December 13, 2007: The Trustees of the West Valley Symphony Association
are pleased to announce plans to present two Chamber Orchestra concerts in
February and April of 2008. A recent bequest from the late Mr. J. E.
Donald Hastie of Sun City provides the opportunity to bring back our professional
symphonic performances to the northwest valley.
The first concert on Sunday, February 17th at 3:00pm will honor Valentine’s
Day with a “Celebration of Romance” theme. Audience members should
be delighted to hear Bizet’s “Carmen Suite No. 2” and Mozart’s “Piano
Concerto No. 21” as part of this program to be presented at Faith Presbyterian
Church, 16000 N. Del Webb Blvd. in Sun City. The second concert at
3:00pm on Sunday, April 13th , will feature a “Springtime in Vienna” theme.
This concert will feature vocalists performing songs from Franz Lehár’s
“The Merry Widow”, Johann Strauss’ “die Fledermaus” and the popular
“Blue Danube Waltz”. This second concert will be presented in the Performing
Arts Auditorium at Willow Canyon High School, 17901 W. Lundburg in Surprise,
located just past Loop 303 on West Bell Road.
“I know the entire Board supports me in saying we are delighted to have the
opportunity to bring our beautiful music back to life. Our terrific
professional musicians are truly excited to be returning to our communities
and performing this inspiring music. We look forward to seeing our
patrons back in the audience and hope many others new to symphonic music
will find the concerts an entertaining and rewarding experience,” says Cathy
Leas, Co-President of the Board of Trustees.
The concerts promise to be a bit different from the Orchestra’s historical
fare, featuring a variety of light Classical music with a Chamber Orchestra
of approximately 44 musicians. Conducted by Maestro Warren Cohen, the
concerts will highlight compositions from the works of master composers Mozart,
Bizet, J. Strauss and Lehár.
Born in Montreal, Maestro Cohen is a musician, composer and conductor.
He studied conducting with Gustave Meier and Paul Vermel and is currently
the Musical Director of the Scottsdale-based MusicaNova. His career
as a Music Director stretches over two decades, including a seven year affiliation
with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra in Tucson. Maestro Cohen
lives in Cave Creek with his wife, soprano Carolyn Whitaker, and their nine
year old son Graham.
Tickets are priced at $25 and will go on sale on January 14th. Contact
an orchestra representative at 623.236.6781 for more information.
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