WSO Opens POPS Concert Series with Broadway Star Michael Burgess
TD Canada Trust is the Saturday Pops Celebration Series sponsor and Casino Windsor Cares is sponsoring the Sunday Pops Celebration Series. Saturday’s performance is sponsored by the Toldo Group. Sunday’s performance is sponsored by Valiant Corporation.
Saturday, September 29, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Pops Celebration
TD Canada Trust Saturday Pops Celebration
Casino Windsor Cares Pops Celebration
Michael Burgess
Chrysler Theatre
John Morris Russell, Conductor
Michael Burgess, Vocalist
Windsor Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Timothy Shantz, Chorusmaster
Tickets: $13 to $56 available at the Chrysler Theatre Box Office. Call (519) 252-6579 or 1-800-387-9181 to order by phone. Box Office Hours: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Discount tickets are available for Seniors, Students and Children.
Michael Burgess is one of Canada’s most popular stars. His critically acclaimed role as Jean Valjean in Toronto’s long-running production of Les Miserables is etched in the memories of hundreds of thousands of people. This engaging Gemini-winning singer has starred in films (including an Academy Award nominated movie), television and numerous recordings. His wide-ranging WSO debut program showcases his enormous range, from the best of Broadway to favourite classics.
(For more on Michael Burgess, visit his website, which features musical clips from his best-selling recordings.)
John Morris Russell, WSO music director since 2001, has been acclaimed for his innovative programming, commitment to education and community outreach, and exciting performances. His 11 years as associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra featured work with Grammy-winning and best selling conductor Erich Kunzel, legendary leader of the Cincinnati Pops.
Selections from the Michael Burgess Pops Celebration concert include:
Jenkins - Palladio
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffman
Barcarolle
Bizet - Selections from Carmen
Prelude
Street Boy’s Chorus
Chanson de Toreador
Les Voici
Lerner& Loewe - My Fair Lady medley
arr. Norris - Ray Charles medley
program subject to change
Michael Burgess
FEW PEOPLE IN Canadian entertainment have had the impact of Michael Burgess in the last decade. His major theatre credits include the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre, The Concert at Skydome and the first national Canadian tour and The Tenth Anniversary Concert at Royal Albert Hall, London, England; the Narrator in Blood Brothers with David Cassidy and Amy Sky (Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto); Man of La Mancha (Toronto & Edmonton). In addition to Broadway appearances, Mr. Burgess has appeared with the Stratford Festival, the Guelph Spring Festival, the Charlottetown Festival, the Manitoba Theatre, The National Arts Centre, Toronto Workshop Productions, Theatre Calgary, the Muskoka Festival and the Citadel Theatre. On television, he has completed a Showtime Movie of the Week, Sandy Bottom Orchestra, and has also starred in Friday the 13th, Top Cops, Bordertown, ENG, PSI Factor, Earth Final Contact, as well as his own Gemini Award Winning CBC-TV Special, Michael Burgess at Massey Hall. He has starred in the feature film Entry In A Diary, which won the Roberto Rosselini Award at the 43rd Film Festival in Salerno, Italy and a short film, The Original Sin, which qualified for the 1999 Academy Awards. He is featured as one of the celebrity voices in the Famous People Players productions Leave the Porchlight On and Hide ‘n Seek. He has alsostarred in the Christmas music video, “O HolyNight” for Country Music Television. (CMT)Mr. Burgess has recorded the narration fortwo children’s books; The Nightingale and The Dragon’s Pearl, and he has also lent his voice to the animated series Bob & Margaret and Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse. A confessed sports fanatic, Mr. Burgess narrated the TV sport documentary The Stanley Cup: A Century of Magic Moments with Ken Dryden hosting. He performed the anthems at the final game at Maple Leafs Gardens and has sung at the World Figure Skating Championship, the World Series, the World Basketball Championship, the Grey Cup, the Queen’s Plate, the Molson Indy and the duMaurier Open Tennis Championship. Michael Burgess believes strongly in giving back, generously donating his talents to numerous charitable organizations across Canada. He is a spokesperson for Special Olympics and is featured along with many other artists on the newly released recording Courage. He has also performed on behalf of Easter Seals, Sick Kids Hospital, Variety Club, Kids Help Phone and the Courage to Come Back Programme of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto, just to name a few. In 2002, Mr. Burgess was honored to receive the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal as a distinguished Canadian from the Government of Canada presented to him by Senator Frank Mahovlich. Mr. Burgess continues to be in demand as a guest solo artist with major orchestras in Canada and the U.S. Mr. Burgess' CD, A Place in the Sun, has gone gold and continues to enchant fans. He has since added a Christmas CD, Angels in the Snow, which promises to be just as strong.
Founded in 1947, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a professional regional orchestra of 43 contracted musicians. It enjoys a national reputation for its innovative programming with a strong creative commitment to Canadian performers and composers. The WSO has established a national reputation for its musical excellence and wide-ranging Educational and Community Outreach programs. The WSO can be heard regularly on CBC national radio broadcasts, and made its Gemini-nominated national television debut on CBC Television's Opening Night in 2003. The WSO is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Ontario Lieutenant Governor's Award for the Arts (2001, 2003). Since 1998, the WSO has doubled its subscription sales, and in 2005 launched the Windsor Symphony Youth Orchestra. Since 2000, the WSO has added five new concert series, and has commenced a ground-breaking Music Therapy programme, in partnership with the University of Windsor and Windsor Regional Hospitals. The WSO performs a 33-week concert season from September to May.
For more information, please contact:
Rob Gold, Director of Marketing
Tel: (519) 973-1238, ext. 23
Email: rgold@windsorsymphony.com
URL: www.windsorsymphony.com
This Concert Is Made Possible By Our Sponsors:
Saturday Series Sponsor: 
Sunday Series Sponsor: 
Saturday Concert Sponsor: 
Sunday Concert Sponsor: 
Media Sponsors: 
