THE AL MALAIKAH SHRINE

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THE JR. PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA'S

71ST ANNIVERSARY CONCERT SPECTACULAR

Sunday afternoon, May 4

3:30 pm

Shrine Auditorium

665 West Jefferson Boulevard

Los Angeles

FREE tickets may be obtained on the day of the concert, (this Sunday, May 4) beginning at 2 PM at the main entrance to the Shrine Auditorium.

You are cordially invited to the Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra's 71st Anniversary Concert Spectacular under the baton of long-time concertmaster Gary S. Greene. Wink Martindale will MC and legendary Hollywood columnist Army Archerd will host the Annual Celebrity "Battle of Batons." Actress June Lockhart will be a special guest.

The concert program includes Rimsky-Korsakov's Dance of the Clowns and Scheherazde, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Borodin's Dances from Prince Igor, Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, West Side Story, Stars and Stripes Forever and more!

Highlighting the evening will be an array of stars of stage, screen and television -including baseball legend TOMMY LASORDA, actors TIMOTHY BOTTOMS and STACY KEACH, comedian JUDY TENUTA and General Hospital’s JACKIE ZEMAN - conducting the orchestra in the hilarious Annual Celebrity “Battle of Batons,” as presented by Hollywood’s Army Archerd.

Join in congratulating founder-conductor Dr. Ernst Katz, who is celebrating his orchestra’s 71st anniversary season.   

 

 

 

JR. PHILHARMONIC 70TH ANNIVERSARY
PLATINUM JUBILEE

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

Stars and Alumni Gathered from Around the United States to Perform in the Platinum Jubilee Concert Honoring 93-Year-Old Founder-Conductor Dr. Ernst Katz

Before a capacity audience at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 10th, the 120-member Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra honored its founder-conductor, Maestro Ernst Katz, for 70 years of dedication to youth in music. Since 1937, tens of thousands of young lives have been influenced by the Jr. Philharmonic and Katz’ philosophy of “Give Youth A Chance To Be Heard.” Alumni from the past seven decades came from around the United States to pay tribute to Katz.

Under the baton of long-time concertmaster Gary S. Greene, the Jr. Phil performed Mozart’s Overture to Il Seraglio and Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. Highlighting the evening was a retrospective of 70 years of Broadway and motion picture musicals with celebrity singers Jan and Mickey Rooney in “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” from Shall We Dance, Debby Boone in “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Dick Van Dyke in “Put On A Happy Face” from his Tony Award-winning performance in Bye Bye Birdie. June Lockhart, who was in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis, introduced the memorable “Trolley Song” and George Chakiris, who won an Academy Award for his role in West Side Story, introduced selections from the musical. Academy-Award winning composer Richard Sherman conducted his score to “Mary Poppins” with the star of the motion picture, Dick Van Dyke, as soloist. Alumni members of the orchestra from the past 70 years were reunited, and together, they performed Rossini’s Overture to the Barber of Seville and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. The program concluded with Andrew Lloyd Webbers’ score to The Phantom of the Opera. John Philip Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever was performed as an encore.

A special video that was broadcast during the concert told the story of Dr. Katz and his orchestra. Produced by Debra Marisa Greene, the piece featured Katz as The Music Man. To view this inspiring video, please go to the link, VIDEO STORY OF DR. ERNST KATZ, on the Home page.

At the Platinum Jubilee, Daily Variety columnist Army Archerd introduced a second video produced by Debra Marisa Greene entitled “The Best of Battle of Batons.” It features a who’s who of motion picture and television stars conducting the Jr. Philharmonic in its annual Hollywood tradition. To see this comedic video, please go to the link, Watch Videos, at right. Katz created the “Battle of Batons” nearly seven decades ago as a means of bringing attention to his young musicians. At each Jr. Philharmonic anniversary concert, celebrities wield the baton in this hilarious competition. The audience votes for its favorite who is presented with the Golden Baton. This year, by acclamation, Archerd presented the Golden Baton to Dr. Katz.

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