Conductor Tate and the Academy Festival Orchestra to Perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 5
For Immediate Release June 21, 2007
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA - Jeffrey Tate will conduct the Academy Festival Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven's iconic Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, op. 67, at 8 pm Saturday, July 14, in the Lobero Theatre. The evening's program also will include Sibelius' Symphony No. 5.
One of the most popular and well-known classical works of all time, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 retains the power to enthrall almost two centuries after the mercurial composer completed it. By turns urgent, dreamy, and stirring - and thoroughly unforgettable throughout - it is quite simply the quintessential timeless masterpiece.
Mr. Tate's rapid rise to prominence followed his 1978 conducting debut of Carmen at the Goteborg Opera in Sweden. Currently the music director of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy, he has also led the London, Berlin, Boston, and other major symphony orchestras. Born in Salisbury, England, Mr. Tate studied medicine at Cambridge University and qualified as a doctor at London's St. Thomas' Hospital. His real passion was music, however, and in 1970 he joined the music staff at Covent Garden as a répétiteur until 1977. Mr. Tate now regularly conducts for the world's leading opera companies, and is particularly esteemed for his interpretations of Mozart, Strauss, and Wagner, as well as the French repertoire. A prolific recording artist, Mr. Tate recorded the complete symphonies of Mozart with the English Chamber Orchestra for EMI and a distinguished cycle of Mozart piano concerti with Mitsuko Uchida. Mr. Tate was named Knight Commander of the British Empire, and in France, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. This is his 15th summer as a guest conductor at the Music Academy.
The Lobero Theatre is located at 33 East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. Tickets for the July 14 performance will cost $40.
The Music Academy of the West is celebrating its 60th anniversary with an unprecedented 2007 season program featuring numerous classical music luminaries. The Academy will present more than 190 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which concludes on August 11. Highlights will include an ambitious production of La Bohème, performances by baritone Thomas Hampson, violinist Gilles Apap, and the Takács Quartet, and conducting turns by David Robertson and Alexander Lazarev.
For information, call 969-8787. Information is also available online at www.musicacademy.org.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, as well as guest conductors and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and students receive full scholarships. Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many have established themselves as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 175 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and students; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
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