Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Welcomes Final Music Director Candidate, Julian Kuerti, to Podium for 2017-18 Season Finale Concert - Beethoven and Prokofiev

    KALAMAZOO, MI, May 03, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, with guest conductor Julian Kuerti, close the 2017-18 symphonic season with the music of Beethoven and Prokofiev. The Eroica Trio, the most sought-after trio in the world, perform Beethoven's Triple Concerto. After intermission, Maestro Kuerti conducts Prokofiev's thrilling Symphony No. 5. The American premiere of this symphony was so popular, a portrait of Prokofiev was featured on the cover of Time magazine in November 1945.

Music Director candidate, Julian Kuerti shares, "I am very excited to be a finalist in the KSO's Music Director search, and look forward to leading this exceptional orchestra in this triumphant season finale!" He adds, "The most important thing on my agenda (after my musical duties, of course) is to get to know the city and the people who live there."

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is currently in the midst of a search for its next Music Director, to follow the long tenure of Maestro Raymond Harvey. Julian Kuerti is the final candidate to visit the city and work with the orchestra. Mr. Kuerti will spend a full week in Kalamazoo meeting with various groups from the KSO, rehearsing with the orchestra and talking with musicians before the culminating event of the concert on Saturday.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Julian Kuerti
Quickly establishing himself as a significant interpreter of orchestral and operatic music, Canadian conductor Julian Kuerti has combined a confident style, artistic integrity and passion for collaboration to position himself at the forefront of the international music scene. Having been Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal from 2013-16, and the 2012-14 Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Concepción in Chile, Kuerti has made a reputation for himself both in the Americas and abroad.

The 17/18 season sees Kuerti conduct Vasteras Sinfonietta, in a programme of Tally, Haydn and Mozart with Cellist Jakob Koranyi; a new production of Rusalka with Teatro Colon; Hindemith, Barber and Beethoven with Deutsche Radio Symphony with Violinist Nemanja Radulovic; a concert of Beethoven's Triple concerto and Prokofiev 5th Symphony with Kalamazoo Symphony; an appearance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducting pieces by Ross Edwards, Mendelssohn and Rachmanino.

In 16/17 Kuerti enjoyed further concerts with Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal, conducting Tchaikovsky, Glière, Morel and Haydn's large-scale work, The Seven last Words of Christ. Kuerti continued to be a global presence, conducting the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway, with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, symphonic performances in Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires and a re-invitation to Fundación Excelentia to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No.9.

In Europe, Kuerti's guest engagements have brought him on numerous occasions to the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Stavanger Symphony. He has also enjoyed concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Bournemouth Symphony, Monte Carlo Philharmonic and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

Eroica Trio
The most sought-after trio in the world, the Grammy nominated Eroica Trio electrify the concert stage with their passionate performances, flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm and sensual elegance. The New York Times writes, "There is an edge of the seat intensity to every note they produce."

The Trio won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut and has since toured the United States, Europe, Middle East, South America, and Asia. The Eroica Trio released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI classics Records, garnering them multiple Grammy nominations. The first all-female chamber ensemble to reach the top echelon of the field, the women of the Eroica Trio have shattered the age-old gender barrier, leading the vanguard and inspiring many to follow.

Recent highlights include their mini-series, Eroica Trio and Friends, in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with principal Clarinetist of the Atlanta Symphony, Laura Ardan and Violist of the Emerson Quartet, Lawrence Dutton. Another exciting project for the trio, Tango Ahora, featuring two new Concerti for the Trio and Bandoneon by Argentinean composers Emilio Kauderer and Daniel Binelli, was recorded in Prague; they premiered the Kauderer Concerto before a sold out audience in Buenos Aires with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional at the CCK.

The Eroica Trio has appeared on numerous television programs, including ABC's The View, CNN's Showbiz Today, CBS and ABC News, the CBS Morning Show and Saturday Morning, The Isaac Mizrahi Show, Pure Oxygen, and Bloomberg TV. The group has been featured in such magazines as Elle, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Detour, Marie Claire, Gotham, Entrée, Bon Appétit, Time Out New York, Gramophone, Piano, Vivace, Auditorium, and Chamber Music.

Whether the Eroica Trio is interpreting the Baroque Masters, the power and strength of Beethoven, the jazzy tunes of Schoenfield or the Bluegrass toe tapping rhythms of Mark O'Connor, their performances are deeply personal and continue to thrill audiences around the world. To quote the San Francisco Examiner, "It has been decades since this country has produced a chamber music organization with this much passion..."

CALENDAR LISTING

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents Symphonic Series Concert:
Beethoven and Prokofiev
Saturday, May 19, 2018 –Miller Auditorium, 8pm
Julian Kuerti, Conductor
Eroica Trio, Piano, Violin and Cello

Beethoven Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56
Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100

Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal, Julian Kuerti, leads the KSO in Prokofiev's 5th Symphony. Rounding out the program is Beethoven's Triple Concerto, featuring the internationally renowned Eroica Trio.

Tickets: $60 - $24
Student & Veteran discounts available.
$5 Student Rush tickets with valid ID, are available at the box office the night of the concert.

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 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, as well as many other local foundations and donors. 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.

ABOUT THE KALAMAZOO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1921, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is Southwest Michigan's premier musical organization and the state's third largest orchestra. Serving Michigan's fourth largest metropolitan area, the KSO provides more than thirty concert performances each year, reaching more than 80,000 adults and youth per year with great symphonic music and world class guest artists. With an equally vibrant educational mission, the KSO offers school-based programs that music teachers rely on to support their curriculum, and afterschool programs that have been recognized by the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards and Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. 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 establish its innovative Artists in Residence program.

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