Arturo Sandoval & Rachael Worby Celebrate An Intimate Conversation

Tennessee Williams wrote "Enthusiasm is the most important thing in life". He must have envisioned the force that is Rachael Worby and MUSE/IQUE, Pasadena's newly launched orchestra. On October 4, 2011 at 7:000pm, the thoroughly accessible and dynamic Worby will steer the spectacular Arturo Sandoval through an evening of music and conversation at the Pasadena Rose Palace, Los Angeles' Rock Ballroom. Event patrons will also enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of the Rose Parade floats and a pre-event reception.

Worby, celebrated in the orchestral community for her wide range of repertoire, exuberant style and versatile command of musical genres has long admired Sandoval. When looking for an exciting artist to follow up the dazzling inaugural concert of MUSE/IQUE, the "Maestro" as she calls him, immediately came to mind. Through playing and conversation, Worby hopes to enlighten and engage her listeners in a non-traditional way and celebrate a musical connection with them. The repertoire will be spontaneous and of Sandoval's choosing with accompanying dialog preceding or following each piece.

And this event promises to be an exciting evening with an extraordinary artist. Sandoval will be playing piano for this event and the audience might hear him burn through an Afro-Cuban groove, tear up a bebop tune, soar over a Mozart concerto and soothe with a luscious ballad, all with equal power and grace.

Arturo Sandoval began to play music at age 13 in the village band. After playing many instruments, he fell in love with the trumpet. In 1964, he began three years of serious classical trumpet studies at the Cuban National School of Arts. By the age of 16 he had earned a place in Cuba's all-star national band. After military service, Sandoval co-founded the band Irakere with Chucho Valdés and Paquito D'Rivera. They quickly became a worldwide sensation. Their appearance at the 1978 Newport Jazz Festival introduced them to American audiences and garnered them a recording contract with Columbia Records.

While still in Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz legends Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie, finally meeting Dizzy later in 1977. Gillespie promptly became a mentor and colleague, playing with Sandoval in concerts in Europe and Cuba and later featuring him in The United Nations Orchestra. In 1990, Sandoval defected to the United States while touring with Gillespie in Spain, and became a naturalized citizen in 1999. Sandoval's life was the subject of the 2000 TV film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, starring Andy García.

Rachael Worby is that rare conductor who is also a curator and a skilled communicator. Her dynamic energy, coupled with the highly successful results she has achieved with diverse organizations, has created a demand for her skills on the international level. As a guest conductor, she has led orchestras throughout Europe, South America, Australia and Asia.

In 2006, at the invitation of acclaimed American soprano, Jessye Norman, Ms. Worby conducted both the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra accompanying Ms. Norman in her first appearances in mainland China. The programs presented Ms. Norman's signature arias to sold-out houses. The musical relationship between Ms. Norman and Ms. Worby continues to flourish. They appear together at music festivals and concert halls throughout the world.

During her tenure as Music Director of the Pasadena Pops from 2000-2010, Rachael Worby quadrupled the number of yearly concerts played, dramatically increased audience attendance, instituted annual free-to-the-public concerts on the steps of Pasadena City Hall, and secured dynamic corporate sponsorship. She expanded the institution's outreach programs to underserved communities, securing significant ongoing funding for programs in South Central Los Angeles and in Pasadena.

In 2009 at the request of the Festival's curator, Jessye Norman, Ms. Worby served on the Honorary Committee of Carnegie Hall's HONOR! Festival for which she served as artistic advisor for numerous events and served as guest panelist. She has been honored with many awards including the Spirit of Achievement from Albert Einstein College and the Women of Excellence award from the YWCA, the degree Doctor of Humanities, honorus causa from Marshall University, the degree of Doctor of Letters, honorus causa from Claremont University and the Presidential Medal of Honor for her consummate lifetime achievements from Claremont University.

Rachael Worby was honored to receive a Presidential appointment to the National Council of the Arts, on which she served for four years. In 1990 she was nominated for an ACE Award for two young peoples' orchestra programs she created, narrated and conducted for the Disney Channel.
MUSE/IQUE validates Worby's reputation as a musical visionary and fulfills her dream of recreating a concert experience for the 21st century audience. MUSE/IQUE creates live music events that inspire the creative spirit and engages community imagination. The organization's goals include strengthening community bonds, inspiring life-long cultural engagement and creating unforgettable music.

She also continues to create new and diverse community-based programming at the Broad Theatre in Santa Monica, California. A 2012 season highlight will include an orchestral concert in Washington D.C. in celebration of International Women's Day.

ABOUT MUSE/IQUE

MUSE/IQUE is the materialization of conductor/artistic director Rachael Worby's vision of "the orchestra of the future - the 2.0 version. We've taken the pulse of the community here and are thrilled by their excitement about the direction we want to go with MUSE/IQUE, which is an accumulation of my lifelong passions for people and music, and an extension of my own values: education, engagement, curation."

An orchestra based in Pasadena, created for Pasadena, and supporting and encouraging local composers, musicians and creative thinkers of every discipline, MUSE/IQUE was formed with the goal of creating "a community united in excellence; a youth inspired by what they are exposed to; and local audiences forever changed by distinct experiences."

MUSE/IQUE is committed to the community. The orchestra will provide a free yearly concert in downtown Pasadena, and will be performing programs for local public schools, young adults and disenfranchised youth. To date, MUSE/IQUE enjoys relationships with child and family foster care organizations like Hathaway-Sycamores and Hillsides, and the Pasadena Unified School District.
The Pasadena Rose Palace is occupied by Phoenix Decorating, one of the main float construction companies for the Rose Parade. However, since the late 1960s, the Rose Palace was used off season for other functions besides annual float construction, most notably as a rock concert venue. The facility came to be known as The Pasadena Rose Palace, a Los Angeles Rock Ballroom. Notable rock bands and musicians such as Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, and Joe Cocker played at this venue. Pasadena Rose Palace is located at 835 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, California.

Tickets are $45.00 and are limited for this event. Seating will be available but not reserved. Please visit www.muse-ique.com. For questions or help in purchasing tickets, please call 626-539-7510.

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