SERIES AIRS LOCALLY ON KUSC-FM 91.5 LOS ANGELES, KDSC-FM 91.1 THOUSAND OAKS, KQSC-FM 88.7 SANTA BARBARA AND KPSC-FM 88.5 PALM SPRINGS

The KUSC broadcast series of the Los Angeles Philharmonic has been made possible through the support of the Office of Zev Yaroslavsky, Chairman of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and 91.5 Classical KUSC expand their annual radio broadcast partnership to include, for the first time, classical concerts from the current season at the Hollywood Bowl. The concerts, recorded live on selected Classical Tuesdays and Thursdays, feature the Los Angeles Philharmonic with an impressive roster of guest artists and conductors. The first concert, which took place Tuesday, July 10, airs on Saturday, August 4, at 2 p.m. The series continues on subsequent Saturday afternoons through October 6.

The 10-week classical series on Classical KUSC opens and closes with Leonard Slatkin in his third year as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He opens with an all-Russian program featuring violinist Gil Shaham as soloist in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. He wraps the season with old- and new-world masterpieces by Smetana, Dvo?ák and Copland, featuring famed cellist Lynn Harrell. Other series highlights include performances by noted soloists: pianists Jonathan Biss, Michel Camilo, Arnaldo Cohen, Nikolai Lugansky and Jean-Yves Thibaudet; bassist Edgar Meyer; and vocalists Thomas Hampson and Luciana Souza. Noted guest conductors for the series include: Stéphane Denève (in his Bowl debut), Baroque specialist Nicholas McGegan, Kirill Petrenko and Michael Tilson Thomas. Philharmonic Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Joana Carneiro also appear within the series. A complete list of concert programs follows.

Locally, the programs air Saturdays at 2 p.m., on member-supported Classical KUSC on 91.5 in Los Angeles, 88.5 KPSC in Palm Springs, 91.1 KDSC in Thousand Oaks, and 88.7 KQSC in Santa Barbara, beginning Saturday, August 4, and run for 10 consecutive weeks. The broadcast host and producer is Gail Eichenthal, Classical KUSC's Director of Arts Programming.

"It is extremely gratifying to be able to expand our long-term partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic by recording its classical series at the Hollywood Bowl," says Eichenthal. "For six consecutive years, we have produced a stellar season of concerts from the Los Angeles Philharmonic's winter seasons. I'm delighted to be able to offer our listeners that same caliber of high-quality concert broadcast during the summer, as well."

Interviews and features with soloists and orchestra members are heard throughout the series, offering unique insights and giving listeners a more in-depth perspective. Feature producers include Eichenthal, Gene Parrish and Chris Stanley.

"I'm pleased to help the Los Angeles Philharmonic make classical music accessible to everyone in Southern California by broadcasting our Hollywood Bowl concerts on Classical KUSC," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. "This project will vastly broaden our audience, delighting long-time classical music fans and creating thousands of new ones. The range and depth of the selected concerts, and the brilliance of the orchestra and soloists will thrill our newly far-flung listeners. I encourage everyone to tune in to Classical KUSC 91.5 FM on Saturdays at 2 pm for a truly remarkable concert experience."

"Expanding our partnership with Classical KUSC strengthens our already excellent relationship with the station and with Southern California residents," says Deborah Borda, president of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. "We are constantly finding new and different ways to reach our core audience as well as reach out to new audiences and making our summer season more accessible through radio broadcasts is just one of many ways in which we achieve this purpose. We are grateful to County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky for sharing this vision and for making these broadcasts possible."

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 39th 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 2007, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the third year in a row at the 18th 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.

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