Dayton, OH (Top40 Charts/ Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra) The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra's 2010-2011 Miami Valley & Good Samaritan Hospitals Classical Series will continue with the concerts titled Virtuosos at Home on Friday and Saturday, February 25 & 26, 2011, both performances at 8 p.m. at the
Schuster Center.
These two concert evenings are dedicated to area educators who work in the Dayton region, working in the areas of pre-school through high school. The two concerts are offered free to teachers from the Dayton region who work with the very young through high school, also the primary focus of the DPO's Education Department. The invitation is extended specifically to teachers, homeschool parents and area librarians who work within the Greater Dayton region. It is valid for two tickets per household on a first-come, first-serve offer for as long as there are seats available.
To obtain the tickets, educators are invited to visit https://www.daytonphilharmonic.com/teachertribute on the Dayton Philharmonic website to submit an online form. They will receive an email confirmation and tickets will be held in their name in Will Call at the Schuster Center Wintergarden box office for these two concerts. Either date may be selected.
"We are out in the community all season long and we see, first-hand, the hard work of area educators serving our youth. We know, intimately, the immense challenges associated with their demanding role," says DPO Education Director, Gloria Pugh. "This is our way of honoring our own 'Virtuosos at Home' as well as the underwriters who play a critical role in funding the DPO Education Program."
Music Director Neal Gittleman will conduct the concerts and recognize area educators and DPO education underwriters from the stage on both evenings.
The "Virtuosos at Home" theme carries through the program as two of the Orchestra's own principal players step to center stage. Principal Clarinetist John Kurokawa will bring mastery and insight to English composer Gerald Finzi's Clarinet Concerto, his most-performed and most-recorded work. In addition to his leading role on the stage, Mr. Kurokawa serves the DPO Education Department as a member of the DPO Woodwind Quintet. Principal Oboist Eileen Whalen will be heard performing the beautiful Concerto for Oboe d'amore by J.S. Bach. Eileen is also a member of the Woodwind Quintet and is a SPARK musician. SPARK (School Partners With Artists Reaching Kids) is an innovative DPO program that brings music learning directly into the classroom.
The oboe d'amore, a cousin of the oboe pitched between the oboe and the English horn, was a Baroque Era instrument that was one of Bach's favorites. The concerts will close with delicate ballet music from the pen of Igor Stravinsky, his suite Apollo and the Muses. Also on the program: a charming Divertimento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The DPO's 10-11 Classical Series promises "Voyages" of discovery. Each composer is on a quest; each composition evokes a time and place. This season's concerts take the listener from the 18th century Vienna of Mozart to the steppes of Central Asia (Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, March 11-12) to a quilt-making community in rural Alabama (Daugherty's Gee's Bend, March 24-26).
Tickets for the concerts of February 25 & 26 range from $9 - $59 and are available by calling
(888) 228-3630 or by ordering on the web at www.daytonphilharmonic.com.
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra performs most concerts at their home in the Schuster Performing Arts Center. The office is located at Performance Place at the Schuster Center, 109 North Main Street, Suite 200, Dayton, Ohio 45402. Office phone: 1-937-224-3521
