BSO to Perform Season Preview Concerts, 9/7 & 11

Andrew Constantine, the BSO's popular former Associate Conductor, will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in a 2013-2014 Season Preview Concert on Friday, September 6 at 8 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Thursday, September 11 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. The concert features repertoire from the new season, including compositions by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and many more. Maestro Constantine will also serve as the evening's host, providing commentary about each work. Please see below for complete program details.

Andrew Constantine, conductor: Andrew Constantine serves as Music Director of both the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Reading Symphony Orchestra.

Having gained a reputation in Europe and the U.K. as a conductor of great skill, charisma, energy and versatility, Andrew Constantine moved to the US in 2004 to become Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Within his first season there he was promoted to Associate Conductor.

In the U.S., he has won great praise for his ability to communicate with audiences and his energetic and compelling advocacy for classical music have gained him many admirers. In May of 2007, following a two year search and a pool of over 280 applicants, he was appointed Music Director of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania. In July of 2009, after a similar process, he was also appointed Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Indiana.

After winning the first Donatella Flick/Accademia Italiana Conducting Competition, Andrew Constantine made his Royal Festival Hall debut with the London Philharmonic. Press reviews were unanimous in their praise: "Definiteness of intention is a great thing, and Constantine's shaping of the music was never short of it" was the Financial Times' view, whilst The Independent wrote, "Andrew Constantine showed a capacity RFH audience just what he is made of, ending his big demanding programme with an electrifying performance of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5."

Described by Classic FM (the UK's largest radio station) as "a Rising Star of Classical Music" Andrew Constantine is regularly engaged by the UK's leading symphony orchestras including The Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, and by many others throughout Europe. He was recently awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music by the University of Leicester, for this "contribution to music", and also a prestigious British NESTA Fellowship to further develop his international career.

The Season Preview Concerts are set for:

Friday, September 6, 2013 at 8 p.m. - JMSH

Thursday, September 11, 2013 at 8 p.m. - The Music Center at Strathmore

REPERTOIRE:

Gustav Holst: Jupiter from The Planets

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship," First Movement from Scheherazade, opus 35

Felix Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream, opus 61

Camille Saint-Saëns: Allegro non troppo, First Movement from Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, opus 61

Antonín Dvorák: Allegro con fuoco, Fourth Movement from Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, opus 95, "From the New World"

George Gershwin: Cuban Overture

Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Allegro molto vivace, Third Movement from Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, opus 74, "Pathétique"

Arr/Jack Everly: Lost in Syndication

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Lento assai -- Allegro vivace, Third Movement from Symphonic Dances, opus 45

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

Photo Credit: Chris Lee

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