Additional concerts in the series include performances by the RochesterPhilharmonic Orchestra, the Orion String Quartet, pianist MykolaSuk and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.
Subscriptions to the five-part series are $40 for the general publicand $10 for students.
Individual tickets may be purchased for $15, or $5 for students.
Featured with Mitchell and The Count Basie Orchestra will be great jazzvocalist Joe Williams. A regular soloist with the orchestra from 1954 to 1961,Williams left the band with Basie's blessings to become a solo performer. Hehas had many rich experiences since then--more than 30 albums, television,movies, countless awards, Honorary Doctorate of Music degrees and severalappearances with symphony orchestras. Along with Williams, Mitchell'sdistinguished career reads like a Who's Who in jazz. He played withsome of the greatest orchestras in the world, including Lionel Hampton, DukeEllington and The Count Basie Orchestra. Lead trombone for Basie for 22 years.Mitchell left when his good friend died in 1984. For the next 11 years, he ledhis own orchestra, recorded five albums and also performed as a studio musicianunder Quincy Jones, Henry Mancini and Nelson Riddle. In 1995, Mitchellreturned to assume leadership of The Count Basie Orchestra.
Under the direction of Robert Bernhardt, the Rochester PhilharmonicOrchestra will perform John Harbison's Remembering Gatsby, Mozart'sSinfonia Concertante, K. 364 and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No.5. Sisters Ani and Ida Kavafian will accompany the orchestra on the violinand viola, respectively. Born in Istanbul of Armenian parentage and raised inthe U.S., the Kavafian's enjoy distinguished solo careers across North Americaand abroad. Each artist has a distinctive, highly individual style, yet as aduo they are a stellar match possessing a powerful musical presence. Theperformance will be held on Friday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m.
The Orion String Quartet, which has gained international recognition asone of the most eloquent and dynamic quartets performing today, will perform atHamilton on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 8 p.m. Violinists Daniel and Todd Phillips,violist Steven Tenenbom and cellist Timothy Eddy, each with distinguishedcareers of their own, have "come together in a configuration of particularsensitivity and bravado," according to The New York Times. The OrionString Quartet was recently named the Quartet-in-Residence of The Chamber MusicSociety of Lincoln Center. In recent seasons, the group has performedthroughout North America and abroad, including Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Centerand the La Jolla Summerfest.
Pianist Mykola Suk, who has gained international recognition as thewinner of the First Prize and Gold Medal at the 1971 InternationalLiszt-Bartó k Competition in Budapest, will perform on Friday, Nov. 22,at 8 p.m. Suk has appeared to great acclaim as both soloist and chambermusician on the major concert stages throughout the former Soviet Union, inEurope and in the Middle East. Consistently critics have applauded thecombination of controlled power and elegant, delicate tone-coloring that hisperformances demonstrate.
The music series concludes with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra onSunday, Feb. 9, at 3 p.m. The orchestra, under the direction of FabioMechetti, will perform Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D.417 (The Tragic Symphony) and Richard Strauss' Also SprachZarathustra. One of 30 major symphony orchestras in the U.S. and Canada,the Syracuse Symphony boasts an impressive record of artistic growth,innovation and vigor. It was formed in 1961 as a small semi-professionalorchestra and designated a Major Symphony Orchestra by the American SymphonyOrchestra League in 1976. After an overwhelmingly successful debut performanceat New York's Carnegie Hall, Bill Zakariasen of The New York Daily Newswrote that this was an orchestra "...any city, regardless of size, would beproud to own and support."
Subscription series and individual ticket order forms may be obtained bycalling 859-4331. All concerts will be held in Wellin Hall of the SchambachCenter for Music and the Performing Arts.
