A full list of performance dates and
times follows.
Images available from past performances at http://www.portlandsymphony.com/media_library/#magic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2004
CONTACT:
GILLIAN BRITT 207-767-6488
gBritt P.R. & Marketing
PSO’S MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY
WITH A NEW LOOK
PORTLAND, ME – The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO)
will be celebrating the silver jubilee of Magic of
Christmas in December 2004. The opening night
performance will unveil a new look designed to
complement the perennial favorites of many from this
quarter century of Magic of Christmas. Performances
begin Friday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.; a total of 15
concerts are scheduled from December 10 through 20. All
performances are at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium.
Tickets can be purchased through PortTix, 207-842-0800
or at the PortTix box office on Myrtle St. between noon
and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Tickets range in
price from $15- $53 for adults, $13-$48 seniors, $11-$40
for students and children. Group discounts are available
and new this year, select dates for the Magic of
Christmas are available at a discount if tickets are
purchased prior to November 1.
Music Director Toshiyuki Shimada conducts over 200
performers in this celebration of Christmas spirit,
including the orchestra, the Magic of Christmas Chorus
directed by Judith Quimby, and guest singers. “This year
we will create a story line that will weave through the
numbers. Our guest singers will lead the audience
through a Christmas wonderland of music,” said Andrew
Kipe, PSO Director of Artistic Planning and Operations.
Kipe added, “Magic of Christmas 2004 will be more of a
“production” than we’ve seen in years past with all new
scenic elements and a lighting design unlike any that’s
been used for our Magic of Christmas concerts.”
This year’s program will include audience favorites such
as the popular “Sleigh Ride,” “Silent Night,” “It’s
Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” and a Christmas
Sing A-Long in addition to such holiday classics as “O
Tannenbaum,” “March of the Toys,” and “Pas de deux” from
Nutcracker. Of course Magic of Christmas would not be
complete without the “guest conductor,” a child selected
from the audience during each concert. Appropriately
planned for the Silver Anniversary of Magic of
Christmas, the audience will be treated to “Silver
Bells.”
Rick Lombardo will fill the role as stage director for
his first Magic of Christmas and Richard Chambers
designed the new set. Lighting design is by Dan Meeker.
Lombardo said, “I'm extremely pleased to be joining
Toshi and the Portland Symphony in presenting this
season's Magic of Christmas. I know what a wonderful
program and holiday tradition this is for the Portland
area, and I'm hopeful that our work this year will help
make the event feel new – yet comfortably familiar at
the same time. The design team and I are mostly focused
on creating beautiful and evocative visuals in support
of the glorious seasonal sounds of the orchestra and the
chorus.”
All three professionals have worked together as a team
in the past on many theatre productions as well as on
various projects with symphony orchestras. Lombardo is
in his ninth season as New Repertory Theatre’s Producing
Artistic Director in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts. He
has received numerous awards for his direction including
the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical
Production and the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding
Director. Chambers has designed scenery throughout the
Northeast for companies such as the Pittsburgh Public
Theatre, StageWest, Westport Country Playhouse, North
Shore Music Theatre and more. He is the recipient of
both the Elliot Norton Award and the Independent
Reviewers of New England Award. Chambers is currently a
professor of scene design at Suffolk University. Recent
projects for Meeker include lighting for the world
premiere of Approaching Moomtag at New Repertory Theatre
and the New York premiere of The Leper’s of Baile Baiste
at the Phil Bosakowski Theatre. Upcoming pr
Sponsors of the 2004 Magic of Christmas are the Virginia
Hodgkins Somers Foundation, Hannaford, IDEXX
Laboratories and Northeast Delta Dental. For more
information about the Portland Symphony Orchestra and
its programs and events, visit www.portlandsymphony.com
or call 207-773-6128.
# # #
MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS 2004
Toshiyuki Shimada, conductor
Friday December 10 7:30 p.m.
Saturday December 11 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday December 12 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Thursday December 16 7:30 p.m.
Friday December 17 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Saturday December 18 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday December 19 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Monday December 20 7:30 p.m.
Gillian Britt
gBritt
P.R. & Marketing
PO Box 2134
South Portland, ME 04116
(207) 767-6488
(207) 767-6366 Fax