Philharmonic Society of Orange County and
Irvine Barclay Theatre
with Bill and Carolyn Klein
present

The inaugural season of Distinctive Experiences offers three rare opportunities to see and hear world-renowned artists—up close and personal—in the exceptionally intimate Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Branford Marsalis, saxophone

ROSSINI: Overture to The Barber of Seville 
DEBUSSY: Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra
IBERT: Concertino da camera
TURINA: La oración del torero ("The Bullfighter’s Prayer"), Op. 34
BRYAN: Carmen, Jazz Suite on Themes by Bizet (commissioned by Orpheus)

Three-time Grammy winner and revered jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis joins the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for a thrilling program of Rossini, Debussy, Turina, and Bryan. Also included is Ibert’s Concertino da camera, featured on Marsalis and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s collaboration album Creation, which reached the No. 2 spot on Billboard’s classical music charts.

Branford Marsalis has continued to exercise and expand his skills as an instrumentalist, a composer, bandleader and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining an unwavering creative integrity. No stranger to classical music, Brandford has performed works by Copland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughan Williams, and Villa-Lobos with leading orchestras in the United States and Europe, and has served as creative director for the Cincinnati Symphony’s Ascent Series in 2012-13.

The Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, interpret the score. Accompanying the critical acclaim for Orpheus' live appearances are numerous distinctions and awards, including a 2001 Grammy Award for Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures, a 1998 Grammy nomination for its recording of W.A. Mozart piano concerti with Richard Goode, the 1998 "Ensemble of the Year" award by Musical America, as well as performances on Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning Gershwin's World.

"Marsalis told stories with his breath and body, conjuring canyon-deep reverberations, woodland piping, blues cries and seductive whispers from his instruments. And, like a great storyteller, he brought those effects into focus, making every note count, as he sprang ­delightful surprises and created a world in the round." —The New Orleans Times Picayune