The La Jolla Music Society announces SummerFest 2008 - a nationally-recognized chamber music festival featuring over 70 musical artists and ensembles performing 16 concerts from August 1 to 24, 2008.
SummerFest 2008 pays tribute to composers while continuing to promote the creation and performance of modern-day masterworks. Since its inception in 1986, SummerFest has welcomed over 550 musical artists and ensembles, four artistic directors and nearly a quarter of a million audience members at venues in San Diego and over the airwaves nationwide. This year's festival highlights include:
- "SummerFest Under the Stars" - A festival first, this FREE outdoor concert overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the La Jolla Cove features the music of Mendelssohn, Gershwin, John Williams and John Philp Sousa Thursday, August 14.
- The return of the Composer Series, with three performances dedicated to exploring the tumultuous and intriguing life, music and influences of Johannes Brahms starting Tuesday, August 5.
- The popular "Evening with..." Series returns to SummerFest welcoming a different virtuoso each Wednesday night during the festival. Pianist Leon Fleisher closes the series on August 20.
- SummerFest premieres four newly commissioned works, including a world premiere by Julian Milone, Steven Mackey's West Coast premiere of "Ground Swell," and the premieres of Kaija Saariaho's Serenatas and Huang Ruo's "Real Loud" performed by "Real Quiet."
- From "Fire and Passion" to "French Connections," opening weekend starts with veteran Music Director Cho-Liang Lin and his roster of musical artists.
- "Note"able SummerFest debuts of "The Belanich Steinway" and other "note"able pianists, including Garrick Ohlsson, Jacques Loussier and Vladimir Feltsman.
- Ensemble performances: the Formosa Quartet, the Tokyo String Quartet and the Sonora String Quartet make their SummerFest debuts while "Real Quiet" returns for its second SummerFest appearance.
"SummerFest Under the Stars" at the La Jolla Cove on Thursday, August 14, will be free. Violinist and SummerFest Music Director Cho-Liang Lin leads this new concert. Now in his eighth year as Music Director of SummerFest, Lin has assembled an all-star roster of artists that brings to life the dynamic range of chamber music. Lin can be seen performing throughout SummerFest, beginning with the opening night performance.
August 1 opens SummerFest with a night suitably titled "Fire and Passion." Featuring newly-commissioned world premiere by Julian Milone of Piazzolla's tango "Death of an Angel," Milone joins this new arrangement with three of his other tango arrangements in a work titled "Piazzolla Suite for Four Violins and Bass." Also on the stage during opening weekend are some returning SummerFest musical artists - violinists Gil Shaham and Kyoko Takezawa, pianist Garrick Ohlsson and cellists Carter Brey and Ralph Kirshbaum, among others. This year also marks the debuts of the Tokyo String Quartet, the Formosa Quartet, violinist Jennifer Koh, pianists Jacques Loussier, Christopher Taylor and Joyce Yang and dance ensemble Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre.
SUMMERFEST TICKET INFORMATION SummerFest subscriptions are priced from $295 to $695. Single tickets are priced from $15 to $75. SummerFest subscription renewals and concert tickets went on sale May 1, 2008. For ticket information, call the La Jolla Music Society box office at (858) 459-3728 or visit www.LaJollaMusicSociety.org.
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