Monterey Symphony's 68th season - a Season of Discovery -March 21, 22, 23 for Insight with Alvaro Cassuto & Ignacio Soler Perez

Save the date for a great performance by Alvaro Cassuto & Ignacio Soler Perez. End Quote

Salinas, CA (1888PressRelease) March 08, 2014 - The 68th season of the Monterey Symphony offers what's sure to be a rich season filled with exploration, musical encounters and treasures that emerge across the canvas of the stages at Sherwood Hall in Salinas and Sunset Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Music Director & Conductor Max Bragado-Darman invites you to join the Monterey Symphony with your 2013-'14 Passport to musical discovery!

Insight

• March 21, 22, 23

• Performances in Salinas and Carmel

• If listening to music is like peering into a composer's soul, this destination is the insight into genius. Le Tombeau de Couperin is a noble memorial for Maurice Ravel's friends killed during the First World War. The Bassoon Concerto, Mozart's first concerto for a wind instrument, is a glimpse into a young, yet sophisticated, composer as well as a striking new guest artist, Ignacio Soler Pérez. Berlioz claimed that Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 was the work of Archangel Michael himself.

• Álvaro Cassuto Biography http://www.montereysymphony.org/?attachment_id=5990

• Ignacio Soler Pérez Biography http://www.montereysymphony.org/?attachment_id=5521

• Álvaro Cassuto, guest conductor

• Ignacio Soler Pérez, bassoon

• Concert Program:

Maurice Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bassoon Concerto, KV 191, B-flat Major

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 4, B-flat Major, Op. 60

Background on Álvaro Cassuto, guest conductor

alvarocassuto

Álvaro Cassuto, widely acclaimed as Portugal's foremost conductor, has long since proved himself a citizen of the world. Born in Oporto in 1938, he studied in Lisbon, and after establishing himself as one of the most promising young composers of the avant-garde of the early 1960s, went on to study conducting with Herbert von Karajan in Berlin. After graduating from the Law School at the University of Lisbon, he obtained his conducting degree in Vienna.

A recipient of many honors, he has been a frequent guest of numerous leading orchestras throughout the world. As a guest conductor, he led many of the world's leading orchestras. In England, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia both at the Barbican Centre as well as in CD recordings, the Royal Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, both on tour to Portugal, the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, and in various music festivals during a series of years. He also guest conducted other British orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony, the Northern Sinfonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Irish National Orchestra.

Mr. Cassuto has an impressive discography, among which a highly successful ongoing series for Marco Polo and Naxos has met with unanimous praise from the international press. In 2009 the president of Portugal bestowed on him the award of Grand Officer of the Military Order of Sant'Iago da Espada, the highest honor granted to a musician.

Currently, Álvaro Cassuto is pursuing a busy guest conducting schedule, in addition to recording for NAXOS the most important orchestral works of Portugal's leading composers with a variety of international orchestras.

Background on Ignacio Soler Pérez, bassoon

Ignacio Soler Perez

Ignacio Soler Pérez was born in 1991 in Alzira (Valencia, Spain). He began his musical studies at the age of eight at the Societat Musical d´Alzira with his professor Juan Sapiña, his teacher for eight years. When he was sixteen he attended the Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco (Musikene) where he currently studies, having as bassoon teachers: David Tomás, Álvaro Prieto and Javier Aragó, and as contrabassoon teacher: Vicente Alario.

He has supplemented his bassoonist and musical formation performing master classes with recognized professors such as Gustavo Núñez, Salvador Sanchís, Ole Kristian T. Dahl, Agger Svendsen or Kim Laskowski, while also contributing to classes by Sergio Azzolini, Marco Posthingel and Klaus Thunemann.

Ignacio Soler Pérez has been member of the following young orchestras: JOGV (Jove Orquesta de la Generalitat Valenciana), TWO (The World Orchestra), JONDE (Joven Orquesta Nacional de España), and ia a member of the reserve list of GMJO (Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester) SHMFO (Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchester) with which he toured in Germany and USA, performing at such prestigious auditoriums as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Semperoper in Dresden and Carnegie Hall in New York, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, Christoph von Dohnányi, Thomas Hengelbrock and Lawerence Foster.

He has participated in several national competitions, achieving first place in the Concurso de Joves Intérprets at the Societat Musical d´Alzira (2006), finalist at the National Competition "Ciutat de Xátiva" (2007) and winner in 2008. Recently, in December 2010, he won the 9th edition of the "Certamen Nacional de Interpretación Intercentros Melómano." For this last award he has given the opportunity to perform as a soloist accompanied by Spanish orchestra, ORTVE (Orquesta de Radio y Televisión Española).

The Facts

• Fridays at 7:30 p.m. ($20; all seats general admission) at Sherwood Hall, Salinas

• Saturdays at 8 p.m. ($29-$79) and Sundays at 3 p.m. ($29-$79) at Sunset Center, Carmel-by-the-Sea

• Pre-Concert Lecture Series: All concerts will feature a free pre-concert lecture one hour prior to the performance. These lectures, provided by Dr. Todd Samra, offer intriguing facts and historical context about the composers and the pieces to be performed, which greatly enhance the concert-going experience. To learn more about Dr. Samra, click here: http://www.montereysymphony.org/?attachment_id=3832

• Enjoy the best of harmony for your ears, and flavor for your palate, with the Monterey Symphony Supper Club! Enhance your journey by participating in this program hosted by Carmel's Anton & Michel on Saturday, March 22nd at 5:30pm, and Sunday, March 23rd at 5:30pm. Dinner includes a delicious three-course meal complete with hand-selected wines. To learn more or to make reservations, go to www.montereysymphony.org/special-events.

• To make a reservation call 831-646-8511 or go to http://www.montereysymphony.org/category/upcoming-season/ to request your Monterey Symphony Passport and Map of Discovery.

The mission of the Monterey Symphony is to engage, educate and excite our community through the performance and continual discovery of symphonic music. The Monterey Symphony, under the artistic leadership of Music Director & Conductor Max Bragado-Darman, is the only fully professional, full-season orchestra serving the communities of the Monterey Bay, Salinas, Salinas Valley, Big Sur, and San Benito County. It provides triple performances of a six-concert subscription series at Carmel's Sunset Theater and Salinas's Sherwood Hall, as well as youth activities program, including visits to classrooms by musicians, culminating in full-orchestra concerts for schoolchildren.

The Monterey Symphony is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation, supported in part through the fundraising efforts of the Friends of the Monterey Symphony, and through grants from The James Irvine Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Harden Foundation, The Robert and Virginia Stanton Fund at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts Council, The STAR Foundation, Upjohn California Fund, Berkshire Foundation, and many other generous foundations and individual donors.

For additional information, please call 831-646-8511 or visit our web site: www.montereysymphony.org.

Contact: Michelle Lange, Director of Patron Engagement

831-645-1131 or mlange ( @ ) montereysymphony dot org

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