Contact: Gretchen Miller Basso Public Relations Director The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Phone: 407/896-6700 x 223 Fax: 407/896-5512 gmiller@orlandophil.org www.orlandophil.org

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Presents Music and Fun for the Entire Family at its 2007-2008 Darden Family Series

(Orlando, FL – February 28, 2007) - The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra proudly announces the 2007 - 2008 Darden Family Series. Sponsored by Darden Restaurants Foundation, the programs in the Darden Family Series are designed to de-mystify the classical music experience for children and their families. The family-friendly concerts in this series are as educational as they are entertaining. Prior to a fabulous concert presented by the Orlando Philharmonic, participants enjoy a variety of pre-concert activities, including the popular conducting station, where you can step up to the podium to conduct the Orlando Philharmonic; instrument petting zoos, where you can try your hands at a variety of instruments; ensemble performances, and an assortment of activities that complement the theme of the concerts. Many of these activities involve collaboration with organizations throughout the Central Florida community.

The generous sponsorship by the Darden Restaurants Foundation has enabled the Philharmonic to offer this three-concert subscription series at the family-friendly price of $21 for children and $42 for adults.  Subscriptions are presently on sale. Be sure to order your subscriptions early, as these concerts sell out quickly, and the auditorium is filled from front to back as orders are received. (Season subscribers are seated first.) Single tickets go on sale Monday, August 27, 2007, and are $8 for students and $16 for adults. 
Subscriptions can be purchased by phoning the Orlando Philharmonic Box Office at 407-770-0071, or on the Philharmonic’s website at www.orlandophil.org. You can also mail your order with checks payable to the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, 812 E. Rollins Street, Suite 300 Orlando, FL 32803. All Darden Family Series concerts are held on Sundays at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, 401 W. Livingston Street, Orlando.

The 2007-2008 Darden Family Series is as follows:
Darden I: Rusty in Orchestraville
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Pre-concert Activities: 2:00 PM   
Concert: 3:00 PM
Andrew Lane, Conductor
Conrad Tao, Piano

Rusty is like a good many other girls and boys. He takes piano lessons and balks at daily practicing. One night Rusty has a dream about an orchestra. In his dream all the instruments in the symphony come to life.  He meets the orchestra conductor and is introduced to all the instruments in the orchestra. Rusty makes friends with all the instrument families – woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings. At the end, Rusty is introduced to the piano. The piano plays a beautiful selection and Rusty is amazed at how wonderful it sounds. He awakens and rushes to his piano, inspired to make beautiful music.

Darden II: Peter and the Wolf  
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Pre-concert Activities: 2:00 PM   
Concert: 3:00 PM
Andrew Lane, Conductor; FSYO Concerto Competition Winner
Side-by-Side with the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra

Nowhere in his works does Prokofiev speak to us so freely and happily as in Peter and the Wolf. The story of Peter is wonderfully easy to follow and needs little explanation – remember to listen for Peter (the strings), his friends the Bird (flute), the Duck (oboe), the Cat (clarinet), the Hunters (drums), Peter’s Grandfather (bassoon) and of course the Wolf (horns). Are you
sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…

Darden III: Beethoven Lives Upstairs  
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Pre-concert Activities: 2:00 PM     
Concert: 3:00 PM
Andrew Lane, Conductor

Christoph is a young boy in 1820s Vienna. His father has just died and he resents the arrival of the new tenant upstairs. Through a series of letters exchanged with his uncle, Christoph complains that a “madman” has moved into the house, exhibiting eccentric behavior and a fiery temper. But soon Christoph comes to understand that his tenant is no ordinary man, but the gifted and tormented Beethoven, trapped in his deafness and his obsession to continue expressing his musical ideas. Through the use of many short musical examples of Beethoven’s works, Christoph and the audience come to know this troubled and brilliant man. The concert includes excerpts from the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Symphonies, the “Pathétique” and “Moonlight” piano sonatas, “Für Elise,” Leonora Overture No. 3, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 5, and a number of other works.

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