Marvin Hamlisch will take audiences on a trip back to The Fabulous ’50s, featuring Seattle Symphony and fifties rock ‘n’ roll legends Sha Na Na in the opening program of the 2009–2010 Seattle Pops series. Performances will take place Thursday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, September 18, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, September 19, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, September 20, at 2 p.m. in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall.
Patrons are encouraged to come in their best 1950s costume. There will be a classic car display provided by Drager’s Classics and themed refreshments available for purchase. Following the performance on Saturday, September 19, the Samuel and Althea Stroum Grand Lobby will be transformed into a 1950s sock hop where patrons can kick off their saddle shoes and “rock around the clock.”
Sha Na Na
Along with The Rolling Stones, Chicago and a few others, Sha Na Na is among the longest-running bands in popular music, dating back to their beginnings as students at Columbia University. Since that time, Sha Na Na has celebrated the music and memories of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia in clubs, through concerts and recordings, in the movies, and on television. Sha Na Na came on the national scene as part of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival lineup, which prompted the group’s first record deal. From 1977 to 1981, they starred in 97 episodes of the TV variety show Sha Na Na, which featured the band’s music as well as comedy skits with special guests. In 1979, they made their silver screen debut as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers in the hit movie musical Grease; they contributed six recordings to the film, as well as the original song “Sandy,” written by band member Screamin’ Scott Simon and sung by John Travolta.
Sha Na Na performs more than 50 concerts each year throughout the world — in Asia and Africa, from Paris to London to Tokyo, and from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Grand Ole Opry. Their concerts have included numerous guest performers, including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Jay Leno. They have appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra as part of the Capitol Fourth Celebration in Washington, D.C., and with symphonies of Columbus, Louisville, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Roanoke (Virginia). The group has recorded more than 25 albums that have solved more than 20 million copies worldwide. Their most recent recording, Sha Na Na-40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, was released on July 14, 2009 and is available at www.shanana.com and other CD outlets.
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch’s life in music is notable for its great versatility as well as substance. As a composer, Hamlisch has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards; his groundbreaking show, A Chorus Line, received the Pulitzer Prize. He is the composer of more than 40 motion picture scores, including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar. His prolific output of film scores includes original compositions and/or musical adaptations for Sophie’s Choice, Ordinary People, The Swimmer, Three Men and a Baby, Ice Castles, Take the Money and Run, Bananas and Save the Tiger.
Hamlisch holds the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the Colorado Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony and now, Seattle Symphony. Hamlisch, who began his tenure in Seattle in September 2008, is credited with a significant increase in Pops season ticket sales. He also served as Musical Director and arranger for Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England, as well as the television special, “Barbra Streisand: The Concert,” for which he received two of his Emmys. Hamlisch is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Music and Queens College. -- www.seattlesymphony.org
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