The Louisville Orchestra will kickoff of the 2008-09 season with the black tie celebration, Fanfara on Saturday, September 13 at Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall. Tickets range from $25 - $75 and are available by calling 502.584.7777 or by logging on to www.louisvilleorchestra.org. The festivities begin with a decadent dinner fundraiser with the spectacular views from atop the Humana building. After dinner, guests will be escorted across the street where the University of Louisville Marching Band will surely stop traffic on Main. Following the energy of the Marching band, The Louisville Leopard Percussionists will make an impact with their pounding rhythms on the front steps of the Kentucky Center. Inside, a special treat, The Louisville Suzuki String Association will perform select pieces in honor of Virginia Schneider. Schneider who passed away in November of 2007, played viola with the Louisville Orchestra for 54 years and was the pioneer of the Suzuki method for Kentucky. To honor her passion of music and the Orchestra, this season’s Fanfara is dedicated to her. All of that before the lights dim! The guest artist, bass virtuoso, Edgar Meyer will join the LO for Giovanni Bottesini Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in B Minor and his own composition, Concerto for Double Bass in D. The Boston Herald said of Meyer, “The double bass is not a solo instrument, but Meyer makes it sound like one. From the lowest notes to the top of the fingerboard, Meyer shows complete command, playing the bass as if it were the supreme string instrument.” The Orchestra will also perform George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Np. 11 and Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky will complete the concert. For tickets call 502.-.584.7777 or log on to www.louisvilleorchestra.org.