AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: Marvin Hamlisch to debut as Pasadena Pops principal conductor July 23

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
This article was first published today in the above papers.

The 15-month-long remake of the Pasadena Symphony and Pasadena Pops reaches its next chapter on July 23 when Marvin Hamlisch leads his first concert as principal conductor of the Pops on The Lawn Adjacent to the Rose Bowl, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The program — entitled, appropriately enough, “Marvin does Marvin” — will spotlight the legendary career of the 67-year-old Hamlish, who is one of just 12 people to have won Oscars (three of them, in fact), Emmys (four), Grammys (four) and a Tony Award and is one of just two to have swept those four categories plus earned a Pulitzer Prize (the other is Richard Rodgers).

The Way We Were is definitely not the theme song of the PSO and the Pops at this moment. The orchestras’ saga (perhaps epoch would be a better description) began in March, 2010, when the PSO announced that it would move from its long-time home, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, into the smaller and more acoustically friendly Ambassador Auditorium.

Two months later, the PSO parted company with Music Director Jorge Mester after a 25-year tenure. Last summer, the Pops moved from Descanso Gardens in La Canada to its current location next to the famed Arroyo Seco saucer, but at the end of the season, Rachael Worby, who had served as the Pops music director for 10 years, stepped down from that post.

In October, the Symphony moved into its new home with James DePreist, in the role of music advisor, leading the first of five concerts with guest conductors on the podium. And this spring the Pops announced that it would negotiate a contract to move to the Los Angeles County Arboretum for the 2012 summer season.

In the midst of all of this upheaval, the Pasadena Symphony Association (parent of both ensembles) has been navigating its way through a financial crisis that nearly drove it onto the shoals of disaster. “We finished on a high note this past spring,” says CEO Paul Zdunek. “The audience kept climbing little by little each concert at Ambassador and the last concert had the highest attendance. I take that as a very positive sign that people liked what they are hearing.”

Into this maelstrom steps Hamlisch, who is best known for his movie scores (e.g., The Way We Were and The Sting) and an iconic Broadway musical, A Chorus Line, for which he won both a Tony and a Pulitzer.

What you might not know is that for the past two decades, Hamlisch has built an increasingly busy career as a pops orchestra conductor. He began this new phase of his life 17 years ago as principal pops conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and now also holds that title with the Milwaukee, Dallas, Seattle and San Diego Symphonies.

Hamlisch’s three Pasadena Pops programs this summer will focus on his legendary career (the other programs are “Marvin Does Broadway” on Aug. 6 and “Marvin Does Movies” on Aug. 27). “This season I just wanted to give people a sense of who I am and what I like to do,” he explains. “If things go well, next year we’ll widen the breadth and bring in more soloists.”

The July 23 program will feature vocalist Mark McVey, best known for performing the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway and on tour (he won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actor for the touring role). McVey will be part of a program that will include such well-known Hamlisch hits as The Way We Were, Ice Castles, The Entertainer, They’re Playing Our Song, A Chorus Line and The Sting.

Expect a good deal of repartee because Hamlisch enjoys bantering with the audience from the stage. Moreover, Hamlisch’s programs are exclusively pops oriented. “I love pops concerts,” he says “They’re a show, true entertainment.”
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(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.