TROMBONIST JIMMY BOSCH AND HIS SALSA DURA PERFORM WITH VIOLINIST PEKKA KUUSISTO

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22 AND THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 AT 8 PM

Tuesday's concert is sponsored by Fidelity Investments; Thursday's concert is sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts; Media sponsor for both concerts is K-Mozart 105.1

Guest conductor Nicholas McGegan - one of the world's leading authorities on Baroque and Classical repertoire, and a champion of such Baroque masters as Handel, Rameau, Bach, and Vivaldi - returns to the Bowl this summer for two concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Salsa Dura on Tuesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 24 at 8 p.m. The program features "Los Sazones," Vivaldi's Four Seasons adapted for orchestra and salsa band and arranged by Jeff Lederer, intermingling Vivaldi's original music with salsa variations. Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and trombonist Jimmy Bosch are the soloists. The program also includes two pieces by Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks and Concerto Grosso, Op. 3, No. 2.

Prior to each performance, free salsa dancing lessons will be held at the main gate plaza from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. No partner or experience is necessary. The lessons will be conducted by Walter Jones, the 2004 World Mayan Salsa Dancing Competition winner.

The English keyboard player, flutist, and conductor, NICHOLAS McGEGAN, was born in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England. He studied piano at London's Trinity College of Music and also learned to play the flute, specializing in the Baroque flute. He pursued his education at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and at Magdalen College, Oxford. Nicholas McGegan is well known for his work as conductor of major symphony orchestras and opera companies worldwide. Equally at home with modern- and period-instrument orchestras, his repertoire ranges from Handel and Vivaldi through Mozart and the complete symphonies of Beethoven to Richard Strauss and Benjamin Britten. McGegan, known to nearly everyone who meets him as "Nic," has just celebrated his 20th year as music director of the San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Since 1990, he has also been Artistic Director of Germany's International Handel-Festival in Göttingen - the world's oldest festival celebrating Handel and his music. This year he was made an Honorary Professor at the School of Music at the Georg August University in Göttingen.

Trombonist JIMMY BOSCH was born and reared in Hoboken, New Jersey to a Puerto Rican family. Bosch began playing trombone in 1970, and at age 13 taught himself to play moñas (musical riffs). He frequented clubs in New York City with his trombone at hand, confident that he would one day land a gig with a major New York Salsa band. In 1978, while a student at Rutgers University, he was hired by Andy Gonzalez to work with Conjunto Libre, heralding the birth of a prolific career and extensive discography. In 1998/1999, Bosch and his band, Salsa Dura, were invited to the most prestigious jazz and world music festivals. Their extraordinary performances launched Bosch's solo career and initial recording, Soneando Trombón, at venues such as Lincoln Center (New York), Montreal Jazz Festival (Canada), Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy), North Sea Jazz (Holland), Tempo Latino Festival (France), and Sydney Festival (Australia). He has appeared on national television with Jay Leno, David Sanborn, on PBS with Buena Vista Social Club, and on HBO. Bosch has collaborated with the most stellar figures in salsa and Latin jazz, including Cachao, Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barreto, the Machito Orchestra, Rubén Blades, Fania All-Stars, Willie Colón, Oscar D'Leon, Marc Anthony, Paquito D'Rivera, Steve Wilson, Steve Turre, David Sanchez, and Arturo O'Farril.

Born in Finland in 1976, violinist PEKKA KUUSISTO studied the violin with Géza Szilvay. In 1985, he went on to study with Tuomas Haapanen at the Sibelius Academy. He also studied with Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at Indiana University in Bloomington from 1992 to 1996. In November 1995, Pekka Kuusisto became the first Finnish violinist to win the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki and was additionally awarded the special prize for the best performance of the Sibelius Concerto. He has since performed with many of the world's major orchestras, such as the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Czech Philharmonic, the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Apart from his appearances as a soloist, Pekka Kuusisto also performs chamber music, jazz, folk music and electronic music. Together with his brother Jaakko Kuusisto he is Artistic co-Director of the Lake Tuusula Chamber Music Festival.

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 38th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2006, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the second year in a row at the 17th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22 AT 8 PM

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 AT 8 PM

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

NICHOLAS McGEGAN, conductor

SALSA DURA

JIMMY BOSCH, trombone

PEKKA KUUSISTO, violin

HANDEL: Music for the Royal Fireworks

HANDEL: Concerto Grosso, Op. 3, No. 2

VIVALDI/LEDERER: The Four Seasons/Los Sazones

Prior to each performance, free salsa dancing lessons will be held at the main entrance plaza from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. No partner or experience is necessary. The lessons will be conducted by Walter Jones, the 2004 World Mayan Salsa Dancing Competition winner.

Tuesday's Concert is Sponsored by Fidelity Investments; Thursday's Concert is Sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts; Media Sponsor for both concerts is K-Mozart 105.1

Tickets ($1 - $93 ) are on sale now online at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations). Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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