Wolf Trap Kicks Off 2014 Symphony Lineup - Disney, Yo-Yo Ma & More!

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announces its 2014 summer symphony productions.

This season's collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) includes seven performances, featuring conductors Andrew Litton, Grant Gershon, Vince Mendoza, Thomas Wilkins, and NSO Festival Conductor Emil de Cou. Guest artists include iconic cellist Yo-Yo Ma, world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. The schedule also features two NSO performances with film: Pixar in Concert and Disney Fantasia Live in Concert.

Wolf Trap welcomes The Philadelphia Orchestra for the first time since 1999 in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, with The Choral Arts Society of Washington and featuring four Wolf Trap Opera soloists. This concert marks the ensemble's only appearance in 2014 in the D.C. area.

Tickets for these performances go on sale at 10 am on March 29 and can be purchased online atwolftrap.org, by calling 1.877.WOLFTRAP, or at the Wolf Trap Box Office located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts at 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia 22182.

SYMPHONY:

Pixar in Concert
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou, conductor
TONIGHT, June 20, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Everyone's favorite animated Pixar films will be projected on the big screen, including Finding Nemo, Up, Toy Story, and Monsters, Inc., with their original Academy and Grammy Award-winning scores by Randy Newman, Thomas Newman, Michael Giacchino, and Patrick Doyle performed live by the National Symphony Orchestra. Included in this animated and musical journey will be Pixar's most recent Academy Award-winning film, Brave. Pixar in Concert © Disney/Pixar

In his 10th season as conductor for the National Symphony at Wolf Trap, Emil de Cou is also the music director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. "He's one of the few conductors trying to open new doors into classical music, either with video...or other new technologies aimed at younger audiences."-The Washington Post

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
Bramwell Tovey, conductor
Featuring The Choral Arts Society of Washington
and Wolf Trap Opera Soloists
Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor (9th Symphony) including the iconic "Ode to Joy" will be performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world's leading orchestras, in its only 2014 D.C.-area appearance.

"One of the most versatile and charismatic musicians in the world, Bramwell Tovey is a Grammy Award-winning conductor and a renowned composer."-MusicalAmerica.com. The award-winning Choral Arts Society of Washington joins soloists from the Wolf Trap Opera; Tracy Cox, soprano; Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano; Robert Watson, tenor; and Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone.

Repertoire:
Beethoven: Egmont Overture
Britten: Four Sea Interludes
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

Disney Fantasia Live in Concert
National Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou, conductor
Friday, July 11, 2014 at 8:30 pm
Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Experience Disney magic on the big screen when the National Symphony Orchestra casts an enchanting musical spell on sorcerer Mickey and other cherished characters from the animated masterpiece, featuring vibrant interpretations of classical pieces by Beethoven, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and more. Disney Fantasia Live in Concert © Disney

Repertoire:
Disney's Fantasia (1940)
Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Andrew Litton, conductor
National Symphony Orchestra
Friday, July 18, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Hailed as "one of the best pianists in the world" (Baltimore Sun), Jean-Yves Thibaudet continues to captivate audiences around the world with his thrilling performances, profound artistry, poetic musicality, and dazzling technical prowess.

Andrew Litton, music director of Norway's Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, artistic director of the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest, and conductor Laureate of Bournemouth Symphony, was recently named music director of the Colorado Symphony. Litton conducts the world's leading orchestras and opera companies and has a discography of over 120 recordings with awards including America's Grammy, France's Diapason d'Or, and many British and other honors.

Repertoire:
Rossini: William Tell Overture
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

Mary Chapin Carpenter: Songs From The Movie
National Symphony Orchestra
Vince Mendoza, conductor
Friday, August 1, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Mary Chapin Carpenter is a two-time Country Music Associate Female Vocalist of the Year and an inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2014, she released Songs From The Movie, an orchestral reinvention of her music, which was recorded with a 63-piece orchestra and a 15-voice choir.

Conductor, arranger, and composer Vince Mendoza has been at the forefront of the jazz and contemporary music scene as a composer and recording artist for the past 20 years. He is a six-time Grammy winner and arranged Carpenter's new album.

Yo-Yo Ma
National Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Yo-Yo Ma has a discography of more than 75 albums and has won the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and more than 15 Grammy Awards. "This Paris-born, Harvard-educated musician may be the most venerated performing artist today. Which is not at all surprising given his warm personality and peerless musicianship, distinguished by poise, technical prowess and tonal luster."-Wall Street Journal

Thomas Wilkins is music director of the Omaha Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Repertoire:
Bernstein: Candide - Overture
Bernstein/Harmon: Candide - Suite
Grieg: Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1
Dvo?ák: Cello Concerto

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Catherine Filene Shouse (1896-1994), produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally and internationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year-'round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America's outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap's education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program that was included in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's 2009 List of "Best Places to Intern." As part of its ongoing commitment to protect and preserve the environment, Wolf Trap offers Metro access and is a founding member of the Green Music Group.

Visit wolftrap.org for more information

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