Program Includes Scenes from The Dark Knight and a Tribute to Clint Eastwood Films
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2008, AT 7:30 PM
Concert Is Generously Sponsored by WaMu
The Big Picture, one of the Hollywood Bowl's most popular annual programs, pays tribute this year to the extraordinary legacy and 85th anniversary of Warner Bros. on Sunday, August 31, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. Conductor David Newman leads the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in an evening of film music performed live with scenes projected on the big screen. Produced in cooperation with Warner Home Video and in association with Steve Linder / IMG Artists, the program features films ranging from Casablanca and A Star Is Born to Harry Potter and current blockbuster The Dark Knight, plus many other classics as well as a tribute to Clint Eastwood movies and his enduring relationship with the studio.
The evening opens with a montage of film clips to the familiar Warner Bros. Fanfare and music from the score of 1939's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex by Korngold. The program also includes "Toot Toot Tootsie" from the first talkie (The Jazz Singer), a Get Smart montage, a tribute to Clint Eastwood, the Quidditch scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, an action sequence from The Dark Knight and the final scene from Casablanca. Warner Bros. musicals are also spotlighted in a special section featuring “Shadow Waltz” from Busby Berkeley's Gold Diggers of 1933, “I’m Tired” from Blazing Saddles and the “Born in a Trunk” sequence from A Star Is Born (1954). Excerpts from Leonard Rosenman’s score to Rebel Without a Cause and Danny Elfman’s score to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure are part of a segment showcasing Warner Bros. filmed in Los Angeles.
Newman, in his 20-plus-year career, has scored over 100 films ranging from War of the Roses, Hoffa, Bowfinger and Heathers to the more recent Serenity and Ice Age. The recipient of numerous honors from the motion picture and classical music industries, he holds an Academy Award nomination for his score to the animated feature Anastasia and was the first composer to have his piece, 1001 Nights, performed in the Los Angeles Philharmonic's FILMHARMONIC Series.
DAVID NEWMAN continues to thrill audiences with new additions to an already vast and impressive catalog of film scores. Newman is revered not only for his original voice but for his expert versatility which has enabled him to collaborate on such diverse projects as the critically-acclaimed dramas Brokedown Palace and Hoffa, and top-grossing comedies Norbit, Scooby-Doo, Galaxy Quest, The Nutty Professor, The Flintstones, and Throw Mama from the Train. In 1987, Newman was selected by Robert Redford as music director of the Sundance Institute. During his tenure he wrote an original score and conducted the Utah Symphony for the classic silent motion picture Sunrisewhich opened the Sundance Film Festival in 1989. As a benefit for the Film Music Preservation Program at Sundance, he began to conduct a series of concerts throughout the country and has since been committed to unearthing and restoring film music classics for the concert hall. In March 2007, he was elected President of the Film Music Society, a nonprofit organization formed by entertainment industry professionals to preserve and restore motion picture and television music. As a Hollywood composer, Newman has the distinction of being a highly sought-after conductor, appearing with leading symphony orchestras throughout the world in both the film and classical repertory, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, and the American Symphony at Avery Fisher Hall. In the 2005/2006 season he led a subscription week with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert. Also an active composer for the concert hall, Newman wrote a six-movement Concerto for Winds for the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, premiering one movement at a time (spotlighting the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn) throughout the symphony's 2006-07 season. In recent seasons, Newman's concert works have been performed at the Ravinia Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival. The son of nine-time Oscar-winning composer, Alfred Newman, cousin of recording artist and film composer Randy Newman, and brother of film composer Thomas Newman, David Newman was born in Los Angeles and earned degrees in orchestral conducting and violin from the University of Southern California.
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWLhas 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 40th 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.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2008, AT 7:30 PM
HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood
THE BIG PICTURE: THE FILMS OF WARNER BROS.
HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA
DAVID NEWMAN, conductor
Produced In Cooperation with Warner Home Video
And In Association with Steve Linder / IMG Artists
Concert Is Generously Sponsored by WaMu
Tickets ($10 - $114) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m.), by phone 323.850.2000 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.
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Leah Price, lprice@laphil.org, 213.972.340; Laura Stegman, Laura_Stegman@hotmail.com; 310.470.6321; For photos: 213.972.3034