Conductor Larry Rachleff And Civic Orchestra Of Chicago To Present Free Concert

The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's training orchestra for young, pre-professional musicians, will perform a free concert at Symphony Center on Sunday, January 14 at 7 p.m. Conductor Larry Rachleff will lead the orchestra in Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15.

Larry Rachleff is music director of the San Antonio Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and he serves as director of orchestras at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music in Houston. He has recently appeared as guest conductor with such prestigious orchestra as the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Utah Symphony, and the Los Angles Chamber Orchestra. In 1993, he was selected as one of four American conductors to lead the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall under the mentorship of Pierre Boulez.

Mr. Rachleff is in constant demand as a conductor and master class clinician and is frequently invited to lead conservatory orchestras at institutions including The Julliard School, England's Royal Northern College and the New England Conservatory. As an enthusiastic advocate of public school music education, Mr. Rachleff has conducted all-state orchestras and festivals in virtually every state as well as in Europe and Canada. He has served as principal conducting teacher for the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Conductors' Guild, and the International Workshop for Conductors in the Czech Republic.

Founded in 1919, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago is the only training orchestra affiliated with a major American orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The principal goal of the Civic Orchestra program is to recruit a diverse group of gifted pre-professional musicians, train them at the highest level as orchestra players, and further develop skills of advocacy and mentoring which are essential to the role of orchestral musicians in communities, now and in the future.

The Civic Orchestra of Chicago aggressively recruits the most talented young musicians nationally, with emphasis on those who have completed their undergraduate music studies. In addition, approximately 51 percent of the Civic's players have completed graduate degrees-many are alumni from the top-tier music schools in the nation. This season's Civic Orchestra roster includes a full orchestra of 85 musicians. Many Civic alumni are members of prestigious American orchestras and orchestras around the world. In recent years, members of the Civic Orchestra have gone on to positions with the Cleveland Orchestra; the Boston, St. Louis, Detroit and Oregon symphonies; and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, among others. In addition to intensive rehearsals with Principal Conductor Cliff Colnot, Civic musicians are regularly coached by musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through instrumental section training. Master classes with CSO guest artists, such as Pinchas Zukerman and Yo-Yo Ma, further enhance their training and provide more personal contact with great performing artists.

By www.cso.org