Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Miguel Harth-Bedoya - Music Director

Pops Goes Vegas With The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Don’t miss Pops Goes Vegas with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Jack Everly on September 5, 6 and 7 at Bass Performance Hall. That’s right, “Vegas Baby!” Take a spin on the musical roulette wheel with hip classics such as “Luck Be a Lady,” “Hey Big Spender,” “Viva Las Vegas,” “My Way” and more. The cast of high rollers includes stellar stars from Broadway and the Vegas strip along with Mr. Showmanship himself, Martin Preston as the legendary Liberace. A jackpot evening of music hit after hit. Just remember, “What happens at Bass Hall, stays at Bass Hall!”

The concerts begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $26 - $78 and are available starting July 28 online at www.fwsymphony.org, by telephone at 817-665-6000, or by visiting the FWSO Ticket Office at 330 E. Fourth Street, Suite 200, in downtown Fort Worth. The ticket office is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Discounted rates are available for groups of 10 or more. Call 817-665-6500, ext. 150 for details.

These concerts are made possible, in part, by the generous support of Star-Telegram. Promotional support is provided by Star-Telegram and WRR Classical 101.1 FM.

For additional information, contact Trish Ciaravino, FWSO Press and Publications Manager, 817-665-6500, ext. 127, or email her at: tciaravino@fwsymphony.org

Kenny Rogers To Perform With FWSO

Music icon Kenny Rogers will perform with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in a special one-night-only concert event on January 24, 2009 at Bass Performance Hall. Tickets are on sale now to FWSO Pops and Symphonic subscribers only and will go on sale to the general public on August 25, 2008.

For more than five decades, Rogers has delivered memorable songs, drawing fans among rock, pop, soul and country audiences with hits such as "Lady," "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town," "The Gambler," "She Believes in Me," "Islands in the Stream," "We've Got Tonight" and "Buy Me A Rose." The sweetly raspy vocals are instantly identifiable as Rogers, and he inhabits each song, making it vivid and tangible. The legendary performer has won three Grammy Awards, 18 American Music Awards, eight Academy of Country Music Awards and five Country Music Association Awards, among others.

Houston-born Rogers formed his first band while in high school in 1956. The rockabilly group, called The Scholars, got a record deal and released two singles that had local success, and led to a performance spot on American Bandstand. Soon afterward, Rogers joined the Bobby Doyle Trio, playing stand-up bass in the jazz band, and appearing on their album. In 1966 he became a member of the New Christy Minstrels, the popular folk group, leaving a year later to form The First Edition with other members of the troupe.

The spotlight started focusing on Rogers when the group got their first hit, "I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Within a year the band was called Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, and his distinctive voice led the group to both pop and country chart success with "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town," written by Mel Tillis. The double-genre success struck again with "Reuben James," and the group landed their own TV variety show.

In 1974, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition disbanded, leaving Rogers at a crossroads. Disillusioned with the fickleness of the pop world, but not with music itself, he searched for a direction to take his solo career and looked to country. It was the perfect transition for him. "Love Lifted Me" went Top 20 in 1975, but it was "Lucille" that shot him into the stratosphere. Tops at country, it also succeeded on the pop chart, was named the Country Music Association's Single of the Year and was certified Gold.

"Daytime Friends," "Sweet Music Man" and "Love or Something Like It" continued his run of success. Then came "The Gambler," a story song so vivid it not only delighted country and pop fans, it also became a TV movie, starring Rogers himself in the title role. The movie spawned four follow-ups, making it the longest running miniseries franchise on television. It started Rogers on a second career as an actor on television and in movies, including another TV movie based on one of his hit songs, "Coward of the County."

Though theoretically a country singer, Rogers dominated the pop charts, consistently finding songs with universal appeal. In the 1980s he came to embody the role of the sensitive male, singing such romantic hits as "Through The Years," "She Believes In Me," "You Decorated My Life" and "Lady," the biggest song of his career. Those songs are classics today, sung at countless weddings, and even engraved on tombstones.

As the 1980s wound down, so did Rogers' chart success. Gone from the radio, he kept busy in other ways. He established himself as a well-respected photographer, publishing several books, and was invited to the White House to shoot a portrait of First Lady Hillary Clinton. He authored several short stories, and appeared off-Broadway in his Christmas musical, The Toy Shoppe, which he subsequently toured. And he never stopped making music.

In 1999, after forming his own record company, Dreamcatcher Entertainment, Rogers found himself back on the country chart with a touching story song about a young boy playing baseball. When "The Greatest" got radio and video airplay, it was greeted as a sweet comeback from a favorite bygone singer. When the follow-up, "Buy Me a Rose," hit No. 1 Rogers proved that his talent was just as vibrant and meaningful as it was when he first started out. The songs on 42 Ultimate Hits, bringing together the top songs of his career from the late 1960's First Edition years up to his current return to the charts, offers a crash-course reminder that Rogers is a star because he excels at his craft.

Tickets are on sale now to FWSO subscribers only and range from $29 - $99. Seven concert subscriptions to the Star-Telegram Pops Series are available now for $98 - $462. Ten concert subscriptions to the American Airlines Symphonic Series are available now for $70 - $540. For more information, contact the FWSO Ticket Office at 817-665-6000 or visit www.fwsymphony.org.

For additional information, contact Trish Ciaravino, FWSO Press and Publications Manager, 817-665-6500, ext. 127, or email her at: tciaravino@fwsymphony.org

FWSO 2008-09 Season Concert Schedule

All concerts take place at Bass Performance Hall

André Watts

Ingrid Fliter, Piano

Hanan Alattar

Brad Little, Craig Schulman and Mark Jacoby

Bernadette Peters

For additional information, contact Trish Ciaravino, FWSO Press and Publications Manager, 817-665-6500, ext. 127, or email her at: tciaravino@fwsymphony.org