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Internationally renowned St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to perform at St. Olaf College

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February 26, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? The internationally renowned St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Nicholas McGegan, will perform at St. Olaf College on Friday, March 2.

The concert, at 8 p.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel, is open to the public; tickets may be purchased at the door ($10 adults, $7 students and senior citizens).

The orchestra will perform Bach?s Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D, Vivaldi?s Concerto in A Minor for Cello, Handel?s Concerto Grosso in F, Tartini?s Concerto in D for Cello and Rameau?s Suite for Dardanus.

Hailed as America?s premier chamber orchestra, the SPCO is internationally renowned for its artistic excellence and for its remarkable musical versatility. Currently under the leadership of McGegan and creative chair Bobby McFerrin, the SPCO boasts a distinctive repertoire that encompasses four centuries. During its 42-year history the orchestra has performed in virtually every major U.S. concert hall, and has toured throughout Europe, Asia and South America.

McGegan is in his second season as the orchestra?s Baroque Series director. Equally at home with modern and period-instrument orchestras, he has been praised worldwide for his work as guest conductor with major symphony orchestras and opera companies. His repertoire ranges from Handel and Vivaldi through Mozart, and from the complete symphonies of Beethoven to Richard Strauss and Benjamin Brittan.

Since 1985 McGegan has been music director of San Francisco?s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, which he leads in sold-out concerts of baroque and classical period music. In 1990 he assumed the artistic directorship of the Gottingen Handel Festival, the world?s pre-eminent Handel festival. In addition, he is founder, director and harpsichord player for the chamber music group The Arcadian Academy.

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St. Paul Chamber Orchestra ? 2

A vibrant ensemble made up of 33 individual virtuosos, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is dedicated to top-level performances at home and abroad with eminent guest artists. Since its inception in 1959 under music director Leopold Sipe, the ensemble has distinguished itself by commissioning new works, and by performing repertoire often overlooked by large orchestras.

The orchestra presents concerts in a variety of venues, from concert halls to churches and intimate theater spaces, enabling the orchestra to provide its audiences with a deeper, more intimate connection to the ensemble and its repertoire. In addition, the SPCO participates in Arts Across Minnesota, a $25-million statewide program reaching Minnesota?s outlying communities.

The SPCO has released 56 commercial recordings, commissioned 81 new works and premiered 48 more, earning the distinction of 10 ASCAP awards for adventurous programming. More than 160 radio stations across the nation broadcast weekly SPCO performances recorded by Minnesota Public Radio and distributed by Public Radio International. At the forefront of arts education for area schoolchildren, the ensemble?s award-winning CONNECT program reaches 6,600 students annually in 17 Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.