PSO Tackles Music of John Williams in Pops Concert

John Williams Collage Courtesy Photo

The 2016-2017 PNC Pops season begins with a bang as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Lawrence Loh take the audience to worlds beyond imagination with “The Music of John Williams” on September 30 through October 2 at Heinz Hall.

Loh, former resident conductor at the Pittsburgh Symphony, returns to lead the orchestra in a rousing, heart-pounding night of music from legendary composer John Williams. The evening includes music from “Harry Potter,” “Far and Away,” “Star Wars” — including music from “The Force Awakens” — “Hook,” “Superman” and “Indiana Jones.” Patrons are welcome to attend the concert in costume.

A Pops Talk will occur on stage following the concert on Friday, September 30, featuring Maestro Loh, a self-proclaimed “movie music nerd.” The Pops Talk is free to ticketholders.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Doors open one hour before concert start times. Tickets, ranging in price from $27 to $104, can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 412-392-4900 or visiting pittsburghsymphony.org/Williams.

The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank PNC for its 2016-2017 title sponsorship of PNC Pops. Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

About the Artists

LAWRENCE LOH is a dynamic American conductor of impressive range and talent. He is the inaugural music director of Symphoria, founded by former members of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the position of music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. Additionally, Loh was recently named artistic director and principal conductor of the Syracuse Opera.

Since his appointment as music director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic in 2005, the orchestra has made its mark as an ensemble of superb musicianship, performing electrifying performances year-round. Off the podium, Loh is very active in the region as an arts leader and music advocate. He created a very successful Apprentice Conductor Program in 2012, designed to help identify and train the next generation of young conductors.

From 2005 to 2015, Loh had a very successful association with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as assistant, associate and resident conductor. He worked closely with Music Director Manfred Honeck and conducted a wide range of concerts including classical, educational and pops. He was active in the symphony’s Community Engagement Concerts, extending the Pittsburgh Symphony’s reach into other communities and led the groundbreaking Sensory Friendly concert in 2015, one of the first of its kind. He made his debut on the main classical series conducting Handel’s Messiah in December 2008. For many years, Loh led the enormously popular Fiddlesticks Family Concert Series, playing the part of script writer, host and conductor.

While in Pittsburgh, Loh was also music director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. He led this world-renowned orchestra in concerts at Heinz Hall and throughout the Pittsburgh community. He led PYSO on two international tours to Central Europe and Italy.

Having a particular affinity for pops programming, Loh has been engaged for repeat performances with Chris Botti, Idina Menzel, Ann Hampton Callaway, the Texas Tenors and more. He has assisted John Williams on multiple occasions, and conducted numerous sold out John Williams tribute concerts. He is particularly adept at conducting concerts synchronizing live orchestral music with film and has led “Pixar in Concert,” “Disney in Concert,” “Wizard of Oz” and “Singin’ in the Rain,” among others.

Loh is active as a guest conductor, both in the United States and abroad. Recent engagements include the National (Washington D.C.), Knoxville, Florida, Dallas, El Paso, San Luis Obispo, Edmonton, Colorado, Charleston (SC), Detroit, Malaysia, Daejeon (South Korea) and Greater Bridgeport Orchestras. His summer appearances include the festivals of Bravo Vail Valley, Aspen (CO), Mann Center in Philadelphia, Breckenridge, Las Vegas, Hot Springs (AR), the Kinhaven Music School (VT) and the Performing Arts Institute (PA). Loh held the positions of assistant and associate conductor of the Dallas Symphony from 2001 to 2005. He was brought to national attention in February 2004 when he stepped in to conduct on short notice for an ailing Charles Dutoit, conducting Stravinsky's Petrouchka and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Prior to his Dallas appointment, Loh was appointed by Music Director Marin Alsop to be associate conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and was also music director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.

In May 1998, Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale University, earning the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize, given to the most outstanding conductor in the Yale graduating class. He received further training at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival and School. He received his MM in choral conducting from Indiana University while also studying clarinet with Howard Klug and voice with Roy Samuelsen. He began the DMA program in opera and instrumental conducting at IU before transferring to Yale. His received his BA and Certificate of Management Studies from the University of Rochester. In 2001, Lawrence Loh was the guest curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for “What Makes Music?” an interactive exhibit, offering the opportunity to explore the science of music and sound, as well as the role of music in culture.

Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Jennifer, have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary. Follow him on Instagram @conductorlarryloh or Twitter @lawrenceloh or visit his website lawrenceloh.com.

Violinist JEREMY BLACK was applauded for his “musical fire” and “effortless technique” by the Chicago Tribune for his debut performance with the Chicago Symphony at age 12. More recently, his “fabulous tone” and “polished, reliable virtuosity” were noted by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in his “sensational” solo debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Black has been a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's first violin section since 2002, and concertmaster of the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago since 2005. He has also performed as a guest concertmaster with the Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Blossom Festival Orchestra, and in the violin sections of the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. He began his professional orchestral career in 2000 as a first violinist in the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago.

As a chamber musician, he performed and recorded the world premiere of Eugene O'Brien's Algebra of Night with the 21st Century Chamber Consort in Washington, D.C., and has performed numerous recitals throughout the Pittsburgh region, including Carnegie Mellon, Chatham and Duquesne Universities, West Liberty State College, and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

In addition to multiple performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Black has appeared as soloist with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Live Chamber Ensemble and in subscription concerts with the Chicago String Ensemble and Evanston Symphony. He won first prizes in the University of Michigan and Case Western Reserve University concerto competitions, the Society of American Musicians Competition, the Nordic Musical Arts Competition and the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition.

A native of Evanston, Illinois, Black studied with Mark Zinger, currently professor emeritus at DePaul University and a former student and colleague of David Oistrakh. Black's secondary education began in 1996 at Case Western Reserve University where he studied with Linda Cerone at the Cleveland Institute of Music. After graduating, he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to pursue his master’s degree with Paul Kantor at the University of Michigan. In addition to private lessons, he coaches chamber music and leads sectionals for both Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Black resides in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood with his wife, Kate, and their two sons. He plays a violin made by Lorenzo and Tommaso Carcassi, dated 1783.

The TROMBONE CHOIR is under the direction of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra trombonist Jim Nova and is comprised of Pittsburgh Symphony members and current students and recent graduates of Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University.

Pittsburgh Opera To Stage Verdi's La traviata

Party Scene from La traviata Photo: Eric Antoniou for Boston Lyric Opera © 2014

Pittsburgh Opera opens its 78th season with the Giuseppe Verdi favorite La traviata, at the Benedum Center October 8th -16th.

La traviata – the fallen woman – is a compelling tale of love, intrigue, money, and power in 19th century France.

It tells the heart-wrenching story of courtesan Violetta Valéry, played by Pittsburgh favorite Danielle Pastin. Alfredo Germont – played by Cody Austin in his Pittsburgh Opera debut – wins Violetta’s love and his father’s displeasure. His father, going behind Alfredo’s back, coerces Violetta into breaking up with Alfredo because their relationship threatens his daughter’s engagement and his family’s reputation.

Violetta will not disclose his father’s role in their breakup, so Alfredo erroneously believes she loves someone else. He publicly denounces her, leaving them both grief-stricken. Will they reconcile before it’s too late?

Pittsburgh Opera will be performing a production of La traviata which is new to Pittsburgh. Set in 19th century Paris, it does not shy away from some of the more ribald aspects of that society.

From the rousing “Brindisi” drinking song to touching arias, La traviata’s singing and music are sure to delight.

La traviata features a superlative cast, including:
 
Danielle Pastin (Violetta Valéry), a favorite of Pittsburgh Opera audiences, who last performed here in 2015’s Così fan tutte. Praised by Opera News as having “one of the most sheerly beautiful voices on the scene today,” the former Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist continues to gain critical acclaim for her engagements across the country and internationally. Ms. Pastin made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2011.
     
Cody Austin (Alfredo Germont), described as “beautifully talented” and “charismatic,” is making his Pittsburgh Opera debut. In March 2016, he sang this role with Opera Tampa, where the Tampa Bay Times said it was “a part he might have been born to play.” Mr. Austin has sung across the country to high praise.

La traviata - Previews on WQED-FM 89.3 and WQED.ORG
Saturday, October 1st from 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM and
Friday, October 7th from 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Hosted by WQED, and broadcast over the airwaves on WQED-FM 89.3 as well as the WQED website, the La traviata Preview gives listeners an engaging introduction to the singers, music, and story of the opera. For more information: http://www.pittsburghopera.org/calendar/detail/wqed-preview-la-traviata

Pre-opera Talks for La traviata
One hour prior to each performance
Benedum Center

Ticketholders are invited to attend a free Pre-Opera Talk one hour before each performance’s curtain in the Main Floor/Orchestra section of the Benedum Center. Learn about the composer, the story and some juicy details about the opera!

Pre-Opera Talks are free to all ticketholders at all performances.

Audio Commentary: La traviata
Tuesday, October 11th, 7:00 PM
Benedum Center

Ticketholders with visual impairments are invited to use Pittsburgh Opera’s Audio
Description service at our Tuesday performances. Trained volunteers describe the scenery, costumes, and stage action. The listeners hear these descriptions via assistive listening devices. Those wishing to use Audio Description should reserve seats to the Tuesday, October 11th performance by contacting Regina Connolly at 412-281-0912, ext. 213 or groups@pittsburghopera.org. Braille and large-print programs are also available.

Meet the Artists of La traviata
Tuesday, October 11th
Immediately following the opera, in the Benedum Center’s Lower Lobby

Ticketholders for the Tuesday, October 11th performance of La traviata are invited to gather in the Benedum Lower Lobby immediately following the performance for interviews with General Director Christopher Hahn and the stars of the opera. This event is free to all Tuesday performance ticketholders.

October Brown Bag concert
Saturday, October 15, 2016 Noon - 1:00PM
George R. White Opera Studio, Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters, 2425 Liberty Avenue

You're invited to Pittsburgh Opera’s free October Brown Bag concert. The program includes some of our 2016-17 Resident Artists' favorite selections. It's free and open to everyone. Bring a friend and bring a lunch! Meet the Resident Artists afterward in an informal reception.

Doors open at 11:30AM. Handicapped parking is available by reservation. For more information: 412-281-0912 or http://www.pittsburghopera.org/calendar/detail/october-brown-bag-concert1

    Sebastian Catana (Giorgio Germont), also making his Pittsburgh Opera debut. Originally from Romania, Mr. Catana first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in La bohème in 2003. Despite the fact that most of his performances are in Europe, Mr. Catana and his family live in Bethel Park.

On stage October 8, 11, 14 & 16, La traviata is an unforgettable way to open the opera season. Tickets start at just $12 and are available online.

Three facts about La traviata

La traviata is the opera that Richard Gere took Julia Roberts to see in the hit movie Pretty Woman. In the movie, Julia Roberts plays a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man, and La traviata moved her character deeply enough to exclaim “it was so good I almost peed my pants.”

As the most popular opera in the world, even non-opera fans know the music from La traviata. It’s been featured in TV commercials for all things Italian, and the Brindisi drinking song was the bedrock of a classic Heineken commercial.
Violetta wears a white camellia flower on her dress, which she removes in the first act and tosses to Alfredo. In the book Lady of the Camellias by Alexander Dumas, fils, which La traviata is based on, the Violetta character, also a prostitute, wears a white camellia to signify she is ‘available’ for customers, and a red one to signify she is not.

The story, in brief:

Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Verdi's La traviata takes place in France during the mid-1800s.

The story opens in Paris. Violetta Valéry has been out most of the night running from party to party with her friends, who are now continuing the festivities in her luxurious apartment.

An admirer of Violetta’s, Alfredo Germont, who has long adored her from afar, flirts with her in a rousing drinking song, the famous Brindisi “Libiamo ne’lieti calici.”

Alfredo then proceeds to confess to Violetta that he has loved her for more than a year. Moved, Violetta attempts to warn Alfredo, saying that she “doesn’t know how to love.” Besides, as you’ll hear in a stunning aria, Violetta wants to be ‘sempre libera’ – always free. “Free and aimless she must flutter, from pleasure to pleasure.”

Alfredo eventually wins Violetta over, and they move to a house in the country. Alfredo sings about how happy he has been ever since Violetta told him “I want to live, faithful to you alone.”

However, Alfredo’s father Giorgio Germont disapproves of Violetta’s relationship with Alfredo, because it threatens his family’s reputation and also his daughter’s engagement. He coerces Violetta into breaking up with Alfredo, then returns to console his son and remind him of his loving family back home in Provence.

Alfredo confronts Violetta at a party. She will not disclose his father’s role in their breakup, so Alfredo erroneously believes she loves someone else. Angry, he scorns her and storms off.

Violetta and Alfredo are both miserable. Six months later, Germont finally confesses his plot to Alfredo. Alfredo regrets the way he mistreated Violetta and attempts to reconcile. Violetta, however, is sadly succumbing to tuberculosis, and bids farewell “to happy dreams of by-gone days.” Alfredo's father enters with a doctor, regretting what he has done. However, it is too late – she dies in Alfredo's arms.

Tickets and Group Discounts:

Tickets to all performances of La traviata start at $12
All performances are at the Benedum Center, 7th Street and Penn Avenue, in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District

To purchase tickets, call 412-456-6666, visit the Theatre Square Box Office, or buy online at https://opera.culturaldistrict.org/production/47932/list_performances.
Group discounts are available. For discounted group tickets (6 or more), contact Regina Connolly at 412-281-0912, x 213

Three NPS Sites Will No Longer Charge an Entrance Fee

Ranger Doug Bosley at Staple Bend Tunnel Trail - Allegheny Portage Railroad Credit: National Park Service

Beginning October 1, 2016, three Western PA National Park Service (NPS) sites will no longer charge an entrance fee. This change includes Fort Necessity NB, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site and Johnstown Flood National Memorial.

As of October 1, admission to Western PA’s NPS Visitor Centers, the Mount Washington Tavern at Fort Necessity NB and the Lemon House, and Engine House No. 6 Exhibit Shelter at Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS will also now be free. Flight 93 National Memorial and Friendship Hill NHS will continue to be fee free.

Also effective October 1, these three parks will no longer sell the America the Beautiful Annual Pass or the America the Beautiful Senior Pass. These passes are available at other National Park Service locations and are available online at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html.  Please note that there is an additional $10.00 processing fee for all America the Beautiful Senior Passes sold online.
The America the Beautiful U.S. Military Annual Pass and the America the Beautiful Access Pass-both free-will still be available after October 1.

For More Information: phone 724-329-8131.

Students with Ranger Gregory Zaborowski along the Conemaugh River Flood Memorial Visitor Center in Background
Credit: National Park Service

PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OPENS SEASON WITH PINCHAS ZUKERMAN

Pinchas Zukerman Credit: Cheryl Mazak

Music Director Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra open the 2016-2017 BNY Mellon Grand Classics season with legendary violinist Pinchas Zukerman and Composer of the Year James MacMillan on October 7 and 9 at Heinz Hall.

Zukerman, who recently performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony during its residency at the Aspen Music Festival and School, will dazzle in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, famously described by the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim as the “richest and most seductive” of all the violin concertos.

MacMillan’s bustling, patriotic orchestral fantasy Britannia kicks off the Scottish composer’s tenure as Composer of the Year with the Pittsburgh Symphony during the 2016-2017 season. This piece is a kaleidoscopic collection of march tunes, Irish reels, jigs and even a Cockney drinking song.

The concert concludes with the colorful “Enigma Variations,” in honor of the night nearly 100 years ago to the day when composer Edward Elgar himself led the Pittsburgh Symphony in this very work. Composed of 14 variations on an original theme, Elgar dedicated this work to “my friends pictured within,” as each variation was a musical sketch of one of his close acquaintances, including his wife, his publisher and even himself.

A pre-concert talk, open to all ticketholders and led by Assistant Conductor Andrés Franco, will occur on stage one hour before each concert. MacMillan will join Franco to discuss his work with a particular focus on Britannia. Program notes for the weekend are available online at pittsburghsymphony.org/Zukerman and on the PSO mobile app the day of the concert.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets, ranging in price from $20 to $94, can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 412-392-4900 or visiting pittsburghsymphony.org/Zukerman.


PINCHAS ZUKERMAN has remained a phenomenon in the world of music for over four decades. His musical genius, prodigious technique and unwavering artistic standards are a marvel to audiences and critics. Devoted to the next generation of musicians, he has inspired younger artists with his magnetism and passion. His enthusiasm for teaching has resulted in innovative programs in London, New York, China, Israel and Ottawa. The name Pinchas Zukerman is equally respected as violinist, violist, conductor, pedagogue and chamber musician.

Zukerman's 2016-2017 season, his eighth as principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and his second as artist-in-association with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, includes more than 100 concerts worldwide. In January 2017, he serves as artistic director of the Winter Festival for three weeks of concerts and educational residency activities with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Guest conducting and soloist engagements include the Cleveland Orchestra and Boston, Pittsburgh and Montreal Symphonies, plus overseas appearances with the Berlin and Israel Philharmonics, Camerata Salzburg, Sydney Symphony, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Miyazaki Festival Orchestra. European recitals with pianist Yefim Bronfman and chamber concerts with the Zukerman Trio round out the season.

Over the last decade, Zukerman has become as equally regarded a conductor as he is an instrumentalist, leading many of the world's top ensembles in a wide variety of the orchestral repertoire's most demanding works. A devoted and innovative pedagogue, Zukerman chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pioneered the use of distance-learning technology in the arts. In Canada, where he served as music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra from 1999 to 2015, he established the NAC Institute for Orchestra Studies and the Summer Music Institute encompassing the Young Artists, Conductors and Composers programs. He currently serves as conductor emeritus of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, as well as artistic director of its Young Artist Program.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1948, Zukerman came to America in 1962 where he studied at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian. He has been awarded the Medal of Arts, the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence and was appointed as the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative's first instrumentalist mentor in the music discipline.  Zukerman's extensive discography contains more than 100 titles, and has earned him two Grammy Awards and 21 nominations. His complete recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and Philips were released in July 2016, in a 22-disc set spanning baroque, classical and romantic concertos and chamber music. Fall 2016 sees the Analekta release of Baroque Treasury with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, cellist Amanda Forsyth and oboist Charles Hamann in works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi Telemann and Tartini. Other recent releases include Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Double Concerto with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Forsyth, recorded in live performances at Ottawa’s Southam Hall, and an album of works by Elgar and Vaughan Williams with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

15th MINERVA MARKET OPENS DOORS OF LANDMARK TWENTIETH CENTURY CLUB

Minerva Market Shoppers Credit: New Place Collaborations

MINERVA MARKET SHOPPING EXPERIENCE OPENS DOORS OF AT OAKLAND’S HISTORIC TWENTIETH CLUB
Art Deco Landmark becomes unique boutique featuring regional designers, artists, authors, a lunch, and more on Wednesday, October 5.
Public Contact Information   Details:  TheTwentiethCenturyClub.com
Phone: 412-621-2353
E-mail: pam.york@ thetwentiethcenturyclub.com

One of Pittsburgh’s landmarks is transformed into a delightful boutique when the Twentieth Century Club opens its doors to the community for the 15th MINERVA MARKET BOUTIQUE on Wednesday, October 5 from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm in the beautiful Art Deco Ballroom, open to the public for shopping at no charge.

More than 25 artists, authors and vendors from throughout the region are on hand with jewelry, clothing, accessories, art, books and gifts for anyone seeking a unique and personalize shopping experience.

Shopping is free, but reservations are requested for shopping and lunch package ($25). A buffet lunch will be served between noon to 1:30 in the Art Nouveau Dining Room. Reservations and information are available at 412-621-2353.

Minerva Market features:

Jewelry: Cristal Jewelry, Cristine Leslie’s Fine Jewelry, ESBE Designs, Maria Paul Kyros, Rachel's Cure by Design and Sabika.
Accessories, including purses, knits, scarves, and much more: Embroidery From the Heart, Envy Mack Collective, HM Designs, La Perla, Vera Bradley Accessories.

Books & Magazines: Lillie Leonardi, Dr. Shellie Hipsky
Clothing:  H. Baskin Clothier, La Perla, Magnolia on Main, Warm Wears,

Gifts:  HM Designs, Nell Mercier, Photos, Collages N’at

Home Accents, Deco and more:   Wilson & Wier

Beauty Products and food:   Nerium International and Pretzel Crazy
Passport to Pittsburgh

About The Twentieth Century Club

The Twentieth Century Club, a landmark in the heat of Oakland, is celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2014. A popular venue for regional events, weddings, parties and graduations, the TCC enjoys a history steeped in leadership and tradition as a private club whose membership has maintained the Beaux Arts building for more than a century.

Founded in 1894 by leading Pittsburgh women, the TCC today provides members with a wide array of professional, educational, cultural, social and travel opportunities. Community events bring audience to the TCC for performances by such groups as Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, and other arts and cultural organizations.

A uniquely Pittsburgh institution, The Twentieth Century Club occupies a distinguished position in the rich cultural history of Pittsburgh and uses proceeds from this sale to help in the continuous preservation of its more than a century old building.

Current members of both women and men represent the region’s legal, financial, academic, and cultural fields, among others, contributing to the club’s present and future through leadership and their individual community profiles. Members enjoy benefits including programs, networking, and use of Club facilities.

For event and membership information, contact Manager Andrew Hutchinson or Pam York at 412-621-2353 or pam.york@ thetwentiethcenturyclub.com

Today is National Punch Day

Over 400 years ago in India. British East India Company sailors discovered the exotic concoction we now call PUNCH. It was made with five ingredients—spirits, lemon, sugar, water and tea. But today there are hundreds of recipes to try and infinite ways to make your own. Discover the spirits you need to make it great at your local Fine Wine & Good Spirits store.

Here’s one recipe that’s perfect for welcoming fall.

Spiced Apple Punch

Spiced Apple Punch
Serves 8 to 12

Ingredients:
• 4½ c Vin Vault Merlot
• 1½ c Basil Hayden's Bourbon
• 3 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
• 1½ c apple cider
• 3 oz sage simple syrup*
• 12 oz blood orange soda, chilled
• 8 to 12 pieces candied ginger, for garnish

Combine the first five ingredients in a large pitcher. Chill until ready to serve. Just before serving, top with blood orange soda; stir gently. Serve in rocks glasses filled with ice and garnish with a piece of candied ginger.

*Sage simple syrup: In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup each, cane sugar and water, and 5-6 sage sprigs. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, let steep for 10 minutes, strain and cool completely.

Carnegie Museums to Get New Cafe with Menu by James Beard Semi-Finalist

Rendering: The Cafe Carnegie, viewed from the museum lobby

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh announces plans to create The Café Carnegie, a new restaurant at its Oakland campus. Dramatic contemporary design and a menu by James Beard semi-finalist Sonja Finn will make The Café Carnegie a centerpiece of the dynamic intersection of Forbes and Craig Avenues.

Located just off the Forbes Avenue museum plaza, The Café Carnegie will serve the community as well as visitors to Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History. Opening in late-fall 2016, it will replace the current Carnegie Café, which closes for construction on September 26. Fossil Fuels, a walk-up café located on the ground floor of the Oakland campus, will continue offering a full menu of fresh, affordable, family-friendly fare.

The new restaurant will feature a comfortable, full-service dining area, and a new walk-up espresso and wine bar for a relaxing break on a museum visit. The bar will be open during all museum hours, while the dining room will serve lunch, weekend brunch, and light bites on Thursday evenings when the museums are open until 8 p.m.

The Café Carnegie menu will bring Chef Sonja Finn’s acclaimed approachable cooking to Pittsburgh’s favorite museums. As with her popular East Liberty restaurant, Dinette, The Café Carnegie will serve the best produce, meat, and seafood, responsibly sourced and simply prepared, and is sure to become a destination for dining in Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh will announce The Café Carnegie’s first seasonal menu and opening dates as work progresses—please stay tuned!

Established in 1895 by Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a collection of four distinctive museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. The museums reach more than 1.4 million people a year through exhibitions, educational programs, outreach activities, and special events.