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  • ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC CLOSE THE CLASSICAL SEASON AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL WITH TWO EVENINGS OF MAHLER’S IMPRESSIVE “SYMPHONY OF A THOUSAND”
  • Sep. 9, 2008
  • Concerts Mark Salonen’s Final Hollywood Bowl Performance as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

    TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 and 11, 2008, AT 8 PM

    The September 9 Performance is a Fidelity FutureStage Concert; The September 11 Perfomance is Generously Supported by the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts; Media partner: Time Warner Cable; Foundation Support: Michael J. Connell Foundation

    Esa-Pekka Salonen makes his final appearance at the Hollywood Bowl as Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director to wrap up the classical season, Tuesday and Thursday, September 9 and 11, at 8 p.m. The programming for these milestone evenings – Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 8, “Symphony of a Thousand” – matches the occasion as the Los Angeles Philharmonic along with eight superb soloists, the Los Angeles Master Chorale (Music Director Grant Gershon) and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson) join in for this rarely heard and extraordinary musical creation.

    Gustav Mahler said of his Eighth Symphony, “…it is something quite different in both content and style from all my other works, and certainly the biggest thing that I have ever done… Hitherto I have always used words and voices simply in an explanatory way, as a short cut to creating a certain atmosphere and to express something which, purely symphonically, could only be expressed at great length, with the terseness and precision only possible by using words. Here, on the other hand, voices are also used as instruments.”

    Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, in its highly unorthodox juxtaposition of texts and astoundingly large performing resources, stands irrefutably as his grandest composition. Though the work was nicknamed “The Symphony of a Thousand,” the tag was actually an understatement. The program supervised by Mahler for the 1910 premiere states that the work required 858 singers and 171 instrumentalists. To counter the effect of so many singers, Mahler had to augment the standard orchestra, increasing it to 84 strings, 6 harps, 22 woodwinds and 17 brass players. While the number of people on the Hollywood Bowl stage does not match these numbers, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, soloists, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Los Angeles Children’s Chorus are sure to make for a powerful and captivating performance. The impressive roster of soloists are: sopranos Christine Brewer, Elza van den Heever, Stacy Tappan; altos Monica Groop and Elena Manistina; tenor Brandon Jovanovich; and bass-baritones Alan Held and John Relyea.

    Salonen, the 10th conductor to head the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is entering his 17th season as Music Director, making his tenure the longest in the Philharmonic's history.

    ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, who was born in Helsinki in 1958, studied at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. In 1979, he made his conducting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and his American debut conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1984. He was recently appointed Principal Conductor of London's Philharmonia. In addition, Salonen has won acclaim for his work as a composer. Among the many highlights of Salonen's career with the Los Angeles Philharmonic have been world premieres of works by composers John Adams, Franco Donatoni, Anders Hillborg, William Kraft, Magnus Lindberg, Witold Lutoslawski, Bernard Rands, Kaija Saariaho, Rodion Shchedrin, Steven Stucky, Tan Dun and Augusta Read Thomas, as well as his own works. He has led critically-acclaimed festivals of music by Sibelius, Ligeti, Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Berlioz and Beethoven, as well as the Tristan Project. He and the Philharmonic have toured extensively since 1992. In October of 2003, Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic opened Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by Frank Gehry. In March 2003, Salonen signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The following year, DG released a disc devoted to his recent orchestral works, featuring Foreign Bodies, Insomnia and Wing on Wing. In January 2006, Salonen and the Philharmonic recorded their first CD together for DG, the first live recording at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Salonen and the Philharmonic also have four live concert recordings available for download on iTunes from DG Concerts. Before signing with DG, Salonen recorded regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Sony Classical. Salonen is the recipient of several major awards including the Siena Prize from the Accademia Chigiana in 1993, the first conductor ever to receive the prize; the Royal Philharmonic Society's Opera Award in 1995; and their Conductor Award in 1997. In 1998, he was awarded the rank of Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. Musical America named him 2006 Musician of the Year.

    CHRISTINE BREWER’s range, golden tone, boundless power, and control make her a favorite of the stage as well as a sought-after recording artist. The Grammy Award-winning American soprano’s appearances in opera, concert and recital are marked with her own unique timbre, at once warm and brilliant, combined with a vibrant personality and emotional honesty reminiscent of the great sopranos of the past. Highlights of Brewer’s 2008/09 season are numerous and include her return to the Metropolitan Opera as Brünnhilde in the last showing of Otto Schenk's landmark Ring production, broadcast to theatres around the world live in HD; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel, and the Berlin Philharmonic and Daniel Barenboim at Carnegie Hall. Some of the highlights of Brewer’s 2007/08 season included singing the opening recital for London’s Wigmore Hall, which was recorded and released on Koch International Classica; making her acclaimed company and role debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dyer’s Wife in Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, a role she reprised at the Paris Opera; and performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach in Philadelphia and on tour to Carnegie Hall. Brewer has been seen in a variety of roles on the opera stage including the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos, a signature role, at the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Santa Fe Opera, and English National Opera; the title role in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride at the Edinburgh Festival, in Rio de Janeiro, and in Madrid; and the title role in Die ägyptische Helena at Santa Fe Opera. She joined Plácido Domingo in a concert to celebrate the re-opening of Covent Garden and sang for TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on their recent tour of the U.S. Brewer’s recent recordings include a live recital disc from Wigmore Hall (Koch); Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde and Mozart’s Requiem with Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Telarc); Fidelio in German with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live); Barber’s Vanessa (Chandos) with the BBC Symphony and the Grammy Award-winning Bolcom Songs of Innocence and Experience (Naxos), both conducted by Leonard Slatkin; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (EMI) with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; a disc of lieder for Hyperion's new Richard Strauss series with pianist Roger Vignoles; Fidelio in English and “Great Operatic Arias” (Chandos) with the London Philharmonic; and Britten’s War Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kurt Masur (LPO Live).

    Acclaimed for her captivating performances filled with “technical assurance and emotional conviction” (Financial Times), South African soprano ELZA VAN DEN HEEVER is fast becoming one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation. She recently won the Seattle Opera’s second International Wagner Competition in August of 2008, and made her European debut performances at the Frankfurt Opera as Giorgetta in Claus Guth’s production of Il Tabarro, conducted by Nicola Luisotti, followed by Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She also made her role debut as Elettra in Idomeneo with the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. A recent graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellowship Program, van den Heever made her professional U.S. main stage debut with that company performing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, conducted by Donald Runnicles, followed by Mary Custis Lee in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Appomattox and the First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Coming up for van den Heever in the 2008/09 season are appearances with the San Francisco Symphony (Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting), Frankfurt Opera (Elisabetta in Don Carlo, and Elsa in Lohengrin with conductor Bertrand de Billy), Arizona Opera (Donna Anna), and the Santa Fe Opera (Donna Anna). She has been contracted for performances through 2012 with some of the world’s leading opera companies and symphony orchestras including San Francisco Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris, Theater an der Wien in Vienna, the Dallas Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Vienna Symphony. In addition to her opera repertoire, van den Heever is also an active concert soloist and recitalist, having performed a wide array of works on three continents. She made her symphonic debut with the San Francisco Symphony in 2006 in Morton Feldman’s I Met Heine on the Rue Fürstenberg, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, and returned later that season as a soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 – a performance that she will reprise in November 2008 and which will be recorded for SFS Media as part of the SFS’s Mahler Cycle. A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, van den Heever is an alumna of the Merola Opera Program and a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellowship Program. She currently studies with soprano Sheri Greenawald.

    STACEY TAPPAN continues to distinguish herself as a world-class musical artist. In the stellar reviews for her “witty and sexy” Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, she was praised for the productions “most polished singing … her coloratura bright and well-focused.” Recent engagements include a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago for multiple roles in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten and Nannetta in Falstaff; Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives with the Springfield Massachusetts Symphony; and her debut as Gilda in Rigoletto with Opéra de Lille, France. With the Los Angeles Philharmonic she sang Esa-Pekka Salonen’s work, Wing on Wing, conducted by the composer. Highlights of her future engagements include a return to The Ravinia Festival’s Martin Theatre for a recital of songs of Franz Schreker with James Conlon. She is scheduled for Woglinde in Das Rheingold and Gotterdaemmerung, the Woodbird in Siegfried, and Der Zauenschlupfer in Braunfel’s Die Vogel with Los Angeles Opera, after which she returns to France for Gilda with Opera Dijion. Tappan made her professional debut with Houston Grand Opera as Beth in Little Women, broadcast on PBS' Great Performances and released on CD by Ondine.

    Since her professional debut in 1987, MONICA GROOP has remained a consistent and thoughtful musician whose artistry evolves with every performance. With her naturally rich, distinctive sound and luminous stage presence characterized by poise and integrity, the Finnish mezzo-soprano enjoys a multi-faceted career combining operatic, recital, symphonic and chamber music engagements with a discography of critically acclaimed recordings. Groop has performed with many of the world’s major opera companies including Covent Garden, Munich State Opera, Royal Opera of Stockholm, Finnish National Opera and the Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Montreal and Paris Operas. She also has appeared with some of the major orchestras with many of the most noted conductors of the world. An accomplished recitalist, Groop has given solo recitals at New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. She also works regularly with pianists András Schiff, Roger Vignoles and Rudolf Jansen. During the 2008/09 season, she sings the title role in Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater with the Santa Fe Opera with additional performances at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. In addition, she tours with the Philharmonia Orchestra singing Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and performs Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Residentie Orkest and Richard Egarr in The Hague. She sings chamber music with Stephen Kovacevich at Wigmore Hall and is soloist with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie. Last season Groop was a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in performances of Telemann’s Canary Cantata, Handel’s “Verdi prati, selve amene” and Purcell’s “When I am laid in earth,” and gave a recital at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater with pianist Rudolf Jansen. Other notable appearances include her collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra for Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series, in which she performed Sibelius’s Kullervo under the direction of Sir Colin Davis, and her March 2006 recital with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. A prolific recording artist, Groop has made over 50 recordings and over the last five years, she has recorded the complete song literature of Edvard Grieg with pianist Roger Vignoles on the BIS label.

    Russian mezzo-soprano ELENA MANISTINA was born in Saratov and trained at the Music School of Saratov and then later the Moscow State Conservatory P. I. Tchaikovsky. She is not only the winner of first prize in the 2002 Operalia Competition but also a finalist of the 2003 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition as well as winning numerous other prizes. Manistina made her debut as Marfa in Mussorgsky's Khovanshina in Saratov, Russia, a role she has repeated many times. Other roles have included Ulrica, Un Ballo in Maschera, Countess in Pique Dame for the Washington Opera, Amelfa in Le Coq D’or for the Theatre du Châtelet, Paris and also for the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. She has also sung Martha in Iolanta, Lyubasha in Tsar’s Bride at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and Azucena in Il Trovatore at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Washington Opera and Opera National de Paris, Bastille. She has recently sung Sosostris in A Midsummer Marriage at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Alexander Nevsky at the BBC Proms, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas in Lucerne and Luxembourg, Marina in Boris Godunov at the Royal Opera House, London, Lyubasha in The Tsar’s Bride at the Frankfurt Opera and Amneris in Aida at the Arena di Verona. Manistina’s future engagements include Ulrica in Un Ballo in Mashera at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera du Rhin, Covent Garden, Opera Paris Bastille, Washington National Opera and Oviedo Opera, Azucena in Il Trovatore at the Liceu in Barcelona, Amneris in Avignon, Rake’s Progress at the Glyndebourne Festival, Tigrana in Edgar at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

    Winner of the 2007 Richard Tucker Award, BRANDON JOVANOVICH is recognized by the world’s leading opera companies for his passionate stage portrayals of leading roles in French, Italian, German, and Slavic opera. In the summer of 2008, he made his U.K. debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Don José in David McVicar’s production of Carmen, conducted by Stéphane Denève. The 2008/09 season is marked by several notable company debuts: as Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana for the season opening of Houston Grand Opera; at Washington National Opera as Don José; and at Los Angeles Opera in Walter Braunfels’s Die Vögel, conducted by James Conlon as part of the “Recovered Voices” series. Jovanovich also makes his role debut as Peter Grimes at Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli. Highlights of his 2008/09 concert season include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with David Robertson and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2007, Jovanovich sang Cavaradossi in Tosca with the Bregenzer Festspiele, selections from which will be heard on the soundtrack of the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Highlights of the 2007/08 season included Macduff in Macbeth for the season opening of the Dallas Opera, Turridu in the Stephen Lawless production of Cavalleria Rusticana at New York City Opera, Cavaradossi with the Seattle Opera, and his role debut as the Prince in Rusalka with Minnesota Opera. His critically-acclaimed debut with San Francisco Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly was also seen in high-definition in movie theatres across the U.S. An accomplished musician and actor, Jovanovich has had successes in repertoire both standard and contemporary. A native of Billings, Montana, Jovanovich received his training at Northern Arizona University and at Manhattan School of Music. He was twice a New York City district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was a founding member of the Seattle Young Artists program in 1998, and was a member of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice program in 1996/97 where he was given the Anna Mackay Case Award. He won the Crawley Award from the Young Patronesses of the Opera/Florida Grand Opera Voice Competition and in 2004 he was given the prestigious ARIA Award.

    Recognized internationally as one of the leading singing actors today, American bass-baritone ALAN HELD has appeared in major roles in the world's finest opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Munich State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, the Netherlands Opera, and Theatre Royal de la Monnaie. His many roles include Wotan in the Wagner's Ring Cycle, the title role in The Flying Dutchman, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Leporello in Don Giovanni, the Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffman, Jochanaan in Salome, Don Pizzaro in Fidelio, Orestes in Elektra, Balstrode in Peter Grimes and the title role in Wozzeck. Equally at home on the concert stage, Held has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Berlin Philharmonic, Kirov Opera Orchestra and Montreal Symphony. He has also appeared at the Salzburg and Tanglewood Festivals, as well as the BBC Proms. Held has worked with many distinguished conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, James Levine, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zubin Mehta, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jeffrey Tate. This past summer, Held returned to Salzburg Festival as the Watersprite in Rusalka, and appeared at the Munich Festival as Jochanaan. This season he returns to the Washington National Opera as both Balstrode and Wotan in Siegfried, and appears at the Paris Opera as Pizzaro and the Grand Théâtre de Genève as Jochanaan. Held recently recorded the role Don Pizzaro with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic for EMI Classics. He also appears as Donner on the DVD of the Met’s production of Das Rheingold, and as the title role in Cardillac in the DVD of the Paris Opera production. A native of Washburn, Illinois, Held received his vocal training at Millikin University and Wichita State University. He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Birgit Nilsson Prize, and is also a noted clinician who regularly gives master classes at Yale University.

    JOHN RELYEA continues to distinguish himself as one of today's finest bass-baritones. He has appeared in many of the world’s most celebrated opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera (where he is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program and a former Adler Fellow), Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Munich State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. His roles include Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, the Four Villains in Les contes de Hoffman, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Giorgio in I Puritani, Escamillo in Carmen, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Colline in La Bohème, Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Caspar in Der Freischutz, the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle, Banquo in Macbeth, Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia and Garibaldo in Rodelinda. Relyea also remains in high demand throughout the concert world where he has often appeared with such orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Met Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Monnaie Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. He has also appeared at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, Blossom, Vail, Salzburg, Edinburgh, Lucerne and Mostly Mozart Festivals, and in the BBC Proms. In recital, he has been presented at Weill Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Wigmore Hall in London, the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, and the University of Chicago Presents series. The many conductors with whom Relyea has worked with include Harry Bicket, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Neville Marriner, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, Sir Roger Norrington, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Ilan Volkov. Relyea’s most recent recording, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, was released on the EMI label. He also recorded Idomeneo with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for EMI, and appears on the Metropolitan Opera’s DVD presentations of Don Giovanni, and Die Meistersinger von Nüremberg, both released by Deutche Grammophon. This past summer, Relyea returned to Covent Garden as Nick Shadow in a new production of The Rake’s Progress and appeared at the Ravinia and Lanaudiere festivals and with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. This season he returns to the Met as both Méphistophélès in a new production of La Damnation de Faust and as Alidoro in La Cenerentola. Both these productions will be broadcast in HD in movie theaters around the world. He also returns to the Seattle Opera for Bluebeard’s Castle, and makes appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal and San Francisco. Relyea is the winner of the 2003 Richard Tucker award.

    LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE celebrates its 44th Anniversary with this fifth season at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Recognized as one of Los Angeles' cultural treasures, the Chorale has received accolades for its innovative programming and its commitment to commissioning new works. In June 2003, the Master Chorale received the prestigious ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming. Grant Gershon has been its music director since 2001, succeeding Paul Salamunovich. The Master Chorale performs about 15 times per year in its own season, as well as appearing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic from time to time. The Chorale has recorded two CDs under Gershon's baton, including You Are (Variations) by Steve Reich, released in September 2005 on Nonesuch Records, and an RCM recording featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen's first choral work, Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jäderlund, and Philip Glass' Itaipu. Previously, the Chorale released three CDs under the baton of Music Director Emeritus Paul Salamunovich, including the Grammy-nominated Lauridsen-Lux Aeterna, Christmas, and a recording of Dominic Argento's Te Deum and Maurice Duruflé’s Messe “Cum Jubilo.” In addition, the Los Angeles Master Chorale is featured under Paul Salamunovich's leadership on the soundtracks of numerous major motion pictures, including A.I. Artificial Intelligence, My Best Friend's Wedding, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Sum of all Fears and Waterworld.

    LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS, under Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, has become recognized throughout the country for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. Founded in 1986, LACC currently performs with such leading musical ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and The Pasadena Symphony. LACC also assists the Los Angeles Opera by providing and training children for its opera productions that require a children’s chorus or child soloists. LACC’s 2007|08 roster includes 260 choristers from 60 communities across Los Angeles in five choirs: Concert, Chamber Singers, Intermediate, Apprentice and Preparatory. The intensive training program includes weekly or twice weekly rehearsals, individual vocal coaching and comprehensive musicianship classes. LACC has toured Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as many parts of the U.S and Canada. In 2008, Concert Choir will for the first time tour China prior to the Beijing summer Olympics. LACC was featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, Sing! by Freida Lee Mock and Jessica Sanders. Sing! chronicles a year in the life of the choir and is shown frequently on PBS stations nationwide. LACC appears currently in the new Sanders/Mock documentary Sing Opera, released in May 2008. For more information on LACC, please visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.

    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 40th 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 2008, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fourth year in a row at the 19th 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:

    TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2008, AT 8 PM

    THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008, AT 8 PM


    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood



    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, conductor

    CHRISTINE BREWER, soprano 1

    ELZA VAN DEN HEEVER, soprano 2

    STACEY TAPPAN, soprano 3

    MONICA GROOP, alto 1

    ELENA MANISTINA, alto 2

    BRANDON JOVANOVICH, tenor

    ALAN HELD, baritone

    JOHN RELYEA, bass

    LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE

    Grant Gershon, music director

    LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS

    Anne Tomlinson, artistic director



    MAHLER Symphony No. 8





    The September 9 performance is a Fidelity FutureStage Concert.

    The September 11 perfomance is generously sponsored by the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts.



    Media partner: Time Warner Cable

    Foundation support: Michael J. Connell Foundation

    Tickets ($1 - $95) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m.), by phone 323.850.2000 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.

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  • Contact:

    Lisa White, lwhite@laphil.org, 213.972.3408; For photos: 213.972.3034