SUNDAY, JULY 29 at 7 PM

Media Sponsor: KCRW

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and KCRW present Spirit of Armenia! on Sunday, July 29, at the Hollywood Bowl. This performance is one of six Sunday evening performances that comprise the 2007 KCRW World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. This first-ever night completely dedicated to Armenian music and culture features renowned Armenian artists, and the colorful costumes and dancing that symbolize the spirit Armenian. This evening's host is Tom Schnabel, KCRW personality and the Philharmonic's Program Advisor for World Music.

Spirit of Armenia! brings together a large group of distinguished local and international Armenian artists. Acclaimed leaders of modern Armenian pop music, Adiss, Andy, Silva Hakobyan and Sako, make their Hollywood Bowl debuts. Musician and composer Djivan Gasparyan performs Armenian folk music playing the duduk, the traditional woodwind instrument of Armenia. Gasparyan is a master of the duduk, having dedicated over 50 years of his life to studying the instrument. Winds of Passion, comprised of some of the most accomplished duduk players in the world today, performs as a duduk quartet, the first of its kind. Young tenor Hovhannes Shahbazyan sings Armenian traditional folk and gousan music, and classical pianist and composer Vatché Mankerian also performs a specially arranged composition of Armenian folk and classical repertoire. Los Angeles-based ensemble, Element Band, draws inspiration from widespread and multicultural sources, resulting in a unique Armenian "folk-fusion" sound. In the second half, conductor Roma Kanyan leads a special band created for this Spirit of Armenia! program.

Zvartnots Dance Ensemble and Vartan & Siranoush Gevorkian Dance Ensemble, dressed in rich, colorful costumes, perform high-energy choreography to both traditional and contemporary Armenian music.

Other 2007 KCRW World Festival performances include DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist perform Brain Placement: 7 Inches Of Fury, Carlinhos Brown, and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars on June 24;

Café Tacuba and Groove Armada on July 15; Reggae Night VI with Burning Spear, Sly & Robbie and The Taxi Gang with Horace Andy and Cherine Anderson on Aug. 12; Macy Gray, Zap Mama, and the Brazilian Girls on Aug. 26; and Underworld on Sept. 9.

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:

SUNDAY, JULY 29 at 7 PM

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

Spirit of Armenia!

Adiss

Andy

Silva Hakobyan

Sako

Djivan Gasparyan

Hovhannes Shahbazyan

Roma Kanyan, conductor

Element Band

Vatche Mankerian

Winds of Passion, with Gagik Badalyan, Araks & Alik Karapetyan

Zvartnots Dance Ensemble

Vartan & Siranoush Gevorkian Dance Ensemble

Tom Schnabel, host

Media sponsor: KCRW

Tickets ($7 - $95) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 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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