The Composer is Dead engages students in a gripping musical mystery in which the music and narration work together to produce an investigative stroll through the ranks of orchestral instruments. The original narration is written by international best-selling author Lemony Snicket, best known for his series of novels for children, known collectively as A Series of Unfortunate Events. The music is composed by Nathaniel Stookey, an accomplished violinist and violist whose works have been performed by a broad range of distinguished ensembles. Narrator Bennett Schneider guides audiences through the story, which features the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Assistant Conductor Lionel Bringuier, performing excerpts from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird (1919 revision), as well as The Composer is Dead.
The TSFY concerts are adapted for younger audiences through orchestral theater – an art form that specializes in featuring the orchestra in a theatrical setting. On Saturday, April 12 and 19, the 2007/08 TSFY series concludes with Berlioz’ Fantastic Symphony. Before every concert, from 10 to 11 a.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall becomes a musical playground with hands-on art making, musical activities, dance and storytelling or theater. Workshops take place in the lobby spaces one hour prior to the performance. Judi Garratt, Los Angeles Unified School District Elementary Theatre Teacher for the Arts Education Branch, coordinates all pre-concert activities.
Winner of the 49th Besançon Young Conductors Competition, pianist and cellist LIONEL BRINGUIER was also awarded the “Prix du Public,” as the audience’s favorite, by unanimous decision of the Besançon jury, as well as the top vote of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the musicians of the festival. Born in Nice, France in 1986, Bringuier began his musical studies at the Academy of Nice at the age of 5 and gave his first cello recital before the Countess of Paris at the age of 9. At 13, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSM) in the cello class of Philippe Muller. There, he furthered his academic work in chamber music, choral singing, and jazz studies. In 2000, he began his conducting studies at the CNSM, where he continues today under the tutelage of Zsolt Nagy. Additionally, he has participated in masterclasses with Peter Eötvös and János Fürst. Performance engagements have included concerts with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ensemble Modern Academy Frankfurt, the Ensemble Aventure Freiburg, the Orchestre National d’Île de France, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and the Helsinki Philharmonic.
He also made his podium debut with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, and the Gurzenich Orchestra Cologne, among others, in the 2006/07 season. In June 2004, Bringuier obtained his diploma in cello from the CNSM de Paris with a “Mention Très Bien à l’unanimité” as well as a “Mention Très Bien à l’unanimité” in conducting. Other distinctions include the “Médaille d’or à l’unanimité avec les felicitations du jury à l’Académie Prince Rainier III de Monaco,” the “Médaille d’or” from the Lord Mayor of Nice, and first prize in a competition organized by the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava. He is also a prizewinner of the Swiss Foundation Langart and the Cziffra Foundation. He began his two-year appointment as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in September 2007. Bringuier was selected through a competitive process that included over 150 applicants from around the world. In his first season as Assistant Conductor, he will conduct many of the Philharmonic’s education and community concerts as well as subscription concerts at the world-renowned Hollywood Bowl, the Philharmonic’s summer home.
DEBBIE DEVINE is a co-founder of 24th Street Theatre, where she is the Artistic Director. She has been at the forefront of Youth & Family Theatre for over a decade as the founder and artistic director of one of L.A.'s most acclaimed theater companies, Glorious Repertory Company. She has won numerous theater awards for her work in the theater as an actor, director, and producer. Debbie heads the drama programs at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, Poseidon School and the STAR enrichment program, and has taught at Cal Arts, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, for the California Arts Council, and literally hundreds of California schools. Debbie was awarded the 1999 Innovation and Leadership Award in Arts Education by the USC Rossier School of Education. -- www.laphil.com
