Violinist, Conductor and Showman is Billboard’s Top Selling Classical Artist in U.S. and a Pollstar Top 10 Worldwide Touring Act
Andre Rieu, the most successful classical artist in the world, will embark on a 35-city concert tour throughout the U.S. and Canada starting April 17th in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre.
The 12,000 capacity arena is one of the largest in Canada and is almost sold-out. Together with his 60-piece Johan Strauss Orchestra, the music aficionado tours on five continents, performing to more than 700,000 fans annually around the world. Billboard Magazine named Rieu the number one classical artist in the United States for 2008. In addition, Pollstar Magazine named him one of the Top 10 touring acts in the world, sharing the honor with Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay.
Rieu’s tours are global extravaganzas, with elaborate sets including exact reproductions of European Palaces. He believes that classical music should be accessible to everyone and engages audiences with his unorthodox approach and radiant atmospheres. Crowned the “King of Waltz” by the media, he encourages the audience to get out of their seats and waltz in the aisles. His unique approach to classical music has fans swaying in sold-out stadiums; the public embraced by the charismatic virtuoso.
“Especially in times like these, music is very important. My orchestra and I travel all across the world. Wherever we play, people always seem to forget their worries for a moment, That’s one of the most beautiful and powerful things of making music,” says Rieu. Adding: “I’m really looking forward to tour the United States and Canada again – our North American fans have a great attitude and always show their enthusiasm right away from the very first note.”
Leading music industry magazine Billboard named Andre Rieu as the Top Classical Selling Artist of 2008 in the United States. He also celebrated three albums in Billboard’s 2008 Top Classical Albums chart. As well as record sales, Rieu topped the charts in worldwide touring. Pollstar Magazine named him number eight in the world, with over $77 million in revenue.
Born in the Dutch city of Maastricht, Rieu started his training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Belgium. His studies continued to the Conservatory in Maastricht and finally to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. 2009 marks Rieu’s 30th Anniversary Tour, delighting audiences everywhere he travels. He is known in the U.S. for his wildly popular PBS specials.
Tour Dates Andre Rieu 30th Anniversary Tour 2009 – North America
Date City Venue
4-17 Toronto, Canada Air Canada Centre
4-18 Ottawa, Canada Scotiabank Centre
4-19 Montreal, Canada Bell Centre
4-20 Syracuse, NY War Memorial at Oncenter
4-21 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena
4-23 New York City, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
4-24 Bridgeport, CT Arena at Harbor Yard
4-25 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
4-26 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
4-27 Reading, PA Sovereign Center
4-28 Camden, PA Susquehanna Bank Center
5-14 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
5-15 Wilkes-Barre, PA Wachovia Arena
5-16 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
5-17 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
5-18 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
5-19 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
5-21 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
5-22 Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee Theatre
5-23 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
5-24 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
5-25 Omaha, NE Qwest Center
5-26 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
6-12 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
6-13 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
6-14 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
6-16 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
6-17 Sacramento, CA Arco Arena
6-18 Fresno, CA SaveMart Center
6-19 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
6-20 Ontario, CA Citizens Business Bank Arena
6-22 San Diego, CA Cricket Wireless Pavilion
6-23 Phoenix, AZ Jobing.com Arena
6-24 Las Vegas, NV Orleans Arena
6-25 Salt Lake City, UT Usana Amphitheatre
For ticket information, please visit: http://www.andrerieu.com
Eileen Thompson/Joe Schneider
Rogers & Cowan
+310-854-8137 / 8140
eithompson@rogersandcowan.com
jschneider@rogersandcowan.com
Source: Andre Rieu Studios
Web: http://www.andrerieu.com
