Let Freedom Sing

World and West Coast Premieres, Masterworks and More Highlight LACO's 2013-14 Season

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), considered one of the nation's premier orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions, announces its 2013-14 season, its 45th, featuring a compelling mix of beloved masterpieces and genre-defying premieres from firmly established and notable up-and-coming composers programmed by Jeffrey Kahane, one of the world's foremost conductors and pianists, who marks his 17th season as the Orchestra's music director. (more...)

Photo Coverage: McElroy, Toro, Edelman & More Perform at NYC Museum

Broadway stars headed uptown to enhance a museum exhibit with similarly themed songs from Broadway. (more...)

MUSIC CITY JULY 4TH: LET FREEDOM SING! Party Held At Riverfront Park In Nashville 7/4

If there's one thing Nashville knows how to do, it's throw a party. On Saturday, July 4th head down to Riverfront Park for a day filled with summer fun. Check out the Coca-Cola FREE Family Fun Zone with inflatables and more fun for every member of the family. (more...)

MUSIC CITY JULY 4TH: LET FREEDOM SING! Party Held At Riverfront Park In Nashville 7/4

If there's one thing Nashville knows how to do, it's throw a party. On Saturday, July 4th head down to Riverfront Park for a day filled with summer fun. Check out the Coca-Cola FREE Family Fun Zone with inflatables and more fun for every member of the family. (more...)

Nashville Symphony Presents Community Leadership Award to Edwin Santiago

Nashville Symphony announces Metro schoolteacher Edwin Santiago as the 2012 Edwina Hefner Community Leadership Award winner. Each year, in conjunction with the Regions "Let Freedom Sing!" concert honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Nashville Symphony presents this award to a member of the community whose work exemplifies Dr. King's legacy. (more...)

Carol Channing Talks Betty Garrett

A little know fact is that Carol Channing was Betty's roommate in the early days of their careers, before either of them became successful. About Betty's death, Carol had this to say 'No one could have had a dearer sweeter more unselfish roommate than Betty Garrett. To save me after I was fired from the Borstht Circuit (Camp Cataminm), she kept encouraging me. She was gorgeously talented and funny herself. My deep gratitude goes with her.' (more...)

Broadway Star Betty Garrett Dies at 91

Broadway star Betty Garrett died in Los Angeles at the age of 91. Garrett died Saturday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, most likely from an aortic aneurysm, according to her son Garrett Parks. Garrett was in good health and even taught her musical comedy class at Theater West on Wednesday night. Theater West is a non-profit organization which she helped found. Friday, she checked into the hospital with heart trouble and died the next morning, with her family at her side. (more...)

Photo Blast From The Past: Betty Garrett

Today, we're featuring Betty Garrett circa 1981. Garrett made her Broadway debut in 1942 in the revue Of V We Sing, which closed after 76 performances but led to her being cast in the Harold Rome revue Let Freedom Sing later that year. It closed after only eight performances, but producer Mike Todd saw it and signed her to understudy Ethel Merman and play a small role in the 1943 Cole Porter musical Something for the Boys. Merman became ill during the run, allowing Garrett to play the lead for a week. Later, she became known for the roles she played in two prominent 1970s sitcoms: Archie Bunker's liberal neighbor Irene Lorenzo in All in the Family and landlady Edna Babish in Laverne & Shirley. In later years, Garrett appeared in television series such as Grey's Anatomy, Boston Public and Becker as well as in several Broadway plays and revivals. (more...)