Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra Delivers The Music Of Christmas To Your Home With Two Virtual Concerts In December

RI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA DELIVERS THE MUSIC OF CHRISTMAS TO YOUR HOME

WITH TWO VIRTUAL CONCERTS IN DECEMBER

 

Holiday Brass with the RIPO Brass Section and Organ this Saturday, December 5th

A Broadway Christmas with Morgan James on Saturday, December 12th

 

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra presents two live-streamed holiday performances to world-wide audiences this December.  “We look forward to spreading joy with two great concerts,” says Executive Director David Beauchesne.  “We’re delighted to present our own RIPO brass section led by principal horn player Kevin Owen on December 5th.  And Broadway Star Morgan James will present music inspired by Ella Fitzgerald and more on December 12.”

On Saturday, December 5^th, Wagner’s thundering Procession from Lohengrin roars across The VETS’ grand organ and into home with virtuoso Heinrich Christensen at the keyboard and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Section.  Christmas favorites abound this night with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, a special arrangement of Hallelujah from Handel’s Messiah, classic carols and much more.

On Saturday, December 12^th, Broadway’s Morgan James and pianist Teddy Abrams, stars of the Philharmonic’s 2018 Gala concert, return to present a sparkling musical celebration of the season with such sing-along favorites as “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and other beloved hits from the holiday songbook. 

Both concerts will be presented at 8pm at The VETS and are available to all Philharmonic subscribers and single event purchasers via livestream.  If you are interested in viewing one or both of these concerts from the comfort and safety of your home, please call 401.248-7000 or visit StreamRIPhil.org to explore purchase options. 

Virtual subscriptions, at $199, include all 10 first half season concerts, including archived past performances, and may be purchased online at StreamRIPhil.org or by phone at 401.248.7000 (Mon.-Fri. 9am-4:30pm).  A single event option is also available at that site or by phone at $40.

 

***At A Glance***

HOLIDAY BRASS & ORGAN

Saturday, December 5, 2020, 8pm

The VETS, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence, livestream only

Kevin Owen, conductor

Heinrich Christensen, organ

                    Christmas Kick-Off (arranged by Kevin Owen)

                    SUSATO: Five Dances from The Danserye

                    TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker: Sugar Plum Fairy and Trepak

                    WAGNER: Lohengrin: Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral

                    Old Christmas Carols (arranged by Kevin Owen)

                    HANDEL: Messiah: Hallelujah

 

About the Artists

Heinrich Christensen

A native of Denmark, Heinrich Christensen came to the US in 1998 and received an Artist Diploma in Organ Performance from the Boston Conservatory, in addition to degrees from conservatories in Denmark and France. He was appointed Music Director of historic King’s Chapel in 2000, after serving as affiliate organist under the direction of Daniel Pinkham during the final two years of Dr. Pinkham’s 42-year tenure at the church. Mr. Christensen was a prizewinner at the international organ competitions in Odense and Erfurt and has given solo recitals on four continents. He has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Handel & Haydn Society and numerous choruses in the greater Boston area. An avid proponent of contemporary music, he has premiered works by Daniel Pinkham, Carson Cooman, Graham Gordon Ramsay, James Woodman and several others. He has recorded several organ and choral CDs, as well as Daniel Pinkham’s works for solo voice and organ with Florestan Recital Project.

Kevin Owen

Kevin Owen is Principal Horn of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Boston Philharmonic, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and the Odyssey Opera. He has also performed with the bands Kansas, the Moody Blues, Guster (on the Conan O'Brien Show), My Morning Jacket (on the David Letterman Show) as well as with Peter Frampton, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Richard Carpenter among many others.

Many local orchestras have featured Owen as a soloist: the Boston Pops was among the first. Since then, the Boston Philharmonic, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the New Haven Symphony, the North Shore Philharmonic, the Rhode Island Philharmonic (three times), the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Boston (three times) and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra (three times) have also presented him. In 2013, Owen performed three French horn concerti on one concert with the Wellesley Symphony on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his Boston Pops solo concerto. Max Hobart was the conductor for both performances.

Kevin Owen has toured Europe, Asia and South America with the Boston Symphony, Canada and the US with the Boston Chamber Music Society, and Asia and with the Empire Brass and the Boston Pops. He performed for the pre-game show at the 2002 Super Bowl when the New England Patriots won their first championship, and at the 2008 NBA Finals when the Boston Celtics won their last. 

 

CLASSICS FOR CHRISTMAS

Saturday, December 12, 2020, 8pm

The VETS, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence, livestream only

Morgan James, vocals

Teddy Abrams, piano

                    I’ll Be Home for Christmas

                    Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

                             And many more

About the Artists

Morgan James

Morgan James is a veteran of Broadway and acclaimed recording artist.

Most recently, Ms. James premiered a song cycle for voice and orchestra entitled Song of The River, written for her by frequent collaborator and conductor Teddy Abrams, with the Louisville Orchestra.

In concert, Ms. James has appeared with the New Zealand Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Britt Festival, Breckinridge Music Festival, Utah Symphony and Colorado Symphony performing her solo Bernstein show. Morgan has had the honor of being in the Bernstein MASS four times: Ravinia Festival, Louisville Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In addition, Morgan has made extensive symphony pops appearances throughout the US and Canada, including with the American Pops Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Calgary Philharmonic and many more.

On Broadway, Morgan appeared in the original Broadway casts of Motown: The Musical, Godspell, Wonderland and The Addams Family, and Kristin Chenoweth’s For the Girls.

As a recording artist, Ms. James has released six albums of music, including her newest, Memphis Magnetic, and her latest holiday EP Blue Christmas. Her videos with Postmodern Jukebox and on her own YouTube channel have garnered over 200 million views.  

Teddy Abrams

An unusually versatile musician, Teddy Abrams is the widely-acclaimed Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra. A tireless advocate for the power of music, Abrams has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations with organizations including the Louisville Ballet, the Center for Interfaith Relations, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Speed Art Museum and the Folger Shakespeare Library. His rap-opera, The Greatest: Muhammad Ali, premiered in 2017, celebrating Louisville’s hometown hero with an all-star cast that included Rhiannon Giddens and Jubilant Sykes. Abrams’ work with the Louisville Orchestra has been profiled on CBS News Sunday Morning, NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal.

Abrams recently collaborated with Jim James, vocalist and guitarist for My Morning Jacket, on the song cycle The Order of Nature, which they premiered with the Louisville Orchestra in 2018 and recorded on Decca Gold. Additional highlights of the 2019-20 season included his debut as guest conductor with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, and the lead role in the Kennedy Center Honors celebration of his mentor Michael Tilson Thomas.

An accomplished pianist and clarinetist, Abrams has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras—including play-conducting the Ravel Piano Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony in 2017 and the Jacksonville Symphony in 2013—and has performed chamber music with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Time for Three, and John Adams, in addition to annual appearances at the Olympic Music Festival. Dedicated to exploring new and engaging ways to communicate with a diverse range of audiences, Abrams co-founded the Sixth Floor Trio in 2008.

Abrams was a protégé of Michael Tilson Thomas from the age of 11, and studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music, and with David Zinman at the Aspen Music Festival; he was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions. Abrams is also an award-winning composer and a passionate educator. His 2009 Education Concerts with the New World Symphony (featuring the world premiere of one of Abrams’ own orchestral works) were webcast to hundreds of schools throughout South Florida.

Abrams performed as a keyboardist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, won the 2007 Aspen Composition Contest, and was the Assistant Conductor of the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 2009. He has held residencies at the La Mortella music festival in Ischia, Italy and at the American Academy in Berlin. Teddy was a proud member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra for seven seasons, and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music, having studied piano with Paul Hersh.

Media Contact: Jack Van Leer, Rhode Island Philharmonic, 401-248-7030; jvanleer@riphil.org