The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Presents THE RITE OF SPRING Tonight

The CSO presents its premiere of Igor Stravinsky's monumental work The Rite of Spring tonight, April 24, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Tivoli Theatre. Originally premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on May 29, 1913 as Le Sacre du Printemps, this avant-garde ballet was received with an outbreak of riots and hysteria. The score was ground-breaking with its new uses of meter, tonality, rhythm, and dissonance creating a new abrasive orchestral sound. Stravinsky described the piece as "a musical-choreographic work, [representing] pagan Russia ... unified by a single idea: the mystery and great surge of the creative power of Spring". Over time, The Rite of Spring has become widely viewed as the single most important piece of 20th century symphonic literature that ushered in a new era of musical composition.

"The CSO will be performing Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for the first time in its 81 year history. We most likely will not perform this again for a very long time, so Chattanooga shouldn't miss this historical performance," stated CSO Music Director Kayoko Dan.

Also on the program is Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1. Written and premiered in 1959, this dark and introspective work has become one of the most popular 20th century cello concertos. Guest artist Wesley Baldwin will join the CSO for this wonderful performance.

Barnett & Company Masterworks Series The Rite of Spring
Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 7:30pm
Tivoli Theatre

Kayoko Dan, conductor Wesley Baldwin, cello

SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1

STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
Tickets are available at www.chattanoogasymphony.org, or by calling 423.267.8583.

Wesley Baldwin

Cellist Wesley Baldwin performs throughout the United States and Europe as soloist and chamber musician. As a soloist he has appeared with conductors including Dan Allcott, Beverly Everett, James Fellenbaum, Serge Fournier, Cyrus Ginwala, Francis Graffeo, Adrian McDonnell, Daniel Meyer, Jorge Richter, Richard Rosenberg, Brendan Townsend, Kirk Trevor, and David Wiley, with the Laredo Philharmonic, the Oregon Mozart Players, the Symphony of the Mountains, the Bryan Symphony, the Oak Ridge Symphony, New River Valley, Salisbury, and Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestras and the Wintergreen and Hot Springs Festival Orchestras, among others. Concerts this year include performances of the David Ott Double Cello Concerto in Tennessee and Missouri, solo cello concerti in Virginia, South Dakota, and Minnesota, as well as solo recitals throughout the United States. In the summer of 2012 Wesley performed the complete Bach Cello Suites at the Wintergreen Festival, a cycle he repeated several times in the 2012-13 season.

Wesley was the founder of the Plymouth String Quartet, with whom he was a top prize-winner in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and a finalist in the Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition. Other performing honors Baldwin has received include the Prix Mercure, the Homer Ulrich Award, and the Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Performing Artist Fellowship.

As a member and principal cellist of the New World Symphony, Baldwin performed with many of the world1s great conductors, and toured Japan, Scotland, England, Argentina, and Brazil. His orchestral colleagues there selected him as the recipient of the New World Symphony's Community Board Award for artistic integrity and leadership.

A passionate teacher, Wesley serves as the youngest full Professor in the School of Music at the University of Tennessee, where he received the Chancellor's Award for Professional Promise. His former students play and teach throughout the United States.

Mr. Baldwin plays on a cello by J.B. Vuillaume. He lives in Knoxville with his wife (soprano Melisa Barrick), and three great children.

About Us

The mission of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera is to inspire, engage, and enrich the greater Chattanooga community through music and music education.The 2013-14 season marks 81 seasons for the CSO, which played its first concert on November 5, 1933. The CSO, conducted by Music Director Kayoko Dan, consists of top players from the Chattanooga area as well as from across the southern region. The CSO performs a full season of Masterworks, Pops, Chamber, and Volkswagen Series concerts from September through May, as well as a variety of community, education and engagement events throughout the year.