TWO GREAT VENUES…ONE SUPERB SOUND
Jenine Baines
March 22, 2008
SAN MARINO, Calif. Ever since Dr. Victor Vener founded the California Philharmonic 13 years ago, the orchestra has been renowned for its eclectic range of programming, from Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to Bernstein and The Beatles. Yet, as its upcoming summer season proves, Cal Phil also offers its patrons a choice of venues. Music lovers can take advantage of the warmer weather and attend an outdoor series of concerts on Saturday nights at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia or they can travel downtown on Sunday afternoons to revel not only in the music but the world-renowned architecture and acoustics of Walt Disney Concert Hall.
"Two great venues, two unique experiences, one superb sound," says Vener with a smile.
The Cal Phil Festival on the Green concert series, held on The Arboretum´s concert lawn will take place on Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with gates to the Arboretum opening for picnickers at 5:30 p.m. Patrons will enjoy live jazz during this time as well. The Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall series follows on the next day at 2 p.m.
The 2008 Summer Season will open on the weekend of June 28/29 at both venues and conclude on September 6 with a performance at The Arboretum. Concerts range from a musical tour of America to a night on the dance floor:
June 28 (The Arboretum)/June 29 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "America the Beautiful," featuring such works as Gershwin´s Rhapsody in Blue, with soloist Norman Krieger, described by the Washington Post as "an artist of unusual sensitivity with the technical control to do absolutely anything he wants;" Copland´s Appalachian Spring; excerpts from Chicago; both Mardi Gras and Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofe; a swinging rendition of New York, New York; and a performance of California Suite for singer, jazz trio and orchestra, featuring James Tormé, son of the legendary Mel Tormé and noted jazz artists Ryan Cross on bass, Ryan Coleman on piano and Gene Coye on drums.
July 12 (The Arboretum)/July 13 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Andrew Lloyd Webber Meets Puccini," with excerpts from Phantom of the Opera, La Bohčme, Cats, Madame Butterfly, Evita and Tosca. Featured performers include Valerie Perri – hailed as "electrifying and sensational" by the Boston Globe –tenor Robert MacNeil, with his "sterling, pin-point perfect voice," according to the Sacramento Bee, and young LA Opera Emerging Artist Angel Blue. Also starring at the Walt Disney Concert Hall performance only is the venue´s renowned pipe organ, played by organist extraordinaire Phil Smith.
July 26 (The Arboretum)/July 27 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Rodgers & Hammerstein," presenting excerpts from Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I and State Fair sung by international opera diva Suzanna Guzmán – "a fire-eating actress who gave a devastatingly sexy performance," said Time magazine – and Broadway star Kevin Earley, described as "irrepressible and adorable" by the Hollywood Reporter.
August 9 (The Arboretum)/August 10 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Movie Magic," playing Oscar-winning scores from blockbuster classics like Titanic, The Godfather, Schindler´s List, Lawrence of Arabia, An American in Paris, and Rocky. Joining the orchestra for Saint-Saëns´ Organ Symphony, which was featured in the film Babe, is renowned organist Phil Smith. Violinist and pianist Ayke Agus – hailed by the LA Times as "...exceptionally fluent, graceful and accurate...the sort of apparently easygoing, technically whiz-bang pianist that other pianists talk about with awe" – will appear as a featured guest artist as well, performing on both instruments.
August 23 (The Arboretum)/August 24 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Beethoven, Bernstein & Bolero," featuring some of the most passionate music written for the concert hall or Broadway stage: Beethoven´s Ode to Joy finale from Symphony No. 9; Bernstein´s Candide and West Side Story; and Ravel´s Bolero. Featured singers include: soprano Khori Dastoor, whose recent performance was hailed as "the stuff of art" by Opera News; mezzo soprano Suzanna Guzmán; Metropolitan Opera Auditions National Finalist, tenor Kalil Wilson; and bass baritone Cedric Barry of Los Angeles Opera, acclaimed by the Pasadena Star-News for his voice of "passion and power."
September 6 (The Arboretum) – "Gotta Dance," with Johann Strauss´ Blue Danube, Richard Strauss´ Dance of the Seven Veils, and Stravinsky´s Firebird Suite, as well as tunes made immortal by Glenn Miller, The Beatles and The Mamas and The Papas.
For more information about Cal Phil´s upcoming season, call 626.300.8200 or visit www.calphil.org. All programs, artists, repertoire and dates are subject to change.
To order tickets for Cal Phil Festival on the Green, call the Cal Phil box office, located at 1120 Huntington Drive in San Marino, at 626.300.8200 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased online. The Arboretum is located in the Greater Pasadena area at 301 No. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia.
Tickets to performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall go on sale March 18 and are available by calling TicketMaster at 213.363.3500 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Music lovers can also purchase tickets from The Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning March 18. Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue in Los Angeles.
In 1995, Music Director and Conductor Victor Vener and a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated music lovers based in Pasadena, California founded the 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 regular programming 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) and Cal Phil at The Mill (The Old Mill in San Marino). For more information, visit www.calphil.org or call 626.300.8200.
"Two great venues, two unique experiences, one superb sound," says Vener with a smile.
The Cal Phil Festival on the Green concert series, held on The Arboretum´s concert lawn will take place on Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with gates to the Arboretum opening for picnickers at 5:30 p.m. Patrons will enjoy live jazz during this time as well. The Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall series follows on the next day at 2 p.m.
The 2008 Summer Season will open on the weekend of June 28/29 at both venues and conclude on September 6 with a performance at The Arboretum. Concerts range from a musical tour of America to a night on the dance floor:
June 28 (The Arboretum)/June 29 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "America the Beautiful," featuring such works as Gershwin´s Rhapsody in Blue, with soloist Norman Krieger, described by the Washington Post as "an artist of unusual sensitivity with the technical control to do absolutely anything he wants;" Copland´s Appalachian Spring; excerpts from Chicago; both Mardi Gras and Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofe; a swinging rendition of New York, New York; and a performance of California Suite for singer, jazz trio and orchestra, featuring James Tormé, son of the legendary Mel Tormé and noted jazz artists Ryan Cross on bass, Ryan Coleman on piano and Gene Coye on drums.
July 12 (The Arboretum)/July 13 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Andrew Lloyd Webber Meets Puccini," with excerpts from Phantom of the Opera, La Bohčme, Cats, Madame Butterfly, Evita and Tosca. Featured performers include Valerie Perri – hailed as "electrifying and sensational" by the Boston Globe –tenor Robert MacNeil, with his "sterling, pin-point perfect voice," according to the Sacramento Bee, and young LA Opera Emerging Artist Angel Blue. Also starring at the Walt Disney Concert Hall performance only is the venue´s renowned pipe organ, played by organist extraordinaire Phil Smith.
July 26 (The Arboretum)/July 27 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Rodgers & Hammerstein," presenting excerpts from Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I and State Fair sung by international opera diva Suzanna Guzmán – "a fire-eating actress who gave a devastatingly sexy performance," said Time magazine – and Broadway star Kevin Earley, described as "irrepressible and adorable" by the Hollywood Reporter.
August 9 (The Arboretum)/August 10 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Movie Magic," playing Oscar-winning scores from blockbuster classics like Titanic, The Godfather, Schindler´s List, Lawrence of Arabia, An American in Paris, and Rocky. Joining the orchestra for Saint-Saëns´ Organ Symphony, which was featured in the film Babe, is renowned organist Phil Smith. Violinist and pianist Ayke Agus – hailed by the LA Times as "...exceptionally fluent, graceful and accurate...the sort of apparently easygoing, technically whiz-bang pianist that other pianists talk about with awe" – will appear as a featured guest artist as well, performing on both instruments.
August 23 (The Arboretum)/August 24 (Walt Disney Concert Hall) – "Beethoven, Bernstein & Bolero," featuring some of the most passionate music written for the concert hall or Broadway stage: Beethoven´s Ode to Joy finale from Symphony No. 9; Bernstein´s Candide and West Side Story; and Ravel´s Bolero. Featured singers include: soprano Khori Dastoor, whose recent performance was hailed as "the stuff of art" by Opera News; mezzo soprano Suzanna Guzmán; Metropolitan Opera Auditions National Finalist, tenor Kalil Wilson; and bass baritone Cedric Barry of Los Angeles Opera, acclaimed by the Pasadena Star-News for his voice of "passion and power."
September 6 (The Arboretum) – "Gotta Dance," with Johann Strauss´ Blue Danube, Richard Strauss´ Dance of the Seven Veils, and Stravinsky´s Firebird Suite, as well as tunes made immortal by Glenn Miller, The Beatles and The Mamas and The Papas.
For more information about Cal Phil´s upcoming season, call 626.300.8200 or visit www.calphil.org. All programs, artists, repertoire and dates are subject to change.
To order tickets for Cal Phil Festival on the Green, call the Cal Phil box office, located at 1120 Huntington Drive in San Marino, at 626.300.8200 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased online. The Arboretum is located in the Greater Pasadena area at 301 No. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia.
Tickets to performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall go on sale March 18 and are available by calling TicketMaster at 213.363.3500 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Music lovers can also purchase tickets from The Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning March 18. Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue in Los Angeles.
In 1995, Music Director and Conductor Victor Vener and a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated music lovers based in Pasadena, California founded the 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 regular programming 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) and Cal Phil at The Mill (The Old Mill in San Marino). For more information, visit www.calphil.org or call 626.300.8200.
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