FYI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2, 2009

Michael Christie Leads
The Phoenix Symphony in the
Immense Masterpiece
Carmina Burana
Phoenix Symphony Chorus and Phoenix Boys Choir
Join the Symphony for Orff’s Oratorio

PHOENIX – Nancy Allen Lundy, Steven Stolen and Stephen Powell join Virginia G. Piper Music Director Michael Christie, the Phoenix Symphony Chorus, the Phoenix Boys Choir and The Phoenix Symphony performing Carl Orff’s powerful Carmina Burana April 23 and 25. Scored for enormous orchestra, three soloists and two choirs, Carmina Burana explores Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales musically, taking the listener from pastoral hymns to raucous drinking songs, and the sheer power of “O Fortuna.” Thursday evening’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and is sponsored by Northern Trust, and Saturday evening’s concert, sponsored by Matson Navigation Companies, begins at 8 p.m.; both performances are at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix with a convenient light rail stop at Washington and 2nd Street.
Carmina Burana is paired with an equally energetic work, Spotlight Composer Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra commissioned in 2002 by The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Tickets for “Carmina Burana” range from $22 to $72 and can be purchased by calling the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602-495-1999 or by visiting http://www.phoenixsymphony.org/. Remaining highlights of The Phoenix Symphony’s 2008-09 Season include “A Salute to Rodgers & Hammerstein” (May 15-17), “Joshua Bell in Concert” (May 23) and “Legends and Heroes” (May 28 and 30).