Press Kit
Media Contact:
Sue Auclair, Sue Auclair Promotions
617-522-1394; sue@sueauclair.com
Friday, March 11, 2011
For Immediate Release:
Discovery Ensemble Presents:
Three Faces of Romanticism with
Wagner, Schreker and Schumann
Thursday, March 17 at 7:30 PM
at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University, Cambridge
“Discovery Ensemble — a chamber orchestra made up of superlative young players, many just out of school — and its gifted music director, Courtney Lewis (now associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra), have been offering some of the best orchestral music heard around these parts, in imaginatively conceived programs combining classical and modern music. Their notable achievement was capped by this year's [2010] towering performance of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony.” --Lloyd Schwartz, Boston Phoenix
Cambridge, MA--Belfast-born Courtney Lewis, Conductor and Music Director of Discovery Ensemble presents Discovery Ensemble’s elegant St. Patrick’s Day program entitled Three Faces of Romanticism featuring Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, Franz Schreker’s Chamber Symphony and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, in E♭Major “Rhenish” at 7:30 PM at Sanders Theatre [45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138]. A pre-concert talk will begin at 6:30 with Mr. Lewis and Discovery Ensemble Artistic Director David St. George.
Reserved-seat tickets for each concert priced at $35.00, $28.00 and $20.00 are on sale now on line at www.DiscoveryEnsemble.com or by calling: 617-496-2222. Tickets are also available at the Harvard Box Office Booth, located at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in the Holyoke Center Arcade. Box office hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 12:00 noon to 6:00 P.M. The box office is closed on Mondays and some holidays. Tickets for students and seniors with identification will be available at a discount of $10.00 in all price ranges. Sanders Theatre is wheelchair accessible.
The Romantic movement in music embraced almost the whole of the nineteenth century, and then, in its 20th century afterlife, gave birth to some marvelous post-romantic masterpieces. The earliest work on this program, Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony, is the Romantic Symphony par excellence, deeply personal in its expression, with the dual influences of folk music and nature at every turn, and with the admixture of religious awe as well. Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, based on themes from the opera Siegfried and composed as a surprise gift for his wife, is music’s most beautiful Christmas present (and the perfect, sure-fire antidote for people who think they don’t like Wagner!). The latest work on the program, Schreker’s Chamber Symphony, is intoxicating and dreamlike. A true masterpiece, even though rarely heard, its subtle, ever-shifting luminosity of instrumental color is like nothing else in music. We are thrilled to be able to bring this remarkable musical experience to our audience!
Courtney Lewis, the amazing 26-year-old conductor and founding Music Director of Discovery Ensemble, combines exacting standards with true vision and interpretative depth, as well as an infectious joy in the sheer act of making music. On more than one occasion he has been compared, by those whose musical memories go back to the early 1960s, to the young Carlos Kleiber. Lewis has molded Discovery Ensemble into a finely tuned, nuanced and virtuosic orchestra capable of switching from Bach to Beethoven to Stravinsky with complete stylistic assurance and a standard of playing that rivals the great European chamber orchestras. In May 2009, Osmo Vänskä appointed him Assistant Conductor and recently elevated him to Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, so Lewis now divides his time between Minneapolis and Boston.
About Discovery Ensemble
Discovery Ensemble is a highly-acclaimed chamber orchestra founded in 2008 by Conductor Courtney Lewis and Artistic Director David St. George. The orchestra is made up of 40 exceptional professional musicians in their twenties from the greater Boston area. This finely-honed and virtuosic ensemble has consistently received stellar reviews in the media. In its concerts, Discovery Ensemble presents an eclectic cross section of masterworks – some familiar, some unfamiliar – in performances that are impassioned, searching and at the highest level of technical accomplishment.
Discovery Ensemble is regularly invited to perform on WGBH 99.5 All Classical’s Live From Fraser. These recorded programs are archived at www.wgbh.org. The ensemble’s next appearance on Live From Fraser will be Thursday, March 3 at 7:00 PM. One of Discovery’s WGBH fall performances was even chosen to air on the NPR Music website, “A Thrilling Ride With Boston’s Discovery Ensemble”: http://www.npr.org/2010/11/11/131244961/boston-s-dynamic-discovery-ensemble.
In addition, Discovery Ensemble performances are consistently chosen among the “Top Ten Best” performances of the year. 2010 was no exception, both Jeremy Eichler of the Boston Globe and Lloyd Schwartz of the Boston Phoenix included the orchestra in their year-end picks.
Unseen by the general pubic is the other side of Discovery Ensemble’s other work -- an extensive program of workshops in Boston public schools and children’s concerts, all of which especially target areas that are underserved by existing musical institutions. These programs have had an astonishing impact! Over one thousand school children attend each of these morning concerts, where they experience great music played with great passion, and explained to them in a particularly dynamic and child-friendly manner. A six minute video about the outreach work of Discovery Ensemble can be seen on the Discovery Ensemble website: http://www.discoveryensemble.com.
