Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: Nokothula Ngwenyama with the Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHEN: October 20 & 21, 2006 - 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Bass Concert Hall
TICKETS: $19-$42
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, VIOLIST GUESTS WITH THE AUSTIN SYMPHONY FOR 'MESMERIZING' PERFORMANCE

Season Sponsor: JPMorganChase
Concert Sponsors: Alcoa, Inc. & Baker Botts
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman and KVET 98.1 FM

"...she provides solidly shaped music of bold, mesmerizing character." - Gramophone

Austin audiences will continue to experience the excellence of the Austin Symphony’s 96th concert season on October 20 & 21 when Maestro Peter Bay and the ASO welcome violist Nokothula Ngwenyama for a night featuring works by Stravinsky, Walton and Mendelssohn. Alcoa Inc. and Baker Botts proudly sponsor this concert.

PROGRAM
Stravinsky - Jeu de cartes
Walton - Viola Concerto
Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3 in a, Op. 56 "Scottish"

The ASO opens the evening with Igor Stravinsky’s Jeu de cartes (The Card Game). Completed in 1937, Jeu de cartes is a ballet that was commissioned for Lincoln Kirstein’s American Ballet. Stravinsky was an enthusiastic poker-player, and had earlier contemplated a ballet based on cards. The piece consists of three movements, or deals, and the aim of the piece is to show that the highest cards are nothing more than cards, to be defeated on occasion by small cards in the game.

Maestro Bay then welcomes violist Nokothula Ngwenyama to center stage. Ms. Ngwenyama performs the Viola Concerto of English composer William Walton. Although he composed two symphonies, a Violin Concerto and a Cello Concerto, each being standards in the orchestral repertoire, Walton’s Viola Concerto is considered the most important 20th century work for that instrument. Born in California of Zimbabwean-Japanese parentage, Ms. Ngwenyama came to international attention when she won the Primrose Competition and the Young Concert Artists International audition at age 17. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and, as a Fulbright scholar, she attended the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris and received a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University.

After a brief intermission, Maestro Bay and the ASO close the evening with Felix Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Symphony No. 3

Concertgoers can enjoy "Concert Conversations" with Bob Buckalew at 7:10 pm in the hall. These free discussions provide an in-depth look at the composers and works being performed, including commentary on the social climate in which they were composed.

Tickets for Nokothula Ngwenyama with the Austin Symphony range from $19 to $42. Student rush tickets are also available 20 minutes prior to performance for $5 cash and current student ID. Charge tickets online at www.austinsymphony.org where you will find interactive seating maps, price options and a wealth of concert information. Tickets are also available at the Austin Symphony Box Office, 11th & Red River or call 476-6064 or 1-888-4-MAESTRO (toll-free).