Award-Winner To Perform During 2008 Hollywood Bowl Opening Night Concert Also Honoring Flutist Sir James Galway and Benefitting LA PHIL’s Music Education Programs

Friday, June 20, at 8:30 PM

Legendary film and stage singer and actress Liza Minnelli adds another honor to her already impressive list of accolades when she is inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame during the 2008 Hollywood Bowl Opening Night Concert, Friday, June 20, at 8:30 p.m. The ninth annual ceremony features performances by Ms. Minnelli as well as by fellow inductee and renowned flutist Sir James Galway. The Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 2000 to identify and pay tribute to artists whose unique achievements embody the spirit of the world-renowned Hollywood Bowl. The concert benefits MusicMatters, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music education programs, which serve more than 120,000 young people every year.

Liza Minnelli began performing at the age of 3 and hasn’t stopped since. She is an icon of stage and screen who has won virtually every award possible, including three Tonys, an Oscar, two Golden Globes and an Emmy.

Minnelli and Galway join the distinguished company of past artists – John Williams, Garth Brooks, Marilyn Horne, Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, John Raitt, Monty Python, Kathleen Battle, Randy Newman, Bernadette Peters, Leopold Stokowski, George Harrison, the Smothers Brothers, Roger Daltrey, Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Henry Mancini, Sarah Chang, Brian Wilson, Trisha Yearwood, Joshua Bell, Frank Sinatra, Carlos Santana, André Watts, Plácido Domingo and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Founding Director John Mauceri – previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Drawn from the diverse arena of musical entertainment, including classical, pop, jazz, musical theater, film composition, and dance, Hall of Fame honorees 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 20 concert. Jonathan Weedman and Jay Rasulo are the Gala Committee Chairs. Opening Night sponsors are: Wells Fargo, Gallo Family Vineyards, Goodyear Tire & Rubber and the Patina Group at the Bowl.

The annual benefit includes a VIP pre-concert reception and gourmet dinner in the Bowl’s boxes. Tickets for the benefit and concert ($500 – $1,250) include a pre-concert reception and dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. Call 213.972.3051 for details.

Tickets for the concert only ($15 - $50), which begins at 8:30 p.m., are on sale online at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl box office, through Ticketmaster, and by credit card phone order at 323.850.2000.

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 2008, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fourth year in a row at the 19th 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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