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CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

THE 65^th ANNIVERSARY SEASON

Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY OPENS 65^th SEASON WITH

BIG NIGHT, BIG MUSIC

Features Bernstein, Debussy & Respighi

Cape Ann Symphony kicks off the orchestra’s 65^th Anniversary Concert Season on Saturday, September 24 at 8 pm with Big Night, Big Music featuring big thrilling symphonic pieces that showcase the talents of the CAS musicians at the CAS performance venue at Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, $5 for Youth age 18 and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visitwww.capeannsymphony.org.

Cape Ann Symphony Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa describes the upcoming concert program, “We are starting off our 65th Anniversary Season with a concert we’re calling Big Night, BIG Music. The three pieces on the program are BIG!!!! Massachusetts born and raised Leonard Bernstein’s music from West Side Story, the French composer Claude Debussy’s description of the sea – La Mer, and the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s musical description of the Pines around the city of Rome are three incredible, powerful, emotional, gorgeous, knock your sox off masterpieces. We’re going to give brief introductions to the pieces during the concert to show our audiences some of the reasons why these pieces continue to move and excite people all over the world. It’s going to be a BIG concert, and we can’t wait!”

Leonard Bernstein was a Massachusetts boy. Born in 1918 in Lawrence, he spent summers in Sharon, and attended Boston Latin before completing his BA at Harvard University. Though he later moved to Philadelphia (to attend the Curtis Institute) and then to New York, he remained connected to the area – studying conducting at Tanglewood and frequently leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He holds the distinction of being the first American Music Director of a major orchestra – the NY Philharmonic. Musically, he was a jack of all trades: a brilliant pianist, much sought-after conductor, a critic and lecturer on the arts, and of course, a prolific composer of music in many styles. He was a deep admirer of Copeland and other classical composers of the day, and strove to be recognized as one of them. However, one of the works he is best known for is not one of his symphonies or his chamber pieces, but rather West Side Story.

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