Pops summer schedule 2015

Pasadena Pops Summer Schedule Tickets on sale now for Michael Feinstein’s Sinatra Project, Marilyn Maye, Jeremy Jordan, Anne Hampton Callaway, music of the Beatles and more at the Los Angeles Arboretum Pasadena, CA –Principal Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein and the Pasadena POPS announce their one of a kind, popular outdoor summer concert series at the Los Angeles Arboretum with five events sure to make your summer sizzle. Swing into Summer on June 20 with Big Band Swing; celebrate the best of the music of the Beatles with the Classical Mystery Tour on July 11; the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer Michael Feinstein brings his luxurious vocals in his Sinatra Project on August 1; hear definitive performances in To Ella and Nat with Love on August 22 paying tribute to two of the most iconic American Singers; and close the summer with the quintessential Feinstein experience with a special tribute to the glamour of the Academy Awards with A Night at the Oscars! on September 12. The 2015 Sierra Acura Summer Pops season is jam-packed with vibrant talent spanning the ages!

1. June 20, 2015: Big Band Swing Audiences will swing to the big-band sounds of the 1930’s and 40’s with American cabaret singer, Marilyn Maye who brings over 80-years of talent to the Pops stage. Ella Fitzgerald proclaimed her as the “greatest white female singer in the world.” With award-winning vocalist, Michael Andrew, praised by Larry King Live “as one of the great singers of all time” this collaboration will mesmerize with hits such as “Moonglow,” “Stardust,” “Minnie the Moocher,” “Serenade in Blue,” “Night and Day,” “Misty,” “On the Street Where You Live” and “Get Happy.”

2. July 11, 2015: Classical Mystery Tour The renowned artists of Classical Mystery Tour is back by popular demand, with a fresh set list of Beatles favorites, featuring hits from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – with “Let it Be,” “Yesterday,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lake,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “A Day in the Life” and so much more, performed with a full orchestra.

3. August 1, 2015: The Sinatra Project Michael Feinstein puts the conducting baton down for one night only to sing his Sinatra Project, an evening entirely devoted to celebrate the brilliance of “The Voice” as only Feinstein can. Curating an evening solely dedicated to Ol’ Blue Eyes’ biggest hits, Feinstein sings “Luck Be A Lady,” “Fly Me to The Moon,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” “The Lady Is A Tramp,” “For Once In My Life” and more.

4. August 22, 2015: To Ella and Nat with Love The POPS pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, two of the most iconic American singers, with definitive performances by vocalists Denzal Sinclaire and Ann Hampton Callaway. Tony nominee, platinum selling songwriter and Theater World Award winner, Jazz/Cabaret diva Ann Hampton Callaway joins the Pops alongside Denzal Sinclaire, a singer of subtle skill and with a relaxed and sophisticated approach to songs, was Canada Magazine’s four year consecutive winner of Male Jazz Vocalist for a magical night featuring “Mona Lisa,” ‘Unforgettable,” “When I Fall in Love,” “Lady Be Good,” “How High the Moon,” “Body and Soul,” “Mr. Paganini,” “In A Sentimental Mood” and more.

5. September 12, 2015: A Night at the Oscars! The Pasadena Pops closes the summer concert season with the quintessential Feinstein experience – bringing the glitz and glamour of the Academy Awards to the Arboretum with a special tribute to the glamour of the Academy Awards with vocalists Sheléa Frazier and Jeremy Jordan. Frazier, a versatile rising star joins Jeremy Jordan, Tony and Grammy award nominee, recently seen in the film adaptation of “The Last 5 Years,” will remember the winners, the loser and everything in between with an evening of Hollywood favorites!

All concerts are held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Grounds open for picnicking and dining at 5:30 p.m. and performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Among many venue amenities, audiences can enjoy pre-ordered gourmet dining packages for on-site pickup just steps from your table from Julienne, Marston’s, and Claud & Co.; the food court will host mouth-watering food trucks plus specialty ice creams by Choctal. The experience is now even more convenient with two full beverage centers serving fine wines, beer, coffee and soft drinks plus exclusive hotel packages for POPS patrons at Pasadena’s landmark Hotel Constance. Patrons may also visit the Pasadena Humane Society’s Mobile Adoption Unit, which will be on-site prior to each concert with deserving animals in need of a forever home as part of the Pups for POPS program. Subscribers may pre-purchase parking on-site at the Arboretum, and all concertgoers enjoy free parking at the adjacent Westfield Santa Anita shopping center with complimentary non-stop shuttle service to the Arboretum’s main entrance. Audiences get the ultimate outdoor concert experience: large LED video screens to see the artists and orchestra up close, superior sound quality and the high-quality production value that is a signature of the Pasadena POPS. Don’t miss the best outdoor dinner party in town with spacious circular table seating with fine linens, or lawn seating for those who want to bring a blanket – each option carries on the tradition of picnic-dining with your family and friends with Michael Feinstein and Pasadena’s premier POPS orchestra! The Arboretum is located at 301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA. Single tickets and season subscriptions are now on sale and are available by calling the box office at (626)-793-7172, online at PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or at the Arboretum on the day of the concerts.

Larry Blank

Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank is one of the most prolific and sought after composers, conductors, and orchestrators in the entertainment business today. His work has been presented all over the world, including some of Broadway’s most successful musicals, Carnegie Hall, and top television and film projects.

He was the Music Director/Conductor and/or vocal arranger for many shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles including They’re Playing Our Song, Evita, Sugar Babies, La Cage Aux Folles, Phantom Of The Opera, Onward Victoria, Copperfield, Colette, A Chorus Line and A Little Night Music. He has been nominated three times for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations in The Drowsy Chaperone, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and with Marc Shaiman for Catch Me If You Can. Larry received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrations for A Christmas Story Larry contributed to the orchestrations for both the stage and film production of The Producers, the film Chicago and is a regular conductor and arranger for BBC RADIO 2 Friday Night Is Music Night in the UK. Larry is also the Music Supervisor and Orchestrator (along with Mark Cumberland) for the Olivier Awards in London. Blank has worked with top talent from varied fields of the entertainment world, notably as personal conductor to Michael Crawford. He has also worked with Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Bernadette Peters, Kelsey Grammar, Christine Baranski, Roberta Flack, Pete Fountain, Peabo Bryson, Sally Kellerman, Nancy Dussault, Marc Shaiman, Jerry Herman, Ann- Margaret, Davis Gaines, Bette Midler, George Benson, Placido Domingo, Randy Newman, Trisha Yearwood, Tom Scott, Quincy Jones, Michael Bolton, John Raitt and Diana Rigg. Blank’s background includes orchestrating and arranging songs for South Park and was Music Supervisor and Orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s movie, Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury and Charles Durning. Some of the films he lent his talent to include The Kid, Kiss The Girls, The American President, Forget Paris, City Slickers II, The Net, That¹s Entertainment III, North, I¹d Do Anything, and Stuart Saves His Family. Blank’s music can be heard on the animated feature films, Cats Don’t Dance and All Dogs Go To Heaven as well as the 101 Dalmations Christmas Special. Mr. Blank’s television work includes orchestrating and composing music for several of the Grammy Awards and Academy Award shows as well as numerous television movies and shows. Mr. Blank has guest conducted most of the orchestras throughout the world, including The San Francisco Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Auckland Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Symphony, and New Orleans Symphony.