PASADENA SYMPHONY AND POPS BRINGS THE BEST OF BROADWAY FOR MUSIC UNDER THE STARS, A FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT AT PASADENA CITY HALL

Arrive early for Kids Korner, with face painting, balloon animals, a musical instrument petting zoo and performance by Bob Baker Marionette Theater!

Pasadena, CA – Stars of stage and screen will illuminate the night sky when the Pasadena Symphony and POPS presents its annual free Music Under the Stars concert on Saturday, June 1 at Pasadena City Hall’s Centennial Square. Presented with sponsorship support from Bank of America, Music Under the Stars will brings Pasadena’s premiere orchestra free to the community for one night only. This year’s concert brings back the Best of Broadway with popular favorites from West Side Story, The Music Man, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Wicked and more legendary musicals. Hear “Mambo,” “Trouble,” “Memory,” “Music of the Night,” “Seasons of Love” and more from Gershwin, Sondheim all of your favorite musicals. It’s a Broadway celebration that you and your family won’t want to miss.

The family fun begins at 6:00pm with picnicking, food trucks and the return of Kids Korner. Kids can enjoy free face painting, balloon animals and a musical instrument petting zoo, where people of all ages can discover the wonder of creating their own music with the instruments of the orchestra. Families who arrive early will also be treated to a special performance by Bob Baker Marionette Theater at 7:00pm.

Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank will lead the orchestra and will welcome the Donald Brinegar Singers, JPL Chorus and some of Broadway’s best vocalists to the stage. “Musical and theatrical marvel” (San Francisco Chronicle) Lisa Vroman will add her sparkling vocals to the performance. With countless Broadway credits under her belt, Vroman is best known for starring for over eight years on Broadway, in San Francisco, and in Los Angeles as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. Valerie Perri, who launched her career as Eva Peron under the direction of Hal Prince in Evita, will sweep you away with her dulcet tones. Multiple-award-winning entertainer Jason Graae brings an extensive stage and screen career with roles in Broadway’s Falsettos, Stardust and the national tour of Wicked, on television in Six Feet Under, Friends, Frasier, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and many more. Last seen on Broadway playing Fiyero in Wicked, David Burhnam is an original Broadway cast member of The Light In The Piazza, and gained critical acclaim when he was chosen to replace Donny Osmond as Joseph in the national tour of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

This family-friendly event is presented with support once again from Bank of America. As a leading corporate supporter of the arts around the world, Bank of America provides steadfast and strategic support to nonprofit arts and culture institutions. Bank of America’s arts programs like the Art Conservation Project, Museums on Us®, Art in Our Communities and the Masterpiece Moment video series, along with sponsorships and grants, are designed to have a positive impact on economies and societies, and shine a light on diverse cultural traditions.

Music Under the Stars is also supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.

Gates open at 6:00pm for Kids Korner, Bob Baker Marionette Theater performance begins at 7:00pm, and the Music Under the Stars Concert begins at 8:00pm. Admission to this event is free, and guests are encouraged to bring a picnic, blanket and low-back chairs. Rental chairs will also be available for purchase. For more information, visit PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or call 626.793.7172.

IF YOU GO:

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Larry Blank
Conductor

Resident Pops Conductor, Larry Blank is one of the most prolific and sought after composers, conductors, and orchestrators in the entertainment business today. His work has been presented all over the world, including some of Broadway’s most successful musicals, Carnegie Hall, and top television and film projects.

Larry has received Tony and Drama Desk nominations for his orchestrations of Catch Me If You Can, The Drowsy Chaperone and White Christmas. Larry also received Drama Desk nominations for A Christmas Story and Honeymoon in Vegas.

Other Broadway orchestrations can be heard in the Lincoln Centre production of The Nance as well as Fame Becomes Me, La Cage aux Folles, The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Tommy Tune: White Tie and Tails.

Recent projects include Holiday Inn (Universal/Roundabout Theater); Guys and Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre, West End and Tour); Mrs. Henderson Presents (Theatre Royal Bath, West End & Toronto); The Importance of Being Earnest (Vaudeville) and Mack & Mabel (Chichester Festival Theatre and UK Tour).

In the West End, Larry orchestrated City of Angels (Donmar Warehouse); White Christmas (Dominion); Singin’ in the Rain (Palace Theatre, UK tour, Japan, International tour, Russia and Australia); Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, The Drowsy Chaperone, Guys and Dolls, The Producers, The Beautiful and Damned and Mack & Mabel.

Larry’s film orchestrations can be heard in The Producers and Chicago. Larry was the conductor/arranger/orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s title song for the film Barney’s Great Adventure, sung by Bernadette Peters, as well as orchestrating/arranging two songs for South Park for Marc Shaiman; music supervisor/orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s Mrs. Santa Claus with Angela Lansbury; arranger/orchestrator for the films What’s the Worst That Could Happen?, The Kid, Kiss the Girls, The American President, Forget Paris, City Slickers II: the Legend of Curly’s Gold, The Net, That’s Entertainment! III, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Bogus, North, Speechless, I’d Do Anything, Stuart Saves His Family, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, The Jungle Book 2 and Cats Don’t Dance; composer for two episodes of the television series In the Heat of the Night, as well as music for Sweating Bullets and the Grammys.

Larry has arranged and/or conducted for Barbra Streisand, Michael Feinstein (including two tours of Australia and New Zealand), Marilyn Horne, Michael Crawford, Christine Andreas, Joe Williams, Yanni, Marvin Hamlisch, Bernadette Peters, Steve Lawrence, Vikki Carr, Pete Fountain, Elaine Stritch, Lorna Luft, Elaine Paige, Jason Alexander, Martin Short, Georgia Brown and many others.

Larry has orchestrated and arranged for four Academy Awards shows including parts of the (Marc Shaiman-arranged) Billy Crystal medleys. Larry regularly conducts for BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night and is the Music Director and orchestrater (along with Mark Cumberland) for the Olivier Awards in London.

David Burnham
Soloist

David Burnham was last seen on Broadway in the mega-hit musical, Wicked, playing Fiyero, a role that he originated in the developmental workshops of the show. He is an original Broadway cast member of the musical The Light In The Piazza, performing both on the Tony Awards and the PBS telecast Live From Lincoln Center. He is the recipient of the prestigious “Helen Hayes Award” for Best Actor as well as the Best Actor “Garland Award” for his portrayal of Fabrizio in the national tour of The Light In The Piazza.

David first gained critical acclaim when, after a two year search, he was chosen to replace Donny Osmond as Joseph in the national tour of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Dramalogue Award). He toured nationally in another Andrew Lloyd Webber blockbuster playing Peter in Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley.  Also in NYC he was in the original cast of the Off-Broadway show The Best Is Yet to Come – The Music Of Cy Coleman. In Las Vegas, he starred in Showstoppers at the Wynn Resort.

On film he was the voice of the Prince in the Warner Bros. animated feature The King And I, and can be heard on the soundtracks to Ghepetto, Disney’s Home On The Range and Comedy Central’s South Park. David performs with symphonies all over the country and his solo concert has been seen in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has recorded two solo albums, his self-titled CD and One Day.  www.davidburnham.com.

Jason Graae
Soloist

Jason Graae has been featured on Broadway in A Grand Night For Singing, Falsettos, Stardust, Snoopy!, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?. Off- Broadway shows include the original casts of Forever Plaid, Olympus on My Mind, All in the Timing, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (Drama Desk Nomination- Best Actor in a Musical) and many more. Jason recently traveled across the U.S. for a year and a 1/2 as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the National Tour of Wicked.

Jason made his Metropolitan Opera House debut as the male vocalist in Twyla Tharp’s Everlast with American Ballet Theatre. Jason has performed his one man show all over the country, winning four Bistro Awards and a N.Y Nightlife Award, also making TimeOut NY’s Top 10 Cabaret shows of the year. His critically acclaimed show with Faith Prince, The Prince and the Showboy played at 54 Below and the pair won a 2nd Nightlife Award and a Robby Award for Best Duo.

In Los Angeles, Jason won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre. Jason originated the role of Houdini in the L.A. production of Ragtime at the Shubert Theatre and won an Ovation Award for Forbidden Broadway Y2KLA!. At the Hollywood Bowl, he played Benny in Guys and Dolls and Marcellus in The Music Man. For 3 years, he starred as Scrooge in the world premiere of Scrooge in Love in San Francisco, winning the Theatre Bay Area Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

On television, Jason has appeared on many shows including Six Feet Under, Rude Awakening, Friends, Frasier, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Living Single, Caroline in the City, Providence, etc. On PBS, he was a guest soloist twice with the Boston POPS, as well as with Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony in Holiday for the Troops at The Kennedy Center and in the Jerry Herman documentary Words and Music by Jerry Herman.

Movie appearances include the title role in Sunshine Barry and the Disco Worms (2008 Toronto and London Film Festivals), Disney’s Home on the Range, On Edge, Gepetto, The Dukes of Hazzard in Hollywood, and Awakening of Spring. He has been heard on many cartoons and for 5 and 1/2 years was the voice of Lucky, the Leprechaun for Lucky Charms Cereal, a balanced part of your complete breakfast.

He made his Los Angeles Opera debut as Njegus in The Merry Widow, repeating the role with Dallas, New Orleans, Houston Grand Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre (Oscar Wilde Award nomination). Also with L.A. Opera he was featured as Offenbach in The Grand Duchess, directed by Garry Marshall. He has played Frosch in Die Fledermaus with the Washington National and San Francisco Operas, the Manhattan School of Music, and most recently with Houston Grand Opera.

Jason has recorded over 65 CDs, including original cast albums, concerts, compilations, and his 3 solo CDs, You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile – Jason Graae Sings Charles Strouse, and Jason Graae LIVE at The Cinegrill (Fynsworth Alley), and Perfect Hermany-the songs of Jerry Herman.

Valerie Perri
Soloist

Valerie Perri recently starred as Dolly Levi in 3D-Theatricals Hello Dolly. Eric Marchese of the Orange County Register said, “Valerie Perri delivers a knockout performance as Dolly. Proving a worthy successor to past stars, she’s part Channing, part Streisand, part Fanny Brice and 100 percent Dolly.”

Valerie’s career began under the direction of legendary Director/Producer Harold Prince when he chose her to play Eva Peron in the Broadway National of Evita. She has also had the honor of working with esteemed Director/Choreographer Jerome Robbins in the Broadway National of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. She starred as Norma Desmond in the hit musical Sunset Blvd. at The Karen and Richard Carpenter Center, which garnered her best actress nomination from Broadway World and also a Los Angeles Stage Scene Award for Best Performance of the Year 2013. She’s a recipient of the John Raitt Award for best Cabaret Performance 2014.

She has sung for concert hall audiences worldwide, from Disney Hall to Carnegie Hall and internationally at the Opera House in Frankfort and the London Palladium. Her television and film credits include Criminal Minds, ER, Another World, The Out of Towners, George of the Jungle, Grease, and Dickie Roberts. Valerie’s compact disc, Sweet Conversation is available on iTunes and you can find her on all social media platforms.

Lisa Vroman
Soloist

From Broadway to Classics, on stage and in concert, Lisa Vroman has established herself as one of America’s most versatile voices. She has been regarded as a “musical and theatrical marvel” by the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as “one of American Musical Theater’s most beautiful voices” by acclaimed Broadway producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh.

Lisa starred for over 8 years on Broadway, in San Francisco, and in Los Angeles as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. Ms. Vroman starred as Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella, making her New York City Opera debut with Paul Sorvino playing the title role. She starred as Lili Vanessi in Kiss Me Kate with both Glimmerglass Opera and the MUNY Theater of St. Louis, Anna Leonowens in The King and I with Lyric Opera of Virginia, and played Marian Paroo in The Music Man with Shirley Jones (Mrs. Paroo) and Patrick Cassidy (Harold Hill) at The Bushnell Theatre in Hartford CT. Lisa sang the role of Birdie in Regina with Utah Opera, conducted by Keith Lockhart; made her New Jersey Opera debut as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus (directed by Ira Siff); and premiered and recorded two Comic Operas by composers John Musto (Bastianello) and William Bolcom (Lucrezia) with the New York Festival of Song.

Her Broadway debut was in Aspects of Love, and she was the first to play both Fantine and Cosette in Les Misérables. For PBS she was featured with Colm Wilkinson and Michael Ball in Cameron Mackintosh’s Hey, Mr. Producer! at a Royal Gala at the Lyceum Theatre in London. She sang the role of Johanna in the San Francisco Symphony’s Emmy Award winning PBS production of Sweeney Todd in Concert, with Patti Lupone and George Hearn. Both are available on DVD. Lisa starred as Laurey in Oklahoma, filmed live in concert for the BBC Proms Festival at Royal Albert Hall in London, played Mary Turner in Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing/Let ’em Eat Cake in concert with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, and played Lucy Brown in Threepenny Opera at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco with Bebe Neuwirth, Nancy Dussault, and Anika Noni Rose. Other roles have included Laurie in The Tender Land; Maria in The Sound Of Music; Josephine in HMS Pinafore, Yum-Yum in The Mikado; and Anna 1 in The Seven Deadly Sins. She has sung “Maria” in West Side Story, Guenevere in Camelot, Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me, as well as many other well-known musical roles.

Lisa is a George London Competition Grant recipient and a 1999 Minerva Award recipient from the State University of New York at Potsdam. She received an Undergraduate degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, a Masters degree in Fine Arts, Opera Performance from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Music from SUNY Potsdam.  Ms. Vroman has become an active mentor and sought-after clinician with many colleges and universities across the country and around the world. She has acted as a judge in both the Lotte Lenya Competition for the Kurt Weill Foundation and UCLA’s Walter Jurmann Competition. She has recently joined the teaching faculty of the Institute for American Musical Theatre in New York.

With a repertoire that ranges from Stravinsky to Weill to Broadway, Lisa is a frequent guest soloist with theater and opera companies, and orchestras including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, the National, Malaysia, Seattle, Hong Kong, Cleveland, Nashville, Pacific, Utah, Dallas, the Boston Pops with Keith Lockhart, the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, and the Philly Pops with Peter Nero. She made her debut at The Hollywood Bowl in Disney’s 75th celebration, singing and dancing with legend Dick Van Dyke in a medley from Mary Poppins. Lisa has sung in concert with composer Stephen Schwartz, organist David Higgs, and the Empire Brass Quintet. Her solo CD, Broadway Classic, features Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and 47 of San Francisco’s finest orchestral players. Lisa had the honor of singing at the Profiles in Courage Award dinner in Boston at the JFK Library, as a guest of the Kennedy family. She has also sung on separate occasions for Queen Elizabeth, former presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, and the Library of Congress.

Recent performances have included An Evening of Rodgers & Hammerstein with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, concert performances of Cole Porter’s 1928 La Revue Des Ambassadeurs with l’Opéra de Rennes in France, a multi-city concert tour in China, and playing the role of Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s award winning play, Master Class.

Lisa lives in Pasadena, CA with husband Patrick O’Neil and their beautiful dog Barber.

Donald Brinegar Singers & JPL Chorus

Donald Brinegar is a conductor, tenor soloist, voice instructor, educator and master class clinician. Professor Emeritus of Music at Pasadena City College, Brinegar directed the Choral Studies program at PCC for  36 years. Brinegar also conducts the Donald Brinegar Singers, a community choral ensemble in Pasadena, California, Director of Choruses for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS. During the summers he co-directs the Cal State Los Angeles masters program in choral conducting. He has an extensive background as a performer both as a soloist and a conductor having performed throughout the United States, Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Canada. Brinegar has performed as a featured soloist with Robert Shaw, Helmuth Rilling, Roger Wagner, Gerard Swartz, Murray Sidlin, Howard Swan, Charles Hirt, Rod Eichenberger, William Hall, Marvin Hamlisch, Michael Feinstein, and with numerous music festivals, orchestras and opera associations. He has collaborated artistically with Henry Mancini, Barry Manilow, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, John Delancie, and the Chieftains. His choirs have given five performances for the American Choral Directors Association Conferences, California Music Educators (MENC), Choral Conductors Guild, and have performed in Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles Music Center, and the Hollywood Bowl.

The Donald Brinegar Singers, choral ensemble, was founded in the Fall of 1997 as an ensemble of former students and colleagues of Professor Brinegar. Their first concert was given in November of 1997. Their second performance was the premiere of Lauridsen’s organ edition of Lux Aeterna, accompanied by organist James Buonemani. The ensemble presented music of the holiday season and was then invited to perform at The ACDA Western Division Convention in Los Angeles, 2000. Shortly following the convention appearance, the Singers recorded Ubi caritas et amor and Madrigali Six FireSongs: for Lauridsen’s compact disc, Northwest Journey. The Singers performed the Chansons des Roses with Lauridsen accompanying at the San Antonio, Texas, ACDA National Conference. The Singers followed with two more performances of Lauridsen’s music in Las Vegas, 2004 ACDA Western Division Conference, and the premiere of Nocturnes (The Brock Memorial Convention Commission) 2005, Los Angeles ACDA National Convention.

The Singers are the resident chorus for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS, having sung for David Lockington, Grant Cooper, Marvin Hamlisch, Larry Blank, and Michael Feinstein. In 2015, the ensemble performed the orchestrated version of Lauridsen’s Mid- Winter Songs along with the Nocturnes (Lauridsen accompanying) with the symphony. The ensemble has also performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles Arboretum, and for Brinegar’s publisher, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Santa Barbara. The Singers have given premiere performances of the music of Bruce Babcock, David Childs, Emma Lou Diemer, Morten Lauridsen, Z. Randall Stroope, and Eric Whitacre, among many others. The Singers recorded the background score for the film, The Bridge to Terrabithia, music by Aaron Zigman. They are the featured ensemble in an Irish Folk Song Collection, Letters from Ireland by Mark Brymer.

Pasadena is a city rich with the arts and sciences, which gives way for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Chorus to blend perfectly. Formed early in 2012 in a partnership between the Pasadena Symphony Association and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the JPL Chorus is comprised of JPL employees who rehearse weekly under the direction of (Donald Brinegar), the Pasadena Symphony’s Director of Choruses. The JPL Chorus is comprised of 53 employees who rehearse each Wednesday evening. Their concert program includes a mixture of classical repertoire to popular, with composers ranging from Benjamin Britten and John Lennon/Paul McCartney.

The singers come from a wide variety of roles within JPL, including scientists, engineers, administrators, software, business people, and more. “The idea is to celebrate JPL with our group’s enthusiasm about music and singing. It’s been a lot of fun, and I think what Don brings to this particularly is a great sense of joy in the experience,” stated Stephen Kulczycki, Deputy Director of Communication and Education at JPL (and a member of the bass section.)