Ludovic Morlot and David Alexander Rahbee share conducting duties in this program of performances by the UW Symphony and members of the Seattle Symphony, performing both separately and side-by-side. Works by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Debussy, and Dukas showcase the talents of each group prior to a side-by-side performance of Ravel’s “Mother Goose” Suite.
Note: Limited seating is available. A wait list will be started one hour prior to show at the Meany Box Office
*Note: Admission to the concert is free, but tickets are required. To reserve tickets, click the "Buy TIckets" link on this page to order. Limit two tickets per request. Tickets may also be requested in person at the ArtsUW Ticket Offce, 1313 NE 41st St., Seattle WA 98105 or by phone at 206.543.4880.
PROGRAM DETAIL
University of Washington Symphony Orchestra
David Alexander Rahbee, conductor
Beethoven: Egmont Overture, Op. 84
Debussy: Prélude à "L'après-midi d'un faune" (Afternoon of a Faun)
Tigran Arakelyan, conductor
Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite
UW Symphony and Seattle Symphony
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose)
Seattle Symphony and UW Symphony Brass
Dukas: Fanfare from La Peri
CONDUCTOR BIOS
David Alexander Rahbee, UW Symphony
David Alexander Rahbee is artist-in-residence at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle, where he is conductor of the University Orchestra and teaches conducting. He was a recipient of the American-Austrian Foundation's 2003 Herbert von Karajan Fellowship for Young Conductors, the 2005 International Richard-Wagner-Verband Stipend, and received a fellowship from the Acanthes Centre in Paris in 2007.
Dr. Rahbee has appeared in concert with orchestras such as the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Kammerphilharmonie Berlin-Brandenburg, Orchestre de la Francophonie (Canada), the Dresden Hochschule orchestra, the Boston New Music Initiative, Orquesta Sinfónica de Loja (Ecuador), Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Savaria Symphony Orchestra (Hungary), Cool Opera of Norway (members of the Stavanger Symphony), Schönbrunner Schloss Orchester (Vienna), the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, and the Divertimento Ensemble of Milan. He has collaborated with prominent soloists such as Sarah Chang, David Chan, Joseph Lin. He was an assistant at the Vienna State opera (2002-2010), music director and conductor of the Fidelio Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1997-2001). He has been engaged as a guest rehearsal conductor for numerous young orchestras, such as the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, The Symphony Orchestras of the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University, and the Vienna University of Technology orchestra, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO). Festivals he has been involved with include the Salzburg Festival, the International Bartók Festival, and the Atlantic Music Festival.
Dr. Rahbee's principal conducting teachers were Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo at the Pierre Monteux School. He holds Bachelor of Music degree in violin and composition from Indiana University, a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in orchestral conducting, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Montreal in orchestral conducting. He has also participated in post-graduate conducting classes at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna. Mr. Rahbee has been selected to active participate in masterclasses by renown conductors such as Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Jorma Panula, Zden?k Mácal, Peter Eötvös, Zoltán Peskó, and Helmut Rilling, and counts Nikolaus Harnoncourt to be among his most influential mentors.
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony
French conductor Ludovic Morlot is Music Director of the Seattle Symphony. His many highlights of his first three seasons included an exhilarating performance at Carnegie Hall in May 2014, of which The New York Times wrote, “The performance Mr. Morlot coaxed from his players was rich with shimmering colours and tremulous energy.” During the 2014–2015 season Ludovic and the Seattle Symphony will continue to invite their audiences to “Listen Boldly,” presenting a wide variety of works, ranging from Dvořák’s final three symphonies, the Mozart Requiem, Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, to pieces by Ives, Dutilleux and Esa-Pekka Salonen, to world premieres by Sebastian Currier, Julian Anderson and Trimpin. Complemented by the innovative Symphony Untuxed and [untitled] series, this season also sees the release of several more recordings, conducted by Morlot, on the orchestra’s new label, Seattle Symphony Media.
Morlot is also Chief Conductor of La Monnaie, one of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses. This season sees him conduct the world-premiere performance of Pascal Dusapin’s Penthesileaand a new production of Don Giovanni, concert performances of music by Brahms, Dutilleux and Dvořák, and Berlioz’s L'enfance du Christ and a complete symphony cycle by Schumann. Last season he conducted new productions of La clemenza di Tito and Jenůfa and orchestral performances in both Brussels and Aix-en-Provence.
Morlot’s orchestral engagements this season include returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has a particularly close relationship with the latter, with which he will conduct two subscription weeks, including the world-premiere performance of Anne Clyne’s Violin Concerto. He also has a strong connection with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he conducts regularly in Boston and Tanglewood, and recently on a West Coast tour. This relationship began in 2001 when he was the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Conductor at the Tanglewood Music Center and was subsequently appointed Assistant Conductor for the orchestra and their Music Director James Levine (2004–07).
Morlot has also conducted the New York Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Cleveland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Morlot has conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in London and on tour in Germany. Other recent notable performances have included the Budapest Festival, Czech Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre National de France, Royal Concertgebouw, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. Morlot served as conductor in residence with the Orchestre National de Lyon under David Robertson (2002–04).
Trained as a violinist, Morlot studied conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London and then at the Royal College of Music as recipient of the Norman del Mar Conducting Fellowship. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2007 in recognition of his significant contribution to music. He is Chair of Orchestral Conducting Studies at the University of Washington School of Music, and lives in Seattle with his wife, Ghizlane, and their two children.
Tigran Arakelyan
Armenian-American conductor Tigran Arakelyan is the Music Director of Whidbey Island Community Orchestra (WA), Federal Way Youth Orchestra (WA), University of Washington Campus Philharmonia and assistant conductor of Whatcom Symphony Orchestra. He recently took the Federal Way Youth Symphony Orchestra on a two-week tour of South Korea performing six concerts in Seoul and Busan. Arakelyan is a doctoral student and a Predoctoral Associate at the University of Washington under the mentorship of Maestro Ludovic Morlot and Dr. David Alexander Rahbee. Arakelyan is the recipient of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Performing Arts Fellowship for two consecutive years (2013, 2014).
Arakelyan was a Senior Conducting Fellow with the California Philharmonic (2011, 2012, 2013); assistant conductor of Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, Northridge Youth Philharmonic, California State University Northridge Symphony and the Discovery Players. He was the Founder Conductor and Artistic Director of Cadence Chamber Orchestra (Seattle), an innovative orchestra which premiered new works and played at unconventional venues. Arakelyan was the Music Director of Echo Youth Orchestra at the Lark Musical Society in California. He has conducted the Yakima Chamber Orchestra (WA), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Philharmonia, the Redmond Academy of Theatre Arts, Korean Music Association Choir, Inverted Space Modern Ensemble, Everett Youth Symphony, Venicians One Theatre (Los Angeles) and the Nimbus Ensemble (Los Angeles).