The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Accompanies Wainwright in Tribute Performance

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, AT 7 PM

Concert Generously Sponsored by here! Networks and Macy's

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright performs his final tribute concert to Judy Garland on the Hollywood Bowl stage on Sunday, September 23, at 7 p.m., with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. As a follow-up to his celebrated 2006 tribute to Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall concert - which Entertainment Weekly described as "a reminder of Garland's heartbreaking legacy and her influence on Wainwright's own beautifully lush pop"- Wainwright performs a collection of Garland's most popular standards, show stoppers and cinematic hits. Additionally, Wainwright, like Garland, makes use of a stage ramp extending over the pool circle section of the audience. He is joined by musical director and conductor Stephen Oremus and a handpicked quartet including pianist Mark Hummel, bassist Dave Phillips, drummer Steve Bartosik and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. Producers Jared Gellar and David J. Foster lend their well-honed expertise to the ambitious endeavor.

The Hollywood Bowl concert comes at the end of Wainwright's summer-long national tour in support of his new album, Release the Stars. The album is Wainwright's fifth studio full-length and his first self-produced effort. Wainwright, whom NME hails as "the best songwriter of his generation," will continue to tour internationally after the Hollywood Bowl performance.

Conductor Stephen Oremus served as music director and conductor for Wainwright's Garland tribute performances at Carnegie Hall, the London Palladium and the Olympia in Paris. He was also the music supervisor and arranger of the original Broadway production of Wicked as well as of the subsequent productions of that musical.

Affectionately referred to by Elton John as "the greatest songwriter on the planet" and praised by the New York Times for his "genuine originality", RUFUS WAINWRIGHT has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation by carving out his own singular sound. Born to folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Wainwright grew up entrenched in iconic music making. He began to play the piano at age 6, was touring with his mother and Aunt Anna as the McGarrigle Sisters and Family by 13, and had a Juno nomination for his performance of "I'm Running" in the film Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller by the time he was 16. Throughout his adolescent years, Wainwright found solace in opera. He also loved performers such as Edith Piaf, Al Jolson and Judy Garland. After spending time on the club circuit, Wainwright cut a series of demos, one of which found itself in the hands of Lenny Waronker at the newly formed DreamWorks. So taken with the demos, DreamWorks made Wainwright their first signed artist. His self-titled debut album was released in 1998 to critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone magazine anointing the work as one of the best albums of the year. Wainwright's subsequent releases, Poses (2001), Want One (2004) and Want Two (2005) continued to build his reputation as a critically established artist. His most recent album, Release The Stars (2007), is his first self-produced effort and has just gone Gold in the UK. It has been described by the New York Times as "simultaneously forthright and evasive, urgent as well as coy," and has been characterized by USA Today as being "always compelling" and People as being "something special." Wainwright will continue to tour internationally after the Hollywood Bowl show. Wainwright's next album will be a live recording from his Carnegie Hall concert, to be released in December. At that time a live DVD of the London Palladium concert will also be released. Beyond recording, Wainwright is a noted actor, having starred in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and Merchant Ivory's Heights. He was featured in the Leonard Cohen documentary I'm Your Man and will be seen in the forthcoming Denys Arcand film L'Age Des Tenebres. Wainwright has also recently completed an original piece of music for the Stephen Petronio Dance Company.

STEPHEN OREMUS' long list of credits includes some of Broadway's best known hits. He is the music supervisor/arranger of the original Broadway production of Wicked, and of the subsequent productions. He is also the music supervisor, vocal arranger and orchestrator of Avenue Q currently playing on Broadway, in London and on national tour. Other Broadway credits include All Shook Up (as music supervisor/vocal arranger/co-orchestrator) and High Fidelity (as vocal arranger). For the off-Broadway stage, Oremus has conducted, arranged and orchestrated tick, tick…BOOM! and served as music director and conductor of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party at Manhattan Theater Club. Outside of New York City, he was the music director for the national tour of Rent, as well as several productions of The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. He also was music supervisor and arranger of Signed Sealed Delivered - The Music of Stevie Wonder starring Chaka Khan at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and music director and arranger of Broadway Meets Country in both New York City and Nashville. Most recently, Oremus served as music director/conductor for Rufus Wainwright's re-creation of Judy Garland's legendary 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City, the London Palladium and the Olympia in Paris. Oremus is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Boston.

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.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2007, AT 7 PM
HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT SINGS JUDY GARLAND

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA

STEPHEN OREMUS, conductor

MARK HUMMEL, piano

DAVE PHILLIPS, bass

STEVE BARTOSIK, drums

BUCKY PIZZARELLI, guitar

Concert Generously Sponsored by here! Networks and Macy*s

Tickets ($7 - $111) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday-Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m.), or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Groups of 10 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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