Contact: Shakira Staten, GPTMC

(215) 599-7433

Sandra Horrocks, RPAC (215) 790-5808

shorrocks@rpac.org

PHILADELPHIA, June 15, 2001 — With the long-awaited opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts just months away, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC) have announced that they will partner in a major joint ticketing services venture to be known as PhilaTix. The groundbreaking partnership will serve The Kimmel Center and Academy of Music audiences, accounting for an estimated 1.2 million tickets and 700 performances annually, with the Orchestra being the single largest presenter within RPAC facilities.

Beginning on July 1, 2001, PhilaTix will manage a total of 6,000 seats per night, including subscription and single-ticket sales and information for all Orchestra and RPAC presentations and single-ticket sales for all other events, including performances by seven other resident companies in the Academy of Music and The Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall and Perelman Theater: Pennsylvania Ballet, Opera Company of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops^®, PHILADANCO and The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society (these resident companies will continue to operate their subscription sales independently).

"Now, combined resources, streamlined efforts and our established expertise and experience will allow the Orchestra and RPAC to secure the most advanced computer and technical systems, resulting in efficiently processed orders and readily available and quickly disseminated information for the many activities taking place at The Kimmel Center and the Academy," said Richard L. Smoot, Chairman of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

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Opening December 16, 2001, the new 450,000-square-foot Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is located at Broad and Spruce Streets along Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. Designed by internationally acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly, The Kimmel Center will join the historic Academy of Music to become one of the nation’s largest performing arts complexes. The Kimmel Center features the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall, a state-of-the art concert hall with acoustics designed by Russell Johnson, for the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra. The arts complex will also host the annual seasons of the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, American Theater Arts for Youth, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (formerly Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra), PHILADANCO, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero & the Philly Pops^®.