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Public Relations National Press Representation:

San Francisco Symphony Shuman Associates

Louisa Spier Lisa Jaehnig

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publicrelations@sfsymphony.org shumanpr@shumanassociates.net

www.sfsymphony.org/press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / April 21, 2014

(Cover art above and images from the San Francisco Symphony’s performances of West Side Story are available for download from the San Francisco

Symphony’s West Side Story online press kit)

MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY RELEASE LIVE RECORDING OF THE FIRST EVER COMPLETE CONCERT PERFORMANCES OF

WEST SIDE STORY FEATURING CHEYENNE JACKSON, ALEXANDRA SILBER, JESSICA VOSK, AND JULIA BULLOCK JUNE 10, 2014

Exclusive early digital release available from iTunes starting May 20

pre-order at iTunes.com/SFSymphony SAN FRANCISCO, April 21, 2014 – Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the San Francisco Symphony

(SFS) will release a new live recording of the first-ever concert performances of Leonard Bernstein’s complete score for

the musical West Side Story featuring a stellar Broadway cast including Cheyenne Jackson and Alexandra Silber, and the

San Francisco Symphony Chorus, on June 10, 2014. This collector’s edition two-disc set available from the SFS Media

label includes a 100-page booklet featuring a new interview with MTT, notes from Rita Moreno and Jamie Bernstein, as

well as a West Side Story historical timeline, archival photographs, complete lyrics, and rehearsal and performance

photos. Beginning May 20, West Side Story will be available for an exclusive early download from

iTunes.com/SFSymphony where it is now available for pre-order. The iTunes release is Mastered for iTunes and offered

as an interactive iTunes LP with bonus visuals and content provided when viewed in iTunes. The recording can also be

pre-ordered on disc from the San Francisco Symphony’s online store at sfsymphony.org/store for delivery by the release

date of June 10. This audiophile SACD recording, playable on both standard CD and SACD devices.

The performances were recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall in late June and early

July 2013 after Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony became the

first orchestra to receive permission from all four West Side Story rights-holders to

perform and record the musical score in its entirety in a concert setting. Of the new

recording, Michael Tilson Thomas said, “This is a new and rare opportunity to hear

Bernstein’s complete score sung by a sensational young cast and a knock-your-socks-

off orchestra. The San Francisco Symphony totally understands and feels this music.

We show the Broadway roots of the piece and how its universal qualities translate into

the way we think about it today.”

Making his San Francisco Symphony debut in West Side Story is Cheyenne Jackson

(TV’s Glee, 30 Rock) singing the role of Tony. Of performing the role with MTT and the

SFS Jackson says, “I think this is the best musical of all time. Period. I’m a Broadway

Baby, and I’ve done many, many shows. And there are a couple that come close, but

when it comes to book, music, lyrics, West Side Story is absolutely timeless. Everybody knows every word. This isn’t a

polarizing musical or something people have lukewarm feelings about, you just love West Side Story. Even after knowing

the score all these years, I’m still uncovering things about the score I never heard before. So, to have the opportunity to

perform it, under the great Michael Tilson Thomas, and also with this Symphony, how could I not?! ” The cast includes a

host of exciting Broadway voices all making their San Francisco Symphony debuts including Alexandra Silber in the role

of Maria, Jessica Vosk as Anita, Kevin Vortmann as Riff and Julia Bullock as A Girl. The recording also features members

of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus as Jets and Sharks.

Of the performances, Jamie Bernstein said, “Michael really understands my father’s music - how to conduct it and how to

bring it to life. It was such a treat to hear the entire score of West

Side Story performed by the San Francisco Symphony on a

stage. It is the greatest way to hear this music.”

Tilson Thomas first met Leonard Bernstein several years after

the West Side Story premiere in 1957 and has championed the

iconic composer/conductor’s music throughout his career.

Highlights with the SFS include semi-staged performances of

On the Town in 1996 and, in 2008, Carnegie Hall’s opening

night all-Bernstein gala concert which was recorded and is

available on DVD from SFS Media.

ABOUT WEST SIDE STORY

In 1957, Leonard Bernstein's collaboration with choreographer Jerome

Robbins, writer Arthur Laurents, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim led to one

of the most beloved musicals in American theater. Inspired by William

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is set in a blue-collar

neighborhood in 1950s New York. The story explores the rivalry between

two teenage street-gangs, the Sharks from Puerto Rico and a Polish-

American working-class group, the Jets. The young protagonist, Tony,

one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader

of the Sharks. The dark theme and sophisticated music reflected the

social issues of the time and marked a major turning point in American

musical theater. Bernstein's score for the musical includes songs

"Something's Coming,” "Maria," "America," "Somewhere," "Tonight," "Jet

Song," "I Feel Pretty," "A Boy Like That," “I Have a Love,” "One Hand,

One Heart," "Officer Krupke" and "Cool".

Bernstein’s music is firmly planted in both the worlds of modern classical music and Broadway musical theater. Many

singers and musicians have performed the songs and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. The first recordings were

of the 1957 original Broadway cast and the 1961 movie soundtrack. The Symphonic Dances from West Side Story have

entered the repertoire of many major world orchestras, and been recorded by many including the San Francisco

Symphony under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. It wasn’t until 1984 that Bernstein recorded, for the first time, the complete

score from the musical with an operatic cast. This new release from the San Francisco Symphony is the first ever

recording of live concert performances of the complete musical score from West Side Story utilizing the original

instrumentation.

SOLOISTS

Cheyenne Jackson (Tony) is an actor, singer, and songwriter. In the fall of 2012, he starred

on Broadway opposite Henry Winkler, Ari Graynor, and Alicia Silverstone in David West Read’s

play The Performers. He also appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s movie Behind The

Candelabra, a Liberace biopic, with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon as well as the NBC TV

pilot Mockingbird Lane. On and Off Broadway, Jackson has starred in 8, Finian’s Rainbow,

Damn Yankees, Xanadu, The Agony & the Agony and many more. On television he can be

seen on NBC’s 30 Rock portraying series regular Danny Baker, and he portrayed Dustin

Goolsby, the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline on the TV series Glee. In concert, he has sold out

Carnegie Hall twice, in “The Power of Two” in 2010 with Michael Feinstein followed by his solo

debut concert with the New York Pops, in “Music of the Mad Men Era” in 2011. For his current

album on Sony/ATV, I’m Blue, Skies, he collaborated with Sia, Stevie Aiello, and Charlotte

Sometimes. Jackson returns to the San Francisco Symphony to perform two concerts of

favorite music from the movies with the Orchestra at Davies Symphony Hall July 24 and 25.

Alexandra Silber (Maria) graduated from Interlochen Center for the Arts with a Young Artist Award

and continued her training at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. She

garnered the Faculty Student of the Year award just days before her West End debut as Laura Fairlie

in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Woman in White. Silber made her feature film debut in Stephen

King's 1408, before portraying Hodel in The Sheffield Crucible’s 2007 production of Fiddler on the

Roof, and its subsequent West End production. She also appeared in Fiddler on the Roof and as

Julie Jordan in Carousel at The Savoy Theatre in London’s West End, for which she received the

TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical. In 2012 she portrayed Jenny Cavilerri in the North

American Premiere of Love Story the Musical at The Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. She

made her Broadway debut in 2011 joining Tony Award winner Tyne Daly in Terrence

McNally’s Master Class directed by Stephen Wadsworth and starred in a highly-

acclaimed performance of Arlington, a new one woman musical. Silber recently gave her latest one-woman solo concert

"The Land Where The Good Songs Go" at Feinstein's at The Nikko in San Francisco, recorded the vintage Edward

Thomas musical Six Wives opposite Judy Kaye and Alexander Gemignani, and made her Detroit Symphony Orchestra

debut in David Del Tredici's World Premiere of Dum Dee Tweedle. In 2013 she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the

American Symphony Orchestra, followed by She Loves Me at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with The Orchestra

of St. Luke's.

Jessica Vosk (Anita) singer, dancer and actor, she is currently performing on Broadway in Bridges of

Madison County. Other recent credits include Man of La Mancha (TUTS) and New York City Center

Encores!’ productions of Merrily We Roll Along and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She also performed in

Roundabout's Death Takes a Holiday and She Loves Me. Vosk has performed with the New York

Philharmonic in Stephen Sondheim's Company, and has also had the pleasure of

performing in the new musical Kristina by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny

Andersson at Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall.

Soprano Julia Bullock (A Girl) who garnered accolades for her performance of “Somewhere” in this

production was recently named the first prize winner of the 2014 International Naumberg Vocal

Competition. Her 2013-14 season included the title role in Henry Purcell’s The Indian Queen,

directed by Peter Sellars at the Teatro Real in Madrid and at the Perm Opera and Ballet House in

Russia; the title role in Jules Massenet's Cendrillon presented by Juilliard Opera; debut recitals in the Young Concert

Artists Series in New York at Merkin Hall, in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center; with appearances at the the

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and the Marlboro Music Festival. She has performed contemporary works at the

Ojai Music Festival, and the MUSIC ALIVE! series, curated by composer Joan Tower and pianist Blair McMillen;

collaborated with early music ensembles, including the Clarion Music Society; and explored lesser-known repertoire with

the American Symphony Orchestra in their performance of Delage’s Quartre Poèmes Hindous. From 2003 to 2005, she

participated in the Artists-in-Training program with the Opera Theater of St. Louis, and graduated with the prestigious

Marielle Hubner Award. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and her Master’s degree at

Bard College’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program, where she was the first recipient of the Mimi Levitt Scholarship, and won

Bard College’s 2010 Concerto Competition. She currently studies at the Juilliard School with Edith Bers.

Kevin Vortmann (Riff) appeared in the Broadway revival of A Little Night Music starring

Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury. His other New York City theater credits include On

the Town, Applause, Face the Music (including the Original Cast Recording), Lost in the Stars,

Fiorello!, and the Off-Broadway productions of Death Takes a Holiday and For Lovers Only. He

performed at Carnegie Hall, and at the Kennedy Center with the Baltimore Symphony, in

performances of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass (“Non Credo” soloist), the recording of which

received a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album. He is the recipient of the Colorado

Theatre Guild’s Henry Award and the Detroit’s Oscar Wilde Award. He holds a Bachelor of Music

in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University.

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CHORUS

The 150-member San Francisco Symphony Chorus is prized for its precision, power, and versatility. Led by Chorus Director

Ragnar Bohlin, the Chorus performs more than twenty concerts each season and is comprised of 30 professional and 120

volunteer members. Recordings featuring the SFS Chorus have won a total of eight Grammy awards, including three for

Best Choral Performance. They were featured most recently on the SFS Media’s recording of Beethoven’s Cantata on the

Death of Emperor Josef, and also on Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with MTT and the SFS, which won three 2010 Grammys,

including the award for Best Choral Performance. Previous Grammys awarded to the SFS Chorus include Best Choral

Performance for Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem in 1995, Best Choral Performance for Orff’s Carmina burana in 1992,

Best Classical Album with the SFS for Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 and Kindertotenlieder in 2004, and Best Classical Album

for their performance of Perséphone as part of a collection of Stravinsky’s music in 2000. More information about the San

Francisco Symphony Chorus can be found here.

ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY

The San Francisco Symphony, widely considered to be among the most artistically adventurous and innovative arts

institutions in the US, celebrated its Centennial season in 2011-12. Led by Michael Tilson Thomas, who begins his 20th

season as Music Director in 2014-15, the SFS presents more than 220 concerts annually, and reaches an audience of

nearly 600,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall, through its multifaceted education and community programs, and a

global audience through its media initiatives and on national and international tours.

ABOUT SFS MEDIA

SFS Media is the San Francisco Symphony’s in-house label, launched in 2001. SFS Media records and releases audio

and visual material reflecting the Orchestra and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas’ commitment to showcasing music

by maverick composers as well as core classical masterworks. The recordings reflect the broad range of programming

that has been a hallmark of the MTT/SFS partnership. Recorded live in concert and engineered at Davies Symphony Hall,

the audio recordings are released on hybrid SACD and in high-resolution digital formats. SFS Media has garnered eight

Grammy awards. SFS Media also produces and releases documentary and live performance videos, including the SFS’s

national public television series and multimedia project Keeping Score, which included three seasons of television

episodes, eight documentaries, and eight concert films designed to make classical music more accessible to people of all

ages and musical backgrounds, available on DVD and Blu-ray. Other videos of the San Francisco Symphony available

from SFS Media include A Celebration of Leonard Bernstein: Opening Night at Carnegie Hall 2008 and San Francisco

Symphony at 100, a documentary about the Symphony’s history, which won a Northern California Emmy Award for

“Historical/Cultural Program or Special” in 2012.

All SFS Media recordings are available from the Symphony Store in Davies Symphony Hall and online at

sfsymphony.org/store, digitally from http://itunes.com/sfsymphony, and from all major retailers and other digital outlets

worldwide. SFS Media recordings are distributed by harmonia mundi in the U.S. and Canada, through Avie Records

internationally, and by The Orchard to digital retailers.

Title: West Side Story

Composer: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins

Book by Arthur Laurents

Music by Leonard Bernstein

Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Entire Original Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins

Orchestrations by Leonard Bernstein with Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal

Artists: Cheyenne Jackson Tony

Alexandra Silber Maria

Jessica Vosk Anita

Kevin Vortman Riff

Juliana Hansen Rosalia

Cassie Simone Francisca

Louise Cornillez Consuelo

Justin Keyes Action

Zach Ford Diesel

Chris Meissner Baby John

Louis Pardo A-rab

David Michael Laffey Big Deal

Kelly Markgraf Bernardo

Julia Bullock A Girl

San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas, Music Director

San Francisco Symphony Chorus Jets, Sharks, Girls

Ragnar Bohlin director

Recorded: Recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall June 27-30 and July 2, 2013

File Under: Soundtracks, Classical

Label: SFS Media

Catalogue Number: SFS 0059

Release Date: June 10, 2014

May 20, 2014 available as a download from the iTunes Music Store.

To pre-order the disc for delivery on June 10 visit SFSymphony.org/store.

Distribution: harmonia mundi (North America)

Avie (International)

The Orchard (Digital)

Online: sfsymphony.org/store

Media copies: Members of the press may request a copy of the recording for review from Shuman Associates at

shumanpr@shumanassociates.net or Louisa Spier at lspier@sfsymphony.org.

Connect with the San Francisco Symphony on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram:

The San Francisco Symphony receives support from over 10,000 individual donors and 150 partner institutions.

This recording of West Side Story is made possible by the Koret Foundation.

The San Francisco Symphony would also like to thank the following for making this recording possible:

Jamie Bernstein, Alexander Bernstein, Nina Bernstein Simmons, the Leonard Bernstein Office (Paul H. Epstein, Marie Carter, Garth

Edwin Sunderland, and Craig Urquhart), Stephen Sondheim, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, Inc. and David Saint, and The Robbins

Rights Trust (Allen Greenberg and Chris Pennington).

Emirates is the Official Airline of the San Francisco Symphony.

William Hill® Estate Winery is the Official Wine of the San Francisco Symphony.

San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate.com is the Official Media Partner of the San Francisco Symphony.

-SFS-