The Brevard Music Center Opens Its 2014 Season with the Debut of Violinist Itzhak Perlman Tonight

By: Jun. 21, 2014
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The Brevard Music Center (BMC) will open its 2014 season tonight, June 21, with the Music Center debut of one of the true superstars of classical music - violinist Itzhak Perlman.

A Kennedy Center Honoree and multiple Grammy winner, Perlman's 50-year career has included performances with the world's top orchestras, television and film appearances, and concerts for heads of state including Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama. Perlman will join BMC Artistic Director Keith Lockhart and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra for an evening of his most well-loved works from film, television and classical repertoire.
SEVEN WEEKS AND EIGHTY PERFORMANCES
The 2014 season features more than 80 performances, including 20 different orchestra programs, four opera productions, wind ensemble, chamber music, new music, recitals and more. In addition to the full range of classical offerings, the 2014 season will include a number of concerts appealing to a range of tastes. More than 30 performances will be presented free of charge. These include concerts by the Brevard Symphonic Winds, opera scenes, student piano recitals, new music concerts, student chamber concerts and recitals, and other special events. THREE CONCERTMASTERS FOR 2014 Three of America's top violinists will share duties and serve as concertmasters for the 2014 festival: William Preucil, Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra; David Kim, Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra; and Noah Bendix-Balgley, Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. TICKETS 2014 subscription packages go on sale on Dec. 16, with single tickets scheduled to go on sale May 1. Lawn tickets for most events start at only $15. For more information on 2014 subscription packages and concert information, please visit brevardmusic.org or call (828) 862-2100. "Our 2014 season has something for everyone - wonderful soloists and conductors, great pieces from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky to Mahler, old friends and new faces, and so much more," said Mark Weinstein, BMC President and CEO. "Itzhak Perlman and Keith Lockhart will kick the season off in grand fashion and six weeks and 80 concerts later, JoAnn Falletta and Conrad Tao reunite for a stunning finale. For me, the most exciting element is that each and every concert will serve as a spotlight on our mission - teaching and mentoring the most gifted and talented young musicians in the country."
The Brevard Music Center will open its 2014 season on June 21 with artistic director Keith Lockhart at the helm. Lockhart assumed artistic leadership of the Brevard Music Center in October 2007. An alumnus of the center, Lockhart has been conductor of the Boston Pops since 1995. Photo by Tracy Turpen
ORCHESTRA In addition to Mr. Lockhart, conductors will include: BMC Principal Guest Conductor JoAnn Falletta; the legendary Swiss Conductor Matthias Bamert; Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony; Sarah Ioannides, Music Director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic; Danail Rachev, Music Director of the Eugene Symphony; and BMC Resident Conductor Ken Lam. Orchestral repertoire includes Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Mahler's Symphony No. 4, Elgar's "Enigma" Variations, and Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony. Other guest soloists appearing this season include 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist Vadym Kholodenko performing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, Adele Anthony performing Dvorák's Violin Concerto, and internationally acclaimed soloist Garrick Ohlsson performing Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2. All of the orchestra programs occur in BMC's open-sided Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium, which creates a special open-air experience for listeners while retaining the aural impact of a concert hall. OPERA In 2014 BMC will stage four operas at the Porter Center for Performing Arts on the campus of Brevard College. Three mainstage opera productions will be presented in the Scott Concert Hall: Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring; W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni; and Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. The 2014 season will also feature the return of BMC's "Opera in a Box" performance in the Morrison Playhouse black box theater. Opera students will perform a premiere of Grammy-winning composer Robert Aldridge's new opera Sister Carrie. CHAMBER MUSIC AND RECITALS The 2014 festival includes 12 chamber music concerts, including a performance by the renowned International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the BMC premiere of the internationally-acclaimed Shanghai Quartet, a special performance by the Brevard Festival Chamber Orchestra, and an array of performances by BMC Artist Faculty members that will please the music lover of any taste. OTHER CONCERTS On Sunday, June 29, BMC will present a special family concert at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium. Ken Lam will lead the Brevard Concert Orchestra in a special one-hour performance of light-hearted classical music. The annual Pendergrast Family Patriotic Pops concert is a beloved Brevard tradition, and it goes off at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 4. Maestro Kraig Alan Williams will lead the Brevard Symphonic Winds in marches, patriotic songs and other favorites, concluding with the 1812 Overture, complete with live cannon. On Saturday, July 26, the Brevard Sinfonia will perform an evening of music from the movies. Film buffs and music lovers alike will enjoy hearing the themes from their favorite films. Additional concerts are still being added to the 2014 schedule. Check brevardmusic.org for the most up-to-date listing of performances. HISTORY The Brevard Music Center originated in 1936 as a summer music camp at Davidson College. James Christian Pfohl, the Music Center's founder and first Artistic Director, moved his operation to Queens College in Charlotte for the summer of 1943, then to the current location in 1944. Pfohl added a festival of concerts at the end of the 1946 session. Over time the camp became an institute, and the festival came to run the entire summer season. In 2014 Brevard Music Center will enroll more than 400 students from nearly every state in the U.S., plus students from Europe, Asia, and South America. Sixty-five professional musicians, representing major orchestras and distinguished music schools, comprise the artist faculty. Students, faculty and staff all reside on the 180-acre wooded campus in Western North Carolina. The Brevard Music Center has emerged as one of America's premier summer training programs for young musicians. For more information on festival performances visit brevardmusic.org, "like" the Brevard Music Center on Facebook, follow @brevardmusic on Twitter, and visit the Brevard Music Center YouTube channel for performance videos from previous festival seasons.


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