LEE COUNTY’S ONLY PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRA
WORLD CLASS MUSIC IN PARADISE℠
8290 College Pkwy  Suite 103  Ft. Myers, FL 33919 239-418-1500  www.swflso.org
The Southwest Florida Symphony presents Simply Classics at the Shell Point
Village Church and at BIG ARTS, Sanibel
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Contact: (239) 418-0996
E-mail: Amy Padilla at apadilla@swflso.org
Fort Myers, FL— The Southwest Florida Symphony, Lee County’s only professional orchestra
and one of the oldest symphony orchestras on Florida’s gulf coast, present the first concerts of
their Shell Point Series and Sanibel Series, Simply Classics, on Tuesday, January 13th at the
Shell Point Village Church at 7:30PM and at BIG ARTS, Sanibel Island on Wednesday, January
14th at 8PM. Simply Classics is conducted by Maestro Nir Kabaretti and feature guest pianist
Andrew Armstrong. Tickets to the Shell Point Village Church concert cost $20 and tickets to the
BIG ARTS concert cost $36 per person. Tickets to both concerts may be purchased online at
www.swflso.org, by visiting the Southwest Florida Symphony Box Office located at 8290
College Parkway, Suite 103 in Fort Myers or by calling the Symphony Box Office at (239) 4181500. Box office hours are from 10:00AM-4:00PM on Monday through Friday.
Simply Classics features pieces by great composers of the classical music era (1750-1820) whose
styles inspired future generations. Music selections include Haydn’s Overture to Armida,
Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A, featuring pianist Andrew Armstrong, who receives regular airplay
on NPR Classical Radio and WQXR Classical Radio in New York City, and Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 4.
Southwest Florida Symphony General Information
The Southwest Florida Symphony is the only professional orchestra in Lee County and one of
the oldest on Florida’s gulf coast. It enters its 54th season this year, having made its debut as a
community orchestra on April 15, 1961. Conducted by Arlo Deibler, the Symphony began its life
as a community orchestra and its original roster consisted of 24 musicians. It performed in
community centers and schools throughout Lee and Collier Counties. It has since grown to
become Lee County’s only professional symphony orchestra, filling Barbara B. Mann
Performing Arts Hall with symphonic music enthusiasts and a roster consisting of more than 65
world-class musicians. The Southwest Florida Symphony’s 54th year promises to be a season of
excitement and celebration as it welcomes its new maestro, internationally acclaimed Nir
Kabaretti. The incoming music director will be the fifth in the organization’s history and was
selected through a painstaking process of interviews, public appearances and live auditions
during the 2013-14 season. The Southwest Florida Symphony’s mission is to celebrate the joy of
music and to inspire audiences with a variety of quality concerts performed by professional
musicians that are accessible to all.
This season features the Southwest Florida Symphony’s signature Masterworks Classical
Concert Series, entitled A Symphonic Voyage Across the World (November 15, A Postcard from
Italy; January 17, American Masterpieces; February 21, Viva España; March 28, From Russia
with Love; and April 25 & 26, Beethoven: JOY!), a special Holiday Pops concert entitled
Christmas in Paradise on Saturday, December 13 at Barbara B. Mann Hall, Monday, December
15 at the Shell Point Village Church and Wednesday, December 17 at BIG ARTS on Sanibel; its
Pops Series entitled Quintessential Southwest Florida, (The Music of Champions: Sports
Themes, Fight Songs & the Sounds of Team Spirit on February 6 & 7; A Tribute to Erich Kunzel
on March 13 & 14; and Classic Country: A Salute to Dolly & Patsy on April 3 & 4), a Sanibel
Series, performed at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Island (January 14, February 11 and March 11) and
additional concerts at the Shell Point Village Church (January 13 and March 16),
Maestro Nir Kabaretti Bio
Nir Kabaretti comes to Southwest Florida from the Santa Barbara Symphony in California,
where he also serves as music and artistic director. He enters his eighth season with Santa
Barbara this year. He has been described as “a conductor with immense musicality and
warm personality” by Maestro Zubin Mehta. Kabaretti has earned an impressive
reputation across continents for his command of a vast symphonic and operatic repertoire.
Upon graduation from the prestigious University of Music and Performing Arts in
Vienna, Kabaretti began working as coach and Chorus Master at the Vienna State Opera
and the Salzburg Festival. He later advanced to positions as Assistant to the Music
Director at the Teatro Real in Madrid and Personal Assistant to Maestro Zubin Mehta at
Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy.
Nir Kabaretti has worked with some of the world’s most sought-after musicians, such as
Lang Lang, Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, and Hélène Grimaud. His guest
conducting appearances have included the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra del
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmonica
de Buenos Aires, Orquestre National du Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre
de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Orchestra del
Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Orchestra
Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem
Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Vienna
Chamber Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid, Real Orquesta Sinfònica de
Sevilla, La Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria and the Bochumer Symphoniker.
He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra in Israel
in 2002, and later its Music Director till 2008.
Kabaretti’s operatic experience includes productions at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino,
Teatro Real in Madrid, The Israeli Opera, Opéra de Lausanne, Avenches Opera Festival
in Switzerland, Tokyo New National Theatre and Opera Santa Barbara.
He conducted The Diary of Anne Frank, a guest production of the Vienna State Opera
performed at both the Bregenz Festival and Expo 2000 in Hannover. In 2005, Kabaretti
lead Teatro San Carlo di Napoli on its first tour to Japan, conducting Il Trovatore both in
Kyoto and Tokyo.
During the 2004-05 season he made his debut at Teatro alla Scala di Milano. In 2007 he
was invited again for the ballet production of Mendelssohn's Midsummer night's Dream
(broadcasted by Italian television RAI, and released as a commercial DVD).
Maestro Kabaretti received the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Grant for Young
Conductors. In 1993, he won the Forum Junger Künstler Conducting Competition in
Vienna. In 1994 he was among the finalists in the International Competition for Conductors
in Douai, France.
Andrew Armstrong Bio
Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew
Armstrong has delighted audiences around the world. He has performed solo recitals and
appeared with orchestras in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, including
performances at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Grand Hall of the
Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw's National Philharmonic. He has performed with such
conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, Günther Herbig, Stefan Sanderling, Jean-Marie
Zeitouni, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and in chamber music with violinist James Ehnes,
cellist Robert deMaine, the Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets, as a
member of the Caramoor Virtuosi at the Caramoor International Music Festival, and as a
member of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York City. Since 2010, he has been a
member of the Amelia Piano Trio.
This 2014-2015 season, Mr. Armstrong performs Saint-Saëns' distinctive 5th Piano Concerto
("The Egyptian"), Mozart's 23rd in A Major, K488, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and
Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto, the Emperor.
Having performed over 50 concertos, Armstrong has impressed his international audiences with
a large repertoire ranging from Bach to Babbit and beyond. Before beginning his career as a
concert pianist, Armstrong received over 25 national and international First Prizes. In 1996, he
was named Gilmore Young Artist. At the 1993 Van Cliburn Competition, where he was the
youngest pianist entered, he received the Jury Discretionary Award. The New York Times wrote,
"Armstrong may have been the most talented player in the competition....He's a real musician.
We'll hear more from him." As the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported, Van Cliburn himself, "in
a rare showing of enthusiasm for an individual competitor," called Mr. Armstrong "Fabulous!
Fabulous!"
Andrew Armstrong’s debut CD, featuring Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata and
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, was released in 2004 to critical acclaim. The critic
Bradley Bolen opined: “I have heard few pianists play [Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata],
recorded or in concert, with such dazzling clarity and confidence” (American Record Guide,
Nov/Dec, 2004). His follow-up CD was issued in November 2007 on Cordelia Records and
includes works by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, and the world premiere recording of Bielawa's Wait
for piano & drone. In chamber music, Mr. Armstrong has collaborated with violinist James
Ehnes, having released 4 CDs to critical acclaim. Upcoming releases include works of Strauss &
Franck, Leclair & Tartini-Kreisler. The Amelia Trio releases its first CD with Armstrong as
pianist, this February 2015, trios of Debussy and Tchaikovsky.
Andrew Armstrong is devoted to outreach programs and playing for children. In addition to his
many concerts, his performances are heard regularly on National Public Radio and WQXR, New
York City's premier classical music station.
Southwest Florida Symphony Sponsors
The Southwest Florida Symphony’s 2014-15 sponsors include The Southwest Florida
Community Foundation, The City of Ft. Myers, The State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs,
The Florida Council on Arts & Culture, The Southwest Florida Symphony Endowment
Foundation, The Southwest Florida Symphony Society, The L.A.T. Foundation, Uhler & Vertich
Financial Planners, Mr. Richard Prescott, The Neil Goldberg Dream Foundation, Rev. Gary &
Mrs. Christine LaCroix, Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Munsch, Mr. Don Fjellin, ‘Tween Waters Inn,
Bailey’s General Store, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Crowne Plaza, Shoeless Joe’s,
Mastello Ristorante, Sheeley Architects, Eric Diefenbach & JK Brown, LCEC, The Cape Coral
Community Foundation, Baird Private Wealth Management and Rebecca Ross, Mr. & Mrs.
Stefan & Christine Riesenfeld, The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, The City of Fort Myers,
The Friends of the Symphony on Sanibel, The Friends of Beethoven, Mr. & Mrs. Steve and
Charlotte Qua and Mr. & Mrs. Mark and Christine Strom.
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Event: Southwest Florida Symphony presents Simply Classics
Dates: Tuesday, January 13th and Wednesday, January 14th, 2015
Location: January 13th at Shell Point Village Church and January 14th at BIG ARTS, Sanibel
Time: The Shell Point concert begins at 7:30PM and the BIG ARTS concert begins at 8PM
Tickets: Shell Point tickets cost $20, BIG ARTS tickets cost $36.
For tickets and more information, call the box office at 239-418-1500 or administrative office at
239-418-0996 or visit www.swflso.org