David Prather Hosts Inventing the West Program
Highlighting Music Inspired by the American West
SATURDAY, MAY 1
CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS AT 10 AM; CONCERT AT 11 AM
Sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
Associate Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the orchestra's fifth Toyota Symphonies for Youth concert of the 2003/04 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, hosted by David Prather, on Saturday, May 1, at 11 a.m. The program, entitled Inventing the West, introduces young listeners to music that highlight the experience of the American west. The orchestra performs excerpts from Rossini's William Tell Overture and Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite, as well as works by the quintessential American composer, Aaron Copland. Dancers will be featured in the Copland ballet excerpts from Billy the Kid suite, Tender Land suite, and Rodeo.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Toyota Symphonies for Youth series take place on six Saturday mornings. The series is designed to engage children in extraordinary music performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Before every concert, Walt Disney Concert Hall becomes a musical playground with hands-on art-making, musical activities, dance, theater, and storytelling. Workshops take place in BP Hall one hour prior to the performance.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Associate Conductor MIGUEL HARTH-BEDOYA is Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Auckland Phiharmonia in New Zealand. As one of the most exciting young conductors in America, he has an active guest conducting schedule, which includes appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Quebec Symphony, and the Mexico National Symphony. Festival appearances include Grant Park, Tanglewood, Rencontres Musicales d'Evian in France, the Domaine Forget International Festival in Quebec, and the Musicarchitettura International Festival in Italy. Born in 1968 in Lima, Peru, Harth-Bedoya holds degrees in conducting from The Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School.
For the past five years DAVID PRATHER has hosted the Los Angeles Philharmonic's popular kid's program, SummerSounds: Music for kids at the Hollywood Bowl. For more than a decade, Prather has conducted residencies and performed at hundreds of schools as an artist with the Music Center Education Division. Other recent performances include his solo show Prather's Poetry Jam at Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the Music Centers Pillow Theatre series. Prather's play John and Juan has been produced by the Alley Theatre in Texas, which has commissioned another work about the Harlem Renaissance. Prather's love for music began as a child in Washington, D.C., where he sang as a choirboy at the National Cathedral. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the American Conservatory Theatre.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
SATURDAY, MAY 1 AT 11 AM
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor
David Prather, host
Dancers to be announced
Inventing the West
ROSSINI William Tell Overture
GROFE Grand Canyon Suite
COPLAND Billy the Kid Suite
COPLAND Tender Land Suite
COPLAND Rodeo
A. NEWMAN How the west was won
Sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
Tickets ($15) are on sale now at the Walt Disney Concert Hall box office, online at LAPhil.com, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.
Ryan Jimenez, 213.972.3405