Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Announces Florida Tour

Music Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra return to Florida for a sixconcert Fivecity tour from February 26 through March 4.

The Orchestra will perform at the Knight Hall, Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami (February 26); the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach (February 27); the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota (February 28 and March 1); Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, University of Florida in Gainesville (March 3); and the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando (March 4).

Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra last performed in Miami, West Palm Beach, and Sarasota in 2003. The orchestra last performed in Gainesville in 1955 and in Orlando in 1996.

The repertoire for these concerts includes Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22, K. 482, featuring Emanuel Ax as soloist; Christopher Theofanidis' Rainbow Body; Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances; and RimskyKorsakov's Sheherazade. For complete program information please see "We are delighted to be performing in Florida's premier cities," said Music Director Robert Spano. "It's an exhilarating time in American music and this tour gives the Orchestra a wonderful opportunity to showcase one of today's preeminent living composers Christopher Theofanidis. Christopher's vibrant work Rainbow Body is a rich metaphor for the varied tapestry of American music and it is my pleasure to share one of brightest stars of the 'Atlanta School of Composers' with the Florida audiences."

Acclaimed as an inspired interpreter of new music, Mr. Spano, during his tenure with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has formed multiyear partnerships with many highly regarded contemporary composers, including Osvaldo Golijov, Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, and most recently Michael Gandolfi, who is the ASO's composerinresidence during the 2006 2007 season.

The Atlanta School of Composers is a highlysuccessful program that Mr. Spano created to address the growing number of audience members who approach contemporary music with great skepticism. Since the inception of the Atlanta School of Composers, the ASO's performances of new works have seen an upswing in attendance. The Orchestra has been recognized as one of the leaders and supporters of American contemporary music and most recently received the ASCAP award for "Most Adventuresome Programming" in June of 2006.

One of the selections Robert Spano and the ASO will offer to Florida audiences in February is Christopher Theofanidis' Rainbow Body, which received the 2003 Masterprize and has become one of the mostperformed orchestral works of the new century. The piece is based on one of Hildegard von Bingen's chants "Ave Maria, O auctrix vite" ("Hail Mary, source of life"). It begins in an understated, mysterious manner, calling attention to some of the key intervals and motives of the piece. Although the piece is built essentially around fragments of the melody, it still returns several times throughout the work, as a kind of plateau of stability and peace.

"Rainbow Body has a different sensibility from the Hildegard chant," says the composer, "with a structure that is dramatic and developmental, but I hope that it conveys at least a little of my love for the beauty and grace of her work." Rainbow Body was premiered by the Houston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Spano in April 2000 and was recorded by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on the Telarc label in April 2002.

About the Artists:

Now in its 62 nd Season, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is considered one of America's leading orchestras, well known for its impressive list of Grammy Awardwinning recordings, its renowned Choruses, and for the excellence of its live performances. The foremost cultural organization in the southeastern U.S., it serves as a cornerstone for artistic development and music education in the region. Under the creative partnership of Music Director Robert Spano and Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles since September 2001, the ASO performs more than 200 concerts each year to a combined audience of more than a half million through a full schedule of performances, including educational and neighborhood concerts.

Robert Spano and Donald Runnicles have conducted the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on today's most important world stages, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Ojai and Ravinia Festivals. Emerging from the partnership is Robert Spano's Atlanta School of Composers, which includes Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, David Del Tredici, Michael Gandolfi, and a multiyear performance/recording project with Osvaldo Golijov. The ASO is one of the few American orchestras with a continuing association with a major record label, Telarc, which has resulted in more than 100 recordings, garnering 23 Grammy Awards.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus has been widely acclaimed for the beauty, precision, and expressive qualities of its singing. The 200member, ninetime Grammy Awardwinning, chorus has been an important part of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's programming since it was founded in 1970 by Robert Shaw, the man acknowledged as the greatest chorus master of the 20 th century. The chorus is currently led by Director of Choruses Norman Mackenzie who worked with Robert Shaw for 14 years before succeeding him in Atlanta.

The Orchestra supports 200 young musicians annually through the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and the nationally unique Talent Development Program, an intensive training program for talented AfricanAmerican and Latino music students. More than 45,000 students attend the ASO education programs each year from across the State.

Robert Spano, recognized as one of the brightest and most imaginative conductors of his generation, with guest appearances with nearly every major North American orchestra, an accomplished opera conductor, with appearances in Chicago, Houston, Santa Fe, the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, and several Ring cycles with Seattle Opera, is currently in his sixth season as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Since he began his tenure in Atlanta in September 2001, Mr. Spano has conducted the Orchestra in seven recordings for Telarc, which have won three Grammy Awards. He has energized the orchestra's programming, explored new concert formats, and revived its commissioning program with new works from Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Theofanidis, David del Tredici and Michael Gandolfi. Mr. Spano's recordings with the ASO of Golijov's Ainadamar and a contemporary music disc including an ASO commission from Christopher Theofanidis were nominated for six 2006 Grammy Awards.

Emanuel Ax is renowned not only for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity, but also for the exceptional breadth of his performing activity. Each season he appears worldwide with major symphony orchestras and in recital. As an avid chamber musician, he also performs in a variety of chamber music collaborations. A committed proponent of contemporary composers, Mr. Ax has world premiered works by Bright Sheng, John Adams, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Melinda Wagner, among others. The Avery Fisher Prizewinner has been an exclusive Sony Classics artist since 1987 and has won seven Grammy Awards solo and chamber music performances on the label. In addition to his tour with the ASO, this spring he will also join bassist Edgar Meyer in a 10city tour and perform with his longstanding colleague and partner YoYo Ma in Japan.

Christopher Theofanidis won the 2003 Masterprize competition for orchestral compositions for Rainbow Body, which was recorded on Telarc by Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and nominated for a Grammy. The recipient of six ASCAP Gould Prizes, Mr. Theofanidis' compositions have been performed by many leading orchestras in addition to the ASO, such as the National, London, Houston, and California symphonies, the Brooklyn and Oslo Philharmonics, and the Moscow Soloists. Mr. Theofanidis' ASO commission, The Here and Now, which was recorded by Robert Spano and the ASO and Chorus for Telarc in 2005, was just nominated for a 2006 Grammy for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition." He currently teaches at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Juilliard School in New York City. -- www.atlantasymphony.org