will perform hits from 1920's and ‘30's Weimar Germany, from torch songs to tangos, on February 23. The all-sibling Irish-Canadian band Leahy closes out the series with a special St. Patrick's Day performance on March 17. All performances will take place in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall.

Popular Culture series subscriptions are now on sale and start at $64. In addition to getting the best seats available, subscribers enjoy a host of special benefits, including best prices, free and easy ticket exchanges and savings on additional single tickets. Single tickets will be available starting August 8.

Ben Folds

Ben Folds has earned a reputation for his musicality, wit and charismatic live shows. Best known as a solo artist and frontman and pianist of Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds is celebrated for a compositional style and a technique that remains unique, combining elements of the "singer-songwriter" genre, jazz and power rock. After performing throughout the 1990's with Ben Folds Five, Folds released his first solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs, in 2001, selling more than half a million records worldwide. A year later, he released Ben Folds Live. In 2005, he released his next album, Songs for Silverman, which featured the Adult Top 40 hit "Landed." In 2006, Folds released supersunnyspeedgraphic, the lp which included a hit song that climbed to No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the No. 1 most-downloaded song in Europe in 2007.

In 2008, Fold's next solo studio album, Way to Normal, featuring the hit duet with songstress Regina Spektor, "You Don't Know Me." In early 2009, he released the double disc Stems and Seeds and in April, Folds released a collection of his original songs sung a cappella on Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!, featuring 13 university a cappella groups from across the United States, as well as a high school group. Folds was one of the earliest supporters of iTunes and received much attention for being one of the first artists to participate in Second Life, an internet-based virtual world.

Rufus Wainwright

Affectionately referred to by Elton John as "the greatest songwriter on the planet" and praised by The New York Times for his "genuine originality," Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation. The son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and brother of Martha Wainwright, Wainwright has achieved success by carving out his own singular sound. He has released six albums and two DVDs to date, and has appeared on numerous soundtracks and compilations, collaborating with artists like Elton John, David Byrne and Keane. Wainwright's critically acclaimed album Release The Stars went Gold in Canada and the U.K. His latest album is a live recording from his Carnegie Hall concert titled Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall, which was nominated for a Grammy. Wainwright has received Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album in 1999 and 2002 for Rufus Wainwright and Poses, respectively, and nominations for his albums Want Two (2005) and Release the Stars (2008). Three of the songs on Poses also garnered him Juno nominations for Best Songwriter in 2005: "Poses," "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" and "Grey Gardens." In 2008, Wainwright was nominated for Songwriter of the Year for "Going to a Town," "Release the Stars" and "Do I Disappoint You," all on his Release the Stars album.

Wainwright also composed original music for choreographer Stephen Petronio's work BLOOM. In 2008, he received a BRIT nomination for Best International Male Solo Artist. He composed a musical adaptation of Shakespearean sonnets with Director Robert Wilson and the Berliner Ensemble, which were premiered this past April. Wainwright's first opera, titled Prima Donna, following a day in the life of an opera singer, will premiere at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009. In addition to Wainwright's musical pursuits, he's also made his mark onscreen and has acted in Academy Award–winning director Deny Arcand's French film L'Age des Tenebres (2007); the Merchant Ivory film Heights (2005); and the major blockbuster hit The Aviator (2004), directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Max Raabe and Palast Orchester

Founded in 1986 by the charismatic baritone Max Raabe, Max Raabe & Palast Orchester embodies the high style and musical glory of 1920's and ‘30's Weimar Republic. The group has been heard by adoring audiences in the United States, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Vienna, Amsterdam and Rome, performing over 150 concerts a year. Raabe performs this timeless music with a precision, urgency and irony, possessing a singular ability to capture the cunning rasp of the cabaret singer, the confident bel canto hero, the oily melodiousness of the revue beau, the carefree timbre of early jazz and the falsetto of ragtime, all backed by a 12-member band. The repertoire of the Palast Orchester encompasses more than 500 songs, including classics such as "I'll Kiss Your Hand, Dear Lady," "Cheek to Cheek," "You're the Cream in My Coffee," as well as German standards from that era, such as "Ninon," "Salome," "Irgendwo Auf Der Welt," and new stylistic adaptations of contemporary songs and original tunes, such as his breakthrough hit "No one Ever Calls, No one Has a Care for Me."

Leahy

Leahy is an Irish-Canadian powerhouse of eight musical brothers and sisters who have been playing high-powered reels and mournful ballads together their entire lives. The band's three acclaimed CDs—Leahy, Lakefield and In All Things—have worldwide sales of over half a million copies. In 2007, they released their first-ever live DVD and CD, and in 2008, they released their second DVD and live CD. On their recent American tour, new audiences learned that this family of instrumentalists, singers and dancers brings a rare level of originality and musicianship to the stage. This originality includes music that Leahy writes, arranges and produces. Known for their unique blend of musical styles and genres, their repertoire is more distinct than ever. Leahy has received numerous awards, including Junos for Best New Group, Best Country Group and Best Instrumental Album, the most played folk/roots song in Canada in 2004 and the Socan award for Folk/Jazz Instrumentalist the following year. Their self-titled album rose to number four on the Billboard world music charts and found its way onto the soundtrack of the award-winning movie The Hanging Garden.

A large family raised without a television, the Leahy siblings grew up on a farm in the small town of Lakefield, Ontario, Canada. Their life story became the subject of the Oscar Award–winning documentary The Leahys: Music Most of All. -- www.seattlesymphony.org