Michael Cavanaugh and the BSO Perform the Music of Elton John, October 13-16

Baltimore, Md. (September 20, 2011) - The BSO SuperPops series kicks off the 2011-2012 season with the music of Elton John, featuring Michael Cavanaugh and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, led by David Amado on Thursday, October 13 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore, Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 16 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Grammy-nominated Cavanaugh will perform Elton John's greatest hits including "Tiny Dancer," "Candle in the Wind," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Philadelphia Freedom" and more. Please see below for complete program information.

Michael Cavanaugh is a charismatic performer, musician and actor, made famous for his piano/lead vocals in the Broadway Musical Movin' Out. Michael was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in title role and evokes a style rivaling the Piano Man. His performances have captured the hearts of audiences and critics, and have received rave reviews and both Tony and Grammy award nominations. According to Billboard Magazine, Michael Cavanaugh is "the new voice of the American Rock and Roll Songbook."

Michael Cavanaugh, vocals and piano
Michael Cavanaugh starred in Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's Broadway Musical Movin' Out. Michael appeared in the show for three years and in over 1,200 performances, and was nominated in 2003 for both Grammy and Tony awards. With the close of Movin' Out at the end of 2005, Michael began touring in his own right, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop/rock songbook. He continues to perform worldwide for company and charity events as well as sporting events including PGA tour events, the US Open and the Indy 500.  He accepted his first orchestral booking, "Michael Cavanaugh-The Songs of Billy Joel and more" which debuted in April of 2008 with the Indianapolis Symphony and continues to tour.  In October 2008, he signed with Warner/ADA to distribute his first CD titled "In Color." In June 2010, Michael debuted his second symphony show in the "Generations of Rock" series entitled "Michael Cavanaugh: The Songs of Elton John & more" and continues to tour both symphony productions.

David Amado, conductor
Delaware Symphony Orchestra Music Director David Amado has been praised by the media, audiences and fellow musicians for his deep musical insight and visceral energy. Descended from a long line of musicians including his grandmother, violist Lillian Fuchs, and great-uncle, violinist Joseph Fuchs, David Amado continues his family's tradition of making great music. He showed a predilection for music at a very early age, beginning piano lessons at age four. But it was not until his high school years that he became dedicated to a musical career, thanks to the galvanizing force of his teachers and peers in the Pre-College Division of Juilliard. David continued his college years at Juilliard, studying piano with Herbert Stessin. Maestro Amado received a Masters in Instrumental Conducting from Indiana University. After graduating he returned to New York to study again at Juilliard, but this time as a conductor with Otto-Werner Mueller.

David's first job was an apprenticeship with the Oregon Symphony, followed by a six-year tenure with the Saint Louis Symphony in Missouri. While in Saint Louis, David was both the Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and staff conductor for the Saint Louis Symphony. David greatly expanded the types and number of concerts offered to young people, introducing symphonic music to 55,000 young people annually. In addition to his conducting duties, David was a producer for Arch Media, the Symphony's own record label.

Maestro Amado is a prominent leader of the Delaware arts community. His unique and appealing programming, which blends familiar orchestral repertoire with modern pieces, has propelled the DSO to new artistic heights.  In March of 2010, the orchestra released its first national and international recording on the Telarc label featuring the orchestra with Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.  The recording debuted at number 11 on the Billboard charts.

Maestro Amado continues to be an enduringly popular figure in Saint Louis where he was the Associate Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) from 2001-2004. Recent highlights of his career include engagements with the Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Grammy Award-winning Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is internationally recognized as having achieved a preeminent place among the world's most important orchestras. Acclaimed for its enduring pursuit of artistic excellence, the BSO has attracted a devoted national and international following while maintaining deep bonds throughout Maryland with innovative education and community outreach initiatives.

The BSO made musical history in September 2007, when Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra's 12th music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra. With her highly praised artistic vision, her dynamic musicianship and her commitment to accessibility in classical music, Maestra Alsop's leadership has ushered in a new era for the BSO and its audiences.

Under Music Director Marin Alsop's leadership, the BSO has rapidly added several critically acclaimed albums to its already impressive discography. The BSO recently released Dvořák's Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 and 8, the final two discs in its three-disc Dvořák cycle. In August 2009, the BSO and Marin Alsop released Bernstein's Mass featuring baritone Jubilant Sykes, the Morgan State University Choir and the Peabody Children's Chorus. The album rose to number six on the Classical Billboard Charts and received a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album. The Orchestra made its foray into online distribution in April 2007 with the release of a live-concert recording of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring on iTunes, which quickly become the site's number one classical music download.

In addition to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where the orchestra has performed for 28 years, the BSO is a founding partner and the resident orchestra at the new state-of-the-art Music Center at Strathmore, just outside Washington, D.C. With the opening of Strathmore in February 2005, the BSO became the nation's only major orchestra with year-round venues in two metropolitan areas.

COMPLETE PROGRAM DETAILS
BSO SuperPops: Elton John and More
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 8 p.m.—Music Center at Strathmore*
Friday, October 14, 2011 at 8 p.m.—JMSH
Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 8 p.m.—JMSH
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 3 p.m.—JMSH

Michael Cavanaugh, vocals and piano
David Amado, conductor
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Tickets range from $28 to $88 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.