Pasadena Symphony to Perform Music of Beethoven, 2/15 & 3/29

The Pasadena Symphony will celebrate the music of Beethoven in back to back powerhouse concerts with his Symphony No. 9 and No. 5 on Saturday February, 15 and Saturday March 29, 2014 at Ambassador Auditorium with both matinee and evening performances at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Guest conductor Kazem Abdullah will lead the orchestra on Valentine's weekend February 15, 2014 with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 - widely celebrated as the greatest music ever written, it is the ultimate testament to the human spirit through the power of music. Vocal Soloists are Tracy Cox, soprano; Laura Harrison, mezzo; Casey Candebat, tenor; Andrew Craig Brown, bass; and The Donald Brinegar Singers, chorus. Acclaimed Los Angeles composer Morten Lauridsen, one of the hottest tickets in choral music and recipient of the National Medal of Arts, compliments the program with his Mid-Winter Songs on Poems by Robert Graves and Nocturnes. The composer will present an intimate pre-concert conversation on his choral cycle one hour prior to each performance and will also play piano on Nocturnes . These concerts mark the 30 year anniversary of the Mid-Winter Songs' orchestral premiere at Ambassador Auditorium in 1983 by the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robert Duerr.

A vibrant, versatile and compelling presence on the podium, American conductor Kazem Abdullah is one of the most watched up-and-coming talents on the international stage today. He assumed the post of Generalmusikdirektor of the City of Aachen, Germany, in 2012. His predecessors in this tradition-rich post include Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. He also served as Assistant Conductor to James Levine at New York's Metropolitan Opera. The New York Times lauded this first performance at the Metropolitan Opera as "...a confident performance... impressively responsive."

Guest conductor Andrew Grams leads the orchestra on March 29, 2014 with the most famous 4 notes in all of Classical music- relentless, emotional, triumphant and victorious mark Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. This concert will also feature Los Angeles based violinist, the prodigiously talentEd Simone Porter with the Bruch Violin Concerto. Grams has been collecting critical acclaim and "has been building a solid international career, revealed remarkable skill and sensitivity...he sculpted beautifully nuanced music." The Baltimore Sun.

Performances take place at both 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and are accompanied by pre-concert discussions one-hour before curtain. The Ambassador Auditorium is located at 131 South St. John Avenue, Pasadena, CA. Ticket prices start at $35 and may be purchased online at www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org or by calling (626) 793-7172.

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