TMEA is pleased to announce that the 2008 President’s Concert will feature legendary flutists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway performing with the San Antonio Symphony under the baton of acclaimed conductor Craig Kirchhoff. A special concert highlight will be the performance of the flute concerto “Pied Piper Fantasy” written specifically for Sir James by renowned composer John Corigliano.

Sold out!
President’s Concert tickets are sold out.
Ordered tickets will be available at the information booth in convention registration. Two hours before the concert tickets will be moved to the Majestic Theatre.

The San Antonio Symphony will also be performing this show on Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th. To purchase tickets for these concerts, please visit the San Antonio Symphony web site.

Directions
Directions and Parking information for the Majestic Theatre.

Concert Program
Pacific Fanfare, Frank Ticheli
Suite from the Tender Land, Aaron Copland
Andante and Rondo, A.F. Doppler
The Pied Piper Fantasy, John Corigliano

Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway will perform encores selected from the following:
Rondo alla Turca
Brian Boru's March
Danny Boy
Badinerie

Sir James and Lady Jeanne
Nicknamed “the man with the golden flute,” Sir James is widely regarded as both a supreme interpreter of the classical flute repertoire and a consummate entertainer whose appeal crosses all musical boundaries. As the most televised and recorded classical artist performing today, he has made himself a legend, a modern musical master whose virtuosity on the flute is equaled only by his limitless ambitions and vision. Through his extensive touring, over 30 million albums sold, and his frequent international television appearances, Sir James has endeared himself to ­millions worldwide. As an instructor and humanitarian, he is a tireless promoter of the arts.

Sir James’s wife, flutist Lady Jeanne Galway, will perform with him at the TMEA President’s Concert. She is considered one of the leading female flute soloists of the decade and the two delight audiences and bring a rare freshness to the platform, unique to the music world. Alongside her highly successful career as a soloist, Lady Galway is also an accomplished chamber musician, touring regularly with her trio Zephyr (with pianist Jonathan Feldman and cellist Darrett Adkins).

Pied Piper Fantasy
Corigliano’s “Pied Piper Fantasy” is a seven-movement concerto for flute and orchestra commissioned by Sir James in 1981. When Corigliano explored the various talents of the flutist, he found that Sir James was also a specialist on the tin whistle, one of the many versions of pipes found in various world cultures. Corigliano investigated various legends related to pipes and decided to use the Robert Browning poem “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” as his inspiration. “Galway as the Piper seemed the most natural thing in the world, for to many, myself included, he is a kind of pied piper. Here, the mating of personality and instrument could hardly be better,” Corigliano said.

In the pied piper legend, a piper claims he can forever rid the German city of Hamelin of its hideous rat infestation. If successful, the mayor promises to pay the piper 50 times what the piper asked. The piper then lures the rats out of the city by playing his golden flute. The rats follow him to their death in the river. But when the mayor does not pay what he promised, the piper seeks revenge by luring the children of Hamelin out of the city into a cave where the children become trapped forever by a landslide.

To compliment the legend’s dramatic conclusion, Corigliano orchestrated the concerto so that the soloist switches from the flute to the tin whistle for the final movement and leads a group of children playing flutes and drums out of the theater. This exit has been orchestrated in various ways around the world in performances of this concerto and will be a part of the performance at the 2008 President’s Concert. “Because the Fantasy is a truly programmatic and theatrical work, these additions are not artificial but grow naturally from the initial idea. As long as the musical integrity of the work is preserved, such creative extensions are to be encouraged,” explained Corigliano.

Sir James records exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon and appears by arrangement with IMG Artists.