OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION ON JUNE 25 TO BENEFIT MUSIC MATTERS
Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys, the late composer/conductor/arranger Henry Mancini, and violinist Sarah Chang are the 2004 Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame inductees. The opening night concert on Friday, June 25 features performances by Wilson and Chang, special appearances by Music Matters spokesperson Josh Groban, Andy Williams, Monica Mancini, and Wilson Phillips, as well as other surprise guests, special video montages celebrating the storied venue's history, and fireworks. Principal Conductor John Mauceri leads the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra launching the Bowl's 83rd summer season - the inaugural event in the world-famous venue's new stage and shell.
Featured on the program is the world premiere of a commemorative fanfare, written by acclaimed Hollywood composer Elmer Bernstein specifically for the inauguration of the venue's new shell. The evening benefits Music Matters, the children's music education programs of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, serving more than 120,000 young people every year. Target Stores is the Lead Sponsor of Opening Night, and as a strong advocate of arts in the classroom, Target is also a supporter of Music Matters.
Wilson, Chang, and Mancini join the distinguished company of past honorees John Williams, Garth Brooks, Marilyn Horne, Monty Python, Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, John Raitt, Kathleen Battle, Randy Newman, Bernadette Peters, Leopold Stokowski, George Harrison, the Smothers Brothers, Roger Daltrey, Patti LuPone, and Nathan Lane, who were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"The Fifth Annual Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame concert is our first presentation in the new shell, and celebrating these great artists seems the perfect way to launch our 83rd season," says Philharmonic President Deborah Borda. "The music world is richer for their contributions and we are delighted to honor them on this special occasion."
BRIAN WILSON is one of rock's most deeply revered figures, a writer, producer, arranger, and performer of some of the most cherished music in rock history. His now-legendary career began when the 19-year-old Wilson, his younger brothers Dennis and Carl, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine gathered to rehearse a tune that Brian and Mike had written for a try-out recording session. The song, "Surfin'," hit big locally and made ripples on the national charts, and the Beach Boys were signed to Capitol Records. Wilson became the band's producer beginning with their third album. In 1964, Wilson decided he could no longer tour with the Beach Boys and chose to dedicate his energies to writing and producing the band's records. Influenced by the Beatles' Rubber Soul album, Wilson teamed up with lyricist Tony Asher and the best studio musicians in Los Angeles to create Pet Sounds. The record's imaginative sound world - accordion, theremin, bicycle bells, kazoo, banjo, glockenspiel, and even barking dogs and a Sparklett's water jug - made it much more than the sum of its hit singles, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Sloop John B." In 1998, Wilson recorded Imagination, and toured extensively with that repertoire.
Composer/conductor/arranger HENRY MANCINI was one of the most versatile talents in music. The Mancini name was synonymous for more than 40 years with great motion picture and television music, and with fine recordings and international concert performances. He was nominated for 72 Grammys by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and won 20; nominated for 18 Academy Awards by the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he received four Oscars. He was also honored with the Golden Globe Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and nominated for two Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Whether with a complete score or a featured song, Mancini brought his talents to many memorable films: Victor/Victoria, The Glass Menagerie, The Pink Panther, 10, Darling Lili, Arabesque, Charade, Days of Wine and Roses, Hatari! and Breakfast at Tiffany's. He also wrote scores for television films including The Thorn Birds and The Shadow Box, as well as themes for series including Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, Newhart, Remington Steele, Hotel, and NBC News election night coverage.
Violinist SARAH CHANG is recognized the world over as one of classical music's most captivating and gifted artists. Appearing in the music capitals of Asia, Europe, and the United States, she has collaborated with nearly every major orchestra in the world. The remarkable accomplishments of Chang's career were recognized in 1999 when she received the Avery Fisher Prize, one of the most prestigious awards given to instrumentalists. An exclusive EMI recording artist since the age of 9, Ms. Chang has made over 15 albums, the latest of which includes Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Placido Domingo, and a French Sonata album with pianist Lars Vogt, which has just been released. Born in Philadelphia, Sarah Chang began to study the violin at age 4 and within a year had already performed with several orchestras in the Philadelphia area. Her early auditions, at age 8, for Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti led to immediate engagements with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Following high school graduation and completion of the Juilliard School's pre-college program, she enrolled at Juilliard as a college student, where she studied with the late Dorothy DeLay.
JOHN MAUCERI's accomplishments extend nationally and internationally, not only to the world's greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, before large television and radio audiences, and in recording studios and major publications. Mauceri has received substantial recognition for his work as one of the principal forces behind the movement to preserve two of America's great art forms, the American musical and music for the American cinema. He is equally at home conducting artists ranging from Plácido Domingo (during a live broadcast of the Grammy Awards) to Madonna (with whom he recorded the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita), from Garth Brooks (an inaugural inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame) to the Smashing Pumpkins (for the 1996 MTV Music Awards). Carol Burnett, Chicago, John Denver, Rodney Gilfry, Jonathan Pryce, Jane Eaglen, Jennifer Larmore, Patrick Stewart, Tito Puente, Charlotte Church, and Trisha Yearwood are among the multitude of artists who have performed with Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have presented an astonishing number of premieres, and during his tenure, opera and ballet returned to the Bowl's stage. In addition to his Hollywood Bowl position, Mauceri has served as music director for the Pittsburgh Opera since June 2000. The only American ever to have held the post of music director of an opera house in Great Britain and Italy, he served as music director of the Scottish Opera, and recently completed his three-year tenure as music director (direttore stabile) of the Teatro Reggio in Torino.
The Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame was established to identify and pay tribute to artists whose unique achievements embody the spirit of the world-renowned Hollywood Bowl. Drawn from the diverse arena of musical entertainment, including classical, pop, jazz, musical theatre, film composition, and dance, honorees will receive their tributes each summer as part of the Bowl's annual opening night celebration. The "Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame" was conceived on behalf of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association by Wayne Baruch and Charles F. Gayton, Executive Producers of the June 25 concert.
The Hollywood Bowl gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Target Stores, Lead Sponsor of Opening Night, Chandon, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, The Korea the Hall of Fame Award; Wells Fargo, VIP reception sponsor; the Hollywood Bowl Gala Committee Chairs Paige and David Glickman; and our Premier Patrons, Priscilla and Curtis S. Tamkin. Media sponsors are KABC 7, K-Mozart, KFI, K-Earth, Los Angeles Times and latimes.com.
Tickets for the concert only ($15 - $85), which begins at 8:30 p.m., are on sale at the Hollywood Bowl box office, online at HollywoodBowl.com, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 323.850.2000.
Tickets for the gala and concert, which benefit Music Matters, have sold out.
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Elizabeth Hinckley, 213.972.3034; Sabrina Skacan, 213.972.3408