NEWS: Utah Symphony invites families to annual holiday Lollipops concert

Media Contact:

Hilarie Ashton | Public Relations Manager

hashton@usuo.org | (801)869-9027

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UTAH SYMPHONY INVITES FAMILIES TO ANNUAL HOLIDAY LOLLIPOPS CONCERT

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Symphony’s family-friendly Lollipops Series will celebrate the season with “Here Comes Santa Claus,” an annual concert for families with children ages 5-12. The concert will feature symphonic holiday favorites from around the world and a special visit from Santa Claus.

Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic will direct the orchestra in this fun-filled holiday performance also featuring Utah Opera Resident Artist Andrew Penning (Tenor), Saturday, December 22 at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in Abravanel Hall.

This festive concert will highlight tunes such as “Song of the Bells,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and excerpts from “The Nutcracker Suite.” Penning will join the orchestra for tunes such as “Let it Snow,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “White Christmas.”

Lobby activities for young children will be offered prior to each performance, and Santa Claus will also be in the lobby to consider any last minute requests from eager children. Audience members are also invited to bring their own bells to jingle for a sing-along portion of the performance.

Single tickets for the performances range from $6 to $20 and can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS (2787), in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple) or by visiting www.utahsymphony.org. Season ticket holders and those desiring group discounts should call (801) 533-NOTE (6683). All ticket prices are subject to change and availability, and will increase $2 when purchased on the day of the performance.

Andrew Penning, Utah Opera Resident Artist (Tenor)

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Andrew Penning holds the degrees of M.M in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music, and a B.M in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University. Joining Utah Opera for the second year this season as a Resident Artist, he recently sang with the company in the roles of Borsa in “Rigoletto” and Ruiz in “Il Trovatore,” and covered the role of Nemorino in “The Elixir of Love.” Penning spent the summer of 2011 as a Fellow at Tanglewood Music Festival singing, among other assignments, the Second Tenor in Stravinsky’s “Renard.” Recently he has performed the roles of the Male Chorus in Benjamin Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia,” The Chevalier in Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” and Monsieur Lacouf in “Les Mamelles de Tiresias.” Penning has also been an active concert soloist in a variety of works including: Monteverdi’s “Vespers,” Handel’s “Messiah” Saint-Saëns’ “Christmas Oratorio,” J.S Bach’s “Magnificat,” J.S Bach’s “Cantata 12,” Haydn’s “Grosse Orgelmesse” in E Flat, and Bruckner’s “Te Deum.”

Vladimir Kulenovic, Utah Symphony Associate Conductor

Utah Symphony Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic maintains a guest conducting schedule that includes collaborations with acclaimed soloists Leon Fleisher, Mischa Maisky, Akiko Suwanai and Augustin Hadelich, as well as orchestras worldwide. In Europe, Kulenovic will soon lead the Leipzig Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic, Slovenian Philharmonic, Zagreb Philharmonic and Macedonian Philharmonic. In Asia, he served as the Principal Conductor of the Kyoto Music Festival, and led two critically acclaimed performances with Evergreen Symphony at the National Concert Hall in Taipei.

Recent engagements include performances with the Beethoven- Orchester Bonn at Beethovenhalle, National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center, Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein, Verbier, Aspen, Salzburg

Mozarteum and Cabrillo festival orchestras, and a benefit performance of Mozart’s Requiem with members of New York Choral Society and Juilliard Orchestra for Japan’s Disaster Relief Fund.

Since 2008, Vladimir has been mentored by Kurt Masur during his annual masterclasses in New York, Bonn, Leipzig and Verbier where he assisted maestro as the Verbier, Festival Conducting Fellow, leading two internationally televised performances on Medici TV. Vladimir also served as Maestro Masur’s assistant at the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and prepared the orchestra at the Dubrovnik Festival for Maestro Zubin Mehta.

Recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Award, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholarship, Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship, Vladimir was awarded the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize for Excellence at the Juilliard School, where he completed his postgraduate studies under the mentorship of James DePreist and Alan Gilbert. Prior to his studies at Juilliard, he served as cover conductor of the Baltimore Symphony and Baltimore Opera and graduated from the Peabody Institute under the tutelage of Gustav Meier. He also served as a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, Salzburg Mozarteum and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

Mr. Kulenovic was awarded the prestigious Alfred B. Whitney Prize for the highest scholastic achievement at the Boston Conservatory where he earned degrees in Conducting and Piano Performance. As a pianist, Mr. Kulenovic won the 2nd Prize at the Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Paris.

Program

Leroy Anderson	Song of the Bells
Jule Styne	Let It Snow Andrew Penning, Tenor
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	"Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" from The Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a
Johann Sebastian Bach	Weihnachtsoratorium Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf peiset die Tage!
Harold Arlen	"Over the Rainbow" from Wizard of Oz Andrew Penning, Tenor
Gioachino Rossini	Tarantella from La Boutique Fantasque
Johann Strauss, Sr.	Radetzky March
Johnny Marks	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Andrew Penning, Tenor
Traditional	Springtime Hills
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	"Trepak" from Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a
Konstantin Blagojevic	Balkan Dance No.2
Irving Berlin	White Christmas Andrew Penning, Tenor
Leroy Anderson	Sleigh Ride
Traditional	We Wish You a Merry Christmas