Pasadena’s Most Cherished Holiday Concert Returns with New, Reserved Seating
Pasadena Symphony’s Holiday Candlelight at All Saints Church

 
 
Pasadena, CA – With all-new reserved seating, Pasadena Symphony’s Holiday Candlelight concert makes it easy to step out of the hustle and bustle of the holidays. This, Pasadena’s most cherished holiday concert has been known to sell out before the turkey hits the table and returns once again with two performances to meet community demand on December 13, 2014 at 4:00 pm & 7:00 pm. Held at the architecturally exquisite and acoustically sonorous All Saints Church, audiences will delight in this concert of seasonal favorites guaranteed to deliver the essence of the holiday spirit.
 
This highly anticipated concert features Grant Cooper and special guests including soprano Susan Egan, a full chorus of the Donald Brinegar Singers, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, and the LA Bronze hand bell choir. Performed by candlelight in Pasadena’s equivalent of a European cathedral, Cooper weaves a continuous, immersive concert featuring traditional and diverse holiday melodies creating an aural respite without compare!
 
“We’re so proud to offer what has now become a cherished annual tradition for so many in this community,” states Lora Unger, CEO of the Pasadena Symphony Association. “This year, we’ve developed new fully assigned seating throughout All Saints glorious interior to ensure our audiences are able to enjoy their experience to the fullest and have a well-deserved break from the hustle and bustle of the season.”
 
There’s something for everyone from holiday classics to never before heard orchestral pieces. Sample selections include Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Away in a Manger to Lux Aeterna, the Hallelujah Chorus to Hanukah’s L’dor vador to Ella Fitzgerald’s version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, an orchestral premiere of Henry Mancini’s It’s Christmas Again and so much more!
 
Tickets to Holiday Candlelight with the Pasadena Symphony are limited. Reservations start at $20 and may be purchased either at www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org or by calling the box office at 626.793.7172.
 
IF YOU GO:

  • What: Holiday Candlelight with the Pasadena Symphony
  • Special Guests: Grant Cooper (conductor), Susan Egan (soprano), Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Donald Brinegar Singers (Chorus), LA Bronze (Handbell choir)
  • When: Saturday, December 14 at 4:00 pm & 7:00 pm
  • Where: All Saints Church | 132 N Euclid Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101
  • Cost: Tickets start at $20.00
  • Parking: Parking structures are nearby at the Westin Hotel (enter on Los Robles, south of Walnut) or 330 E Union. Metered parking is also available on Euclid and nearby streets.
  • Full Program: Full program is available on the Symphony’s website (www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org)

 
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
About Grant Cooper
Born in New Zealand as the son of a professional opera singer, Cooper sang and acted in his first opera at age four and studied piano and music theory prior to college.
 
After completing his degree in pure mathematics at the University of Auckland, he traveled to the United States for further studies in music.  His initial opportunities as a conductor grew from his colleagues’ invitations to lead them in larger chamber ensemble performances.  His many guest conducting engagements have included the Houston Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, and Syracuse Opera, among many others.  This year, he has made successful debut appearances with the Kennedy Center Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
 
Prior to accepting his position as artistic director and conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in 2001, Cooper served as resident conductor of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for ten seasons.   He also serves as artistic director of the annual Bach and Beyond festival in Fredonia, New York and as resident conductor of the Eastern Music Festival. 
A commissioned composer, Cooper’s concert works include A Song of Longing, Though…, for soprano and orchestra and his ballet, On the Appalachian Trail, which was premiered in 2010 at Chautauqua.  He recently completed a commission to write original film scores for two Charlie Chaplin movies and last year composed a chamber work on commission from the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.  Cooper is especially passionate about creating works designed to introduce young audiences to the orchestra and has created a substantial body of works for this purpose. 
  
Cooper has recorded for Delos International, Atoll, Ode, Mark, and Kiwi Pacific recordings, and has the unique distinction of having CD recordings of himself as conductor, performer, and composer, all currently available in the catalog.
 
About Susan Egan
Susan Egan has traversed all four corners of the entertainment industry, making powerful impressions in theatre, film, television and music. She headlined on Broadway as Thoroughly Modern Millie, won critical acclaim as “Sally Bowles” inCabaret, starred in Triumph of Love and State Fair, and received Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for “Best Actress” as the original “Belle” in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. She’s been seen on film in 13 Going on 30, Gotta Kick It Up, countless independents and voiced the animated characters: “Meg” in Disney’s Hercules, “Lin” in the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away, and more. She spent two seasons on WB’s Nikki and guest-starred on HOUSE, NUMB3RS, NYPD Blue, Arli$$, Drew Carey, Party of Five, Great Performances, and others.  Egan sings with symphonies worldwide and has over 40 recording credits, including her solo CDs: All That and More, So Far, Winter Tracks, CoffeeHouse, Susan Egan LIVE, and 2011’s, The Secret of Happiness. Entertainment Weekly has called www.SusanEgan.net the “slickest site around.” Follow @IAmSusanEgan, “like” Facebook.com/OfficialSusanEgan, read Susan’s blog with composer-pal Georgia Stitt at www.GlamourAndGoop.com, and view her music videos on YouTube.com/SusanEgan!
 
About the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus
Under Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus provides choral music education of the highest quality to young people who represent richly diverse racial, economic, and cultural backgrounds. The program ignites a love of singing and nurtures the full expression of each individual’s potential for artistic and personal excellence through the collaborative experience of choral music performance. Through the beauty of inspired and joyful singing, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus brings the transformative power of music to communities throughout Southern California, the nation and the world. Now in its 29th season—2014|2015: “Celebrating American Song…California and Beyond”—LACC serves more than 400 young singers from more than 50 communities throughout greater Los Angeles, reflecting in its membership the cultural and economic diversity of the region. 
 
About the Donald Brinegar Singers
Donald Brinegar is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Pasadena City College, Adjunct Professor of Choral Music and Voice at USC, and Associate Director of the Three-Summer Masters in Choral Conducting at CSULA.  As Director of Choruses for PSO he works with the JPL Chorus and provides choruses for the summer pops programs.  Internationally recognized as a tenor soloist and conductor, Brinegar has sung as soloist and prepared choruses for The LA Philharmonic, LA Chamber Orchestra, LA Microfest, Hollywood Bowl and Disney Concert Hall.  His international appearances include 30 countries most recently teaching and performing in Costa Rica.  A noted champion of the music of Morten Lauridsen he has two compact discs dedicated to the composers’ music.  
 
About LA Bronze
Under the artistic direction of Kemp Smeal, L. A. Bronze is an auditioned handbell concert choir creating performances of the highest caliber for the community.  Their music making is exciting and uplifting, and audiences around Southern California have praised their concerts.  The group is comprised of accomplished handbell musicians who are seeking challenging opportunities for making music, while providing educational opportunities for the handbell community.  Our members come from all over the L. A. basin and include musicians, educators, administrators and other professionals. 
 
About the Pasadena Symphony and POPS
Recent Acclaim for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS
“The Pasadena Symphony signals a new direction…teeming with vitality...dripping with opulent, sexy emotion.” Los Angeles Times. 

“...full of pulsating energy from first note to last... the strings were lushly resonant, the wind principals were at the top of their games, and the brass rang out with gleaming vigor.” –Pasadena Star News.

Formed in 1928, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Hollywood’s most talented, sought after musicians.  With extensive credits in the film, television, recording and orchestral industry, the artists of Pasadena Symphony and POPS are the most heard in the world.
 
The Pasadena Symphony and POPS performs in two of the most extraordinary venues in the United States: Ambassador Auditorium, known as the Carnegie Hall of the West, and the luxuriant Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Internationally recognized, Grammy-nominated conductor, David Lockington, serves as the Pasadena Symphony Association’s Music Director, with performance-practice specialist Nicholas McGegan serving as Principal Guest Conductor.  The multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” Michael Feinstein, is the  Principal Pops Conductor, who succeeded  Marvin Hamlisch in the newly created Marvin Hamlisch Chair.
 
A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region for over five decades through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO) comprised of five performing ensembles, with over 250 gifted 4th-12th grade students from more than 50 schools all over the Southern California region.  The PYSO Symphony often performs on the popular television show GLEE.
 
The PSA provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music.

 

 

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