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600 PENN AVENUE

A NEWSLETTER PRESENTED BY THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND HEINZ HALL

‘tis the season

December 12-21, 2013

Todd Ellison, conductor

Nikki Renée Daniels, vocalist

Vanessa Campagna, vocalist

Ricky Manning, vocalist

Christopher Sanders, vocalist

George Vosburgh, trumpet Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Symphony Brass

Celebrate the season with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Choir and an all-star cast of guest artists in this spectacular Pittsburgh tradition! Enjoy your favorite carols and much-loved holiday music, including “Sleigh Ride,” “Joy to the World” and more. Renowned conductor Todd Ellison leads this festive concert—and Santa makes a special visit from the North Pole bringing more delightful surprises! Before and after the concert, enjoy the ornate decorations at Heinz Hall, complete with a magnificent 25-foot tree in the Grand Lobby.

bach,

beethoven & brahms

Purchase a Passbook now. choose your Performances later. or give as the ultimate gift.

Buy today and save up to 50% off regular price! pittsburghsymphony.org/passbook customize yOuR ExPERIENCE.

The Best- s ounding Gift Certificate you’ll Ever Find

Need a gift idea for someone who loves music? you can buy Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gift certificates online at pittsburghsymphony.org/giftcard or by calling the Heinz Hall Box office at 412.392.4900.

Manfred Honeck, Music Director

January 31 & February 2, 2014

In 1927, Leopold Stokowski orchestrated the organ work Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by J. S. Bach. It has since thrilled audiences and was made famous in popular culture by Disney’s Fantasia. With its fiery, rich harmonies and the powerful spirit of this symphony, it is surprising that the fourth is one of Beethoven’s lesserknown works.

With playing touted as “superb, tightly controlled and forcefully articulated” by The Los Angeles Times, pianist and wildlife conservationist Hélène Grimaud returns to Heinz Hall with Brahms’ fierce and dramatic first piano concerto.

photo: felix broede

PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION

2013-2014 Season

TATJANA MEAD CHAMIS

Music aficionados and fans of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra once again have the opportunity to gain an “insider’s view” of the orchestra this season through Music 101, a series of informal lunchtime lectures. Presented by the Pittsburgh Symphony Association (PSA), Music 101 gives attendees the chance to interact with and learn from symphony musicians, conductors, composers and staff. It began in 1983 and is now in its 31st season.

“Inner Voice”

12:30-1:30 p.m. at Heinz Hall

march 1, 2014

11:15 a.m.

Lawrence Loh, conductor

Let music inspire your imagination! The Carnival of the Animals is one of the most famous pieces by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Each of the movements in this spectacular orchestral work depicts a different animal, from the royal lion to the graceful swan. Joining conductor Lawrence Loh and Fiddlesticks onstage is cartoon artist Joe Wos from the Toonseum, who will illustrate the animals as the Pittsburgh Symphony performs. Let your imagination run wild in this musical journey through the animal kingdom.

CHAMIS

larry the cable guy

January 11, 2014

7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Larry the Cable Guy is a multiplatinum recording artist, Grammy nominee, Billboard Award winner and one of the top comedians in the country. He has his own line of merchandise and continues to sell out theaters and arenas across the united States. Larry has created The Git-R-Done Foundation, which was named after his signature catchphrase, and has donated more than $7 million to various children’s and veteran’s causes, such as The Arnold Palmer Hospital, Operation Homefront and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. Don’t miss this Heinz Hall show!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Dorothy Porter Simmons Regency Rooms

Heinz Hall | 12:30-1:30PM

Open to the public, no reservations needed | $2 admission/free to students and children

Dorothy Porter Simmons Regency Rooms

• Desserts and beverages provided by the PSA

Open to the public, no reservations needed $2 admission beneﬁts the PSO

• Enjoy an $8 brown bag lunch from The Common Plea or bring your own.

Desserts and beverages provided by the PSA

• Pre-ordered lunches available 11:15 a.m. onwards.

Enjoy an $8 brown bag lunch from The Common Plea, or bring your own.

• To order lunch or for additional information, call 412.361.3346 or email PSAmusic101@gmail.com

Pre-ordered lunches available 11:15AM onwards.

• To reser ve parking, call 412.566.4190 or visit downtownpittsburgh.com at least 24 hours in advance.

To order lunch or for additional information, call 412.361.3346 or email PSAmusic101@gmail.com

robert moir | artistic planning

To reserve parking, call 412.566.4190 or visit downtownpgh.com at least 24 hours in advance.

“Adventures in Programming” Wednesday, February 19, 2014

rebecca cherian | trombone

“From the Back Row” Thursday, March 20, 2014

noah benDiX-balgley | concertmaster

“Concertmaster: The Symphony’s Quarterback” Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Upcoming events: calling all university students!

World-class concert packages for students are available in the balcony at a special price of $12 per BN y Mellon Grand Classics or PNC Pops concert! Students may choose from a variety of season ticket packages.

As a student season package ticket holder, you are guaranteed the same seats for each concert and exchanges are easy – when your schedule changes, your tickets can too.

Call 412.392.4900 for more information and to place your order.

A valid student ID is required.*

Purchase individual concert tickets in advance at student prices, $15, $20 or $25, by visiting pittsburgh symphony.org/university

And…

Student rush tickets are available for $15 in specific seating sections two hours prior to most concerts.

Just present a valid student ID to purchase BN y Mellon Grand Classics and PNC Pops concert tickets.

*One student season ticket package and/or rush ticket per ID. Tickets are subject to availability, exclude certain seating areas and are not valid on previously purchased tickets or in combination with any other offer.

bring a group!

For BNy Mellon Grand Classics and PNC Pops performances, groups of 10 or more receive up to 25 percent off regular ticket prices. For PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh performances, groups receive up to 10 percent off regular ticket prices. Other benefits are:

• Personalized service

• Free room rental with group purchase

• A “Meet & Greet” with a Pittsburgh Symphony musician

• Payment plan options

• Pre- and post-concert dining provided by The Common Plea, Heinz Hall’s exclusive caterer

• Tours of Heinz Hall

call 412.392.4819 or visit pittsburghsymphony.org/groups for more information.

“Working with this group was a dream — the planning was smooth, the event was wonderful, the Common Plea caterers were fabulous and the event turned out great. No request was too much...the venue is the best Pittsburgh has to offer and I would highly recommend this group of professionals to anyone. All in all they are One, Singular Sensation!”

-Susie Abercrombie

“Let’s be very clear here; this is what Strauss should sound like…you can actually hear everything, in all its masterfully scored, perfectly executed glory.” Brian Wigman, Classical.net

“The Pittsburgh Symphony provides an indulgent forward sweep which suits the passionate emotions of the works very well.” James Norris, Audiophilia

“Three very difficult works for any orchestra and these are really fine performances—We can expect more great recordings to come from this partnership.” Kent Teeters, Capital Public Radio

the Planets an hd odyssey

February 7-9, 2014

NASA video footage of the planets accompanies this performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets From bellicose Mars to mystical Neptune, Holst’s iconic musical portrayal of the planets and their astrological significance has delighted audiences with its richly colored orchestration and memorable melodies.

Christoph König, conductor

Hila Plitmann, soprano

January

Manfred Honeck, conductor

Hélène Grimaud, piano

photo: matt hennek

photo: mark royce

accidental P iccolo

How did a flute player since the age of nine end up the principal piccolo at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra? For Rhian Kenny, the combination of the recommendation from a teacher, a borrowed piccolo and a finalist finish in another audition has resulted in 24 years with the Pittsburgh Symphony.

“There was a piccolo job open in Toronto and my teacher said ‘ the audition.’ I had to borrow a piccolo to do it,” says Kenny. “I made it to the finals of that audition and then an audition opened up in Pittsburgh. I won it— still on a borrowed instrument! And like that, I became a piccolo player.”

The piccolo (Italian for “small”) is a half-size flute and has most of the same fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written.

Kenny holds a Bachelor of Music degree from McGill where she studied under Timothy Hutchins (who once was offered a principal position in Pittsburgh). Throughout her studies, she won several competitions, including the Concours de l’Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivieres (1989), Concours de l’Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (1988) and the Concours de l’Orchestre symphonique de Quebec (1987). Kenny finds Shostakovich and Mahler symphonies particularly fun pieces to play and Barber’s Strings as a particular favorite. The recent violinist Arabella Steinbacher proved a challenge.

“It [Scheherazade] has got 16 bars of the my life,” Kenny says.

Kenny has a hard time picking out a particularly favorite piece of music or concert from the season (“I just love everything”), but says she always looks forward to the Highmark Holiday Pops performances and “A Waltz Tradition” performances at Thanksgiving.

“[‘A Waltz Tradition’] is Maestro Honeck’s chance to really show who he is and bring some of his world to us,” she says. “And he does it so well.”

Kenny’s fateful audition with the Pittsburgh Symphony was in 1990. Since joining the Symphony, she has seen the orchestra musicians and personnel change completely. She joined under Music Director Lorin Maazel and has played under the direction of Maazel, Maris Jansons and Manfred Honeck, the current music director. Through the years, she feels the orchestra has become more musician-centric, citing Jansons’ direction to the musicians to bow toward the audience instead of inward and Honeck’s approachable, open-door style of leadership as examples.

As a professional musician, Kenny finds balancing a night- and weekendheavy work schedule with her family life as one of her greatest challenges. Along with the demands of her position at the Pittsburgh Symphony and as a teacher—Kenny has taught private lessons since she was 12 years old and has been an adjunct professor at Duquesne university since 1993—she is a “volunteer-aholic.”

Kenny has been a softball and soccer coach, a member of the parent/teacher group at her daughters’ school, is on the board of Renaissance City Winds and a race director for a local 5K—to name just a few! She also is active in the Pittsburgh Symphony’s education and outreach programs.

A native of Calgary, Canada, Kenny is married to Jack Howell, a bass clarinet player who often plays with the Pittsburgh Symphony. They have three daughters—Lyndis (who currently interns with the symphony), Carys and Glenys.

an interview with rhian kenny