Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s 2009 Gala Concert Features Marin Alsop, Pianist Lang Lang, September 12

Concert tickets and Benefit tickets for Gala Celebration still available

Baltimore, Md. (September 8, 2009)—Heralding the start of Baltimore’s social season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will hold its annual Celebration Gala on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Given the challenging task of planning a fundraiser in today’s economy, the collective Board of Directors of the BSO will host this year’s gala. The Gala Concert features Maestra Marin Alsop leading the BSO and world-renowned pianist Lang Lang in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Baltimore School for the Arts student Arielle Armstrong will perform “Summertime” from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The African Heritage Dancers and Drummers will perform Drums by James P. Johnson. Also on the program are selections from Gershwin’s An American in Paris and Bernstein’s Overture to Candide. Tickets for the Gala Concert are available for $50 and $75; benefit tickets for the Gala Celebration are on sale now and start at $500.

The Celebration Gala treats patrons to an evening of entertainment and fine dining provided by Classic Catering. Pre- and post-concert gala festivities will take place in a grand event tent located just outside of the Meyerhoff. The BSO’s Celebration Gala is the organization’s largest and most important fundraising event each season, raising funds to support the Orchestra’s educational outreach programs in Baltimore and throughout Maryland.

Marin Alsop, conductor
Hailed as one of the world’s leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008, and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California

In 2005, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award, in 2008 she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2009 Musical America named her “Conductor of the Year.”

A regular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ms. Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with award-winning cycles of Brahms and Barber orchestral works. She is currently recording the Dvorak symphonies with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Marin Alsop attended Yale University and received her master’s degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she won the Leopold Stokowski International Conducting Competition in New York.

Lang Lang, piano
Heralded as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by the New York Times, 27-year-old Lang Lang has played sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world and is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the top American orchestras. Testimony to his success, Lang Lang recently appeared in the Time magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

In 2010, Lang Lang continues his busy touring schedule around the world, and will be a featured highlight of the Carnegie Hall China Festival this fall. He was featured at the 2008 Grammy's with Herbie Hancock, for an astounding performance that was broadcast live to 45 million viewers worldwide. The two pianists conducted an inaugural world tour in summer 2009. More than five billion people viewed Lang Lang’s performance in Beijing’s opening ceremony for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Collaborating with Maestro Seiji Ozawa, he appeared at the New Year’s Eve gala opening for the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He also participated in the opening concert at Munich's Olympic Stadium with Mariss Janson, marking the commencement of the World Cup.

Lang Lang began playing piano at the age of three and by the age of five he had won the Shenyang competition and given his first public recital. Entering Beijing’s Central Music Conservatory at age nine, he won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition and played the complete 24 Chopin Études at the Beijing Concert Hall at age 13. Lang Lang’s break into stardom came at age 17 when he was called upon for a dramatic last-minute substitution at the “Gala of the Century,” playing the Tchaikovsky concerto with the Chicago Symphony. Lang Lang records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon/Universal.

The African Heritage Dancers and Drummers—Melvin Deal, director
The African Heritage Dancers and Drummers, located in Washington, DC's inner city, teaches dance traditions in an environment that serves as a surrogate family for members and a repository for African cultural research and documentation. The teen program includes an intensive regimen of two to three hour dance and drumming classes five days a week, during which participants also learn performance skills and study the costumes and history of the dances. Supplementing the cultural program are mentoring services that encourage character development, teach life skills, advise on teen pregnancy prevention, assist with truancy problems and support general equivalency diploma preparation. The dancers and drummers receive a stipend and community service hours toward high school graduation for performing throughout the year at local community centers, schools, festivals and cultural centers, including a performance at New York City's Lincoln Center. Participants move through the program in stages from student to performer, performer to teacher and teacher to mentor. This progression helps youth gain exposure to the larger world and see options for becoming positive contributors to the community.

Arielle Armstrong, soprano
Arielle Armstrong is a senior at Baltimore School for the Arts. Her previous performances include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Warner Theater, an appearance in the children's choir with Soulful Symphony at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and several opera scenes at Baltimore School for the Arts including Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Lakmé in Léo Delibe's Lakmé. This past summer she studied with Bill Roudesh and Austin Pendleton in the production of Gypsy at Wyoming Seminary's Performing Art's Institute. In 2008, she had the honor of working with Cindy Oxberry, Patrick O'Donnell and many others in the Washington National Opera's Institute for the Young Singer, after which she was selected to sing at the Kennedy Center on the Millennium Stage. Her most recent accomplishments include winning the 2009 Howard County Teen Idol and singing the National Anthem for the Bowie Baysox.

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2009 CELEBRATION GALA
Saturday, September 12, 2009 – Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)

The Celebration Gala is a black-tie event.

6:30 p.m.—Celebration Gala, with dining and entertainment—Gala Tent
7:30 p.m.—Doors open for Gala Concert—Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
8:30 p.m.—Gala Concert featuring pianist Lang Lang—JMSH
9:45 p.m.—Post-concert party and desserts—Gala Tent 

Tickets for the Celebration Gala are available individually or in sponsor groups of 10, and start at $500 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets for the Celebration Gala, contact the BSO Development Department, 410.783.8054.

GALA CONCERT FEATURING LANG LANG
Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. – Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall 

The Gala Concert is black-tie optional.

Marin Alsop, conductor
Lang Lang, piano
African Heritage Dancers and Drummers—Melvin Deal, director
Arielle Armstrong, soprano

Bernstein: Overture to Candide
James P. Johnson: Drums
Gershwin: “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess
Gershwin: Selections from An American in Paris
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 

7:30 p.m.—Doors open for Gala Concert, refreshments available for purchase—JMSH
8:30 p.m.—Gala Concert featuring pianist Lang Lang—JMSH

Tickets for the Gala Concert are $50 and $75 and can be purchased through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.