![]() |
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.