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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LSO Brings Centenary Celebration to Close at
2005 Florida International Festival
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 1, 2004) - The Florida International Festival announces an all-star lineup of conductors and soloists for the London Symphony Orchestra's (LSO) series of performances beginning July 15, 2005. Founded in 1904, the LSO marks the end of a year-long 100th birthday celebration at the 2005 Florida International Festival. The LSO is the only European Orchestra to take summer residency in the United States. Marin Alsop, hailed as the leading female conductor in the world, returns for her second appearance at the Florida International Festival, having debuted in 2001. Voted Gramophone magazine's "Artist of the Year" in 2003, Alsop also won the Royal Philharmonic Society's Conductor's Award in the same season. She is Conductor Laureate of the Colorado Symphony and Music Director of the Cabrillo Festival. For her second appearance at the Florida International Festival, Alsop conducts the opening night concert of the LSO Classical Series on Friday, July 22, with Violinist Sara Chang. Chang is recognized as one of classical music's most captivating and gifted artists. Discovered at age eight by Zubin Mehta, she soon was catapulted to an unparalleled international career. Her studies at Juilliard with the late Dorothy DeLay, led to her winning the Avery Fisher Career Grant and Gramophone's "Young Artist of the Year" award. The opening night program features Giuseppe Verdi's' Force of Destiny Overture, Violin Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich and Ludwig Van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Maestro Alsop also conducts the second LSO classical concert on Saturday, July 23. Entitled, Tribute to Leonard Bernstein, the program promises music from Bernstein favorites such as West Side Story; Candide; Wonderful Town and Trouble in Tahiti. Making his debut on the Festival conductor's podium is Maestro James DePreist. He leads the third concert in the LSO Classical Series on Sunday, July 24, which features Moray Welsh, joint Principal Cellist of the LSO. DePreist is considered, "One of the finest conductors this nation has produced," according to the Chicago Tribune. For more than 30 years, DePreist has appeared with every major North American, European, Australian and Asian orchestra. DePreist is Laureate Music director of the Oregon Symphony, Principal Artistic Advisor for the Phoenix Symphony, Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at the Juilliard School and was recently named Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra beginning April 2005. He makes his London debut with the LSO at the Barbican in April. Moray Welsh has had a very distinguished career as a soloist and chamber musician, having studied under Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatoire. He has performed with some of the world's finest chamber musicians, including Andre Previn, Martin Roscoem and Yuri Bashmet. He taught at the Royal Northern College of music for 18 years before taking his position with the LSO. The Sunday program includes Joseph Haydn's Cello concert in C Major, and Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler. The fourth and fifth concerts in the LSO Classical Series feature yet another new face to the Florida International Festival. Antonio Pappano is a rising young star in the conducting world. Pappano leads the LSO and guest soloist Cellist Han-Na Chang on Thursday, July 28, and on Friday, July 29. Guest soloist on Friday, July 29, is internationally renowned pianist Emanuel Ax. Pappano has served as Musical Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, since September 2002. He recently directed productions of Aida, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Gounod's Faust. Beginning in 2005, he becomes Music Director of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Pappano has conducted major orchestras in Asia, Europe and North America. Han-Na Chang has already established herself internationally as an impressive cellist, performing regularly on the most prestigious of concert stages in Europe, North America and Asia. She first gained recognition as an exceptional musician and serious performer at age 11, during the Fifth Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris. Chang won First Prize and the Contempo Music Prize. She recently was honored with the 2004 Cannes Classical Award, one of the most coveted prizes in the world of classical music. The fourth LSO Classical Concert includes Mikhail Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture, Cello Concerto No. 1, by Dmitri Shostakovich and Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov. The fifth and final concert in the 2005 LSO Classical Series features Emanuel Ax in An Evening With Brahms. This extraordinary pianist is highly regarded the world over for his concert, chamber and recital performances. Ax takes the stage with the LSO and Antonio Pappano on Friday, July 29. Ax is one of the best-recognized and respected musicians on the international concert scene. His inspired lyricism and dazzling technique are unmatched. A multi-Grammy� Award winner, he remains in continuous demand as a recitalist, soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician. The two Johannes Brahms pieces for the final LSO Classical Series concert of the 2005 Florida International Festival are Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 4. A very special LSO concert is slated for Thursday, July 28. The LSO Family Concert with the BellSouth Youth Ensembles (BSYE) is open to all families. The Orchestra and the BSYE present a morning of interactive music prepared especially for young people! This musical trip takes young people "Round the World," not in 80 days, but in about an hour. The LSO, led by Conductor Ruman Gamba, plays an exciting selection of great music from destinations across the globe. Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 starts the adventure in Germany. Then it's off to Italy via Giuseppe Verdi's Grand March from Aida; to Russia through Sergei Prokofiev's Troika; across the United States for a little bit of Bernstein's West Side Story and back across the Atlantic for a stop in England - Edward Elgar's Nimrod and finally Malcolm Arnold's Scottish Dance. Ruman Gamba is chief conductor and music director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and specializes in youth concerts. He works regularly with BBC orchestras and serves as a guest conductor throughout Europe. He has won several awards as part of the acclaimed Chandos film Music Series. Finally, the London Symphony Orchestra closes out its year-long celebration of 100 years as an orchestra with the LSO Pops Concert featuring "Music of Hollywood!" On Saturday, July 30, conductor Dirk Brosse' and the LSO, the most recorded Orchestra in history, will showcase an incredible music selection from movie soundtracks. This spectacular showcase includes music from Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Shadowlands, Braveheart, Harry Potter and many more! Dirk Brosse' is one of Europe's most multi-faceted composers and a respected conductor on the international music scene. Since 1999, he has been Music Director of the Tokyo International Music Festival and the prestigious International Flanders Film Festival. For more than 35 years, the LSO has performed at the Festival in Daytona Beach, FL. The LSO is London's oldest self-governing orchestra. It is player-owned and has become a model for orchestras worldwide. The LSO is the world's most recorded and broadcast symphony orchestra. The LSO believes music should broaden horizons, shape musical tastes and stimulate rather than satisfy. Subscriptions packages to the LSO Concert Series are now available for purchase. The Classic 5 package offers four seating class choices ranging from $285 to $115; Classic 5 plus Pops $345 to $147; and the LSO Classic Select, $192 to $78. Single tickets will be available at the end of February. Florida International Festival is a non-profit organization committed to providing world-class music and performing arts. The 15-day-long event begins July 15, 2005 and offers free and paid programs. For Festival and/or ticket information, call (386) 257-7790 or visit www.fif-lso.org.
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