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  • PIANIST JON KIMURA PARKER JOINS LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC, CONDUCTED BY ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, IN ANNUAL TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTAULAR
  • Aug. 11, 2006
  • BOWL FAVORITE USC TROJAN MARCHING BAND JOINS IN FOR 1812 OVERTURE WITH FIREWORKS

    FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 AT 8:30 PM

    Saturday's Concert is Sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts; Media Sponsor is KCET

    The grand tradition continues as the annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks returns to the Hollywood Bowl on Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12 at 8:30 p.m., with the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Associate Conductor Alexander Mickelthwate. Electrifying pianist Jon Kimura Parker performs the great Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 followed by a perennial audience favorite, the 1812 Overture. Along with fireworks, the Overture features the USC Trojan Marching Band, with Dr. Arthur C. Bartner, director. The Trojan Band is the only collegiate marching band in the country to appear on stage at the Hollywood Bowl and is featured annually in the Overture's finale.

    Associate Conductor ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE is the newly appointed Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Beginning with the 2006/07 season he will lead the orchestra in subscription concerts, on tour, and in the orchestra's internationally acclaimed New Music Festival. He will also serve as the Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 2006/07 season. As Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the past two years, Mickelthwate has led the orchestra in programs at Walt Disney Concert Hall, appearing on the Green Umbrella new music series, education and community concerts, and at the Hollywood Bowl. Mickelthwate was born in Germany into a musical family. He developed his musical talent at an early age as a cellist in youth orchestras and chamber groups, as a singer in a professional choir, and as a pianist and organist. He studied conducting and piano performance at the Musikhochschule in Karlsruhe, where as a student he worked as a pianist for the Frankfurt Chamber Opera and the Karlsruhe Opera Studio. He also studied for two summers at the Eötvöes Institute in Hungary. After winning a Peabody merit scholarship, Mickelthwate came to America to study at Baltimore's Peabody Institute of Music with Frederik Prausnitz and Gustav Meier. Further studies took place with Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, and Andre Previn as a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center and with Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C.

    Internationally acclaimed concert pianist JON KIMURA PARKER was born, raised, and educated in Vancouver. His extraordinary career has taken him from Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House to Baffin Island and Zimbabwe. A true Canadian ambassador of music, Mr. Parker has given two command performances for Queen Elizabeth II, special performances for the United States Supreme Court, and has performed for the Prime Ministers of Canada and Japan. Jon Kimura Parker has performed as guest soloist with the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and every major orchestra in Canada. He has jammed with Doc Severinsen in Calgary and Bobby McFerrin in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Mr. Parker has hosted two seasons of the classical music television series "Whole Notes," on Bravo! Canada. He has played himself in a guest appearance on the Disney Channel's "Under the Umbrella Tree". Mr. Parker was also seen on CNN performing in war-torn Sarajevo and has been documented frequently on CBC, as well as on PBS's "The Visionaries."

    The TROJAN MARCHING BAND has developed into one of the most innovative collegiate marching bands in the country. Featuring over 275 passionate students from nearly every major at USC, the TMB is a prominent and visible representative of the University with over 400 engagements per year. The Trojan Marching Band has tripled in size since Dr. Arthur C. Bartner became its director in 1970. With the assistance of long-time arranger Tony Fox, Dr. Bartner has built the band into a world-renowned performing group with frequent appearances on the small and silver screens. The Spirit of Troy can be seen in such films as the Academy-Award winning Forrest Gump. Indeed, the Academy Awards telecast itself has featured the band twice and in 2004, the band appeared at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards telecast and performed the finale with Andre 3000 of the multi-platinum hip-hop group, OutKast. In its long history, the TMB has performed for seven U.S. Presidents, at four Super Bowls, and at two Summer Olympic Games.

    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 38th 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 2006, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the second year in a row at the 17th 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:

    FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 AT 8:30 PM

    SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 AT 8:30 PM

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

    THE TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR WITH FIREWORKS

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, conductor

    JON KIMURA PARKER, piano

    USC TROJAN MARCHING BAND, DR. ARTHUR C. BARTNER, director

    TCHAIKOVSKY: Dance From Mazeppa

    TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23

    TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy-Overture

    TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture, Op. 49

    Saturday's Concert is Sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, Media Sponsor is KCET

    Tickets ($5 - $111) are on sale now online at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations). Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, 213.972.3034; Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310; For photos: 213.972.3034