Celebrate 88 Keys & 88 Years at Red Carpet Spectacular!

photo by Julia Kracke Photography

We’re rolling out the red carpet for the RPO’s 88th Season!

Get ready for an extraordinary evening as Jeff Tyzik ushers in the Pops season with the RPO’s annual Red Carpet Spectacular followed by The Music of Ray Charles concert in Kodak Hall. This gala event takes place on Friday, October 8 beginning at 5:30 pm.

The evening starts with a tour of the brand new Betty’s Café and the newly enhanced Ranlet Lounge, followed by the Wegmans Culinary Extravaganza in Cominsky Promenade at Eastman Theatre. Enjoy an array of hors d’oeuvres, an entree introducing a new Wegmans product, a sushi station, and desserts, with wines courtesy of Constellation Brands.

Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. – Ray Charles’ eldest son who has written a new book sharing reflections on life with his father – will make an appearance and give a pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm.

Then, trumpeter Herb Smith and other RPO musicians will led a New Orleans-style street parade down the red carpet and into Kodak Hall, joined by patrons and dignitaries, for the 8:00 pm concert.

Singer and keyboardist Ellis Hall – former lead singer with Tower of Power – has performed his Ray Charles tribute show with orchestras from the Kennedy Center to the Hollywood Bowl. You’ll hear some of your favorite Ray Charles classics, including "Georgia on My Mind," "Hit the Road, Jack," "Unchain My Heart," and "I Can’t Stop Loving You." He will be joined onstage by three female back-up singers. Use this link for a video clip of Ellis Hall singing "Georgia on My Mind."

This special event includes valet parking and a gift bag as well. Festive attire suggested. Reserve your tickets now by calling 454-2100. Click here for more information on the Red Carpet Spectacular.

(Note: The Music of Ray Charles concert repeats on Saturday, October 9 at 8:00 pm. For concert tickets and more information, click here.)

Music of Ray Charles Opens Pops Season

Jeff Tyzik opens the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Pops season on October 8 and 9 with a tribute to the Music of Ray Charles, featuring vocalist and pianist Ellis Hall. You’ll hear some of your favorite Ray Charles classics, including “Georgia on My Mind,” “Hit the Road, Jack,” “Unchain My Heart,” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

Use this link or click on the image below for a video clip of Ellis Hall singing "Georgia on My Mind."


Former lead singer and keyboard player with Tower of Power, Ellis Hall has performed his Ray Charles tribute show with orchestras from the Kennedy Center to the Hollywood Bowl. Click here to read about Hall’s first meeting with Ray Charles.

Use this link or click on the image below to see video of Ellis Hall with Jamie Foxx on the set of Ray.


We’ll also have a special guest for the concerts – Ray Charles’ eldest son Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. will join the RPO for pre-concert readings of his new book You Don't Know Me, which shares reflections on life with his father. Click here for more info about his book. Books will be available for purchase at the concerts and Ray will do signings as well.

Tickets start at $15. Call 454-2100, or use this link to buy tickets online. Click here for more information about the concert.

RPO Season Opens with Tchaik 4

Christopher Seaman opens the RPO’s 2010-11 Season - his final season as the RPO's Music Director – on September 30 with Tchaikovsky’s triumphant Fourth Symphony. Affectionately known in the orchestral world as "Tchaik 4,” this piece has always been one of Christopher’s favorites. (Tchaikovsky himself once said it was his best).

But the work has a special significance for Christopher because it was on the program for his trial concert for the job of Principal Timpanist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. (Not surprisingly, he got the job! Click here to read more in an interview with Christopher.)

Tchaikovsky began writing this symphony during a particularly tumultuous time in his life, including a disastrous marriage and a nervous breakdown. However after escaping to France, Italy, and Austria, he finally finished it. He wrote to the wealthy patron who was financing his musical compositions to say, “If you find no pleasure in yourself, look about you. Go to the people. See how they can enjoy life and give themselves up entirely to festivity. There still is happiness, simple, naive happiness. Rejoice in the happiness of others – and you can still live.”

The upcoming concerts on Thursday, September 30 and Saturday, October 2 at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre also feature Russian pianist Ilya Itin. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory who won top honors at numerous competitions, he joins the Orchestra for Liszt’s First Piano Concerto - powerful, dramatic, and romantic. Click here to view a video clip of Ilya Itin.

The program also includes Elgar’s Cockaigne, a colorful work that portrays the sights and sounds of London.

Christopher Seaman hosts the Pre-Concert Chat beginning one hour before the concert. Click here to read the program notes.

Tickets start at $15. Call 454-2100, or use this link to buy tickets online.