WHYY-TV, FM And Web to Air The Philadelphia Orchestra's First Concert in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center

WHYY-TV, FM and whyy.org will carry live the inaugural performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra from its new home, Verizon Hall, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Hosted by WHYY's Tracey Matisak, and featuring special reports about the concert and the performers from WHYY's Ed Cunningham, host of 91FM's Sunday Showcase, the two hour concert The Philadelphia Orchestra: A New Century, A New Home, will be heard nationwide, including audiences in New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami. Viewers of TV12 will also be able to tune in during the day for a behind the scenes look at the Kimmel Center and the preparation for the concert.

"WHYY is pleased to continue its partnership with the Orchestra and to share with a local and national audience the incomparable sounds of the 'Fabulous Philadelphians'," said WHYY President and CEO William J. Marrazzo. "This concert broadcast is one more example of how WHYY can showcase this region's best arts and culture performances with viewers and listeners from coast to coast."

Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Wolfgang Sawallisch will conduct the concert which includes the world premiere of Color Wheel, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and Philadelphia native Aaron J. Kernis for the Orchestra's Verizon Hall debut.

As a special feature of the evening, three of the classical music world's biggest names, violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax, will join the orchestra to perform Ludwig Van Beethoven's Triple Concerto.

To conclude the evening the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Singers, the new resident chorus of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will present Maurice Ravel's Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe.

"This concert is another in a long line of presentations by WHYY's Arts and Culture service bringing our region's vibrant community of performing arts groups to a broad and diverse population of viewers," said WHYY Vice President and Station Manager Paul Gluck.

During the day on December 15, TV12 will broadcast live, hourly spots, from the Kimmel Center to introduce viewers to the new home of the Orchestra and what is now the centerpiece of Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. The block-long Kimmel Center, includes the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall and the 650-seat, multi-purpose Perelman Theater.

The Philadelphia Orchestra: A New Century, A New Home will be rebroadcast on 91FM's Sunday Showcase at 8:00 p.m. Segments of the concert will also be heard again at 10:00 p.m. on National Public Radio's SymphonyCast.

The Orchestra and WHYY are committed to jointly develop new radio, television, Internet, and community-based projects. Broadcasts of the Orchestra's subscription concerts are heard weekly on WHYY-FM's Sunday Showcase, and the organizations jointly planned a special Tribute Concert to the victims and rescue workers of the September 11 attacks, performed by the Orchestra at the Mann Center on September 16 and offered by WHYY to PBS and NPR stations nation-wide.

In October 2001, WHYY and the Orchestra shared another connection when former Governor Tom Ridge presented both WHYY President and CEO William J. Marrazzo and Wolfgang Sawallisch, individual Governor's Arts Awards.

The producer of The Philadelphia Orchestra: A New Century, A New Home is Molly McBride, whose recent productions include several PBS Great Performances Specials including Joshua Bell West Side Story Suites from Central Park and Appalachian Journey with Yo-Yo Ma. The Director is Howard Heller, who directed the September 16 Tribute Concert. Heller was also part of Kirk Browning's team for 21 years, producing the Live from Lincoln Center concerts. WHYY's Executive Director of Arts and Culture is Ken Finkel. The executive producer is Paul Gluck.

WHYY's live broadcast of The Philadelphia Orchestra: A New Century, A New Home is made possible by the generous support of The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Delaware River Port Authority, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and the National Electrical Contractors Association.

WHYY is what a diverse community has in common. WHYY, through television, radio and other communications services, makes our region a better place, connecting each of us to the world's richest ideas and all of us to each other.

The Orchestra and WHYY are committed to jointly develop new radio, television, Internet, and community-based projects. Broadcasts of the Orchestra's subscription concerts are heard weekly on WHYY-FM's Sunday Showcase, and the organizations jointly planned a special Tribute Concert to the victims and rescue workers of the September 11 attacks, performed by the Orchestra at the Mann Center on September 16 and offered by WHYY to PBS and NPR stations nation-wide.