FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Mark R. Livingston
Director of Marketing & Communications
mlivingston@centrum.org
360.385.3102 – ext.130
THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY AT McCURDY PAVILION ON JUNE 17
The Concert is the Second-to-Last Performance
With Gerard Schwarz as Music Director
PORT TOWNSEND, WA – June 2, 2011 – Centrum, Washington’s home for creative
arts and education, is proud to welcome the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, under the baton
of Music Director Gerard Schwarz, in concert at McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State
Park in Port Townsend, WA, on Friday, June 17, at 7:00 PM.
The concert marks the second-to-last Seattle Symphony performance with Maestro
Schwarz, who concludes his tenure with the Seattle Symphony the following evening at
Benaroya Hall. The concert features a program that includes Schubert’s Overture to
Rosamunde, new music from Seattle composer Samuel Jones, “Reflections: Songs of
Fathers and Daughters,” a world premiere by Philip Glass, “Harmonium Mountain,” and
a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s popular “New World Symphony.”
Cellist Sam Gordon and violinist Rinnah Becker of Port Townsend High School will
join the Orchestra for the performance of Dvořák’s “New World Symphony,” as part of
the Symphony’s Gold Medalist program for young musicians of outstanding ability. The
Gold Medalist program includes rehearsals at Benaroya Hall, coaching by Seattle
Symphony musicians, a concert performance and the presentation of gold medals to the
young artists.
The Seattle Symphony performance celebrates the life and legacy of Centrum Founding
Director Joseph F. Wheeler, who passed away in 2009.
The public is invited to a free preview on Thursday, June 16, at 7:00 PM at Wheeler
Theater, Fort Worden State Park, with Lucinda Carver, Centrum’s Artistic Director for
Chamber Music. Carver will discuss the composers and the works featured in the
concert, and demonstrate melodies and themes on the piano.
A veteran of more than 200 recordings, Maestro Schwarz has received 2 Emmy awards,
13 Grammy nominations, six ASCAP awards, and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation
awards. His extensive discography of some 260 releases showcases collaborations with
the world’s prestigious orchestras, and he continues to guest conduct around the world,
appearing with many of great orchestras and pre-eminent soloists of our time. As a
conductor and passionate music education advocate, he has assisted in launching the
careers of many young artists and fostered artistic growth in communities throughout the
world. Schwarz is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and The Juilliard
School. He is a recipient of the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University,
and was the first American to be named Conductor of the Year by Musical America. He
holds honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle
University, University of Puget Sound and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
“Since coming to Seattle more than 25 years ago, I’ve so greatly enjoyed playing with the
Orchestra in the surrounding areas,” said Schwarz. “Port Townsend has a special place in
my heart because the enthusiasm of the audiences is very meaningful to me and to the
Symphony musicians. It will be a joy for the Orchestra to perform again in this beautiful
city in June.”
Tickets are available online at www.centrum.org, by phone at 800.746.1982, in person at
the Centrum office, 223 Battery Way, Fort Worden State Park, during box office hours,
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM/Monday through Friday, or at the venue box office, which opens
one hour prior to show time. For special vision, hearing or mobility issues, please call
the Centrum office in advance at 360-385-3102, Ext. 110.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Seattle Symphony, founded in 1903, has been under the artistic leadership of Music
Director Gerard Schwarz since 1985. Maestro Schwarz has led Seattle Symphony to
international prominence, with more than 125 recordings, 12 Grammy nominations, 2
Emmys and numerous awards. Maestro Schwarz celebrates his Farewell Season as Music
Director in 2010–2011, after which he will become the Rebecca & Jack Benaroya
Conductor Laureate. Music Director Designate Ludovic Morlot will begin his role as
Music Director in the 2011–2012 season. The Symphony is internationally recognized for
its adventurous programming of contemporary works, its devotion to the classics, and its
extensive recording history. From September through July, the Symphony is heard live
by more than 315,000 people.
JOSEPH F. WHEELER
The Seattle Symphony performance celebrates the life and legacy of Joseph Wheeler,
Founding Director of Centrum. Joseph Fred Wheeler was born on December 19, 1931, in
Wenatchee, Washington. A clarinet student, he performed in his school bands and
orchestras, and music became an integral part of his life.
Under Wheeler’s direction, Centrum become one of the nation’s pioneers in presenting
week-long summer workshops at Fort Worden State Park for many different art forms,
including jazz, acoustic blues, chamber music, and traditional folk arts programs.
Centrum also offered residential programs in arts education and exploration for
Washington students at the elementary, middle-school, and high-school levels.
The summer workshops feature a performance component for the public, with faculty
concerts in the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater (the 300-seat former Army theater renamed in
his honor upon his retirement from Centrum), and the McCurdy Pavilion, for which he
led the fundraising campaign to build a 1200 seat concert hall out of a WWI-era dirigible
hangar. The Pavilion was christened in 1992 by a performance by the Seattle Symphony,
which performed previously at Centrum under a big tent next to the Park’s Mule Barn.
Maestro Schwarz invited Wheeler to conduct one work on the inaugural program.
After his retirement from Centrum in 1996, he was active in the Port Townsend
community in leadership positions with the Northwest Maritime Center, Jefferson
General Hospital, the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce and other organizations. He
continued to serve Centrum on its Board of Directors until his untimely passing in
November 2009. A devoted family man; he is survived by his wife Renate, three
children, two step children and several grandchildren.
RINNAH BECKER
Rinnah Becker, a sophomore at Port Townsend High School, began her study of violin
at age six. She is a member of the Tacoma Young Artists Orchestra and the Port
Townsend High School Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. This spring, Rinnah played in
the Washington All-State Orchestra under the direction of Gerard Schwarz.
SAM GORDON
Sam Gordon has been playing the cello for more than half his life. He is a member of
the Port Townsend High School Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra, and he performs
with the Port Angeles Symphony. An accomplished student, Sam plans to double-major
in cello and math, beginning next year at The University of Washington.
LUCINDA CARVER
Lucinda Carver enjoys a prominent career as pianist, harpsichordist, and conductor. As
music director and conductor of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra from 1992-2001, she
garnered critical praise for her stylistic interpretations of music from the Classical era.
Her symphonic credits include appearances with the National Symphony, Los Angeles
Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific
Symphony, Richmond Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. Carver earned a doctor
of musical arts from the USC Thornton School of Music, an artist diploma from the
Salzburg Mozarteum, and a master of music from the Manhattan School of Music. In
1998 she joined the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music, where she teaches
piano, harpsichord, and conducting. In addition, Carver is a frequent guest lecturer with
the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
PHILIP GLASS
Through his operas and symphonies, his compositions for his own ensemble, and his
wide-ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg,
Woody Allen to David Bowie, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented
impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his times. His composition, “Harmonium
Mountain,” was created for artist Clifford Ross to accompany his short film of the same
name. Ross’ film debuted at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
“I'm very pleased to provide music for Gerard's farewell season in Seattle,” said Glass.
“I've known him as a fine conductor and a good collaborator. Harmonium Mountain was
inspired by a short video work, and now exists in an orchestral form produced especially
for this event.”
SAMUEL JONES
Samuel Jones has been the Seattle Symphony’s Composer in Residence since 1997.
During his tenure, Jones has written a number of works for the Symphony, including
concertos for three of the Orchestra’s principal brass players, and a Cello Concerto
premiered in September 2010 by Maestro Gerard Schwarz’s son, Julian. “Reflections:
Songs of Fathers and Daughters” was composed in response to a commission from the
Symphony, funded by a group of donors including Charles and Benita Staadecker, Jerald
Farley, David E. Gannett, Robert and Gail Stagman, and Michael and Leslie Whalen.
ANTONIN DVORAK
Composer Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) wrote his popular Symphony No. 9, “From the
New World,” (or, “New World Symphony”) during his three-year stay in America
between 1892 and 1895. The New World Symphony has been a mainstay of the
symphonic repertoire since its first performance at Carnegie Hall in 1893. The emotional
heart of the “New World” is the sad slow movement, often called “Goin’ Home,” since it
was once believed to be an old Gospel tune. The music reflects the composer’s
homesickness for his native Bohemia, known today as the Czech Republic.
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Franz Schubert (1797–1828), is considered to be the last grandmaster of the Viennese
Classical school of music, as well as one of the earliest proponents of Romanticism. The
overture attached to his music for Helmina von Chézy's play Rosamunde was originally
composed as part of an earlier set of incidental music for Georg Ernst von Hofmann's
play Die Zauberharfe ("The Magic Harp"), and was first heard in that context on August
19, 1820, more than three years before Rosamunde was introduced on the same stage.
PORT TOWNSEND
The Victorian seaport community of Port Townsend, WA, is home to Centrum, and is
easily accessible by highway or ferry service. Washington State Ferries travel between
Port Townsend and Coupeville, WA (Whidbey Island) daily. In addition, Seattle
residents may take a ferry from the downtown terminal to Bainbridge Island, and visit
Port Townsend via the Hood Canal Bridge, or take the ferry from Mukilteo in North
Seattle to Winslow. A full schedule of ferry options is available on the Washington State
Department of Transportation website at www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/. Chartered
flights into Port Ludlow are available via Kenmore Air – more info is available at
www.kenmoreair.com.
Centrum, in partnership with Fort Worden State Park, is a gathering place for artists and
creative thinkers from all cultures, and in all phases of their development; for students of
all ages and backgrounds; and for audiences seeking extraordinary cultural enrichment.
Centrum promotes creative experiences that change lives.
###