Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: The Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHAT: 2008 Family Music Festival
WHEN: Tuesday - Thursday, April 29 - May 1, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Long Center for the Performing Arts - 701 W. Riverside Dr.
TICKETS:$8/children, $12/adults
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

AUSTIN SYMPHONY PRESENTS FIRST FUN-FILLED FAMILY EVENT IN NEW LONG CENTER

Season Sponsor: JPMorgan Chase
Concert Sponsors: William Knox Holt Foundation, James C. Armstrong, RGK Foundation, Temple-Inland
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman and Majic 95.5 FM

The Austin Symphony has announced it will produce the first fun-filled, fast-paced family event at the new Long Center for the Performing Arts. The 2008 Family Music Festival, April 29 – May 1, will be a three-night musical celebration presenting the Austin Symphony and the biggest names in children’s entertainment: Joe McDermott (with special guest appearance by Joe Scruggs), Trout Fishing in America and The Biscuit Brothers. This three-concert event will be an entertaining and educational way for kids and their parents to hear the ASO. During the performance, video cameras will project images of the musicians and conductor on a giant screen above the orchestra so the audience can see what they are listening to—Classical MTV!

Guest conductor Raffaele Ponti will conduct the ASO in an entertaining array of music for the first half of the fun-filled program. The second half of the hour-long concert will star a different award-winning performer in children’s entertainment each evening.

Tuesday, April 29th features award-winning Austin kid “favorite” Joe McDermott, with special guest appearance by Joe Scruggs. McDermott enjoys an increasing popularity throughout the Central Texas region for celebrating the fun of just being a kid.

Wednesday, April 30th is an evening welcoming Grammy®-nominated Trout Fishing in America back to Austin, following a triumphant concert at the ASO’s Symphony Square in June 2007.

Thursday, May 1st - The festival’s closing concert features Austin’s very own The Biscuit Brothers. The Emmy Award-winning duo of Dusty and Buford Biscuit will bring Symphony Barn from Old MacDonald’s Farm to the Long Center’s Dell Hall stage, singing and joking with their friends Buttermilk Biscuit and Tiny Scarecrow while educating and entertaining concertgoers.

Come one night or come all three! Join us early for the festivities on the City Terrace! Tickets for the Family Music Festival are $8 for children and $12 for adults for each night of the festival. Families can also purchase a Family 4-Pak for a discounted rate. Visit www.austinsymphony.org for more concert information. The Symphony Box Office is located at 11th and Red River (9 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday) or call 476-6064 or 1-888-4-MAESTRO (toll-free).