Jessie Mueller and Jarrod Spector Set for Pasadena Pops' Salute to John Williams

Michael Feinstein and the Pasadena POPS close out their popular outdoor summer concert series at the Los Angeles County Arboretum on Saturday, September 9 with Universal Studios Favorites!

The POPS season finale will provide a quintessential Feinstein experience with a showcase of singers and dancers recreating the songs and scores of the iconic Universal Studios. The orchestra will perform silver screen classics from the early days of The Bride of Frankenstein and "In the Mood," to a slew of Steven Spielberg film scores with John Williams' E.T., Jurassic Park and Jaws. Rounded out by pop hits like Pharell's "Happy" from Despicable Me 2, the program has something for everyone in what Feinstein calls "one of the most eclectic concerts" the POPS has undertaken.

Two esteemed soloists join the POPS for this special event. Feinstein is excited to welcome Jessie Mueller, who won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her starring role in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and also received a Tony nod for her leading role in the Sara Bareilles-scored Waitress. Mueller will be accompanied by her Beautiful co-star Jarrod Spector, a Tony nominee himself who has also appeared on Broadway in a record 1500 performances as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, as well as in Les Miserables. Special guests also include the Starlite Sisters performing the Andrews Sisters' iconic "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," along with other fun surprises for a spectacular season finale under the starlit summer sky.

It's the last chance to catch the best outdoor dinner party in town with spacious table seating and fine linens, or lawn seating for those who want to bring a blanket. Each option carries on the tradition of picnic-dining with your family and friends with Pasadena's premier POPS orchestra! Among many venue amenities, concert goers can enjoy pre-ordered gourmet dining packages for on-site pickup just steps from their table from Julienne, Marston's and Claud & Co. The food court hosts mouth-watering food trucks plus specialty ice creams by Choctál, and the venue now offers the convenience of two full beverage centers serving fine wines, beer, coffee and soft drinks.

Audiences get the ultimate outdoor concert experience with large LED video screens to see Michael Feinstein and the orchestra up close, superior sound and the high-quality production value that is a signature of the Pasadena POPS. Patrons may also visit the Pasadena Humane Society's Mobile Adoption Unit, which will be on-site prior to each concert with deserving animals in need of a forever home as part of the Pups for POPS program. For those who want to make a night of it, exclusive hotel packages are available for POPS patrons at Pasadena's landmark Hotel Constance.

All Pasadena POPS concerts are held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Grounds open for picnicking and dining at 5:30pm and performances begin at 7:30pm. The Arboretum is located at 301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA. Subscribers may pre-purchase parking on-site at the Arboretum, and all concertgoers enjoy free parking at the adjacent Westfield Santa Anita shopping center with complimentary non-stop shuttle service to the Arboretum's main entrance.

Single tickets start at $25 and are available by calling the box office at (626)-793-7172, online at PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org, or at the Arboretum on the day of the concert.

IF YOU GO:

The Pasadena POPS presents Universal Studios Favorites

Michael Feinstein, Principal Pops Conductor, Tom & Erika Girardi Chair
Jessie Mueller & Jarrod Spector, Soloists

September 9, 2017 at 7:30pm

At The LA County Arboretum | 301 N Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007

Tickets start at $25.00

Dining: Gates open at 5:30pm for picnicking. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink or visit one of the many onsite gourmet food vendors.

Parking: Subscribers have the opportunity to purchase onsite Arboretum parking. Single ticket holders may park for free at the Westfield Santa Anita shopping center with free non-stop shuttles to the main gate.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Michael Feinstein, Principal Pops Conductor, Tom and Erika Girardi Chair

Michael Feinstein has built a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globe - in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as The White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House - his work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.

In 2007, he founded the Great American Songbook Foundation, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educational programs, Master Classes, and the annual High School Songbook Academy. This summer intensive open to students from across the country has produced graduates who have gone on to record acclaimed albums and appear on television programs such as NBC's "America's Got Talent." Michael serves on the Library of Congress' National Recording Preservation Board, an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America's sound recording heritage.

The most recent album from his multi-platinum recording career is A Michael Feinstein Christmas from Concord Records. The CD features Grammy Award -winning jazz pianist Alan Broadbent (Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole). Feinstein earned his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 2009 for The Sinatra Project, his CD celebrating the music of "Ol' Blue Eyes." The Sinatra Project, Volume II: The Good Life was released in 2011. He released the CDs The Power Of Two - collaborating with "Glee" and "30 Rock" star Cheyenne Jackson - and Cheek To Cheek, recorded with Broadway legend Barbara Cook. For Feinstein's CD We Dreamed These Days, he co-wrote the title song with Dr. Maya Angelou.

His Emmy Award-nominated TV special Michael Feinstein - The Sinatra Legacy, which was taped live at the Palladium in Carmel, IN, aired across the country in 2011. The PBS series "Michael Feinstein's American Songbook," the recipient of the ASCAP Deems-Taylor Television Broadcast Award, was broadcast for three seasons and is available on DVD. His most recent primetime PBS-TV Special, "New Year's Eve at The Rainbow Room" - written and directed by "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry - aired in 2014. For his nationally syndicated public radio program "Song Travels," Michael interviews and performs alongside of music luminaries such as Bette Midler, Neil Sedaka, Liza Minnelli, Rickie Lee Jones, David Hyde Pierce and more.

Feinstein was named Principal Pops Conductor for the Pasadena Symphony in 2012 and made his conducting debut in June 2013 to celebrated critical acclaim. Under Feinstein's leadership, the Pasadena Pops has quickly become a premier orchestral presenter of the Great American Songbook with definitive performances of rare orchestrations and classic arrangements. He launched an additional Pops series at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach, Florida in 2014.

Michael's book The Gershwins and Me - the Los Angeles Times best-seller from Simon & Schuster - features a new CD of Gershwin standards performed with Cyrus Chestnut at the piano.

Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts, a $170 million, three-theatre venue in Carmel, Indiana, which opened in January 2011. The theater is home to diverse live programming and a museum for his rare memorabilia and manuscripts. Since 1999, he has served as Artistic Director for Carnegie Hall's "Standard Time with Michael Feinstein" in conjunction with ASCAP. In 2010 he became the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Feinstein's at the Nikko, Michael's nightclub at San Francisco's Nikko Hotel, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz since 2013. He debuted at Feinstein's/54 Below, his new club in New York, late in 2015. His first venue in New York, Feinstein's at the Regency, featured major entertainers such as Rosemary Clooney, Glen Campbell, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, Jane Krakowski, Lea Michele, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Alan Cumming from 1999 to 2012.

He has designed a new piano for Steinway called "The First Ladies," inspired by the White House piano and signed by several former First Ladies. It was first played to commemorate the Ronald Regan centennial on February 6, 2011.

In 2013 Michael released Change Of Heart: The Songs of Andre Previn in collaboration with four time Oscar and eleven time Grammy Award-winning composer-conductor-pianist Andre Previn. The album celebrates Previn's pop songs and motion picture classics. Earlier album highlights include Hopeless Romantics, a songbook of classics by Michael's late friend Harry Warren, recording with legendary jazz pianist George Shearing. His album with songwriting icon Jimmy Webb, Only One Life - The Songs of Jimmy Webb, was named one of "10 Best CDs of the Year" by USA Today.

Feinstein received his fourth Grammy nomination for Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, his first recording with a symphony orchestra. The year before, Rhino/Elektra Music released The Michael Feinstein Anthology, a two-disc compilation spanning 1987 to 1996 and featuring old favorites and previously-unreleased tracks.

Michael was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he started playing piano by ear as a 5-year-old. After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles when he was 20. The widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant introduced him to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. Feinstein became Gershwin's assistant for six years, which earned him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, many of which he has since performed and recorded.

Gershwin's influence provided a solid base upon which Feinstein evolved into a captivating performer, composer and arranger of his own original music. He also has become an unparalleled interpreter of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Harry Warren. Feinstein has received three honorary doctorates.

Through his live performances, recordings, film and television appearances, and his songwriting (in collaboration with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Lindy Robbins, Bob Merrill and Marshall Barer), Feinstein is an all-star force in American music.

For more information, visit www.MichaelFeinstein.com.

Jessie Mueller
Soloist

Mueller started her career in Chicago and won a Joseph Jefferson Award in 2008 for her role as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel. In 2011, she moved her talents to New York City to star in the Broadway revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She starred in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as Carole King, a performance for which she won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Jessie Mueller received a 2016 Tony nod for her current role as Jenna in the Sara Bareilles-scored Waitress. She also earned a Tony nom for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever opposite Harry Connick Jr. and appeared on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Mueller was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of actors Jill and Roger Mueller. Her two brothers Andrew and Matt along with sister Abby are all actors known for their work in the Chicago theatre community. Mueller is Lutheran. She graduated from Evanston Township High School in 2001 and from Syracuse University in 2005.

After graduation, Mueller returned to Chicago and acted for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, traveling in 2006 to England to perform at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as Lady Mortimer in Henry IV. She followed this with various roles in the Chicago area including Lizzie Fields in Baby, Once Upon a Mattress as the Lady-In Waiting, and Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis. At the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, she performed roles in Shout! The Mod Musical, Shenandoah, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. In 2009 performed in two musicals at the Goodman Theatre, Animal Crackers as Grace/Mary and A Christmas Carol as Belle/Catherine.

Jarrod Spector
Soloist

Jarrod Spector was nominated for both TONY and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his portrayal of Barry Mann in the Broadway hit BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL. He previously ended his tenure in Broadway's JERSEY BOYS after a record 1500 performances as Frankie Valli. Other credits: Broadway - LES MISERABLES (Gavroche); Nat'l. Tours - LES MISERABLES & JERSEY BOYS; Off-B'way - HAMLET (Hamlet); Regional - PRESTO CHANGE-O (Michael Presto - Barrington Stage Company). Jarrod grew up in Philadelphia, attended Princeton and trained at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York. In addition to his critically-acclaimed solo concerts and duet shows with his wife, Broadway star Kelli Barrett, Jarrod has two albums available on iTunes and Amazon, including a recording of his concert A Little Help From My Friends LIVE at 54 Below.

About The Pasadena Symphony Association

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.