Dayton Philharmonic Invites Dayton Area Teachers Free of Charge to February 25/26 Concerts for a Special Tribute

Educators and Education Underwriters Celebrated at Two Concert Evenings for Program "Virtuosos at Home" featuring DPO Principals

DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra's 2010-2011 Miami Valley & Good Samaritan Hospitals Classical Series will continue with the concerts titled Virtuosos at Home on Friday and Saturday, February 25 & 26, 2011, both performances at 8 p.m. at the Schuster Center.

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These two concert evenings are dedicated to area educators who work in the Dayton region, working in the areas of pre-school through high school. The two concerts are offered free to teachers from the Dayton region who work with the very young through high school, also the primary focus of the DPO's Education Department. The invitation is extended specifically to teachers, homeschool parents and area librarians who work within the Greater Dayton region. It is valid for two tickets per household on a first-come, first-serve offer for as long as there are seats available.

To obtain the tickets, educators are invited to visit http://www.daytonphilharmonic.com/teachertribute on the Dayton Philharmonic website to submit an online form. They will receive an email confirmation and tickets will be held in their name in Will Call at the Schuster Center Wintergarden box office for these two concerts. Either date may be selected.

"We are out in the community all season long and we see, first-hand, the hard work of area educators serving our youth. We know, intimately, the immense challenges associated with their demanding role," says DPO Education Director, Gloria Pugh. "This is our way of honoring our own 'Virtuosos at Home' as well as the underwriters who play a critical role in funding the DPO Education Program."  

Music Director Neal Gittleman will conduct the concerts and recognize area educators and DPO education underwriters from the stage on both evenings.

The "Virtuosos at Home" theme carries through the program as two of the Orchestra's own principal players step to center stage. Principal Clarinetist John Kurokawa will bring mastery and insight to English composer Gerald Finzi's Clarinet Concerto, his most-performed and most-recorded work. In addition to his leading role on the stage, Mr. Kurokawa serves the DPO Education Department as a member of the DPO Woodwind Quintet. Principal Oboist Eileen Whalen will be heard performing the beautiful Concerto for Oboe d'amore by J.S. Bach. Eileen is also a member of the Woodwind Quintet and is a SPARK musician. SPARK (School Partners With Artists Reaching Kids) is an innovative DPO program that brings music learning directly into the classroom.

The oboe d'amore, a cousin of the oboe pitched between the oboe and the English horn, was a Baroque Era instrument that was one of Bach's favorites. The concerts will close with delicate ballet music from the pen of Igor Stravinsky, his suite Apollo and the Muses. Also on the program: a charming Divertimento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The DPO's 10-11 Classical Series promises "Voyages" of discovery. Each composer is on a quest; each composition evokes a time and place. This season's concerts take the listener from the 18th century Vienna of Mozart to the steppes of Central Asia (Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, March 11-12) to a quilt-making community in rural Alabama (Daugherty's Gee's Bend, March 24-26).

Tickets for the concerts of February 25 & 26 range from $9 - $59 and are available by calling

(888) 228-3630 or by ordering on the web at www.daytonphilharmonic.com.

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra performs most concerts at their home in the Schuster Performing Arts Center. The office is located at Performance Place at the Schuster Center, 109 North Main Street, Suite 200, Dayton, Ohio 45402. Office phone: 1-937-224-3521

About the DPO Education Department

Since 1934, the Dayton Philharmonic has provided an introduction to the wonders of classical music through its many Education Programs. Today, it serves nearly 67,000 kids in fourteen counties. Last year, members of the orchestra, youth orchestras, and volunteer organization participated in 1,263 engagements and partnered with 236 schools. Beyond Ohio, the American Symphony Orchestra League recognizes the DPO Education Department and its programs for depth and innovation.

The DPO Education Department, under the guidance of Education Director Gloria Pugh, provides a comprehensive array of programs, series, and concerts that address differing grade levels, learning styles, and teacher requirements. Programs include concerts conducted by Assistant Conductor Patrick Reynolds, or Music Director Neal Gittleman. Some concerts feature the DPO; others feature DPO student orchestras. The DPO's highly acclaimed SPARK Program (School Partners with Artists Reaching Kids) brings in-depth, cross-curricular programs to eight partner schools. The overall education activities include In-School, Field Trip, and Extra-Curricular Programs with a wide selection of programs that suit a variety of education requirements.

The overall mission is to bring music to kids in a wide variety of ways, giving the largest number of children possible the benefits of having one of the nation's best professional symphony orchestras right here in the Miami Valley community.

About John Kurokawa

John Kurokawa currently performs as the principal clarinetist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 1995. He is also the principal clarinetist of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and spends the latter part of his summers performing as principal clarinetist of the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra and the Frank Simon Band. Kurokawa has been a featured soloist on several occasions with the Dayton Philharmonic and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra performing the works of John Adams, Mozart, John Williams, and Gerald Finzi (2011). Most recently, Kurokawa received a fellowship grant from the Montgomery Artist and Cultural District for artistic accomplishment and artistic contributions to Montgomery County, Ohio.

In addition to his performing, Kurokawa is on the adjunct faculty of the University of Dayton Department of Music where he teaches applied clarinet, chamber music, and clarinet pedagogy. He has presented masterclasses at James Madison University, the University of Evansville, Pennsylvania State University, the Bayview Music Festival and others. A dedicated chamber musician, he also participates in several chamber music ensembles, including the Dayton Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet and the award winning Prestige Clarinet Quartet, which has been a featured ensemble at the International Clarinet Association Conference (in 2006 and 2008), the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium (in 2005 and 2008), and the Pennswoods Music Festival (2009).

Kurokawa earned a B.M. in woodwind performance (specializing in clarinet, flute, and saxophone) from Bowling Green State University and a M.M. in clarinet performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. His teachers have included Edward Marks, Ronald de Kant, and Angelo Fortini.

About Eileen Whalen

Eileen Whalen, oboist, has been hailed by the New York Times as playing with "considerable virtuosity," and by critics and conductors as "one of the country's great oboists" with a "gorgeous tone."  Ms. Whalen is the principal oboist of the Dayton Philharmonic, and has also served as the principal oboist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.  She has performed with orchestras all over the country, including the New Jersey, Colorado and Jacksonville Symphonies.  While at Tanglewood Music Festival she was selected to play under the direction of legendary conductor, Leonard Bernstein.  Winner of the Baur Competition, The Three Arts Competition and runner-up and only American finalist at the prestigious International Gillet Oboe Competition, she is equally comfortable playing symphonies, operas, chamber music, solo repertoire and pop music.  She can be heard on the latest Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra recordings, in addition to the albums "E O Mai" and "Kamalei: Collection-Two" by acclaimed Hawaiian recording artist Keali'i Reichel, and on the movie soundtrack to Mr. Holland's Opus.  During the summers Ms. Whalen is the principal oboist of the renowned Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, with whom she has performed over 60 different operas.  Ms. Whalen appeared on PBS' Great Performances in a production of Glimmerglass' Central Park, which was nominated for an Emmy, and she can regularly be heard on NPR's World of Opera.

Ms. Whalen is a committed educator.  As a member of the Dayton Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet she performs 52 concerts that reach over 3,000 school children each year.  She participates in the DPO educational program SPARK where she goes into Dayton schools and uses music and the oboe to teach and inspire 5th grade students.  Ms. Whalen maintains a private oboe studio and in 2008 was appointed to the faculty of the University of Dayton.  She received a Masters of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts, a Bachelor of Music at the University of Cincinnati and did additional coursework at Rice University.  Her teachers include Allan Vogel, Sara Bloom, Peggy Pearson, and Robert Atherholt.  She will be featured again in April 2012 playing the Britten Phantasy Quartet at the Dayton Art Institute.

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra is the largest and oldest performing arts organization in the community. Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra performances are made possible in part by Montgomery County and Culture Works, the single largest source of community funds for the arts and culture in the Miami Valley. The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency created to foster and encourage the development of the arts and to preserve Ohio's cultural heritage. Funding from the Ohio Arts Council is an investment of state tax dollars that promotes economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohio residents.

www.daytonphilharmonic.com

SOURCE Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra