GBS’s Next Concert

Will Put The Spotlight On Gershwin

BRIDGEPORT — George Gershwin ­– one of the giants of American music – will be showcased on the program of Greater Bridgeport Symphony’s third subscription concert on Saturday, December 2.

A rising young star of today’s music scene, Benjamin Loeb, associate conductor of the El Paso (Tex.) Symphony, will make his conducting debut with the GBS orchestra as well as his debut as piano soloist, performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, one the most popular of all American concert works.

The program will also feature Gershwin’s American in Paris, a colorful depiction of adventures of a tourist walking the streets of Paris, Tchaikovsky’s ultra romantic ballet Swan Lake and the legendary jazz composer Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker, a delightful adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s famous masterwork.

The 8 pm performance, dubbed “Gershwin’s Greatests,” will take place in Klein Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Avenue. The facility is easily reached from all major routes, and free, attended parking is provided for symphony patrons.

Benjamin Loeb is known as an accomplished conductor, concert pianist, arranger, accompanist, and educator. His varied projects range from conducting concerts of Beethoven and Bruckner symphonies to recordings with Yo-Yo Ma to tours with popular rock musicians to world premieres of the most cutting-edge avant-garde contemporary music. He studied conducting under GBS Music Director Gustav Meier at The Peabody Conservatory.

Mr Loeb served four years as assistant conductor for the Haddonfield (NJ) Symphony and two as assistant conductor for the Greater Bridgeport Symphony and has served for the second summer as assistant conductor chorusmaster for the TodiMusicFest in Portsmouth, VA. He is the founder and artistic director of the International Conducting Workshop and Festival, now in its fifth year.

This year, under the auspices of the El Paso Symphony, Mr Loeb founded and serves as music and executive director of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras ­– a multiple orchestra system serving the finest young musicians in the El Paso, southern New Mexico and Juarez region.

Concertgoers at the December 2 performance will be treated to a pre-concert program with the GBS Brass Ensemble in the inner lobby of the Klein starting at 7 pm.

GBS members come from Fairfield County and beyond. This year’s roster includes Newtown resident Valentine Wolfe, who plays 3rd trumpet.

Single ticket costs are $20 to $52. Students under 21 will be admitted at half-price in certain price categories and special discount rates are available for groups of  ten or more.

For reservations, call the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Office at 203-576-0263 or visit online at BridgeportSymphony.org. The Klein Auditorium doors open for walk-up sales after 5 pm on the concert date.

The symphony’s website will post program notes on the December 2 concert a few days prior to the event.