PRESS
ROBERT PAGE TO CONDUCT 2008 TOUR & FESTIVAL
The successful career of a choral leader continues with the
2008 Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna.
- Bram Majtlis -
Robert Page, known as the dean of America's choral conductors, who was named Pennsylvania's Artist of the Year by Governor Tom Ridge in 1998 as well as 'a national treasure' by American Record Review, will celebrate his long and illustrious career with a grand tour of Europe in 2008. Page, together with his choir of more than 140 members of the Robert Page Festival Singers, is planning a magnificent concert tour to Europe, where they, together with the Budapest Concert Orchestra, will perform Haydn's "The Creation" at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary as well as at the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna where Haydn himself sang as a choir boy. Page, conducting both the massive American choir and the renowned European orchestra on this tour, decided that this was the perfect way to celebrate his 80th birthday: in Europe, the birthplace of so many of his beloved classical composers. His career includes 26 years as music director and conductor of The Mendelssohn Choir (1979-2005) as well as his position as the Paul Mellon University Professor of Music at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, Page worked as Director of Special Projects and Choral Activities with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1989-2005) and served with the Cleveland Orchestra (1971-1989). He has conducted many national radio and television broadcasts of this and many other major USA orchestras, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, Louisiana, Milwaukee, Virginia, and San Antonio, as well as the opera companies of Cleveland, Kansas City, Toledo, and Opera Carolina and the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. He was the first conductor of the famed Berkshire Choral Festival and has returned eleven times. In Europe, he has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Opera Orchestra (London) and the Luxembourg RTL Orchestra, the Czech State Philharmonic of Brno and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has performed throughout Europe in cities such as Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Krakow and Budapest, and in 2001, Page conducted the Robert Page Festival Singers and the State Orchestra of St. Petersburg in Russia and Finland, followed by performances of the RPFS and the Halle State Philharmonic Orchestra in performances in Munich, Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin. Page was invited to return to direct the same forces in Halle, Germany; Geneva, Switzerland; Toulouse, France; and Barcelona, Spain. Page's work can be heard on more than forty discs issued by Columbia, London, RCA, Telarc, and Decca. He has received Grammy awards for his recordings of Orff's Carmina Burana and Catulli Carmina, and has eight other Grammy nominations to his credit. He is also the recipient of the Grand Prix du Disc for Porgy and Bess and a Prix Mondial de Montreux for his world premier recording of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar. Active in the national choral scene, Page has served on various panels of the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a founding member of Chorus America, and served as its president for three years. He has been the catalyst in the commissioning of major works of the twentieth century, and the chorus master for the Chicago Lyric Opera/La Scala production of Paradise Lost (Kristof Penderecki) at the composer's request. At the conclusion of his concert tour, Page has been invited to serve as one of the top jurors of the 2008 Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna. Concerts-Austria, one of Europe's premier music tour operators with offices in Vienna, Austria and Atlanta, Georgia, proudly presents this prestigious global music festival, held at Vienna's world-renowned Musikverein from the 5th till the 9th of July 2008. The festival will feature both a competitive component as well as a non-competitive celebration of international music and culture. In addition, workshops and seminars will be offered at Vienna's University of Music, plus concerts in and around Vienna. The festival will culminate with a Gala Winner-Concert in the "Golden Hall" of the Vienna Musikverein. It will give the most talented youth choirs, bands and orchestras from around the world a unique opportunity to perform, compete and, most importantly, interact on an international level. Currently, ensembles from Australia, New Zealand, USA, South Africa, China, United Kingdom, and other European countries are scheduled to participate. "I am honored to be one of the judges at this young, but already highly-regarded music festival," says Page. "It is close to my heart, because the true focus of the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival is to offer the participating international youth the opportunity to create lasting connections across all borders. Music is the language we all share, and I am certain that this global event builds bridges between the many young participants, representing many different countries. The friendships that result will have far-reaching benefits, now and in the future."
