Conductor Emmanuel Villaume leads the Juilliard Orchestra in works by R. Strauss, Rolf Wallin, Berlioz, and Debussy on Monday, February 18 at 8 PM at Avery Fisher Hall

French conductor Emmanuel Villaume leads the Juilliard Orchestra on Monday, February 18 at 8 PM in Avery Fisher Hall in a program featuring R. Strauss’ Don Juan, Op. 20; Rolf Wallin’s Das war schön! (Percussion Concerto) (1998); Berlioz’s ‘Royal Hunt’ and ‘Storm’ from Les Troyens, Op. 5; and Debussy’s La mer.

Tickets are $20 and $10 and are available at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or through CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500. Free tickets for students and seniors are available at the box office only.

Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin’s Das war schön! is a five-movement percussion concerto that focuses on different musical and biographical sides of Mozart. The movements are entitled: M. Noir; Mon trés cher Père; 3 x 3; Es klinget; and Herr Stahr. The outer movements of the work make reference to bird songs. Herr Stahr refers to Mozart’s pet bird, a starling; the bird could sing the main theme of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17, but with two small mistakes. Mozart included these mistakes in the entry of this theme in his catalogue of finished words and added the comment “Das war schon!” (that was nice!).

Emmanuel Villaume is in his eighth season as Spoleto Festival USA’s music director for opera and orchestra. During that time, he has lead numerous symphonic concerts and opera performances for Spoleto Festival USA, including a noted Mahler symphony cycle, the American premiere of Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg, and acclaimed productions of Manon Lescaut, Der Fliegende Hollander, Lakme, Adriane auf Naxos, and Don Giovanni.

In January 2007, Mr. Villaume conducted Meyerbeer’s Il crociato in Egitto for the opening of the 2007 season at La Fenice in Venice, and he conducted La bohème for Washington National Opera’s 2007-08 season opening (September 2007). In November 2007, Mr. Villaume conducted Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe Bleue at the Teatro Regio di Torino. Upcoming conducting engagements include the NHK Symphony in Tokyo in April 2008 and the Montreal Symphony in May 2008. In the 2008-09 season, he will conduct Manon at the Chicago Lyric (with Natalie Dessay), Tosca with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Carmen with the Los Angeles Opera.

In the 2006-07 season, Mr. Villaume conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and Vienna concert performances with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon, the Orchestre National de Belgique with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon at the Festival de Saint-Denis, the Slovak Philharmonic at the Bratislava Festival, and the Münchner Rundfunkorchester with Patrizia Ciofi.

Born in Strasbourg in 1964, Mr. Villaume began his musical education at the Strasbourg Conservatory and continued his studies in Paris, where he received degrees in literature, philosophy, and musicology. He also studied dramatic arts and performed in theatrical productions. He was appointed Dramaturg of the Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg at the age of 21. During his tenure there, he was noticed by  Spiros Argiris, music director of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, who invited him to conduct and narrate Debussy’s Chansons de Bilities in 1987, followed by an invitation to make his American debut at the 1990 Spoleto Festival USA with Le nozze di Figaro.

The next concert appearance of the Juilliard Orchestra takes place on Saturday, February 23 at 8 PM in Carnegie Hall with conductor James DePreist. The program features Chen Yi’s Ge Xu (Antiphony) (1994); Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (soloist to be announced); and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14.

 For more information on Juilliard events, call (212) 769-7406 or see the Calendar of Events at www.juilliard.edu.