NEW YORK, N.Y. /CitizenWire/ — The Pit Stop Players, a thirteen-member instrumental ensemble composed of veteran Broadway pit musicians, will kick off their third season with a concert at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music on Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. The critically acclaimed group will offer creepy-themed music the night before Halloween, in a program titled "Dark Side of the Tune."
"I've always had a soft spot for music that scares the living daylights out of people," said Joshua Rosenblum, the group's founder and music director, "So we'll be ushering in Halloween with a few choice terrifying tunes. And if the music doesn't frighten anyone, my Michele Bachmann mask will."
Instead of traditional Halloween concert fare, such as "Night on Bald Mountain" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," the concert will include evocative but lesser-known creations by Bolcom, Ives, Prokofieff and Schubert, as well as five works composed especially for the occasion. The new offerings include pieces by Gary William Friedman (The Me Nobody Knows, The Electric Company), Josh Schmidt (Adding Machine, The Minister's Wife), Michael Starobin (Orchestrator: Sunday in the Park with George, Next to Normal), and the conductor's 15-year-old son, Julian Rosenblum, in his professional debut.
The Pit Stop Players, who collectively have played in pit orchestras for over 120 Broadway productions, include Ed Matthew, Steve Kenyon, and Don McGeen, woodwinds; Chris Jaudes, trumpet; Wayne Goodman, trombone; Dan Culpepper, horn; Robin Zeh, violin; Paul Woodiel, violin; Alissa Smith, viola; Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf, cello; Garah Landes, piano; Jeff Carney, bass; and Greg Landes, percussion.
Rosenblum, who founded the Pit Stop Players in 2009 as a means of giving Broadway musicians a chance to climb out of the pit and take center stage, says that nearly any genre is fair game for their programs, including traditional and contemporary classical, jazz, rock, fusion, and film music. However, the primary emphasis is on new compositions and arrangements, written and orchestrated specifically for the group.
The players will be in Halloween costumes, and audience members are encouraged to come dressed for the occasion as well.
Composer, conductor and pianist Joshua Rosenblum has led the orchestras for thirteen Broadway and Off Broadway shows, including Wonderful Town, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Music Man, Miss Saigon and Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He is also the composer/creator of BUSH IS BAD, the hit Off Broadway satirical revue, and the composer/co-lyricist of Fermat's Last Tango, Einstein's Dreams, Garbo and Me, and the forthcoming The Haunted Hotel. His instrumental music has been recorded on two CDs: Impetuosities and Sundry Notes, both on the Albany Records label. Rosenblum has written pieces on commission for Philip Smith, principal trumpeter of the New York Philharmonic; Ethel, America's premier post-classical string quartet; and the Chase Brock Experience dance troupe, among many others. He teaches Composing for Musical Theater at Yale University, his alma mater, and was recently awarded a grant from the Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C., as part of the American Musical Voices Project: The Next Generation.
WHAT: Pit Stop Players: Dark Side of the Tune
WHEN: Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Benzaquen Hall
450 W. 37th Street, New York, NY
TICKETS: $25 ($15 for Students) www.SmartTix.com (or cash at the door).
INFO: http://rosenblummusic.com/pitstop.html .
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