Columbus Symphony Opens Masterworks Season with Tour de Force
Carmina Burana
Thrilling Performance to Feature Three Guest Vocalists,
Columbus Symphony Chorus, and Columbus Children’s Choir
The Columbus Symphony opens its 2022-23 season with a tour de force—Music Director Rossen Milanov conducting Carl Orff’s iconic and scandalous Carmina Burana—on Friday, September 30 & Saturday, October 1 at 7:30 pm at the Ohio Theatre. The performances will also feature an exceptional trio of guest vocalists including soprano Ashley Fabian, tenor Arthur W. Marks, and baritone Ethan Simpson, as well as the angelic voices of the Columbus Symphony Chorus, conducted by Chorus Director Ronald J. Jenkins, and the Columbus Children’s Choir.
Tickets start at $10 (children aged 6-16 are free) and can be purchased in-person at the CBUSArts Ticket Center at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.), online at www.columbussymphony.com or www.CBUSArts.com, or by phone at (614) 469-0939.
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from WOSU Classical 101 for a pre-concert talk at 6:30 pm.
Carmina Burana turned its composer, Carl Orff, into an international celebrity. This compelling choral spectacular has since been featured in movies, commercials, and on stages worldwide. Referencing a collection of songs and poems based on texts from a medieval manuscript, Orff divided his work into three sections: “In the Spring,” “In the Tavern,” and “The Court of Love” framed by the powerful chorus of “Fortuna.” After completing the cantata, he told his publisher, “Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin.”
About Rossen Milanov
Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Rossen Milanov is currently the music director of the Columbus Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the Slovenian RTV Orchestra in Ljubljana.
Milanov has established himself as a conductor with considerable national and international presence. He recently completed a seven-year tenure as music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain. Nationally, he has appeared with the Colorado, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Seattle, and Fort Worth symphonies, National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Link Up education projects with Carnegie Hall and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and with the Civic Orchestra in Chicago.
Internationally, he has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra de la Suisse Romand, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Aalborg, Latvian, and Hungarian National Symphony Orchestras and the orchestras in Toronto, Vancouver, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic (South Africa), Mexico, Colombia, Sao Paolo, Belo Horizonte, and New Zealand. In the Far East, he has appeared with NHK, Sapporo, Tokyo, and Singapore symphonies, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, and Malaysian and Hong Kong Philharmonics.
About Columbus Symphony Chorus
The Columbus Symphony Chorus, in its 63rd season, continues to excel under the direction of Dr. Ronald J. Jenkins. Under his leadership for the past 40 years, the Chorus has grown both in the quality of its performances and in the diversity of its classical repertoire. Critics have consistently lauded the chorus’ performances including the New York Concert Review: “This was choral singing of impeccable realization and subtle shading.”
About New World Singers of Columbus Children’s Choir
Praised as “rare, radiant, and beautiful” by composer Nick Page, the New World Singers of Columbus Children’s Choir are no strangers to the public arena. Conducted by Artistic Director Jeanne Wohlgamuth and comprising students in sixth through twelfth grade, the New World Singers possess the technique and artistry to perform with world-class ensembles.
About Ashley Fabian
Praised for her “silvery tone” and “smooth legato,” Ashley Fabian brings elegance to her performances of the lyric coloratura repertoire. This will be her debut on the Columbus Symphony’s stage.
About Arthur W. Marks
Arthur W. Marks may sound familiar to the musical theatre lover as he is the proud voice of the “UGLY” Duckling in HONK! Marks has been preserved on the first American Cast Recording of HONK!, which he recorded with Music Theater of Wichita (2001).
About Ethan Vincent
Hailed as “a rising star” (Philadelphia Inquirer), American baritone Ethan Vincent is rapidly gaining recognition as a versatile artist with a “robust baritone voice and compelling stage presence” (Chicago Tribune). He most recently took the stage with the Columbus Symphony during the 2021-2022 season production of La boheme.
The 2022-23 season is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. The CSO also appreciates the support of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, supporting the city’s artists and arts organizations since 1973, and The Columbus Foundation’s Gertrude L. Jacob and Richard H. and Ann Shafer funds with the assistance of the Ingram-White Castle Foundation.