MUSE/IQUE, known for its inspired, unexpected live music events curated by noted artistic director/conductor Rachael Worby, launches its 2013-14 season with "Free For All," a free family-friendly concert in which hip hop and orchestral music collide to create a rocking dance party on Friday, October 11, 2013, 6 to 9 pm, on the plaza of the Pasadena Civic Center.
The annual evening features members of the MUSE/IQUE Orchestra and the daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra, a genre-bending, culture-blending "United Nations of music" led by Geoff Gallegos (Double G). Adding to the lively musical mix of hip hop, Beatles tunes, jazz and more, are a crew of dancers, as well as face painting and other special activities for children. The concert is being held in conjunction with Pasadena's "ArtNight," a city-wide arts celebration. Parsons Corporation is sponsoring all of MUSE/IQUE's education and community programs, including this concert.
"The daKAH Orchestra will have people dancing in the street, literally, perfectly embodying MUSE/IQUE's own unique sensibilities with its tremendous energy, genre-defying sound and infectious music that appeals to people of all ages," says Worby.
The LA-based daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra, founded in 1999, presents hip-hop in symphonic form by musicians from wildly diverse musical backgrounds, cultural experiences, artistic tastes and lifestyles who share outstanding musical dexterity and a spirit of curiosity and collaboration. They include formally trained musicians as well as those who are self-taught and others from jazz and contemporary traditions. The orchestra's first studio album is Unfinished Symphony.
Reservations for "Free for All" are not necessary. The Pasadena Civic Center Plaza is located at 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, Calif., 91101. For more information about MUSE/IQUE, call 626-539-7085 or visit
www.muse-ique.com.
MUSE/IQUE, known for its inspired, unexpected live music events, connects master artists with new voices across a limitless range of styles. Its counter-conventional performances, which feel more like parties than formal concerts, link musicians with great thinkers and compelling visual, cinematic and dance artists. In the two years since MUSE/IQUE was founded by Artistic Director Rachael Worby, it has grown from one performance with a handful of devoted followers to a major cultural presence that reaches vast audiences. Its considerable membership currently numbers more than 500 people. In the fall and spring, MUSE/IQUE presents "Uncorked" evenings at unconventional locations, and in the summer MUSE/IQUE features three outdoor "music parties" at Caltech's Beckman Mall, all curated by the innovative and visionary Worby. Among MUSE/IQUE's guest artists are Jessye Norman, Charlie Haden, Patti Austin, Mary Wilson, Flea, Rickie Lee Jones, Ellis Hall, Matt Haimovitz, Angela Bassett, Arturo Sandoval and more. Uncorked's "pop-up" venues have included Pasadena's Phoenix Decorating Center (where Rose Parade floats are constructed), Art Center College of Design Sculpture Garden, Castle Press (one of the nation's largest printing presses), backstage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and others. KIDS/IQUE!, a primary element of the organization, serves boys and girls, ages 12 to 18, in the San Gabriel Valley's network of foster care services by presenting ongoing interactive experiences with professional musicians and other artists designed to compliment the service goals of the foster care facilities even as they allow MUSE/IQUE to reach otherwise underserved youth. Other outreach programs include free and low-cost tickets for students and community groups, and "Free For All," a free annual concert featuring a fusion of music with family friendly surprises.
RACHAEL WORBY, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "inspiring and accessible," is that rare conductor who is a skilled communicator with wide-ranging repertoire ranging from symphonic, operatic, pops and classics to 21st century music. Worby has guest conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Opera Orchestra, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, New York City Ballet, Québec Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Seoul Philharmonic, among others. She also conducted the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, accompanying acclaimed American soprano Jessye Norman in her first appearances in mainland China. Worby founded MUSE/IQUE in 2011 to bring fresh perspective to live music and multidisciplinary arts. She previously served as Music Director of the Pasadena Pops Orchestra (2000-2010), music director and conductor of the Young Peoples' Concerts at Carnegie Hall and assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Worby first rose to prominence during her 17-year tenure as music director of the Symphony Orchestra in Wheeling, West Virginia. A hallmark of her career has been making education outreach and community engagement integral to main season offerings. In addition to appearing in grand concert halls, Worby has led some of the world's best musicians at locations ranging from the coalfields of West Virginia to community centers in Harlem and South Central Los Angeles. She received the Spirit of Achievement from Albert Einstein College, the Women of Excellence award from the YWCA, the degree Doctor of Humanities, honorus causa from Marshall University, and the Presidential Medal of Honor for her lifetime achievements from Claremont University. She also received a Presidential appointment to the National Council of the Arts. As First Lady of West Virginia (1990-1997), Worby hosted the acclaimed Arts and Letters Series broadcast on public television, featuring such luminaries as Carl Sagan and Harry Belafonte, led the groundbreaking statewide campaign, "Thanks A Million," to raise one million dollars to eradicate illiteracy, and was responsible for the creation of The Governor's School for the Arts.
MUSE/IQUE's "Free for All"
Rachael Worby, curator
daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra, Geoff Gallegos (Double G), leader
MUSE/IQUE Orchestra members
Friday, October 11, 2013, 6 to 9 pm
Pasadena Civic Center
300 E Green St.
Pasadena, CA 91101
FREE
Pictured: Youngster gets into the spirit at MUSE/IQUE's 2012 "Free For All" dance concert, courtesy of MUSE/IQUE.
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