LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra) - Considered the leading training orchestra in the world, the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, embarks on its 7th annual world tour in November 2007. Comprised of over 100 musicians aged 17 to 29 from some 30 countries, the orchestra visits major cities of the United States and
Europe with renowned pianist, Martha Argerich, and conductor Charles Dutoit. Presented by organizations including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the orchestra performs concerts in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and New York. In Europe, the orchestra performs in Genoa, Stockholm, Zurich, Lyon, and Dusseldorf.
The orchestra resides and trains at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland each summer, and goes on tour every November. Membership of the orchestra changes yearly, with a balance of experienced and new members. 'We admit participants purely on the basis of their artistic merit, so the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra is the only international training orchestra to place no geographical limitations on membership, making it the single truly global training orchestra for young musicians in the world,' commented Mark Branson, Chairman of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra Foundation.
'Touring provides the orchestra members with the opportunity to perform in the world's leading concert halls, with world-class artists,' Branson added. 'By performing the same programs night after night, and adjusting to different concert halls and audiences, the musicians gain invaluable experience that gives them a competitive edge in their professional careers.'
Conductor Laureate James Levine, who has been behind the project from the start, commented, 'I very, very much like how this orchestra functions. Because these musicians are here to learn, they play off one another's curiosity and energy to achieve new levels of personal excellence and artistic understanding. We need to be sure that we are bringing up this new generation of artists, especially as major orchestras around the world adapt to the changing cultural landscape.'
The tour marks the first occasion the orchestra has performed in the United States since 2001. 'As Founder and Main Partner of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra since the ensemble was created in 2000, UBS is pleased to bring these outstanding musicians to the US on their tour this fall,' said Robert Wolf, Chairman and CEO, UBS Group Americas. 'We believe this tour is a fitting extension of our firm's longstanding, global commitment to orchestral music, and to the communities in which we live and work.'
Since its creation in 2000, the orchestra has achieved an outstanding international reputation for quality, vitality, and commitment, working with many of the world's finest conductors and soloists. For the 2007 tour, the orchestra welcomes Martha Argerich, who performs Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major. A pianist of great distinction, Argerich has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government, the Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and several GRAMMY Awards. Her concert appearances are always keenly anticipated and she remains one of the most prominent pianists in the world, both in popularity and ability.
The orchestra is led by Charles Dutoit, a conductor renowned for his polished and idiomatic interpretations of an eclectic array of musical styles. Dutoit collaborates regularly with the world's pre-eminent soloists and orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestras. He was for many years the Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, and was named the new chief conductor and artistic advisor of The Philadelphia Orchestra in February, 2007.
Musicians from the orchestra go on to positions with some of the world's great orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich. Dorothea Noack, Associate Principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, commented: 'The UBS VFO provides great opportunities for musicians from around the world to work with renowned conductors and soloists. Many of us have gone on to other great orchestras in the world, bringing them a little of the freshness and energy we felt in Verbier.'
Tour Schedule and Program
US Tour Dates
November 8 Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
November 11 Jones Hall, Houston
November 13 Harris Theater, Chicago
November 15 Avery Fisher Hall, New York
November 16 Avery Fisher Hall, New York
European Tour Dates
November 19 Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa
November 20 Konserthuset, Stockholm
November 22 Tonhalle, Zurich
November 23 Opera House, Lyon
November 24 Tonhalle, Dusseldorf
Tour Program
Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major
Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, op.14
Martha Argerich, piano
Charles Dutoit, conductor
A Model for Cultural Sponsorship: UBS and Orchestral Music
With the UBS VFO, global financial services firm UBS has created an influential model for supporting cultural projects reflecting the shared values of teamwork, outstanding performance and passionate commitment. In addition to the firm's support of the Verbier Festival and the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, UBS also enjoys a long history of partnership with the highly regarded Lucerne Festival, and has partnered with the London Symphony Orchestra since 1996.
In the United States, UBS currently supports nine outstanding symphony orchestras, including: the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. UBS is also the sponsor of important music festivals such as the Ravinia Festival in Chicago.
Listening closely to one another in pursuit of a common goal and attending to every detail, the brilliant young musicians of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra strive for the highest standard of collaboration and achievement. These are the same qualities that UBS values in its relationships with clients.
SWISS
Transporting over 100 musicians and staff of all nationalities, their percussion instruments, harps and double basses to 10 cities in 2 continents in under a month is quite a logistical challenge and planning a tour on such a scale starts in earnest up to a year ahead of the actual concerts. The UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra is therefore delighted to have SWISS on board as its Official Airline.
Fondation de l'Orchestre de Verbier
The UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra is managed by the Fondation de l'Orchestre de Verbier, a Swiss-based non-profit organisation which promotes cultural, artistic and musical excellence through its support of young musicians.
