The Philadelphia Orchestra recently announced an historic international tour for this May and June, in which the orchestra will visit six cities in Europe, as well as three in Israel. The latter part of the trip, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding, will represent the orchestra’s first visit to Israel since 1992 – the first visit to that country by any American orchestra since 1996 – and Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin’s debut there.
The tour was officially announced during a press conference inside the Kimmel Center’s Hamilton Garden, and the orchestra brought along representatives from various sponsors, as well as Rep. Brendan Boyle, the congressman representing Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District. All spread the message that the upcoming tour will be more than a series of concerts, but rather an act of “cultural diplomacy.”