Today, the Fresno Philharmonic and Music Director Rei Hotoda announced the orchestra’s 2019-2020 season Symphony Redefined, which explores the wide range of places where orchestral music is experienced. From Bernstein’s Candide Overture, to Danny Elfman’s music for the screen, to operas by Verdi and Wagner, the season takes inspiration from the world beyond the concert hall. Maestro Hotoda will lead the Fresno Philharmonic from the piano for the first time in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, with concertmaster Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio and cellist Julie Albers as part of the world-wide celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. The Fresno Philharmonic also introduces the audience to music by three of today’s leading American composers: Vivian Fung (Earworms), Adolphus Hailstork (An American Port of Call) and Gabriela Lena Frank (Escaramuza) demonstrating the diverse range of styles and influences in contemporary music. Highlights of the season include Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto, Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major (The Great), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Eroica), Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 and a program of arias, choruses and interludes from the operas of Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Bizet featuring the Fresno Master Chorale. Renowned Pianists Cecile Licad and Barry Douglas and Chicago Symphony trumpet player John Hagstrom lead the season’s guest artist roster.
The 2019-2020 Pops Series commences with Disney Concerts’ presentation of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, with the Fresno Philharmonic performing Danny Elfman’s beloved sound track live to film. Maestro Hotoda leads the annual Home for the Holidays concert in December, with special guest Canadian singer-songwriter Steve Bell. The Pops Series concludes with Broadway sensation Lisa Vroman in an evening of musical theater favorites.
In March, the genre bending “little orchestra” Pink Martini presents a special concert with members of the Fresno Philharmonic. Pink Martini has performed repeat sold out engagements at Carnegie Hall, L.A.’s Disney Concert Hall, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and at major venues around the world. This will be their first appearance in the William Saroyan Theatre.
Rei Hotoda, the Fresno Philharmonic’s Music Director and Conductor, said “This season reflects our passion to redefine the concert-going experience and celebrate the wonderful diversity of Fresno. We will be showcasing the versatility of the orchestra by highlighting important works from theater, film and opera alongside some of the greatest works ever written for the concert hall. We are thrilled to be a part of the larger global celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year, and I am really looking forward to leading the orchestra for the first time from the piano. From The Nightmare Before Christmas to a special concert with Pink Martini, audiences should expect the unexpected from the Fresno Philharmonic.”
Fresno Philharmonic Musicians in the Community: Proxima and Bitwise
Music Director Rei Hotoda and musicians of Fresno Philharmonic go beyond the Saroyan Theatre performing chamber music in Downtown Fresno locations. In February, the Fresno Philharmonic’s second annual Proxima: Music for the Next Century concert features music by California composers Vivian Fung and Gabriela Lena Frank, both of whom have works performed on the Masterworks series. Music by Fresno composers, including Benjamin Boone and Walter Saul, will also be featured. In April, by popular demand, the Fresno Philharmonic returns to the John W. Dodson Theatre in the Bitwise South Stadium tech hub for an eclectic and casual evening of chamber music. (Full details on these performances will be announced later
Stay Tuned, Inside the Music and Meet the Artist Luncheons
Committed to bringing audiences closer to the concert experience, the Fresno Philharmonic offers two compelling opportunities: Inside the Music and Stay Tuned. One hour prior to each Masterworks concert performance, the Fresno Philharmonic presents Inside the Music, an off-beat and entertaining look at classical music and the people who write and perform it, hosted by Fresno State composer, professor and scholar Dr. Benjamin Boone. Immediately following each Masterworks performance, Music Director Rei Hotoda leads Stay Tuned a casual and fun talk-back session with guest artists and members of the orchestra in the lower lobby of Saroyan Theatre, taking the audience behind the scenes of the concert program. The Fresno Philharmonic will also present three Meet the Artist Luncheons which provide audience members the opportunity to interact with the music director, guest artists and musicians.
Fresno Philharmonic in the Schools
Music Director Rei Hotoda passionately embraces her work in music education through engaging and participatory concerts for students. This philosophy goes hand-in-hand with that of the Fresno Philharmonic, which is a leader in providing exceptional arts education programs for area schools.
Next season the orchestra, under the leadership of Rei Hotoda, will once again partner with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to present Link Up: The Orchestra Moves in May 2020 in the William Saroyan Theatre. This highly interactive concert will be the culmination of an extensive in-class curriculum for recorder and voice in which over 11,500 students from throughout Fresno County will have the opportunity to perform with the Fresno Philharmonic. In 2019-2020, Link Up is offered district wide in Fresno, Central, Sanger and Clovis unified school districts, as well as in several individual schools in partnership with the Fresno County Office of Education. The Fresno Philharmonic’s Link Up program has been recognized with the Yale School of Music’s Distinguished Music Educator Award and is the largest partnership between Fresno County Schools and a performing arts organization.
Subscriptions to the Fresno Philharmonic’s 2019-2020 season are on sale now. The Fresno Philharmonic offers subscription packages for the full Masterworks and Pops Series and a 3-Concert Create Your Own Series. Subscriptions can be purchased online at fresnophil.org or by calling the box office at 559-261-0600. Single tickets go on sale August 1, 2019.
2019-2020 Season
MASTERWORKS I: CURTAIN UP-BERNSTEIN AND STRAUSS
September 22, 2019 3:00 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, Music Director and conductor
Cecile Licad, piano
Bernstein Candide Overture
Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2
Vivian Fung Earworms
Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Suite
POPS I: Disney Concerts presents
TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Live in Concert to Film
October 12, 2019 7:30 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Tim Davies, conductor
MASTERWORKS II: SCHUBERT’S GREAT SYMPHONY
November 10, 2019 3:00 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, Music Director and conductor
John Hagstrom, trumpet
Adolphus Hailstork An American Port of Call
Arutiunian Trumpet Concerto
Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major (The Great)
POPS II: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
December 7, 2019 7:30 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, Music Director and conductor
Steve Bell, guest artist
Fresno Master Chorale
Anna Hamre, director
MASTERWORKS III: BEETHOVEN THE REVOLUTIONARY
January 19, 2020 3:00 PM
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, conductor and piano
Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, violin
Julie Albers, cello
Beethoven Fidelio Overture
Beethoven Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major (Eroica)
MASTERWORKS IV: RACHMANINOFF AND SHOSTAKOVICH
February 16, 2020 3:00 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, Music Director and conductor
Barry Douglas, piano
Gabriela Lena Frank Escaramuza
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
SPECIAL EVENT: AN EVENING WITH PINK MARTINI
with Members of the Fresno Philharmonic
March 21, 2020 8:00 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
MASTERWORKS V: THE WORLD OF OPERA
April 26, 2020 3:00 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, Music Director and conductor
Fresno Master Chorale
Anna Hamre, director
Other Soloists and Program TBA
POPS III: BROADWAY DIVA
May 9, 2020 7:30 pm
William Saroyan Theatre
Chelsea Tipton, conductor
Lisa Vroman, soprano
EDUCATION: LINK UP – THE ORCHESTRA MOVES (a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute)
May 19-21, 2020
William Saroyan Theatre
Rei Hotoda, Music Director and conductor
About Rei Hotoda
Recently labeled an “inexhaustible dynamo” by the Spokesman-Review, Music Director Rei Hotoda has appeared as a guest conductor with many of today’s leading ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit, Toronto, Utah, Hawaii, Winnipeg, and Spokane as well as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, among others. She is a tireless advocate for the music of our time, and is equally at home leading the orchestra from the piano as well as from the podium.
With repertoire spanning Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 to Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 and from Mazzoli’s River Rouge Transfiguration to Johnsen’s Concerto for Two Bassoons, Rei will make several exciting debuts in the 2019-20 season when she appears as guest conductor with the Orlando Philharmonic, National Arts Center and Louisville Orchestras, and Omaha Symphony.
Community engagement, showcasing artistic diversity, and collaborating with a wide array of artists defines Rei’s artistic philosophy. Rei’s 2019-20 Masterworks concert season in Fresno will focus on redefining how concert-goers experience an orchestra, by celebrating the artistic riches of Fresno while showcasing the Philharmonic in several different ways through music of film, opera and theater. The contemporary voices of today—Vivian Fung, Adolphus Hailstork and Gabriela Lena Frank—will be juxtaposed with those of classical cannon, providing audiences with works that will engage and inspire. In one of the many season highlights, Rei will lead the Fresno Philharmonic from the piano for the first time, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in collaboration with concertmaster Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio and cellist Julie Albers. To amplify the dynamic work on the mainstage, Rei will again host a series of casual-format talkbacks, entitled “Stay Tuned,” and “Meet the Artist Luncheons” at repertoire-relevant locations throughout the city.
About the Fresno Philharmonic
The Fresno Philharmonic, now in its 66th season, is one of the leading arts organizations in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. As Fresno’s professional symphony orchestra, the Fresno Philharmonic presents incomparable live musical experiences to thousands of people each season and provides high quality music education programs to students throughout our region. The mission of the Fresno Philharmonic is to enrich the lives of Central San Joaquin Valley residents through inspiring performances of orchestral music. The orchestra is an essential and collaborative member of a vibrant arts scene which unites, delights and engages a diverse community. The Fresno Philharmonic believes that music of the highest caliber should be available and accessible to all.