Ref. 3080

The Soener Foundation and MacNider Museum proudly present “I Musici de Montreal Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition” at the North Iowa Community Auditorium on Saturday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the 2009-2010 NIACC Performing Arts and Leadership Series. Tickets are $25 in advance, $15 for children and $30 at the door. Ask about reservations for the Overture Dinner served before the show in the Muse Norris Conference Center when purchasing your tickets.

I Musici de Montréal has earned accolades across the globe: “The Incredible String Band,” The Independent, London; “I Musici de Montréal is a decided virtuoso group,” South China Morning Post, Hong-Kong; “Whiplash precision and tension,” Stereo Review, New York.

In this inventive interpretation of "Pictures at an Exhibition," I Musici de Montréal, one of the world's finest 15 piece chamber orchestras, combines Mussorgsky’s timeless compositions with large-screen animated projections of Yuli Turovsky’s inspired paintings. Every turn of musical phrase, harmony, tempo or rhythm is choreographed with a movement in the elements of the paintings, creating a stunning visual commentary of the musical content - paintings for the ears and music for the eyes. In 2007, this film won an "Excellence in Cinema Award" at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Fanfare Magazine recently recognized I Musici de Montréal as "one of the best chamber orchestras in North America." The centerpiece of this powerful all-Russian program features the Mussorgsky Classic in a production with digital large-scale projections of paintings by acclaimed artist Turovsky.

Founded by cellist and conductor Turovsky, I Musici de Montréal is a chamber orchestra of 15 musicians that presents a vast repertoire extending from the baroque to the contemporary. The orchestra presents a busy schedule of over 100 concerts per season throughout the world including three prestigious series in Montreal. This extraordinary amount of activity places I Musici amongst the most important touring orchestras in Canada.

I Musici de Montréal has released 43 CDs that are distributed in more than 50 countries around the world. These recordings have won the orchestra and Maestro Turovsky many awards among which one should mention a Diapason d’Or for their 1988 recording of Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony and a 1992 Penguin Guide Rosette for their Concerti grossi, opus 6 by Handel. I Musici de Montréal’s recording of Handel has since become a reference recording of the highest standard.

In April of 2002, I Musici de Montréal was nominated for another Canadian Juno Award as Best Classical Album of the Year, this after having won a Juno for their recording of Ginestera, Villa-Lobos and Evangelista.

Under the dynamic and visionary direction of Turovsky, who also performs as cello soloist with the orchestra, I Musici de Montréal has performed in some of the greatest halls in the world: New York’s Lincoln Center, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussel, Kioi Hall in Tokyo and the Conservatoire de Musique in Luxemburg, among others. Public enthusiasm and the critical acclaim that underlines the precision, the cohesion and the virtuosity of performance as well as the brio and distinctive sound of the orchestra confirm I Musici de Montréal’s importance on the world’s musical stage.

For more information, visit www.imusici.com.

For tickets to “I Musici de Montreal Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition,” call the NIACC Box Office at 1-888-466-4222 ext. 4188. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.niacc.edu. Platinum Sponsors for the 2009-2010 series include NIACC; Globe Gazette Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund; the Globe Gazette; Alliant Energy; Henkel Construction; Kraft; Mason City Clinic; Principal Financial Group; and Soener Foundation. Gold sponsors include Community National Bank; Diamond Joe Casino; First Citizens National Bank; First State Bank of Belmond; Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa; Martin, Cooney, MacNider & Cooney Financial Consultants of Raymond James & Associates, Inc.; Sukup Manufacturing; and Dr. Gary W. Swenson and Dean A. Genth. In kind sponsors include Country Inn and Suites; and KIMT.

#####