FRIDAY and SATURDAY, JULY 20 and 21, AT 8:30 PM
July 20 concert sponsored by WaMu
July 21 is a Fidelity Investments Inspire The Future Concert
British pop/jazz sensation Jamie Cullum makes his orchestral debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by popular British conductor Bramwell Tovey, in a "Cool Britannia" evening focused on the cool edge of Brit culture - including music from Bond, Austin Powers, Noel Coward, The Avengers on Friday and Saturday,
July 20 and 21, at 8:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert also features the Pacific Chorale, John Alexander, Artistic Director.
Singer, songwriter and pianist Cullum has been described as "a one-man British invasion" by the Hollywood Reporter and "goose-bump good…fresh and hip" by the Associated Press. His Verve debut recording, Twentysomething, was a worldwide smash, selling over two million copies and garnering a Grammy nomination. Tovey, an audience favorite during previous Bowl appearances, works internationally with a prestigious list of orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has served as music director of the Vancouver Symphony since 2000.
"Cool Britannia" begins with the Philharmonic performing music by John Barry from James Bond films, including Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds are Forever, followed by a suite of Noel Coward music arranged by Tovey with the Pacific Chorale (John Alexander, artistic director). The much-loved World War II-era Fain/Kahal song "I'll Be Seeing You," arranged by Tovey, is performed with the Pacific Chorale, featuring the recorded voices of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Rounding out the program are "Shagadelic Suite - The Music of Austin Powers" (George S. Clinton), and theme music from The Avengers. The concert's second half spotlights Cullum with the orchestra.
British singer, songwriter, and pianist JAMIE CULLUM has weathered a non-stop, whirlwind schedule for the past two years. The 26-year-old's Verve debut, Twentysomething, was a worldwide smash, selling over two million copies and garnering a Grammy nomination. His new album is Catching Tales. Born in Essex, and raised in Wiltshire, Jamie Cullum was obsessed with all types of music from an early age: rock, hip-hop, acid jazz, blues. He discovered jazz as a teenager, via artists like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, but also showed an interest in the groundbreaking Steely Dan albums purchased by his brother Ben (who plays bass throughout Catching Tales). While studying English at college, he began working as a singer-pianist anywhere he could get a gig: on cruise ships, in pubs, even wedding receptions. Here he crafted the explosive on-stage persona (captured on the 2004 DVD Live at Blenheim Palace) that would win him accolades in The New York Times and Variety in the years that followed. Universal Classics & Jazz signed him in the spring of 2003 and sent him into the studio to make Twentysomething. With Catching Tales, Cullum continues to redefine where the parameters of pop, and jazz - indeed, all musical genres - are drawn.
Conductor BRAMWELL TOVEY has been the Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony since 2000 and works internationally with a prestigious list of orchestras - including the New York Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony since September 2000, he has enjoyed great success in a broad range of programming. Recent works performed include Shostakovich's Seventh ("Leningrad") and Tenth Symphonies, Mahler's First, Second, Fifth, and Seventh Symphonies, Britten's War Requiem, Verdi's Requiem, and Bruckner's Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Symphonies. In recent seasons, Tovey has made regular appearances with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and has conducted orchestras across Canada including the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa). In the UK, he has performed with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Trondheim Symphony, the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra, and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra. In 2006/07, he conducted the Detroit Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (in his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut).
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 39th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2007, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the third year in a row at the 18th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
FRIDAY, JULY 20 AT 8:30 PM
SATURDAY, JULY 21 AT 8:30 PM
Cool Britannia!
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
BRAMWELL TOVEY, conductor
JAMIE CULLUM, special guest
PACIFIC CHORALE, John Alexander, Artistic Director
July 20 concert sponsored by WaMu
July 21 is a Fidelity Investments Inspire The Future Concert
Tickets ($7 - $111) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday - Saturday, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.), or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.
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Adam Crane, acrane@laphil.org, 213.972.3034; Rachelle Roe, rroe@laphil.org, 213.972.7310; Laura Stegman, laura_stegman@hotmail.com; 310.470.6321; For photos: 213.972.3034