Dallas Chamber Symphony soloists Alex McDonald and Oscar Garcia Montoya launch expanded new season on Sept. 16

Dallas, Texas, August 29, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Dallas Chamber Symphony will open its 2014-15 season with an exciting program featuring 2013 Cliburn competitor and local favorite, Alex McDonald on piano. Oscar Garcia Montoya, principal trumpet of the DCS, will perform on solo trumpet. The event will be held at Dallas City Performance Hall on Tuesday, September 16th at 8pm. Richard McKay conducts performances of Antonin Dvorak’s romantic Serenade for Strings, and Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite for Strings. Concertmaster Kazuhiro Takagi will also be joining the DCS for this event, marking the start of his second season with the DCS.

Alex McDonald has performed across the United States as well as in Israel, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and South Korea; additionally, he has been a featured performer on PBS, WRR (Dallas/Ft. Worth), KUHA and KUHF (Houston), NPR, and WQXR (New York City). Awards and fellowships include second prize at the 2007 New Orleans International Piano Competition and second prize at the 2001 Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Piano Competition. In 2008, he was named a Harvey Fellow by the Mustard Seed Foundation. In 2013, he was a competitor in the 2014 Van Cliburn Competition. Additional highlights of McDonald’s season include solo performances in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Tennessee, and will record his first CD consisting of Liszt, Haydn and others this Fall.

In 2013 Oscar Garcia Montoya joined the Dallas Chamber Symphony as Principal Trumpet. Prior to coming to Texas, Mr. Garcia- Montoya held a two-year position as Principal Trumpet with the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra and Miami City Ballet Orchestra. His other artistic engagements have included positions as guest Principal Trumpet with the Fort Worth Symphony, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Palm Beach Opera Orchestra in Florida. Oscar has made his way and performed at various Summer Music Festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Cantieri Internazionale di Musica in Italy, American Wind Symphony, and Youth Orchestra of the Americas (FOSJA) in Puerto Rico.

The DCS Season Opener will be hosted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2014 at City Performance Hall (2520 Flora Street, Dallas, Texas 75201), just days after its live-music/dance collaboration with the Bruce Wood Dance Project.

The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. Individual tickets are available for $19-$44 each. For event information or to purchase tickets, visit dallaschambersymphony.org or call (214) 449-1294. Tickets may also be purchased in the City Performance Hall lobby the evening of the concert starting at 6:30 p.m.

Alex McDonald will also teach a master class for local high-school and college piano students at Steinway Hall Dallas, September 14, 5-8:00 pm. Details on how to nominate a participant pianist, as well as free tickets to the master class will available on the DCS website.

ABOUT DALLAS CHAMBER SYMPHONY

Named Best of Big D 2014 by D Magazine, and Best Classical Music Addition 2013 by the Dallas Observer, the Dallas Chamber Symphony is one of the most exciting and innovative professional performance ensembles in North Texas. Led by Artistic Director and Conductor Richard McKay, it is comprised of 40 musicians, all dedicated to performing a balance of programs that include underrepresented and standard chamber repertory, contemporary music, staged works, and pieces with extra-musical elements, such as film, actors, dancers, and narrators.

The DCS performs at the gorgeous new City Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District, and provides educational and community programming, including an annual International Piano Competition at SMU, field-trip concerts for area youth, and Sight of Sound, an annual International Film Competition.