The Philadelphia Orchestra takes FREE Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert into the community  

Martin Luther King Jr. High School hosts concert on January 16, 2006

Support from Representative Dwight Evans opens concert free to the community for the first time; Cigna Corporation sponsors annual concert for the 16th year

Star saxophonist Branford Marsalis performs; Thomas Wilkins leads Orchestra and community choir; specially selected African-American high-school students reflect on Dr. King’s legacy

 (Philadelphia, November 17, 2005)

The Philadelphia Orchestra takes its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert into the community for the first time, with a free performance on Monday, January 16, 2005, at 7:30 p.m., at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Philadelphia. The Orchestra, under the direction of guest conductor Thomas Wilkins, will be joined by saxophonist Branford Marsalis. The program also features a Community Concert Choir (Jonathan Coopersmith, chorus director) assembled for the occasion from area churches and schools, including Martin Luther King Jr. High School. Outstanding African-American students from local high schools will share their personal reflections on the life and work of Dr. King. Support from Representative Dwight Evans enables the Orchestra to present the concert free to the community. The concert is sponsored by CIGNA Corporation.

Tickets available starting January 3, 2006:
To reserve your ticket for this free event, call 215.893.1999 or visit www.philorch.org/mlk starting January 3, 2006. Seating is general admission and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a six-ticket limit per person. All tickets ordered by phone or online will be held at the High School box office will-call booth after 4 p.m. on the day of the concert.

Tickets are also available for pickup at the following locations starting January 3, 2006:

Office of State Representative Dwight Evans, 7174 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, 215.549.0220

BAEO (Black Alliance for Education Options), 7161 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, 215.549.4111

Martin Luther King High School/Foundations, Inc. (NSN), 6100 Stenton Avenue, Philadelphia, 215.276.3934

“I am very proud to be able to announce that The Philadelphia Orchestra is taking our Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert into the community, and presenting it free to the public for the first time,” said Harold A. Sorgenti, chairman-elect of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association. “This continues the Orchestra’s commitment to celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and of taking our music out of the concert hall and into the community.”

State Representative Dwight Evans’s leadership and vision were instrumental in orchestrating the change of venue for the Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert. Representative Evans said, “I am very enthusiastic about the partnership among The Philadelphia Orchestra, Foundations Inc., and Martin Luther King Jr. High School. King High School will once again serve as the signature site for the King Day of service activities. Residents across the Philadelphia region will be able to join together for a full day of tribute to Dr. King. I encourage everyone to spend the day at King – join us in the morning for a variety of volunteer activities and spend an evening listening to a special musical tribute.”

Martin Luther King Jr. High School is managed by Foundations Inc., which is dedicated to transitioning the school into a high-performing, competitive school of choice. Foundations Inc. CEO Rhonda Lauer states, “This concert and partnership is a perfect example of unique collaborative efforts to provide the highest quality education and cultural experiences to the community we serve.”

The 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert marks the first time the Orchestra has taken this concert outside of its regular performance venue and offered admission free of charge. Taking the concert into the community reflects the Orchestra’s commitment to reaching new and diverse audiences. Since its Centennial in 2000, the Orchestra has performed free Neighborhood Concerts throughout the Philadelphia region, bringing the gift of music into the communities where people live in an attempt to break down the barriers that separate it from many people in the community.

The annual Tribute Concert, first presented in 1991, reflects the beliefs and convictions of the famed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., combining the traditions of African-American culture and Western classical music. The concert pays tribute to Dr. King’s religious beliefs, his vision of a society free of prejudice and racial divisions, and his belief in the power of music to effect change. This year’s program features traditional African-American spirituals, performances by the Community Concert Choir, and students’ personal essays on Dr. King.

For the fourth year, the Orchestra will honor outstanding African-American high-school seniors who, through their superior academic and personal achievements, exemplify the ideals of Dr. King. Teachers and administrators from schools throughout the greater Philadelphia region nominate students based on their outstanding academic and personal achievements, as well as their commitment to the betterment of their community through volunteer service and related activities. Finalists will be invited to interview with a panel assembled by The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and made up of Orchestra musicians, staff members, and members of the Orchestra’s community partners. Two of the finalists will be invited to participate in the Orchestra’s Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert. All of the finalists will be recognized during the concert.

Guest conductor Thomas Wilkins is resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony and was recently named music director of the Omaha Symphony. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut conducting the Marian Anderson Award Concert in 2003 and returned to conduct this concert again in 2005. Mr. Wilkins led the Orchestra’s 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert. He makes his Orchestra subscription debut in January 2006, leading a program of works by Ellington, Fauré, and Villa-Lobos, among others, featuring Branford Marsalis as soloist.

One of the world’s leading jazz saxophonists, Mr. Marsalis has also received critical acclaim in the realm of classical music, performing with orchestras worldwide, including the symphonies of Chicago, Seattle, Baltimore, Sydney, and Düsseldorf. His classical album, Creation, is a collaboration with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and features jazz-influenced and inspired classics from early 20th-century French composers, including Milhaud, Ravel, and Debussy. Mr. Marsalis is the winner of three Grammy awards, and the Branford Marsalis Quartet is one of the jazz world’s premier ensembles. A native of New Orleans, Mr. Marsalis was born into one of the city’s most distinguished musical families, which includes the family patriarch, pianist/music educator Ellis Marsalis, and brothers Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason. The 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Concert marks his Philadelphia Orchestra debut.

Foundations Inc. is nationally recognized for the services it offers to afterschool programs, schools, districts, and other educational and community organizations. Foundations provides technical expertise to clients dedicated to improving educational achievement during school and afterschool hours. In an innovative partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, Foundations manages six Philadelphia schools (Fulton Elementary, Kinsey Elementary, Pastorius Elementary, Ada Lewis Middle, Pickett Middle, and Martin Luther King High School) through the Neighborhood School Network (NSN) .

As a Business of Caring, CIGNA (NYSE: CI) provides employers with benefits, expertise, and services that improve the health, well-being, and productivity of their employees. Serving millions of customers, clients, and members in the U.S. and around the globe, CIGNA’s operating subsidiaries offer a full portfolio of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, and vision care benefits and group life, accident, and disability insurance. For more information, go to www.cigna.com.

Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orch­estras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. With only six music directors piloting The Philadelphia Orch­estra through its first century, the ensemble has maintained an unparalleled cohesiveness and unity in artistic leadership.

This rich tradition is carried on by Christoph Eschenbach, who became the Orchestra’s seventh music director in September 2003. His acclaimed first season in Philadelphia saw the launch of the Orchestra’s first-ever multi-year cycle of Mahler’s complete symphonies and ended with a tour of the music capitals of Europe. The 2004-05 season celebrated the works of the great masters, and included a four-week festival entitled Late Great Works featuring late works by Mozart, Strauss, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Berio. In October 2004, Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra opened Carnegie Hall’s season with an all-Strauss program, featuring Renée Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma and broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances. The season closed with a three-week tour of Asia.

In May 2005, Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra announced a three-year recording partnership with Ondine Records, the Orchestra’s first recording contract in 10 years. Taken from live concerts, the first recording under the agreement is scheduled to be released in fall 2005. Other recent highlights include the launch of the public phase of a five-year, $125 million endowment campaign, entitled A Sound, A City, A Civilization, in 2003. The Orchestra’s 2002-03 season celebrated Wolfgang Sawallisch’s 10 highly acclaimed years at the Orchestra’s helm and paid tribute to his artistic achievements with the release of a Grammy-nominated three-disc set of Schumann recordings, the first recordings made in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. In 2000, the Orchestra celebrated its 100th Anniversary, and in the following year, moved to its new home in the Kimmel Center.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide through its performances (more than 300 concerts and other pre­sentations each year), publications, recordings, and broadcasts. A major winter subscription season is presented in Phila­delphia each year from September to May, in addition to education and community part­ner­ship programs. The Orchestra presents a series of concerts each year at New York’s Carnegie Hall, performing encores of some of its acclaimed concerts from Philadelphia. Its summer schedule includes a month-long outdoor season in Phila­del­phia at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free concerts in local neighborhoods, and a three-week residency each August at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts hosts the Orchestra’s home subscription concerts.
The Center includes two performance spaces, the 2500-seat Verizon Hall, designed and built especially for the Orchestra, and the 650-seat Perelman Theater for chamber music concerts. Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly along with acoustician Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants Inc., the Kimmel Center provides the Orchestra with a state-of-the-art facility for concerts, recordings, and education activities. The landmark building is named in honor of Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist Sidney Kimmel, who gave the largest individual gift toward its construction. Kimmel has served on the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA) and the historic Academy of Music (where the Orchestra performed for 101 seasons) are operated to­gether as a single cultural facility by Kimmel Center, Inc. (KCI). A variety of Philadelphia’s other performing arts groups serve as resident companies for the two buildings. KCI owns, manages, supports, and maintains the KCPA. Kimmel Center, Inc., also manages the Academy of Music, owned by The Philadelphia Orchestra Association since 1957, and where the Orchestra continues to present the highly anticipated annual Academy Anniversary Concert and Ball.

Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert

January 16 at 7:30 p.m. – Monday evening – Martin Luther King Jr. High School, 6100 Stenton Avenue, Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins,conductor
Branford Marsalis,saxophone
Community Concert Choir (Jonathan Coopersmith, choir director)

Sponsored by CIGNA

Tickets : To reserve your ticket for this free event, call 215.893.1999 or visit www.philorch.org/mlk starting January 3, 2006. Seating is general admission and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a six-ticket limit per person. All tickets ordered by phone or online will be held at the High School box office will-call booth after 4 p.m. on the day of the concert.

Tickets are also available for pickup at the following locations after January 3, 2006:

Office of State Representative Dwight Evans, 7174 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, 215.549.0220

BAEO (Black Alliance for Education Options), 7161 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, 215.549.4111

Martin Luther King High School/Foundations Inc. (NSN), 6100 Stenton Avenue, Philadelphia, 215.276.3934