Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Hosts Classic BBQs in Heinz Hall Summer Garden, 7/11

PITTSBURGH - A night for the entire family, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is hosting two Classical BBQ events in the Heinz Hall Summer Garden on July 11 and August 2. Each Classical BBQ is filled with orchestral favorites in a fun-filled atmosphere, including pre- and post-concert entertainment and a chance to mingle with Pittsburgh Symphony musicians.

Pittsburgh Symphony Resident Conductor Fawzi Haimor leads the orchestra for both Classical BBQs. July's program features Leonard Bernstein's Overture toWest Side Story and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture along with highlights from the 2015-2016 classical season. In August, the "Summer Spectacular!" celebrates the musical color and virtuosity of the Symphony musicians with excerpts from works such as Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

Each Classical BBQ will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Heinz Hall Summer Garden with food and pre-concert entertainment followed by the Symphony's performance at 7:30 p.m. Following the concert, listen to favorite jazz music performed in the garden for even more live music!

All tickets are $30 and include general admission to the concert, food, happy-hour drink prices and pre- and post-concert entertainment. Tickets can be purchased by calling 412-392-4900 or visiting pittsburghsymphony.org/summer. Discounts are available when buying tickets to both BBQs.

The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank BNY Mellon for its concert sponsorship of the Classical BBQ concerts.

Fawzi Haimor holds the position of resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he conducts a variety of concerts including classical, pops, education and outreach. While in Pittsburgh, he has served as a cover to esteemed conductors including Manfred Honeck, Leonard Slatkin, Gianandrea Noseda, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and Yan Pascal Tortelier. In his first European season, Haimor made an impressive debut with the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna with Bruckner's Symphony No.4 and was re-invited after the first rehearsal. In the United Kingdom, he appeared with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester at the Cadogan Hall, London with a contemporary programme and with Sinfonia ViVA in a classical programme, including Schumann cello concerto with Leonard Elschenbroich and Beethoven Symphony No.1. The Derby Telegraph noted of the Beethoven, "A buoyant scherzo was followed by a runaway romp of a finale, the criss-crossing scale-patterns exhilarating in their precision and incisiveness." Elsewhere, Haimor works with Jacksonville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Erie Chamber Orchestra and Amman Symphony in the Middle East. Highlights for the 2014-2015 season include returning to the Orquesta Sinfonia di Porto and debuts with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi with Prokofiev's 7th Symphony, Haydn Orchesta Bolzano, Qatar Philharmonic, Bursa State Orchestra, Turkey and education projects with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg with a staged production of Grieg's Peer Gynt. Haimor was invited to attend rehearsals with the West Eastern Divan Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim this summer at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. His repertoire includes the late romantic Germanic works, 19th and 20th century Russian and American composers, plus he is a committed advocate of contemporary music and has performed works by composers such as Kevin Puts, Bela Fleck, Mohammed Fairouz and Avner Dorman. Passionate about the education of young musicians, Haimor was the first music director of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra and has subsequently been invited to guest conduct youth ensembles across the United States. An eloquent and compelling speaker from the podium, he was the founder of the Davis Summer Symphony which is geared towards the education and outreach of classical music in the community. Born in Chicago in 1983, Haimor was raised in the Middle East and the San Francisco Bay area. He completed his violin training at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University, where he studied under David Effron and Arthur Fagen. He earned bachelor's degrees in both music and neurobiology, a master's degree in conducting from the University of California-Davis, and second master's in instrumental conducting at Indiana University.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, known for its artistic excellence for more than 119 years, is credited with a rich history of the world's finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Past music directors have included Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), Andre Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1995-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" in 1944 and John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine in 1986. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the ground breaking PBS series "Previn and the Pittsburgh." The orchestra has received increased national attention since 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3, made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. With a long and distinguished history of touring both domestically and overseas since 1900-including 36 international tours to Europe, the Far East and South America-the Pittsburgh Symphony continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world's greatest orchestras.

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Symphony, Inc., a non-profit organization, and is the year-round home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The cornerstone of Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Heinz Hall also hosts many other events that do not feature its world-renowned orchestra, including Broadway shows, comedians, speakers and much more. For a full calendar of upcoming non-symphony events at the hall, visit heinzhall.org

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