Bramwell Tovey Leads LA Phil in THE PLANETS Tonight

Conductor Bramwell Tovey returns to the Hollywood Bowl to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Women of Pacific Chorale in Gustav Holst's The Planets tonight, September 9, at 8 pm. The performance will be accompanied by astonishing high-definition images from NASA and JPL rovers and satellites, as well as computer-generated graphics of the Mars landing.

The program opens with the U.S. premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Erskine - Concerto for Drum Set and Orchestra. The piece's dedicatee, renowned drummer Peter Erskine, will join the LA Phil for this debut performance. Having received its premiere last year with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Erskine, which is an LA Phil co-commission, continues Turnage's penchant for personalized concerted work; the first three movements are named for the soloist and members of his family.

Grammy and Juno award-winning conductor/composer Bramwell Tovey was appointed Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 2000. Under his leadership the VSO has toured China, Korea, Canada and the United States. Tovey is also the Artistic Adviser of the VSO School of Music, a state-of-the-art facility and recital hall which opened in downtown Vancouver in 2011. His tenure has included complete symphony cycles of Beethoven, Mahler, and Brahms and the establishment of an annual festival dedicated to contemporary music. In 2018, the VSO's centenary year, Tovey will become the orchestra's Music Director Emeritus. In the summer of 2014 he made his debut with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival and in the 2014-15 season he will make guest appearances with several US orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Kansas City Symphony. In Europe he will perform with the BBC Philharmonic and the Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester and he will travel to Australia on two separate occasions for engagements with the symphonies of Melbourne and Sydney.

Peter Erskine has played drums since the age of 4 and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on 600 albums and film scores, and has won 2 Grammy Awards plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music. Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson big bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny & Gary Burton, John Scofield, et al, and has appeared as a soloist with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, plus the London, Los Angeles, BBC Symphony, Oslo and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras. Peter has been voted "Best Jazz Drummer of the Year" ten times by the readers of the Modern Drummer magazine. Peter produces jazz recordings for his record label Fuzzy Music, and is an active author with several books and DVDs to his credit: the latest titles include "Time Awareness for All Musicians," "Essential Drum Fills" and "Everything I Know, a Work in Progress." Peter graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and studied at Indiana University under George Gaber. Peter is Professor of Practice, Jazz Studies and the Director of Drumset Studies at the University of Southern California. His latest endeavors include several innovative play-along apps for iOS, and his book "No Beethoven" (Autobiography & Chronicle of Weather Report) was released in 2013.

Founded in 1968, Pacific Chorale is internationally recognized for exceptional artistic expression, stimulating American-focused programming, and influential education programs. Pacific Chorale presents a substantial performance season of its own at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and is sought regularly to perform with the nation's leading symphonies. Under the inspired guidance of Artistic Director John Alexander, Pacific Chorale has infused an Old World art form with California's hallmark innovation and cultural independence. Pacific Chorale is comprised of 180 professional and volunteer singers. In addition to its long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, the Chorale has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall on numerous occasions. Other noted collaborations include the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Long Beach, Pasadena, Riverside, and San Diego symphonies. John Alexander and the Chorale have toured extensively in Europe, South America, and Asia. Pacific Chorale, the seventh largest-budgeted chorus in the United States, has received numerous awards, including Chorus America's prestigious "Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence" and the first national "Educational Outreach Award." Pacific Chorale appears in an average of 30 performances annually, which are heard by nearly 40,000 audience members.

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