a few more carnegie details

The OSO’s press release:

Apr. 9, 2009

BOUND FOR THE BIG APPLE:
OREGON SYMPHONY WILL PLAY CARNEGIE HALL IN 2011

(PORTLAND, Ore.) – For the first time in its history, the Oregon Symphony will travel cross country in spring 2011 to perform a concert at music’s most prestigious venue, Carnegie Hall in New York.

The Oregon Symphony is one of seven orchestras from across North America selected today to perform at the venerable concert hall as part of the first Spring for Music festival, a new one-of-a-kind annual concert series at Carnegie Hall designed to spotlight the artistic vision of orchestras dedicated to distinctive and adventurous programming. Festival organizers call the unique concept “a high-profile artistic laboratory for programming and concert experimentation in the world’s most competitive and visible musical environment.”

The 2011 festival includes seven concerts over nine night nights, May 6-14. The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar conducting, will perform on Thursday, May 12.

“The invitation to appear at the first Spring for Music festival is a tremendous endorsement of what the orchestra has achieved over the past six years under music director Carlos Kalmar”, said Oregon Symphony Association president Elaine Calder.   “This gives us a chance to show to the rest of the country what a great orchestra we have here.  Playing at Carnegie Hall is the dream of every classical musician and ensemble – it’s simply the venue, and the ultimate testing ground.  This is a terrific opportunity to build morale and support at home, and burnish our national reputation.

“We hope many of our friends and supporters will join us on the trip to New York, and we’ll be starting work immediately to raise the money to go, and to organize some very special events both in Portland and in Manhattan.”

The announcement was made today in New York by Thomas W. Morris, artistic director if the Ojai Music Festival in California and former executive director of the Cleveland Orchestra, who serves as Spring for Music’s artistic director; and David V. Foster, president of Opus 3 Artists, the festival’s director.

The participating orchestras were selected in a competitive process, based on a single criterion – the creativity of the program they submitted for consideration.  More than twenty orchestras across North America were eligible to compete.  Details of the programs to be performed by the Oregon Symphony and other festival participants will not be announced until much closer to the 2011 festival.

Funding comes from Jan and Daniel Lewis of Miami, Gerry Lenfest of Philadelphia, The Irving Harris Foundation of Chicago and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York through the American Music Center.  Festival organizers announced today that funding is in place for the first three years of Spring for Music, 2011 through 2013.

The festival will pay the costs of renting Carnegie Hall, producing the concerts and selling tickets, as well as providing a financial guarantee for each participating orchestra. The orchestras are responsible for their own travel and transportation expenses, and will be able to purchase up to 1,000 tickets in advance of the general public, to give and/or sell to their supporters.  Remaining concert tickets will be priced at $25 and $15.

Complete details on the festival are on the web site springformusic.com

# # #