DEC. 18-19 pops series SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS RENÉE AND HENRY SEGERSTROM CONCERT HALL

presents 2015-16 POPS SERIES

The performance begins at 8 p.m. A Cirque Christmas RICHARD KAUFMAN • CONDUCTOR | CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE

Edward Pola & George Wyle, Arr. Prechel Zequinha de Abreu, Arr. Dragon It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Tico-Tico no Fubá

George Frideric Handel, Arr. Dragon Delvyn Case Joy to the World Rocket Sleigh Franz Schubert, Arr. Dragon Ave Maria Danny Elfman End Title from The Nightmare Before Christmas Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Dance of the Tumblers from The Snow Maiden Ottorino Respighi Tarantella from The Magic Toy Shop (after Rossini) Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Emile Waldteufel Trepak (Russian Dance) from The Nutcracker, Op. 71 The Skaters’ Waltz Robert Wendel Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, Orch. Tyzik Little Bolero Boy Selections from The Nutcracker Suite (after Katherine K. Davis’ “The Little Drummer Boy”) (after Tchaikovsky) Toot Toot, Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed Pipes) Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker, Op. 71

INTERMISSION Traditional, Arr. Finnegan We Wish You a Merry Christmas Various, Arr. Prechel A Very Merry Sing-Along Winter Wonderland Santa Claus Is Coming to Town Frosty the Snowman Deck the Halls Jingle Bells These performances are generously sponsored by Susie and Steve Perry.

PACIFIC SYMPHONY PROUDLY RECOGNIZES ITS OFFICIAL PARTNERS

Official Hotel Official Television Station Pops Radio Sponsor

26 • Pacific Symphony SING-ALONG a cirque christmas

WINTER WONDERLAND DECK THE HALLS Sleigh-bells ring, are you list’nin’? Deck the halls with boughs of holly, In the lane, snow is glist’nin’ Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight ‘Tis the season to be jolly, Walkin’ in a winter wonderland! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Don we now our gay apparel, Gone away is the bluebird, Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la! Here to stay is a new bird, Troll the ancient Yule-tide carol, He sings a love song as we go along Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Walkin’ in a winter wonderland! See the blazing Yule before us, In the meadow we can build a snowman, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Then pretend that he is Parson Brown; Strike the harp and join the chorus, He’ll say, “Are you married?” Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! We’ll say “No, man! Follow me in merry measure, But you can do the job Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! when you’re in town!” While I tell of Yule-tide treasure, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Later on we’ll conspire As we dream by the fire To face unafraid the plans that we made JINGLE BELLS Walkin’ in a winter wonderland! Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh, O’er the hills we go SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN Laughing all the way. You better watch out, you better not cry, Bells on bobtail ring, Better not pout, I’m telling you why: Making spirits bright, Santa Claus is comin’ to town. What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight! He’s making a list and checking it twice, Oh! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice, jingle all the way. Santa Claus is comin’ to town. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh! He sees you when you’re sleepin’, He knows when you’re awake, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, He knows if you’ve been bad or good, jingle all the way. So be good for goodness sake. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh! Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Better not pout, I’m telling you why: jingle all the way. Santa Claus is comin’ to town. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh!

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman jingle all the way. was a jolly happy soul, Oh what fun it is to ride With a corn cob pipe and a button nose in a one horse open sleigh! and two eyes made out of coal.

There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found. For when they put it on his head THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: SUSIE AND STEVE PERRY he began to dance around. Pacific Symphony wants to express its appreciation to this week’s concert sponsors, Susie and Steve Perry, whose exceptional generosity makes A Cirque Christmas possible. As Oh, Frosty the Snowman members of The Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family, the Perrys are part of a long tradition was alive as he could be of philanthropy to Pacific Symphony that includes leadership gifts to the Classical and And the children say he could laugh and play Pops series, as well as the naming of the principal trumpet chair held by Barry Perkins. Our just the same as you and me. overwhelming thanks to Susie and Steve for their generosity and friendship. Just the same as you and me.

Pacific Symphony • 27 RICHARD meet the principal pops conductor

ichard Kaufman has devoted much of his musical life to conducting and supervising music for film and television productions, as well as performing film and classical music R in concert halls and on recordings. The 2015-16 concert season marks Kaufman’s 25th season as principal pops conductor of Pacific Symphony. He also holds the permanent title of pops conductor laureate with the Dallas Symphony, and soon begins his 10th season with the Symphony Orchestra concert series, “CSO at the Movies.” This past May, Kaufman made his conducting debut with the Pops Orchestra, substituting for John Williams at the Annual Pops Film Night. Kaufman regularly appears as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout both the and around the world including Cleveland, , St. Louis, London, Calgary, Edmonton, Liverpool, the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin, Rotterdam and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In addition to conducting “traditional” concert presentations, Kaufman often leads performances of complete film scores in concert, synchronizing the music to the actual film as it is shown on the screen above the orchestra. These legendary film titles include Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Psycho, Casablanca, The Bride of Frankenstein, Pirates of the Caribbean and various silent films. Kaufman received the 1993 Grammy Award in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Performance. In addition to his two recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, he has recorded CDs with the Nuremberg Symphony, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Brandenburg Philharmonic in Berlin. He has conducted for performers including John Denver, Andy Williams, Mary Martin, Nanette Fabray, Sir James Galway, Diana Krall, Chris Botti, The Pointer Sisters, The Beach Boys, Peter Paul and Mary, Robert Goulet, David Copperfield, The Righteous Brothers and Art Garfunkel. As a violinist, Kaufman performed on numerous film and television scores including Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Saturday Night Fever and (in a moment of desperation) Animal House. He has recorded with artists including John Denver, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, The Carpenters and Ray Charles. Kaufman joined the music department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in 1984 as music coordinator, and for the next 18 years supervised music for MGM. He received two Emmy Award nominations, one for the animated series, The Pink Panther, in the category of Outstanding Music Direction and Composition, and another for Outstanding Original Song co-authored for the series, All Dogs Go to Heaven. For the MGM television series In the Heat of the Night, Kaufman composed songs with actor/producer Carroll O’Connor. He conducted the scores for films including Guarding Tess and Jungle to Jungle. As a unique part of his career in film, Kaufman has coached various actors in musical roles including Jack Nicholson, Dudley Moore and Tom Hanks. Kaufman has served as music director and conductor for numerous musicals, including a national tour of Sweet Charity starring Juliet Prowse, the first national tours of Company (for Hal Prince) and Two Gentlemen of Verona (for the New York Shakespeare Festival). He has conducted numerous musicals for the Los Angeles and San Francisco civic light operas (for one of these, he was nominated by the San Francisco Theater Critics for Outstanding Music Direction). In 2012, Kaufman received the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). While a student at CSUN, he composed the University’s Alma Mater and Fight Song, and was the keynote speaker for the CSUN Honors Convocation Ceremony. He has appeared as a guest speaker at various universities including USC, University of Georgia and the California State Universities at Northridge and Fullerton. He is a member of the Music Advisory Board of the Young Musicians Foundation. RICHARD KAUFMAN HAL AND JEANETTE SEGERSTROM Born in Los Angeles, Kaufman began violin studies at age 7, played in the Peter Meremblum FAMILY FOUNDATION PRINCIPAL California Junior Symphony and was a member of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut POPS CONDUCTOR CHAIR Orchestra. He attended the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood in the fellowship program, and earned a B.A. in Music from California State University, Northridge. Kaufman lives in Southern California with his wife, Gayle, a former dancer in film, television and on Broadway. His daughter, Whitney, is a graduate (with honors) from Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and for 2 ½ years was a member of the cast of the National Tour of Mamma Mia. Kaufman is proud to be represented by Opus 3 Artists.

28 • Pacific Symphony ARTISTS cirque de la symphonie

Alexander Streltsov is a Russian aerial artist who started working with famed cirque choreographer Pavel Brun and producer Valentin Gneushev when he was only 12, performing at the Gershwin Theater. The same year he won the gold medal at the prestigious Festival Mondial Du Cirque De L’Avenir in . His combination of natural strength, artistic expression and grace sets his performance apart from other aerialists. He continues to be a favorite at music halls, where he soars out over the audience in a spectacular display of aerial artistry or when he sets his riveting spinning cube act in motion. Christine Van Loo is a seven-time consecutive national champion, female olympic athlete of the year and athlete of the decade. She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the World Society Gallery of Honor. As a professional aerialist and acrobat she has performed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, at two Grammy Awards (with No Doubt and with Ricky Martin), at the American Music Awards (with Aerosmith), the Miss Universe Pageant and Paul McCartney’s European tour. She choreographed the aerials for World Tour and the Stars on Ice U.S. Tour. Van Loo provides spell-binding performances of aerial silks, rope, lira and trapeze. Duo Design combines mind-boggling strength and agility and provides one of the most powerful acts to be included in Cirque de la Symphonie’s captivating program. This dynamic and exciting balancing act consists of Jaroslaw Marciniak and Mariusz Pietrzak, former Polish national hand- balancing champions. They have competed and performed throughout Europe and the United States, winning championships in Evian, France and Sarasota, Fla. Over the past few years, these prolific performers have thrilled audiences at several NBA halftimes, , Circus, Busch Gardens and the national tour of Cirque Ingenieux. Aloysia Gavre is an incredible aerial performer from the Ecole Nationale de Cirque program of Montreal, with early training from Master Lu-Yi and the Pickle Family Circus School. Her aerial acrobatics and graceful maneuvers on the , suspended high above the stage, add three-dimensional excitement to the symphony and the music hall. Gavre was the Special Prize Winner at the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo. Gavre is best known as a veteran of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam and O, which established her as one of the best aerial artists in the world, and today she shares that experience with others as choreographer for Cirque Mechanics and Troupe Vertigo and as director of Cirque School in Los Angeles. Vladimir Tsarkov provides a spell-binding performance with combinations of mime and feats. A favorite of the younger members of the audiences, his “Red ” act features rings, balls and batons. He is a veteran of Circus Circus, Cirque Ingenieux and various Cirque de la Symphonie performances. Tsarkovr graduated from Russia’s prestigious State College of Circus and Theater Arts and won the gold medal at the Cirque de Demain International Festival in France. Elena Tsarkova, the “Lady in White,” is a graduate of the famed Moscow Circus School and first- place winner of the prestigious National Russian Circus Festival. From her “Master of Sports” in gymnastics, Tsarkova developed into a unique and graceful performer with the Big Apple Circus, Switzerland’s Circus Knie and Germany’s Circus Roncalli. Her combination of , balance and graceful dance moves has made her a major star with Cirque de la Mur in Florida and Circus Circus in Las Vegas. Andrey Moraru is a native of Kiev, Ukraine, and a graduate of the prestigious Kiev Circus School where he trained in hand balancing under the legendary Vitold Kuvshinov. Upon graduating with an act fused with both balance and dance, Moraru joined the cast of Le Reve, directed by Franco Dragone in Las Vegas. After many years with Le Reve, Moraru pursued a solo career, which CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE brought opportunities in Europe for numerous cabarets, variety shows and , including “Flic Flac” from Germany. He was recently a finalist on America’s Got Talent. In Los Angeles, he has performed with Symbiotic, Quixotic and Troupe Vertigo. When not performing, Moraru teaches master hand-balancing classes at Cirque School. Viktoria Grimmy is part of a fifth generation of a circus performing family, dating back to 1912. The Grimmys have entertained and stunned audiences all over the world, from their birthplace in Moscow, Russia, to festivals, competitions and venues in Italy, Monaco, France, Hungary and China, to name a few. Like so many artists growing up in a circus family, Grimmy has trained and become proficient in numerous skills, fearlessly taking to the air as an aerial acrobat, and providing a mesmerizing performance with hula hoops, which includes elements of contortion and acrobatics. Grimmy’s standout performances have been featured at the Tony Awards, with the Big Apple Circus and on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Pacific Symphony • 29