NEWS AND LINKS: Pasadena Pops announces 2012 season at the Los Angeles County Arboretum

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News



Michael Feinstein will perform with the Pasadena Pops on July 21, 2012 at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia.
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When the Pasadena Pops shifts its summer season to the Los Angeles County Arboretum next year, it will do so with a boost in soloist star power. Marvin Hamlisch, who took over this summer as the Pops principal conductor, will lead three of the four programs in the Arcadia facility next summer (Hamlisch and the Pops conclude their 2011 season on Aug. 27 at The Lawn Adjacent to the Rose Bowl with a program devoted to movie music — LINK).

The 2012 schedule:

• JUNE 16
Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein will perform together in a concert version of Hamlisch’s They’re Playing Our Song, part of a program that will include a tribute to Arnaz’s parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

• JULY 21
Singer and pianist Michael Feinstein, one of the forces behind “The Great American Songbook,” will join with Hamlisch and the Pops. The 54-year-old Feinstein has five Grammy nominations to his credit along with several platinum-selling recordings.

• AUGUST 18
Michael Krajewski, who opened this summer’s Pops season, returns to lead the orchestra in a program that will feature the singing group Poperazi, a trio whose numbers range from (to quote the media release) “Pavarotti to Jersey Boys, Sinatra to the Rolling Stones.” Krajewski, who proved to be a stylish, witty host and conductor last June, is principal pops conductor for the Houston, Jacksonville and Atlanta Symphonies.

• SEPTEMBER 8
Hamlisch will return to lead the Pops in a program of music entitled “Gershwin on the Green.” American pianist Kevin Cole will be the evening’s soloist.

All concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Single tickets are priced from $90-$25 (unchanged from this summer). Subscription packages will include discounted prices and free onsite parking.

Information: 626/793-7172, ext. 16; www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org
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(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.