Pasadena CA –The Pasadena Symphony Association announces the contract renewal of Music Director David Lockington through 2021-22. Lockington renews his role which began in 2013. Since then, the orchestra has shown tremendous growth, cementing the Pasadena Symphony as the area’s premiere destination for live symphonic music. “In his five years leading the PSO, Lockington has taken an ensemble that was already quite good and elevated it into one where excellence is the byword.” — Pasadena Star News.
“I am delighted to continue leading this orchestra and build on the growth we have achieved together by performing beautiful music that inspires us all,” Lockington says, adding “Working with the musicians of the Pasadena Symphony is really refreshing. They are extremely musical; they are sensitive ensemble players and meticulously detail-oriented, and the level of excitement that they bring to the stage for every performance is rare for both me and the audience. I have also enjoyed being part of the community, and always look forward to meeting more people who want to experience live orchestral concerts!”
“David has been such a gift to the Pasadena Symphony,” says Lora Unger, CEO adding “under his brief tenure, this 90 year old orchestra has experienced unprecedented artistic growth. Our musicians and patrons feel it – after every concert we collectively know that he’s building something very unique and special for this community. There is a genuineness to his personality and musicianship that just draws everyone in; the orchestra is in its prime under his direction. Simply put, he’s redefined the sound and culture of the Pasadena Symphony and we’re just so excited to see what’s next.”
Lockington and the orchestra will conclude their 90th season on Saturday, May 5th with Beethoven! Beethoven! at Ambassador Auditorium with performances at 2pm and 8pm. The program opens with Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition winner Angelo Xiang Yu bringing his “stupendous technique” (Art Fuse) to the composer’s stunning, virtuosic Violin Concerto, while Lockington will lead the orchestra on Beethoven’s majestic Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” to close out the season.
The Pasadena Symphony provides a socially vibrant experience specially designed for the music lover, the social butterfly or a date night out, and the inner epicurean in us all. Patrons can plan to arrive early for Insights, a pre-concert discussion with Music Director David Lockington that begins one hour prior to curtain. The luxurious Symphony Lounge provides yet another addition to the delightful and elegant concert experience the Pasadena Symphony offers. A posh setting at Ambassador Auditorium’s beautiful outdoor plaza, audiences enjoy uniquely prepared menus for both lunch and dinner at each concert from Claud &Co, fine wines by Michero Family Wines, plus music before the concert and during intermission.
All concerts are held at Ambassador Auditorium, 131 South St. John Ave, Pasadena, CA with both matinee and evening performances at 2pm and 8pm. Single tickets start at $35 and may be purchased online at www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org or by calling (626) 793-7172. A limited number of tickets will be available at the box office on the day of the concert.
- What: The Pasadena Symphony presents Beethoven! Beethoven!
David Lockington, conductor
Angelo Xiang Yu, violin
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” - When: Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
- Where: Ambassador Auditorium | 131 South St. John Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105
- Cost: Tickets start at $35.00
- Dining: Located on the plaza at Ambassador Auditorium, the Symphony Lounge opens at 12:30pm before the matinee and 6:00pm before the evening performance.
- Parking: Valet parking is available on Green Street for $15. General parking is available in two locations: next to the Auditorium (entrance on St. John Ave) at the covered parking structure for $10 and directly across the street at the Wells Fargo parking structure (entrance on Terrace at Green St). ADA parking is located at the above-ground parking lot adjacent to the Auditorium (entrance on St. John Ave.) for $10. Parking purchased onsite is cash only.
- Pre-Concert Discussion: Pre-concert discussion with David Lockington begins one hour before curtain and is available to all ticket holders at no cost.
David Lockington
Music Director
David Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the Principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge where he was a choral scholar, Mr. Lockington came to the United States on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his Master’s Degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra for three years before turning to conducting.
Over the past thirty years, David Lockington has developed an impressive conducting career in the United States. A native of Great Britain, he served as the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony from January 1999 to May 2015, and is currently the orchestra’s Conductor Laureate. He has held the position of Music Director with the Modesto Symphony since May 2007 and in March 2013, Mr. Lockington was appointed Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony. He has a close relationship with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain, where he was the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor from 2012 through 2016, and in the 15/16 season was named one of three Artistic Partners with the Northwest Sinfonietta in Tacoma, Washington.
In addition to his current posts, since his arrival to the United States in 1978 Mr. Lockington has held positions with several other American orchestras, including serving as Assistant Conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado, and Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In May 1993 he accepted the position of Music Director of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, assumed the title of Music Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in September 1995 and was Music Director of the Long Island Philharmonic for the 96/97 through 99/2000 seasons.
Mr. Lockington’s guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Saint Louis, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Oregon and Phoenix symphonies; the Rochester and Louisiana Philharmonics; and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has conducted the Northern Sinfonia in Great Britain, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra in Beijing and Taiwan, and led the English Chamber Orchestra on a tour in Asia.
Recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include appearances with the New Jersey, Indianapolis, Utah, Pacific, Colorado, Nashville, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Stamford, Tucson and Kansas City symphonies, the Florida and Louisville Orchestras, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and the Buffalo, Calgary and Oklahoma Philharmonics. Mr. Lockington’s summer festival activities include appearances at the Grand Teton, Colorado Music, Interlochen, Chautauqua and Eastern Music festivals.
David Lockington began his career as a cellist and was the Principal with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cambridge where he was a choral scholar, Mr. Lockington came to the United States on a scholarship to Yale University where he received his Master’s Degree in cello performance and studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and served as assistant principal cellist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra for three years before turning to conducting.
Angelo Xiang Yu
Piano
Winner of the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in 2010, violinist Angelo Xiang Yu’s astonishing technique, exquisite tone, and exceptional musical maturity have won him consistent critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience response worldwide.
In addition to winning First Prize as well as the Bach and Audience Prizes at the Menuhin Competition, Mr. Yu was awarded the 2nd prize at the Lipinski Wieniawski International Violin Competition, and the 3rd prize at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
In March 2017, he was chosen to join the roster of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS Two, beginning with the 18/19 season.
In North America, Angelo Xiang Yu’s recent and upcoming orchestral engagements include appearances with the orchestras in Pittsburgh, Toronto, Vancouver and Houston, as well as with the North Carolina, Alabama, Charlotte, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, Grand Rapids, Toledo, Modesto, Tucson, Elgin, Binghamton and Lake Forest symphonies. In the summer of 2016, he participated for the second season in a row in Portland, Oregon’s Chamber Music Northwest festival and made his debut at the Green Music Center Chamberfest in Sonoma, California. Internationally, he has appeared with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Highlights of his 17/18 season include debuts with the Colorado and Pasadena symphonies, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Grant Park Music Festival in downtown Chicago and his recital debut at the Ravinia Festival; re-engagements with the North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Lake Forest symphonies; a return to Jordan Hall in Boston; and a debut appearance with the New Zealand Symphony with performances throughout the country.
An active recitalist and chamber musician, Mr. Yu has performed in a number of world renowned venues such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Louvre Auditorium in Paris, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Victoria Theater in Singapore, Shanghai Concert Hall, Oslo Opera House, Auckland Town Hall, Bennett Gordon Hall in Chicago, Jordan Hall and Symphony Hall in Boston. He has also appeared in several of the world’s leading summer music festivals including the Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Bergen Festival and the Perlman Music Program. During the 12/13 season, Mr. Yu was invited to tour with Miriam Fried and chamber musicians from the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute and performed concerts in New York, Chicago, Florida and throughout New England.
Born in Inner Mongolia China, Angelo Xiang Yu moved to Shanghai at the age of 11 and received his early training from violinist Qing Zheng at the Shanghai Conservatory. Mr. Yu earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he was the recipient of the Irene M. Stare Presidential Scholarship in Violin and was a student of Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, and served as the teaching assistant of Donald Weilerstein. He was the only instrumentalist invited to be a candidate for NEC’s most prestigious Artist Diploma, which he was awarded in May 2014.
Mr. Yu currently resides in Boston and performs on a 1729 Stradivarius violin generously on loan from an anonymous donor.
The Pasadena Symphony Association
Recent Acclaim for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS
“The Pasadena Symphony signals a new direction…teeming with vitality…dripping with opulent, sexy emotion.” Los Angeles Times.
“…full of pulsating energy from first note to last… the strings were lushly resonant, the wind principals were at the top of their games, and the brass rang out with gleaming vigor.” –Pasadena Star News.
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. Internationally recognized, Grammy-nominated conductor, David Lockington, serves as the Pasadena Symphony Association’s Music Director, with performance-practice specialist Nicholas McGegan serving as Principal Guest Conductor. The multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” Michael Feinstein, is the Principal Pops Conductor, who succeeded Marvin Hamlisch in the newly created Marvin Hamlisch Chair.
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 five performing ensembles, with over 250 gifted 4th-12th grade students from more than 50 schools all over the Southern California region. The PYSO Symphony often performs on the popular television show GLEE.
The PSA provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music.
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