For immediate release mythical, Mysterious and Magical Music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CANTON, OHIO (October 13, 2015) – The leaves are changing color, the pumpkin patches are open, apples are ripening, and the days are growing shorter. The Canton Symphony Orchestra presents a concert with a mystical theme perfect for the season of jack-o-lanterns and goblins. Symphony Noir, featuring pianist Spencer Myer, tenor Timothy Culver and the Canton Symphony Men’s Chorus, is November 1 at 7:30pm at Umstattd Performing Arts Hall. Music Director Gerhardt Zimmermann will conduct.

The pieces on the program have backgrounds rooted in the composers’ fascination with the mysteries of life, or inspire by a literary work describing a mythical scene. Audience members will most likely recognize the opening piece, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, which accompanies a dramatic scene in Walt Disney’s animated film “Fantasia”. Guest artist Spencer Myer will perform on Franz Liszt’s Totentanz, a piece whose solemn and haunting theme has historically appealed to many composers who adapted it in their own compositions. Tenor Timothy Culver and the Canton Symphony Men’s Chorus will perform on Franz Liszt’s Mephistopheles, a dynamic piece based on a character from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s epic play Faust. Also on the program is Malcolm Arnold’s Tam O’shanter, inspired by a somewhat humorous story about a man experiencing the ramifications of his nocturnal carousing, and Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre.

Pianist Spencer Myer’s orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Boise, Dayton and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, Mexico’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, South Africa’s Cape Town and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras and Beijing’s China National Symphony Orchestra among others. An enthusiastic supporter of the education of young musicians, Myer has been a frequent guest artist at workshops for students and teachers and has served on the faculties of the Baldwin-Wallace College and Oberlin College conservatories of music. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. In 2005, he won fourth prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition.

Tenor Timothy Culver has become a staple in the Great Lakes music scene. Equally at home in both operatic and musical theatre works, Culver has performed with Atlanta Opera, Ann Arbor Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and others. During the inaugural season of the Opera Theatre of Lucca in Lucca, Italy, Culver performed and studied under the direction of internationally renowned baritone, Lorenzo Malfatti. Currently, Culver is an Associate Professor of Voice at the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University.

Tickets for the concert range from $25-$45. There are senior, student and group discounts available. Tickets and the full concert season schedule are available at www.cantonsymphony.org, by calling (330) 452-2094, at the Zimmermann Symphony Center – 2331 17^th Street NW in Canton – weekdays from 10am-2pm or at the Umstattd Performing Arts Hall box office beginning one hour and fifteen minutes before the performance.

Founded in 1937, the Canton Symphony Orchestra is a fully professional ensemble and organization dedicated to performing concerts that enrich, educate and entertain. Under the direction of Gerhardt Zimmermann, the orchestra performs classical, pops, holiday, and educational programs. Most performances are in Umstattd Performing Arts Hall, adjacent to the Zimmermann Symphony Center 2331 17th Street NW, Canton, Ohio. Parking at the Zimmermann Symphony Center is free. For more information, please visit www.CantonSymphony.org.

##

Contact: Irene Barker, Director of Marketing