|
|
VIRGINIA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
|
|
News Release, Autumn 2009 Emil de Cou’s Opening VCO Concert Delights Large Audience and Critic  A large and enthusiastic audience greeted new Music Director Emil de Cou at his opening concert with the Virginia Chamber Orchestra in September. Beneath the headline “Virginia Chamber Orchestra Scores de Cou,” a critic from The Washington Post observed that Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, with pianist Brian Ganz, “really enthralled the capacity crowd--” He pronounced it “a wholly winning performance and a tremendously upbeat start to de Cou’s leadership of the VCO.” Maestro de Cou is well known to area audiences. In addition to serving as Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra since 2003, he has held the position of NSO @ Wolf Trap Festival Conductor since 2005. De Cou has led the NSO in subscription concerts at the Kennedy Center, residency tours in six states, and on the lawn of the United States Capitol. In 2007 de Cou conducted an innovative concert with the NSO @ Wolf Trap in collaboration with NASA. The program was entitled "Fantastic Planet - a symphonic video spectacular" and incorporated the first ever in-time downloadable pod cast. (available on iTunes) to accompany a symphony orchestra concert. Emil de Cou also acts as musical advisor to NASA. In the summer of 2009 the NSO received national publicity for using the micro-blogging site Twitter to send text messages from conductor Emil de Cou during the performance. Interested attendees sat in a specified area on the Wolf Trap lawn with their mobile devices and experiened a new dimension to the score. De Cou’s guest conducting appearances include the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston, San Francisco, St. Louis and Minnesota, as well as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Boston Pops, Montreal Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Scottish National Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, and the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra. He appeared as Guest Conductor in the Beverly Sills Gala Tribute benefitting Lincoln Center, leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and a stellar roster of soloists, including Lang Lang and Gil Shaham. In 2003, Emil de Cou led the San Francisco Ballet in a Great Performances (PBS) airing of Othello. He served as staff conductor for the San Francisco Ballet from 1993 until 2001, and was acting music director for the last three of those seasons. Prior to his tenure in San Francisco, he was conductor of the American Ballet Theater for eight seasons, leading performances in New York as well as international tours. “A great deal of what motivates in my work at the National Symphony Orchestra is a passionate commitment to music education and outreach, so I am very interested in continuing that mission with the Virginia Chamber Orchestra,” said Emil de Cou. “I'm very excited at the prospect of working with the musicians and board of the VCO to create innovative programs and develop ways to reach out to new audiences. I look forward to joining the VCO in serving the rich cultural tapestry of the Northern Virginia and greater Washington, DC area.”
Originally founded in 1970 as a professional touring orchestra, the Virginia Chamber Orchestra currently presents live concerts for audiences drawn from Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It features up to forty of the area’s finest instrumentalists. The VCO also reaches millions of public school and college students nationwide through satellite-delivered educational broadcasts. The orchestra has pioneered in programs combining music with other classroom subjects such as history and geography. |