THE MONTEREY SYMPHONY WILL PRESENT TWO CONCERTS OF LATIN MUSIC FOR FLUTE AND HARP WITH PRINCIPAL HARPIST KAREN THIELEN AND BRAZILIAN FLUTE VIRTUOSO TADEU COELHO.

A FREE CONCERT ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 12:15 P.M. IN THE ROTUNDA, CITY HALL, SALINAS

A PERFORMANCE IN CONCERT WITH THE MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2:00 P.M. ($20 MUSEUM MEMBERS/SYMPHONY SUBSCRIBERS, $25 GENERAL PUBLIC)

September 26, 2007, Carmel, California: In support of the Salinas Image Initiatives launched by Mayor Dennis Donohue and the Salinas City Council, the Monterey Symphony is pleased to launch a new series of concerts entitled "About Town." We will present our principal harpist Karen Thielen and Brazilian flute virtuoso Tadeu Coelho in a lunchtime concert in the Rotunda at City Hall, 200 Lincoln Street, Salinas. This concert will take place on Friday, October 19 and will begin promptly at 12:15 p.m. Seating is limited to the first 80 individuals. The doors will open at 11:45 a.m. In keeping with the tradition of not charging for events held in the Rotunda, this concert is free and open to the public.

Karen Thielen, the Monterey Symphony's principal harpist for nearly twenty years began her professional career as Principal Harpist of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de México. She then became the second harpist for the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her position with the Monterey Symphony, Karen Thielen is the principal harpist of the Opera San Jose as well as several other Bay Area Ensembles. She is a frequent soloist and a favorite of the orchestra's audience.

Brazilian born flutist, Tadeu Coelho joined the faculty of the North Carolina School of the Arts in the fall of 2002. Prior to this prestigious appointment, Mr. Coelho served as music professor at the University of Iowa and the University of New Mexico. He is a frequent guest artist appearing at recitals and flute workshops throughout the United States and Latin America.

Musical selections on the City Hall program will include: Azules, Oleaje (Waves), Estrellita, La Paloma, Mil Noches, Amor Perdido, Cancion de Los Dos, and Cielito Lindo.

Later this same day, Karen Thielen and Tadeu Coelho will perform for 75 children at the Salinas Boys and Girls Club on Maryal Drive, in Salinas.

In addition to these two performances, the Monterey Museum of Art will present these two fine artists In Concert at La Mirada, the Museum's historic adobe in Monterey on Sunday, October 21 at 2:00 p.m.. This somewhat longer program will feature selections by Latin American composers from Azules, their recently released cd. Ms. Thielen and Mr. Coelho have frequently worked together during the past ten years. A no-host reception will follow the performance.

Tickets for the Sunday, October 21 event are $20 for Museum Members and Symphony Subscribers and $25 for all others. Seating is very limited and advance ticket purchase recommended. Tickets may be secured by calling the Monterey Symphony at 831-624-8511 extension 0, or by visiting the Monterey Museum of Art's website: montereyart.org. La Mirada is located at 720 Via Mirada and is visible from Fremont Street between Aguajito and Camino el Estero.

The Monterey Symphony, under the artistic leadership of Max Bragado Darman since 2004, is the only fully-professional symphony orchestra serving the communities of the Monterey Bay, Salinas, Salinas Valley, Big Sur, and San Benito County. It provides triple performances of a seven-concert subscription series at Carmel's Sunset Theater and Salinas' Sherwood Hall, annual holiday concerts, and an extensive youth activities program, including visits to classrooms by musicians and concerts by the full orchestra for school children.

The Monterey Symphony is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation, supported, in part, through the fundraising efforts of the Friends of the Monterey Symphony; and grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, a public agency, and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Harden Foundation, The Robert and Virginia Stanton Fund at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, The William and Flora Hewlitt Foundation, The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, The General Endowment Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County, The Chapman Foundation, The Communities Advancing the Arts Initiative of the Community Foundation of Monterey County, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Graniterock Company, The Nunes Company, and many other generous foundations and individual donors.

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