Dreamweaver Marketing Associates News and Views: February 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Rock's Dig for the Cure Fundraiser

Rock's Dig for the Cure event raises $900 for breast cancer awareness

Dig for the Cure events sponsored by the SRU women's volleyball program have generated over $20,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® foundation in the last seven years

2/19/2013

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The seventh annual “Dig for the Cure” event sponsored by the Slippery Rock University women's volleyball team generated $900 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® foundation, event coordinator Erin Street announced Tuesday.

“We are extremely happy to again be able to assist the Komen foundation in their quest to improve breast cancer awareness and fight the dreaded disease,” said Street, The Rock's assistant volleyball coach.

“We sincerely thank all our volleyball student-athletes, members of their families, our alumni and fans and everyone who helped with this event, not only this year but for the last seven years,” Street said. “Without everyone's support and involvement, we would be unable to continue this great project.”

SRU-based “Dig for the Cure” events have generated a total of $20,927.43 in the last seven years, Street reported.

The 2012 SRU “Dig for the Cure” event was held Oct. 16 as part of The Rock's home volleyball match vs. Emory University.

Donations to the Komen Foundation were generated by per-dig pledges by supporters, straight donations and the sale of raffle tickets for prizes from Slippery Rock area businesses.

For more information on the SRU “Dig for the Cure” event, contact Street at erin.street@sru.edu.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates. Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping. Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business. www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

History Center Hosts Civil Rights Panel

Media Contacts:
Ned Schano Brady Smith
412-454-6382 412-454-6459
nschano@heinzhistorycenter.org bmsmith@heinzhistorycenter.org

***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***

History Center to Host Civil Rights Panel
-Local civil rights experts Alma Fox, Ralph Proctor, and Sala Udin among featured panelists-

WHAT: Next Wed., Feb. 27, the Senator John Heinz History Center will host a special panel discussion on the Civil Rights Movement in conjunction with the History Center’s new exhibition, 1968: The Year That Rocked America, presented by UPMC Health Plan.

The “Civil Rights in Pittsburgh: Lessons from 1968” panel will feature local leaders who fought for civil rights in Pittsburgh during the late 1960s.

Panelists will include Alma Speed Fox, the executive director of the NAACP from 1966-71; Ralph Proctor, host and producer of the show “Black Horizons,” on WQED-TV in 1968; and Sala Udin, former Pittsburgh city councilman and current interim co-director of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture.

The panel will be moderated by Rick Adams, who was a student at Westinghouse High School in 1968 and is now assistant vice president for the Frieda G. Shapira Center for Learning Through Service at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC).

The speakers will discuss what Pittsburgh was like during the tumultuous year of 1968, which included the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the subsequent rioting in Pittsburgh neighborhoods and across the nation.

Admission to the “Civil Rights in Pittsburgh: Lessons from 1968” panel is $10 for visitors and free for History Center members. Admission includes access to the History Center’s 1968: The Year That Rocked America exhibition.

The 1968 exhibit explores this watershed in American history using evocative objects, state-of-the-art multimedia displays, and more than 100 artifacts related to 1968’s seminal moments.

WHO:
– Alma Speed Fox, former executive director of the NAACP (1966-71)
– Ralph Proctor, professor of ethnic and diversity studies, Allegheny Campus at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC)
– Sala Udin, interim co-director of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture
– Rick Adams, panel moderator, assistant vice president for the Frieda G. Shapira Center for Learning Through Service at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC)

WHEN: Wed., Feb. 27 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

** For more information, photos, and a listing of public programs related to the
1968: The Year That Rocked America exhibit, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org **

Visitors can view video footage from Dr. Martin Luther King’s final public speech and items from King’s funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church, including the communion plate, microphone, and program, as part of the History Center’s new exhibit, 1968: The Year That Rocked America.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Presents Unspoken

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 20, 2013

Contact: Meghan McNamara
Marketing Coordinator
412-454-9117
mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Presents Unspoken at the August Wilson Center
Mixed Repertory Program Features Three Great Masters March 8-17

(Pittsburgh, PA) – Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre returns to the intimate theater setting of the August Wilson Center for an eclectic mixed repertory program featuring master choreographers George Balanchine, Antony Tudor and Mark Morris in Unspoken, onstage for seven performances March 8-17, 2014.
Spanning works by 20th Century contemporaries George Balanchine and Antony Tudor to present-day dance force Mark Morris, the Unspoken program features Tudor’s evocative Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden), Balanchine’s classical Serenade and Morris’ joyful Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes.

Serenade
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Staged by: Sandra Jennings
Music: Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48
Composer: Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Original Costume Design: Karinska; Costumes built in the PBT Costume Shop

A signature of Balanchine repertoire, Serenade premiered in 1935, and holds the distinction as the first ballet that Balanchine choreographed in America. Serenade features 28 dancers in a work of pure musicality and emotional energy created for Tchaikovsky’s soaring Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48. Although Serenade is an abstract ballet based in the beauty of the movement and its musicality, the emotion of the music and interplay of the dancers suggest an underlying storyline. Balanchine originally choreographed Serenade to prepare his advanced ballet students for the stage in the early years of the School of American Ballet by translating the disciplined technique of ballet class to a sophisticated stage quality. It remained one of Balanchine’s favorite ballets throughout the years and has been transformed and staged for the world’s leading ballet companies and highly-trained professional dancers.

Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden)
Choreography: Antony Tudor
Staged by: Donald Mahler
Music: Ernest Chausson
Costume Design: Raymond Sovey after sketches by Hugh Stevenson
Scenery & Lighting Design: Tom Lingwood

Despite its brief 18-minutes, Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden) is a true story ballet, binding audiences to the bittersweet farewell of two lovers and the music of Ernest Chausson’s Poeme for violin and orchestra Opus 28. Free from mime and extraneous gestures, the story is held solely in the steps as Caroline, on the eve of her marriage to the man she does not love, parts from her lover at a garden reception. Perfumed by lilac blossoms, the party encapsulates the repressed emotion of the characters amid the societal restraints of the Edwardian Era. At the time of its 1936 world premiere, Jardin Aux Lilas broke with balletic conventions by placing dancers in colloquial Edwardian dress and society rather than the more fanciful costumes and settings of the classical story ballets. Rooted in pure, classical style, Tudor distinguished his choreography with emotional exploration of realistic situations that challenged dancers to project the ballet’s meaning through clear intention in each step. The ballet is brimming with rich details and meaning, beginning with Caroline’s quiet intake of breath and ending with her exhalation in the last movement. According to repetition Donald Mahler, who set the piece on PBT dancers, the essence of Tudor’s ballets is that “the people and motivations are real — there is an honesty in doing Tudor.”

Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes – Pittsburgh Premiere
Composer: Virgil Thomson
Music: Etudes for piano (Repeating Tremolo, Fingered Fifths, Double Glissando, Oscillating Arm, Pivoting on the Thumb, Alternating Octaves, Double Sevenths, Broken Arpeggios, Parallel Chords, Ragtime Bass, For the Weaker Fingers, and Tenor Lead)
Costume Design: Santo Loquasto
Lighting Design: Phil Sandstrom

Set to 13 piano etudes by American composer Virgil Thomson, Mark Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyespresents a refreshing and inventive interpretation of classical ballet vocabulary. Described as “undeviating in his devotion to music,” Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes is no exception, immersing dancers in a joyful exploration of Thomson’s playful score, which will be played live at the August Wilson Center by PBT Company Pianist Yoland Collin. The title of the ballet is taken from Ben Jonson’s 1616 poem To Celia, which was set to music sometime after 1770 and remains a popular traditional English folk song. Thomson uses the tune in the piano etudeTenor Lead, which is the last etude in the ballet. Thomson is one of several composers associated with the development of the “American sound” in classical music, and his work has been described as marked by clarity, simplicity and humor, and rooted in American “hymnbook harmony.” Originally created for American Ballet Theatre in 1988, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes evokes a sense of ease and naturalness among dancers and moments of humor, tenderness and congeniality.

Tickets
Tickets for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Unspoken range in price from $25.75-68.75 and can be purchased online atwww.pbt.org or by calling 412-456-6666.

About the Choreographers
George Balanchine
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mr. Balanchine (1904-1983), was undoubtedly the most brilliant choreographer of our generation. George Balanchine's gifts to ballet are legion. He stretched the dance and dancer beyond their established limits, and along the way created a vocabulary and an aesthetic that changed the way we look at dance. He emphasized increased turnout, batterie, port de bras and fast movement, as well as higher extensions and softer, lighter landings from jumps. In short, he got people dancing bigger and faster than ever before. The celebrated Balanchine style has influenced the technical training of ballet dancers and choreographers throughout the world. Mr. Balanchine created more than 400 dance works. His ballets are in the repertoires of the world's major ballet companies.

Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor (1908-1987), was one of the giants of twentieth century choreography. He began dancing professionally in 1927 when he joined Marie Rambert's company, where he choreographed and danced such works as The Planets and Lilac Garden. In 1940 he moved to New York City, joining American Ballet Theatre, for which he created many of his signature “psychological” ballets, including Pillar of Fire and Shadow of the Wind. In these works he sought to convey emotional conflict and aspects of character and motivation. In 1986, Tudor was a recipient of the Capezio Award, and in May 1986, with the Handel Medallion, New York City’s highest cultural honor. In December of the same year he was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.

Mark Morris
Mark Morris was born on August 29, 1956, in Seattle, Washington, where he studied with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. He formed the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980, and has since created more than 140 works for the company. From 1988-1991, he was Director of Dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the national opera house of Belgium. In 1990, he founded the White Oak Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Much in demand as a ballet choreographer, Morris has created eighteen ballets since 1986 and his work is in the repertory of companies worldwide. He also works extensively in opera, directing and choreographing at the Metropolitan Opera, The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, among others. Morris is currently serving as music director of the 2013 Ojai Music Festival.
Media Note: For interview or photo requests, please contact Meghan McNamara, marketing coordinator, at 412-454-9117 or mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org.
###

Microscopic Opera Presents The Little Sweep

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Erica Olden
Tel: 412-580-9267
Email: microscopicopera@gmail.com

THE MICROSCOPIC OPERA COMPANY PRESENTS:

The Little Sweep

A Children’s Opera by Benjamin Britten

In celebration of Benjamin Britten’s birth centennial celebration, The Microscopic Opera Company presents The Little Sweep featuring professional singers and students from CAPA High School, and chamber orchestra (string quartet, four hand piano and percussion).

Music Director, Artistic Director, Andres Cladera
Stage Director, Adam Pribila
Scenic Design, Richard Preffer
Lighting Design, Scott Nelson
Costume Design, Cassandra Bass

Six singers from CAPA High School are joined by Microscopic Opera Company singers: Daphne Alderson, Jenifer Weber, Sasha Piastro, Kathryn Copland Donaldson, Sean Donaldson, Nathan Hart, William Strom, Billy Wayne Coakley, Lauren Braun and Thespina Christulides.

WHERE: CAPA High School Theater
WHEN: March 1 (7:00PM) | March 2 (4:00 PM & 7:00PM) | March 3 (2:00PM and 4:00PM)
TICKETS: $15 adult / $8 youth 18 and under |Available at: www.microscopicopera.org

Produced with generous contributions from the following:
The Britten-Pears Foundation and PA Council on the Arts

National Tour of Anything Goes Makes Pittsburgh Premiere

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TICKETS-ON SALE
Contact: Diana Roth, roth@TrustArts.org, (412) 471-8717

PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh Presents

2011 Tony® Award for Best Musical Revival

ANYTHING GOES

National Tour Makes Pittsburgh Premiere

At Heinz Hall April 16-21, 2013

Individual Tickets Go On Sale Friday, March 1 at 9 AM

Fred Applegate, Erich Bergen & Company

Pittsburgh, PA: The national tour of ANYTHING GOES is coming to Heinz Hall from April 16-21, 2013.

The performance schedule is Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets for this event are scheduled to go on sale on Friday, March 1, 2013 at 9 AM.

Tickets begin at $20 and can be purchased by calling (412) 392-4900, visiting the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, or online at www.TrustArts.org. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 1, at 9:00 a.m. For more information about the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, please call (412) 456-1390. Groups of 10 or more may call (412) 471-6930. Performance schedule, prices and cast are subject to change without notice.

ANYTHING GOES is part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Symphony and Broadway Across America.

Rachel York & Company

The national tour of Roundabout Theatre Company’s ANYTHING GOES, the new Broadway revival of Cole Porter’s timeless classic musical theatre masterpiece, stars actress Rachel York as Reno Sweeney and Fred Applegate as Moonface Martin. The principal cast also includes Erich Bergen as Billy Crocker, Jeff Brooks as Purser, Joyce Chittick as Erma, Alex Finke as Hope Harcourt, Dennis Kelly as Elisha Whitney, Vincent Rodriguez III as Luke, Marcus Shane as John, Sandra Shipley as Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt, Edward Staudenmayer as Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, and Chuck Wagner as Captain.

Rachel York, Erich Bergen

The ensemble includes Jeremy Benton, Jacqueline Burtney, Jan Leigh Herndon, Kristie Kerwin, Gary Lindemann, Dionna Thomas Littleton, Michael Milton, Ashley Peacock, Bobby Pestka, Courtney Rottenberger, Vanessa Sonon, Ryan Steer, Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, Aaron Umsted, Mackenzie Warren, Sean Watkins, Audrey Cardwell, Alexandra Matteo, Sean McKnight, and Tony Neidenbach.

Winner of the 2011 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, Roundabout Theatre Company’sANYTHING GOES sails direct from Broadway under the direction of Kathleen Marshall, who won the 2011 Tony Award® for Best Choreography. The New York Times calls it “a zesty new revival with knockout numbers and white-hot dancing” while the AP exclaims that it’s, “so delightful, so delicious, so de-lovely!”

Roundabout Theatre Company’s ANYTHING GOES features music and lyrics by Cole Porter; original book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse; and new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. The creative team includes music direction by Jay Alger with additional orchestrations by Bill Elliot, original scenic design by Derek McLane, costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Howell Binkley and sound design by Brian Ronan.

The National Tour of Roundabout Theatre Company’s ANYTHING GOES is dedicated to the memory of Martin Pakledinaz, a beloved member of the Roundabout Theatre Company family.

Cole Porter’s roundup of nostalgic hits in the production include “You’re the Top,” “Friendship,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” and, of course “Anything Goes.”

Ryan Steer, Bobby Pestka, Rachel York, Jeremy Benton, Kristopher Thompson-Bolden

ANYTHING GOES, the 1934 musical comedy about the lovers, liars and clowns on a transatlantic cruise is “a daffy, shipshape romp!” - Variety. When the S.S. American heads out to sea, etiquette and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love… proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail.

The New Broadway Cast Recording of Roundabout Theatre Company’s ANYTHING GOES, nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, is available on Ghostlight Records.

KATHLEEN MARSHALL received 2011 Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Awards for choreography and Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics nominations for direction for Roundabout Theatre Company’s Anything Goes. Also for Roundabout, Kathleen directed and choreographed The Pajama Game and choreographed Follies and 1776. Other Broadway credits include Wonderful Town; Grease; Boeing-Boeing; Little Shop of Horrors; Seussical; Kiss Me, Kate; and Swinging on a Star. Off-Broadway: Two Gentlemen of Verona (New York Shakespeare Festival), Saturday Night (Second Stage), Violet (Playwrights Horizons) and As Thousands Cheer (Drama Dept). City Center Encores!: Bells Are Ringing, Applause, Carnival, Hair and Babes in Arms; Artistic Director for four seasons. For ABC/Disney: “Once Upon a Mattress” and Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” (Emmy nomination). She has received two Tony® Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Astaire Award, the George Abbott Award, the Richard Rodgers Award and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for the Arts. Ms. Marshall is the Vice President of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and is an Associate Artist of the Roundabout Theatre Company. For Scott, Ella and Nathaniel.

ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) was most recently represented across the country with the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning national tour of Twelve Angry Men that toured the country for 2 years, spending 63 weeks across the United States and Canada. Roundabout’s longest-running musical, the revival of Cabaret, received a multi-year tour across the country beginning in 1999. In 2011, Roundabout Theatre Company’s acclaimed work reached a worldwide cinema audience with the HD capture and broadcast of their Tony nominated production of The Importance of Being Earnest, starring Brian Bedford.

Now in its 46th season, Roundabout has become one of New York City’s most accomplished cultural institutions and one of the country’s largest not-for-profit theatre companies. With four theatres both on Broadway and off, Roundabout reaches over 600,000 theater goers annually, including over 35,000 subscribers, through award-winning productions of classical and contemporary plays and musicals. In addition to providing an artistic home for many of the finest actors, playwrights, composers and directors of our time, Roundabout is home to model education and outreach programs designed to diversify and develop the theatre’s audiences. With four distinctive homes, the American Airlines Theatre, Studio 54 and the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, site of the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, Roundabout has the unique ability to do high-quality, professional stagings of work in a venue perfectly suited to enhance each production. Roundabout also programs the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, where its 2011 Tony Award winning production of Anything Goes played. Since moving to Broadway 20 years ago, Roundabout productions have received 181 Tony® nominations, 174 Drama Desk nominations and 195 Outer Critics Circle nominations. Production highlights include Anna Christie, She Loves Me, A View from the Bridge, 1776, Nine, Assassins, Intimate Apparel, The Understudy, The Pajama Game, Sunday in the Park with George, Waiting for Godot, The Importance of Being Earnest and Cabaret, one of the longest-running musical revivals in Broadway history.

Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2011-2012 season features Mary Chase’s Harvey starring Jim Parsons, Jessica Hecht & Charles Kimbrough, directed by Scott Ellis. The 2011 Tony® Award winning Anything Goes will set sail on a National Tour at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square in October 2012. Following its opening in Cleveland, Anything Goes will cruise into more than 21 other cities during the 2012/2013 season.

Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2012-2013 season features Rupert Holmes’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood starring Stephanie J. Block, Will Chase, Gregg Edelman, Jim Norton and Chita Rivera, directed by Scott Ellis; Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, with a translation by Ranjit Bolt, starring Douglas Hodge, Clémence Poésy, Patrick Page, directed by Jamie Lloyd; William Inge’s Picnic directed by Sam Gold; Nick Payne’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet directed by Michael Longhurst, with Annie Funke, Michelle Gomez, Jake Gyllenhaal, Brian F. O’Byrne; Clifford Odets’ The Big Knife starring Bobby Cannavale, directed by Doug Hughes; Steven Levenson’s The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin directed by Scott Ellis. Joshua Elias Harmon’s Bad Jews directed by Daniel Aukin is a world premiere production that launches the sixth season of Roundabout Underground following five critically acclaimed seasons of world-premiere productions since its premiere in 2007.

For more information, visit www.anythinggoesthemusical.com
For more information on Roundabout Theatre Company, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org

Photo Credits: Joan Marcus
###

Slask Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: February 22, 2013
Contact: Diana Roth, 412-471-8717, roth@trustarts.org

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents

Śląsk Polish Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland

60th Anniversary Tour

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 7:30pm

Byham Theater

Pittsburgh, PA: Śląsk Polish Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland will perform at the Byham Theater on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. As one of the largest Polish folk ensembles, they have performed over 6,000 shows all over the world. Their 60th Anniversary Tour will celebrate the vivid and dynamic folk music and dance of Poland with an 80-member ensemble and stunning, traditional costumes.

For information and tickets ($23.00-48.00): visit TrustArts.org, call (412) 456-6666, or in person: Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue. To purchase 10 or more tickets at discounted rates, please call (412) 471-6930. The performance is a part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Śląsk Polish Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland was formed in 1953 by renowned composer, educator and writer Stanisław Hadyna. Śląsk’s debut performance in Warsaw in 1954 profoundly impacted the country, and as a touring show the ensemble still delights and amazes audiences all over the world. The group is currently based in Koszęcin, a village located in southern Poland, and tours worldwide.

The ensemble's founder Stanisław Hadyna was born in 1919 and studied music and psychology growing up. He served in the Department of Culture, as Director of the District Offices of the Trade Union, and as director of the People's Republic of Musicians Concert Office and the Provincial Delegation. In 1952, Hadyna organized a team of the People's National Song and Dance (Śląsk), and became the artistic director, conductor and director. Hadyna left the ensemble in 1968 but returned in 1990 to remain artistic director until his death.

Śląsk originally focused on the folk traditions of Upper Silesia, Cieszyn Silesia, and the Beskids, but it was later expanded to include all Polish regions. The ensemble specializes in presenting Polish, secular folklore, whose characteristic rhythms, expressions, melodic phrases and texts culminate in a unique spectacular performance. There are over 100 performers in Śląsk, and the troupe consists of a choir, ballet and orchestra. One of the highlights of the show is the spectacular traditional costumes; there are over 1,000 in the performance, making it a one-of-kind-show. There is no other group which equals Śląsk in its ability to present the folklore of Polish highlanders. The traditional tunes convey a sense of the customs from the green pastures of the Beskids Mountains to the steep peaks of Tatras Mountains.

The troupe has produced 12 albums, four of which went gold and one platinum. They have also won several awards including the Music and Art Award of Silesia, an Honorary award from the President of the United States, an Honorary award from the ministry of culture of the Soviet Union, and an award from the Silesian Voivodeship. The Śląsk Ensemble has worked with such distinguished Polish composers as Wojciech Kilar, and performed for Pope John Paul II in 2000 who was a patron of the troupe on numerous occasions. Some of their most notable songs to look forward to are Szła dzieweczka (She Followed the Maid), Helokanie, Ondraszek, Głęboka studzienka (The Deep Pit), and Karolinka (Free Man).
###

Hill Dance Academy Theatre Summer Class Schedule

Sixth Year of Summer Fun!
June 17 - August 11, 2013
8:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Summer Classes Include:
Tap, Hip-Hop, West African, Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Physical Fitness, Theatre, Tech Production, Anatomy, Costuming, Scrapbooking, Drumming, Music, Book Club and more. The summer ends with the Annual Showcase, Sunday, August 11, at Alumni Hall on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.

Special Features:
• Hill Dance Academy Theatre (HDAT) is currently accepting applications for Summer 2013 Internship Program. The Internship provides rising 11th and 12th grade high school students an opportunity to develop artistic disciplines of Dance, Theatre, and Tech-Production while also learning the Administrative and Business infrastructure of Arts’ Organizations. All Internship applications are due on or before March 15, 2013.

Click on link for application and more information.http://www.5678hdat.org/hdat_intern2013.pdf

• All students, ages 3 to 18 must Audition, for acceptance and placement levels, to attend the 2013 Summer Intensive. No previous dance experience is required. HDAT is accepting only 10-15 students for each level, and 30 students in Creative Movement. The audition schedule and times are listed on the website

Click link for Audition Information and times http://www.5678hdat.org/ summer_dance_intensive.html

For more information visit the website,
Call the office & follow us on Social Media
Hill Dance Academy Theatre (HDAT)
2900 Bedford Avenue, 2nd Floor
Phone: 412.586.7903
www.5678hdat.org
Email: amorganlee@5678hdat.org

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Scottish Rite Cathedral Hosts PSO Concerts

For Immediate Release
Feb. 14, 2013
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES
2013-2014 SEASON OF CONCERTS AT SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL

Featuring Holiday Pops, Valentine’s Day-themed concert, PSO Music Director Manfred Honeck conducting works by Mozart

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) will mark its 13th season at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in New Castle with two concerts featuring popular music and one classical music concert of Mozart’s works led by Music Director Manfred Honeck.

Three-concert subscription prices for the 2013-2014 season range from $33 to $150. Student subscription packages are available for $24. Subscriptions can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall Box Office toll-free at 1.800.743.8560, or visiting the PSO at www.pittsburghsymphony.org/src.

The season opens with the popular Holiday Pops concert at 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 19. The audience will get to celebrate the season with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and an all-star cast of guest artists in a spectacular concert of popular carols and much-loved holiday music. The program will include Here Comes Santa Claus, A Holly Jolly Christmas, O Holy Night, Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and many more favorites, as well as an appearance by Santa. Hailed by The New York Times as one of “Broadway’s electric conductors,” renowned conductor Todd Ellison leads this festive concert. Ellison is currently music director and conductor of the new Broadway production of Annie.

Fawzi Haimor

In the second concert of the season, PSO Assistant Conductor Fawzi Haimor will lead the orchestra in a performance of love-themed songs to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The concert, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 15, will feature John Williams’ “Princess Leia’s Theme” from Star Wars, Elton John’s “Can you Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King, as well as music from West Side Story and The Godfather. This concert will showcase Ryan Silverman and Tony Award-nominated Melissa Errico as guest vocalists. Called “one of the most valuable assets of the musical theater” by The New York Times, Errico’s career began as Cosette in Les Misérables, when she was only 18. Later, she starred as Eliza Doolittle in Howard Davies' daring and unusual revival of My Fair Lady on Broadway. Silverman played Raoul in the Broadway and Las Vegas productions of The Phantom of the Opera, and has performed with the Cincinnati Pops, New York Pops and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

The PSO’s season at the Scottish Rite Cathedral concludes when Music Director Honeck conducts a concert of Mozart’s music at 8 p.m., Monday, April 28, featuring soloists Robert Levin on piano and PSO Principal Horn William Caballero. The program includes Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, better known as the “Jupiter Symphony,” and Concerto No. 4 for Horn and Orchestra.

Manfred Honeck

“The audiences in New Castle have always been so welcoming and appreciative, and I am excited about conducting this wonderful orchestra there again,” Honeck said.

Manfred Honeck was appointed the ninth Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in January 2007, and began his tenure at the start of the 2008-2009 season. His contract was extended for the second time in February 2012, now through the 2019-2020 season. In October-November 2012, he and the PSO toured Europe, with performances in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Luxembourg, and Cologne, Frankfurt and Stuttgart in Germany. During a week-long residency at the Musikverein in Vienna, the PSO performed four concerts. Honeck's successful work with the PSO is captured on CD by the Japanese label Exton, with Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben being released to critical acclaim. Their recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 won a 2012 International Classical Music Award (ICMA). Born in Austria, Honeck is an accomplished violinist and violist, and spent more than 10 years as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.

Fawzi Haimor is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra beginning in the 2012-2013 season. Prior to his Pittsburgh appointment, he was the Assistant Conductor of the Alabama Symphony for two seasons. In Alabama, he conducted subscription, pops, education, and outreach concerts. Additionally, Haimor worked with numerous orchestras, including the Amman Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and Orquestra Sinfonico do Porto, and has collaborated with famous artists such as Bela Fleck, Bobby Horton, Diane Schuur, and Luciana Souza. He has also served as a cover conductor to esteemed conductors including Justin Brown, Marvin Hamlisch, Grant Llewellyn, Michael Morgan, Robert Spano, Stefan Sanderling, and Michael Stern. Extremely passionate about the education of young musicians, Haimor was the first music director of the newly formed Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra, where he was involved in the development of a brand new premier level youth orchestra for the state of Alabama.

The 2012-2013 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) Season represents William Caballero’s 24th year as its Principal Horn. Before joining the PSO in May 1989, Caballero previously held Principal Horn positions with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera and Hartford Symphony. He held Third Horn positions with the Montreal Symphony, Montreal Opera, and acting Third Horn with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. He has also performed as guest Principal Horn with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the St. Louis Symphony. Caballero is the Associate Teaching Professor of Horn at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and chairs the Brass Department. Previously, he held teaching positions at Indiana University Bloomington, Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Duquesne University. He has been invited and presented master classes throughout the world, including Northwestern University, Colburn School of Music, New England Conservatory, University of Indiana Bloomington, Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, New World Symphony, and the Beijing and Shanghai Conservatories. This past summer, he joined the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival as performer and teacher. For the previous seven summers, Caballero was on the faculty at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. In January 2012, Caballero began collaborating with the Internet music teaching company, ArtistWorks.com, based in Napa, Calif. Caballero’s complete horn teaching curriculum is available on the ArtistWorks.com website for horn students worldwide. Caballero is also in demand as a chamber musician collaborating with musicians such as violinists Gil Shaham, Joseph Silverstein and Philip Setzer, and pianists André Previn, Christoph Eshenbach, Orli Shaham and Andre Watts.

-30-

Contact: James Barthen. Vice President of Public Affairs
Phone: 412.392.4835 | email: jbarthen@pittsburghsymphony.org
Contact: Ramesh Santanam, Director of Media Relations
Phone: 412.392.4827 | email: rsantanam@pittsburghsymphony.org

Gerald Brooks Player of the Week

Brooks earns PSAC-West weekly honor

Rock senior forward Gerald Brooks was named Monday as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division "Player of the Week" after averaging 13.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in two SRU wins last week

2/18/2013

Gerald Brooks

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University senior forward Gerald Brooks was named Monday as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division men's basketball “Player of the Week.”

A 6-foot-5, 230-pound native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Schenley High School, Brooks earned the honor by averaging 13.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in two Rock wins last week.

Brooks scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in SRU's 94-76 home win over Lock Haven Feb. 13 and had 11 points and 13 rebounds in last Saturday's win over Edinboro in Morrow Field House.

Brooks shot 42% (11 of 26) from the field and 83% (5 of 6) from the foul line in last week's action. He was 0-for-3 on 3-point shots and handed out four assists.

Behind Brooks' lead, SRU was the only PSAC-West men's team to record a pair of victories in as many games last week and, more importantly, remained tied for second place in the PSAC-West standings.

The Rock, owners of 17-6 overall and 14-5 PSAC records, share the No. 2 spot with Gannon (20-5, 14-5), one game behind division-leading Indiana, Pa. (19-4, 15-4) with three games remaining on each team's regular-season schedule.

SRU travels to sixth-place California, Pa. (10-13, 9-10) for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday before meeting IUP and Gannon back-to-back in the final regular-season games. The Rock host IUP in a 3 p.m. game Saturday, then travel to Erie for a 7:30 p.m. game at Gannon Feb. 27.

The Rock are also assured of playing at least one game in the PSAC tournament. The postseason berth is the third consecutive claimed by the Green and White and fourth in five seasons under head coach Kevin Reynolds.

Brooks, a 2012-13 Basketball Times Preseason All-Americas selection, is currently averaging 12.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in his first season with The Rock. He ranks second on the team in rebounding, third on the team in scoring and fourth among PSAC players in rebounds.

Prior to joining The Rock, Brooks earned three All-PSAC-West honors at IUP. He was the division's Rookie of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors in 2006-07 before claiming first-team All-PSAC-West honors in both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

Brooks scored 1,103 points and grabbed 544 rebounds in three seasons at IUP. He ranks 15th on the school's career rebounds list and is 20th in career scoring.

This winter at SRU, Brooks has scored 10 or more points in 13 of the 17 games in which he has played and has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in eight games.
--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Roots of Rock and Roll at the Benedum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Henry J. DeLuca (412) 681-0652

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMERS – CHARLIE THOMAS’ DRIFTERS – TO HEADLINE ROOTS OF ROCK AND ROLL VOL. XXXIX

FEBRUARY 23 AT PITTSBURGH’S BENEDUM CENTER

The Drifters

Doo Wop special lineup to include Kenny Vance & the Planotones, the Flamingos,
The Original Clovers, the Charts, Kathy Young, Josh White, Jr. and Pittsburgh’s Pure Gold

Pittsburgh – Jan. X, 2013 – Charlie Thomas’ Drifters, one of the rock era’s most popular and prolific groups and one of the first groups inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will headline the Roots of Rock and Roll Volume XXXIX on two shows, 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday February 23, 2012 at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center. The Drifters’ are celebrating 60 years in show business and their 30 chart hits include enormous tunes such as “Under the Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “On Broadway,” “This Magic Moment,” and many more. The Roots of Rock and Roll concert series has appealed to audiences of all ages for three decades and is the premier venue for the music that shaped rock ‘n’ roll and American culture. These shows also focused the nation’s entertainment spotlight on Pittsburgh and created record-setting television and fund-raising productions for PBS.

Kenny Vance & the Planotones

Kenny Vance, an original member of Jay and the Americans, has secured his spot in doo wop history by assembling the Planotones, a crowd favorite. Their harmony will soar on “Cara Mia,” “Diamonds and Pearls,” “Come Go with Me,” “Angel Baby” and Kenny’s doo wop anthem, “Looking for an Echo.”

The Flamingos, featuring Terry Johnson, are among the most popular acts of the concert series. They stir audiences with haunting ballads like “I Only have Eyes for You,” “Mio Amore,” “Lovers Never Say Goodbye,” “Love Walked In” and many more tunes. Also Hall of Fame inductees, the Flamingos are among rock’s royalty and their tunes have been featured in numerous TV shows and films, including “The Sopranos” and “A Bronx Tale.”

The “Roots” audience will get a taste of “Love Potion No. 9” when another hugely popular group, the Original Clovers, featuring Harold Winley, reprises that smash hit plus others like “Devil or Angel,” “One Mint Julep,” “Lovey Dovey” and “Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ but Trash.”

The show will also feature a group that created one of Pittsburgh’s most evocative ballads – the Charts with “Deserie.” And rounding out the show will be two single acts featuring tunes that have become endearing to Pittsburgh doo wop fans – the fabulous Kathy Young performing her anthem “A Thousand Stars” and Josh White, Jr. publicly performing his Pittsburgh hit, “Do You Close Your eyes,” for the first time ever.

Kathy Young

Opening both shows for the 39th time will be Pittsburgh’s favorite show band, Pure Gold. Pure Gold demonstrates a unique love and respect for R&B, doo wop and rock ‘n’ roll through their flawless five-part harmony and unmatched orchestration. Pure Gold’s vocalists and band have provided accompaniment for countless top acts including Eddie Holman, Jerry Butler, Frankie Valli, Dionne Warwick, Gene “Duke of Earl” Chandler, Lenny Welch, Connie Francis and the late Lou Rawls. They have anchored more than 20 nationally broadcast PBS concerts.

Tickets are available at the Benedum Center for $45.75 and $30.75 (412-456-6666) or by mail with a $1.00 discount (until February 5) at HJD Enterprises, PO Box 5141, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206. More information is available at www.puregoldmusic.com.

The Roots of Rock and Roll series, now in its 33rd year of playing to sold-out audiences, is produced by HJD Enterprises, one of the nation's leading producers of quality live and broadcast entertainment events. The Roots of Rock and Roll was a part of the genesis for an entire series of nationally televised PBS shows that continue to set viewing and fund-raising records across America. HJD also has arranged several emotional reunions of original artists from the early years of rock ‘n’ roll that many in the business had thought impossible, including the Jerry Butler with the Impressions. Fans represent all age groups, as demonstrated by the huge success of the My Music concerts HJD has produced for Public Broadcasting, from baby boomers who grew up with the music, to today’s youth who have a new respect and appreciation for the harmony, lyrics and beat of this timeless music.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

PSO Sing-Along Highlights Verdi Wagner Concerts

For Immediate Release

Feb. 15, 2013

AUDIENCE SING-ALONG OF FAMOUS ‘ANVIL CHORUS’ HIGHLIGHTS
PSO’S BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS CONCERTS OF VERDI, WAGNER

PITTSBURGH – Audiences at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO)’s first BNY Mellon Classics concerts in March will get a rare opportunity to sing along during the encore, the well-known “Anvil Chorus” from Verdi’s opera, Il Trovatore.

The concerts – at 8 p.m., Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, and 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 3, at Heinz Hall – will celebrate the operas of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. Tickets, ranging from $20-$93, can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 412.392.4900, or visiting www.pittsburghsymphony.org.

PSO Music Director Manfred Honeck will lead the orchestra in selections from Wagner’s Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Gotterdämmerung, and Die fliegende Holländer, as and Verdi’s La Traviata, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Don Carlo and Aida. The concert concludes with the sing-along of the “Anvil Chorus.”

Ticket holders should arrive one hour early to participate in a free choral session on Verdi’s “Anvil Chorus” with the PSO’s Singing City Project Coordinator Christine Hestwood at Heinz Hall. For more information, visit www.pittsburghsymphony.org/verdi&wagnerworkshop, where sheet music for the “Anvil Chorus” can be downloaded. To register for the workshop, call 412.392.4876, or email explore@pittsburghsymphony.org with your name and total number of ticket holders attending the workshop by Friday, March 1. Registration will be confirmed by email.

Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn will host the concerts and introduce the selections from each of the operas. The concerts also will feature soprano Simona Šaturová, baritone Gregg Baker, and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, directed by Betsy Burleigh. Baker most recently performed with the PSO during Thanksgiving weekend at Heinz Hall.

The PSO would like to recognize and thank BNY Mellon for its 2012-2013 title sponsorship of BNY Mellon Grand Classics. Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the PSO. Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the PSO.

Simona Šaturová studied singing at the Bratislava Conservatory and attended various master classes, most notably with the Romanian soprano singer Ileana Cortrubas. Besides her numerous appearances at the National Theatre Prague, the soprano singer has also performed on the stages of the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), the Théâtre du Châtelet Paris, the Opéra de Monte Carlo and the Megaron in Athens. She is a popular guest performer at the Frankfurt Opera where she has sung in revivals of Rossini's Il Viaggio à Reims and Verdi's A Masked Ball and, most recently, was heard as a wonderful Lucia di Lammermoor. She appeared as Ilia (Idomeneo) at the beginning of 2010 in the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels as a sudden stand-in and was invited once again in the spring of 2011 as a guest in the role of Sandrina (La Finta Giardiniera) with Ursel and Karl-Ernst Herrmann. She has also earned an international reputation as a concert and oratorio singer. She made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2006 and, in the same year, sang the soprano part in Mahler's 2nd Symphony under Christoph Eschenbach on the occasion of the reopening of the famous Salle Pleyel in Paris. As a result of her spectacular performance, the Philadelphia Orchestra immediately invited her to appear at concerts in Philadelphia and in New York's Carnegie Hall.

A Baritone of imposing voice and stature, Gregg Baker continues to make an indelible mark on the world of Opera Theater. Since his opera debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1985, he has performed leading roles at The Vienna Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Hamburg Opera, New Israeli Opera, Stuttgart Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Vancouver Opera, Baden-Baden Opera, Scottish National Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Houston Grand Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Berkshire Opera. The past two seasons held important role debuts for Baker: title roles in Verdi’s Macbeth and Rigoletto. A successful veteran of Broadway and a Lawrence Oliver Award nominee, Baker discovered his gift for and love of opera while performing the role of Crown in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The Metropolitan Opera heard his performance in the Radio City Music Hall production and engaged him immediately for their production of the opera. He has since returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the roles of High Priest in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Silvio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, Donner in Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Belcore in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’Amore.

In addition to his operatic performances, Baker has performed and recorded with leading orchestras and conductors, including, the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Danish Symphony, Radio Stuttgart Symphony, James Levine, Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, André Previn, Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Roger Norrington, Jesus Luis Cobos, Daniel Oren, Eric Kunzel and the late Anton Guadagno and Robert Shaw. Baker has worked with the renowned stage directors Otto Schenk, the late Pierre Ponelle, Nathaniel Merrill, and Franco Zeffirelli.

Editors Please Note:

Friday, March 1, at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 2, at 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m.

Heinz Hall
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
MANFRED HONECK, conductor

CHRISTOPHER HAHN, host

GREGG BAKER, baritone
SIMONA ŠATUROVÁ, soprano
MENDELLSOHN CHOIR OF PITTSBURGH, directed by Betsy Burleigh

Richard Wagner Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin

“Einsam in trüben Tagen” (Elsa’s Dream) from Lohengrin

“Siegfried’s Funeral Music” from Gotterdämmerung

“Chorus of the Norwegian Sailors” from Die fliegende Holländer

“O! du mein holder Abendstern” (Song to the Evening Star) from Tannhäuser

“Entrance of the Guests into the Wartburg” from Tannhäuser

Giuseppe Verdi Prelude to Act I of La Traviata

“Ah! fors è lui…Sempre Liberia” from La Traviata

“Choruses of the Gypsies and Matadors” from La Traviata

“Di Provenza il mar” from La Traviata

“Va, pensiero” (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco

“Caro nome” from Rigoletto

“lo morrò, ma lieto in core” (Death of Rodrigo) from Don Carlo

“Gloria all’Egitto” (Triumphal March and Chorus) from Aida

“Anvil Chorus” from Il Trovatore

-30-

Contact: James Barthen, Vice President of Public Affairs
Phone: 412.392.4835 | email: jbarthen@pittsburghsymphony.org

Contact: Ramesh Santanam, Director of Media Relations
Phone: 412.392.4827 | email: rsantanam@pittsburghsymphony.org