Cincinnati Symphony Presents Aaron Coploand's Symphony

Rising American conductor Michael Christie is on the podium for Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concerts at Music Hall on February 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. The acclaimed violinist Leila Josefowicz performs one of her signature works, John Adams' Violin Concerto. Christie, who is the music director of the Phoenix Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic, leads the CSO in a tribute to the dean of American composers, Aaron Copland, with his Third Symphony and Fanfare for the Common Man.

The well-known Copland fanfare was written for the CSO on commission from then-music director Eugene Goossens in 1942 and given its world premiere by Goossens and the CSO in 1943.

"Leila Josefowicz is recognized as a champion of the music of John Adams both in live performances and recordings," said Paavo Järvi. "This program is also interesting because we have Michael Christie, an American conductor, leading quintessential American music by Copland."

Audiences are invited to learn more about the music at Classical Conversations with Michael Christie, guest conductor, one hour before the concerts. Classical Conversations is presented by Joseph-Beth Booksellers.

The Fine Arts Fund Partner for these concerts is Fifth Third Bank.

Leila Josefowicz

Canadian-born Leila Josefowicz came to national attention in 1994 when she made her Carnegie Hall debut performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Field. Ms. Josefowicz's most recent Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performances took place in November 2002 conducted by Paavo Järvi.

During the 2006-2007 season Ms. Josefowicz performs with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and tours Canada with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She also makes return appearances to the orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit and Milwaukee. Recently she made her New York Philharmonic debut and performed John Adams' concerto for electric violin, The Dharma at Big Sur, with the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra led by the composer.

In 2002, her performance of John Adams' Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony at the John Adams Festival was televised and broadcast by the BBC throughout Europe. Directed by the composer himself, the work was later taken on tour to Paris and Brussels, and a live recording was issued on the new BBC label. Among Ms. Josefowicz's most recent recordings on the Warner Classics label are a recital disc with her recital partner, John Novacek, and a live recording of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Ms. Josefowicz performed the title track on John Adams' Road Movies (on the Nonesuch label), which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Leila Josefowicz is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She studied violin with Jaime Laredo and Jascha Brodsky and chamber music with Felix Galimir. In 1994 she received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Ms. Josefowicz performs on a 1724 Guarneri del Gesu violin.

Michael Christie

The American conductor Michael Christie currently holds two music directorships-at the Phoenix Symphony and the Brooklyn Philharmonic-both of which he assumed in September 2005. He also serves as Music Director of the Colorado Summer Music Festival and Principal Guest Conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Australia. He has guest conducted the Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Oregon Symphony and Vancouver Symphony, among others.

Recent engagements for Mr. Christie included his debut in Berlin with the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, which resulted in an engagement with that orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl in 2006. He also made debuts with the St. Louis Symphony, Nashville Symphony and his debut in Ireland with the RTE Orchestra in Dublin.

Mr. Christie's career also includes conducting operas. He was assistant conductor to Franz Welser-Möst at the Opernhaus, Zurich, where he made his debut conducting Romeo and Juliet. He conducted The Marriage of Figaro at Finnish National Opera and in 2004 made a successful opera debut in The Netherlands conducting Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer with the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Michael Christie graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance. His conducting teachers have included Robert Spano, Eiji Oue and Peter Jaffee. He first came to international attention in 1995 when he was awarded a special prize for "Outstanding Potential" at the First International Sibelius Conductor's Competition in Helsinki. Subsequently he was invited to become an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he worked with Daniel Barenboim.

Mr. Christie made his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut at Music Hall in January 2001. -- www.cincinnatisymphony.org