Atlanta Symphony Announces October Concerts

Music Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will open the 2012-13 season this weekend, October 4 and 6, 2012, at 8:00 p.m., and October 7, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. Acclaimed violinist Midori will return to Atlanta for the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Also on the program will be Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. These concerts will mark the first performances of the Orchestra's 68th season.

Midori, who made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 and is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her performing career this season, will make her seventh appearance with the Orchestra with these concerts. While in Atlanta, she will also offer an exclusive master class for the members of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and Talent Development Program as part of the Wells Fargo ArtsVibe Teen Program.

Thursday, October 11, 2012, 8:00 p.m.: The Anti-Defamation League will present Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin, which tells the story of courageous Jewish prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II who learned Verdi's Requiem by rote and then performed this compelling work 16 times as a statement of defiance and resistance, answering the worst of mankind with the best of mankind.

The concert, which features the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of guest conductor Murry Sidlin, will include a full performance of Verdi's Requiem with actors, video testimony with surviving members of the choir, and original Nazi propaganda film footage.

October 12 and 13, 2012, 8:00 p.m.: The acclaimed national touring duo of A.J. Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle will join Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for the orchestral premiere of "Sounds of Simon & Garfunkel" to kick off the Orchestra's SuperPOPS! series.

Mr. Swearingen and Mr. Beedle, who have been performing Simon & Garfunkel tributes across the country for more than a decade, will team up for a variety of Simon & Garfunkel hits, including "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Sound of Silence," "The Boxer," "America," and "Mrs. Robinson."

October 18 and 20, 2012, 8:00 p.m.: Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus - joined by countertenor John Holiday and baritone Brett Polegato - in the Suite from Copland's Appalachian Spring, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast.

Saturday, October 27, 2012, 8:00 p.m.: Mr. Spano, the Orchestra, and Chorus will return to Carnegie Hall performing the program from the October 18 and 20 concerts. At the invitation of Carnegie Hall, the Orchestra has performed 23 concerts to date - 12 times with Robert Shaw, five with Yoel Levi, and six with Robert Spano. When Mr. Spano and the Orchestra played Carnegie Hall in November 2011, The New York Times said, "To judge from the large turnout and big ovations, he and the Atlanta players are always welcome at Carnegie Hall." The upcoming October 27 performance will mark Mr. Spano's seventh Carnegie Hall appearance with the Orchestra.

Sunday, October 21, 2012, at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.: Staff Conductor Jere Flint will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the Family Concert, "Halloween on Hogwarts" - a magical journey through the music of the acclaimed Harry Potter films. Each year, costumes adorn Atlanta Symphony Hall as musicians and audience members wear their Halloween best to what has become one of the most popular family concerts of the season.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 8:00 p.m.: Academy Award-winning composer John Williams and Academy Award-winning director and producer Steven Spielberg will join the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for "An Evening with John Williams, Steven Spielberg and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra." Mr. Williams will guest conduct the Orchestra in a selection of his most popular original film compositions while movie clips are shown on a giant screen and Mr. Spielberg will host the concert. The proceeds from this performance will benefit the Orchestra and its education and community engagement programs.

Friday, October 26, 2012, 8:00 p.m.: Sister vocalists Mary Mary will perform a one-night-only gospel show. All concerts will take place in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Additional concert details are available at aso.org.