Pacific Symphony • 1

pops seriesAPRIL 6 & 7

The performance begins at 8 p.m.

SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTSRENÉE AND HENRY SEGERSTROM CONCERT HALL

presents

2017-18 POPS SERIES

Official Television Station

P A C I F I C S Y M P H O N Y P R O U D L Y R E C O G N I Z E S I T S O F F I C I A L P A R T N E R S

Pops Radio SponsorOfficial Hotel

ROGER KALIA • CONDUCTORCIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE

John Williams (b. 1932)Hooray for Hollywood

Harry’s Wondrous World from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Devil’s Dance from Witches of Eastwick

Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)Times Square from On the Town

John WilliamsOverture from The Cowboys

James Horner (b. 1953)My Heart Will Go On from Titanic

Richard Wagner (1813–1883)Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre

John Kander (b. 1927)Selections from Chicago

Hans Zimmer (b. 1957)Dead Man’s Chest from Pirates of the Caribbean

Randy Newman (b. 1943)Main Theme from The Natural

Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904–1987)Galop from The Comedians Op.26

Lalo Schifrin (b. 1932)Theme from Mission Impossible

Jimmy Webb (b. 1946)MacArthur Park

John WilliamsAcross The Stars from Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones

Hans ZimmerTheme from Gladiator

John WilliamsRaider’s March from Raiders of the Lost Ark

This week’s Pops concerts are generously sponsored by

Rick & Nancy Muth and

I N T E R M I S S I O N

2 • Pacific Symphony

ROGER KALIAMARY E. MOORE ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR CHAIR

H ailed as a conductor who leads with “passionate intensity” and recognized as “one to watch,” Roger Kalia is one of America’s most exciting young conductors. A recipient of a 2013 and 2017 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Kalia is currently

the assistant conductor of Pacific Symphony and the music director of Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. He began his tenure in 2015, and was recently awarded a two-year contract extension, becoming only the second assistant conductor in Pacific Symphony’s history to receive this honor. Kalia also serves as co-founder and music director of the Lake George Music Festival in upstate New York, the premier musical arts festival in the region. Previously, he served for two seasons as assistant conductor of the Charlotte Symphony, where he conducted the orchestra in a variety of performances and invigorated the orchestra’s engagement with the community. Kalia has also held music director positions with both the Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) Debut Orchestra and Columbus (IN) Symphony Orchestra, the oldest orchestra in the state and only its fourth music director. In June 2016, Kalia led the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra on a highly successful tour of China, which marked the orchestra’s second international tour and its first to Asia. The orchestra performed sold-out concerts in Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall and Shanghai’s Oriental Arts Centre as well as a cultural exchange concert with the Shanghai Nanyang Model School Orchestra, which was broadcasted worldwide on International Channel Shanghai (ICS).

In addition to his current positions, Kalia is in consistent demand as a guest conductor. In the 2017-18 season, he makes his European subscription debut with the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland, and will conduct the Bakersfield Symphony on their annual Gala concert. Further recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Chicago Sinfonietta at Symphony Hall, Long Beach Symphony, Great Falls Symphony, Owensboro Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Adrian Symphony and the 2018 Missouri All-State Orchestra.

Kalia has collaborated with a variety of artists such as Glenn Dicterow, David Kim, Randy Newman, the B-52s, Dan Dunn, Fei-Fei Dong, and Misha Dichter, and has served as cover conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony and Indianapolis Symphony. Kalia has worked in various capacities with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Danish National Symphony and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, among others. Kalia conducted the Memphis Symphony in 2011 after winning Second Prize in their International Conducting Competition, which led to his debut the following season and launched his professional career.

As co-founder and music director of the Lake George Music Festival, Kalia conducts the Lake George Festival Orchestra and chamber ensembles every August, whose distinguished musicians come from many of North America’s finest orchestras and conservatories. Through its unique and innovative artistic collaborations and outreach, the festival recently received its first-ever grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). In 2017, Kalia created a new and innovative concert series called Sounds For Our Time, which highlights the connections between the popular music of our time and orchestral music. For its debut concert, the series focused on electronic music, specifically electronic dance music (EDM), with the Festival Symphony Orchestra collaborating with the EDM-indie group and Billboard artist, MAKO, in a performance of original compositions, one of the first collaborations of its kind. The collaboration gained national publicity by being featured in the League of American Orchestras’ The Hub, Broadway World, EDMjoy, the Albany Times Union and Saratoga Living. The Festival Orchestra has also been featured on a variety of recognized classical radio programs including American Public Media’s Performance Today with Fred Child and WQXR-NY.

Passionate about teaching the next generation of musicians, Kalia maintains a regular teaching relationship with the Colburn School and California State University, Fullerton, and has been invited as a guest speaker at the Irvine Music Festival, Mt. San Antonio College and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

A native of New York, Kalia received his doctorate from Indiana University, where he served as an associate instructor and assistant conductor of the IU Opera Theater and New Music Ensemble. He also holds degrees from the University of Houston and SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. His primary mentors include David Effron, Arthur Fagen and Franz Anton Krager.

ROGER meet the conductor

Pacific Symphony • 3

CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIEACROBATS

C irque de la Symphonie is a unique and exciting production designed to bring the magic of cirque to the music hall. An elegant fusion of cirque and orchestra, the program showcases many of the best cirque artists in the world, thrilling the audience with aerial

flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers and strongmen. These accomplished veterans include world record holders, gold medal winners, Olympians and some of the most original talent ever seen.

Alexander Streltsov, one of the founders, created the concept of cirque paired with symphony in 1998 in a special PBS production with the Cincinnati Pops. Streltsov, a circus veteran from Moscow, is the only aerialist to perform with the Bolshoi Ballet. After winning the gold medal at the prestigious Festival du Mondial in Paris, he starred in a Broadway production. His music and programming sensibilities combined with performance background to provide a program with stunning three-dimensional visual and musical elements. Classical masterpieces are perfectly choreographed to the elegant movements of cirque artists, elevating cirque artistry to a fine arts level.

Cirque de la Symphonie performs with dozens of orchestras across North America and beyond each season. Sold-out venues feature a wave of new faces that includes families, students and young professionals, many witnessing a live orchestra for the first time. Something magical happens when these cirque veterans take the stage in front of the live orchestra. Audiences are mesmerized by aerialists flying over their heads. Children are amazed at the wizardry of juggling feats and magic acts. The strength and flexibility of strongmen and contortionists leave audiences astounded. Everyone departs with smiles beaming from their faces.

MEET meet the guest artists

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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

RICK AND NANCY MUTH

Pacific Symphony extends enthusiastic thanks to Rick and Nancy Muth for their underwriting support of our performances of Cirque de la Symphonie. The Muths are generous contributors to Pacific Symphony, and strong advocates for our Pops series. Rick is president of ORCO BLOCK & HARDSCAPE, directing the company’s aggressive expansion and helping to maintain ORCO’s high industry profile. We are deeply indebted to Rick and Nancy for their strong commitment to great music, and for their continuing support of Pacific Symphony. Thank you!