Pasadena POPS Announce Return to the Arboretum for 2021 Summer Concert Series

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, please visit www.MichaelFeinstein.com.

He was the Music Director/Conductor and/or vocal arranger for many shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles including They’re Playing Our Song, Evita, Sugar Babies, La Cage Aux Folles, Phantom Of The Opera, Onward Victoria, Copperfield, Colette, A Chorus Line and A Little Night Music. He has been nominated three times for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations in The Drowsy Chaperone, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and with Marc Shaiman for Catch Me If You Can. Larry received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrations for A Christmas Story

Larry contributed to the orchestrations for both the stage and film production of The Producers, the film Chicago and is a regular conductor and arranger for BBC RADIO 2 Friday Night Is Music Night in the UK. Larry is also the Music Supervisor and Orchestrator (along with Mark Cumberland) for the Olivier Awards in London.

Blank has worked with top talent from varied fields of the entertainment world, notably as personal conductor to Michael Crawford. He has also worked with Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Bernadette Peters, Kelsey Grammar, Christine Baranski, Roberta Flack, Pete Fountain, Peabo Bryson, Sally Kellerman, Nancy Dussault, Marc Shaiman, Jerry Herman, Ann- Margaret, Davis Gaines, Bette Midler, George Benson, Placido Domingo, Randy Newman, Trisha Yearwood, Tom Scott, Quincy Jones, Michael Bolton, John Raitt and Diana Rigg.

Blank’s background includes orchestrating and arranging songs for South Park and was Music Supervisor and Orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s movie, Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury and Charles Durning. Some of the films he lent his talent to include The Kid, Kiss The Girls, The American President, Forget Paris, City Slickers II, The Net, That¹s Entertainment III, North, I¹d Do Anything, and Stuart Saves His Family. Blank’s music can be heard on the animated feature films, Cats Don’t Dance and All Dogs Go To Heaven as well as the 101 Dalmations Christmas Special.

Mr. Blank’s television work includes orchestrating and composing music for several of the Grammy Awards and Academy Award shows as well as numerous television movies and shows.

Mr. Blank has guest conducted most of the orchestras throughout the world, including The San Francisco Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Auckland Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Symphony, New Orleans Symphony and Toronto Symphony.

Billy, devoted his efforts to a successful gospel music career and Marilyn performed in television’s “Solid Gold.”  The couple enjoys tremendous success through the years as recording artists, performers and authors. They have received a total of 7 Grammy Awards, earned 15 gold and 3 platinum records.

Thelma’s 23rd album, “A Woman’s Touch”, was released recently through Shout Factory Records (distributed by Sony/BMG) and offers her rich interpretations of many classic R&B and pop recordings originally made famous by such male vocalists as Luther Vandross, Rev. Al Green, Sting and Marvin Gaye.

A Mississippi native, Thelma started out in the 60’s performing in gospel music with the Art Reynolds Singers. She then signed to Capitol Records (home of the Beatles, Nat King Cole and Nancy Wilson) in 1967 and had her first hit song called “Baby Mine.”

Soon Thelma was courted by several record labels and signed with ABC/Dunhill where she recorded and released her first solo album called “Sunshower” which was written, arranged, and produced by the legendary Jimmy Webb. After this critically acclaimed album was released, Thelma decided to accept an offer from one of the biggest record companies around, Motown Records.

With Motown Records, Thelma claimed the top of the Pop, R&B and Dance charts with her high-powered rendition of “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” That Gold Record classic gave Thelma the distinction of being the first solo female artist at Motown to win the Grammy Award for “Best R&B Female Vocal Performance.”

Known as a humanitarian for her charitable causes and her tireless efforts in the battle against AIDS, the City of West Hollywood proclaimed January 29th as “Thelma Houston Day” in 2003. She has donated her talents to numerous charities including Devine Design for Project Angel Food, AIDS Project Los Angeles, and the Minority AIDS Project, to which she donated her $20,000 winnings from the TV show Hit Me Baby. She is also very active in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the NAACP.

Thelma has rocked Rockefeller Center on NBC’s The Today Show and the summer music special “Hit Me Baby, One More Time.”  She dazzled in ABC’s Motown 45 and glittered on ABC’s The Disco Ball. Along with Aretha Franklin and Mary Wilson, she raised the roof on Love, Rhythm and Blues for PBS.  Thelma appeared with Phoebe Snow, Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples and CeCe Peniston as the “Sisters of Glory” in New York City in a rousing performance that received a special request to perform at The Vatican for The Pope.

The legendary Nile Rogers called upon Thelma to be his special guest for a sold-out concert at the Hollywood Bowl and she toured with Cher on her Living Proof Concert Tour. Additionally, she headlined at Harrah’s in Las Vegas. Thelma has also been inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City and honored as an “Apollo Legend” on the syndicated hit TV show, Showtime at the Apollo.

In April 2009, Thelma was honored to perform on the #1 rated television show in the USA, Fox’s American Idol, where she tore it up for an estimated audience of over 25 million people. Shortly after, Thelma was called upon to open up the finale of the hit summer show, NBC’s America’s Got Talent, for an estimated TV audience of over 18 million people.

Thelma performs at many national dinner receptions for the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and was honored to perform in Denver when Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination. In January 2009, Thelma then was asked to headline the official inauguration dinner for President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., at the Mayflower Hotel along with her friends, Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge. HRC President Joe Solmonese says, “It doesn’t get much better than Thelma, as she adds nothing but class to our events.”

In early 2020 Thelma collaborated with Morrissey on “Bobby, Don’t You Think They Know.” “It was interesting and fun working in the studio,” he said. “I enjoy performing very much. The performance part of my job is what I enjoy the most. When I perform, I like to do all kinds of music and I try to incorporate that in my show. For me, to do one kind of thing all the time is boring. Morrissey heard the song and a few years later, he asked me to do this song on his album. It was very easy to work with Morrissey in the studio,” she said.

Also released in early 2020 is the dance single “Turn Your World Around” (on Radikal Records) with Bimbo Jones. “I’ve worked with Lee Dagger from Bimbo Jones before. He has done some remixes for me. That’s how the song came about. We wrote the song a few years ago and it was a lot of fun.” The song was worked on the Billboard Dance Charts and went all the way to #7.

The summer of 2020 finds Thelma teaming up with the legendary Jimmy Webb (who wrote and produced Thelma’s critically acclaimed debut album called “Sunshower.”) to remake an updated version (with new lyrics from Jimmy) of the song (and video) called “Someone is Standing Outside.” The reaction on social media to this new version of this classic song has been unbelievable.

Over the summer Thelma filmed her first virtual concert called “Thelma Houston Virtually Yours” that debuts on the Wale Rocks streaming platform in Oct. This concert was filmed outdoors and takes you on a musical journey featuring songs from Disco, Dance, Gospel and Motown.

With appearances from Tokyo to Las Vegas to London and beyond, Thelma continues to bring audiences to their feet with her dynamic, energetic Motown show. This Diva logs over 200 performances annually and the singer/songwriter is enjoying every moment of her success. “I still feel a tremendous excitement about performing,” states the upbeat songstress. “I have so many more things I want to do, and I have NO plans to retire anytime soon.”

Thelma’s main home is in Los Angeles, CA.

Website: www.ThelmaHouston.com
FaceBook: www.FaceBook.com/ThelmaHoustonOfficial
Instagram: @ThelmaHoustonOfficial
Twitter: @Thelma_Houston

music of groups from the The Platters to The Jackson Five, from The Righteous Brothers to the Beatles or from Boyz to Men to The Four Seasons.  This versatility has propelled them to headline their own shows where they perform stirring renditions of the best cover tunes.

Spectrum’s credits include European and Australian tours, innumerable headline performances aboard Royal Caribbean Cruises and over 100 performances with 50 different symphonies throughout North America.  Spectrum was twice voted Best of Las Vegas, earned the Vegas Living Legends Award and joined the ranks of Vegas luminaries Wayne Newton, Sammy Davis Jr., Liberace and Siegfried and Roy when awarded a star on Las Vegas’ Walk of Fame.

Spectrum has starred in six major production shows, appeared on numerous television shows and performed the National Anthem at major sporting events.

The group boasts four incredible singers, each with the voice of a solo artist, who combine their voices and dexterity to create angelic harmonies and deft choreography that have become trademarks of Spectrum.  Spectrum consists of Jeron Lovings of Oklahoma City, Pierre Jovan from Chicago, David Prescott of Rochester, NY and group Founder Cushney Roberts, from East Orange, New Jersey.   This group of well-mannered, college-educated, world-traveled veterans of the entertainment business, will entertain you!

The group has been performing consistently for over 20 years with more than 100 orchestras in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The group played to packed houses at the Sydney Opera House, and has performed with America’s most prestigious orchestras: The Cleveland Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The San Francisco Symphony, among many others.

The four musicians in Classical Mystery Tour look and sound just like The Beatles, but Classical Mystery Tour is more than just a rock concert. The show presents more than two dozen Beatles tunes performed exactly as they were originally recorded.

Hear “Penny Lane” with a live trumpet section, experience the beauty of “Yesterday” with an acoustic guitar and string quartet, enjoy the classical/rock blend on “I Am the Walrus,” and relish the cascading orchestral crescendo on “A Day in the Life.” Classical Mystery Tour is the best of The Beatles – from early Beatles music on through the solo years – like you’ve never heard them before. Many have called it “the best show the Beatles never did!”

The Los Angeles Times called Classical Mystery Tour “more than just an incredible simulation…the swelling strings and soaring French horn lines gave the live performance a high goose-bump quotient…the crowd stood and bellowed for more.”

Classical Mystery Tour CDs and T-shirts are available for purchase on their website: classicalmysterytour.com.

include the legendary Follies in Concert at Lincoln Center, A Stephen Sondheim Evening, Fiorello! (Encores!), and Hair in Concert. Regionally, she starred as Venus in the Chicago Ovations! production of One Touch of Venus, in Elegies at Reprise! in Los Angeles, and Fascinating Rhythm at Hartford Stage. She also played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard at Pittsburgh CLO.

Ms. Callaway has also established a major career as a concert and recording artist. The award-winning Sibling Revelry (created with sister Ann Hampton Callaway) was presented to great acclaim at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Boom!, a celebration of the music of the 60’s and 70’s, also created with her sister was recorded live at Birdland and has toured the country. She had the pleasure of singing “Chances Are” with singing legend Johnny Mathis, co-starred with Jimmy Webb & Paul Williams in their critically acclaimed engagement at Feinstein’s in New York and joined Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder at Hal David’s 90th Birthday Celebration Concert at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.  Her extensive US symphony work includes appearances at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Ravinia, and The Hollywood Bowl. Worldwide, she has performed in China, Australia (with Stephen Schwartz), New Zealand, Vietnam, Iceland, Estonia, France (Theatre du Chatelet, Paris), South Korea, and Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu where she premiered a new concert featuring the music of Stephen Sondheim.

Liz sang the Academy Award nominated song “Journey to the Past” in the animated feature Anastasia and is also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin and the King of Thieves and The Return of Jafar. Other film work includes the singing voice of the title character in The Swan Princess, The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, Beauty and the Beast, Lyle, Lyle the Crocodile and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.

She received an Emmy Award for hosting Ready to Go, a daily, live children’s program on CBS in Boston.  Other TV credits include In Performance at the White House, Inside the Actor’s Studio: Stephen Sondheim, Christmas with the Boston Pops, The David Letterman Show, and Senior Trip (CBS Movie of the Week).

Liz has released six solo recordings: Passage of Time, The Beat Goes On, The Story Goes On: Liz Callaway On and Off-Broadway, Anywhere I Wander: Liz Callaway Sings Frank Loesser, Merry and Bright and her newest album The Essential Liz Callaway.  Her numerous other recordings include Sibling Revelry,  Boom! Live at Birdland, The Maury Yeston Songbook, Dreaming Wide Awake: The Music of Scott Alan, A Stephen Sondheim Evening, Hair in Concert, the original cast album of A Christmas Story and the complete recording of Allegro produced by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization.

In addition to his theater and TV work, Jordan was featured at the Washington National Opera gala at The Kennedy Center, the Pasadena Symphony, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He also starred as Lancelot in Lincoln Center Theater’s gala production of Camelot opposite Lin Manuel Miranda. Jordan was featured at the American Songbook Hall of Fame celebration at the invitation of Michael Feinstein.

He is currently at work writing his musical, Bully, which will debut next year. Jordan is a 2016 graduate of Otterbein University, where he graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre Cum Laude. Family is everything to Jordan, because without the “little village” of women who raised him, he would not be where he is today. “Every day is a gift.”