PORTLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES 2007-2008 SEASON

PORTLAND, Maine - International rising stars join forces with today's top Maine artists under the leadership of one of the world's most beloved musicians: That's the three-part formula that underscores the Portland Symphony Orchestra's 2007-2008 season.

International rising stars: Young virtuosos who have recently won prestigious international prizes will headline individual concerts throughout the season. Maine-based musicians: An outstanding parade -- including longtime residents and new arrivals -- will highlight several concerts. World-class leadership: Joseph Silverstein, one of the classical world's most recognizable figures, is serving as Artistic Advisor to the PSO for the 2007-2008 season, planning the repertoire and selecting the soloists. Silverstein is a multi-faceted talent who first achieved his formidable reputation as the concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; today he is known as a globetrotting violinist, maestro and music consultant.

Variations on these three themes also distinguish the PSO's Pops series and two special events, the annual Magic of Christmas and Independence Pops:

• On October 27-28, University of Southern Maine professor Robert Lehmann, who conducted Magic of Christmas in 2006 to rave reviews, will conduct the Pops opening concerts.
• Two internationally acclaimed vocal artists who make their home in Portland, soprano Lisa Saffer and tenor John McVeigh, will headline the February 16-17 concerts.
• The Sunday Classical program on April 13 will include Three Longfellow Poems by composer Vineet Shende, Assistant Professor of Music at Bowdoin College.
• The 2007 edition of Magic of Christmas, December 14-23, will be led by a frequent visitor to Maine: conductor Mark Mandarano. Principal Guest Conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Mandarano is closely connected with the Salt Bay ChamberFest in Damariscotta.
• Former PSO Concertmaster Lawrence Golan, now Resident Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony, returns to Maine to conduct this summer's Independence Pops, slated for June 29 through July 3.

The upcoming season is also unified by a sense of anticipation. The new Music Director -- whose title for the 2007-2008 season will temporarily carry the suffix "Designate" -- will be named in May or June of 2007. But due to the scheduling challenges faced by conductors of national and international renown, he will have limited opportunities to conduct in the 2007-2008 season. Assuming the full title of Music Director, the 2008-2009 season will represent his inaugural season, which sees him conducting more concerts and presiding over the programming for that season.

"What an interesting musical journey it's going to be for the 2007-2008 season as we look ahead to what's going to be a life-changing event for the orchestra," says Executive Director Ari Solotoff.

"The orchestra is playing at an exceptionally high level and next season provides the players with an opportunity to maintain that level and generate additional excitement in anticipation of the arrival of the new Music Director."

A capsule rundown of the PSO's 2007-2008 season follows:

The Tuesday Classical Series begins October 16, 2007 with Joseph Silverstein conducting. Pianist William Wolfram, silver medalist at the William Kapell and Naumberg competitions, will be the featured soloist for Mozart's Rondo in D Major. The program also includes Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Totentanz by Franz Liszt and Berlioz's thrilling Symphonie Fantastique.

Silverstein also conducts November 13, 2007. Augustin Hadelich, 2006 winner of the International Violin Competition in Indianapolis will solo in Antonin Dvorak's Violin Concerto. This concert will also feature a performance of Petrouchka as part of the PSO's Stravinsky Celebration, honoring that composer's 125th birthday year

Guest maestro Alasdair Neale leads the February 5, 2008 concert, which features Portland Municipal Organist Ray Cornils at the keys of Merrill Auditorium's famed Kotzschmar Memorial Organ in a rare performance of Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra (best known as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey).

The Masterworks Chorus of the Choral Art Society -- longtime PSO collaborators under the direction of Robert Russell -- will perform Johannes Brahms' "A German Requiem" March 4, 2008. Renowned soprano Mary Wilson joins the PSO for Barber's magnificent Knoxville Summer of 1915 and the program opens with the Haydn Te Deum.

Silverstein returns to conduct an all-Russian program on April 1, 2008. Yuja Wang, winner of the Gilmore Young Artist Award, will solo in Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Works by Glinka and Shostakovich will round out the program.

The series finale is May 6, 2008; Canadian cello phenomenon Denise Djokic will solo in a Haydn Cello Concerto, and the masterwork on the program is Gustav Mahler's titanic Symphony No. 1. The conductor for this concert has not yet been announced.

The PSO's three-concert Sunday Classical Series begins November 4, 2007 with Silverstein conducting; for Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola he'll also perform, along with PSO principal violist Laurie Kennedy. This concert is part of the Stravinsky Celebration, featuring Pulcinella Suite, along with works by Mozart and Elgar.

Multiple prize-winner Benjamin Hochman headlines the February 24, 2008 concert in a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. Other works include Wagner's glorious Siegfried Idyll and the charming "Three Cornered Hat" Suite by De Falla. Guest maestro Arthur Post will take the podium.

The series finale, an all-orchestral program on April 13, 2008 opens with Haydn Symphony No. 95 and closes with Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite by Strauss. Led by a conductor who will be announced at a later date, the program also features Three Longfellow Poems by Maine composer Vineet Shende.

The four-part Pops Series launches October 27-28, 2007 with Robert Lehmann guest conducting a Halloween-themed bill titled "A Little Fright Music."

Two Portland-based opera singers with established international reputations, soprano Lisa Saffer and tenor John McVeigh, headline the February 16-17, 2008 weekend in a romantic program titled "Vocal Valentine."

Bill Conti, longtime Hollywood composer and conductor of the Academy Awards ceremonies, will lead the March 15-16, 2008 program, a tribute to the music of Henry Mancini.

Tiempo Libre will hit the road next spring with a new symphonic program that's been commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra. PSO's April 26-27, 2008 concerts will be among the Miami ensemble's first outings after the world premiere.

Mark Mandarano will lead Magic of Christmas in 2007, featuring traditional music and holiday ambience with a few new ingredients added for seasonal spice, scheduled for 15 performances December 14-23, 2007.

Lawrence Golan will take the baton for this summer's Independence Pops, which has five alfresco performances June 29-July 3, 2007.

Subscriptions for Tuesday Classical, Sunday Classical and Pops! series are currently on sale. Single tickets for Independence Pops and Magic of Christmas will go on sale on Wednesday, May 2. Single tickets for all other concerts will go on sale on Tuesday, September 5.