CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CINCINNATI POPS EMBARK ON ASIA TOUR MARCH 2017

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The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the Cincinnati Pops will embark on its highly-anticipated international tour to Asia in March of 2017 with six performances in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Taiwan.

“I’m so proud to conduct the CSO in some of the most prestigious venues in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai,” said CSO Music Director Louis Langrée. “To be invited to serve as Cincinnati’s ambassador on the other side of the world is a true honor.”

“I’m thrilled for us to share our unique Cincinnati sound with audiences in Asia,” said Pops Conductor John Morris Russell. “We’ve sold more than ten million albums over the years, and know that many of our most fervent fans live on the other side of the earth. There is nothing like a live performance of the Cincinnati Pops and CSO, especially when we are sharing the unbridled joy of extraordinary music-making with the world.”

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Tour Schedule
Date City Venue
Friday, March 17 (CSO) Hong Kong Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Sunday, March 19 (CSO) Beijing Poly Theatre
Wednesday, March 22 (CSO) Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre
Thursday, March 23 (Pops) Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre
Saturday, March 25 (Pops) Tainan Tainan Municipal Cultural Centre
Sunday, March 26 (Pops) Taipei National Concert Hall

The tour begins on March 17 with the CSO performing as part of the prestigious Hong Kong Arts Festival at the HK Cultural Centre Music Hall and continues on March 19 with a performance at Beijing’s Poly Theatre and March 22 with a performance at Shanghai’s Oriental Arts Centre.

The Orchestra performs as the Cincinnati Pops at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre on March 23, and then heads to Taiwan for two additional concerts as the Cincinnati Pops on March 25 at the Tainan Municipal Cultural Center and on March 26 at the Taipei National Concert Hall.

Joining Mr. Langrée and the CSO is piano soloist Alexander Gavrylyuk, who most recently performed with the CSO for the prestigious Great Performers series at New York City’s Lincoln Center in January. Mr. Gavrylyuk will be performing George Gershwin’s iconic American classic, Rhapsody in Blue. The CSO tour repertoire appropriately highlights both American and French composers as a nod to the Orchestra’s and Mr. Langrée’s roots, with Ives’ iconic The Unanswered Question, Saint-Saëns’ transcendent Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”), Gershwin’s other beloved classic, An American in Paris, and Ravel’s sublime Daphnis et Chloé and “Mother Goose” Suite all appearing on the programs.

The Pops program brings the best scores from Hollywood action and adventure blockbusters for three swashbuckling concerts. Themes from such iconic films as The Magnificent Seven, Star Trek, Mission Impossible and Star Wars often thrill and delight audiences at home in Cincinnati and were selected for this tour program for their international appeal. Violinist Cho-Liang Lin will also be joining the Pops to perform solo passages from Korngold and John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List.

The Orchestra last performed in China’s capital city Beijing as the Cincinnati Pops for the Summer Olympics in 2008 and previously toured China as the Pops in 2005.

The CSO will depart for next year’s European tour on August 22 and perform eleven concerts in eight cities across five countries. This tour will include some of the main festivals in Europe. Program information, cities and venues will be announced at a later date. The CSO most recently toured Europe in 2008.

Both CSO international tours are made possible by Tom and Dee Stegman and the estate of Chuck Yeiser, and the major underwriter for the Pops appearances in Asia is Edyth B. Lindner. These major underwriters are also joined by the following supporters of the Asia tour: Susan Friedlander; Tom Garber and Family; Flo and Ron Koetters; The Harold C. Schott Foundation/Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees; Western Pacific Holdings. Additional underwriters for the European tour are: Sheila and Chris Cole; Tom Garber and Family; David Herriman; Sandra and Stephen Joffe; Marilyn and Jack Osborn; Dianne and J. David Rosenberg; The Harold C. Schott Foundation/Francie and Tom Hiltz, Trustees; Randolph and Sallie Wadsworth.

http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/