HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:
Subscriptions for all nine of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s New Horizons series go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 2. Subscribing to a series offers savings up to 23 percent over single ticket prices.
Renewing subscribers will be given priority seating over new subscribers thru April 30. Single tickets go on sale June 1.
To subscibe: Call (888) 228-3630, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org or stop by the ticket location inside the Schuster Center.
Price ranges
* A season subscription for Dayton Ballet is $128 to $288, Dayton Opera runs $132 to $321.
* The DPO Classical 9 (which includes the Season Opening Spectacular Russian Panorama and a Wildcard ticket to any performance in the New Horizons season) is $108 to $450. Classical 6 is $72-$321.
* Rockin’ Orchestra costs $128 to $350, SuperPops $147 to $393, Classical Connections $43 to $138, and Chamber and Family Series are $48 to $80 each.
* Discounts are available for Seniors, Students, Educators and Military.
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They’re calling it the New Horizons Season and it will be officially announced on New Year’s Eve when the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera and Dayton Philharmonic join together to present their festive Around the World concert.
A sneak peak indicates the arts calendar for 2014-15 will blend creative new productions with cherished classics. Among the highlights will be original work by composer-in-residence Stella Sung and the opportunity to spend an evening with guest conductor Keith Lockhart of the famous Boston Pops.
Audiences will be spending some time with folks ranging from Peter Pan to the Indigo Girls.
Tickets are still available for the New Year’s event and will also be available at the door on the night of the concert. The program, which is expected to end by 10:30 p.m., will include complimentary champagne at intermission and a balloon drop.
The Tuesday night new season announcement will come from the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance and its three artistic directors: the Dayton Opera’s Thomas Bankston, the Dayton Ballet’s Karen Russo Burke and the Dayton Philharmonic’s Neal Gittleman. The trio will take the stage along with DPAA President and CEO Paul Helfrich.
Nine New Horizons series options will go on sale Jan. 2.
What’s new
* Premier Health’s Classical Series moves its Thursday evening performance to Friday, it will be the last season for Graeter’s Symphony Sundaes at the Dayton Masonic Temple, and the popular Classical Connections series will move from Friday evenings to Sunday afternoons at the Schuster Center.
* The Philharmonic will introduce a new Sunday Chamber Series featuring DPO Concertmaster Jessica Hung, the DPO Principal Quartet, Dayton Opera Artists-in-Residence and the DPO Brass and Percussion sections. All concerts will be performed at the Dayton Art Institute Renaissance Auditorium.
Collaboration is key
There will continue to be lots of collaboration among the three arts groups.
“Artistic collaboration is the most exciting part of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance,” Helfrich says. “If there’s one thing that has really got people talking about the Alliance, it’s collaboration — like the orchestra playing for the Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ and like our ‘Season Opening Spectacular’ featuring all three art forms.”
He says the DPAA’s flexible ticket packages and ticket exchange privileges across all three art forms are unique in the nation.
DPO conductor Gittleman says there’s lots he’s excited about in the upcoming season.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve got ‘Peter Pan’ appearing on the DPO Pops season as well as on the Ballet season,” he says. “Carmon DeLeone’s score for ‘Peter Pan’ is a great match for the pops series and I think this show will absolutely thrill the SuperPops audience, especially those who haven’t yet had a chance to see the Ballet perform.”
With the Classical Series, Gittleman says he’s looking forward to the return of young violinist Chad Hoopes, Mahler’s beautiful Fourth Symphony, and Benjamin Britten’s ‘War Requiem’ with guest conductor Keith Lockhart.
For budgetary reasons there have been no guest conductors for the past several years.
“But it’s very important for the musicians — and the audience — to see other conductors from time to time, so I’m very happy that Keith will be coming for that wonderful piece,” Gittleman says, adding that it also means he might be able to sneak into the bass section of the chorus that weekend.
“The other really exciting thing is the all-Berlioz program, pairing his ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ with its sequel, ‘Lélio, or The Return to Life,’ says Gittleman. “Berlioz meant these two pieces to be heard together, calling them ‘Scenes from the Life of an Artist, Parts 1 & 2,’ but they’re almost never played together!”
More highlights
* The New Horizons season opens Sept. 21 and 22 with the “Russian Panorama,” the first Signature Event. Gittleman and the Dayton Philharmonic, along with opera singers and ballet dancers, will perform excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” Mussorgsky’s coronation scene from “Boris Godunov” as well as Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” and Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances.”
* The second Signature Event, Classical Destinations, marks the half-way point of the season on New Year’s Eve.
* Bizet’s exotic opera “The Pearl Fishers” completes the season’s three Signature Events and again combines all three DPAA art forms.
* “Creative Convergence” will combine the talents of choreographer Burke with DPAA Composer-in-Residence Stella Sung to create the world premiere of an exciting new ballet in February.
” I believe that our combined forces will bring audiences a new and meaningful way in which to think about the the orchestra, opera, and ballet, ready for 21st century audiences and their complete engagement! ” Sung said.
* In March, “Peter Pan” will be performed for the first time with the full Philharmonic.
* “Ghost Stories” will begin the ballet’s season in October with Amy Seiwart’s “Chasing Ghosts,” the “Giselle Pas de Deux” and a World Premiere by Dayton’s own DeShonna Pepper Robertson.
* “The Nutcracker” returns with nine performances.
* Dayton Opera will bring “Dead Man Walking” to the Midwest for the first time in over a decade in February 2015. Jake Heggie’s opera is based on Sister Helen Prejean’s autobiographical account of her relationships with inmates on death row and the production will involve collaboration with The University of Dayton’s campus-wide initiative “Rites! Rights! Writes!
* Premier Health’s Classical Series starts and concludes with Russian music and audiences will also hear pieces inspired by America, France, Austria, Scotland, Argentina and Britain.
* In the SuperPops series, jazz great John Pizzarelli will return along with newcomers the Texas Tenors, Tiempo Libre. The DPO will provide the musical score to the movie classic “Singin’ In the Rain.”
* The Rockin’ Orchestra Series includes headliners Indigo Girls and pays tribute to the music of Chicago, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles’ Rubber Soul and Revolver albums.
Popular seasonal events, including the Family Series’ PhilharMonster and SuperPops’ Hometown Holidays will be joined by two special events: a Halloween rock and orchestral tribute to the music of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the annual Handel’s Messiah.
And don’t fret: ticket holders will still enjoy their free Graeter’s ice cream socials — the popular feature will become part of the Sunday afternoon Classical Connections series at the Schuster Center.
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