PASADENA SYMPHONY’S CHERISHED HOLIDAY CONCERT RETURNS WITH THREE PERFORMANCES AT ALL SAINTS PASADENA
Back by popular demand, Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank will return to the podium to lead an array of ensembles including the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, the Donald Brinegar Singers and the LA Bronze Handbell Ensemble, set against the backdrop of the Pasadena Symphony. Special guest Sarah Uriarte Berry will accompany the orchestra as vocalist. With countless Broadway credits under her belt including Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Diana in the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Next to Normal and Les Misérables’ Eponine, Berry is sure to bring an unforgettable performance.
The program has something for everyone to ring in the holiday season, from traditional holiday classics to popular standards. Hear The First Noel, We Need a Little Christmas, Silent Night, The Christmas Song, selections from the Nutcracker Suite, Hallelujah! and much more. Top off your holiday season with lasting memories for the whole family at this time-honored tradition.
Fully-reserved seating is available to purchase throughout All Saints’ glorious interior, specially fitted with festive floral and decorations. Tickets to Holiday Candlelight with the Pasadena Symphony and POPS are limited and will sell out. Tickets start at $30 and may be purchased either at pasadenasymphony-pops.org or by calling the box office at (626) 793-7172.
IF YOU GO:
- What: Holiday Candlelight with the Pasadena Symphony
Larry Blank, conductor
Sarah Uriarte Berry, soloist
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus
Donald Brinegar Singers & JPL Chorus
LA Bronze Handbell Ensemble - When: Friday, December 12 at 7:00pm and Saturday, December 13 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm
- Where: All Saints Church | 132 N Euclid Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101
- Cost: Tickets: $30.00 – $165.00
- Parking: Parking is available at All Saint’s Church in advance for $20 or onsite for $25. Other nearby parking structures include 330 E Union, or metered parking is available on Euclid and nearby streets. Visit pasadenasymphony-pops.org/
plan-your-visit/all-saints- church/#parking for more info.
LARRY BLANK
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.
He was the Music Director/Conductor and/or vocal arranger for many shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles including They’re Playing Our Song, Evita, Sugar Babies, La Cage Aux Folles, Phantom of the Opera, Onward Victoria, Copperfield, Colette, A Chorus Line and A Little Night Music. He has been nominated three times for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations in The Drowsy Chaperone, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and with Marc Shaiman for Catch Me If You Can. Larry received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrations for A Christmas Story and Honeymoon in Vegas.
Larry contributed to the orchestrations for both the stage and film production of The Producers, the film Chicago and is a regular conductor and arranger for BBC RADIO 2 Friday Night Is Music Night in the UK. Larry has also been the Music Supervisor and Orchestrator for the Olivier Awards in London.
Blank has worked with top talent from varied fields of the entertainment world, notably as personal conductor to Michael Crawford. He has also worked with Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Bernadette Peters, Kelsey Grammar, Christine Baranski, Roberta Flack, Pete Fountain, Peabo Bryson, Sally Kellerman, Nancy Dussault, Marc Shaiman, Jerry Herman, Ann- Margaret, Davis Gaines, Bette Midler, George Benson, Placido Domingo, Randy Newman, Trisha Yearwood, Tom Scott, Quincy Jones, Michael Bolton, John Raitt and Diana Rigg.
Blank’s background includes orchestrating and arranging songs for South Park and was Music Supervisor and Orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s movie, Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury and Charles Durning. Some of the films he lent his talent to include The Kid, Kiss The Girls, The American President, Forget Paris, City Slickers II, The Net, That¹s Entertainment III, North, I¹d Do Anything, and Stuart Saves His Family. Blank’s music can be heard on the animated feature films, Cats Don’t Dance and All Dogs Go To Heaven as well as the 101 Dalmatians Christmas Special.
Mr. Blank’s television work includes orchestrating and composing music for several of the Grammy Awards and Academy Award shows as well as numerous television movies and shows. Most recently Larry orchestrated and conducted FX’s Fosse/Verdon and Dolly Parton’s latest project Christmas on the Square for Warner Brothers.
Mr. Blank has guest conducted most of the orchestras throughout the world, including The San Francisco Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Auckland Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Symphony, New Orleans Symphony and Toronto.
Vocalist
Sarah Uriarte Berry has enjoyed an extensive Broadway career, with several distinguished leading roles under her belt. Ms. Berry created the role of Franca in The Light in the Piazza for Lincoln Center Theater (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations.) She appeared as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Eponine in Les Miserables, Nicola in Taboo, Diana in the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Next to Normal, and in the title role for New York City Opera’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.
Ms. Berry starred in the Royal National Tour of Carousel (Dramalogue Award Best Actress, Ovation nomination), Sunset Boulevard with Petula Clark, and the National Tour of Les Miserables. Regionally, she appeared in A Little Night Music at The Kennedy Center, Terrence McNally’s Master Class and Guys and Dolls, to name a few.
A busy concert artist, Sarah was a soloist at Carnegie Hall with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. Ms. Berry recently debuted her one woman show, For the Love of Judy with The Cape Symphony.
Broadway Cast recordings include The Light in The Piazza, Taboo, The Boys from Syracuse, Tenderloin, Bernstein’s Mass and her debut EP, For the Love of Judy. TV and film appearances include Law and Order CSI, Frontera, Pretty Bird, Six Degrees, the Dave Letterman Show, and The Light in the Piazza (PBS). Sarah is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS
GRAMMY Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), one of the world’s preeminent youth choruses, has been lauded as “hauntingly beautiful” (Los Angeles Times), “the best children’s chorus I have ever heard” (Esa-Pekka Salonen), and “one of the true artistic gems of Los Angeles” (Gustavo Dudamel).
Founded in 1986 and led now by Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, LACC annually appears in more than 50 public performances, including in its own self-produced concerts and in collaborations with leading organizations such as LA Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Pasadena Symphony and POPS.
The Chorus annually serves over 425 children ages 6–18 from 40+ communities across Southern California through its seven choirs, First Experiences in Singing class, and First Experiences in Choral Singing ensemble.
The Chorus is featured in alumna Billie Eilish’s 2021 cinematic concert experience Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles on Disney+, and has appeared on John Williams’ 2017 recording, John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s critically-acclaimed Decca recording, A Good Understanding. The subject of four documentaries by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Freida Mock, LACC is featured in the Academy Award®-nominated Sing!, about a year in the life of the choir. LACC has performed with John Mayer on NBC’s The Tonight Show and been featured on PBS’s Great Performances, BBC Radio, and PRI’s nationally-syndicated show From the Top.
Winner of the 2022 GRAMMY Award for Best Choral Performance for its performance on the LA Philharmonic’s 2021 album, Mahler Symphony No. 8, and recipient of Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, LACC frequently serves as a cultural ambassador for Los Angeles on tours that have taken the Chorus to 20+ countries on 6 continents. For more information, please visit https://lachildrenschorus.org/
DONALD BRINEGAR SINGERS
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 have performed for Marvin Hamlisch and Michael Feinstein, and 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.
LA BRONZE HANDBELL ENSEMBLE
Under the artistic direction of Alex Guebert, LA Bronze is an auditioned handbell concert choir creating performances of the highest caliber for the community. Their music making is exciting and uplifting, and audiences around Southern California have praised their concerts. The group is comprised of accomplished handbell musicians who are seeking challenging opportunities for making music, while providing educational opportunities for the handbell community. Our members come from all over the L. A. basin and include musicians, educators, administrators and other professionals.
ABOUT THE PASADENA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION
Formed in 1928, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Hollywood’s most talented, sought-after musicians. With extensive credits in film, television, recording and the orchestral industry, the artists of the Pasadena Symphony and POPS are some of the most heard in the world.
Brett Mitchell assumed the post of Pasadena Symphony Music Director on April 1, 2024, and Larry Blank currently leads the POPS as Resident Pops Conductor. Michael Feinstein recently completed his 14-year tenure as Principal Pops Conductor, succeeding Marvin Hamlisch. The Pasadena Symphony and POPS performs in two of the most extraordinary venues in the United States: Ambassador Auditorium, known as the Carnegie Hall of the West, and the Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden.
A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region for over five decades through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO). PYSO offers supplemental in-class instruction within the Pasadena Unified School District and eleven performance ensembles, serving over 700 4th-12th grade students from all over Southern California. The PYSO has performed at venues across the globe as well as on the television show GLEE.
The Pasadena Symphony Association provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music. www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org
