Pasadena Symphony & POPS Tena Clark
Contact: Neal Spinler Contact: Maureen O’Connor
[email protected] [email protected]
(626) 793-7172 ext. 13 (310) 854-8116
THE PASADENA POPS PRESENTS THE MUSIC OF TENA CLARK
PERFORMED BY DIONNE WARWICK, JUDITH HILL AND MORE
AT THE LOS ANGELES ARBORETUM ON JUNE 28
PASADENA, CA (May 1, 2014) – On Saturday, June 28, admired musicians will join together for “Tena Clark’s Leading Ladies of Song,” a one-night-only concert showcasing legendary songwriter, producer and composer Tena Clark’s more than 30 year career as a songwriter, musician and producer. Clark will be joined by Dionne Warwick (five-time Grammy Award winning music legend), Judith Hill (Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” singer and actress in Oscar-winning “20 Feets From Stardom,”) Sheléa Frazier (singer/actress, “Superfly”,) Sara Niemietz (singer/actress in “Akeelah and The Bee”) and a host of friends to perform a slice of her Songbook accompanied by the full orchestra of the Pasadena POPS at the Los Angeles Arboretum.
Audiences will hear Clarks’s hit songs from stage, film, records and television in addition to her musical footprints that have left an indelible mark supporting progress for world-wide causes. Hear songs “Break the Chain,” the theme song from One Billion Rising, “Way Up There,” NASA’s Centennial of Flight theme song, “I Believe,” a commemorative song to honor Secretary-of-State Hillary Rodham Clinton in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, “What Makes You Stay” (Hope Floats), “I’ll Be Ok” (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Dionne Warwick’s hit songs “Reservations for Two,” music from Clark’s critically acclaimed Musical TWIST, “Running Out of Time” (Desperate Housewives), “It’s the Beat of a Heart,” (Where the Heart Is), “We Haven’t Finished Yet,” (Five Heartbeats) and more.
DMI Music & Media Solutions, Clark’s Pasadena-based entertainment and marketing company, programs all on-board music for Air Force One for President Obama and the two previous Presidents and Delta Airlines Globally.
Access Atlanta described Clark and her music as: “Small of stature, the Mississippi native commands R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the music business, and is known as a go-to composer for movie and television productions — a quick study who can crank out polished songs with stunning speed.”
“I’m so honored to be recognized by Pasadena POPS,” commented Clark. “It is a great privilege to work with such a talented group of women who are interpreting my music on this show.”
All Pasadena POPS concerts are held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Grounds open for picnicking and dining at 5:30 p.m. and performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Among many venue amenities, audiences can enjoy pre-ordered gourmet dining packages for on-site pickup just steps from your table from Julienne, Marston’s, and Claud & Co.; the food court will host mouth-watering food trucks. The experience is now even more convenient with two full beverage centers serving fine wines, beer, coffee and soft drinks plus exclusive hotel packages for POPS patrons at Pasadena’s landmark Langham Huntington Hotel. Patrons may also visit the Pasadena Humane Society’s Mobile Adoption Unit, which will be on-site prior to each concert with deserving animals in need of a forever home as part of the Pups for POPS program.
Subscribers may pre-purchase parking on-site at the Arboretum, and all concertgoers enjoy free parking at the adjacent Westfield Santa Anita shopping center with complimentary non-stop shuttle service to the Arboretum’s main entrance. Audiences get the ultimate outdoor concert experience: large LED video screens to see the artists and orchestra up close, superior sound quality and the high-quality production value that is a signature of the Pasadena POPS. Don’t miss the best outdoor dinner party in town with spacious circular table seating with fine linens, or lawn seating for those who want to bring a blanket – each option carries on the tradition of picnic-dining with your family and friends with Michael Feinstein and Pasadena’s premier POPS orchestra! The Arboretum is located at 301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA. Single tickets and season subscriptions are now on sale and are available by calling the box office at (626)-793-7172, online at PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or at the Arboretum on the day of the concerts.
Images available at
http://www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org/pr-2014pops
Bios on individual artists available upon request
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ABOUT TENA CLARK
Tena Clark, founder/CEO of DMI Music & Media Solutions, is an iconic songwriter, producer and GRAMMY Award-winning composer. Born and raised in Mississippi, Clark would visit New Orleans with her mother, a songwriter from the big band era, where she absorbed the city’s intoxicating rhythms. Clark moved to Los Angeles in 1983 under the wings of Stevie Wonder and Hal David. Clark has written and/or produced for such musicians including: Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Holliday, Gladys Knight, CeCe Winans, Dionne Warwick, Patti Austin, Stephanie Mills, Yolanda Adams and Rev. Shirley Caesar, as well as contributed to multi-platinum movie soundtracks including: Hope Floats, The Five Heart Beats, Where the Heart Is and My Best Friend’s Wedding. In addition, Clark wrote and produced “Way Up There,” NASA’s theme song and “I Believe,” a commemorative song to honor Secretary-of-State Hillary Rodham Clinton in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. Most recently, Clark added Twist: An American Musical to her résumé as the show’s composer-lyricist.
ABOUT 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.
The Pasadena Symphony Association was founded in 1928 by Conductor Reginald Bland. Originally named the Pasadena Civic Orchestra, its first members were mostly volunteer musicians, many of whom were students of Bland. The annual operating budget was $3,500, which was funded entirely by the City of Pasadena.
The Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Southern California’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.
In the fall of 2007, the Pasadena Symphony incorporated the Pasadena POPS into its Association under the new name Pasadena Symphony and POPS. This merger created an expanded Classics and POPS series providing the community with a full spectrum of live symphonic concerts year-round. In the summer of 2012, the Pasadena POPS’ relocated its summer home to the Los Angeles County Arboretum where it has been performing to record-breaking crowds and critical acclaim. The Pasadena POPS announced Michael Feinstein as its new Principal Pops Conductor in August 2012; he will be the first conductor to hold the Marvin Hamlisch Chair title. Under Feinstein’s leadership, the Pasadena POPS’ has quickly become the nation’s premier presenter of the Great American Songbook in the orchestral arena delivering definitive performances of rare orchestrations and classic arrangements.
The Pasadena Symphony provides a musical experience like no other at the Ambassador Auditorium – known as the Carnegie Hall of the West – where they have been the resident professional orchestra since 2010. In 2013, the Pasadena Symphony named Maestro David Lockington as its fifth Music Director and appointed Nicholas McGegan as Principal Guest Conductor.
A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region since 1972 through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra comprised of over 200 gifted middle school students from more than 40 schools all over the Southland. The PYSO most recently performed on several episodes of the popular television show GLEE.
