Our 24th Season
Peter Tiboris founded MidAmerica Productions, Inc., in 1984 with its first concert
on January 7, 1984. This also served as his New York debut, conducting the American Symphony
Orchestra and the Louisiana Choir in Rossini's Stabat Mater and two contemporary works by
Dinos Constantinides. As an independent producer of classical concerts, MidAmerica presents soloists
and choral and instrumental organizations from around the world in New York's Carnegie Hall, Weill
Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher
Hall. In addition to its New York concert series MidAmerica Productions has presented in Greece,
Austria, USSR/Russia, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
Over 24 seasons MidAmerica has expanded its presentations to more than 60 concerts annually, and now
includes concert opportunities for visiting organizations, including the Ensemble Spotlight Series,
Madrigal Festival concerts, Vocal Jazz Festival, the National Wind Ensemble, and the National
Festival Youth Orchestra.
Notable guest conductors have included Sherrill Milnes, Lukas Foss, H. Robert Reynolds, Helmuth
Rilling, John Rutter, JoAnne Falletta, Michael Morgan, and Jonathan Willcocks. More than 180
conductors have led MidAmerica's concerts in New York, sharing the stage with 650 solo artists from
the world's greatest opera companies and concert stages.
MidAmerica has commissioned new works and has presented numerous premieres in Carnegie Hall and
Avery Fisher Hall. World premieres have included Dinos Constantinides' Byron's Greece,
Hymn to the Human Spirit, and Midnight Fantasy II for Wind Ensemble; John Rutter's
Cantate Domino, Distant Land, and Magnificat; and John Leavitt's A Christmas
Garland. U.S. premieres have included Mozart's Die Schüldigkeit des Ersten Gebots,
Reimann's Concerto for Violin and Cello, Taneyev's Upon Reading a Psalm, Tchaikovsky's Ode
to Joy; Mikis Theodorakis's Electra and Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra; and Clausen's
Hellas: In the Name of Freedom.
MidAmerica inaugurated its highly regarded chamber music series in Weill Recital Hall in 1989 with a
concert by soprano Jean Jordan. In the ensuing years, MidAmerica has presented hundreds of soloists
and ensembles, including performances by numerous musicians from the New York Philharmonic, The
Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as MidAmerica's
resident ensemble, Elysium.
In May 1995 Peter Tiboris founded Elysium Recordings, Inc.. Recent recordings include:
Great Duos for Violin and Cello showcasing David Chan and Rafael Figueroa, concertmaster and
principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Lukas Foss Plays Foss, Foss Plays
Mozart; and Reflections, a CD featuring violinist Helen Armstrong with Armstrong Chamber
Concerts. In 2002, ERI released Drucker Plays Brahms, a double CD from New York Philharmonic
clarinetist Stanley Drucker; and recordings of Schumann and Brahms by pianist Dimitris Sgouros. In
addition, ERI has released Music for Doubles, featuring performances by Stanley and Naomi
Drucker, and Charles and Christopher Rex, with the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic under Peter
Tiboris; Wagner Takes the 'A' Train with the Valerie Capers Jazz Ensemble; Lukas Foss Plays
Bach; and American Chamber Ensemble: American Clarinet Treasures. In March 2005, ERI
released American Chamber Ensemble Plays Peter Schickele, a recording celebrating the 40th
anniversary of the ACE and featuring chamber works by Peter Schickele.
In 1998, MidAmerica created the Mykonos International Music Festival in Greece, presenting five
concerts by the Elysium String Quartet, with guest artists, Stanley and Naomi Drucker and guitarist
Elena Papandreou. The 1999 festival included concurrent classical and jazz festivals. During 2000,
the newly renamed Festival of the Aegean featured the reorganized ensemble, Elysium, with Lukas Foss
in a dozen performances throughout Greece and the Greek islands.
Also during 2000, MidAmerica formed Opera Aegean, a training program and opera company based in
Greece. In its first season, 21 promising artists studied and performed under the guidance of famed
baritone Sherrill Milnes, and co-directors Carol Castel and Nicolas DiVirgilio. In the summer of
2001, legendary soprano Martina Arroyo gave a master class and spent 10 days participating with the
artistic staff of Opera Aegean. The 2005 season of Opera Aegean presented Il Barbiere di
Siviglia. In June of the same year, MidAmerica Productions launched the EuromaClassica Music
Festival in Rome with performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia and an all-Mozart celebration
with members of the Rome Philharmonic. Don Giovanni highlighted the 2006 season, celebrating the
250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.
July, 2007 saw the much anticipated Greek premiere of Mascagni's Zanetto starring acclaimed
soloists Eilana Lappalainen and Jennifer Larmore. The festival also included a staging of
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and special appearances by the Stratos Vougas Jazz Quartet,
Human Touch featuring David Lynch, and Taximi, a rebetika ensemble from Sweden.
To date, MidAmerica has produced over 900 concerts worldwide, featuring over 1770 American ensembles
and 45 ensembles from abroad - more than 100,000 performers in all.