Subscription Ticket Sales Are Brisk

The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Arie Lipsky announced the 2009-2010 Season of Celebration, 29 concerts which will bring to the stage some of the country’s best soloists to make wonderful music with this resident, professional orchestra. Season tickets sales have been way ahead of last year.

“The quality of our music has never been better and patrons are showing their confidence in and enthusiasm for their orchestra and our heartfelt music making,” said Maestro Arie Lipsky, A2SO Music Director and Conductor. “Patrons who enjoyed a concert last year are buying tickets for our entire season this year.”

The new season will celebrate some of the most powerful music ever written by composers such as Mozart, Brahms, Gershwin, Bolcom, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and more.

This season is also a celebration of the local, with all of the guest artists having a strong Ann Arbor connection. These include Concertmaster Aaron Berofsky, Principal Horn Andrew Pelletier, pianist Anton Nel, cellist David Requiro, and singers John Pierce, and Sarah Nisbett, Jennifer Larson and Stephen West who wowed the audience singing in A2SO’s production of the Magic Flute, and many more.

“We sold out two concerts last season,” said Mary Steffek Blaske, Executive Director of the A2SO, “and we will sell out more concerts this season. We are over 100 subscribers ahead of last year at this time, and they won’t be disappointed. It’s all about the music.”

Classical series concerts will take place on Saturdays at 8 pm in the Michigan Theater, except for the Mozart Birthday Bash, which will be presented in Hill Auditorium. At 7 pm before every Classical Series concert, there will be a pre-concert lecture. Family Series concerts will also be presented at the Michigan Theater at 4 pm on Sundays (Sing Along with Santa is presented in the Bethlehem United Church of Christ on Saturday, December 12th ).Afternoon Delights concerts will be performed at the Jewish Community Center at 1:30 with a dessert reception at 1:00.

Beethoven Festival, September 12. The concert that starts off the season celebrates the master of the Romantic Age, featuring the epic Coriolan Overture. The orchestra will also play the timeless Violin Concerto with Ilya Kaler, the only violinist to win all three major international violin competitions (Tchaikovsky/Sibelius/Paganini). The first annual Beethoven Festival concludes with Beethoven’s endearing Symphony No. 4. Ilya Kaler is sponsored by AAA of Michigan. The concert is sponsored by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Michigan Transplant Center with support from the MCACA.

Serenade For Strings, October 17. Burnished strings breathe life into three classics including Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis composed by Vaughan Williams, full of melodies of splendid beauty. On the same program are Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Serenade for Strings and Haydn’s poignant Cello Concerto No. 2 in D with David Requiro, first-place winner of the 2009 Naumburg award. The concert is sponsored by Campbell Industries.

Brahms & Friends, November 14. Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes begins the concert with its cozy tunes and Klezmer colors. The concert continues with Bizet’s first and only symphony, written at age 16, Symphony No. 1 in C Major. Piano Concerto No. 2 by Brahms is filled with exalted themes and probing harmonies and features stellar pianist Anton Nel. The Ray & Eleanor Cross Foundation sponsors this concert.

Mozart Birthday Bash, January 23 in Hill Auditorium. A trio of the master’s greatest works: Divertimento K. 136, Horn Concerto No. 3 featuring the A2SO’s Principal Horn Andrew Pelletier and one of the richest pieces of music ever created, Mozart’s Requiem. The Requiem features soprano Jennifer Larson, Alto Sarah Nisbett, Tenor John Charles Pierce and Bass Stephen West. The concert is sponsored by the Carl and Isabelle Brauer Fund.

American Celebration, March 13. A coast-to-coast concert including Ann Arbor’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, William Bolcom’s Seattle Slew: Three Dances in Forequarter Time. Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, initially titled the New York Concerto, features sought-after pianist, Arkadiy Figlin. Dvořāk pays homage to the folk spirit of the American heartland with his Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” This concert is co-sponsored by Bank of Ann Arbor.

Musical Portraits, April 24. The final Classical Series concert of the season celebrates the landmark opening of the new University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. One of the greatest violin concertos ever written, Brahms’s Violin Concerto features A2SO Concertmaster Aaron Berofsky. The Roman Carnival Overture by Berlioz features themes from his opera Benvenuto Cellini. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition remains one of the most appealing symphonic works.

This concert will also unveil the winners of the Sight & Sound Competition, a collaboration of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Film Festival and the U-M School of Music Composition Department. Four pieces of music will be chosen from submissions by students in the department. There will then be a contest for filmmakers to submit a film set to one of the four pieces. One amateur and one professional winner will be selected and their films will play on a screen while the orchestra performs the selected compositions. The concert is sponsored by the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.

This year there will be four Family Series concerts. The Benard L. Maas Foundation Family Series includes:

The Chenille Sisters with Ariel & Zoey, November 15, 4:00 at the Michigan Theater. The Chenilles take ordinary things like washing machines or fruit and make songs with them. Music from Disney movies will also be included in the program, so come dressed as your favorite character. Local twins Ariel & Zoey, back from a summer of singing for our country’s troops, will sing their new song. Pre-concert activities start at 2:30 and include making instruments to play along with the Chenilles.

Mozart World Tour: Ann Arbor, January 24, 4:00 at the Michigan Theater. In this commissioned one-hour play by Ann Arbor Playwright Jeff Duncan, actors will tell young Mozart’s story on the only stop on his 2010 tour while the orchestra plays some of his greatest music. Pre-concert activities start at 2:30.

Star-Spangled Music, March 14, 4:00 at the Michigan Theater. This is a celebration of American music from several eras including Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for a Common Man and Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman. A young soloist will be featured. Pre-concert activities start at 2:30.

The fourth Family Series concert is Sing-Along with Santa, December 12, 4:00 at the Bethlehem United Church of Christ. Get in the holiday spirit with Saint Nick himself in a family-friendly Christmas show that’s full of holiday songs and storytelling. There are refreshments and pictures of the kids with Santa after the show.

There will be five Afternoon Delights chamber concerts on Wednesdays at the Jewish Community Center on September 23, October 14, November 18, April 21 and May 26 with performances by chamber ensembles. A dessert reception is at 1:00, followed by the concert at 1:30. Afternoon Delights is sponsored by CFI Group with support from MCACA.

There will also be twelve KinderConcerts on November 13, February 5, and May 7 at the Ann Arbor District Library and on November 16, February 8, and May 10 at the Ypsilanti District Library. There will also be a KinderConcert at the Dexter District Library with a date to be announced. The KinderConcerts are sponsored by the Ann Arbor Kiwanis Club and the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor.

To order season subscriptions, call 734/994-4801; mail 220 E. Huron Suite 470, Ann Arbor, MI 48104; fax 734/994-3949; email a2so@a2so.com; online at www.a2so.com. Classical Series Season tickets can be purchased now starting at $24. New Classical Series subscribers can buy one season ticket and get one season ticket free.

Also available now are Afternoon Delights Season tickets for $35 for all five concerts and Family Series Concert Season tickets starting at $36 for Adults and $18 for Children.

Classical Series single tickets range from $6 to $49 dollars, Afternoon Delights singles are $8 and Family Series single tickets are $15 for Adults and $6 for children.

Individual tickets will be available beginning July 15.

All students receive a 50% discount for single tickets and season packages in Sections A-D.