Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: The Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHAT: 2006 High School Concerts Tour
WHEN: March 28-30, 2006
WHERE: Austin Area High Schools
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

AUSTIN SYMPHONY TO TOUR AREA HIGH SCHOOLS WITH 2006 YOUTH AWARD WINNERS

Season Sponsor: JPMorgan Chase
Concert Sponsor: MFI Foundation, Sherrill Family Foundation, Supercuts, St. David’s Healthcare Partnership, Applied Materials, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Austin Arts Commission
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman & KVET 98.1 FM

The 2006 High School Concert Tour of the Austin Symphony Orchestra begins March 28th with “That’s Classical??” This year, five high school gymnasiums will be transformed into concert halls overflowing with sounds of classical music that is heard in everyday life. Thanks to sponsors MFI Foundation, Sherrill Family Foundation, Supercuts, St. David’s Healthcare Partnership, Applied Materials, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Austin Arts Commission, bleachers will rock as over 10,000 would-be musicians and patrons prepare themselves for their future ties with the arts. Concerts will cruise for 45 minutes with selections of classic and light classic favorites, showing students that music that they hear in everyday life may just be “classical.” Also featured in these concerts will be performances by the teenage winners of the Austin Symphony Youth Awards. Each concert closes with a surprise spirit-filled finale, an orchestrated version of their high school fight song conducted by their own school’s music director.

Select student instrumentalists from each school, as well as the Austin Symphony Youth Award winners, will blend their musical talents with the Austin Symphony side-by-side in this popular educational program. The Austin Symphony Youth Award is a competition judged by ASO Conductor Peter Bay held through the Austin District Music Teachers Association that chooses student musicians to perform with the ASO during these concerts.

The 2006 recipients of the Austin Symphony Youth Awards are Stephanie Chen and Michelle Suh. Ms. Suh, a violinist, is an 8th grader at West Ridge Middle School. She has been a finalist in the Pearl Amster Concerto Competition and first chair violin at the 2005 Longhorn Music Camp. Ms. Chen is a student at Westwood High School and has been playing piano since the age of six. She is a winner of numerous awards and competitions, such as the Pearl Amster Concerto Competition and the International Chopin Piano Competition. These soloists will have the honor and privilege to live a dream and actually tour with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, performing as professional musicians in this special concert series.

The Austin Symphony Orchestra proudly presents its High School Concerts to provide quality educational programming and motivation for the student population of Central Texas. Whether they’re toddlers or graduates, students are constantly exposed to various musical programs featuring musicians of the ASO. This outstanding fusion of music, education, and students’ musical accomplishments will seduce ambitious musicians as well as give outstanding students the chance of a lifetime.

Schedule of 2006 High School Concerts
David Mairs, Guest Conductor

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - 9:30AM - Akins High School
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - 11:45AM - Austin High School
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 10:30AM - Travis High School
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 2:00PM - Lanier High School
Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 10:30AM - McCallum High School

FOR MEDIA ACCESS AND PARKING, CONTACT DON HILL AT 476-6064

All artists, programs, and schedules subject to change.