MANNES ORCHESTRA CLOSES 2006-07 SEASON AT LINCOLN CENTER

Free concert at Alice Tully Hall, April 5 at 8 p.m.
Featuring world premiere by Seymour Barab narrated by Robert Sherman

New York City, March 20, 2007—On April 5, 2007 at 8:00 p.m., The Mannes Orchestra will perform the world premiere of a new composition by Seymour Barab, Sinfonia Satirica, or Glancing Askance at the Orchestra, narrated by WQXR radio personality Robert Sherman, in its final of four Lincoln Center performances at Alice Tully Hall during the 2006-07 season. Guest conductor Edwin Outwater will also lead the orchestra in Rossini's William Tell Overture and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. Free tickets are available at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at 212.875.5050.

"A world premiere is always an exciting occasion for the orchestra and we are delighted to work with Bob Sherman," said Joel Lester, Dean of Mannes College The New School for Music. "His association with Mannes goes back to the 1940s and '50s, when he was a regular page-turner for his mother, the noted pianist Nadia Reisenberg, at dozens of her faculty concerts here." In more recent times, Mr. Sherman has judged several Mannes competitions, given talks to students, and with his brother Alex established the Nadia Reisenberg recital award, which thus far has yielded two highly successful Merkin Hall concerts. This Lincoln Center performance marks his debut with The Mannes Orchestra.

Robert Sherman's connection to composer Seymour Barab also goes back many years. "I've probably performed more of his pieces than any other narrator in captivity," said Mr. Sherman. "The list includes at least three other world premieres." In this case, Mr. Barab's work, Sinfonia Satirica, is a lighthearted skewering of a genre that might be called "an introduction to the orchestra," with Mr. Sherman intoning lyrics rhythmically while instruments play the melody (a style that Mr. Sherman and Mr. Barab say was inspired by Rex Harrison and Marlene Dietrich). Mr. Barab describes the work as "music appreciation you can take with a smile."

About Seymour Barab

Seymour Barab was born in Chicago in 1921, and began his professional career as a church organist at the age of thirteen. His interest in contemporary music led to a close association with American composers, whose music he began to perform while still in high school. Before leaving Chicago, he became a founder of the New Music Quartet; and then in New York City of the Composer's Quartet, the resident quartet of Columbia University, whose primary purpose was to promote contemporary music. On the other end of the spectrum, he played the viola da gamba and helped form the New York Pro Musica, one of the first contemporary ensembles to reintroduce baroque and renaissance music. He has been a member of the faculties of Rutgers University, Black Mountain College and the New England Conservatory of Music, although he is mainly self-taught in composition.

Following military service in World War II, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill to spend a year in Paris, where he explored his own talents for musical composition. In this one year alone, he produced over two hundred art songs and other works. Barab's operas have been consistently performed, particularly his comic one-acts and those for young audiences. His Little Red Riding Hood was the first American opera performed in China in its post-isolationist period. His highly praised full-length Civil War opera Philip Marshall, which uses Dostoyevsky's The Idiot as its point of departure, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The National Opera Association has honored Mr. Barab with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

About Edwin Outwater

Edwin Outwater served as Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 2001 to 2006. He also served as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra from 2001 to 2005. In both capacities, he has worked closely with Michael Tilson Thomas, accompanying the Orchestra on tour and conducting numerous concerts each season. The 2006-07 concert season has seen Maestro Outwater return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony Orchestra Miami, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Portland (ME) Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the New Zealand Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra. He also made his first UK appearance as conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conducted the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in several programs. Outwater has been appointed Music Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Ontario, Canada and will begin his tenure in September 2007.

About The Mannes Orchestra

Mannes College The New School for Music has a single orchestra that includes about half of its 300 college students. This allows younger undergraduates to learn from their more experienced graduate-level colleagues who, in turn, serve as mentors. Under the leadership of David Hayes, Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies at Mannes, the highly regarded Mannes Orchestral Studies Program prepares young musical artists for careers as orchestral musicians. During each academic year in public concerts, The Mannes Orchestra performs a comprehensive symphonic repertoire ranging from classical to modern in a series of public concerts mostly at Alice Tully Hall and participates in Mannes Opera productions. Guest conductors who have led concerts or readings in recent years include Philippe Entremont, Paul Nadler, Leonard Slatkin, and Mannes graduates Yves Abel and JoAnn Falletta.

Mannes College The New School for Music is one of the world's leading conservatories. Founded in 1916, Mannes nurtures tomorrow's musical leaders in an intimate, supportive community true to the values of classical music. Its eminent faculty and comprehensive curriculum teach musical artistry and impart deep knowledge of music and its structures. Mannes College's connection to The New School and its location in New York City—just minutes from the world's great concert halls and museums—offer a unique setting for musicians to grow into great artists. For nearly 90 years, the artistic ideals of David and Clara Mannes, the college's founders, have sustained a vibrant international community of musicians whose diversity stretches across races, cultures, and ethnicities. For more information, please visit www.mannes.newschool.edu.