Music Under The Stars photo courtesy Pasadena Symphony and Pops
Stars of stage and screen will illuminate the night sky when the Pasadena Symphony and POPS presents its annual free Music Under the Stars concert on Saturday, June 4 at Pasadena City Hall’s Centennial Square.
Presented with sponsorship support from Bank of America, Music Under the Stars will bring Pasadena’s premiere orchestra free to the community for one night only. This year’s concert will have the city “Dancin’ in the Streets” with popular favorites from West Side Story, Chicago, Hairspray, Greatest Showman, Pharrell Williams and more. Highlights include “All that Jazz,” “Big Spender,” “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” and “Happy” among other classics.
After a three-year pandemic hiatus, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS annual free concert for the community is back and better than ever with fun for the whole family. The family fun begins at 6:00pm with picnicking, food trucks and the all-new Kids Korner, featuring free face painting, balloon animals and a musical instrument petting zoo, where kids of all ages can discover the wonder of creating their own music with the instruments of the orchestra. Families who arrive early will also be treated to a special performance by Bob Baker Marionette Theater at 7:00pm.
The Music Under the Stars orchestra will be led by Resident POPS Conductor Larry Blank, who will welcome the Donald Brinegar Singers, JPL Chorus and three guest vocalists to the stage. A Disney regular, the multi-Grammy® and Emmy®-winning Laura Dickinson’s voice has appeared on Sofia the First, both Frozen films, Elena of Avalor, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Mulan, as well as on Michael Bublé’s Nobody But Me album. A true triple-threat, Tony-nominated actor, singer and dancer Valarie Pettiford has appeared on Broadway and the West End in Fosse, West Side Story and Chicago among others and has numerous television credits under her belt including The Blacklist, Blackish, True Blood and Treme. To round out the pack, Matthew Johnson’s expert dancing will get the audience on their feet. Trained through Alvin Ailey and by his mentor Debbie Allen, Johnson has performed with the likes of Pharrell, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Childish Gambino and Stevie Wonder.
This family-friendly event is presented with support from Bank of America. As a leading corporate supporter of the arts around the world, Bank of America provides steadfast and strategic support to nonprofit arts and culture presenters at the local level and leading world-class arts entities. Programs like the Art Conservation Project, Museums on Us®, Art in Our Communities and the Masterpiece Moment video series, along with sponsorships and grants, are designed to have a positive impact on economies and societies throughout the world, and shine a light on diverse cultural traditions.
Music Under the Stars is also supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.
Gates open at 6:00pm for Kids Korner; Bob Baker Marionette Theater performance begins at 7:00pm; and Music Under the Stars Concert begins at 8:00pm. Admission to this event is free, and guests are encouraged to bring a picnic, blanket and low-back chairs. Rental chairs will also be available for purchase. For more information, visit PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or call (626) 793-7172.
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. The multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” Michael Feinstein, leads the POPS as Principal Pops Conductor, succeeding Marvin Hamlisch.
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 seven performing ensembles, with over 400 gifted 4th-12th grade students from all over Southern California. The PYSO Symphony has performed at venues across the globe as well as on the television show GLEE. The PSA provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music.
