Media Room
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West Michigan Symphony
Announces 2010-11 Concert Season
WMS Restructures Ticket Pricing,
Celebrates 71st Season with Forces of Nature Theme
Muskegon, Michigan, March 29, 2010 – The West Michigan Symphony today announced its concert series for the 2010-11 season as well as a new pricing structure aimed at providing greater access to symphonic music and broadening its regional audience.
From Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 to Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, the Symphony’s 71st season will feature some of the greatest works ever composed, as well as the Michigan premier of a collaboration between WMS and Jennifer Higdon, one of America's most important living composers. The season will open Friday, Sept. 24 for an eight-concert series that concludes June 4, 2011.
Joining the orchestra and Scott Speck, who returns for his ninth season as WMS music director, will be Bulgarian violinist and international superstar Bella Hrsitova, Russian pianist Gleb Ivanov and Las Vegas pops sensation Steve Lippia, who returns by popular demand.
“Like so much of the world, West Michigan is thinking about sustainability in all of its forms,” said Scott Speck, WMS music director. “The arts world is no different as it ponders ways to sustain a culture of great aesthetic and cultural richness in the midst of challenging times.
“Great orchestras are charged with preserving the most sublime examples of classical music, while at the same time crafting new masterpieces. WMS has translated these thoughts into ‘Forces of Nature,’ a series that combines all of these vital interests and concerns into a beautiful and highly relevant concert season.”
WMS has also restructured its pricing plan to encourage greater access to classical music and to broaden its regional reach, with reduced prices for all concerts, including season as well as single tickets. The new structure also significantly increases the number of seats available at the lower price points.
Season tickets are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale in August. Each concert in the series will be performed at 7:30 p.m. (please note time change) on consecutive Friday and Saturday evenings in the Frauenthal Theatre in downtown Muskegon.
“This is a bold move and reflects how symphonies across the country are reevaluating their business models,” said Carla Hill, president and CEO of WMS. “Our goal is to play before a full house and to make WMS more accessible to everyone, particularly during these challenging economic times. We’ve lowered ticket prices across the board and have eliminated a number of different categories so that the lowest seats start at $10. Simultaneously, we have also expanded the pool of lower-priced seats and committed a greater percentage of the hall to these.”
The 2010-2011 WMS season features:
• Opening night: The Romantic Road, Sept. 24 and 25 The new season will open with three powerfully expressive works by three of the Romantic period’s greatest composers. Richard Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” explores the tension between pure spiritual and physical love. Max Bruch’s virtuosic and vivid Violin Concerto No. 1 captures the essence of Romanticism and is the perfect showcase for up-and-coming young superstar Bella Hristova. And Johannes Brahms’ final word on the subject of Romanticism – Symphony No. 4 – is considered to be one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.
• Salute to John Williams, Oct. 29 and 30 Known for his powerful and evocative films scores, John Williams has penned more memorable melodies than any other living orchestral composer. WMS will perform excerpts from “Jaws,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Schindler's List,” “E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Harry Potter,” “Jurassic Park,” “Superman” and the ever-popular “Star Wars” saga.
• Holiday Concert, Dec. 10 and 11 Guaranteed to evoke the joyful warmth of the season, WMS will serve up its usual measure of family-friendly cheer during its hugely popular holiday concert. Emil de Cou, associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, will lead the program, which will feature everyone’s favorite carols as well as a traditional audience sing-along.
• Baroque and Beyond, Feb. 4 and 5 Works from and inspired by the Baroque era will provide the backdrop for a warm and inviting mid-winter escape. Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 is considered to be one of the great master's most enduring works. Based on the music of Pergolesi, Igor Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella Suite” is a sparkling and tuneful musical delight. And Richard Strauss's suite from “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme” is a fun and fitting tribute to Jean-Baptiste Lully and the playwright Molière, full of inside jokes and great beauty.
• Sustainability: A West Michigan Journey, March 25 and 26 Inspired by the great success of "American Made: The Art of Manufacturing" during the 2008-09 season, this multi-media presentation was born of a collaboration between WMS and Grand Valley State University. Combining nature-inspired musical masterpieces by composers such as Beethoven, Smetana and Liadov with spectacular video images from around the state, this multi-media concert explores West Michigan's journey toward sustainability.
• Beethoven and Blue Jeans, April 15 and 16 Not for the faint of heart, this concert opens with Gioachino Rossini’s sprightly and mischievous overture to “The Thieving Magpie” and has enough kinetic energy pulsating throughout it to make waves. Featured will be the Michigan premiere of ”On a Wire,” performed by the Grammy Award-winning chamber ensemble, eighth blackbird. The piece was co-commissioned by WMS and written for eighth blackbird by 2010 Grammy Award-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. Ludwig van Beethoven’s thrilling and heart-pounding Seventh Symphony will close this spectacular program.
• “Simply Swinging” with Steve Lippia, May 6 and 7 In the style of Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole and the Rat Pack, Las Vegas pops sensation Steve Lippia will bring his new show to the stage at the Frauenthal for a command return engagement. Featuring such tunes from the American songbook as “Beyond the Sea,” “Unforgettable,” “Mack the Knife,” “Almost Like Being in Love,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “What Kind of Fool Am I,” “Just in Time,” “The Good Life” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
• Chasing the Sun, June 3 and 4 Closing the 2010-11 season, this concert takes its name from the brief and brilliant orchestral showpiece, which will open the concert, by living composer John David Earnest. Sergei Prokofiev’s puckishly enjoyable Piano Concerto No. 3 – featured in the film “The Competition” – will introduce West Michigan audiences to the young virtuoso Gleb Ivanov, whose pianistic prowess has dazzled audiences from coast to coast. And the great Peter Tchaikovsky's enormously powerful Fourth Symphony is the story of one man's response to fate, and his eventual triumph over his own destiny.
“It’s been a pleasure to see the extraordinary impact that our Symphony has had on the region’s cultural scene,” Hill said. “This season builds upon the classical masterpieces folks know and love, and which will continue to stand the test of time, while simultaneously showcasing two noteworthy original projects with which WMS has been involved. We’re thrilled to be able to present such an exciting season while at the same time making WMS even more accessible to our audiences in West Michigan.”
Season and single ticket can be purchased by calling the West Michigan Symphony ticket office at 231.726.3231. Several subscriber plans are available including the full series, masterworks series only, pop series only or flexible ticketing that allows concertgoers to create their own experience. For more information or to receive a 2010-2011 season brochure, contact 231.726.3231 or
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