The Indigo Girls Join the Pittsburgh Symphony in Concert Tonight

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra joins with Amy Ray and Emily Saliers - better known as The Indigo Girls - for a one-night-only concert featuring their greatest hits - with an orchestral twist - tonight, April 30 at 8 p.m. in Heinz Hall.

Twenty years after they began releasing records as the Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are still doing what they do best: bringing their sublime harmonies to their heartfelt catalog of songs. With 14 original studio albums, three live records, various greatest hits compilations and a rarities and Christmas album to their credit, this performance has a wealth of material from which to draw. Ray and Saliers will perform some of the contemporary classic songs like "Power of Two," "Closer to Fine," "Virginia Woolf," "Kid Fears" and many others.

"We love Pittsburgh, and it's always a thrill and an honor to play with a great symphony like the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra," said the Indigo Girls. "It will be great to work with conductor Bob Bernhardt again, as he knows the music well and brings it to life."

Ray and Saliers first performed with an orchestra in 2001 during a series of shows with the Atlanta Ballet. This marks their debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony, which will be under the baton of Robert Bernhardt, principal pops conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Louisville Orchestra, and music director emeritus and principal pops conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera.

Tickets, ranging in price from $37 to $98, are available at the Heinz Hall box office, online at pittsburghsymphony.org/indigogirls or via phone at 412-392-4900.

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are Indigo Girls. Together they write, arrange, record and perform music that, over the course of 25 years, has become a vital part of the lives of their legion of devoted fans around the world, informing and rewarding them day to day. After numerous Grammy nominations and awards and gold and platinum certifications and decades of touring in clubs, arenas and everything in between, Indigo Girls remain active and relevant, always viewing their music as a fresh opportunity for exploration and discovery. Saliers and Ray first met as fifth- and sixth-graders in Decatur, Ga., and began singing together during high school. Originally billed as Saliers & Ray, the pair adopted the name Indigo Girls during their undergraduate days at Atlanta's Emory University. The Indigos were attending classes by day and performing as an acoustic duo in local clubs by night when they made their first stab at recording in 1985 with the single "Crazy Game/Everybody's Waiting (for Someone to Come Home)," which they issued on their own label, followed by an EP and in 1987, their first full length LP, "Strange Fire," produced by John Keane. In 1988, the big-time beckoned Indigo Girls. Signed to Epic Records and EMI Music, they recorded Indigo Girls with producer Scott Litt at Ocean Way Studios in L.A. With Saliers and Ray on vocals and acoustic guitars, Indigo Girls featured contributions from REM, Hothouse Flowers and Luka Bloom. The record was released in 1989 (the Boston Globe stated "The Indigo Girls have simply made the best debut album so far this year") and the Indigo Girls began crisscrossing the country on tour (a process that has continued without pause throughout their career) headlining or supporting the likes of REM, Neil Young and the Violent Femmes. Decades into their career, the Indigo Girls still amaze conventional pundits with their ability to grow and thrive no matter what the state of the music industry is at any given point. The duo's constant touring, as well as staunch dedication to a number of social and environmental causes, has earned them a fervidly devoted following over the years.

With 31 years of experience as a music director, 35 years as a conductor of pops and 33 years in the opera pit, Bob Bernhardt brings a unique perspective and ability each time he is on the podium, and in every genre. In 2015, Bernhardt was named principal pops conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony and is currently in his 18th season as principal pops conductor of the Louisville Orchestra (and in his 33rd consecutive season there) and in his third season as music director emeritus and principal pops conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera (where he was music director for 19 seasons). He is also artist-in-residence at Lee University since 2012. Formerly, he was principal conductor/artistic director of the Rochester Philharmonic, music director and conductor of the Tucson Symphony, principal guest conductor of Kentucky Opera, music director and conductor of the Amarillo Symphony, and artistic director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. This season marks his 22nd as a frequent guest of the Boston Pops, which he first conducted at John Williams' invitation in 1992. Along with Boston, he has been a frequent guest conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (approaching his 10th season as conductor of their Symphony Under the Sky Festival), the Baltimore Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Santa Barbara Symphony. He has been a guest with the St. Louis Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and many others. In the world of pops, he was worked with scores of stars from Broadway, rock & roll and the American Songbook, from Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O'Hara to the Beach Boys and Wynonna to Jason Alexander and Ann Hampton Callaway. And because of his extensive experience and lucky upbringing, he has rarely met music he doesn't love. A lover of opera, he conducted productions with Kentucky Opera for 18 consecutive seasons, and for 19 seasons with his own company in Chattanooga, as well as many guest conducting engagements with the Nashville Opera. He received his master's degree with honors from the University of Southern California's School of Music, studying primarily with Daniel Lewis. He received his B.A. in fine arts from Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude and an Academic All-American baseball player.

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 ho me 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

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart

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