Another sold out house for Tacoma Symphony

Music Director Sarah Ioannides will round out her inaugural season just the way she started it - with a sold out house, a powerhouse program, and world-renowned guest artist. On Saturday, May 9th at 7:30 pm, the dynamic Amit Peled performs Schumann's great concerto in his first Tacoma appearance in eight years.  Gustav Holst's famous piece depicts each of the heavenly orbs.  This performance at the Pantages Theater, will be enhanced by breathtaking images from NASA, artfully assembled by Sarah Ioannides and timed to the music, projected above the stage.

All around the world, Israeli cellist Amit Peled is acclaimed as one of the most exciting instrumentalists on the concert circuit today.  Peled has a charismatic presence on the stage, not least of which is due to his being a musician of profound artistry, and also due to his 6' 5" frame.  Following his enthusiastically received Alice Tully Hall concerto debut playing the Hindemith cello concerto, the New York Times stated:

 "Glowing tone, a seductive timbre and an emotionally pointed approach to phrasing that made you want to hear him again."

Gustav Holst's The Planets is colorful, beautifully orchestrated and, by today's standards, highly accessible.  The seven-movement suite is one of a handful of works from the 20th century whose popularity spans age groups and genres.  Each depicts the astrological character, rather than simply the physical planet, for which it is named-in fact, the original score did not include the planet names, but only the second part of each title ("Bringer of War," "Bringer of Peace," and so on).  The suite omits Earth, and also Pluto, which was discovered only in 1930.  Although Holst was still alive at the time, he declined to write an eighth piece in its honor-a good thing, perhaps, since that hapless body was demoted to a "Kuiper belt object" in 2006.

This concert is sponsored by Retina Macula Specialists and University of Puget Sound.  Media sponsor is Northwest Public Radio.

Tacoma Symphony Orchestra's season has included several sell-outs.  As always, patrons unable to utilize their tickets are urged to donate them back to the organization to be made available for other members of the community.  For information and listening samples, visit www.tacomasymphony.org or.  Ticket questions may be directed to the Broadway Center Box Office at 253-591-5894 or toll free at 800-291-7593, or in person at 901 Broadway, Tacoma, Monday-Friday 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.