NEWS RELEASE
The Cleveland Orchestra presents “Percussion Partners”
PNC Musical Rainbow concerts on May 7 and 8
in Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall
Cleveland Orchestra percussionist Marc Damoulakis and guest percussionist Mell Csicsila will be featured in program
PNC is sponsor of the Musical Rainbow Series
CLEVELAND, April 21, 2010 – Cleveland Orchestra percussionist Marc Damoulakis and guest percussionist Mell Csicsila will introduce children ages 3-6 to the percussion section of the orchestra in “Percussion Partners” in the May 7 and 8 PNC Musical Rainbow concerts, held in Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall. Local actress and singer Maryann Nagel hosts the 30-minute, age-appropriate programs, which include narration, demonstration, short solo selections, and audience participation. Biographical information on Mr. Damoulakis and Mr. Csicsila follows at the end of this release.
This season, as part of its Grow Up Great initiative in Cleveland, PNC is sponsoring the Musical Rainbows Series for preschoolers as well as a wide range of other activities and programs designed to give very young children “A Great Early Start in the Arts.” PNC Musical Rainbow programs introduce very young children to the instruments of the orchestra, one at a time.
Friday, May 7, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall
PNC Musical Rainbow: “Percussion Partners” (for children ages 3-6)
MARC DAMOULAKIS, percussion
MELL CSICSILA, percussion
MARYANN NAGEL, host
The PNC Musical Rainbow Series is endowed by the Pysht Fund.
Tickets: $7 for adults and children; general admission. Call (216) 231-1111 or order online.
Parking – For PNC Musical Rainbow concerts at Severance Hall, Standard Parking provides parking in the underground garage adjacent to Severance Hall at a special Rainbow Concert rate of $4.50 per vehicle. Clearly marked school buses and vans may park for free on the west side of East Boulevard. Metered parking is also available on some side streets near Severance Hall.
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The PNC Musical Rainbow Series is part of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Community Music Initiative, a broad array of educational programs designed to foster a love of music and a lifetime of participation in the musical arts, and to provide greater access to orchestral music to more of Cleveland’s citizens than ever before. New this year, Cleveland Orchestra musicians use music to help children at local Head Start sites learn school readiness skills as part of the PNC Grow up Great program; Cleveland Orchestra musicians who are MusicMentors support school string programs in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District; and the MusicMasters program draws on the expertise of Orchestra musicians to offer clinics, masterclasses, and coaching throughout the region. Other educational programs include Cleveland Orchestra Education Concerts (which bring more than 16,000 school children to Severance Hall each year), the Learning Through Music school partnership program, Concert Previews, the Student Advantage Program for college students, Music Study Groups for adults, and several programs to nurture aspiring young musicians (Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Youth Chorus, and Children’s Chorus). For more information about any of these programs, call the Orchestra’s Department of Education and Community Programs at (216) 231-7355, or visit clevelandorchestra.com.
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Contacts
Jennifer Schlosser, (216) 231-7518; Email: jschlosser@clevelandorchestra.com
Ana Papakhian, Office: (216) 231-7476; Cell phone: (216) 370-2595; Email: anap@clevelandorchestra.com
Marc Damoulakis
Percussion
The Cleveland Orchestra
Marc Damoulakis joined the percussion section of The Cleveland Orchestra in August 2006. Before coming to Cleveland, he played with the New York Philharmonic and served as principal timpanist of the Long Island Philharmonic as well as assistant principal percussion of the Harrisburg Symphony. A former co-principal percussionist of the New World Symphony, Mr. Damoulakis has also played with the Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Florida West Coast Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kirov Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Italy, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, New Music Consort, Pulse Percussion Ensemble, and Time Table Percussion Quartet. Mr. Damoulakis is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. He has studied with Chris Lamb, Duncan Patton, James Preiss, and Frank Epstein. Mr. Damoulakis is currently a member of the music faculty at DePaul University in Chicago.
Mell Csicsila
Percussionist Mell Csicsila’s experiences run the gamut from performing with symphony orchestras (including the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Red {an orchestra}, and The Cleveland Orchestra) to world fusion concerts and playing in small combos and dance bands. He is a regular performer in the pit orchestras of Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare, where he has performed with the national tours of many Broadway shows. He has appeared in more than one hundred performances as a percussion soloist. Mr. Csicsila holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Cleveland State University, and received his orchestral training from members of The Cleveland Orchestra. As a conductor, he has led the Lakewood Hometown Band and the Canton Concert Band. An active teacher and clinician, he has been on the faculty at Cuyahoga Community College’s Western Campus in Parma, Ohio, since 1995.
