May 9, 2007
The Maryland Symphony Orchestra Unveils A “Magical” 26th Season

HAGERSTOWN, MD - - The Maryland Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Elizabeth Schulze have revealed the programming for their 26th annual season, “The Magic of the MSO.” The power of musical magic is the focus of the 2007-2008 season, which includes five MasterWorks concerts, a weekend of Christmas favorites with MSO Home for the Holidays, music from some of the world’s best-loved movies at the MSO Pops! concert and the annual Family Concert. Performances are held at the historic Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown; MasterWorks concerts begin at 8:00 pm on Saturdays and 3:00 pm on Sundays.

The magical season gets underway on September 22, 2007 at the Maryland Theatre with Movie Music Magic: A Salute to the Music of John Williams. This very special MSO Pops! concert salutes a true cinematic giant and the movies - Star Wars, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, and more - that he transformed with his own brand of musical magic. Tickets can be purchased as part of an MSO Season Subscription and, in anticipation of high demand for this event, will also be available at the annual Salute to Independence concert at Antietam National Battlefield on July 7. More than 35,000 attendees enjoy what has been called 'Maryland's Most Patriotic Event,' featuring Chapter Finál, composed by Hagerstown native and resident Michael A. Mogensen, patriotic favorites, thundering cannons, and spectacular fireworks.

The MSO kicks off the MasterWorks Series in true romantic style on October 14 & 15, 2007, with Smetana’s delightful Bartered Bride Overture and the deeply emotional Symphony No. 7, by Dvorák. 20 year old Chinese pianist Yuja Wang provides the centerpiece of this passionate program with her Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky, fondly known as the concerto that launched a thousand careers. Recipient of the prestigious 2006 Gilmore Young Artist Award, Ms. Wang’s impressive virtuosity and poise has critics raving and audiences on their feet from San Francisco to Chicago to New York. Her January, 2008 Kennedy Center appearance is already sold out, but concert-goers in our area still have a chance to secure a ticket to see this rising star.

A “charismatic young violinist with a matinee idol profile, strong musical instincts, and first rate chops,” Timothy Fain was featured as the sound of Richard Gere’s violin in the movie Bee Season. Selected as one of Symphony Magazine’s “Up-and-Coming Young Musicians of 2006,” and recent winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Young Concert Artists International Award, Fain brings his adventuresome spirit and vast musical gifts to Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 during the second MasterWorks concert of the season on November 17 & 18, 2007. Selections from Handel’s sparkling Water Music and Beethoven’s powerful Symphony No. 8 make this a not-to-be-missed concert.

On December 15, 2007 at 7:00 pm and December 16, 2007 at 3:00 pm you are invited to come Home for the Holidays for a joyful celebration of the season. The Frederick Chorale joins the MSO for this annual tradition, which features Christmas classics for all ages. If you only attend one holiday event this year, make sure it’s Home for the Holidays!

Fatma Daglar, principal oboist with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and faculty member of the Peabody Preparatory, takes center stage on February 16 & 17, 2008 in a triple-treat concert of Schubert, Strauss and Schumann. Known as "a dexterous technician" with a “touching, bittersweet tone" who gives "a performance of virtuoso
caliber,” Ms. Daglar performs the jewel of the oboe repertoire, Strauss’s Oboe Concerto. The orchestra adds its own magic to this musical Valentine, with Schubert’s Overture to Rosamunde and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.

The MSO Family Concert will delight children of all ages with the amazing things that can happen when Beethoven Lives Upstairs on March 9, 2008 at 5:00 pm. This renowned Classical Kids theatrical production, which introduces children to the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven, tells the story of an eccentric boarder who turns a young boy’s home upside down. Featuring excerpts from Beethoven’s music - including the Moonlight Sonata and the Fifth and Ninth Symphonies - this is just the ticket for parents looking for quality entertainment to share with their children.

In a season of musical stars, the hugely talented members of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra prove once again with their March 29 & 30, 2008 MasterWorks IV performance that no stars shine more brightly than our own. Heralding the return of the popular All Orchestral program, this spring serenade pays homage to Mozart and to the orchestral serenade form he made popular. From Ibert’s witty Hommage `a Mozart, to Brahms’ lyrical homage to the master, Serenade No. 1, to Mozart’s own “Haffner” Symphony, “MSO’s own” will leave you with a spring in your step and a serenade in your heart.

Called “A truly gifted pianist, worthy of any major orchestra,” Jeffrey Biegel makes his triumphant return to the MSO on April 19 & 20, 2008 for a season finale concert of emotional sweep and virtuosic fireworks. Lauded as “an artist of the highest caliber,” with “monumental technique,” Mr. Biegel’s last performance with the MSO was the second-highest grossing concert in MSO history. He brings his considerable talents to the Maryland Theatre stage for Gershwin’s jazz-inspired Piano Concerto in F Major, in a powerhouse concert that includes Bernstein’s ground-breaking Overture to Candide and Rachmaninoff’s meltingly beautiful Symphony No. 2. Elizabeth Schulze, Music Director of the MSO, will once again provide insights into the music, the musicians, and the composers during “Prelude,” held one hour prior to every MasterWorks performance. The half-hour talk is free to all ticket holders.

Details of the 26th season, including seating charts and ticket prices, were mailed to current MSO subscribers in March and to more than 3000 households in April. The upcoming season brochures, which were developed by Kate Rader and Terri Fleetwood of RidgeRunner Publishing, are available by contacting the MSO office. Information is also available at www.marylandsymphony.org.

Subscriptions for “The Magic of the MSO,” the Maryland Symphony Orchestra’s 26th annual season, are available at the MSO office at 30 West Washington Street in Hagerstown, or by calling 301-797-4000. Season subscribers enjoy benefits such as priority seating, free ticket replacement and flexible ticket exchanges, while receiving significant savings off of regular single ticket prices. New subscribers can also take advantage of the MSO’s first time subscribers discount and receive the full MasterWorks Series of five concerts for as little as $53.00; a “Welcome Back” discount provides year two savings to subscribers who renew after their first year. Group discounts and student rates are also available – please call the MSO Box Office for details. Single tickets will go on sale on August 15.

Now in its 26th season, The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Elizabeth Schulze, is the area’s premiere professional orchestra, dedicated to providing musical performances and programs that educate and entertain while enhancing the cultural environment of Western Maryland and the surrounding region.