Children's concert by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra set for April 28 in Stevens' DeBaun Auditorium
On April 28, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will present a special public children's concert, "The Purple Palace," at Stevens Institute of Technology's historic DeBaun Auditorium (www.debaun.org - see full event details at the end of this release). This is the second concert in a series of events involving Stevens and the New York City-based, Grammy award-winning orchestra.
"The Purple Palace" takes place in Chromatica, a land of light and color. The work, commissioned by Orpheus and composed by Bruce Adolphe, tells the story of Princess Purple (the daughter of Queen Red and King Blue). The story teaches children about classical music and basic color concepts while also addressing larger issues of diversity and tolerance.
In the story, the princess becomes queen of Chromatica and banishes all other colors from her land except purple. But she discovers very quickly that life is miserable when everything is just one color. It's lonely and impossible to see anything. She regrets her rash decree and begins to cry. Her tears moisten the purple ground and a green stalk grows. Soon a colorful flower blossoms and attracts a bee from a far off land. Queen Purple asks the bee to tell all the other colors that they are welcome to come back to Chromatica.
The 27-member Orpheus Orchestra was founded in 1972 and performs an annual series of concerts in New York's Carnegie Hall as well as making appearances in prestigious halls around the world. It has performed in more than 300 cities in 42 countries and has released more than 50 recordings worldwide on major labels such as RCA Victor Red Seal and Deutsche Grammophon (www.orpheusnyc.com).
This Orpheus concert will offer the public an opportunity to experience the orchestra at Stevens' remarkable concert hall, DeBaun Auditorium, which boasts a renovated interior faithful to its 1870 origins, while offering state-of-the art equipment and expert personnel.
In conjunction with this concert, Stevens' DeBaun Auditorium is spearheading a project to webcast future Orpheus concerts at Stevens (this spring's concerts will allow testing only). Once fully designed and implemented, such webcasts will have the unique ability to separate the performance into different components. Audio and video will be recorded separately but simultaneously and offered through a web interface that allows the home user various options to experience the concert.
"Stevens Institute of Technology has been the home of creativity and invention for over 130 years," notes DeBaun's Executive Director David Zimmerman. "DeBaun Auditorium continues that tradition today, applying engineering and science to technical theater applications. Now, with the partnership of world-renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, we are expanding and reaching into the World Wide Web."
Stevens began as a respected East Coast engineering school in the late 19th century, and has since evolved to be much more. The buzzword at Stevens today is "Technogenesis," a term the university recently trademarked to describe its new strategic direction for teaching: encouraging students, faculty and industry to work together to bring new products or services all the way from initial innovation to marketplace implementation.
The Technogenesis project with Orpheus concerts will be led by DeBaun, with a project team created from other Stevens departments, students and faculty.
Concert
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra presents
"The Purple Palace" - a children's symphony
The
orchestra and narrator tell the story of Princess Purple and her adventures
in the land of Chromatica in this children's work commissioned
by Orpheus.
Sunday, April 28, 2002 - 3 p.m
DeBaun Auditorium, 5th and Hudson Streets
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J.Tickets: $10 general, $7 students, children and seniors
Advance tickets recommended
For
more information: www.debaun.org (tickets may be ordered online)
Phone: 201-216-8937 or e-mail: Info@debaun.org
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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