Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to Present NEIGHBORHOOD WEEK, 8/31

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presents "Neighborhood Week," an entire week of classical orchestral and chamber music in some of Pittsburgh's most beloved locales. Beginning on Monday, August 31, the Pittsburgh Symphony will be bringing music to the community with different events each day through Friday, September 4.

All details about Neighborhood Week, including locations and ticket information, can be found at pittsburghsymphony.org/neighborhood.

The series kicks off with its "Salute to Veterans" on Monday, August 31 at 7 p.m. at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland. Rocky Bleier will host the event and guest conductor Lawrence Loh leads the orchestra and featured artists Ellen Chen-Livingston, violin; Cynthia DeAlmeida, oboe; Ricky Manning, vocals; and Katy Shackleton Williams, vocals, in classic pieces such as Brahms' Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, the Armed Forces Salute, "Danny Boy" and "God Bless America." General admission tickets are only $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Veterans and active military receive free admission by registering at pittsburghsymphony.org/vets.

The series continues on Day Two with "Brass N'at" on September 1 at 7 p.m. in Schenley Plaza in Oakland. This free brass concert features guest conductor Lawrence Loh leading the Pittsburgh Symphony brass and percussion sections in Sousa's The Liberty Bell and Clarke's Cousins, with soloists George Vosburgh, principal trumpet, and Peter Sullivan, principal trombone. The second half of the program welcomes brass musicians of all ages to join the ensemble in playing Arnaud's "Olympic Fanfare," John Williams' "Throne Room and End Title" from "Star Wars" and more. Community musicians who wish to play with this world-renowned section must register at pittsburghsymphony.org/brassnat by August 14. Participants must attend rehearsal on August 31 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland, and will receive two free tickets to the "Salute to Veterans" concert that evening.

Day Three marks the return of the wildly popular happy hour chamber series Play N'at at the South Side's Rex Theater on Wednesday, September 2 at 7 p.m. Join Pittsburgh Symphony musicians, artist Baron Batch and FUSE@PSO Creative Director Steve Hackman to be immersed in creativity as the musicians play chamber pieces and Batch live paints to Hackman's mash-up of contemporary pop and classical music. Tickets are $15 for adults. This event is for those 21 and over and ID is required. Space is limited so purchasing early is recommended!

Thursday, September 3 offers up a double dose with two performances, "Music Squared" and "Sounds of Summer." Music Squared takes place in Market Square at noon for a free, one-hour lunchtime concert during the Thursday Farmers' Market with an ensemble of Pittsburgh Symphony musicians. The music continues at the Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium at the Kaufman Center in the Hill District at 7 p.m. with Sounds of Summer, including Bach's Concerto in D minor for Flute and String Orchestra, Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915," Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" and Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires." Loh will again lead the orchestra and soloists Lorna McGhee, flute; Jennifer Orchard, violin; and Jasmine Muhammad, soprano. Students from the "Life Stages in Pages" creative writing program will present compositions at the concert. Tickets for "Sounds of Summer" are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students in advance and $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students at the door. All proceeds benefit the Hill House Association.

The series concludes on Friday, September 4 at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the North Side at 8 p.m. with "Classical Standards." National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Alto Saxophonist Phil Woods and members of the Pittsburgh Symphony revisit the historic 1950 recording Charlie Parker with Strings. Also featured on the program will be selections from the 1955 Clifford Brown with Strings recording performed by Dr. James Moore on trumpet with musicians from the Symphony. Tickets are $27 and $40. All proceeds will benefit the MCG "Youth in the Mix" Jazz Education Program.

More details and ticket purchase information (where applicable) for each concert can be found online at pittsburghsymphony.org/neighborhood.

Lawrence Loh is an engaging conductor of impressive range and talent. Beginning in the 2015-16 season, Loh will become the first music director of Symphoria, based in Syracuse N.Y., founded by former members of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He continues to serve as music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. As resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2015, Loh worked closely with Music Director Manfred Honeck and conducted a wide range of concerts including classical, educational and pops. He was active in the Pittsburgh Symphony's Community Engagement and Partnership Concerts, extending the symphony's reach into other communities. He made his debut on the main classical series conducting Handel's Messiah in December 2008. Loh led the enormously popular Fiddlesticks Family Concert Series where he played the part of host and conductor. In addition to his duties on the podium, he was an audience favorite in the Pittsburgh Symphony's Concert Preludes lecture series, edits radio broadcasts and makes many public appearances. His association with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra began as assistant conductor in 2005. He was promoted to associate conductor in 2006 and to resident conductor in 2007. Since his appointment as music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic in 2005, the orchestra has made its mark as an ensemble of superb musicianship, performing electrifying performances year-round. Off the podium, Loh is very active in the region as an arts leader and music advocate, and is constantly in demand as a guest speaker and clinician. Loh's recent guest conducting engagements include the National Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Charleston Symphony Orchestra (SC), Greater Bridgeport Symphony and return engagements with the Dallas and El Paso Symphonies. Other recent guest conducting appearances include the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the San Angelo Symphony. He has conducted the symphony orchestras of Portland, Cedar Rapids, Colorado Springs, East Texas, Fort Collins, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Plano, Shreveport, Sioux City, Spokane and Tallahassee among others. He has led Korea's Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Yale Philharmonia, Omaha Area Youth Orchestra, Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Dallas Chamber Orchestra. His summer appearances include the festivals of Bravo Vail Valley, Breckenridge, Las Vegas and Hot Springs, the Kinhaven Music School (Vt.), the Performing Arts Institute (Pa.) and the Carnegie Mellon Summer Strings Camp. Loh held the positions of assistant and associate conductor of the Dallas Symphony from 2001 to 2005. He led the Dallas Symphony in a variety of classical subscription and educational programs throughout each season. He was brought to national attention in February 2004 when he stepped in to conduct on short notice for an ailing Charles Dutoit, conducting Stravinsky's "Petrouchka" and Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique." Prior to his Dallas appointment, Loh was appointed by Music Director Marin Alsop to be associate conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. From 1998 to 2001, he conducted more than 50 concerts annually, including classical subscription, pops, education, family and outreach programs. While in Denver, he was also music director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, the premiere youth orchestra in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Region. Additionally, Loh served as the interim director of Orchestras and Head of the Orchestral Conducting Program at Denver University's Lamont School of Music in 2000-2001. In May 1998, Loh received his artist diploma in orchestral conducting from Yale University, also earning the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize, given to the most outstanding conductor in the Yale graduating class. During his years at Yale, he was selected to be the assistant conductor of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and apprentice conductor of the Hot Springs Music Festival. He received further training at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival and School and has additional degrees from Indiana University and the University of Rochester. A dedicated teacher, Loh held the position of associate instructor in music theory at Indiana University and teaching assistant at Yale University in advanced hearing, conducting and orchestration. He was also the guest curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for "What Makes Music?" an interactive exhibit, offering the opportunity to explore the science of music and sound, as well as the role of music in culture. Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.

Rocky Bleier's life story - a gripping tale of courage on both the football fields of America and the battle fields of Vietnam - has held audiences in rapt attention for years. Yet, the motivational message behind it, detailing how ordinary people can become extraordinary achievers, defines success in the new American century. With the same optimism, sense of humor and steadfast determination that were his trademarks as a Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Bleier takes audiences from his early years through his professional career and talks about the lessons he learned along the way. Not falling within the ideal of what a running back should look like, Bleier had to run harder and play smarter to be able to stand out. Despite his drive and ability to make the big play, the Pittsburgh Steelers only considered him a late round pick. But before the season ended that first year, he was drafted again - this time by the United States Army. At the height of the Vietnam War, Bleier was thrust into combat early and was seriously wounded when his platoon ran into an ambush. Receiving wounds from both rifle fire and grenade fragments in his legs, he was barely able to walk and his professional football career seemed to have ended before it began. For more than two years, he drove himself. Little by little he overcame obstacles and fought his back. He not only made the Pittsburgh Steelers, but also eventually became a starting running back on a team that won four Super Bowls and became the greatest football team of the 20th century. The hard lessons Bleier learned early in his life, which helped him overcome adversity and reach his goals, have paid off after football. What makes Bleier so popular as a speaker is his ability to translate core values in his speech, "Be the Best You Can Be." With real-world practicality, he points out ways to reach new levels of inner-confidence. Whether it is career development for corporate executives, enhancing sales and marketing skills for sales teams, offering inspiration for young professionals or practical advice to student athletes, Bleier's delivery is a winner. His message consistently brings audiences to their feet and re-energizes them for personal and work challenges ahead. His advice is not about avoiding life's twists and turns but conditioning one's self to lean into them and to incorporate the resulting energy in realizing goals.

Violinist Ellen Chen-Livingston joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1998. Prior to her engagement with the Pittsburgh Symphony, she had been a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and briefly with New World Symphony. While a student at Juilliard, Chen-Livingston served as concertmaster of the New York String Seminar Orchestra under Jaime Laredo. She has also participated in the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals. Chen-Livingston received both a bachelor's and master's degree from Juilliard as a student of Cho-Liang Lin. She has appeared as soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra and with the Pittsburgh Symphony on community engagement and chamber orchestra concerts. Devoted to teaching young students, Chen-Livingston maintains a private studio in her home in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. She is married to bass trombonist Garnett Livingston, and they have three children.

Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida has enjoyed playing as principal oboe of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 1991. For two years prior, she was associate principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra. DeAlmeida has been featured with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in concertos by Bach (Concerto in A major for Oboe D'amore, Frans Bruggen, conductor, and Brandenburg Concerto Nos. 1 and 2, Jeannette Sorrell, conductor); Haydn (Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major, Alessandro Siciliani, conductor, and Concerto in C major, Manfred Honeck, conductor); Vaughan Williams (Concerto in A minor, Yoav Talmi, conductor); Strauss (Concerto in D major, Sir Andre Previn, conductor); Mozart (Concerto in C major); and Francaix (The Flowerclock, Leonard Slatkin, conductor). She has performed Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Vladimir Spivakov, Andres Cardenes, Pinchas Zukerman and Noah Bendix-Balgley. DeAlmeida has been honored with the commissioning of three oboe concerti for her by the Pittsburgh Symphony. The first one, commissioned by Lorin Maazel, was composed by Leonardo Balada and premiered in 1993 with Lorin Maazel conducting. The following season she recorded it with Maazel and the symphony for New World records. The second Pittsburgh commission for DeAlmeida was written by Lucas Richman. She premiered it in 2006 with the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. In 2008, she performed it again with the Knoxville Symphony, Lucas Richman conducting. In 2015, she recorded this concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Lucas Richman conducting, for Albany Records. A third commissioned concerto, composed by Alan Fletcher, will be premiered with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck in June 2015. DeAlmeida has also appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Haddonfield Symphony, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. DeAlmeida is an avid chamber musician, having performed nine full recitals at Carnegie Mellon University since 1993. Each summer since 2002, she performs and teaches as a faculty member of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Several of her performances there have been featured on NPR's "Performance Today." DeAlmeida has also performed at the Strings Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; the La Jolla Festival in La Jolla, California; and the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. In November 2002, DeAlmeida's first solo CD was released on the Boston Records label. "Classic Discoveries for Oboe" was hailed by American Record Guide as "a masterly recording... Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida is simply one of the finest exponents of the instrument anywhere." Her second solo CD, entitled "Mist Over the Lake" on the Crystal Record label, was released in 2006 to rave reviews: "Ms. DeAlmeida is hands down one of the best players in the world..." She can also be heard on Crystal Records' recording of Sir Andre Previn's Sonata for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano with Sir Andre Previn, as well as all the Pittsburgh Symphony recordings since 1991 under Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Marek Janowski and Manfred Honeck. In 2009, DeAlmeida was asked to travel to Berlin to perform and record the German Requiem of Brahms with Marek Janowski and the Radio Orchestra of Berlin (RSB) on the Pentatone label. Teaching has always been a rewarding part of DeAlmeida's artistic life. She has been associate teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Music since 2012, and a faculty member there since 1991. She has held teaching positions at Temple University in Philadelphia and Trenton State College in New Jersey, and has also been invited to teach at the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland as well as the New World Symphony. She is frequently asked to teach master classes at universities in the United States and abroad. In 2003, DeAlmeida was featured on national television on the CBS "Early Show" in a story relating to the oboe and its remarkable health benefits for asthma sufferers, which led to her work as an ambassador for the American Respiratory Alliance in Pittsburgh. DeAlmeida volunteers at the classical radio station WQED in their fundraising pledge drives. She participates in the Pittsburgh Symphony's Education and Community Engagement department playing and speaking to young people in various venues throughout the Pittsburgh area. DeAlmeida received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, studying with Arno Mariotti, and the Master of Music degree from Temple University, as a student of Richard Woodhams. She proudly plays on F. Loree oboes of Paris, France.

Ricky Manning, a greater Pittsburgh native, is a detective with the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office with more than a decade of service. Manning's first inspiration was music and although his path has taken him to a career of civil service, he continues to vehemently pursue music. Manning is a graduate of Central Catholic High School, the Allegheny County Police Training Academy and Point Park University. Manning also is a singer, guitarist, percussionist and highland bagpiper. He was a member of the Carnegie Mellon University Pipes and Drums for 12 years. Manning performs with singer/songwriter Mark Pipas & The Sleaze Band and local Irish artist Sean McClorey, performing at a multitude of venues throughout the greater Pittsburgh area. He also has recorded with local guitarist/songwriter James "Doc" Dougherty.

Katy Shackleton Williams has performed extensively in the Pittsburgh area with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, Mendelssohn Choir, Pittsburgh Opera Theater, River City Brass Band and Pittsburgh Concert Chorale. She was a featured soloist for several Pittsburgh Symphony Holiday Pops concert series and made her BNY Mellon Grand Classics debut in September 2005 with Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." She was a soloist in the Heinz Hall performance of "The Lord of the Rings" and has been the special guest vocalist for many of the Pittsburgh Symphony's Fiddlesticks and Tiny Tots children's concerts.

Conductor, composer, arranger, producer and songwriter Steve Hackman is increasingly in demand as one the most compelling artists contributing to a new landscape in classical music. Fluent in both classical and popular repertoire, he crafts virtuosic, cross-genre works and performances that intrigue the established audience and engage an excited new one. Active across the country as a guest conductor of major symphony orchestras, Hackman presents programs he architects which synthesize orchestral and pop masterworks. In 2015, Hackman was named creative director of the FUSE@PSO series and continues his role of music director of the Mash-Up series at the Colorado Music Festival. The summer season will include the world premiere of his newest creation Bartok V. Björk, a piece which fuses the former's Concerto for Orchestrawith the latter's first three albums. Also being presented is a re-worked version of Hackman's first ever large-scale mash-up Copland V. Bon Iver. Last season's highlights included the premiere of his Beethoven V. Coldplay and collaborations with My Brightest Diamond, Aoife O'Donovan, Olga Bell (of Dirty Projectors) and San Fermin. From 2009 to 2013, Hackman served as co-creative director of the Happy Hour at the Symphony Series with the Indianapolis Symphony, where, along with co-artistic directors Time For Three (TF3), he pioneered a new type of concert experience by producing, arranging/composing and conducting compelling presentations that blended classical with pop. He returns as guest conductor regularly, most recently in spring 2015 premiering a program commissioned by the ISO and Time for Three which combined symphonic movements of Mozart, Beethoven and Dvo?ák with five contemporary pop songs. Hackman is the creative director of :STEREO HIDEOUT:, a music brand that represents the removal of barriers between classical and popular music and the skillful blending of the two. In 2014, he released the debut :STEREO HIDEOUT: album "The Radio Nouveau," along with several music videos. The album was mixed in London by Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Depeche Mode) and mastered in Brooklyn by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors). The follow-up album "Down with the Classics" is due in late 2015. Hackman's work as a composer and arranger has met with considerable success. The string trio Time for Three and choral ensemble Chanticleer present his works as their showpieces; TF3's "Chaconne in Winter" highlights their recent release on Universal Records, and Chanticleer's "Wait Fantasy" can be heard on their recent album "Someone New." He enjoys a continuing relationship as an arranger for Time for Three, and most recently contributed five new mash-ups to their solo repertoire, two pieces to their holiday EP "Yuletime" (Universal) and arranged the music for their appearance on ABC's hit show "Dancing with the Stars." Hackman's orchestrations for artists like Time for Three, The Five Browns, Michael Cavanaugh, My Brightest Diamond, Arlo Guthrie, Aoife O'Donovan and Joshua Radin have been performed by nearly all the major orchestras in America. This season marked his first collaboration with the world-renowned Tallis Scholars. Hackman was a four-year member, producer and musical director of the a capella group The Other Guys at the University of Illinois, a group that under his direction placed runner-up in the International Competition of Collegiate Acapella at Avery Fisher Hall. He is a prolific songwriter, having written hundreds of songs and releasing several albums of original music. His song "The Pendulum Song" was chosen among tens of thousands as a finalist in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Competition, and he has also received honorable mention in the Billboard songwriting competition. He has entertained as a dueling piano player at Howl at the Moon piano bar in Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville. In season 7 of American Idol, Hackman was one of 164 contestants chosen from more than 150,000 to attend Hollywood Week. He finished in the top 64. Hackman studied conducting under Otto-Werner Mueller and counterpoint/composition under Dr. Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He subsequently studied conducting with David Zinman at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen and received further instruction in orchestration from the prolific Broadway orchestrator and composer William Brohn ("Miss Saigon," "Wicked," "Ragtime" and countless others). He served as the assistant conductor of the Reading Symphony for two seasons, where he led subscription, family, education and New Year's Eve programs.

Scottish-born Lorna McGhee is principal flute with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and has performed as guest principal with Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Before emigrating to North America in 1998, McGhee was co-principal flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in England. As a soloist, she has given concerto performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the UK; Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonia and Victoria Symphony in Canada; and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra in the United States. A career highlight was a performance of Penderecki's flute concerto with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under the baton of the composer in 2004. As a chamber musician and recitalist, she has performed throughout Europe and North America in such venues as London's Wigmore Hall, Barge Music in New York, the Louvre, Paris and the Schubertsaal of Vienna's Konzerthaus. McGhee is often featured in chamber music festivals in Canada, the United States and Australia. Her performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio in Canada, BBC Radio, NPR (USA), Netherlands Radio and ABC (Australia). She has made chamber music recordings for EMI, Decca ASV, Naxos and Meridian. Along with Duo partner Heidi Krutzen, McGhee has released two CDs on Skylark Music: "Taheke, 20th century Masterpieces for flute and harp" and "Canada, New Works for flute and harp.: As a member of Trio Verlaine (with Heidi Krutzen, harp, and David Harding, viola) McGhee has most recently recorded "Fin de Siècle," a CD of music by Debussy and Ravel for Skylark Music. Both the Trio and Duo are committed to broadening the repertoire and have contributed six new commissions to date. Having taught at the University of Michigan and the University of British Columbia, McGhee has given master classes at universities and conservatoires in the UK, United States and Canada, including the Juilliard School, the Royal Academy of Music and the Banff International Centre for the Arts. She is now an honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

Canadian violinist Jennifer Orchard has traveled the world performing as a chamber musician, soloist and currently as first violinist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 2001. Still in high school, Orchard won a position to study at the Curtis Institute of Music with Szymon Goldberg. She continued her studies, obtaining a master's degree from the Juilliard School with Robert Mann and participated at the Marlboro Music Festival. Upon graduating from the Julliard School, Orchard was invited to be a member of the world renowned Lark Quartet. As a legacy from this time period with the quartet, Orchard recorded works of Robert Schumann, Alfred Schnittke, Peter Schickele, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Zemlinsky, Amy Beach, Alexander Borodin and the Pulitzer Prize winning quartet by Aaron Jay Kernis - one of several new works for string quartet commissioned by the Lark Quartet. In 2002, Orchard started performing in the Pittsburgh Piano Trio. The group maintains busy touring and recording schedule. In recent seasons, the Pittsburgh Piano Trio performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory Grand Hall where the Trio presented the Russian premiere of the Triple Concerto by Paul Juon with the Tchaikovsky State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Fedoseev. As a member of the Trio, Orchard recorded three CDs on Minstrel label, including "Phantasie," a disc dedicated to music of British composer Frank Bridge and includes the world premier recording of his violin sonata; "Encore!...Encore!," a collection of short works for piano trio; and, most recently, a CD of Russian music that includes Piano Trio by Gerogy Sviridov and Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok for soprano and piano trio.

Jasmine Muhammad recently completed a successful third-year as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist. During the 2014-2015 season she appeared as Rodelinda in Handel's "Rodelinda" and Micaëla in Bizet's "Carmen." In 2013-2014 she appeared as High Priestess in Verdi's "Aida," First Lady in Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Eliza in Muhly's "Dark Sisters" and Mimi in the student matinee production of Puccini's "La Boheme." During the 2012-2013 season she appeared as Countess Ceprano in Verdi's "Rigoletto and Elisetta in Il matrimonio segreto." Other performances include Woman in a Hat and Duchess in "The Ghosts of Versailles" with Manhattan School of Music Opera Studio and First Lady in "Die Zauberflöte" with Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance. In summer 2012, Muhammad joined the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel under the direction of Joan Dornemann. Muhammad recently sang background vocals for John Legend with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the the Marvin Gaye What's Going On tribute. She has also performed with Warren Haynes on the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration Tour for two consecutive years. Muhammad is a 2014-2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council District winner and received Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council-Pittsburgh District in 2013-2014 and 2012-2013. She also received a Commendation for Excellence from the 2014 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition. She holds a master's degree in voice from Manhattan School of Music and a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts.

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. 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.

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