British Organist Dame Gillian Weir Makes her Kimmel Center Debut on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ,
March 20, 2008
"Dame Gillian is a force to be reckoned with at the console. Every nuance, every sparkle, every tone is there, right where it should be… this is mastery at work."
"Queen of the console" (The Times of London), organist Dame Gillian Weir makes her Kimmel Center debut on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ in Verizon Hall on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 3pm. A pre-eminent Olivier Messiaen scholar, Weir completed the re-release of her legendary Messiaen recordings in 2005 to critical acclaim as "one of the finest organ recordings ever made," according to Gramophone. A distinguished Artist in Residence at the John Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, she also recently taught master classes at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007. Her program includes works by Joseph Jongen, César Franck, Petr Eben, Calvin Hampton, Johannes Brahms, Flor Peeters and Marcel Lanquetuit.
An Artist Chat will take place with Dame Gillian Weir and Michael Barone, host of American Public Media’s "Pipe Dreams," prior to her recital in Verizon Hall.
This concert is the last concert in the Master Musician Organ Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season.
Tickets for Dame Gillian Weir are $19 and $28 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
"Everything was first-class...The playing was joyful, serious, immaculate and clearheaded."
Internationally acclaimed British organist Dame Gillian Weir is as a performer, lecturer, broadcaster, teacher and writer, who has reached vast new audiences with appearances on public television programs, including ITV’s "South Bank Show" which chronicled her activities in a highly acclaimed documentary in 2000. Her repertoire, remarkable for its breadth and variety, ranges from the Renaissance to contemporary works. She has performed the complete organ works of Bach and others, as well as of Olivier Messiaen. Weir has received a host of awards and honors worldwide, most notably in 1996 as the first organist to be named Dame Commander of the British Empire. She has also served as president of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, the Royal College of Organists and the Incorporated Society of Organists, and as the Prince Consort Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music in London. Recent performance highlights include recitals at the Disney Hall in Los Angeles and the new Esplanade Hall in Singapore, as well as the first full-scale recital for several decades at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Saturday, April 12, 2008 | 3pm
Verizon Hall
Master Musician Organ Series
Dame Gillian Weir, organ
JONGEN: Sonata Eroica
FRANCK: Choral II in B minor
EBEN: Moto ostinato
EBEN: Finale (from Sunday Music)
HAMPTON: The Primitives
HAMPTON: At the Ballet
HAMPTON: Everyone Dance (from Five Dances for Organ)
BRAHMS: Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen
BRAHMS: Herzlich tut mich verlangen
BRAHMS: Herzlich tut mich erfreuen
PEETERS: Toccata, Fugue and Hymn on Ave Maris Stella
LANQUETUIT: Toccata
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Saturday, April 12, 2008 | 2:15pm
Verizon Hall Stage
Artist Chat with Dame Gillian Weir
An Artist Chat will take place with Dame Gillian Weir and Michael Barone, host of American Public Media’s "Pipe Dreams," prior to her recital in Verizon Hall.
Saturday, April 12, 2008 | 1:30pm & 5pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
The Nelly Berman School of Music Student Quartet
Join us as The Nelly Berman School of Music performs on the Free in the Plaza stage. These young talents will perform classical selections prior to the ticketed Dame Gillian Weir recital in Verizon Hall.
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