Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Opens 2014-2015 Season with Gala Featuring Renee Fleming Tonight

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's 2014-15 season opens with its gala and An Evening With Renee Fleming tonight, Sept. 13. This is Fleming's first appearance with the BPO in eight years. JoAnn Falletta will conduct. The media is invited to attend, and many opportunities for photos and video exist.

The doors to the event open at 5 p.m., when gala patrons begin cocktail hour. The gala dinner, catered by Oliver's, is from 6 to 7 p.m. Most of the BPO's leadership will be present at the cocktail hour and the dinner.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. Renee Fleming will perform on both halves of the program, with pieces from her newest CD, "Guilty Pleasures." Works by Mozart, Dvorak, Puccini and Wagner are on the program, along with music by George Gershwin and by film composer Ennio Morricone.

Photographers and videographers are asked to shoot only the first few pieces performed by Fleming, and members of the media are asked to arrive well before 8 p.m. They will be directed to shoot from the back of the hall. The use of flash is not permitted. Still photographers are asked to take pictures only during entrances, exits, and bows, and to avoid shots while Fleming is singing. Up to 30 minutes of filming of the orchestra is permitted. Three minutes of footage can be used for news; up to a total of five minutes may be used if multiple works were captured in the 30 minute filming. News broadcasters may put 10 minutes of what was filmed on their website for 21 days in connection with the broadcast (may not include a complete work or a movement longer than three minutes).

The concert is sold out, and parking may be a challenge if arriving too close to the8 p.m. start time. If you plan to cover this event, please contact Director of Marketing and Communications Susan Schwartz at 716-866-7645 so that staff may be prepared to assist you.

Photo Courtesy of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's Website