Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra presents free concerts in Indy parks July 1, 8 and 16
INDIANAPOLIS –The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is returning to three Indianapolis parks this summer, as a part of its renewed effort to perform in more neighborhoods and bring its music to more people throughout the community. In partnership with Indy Parks and Recreation, the ISO’s Symphony in the Parks concerts on July 1, 8 and 16 are free and open to the public.
Audiences are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and food/beverages to the concert (alcohol is prohibited in the parks).
Garfield Park Concert – Tuesday, July 1 at 8 p.m.
Guest conductor Alfred Savia will lead the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in a spirited performance of patriotic and American classics such as John Williams’ Liberty Fanfare, the Servicemen on Parade, Berlin’s God Bless America and Copland’s Rodeo, among many others. Harmonica virtuoso Mike Runyan will also join the ISO on stage with his adaptations of well known American tunes.
Garfield Park is located at 2505 Conservatory Drive on the south side of Indianapolis. The concert may be canceled in case of inclement weather. There are no rain dates.
The Symphony in the Park concert at Garfield Park is underwritten by an anonymous donor.
Ellenberger Park Concert – Tuesday, July 8 at 8 p.m.
Thanks to title sponsor Community Health and premiere sponsor Indianapolis Power & Light Company, the ISO will travel to the east side’s Ellenberger Park for a performance of American and Russian masterpieces, led by ISO Assistant Conductor David Glover.
Ellenberger Park is located at 5309 E. St. Clair Street. Due to limited parking, Community Hospital East, located at 16th Street and Ritter Avenue, will provide free parking and shuttle service to the park. The concert may be canceled in case of inclement weather. There are no rain dates.
Holliday Park Concert – Wednesday, July 16 at 8 p.m.
The final concert of this summer’s Symphony in the Park series will take place at Holliday Park on the north side of Indianapolis. In this special presentation, the full complement of ISO brass and percussion sections will perform a variety of fanfares, marches and “big band” favorites, led by Edmund Cord, former Principal Trumpet of the Israel Philharmonic, Utah Symphony and Santa Fe Opera, and currently on the faculty of Indiana University Bloomington.
Holliday Park is located at 6363 Spring Mill Road. The concert may be canceled in case of inclement weather. There are no rain dates.
The Symphony in the Park concert at Holliday Park is underwritten by an anonymous donor.
For more information on all ISO summertime concerts, call the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office at (317) 639-4300, or visit the ISO’s website at www.IndianapolisSymphony.org .
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Artist Biographies:
Maestro Alfred Savia has been Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic since the 1989-90 season. Under his leadership the Evansville Philharmonic has expanded its activities to include a comprehensive Youth Orchestra program, the incorporation of the Philharmonic Chorus, and the Eykamp String Quartet.
He initiated many new concert programs including Messiah and Nutcracker performances, Music Alive (residency with composers David Ott and Lowell Liebermann), a Side-By-Side program with the professional and Youth Orchestras, and Chamber Orchestra concerts in Jasper, Vincennes and New Harmony. The 2005 production of Brundibar (a collaboration of EPO and CYPRESS which was presented again in 2011) garnered unparalleled local, regional and national attention, through a featured story on CNN, as a community-wide effort to use this children’s opera in teaching the lessons of the Holocaust. Savia’s innovative programming skills and his ability to connect with audiences everywhere have been documented in profiles in Musical America and Symphony Magazine. Maestro Savia was the recipient of the 2004 Mayor’s Arts Award.
Savia, who was Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1990-1996, is a frequent guest conductor throughout North America and around the globe. His North American appearances have included performances with the St. Louis, Detroit, Phoenix, Savannah, Columbus, Memphis, Portland (Maine), Winston-Salem, Roanoke, San Antonio, Spokane and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Louisville Orchestra and Dayton, Rhode Island, Naples (FL), Lexington and Fresno Philharmonic Orchestras.
Internationally he has conducted the Korea Philharmonic Orchestra (KBS), State of Mexico (Toluca) Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina in Florence, Radio & Television Serbia (Belgrade) Symphony Orchestra, Denmark’s Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Ankara, Turkey, Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra in Germany, Symphony Orchestra of Xalapa, Mexico and the Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari (Italy).
Over the past few seasons he has conducted extensively in South America, appearing with the Orchestra Sinfonica de Chile in Santiago, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional del Ecuador (Quito), and for three concerts with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Montevideo (Uruguay). Summer festival appearances have included Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony, Summer Music at Harkness Festival in New London, Connecticut, Lucius Woods Performing Arts Center in Wisconsin, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony on the Prairie, the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia, and The Professional Advantage opera program in the Le Marche region of Italy. He has recorded Russell Peck’s The Thrill of the Orchestra with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
A native of Livingston, New Jersey, Savia graduated from Butler University’s Jordan College of Fine Arts. He studied conducting with Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and privately with Sixten Ehrling and Otto Werner Mueller (Juilliard School). Conducting studies at the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Institute of Orchestral Studies and the Tanglewood Music Center led to his first professional appointment as Assistant Conductor of The Omaha Symphony. Subsequently, he served as Resident Conductor of the Florida Philharmonic and New Orleans Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Florida Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Orlando Opera. He also played an integral role in the emergence of the Orlando Philharmonic, serving as its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor from 1995 to 2000. He also conducted the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (New Orleans) in one of their first post-Katrina concerts in March of 2006, and returned for concerts there again in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.
This past summer he returned for three weeks of concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony at Symphony on the Prairie including their annual 4th of July concerts.
Alfred Savia and his wife, Kathryn, an EPO violinist, have two daughters, Laura and Juliana.
Mike Runyan is an entertainer who uses the harmonica, a variety of musical styles, a bit of juggling and magic and his wacky wit to delight and enthuse.
Mike first picked up a harmonica when one was tossed into the back seat of the family station wagon by his dad on a long vacation (it missed his head, but people wonder…).
Music had been an interest from early on—Mike began piano lessons at age six, took up trumpet in grade school and French horn in high school. He enjoyed playing classical, pop and jazz. While pianist for his high school swing choir, he rekindled his interest in the harmonica by learning to play a 10-hole chromatic for a choir piece calling for a harmonica obbligato. He found it hard to put the darn thing down after that.
Also while in high school, Mike started composing and arranging, a discipline he decided to pursue in college. He eventually earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
During his many years of schooling, Mike freelanced as an arranger, music copyist, teacher and studio musician. His experience was eventually found to be the perfect match for heading the music preparation operations at the Indianapolis Symphony, where he was an integral part of many pops and theatrical productions.
The symphonic world provided Mike many opportunities to bring out his harmonicas, both as an orchestra member and as a soloist. In 1999, Mike filled in at the last minute for an ailing Larry Adler with Marvin Hamlisch at the podium. Since then, Mike has been performing with orchestras across North America, including the Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis symphonies.
Besides performing, Mike composes and arranges in collaboration with his wife, Pamela. Between them, they have over 100 published compositions and arrangements, which are performed around the world.
David Glover has served as the ISO’s Assistant Conductor since 2011 and has covered all Lilly Classical Series concerts as well as conducted the Discovery, Family Series, Side-by-Side concerts and several Marsh Symphony on the Prairie performances.
In the past few seasons, Glover has led numerous orchestras, including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, North Czech Philharmonic, Bulgarian Opera, Bourgas, and Hungarian Opera, Cluj. A participant in numerous competitions, he has placed in the semi-finals of the Bartok Opera Competition and was the youngest person to pass the preliminary round of the Cadeques Competition in 2008. In addition, Glover has held positions as the Ansbacher Fellow to the Salzburg Festival, and was Conductor of the Indiana University All-Campus Orchestra. He holds degrees from the University of Georgia and Boston University in violin performance, as well a master’s degree in instrumental conducting from Indiana University, where he was named an Adjunct Lecturer in 2007.
Starting as a violinist, Glover began to work extensively on conducting in 2005 when he founded and became Artistic Director of L’Orchestra da Camera, Boston. With this orchestra, he led its inaugural two seasons, which included a complete performance of The Marriage of Figaro. He is also currently the Artistic Director of the Wabash Valley Youth Symphony and assumes the role of Assistant Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony beginning in the 2014-2015 season.
Edmund Cord was Principal Trumpet of the Israel Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, and Santa Fe Opera. He was a soloist with Israel Philharmonic, Bangkok Symphony, and Utah Symphony. He has been guest Principal Trumpet with the symphony orchestras of Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Houston, and San Diego.
Mr. Cord has performed with Doc Severinsen, Ella Fitzgerald, Henry Mancini, Marvin Hamlisch, the Moody Blues, and others in jazz and commercial genres. Often requested for commercial recording dates, he performs frequently with the Indianapolis Symphony, the Carmel Brass, Broadway touring companies, big bands, and other ensembles.
He has served as Director of the Bangkok Trumpet and Brass Festival since 2004 and from 1994-2000 was brass coach and the trumpet faculty of the Asian Youth Orchestra. A charter member of the International Trumpet Guild, Mr. Cord coaches and conducts various ensembles and is Director of the Indiana University Brass Choir. His former students have performance and teaching positions in orchestras, colleges, and service bands in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Australia, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore.
Mr. Cord has presented master classes, clinics, and workshops in brass performance in Australia, Israel, and throughout Asia and North America. He is a former student of Max Woodbury, Herbert Mueller, Louis Davidson, Charles Gorham, Thomas Stevens, and Arnold Jacobs.
