Acclaimed Conductor Slatkin in Season Finale
Tickets for AFO concert at The Granada priced as low as $10
For Immediate Release August 3, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – Internationally renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin, whose remarkable career has included celebrated stints as music director of both the St. Louis and National symphony orchestras, will lead the Academy Festival Orchestra in its final concert of the 2009 Summer Festival season at the Granada Theatre on Saturday, August 15. Featuring works by Britten, Copland, and Tchaikovsky, the concert will begin at 8 pm. Tickets start at $10.
Mr. Slatkin, whose performances throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East have been distinguished by imaginative programming and highly praised interpretations of both the standard and contemporary symphonic repertoire, was named music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra prior to the start of the 2008-2009 season. He completed his 12th and final season as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2007-2008, and continues to serve as principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and as music advisor to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
Following a successful tenure as music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1979 until 1996, Mr. Slatkin was named Conductor Laureate. He has served as director of the Cleveland Orchestra's Blossom Festival (1990-99), principal guest conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra (1997-2000), chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (2000-2004), and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl (2004-2007). Mr. Slatkin also is a frequent host of musical broadcasts, including on the BBC.
Mr. Slatkin has made regular appearances with virtually every major international orchestra, including the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and Boston Symphony Orchestra, among many others. His performances of opera have taken him to leading opera companies in the United States and around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, and Vienna State Opera. He is also a regular guest conductor at major summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Aspen, and the BBC Proms.
Mr. Slatkin's more than 100 recordings have been recognized with seven Grammy Awards and more than 60 Grammy nominations. He has recorded with the National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Concert orchestras, London Symphony, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
On August 15, he'll lead the Academy Festival Orchestra in performances of Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem, op. 20, Copland's stirring Lincoln Portrait, and Tchaikovsky's masterful Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, op. 36.
The Granada is located at 1216 State Street in Santa Barbara. The concert is generously supported by Robert W. Weinman, the Lehrer Family Foundation, and the Michael J. Connell Foundation.
Remaining highlights of the Music Academy of the West's 62nd Summer Festival include an ambitious production of Ambroise Thomas' charming French Romantic opera Mignon, which will be presented August 7 and 9. The Academy is presenting more than 190 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which began June 22 and concludes on August 15. Upcoming events also will include a Baroque Evening with Maestro Nicholas McGegan and a performance by the famed Canadian Brass. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events are being presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
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 frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
