SAXOPHONIST MARTIN ROBERTSON AND

USC THORNTON ORIANA CHOIR FEATURED

Friday and Saturday, February 21 and 22, 8 PM;

Sunday, February 23, 2:30 PM

On February 21, 22, and 23, led by one of Britain's foremost conductors, Sir Andrew Davis, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and saxophonist Martin Robertson perform the United States premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Your Rockaby. The February program at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion also includes an audience favorite - Holst's The Planets - with the USC Thornton Oriana Choir.

Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with Ed Yim, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's director of artistic programming, takes place in the Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each of these performances.

Mark-Anthony Turnage's fondness for the saxophone has resulted in a highly fruitful relationship with Martin Robertson, resulting in Your Rockaby, written in 1994 for Robertson and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Your Rockaby has been described as Turnage's most characteristic and strikingly original work. Robertson premiered the piece at the Royal Festival Hall in 1994 and is soloist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's U.S. premiere of the saxophone concerto.

Also on the February program is Gustav Holst's The Planets, featuring USC's Thornton Oriana Choir. The Planets, a seven-movement work inspired by the mystery behind the solar system, achieved immediate success following its premiere in 1919. The composer, a man of intellect and wide-ranging interests, found musical inspiration in diverse places and began composing the work in 1914, hoping its movements would stimulate the imagination of the listener.

SIR ANDREW DAVIS, one of Britain's leading conductors, is continually in demand as a guest artist with leading European, North American, and Far Eastern orchestras. After many seasons as a regular visitor to the Glyndebourne Festival, Davis became their music director in 1988, a post he relinquished in 2000 when he became music director and principal conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In addition to being guest conductor for high profile opera companies around the world, Davis is an avid orchestral conductor. His first appearance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra was in 1970. Appointed their chief conductor in 1989, he played a key role in creating innovative programming, giving the orchestra the reputation as one of the world's most versatile ensembles. In August 1997, Davis conducted their Salzburg Festival debut and led their 1998 North American tour. Davis received a Royal Philharmonic Society/Charles Heidsieck Music Award in 1991 for leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra through an outstanding Diamond Jubilee season.

MARTIN ROBERTSON studied at the Royal College of Music with Stephen Trier and John McCaw, winning several woodwind prizes, including the Boosey & Hawkes Woodwind Prize. He made his recital debut at the Purcell Room in 1986. Robertson was the soloist for Turnage's saxophone concerto, Your Rockaby, premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in 1994 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1996, he was a soloist in the premiere and European tour of Turnage's Blood on the Floor, with John Scofield, Peter Erskine, and the Ensemble Modern. In 1995, Robertson was the featured soloist with the London Philharmonic in Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver Suite, given as part of the Meltdown Festival, and in 1999, he recorded the same work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Robertson frequently works on film and television soundtracks, and credits include: clarinet soloist in Shakespeare in Love, Quills, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Billy Elliott, and Charlotte Gray. Most recently, as a specialist in middle-eastern wind instruments, he recorded music for the feature films Birthday Girl, Crush, and Mickey Blue Eyes. He has more than 55 recordings to date. In addition, Robertson teaches at the Royal College of Music.

The USC THORNTON ORIANA CHOIR is an advanced auditioned choral ensemble for women. The choir was founded in 1992 by department chair Dr. William Dehning to explore and perform the vast repertoire for treble voices. They have performed with the Thornton Symphony and have toured extensively in Southern California. Dr. Dehning was a conductor of the women's choir; DMA graduate student Seyon Park currently leads the ensemble. February 21, 2003 marks the group's premiere performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 8 PM

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 8 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2:30 PM

SIR ANDREW DAVIS, conductor

MARTIN ROBERTSON, saxophone

USC THORNTON ORIANA CHOIR

TURNAGE: Your Rockaby (U.S. premiere)

HOLST: The Planets

Upbeat Live, a free pre-concert event with Ed Yim, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's director of artistic programming, takes place in the Pavilion's Grand Hall one hour before each of these performances.

Tickets ($14 - $82) for both concerts are on sale now at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons-May, Tower Records, Ritmo Latino, and selected Wherehouse locations), and by credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. Tickets are also available online at www.laphil.com. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available two hours prior to the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts. For further information, please call 323.850.2000.

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