NAC Orchestra's "Evening with George Gershwin" led by Jack Everly and featuring Canadian pianist Lucille Chung opens the season's CJOH Pops Series, October 16-18
October 06, 2003 -
Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre Orchestra's 2003-2004 CJOH Pops Series opens with An Evening with George Gershwin featuring the dazzling young Canadian pianist Lucille Chung, winner of the Stravinsky International Piano Competition, along with vocalists Deb Lyons and David Rogers. The ever-popular Jack Everly is back on the podium to lead these NAC Orchestra concerts from Thursday, October 16 to Saturday, October 18 at 20:00 in the NAC's Southam Hall.
American legend George Gershwin, who revolutionized music by linking jazz influences with orchestral composition, is feted with some of his most enduringly popular music. The classic piano extraganza Rhapsody in Blue, in its original 1924 version for jazz band, will be performed by Canadian pianist Lucille Chung. In addition to her big win at the Stravinsky Competition in 1989, she has been a prize winner at the Montreal International Music Competition and the First International Franz Liszt Competition in Weimar, and also received a Outstanding Achievement Award from the Governor General of Canada.
The concert also features the first-ever live performance of the overture to the movie Rhapsody in Blue. Jack Everly uncovered in the Warner Bros. vaults the original arrangement and orchestration by Ray Heindorf which was used in the film, but which until now has never been performed live.
Vocalists Deb Lyons and David Rogers will contribute such favourites as "The Man I Love", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "How Long Has This Been Going On?", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", as well as excerpts from Porgy and Bess, and an "Ira Steps Out" medley, all featuring the lyrics of Ira Gershwin to the music of his brother George.
Additional orchestral works include Swanee, By Strauss, the overture to Girl Crazy, and the Promenade from Shall We Dance performed to an excerpt from the original film projected above the orchestra.
The celebrated Broadway and Hollywood conductor Jack Everly is well known to National Arts Centre Orchestra audiences for previous Pops concerts that include "Those Glorious Hollywood Musicals" (2003), "Celtic Celebration" (2002), "Broadway Spectacular" (2002), and "Gotta Dance!" (2000). The Principal Pops Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony and Music Advisor for the recently formed Symphonic Pops Consortium, Jack Everly is also an avid collector of classic films and music from the stage and cinema.
The National Arts Centre Orchestra will present An Evening with George Gershwin from October 16 to 18. Tickets for these CJOH Pops Series concerts are on sale now at $34.50, $48.50, $50.00, $59.00 and $61.00, with box seats at $86.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC's web-site at www.nac-cna.ca. Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card.
Subscriptions for the season are also still available by calling the Subscription Office at 613-947-7000, ext. 620.
