August 06, 2007
The Hampshire County Youth Orchestra
Inaugurates the 41st edition of asiagofestival
ASIAGO
FESTIVAL 41st Edition
PRESS RELEASE
The Hampshire County Youth Orchestra inaugurates
the forty-first edition of AsiagoFestival – Asiago, Duomo di S. Matteo , Tuesday, August 7, 2007-
It will be entrusted to the vitality of an orchestra of 95 young and talented musicians, the inauguration of the 41st AsiagoFestival. Music on the plateau returns, as usual, in grand style on Tuesday, Aug. 7 (9 p.m.), hosting at Asiago’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, a British youth orchestra conducted by Tom Seligman.
The large and talented English ensemble, will be engaged in a rich program that will range from the joyous notes of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” to the evocative “Bacchanale” by Camille Saint Saens, and then offer the poignant “Meditation” that Jules Massenet drew from his opera “Thais” and conclude with the sweeping Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich. A program that promises, then, great suggestions, virtuosity that is never gratuitous and an explosion of orchestral colors.
A great start for a Festival that once again renews its commitment to the dissemination of great music and attention to the most promising young artists, authoritatively candidates to be the protagonists of tomorrow’s international music scene.
The whole festival program in the brand new website: www.asiagofestival.it
EVENT SHEET:
Tuesday, August 7, 2007, 9 p.m.
Asiago, Cathedral of St. Matthew
Inaugural Concert 41st AsiagoFestival
Hampshire County Youth Orchestra
director : Ton Seligman
Program: Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Fanfare for the Common Man
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Bacchanale Jules Massenet (1842-1912): Méditation from “Thaïs”
Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 5 Free admission – info: www.asiagofestival.it
Admission will be allowed only as long as seats are available, but no later than the beginning
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRA
It is one of the best youth orchestras in the United Kingdom.
It is made up of nearly 100 musicians from the Hampshire region of southern England. Many of these musicians will continue their musical studies at conservatories in Europe and train the next generation of professional musicians.
The orchestra has won many awards in recent years, including the award for ‘Most Outstanding Performance’ at the National Festival for Young Musicians (UK). It has recorded a number of broadcasts for the national radio station, Classic FM, and is one of the favorite orchestras of the British classical music sponsor, Sainsburys.
The orchestra’s repertoire is varied–from concertos and symphonies of the classical and Romantic periods to contemporary music specially commissioned for the orchestra. It has presented pieces by Beethoven, Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Rachmaninov in the most important theaters in the UK.
The orchestra has traveled abroad frequently and has gained respect and friendship around the world for its performances full of energy and passion. The orchestra has been to the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In 1998 Hampshire County Youth Orchestra became the first orchestra to visit South Africa since the fall of Apartheid. In 2001 the orchestra toured Chile, where it was a guest of the Santiago Municipal Theater. In the summer of 2004 it performed a tour in Leipzig, Prague, and Bohemia. Her performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in the Rudolfinum in Prague was much applauded by critics.
TOM SELIGMAN, conductor
Winner of the Alexander Gibson Youth Conductor’s Award in 2000, Tom Seligman studied with Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Scottish Academy following his studies at Cambridge University. He has conducted acclaimed performances of The Rake’s Progress and The Beggar’s Opera in Edinburgh, and was Joseph Swensen’s assistant at the Salzburg Festival and BBC Proms, London. In recent months he has collaborated with Grange Park Opera and the London Sinfonietta. He was the music director of the Cheltenham Festival Academy for the inaugural year, and made his BBC Radio 3 debut as director of the Hebrides Ensemble at the St Magnus Festival, Orkney. Tom Seligman was appointed director of Hampshire
ASIAGOFESTIVAL is organized by the Cultural Association “Friends of Music of Asiago” – “Fiorella Benetti Brazzale”, in collaboration with the Parish of St. Matthew, with the contribution and collaboration of the City of Asiago, Department of Tourism and Culture. Fundamental is the support offered by Banca Popolare di Vicenza, Burro delle Alpi – Alpilatte, Gran Moravia, Bassan Bernardo and Sons, and Rigoni di Asiago .
Info for the public: 0424.464081 – www.asiagofestival.it
Info for the press: 335.8223010 (Marina Grasso)