Sun Valley, ID -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/18/2019 --The Sun Valley Summer Symphony celebrates its 35th season and Music Director Alasdair Neale's 25th anniversary with a blockbuster lineup this July 29 - Aug. 22. The annual Summer Concert Series is admission-free, and the season regularly draws crowds of more than 50,000 over the course of the festival. This year will feature three guest artists in residence, an exploration of chamber orchestra masterpieces, evenings of French music and Gershwin favorites, education programs, and full symphonies including Mahler's mighty Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection."

Season highlights include residencies and solo performances beginning opening night with Mozart's 5th violin concerto featuring the dazzling violinist, Ray Chen, well-known to young musicians for his comedic and stereotype-smashing social media posts. Following, Jean-Yves Thibaudet returns with fellow French virtuoso, cellist Gautier Capuçon for a week-long residency. They team up Aug. 1 for a recital featuring works by Brahms and Shostakovich. Thibaudet will then play Gershwin's piano concerto on Aug. 4 with the orchestra, and Capuçon will take his turn on Aug. 5 with Saint-Saëns's cello concerto. Former Sun Valley Summer Symphony Associate Conductor and current Louisville Orchestra Music Director, Teddy Abrams, will lead Pops Night Aug. 17 with Broadway singer Morgan James, presenting an evening of George Gershwin favorites. Mason Bates returns as composer-in-residence with his water-inspired symphony "Liquid Interface" on Aug. 14. He's featured again on Aug. 18 bringing back "Devil's Radio" — a piece commissioned by the Symphony for its 30th anniversary — and debuting "Passage," featuring mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and excerpts from John F. Kennedy's famous Moonshot speech.

"For this major anniversary season, I'm delighted to be able to bring so many outstanding guest artists to Sun Valley for our audiences," says Sun Valley Summer Symphony Music Director Alasdair Neale. "I'm especially grateful that they will spend time here, mingling with our patrons and with students in our Music Institute programs. We will continue our tradition of presenting new pieces while also performing some of the best-loved works in the repertoire."

The season begins with concerts exploring the role of the chamber orchestra in detail, including 20th-century works by Ravel, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev that were inspired by their baroque and classical forebears. Following, major orchestral pieces include Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 on Aug. 7, Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 on Aug. 13, and Mahler's massive Symphony No. 2 for the season finale on Aug. 22. On every critic's list of the 10 greatest symphonies ever written, Mahler's 90-minute masterpiece explores the totality of the human condition, from life and death to rebirth. With the American Festival Chorus and soloists, the orchestra will swell to well over 300 musicians on stage for this performance. As to its impact, Maestro Neale recalls his first hearing, at age 13: "It rocked my world – I had never imagined music could have that level of visceral, emotional impact."

This season is also the 22nd year of the Symphony's Music Institute Summer Programs, which will run July 29 through Aug. 10. The Institute offers 1-week programs for elementary through high school students of all abilities in piano, voice, woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion, and a 2-week Advanced Chamber Music Program for college undergraduates and exceptional high school students. All programs feature outstanding faculty, including Music Director Alasdair Neale, Associate Conductor Sameer Patel, and many musicians from the Sun Valley Summer Symphony orchestra. Additionally, guest artists Ray Chen, Gautier Capuçon, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet will spend time coaching and mentoring young students. Thanks to the generosity of Symphony donors, all programs are tuition-free, with only minimal costs for registration and materials. Registration is available on the Symphony's website at svsummersymphony.org.

Concerts are performed in the open-air Sun Valley Pavilion, amid a pristine mountain environment and high desert climate, in the four-season outdoor paradise known as much for its art and cultural offerings as its recreational opportunities. All concerts in the 2019 Summer Concert Series will begin at 6:30 p.m. The Symphony will release details in February for its annual Gala performance. Visit the Symphony website at svsummersymphony.org for complete 2019 season details and the latest information, news, and event information.

Sun Valley Summer Symphony 2019 Summer Concert Series – Subject to change

Monday, July 29, 2019, 6:30 PM
Ray Chen, Violin
Juliana Athayde, Violin
Bach: Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins and String Orchestra, BWV 1043
Mozart: Concerto No. 5 in A Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 219, "Turkish"

Tuesday, July 30, 2019, 6:30 PM
Ravel: "Le Tombeau de Couperin"
Stravinsky: Concerto in E-flat Major for Chamber Orchestra, "Dumbarton Oaks"
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1, Op. 25, "Classical"

Thursday, August 1, 2019, 6:30 PM
Recital
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano
Gautier Capuçon, Cello
Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in E Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 38
Shostakovich: Sonata in D Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 40

Friday, August 2, 2019, 6:30 PM
William VerMeulen, French Horn
Strauss: Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 11
Strauss: Suite from "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme," Op. 60

Sunday, August 4, 2019, 6:30 PM
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano
Bernstein: Overture to "Candide"
Gershwin: Concerto in F Major for Piano and Orchestra
Respighi: "The Pines of Rome"

Monday, August 5, 2019, 6:30 PM
Gautier Capuçon, Cello
Ravel/Neale: Minuet from Sonatine for Piano
Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 1 in A Minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 33
Ravel: "La Valse"

Wednesday, August 7, 2019, 6:30 PM
Beethoven: Overture to "Egmont," Op. 84
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

Thursday, August 8, 2019, 6:30 PM
Chamber Concert
Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
Edgar M. Bronfman String Quartet
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 133, "Grosse Fuge"
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 142

Saturday, August 10, 2019, 6:30 PM
Family Concert – Kids' Choice: 5 Minutes That Made Me Love Classical Music
Program to be announced

Tuesday, August 13, 2019, 6:30 PM
Clyne: "Masquerade"
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 6:30 PM
Jeremy Constant, Violin
Adam Smyla, Viola
Mason Bates, Composer-in-Residence
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat Major for Violin and Viola, K. 364
Bates: "Liquid Interface"

Saturday, August 17, 2019, 6:30 PM
Pops Night – The Music of George Gershwin
Teddy Abrams, Conductor and Piano
Morgan James, Voice
Hayman: Armed Forces Medley
Gershwin: "Rhapsody in Blue"
Remainder of program to be announced from the stage

Sunday, August 18, 2019, 6:30 PM
Sasha Cooke, Mezzo-Soprano
Mason Bates, Composer-in-Residence
Bates: "Devil's Radio"
Bates: "Passage"
Holst: Excerpts from "The Planets"

Monday, August 19, 2019, 6:30 PM
Musicians' Choice Chamber Concert
Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
Program to be announced

Thursday, August 22, 2019, 6:30 PM
Julie Adams, Soprano
Sasha Cooke, Mezzo-Soprano
American Festival Chorus
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C-Minor, "Resurrection"