Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
2006-2007 Guest Artists

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Artist's website
Featured Artists – Sep 15

Recognized as one of America ’s premier instrumental ensembles, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is one of the most charismatic groups performing today. Popularly known as the LAGQ, these four virtuosi bring a new energy to the concert stage with their eclectic programs and dynamic musical interplay. Their critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground. The LAGQ has set new standards for the guitar quartet medium.

Klauspeter Seibel
Artist's website
Guest Conductor – Oct 20

Born in Offenbach , Germany , Klauspeter Seibel studied piano, composition, conducting, flute and horn in Nuremberg and Munich . He made his conducting debut at the age of twenty-one at Munich 's Theater am Gärtnerplatz. Mr. Seibel has been a recipient of the City of Munich Richard Strauss Award and a prizewinner at both the Malko Competition in Copenhagen and the Mitropoulos Competition in New York . After serving nine seasons as Music Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans , Klauspeter Seibel will assume the new position of Principal Guest Conductor of that orchestra beginning with the 2004-05 season. In Germany , he is a regular guest conductor with the operas of both Frankfurt and Dresden .

Alisa Weilerstein
Artist's website
Cello – Oct 20

The 23-year old American cellist Alisa Weilerstein has attracted widespread recognition for playing that combines natural virtuosity and technical assurance with impassioned musicianship. Since her first public concert at the age of 4, Ms. Weilerstein has performed with the nation's top orchestras, given recitals in music capitals throughout the U.S. and Europe , and regularly participates in prestigious international festivals. She is also dedicated to performing chamber music, having grown up in a family of musicians with whom she collaborated from an early age. Following a performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote, "Cellists twice or thrice Weilerstein's age would be hard-pressed to match the concentrated beauty and power of this young dynamo's playing."

Aviram Reichert
Artist's website
Piano – Nov 17

Israeli pianist Aviram Reichert won the Bronze Medal at the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997, only months after he had been awarded the top prize in the First Dong-A International Piano Competition in Seoul , Korea . His earlier accomplishments include top prizes at the 1995 International Music Competition of Japan and the 1995 Epinal Competition in France . Mr. Reichert studied at the Tel Aviv Rubin Academy of Music with Prof. Arie Vardi. He is an Artist-Faculty member of the music department at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids , MI .

Tim Froncek
Artist's website
Drums – Jan 20

Tim Froncek is one of the busiest drummers in West Michigan . He can be seen performing on his drumset, directing a big band, giving a lecture on jazz history, or judging a jazz festival. Mr. Froncek not only performs locally but has toured internationally with the Western Jazz Quartet and has performed with Woody Herman, Bobby Shew, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, and others. He is an affiliate professor at Grand Valley State University and teaches on the Jazz Studies faculty at Western Michigan University .

Glenn Dicterow
Artist's website
Violin – Feb 23

One of today's most prominent violinists, Glenn Dicterow is well known to audiences throughout Europe and North America both as an orchestral soloist and a recitalist. A top prizewinner in many international competitions, he appears frequently throughout Europe , the United States , Canada , Mexico , South America , Japan , Korea and China . Mr. Dicterow has been Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic since 1980 and is a featured soloist on many of its recordings. An active teacher, Glenn Dicterow serves on the faculties of The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music.

American Brass Quintet
Artist's website
Featured Artists – Mar 23

When the American Brass Quintet gave its first public performance over forty-five years ago, brass chamber music was relatively unknown to concert audiences. That modest debut, on December 11, 1960 , marked the beginning of an international concert career for the ensemble that Newsweek calls "the high priests of brass." Termed "positively breathtaking" by the New York Times, and "of all the brass quintets, this country's most distinguished" by the American Record Guide, the American Brass Quintet has never wavered in its devotion to brass chamber music throughout its forty-three years. And, with its residencies at The Juilliard School and at the Aspen Music School in the summer, it continues to contribute to a rich future for the brass groups of tomorrow.

Eric Ewazen
Artist's website
Composer in Residence - March 2006

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is honored to have been selected by Meet The Composer and the American Symphony Orchestra League to participate in the seventh season of Music Alive, a program which pairs American composers with orchestras for residencies which encourage the commissioning and performance of music of our time. Composer Eric Ewazen’s two-week residency includes many activities involving Western Michigan University , area schools, and other organizations. The centerpiece of his residency is the performance of his acclaimed work Shadowcatcher with the KSO. Shadowcatcher was commissioned and premiered by the American Brass Quintet, and it is inspired by four of Edward Curtis’s photos of American Indians.

Faust
May 5
Faust is the unforgettable story of a man so driven by a desire for youth and beauty that he is prepared to sell his soul to the devil. Gounod’s opera, filled with music of unsurpassed expressiveness and vocal excitement, comes to the stage in a semi-stage theatrical production.

Garrison Keillor
Artist's website
Passport Artist – Sep 18

Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka , Minnesota , and began his radio career as a freshman at the University of Minnesota , from which he graduated in 1966.  He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974 , he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul .  After a brief retirement in 1987, Mr. Keillor returned to radio in 1989 in New York City as The American Radio Company of the Air. In 1993 he returned to Minnesota resumed the name A Prairie Home Companion which can now be heard each week by over 3 million listeners on more than 530 public radio stations.  Keillor also hosts a daily five-minute radio program, The Writer's Almanac. He is the author of 13 books and has won numerous literary and media industry related awards.

Sandi Patty
Artist's website
KSO Pops @ Miller – Dec 9

One of the most versatile artists in the entertainment industry, Sandi Patty has earned 39 Dove Awards, five Grammy Awards, three platinum and five gold albums and in 2004, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Her talent and popularity are reflected in more than 11 million records sold worldwide (including two special Hallmark Christmas albums) and sold-out concert appearances. In addition to her career as a contemporary Christian artist, Miss Patty has appeared as a guest soloist with major symphony orchestras performing Broadway tunes, old standards, big band hits and patriotic music as well as gospel and inspirational favorites.

Scott Joplin
Website
The World of... - Oct 29

There is no question as to Joplin’s greatness, his talent, his importance in the history of ragtime and American music. Yet, for all his prominence and recognition, many of the facts regarding his life still elude us. Read more...

Jean Sibelius
Website
The World of... - Feb 11

The output of the Finnish national composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) comprises one of the most fascinating treasure houses of classical music. It includes world favourites such as Valse triste and Finlandia, as well as the most recorded violin concerto of the 20th century. Read more...