On Saturday, October 8 at 8 p.m., the San Luis Obispo Symphony will present Opening Night at the Performing Arts Center’s Christopher Cohan Center in San Luis Obispo. Pianist Robert Edward Thies will join conductor Michael Nowak and the orchestra for this classical concert featuring Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor.  The “Rach II” is one of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s most enduringly popular concertos, and has provided the inspiration for popular tunes such as Frank Sinatra’s 1945 hit “Full Moon and Empty Arms” and Eric Carmen’s 1975 ballad “All By Myself.” Also on the musical program for the evening is Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, from the 1910 ballet that rocked Moscow, and a romantic glimpse of Shakespearean lovers in the Overture to Beatrice and Benedict by Hector Berlioz.

Tickets for Opening Night range from $18-$68 and are available by calling the PAC ticket office at (805)756-2787 or online at slosymphony.com. Student rush tickets are offered at half-price in all sections after 7:30 p.m. at the door. A No Ties Allowed! FREE Dress Rehearsal is open to the public, including young children, at 1 p.m. (Calendar editors, please see detailed information below.)

A pianist of “unerring, warm-toned refinement, revealing judicious glimmers of power,” [Los Angeles Times] Robert Edward Thies (pronounced "Theece") is an artist renowned for his consummate musicianship and poetic temperament. He first captured worldwide attention in 1995 when he won the Gold Medal at the Second International Prokofiev Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. With this victory, Thies became the only American pianist to win first prize in a Russian piano competition since Van Cliburn’s famed triumph in Moscow in 1958. Thies enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and as a studio musician in Los Angeles, working with film composers Danny Elfman, James Newton Howard, James Horner and Lalo Schifrin. For more information, visit robertthies.org

This concert is sponsored by Beverly and Jim Smith, Sheila Tiber and Pacific Eye. Generous 2011-2012 Symphony Season Sponsors include American Perspective Bank, City of San Luis Obispo, Trilogy at Monarch Dunes, Embassy Suites Hotel, KCBX Public Radio, Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, San Luis Obispo Vintners Association and the San Luis Obispo Tribune. No Ties Allowed! Free Dress Rehearsals at 1 p.m. on all concert Saturdays are generously sponsored by Rabobank.  Symphonic Forays with Dr. Craig Russell is sponsored by Ursula & Michael Fitzgerald.

Further details about this concert and about all of the concerts and programs of the San Luis Obispo Symphony are available at www.slosymphony.com or by calling (805) 543-3533. For interviews and other information, please contact communications Director Patty Thayer at (805) 543-3533, ext.#105.