John Tartaglia to Join Little Orchestra Society for THE COMPOSER IS DEAD, 5/17

On Saturday, May 17th, Tony nominated actor John Tartaglia, will join The Little Orchestra Society and its Music Director, James Judd, for the delightfully wry whodunit The Composer is Dead, a musical collaboration between New York Times best-selling children's author Lemony Snicket and his high school friend, composer Nathaniel Stookey. The performance, taking place at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, is part of The Little Orchestra Society's popular Happy Concerts for Young People series for children ages 6 to 12. The Orchestra will also premiere Kenji Bunch's Embrace featuring Tracy Silverman on electric violin. This concerto was written to celebrate the theme of " family."

" The Composer is Dead is a fantastically entertaining and unique way to introduce young people to classical music, as well as entertain audiences of all ages with its wickedly funny story," said James Judd, Music Director of The Little Orchestra Society.

In the vein of his wildly popular book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was adapted into a feature length film in 2004, Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead invites audiences to join " The Inspector" as he investigates the mystery by playfully interrogating suspects in every section of the orchestra. The wonderful music by Nathaniel Stookey introduces audiences to the instruments of the orchestra.

In 2011, Daniel Handler, the author and creator of the popular Lemony Snicket book series, chose LOS to debut this important work for New York audiences, and he narrated the premiere performances himself. " The Composer has many enemies lurking in the Orchestra," Snicket writes. " I will find them if they are lurking in the strings. I will find them if they are lurking in the brass. I will find them if they are lurking in the woodwinds. I will find them if they are lurking in the percussion section. I will find them wherever...wherever they are lurking." The story will be brought to life by the talented television and theatre performer John Tartaglia, know for his role in the award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q. Tartaglia is the executive producer and star of Disney Channel's Johnny and the Sprites. A 10-year veteran of Sesame Street, Tartaglia was one of the youngest puppeteers ever to perform on the show starting at the age of 16. " I look forward to narrating The Composer is Dead with The Little Orchestra Society and bringing to life this laugh-out loud funny mystery," said Tartaglia.

The New York City premiere of Embrace will precede this musical adventure. This concerto and interactive performance piece was conceived and written in the spirit of an orchestral " flash mob" by influential American composer Kenji Bunch and features renowned electric violinist Tracy Silverman. With music and harmonies inspired by Afrobeat, Indian and gospel movements, Embrace invokes a sense of belonging to an orchestral " family," tying the audience to the experience.

" Embrace is really about reimagining the relationship between an orchestra and its community," said composer Kenji Bunch. " I wanted to suggest a new definition for what a concerto could be and how the musicians and audience alike could experience the performance."

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