CONTACT: Marie Songco-Torres (949) , ext. 230 (714) , ext

Transcription

1 CONTACT: Marie Songco-Torres Scalla Jakso (949) , ext. 230 (714) , ext PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY AND SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS PRESENT HORROR FILM CLASSIC DRACULA (1931) WITH MUSIC PERFORMED LIVE BY PHILIP GLASS AND THE KRONOS QUARTET IRVINE, CA The Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Segerstrom Center for the Arts will co-present Tod Browning s 1931 film classic DRACULA starring Bela Lugosi with original music by Philip Glass performed live by the legendary composer at the piano, the Grammy Award -winning Kronos Quartet, with Mick Rossi directing from the keyboard. The concert takes place over Halloween weekend on Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 7:30pm. (The originally announced second performance scheduled for October 29 th has been canceled.) Roger Ebert wrote, The Glass score is effective in the way it suggests not just moody creepiness, but the urgency and need behind Dracula's vampirism. It evokes a blood thirst that is 500 years old." Single tickets start at $59 and are now available through both Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Philharmonic Society. Tickets may be purchased through Segerstrom Center for the Arts online at SCFTA.org; in person at the Center s Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa; or by calling (714) Tickets may be purchased through the Philharmonic Society online at PhilharmonicSociety.org; in person at the Philharmonic Society office located at 2082 Business Center Drive, Suite 100, in Irvine; or by calling (949) Universal Family and Home Entertainment Productions commissioned the work from Glass in 1998, and he composed it specifically for the Kronos Quartet. According to Glass, The film is considered a classic. I felt the score needed to evoke the feeling of the world of the 19th century for that reason I decided a string quartet would be the most evocative and effective. I Page 1 of 7

2 wanted to stay away from the obvious effects associated with horror films. With Kronos, we were able to add depth to the emotional layers of the film. Billboard called the score one of Glass most lyrical, moving works. About Philip Glass Through his operas, symphonies, compositions for his own ensemble, and his wide-ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen to David Bowie, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon today s musical and intellectual life. Born in 1937, Philip Glass grew up in Baltimore and studied at the University of Chicago, the Juilliard School and in Aspen with Darius Milhaud. Finding himself dissatisfied with much of what then passed for modern music, he moved to Europe, where he studied with the legendary pedagogue Nadia Boulanger (who also taught Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and Quincy Jones among many others) and worked closely with the sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar. He returned to New York in 1967 and formed the Philip Glass Ensemble. In the past 25 years, Glass has composed more than 20 operas, including Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, Akhnaten, and The Voyage; eight symphonies (with others already on the way); two piano concertos and concertos for violin, piano, timpani, and saxophone quartet and orchestra; string quartets; and a growing body of work for solo piano and organ. Considered to be one of the most influential composers ever to work in film, Philip Glass has reinvented the relationship between music and the moving image. He has worked on soundtracks to films ranging from new scores for the stylized classics of Jean Cocteau to Errol Morris s documentary about former defense secretary Robert McNamara. Rather than simply providing music as accompaniment to an otherwise finished film, Glass considers music an essential narrative force, and has worked as a true collaborator with directors including Godfrey Reggio, Martin Scorcese, Peter Weir and Stephen Daldry among others, conceptualizing scores from the initial stages of the film and sharing in the editing process. From the beginnings of his work in film, the composer saw the potential for his film scores to be played live in concert. The events Page 2 of 7

3 are a synthesis of music concert and film event the merger creates an intense performance experience far more powerful than cinema alone. Glass has also brought a new life to vintage cinematic classics, such as Dracula, reinventing these legendary films for a new live context. About Kronos Quartet For more than 40 years, the Kronos Quartet David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and Sunny Yang (cello) has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to expanding the range and context of the string quartet. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 45 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world s most eclectic composers and performers, and commissioning more than 700 works and arrangements for string quartet. Kronos work has also garnered numerous awards, including a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and Musicians of the Year (2003) from Musical America. This audacious ensemble has changed our perception of not just what a string quartet can be, but what music can be in the 21 st century global village, says the Los Angeles Times. Kronos adventurous approach dates to the ensemble s origins. In 1973, David Harrington was inspired to form Kronos after hearing George Crumb s Black Angels, a highly unorthodox, Vietnam Warinspired work featuring bowed water glasses, spoken word passages, and electronic effects. Kronos then began building a compellingly diverse repertoire for string quartet, performing and recording works by 20th-century masters (Bartók, Shostakovich, Webern), contemporary composers (Aleksandra Vrebalov, John Adams, Alfred Schnittke), jazz legends (Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk), and artists from even farther afield (rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, Azeri vocalist Alim Qasimov, avant-garde saxophonist John Zorn). Integral to Kronos work is a series of long-running, in-depth collaborations with many of the world s foremost composers. One of the quartet s most frequent composer-collaborators is Father of Minimalism Terry Riley, whose work with Kronos includes the early Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector; Cadenza on the Night Plain and Salome Dances for Peace; 2002 s Sun Rings, a multimedia, NASA-commissioned ode to the earth and its people, featuring celestial Page 3 of 7

4 sounds and images from space; and The Cusp of Magic, commissioned in honor of Riley s 70th birthday celebrations in 2005 and recorded and released in Kronos commissioned and recorded the three string quartets of Polish composer Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, with whom the group has been working for more than 20 years. The quartet has also collaborated extensively with composers such as Philip Glass, recording his complete string quartets and scores to films like Mishima and Dracula; Azerbaijan s Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, whose works are featured on the full-length 2005 release Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh; Steve Reich, whose Kronos-recorded Different Trains earned a Grammy; Argentina s Osvaldo Golijov, whose work with Kronos includes both compositions and extensive arrangements for albums like Kronos Caravan and Nuevo; and many more. In addition to composers, Kronos has collaborated with many international artists, including the Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man; legendary Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle, featured on Kronos Grammy-nominated CD, You ve Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman s Bollywood; Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq; Mexican rockers Café Tacuba; genre-defying sound artist and instrument builder Walter Kitundu; the Romanian gypsy band Taraf de Haïdouks; renowned American soprano Dawn Upshaw; and the unbridled British cabaret trio, the Tiger Lillies. Kronos has performed live with the likes of icons Allen Ginsberg, Zakir Hussain, Modern Jazz Quartet, Tom Waits, David Barsamian, Howard Zinn, Betty Carter, and David Bowie, and has appeared on recordings by such diverse talents as Nine Inch Nails, Amon Tobin, Dan Zanes, DJ Spooky, Dave Matthews, Nelly Furtado, Rokia Traoré, Joan Armatrading and Don Walser. The Kronos music has been featured prominently in other media, including film (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, 21 Grams, Heat, True Stories) and dance, with noted choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Eiko & Koma. ABOUT THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY: Founded in 1954, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County presents the world s most acclaimed symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, soloists and international artists for the enjoyment and appreciation of Orange County audiences. A catalyst for cultural and educational Page 4 of 7

5 development throughout the region, the Philharmonic Society is a key resident company in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and also presents concerts at the Irvine Barclay Theatre and various venues in Orange County. For more than 60 years, the Society has presented artists who set the standards for artistic achievement: Sir Georg Solti, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline du Pré, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel and Cecilia Bartoli, to name just a few. In addition, many of the world s greatest orchestras have performed in Orange County by invitation of the Philharmonic Society. The Society celebrated the diversity of our cultural landscape with Eclectic Orange Festival presentations from Eclectic Orange events championed contemporary composers through commissions and sponsorship of regional and world premieres. Among the living composers presented were Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams, Edgar Meyer, Burhan Öçal and Mikel Rouse. Past presentations include the West Coast premiere of Steve Reich s The Cave, the Southern California premiere of Terry Riley s Sun Rings, the United States exclusive engagement of Théâtre Zingaro, the West Coast premiere of Orion by Philip Glass, the West Coast premiere of Steve Reich s WTC 9/11, and the 2011 exclusive West Coast recital appearance of opera superstar Renée Fleming. The Society s nationally recognized Youth Music Education Programs, one of the most extensive music education programs of its kind in the country, are offered free of charge to schools, students and parents, and each year reach more than 160,000 students from first grade through high school. ABOUT SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS: Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multidisciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs. Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange Page 5 of 7

6 County s largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School. The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation s performing arts centers for providing education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center s programs reach hundreds of thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the Center more comprehensively with Orange County s many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage audiences of the future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities. The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with non-cultural organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond the ever-changing needs of the community. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In addition to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a presenting and producing institution, it also identifies the beautiful 14-acre campus that embraces the Center s own facilities as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award -winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art. Page 6 of 7

7 CONTACT: Marie Songco-Torres Scalla Jakso (949) , ext. 230 (714) , ext WHAT: WHEN: DRACULA Philip Glass, piano Kronos Quartet Mick Rossi, keyboards and director Saturday, October 28, 2017, 7:30pm PROGRAM: Dracula (1931) Directed by Tod Browning, starring Bela Lugosi WHERE: Segerstrom Hall 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa CA TICKETS: Ticket prices start at $59. Available: Philharmonic Society of Orange County In Person - Box Office: 2082 Business Center Drive, Suite 100 Irvine, CA Open Mondays Fridays, 9:00am 5:00pm Online: Phone: (949) Segerstrom Center for the Arts In Person - Box Office: 600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA Open 10:00am 6:00pm daily Online: Phone: (714) Group Sales: (714) Page 7 of 7