Pacific Symphony Casts An Exciting Spell With THE WIZARD'S SPELLBOOK

Come learn all about the musical instruments that make up an orchestra with Pacific Symphony's "The Wizard's Spellbook" concert this Halloween season! The Symphony takes the stage Oct. 27 at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, led by Assistant Conductor and Music Director of Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Roger Kalia. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their wands, broomsticks and cloaks as the orchestra will play the enchanting themes of John William's "Hedwig's Theme" from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours," and the educational and fun "The Conductor's Spellbook," music and story by composer Paul Dooley and narrated by the opera baritone, David Stoneman.

This concert is a part of the 2018-19 "Family Musical Mornings" series that consists of five, 45- minute concerts, geared for children aged 5-11 presented by Farmers and Merchants Bank. There will be a "musical carnival" at each concert that encourages children to "test drive" instruments, interact with members of the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Youth Orchestra Ensembles and participate in themed crafts. Activities start at 9 a.m. for 10 a.m. concertgoers, and 12:15 p.m. for 11:30 a.m. concertgoers. Other concerts in the series include, "Nutcracker for Kids" on Dec. 8, "The Magic Flute -Opera for Kids" on Jan. 12, "Lunar New Year for Kids" on Feb. 9 and to conclude with "Intergalactic Adventures" on April 13. Packages for the series range from $60-$184. Individual tickets for "The Wizard's Spellbook" range $15-$46. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

Composed in 2016, "The Conductor's Spellbook" follows the journey of Tony Stradivarius who discovers a book of spells which teaches the listeners of the story about the orchestral instruments. Dooley's other works included the percussion concerto for acoustic and electric drums, "Northern Nights," "Concertro Grosso," "Mavericks," "Masks and Machines," "Meditations at Lagunitas," "Run of the Sun," "Salt of the Earth," "Point Blank," "Alarm Sound," and "Making Visible," commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet Principal Dancers Muriel Maffre and Damian Smith for Mariana Abramov Institute West. The awards for his work include 2016 Sousa/ABA/Ostwald Award, a 2015 William D. Revelli Prize for "Masks and Machines," a 2013 Jacob Druckman Award for "Point Blank," a 2010 BMI composer award for his work "Gradus" and a 2008 ASCAP Morton Gould Composer Award for "Dani's Dance." Dooley is also faculty at the University of Michigan of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Stoneman has appeared in several of Pacific Symphony's "Family Musical Mornings" including "Cinderella: Opera for Kids!," "Fledermaus: The Bat-Man's Revenge - Opera For Kids!," "The Pirates of Penzance: Opera for Kids!" "Hansel and Gretel: Opera for Kids!" and "Carnival of the Animals." On the operatic stage he has sung in "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "La traviata" for the Nevada Opera, "The Tender Land," "Tosca," "Cavalleria Rusticana," and "Carmina Burana," for the Mobile Opera and appeared as Sharpless in "Madama Butterfly," Silvio in "I pagliacci" and Alidoro in "La cenerentola" for the Santa Barbara Opera. His work also includes appearances with the American Chamber Opera, Regina Opera and the Bronx Opera. Stoneman was also in the world premiere of Philip Glass and Robert Moran's "The Juniper Tree."