Loh Launches New Season With All-American Concert

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (09/05/17) –  The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (WVSO), led by its new music director, Lawrence Loh, kicks off the 2017-2018 season with the music of American composers Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Aaron Copland on Sept. 23 in Charleston and Sept. 24 in Parkersburg.

Special guest soloist Alexandre Moutouzkine will join Loh and the WVSO in performing Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, a piece that strengthened Gershwin’s reputation as a composer who straddled the boundaries of popular and “serious” music.

Moutouzkine is a master on the keys. Since winning Astral Artists’ 2009 National Audition, he has won top prizes in more than 20 international competitions, including those in Naumburg, Cleveland, Montreal, Maria Canals (Barcelona) and Arthur Rubinstein (Tel-Aviv.) Other music for the opening night concerts include Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Copland’s Symphony No. 3. The Clay Center concert is made possible by the generous support of the Capitol Conference Center, BrickStreet Insurance and Cabell Huntington Hospital.

Special guest soloist Alexandre Moutouzkine will join Loh and the WVSO in performing Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, a piece that strengthened Gershwin’s reputation as a composer who straddled the boundaries of popular and “serious” music.

Moutouzkine is a master on the keys. Since winning Astral Artists’ 2009 National Audition, he has won top prizes in more than 20 international competitions, including those in Naumburg, Cleveland, Montreal, Maria Canals (Barcelona) and Arthur Rubinstein (Tel-Aviv.) Other music for the opening night concerts include Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Copland’s Symphony No. 3. The Clay Center concert is made possible by the generous support of the Capitol Conference Center, BrickStreet Insurance and Cabell Huntington Hospital.

For a deeper understanding of the music to be performed during opening night for the WVSO’s Capitol Conference Center Symphonic Series, join Loh on the Clay Center stage for Baton, Bites and Insights at noon Thursday, Sept. 21, when Loh will share stories about three of America’s greatest composers and their music.

In Charleston, a special pre-concert dinner featuring gourmet chicken, salmon with dill sauce or roasted vegetable hash also will be served in the Clay Center’s Grand Hall for $50 per person. To reserve your seat at the table, please RSVP by Sept. 13 by calling Alison Flowers at 304.957.9876 or by visiting our website at wvsymphony.org.

Tickets for the Clay Center concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, start at $12 and are available at wvsymphony.org or by calling 304.561.3570. Tickets for the Parkersburg concert, which begins at 3 p.m. at Blennerhassett School, are $22 for adults or $10 for students, and are available at wvsop.org or by calling 304.485.4200.

Season tickets for the Capitol Conference Center Symphonic Series in Charleston also are still available and start at $112. For more information visit wvsymphony.org or call the Clay Center Box Office at 304.561.3570.

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical, pops, family and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 78th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.

WVSU, WVSO SEEK MUSICIANS, SINGERS TO PERFORM BENEFIT CONCERT

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (07/6/17) –  Area orchestra and choir members are invited to participate in the second annual “Orchestra of the Hills and Chorus,” an upcoming performance to benefit infants born with opioid dependencies.

Musicians of all skill levels are welcome to perform as part of the Aug. 26 indoor concert in Charleston, which is being sponsored by West Virginia State University (WVSU), the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (WVSO), and the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Foundation.

This is the second year that the WVSU and WVSO have joined forces to present a benefit concert. Last year’s inaugural “Orchestra of the Hills and Chorus” concert featured more than 100 instrumentalists and vocalists from the community who volunteered their talents to raise money and musical instruments for three high-school music programs devastated by a June 2016 flood.

This year’s concert seeks to raise awareness and money for the CAMC Foundation to treat infants born to opioid-addicted mothers at CAMC Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

“The opioid addiction crisis has reached critical proportions in West Virginia and affects members of every generation.  It is our intention to use the healing power of music to affect change for the youngest and most helpless of those generations, infants born to addicted mothers,” said WVSU Associate Provost Scott E. Woodard, who will conduct the upcoming concert. “We at WVSU and the WVSO are proud to partner with the CAMC Foundation in this effort, knowing that the greater West Virginia community will stand in support.”

Musicians interested in participating in this year’s concert will be asked to attend three rehearsals at WVSU the week before the concert, each of which will last between an hour and a half to two and a half hours each. To join in the performance, contact Karleen Slaughter by July 23, 2017, at (304) 766-3191 or orchestraofthehills@wvstateu.edu.

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical, pops, and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 78th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.