Pasadena’s own Maestro Victor Vener and his acclaimed California Philharmonic will be performing “At the Movies” and bring magical movie themes back to life at the Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on July 10, as Cal Phil starts its 2016 Summer Season in the Southland.
The season promises to be one of its most memorable, while also marking Cal Phil’s final three outdoor concerts at the Santa Anita Race Track.
Vener and Cal Phil have been electrifying audiences throughout the world for 54 years, with 20 of those years right here in the Southland.
While this season’s schedule has a few less shows, Cal Phil promises to provide exhilarating, enlightening, star-studded and awe-inspiring entertainment that has become synonymous with the orchestra.
Vener created the unique outdoor concert venue concept more than three decades ago.
“I am proud and humbled to be ending Cal Phil’s outdoor concerts on such a high note at what has become Southern California’s premiere outdoor concert venue, Santa Anita Race Track,” Vener says. “While ending our outdoor concerts is bittersweet, we are thrilled to continue to present inspired and enlightening concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall for many, many more years.”
In addition to working with Santa Anita to turn the lush outfield of The Great Race Place into Cal Phil’s luxurious summer home, Vener is the masterful mind behind the founding and re-opening of many of the area’s most acclaimed concert venues. The Arboretum in Arcadia, Descanso Gardens in La Cañada, the Starlight Bowl in Burbank, as well as multiple landmarks in Pasadena including the Ambassador, the Rose Bowl and the outside steps of Pasadena City Hall, are among the many local destinations that Vener had helped transform into beloved concert spaces.
Here’s the schedule for Cal Phil’s 2016 summer performances:
AT THE MOVIES
Sunday, July 10 – This concert is only at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Maestro Victor Vener and Cal Phil will present cinematic masterpieces from “The Mission,” Adagio For Strings – from “Platoon,” “Titanic,” “Beauty and The Beast,” “Rocky,” “Star Trek,” and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony – Ode to Joy to create a blockbuster concert.
GREATEST HITS
Saturday, July 23 – Santa Anita Race Track, and Sunday, July 31, at WDCH. Cal Phil performs such classical masterpieces as “Scheherazade,” “The Mikado” and Haydn’s “Miracle Symphony” alongside a touching tribute to some of pop music’s fallen legends including Prince, Queen, David Bowie and the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson.
CENTER STAGE
Saturday, August 6, at Santa Anita Race Track, and Sunday, August 7, at WDCH. Broadway, opera, music and more collide in an explosively entertaining concert as Cal Phil takes center stage to perform popular pieces from “Porgy and Bess,” “Grease,” “Frozen,” “Aida,” “The Lion King,” “Carmen” and “Samson and Delilah.”
GRAND FINALE
Saturday, August 20, at Santa Anita Race Track, and Sunday, August 21, at WDCH. Be sure to buy your tickets early for this history-making celebration concert with Maestro Vener and Cal Phil as its 20th Anniversary Season concludes – and they take their final bow at their last outdoor concert. Filled with favorites, the grand finale soars with music from “Star Wars,” “E.T.,” “Jurassic Park,” “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” and “Harry Potter” as well as the “1812 Overture” and “Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.”
Gates at Santa Anita Race Track open at 5:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Table and lawn seating on the lush green grass of Santa Anita Race Track’s infield are available, complete with the area’s best unobstructed view of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains.
Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall performances start at 2 p.m., with the intimate pre-concert Talks With The Maestro at 1 p.m. in BP Hall.
The California Philharmonic is supported by the California Philharmonic Society, a non-profit community benefit organization whose main emphasis at this time is to support the California Philharmonic.
To purchase tickets to attend the Cal Phil’s final three outdoor concerts at Santa Anita Race Track, call (626) 304-0333 or visit www.calphil.com.
Tickets for Walt Disney Concert Hall are available for purchase through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
For further information or to schedule a time to speak with Maestro Victor Vener, please contact Lauren Lewis at (818) 970-0052 or email [email protected].
