Reading Symphony Orchestra to open with A Grand Night of Music
The Reading Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Andrew Constantine, kicks off its 2016-17 season on Saturday, September 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Santander Performing Arts Center, with A Grand Night of Music, a concert of beloved works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Holst.
The concert opens with Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise, a spirited dance from Eugene Onegin --- Tchaikovsky’s opera based on the classic novel by Alexander Pushkin. A return collaborator with the RSO, pianist William Wolfram is featured in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and the Reading Choral Society Women’s Chorus and female members of the Berks Youth Chorus join the RSO for Holst’s seven movement sweeping tribute to the solar system, The Planets.
Single tickets for the September 24 concert at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center, priced at $20 - $80, go on-sale on September 1st, and can be purchased in-person at the Santander Center or Santander Performing Arts Center Box Office, through Ticketmaster or by calling the RSO office at 610-373-7557 or emailing tickets@readingsymphony. org. Subscriptions for the 2016-17 season are currently available.
Additional RSO performances in the 2016-17 season include Great Choral Works with the Baltimore Choral Society and violist Peter Minkler on October 29; a performance with Grammy Award-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux on December 3; a Mozart Celebration on January 14 with RSO principal flutist Yevgeny Faniuk as soloist; An Evening of Beethoven on March 4 with pianist Fabio Bindini, violinist Sabrina Höpcker, and cellist Andrew Shulman; and The World of Shakespeare on April 29; as well as Pops performances --- A Tribute to Ray Charles and Friends on December 31 with Ellis Hall, and Hot Latin Nights! with the Mambo Kings on February 11.
American pianist William Wolfram was a silver medalist at both the William Kapell and the Naumburg International Piano Competitions and a bronze medalist at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow and has appeared with many of the greatest orchestras of the world, developing a special reputation as the rare concerto soloist who is also equally versatile and adept as a recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician. In all of these genres, he is highly sought after for his special focus on the music of Franz Liszt and Beethoven and is a special champion for the music of modernist 20th century American composers.
Wolfram has also appeared with the San Francisco, Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Seattle, New Jersey, Nashville, Baltimore, Oregon, Colorado, Edmonton, Columbus, and Utah symphonies, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, and the Grand Teton and San Luis Obispo Mozart festival orchestras, among many others. He enjoys regular and ongoing close associations with the Dallas Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra as well as the musicians of the New York Philharmonic for chamber concerts in the United States. Abroad, Wolfram has appeared with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of London, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the RTE Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (Dublin), the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Bergen Philharmonic (Norway), the Beethovenhalle Orchestra Bonn, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, among others.
A graduate of The Juilliard School, William Wolfram resides in New York City with his wife and two daughters and is a Yamaha artist.
Founded in 1875, the Reading Choral Society (RCS) is one of America’s oldest musical ensembles, and from its earliest days has pursued performances characterized by vocal excellence and musical distinction. The RCS is still inspired by the enlightened direction and mission of its first music director Edward A. Berg --- to perform great choral masterworks, without ignoring contemporary composers. While continuing the tradition of programming choral masterworks, the Society has expanded its repertory to include the more frequent performance and commissioning of new music and the exploration of more “popular” literature, like folk song, spirituals, and current composers, under its current music director, Graham Bier.
The Reading Choral Society is comprised now, as it has always been, of dedicated amateur singers from all walks of life, and all ages. Determined to present the highest caliber musical performances possible, the 70-voice Society rehearses weekly in a professional atmosphere, fulfilling the lives of its members by immersing them in great music, and through RCS performances that enrich and enliven the musical life of the greater Reading community.
Since 1992, the young musicians of the Berks Youth Chorus (BYC) have delighted audiences with their superb artistry and joyful enthusiasm. Through a rigorous music curriculum, BYC singers acquire an outstanding education and learn crucial life lessons, like teamwork, time management, priority setting, self-presentation, communication and personal responsibility. The culturally and musically diverse repertoire performed with precision by these trained young voices is inspirational and uplifting for anyone who listens.
With its headquarters and rehearsals located in Reading’s geographically accessible GoggleWorks, BYC is dedicated to making life-changing musical opportunities accessible to all children.
Andrew Constantine was appointed Music Director of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in April 2007 following a two year search involving nearly three hundred conductors. Previously, Constantine served as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for three years following an appointment by Yuri Temirkanov in 2004.
Constantine works regularly with nearly all of the top British orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as having strong relationships with a number of European and Scandinavian orchestras including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
In the United States, Constantine has developed a reputation for imaginative and compelling programming as well as a profound commitment to music education. In 2003, he was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of Music by the University of Leicester for his “contribution to music” and was also awarded a highly prestigious British NESTA Fellowship.
Led by Music Director Andrew Constantine, the Reading Symphony Orchestra, currently in its 104th season, continues to provide and promote high quality symphonic music for the citizens of Reading and the greater Berks County area. For more information, please visit www.readingsymphony.org.