OK Mozart Festival Announces 2008 Season, New Logo
The OK MOZART Festival will celebrate its 24th season June 13-21 with over 135 events that encompass all aspects of music and the fine arts. Featuring a resident orchestra and chamber music ensemble from New York, world-renowned guest conductors, major concert and recording artists in addition to an award-winning ballet company, the 2008 OK MOZART Festival will host some of the finest talent from across the globe.
OK MOZART has experienced many changes since it first began in 1985. As the Festival continues to evolve, OK MOZART has adopted a new look and structure for the 2008 Festival. In order to acknowledge that today’s Festival offers more than just the music of Mozart, OK MOZART has adopted the acronym OKM for its new image. The new logo features these letters along with three colored swooshes in blue, yellow and red. Each color corresponds to an entertainment series that contains targeted programming options for varying interests: Classical Series (C-Series), Discovery Series (D-Series) and Crossover Series (X-Series).
The 2008 OK MOZART Festival will commence on June 13 with the Opening Night Celebration outside the Bartlesville Community Center with free entertainment, food vendors and fireworks for an evening of family fun.
On June 14, spend “An Evening with Ben Vereen” as the Tony Award-winning star of the stage, film and television brings down the house with a celebration of song and dance that showcases his vast career.
On June 15, bring Dad for “An Afternoon with Peter Nero-Father’s Day Pops,” as OK MOZART welcomes back this two-time Grammy Award winning pianist for an exciting afternoon duo concert of all time favorites, ranging from classical to jazz to swing to blues and Broadway.
The evening of June 15 marks the return of the Oklahoma Israel Exchange Young Artists Piano Concert featuring the 2007 Competition winner, Anna Starzec.
Experience an enchanting evening of royalty, fairies and magic spells on June 16 when New York Theatre Ballet makes their Oklahoma debut, bringing Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” to life in less than an hour for adults and children of all ages, plus Agnes de Mille’s dream ballet from the musical “Carousel.”
On June 17 OKM welcomes back Paul Neubauer and members of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center along with two-time Grammy Award winner Mark O’Connor for the “Spencer Prentiss Classical All-Stars Concert” celebrating the 110th Birthday of George Gershwin.
On June 18, OKM welcomes back its resident orchestra, Amici New York, for an evening with Mozart and the Masters. Featuring some of the best musicians performing in New York today, this world-class orchestra is joined by Ireland’s renowned pianist/conductor Barry Douglas along with Ani and Ida Kavafian and Erica Kiesewetter.
On June 19, OKM welcomes the return of world-renown saxophonist and three-time Grammy Award winner Branford Marsalis. One of the most celebrated jazz musicians of the past quarter century, Marsalis is known for his innovative spirit and broad musical scope that also includes classical and popular music.
Amici New York plays under the stars at Woolaroc Ranch and Wildlife Preserve on June 20. As darkness falls, a spectacular grand finale of fireworks concludes a musical evening that features “Music of the Stage and Screen.” Michael Krajewski, the Principal Pops Conductor of the Houston Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, New Mexico Symphony and the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, will take the stage as guest conductor.
On the afternoon of June 21, Paul Neubauer and members of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center return to the stage for the Classical All-Stars Matinee, which will feature music from Mozart, Franz Schubert, Lionel Tertis and Jennifer Higdon.
The Grand Finale Concert on June 21 brings the Festival to a close as the OKM resident orchestra, Amici New York, is joined by one of the music world’s most beloved figures, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. Von Stade has made over seventy recordings with every major label, garnering her six Grammy nominations and international acclaim.
Tickets for any OKM events can be purchased online at www.okmozart.com; via phone at (918) 366-9800; or in person at the Festival Box Office at 500-A S. Dewey, Bartlesville, Okla., weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information and a free copy of the 2008 OK MOZART Festival brochure, call OK MOZART at (918) 336-9800, or visit the OK MOZART Web site at www.okmozart.com.
Updated 03-26-2008
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