The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery in partnership with Classical Kids LIVE!

    KALAMAZOO, MI, January 14, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- For their second Family Discovery concert of the season, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery. The KSO is proud to partner with Classical Kids LIVE! this season. The Classical Kids LIVE! concert series is dedicated to fostering an appreciation for classical music and music history, as well as community enrichment through the pairing of professional artists, actors and family-focused programming with local symphony orchestras. The concert will begin promptly at 3pm following the Kushner & Co. Instrument Petting Zoo at 2pm and Meet the Conductor at 2:40pm in the reception room.

Vivaldi, Venice and violins: all three are celebrated in Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery, a compelling mystery story set in the early 1700s about Katarina, a young violinist who is sent to study music at the great Pieta orphanage in seventeenth century Venice. There, she comes under the tutelage of the famous music director and composer Antonio Vivaldi and, aided by the colorful gondolier Giovanni, searches through the thrilling but mysterious atmosphere of Carnival and the Island of the Dead for clues to her past and a vanishing Stradivarius violin. Along the way, she comes to understand Vivaldi, his music and his reasons for staying at the orphanage despite his international fame. A touching climactic scene unites Katarina with her Grandfather and together they take Vivaldi's music - "its spirit and soul" - out into the world. A central clue to the mystery is a missing Stradivarius violin that the Duke of Cremona has brought to Vivaldi's school of the Pieta in the hopes of finding his long lost grandchild. You'll have to watch the story unfold to learn its conclusion!

The original audio recording of Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery claims dozens of top music, educational, and parenting awards. Based on this highly acclaimed recording, the Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery theatrical symphony concert is an imaginative way to introduce young audiences and their families to the life and music of Antonio Vivaldi in a live performance venue.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Daniel Brier
Daniel Brier is an emerging conductor who has worked with orchestras and choirs in the United States and abroad. He has conducted the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Royal Oak Symphony, Detroit Medical Orchestra, Great Lakes Music Festival, Orion Chamber Music Society, University of Michigan Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestras, University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Cantata Singers, Spectrum Orchestra, and the Orpheus Singers. He is currently in his third season as Music Director of the Spectrum Orchestra. An advocate for new music, Mr. Brier regularly collaborates with living composers and displays a commitment to promoting and performing their music. Recent premieres include Shin's Power and Light, Lavender's Battery, Boggs' Wanderlust: Beginnings and May's Essay for Chamber Orchestra. At home on the stage and in the pit, Mr. Brier recently conducted Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in a semi-staged concert production.

Previous conducting positions include assistant and cover conductor for the Lexington Philharmonic, assistant conductor of the University of Michigan Orchestras, assistant conductor of the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theater, and conductor of the Orpheus Singers. In 2010, Mr. Brier was selected as a Prizewinner for his "exceptional conducting" during the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic's international conducting masterclass and competition. He studied with John Nelson during his engagement with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris and Munchener Bach-Chor. Additionally he has conducted in masterclasses with Giancarlo Guerrero, Hugh Wolff, Jorma Panula, Alexander Polishchuk, Victor Yampolsky, Carl Topilow, and Ragnar Bohlin.

Mr. Brier recently completed his graduate studies as a fellow at the University of Michigan's conducting program where he studied orchestral conducting with Kenneth Kielser. He is also a recipient of the Julian and Vera McIntosh scholarship for promising young musicians and conductors. Previously, Mr. Brier earned a M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Dr. Jerry Blackstone. During his choral degree, Mr. Brier was a graduate student instructor and recipient of the Dr. Charlene Archibeque and Dorothy Greenwald scholarships.

Paul Pement
Paul serves as Executive and Artistic Director of Classical Kids Music Education, a non-profit arts organization focused on introducing children to the lives and musical masterpieces of the great classical composers. A BFA in theatre from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and professional experience as an actor, singer, dancer, director, choreographer and stage manager have enabled Paul to achieve success with Classical Kids LIVE! programming - the leader in the field of family concert programming presented by orchestras throughout North America and abroad. Over the past decade Mr. Pement has led the organization in processes that include strategic planning, board and committee development, financial accounting, funding development, community engagement, and marketing and communications. Together with the help of dedicated consultants and passionate board and committee members, Paul is proud to have created the organization's newest program, Gershwin's Magic Key - the first-ever symphony concert production that introduces future generations to the legacy of the great American composer, George Gershwin.

Nicole Hren
Nicole is currently in her fifth season performing with Classical Kids in both Tchaikovsky Discovers America and Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois, and a member of Actors' Equity Association. Recent credits include Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, A Chorus Line, Beauty and the Beast, Swing! at the Marriot Theatre. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Atlanta, Orlando, and Nashville, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Meet Me in St. Louis, Hairspray, at the MUNY Theater in St. Louis. Funny Girl, Thoroughly Modern Millie, A Christmas Carol, Curtains, Sweet Charity, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiss Me Kate, Camelot, Superman, and Meet Me in St. Louis at Drury Lane Theatre, Chicago at Pheasant Run Dinner Theater, Singin' in the Rain at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, and Association, The Musical at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago's McCormick Place. Nicole performed for many years with Moraine Valley Theater for Young Audiences as an artist in residence in the following productions: The Little Mermaid, The Velveteen Rabbit, Babes in Toyland, Cinderella, The Odyssey, and The Diary of Anne Frank. Nicole lives in the Chicago area with her husband, Gideon. Special thanks to Paul for this amazing opportunity!

Joe Lehman
Joe is a Chicago based actor whose recent work includes Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah at Jewish Ensemble Theatre in Detroit, Frankie in Forever Plaid at Greenbriar Valley Theatre, Bertie Wooster in By Jeeves at Illinois Theatre Center, Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream at New American Theatre and the original production of Stories of Mountain Railroads for West Virginia's Greenbriar Valley Theatre. Chicago area credits include Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad, Orlando in As You Like It with First Folio Shakespeare Festival, Freddy in My Fair Lady with Drury Lane Oakbrook, Stephen in Old Wicked Songs with Apple Tree Theatre, and Matt in The Fantasticks! with Light Opera Works. Regionally he has worked with Madison Repertory Theatre, New American Theatre, The Human Race Theatre, and The Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival among others. Joe has performend in three Classical Kids Live! productions, including Mozart in Mozart's Magnificent Voyage, Vivaldi in Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery and Uncle in Beethoven Lives Upstairs.

CALENDAR LISTING

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents

Family Discovery Series
Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery

Daniel Brier, Conductor
Joe Lehman, Antonio Vivaldi & Giovanni
Nicole Hren, Katarina

For their second Family Discovery concert of the season, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery. Vivaldi, Venice and violins: all three are celebrated in Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery, a compelling mystery story set in the early 1700s about Katarina, a young violinist who is sent to study music at the great Pieta orphanage in seventeenth century Venice. A central clue to the mystery is a missing Stradivarius violin that the Duke of Cremona has brought to Vivaldi's school of the Pieta in the hopes of finding his long lost grandchild. The original audio recording of Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery claims dozens of top music, educational, and parenting awards. Based on this highly acclaimed recording, the Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery theatrical symphony concert is an imaginative way to introduce young audiences and their families to the life and music of Antonio Vivaldi in a live performance venue.

Sunday, January 31, 2016 | 3pm
Chenery Auditorium

Tickets: $6 - $12
For tickets, visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com, call the KSO Box Office at (269) 349-7759 or call Miller Auditorium Ticket Office at (269) 387-2300.

Visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com for up-to-date information, details and schedules. Prices, artists, dates, time and program are subject to change without notice.

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra receives major support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra also receives generous support from other local, state and national foundations, as well as private and corporate support. For more information, visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com.

Founded in 1921, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is Southwest Michigan's premier musical organization, providing musical enrichment to over 80,000 adults and youth per year. The third-largest professional orchestra in the state, the KSO has won numerous awards and grants, including the Met Life Award for Arts Access in Underserved Communities, the National Endowment for the Arts for its extensive education programs, and a major Ford Foundation grant to found its innovative Artist-in-Residence program.

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