The Fab Four -- "Best Beatles Cover Band in World" -- join Cal Phil

Dr. Victor Vener, founder and music director of the California Philharmonic, has often claimed that a work must meet only one criterion to be included in a Cal Phil program: it must be "great music." In other words, it doesn´t need to be written by a certain composer during a particular era for a specific genre, explains Vener, who is recognized as both a musicologist and an expert on 18th and 19th century instrumental performance.

No concert illustrates Vener´s vision for the orchestra more vividly than "Basically Beatles," which Cal Phil will present on July 11 at 7:30 p.m. at The Arboretum in Arcadia and on July 12 at 2 p.m. at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

"We describe this program as from Bach to the Beatles and beyond," explains Vener. "You´ll hear Bach´s great Toccata and Fugue but you´ll also hear music composed over 300 years later by four young men from Liverpool, England." Also on the program are excerpts from the award winning musicals Cabaret and Le Cage Aux Folles, plus the World Premiere of symphony no. 1 by Roger Allen Ward, Cal Phil´s composer-in-residence.

"We´re really looking forward to presenting ´Basically Beatles´," Vener adds. "You truly will think you´ve traveled back in time and are once again hearing John, Paul, George and Ringo perform together."

Vener is alluding to the fact that The Fab Four, described as ´the best Beatles cover band in the world´ by K-EARTH radio, will join Cal Phil. As KISS guitarist Paul Stanley wrote, "We sat in the audience and our jaws dropped…I can´t think of a better band that sounds more like the Beatles and carries that spirit."

However, The Fab Four will also perform with the orchestra. "Remember, the Beatles´ later works were much more adventurous musically," says Vener. "Together, Cal Phil and The Fab Four will explore where they went."

Cal Phil will also explore the baroque era of classical music when Phil Smith, organ conservator at Walt Disney Concert Hall, appears as guest soloist during the orchestra´s performance of Bach´s Toccata and Fugue.

"If you saw Disney´s ´Fantasia,´ you´ve heard Bach´s Toccata and Fugue," Vener says. "The great conductor Leopold Stokowski transcribed the work for a large orchestra specifically for that film. But, at Cal Phil, you´ll hear more than the orchestral version; Phil will perform the Toccata and Fugue as Bach composed it for organ as well."

But Cal Phil´s exploration of "great music" extends beyond performing it…to commissioning new works, such as symphony no. 1 by Cal Phil´s composer-in-residence, Roger Allen Ward.

"A first symphony is a major step in any composer´s career," says Vener. "And Cal Phil is eager to share Roger´s symphony with our audiences because we know they´ll not only give it the attention it deserves but enjoy it too. It´s written in the tradition of great American composers we love, like Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Walter Piston and David Diamond."

"I´m lucky to be able to write for such great musicians," Ward adds. "I´ve been composing for Cal Phil for ten years now, so I know the orchestra ´by person´ as much as by instrument. It´s wonderful to compose for the particular talents and abilities of individual players rather than just some sort of idealized flute or cello or other instrument. It´s also a tremendous honor to have the Symphony premiered at two of Southern California´s greatest venues."

Tickets for Cal Phil Festival on the Green at The Arboretum start at just $20 and can be purchased by calling the Cal Phil box office at 1120 Huntington Drive in San Marino at 626.300.8200 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or by visiting the website, www.calphil.org. The Arboretum is located at 301 No. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia.

Patrons are encouraged to arrive at 5:30 p.m. when the gates at The Arboretum open, and picnic beforehand. Vendors are on site to provide food or orders can be made in advance online at www.calphil.org. Live jazz will be performed prior to the concert as well.

This year, for the first time at Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall, pre-concert lectures with Dr. Victor Vener will take place at 1 p.m.

Tickets for Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall are available by calling TicketMaster at 213.363.3500, Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or online, 24 hours daily, at www.ticketmaster.com. Prices range from $35 to $90/person. Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue in Los Angeles.

The mission of the Cal Phil Foundation is to bring excellent and professional performances of great music to the widest possible audience. To achieve its mission, Cal Phil works to: provide access to performances, serve as a major cultural resource, achieve regional, national and international recognition for the orchestra, provide free and low-cost educational outreach concerts and programs for all people, and encourage community involvement in the organization beyond concert attendance – through volunteer participation, network groups and leadership role opportunities. For more information, call 626.300.8200 or visit www.calphil.org.

ABOUT PHIL SMITH:

After being introduced to the piano by his mother when he was 5 years old, Philip Allen Smith began studying organ at age 12. Soon afterwards, he became the organist for his father´s parish church in Toledo, Ohio and gave his first public solo organ recital just two years later. Today, Smith is the Organ Conservator for one of the premiere concert venues in the nation, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, where his duties include bedazzling visitors with ´demonstration performances´ on what may well be Disney Hall´s most acclaimed feature, its visually astonishing and acoustically unparalleled pipe organ.

The organist – who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organ from Spring Arbor College in Michigan and a Master of Music Degree in Organ and Church Music from the University of Michigan – also performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. In addition, Smith is Interim Director of Music and Organist at The Church of our Savior in San Gabriel as well as Organist and Choir Director at Temple Israel of Hollywood.

Whether appearing as a soloist, a member of the Price/Smith Duo for trumpet and organ, or as an accompanist for choral groups like the Anglican Chorale, Cambridge Singers and Ventura Master Chorale, Smith has earned bravos worldwide – from Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Weisbaden, Germany; and Dublin, Ireland in Europe to Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Hollywood in the United States. He has also received invitations to perform at Wells Cathedral and St. Paul´s Cathedral in England, St. Patrick´s Cathedral in Ireland, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

Yet the virtuoso organist can often be found in the classroom as well – offering lessons not only in organ but in piano and voice, too. In 2006, Smith wrote "A Forest of Pipes" and released a demonstration CD on the organ with expert Manuel Rosales, who built the famed organ at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

ABOUT ROGER ALLEN WARD:

Roger Allen Ward was born and raised on the Oklahoma prairie. Bored with his early piano lessons, he took up the cello at age 11. Not content to just play one instrument, by age 14 Ward was also playing oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, euphonium, trombone and tuba. To his chagrin, he wasn´t ever coordinated enough to learn percussion. His initial music studies at college were in oboe performance, but he soon realized that his talents lay in composition and he switched focus, studying with composers Evan Tonsing, Michael Hennigan and Carolyn Bremer.

After taking his undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma, Ward moved to Southern California to attend the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied with many notable composers including Mel Powell, Lucky Mosko, Morton Subotnick, Arthur Jarvinen, Michael Jon Fink, Marc Lowenstein, Mary Jane Leach, Mark Trayle, Sarah Roberts and Annie Gosfield. In addition to instrumental composition, his work at CalArts included Balinese music, interactive computer music and vocal performance. After leaving CalArts, Ward joined Cal Phil full time, having started his relationship with the orchestra as an intern.

Now in his tenth year with the orchestra, Ward has distinguished himself throughout national music circles and is noted for the "powerful lyricism" of his music. His compositions, which consistently draw praise from musicians and concertgoers alike, have been heard around the country in concert halls and radio broadcasts. The Los Angeles Times raved of the "most impressive effect" of his music, while the Pasadena Star-News noted its "tuneful medleys and mind-reeling fast passages." In addition, Beacon Media Group praised Ward´s "fresh pallet of sound" – adding three years later that Ward´s "high caliber" work continued to be "fresh and vital in its approach."

For Cal Phil, Ward has written seven orchestral works: earth: you are here, there was enough time for everything, pacific vistas, walk of stars, freeways & surface streets, california dreaming, festive music and music for percussion and orchestra and three chamber works, short stories (horn, violin and piano) meditation: the four elements (flute, harp and strings) and dirty martini (brass quintet). In July 2009 Cal Phil will premiere his first symphony.

In addition to the Cal Phil, significant ensembles that have performed his music include the California EAR Unit, CalArts New Century Players, Kronos Quartet and the Bang on a Can All-Stars and ensembleGREEN. His music for solo harp was premiered on the World Music Institute's Interpretations series at Merkin Hall during the 1998-1999 season. He composed the original score for the feature-length video Nudity and Adult Situations, directed by Shaun Vinyard, which was selected to open the 1998 Blue Sky International Film Festival in Las Vegas. His compositions range in genre from experiments in music concrete to improvisational pieces, opera, choral, solo pieces, songs, large ensemble works and chamber music.

Ward was twice selected as a participant in the Arcosanti Young Composers Seminar and was the first ever winner of the Gregory Sauer solo cello composition competition. Recently, he has twice been a guest artist at California State University at Long Beach. During his time at CalArts, he taught composition and music theory through the CalArts Community Arts Partnership at several locations throughout Los Angeles County.

He resides in Pasadena with his ginger-sesame Shiba Inu, Sascha.

ABOUT CAL PHIL:

In 1995, Music Director and Conductor Victor Vener and a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated music lovers based in Pasadena, California founded The CalPhil Foundation. The Foundation, a nonprofit community benefit organization, supports the California Philharmonic in its quest to expand awareness of classical music, thus increasing the interest and support for great timeless music with wide audience appeal, from the classical and operatic repertoire to diverse genres of jazz, pops, Hollywood and Broadway. Also, with a strong commitment to new music and to expanding the symphonic repertoire, the California Philharmonic has presented numerous world premieres of both orchestral and chamber works.

The California Philharmonic began in 1997 with a five-concert inaugural summer season of Cal Phil Festival on the Green on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia. Now, Cal Phil presents twenty-four concerts per year in five different, but equally impressive, venues throughout Los Angeles County. These series include Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall (downtown Los Angeles), Cal Phil at the Ambassador (Pasadena), Cal Phil Music, Martinis and the Maestro (Castle Green Hotel in Pasadena), Cal Phil Festival on the Green, and Cal Phil at The Mill (The Old Mill in San Marino). For more information, visit www.calphil.org or call 626.300.8200.