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Rhapsody in Blue
Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 8:00pm
Robert Franz, conductor
Anne-Marie McDermott, piano
Sponsored by: M&T Bank
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Program Information
Gershwin - An American in Paris
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Poulenc- Sinfonietta
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
BPO resident conductor Robert Franz conducts the BPO that opens with Gershwin's urbane An American in Paris, a high-stepping rendezvous with sassy brass and chic boulevard accents on the fly. In turn, the Orchestra will welcome pianist extraordinaire Anne-Marie McDermott, who will perform Ravel's scintillating Piano Concerto in G and Gershwin's jazzy Rhapsody in Blue. For light contrast en route, Poulenc's Sinfonietta will conjure a melodic enchantment of cabaret tunes, heart songs and dance-like rhythms.
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Artist Profiles
Anne-Marie McDermott is widely celebrated for her expressive performances on the world's most illustrious stages. A highly versatile musician, Ms. McDermott is at home with a wide range of repertory, from Bach and Mozart to Prokofiev and Rachmaninov. As a solo recitalist, soloist with orchestra or as part of a chamber music ensemble, Ms. McDermott conveys the message of the composer in deeply felt, spontaneous playing.
Ms. McDermott's 1997 debut with the New York Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann was a great success and has been followed in recent seasons by highly successful performances with the orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Rochester, St. Louis, San Diego, Seattle, Columbus and others. She toured to 13 American cities with the Australian Chamber Orchestra during the 1999-2000 season with an unusual program of Prokofiev, SHostakovich and Britten.
Highlights of Anne-Marie McDermott's past two seasons have included numerous solo recitals and orchestral appearances: with the Guarneri String Quartet on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Concert & Lecture Series; as soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony; continued performances as an Artist Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; as a member of the Stage One jury of Honens International Piano Competition; and duo performances with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. She recently performed Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Nashville Symphony, Robert Bernhardt conducting, and was guest soloist with the Memphis Symphony, the Chattanooga Symphony and the Virginia Symphony, among others. With the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Ms. McDermott had a special collaboration with the Miami String Quartet, performing Dohnanyi's Piano Quintet No. 1.
Robert Franz is emerging as one of the most talented conductors of his generation.Eminent composer Bright Sheng has praised Franz for his "extremely musical and passionate approach toward music making" and critics have hailed his "masterly pace, emphasis and technical control."
Currently Franz is Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony and Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony.Recently, he was appointed Music Director Designate of the Boise Philharmonic will serve as Resident Conductor of the BPO through the 2008-2009 season.
With a wide and varying knowledge of symphonic and operatic works, Maestro Franz has worked with some of today's finest classical soloists, including James Galway, Joshua Bell and Rachel Barton, as well as many of the top pops artists such as Chris Botti, Chaka Khan and Judy Collins.He has been invited to guest conduct orchestras throughout the United States, including multiple appearances with such orchestra as the Rochester Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony and the Columbus Symphony, among others.
A champion of new music, Franz has conducted numerous world premieres.As associate Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, he revitalized an ASCAP award-winning new music concert series, and served as co-host of In a Different Key, a weekly contemporary classical music radio program on WUOL.
Mr. Franz is a strong advocate for music education and has greatly developed the BPO's educational program by strengthening working relationships with educational leaders in the Western New York region.Recently, the BPO received national recognition from ASCAP by receiving the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programing.This prestigious award is given to the orchestra whose educational programs integrates the music of our time and is creative, relevant, and based on the best practices of music education.He also received the 2008 BPO/ECMEA Music Educators Award for Excellence, and has created arts education programs for the Carolina Chamber Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, West End Chamber Ensemble and the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony, including that organization's innovative Bolton Research Project.Under his direction the Louisville Orchestra won the Leonard Bernstein Award for Education Programming in 2001 and created an education program for Kentucky Educational Television entitled, Creating Music and Stories.In 2007, he received the Extraordinary Leadership Award as Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony.
In addition to his current posts, Mr. Franz served as Associate Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra from 1997 to 2006, the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony and the National Repertory Orchestra, and has led the Louisville Youth Orchestra and the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony.He continues to serve as Music Director Emeritus of the Carolina Chamber Symphony, an orchestra that he founded.
Mr. Franz received his Master of Music degree in conducting from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1992, and his Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance in 1990 from that same institution.He has participated in conducting workshops in the Czech Republic, St. Petersburg (Russia), Nashville, the Festival at Sandpoint and was a participant in the 1997 National Conductor Preview.
For more information on Robert Franz, visit www.robertfranz.com
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