Sun December 31 | 8:30 PM
New Year's Eve
Celebration
Raise a toast to 2024 at our second-annual New Year’s Eve Celebration, including the 100th birthday celebration of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
TICKETSDecember 31, 2023 8:30 PM
New Year's Eve
Celebration
Alexandre Dossin, piano
Halie Loren, vocalist
Ring in 2024 in style with your Eugene Symphony at the Hult Center! The festivities begin with a concert featuring Eugene’s own Halie Loren performing jazz favorites like "La Vie en Rose" and "Sway" with the orchestra and pianist Alexandre Dossin playing George Gershwin’s timeless Rhapsody in Blue as it marks the 100th anniversary of its 1924 premiere. Afterward, commemorate the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one with dancing, drinks, and a special countdown to midnight.
[ VIEW THE DIGITAL PROGRAM BOOK ]
LEARN MORE
- Listen to the below Spotify playlist, curated by Music Director & Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong, for previews of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, as well as other pieces performed by our guest artists Halie Loren and Alexandre Dossin.
- See the full program below
- Read our First-Timers Guide to brush up on orchestra vocabulary and find out what to expect from a concert at the Hult Center
About Halie Loren
Halie Loren is an international, award-winning jazz singer/songwriter. Raised in Alaska, this Oregon-based artist brings a fresh and original perspective to time-honored musical paths, channeling her innate understanding of connectedness across musical boundaries to forge bonds with diverse audiences in North America, Asia, and Europe. A lover of global cultures and music, her repertoire is a multi-lingual one, including songs in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and Korean as well as her native English. She’s released eight albums to-date, garnering several national and international awards as well as significant critical and chart success along the way, with her albums consistently charting at #1 in Billboard/Japan Jazz Charts, iTunes (Canada and Japan) and Amazon Music
Her debut jazz CD, 2008’s “They Oughta Write a Song,” won Best Vocal Jazz Album of the year in the JPF awards (then the world’s largest independent music awards). She was signed in 2010 by JVC/Kenwood Entertainment (Japan/Asia) and in 2011 by Justin Time Records. Halie has since released nine additional albums including two Japan-only releases, and gone on to win many awards as both a singer and a songwriter. Loren’s original song “Thirsty” won the Independent Music Awards’ best jazz song of the year in 2011. Her 2012 release, “Heart First,” was honored by Japan’s Jazz Critique Magazine as the best vocal jazz album of year, and reached No. 1 on the iTunes Canada jazz albums chart. In 2013, “Simply Love” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Jazz / Japan and entered iTunes Canada as #1 jazz album. Her 2014 best-of compilation release “The Best Collection”, 2015’s “Butterfly Blue”, and 2016’s “Live at Cotton Club” also hit #1 on Billboard Japan’s jazz chart.
Along with recording success, Loren’s live performances have expanded to include performances with the Jazz Orchestra of Sicily, the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra in Oregon, the Monroe Symphony in Louisiana and the prestigious International Britt Fest Orchestra. For the past seven years she has traveled east to west in the U.S. and other parts of the world, including Canada, Japan, Italy, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Haiti, and Egypt. The last few months of her tours have included sold-out tour dates in Japan, Korea (including a Korean festival performance with an audience of over 25,000), Quebec, Florida, and Georgia. Last year found her in London and New York working on a new album of her original material “From the Wild Sky” with UK producer Troy Miller, a project for which she raised over $68,000 of funding from her worldwide fans via crowdsourcing site Kickstarter. “From the Wild Sky” was released worldwide in April 2018, and since then, Loren has been touring in support of it with tour dates across North America, Asia, and Europe, with more on the horizon.
About Alexandre Dossin
Considered by Martha Argerich an “extraordinary musician” and by the international critic a “phenomenon,” “a master of contrasts” and “a stunning pianist with a symbiotic relationship with the instrument," Steinway Artist Alexandre Dossin keeps an active performing, recording, and teaching careers.
Alexandre Dossin is a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Russia) and holds a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin (USA). He was assistant of Sergei Dorensky at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Willliam Race and Gregory Allen at UT-Austin.
A prizewinner in several international piano competitions, Dossin received the First Prize and the Special Prize at the 2003 Martha Argerich International Piano Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other international awards include the Silver Medal and second Honorable Mention in the Maria Callas Grand Prix, and the Third Prize and Special Prize in the Mozart International Piano Competition, in addition to several prizes in Brazil.
An active recording artist, his performances are featured in over 15 recordings released with several labels, including 7 CDs with Naxos and 6 editions/recordings for Schirmer. Dossin’s edition and recording of complete piano sonatas by W. A. Mozart (2-volume edition and recordings, Schirmer Performance Editions) was released in December of 2023.
Upcoming releases in 2024 include the complete piano works by George Walker in 2 CDs with Naxos. This will be included in the label’s prestigious American Classics Series and will present the world premiere of Bauble in addition to the first recording of the piano concerto in more than ten years. This release will be followed by a performance edition of the same works published by Keiser Southern Music. Soloist appearances in 2023-2024 include the Eugene Symphony, the Austin Symphony, and the West Coast premiere of George Walker’s piano concerto with the University of Oregon Philharmonia, solo recitals and masterclasses across the US, United Kingdom and Italy.
Dossin’s work was praised in reviews by Diapason, The Financial Times, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, Clavier, and other international publications.
Conductors with whom Dossin has performed include Charles Dutoit, Isaac Karabtchevsky, and Michael Gielen, with orchestras such as the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Brazilian National Symphony, Mozarteum University Symphony, and Tchaikovsky Conservatory Symphony. Dossin performed numerous live recitals for public radio in Wisconsin and Illinois, including repeated appearances at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago. Dossin has performed in international festivals in Japan, Canada, the United States, and Argentina, on some occasions sharing the stage with Martha Argerich.
Dossin is the Vice-President of the American Liszt Society and president of its Oregon Chapter, and is one of the recipients of the prestigious Faculty Fund for Excellence at the University of Oregon. A Professor of Piano and the Chair of Keyboard at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, he keeps a studio of advanced pianists from several countries and is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Concert Program
George Gershwin (arr. Robert McBride) | Overture to Girl Crazy
Irving Berlin | "Blue Skies”
Halie Loren, vocalist
John Coltrane | “My One and Only Love”
Halie Loren, vocalist
Pablo Beltrán Ruiz, Luis Demetrio, & Normal Gimbel | “Sway”
Halie Loren, vocalist
George Gershwin | Cuban Overture, “Rumba"
“Cuando Bailamos”
“A Woman’s Way”
“Butterly”
Halie Loren, vocalist and composer
INTERMISSION
Duke Ellington (arr. Calvin Custer) | A Medley for Orchestra
Édith Piaf | “La Vie en Rose”
Halie Loren, vocalist
Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein | "My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music
Halie Loren, vocalist
Louis Armstrong | “Summertime”
Halie Loren, vocalist
George Gershwin | Rhapsody in Blue
Alexandre Dossin, piano
Health & Safety
The health and safety of Eugene Symphony audience members, musicians, and staff members has been and will always be our top priority. We strongly welcome and encourage patrons who wish to continue wearing masks while attending performances to do so. We want all of our attendees to feel comfortable and accepted in your choice. You take care of you, we'll take care of the music and ensuring that your experience attending a Eugene Symphony concert remains exceptional.
For the most up to date health and safety protocols for our concerts, visit our Eugene Symphony Safety page.
LOCATION: Hult Center for the Performing Arts