Contact:  Meg Whalen, Director of Public Relations
E: megw@charlottesymphony.org
P: 704-714-5114
W: www.charlottesymphony.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                          January 19, 2011

Debbie Phillips Classical Concerts for Students introduce
Students to “Rhythm Around the World”

Continuing its long tradition of bringing classical music to students, the Charlotte Symphony (CSO) will give education concerts on Wednesday, February 16 at 10 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. The theme for the 2011 Debbie Phillips Classical Concerts for Students is “Rhythm Around the World,” in which students learn about rhythmic patterns and meters in music from all over the world. This concert is open to all students – public, private, and homeschooled – in grades 3 through 8.

The Charlotte Symphony has presented education concerts for local schoolchildren since the 1950s. Since the loss of funding from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the concerts have been funded through a field trip fee from students, as well as support from the Debbie Phillips Fund for the Symphony, establishedby former Charlotte Symphony board chair Pat Phillips and his daughters, Sally Sacco and Katie Phillips, in honor of Phillips’ wife Debbie.

The 50-minute concert, to take place at Ovens Auditorium, will be conducted by the CSO’s new assistant conductor, Jacomo Rafael Bairos. Passionately dedicated to education, outreach, and community engagement, Bairos recently developed and conducted education concerts for children with the National Orchestra of Porto Portugal. As Director of Orchestras for the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSFA), he worked closely with the Baltimore Symphony’s “OrchKids,” program, as well as the BSFA “Twiggs” and Peabody’s “Tuned In” programs, creating side-by-sides and education workshops for children in underserved urban communities. Bairos also conducts the Symphony’s Lollipops Family Concerts.

“Rhythm Around the World” features several well-known works by many of classical music’s greatest composers, from John Philip Sousa’s beloved “Stars and Stripes Forever,” to Stravinsky’s “The Augurs of Spring: Dance of the Young Girls” from The Rite of Spring. Unique arrangements of Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony explore swing, rock, and hip-hop rhythms.

Interested homeschooled families should contact Charlotte Symphony Group Sales Manager Joan Foley at 704-714-5119. Tickets are $8 for students and chaperones.

###