MAESTRO IS FOUNDING CONDUCTOR

After 45 Years At CSO,

Schneider Lowers Baton

ONEONTA – Maestro Charles Schneider, Catskill Symphony Orchestra for 45 years, will conduct his farewell concert, a Shostakovich symphony, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at SUNY Oneonta’s Hunt Union Ballroom.

Mr. Schneider, who lives in Frankfort, has served as CSO music director since 1973 and has received three ASCAP awards for his conducting. He was also the founding music director of the Glimmerglass Opera, and served in that capacity for 13 years.

He is co-founder of the Catskill Conservatory and has served on the music faculties at SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College, Colgate University, Hamilton College and San Diego State University.

The Highly Acclaimed Society for New Music in Syracuse has frequently called upon Mr. Schneider to conduct their productions. In 2000, he received a citation from both Congress and Gov. George Pataki for his outstanding musical contribution to the mid-state area.

The April 28 concert will open with Beethoven’s Overture to Prometheus, C major, Op. 43 followed by John Rutter’s choral work Mass of the Children, both led by Hartwick choral conductor Lee Wright. The Mass will feature the combined choruses of Hartwick College, the Oneonta Youth Choir, and members of the Catskill Choral Society and the Octavos Singers (Schenectady).

Maestro Charles Schneider will conduct the second half of the program in his farewell performance of the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th movements of Symphony No. 5, D minor, Op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

A reception celebrating Maestro Schneider’s long career with the Catskill Symphony Orchestra will be held immediately after the performance.

Single tickets to the concert are $30. Thanks to a generous anonymous donation, free tickets are available for students and up to two adult chaperones per student order. This offer is also valid for unaccompanied high school and college students. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.catskillsymphony.net or call (607) 436-2670. To stay connected to CSO throughout the year become a Fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catskillsymphonyorchestra.

The performance is made possible with public funds from the state Council on the Arts and is supported, in part, by the A. Lindsey and Olive B. O’Connor Foundation, the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation, and the Otsego County Community Events Grant Program. Vital support for this performance is also provided by SUNY Oneonta.