Music Alive Residency of Mark Grey
Culminates with World Premiere of
Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio

Residency Events Highlight Navajo Culture and the Music of Enemy Slayer

(PHOENIX) - In anticipation of its world premiere performance of Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio, The Phoenix Symphony is presenting a series of special events devoted to the Navajo culture that inspired Music Alive Composer-in-Residence Mark Grey's new work for chorus and orchestra. Artists and leading authorities from the Native American community as well as Valley organizations including the Heard Museum and Arizona State University are partnering to present events including concerts, lectures, and film screenings in January and February exploring and discussing the Navajo traditions that influenced Enemy Slayer. Several months of creative exploration will culminate with the world premiere performance of Mark Grey's Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio on February 7 and 9, 2008 at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix.

Residency events across the Valley feature flutist James Pellerite performing on the Native American flute in concert with The Phoenix Symphony, a screening and discussion of Larry Blackhorse Lowe's acclaimed film 5th World and an engaging lecture and choral presentation at Arizona State University regarding the historical narratives in Navajo culture and their depiction in the new musical composition of Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio. Days before the world premiere, high school and college students are also invited to attend an open rehearsal of Enemy Slayer, with a discussion of the composition process led by Mark Grey. A complete description of events is listed below.

Music Alive is a residency program of the League of American Orchestras and Meet the Composer. This national program is designed to provide orchestras with resources and tools to support their presentation of new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions. Funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music. Composer Mark Grey serves as Music Alive Composer-in-Residence during the 2007-2008 season. His new composition Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio is the culmination of this three-year project.

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Dvorak's "New World" Symphony
Thursday, January 24, 7:30 p.m. at Scottsdale Center for the Arts
Friday, January 25, 8:00 p.m. at Mesa Arts Center
Saturday, January 26, 8:00 p.m. at Orpheyum Theatre
Lawrence Golan, Conductor
James Pellerite, Native American Flute

Hear diverse examples of Native American influence in classical music, as Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan leads this wide-ranging concert with world-renowned flutist James Pellerite. The sounds and feelings of North America take center stage in concerts featuring the otherworldly magic of the Native American flute in works including Mauldin's Dreams of the Child of Light and Yeagley's Wes-ih-vah-peh. Described as a disciple of the Native American flute by the Sunday Herald-Times, Pellerite's talent showcases 'the sound of the whole wide earth magically brought indoors, the flutters, the ripples, and - more than anything - the spirit.' A perfect companion to The Phoenix Symphony's presentation of Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio in February! In addition, concertgoers will hear Dvorak's stirring New World Symphony, written as a postcard home from the Americas.

Tickets:
Scottsdale: $28, $40, $52
Mesa: $21, $31, $41, $51
Orpheum: $19, $29, $39, $49

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Life on the Navajo Nation
Saturday, January 26, 2:00 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre
203 W Adams St, Phoenix

Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005, Larry Blackhorse Lowe's film 5th World follows the budding romance between Andrei and Aria, whose relationship takes flight as they hitchhike together across the Navajo Reservation. During their journey, the duo discovers their tribal culture will change them in powerful and unexpected ways. This Arizona-based movie was filmed on the Navajo Nation, with scenes spanning the red rock stretch between Tuba City and Kayenta, Arizona, and a highway in the Four Corners region. Director Blackhorse Lowe lives and works in Mesa, Arizona. The screening includes a post-event discussion with Enemy Slayer composer Mark Grey, project librettist Laura Tohe, and Larry Blackhorse Lowe.

This film is suitable for mature audiences. It includes adult language and situations.

To RSVP to this FREE EVENT, call the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602-495-1999. Reservations are suggested. ____________________________________________

A Multi-Cultural Tradition
Sunday, January 27, 7:30 p.m.
ASU, Herberger College of the Arts, Katzin Concert Hall
40 E Gammage Parkway, Tempe

Audience members will get an up-close look at Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio, in an evening dedicated to words and meaning. The Phoenix Symphony Chorus, composer Mark Grey and librettist Laura Tohe present a performance and discussion of the musical text from Enemy Slayer. In a special reduction of the work, scored for piano and chorus, the inherent narrative of the piece is revealed. Grey and Tohe discuss the historical tradition of story narratives in the Navajo culture and the way those traditions are reflected in Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio.

To RSVP to this FREE EVENT, call the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602-495-1999.
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Student Preview!
Open Rehearsal of Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio
Tuesday, February 5, 7:00 p.m.
Symphony Hall
75 N 2nd St, Phoenix

As the world premiere of Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio nears, high school and college students can get an early listen! The Phoenix Symphony invites interested classes to attend an open rehearsal of the work, with a discussion of the composition process led by composer Mark Grey. Students will have the first-hand opportunity to watch how a world premiere performance comes together.

To schedule your school's attendance to this FREE EVENT, call the Phoenix Symphony Education Office at 602-495-1117 x. 311.
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ENEMY SLAYER: A NAVAJO ORATORIO
Symphony Classics Concert No. 8

February 7 - Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m.
February 9 - Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m.
at Symphony Hall

THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY
Michael Christie, conductor
Scott Hendricks, baritone
The Phoenix Symphony Chorus

Centered around a Navajo tribal narrative, Enemy Slayer
is a contemporary interpretation of a warrior born to rid
the world of monsters. Created by acclaimed Music Alive
Composer-in-Residence Mark Grey and Navajo Poet Laura
Tohe, the oratorio incorporates a chorus of over 100 voices,
full symphony orchestra and one of the brightest soloists
appearing on stage today. Paired with Grofé's Grand Canyon
Suite, this will be a celebration of the beauty and heritage of
Arizona and truly one of the great highlights of the season.

This weekend's concerts sponsored by Target,
The Official Retail Sponsor of The Phoenix Symphony

TICKETS: $19, $29, $39, $48, $58, $68
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About Music Alive Composer-in-Residence Mark Grey: Mark Grey is a musician and sound designer now living in Phoenix. Originally from San Francisco, Grey made his Carnegie Hall debut as a composer with Kronos Quartet in November 2003. His music has been performed in such venues as the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Barbican Centre in London, Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and Royce Hall in Los Angeles. As a sound designer, he has premiered several major works for composers John Adams, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Paul Dresher. He is an artistic collaborator, sound designer and soundscape engineer for John Adams's critically acclaimed On the Transmigration of Souls, which received the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music as well as three Grammy awards in 2005.

About librettist Dr. Laura Tohe: Librettist Laura Tohe is Diné (Navajo). She was born in Fort Defiance, Arizona and is Tsénáhábiãnii (Sleepy Rock People clan) and born for the Tódich'inii (Bitter Water clan). Dr. Tohe is currently Associate Professor of English at Arizona State University. A poet and scholar, Tohe's work has been published in the journals Ploughshares, New Letters, Calyx and others. Her chapbook of poetry, Making Friends with Water, has been translated into modern dance and music by The Moving Company in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1999 Dr. Tohe's book of poetry, No Parole Today, was awarded Poetry of the Year by the Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers. She co-edited Sister Nations: Native American Women Writers on Community. Her new book, Tséyi', Deep in the Rock, a book of poetry and photography by Stephen Strom, was listed as a 2005 Southwest Book of the Year.

About photographer Deborah O'Grady: Photographer Deborah O'Grady began a life in photography at age ten, when she won a small plastic camera as a raffle prize. Her work focuses on the landscapes of the United States, emphasizing aspects of history in relationship to contemporary development. She has explored various subjects including Lake County, California's local legends; the native peoples of the San Francisco Bay area, in a piece called "Imagining Native Earth;" and the motivations of war in "The Soldier's Dream," which melds vintage World War II combat photos with mythological images. O'Grady has shown work in the United States and internationally, at Cologne, Germany; Washington, D.C.; Buenos Aires, Argentina; the Stockholm Konserthuset in Stockholm, Sweden; and many other venues.

About baritone Scott Hendricks: Scott Hendricks, a native of San Antonio, Texas, has emerged as one today's most versatile baritones. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Houston Grand Opera Studio, and is a recipient of a Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant. A frequent guest of opera companies across the country, Mr. Hendricks has performed with Opera Colorado, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, San Francisco Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Hendricks made his New York recital debut under the auspices of the prestigious Marilyn Horne Foundation and was an active member for many years. He also toured extensively with John Wustman as a soloist with the Complete Songs of Franz Schubert Recital Series. Scott has performed with the Gewandhaus Orchester in Leipzig, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Lukes, and maintains a close relationship with the Minnesota Orchestra.

About Music Director Michael Christie: Michael Christie begins his third season as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of The Phoenix Symphony with the 2007-08 season. He also serves as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival and of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has appeared with orchestras across the United States, Europe, and Canada, as well as with the Finnish National Opera, Queensland Opera, and Zürich Opera. In 1995, Mr. Christie was awarded a special prize at the First International Sibelius Conductor's Competition. Following the competition, he became an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony. Michael Christie graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance. His conducting teachers have included Daniel Barenboim, Robert Spano, Eiji Oue, and Peter Jaffe.

About The Phoenix Symphony: Celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season, The Phoenix Symphony has been proudly serving the citizens of the Phoenix metropolitan area and Arizona since 1947. What began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year (in a city of fewer than 100,000 people) today serves more than 300,000 people annually, with 275 concerts and presentations throughout the greater Phoenix area and beyond.

Under the artistic leadership of Michael Christie as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director and administrative leadership of President Maryellen H. Gleason, the orchestra is overseen by the non-profit Phoenix Symphony Association under Board Chairman Gerald W. Murphy.

The 76-member Phoenix Symphony presents an annual season from September through the beginning of June, featuring full-length classical and pops concerts at Sym­phony Hall in downtown Phoenix, in Scottsdale, in Prescott, and throughout central Arizona. The Symphony performs for more than 50,000 students and children, helping to introduce music to new generations through a variety of education and youth-engagement programs.