VSO LAUNCHES 40th ANNIVERSARY JULY 26 WITH ANNUAL OUTDOOR CONCERT
IN ESTHER SHORT PARK
Free Concert is Part of Vancouver’s “Six to Sunset” Series

Vancouver, WA – June 21, 2018 – The Vancouver Symphony begins its 2018-2019 season with a family-friendly, free outdoor concert in downtown Vancouver’s famed Esther Short Park band shell on Thursday, July 26 from 6-8 pm. The concert features the Vancouver Symphony’s 70+ member orchestra and singers from Opera Quest Northwest. Presenting familiar and lively music, the VSO will be led by Award-Winning Conductor and Music Director of the Portland State University Orchestra — Ken Selden. The master of ceremonies will be OPB’s Molly Solomon.
This is the sixth consecutive summer that The VSO has presented a free concert in Esther Short Park as part of the “Six to Sunset” Series. It is one of six summer offerings in the park by the City of Vancouver on Thursday nights, starting July 12, and features a wide variety of concerts from pop and soul to rock and classical. The entire summer series is underwritten once again by Riverview Community Bank. Learn more at cityofvancouver.us.
The VSO will perform selections that include audience favorites such as Festive Overture by Shostakovich, Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, Copland’s Hoe Down as well as legendary films scores from “Sleeping Beauty” and “Star Wars.”

Returning this year will the Beacock Music instrument “Petting Zoo” where kids can play a wide variety of musical instruments under expert supervision from 5-6 pm.
“We look forward to this fantastic family event in Esther Short Park every year,” said VSO Board Chair Kathy McDonald. “It’s a wonderful thing to be able to perform and experience the love for classical music with a community that has supported us for 40 memorable years.”
Major sponsorship for this concert is provided by Loti and Paul Christensen. Other sponsors include Ann Bardacke and David Wolf, Riverview Community Bank and the City of Vancouver. Major support comes from Oregon Public Broadcasting and Beacock Music.

About Ken Selden
Ken Selden is currently conductor and music director of the Portland State University Orchestra, a position he has held since 2006. Selden made his professional debut with the National Arts Center Orchestra (Canada) at the invitation of Pinchas Zuckerman, and subsequently appeared with orchestras of Denver, Baltimore, Minnesota and North Carolina, and at music festivals in the United States, Israel, Japan, Romania and Switzerland. Additionally, he has performed with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at the David Oistrakh Festival and conducted orchestras in Finland, Italy and Belgium. Since arriving in Portland, Selden has appeared as guest conductor of the Oregon Symphony, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Portland Youth Philharmonic and the Newport Symphony. Most recently, his recordings of Mahler and Debussy arrangements with the newly established Martingale Ensemble were released on MSR Classics. An advocate for new music, Selden has worked with composers Pierre Boulez, John Cage and Tan Dun, and has conducted recent world premieres of music by Peter Lieberson, Michael Nyman and Stephen Paulus. Prior to his appointment at PSU, Selden led a series of performances as assistant conductor of two innovative ensembles – the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Eos Orchestra. Under his direction, the PSU Orchestra has received three awards in Adventurous Programming from ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras.

About Molly Solomon
Molly Solomon is a reporter and producer covering Southwest Washington for Oregon Public Broadcasting. She was previously a general assignment reporter for Hawaii Public Radio in Honolulu where she produced award-winning stories on a variety of topics, including homelessness, native Hawaiian issues and even an active lava flow. Her work has appeared on “Marketplace,” NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “Here and Now” and “Science Friday.” Molly has won three national Edward R. Murrow awards for her work along with awards from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists and PRNDI. Most recently, a series on the closure of Hawaii’s final sugar plantation won her a 2017 national award from the Asian American Journalists Association.

About Six to Sunset Series
The Riverview Community Bank sponsors the annual “Six to Sunset” Series, drawing the community to the heart of downtown Vancouver. With weekly concerts spanning six summer weeks, Esther Short Park has become a staple in Vancouver’s summertime entertainment. July 12 marks the beginning of this year’s “Six to Sunset” Series, featuring artists Johnny Limbo & the Lugnuts, Kalimba, FlexorT, Patrick Lamb, Hit Machine, and the Vancouver Symphony. Concerts take place 6-8pm with a variety of vendors available for beverages and food to accompany the live music.

About Opera Quest Northwest
The mission of the non-profit Opera Quest Northwest is “to educate, enrich and instill a love of music in the children of our region by introducing them to opera through a lively production that blends classic opera excerpts with a humorous, interactive script.” The performers—five young professional singers and a pianist—are also educators by nature and training. They have performed their show “Opera the Great” for thousands of elementary school students in several SW Washington districts, at little or no cost to the school. (For details, visit www.operaquestnw.org.)