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Home , Fritz Busch, James Levine, John Alexander (tenor), Morten Lauridsen, Wolfgang Sawallisch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Pasadena Symphony Association Pasadena Symphony & POPS Contact: Neal Spinler [email protected] (626) 793-7172 ext. 13

January 14, 2013

Pasadena Symphony Presents Back to Back Beethoven

Pasadena CA – The Pasadena Symphony will celebrate the music of Beethoven in back to back powerhouse concerts with his Symphony No. 9 and No. 5 on Saturday February, 15 and Saturday March 29, 2014 at Ambassador Auditorium with both matinee and evening performances at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Guest conductor Kazem Abdullah will lead the orchestra on Valentine’s weekend February 15, 2014 with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 - widely celebrated as the greatest music ever written, it is the ultimate testament to the human spirit through the power of music. Vocal Soloists are Tracy Cox, soprano; Laura Harrison, mezzo; Casey Candebat, ; Andrew Craig Brown, bass; and The Donald Brinegar Singers, chorus. Acclaimed Los Angeles composer Morten Lauridsen, one of the hottest tickets in choral music and recipient of the , compliments the program with his Mid-Winter Songs on Poems by Robert Graves and Nocturnes. The composer will present an intimate pre-concert conversation on his choral cycle one hour prior to each performance and will also play on Nocturnes . These concerts mark the 30 year anniversary of the Mid-Winter Songs s orchestral premiere at Ambassador Auditorium in 1983 by the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robert Duerr. A vibrant, versatile and compelling presence on the podium, American conductor Kazem Abdullah is one of the most watched up-and-coming talents on the international stage today. He assumed the post of Generalmusikdirektor of the City of , Germany, in 2012. His predecessors in this tradition-rich post include Fritz Busch, , and Wolfgang Sawallisch. He also served as Assistant Conductor to James Levine at New York’s Metropolitan . lauded this first performance at the as “...a confident performance… impressively responsive." Guest conductor Andrew Grams leads the orchestra on March 29, 2014 with the most famous 4 notes in all of Classical music– relentless, emotional, triumphant and victorious mark Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. This concert will also feature Los Angeles based violinist, the prodigiously talented Simone Porter with the Bruch Concerto. Grams has been collecting critical acclaim and "has been building a solid international career, revealed remarkable skill and sensitivity...he sculpted beautifully nuanced music." The Baltimore Sun. Performances take place at both 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and are accompanied by pre- concert discussions one-hour before curtain. The Ambassador Auditorium is located at 131

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South St. John Avenue, Pasadena, CA. Ticket prices start at $35 and may be purchased online at www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org or by calling (626) 793-7172. IF YOU GO: • What: The Pasadena Symphony presents Beethoven’s Ninth and Fifth Symphonies • Special Guests: o Beethoven’s Ninth . Kazem Abdullah, Conductor . Tracy Cox, Soprano . Laura Harrison, Mezzo . Casey Candebat, Tenor . Andrew Craig Brown, Bass . The Donald Brinegar Singers, Chorus . Morten Lauridsen, Piano o Beethoven’s Fifth . Andrew Grams, Conductor . Simone Porter, Violin • When: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on Saturday, February 15th and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on Saturday March, 29th at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. • Where: Ambassador Auditorium | 131 South St. John Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105 • Cost: Tickets start at $35.00 • Parking: Valet parking is available on Green Street for $15. General parking is available next to the Auditorium at the covered parking structure for $10. ADAparking is located at the above-ground parking lot adjacent to the Auditorium (entrance on St. John Ave.) for $10. Parking purchased onsite is cash only. • Pre-Concert Discussion: Pre-concert discussion begins one hour before curtain and is available to all ticket holders.

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DOWNLOAD IMAGES AT http://www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org/pr-back2backbeethoven

Artist Biographies Kazem Abdullah, conductor A vibrant, versatile and compelling presence on the podium, American conductor Kazem Abdullah is one of the most watched up-and-coming talents on the international stage today. He assumed the post of Generalmusikdirektor of the City of Aachen, Germany, in 2012. His predecessors in this tradition-rich post include Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan, and Wolfgang Sawallisch.

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In his first season in Aachen, Kazem conducted , Hänsel und Gretel, , and Die Zauberflöte. As GMD in Aachen, Kazem Abdullah will also serve as the artistic director of the 3rd International Aachen Chor Bienalle where he will lead several concerts with choirs from Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Iceland and Brasil. Kazem Abdullah is also the Honorary patron of the Accordate series and the Honorary Patron for the bid for the Aachen-Maastrict bid to be the European capital of Culture in 2018. In addition to his many duties in Aachen, Kazem will also make his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony in May 2013. Abdullah continues to develop relationships with national and international orchestras and opera houses. Among his orchestral credits are the Berliner Kammerphilharmonie, Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Nürnburg, Staatskapelle Weimar, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, Oregon, Indianapolis, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras; and the Chicago Sinfonietta, and National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa. Maestro Abdullah has guested with such esteemed companies as the Atlanta Opera, where he conducted Cosi fan tutte; and the Théâtre du Châtelet de Paris, where he led sold-out performances of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha; and finally his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2009, where he conducted Gluck’s ed Euridice. The New York Times lauded this first performance at the Metropolitan Opera as “...a confident performance… impressively responsive to the singers during their long stretches of orchestra-accompanied ." Born in Indiana, Kazem Abdullah began his music studies at the age of ten. He graduated from the Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet. He then studied at the University of Southern California before joining The New World Symphony as a clarinetist under for two seasons, after which he continued his musical studies at The Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University. Mr. Abdullah served as Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a three-year post to which he was appointed by James Levine. A recipient of a prestigious 2010 Solti Foundation U.S Career Assistance Award, Abdullah was named #4 by The Daily Beast on its 2009 list of “Young Rock Stars of the World.” Mr. Abdullah’s conducting teachers include Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Stefan Asbury, , and James Levine. Morten Lauridsen, composer The music of Morten Lauridsen occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the Twenty-First Century. His compositions are performed throughout the world and have been recorded on over two hundred CDs, including several that have received Grammy nominations. Mr. Lauridsen (b. 1943) served as Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1995-2001 and is currently Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. An award-winning documentary, Shining Night – A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen, was released in 2012. In 2006, Morten Lauridsen was named an “American Choral Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2007 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in a White House ceremony “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth.” Page 3 of 6

Tracy Cox, Soprano Texas-born soprano Tracy Cox recently completed her third year in the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist program at Los Angeles Opera. While with LA Opera, she made her professional debut as Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, conducted by Plácido Domingo, and sang the role of Pisana in I Due Foscari, the company’s 2012 season opener. In 2013 she sang the roles of Alice in Wolf Trap Opera's production of , and the Female Chorus in 's The Rape of Lucretia, conducted by as part of the Britten 100/LA project. Ms. Cox most recently performed in Hungary's Széchenyi square in a nationaly-televised concert with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Györ. In May she made her debut with the Cincinnati Symphony in the title role of Debussy's Le Damoiselle Élue. During the 2011-12 season, she sang Second Lady in Ernst Krenek’s Das geheime Königreich conducted by Maestro Conlon as part of his Recovered Voices series, and in June 2012, she made her International concert debut at the Vishnevskaya Opera Center in Moscow. Tracy was awarded the prize at the 2013 Operalia Competition in Verona, and was a National Finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Cox was also named a 2013 recipient of the prestigious Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. Ms.Cox won the 2012 Song Competition, and was presented in recital by the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California, and the National Opera Center, in . The artist received her master’s degree from UCLA where she performed Medea in Cavalli’s Giasone, The Older Woman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, the Sorceress in Dido & Aeneas, and Nettie Fowler in Carousel. Laura Harrison, mezzo-soprano Laura Harrison is originally from Vancouver, B.C., Canada. She completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at USC. She has been a member of the Pacific Chorale and John Alexander Singers since 2001 and a member of "de Angelis Vocal Ensemble" since 2006. She was the soloist for Osvaldo Golijov's "Oceana" in the Pacific Chorale performance in 2007. In 2011, she was a soloist in the John Alexander Singers staged performance of David Lang's Pulitzer-winning piece "The Little Match Girl Passion." She is a professional singer in the Los Angeles area and receives much joy from participation in community concerts and has a reputation in Orange County as a Classical Lyric Mezzo Soprano that specializes in Early Music (Bach, Handel, etc.). She has sung regularly on a Bach concert series in the City of Orange under the direction of Bill Heide for the past four seasons and looks forward to their 2011-2012 concert series where she will perform BWV 67, 130, and 180. Dr. Harrison has performed BWV 5, 6, 12, 34, 71, 79, 100, 169, 170, and 227 under Mr. Heide's direction. Additionally, she performed BWV 11, Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen; and BWV 70: Wachet! betet! under the direction of Dr. Stephen Gothold in 2010. Dr. Harrison is far from idle in her career. She has increased her private vocal studios (and has a wait list) where she teaches vocal technique, classical voice, jazz voice, improvisation, music theory, aural skills, and whatever else the student requires. She teaches in the cities of Irvine and Newport Beach, CA.

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Casey Candebat, tenor Casey Candebat, a native of New Orleans, LA, has been hailed, by the San Francisco Chronicle, as one of the newest up and coming stars of opera. A recent participant in the illustrious Merola Opera Program, the training arm of the Center, Mr. Candebat performed the role of Il Podesta in Mozart's La Finta Giardinera, covered the role of Mr. Owen in Argento's Postcard from Morocco, and sang scenes from Werther and La Rondine to high acclaim on the Merola Grande Finale. He will return to the Merola Opera Program this season to sing the role of Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire. Recently, Mr. Candebat has been heard as George in Der Vampyr with New Orleans Opera. He was also featured in New Orleans Opera's production of , , , Il Trittico, Lescaut, La Bohème, and . Mr. Candebat has been a young artist at Chautauqua Opera in their 2009 and 2010 seasons. There he covered the role of Beppe in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. He has also been a young artist at Opera North where he performed in the family performance of Verdi's Falstaff, the role of Dr. Cajus. Mr. Candebat is a graduate of . At Northwestern he sang the roles of Tamino in , Lippo Fiorentino in Street Scene, Bégearss in , and Basilio in . Mr. Candebat has won several prestigious vocal competitions, including the Grand Prize in the Bel Canto Foundation Voice Competition, 2011, third place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Gulf Coast Regional Auditions, 2011, and the Chautauqua Opera Guild's Encouragement Award, 2010. Mr. Candebat earned his Bachelor of Music at Loyola University New Orleans. There he performed the role of Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Pluton in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, The Duke of Plaza-Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers, and Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette. With the New West Symphony in Los Angeles, Mr. Candebat performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony last season and will be the tenor soloist in their performance of Verdi’s Messa di this spring. Andrew Craig Brown In the 2012-13 season, bass-baritone Andrew Craig Brown makes his debut at English National Opera as Achilla in Julius Caesar and returns in the spring of 2013 as Colline in La Bohéme. Mr. Brown will return to the Easter Festival of Warsaw as Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. Recent engagements have included his debuts with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano as Chick in Wonderful Town and at the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival of Warsaw as Il Duca Ramiro in Maria Padilla, a role which he also recorded with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2011. A recent graduate of Yale Opera, Mr. Brown has also appeared in the Yale School of Music productions of as Leporello, Le Rossignol as L’Empreur, Le Nozze di Figaro as Dr. Bartolo, and Cosi fan Tutte as Don Alfonso. Equally at home on the concert stage, Mr. Brown has sung performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Yale Philharmonia, Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast with the Baroque Artists of Champaign, and Handel’s Messiah with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Andrew has sung concerts with Orchestra New England, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Baroque Artists of Champaign and the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Brown has worked with such conductors as Christian Curnyn, Christoff Campestrini, Lucasz Borowicz, Speranza Scappucci, Giuseppe Grazioli and Shinik Hahm. Andrew is a Page 5 of 6 graduate of Yale University, where he earned both his Master’s degree in music and his Artist Diploma while studying with Richard Cross. ABOUT THE PASADENA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION Recent Acclaim for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS “The Pasadena Symphony signals a new direction…teeming with vitality..dripping with opulent, sexy emotion.”.

“...full of pulsating energy from first note to last... the strings were lushly resonant, the wind principals were at the top of their games, and the brass rang out with gleaming vigor.” –Pasadena Star News. The Pasadena Symphony Association was founded in 1928 by Conductor Reginald Bland. Originally named the Pasadena Civic Orchestra, its first members were mostly volunteer musicians, many of whom were students of Bland. The annual operating budget was $3,500, which was funded entirely by the City of Pasadena. The Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Southern California’s most talented, sought after musicians. With extensive credits in the film, television, recording and orchestral industry, the artists of Pasadena Symphony and POPS are the most heard in the world. In the fall of 2007, the Pasadena Symphony incorporated the Pasadena POPS into its Association under the new name Pasadena Symphony and POPS. This merger created an expanded Classics and POPS series providing the community with a full spectrum of live symphonic concerts year-round. In the summer of 2012, the Pasadena POPS’ relocated its summer home to the Los Angeles County Arboretum where it has been performing to record-breaking crowds and critical acclaim. The Pasadena POPS announced Michael Feinstein as its new Principal Pops Conductor in August 2012; he will be the first conductor to hold the Marvin Hamlisch Chair title. The Pasadena Symphony provides a musical experience like no other at the Ambassador Auditorium – known as the of the West – where they have been the resident professional orchestra since 2010. In 2013, the Pasadena Symphony named Maestro David Lockington as its fifth Music Director and appointed Nicholas McGegan as Principal Guest Conductor. A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region since 1972 through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra comprised of over 200 gifted middle school students from more than 40 schools all over the Southland. The PYSO most recently performed on several episodes of the popular television show GLEE.

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