News Release 2009 Lynchburg Symphony Concert Season

As many of you know, I play violin in the Lynchburg Symphony. We have an exciting season coming up.
For more information go to www.lynchburgsymphony.com.

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News Release

The Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra
Lynchburg, VA Tel 434.845.6604

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2009

Lynchburg Symphony Announces 2009-2010 Season;
Prices for Four Subscription Concerts at Deep Discounts

A first-of-a-kind performance by combined church choruses with full orchestra, the return of the popular Irish group Cherish the Ladies, the debut of the Lynchburg Pops concert, and a concert of collected orchestral favorites lead the 2009-2010 performance season announced by the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra’s 26th performance season also includes the second year of the LSO’s Christmas and Candlelight fundraiser, a repeat of the very popular Motown fund-raising event from last season, and the revival, from the 90s, of an Oktoberfest event featuring German refreshments and a lederhosen-clad “Ooom-pah” band.

Working very hard to increase revenues in a time of great economic challenge to cultural organizations everywhere, the orchestra is offering deep discounts for people who purchase season tickets for the LSO’s four basic subscription concerts, even deeper discounts for those whose subscriptions have lapsed for the past few years, and it’s sweetening the deal by including a two-year subscription to an increasingly popular statewide wine magazine.

Subscription Season – Four Concerts

The LSO’s performance season under conductor/music director Bruce Habitzruther gets under way on the afternoon of Sunday, October 11, when it hosts the combined choirs of area churches for a program of secular and sacred music, including original compositions by Central Virginia’s Dr. Mark Landry.

Then on March 6, 2010, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, the great all-woman Irish group Cherish the Ladies returns to the delight of music lovers throughout the region. This concert is part of the Minds Wide Open statewide celebration of women in the arts (vamindswideopen.org). The five-woman group blends virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing to enchant audiences worldwide. The orchestra will not be onstage during this concert. The entire concert will be the performance by Cherish the Ladies.

March 13, 2010, will see the unveiling of what the LSO is calling the Lynchburg Pops, when for the first time the orchestra goes to the James River Conference Center to create a nightclub atmosphere for favorite orchestral hits, both light classical and popular.

And on May 20, 2010, conductor Habitzruther and the LSO will perform a program of all-time popular works for orchestra, including a performance of Haydn’s delightful “Toy Symphony” with special celebrity guest artists.

If purchased separately, tickets for each of the four main performances would total $93, but for people who buy a season subscription, all four concerts are available for $70 for each person, a discount of about 25 percent. Subscribers who act by September 1 can also receive a free two-year subscription to Virginia Wine Lover Magazine, a contemporary lifestyle magazine that celebrates the quality and uniqueness of Virginia wines. The two-year subscription is valued at $15.

People who had subscribed to the LSO but who have not renewed their subscriptions since 2005 may do so this year for $60, as well as receive the wine magazine for two years. “We know that the choices for music lovers in Central Virginia have increased dramatically in recent years, and we are eager to show folks the reasons why we are the premiere music organization in our community,” noted LSO executive director Rick Piester. “We hope that this price proves very attractive to people who haven’t regularly been in our audiences recently. We’re working very hard to offer a variety of exciting musical experiences. It’s really a great deal — $108 worth of great music and great reading for just $60 or $70. And subscription sales are a huge help in maintaining the financial stability of our orchestra.”

Single-ticket sales for each concert begin about a month before each event.

A Year Filled with Special Events

In recent years, the LSO has been intent on diversifying the types of activities on its calendar, creating a series of fundraising events while at the same time offering interesting musical experiences for a broad range of audiences. Tickets are sold separately for these events.

On October 17, The Friends of the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra is bringing back Oktoberfest!, a popular LSO fundraiser from the 90s featuring German food, beverages, an oom-pah band, and all the Gemutlichkeit of a German festival at the Lynchburg City Armory.

On November 14, the LSO will present “Get Down Tonight – The Best of Motown” an event that had the audience up and dancing all evening when it was first offered in 2008. The Joy and Lynch Christian Warehouse Theater at the Academy of Fine Arts is transformed into a nighclub environment for an evening of great Motown hits by Bill Carroll and the BC Big Rhythm Sound

Two nights before Christmas, on December 23 at Oakwood Country Club, soprano Marcia Thom and Lynchburg-based singer/songwriter Paddy Dougherty will present the second year of “Christmas and Candlelight,” the sparkling evening of seasonal favorites that quickly sold out last year. Tickets for this special event will go on sale for $75 in the fall, but subscribers can get tickets for $65 at the time of subscription.

The Friends of the LSO’s major fundraising event, The Valentine Gala, is set for 7:00 PM on Saturday, February 13, 2010, at Boonsboro Country Club.

Closing out the year of special events, the LSO, the Virginia School of the Arts, and the Academy of Fine Arts will again collaborate on “Dancing with Strings and Other Things,” the combination of great music and great dance that enchanted audiences in 2008. Although not a fundraiser for the LSO, the three partner organizations have scheduled three performances of the event in late March 2010.

Subscription information and season brochures are available from the orchestra office at (434) 845-6604, by email at info@lynchburgsymphony.com, or on the LSO Web site, www.lynchburgsymphony.com. Subscriptions are also available at lynchburgtickets.com.