Redlands Bowl 2001 Season
August 17th 
Programs start at 8:15 p.m. 

"A Gershwin Party." Leon Bates, pianist; Louis Toppin, soprano; William Brown, tenor. A sparkling celebration of the vocal and piano music of George Gershwin.

Drop In On Gershwin at the Redlands Bowl, August 17

"Everyone always asks for Gershwin," says Joann Rile, management for "A Gershwin Party", the Friday, August 17, 8:15 p.m. event for the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival. So, she added, two singers and a pianist created a program celebrating the vocal and piano music of legendary American composer, George Gershwin.

Recognizing the long-time American love affair with Gershwin's distinctive, listenable music, pianist Leon Bates, soprano Louise Toppin, and tenor William Brown will play and sing music from a program list that
includes "Rhapsody in Blue", "Fascinatin' Rhythm", "The Man I Love", "Strike up the Band", and "Porgy and Bess". Bates, Toppin, and Brown have toured this program for three years, performing the light, relaxed concert in large halls and small churches all over the country. The purpose, according to Rile, was to re-create the atmosphere one might have found had they dropped in on Gershwin at home.

Pianist Bates launched his concert career with a win in the
Philadelphia Orchestra Senior Auditions over 20 years ago. Since then, he has performed in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Hollywood Bowl. His work has led to many invitations to perform with
major symphonies such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony, and the San Fransisco Symphony. He is particularly known for his performances of works by the romantics such as Rachmaninoff and for Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Concerto in F" As a solo recitalist and orchestra soloist, soprano Toppin has performed throughout the United States and Spain in such halls as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Licieu Theatre in Barcelona, Spain. She has performed leading roles in operas throughout the United States, and her recitals and interviews have been broadcast internationally on Voice of America.

Brown, also, has performed as soloist in halls and with orchestras all over the world. Soloing with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Chicago Sinfonietta, he also has
appeared with notable opera companies including the New York City Opera, the Florentine Opera Company, and the Goldovsky Opera. "A Gershwin Party" matches the three international performers who seem to have so much fun on the stage, says Rile, that the audience can't help but get drawn in.

For this concert, the intermission speaker will be Paul T. Barich, Board of Directors, Redlands Community Music Association, Inc., and the intermission ushers will be representatives from ESRI, Century 21 Lois Lauer Realty, and Links.

Leon Bates from "A Gershwin Party" will present the Children's Festival Workshop on Saturday, August 18, at 10:00 a.m., at the Redlands Community Center, 111 W. Lugonia Avenue.

Continuing the tradition begun in 1924, this and all Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival events are open to the public at no charge, and a free-will offering will be collected at intermission. For more information about this concert, call the Redlands Bowl office at 909/793-7316 or visit the web site at www.redlandsweb.com.

To reach the Redlands Bowl between Eureka and Grant Streets in Redlands, enter the Redlands area on I-10; from the west, exit at Orange Street, turn right at the end of the ramp onto Eureka Street, proceed across Redlands Blvd. and Brookside Ave. to the Bowl area; from the east,
exit at Sixth Street, turn left at the end of the ramp onto Sixth Street, proceed to Pearl Ave. and turn right to Orange Street, turn left on Orange to Brookside Ave., turn right on Brookside to Eureka Street, and turn left on Eureka to the Bowl area. Parking is on streets in the area, or in the church and public parking lots.