Enchantment Theatre Company Joins the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to bring Arabian Nights to Life, March 6

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Mei-Ann Chen leads Orchestra in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Enchantment Theatre Company, under the direction of Assistant Conductor and League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow Mei-Ann Chen, will perform the fantastic tales of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (based on Arabian Nights) as part of the BSO Family Concert Series on Saturday, March 6 at 11:00 a.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The production also includes excerpts from Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld and Mussorgsky’s dramatic favorite Night on Bald Mountain.

During the winter of 1887, while working to complete Alexander Borodin's unfinished opera Prince Igor, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed an orchestral piece based upon stories and pictures from Arabian Nights. The Enchantment Theater Company will help bring this tale to life using masks, puppets, magic and movement to support the symphonic music of Rimsky-Korsakov in telling Scheherazade’s 1,001 tales.

The BSO encourages patrons to arrive early to participate in the BSO Family Fun Zone, beginning at 10 a.m. in the lobby. Children and their families can take advantage of numerous free, age-appropriate activities, including Port Discovery Children’s Museum’s interactive World Rhythm Drum Circus, the Maryland Zoo’s ZOOmobile, an instrument petting zoo and face painting.

Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Born in Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen has lived in the United States since 1989. Ms. Chen’s most recent engagement was as assistant conductor of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Robert Spano. This young conductor received the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship (TCCF) in 2007, which provided the opportunity to appear jointly with Marin Alsop and Stefan Sanderling in subscription concerts with the Baltimore, Colorado and Florida Symphony Orchestras. Founded by Marin Alsop in 2002, the TCCF is a unique opportunity for young women conductors to immerse themselves in the art and business of performing classical music under the leadership of Marin Alsop. The first woman to win the Malko International Conductors Competition (2005), Ms. Chen served as assistant conductor of the Oregon Symphony from 2003 to 2005. In 2002, she was unanimously selected as music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon, the oldest of its kind and the model for many of the youth orchestras in the United States. During her five-year tenure with the orchestra, she led its sold-out debut in Carnegie Hall, received an ASCAP award for innovative programming, established new partnerships with Oregon Symphony and Chamber Music Northwest and developed new and unique musicianship programs for the Orchestra’s members. She was honored with a Sunburst Award from Young Audiences for her contribution to music education.

COMPLETE CONCERT DETAILS
Family Concert Series: Scheherazade
Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.—Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Enchantment Theatre Company

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. for the BSO Family Fun Zone.

Tickets for these performances range from $12 to $20 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

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