Hampton Roads, VA [October 5, 2017] — The Virginia Symphony Orchestra opens the 2017-18 Williamsburg and Regent University Classics series with Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, along with other classical favorites.
The concert opens with Respighi’s Botticelli Triptych, a marvelous and colorful
piece inspired by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli’s Early Renaissance paintings.
Following, is the Clarinet Concerto by America’s favorite native composer, Aaron
Copland. This concerto was written in 1947 after jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman
commissioned Copland to write a concerto specifically for clarinet.
With uniquestyles and jazz elements inspired by Brazilian folk music heard on his travels through South American, Copland’s Clarinet Concerto is an expressive, audacious multi-movement composition. Principal Clarinet, Michael Byerly, will perform his VSO solo debut on this challenging and thrilling piece.
The performance concludes with Serenade No. 2 in A Major, the striking beautiful
and lively piece composed by Brahms.
Performances are on Thursday, Oct. 12, 8 p.m. at Phi Beta Kappa Hall in Williamsburg and on Saturday, Oct. 14, 8 p.m. at Regent University in Virginia Beach.
Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased by calling 757.892.6366, visiting www.virginiasymphony.org or visiting the Virginia Symphony Box Office at 150 Boush Street, Suite 201, Norfolk, VA 23510 from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday –
Friday. For group sales of 10 or more, call 757.213.1436.
Principal clarinetist Michael Byerly joined the Virginia Symphony at the start of its 2014-2015 season. Originally from Oregon, he studied clarinet with William McColl and Yehuda Gilad, completing degrees at the University of Washington
and the University of Southern California and earning an Artist Diploma at The Colburn School. While in Los Angeles, he gained formative orchestral experience as a substitute player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
As a soloist, he won First Prize at the International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition and the Pasadena Showcase House Competition. He spent three years in Nishinomiya, Japan, as a member of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra, and he served for two seasons as Principal Clarinetist with the Tucson Symphony. He resides in Virginia Beach with his wife, Christina Havens, who is Director of Orchestral Activities for the Virginia Symphony.
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Under the leadership of GRAMMY-winning music director JoAnn Falletta, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra is Virginia’s preeminent professional symphony orchestra with a mission of inspiring, educating and connecting audiences of all
ages.
Founded in 1921, it is ranked in the top ten percent of professional orchestras nationwide and serves the entire Southeastern Virginia region with Classics, Pops and Family concert series in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News and
Williamsburg as well as performances in outlying Virginia and North Carolina communities, reaching nearly 150,000 concert-goers every year. Additionally, the orchestra annually reaches 45,000 children, students and lifelong learners
with its education and community programs. The Virginia Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and is the cornerstone of the performing arts in Hampton Roads.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2017
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Phone: 757.213.1420 | email: dpage@virginiasymphony.org
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