CINCINNATI, OH. (Top40 Charts/ Cincinnati Pops Orchestra) - The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra are invited by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) to perform as part of the festivities of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The Cincinnati Pops will be the only American orchestra performing in the opening weekend events.
"It is incredibly humbling to be asked to perform as part of the prestigious Summer Olympic Opening Weekend ceremonies. It is a great honor for the City of Cincinnati, and for the United States," said Cincinnati Pops Conductor Erich Kunzel. "It is like a dream come true to celebrate athletic talent and musical talent across cultures. This orchestra has toured China before, in 2005, and received rave reviews."
The two performances connected to the Olympic Games include:
- The Gala Olympic Concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening, August 9. This performance is for the dignitaries associated with the Olympic Games.
- An outdoor concert on the Olympic Green at the Olympic Grounds on Sunday evening, August 10. Hosted by BOCOG, this performance is open to all the people attending the Olympic Games.
The programming highlights music that has been written for Olympic Games of the past and movie music. The concert finale will feature a Medley for World Peace and a Beijing children's choir will join the Pops and vocalists onstage.
In 2005, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra made history by completing a tour to China and Singapore and performing in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Cincinnati Pops was the first U.S. Pops orchestra to perform in China.
The Pops are well received in China because of the caliber of the orchestra and the numerous Telarc recordings. The 83 releases on the Telarc label, 55 of which have appeared on the Billboard charts, is a record unmatched by any other orchestra in the world.
The tour will be supported by a generous gift from Edyth and Carl H. Lindner.
These Beijing concerts will be the fourth China concert tour for Kunzel. In 1999, he was the first person to present a Symphonic Pops Concert in China when he guest conducted the China National Symphony Orchestra in two concerts in Beijing.
