Los Angeles Jewish Symphony to Present LET'S PLAY LA! This August

The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony invites you to Let's Play LA! on Sunday, August 21st at 7:30pm, at the newly renovated Ford Theatres in Hollywood.

This exhilarating evening, the Symphony's twelfth appearance in the Ford's Summer Season, will showcase Dr. Noreen Green and the LAJS in collaboration with two rising young soloists. Max Brenner will perform the Guitar Concerto by legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein and Matthew Cohen will solo in the world premiere of Zingaro, a viola concerto by Garry Schyman, the video game composer who brought us the soundtrack of Bioshock. Schyman and fellow video game composer Inon Zur will accompany the LAJS on stage to perform highlights of their respective video game soundtracks, Bioshock and Fallout 4.

Dr. Green says, "I came up with the idea for Let's Play LA! when Garry Schyman sent me a YouTube video of his amazing new viola concerto. At the time, I didn't know he was a world- renowned video game composer, so I researched him and discovered his extraordinary music for Bioshock and other works. Then I contacted my dear friend Inon Zur, who I knew was composing for video games. He told me that his music for Fallout 4 was currently the #2 download on iTunes. This music was all new to me!"

Being introduced to this exciting new genre was a revelation to Green. "Hollywood film music was founded by immigrant Jewish composers and here was a continuation of that great tradition of Jewish composers and their impact on the film industry, now taking form in video games! It was my big light-bulb moment. After that, the rest of the program just fell into place."

To continue with the evening's theme of Jewish composers in the film and video game industries, Green programmed The Palestine Suite by renowned film composer Walter Scharf (1910-2003), a ten-time Oscar nominee with over 250 film score credits to his name. And what would a night with the LAJS be without a little klezmer music? The LAJS's clarinetist/composer and klezmer maven Zinovy Goro offers his Tribute to Mickey Katz. Dr. Green will close the evening with a perfect combination of the old and the new: Inon Zur's Disney's Fantasia: Music Evolved, a modern rendition of the music from the beloved Disney classic.

The LAJS has always been based in the Jewish cultural tradition, with a mission to explore its richness and diversity. Let's Play LA! carries that concept right into today's video gaming culture, in which Jewish composers are strongly represented, just as has always been true of the Hollywood film composer community.

As part of the LAJS's educational mission, Dr. Green will introduce each piece from the podium with lively, audience-friendly commentary, exploring the evolution of Los Angeles composers and musical styles from the 20th century to the present day.

Dr. Noreen Green is a renowned conductor and lecturer on Jewish music, an accomplished educator, and is known worldwide for her knowledge and skill in presenting music with Jewish themes. She founded the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony in 1994, and has been the Artistic Director and Conductor since its inception. In addition to the LAJS, Dr. Green served as the Music Director for Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue between 1994 and 2014. She created the American Jewish University Choir in 2015 and currently serves as their music director. Under her baton, the LAJS has performed in concert with such personalities as Billy Crystal, Tovah Feldshuh, Leonard Nimoy, Randy Newman, Theodore Bikel, Hershey Felder, Laraine Newman, Valerie Harper, Pat Boone, Lainie Kazan, Fyvush Finkel, Dave Koz, Marvin Hamlisch, Roslyn Kind, David Benoit and many others.

Max Brenner has established himself as a rising young guitarist in Los Angeles. He won first prize at the 2015 Diamond Bar Performing Arts competition and was a finalist in the Pacific Guitar Festival. In 2014, he performed Attic by Andrew York at the Hartt School of Music's 50th Anniversary Concert. Max also appeared with Roland Dyens at the Boston Guitar Festival, where Dyens premiered his Four Moods and Coda. Beyond his classical repertoire, Max Brenner has a wide musical palette, ranging from jazz, blues and folk. He placed in the top five of the Indie International Songwriting Competition. His first solo album, Slow Motion, recently became available on iTunes.

Matthew Cohen is in high demand as an orchestral musician. He has held the position of PrincipAl Viola with the American Youth Symphony, the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, the Colburn Orchestra, and the Juilliard Orchestra. Additional orchestral activities include performances as Guest Principal with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Lexington Bach Festival Orchestras, and with the Oregon Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. Matthew is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at the Juilliard School in the Master of Music program, where he studies with Heidi Castleman and Cynthia Phelps.

From the spare violins of a city beneath the sea to the choral hosannahs of hell and a comically symphonic alien Armageddon, Garry Schyman has proven himself as one of the most impressive scoring voices in the genre of video game music, with his acclaimed scores for such series as BioShock, Dante's Inferno and Destroy All Humans! But that's just one stylistic facet of a composer whose work encompasses prime time television, mini-series and feature films, adding to a decades-long body of work that has seen him conduct orchestras at sound stages the world over, from Hollywood to London's Abbey Road, as he has scored some of pop culture's most iconic characters.

Three-time BAFTA nominated composer Inon Zur is internationally renowned for his emotionally dynamic original music scores for film, television and popular video game franchises, such as the Fallout series, the Dragon Age series, Disney's Fantasia, and the Prince Of Persia series. Most recently Fallout 4 was selected as one of the best video game scores of 2015 by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Classic FM. His BAFTA?nominated score for Disney's Fantasia received its World Premiere on Classic FM and was among the honorees of The Best Video Game Music of 2014. Recent films include the critically acclaimed orchestral score for Lionsgate's suspense-thriller Reclaim starring John Cusack and Ryan Phillippe. Zur has recorded his works conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the Chamber Orchestra of London at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. His music has also been performed in concerts worldwide by A-list orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall.

Tickets are available online at FordTheatres.org or by calling (323) 461-3673. For group rates and student discounts, call (818) 646-2844. For more on LAJS program advertising and sponsorship packages, call (818) 646-2844.

The Ford Theatres are located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway, between Hollywood Blvd. and Barham Blvd. in the Cahuenga Pass. The grounds open two hours before show time for picnicking. You are more than welcome to bring your own food and beverages, or try the Ford's new Grab & Go Market.

The Ford is disabled accessible. Hearing assist headphones are available from the house manager. On site stacked parking costs $5-$10 per vehicle for the evening show. A FREE shuttle service is provided from a NONSTACKED parking structure located at 1710 N. Cherokee Ave. in Hollywood. The lot costs $10 (cash) and shuttle reservations and parking voucher are required.

This event is part of the Ford Theatres' celebratory 2016 summer season at the newly renovated Ford Theatres, featuring an eclectic season of culturally diverse music, dance, film and theatre comprising the Ford Theatres Partnership Program, the Ford Signature Series and JAM Sessions and Big World Fun.

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