Peter Tiboris Presents "Symphony At Sunset"

Peter Tiboris, the renowned conductor and a member of Leadership 100, conducted the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in “Symphony at Sunset”, featuring his wife, dramatic soprano Eilana Lappalainen, on Thursday evening, February 12, 2015. They were both presented with the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence at the conclusion of the concert.

The special program included some of the most dramatic music in the classical repertoire by Verdi, Mozart, Beethoven, and, as a special treat, music by Theodorakis. Highlights included Verdi’s La Forza del Destino Overture, Beethoven’s Ah, Perfido and Symphony No. 7 and Mozart’s Overture to Marriage of Figaro. In addition, The University Chorus of the University of Central Florida, directed by Dr. David L. Brunner, performed music from Theodorakis’ Zorba Ballet Suite.

Lappalainen, a Finnish-Canadian performer and one of the most respected interpreters of Strauss’ Salome, which she has performed at opera houses throughout the world, has also been acclaimed for performances in leading other operas, such as Lohengrin, Lulu, Der Rosenkavalier, Arabella, Jenufa, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, I Pagliacci, La Traviata, Turnandot, Don Giovanni and Aida. Besides performances on international stages, she has taken on extensive responsibilities as General Director of the Greek Opera Studio and Berlin Opera Studio, Artistic Director for the Opera Division of the Young Artists Festival Bayreuth, Associate Artistic Director of the International Festival of the Aegean and Artistic Administrator for MidAmerica Productions.

Tiboris, who founded MidAmerica Productions 31 years ago in Carnegie Hall, has performed 1200 concerts worldwide, of which 550 have occurred in Carnegie Hall. The Festival of the Aegean, which he founded in 2005 on the idyllic island of Syros, Greece, marks its 10th anniversary this year. Additionally, the beautiful theater in which the festival takes place—The Apollo Theater (“La Piccola Scala”) marks its 150th anniversary.

In 2013, Tiboris founded MidAm International, Inc., a company created to facilitate MidAmerica’s growing presence in Europe. In addition to the 9th Festival of the Aegean, MidAm International presented two concerts in Vienna during Easter Week. Encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response to the Vienna concerts, MidAm International presented its first performances in June 2014 at the historic L’Eglise de la Madeleine in Paris. He has gone on to conduct major orchestras in 20 countries.