Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra Presents MUSES

As Albert Einstein sagely observed, "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." Maestro Mario Alejandro Torres leads the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra in a concert that is sure to rouse the imagination. Rachmaninoff's beautiful and lovely Vocalise sets the initial tone for the concert. Then, the acclaimed soprano Cyndia Sieden will delight audience members with Strauss' Four Songs, Op. 27 - songs that were written as a wedding gift for his beloved bride, soprano Pauline de Ahna. In closing, we invite you to give free reign to your creative muse as we immerse ourselves in the extraordinary tales of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

Mario Alejandro Torres is a conductor, teacher, and performer native to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Currently based in Seattle, Washington, Mr. Torres made his Benaroya Hall conducting debut in collaboration with Maestros Ludovic Morlot and David Alexander Rahbee in an exciting concert with the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra. For the past two years, he has served in a conducting fellowship with the Seattle Symphony, assisting Maestro Morlot in collaboration with artists such as Hilary Hahn and John Luther Adams. As the Music Director of Poulsbo Community Orchestra, he has brought a new and exciting sound to the ensemble. Outside of the United States, he has conducted performances with the Eddy Snijders Orchestra in Paramaribo, Suriname, and in his hometown with the professional Chamber Orchestra of San Pedro Sula, and Victoriano Lopez School of Music Choir.

American soprano Cyndia Sieden moves easily among the Baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary repertoires to worldwide acclaim. Sieden has starred at most of the world's great opera houses, including the Munich Bayerische Staatsoper, the New York Met, Paris's Opéra Bastille, the Wiener Staatsoper, Barcelona's Gran Teatre de Liceu, Brussels's La Monnaie, and London's Covent Garden and English National, as well as in Beijing and Australia. Her highly-praised Metropolitan Opera debut was as Berg's Lulu, and her success quickly led to reengagement in 2008 for Die Zauberflöt's Queen of the Night, one of her signature roles. She has sung with many of the most renowned symphony orchestras in the world, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and at New York's Mostly Mozart Festival.

Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra presents MUSES on February 16 and 17, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. A pre-concert chat is offered on Sunday, February 17 at 2:15 p.m. Tickets, $21 for adults, and $18 for seniors, students, military, and teachers, may be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206.842.8569 or in person at BPA, 200 Madison Avenue North, Bainbridge Island. Each youth receives free admission when accompanied by a paying adult thanks to the BSO's "Youth in Music Initiative" funded by Wicklund Dental. BPA Box Office hours are 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.

Bainbridge Performing Arts extends special thanks to Media Sponsors Classical KING FM 98.1 and KCTS 9 - Public Television and Community Sponsors Carly's Rolling Bay Café and Wicklund Dental. BPA is supported, in part, by Bainbridge Community Foundation, the City of Bainbridge Island, and One Call for All. Bainbridge Performing Arts is pleased to offer an "Open Doors" program. Free and reduced-cost tickets to most events are available to community members in need through our partner Helpline House thanks to a grant from the Mabee Family Foundation. Please contact the BPA Box Office at 206.842.8569 or Helpline House to reserve tickets today.