All-Star Orchestra to Premiere on THIRTEEN in New York City, 9/8

Renowned conductor Gerard Schwarz and his hand-picked team of top orchestral musicians from across the United States come together to form a made-for-television classical music concert seriespremiering on THIRTEEN on Sunday, September 8, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. The All-Star Orchestra, similar to Major League Baseball's All-Star team, is composed of the finest orchestral "athletes" from leading orchestras across the country. Featuring exceptional performances of symphonic masterpieces and contemporary works, The All-Star Orchestra seeks to expose broad audiences to classical music through a format that is both informative and accessible.Naxos of America, the #1 independent classical music distributor in the U.S. and Canada, will release this unique series on DVD on September 24, 2013.

Naxos founder Klaus Heymann said, "Naxos is delighted to support this important venture through its distribution network. It is a tribute to Jerry Schwarz that this project has finally been realized. He is a longtime recording partner for Naxos, and shares the Naxos commitment to music education."

Mr. Schwarz's All-Star Orchestra is comprised of top players from the country's leading orchestras including Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Houston, Minnesota, Nashville, New Jersey, New York (the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Oregon, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, Utah, Washington D.C., and more. New York City is represented by more than 40 musicians in The All-Star Orchestra from orchestras including the American Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet Orchestra, New York City Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Under the leadership of Mr. Schwarz, who served for 26 acclaimed seasons as music director of the Seattle Symphony, The All-Star Orchestra programs also include musical excerpts, images, interviews and educational commentary by Mr. Schwarz, the All-Star musicians, and special guests. A supplemental website allstarorchestra.org is being developed to offer additional resources aimed for music appreciation and education. The performances, ancillary footage, interviews, and interactive components will be presented with multi-media technologies to bolster the classical music experience for the digital age.

Each of these eight one-hour episodes was filmed over four days in the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan center in New York City during August 2012. Designed to appeal to the classical music neophyte and connoisseur alike, the programs were filmed with 19 high-definition cameras that were allowed unlimited access to each performance, roaming freely among the musicians to provide the audience with an unprecedented concert viewing experience. The Grand Ballroom, chosen for its acoustic integrity, has been the venue of choice for conductors such as Bernstein, Boulez, Mehta, and Toscanini for their own classical music recordings.

The All-Star Orchestra will air on THIRTEEN beginning on September 8, 2013 at 12:30 p.m.The episodes are:

• Music for the Theatre: Igor Stravinsky's Suite from the Firebird, Maurice Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2, and Bright Sheng's Prelude to BLACK SWAN.

• The New World and Its Music: Antonin Dvo?ák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Avanti!

• What Makes a Masterpiece?: Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Philip Glass' Harmonium Mountain

• Politics and Art: Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5

• Relationships in Music: Johannes Brahms' Academic Festival Overture and Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish"

• The Living Art Form: Richard Danielpour's "A Hero's Journey" (from Piano Concerto #4), Soloist: Xiayin Wang; Samuel Jones' Concerto for Violoncello, Soloist: Julian Schwarz; and Joseph Schwantner's The Poet's Hour - Soliloquy for Violin, Soloist: Yevgeny Kutik

• Music's Emotional Impact: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and David Stock's Blast!

• Mahler: Love Sorrow and Transcendence: Gustav Mahler's Rueckert Lieder (Songs from Latter Days), Soloist: Nancy Maultsby, and "Totenfeier" ("Funerary Rites" - 1st Mvt. from Symphony No. 2); Augusta Read Thomas' Of Paradise and Light; and Bernard Rands' Adieu

The All-Star Orchestra series is a co-production of the All-Star Orchestra (John Forsen, Executive Producer; Paul Schwendener, Executive Director) and WNET (Stephen Segaller, Executive-in-Charge; Julie Anderson, Executive Producer)

Funding for The All-Star Orchestra is provided by Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, The Gladys Rubinstein Trust, The Garrigan Lyman Group, Van Ness Feldman LLP, David Gannett, Bruce and Jeanne McNae, Agnes Gund and the Hearst Foundation, and others.

In 2013, WNET is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of THIRTEEN, New York's flagship public media provider. As the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Need to Know, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJ Today and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore iPad App where users can stream PBS content for free.

American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation's public television stations since 1961. APT also has distributed about half of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles for nearly 10 years. Among its 300 new program titles per year, APT programs include prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramas, how-to programs, children's series and classic movies. America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated, Rick Steves' Europe, Doc Martin, Nightly Business Report, Moyers & Company, NHK Newsline, Lidia's Italy in America, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, BBC World News and P. Allen Smith's Garden Home join numerous documentaries and performance programs like Live from the Artists Den which are popular with public television viewers. APT licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. Now in its 8th year, Create TV - featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming - is distributed by APT. APT also distributes WORLD, public television's premier news, science and documentary channel. To find out more about APT's programs and services, visit APTonline.org.