Pasadena Symphony Presents ingpoli Classics Series with Beethoven Symphony No. 9 , 4/29
By: Christina Mancuso Mar. 23, 2017
The Pasadena Symphony closes out its 2016-2017 Singpoli Classics Serieswith Beethoven Symphony No. 9 on April 29 with both matinee and evening performances at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Ambassador Auditorium. This season finale will envelop audiences with voices from the Donald Brinegar Singers, the JPL Chorus, and the Los Angeles Children's Chorus alongside four stellar solo vocalists: soprano Summer Hassan, mezzo soprano Tracy Van Fleet, tenor Arnold Livingston Geis and bass Steve Pence throughout the concert.
IF YOU GO:
- What: Beethoven 9
David Lockington, conductor/cello
Anne Tomlinson, conductor
Summer Hassan, soprano
Tracy Van Fleet, mezzo-soprano
Arnold Livingston Geis, tenor
Steve Pence, bass
The Donald Brinegar Singers
JPL Chorus
Los Angeles Children's ChorusVaughan Williams Serenade to Music Holst Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda Beethoven Symphony No. 9 - When: Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
- Where: Ambassador Auditorium | 131 South St. John Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
- Cost: Tickets start at $35.00
- Parking: Valet parking is available on St. John Ave for $15. General parking is available in two locations: next to the Auditorium (entrance on St. John Ave) at the covered parking structure for $10 and directly across the street at the Wells Fargo parking structure (entrance on Terrace at Green St). ADA parking is located at the above-ground parking lot adjacent to the Auditorium (entrance on St. John Ave.) for $10. Parking purchased onsite is cash only.
- Sierra Auto Symphony Lounge: Located on the plaza at Ambassador Auditorium. Opens at 12:30 pm before the matinee and 6:00 pm before the evening performance.
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Pre-Concert Discussion: Pre-concert discussions with David Lockington begin one hour before curtain and are available to all ticket holders at no cost.
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ABOUT THE ARTISTSDavid LockingtonMusic Director Over the past thirty-five years, David Lockington has developed an impressive conducting career in the United States. A native of Great Britain, he served as the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony from January 1999 to May 2015, and is currently the orchestra's Conductor Laureate. He has held the position of Music Director with the Modesto Symphony since May 2007 and in March 2013, Mr. Lockington was appointed to the same position with the Pasadena Symphony. He also has a close relationship with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain where he is currently the orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor, and beginning with the 15/16 season he will be one of three Artistic Partners with the Northwest Sinfonietta in Tacoma, Washington. In addition to his current posts, since his arrival to the United States in 1978 Mr. Lockington has also held additional positions with American orchestras, including serving as Assistant Conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado and Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In May 1993 he accepted the position of Music Director of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, assumed the title of Music Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in September 1995 and was Music Director of the Long Island Philharmonic for the 96/97 through 99/2000 seasons. Mr. Lockington's guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Saint Louis, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Oregon and Phoenix symphonies; the Rochester and Louisiana Philharmonics; and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has conducted the Northern Sinfonia in Great Britain, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra in Beijing and Taiwan and led the English Chamber Orchestra on a tour in Asia. Recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include appearances with the New Jersey, Indianapolis, Vancouver, Utah, Pacific, Colorado, Nashville, San Diego, Syracuse, Edmonton, Alabama, Columbus and Kansas City symphonies, the Florida and Louisville Orchestras, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and the Buffalo and Calgary Philharmonics. Mr. Lockington's summer festival activities include appearances at the Grand Teton, Colorado Music, Interlochen, Chautauqua and Eastern Music festivals. David Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the Principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge, Mr. Lockington came to the United States on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his Master's degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist for three years with the Denver Symphony Orchestra before turning to conducting.
Summer Hassan
Soprano Soprano Summer Hassan is a member of LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. She made her company debut in 2014 as the Second Lady in Dido and Aeneas. Her LA Opera appearance have also included Ghost Quartet Soprano in The Ghosts of Versailles, Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Dama in Macbeth, Daughter in Akhnaten as well as several roles in Hercules vs. Vampires. Recent performances include Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle under the baton of Placido Domingo, as well as Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Strauss's Four Last Songs with the Colburn Orchestra. She made her role debut as Musetta in Wolf Trap Opera's 2016 production of La Bohème and in recital with Steven Blier at The Barns. She returns this summer to sing several mainstage roles three of operas. Ms. Hassan made her Carnegie Hall debut as Second Niece in Britten's Peter Grimes with the St. Louis Symphony, and in 2014 she made her debut as the Second Lady in The Magic Flute with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where she was a Gerdine Young Artist. Other roles have included Mimì in La Bohème, Betty in The Threepenny Opera, and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito. She received her master of music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her bachelor of music from the Oberlin Conservatory. Tracy Van Fleet
Mezzo-soprano Tracy Van Fleet's rich and warm mezzo soprano has earned critical acclaim singing from Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles to the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Florida. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado. In 2016 she was the featured mezzo soloist on a tour of Italy singing the Mozart Requiem at many UNESCO sites. In 2013 she toured Europe and the U.S. with the Los Angeles Philharmonic singing in the new oratorio by John Adams The Gospel According to the Other Mary. Ms. Van Fleet earned a Master and Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern California, where she graduated cum laude. Among various operatic roles, Ms. Van Fleet has sung Carmen in an adaptation of Bizet's Carmen, both the Witch and Mother in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Flora in Verdi's La Traviata, Tisbe in Rossini's Cenerentola, and Lola in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. She has sung Gilbert and Sullivan in theaters across the country including the roles of Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, Katisha in The Mikado, and Buttercup in HMS Pinafore. On the concert stage, she has earned high praise as the alto soloist for many performances of Bach's B Minor Mass, St. John's Passion, and Magnificat, Beethoven's Mass in C and 9th Symphony, Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Verdi's Requiem, and many others.Arnold Livingston Geis
Tenor Arnold Livingston Geis, tenor, graduated in May 2014 with an MM in vocal arts from USC and immediately began working as a full time professional singer making a career singing in TV and film soundtracks, concerts, and on the opera stage. Recent debut include numerous solo performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Redondo Beach Performing Arts center. Other performances include Candide and Fallujah with the Long Beach Opera. Arnold made his mainstage debut with LA Opera under the baton of Palcido Domingo and will close their 2016-2017 season singing Parpignol in La Boheme with conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Geis debuted as a guest artist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale's performances of Beethoven's missa solemnis in January 2017. In 2016, he won the Los Angeles district of the Met competition and shortly after, made his company debut at New York City Opera as Corpsman Harris in the East Coast premiere of Fallujah. Geis made his national television debut on America's Got Talent in 2015 and has since sung for TV and film soundtracks including American Crime, Minions, Sing, and Star Wars: Rogue One. Upcoming summer performances include Ernesto in Don Pasquale and Apollo in L'Orfeo at Chautauqua Opera in New York.Steve Pence
Bass Steve Pence has recently appeared as a soloist in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's "Baroque Conversations" series, and as Hercules in The Civil Wars by Phillip Glass with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is a frequent soloist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, having recently appeared with them in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, B-minor Mass, Magnificat and St. John Passion and Handel's Messiah. He has also performed solos in Bach's B-minor Mass and Mozart's Requiem with the Los Angeles Chamber Choir, as Elijah with the Mountainside Master Chorale, and in Brahms' Requiem with the Orange County Choral Society. Steve has performed several opera roles, including Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with the Pasadena Schubertiad and Alonzo in Hoiby's The Tempest with USC Thornton Opera. He created and recorded the role of Kaiser Wilhelm II in John Powell's oratorio A Prussian Requiem. Film credits include Muppets Most Wanted, Despicable Me 2, Happy Feet 2 and Godzilla. He lives in Long Beach with his wife and son.The Los Angeles Children's Chorus Under Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, the Los Angeles Children's Chorus provides choral music education of the highest quality to young people who represent richly diverse racial, economic, and cultural backgrounds. The program ignites a love of singing and nurtures the full expression of each individual's potential for artistic and personal excellence through the collaborative experience of choral music performance. Through the beauty of inspired and joyful singing, Los Angeles Children's Chorus brings the transformative power of music to communities throughout Southern California, the nation and the world. This year, LACC will serve more than 400 young singers from more than 50 communities throughout greater Los Angeles, thus reflecting in its membership the cultural and economic diversity of the region. LACC is recognized throughout the country for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. The Chorus performs frequently with leading music ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Calder Quartet, Pasadena Symphony, and MUSE/IQUE. LACC also assists LA Opera by training and providing children for its opera productions that require children's chorus or child soloists. LACC choristers have served as musical ambassadors of Los Angeles on tours to Africa, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden, as well as many parts of the United States.The Donald Brinegar Singers Donald Brinegar is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Pasadena City College, Adjunct Professor of Choral Music and Voice at USC, and Associate Director of the Three-Summer Masters in Choral Conducting at CSULA. As Director of Choruses for PSO he works with the JPL Chorus and provides choruses for the summer pops programs. Internationally recognized as a tenor soloist and conductor, Brinegar has sung as soloist and prepared choruses for The LA Philharmonic, LA Chamber Orchestra, LA Microfest, Hollywood Bowl and Disney Concert Hall. His international appearances include 30 countries most recently teaching and performing in Costa Rica. A noted champion of the music of Morten Lauridsen he has two compact discs dedicated to the composers' music.JPL Chorus The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Pasadena Symphony and POPS: Are proud to present the JPL Chorus, led by Donald Brinegar, Director of Choruses at the Pasadena Symphony and POPS. The JPL Chorus represents the combined efforts of two of Pasadena's oldest and most vibrant institutions to serve the community through art, education, and science. Once a week, the minds behind a world leader in science and technology meet to share a love of music, performance and community. The JPL Chorus performs several times throughout the year, often free of charge, as a part of both organizations' dedication to enhancing the community of Pasadena and beyond. JPL, operated by Caltech for NASA, is the world leading laboratory in exploring the Solar System, Earth System, and the Cosmos.ABOUT THE PASADENA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION Recent Acclaim for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS:
"The Pasadena Symphony signals a new direction...teeming with vitality...dripping with opulent, sexy emotion." - Los Angeles Times"...full of pulsating energy from first note to last... the strings were lushly resonant, the wind principals were at the top of their games, and the brass rang out with gleaming vigor." - Pasadena Star News
Formed in 1928, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Hollywood's most talented, sought after musicians. With extensive credits in the film, television, recording and orchestral industry, the artists of Pasadena Symphony and POPS are the most heard in the world. 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 luxuriant Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Internationally recognized, Grammy-nominated conductor, David Lockington, serves as the Pasadena Symphony Association's Music Director, with performance-practice specialist Nicholas McGegan serving as Principal Guest Conductor. The multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer dubbed "The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook," Michael Feinstein, is the Principal Pops Conductor, who succeeded Marvin Hamlisch in the newly created Marvin Hamlisch Chair. 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) comprised of five performing ensembles, with over 250 gifted 4th-12th grade students from more than 50 schools all over the Southern California region. The PYSO Symphony often performs on the popular television show GLEE. The PSA provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music.
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