Academy of Music 155th Anniversary Concert and Ball features Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and special guests Diana Krall and Yo-Yo Ma

Academy of Music 155th Anniversary Concert and Ball features Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and special guests Diana Krall and Yo-Yo Ma

On January 28, 2012, Philadelphia’s premier white-tie event becomes a “symphony in three movements,” all within the historic Academy of Music

(Philadelphia, October 20, 2011) – The Philadelphia Orchestra announced details today of the 155th Academy of Music Anniversary Concert and Ball, which will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2012. Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin will make his Academy of Music debut conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra, with special guests multiple Grammy Award®-winners singer/pianist Diana Krall and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Tipping its hat once again to the first Academy Anniversary Concert, the program will be a mix of orchestral repertoire and popular music.

The Gala evening begins with a pre-concert dinner. Guests may choose from two exciting offerings this year: the President’s Cocktail Party and Dinner at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, or a Dine Around option, which allows patrons to dine at selected restaurants along the Avenue of the Arts, or on their own. In a nod to the Academy’s early years, and in a unique departure from recent history, both the Anniversary Concert and the Academy Ball will be held entirely within the Academy of Music. A “symphony in three movements,” this unique evening will give attendees the chance to celebrate the “Grand Old Lady of Locust Street” within her very walls.

Attendees of the 155th Academy of Music Anniversary Gala begin their evening with several options for dinner. The President’s Dinner will be held at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue and ticketed through the Academy Restoration Office. Patrons who wish to dine on their own may select from specially-created dinners at XIX, the Palm Restaurant, Estia, Morton’s the Steakhouse, or Girasole, all along the Avenue of the Arts. The Anniversary Concert begins at 8:30 p.m. at the Academy of Music and is followed by the Ball, held in three spectacular locations: the Academy Stage, the Ballroom at the Academy, and the Rehearsal Hall. The Anniversary Concert is created and produced by Wayne Baruch and Charles F. Gayton; the Ball is produced by Fred Stein of the Creative Group, Inc.

Ticket prices for the Concert and Ball package remain the same as last year. Concert-only tickets, priced at $200 and located in the Amphitheatre level, go on sale November 1, 2011. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215.893.1999 or by visiting www.ticketphiladelphia.org.

The gala is chaired by Joanna M. Lewis and John R. Saler. For additional information please call the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1978

Born in Nanaimo, Canada, to a musical family, Diana Krall grew up absorbing music that guided her future growth. She attended the Berklee School of Music in the early 80s, then moved to Los Angeles where she continued her studies with bassists , who convinced the young pianist to focus on her singing as well. By 1990 Ms. Krall relocated to New York City and began performing with a trio, and in 1993 she released her debut album on a small Canadian independent label. Her career exploded in 1999 when  When I Look in Your Eyes won a Grammy Award for best jazz vocal and became the first jazz disc to be nominated for Album of the Year in 25 years. Subsequent albums include The Look of Love(2002), a number one bestseller in the US and a five–time platinum album in Canada; The Girl in the Other Room(2004), her first record to focus on her own songwriting with six tunes co–written with her husband, Elvis Costello; Christmas Songs(2005); and From this Moment On(2006), an upbeat, critical success that coincided with the birth of her twin sons. Inspired by her last tour of South America, Ms. Krall’s latest release, Quiet Nights (2009), celebrates the lush ballads and bossa novas of the region. For more information on Ms. Krall, please visit www.dianakrall.com.

Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. In 1998 he established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic, and intellectual traditions along that ancient trade route. 

Appointed in 2009 as the Chicago Symphony’s first creative consultant, Mr. Ma serves as a partner to Music Director Riccardo Muti to provide collaborative musical leadership and guidance on innovative program development. 

Born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, Mr. Ma began cello lessons with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he later studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. Mr. Ma graduated from Harvard University in 1976. He has received such awards as the Avery Fisher Prize, the Glenn Gould Prize, the National Medal of the Arts, the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mr. Ma is a recipient of the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors. He is an exclusive Sony Classical artist with a discography of over 75 albums, including more than 15 Grammy Award winners. In January 2009, at President Obama’s invitation, Mr. Ma performed at the 56th Inaugural Ceremony. For more information on Mr. Ma, please visit www.yo-yoma.com.

Named one of “Tomorrow’s Conducting Icons” by Gramophone magazine, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has become one of the most sought-after conductors on today’s international classical music scene, widely praised by audiences, critics, and artists alike for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma. A native of Montreal, he made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2008 and in June 2010 was named the Orchestra’s next music director, a post he takes up with the 2012-13 season. Artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, Mr. Nézet-Séguin became music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic in 2008. A noted opera conductor, he has led acclaimed performances at the Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, and the Netherlands Opera, among others. He makes his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, debut this season. Mr. Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductors, most notably Carlo Maria Giulini. He also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s honors include a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, an Echo Award, the Virginia-Parker Award from the Canada Council, and the National Arts Centre Award. For more information on Mr. Nézet-Séguin, please visit http://www.philorch.org/pressroom_bios.html .

History of the Academy of Music and the Anniversary Concert and Ball

The Academy of Music 155th Anniversary Concert and Ball benefits the Academy of Music Restoration Fund and The Philadelphia Orchestra. A National Historic Landmark, the Academy of Music was home to The Philadelphia Orchestra for more than a century, from the ensemble’s founding in 1900 to the opening of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in 2001. The first Anniversary Concert and Ball, which took place on January 26, 1957, showcased a star-studded line-up in which Eugene Ormandy shared his podium with Danny Kaye. The historic evening’s guest performers included classical artists Marian Anderson, Hilde Gueden, Arthur Rubinstein, and Isaac Stern, and popular singer Dinah Shore.

Since 1957 numerous luminaries of the musical world have performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra as part of Academy of Music Anniversary concerts. Notable guest artists include sopranos Audra McDonald, Jessye Norman, and Kiri Te Kanawa; mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne; violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, and Isaac Stern; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; pianists Evgeny Kissin and Lang Lang; as well as popular artists such as Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Sting, and Paul Simon.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is among the world’s leading orchestras. Renowned for its artistic excellence since its founding in 1900, the Orchestra has excited audiences with thousands of concerts in Philadelphia and around the world.

With only seven music directors throughout more than a century of unswerving orchestral distinction, the artistic heritage of The Philadelphia Orchestra is attributed to extraordinary musicianship under the leadership and innovation of Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), and Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08). After 30 years of a celebrated association with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit continues the tradition as chief conductor. Since Mr. Dutoit’s debut with the Orchestra in July 1980 he has led hundreds of concerts in Philadelphia, at Carnegie Hall, and on tour, as artistic director of the Orchestra’s summer concerts at the Mann Center, artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestra’s summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and now as chief conductor. With the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra honors Mr. Dutoit by bestowing upon him the title conductor laureate.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin assumed the title of music director designate in June 2010, immediately joining the Orchestra’s leadership team. He takes up the baton as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s next music director in 2012.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide, through concerts, presentations, and recordings. Each year the Orchestra presents a subscription season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, education and community partnership programs, and annual appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center; it also regularly tours throughout the world. Its summer schedule includes performances at the Mann Center, free Neighborhood Concerts throughout Greater Philadelphia, and residencies at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

Academy of Music 155th Anniversary Concert

January 28, 2012, at 8:30 p.m. – Saturday evening – Academy of Music

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Diana Krall Special Guest
Yo-Yo Ma Cello

This concert will be performed without an intermission.

Concert-only tickets, priced at $200 and located in the Amphitheatre level, go on sale November 1, 2011. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215.893.1999 or by visiting www.ticketphiladelphia.org.

For gala information, please call the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1978.