World-Reknown Violinist And Composer Andre Rieu To Perform One Show At St. Pete Times Forum In Tampa, FL On Wednesday April 19, 2006 Tickets Go On Sale February 3, 2006

Who: Andre Rieu
World-Reknown Violinist and Composer

When: Wednesday, April 19 - 8:00pm

Where: St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, FL

What: Well-known violinist and composer Andre Rieu, dubbed the "Modern King of Waltz" by the media, will appear in concert at the St. Pete Times Forum, Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 8:00 pm.

Andre Rieu was named the Top Classical Artist by Billboard's Best of 2005, and he was also awarded the Top Classical Album for "Tuscany" and "Live in Dublin" plus Top Classical Crossover Album for "At The Movies."

Rieu, a Dutch violinist virtuoso and conductor of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, was born in Holland in 1949 into a very musical family. His father was a conductor, and most of his brothers and sisters are professional musicians. To overcome shyness onstage during his early career, and to remove the emotional distance between himself and the audience, Rieu adopted the example of Johann Strauss, who would create a festive atmosphere at his performances and encourage his audiences to enjoy the music by getting out of their seats and waltz in the aisles. This was well received, and Rieu assembled a group of local Dutch musicians, creating the Johann Strauss Orchestra.

In 1994, Rieu released his first album Strauss & Co. It was released as popular music, and did very well on the Dutch and German charts. In 1996, the violinist toured throughout Europe, gaining additional fans in Germany, Austria and France. Later that year, Rieu released a new album, From Holland With Love, which held the number one spot on the Dutch charts for more than a year. The album triggered a waltz wave in the Netherlands. In 1996, Rieu won the World Music Award in Monte Carlo. Some of Rieu's additional albums include Romantic Moments, 100 Years of Strauss, The Vienna I Love, and The Christmas I Love.

Rieu's live concerts, often shown on PBS, attract a wide variety of fans, typically ranging in age from 16 to 65 years old. Members of the audience can be seen in any manner of attire, ranging from formal black tie to t-shirts and tennis shoes. Rieu, who has toured in countries all over the world, including many stops in Japan, is considered an excellent conductor, a talented violinist, and a great showman. Overall, he has sold more than 20 million albums and CDs.

Pollstar - the international newsweekly of the music industry, and one of the concert industry's leading publications, released a report today on ticket sales for the first half of 2005. The St. Pete Times Forum, in its ninth year of operation, ranked as the number one venue in the United States, and second in the world, with a total of 238,627 tickets sold to concerts, events and family shows for the period of 1/1/05 - 6/30/05. The study ranked the top 100 venues in the world by actual ticket sales for concert events and family shows.

Tickets: Tickets for this event will go on sale this Friday, February 3, 2006 at 10am at the McDONALD'S BOX OFFICE at the St. Pete Times Forum and all Ticketmaster Outlets including Spec's Music and FYE. To order tickets by phone call Ticketmaster at (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100 or log onto ticketmaster.com. Tickets are priced at $61.75, $51.75 and $41.75. For more information please call 813.301.2500 or visit stpetetimesforum.com. Prices do not include service charges. For dinner reservations at Medallions Restaurant on the night of the event please call (813) 301-6926.