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KSO CONCERTMASTER CONTINUES SERIES WITH “GABRIEL LEFKOWITZ & FRIENDS” AT KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART JAN. 14-15

January 2, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 2, 2014

For more information, contact:
Rachel Dellinger
KSO Director of Communications
Direct: 865-521-2317 Cell: 865-660-3037
[email protected]

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The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series continues with its next installment of “Gabriel Lefkowitz & Friends” in two weeks with music of Prokofiev, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky. The concert will take place on Wednesday, January 14 and Thursday, January 15 at 7 p.m. at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Tickets are just $20 in advance or at the door.

Gabriel Lefkowitz, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concertmaster

Gabriel Lefkowitz, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concertmaster

Musical selections include Sergei Prokofiev’s Five Pieces from Cinderella, Antonio Vivaldi’s “Winter” Concerto No. 4 in F minor, and the String Sextet in D minor by Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky. This pair of concerts is the second of three installments in the KSO Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series.  This is the fourth year of the series, and the first year the concerts have been held at the Knoxville Museum of Art.

Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased at the door, by phone (865-291-3310) or online at www.knoxvillesymphony.com. Seating is general admission.

Concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz, who is 27-years-old, chooses the programming himself, and calls upon his KSO colleagues and pianist/ UT Director of Collaborative Piano Kevin Class to accompany him on various selections. Other KSO musicians on the program include Gordon Tsai, Sean Claire, Edward Pulgar and Rachel Loseke, violin; Kathryn Gawne and Eunsoon Corliss, viola; Andy Bryenton and Theodore Kartal, cello; and Steve Benne, bass.

“Each piece performed is an absolute favorite of mine and holds a special place in my heart,” said KSO Concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz. “The January performances at the Knoxville Museum of Art will feature three such works. The first is actually a collection of five violin and piano arrangements from Prokofiev’s masterpiece Cinderella. The music from this ballet is some of my favorite that has ever been written, and I have fond memories of performing it in its original orchestration in my youth orchestra at age 11, and later conducting it in my baton-waving debut at a summer music festival some 12 years later. Next, I will perform Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto from The Four Seasons, accompanied by the largest ensemble we’ve had on stage yet in this series. The second half of the program will feature an incredible monument of the chamber music repertoire – Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic, ultra-romantic, and exhilarating Sextet entitled Souvenir de Florence. Together these pieces constitute an incredible program that is not to be missed.”

About the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

The KSO has contributed to the cultural life in East Tennessee since 1935 as the oldest continually operating orchestra.  Under the leadership of Lucas Richman, the orchestra consists of 80 professional musicians and performs more than 250 programs throughout East Tennessee each season, including non-traditional places like hospitals, school classrooms, nursing homes, city parks and churches in addition to the concert hall. The KSO reaches more than 200,000 people throughout the region each year. More information about the KSO including the calendar of events can be found at www.knoxvillesymphony.com.