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(Washington, D.C.) July 9, 2009 marks the National Symphony Orchestra’s return to Wolf Trap, America’s National Park for the Performing Arts. The NSO will give a total of ten performances at the Filene Center, in programs that range from Broadway to Beethoven, and video games to film.

“I’m thrilled to invite you to the 2009 season of NSO @ Wolf Trap!” remarked NSO @ Wolf Trap Festival Conductor Emil de Cou. “Join us as the Filene Center resounds with the sights and sounds of summer. Hear the magical music of Harry Potter, the Ewoks, Princess Leia, Close Encounters and ET himself — and thrill to the flying monkeys and green witches of our biggest hit, The Wizard of Oz. In a Wolf Trap first, we celebrate our Earth in the spectacular music and images of Blue Planet. And nature becomes that much more verdant with Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, Night on Bald Mountain, and Copland’s music from Rodeo. The summer will sizzle to the tunes of Broadway Rocks and Video Games Live — and Marvin Hamlisch, Erich Kunzel, Leann Rimes, and Sarah Chang add their own star power to our summery nights. We close our season with the most romantic of operas, Puccini’s La bohème. With a summer so wonderfully rich, it all comes down to love, joy, a starry sky and you.”

*NSO @ Wolf Trap lawn tickets are available to be purchased for $10 on March 28 and March 29, 2009*

NSO @ Wolf Trap Festival Conductor Emil de Cou will take the podium when country music star LeAnn Rimes will join the NSO at Wolf Trap for the first time. She’ll sing some of her greatest hits, including “What I Cannot Change,” on July 9.

Video Games Live! was a runaway sell-out when the National Symphony gave two performances at the Kennedy Center in June 2007. Conductor Jack Wall and Host Tommy Tallarico will return for another program of live music with cutting-edge visuals on July 10. Excerpts from Myst, Civilization IV, Halo, and other games will be included.

Hamlisch conducts Hamlisch when NSO Principal Pops Conductor Marvin Hamlisch leads music from A Chorus Line, The Swimmer, The Way We Were, and more, on July 11.

July 23, Emil de Cou will conduct Carmina burana and other orchestral spectaculars such as Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain. He leads soprano Joanna Mongiardo, tenor Robert Baker, baritone Hugh Russell, and the Washington Chorus, in a work that De Cou calls, “Carl Orff’s grand vocal pageant of medieval love, wine, life and loudness!”

Back by popular demand is The Wizard of Oz, in its entirety, with the National Symphony performing as the movie is screened. Emil de Cou advises, “People often ask which the hardest bit is. Hands down it is the Gilbert and Sullivan-like mini-musical at the start of the Munchkin Land scene. They rush ahead, they get behind, and worse they don't listen to me or follow a thing I am doing! I can tap my baton and shout ‘People! People!’ and they still go on their merry old way in the merry old Land of Oz. At the end of that sequence I am not merely dead; I am really most sincerely dead.” July 24.

The movie music by John Williams is, without question, some of the best-known and most-enjoyed in all of film history. Star Wars, E.T., Jaws, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Erich Kunzel Conducts the Music of John Williams on July 25.

Violinist Sarah Chang has been appearing with the NSO regularly since 1997, and now takes center stage in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. It’s a program of beloved classics, conducted by Emil de Cou, that also includes Four Dance Episodes from Copland’s Rodeo and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”). July 30.

The celebrated BBC/Discovery television series Blue Planet sparked the imagination of millions with its remarkable film sequences of our world. Emil de Cou leads George Fenton’s score, as excerpted images play overhead on giant screens. July 31.

Broadway Rocks! returns to Wolf Trap. Randall Craig Fleischer conducts Christiane Noll, Capathia Jenkins, Hugh Panaro, and Rob Evan in excerpts from Jekyll and Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, and more. August 1.

The Wolf Trap Opera Company, the NSO, and the Choral Arts Society of Washington join forces for one of opera’s most cherished tales of love and heartbreak. Stephen Lord conducts a one-night-only multimedia production of Puccini’s La bohème. August 7.

NSO@Wolf Trap

Emil de Cou, NSO@Wolf Trap Festival Conductor

Summer 2009

LeAnn Rimes

July 9, 8:15 p.m.

LEANN RIMES, vocalist

EMIL DE COU, conductor

Video Games Live

July 10, 8:30 p.m.

Hamlisch on Hamlisch

July 11, 8:15 p.m.

MARVIN HAMLISCH, conductor

Carmina burana

July 23, 8:15 p.m.

EMIL DE COU, conductor

JOANNA MONGIARDO, soprano

ROBERT BAKER, tenor

HUGH RUSSELL, baritone

THE WASHINGTON CHORUS

Julian Wachner, music director

The Wizard of Oz

July 24, 8:30 p.m.

EMIL DE COU, conductor

The Music of John Williams

July 25, 8:15 p.m.

ERICH KUNZEL, conductor

Olympic Fanfare

Theme from Jaws

“Bicycle Chase” from E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial

Main Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

“Harry’s Wondrous World” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Main Theme from Superman

“Call of the Champions” for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics

“Hymn to the Fallen” from Saving Private Ryan

“The Raiders March” from Raiders of the Lost Ark

“Flag Parade” from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

“Anakin’s Theme” from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

“Duel of the Fates” from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

“Across the Stars” from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

“Battle of the Heroes” from Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith

“Princess Leia’s Theme” from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

“The Imperial March” from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

“Yoda’s Theme” from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

“Parade of the Ewoks” from Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi

Main Theme from Star Wars

Sarah Chang

July 30, 8:15 p.m.

EMIL DE COU, conductor

SARAH CHANG, violin

Blue Planet

July 31, 8:30 p.m.

EMIL DE COU, conductor

Broadway Rocks!

August 1, 8:15 p.m.

RANDALL CRAIG FLEISCHER, conductor

CHRISTIANE NOLL, soprano

CAPATHIA JENKINS, mezzo-soprano

HUGH PANARO, tenor

ROB EVAN, baritone

La bohème

August 7, 8:15 p.m.

STEPHEN LORD, conductor

THE WOLF TRAP OPERA COMPANY

THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON,

Norman Scribner, artistic director

PUCCINI La bohème

Information and Tickets:

All NSO@Wolf Trap concerts take place at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, in Vienna, Virginia. Tickets for all NSO@Wolf Trap concerts can be purchased by calling 1-877-WOLFTRAP; or online at www.wolftrap.org. For more information, call Wolf Trap at (703) 255-1868.

***visit Wolf Trap’s Classical web page throughout the summer for any potential updates or program changes***

PRESS CONTACTS:

For the National Symphony Orchestra:

Patricia O’Kelly (202) 416-8443, pjokelly@kennedy-center.org

Emily Krahn (202) 416-8447, erkrahn@kennedy-center.org

For Wolf Trap:

Chris Guerre (703) 255-4096, chrisg@wolftrap.org

Graham Binder (703) 255-1917, grahamb@wolftrap.org