IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2013, 2013
Contact: Kari Miskit
Phone: 916-320-5647

Lake Tahoe SummerFest Returns
to Celebrate the Best of Orchestral Music

World-Class Concerts Continue to Uplift and Inspire Audiences of All Ages

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. -- New and returning visitors to Lake Tahoe can once again enjoy compelling musical performances among the majestic pines at the Lake Tahoe SummerFest 2013, Aug. 2 - 18 on the campus of Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nev.

The Lake Tahoe SummerFest Orchestra is comprised of 40 virtuoso musicians individually invited from the great orchestras of North America and beyond - the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the symphonies of San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus, among others. This summer, Maestro Joel Revzen will be joined by six renowned soloists including:

• Frederica von Stade: mezzo soprano
• Jennifer Koh: violinist
• Benjamin Hochman: pianist
• Meredith Clark: harpist
• Demarre McGill: flutist
• Chris Brubeck: composer and trombonist

"We are so pleased to continue the magic created by last year’s inaugural SummerFest concert series," said Madylon Meiling, Lake Tahoe SummerFest founder and chair. “In the same intimate concert environment, we’re adding “TalkBack,” an opportunity for post-concert discussions with Maestro Revzen and the musicians.”

From Beethoven to Brubeck, classical music will once again be celebrated on the beautiful campus of Sierra Nevada College. A 500-seat acoustically designed concert tent will offer pure sound without amplification, and tiered seating for unencumbered sightlines. The concert evening will be enhanced by featured local food and select wines.

“To experience the composer’s genius brought to life in a pristine natural setting is certain to inspire our audience and touch their hearts,” said Maestro Revzen.

SummerFest Concerts will be held the weekends of Aug. 2-4, Aug. 9-11 and Aug. 16-18. Orchestra programs are Friday evenings at 7 p.m., and family concerts are Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m., with musical selections for adults and children to enjoy together.  On Saturday evenings at 7p.m., chamber music concerts highlight the virtuosity of individual orchestra members performing in an intimate setting.

Individual ticket prices are $75, $50 and $25. A VIP Subscription for all nine concerts with premium seating includes a reception with Maestro Revzen and members of the orchestra and keepsake mementos. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: www.tahoesummerfest.org, or call 775-832-1606.

To keep up to date on the latest from SummerFest, including musical examples, glimpses behind the scenes, and updates on our artists, please find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/LakeTahoeSummerFest.


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Making music and magic in the mountains

By Heidi Van Zant

Maestro Joel Revzen has conducted all over the world, living and breathing music in the most spectacular settings from Norway and Italy to Prague and Russia, along with many U.S. orchestras and opera companies.

As he puts together his program as Artistic Director and Conductor of Lake Tahoe SummerFest 2013, he draws inspiration from the magic of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Lake Tahoe where the festival takes place.

“As I’m making my selections, it’s always on my mind that there are so many elements of nature in music,” Revzen said of the nine orchestra and chamber music concerts he has programmed over the first three weekends in August.

Guests will be treated to Mozart’s “Overture to Don Giovanni,” Beethoven’s “Symphony #7,” Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and classical selections from Berlioz and Prokofiev, among other major composers.

“It has been my long held belief that next to a healthy physical existence, mankind's greatest need is to nurture the spirit,” Revzen said. “We open the door each summer to a world where audiences can experience the full depth of their emotions and emerge inspired with spirits renewed.”

Now in its second season, the Lake Tahoe SummerFest is the newest of the seasonal symphony festivals held across the United States, keeping company with the Aspen Music Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Festival.

Revzen, who was on the conducting staff in Aspen and Artistic Director of Berkshire Opera, a neighbor of Tanglewood, said these seasonal  festivals are steeped in great tradition, bringing art and nature together in beautiful and unusual settings that inspire both the musicians and the audience.  The beauty of Tahoe’s Incline Village, Nevada, is no different.

Perhaps the most renowned of the seasonal festivals is Tanglewood, created in the 1930s by the music-loving summer residents of the Berkshires hosting the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in large tents. The festival now draws 350,000 annually to the meadows and lawns of the Tanglewood estate in western Massachusetts.
At Tanglewood you’ll hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), the Boston Pops, and an international array of classic and contemporary artists including Melissa Etheridge, the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration, cellist Yo-Yo Ma making one of his only two appearances this concert season, and the BSO performing the legendary Leonard Bernstein’s score of “West Side Story” while the newly mixed 1961 film plays on large screens.

Another icon is the Aspen Music Festival in the Colorado Rockies, more than 60 years old and held each summer in music tents, historic concert halls and churches throughout Aspen. This eight-week festival has more than 320 events this summer including opera, chamber music, orchestral concerts and contemporary music.

Another popular festival is the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, inspired by Italy’s Festival of Two Worlds. With the charming backdrop of historic Charleston, this 17-day spring festival features chamber, symphonic, jazz and choral music along with opera, theater; and dance held in picturesque churches, outdoor spaces and theaters.
The Oregon Bach Festival based in Eugene with concerts in Bend, Portland and other venues offers three weeks of choral and orchestral masterworks while the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival founded in 1972 is enveloped by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

“I’m familiar with all these summer festivals, and I maintain that conducting the Lake Tahoe festival like driving a musical Ferrari, a high-powered sports car that turns on a dime,” Revzen said. “These musicians are so skilled. We do not have one weak link in the orchestra – every player is hand-picked.”

The Lake Tahoe SummerFest features acclaimed soloists and a world-class orchestra of 40 instrumentalists from the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and others.
There is symphonic jazz from renowned American composer Chris Brubeck (son of famed musician Dave Brubeck) with a Bass Trombone Concerto on Aug. 16; a special family-friendly series on Sunday afternoons including “The Music of Shakespeare” on Aug. 4 and Prokoviev’s “Peter and the Wolf” on Aug. 11; and a much-anticipated performance by New York Metropolitan Opera “superstar” and Mezzo Soprano Frederica von Stade on Aug. 2.

The concerts are held in a specially designed acoustical concert tent with incline seating for 500 on the lake campus of Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, with an elevation of 6,225 feet, a surface area of 191 square miles, and a depth of 1,645 feet that makes it the United States’ second-deepest lake (Crater Lake in Oregon is the deepest).
Straddling both California and Nevada, the lake is known for its water clarity, majestic mountain setting and wealth of tourist attractions including summer and winter outdoor recreation, and yes, even its Nevada-based casinos and nightlife.

Revzen and his wife live in Connecticut but travel the world. He has been on the conducting staff of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, was the artistic director of the Berkshire Opera, and now is the Principal Conductor of the Arizona Opera. Revzen also has a flourishing recording career including releases with the London Symphony, Scottish Chamber and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra as well as the Grammy-award winning “The Art of Arleen Auger” on which he was both pianist and conductor.

For Lake Tahoe Summerfest 2012, the couple lived in a lakeside guesthouse with breathtaking views. He grew up near Lake Michigan, and feels right at home in Lake Tahoe. The Maestro said that the unique natural setting is heart-stopping for both the concert guests and the musicians who come from many nations including Russia, the Orient and Germany.

“The words I use most are inspired and exhilarated. We made archival recordings of all of the concerts last year, and when you listen to the applause and reaction, every performance got a standing ovation,” Revzen said.

“What I like about it is that it’s intimate – it’s not a 3,000-seat hall – here you really feel connected to the stage and the players. This is music the way music was composed and heard before we had huge concert halls. It’s a unique experience for anyone that comes.”

The audience is comprised of those with a serious interest in orchestra and chamber music as well as those new to the genre. The festival was founded by Madylon Meilling, Ph.D., a Lake Tahoe resident and Chairman of the Board of Directors. The festival includes Shakespeare, visual arts and the classical concerts conducted by Revzen.

Some of the rehearsals are free and open to the public, and new this year with a “talk-back” feature for an audience question-and-answer with the musicians to learn more about the players’ personal journeys with music.

“This has the potential to become a true destination for those who love the outdoors, and arts and culture,” Revzen said. “The musicians are so inspired here by the combination of making music with highly skilled colleagues and the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lake Tahoe Summerfest 2013, http://www.tahoesummerfest.org
Aspen Music Festival,  http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com
Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival, http://www.sfcmf.org
Oregon Bach Festival, http://oregonbachfestival.com
Tanglewood Festival (Boston area), http://www.bso.org
Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston, South Carolina), http://Spoletousa.org

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