Highlights of the 42nd season include a world premiere commission by Gabriela Lena Frank, featuring soprano Jessica Rivera and the San Francisco Girls Chorus; the West Coast premiere of work by Lei Liang; and collaborations with cellist Johannes Moser, pianist Sarah Cahill, and guest conductor Jayce Ogren

BERKELEY, CA – June 7, 2011 – Music Director Joana Carneiro today unveils programming plans for Berkeley Symphony’s 2011-12 Season, her third with the Orchestra since assuming the music directorship in 2009. The upcoming season, highlighted by one world premiere commission, one West Coast premiere, and works by today’s leading composers and their forebears, in exciting collaborations with visionary artists both local and abroad, exemplifies the orchestra’s adventurous spirit and steadfast commitment to presenting original, thought-provoking programs, as well as its role as a champion of artists and composers of our generation.

“We look forward to a season of artistic exchange and collaboration,” says Joana Carneiro. “Part of Berkeley Symphony’s legacy as the leading edge in symphonic music is this special musical relationship and trust we have developed with artists, musicians, and the community. Artists are encouraged to pursue their creative instincts at Berkeley Symphony, and we are proud to be a part of an adventurous community that not only gives us the freedom to dream of, but also to realize, daring and unusual programming.”

Berkeley Symphony will continue to host its Under Construction New Music Reading Series in the 2011-12 Season, fostering an appreciation of modern symphonic music among a new generation of listeners. The Series’ professional development component, the Under Construction Composers Program, now in its second season, led by the orchestra’s Creative Advisor Gabriela Lena Frank, serves as an artistic incubator for emerging Bay Area composers to experiment with symphonic music writing and to cultivate skills essential to all working composers today.

Additionally, as a community leader in music education, Berkeley Symphony will expand its Music in the Schools (MITS) program to focus on strengthening both the music scholarship and teaching experience for the eleven participating elementary schools in the Berkeley Unified School District.