M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

Diva Showstoppers Join the RSO for Wicked Divas

February 11, 2015 – Richmond, Virginia Diva showstoppers from Broadway, opera and popular music join the Richmond Symphony for a wicked good time on Saturday, February 28 at 8:00 p.m. at the Carpenter Theatre at Richmond CenterStage. Wicked Divas presents music from the Tony Award-winning musical along with other favorites! Enjoy selections from Gypsy, Ragtime, Titanic, The Wizard of Oz, Carmen, Phantom of the Opera, Spamalot and of course, Wicked for an unforgettable night of the best from the Great White Way. The concert also includes popular music from Chicago, Diana Ross and more and will be led by Associate Conductor, Keitaro Harada.

Tickets start at $10 online at richmondsymphony.com or 1.800.514 ETIX. College student tickets are $7 at the Richmond CenterStage box office with valid student ID.

The Pops Series is sponsored by Genworth. The concert sponsor is Wells Fargo.

About Keitaro Harada

Keitaro Harada, conductor, is increasingly recognized at the highest levels for his artistic abilities. A student of Lorin Maazel at Castleton Festival and Fabio Luisi at Pacific Music Festival, recipient of the Seiji Ozawa Conducting Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival, Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, and The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Harada’s credentials are exemplary and, at the age of 29, his achievements are those of a seasoned conductor.

Harada began his appointment as Associate Conductor of Richmond Symphony in Fall 2014. In his continuing position of Associate Conductor for Arizona Opera, he leads their production of La Fille du Regiment in Spring 2015. This season holds Harada’s Japan debut in December with the New Japan Philharmonic.

In 2013, Harada was selected by the League of American Orchestras as one of only six conductors for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, a prestigious showcase that occurs biennially in an effort to promote gifted, emerging conductors to orchestra industry leaders. In 2012, Harada was a semi-finalist at the 9th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in Poland and also participated in the National Music Festival in Maryland. In 2011, Harada was one of ten semi-finalists invited by Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony to participate in the First Chicago Symphony Orchestra Solti International Conducting Competition.

About the Richmond Symphony

Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 270 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 250,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.