NOVEMBER 29, 30 & DECEMBER 1
DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION

Four Philharmonic Violinists Make Debut As Soloists:

Michele Bovyer, Akiko Tarumoto, Jonathan Wei, And Stacy Wetzel

Associate Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya leads the Philharmonic in three concerts featuring the works of Italian composers Antonio Vivaldi and Ottorino Respighi on November 29 and November 30 at 8 p.m., and December 1 at 2:30 p.m. Joining the orchestra as soloists in Vivaldi's timeless The Four Seasons are violinists Michele Bovyer (Spring), Akiko Tarumoto (Summer), Stacy Wetzel (Autumn), and Jonathan Wei (Winter). These performances begin a series of solo appearances by orchestra members as a way of bidding farewell to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion during the orchestra's final year performing there.

Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with host Rich Capparela and Associate Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, takes place one hour before each performance in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion's Grand Hall.

The November 29th performance is a Casual Fridays concert with the orchestra in casual dress and a reception afterwards at Otto's Grill. With no intermission, the performance includes only Respighi's Roman Festivals and The Four Seasons.

The concert opens with Vivaldi's celebrated masterpiece The Four Seasons. Written circa 1723, the four concertos, known together as The Four Seasons, were inspired by poems relating to each of the seasons.

The program also includes music by Respighi, including Roman Festivals and Fountains of Rome, two selections from his Roman Triptych. Written between 1926-1928, the opening of Roman Festivals sets the bloody scene of an ancient Roman gladiator game.

His earlier work, Fountains of Rome, was written in 1916. This piece has four movements, each representing specific Roman fountains during a different time of the day; from dawn to morning light, midday, and finally dusk.

Conductor MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA is one of America's most exciting young conductors. Currently Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony, he also serves as associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and music director of the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand. In North America, his active guest-conducting schedule includes appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Abroad, he has appeared with the Birmingham Symphony, Swedish Radio Orchestra, NDR Orchestra (both Hamburg and Hanover), Madrid National Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony, among others. Festival appearances include Ravinia, Tanglewood, BBC Proms, Hollywood Bowl (for which he received an Emmy), Interlochen, Oregon Bach, Avanti (Helsinki), and Adelaide. He received the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award this year.

Violinist MICHELE BOVYER joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1981. She has appeared as soloist with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl (in 1983 and 1991), Symphonies for Youth in 1995 (Beethoven concerto), and has been featured in several Chamber Music Society programs at Gindi Auditorium. Bovyer began studying violin at the age of eight; she is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Music where her teachers were Ivan Galamian, Sally Thomas, and Ruggiero Ricci. In 1977, she and her husband, clarinetist Gary Bovyer, moved to Israel, where the young violinist served as principal second violin with the Jerusalem Symphony and as a member of the first violin section of the Israel Philharmonic. She has appeared as soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony and with the Israel Philharmonic in Israel and South America under the direction of Zubin Mehta.

Violinist STACY WETZEL has been a soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic. For two years she was the concertmaster of the Ann Arbor Chamber Orchestra, and she has performed with ensembles including the Soviet Émigré Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Music West, and the Michigan Chamber Players. She was on the Faculty of the University of Michigan and now serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1987. In the fall of 1995, she followed her husband (who joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1994) to Southern California, gaining a position in the second violin section of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She recently won an audition promoting her to first violin. Wetzel is a regular performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic's chamber music series at Gindi Auditorium.

JONATHAN WEI joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic's second violin section in 2000 after serving as a member of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he held the position of Associate Principal Violinist in the San Diego Symphony. Wei is also active in both solo and chamber music. He plays chamber music regularly with other members of the San Francisco Symphony as well as giving solo recitals. He was the co-founder and concertmaster of the Chinese-musician-based South Bay Chamber Ensemble in San Jose, California. A native of China, Wei began his violin studies with his father at the age of five. He was invited to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing at age 13. While he was in China, he made numerous concert appearances with various orchestras, such as the Wu Han Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, Wei was awarded a full scholarship to study with Dr. Eduard Schmieder (a pupil of the legendary Russian violinist David Oistrakh) at the University of Southern California. Since then, he has won several competitions in California, including the Napa Symphony and the Pasadena Symphony's Young Artist Competition.

Violinist AKIKO TARUMOTO, born in 1976, began her violin studies when she was five and later attended The Juilliard School Pre-College Division as a student of Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. She hails from New York, where she has been heard in a number of concert venues including Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Walter Reade Theater, and at the Museum of Modern Art. Also active as a chamber musician, Tarumoto was a featured performer on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center this past spring. She has also participated in festivals in Aspen, Taos, and Spoleto, Italy. Her academic credentials include a 1994 National Merit Scholarship and a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in English and American Literature from Harvard University in 1998. While in Boston, Tarumoto continued her musical studies with Lynn Chang and Robert Levin. This past May, she received her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Glenn Dicterow. In August, 2000, she joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic's second violin section.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 at 8 PM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 at 8 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1 at 2:30 PM

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA, conductor

MICHELLE BOVYER, violin

AKIKO TARUMOTO, violin

JONATHAN WEI, violin

STACY WETZEL, violin

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Respighi: Fountains of Rome (except 11/29)

Respighi: Roman Festivals

Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with radio personality Rich Capparela and Associate Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, takes place in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each performance.

Tickets ($14 - $82) for both concerts are on sale now at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. Tickets are also available on-line at www.laphil.com. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available two hours prior to the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts. For further information, please call 323.850.2000.

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