THE ALBANY SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES WASHINGTON, D.C. DEBUT AT KENNEDY CENTER SHIFT: A FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS 
 

The Albany Symphony Highlights New York Capital Region as a Hub for Artistic Excellence and New Music on the National Stage 
 
Albany, NY – The Albany Symphony has been selected by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as one of four American orchestras nationwide to perform in SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras.  In addition to the Kennedy Center concert on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, the Festival will also showcase Albany Symphony’s new music ensemble the Dogs of Desire at an alternative arts venue called The Blind Whino, and the Symphony’s signature education program, Song Writer Idol on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage.  
 
Co-presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Performing Arts, SHIFT is a weeklong national spotlight that celebrates the evolving contributions and extraordinary artistry of 21st century orchestras like the Albany Symphony.  When asked about the orchestras invitation, Music Director David Alan Miller replied, “The Albany Symphony and I are very proud to be one of only four orchestras selected nationally to participate in the "SHIFT" Festival in our nation's capital.  This festival is unique because it celebrates not only our unique orchestral programming, but a rich panoply of our creative work.  We will be featured in three different events showcasing the variety of our unique education, new music, and thematic programming.  I believe it is a great tribute to the quality and uniqueness of the Albany Symphony that we have been invited to participate, and hope all our friends will join us for this exciting adventure.”  
 
The Albany Symphony’s Kennedy Center debut will feature a collection of contemporary works that explores the history of upstate New York through the lens of bodies of water that surround and connect communities. Two of the works, Three Manhattan Bridges by Michael Torke and Dorothy Chang’s The Mighty Erie Canal were commissioned and premiered by the Albany Symphony.  The Albany Symphony will be joined by guest soloists, Joyce Yang on piano and tubist Carol Jantsch. Chang’s The Mighty Erie Canal will feature a mass choir from D.C. area elementary schools. 
 
Executive Director Anna Kuwabara said: “The Albany Symphony has a rich heritage of championing the music of our time. To bring an incredible program that has New York roots to the nation’s capital is truly exciting. We are proud to represent the Capital Region on the national stage and extremely grateful to those individuals and sponsors who have helped to make this trip possible. We’d appreciate anyone who has friends and family in the D.C. area getting out the word about our April 11 concert.  Also, I hope anyone interested in being an Albany Symphony groupie or just visiting DC with us, will sign up for a “Springtime in DC with the Albany Symphony” travel package to support the orchestra and this project.”  
 
SHIFT gives the Albany Symphony a unique opportunity to serve as cultural ambassador for Albany. Discover Albany, Albany County’s official tourism promotion agency will join forces with the Symphony to promote the cultural and community assets of the region.  
 
"Discover Albany is excited to partner with the Albany Symphony to introduce potential new clients and contacts in Washington, D.C. to Albany. We are excited about the opportunity of traveling with the Symphony to D.C., helping promote the SHIFT Festival, and getting the chance to meet face-to-face with meeting professionals in the D.C. area to talk up Albany," said Michele Vennard, President and CEO of Discover Albany. "We know Albany is a great destination for conferences and conventions, thanks in part to wonderful institutions like the Albany Symphony, and we're looking forward to introducing its capabilities to a brand-new new audience.”   
 
Tickets to the Albany Symphony’s concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. are $25 and can be purchased online at www.ShiftFestival.org. Information on the “Springtime in D.C. with the Albany Symphony” travel packages, which include concert tickets, bus transportation to/from Washington, D.C. on Brown Motor Coach, hotel accommodations, insider tours, is available at AlbanySymphony.com/ShiftFestival or 518-465-4755, ext. 144. Capital Region audiences can also join the celebration at a preview performance of the Washington D.C. program on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Palace Theatre. 
 
Full Schedule of Events 
 

Albany, NY  
 
Bon Voyage: Kennedy Center Preview Performance Saturday, March 10, 2018, 7:30PM at the Palace Theatre in Albany, NY 
 
David Alan Miller, conductor Joyce Yang, piano Ben Pierce, tuba Mass Choir featuring students from Capital Region Elementary Schools 
 
Joan Tower: Still/Rapids for Piano and Orchestra Michael Daugherty: Reflections on the Mississippi Dorothy Chang: The Mighty Erie Canal Michael Torke: Three Manhattan Bridges 
 
Washington D.C. 
 
 “Song Writer Idol” on the Millennium Stage  Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 6:00PM at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. 2013.14 Albany Symphony Composer Educator, Clarice Assad will spotlight the Albany Symphony’s signature education program, Song Writer Idol.  Audience members of all ages will be invited to participate in a unique composition workshop that empowers creativity, inspires listeners, and introduces everyday listeners and students to the imaginative world of composition.   
 
“The River Flows Through Us”- Kennedy Center Debut at SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 8:00PM at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. The Albany Symphony program presents a collection of contemporary works that explores the history of upstate New York through the lens of bodies of water that surround and connect communities. 
 
David Alan Miller, conductor Joyce Yang, piano Carol Jantsch, tuba 
 
Joan Tower: Still/Rapids for Piano and Orchestra Michael Daugherty: Reflections on the Mississippi Dorothy Chang: The Mighty Erie Canal Michael Torke: Three Manhattan Bridges 
 
Dogs of Desire at SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras Thursday, April 12, 2018, 8:00PM at Blind Whino, Washington D.C. The Albany Symphony’s 16-member new music ensemble will perform a contemporary Liederabend, or Song Night with singer Theo Bleckmann. Premiered at the American Music Festival in Troy, NY, the through composed song cycle comprises original works by the members of composer collective Sleeping Giant and new arrangements of existing pieces by Kate Bush and Charles Ives.  Blind Whino is an alternative arts center in Southwest Washington D.C. 
 
Sleeping Giant, program curators & featured composers David Alan Miller, conductor Theo Bleckman, vocalist Hannah Wasileski, artist & projection designer 
  
Andres/Hearne    I. Protection
Hearne/Andres    II. To Whom it May Concern
Cerrone    III. Four Naomi Songs
Andres    IV. How to Pop and Lock in Thirteen Steps
Hearne/Ives    V. The Cage
Hearne     VI. The Cage - #5
Cerrone/Ives    VII. Serenity
Hearne     VIII. Shizz
Andres/Ives    IX. Tom Sails Away
Hearne/Honstein   X. The Cage #10
Honstein/Bleckmann   XI. This Life
Cooper     XII. Sunday Calls
Cerrone    XIII. Sonata for a Chamber Orchestra
Hearne     XIV. The Cage #9
Norman    XV. Don’t Even Listen
Cooper/Kate Bush   XVI. Under Ice
Honstein    XVII. Timor Mortis 
 
About The Albany Symphony:  The Albany Symphony celebrates our living musical heritage through its adventurous programming, commissioning and recording of new work, and broad community engagement beyond the concert hall.  
 
Recognized as one of the nation’s most creative orchestras, the Albany Symphony has received more ASCAP Awards than any other orchestra in America, along with two GRAMMY® nominations and a 2014 GRAMMY® Award for its recording of John Corigliano’s Conjurer. The Albany Symphony is the only orchestra that performed in two different years at the invitational Spring for Music festival at Carnegie Hall that celebrated adventurous programming and innovative artistic philosophy. In July 2017, the Albany Symphony’s Water Music NY tour drew nearly 25,000 people to new-music concert events in seven towns along the historic Erie Canal.  In each of the canal towns, the Symphony commissioned emerging composers to collaborate with local arts organizations to create a new orchestral piece to express each town’s unique heritage.  This community-building project was featured in The New York Times article “Hell or High Water, an Orchestra Celebrates the Erie Canal.”   
 
Founded in 1930 in New York’s Capital Region, the Albany Symphony serves a diverse regional audience covering more than seven counties and parts of three states.  Led by David Alan Miller, who celebrates his 26th season as music director, the Symphony presents a core classical series throughout the region, each featuring a world-premiere or recent composition; a multi-day American Music Festival that celebrates established and emerging living composers; performances by its cutting-edge new music chamber ensemble, the Dogs of Desire; and a family series and holiday concerts in collaboration with youth performing arts groups. The Albany Symphony’s award-winning education programs serve all ages, from Tiny Tots concerts to library talks and pre-concert Classical Conversations. Its flagship school programs, Adopt-aSchool and Meet the Maestro, bring musicians into classrooms for interactive music education, and Literacy-throughSongwriting, its in-school composer residency program, empowers at-risk youth to tackle issues of diversity and selfexpression through songwriting, storytelling, improvisation, and teamwork.  
 
As a leader in the creation, performance, and recording of new orchestral music, the Albany Symphony is reshaping the nation’s musical legacy.  
 
About David Alan Miller: Grammy Award-winning conductor David Alan Miller has established a reputation as one of the leading American conductors of his generation. Music Director of the Albany Symphony since 1992, Mr. Miller has proven himself a creative and compelling orchestra builder. Through exploration of unusual repertoire, educational programming, community outreach and recording initiatives, he has reaffirmed the Albany Symphony’s reputation as the nation’s leading champion of American symphonic music and one of its most innovative orchestras. He and the orchestra have twice appeared at "Spring For Music," an annual festival of America's most creative orchestras at New York City's Carnegie Hall.  In 2018, they appear at the “SHIFT Festival” at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.  Other accolades include Columbia University’s 2003 Ditson Conductor’s Award, the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to American music, the 2001 ASCAP Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming and, in 1999, ASCAP’s first-ever Leonard Bernstein Award for Outstanding Educational Programming.  In July, 2017, he and the Albany Symphony commemorated the Bicentennial of the Erie Canal with “Water Music NY,” an epic, week-long orchestral barge journey from Albany to Buffalo, NY, performing seven major collaborative works for orchestra and collaborating arts groups in seven Canal-side communities.    Frequently in demand as a guest conductor, Mr. Miller has worked with most of America’s major orchestras, including the orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, as well as the New World Symphony, the Boston Pops and the New York City Ballet. In addition, he has appeared frequently throughout Europe, Australia and the Far East as guest conductor.  Mr. Miller received his Grammy Award in January 2014 for his Naxos recording of John Corigliano's "Conjurer," with the Albany Symphony and Dame Evelyn Glennie. His extensive discography also includes recordings of the works of Todd Levin with the London Symphony Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, as well as music by Michael Daugherty, Kamran Ince, and Michael Torke for London/Decca, and of Christopher Rouse and Luis Tinoco for Naxos. His recordings with the Albany Symphony include discs devoted to the music of John Harbison,  Aaron J. Kernis, Roy Harris, Morton Gould, Peter Mennin, and Vincent Persichetti on the Albany Records label. A native of Los Angeles, David Alan Miller holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School. Prior to his appointment in Albany, Mr. Miller was Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From 1982 to 1988, he was Music Director of the New York Youth Symphony, earning considerable acclaim for his work with that ensemble. Mr. Miller lives with his wife and three children in Slingerlands, New York. 
 
About Discover Albany The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. Today, the organization is known as Discover Albany. Discover Albany currently represents more than 300-member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. Discover Albany also operates the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, Henry Hudson Planetarium, and the Albany International Airport Information Center.  For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-2583582 or visit www.albany.org.

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Media inquiries and interview requests, contact: Justin Cook Marketing & Patron Services Manager JustinC@AlbanySymphony.com (518) 465-4755 x141