The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops ® consolidate administrative operations

(Philadelphia, August 24, 2005)

The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and Encore Series, Inc., presenter of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®, today announced an agreement to consolidate administrative and operational services, effective immediately. The agreement calls for both organizations to remain separate non-profit, 501(c)(3) entities, with separate boards of directors. They will also maintain separate orchestras under the terms of their respective collective bargaining agreements with the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77. This consolidation allows both organizations to streamline administrative operations and enhance and diversify orchestral offerings for the Philadelphia region.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce this administrative consolidation between The Philadelphia Orchestra and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, two thriving arts organizations whose futures will be strengthened by the efficiencies achieved through this collaboration,” said president of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association Joseph H. Kluger. “We are proud to add the vibrant pops presentations that Peter Nero has created to the array of diverse orchestral offerings that we present to audiences in the Philadelphia region.”

“I am extremely gratified that this new partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra has come to fruition,” stated Peter Nero, founding music director of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. “The administrative support this consolidation will provide affords me a wonderful opportunity: to focus on the artistic growth of the Philly Pops, to sustain the work we’ve been doing, and to develop our artistry to the next level of excellence. I look forward with great enthusiasm to our organization working in conjunction with the administrative leadership of The Philadelphia Orchestra.”

“This collaboration is an extraordinary opportunity that will enhance the productivity of the administrations of these two, well-established cultural institutions,” said president and ceo of Encore Series, Inc., Steven Haines.  “Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has grown immensely over the years and this new relationship with the world renowned Philadelphia Orchestra will only allow that growth to continue.  We will create a streamlined, powerhouse organization that will support our two phenomenal orchestras while maintaining their rich cultural traditions.”

Under the terms of the agreement, each organization continues to offer full seasons independently of one another. The Philadelphia Orchestra currently offers 104 subscription concerts plus a variety of non-subscription special concerts, Family Concerts, chamber concerts, and Neighborhood Concerts. Peter Nero and the Philly Pops currently offers 20 subscription concerts each year in addition to a series of holiday concerts and summer Pops performances. Although some Philadelphia Orchestra musicians will continue to perform with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops orchestra on a voluntary basis, each orchestra will remain separate, operating under the terms of their separate collective bargaining agreements with Local 77. The two organizations will share office space, with a timeline and operational details to be determined.

The Philadelphia Orchestra
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 Renee 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. Additional information about The Philadelphia Orchestra can be found at www.philorch.org.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops® was founded in 1979 under the leadership of two-time Grammy Award-winning virtuoso pianist, conductor, and performer Peter Nero. As founding music director, Mr. Nero’s unique and extraordinary talents have helped to create and develop innovative programming blending all musical genres. In turn, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops concerts have produced continuously growing and loyal audiences. One of America’s premier pops orchestras and a significant part of Philadelphia’s cultural scene, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops subscriptions have nearly doubled since the 2000-01 season, as have single ticket sales. The Official Pops Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performs to regularly sold-out audiences as a resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Nero’s imaginative programming has made Philly Pops concerts unique and widely popular in the pops world. His program concepts and participation as piano soloist have been received with boundless enthusiasm and acclaim. POPS concerts run the gamut from great classics to jazz improvisation, big band to Broadway hits, ragtime to rock ‘n’ roll. Guest artists join the POPS each season – established artists as well as outstanding new vocalists from Broadway and the concert stage. The Voices of The POPS, the resident vocal group, has become a member of the Philly Pops family as well.

Since the summer of 1981, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has served as musical host for the City of Philadelphia’s July 4th and Labor Day festivities. They have been joined by James Earl Jones, who read from the Declaration of Independence, and other great talents including Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Ray Charles, and Dionne Warwick. On July 4, 2005, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed for over a half million people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, welcoming guests Sir Elton John, Patti LaBelle, and Bryan Adams.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was featured on ABC-TV’s “Independence Day 2001,” a live, star-studded national broadcast, sharing the stage with such renowned stars as Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Garth Brooks. They also had the honor of performing at the opening of the National Constitution Center in 2003 and participating in National Public Radio’s nation-wide radio broadcast on July 4, 2002. Earlier that year, Mr. Nero’s good friend, U.S. Senator and former astronaut John Glenn, appeared with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, in a special performance of Mr. Nero’s original composition Voyage into Space. During the 2003-04 season, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops celebrated its 25th anniversary. One of the most significant events of that year was the signing of a three-CD contract with DRG Records, making them one of only a few orchestras in the country with such a deal.

There have been many memorable moments for Peter Nero and the Philly Pops including a debut performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on February 6, 1984, with another visit to the prestigious concert hall in May 1997. Peter and The POPS was the featured performer at Philadelphia’s We The People concert, the 1987 celebration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, broadcast nationally on CBS-TV. Other distinctions include performing at the Washington, D.C., gala to commemorate NASA’s 40th anniversary in 1998, and a performance for the Republican Governor’s Association at the Republican National Convention during the summer of 2000.

Now entering its 27th season, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops continues to delight current audiences, while cultivating new audiences throughout the region. More information about Peter Nero and the Philly Pops can be found at www.phillypops.com.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts hosts The Philadelphia 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.