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  • WDCH
  • FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOLIDAY SING-ALONG CONCERT CELEBRATES SEASON'S "GREATEST HITS"
  • Dec. 23, 2006
  • Program Hosted by Actor/Storyteller David Prather Features Choir, Organ, Piano and a Special Guest

    SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2006, AT 2 PM

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's Holiday Sing-Along celebrates the "greatest hits" of the season, complete with lyric sheets for audience members, on Saturday, December 23, 2006, 2 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The family-friendly concert is hosted by actor/storyteller David Prather, known for his humorous, high-energy performances at many of the Philharmonic's education and youth events. Also featured is the 40-person Angeles Chorale, organist Philip Allen Smith, and pianist Bryan Pezzone.

    Sing-Along guest artists are organist Philip Allen Smith, (who serves as organ conservator for Walt Disney Concert Hall and is currently director of music and organist at Wilshire United Methodist Church, organist and choir director for the Temple Israel of Hollywood, and a member of the Price/Smith trumpet and organ duo), and pianist Bryan Pezzone, (who has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and works regularly with composers and conductors John Adams, John Harbison, Oliver Knussen and Pierre Boulez in their Los Angeles engagements). The performance is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's annual Deck the Hall series of holiday presentations.

    Deck the Hall, presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, is a series of festive performances throughout the month of December (including two concerts on New Year's Eve) featuring an array of exceptional artists offering seasonal music. Other Deck the Hall presentations include The Blind Boys of Alabama on Saturday, December 23, 8 p.m.; and two New Year's Eve performances by Lyle Lovett at 7 and 10:30 p.m.

    For more than a decade, DAVID PRATHER has conducted residencies and performed at hundreds of schools as an artist with the Music Center Education Division. Other performances include his solo show Prather's Poetry Jam at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the Music Center's Pillow Theatre series. Prather's play John and Juan has been produced by the Alley Theatre in Texas, which has commissioned another work about the Harlem Renaissance. Prather's love for music began as a child in Washington, D.C., where he sang as a choirboy at the National Cathedral. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the American Conservatory Theatre.

    The ANGELES CHORALE was founded in 1975 by Bill and Ada Beth Lee. Mr. Lee served as music director during the first two seasons and was followed by other conductors, including Allan Davies and Gerald Eskalin, who continued to lead the Chorale in achieving its musical goals. In 1987, John Alexander became artistic director and the Chorale merged with the Masterworks Chorale at California State University, Northridge. Under Alexander's leadership, the Chorale established a reputation, both locally and nationally, for musical excellence. In 1993, the Chorale performed Mendelssohn's Elijah in China and Hong Kong with the Shanghai Symphony, the Central Philharmonic of Beijing, the Guangzhou Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. In 1996 Donald Neuen took over as artistic director of the Chorale and has led the singers to new precision and musical excellence.

    PHILIP ALLEN SMITH is active as a teacher in organ, piano, and voice. Solo and duo concerts have brought him worldwide engagements in Scandinavia, England, Germany, and the USA, including Engelbreckt's Kirche, Stockholm, Sweden; Our Savior's Lutheran, Copenhagen, Denmark; the Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove; National Presbyterian, Washington, D.C.; and First Presbyterian "Germantown," Philadelphia. Smith has accompanied many choruses and soloists in Southern California, including the Ventura Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Master Chorale under the direction of Paul Salamunovich. He has played many concerts for the American Guild of Organists Chapters in California, in addition to performing at the Region IX Convention of the AGO, Pasadena in 1991. An active member of the American Guild of Organists, Smith has served the Pasadena Chapter as Treasurer, Program Chair, Sub-Dean, and Dean. Currently he serves on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter and was Co-Chair for Hospitality for the 2004 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, held in Los Angeles. Most recently, Smith participated in the 2005 Grand Avenue Festival with concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

    BRYAN PEZZONE is a freelance pianist in the Los Angeles area actively involved in the studio scene, and he has recorded a number of original artist disks for the Yamaha Disklavier. He can be heard on recordings of contemporary music including Mel Powell's Settings and John Harbison's song cycle, The Natural World, on New World Records. As piano soloist, Pezzone has performed concerti with the Long Beach Symphony, the U.C. Irvine Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, the International Orchestra of U.S.I.U. in San Diego, California and the Eastman Philharmonic. He has created new works and transcriptions for the Yamaha MIDI Grand Piano and has been a featured performer of these works at the United States Piano Pedagogy Conference, the Miami Festival and most recently at Rice University, presenting a program of twentieth century piano works, original compositions and improvisations. He is also a contributing editor for the well-known magazine Piano and Keyboard.

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music - Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association's involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2006, AT 2 PM

    WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

    Deck the Hall

    Holiday Sing-Along

    DAVID PRATHER, host

    ANGELES CHORALE

    PHILIP ALLEN SMITH, organ

    BRYAN PEZZONE, piano

    Tickets ($15 - $69) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, 213.972.3422; Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310; Photos: 213.972.3034