Sarasota Orchestra Presents BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY

The Sarasota Orchestra will celebrate the spectacular pairing of classical music and early animation next month when it presents a newly revised 30th Anniversary Edition of BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY. The concert, which has been selling out around the world for three decades, comes to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall for three performances Jan. 3 - 4.

Conducted by Emmy Award winner George Daugherty and created and produced by Daugherty and Emmy Award-winning producer David Ka Lik Wong, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony features classic Looney Tunes cartoons on a screen above the live orchestra. The production has reached more than 2.5 million people worldwide.

"It's because of all of the brilliant music that this concert has toured the world non-stop for 30 years and appeals to such a wide audience. Animation fans, of course, love the cartoons and the music, and revel in their lifetime memories of these brilliant jewels," Daugherty says. "But serious classical music fans will not be disappointed, either. In fact, they have an added advantage-they will get all of the inside jokes that the true musical experts will appreciate and love."

These milestone performances take place Saturday, January 3, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, January 4, at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Adult tickets start at $37; tickets for children are $9 with the purchase of an Adult ticket, limit 4 per Adult. The program brings classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters on a big screen in the concert hall, with their antics underscored live by Sarasota Orchestra's full symphony accompaniment.

This production is a critically acclaimed sequel to Bugs Bunny on Broadway, the record-setting orchestra-and-film concert experience that pioneered a new genre of symphony orchestra entertainment with its 1990 Broadway debut. The show's latest incarnation pays tribute to its 30-year legacy of Looney Tunes and orchestral music together in concert. Retaining the most indelible moments from the original production, these performances include What's Opera, Doc? and The Rabbit of Seville, while adding other Warner Bros. classics such as Friz Freleng's Rhapsody Rabbit, Chuck Jones' Long-Haired Hare, and Road Runner's epic roller coaster ride, Zoom and Bored. Bugs Bunny is joined on-screen by his immensely popular cohorts, including Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, and Wile E. Coyote, among many others. New to the concert are special guest appearances by Tom and Jerry, three of Daffy Duck's funniest shorts, and a trio of love songs by the scent-challenged crooner, Pepe Le Pew.

This concert appeals to one of the widest demographics of any film-and-orchestra presentation in the marketplace as it continues to pull not only all ages, but also new audiences into iconic concert halls with the leading orchestras of the world. In three decades on tour-with the orchestras of Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Minnesota, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Sydney, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, and dozens of others-the Bugs Bunny concert franchise has proven that sometimes, boisterous laughter in the concert hall is a very good thing!

About George Daugherty:

Conductor George Daugherty is one of the classical music world's most diverse artists. In addition to his 40-year conducting career, which has included appearances with the world's leading orchestras, ballet companies, opera houses, and concert artists, Daugherty is also an Emmy Award-winning/five-time Emmy-nominated creator whose professional profile includes major credits as a director, writer, and producer for television, film, innovative concerts, and live theater.

Since 1993, he has conducted over 20 performances at The Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and an equal number with The National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in May, 2015, in four sold-out performances, and his current/recent conducting schedule includes multiple performances with San Francisco Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Utah Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra at both Severance Hall and the Blossom Festival, The Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as appearances with dozens of other orchestras in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. He has been a frequent guest conductor at the Sydney Opera House since 1996, and in 2002, 2005, 2010, and 2016, he returned to guest conduct he Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House, including recording a new CD with the orchestra. He has also been a frequent guest conductor at the Bellas Artes Opera House in Mexico City, where he has conducted the Orquesta del Teatro de Bellas Artes in ballet and opera productions.

About Sarasota Orchestra:

For 71 years, Sarasota Orchestra has been engaging music lovers from around the region and visitors from around the world. The 80-member Orchestra performs more than 100 classical, Pops, and family concerts each year, and thrives as the oldest continuing orchestra in the state of Florida. Youth programs provide concert experiences for up to 10,000 students per year and Sarasota Orchestra supports an extensive Youth Orchestra Program of eight ensembles and nearly 350 students. The Sarasota Music Festival is a world-renowned performance and teaching festival that attracts young musicians and esteemed faculty from across the globe each June.

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