JFK: THE VOICE OF PEACE - The Austin Symphony Presents Local Composers Work on the Life and Death of Former President 40 Years Later; Hugh Downs Narrates.

WHAT: THE AUSTIN SYMPHONY PRESENTS HUGH DOWNS NARRATING JFK: THE VOICE OF PEACE" WHO: Hugh Downs and the Austin Symphony WHEN: November 7 & 8, 2003 -- 8:00 p.m. WHERE: Bass Concert Hall TICKETS: $19 - $35

AUSTIN, TX. - The Austin Symphony Orchestra presents concerts that will commemorate John F. Kennedy on the 40th anniversary of his assassination. The performances will feature ABC News Hugh Downs narrating JFK: The Voice of Peace" (a work by local composer Dan Welcher) accompanied by Maestro Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Schuberts Symphony No.8 In B Minor D. 759 (Unfinished) is also on the program. Ticket holders may attend complementary pre-concert talks starting at 7:10 and can also find a wealth of information on the Symphony website.    

Hugh Downs, former longtime anchor of ABC's primetime news magazine program, 20/20," is one of the most familiar American television figures in the history of the medium. He has enjoyed a distinguished career in radio and television as a reporter, newscaster, interviewer, narrator and host. In 1985, he was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as holding the record for the greatest number of hours on network commercial television. Hugh celebrated his 60th Anniversary in broadcasting in May 1999. He has received many Emmy Awards for his work as a reporter and host, including a Daytime Emmy Award for Live From Lincoln Center: Yo Yo Ma in Concert."

Composer Dan Welcher is a Professor in Composition at the School of Music at UT/Austin and serves as Director of the New Music Ensemble. With over eighty works to his credit, Welcher is one of the most-played composers of his generation. Of the 1999 debut of JFK: The Voice of Peace," the Boston Herald wrote, The composer has had to juggle a lot of elements, and he has done his work skillfully. He has a keen response to the emotional and pictorial qualities of the text... he knows how to write vividly and gratifyingly for the orchestra. The setting of Frost's 'Riders was galvanizing... rich in both virtuoso display and expressive content."

On why he programmed this concert now, the Austin Symphonys Conductor and Artistic Director, Peter Bay offers:

November 22, 2003 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As Austin was meant to be JFK's next stop on his Texas tour, I felt it important for the Austin Symphony to pay homage to this great American on this anniversary. The words of Kennedy and of Kennedy's cherished poets will be spoken by the respected journalist Hugh Downs, who covered the assassination, and sung by the University of Texas Choral Society. The music, which also features our own principal cellist Douglas Harvey, is powerful in emotion and orchestration, and is a fitting way to remember a man who's unique voice was so violently and prematurely silenced."

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced a $10,000 Leadership Initiatives Grant to the Austin Symphony Orchestra in support of this important concert in mid-September.

Concert Program:
SCHUBERT    Symphony No.8 In B Minor D. 759 (Unfinished)
WELCHER    JFK: The Voice Of Peace

Complete Program Notes: http://www.austinsymphony.org/season/november/cnhd.asp
Download a printable photo at: http://www.austinsymphony.org/newspress

Charge tickets and buy gift certificates online at http://www.austinsymphony.org where you will find interactive seating maps, price options, and a wealth of concert information. Purchase tickets at the Symphony Box Office, 11th and Red River or call 476-6064 or 1-888-4-MAESTRO (toll-free).

Concert Sponsors: The National Endowment for the Arts & Union Pacific
Season Sponsor: St. Davids Healthcare Partnership
Media Sponsors: Austin American-Statesman, Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, KMFA Classical 89.5