The Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) announced that the second Classics Concert of the 2014-2015 Season will have two performances – Friday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 19, at 2:00 p.m. at the Laird Performing Arts Center at Tatnall (LPACT), 1501 Barley Mill Road, Wilmington, DE, 19807. Maestro David Amado leads “Heaven and Earth,” a program that revels in the powerful connection between music and our human existence.
Rossini’s Overture to William Tell is the brilliant opener, depicting a tranquil dawn, an Alpine storm, a cowherd’s song, and the most famous battle music ever written (kidnapped by the Lone Ranger).
The DSO’s own Principal Bass Daniel McDougall performs the Concerto for Double Bass of Serge Koussevitzky, a virtuoso showpiece balanced by singing, heartfelt Russian melodies and unexpected intimacy. A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, McDougall joined the DSO in 1996 and has been its principal bassist since 2008. He is also assistant principal of the Pennsylvania Ballet orchestra and plays regularly with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Philly Pops, Opera Philadelphia, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and others. He has collaborated with the Copeland String Quartet, and will perform with the Pyxis Quartet this spring. His eclectic freelancing has placed him onstage with everyone from Julie Andrews to Peter Gabriel. Dan has a special fondness for the Koussevitzky concerto.
In high school, he studied it in a master class for the DSO’s most recent bass soloist, Gary Karr. After conservatory, he performed it with his California hometown’s Livermore-Amador Symphony—with the middle school teacher who started it all playing in the violin section.
The second half of the program will be Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, also known as “The Great”. The last symphony completed before his death, Schubert never saw it performed. The 9th Symphony triumphs in its own divinity. It is powerful music that reaches astonishing depths by embracing a sense of human frailty and tenderness together with breathtaking spaciousness and ravishing melodies. It has been called the first truly romantic symphony.
Tickets for the concert are $60 each (plus a $6 box office fee per ticket). All seats are general admission. Tickets may be ordered from The Grand Opera House Box Office at (302) 652-5577, online at www.DelawareSymphony.org, or in person at 818 North Market Street in downtown Wilmington.
About David Amado, DSO Music Director and Conductor
Now in his 12th season as Music Director, Maestro David Amado has led the Delaware Symphony through both exciting and challenging times with thoughtfulness, sensitivity, and a constant ear toward musical excellence and refinement. His insightful music-making and energetic performances, as well as his rare ability to connect intimately with the audience, has made him a beloved figure in Delaware’s arts scene and also an engaging figure among regional, national, and international groups. Amado has recently been named a recipient of the prestigious 2014 Governor’s Award for the Arts by Delaware Governor Jack Markell.
Descended from a long and distinguished line of musicians that includes violist Lillian Fuchs (his grandmother) and violinist Joseph Fuchs (his uncle), Maestro Amado proudly continues his family’s tradition of great music-making. Amado studied piano at The Juilliard School with the great pedagogue Herbert Stessin while simultaneously exploring many other facets of music, including the world of the orchestra. Amado’s fascination with the orchestra led him to Indiana University, where he received his Master’s in Instrumental Conducting.
After a year-long apprenticeship at the Oregon Symphony, Amado began a six-year tenure with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, where he served as both Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and staff conductor for the Saint Louis Symphony. Amado’s fruitful years with Saint Louis were marked by success in expanding the types and number of concerts offered to young audiences and introducing symphony music to 55,000 young people annually.
Additionally, Amado was a producer for Arch Media, the Symphony’s own record label.
Maestro Amado is a prominent and engaged leader of the Delaware arts community. His unique and appealing programming – blending familiar orchestra repertoire with the less known and the old with the new – has propelled the Delaware Symphony to new artistic heights. In March of 2010, the DSO released its first recording on the Telarc label, featuring the orchestra with the renowned Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Outside of Delaware, Maestro Amado continues to expand on his passion for great music and his gift for sharing it with wide and diverse audiences.
Recent career highlights include engagements with major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and Houston Symphony. In addition to conducting, Maestro Amado teaches and coaches the next generation of young conductors in venues as diverse as the Curtis Institute of Music and Maine’s Atlantic Music Festival, where he is on faculty. In addition to his concert schedule, Maestro Amado is a regular guest on NPR affiliate WHYY and on WVUD radio, and he has also been heard nationally on NPR’s Performance Today. A Philadelphia native, he is married to violinist Meredith Amado.
About the Delaware Symphony Orchestra
The Delaware Symphony Orchestra, one of the premier regional orchestras in the United States and Delaware’s only fully professional orchestra, has been an integral part of the First State’s cultural life since 1906. Recognized for its artistic excellence, the DSO presents classical and contemporary repertoire in full orchestra and chamber music concerts, educational programs, and special events that attract audiences from throughout the Delaware Valley region.
The DSO is supported, in part, by the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.
For more information, visit http://www.delawaresymphony.org or call the DSO office at (302) 656-7442.
