Legendary singer Tony Bennett and award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth will headline the University of Mary Washington Philharmonic’s 2016-17 season.
Bennett will perform for the holiday concert on Friday, Dec. 9, in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium. Winner of 17 Grammy Awards and seven Emmys, the celebrated singer has sold millions of albums worldwide. A jazz vocalist, Bennett recorded his first hit, “Because of You,” in 1951 and made a career singing standards, including his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” His career waned in the 1960s with the popularity of rock music, but rallied again in the 1990s. Tickets will go on sale Oct. 24 to the general public, Oct. 10 to Friends of the Philharmonic.
Chenoweth will perform with the UMW Philharmonic as part of the Celebrity Series on Saturday, March 18, in Dodd Auditorium. The career of the Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress spans film, television, voiceover and stage. She is best known for her inaugural role of Glinda the Good Witch in the Broadway show Wicked. Her many television roles include The West Wing, Glee and Disney’s The Descendants.
The UMW Philharmonic’s season opener is on Saturday, Oct. 22, in Dodd Auditorium. Among the featured works the orchestra will perform are Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” Sibelius’ Finlandia and Smetana’s The Moldau.
The orchestra will end its season on Friday, April 28, with a concert featuring Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning composition “Appalachian Spring.” In addition, internationally renowned horn player Eric Ruske will perform Richard Strauss’ “Horn Concerto No. 1.”
A member of the faculty of Boston University since 1990, Ruske also directs the Horn Seminar at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He previously was associate principal horn artist with the Cleveland Orchestra and a member of the Empire Brass Quintet.
The UMW Philharmonic has produced its Celebrity Series concert since 2004. Past artists have included Marvin Hamlisch, Itzhak Perlman, and last year, Joshua Bell. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 16 to the general public, Jan. 9 to Friends of the Philharmonic.
For more information or to become a Friend of the Philharmonic, call 540-654-1324 or visit umwphilharmonic.com.
