A WORLD PREMIERE CONCERT
LEONARD SLATKIN • LOS ANGELES FILM ORCHESTRA
Produced by ABU DHABI FESTIVAL and ROBERT TOWNSON PRODUCTIONS
JUNE 14, 2024 8:00 PM at WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
Hosted by ROBERT TOWNSON
Featuring paintings, illustrations and movie posters created by one of the most sought-after illustrators of the 20th Century, Bob Peak. The evening will feature the artwork inspired by the films and simultaneously the scores inspired by the films including Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, John Williams’ Superman: The Movie, Jerry Goldsmith’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Frederick Loewe’s My Fair Lady & Camelot
The second half of the concert features the world premiere of the new piece Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak, featuring original works by leading composers inspired by specific artwork by Bob Peak including, Maria Newman’s Rhapsody for a Golden Age, 1937 Academy Players Directory, Mychael Danna’s Mother Teresa, Time Magazine cover portrait, Marco Beltrami’s Special Olympics, The Spirit of Sport – Jack Nicklaus, Jeff Beal’s New York World’s Fair 1964-65, and Michael Abel’s Golden Moments: Jesse Owens 1936 Olympics
LOS ANGELES (April 11, 2024) – Abu Dhabi Festival and Robert Townson Productions present Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak, A World Premiere Orchestra Concert Event at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 14 at 8pm PT. The Los Angeles Film Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Leonard Slatkin, will perform music from classic films accompanied by Bob Peak’s iconic illustrations including Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, John Williams’ Superman: The Movie, Jerry Goldsmith’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries from Apocalypse Now, Bruce Broughton’s Silverado, Frederick Loewe’s My Fair Lady and Camelot. The second half of the concert will feature new music from leading composers, inspired by Bob Peak’s artwork including Michael Abels (Get Out), Jeff Beal (House of Cards), Marco Beltrami (Hurt Locker), Bill Conti (Rocky) Mychael Danna (Life of Pi), Ihab Darwish (Symphony of Three), Don Davis (The Matrix), Harry Gregson-Williams (The Martian), Maria Newman (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,1917) and Marc Shaiman (Mary Poppins Returns).
About Bob Peak:
Bob Peak is the award-winning American illustrator best known for his thirty-year contribution to the film industry, creating vibrant and unique designs for movie posters. Some of his most famous posters include West Side Story, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Hair, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Superman: The Movie, Apocalypse Now, Pennies from Heaven, Silverado, The Spy Who Loved Me and Excalibur. His paintings of Anwar Sadat, Mother Teresa, and Marlon Brando hang in the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection. He also received special commissions from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the United Nations and produced the iconic poster for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Peak won more than 150 awards including honors from The Society of Illustrators, New York; The Artists Guild, New York; Art Directors Club of New York; Art Directors Club of Philadelphia; Advertising Club of Boston, and The Hollywood Reporter. In 1997 the Society of Illustrators elected Peak to its Hall of Fame. In 1983 Peak was asked to create a painting of New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of construction. For the 1984 Olympics, the United States Postal Service commissioned Peak to design thirty stamps. He also created thirty-one watercolors depicting various sports events in the history of the Olympics for the book Golden Moments, commissioned by the United States government.
About Robert Townson:
Robert Townson began his film music career in Canada as a teenager when he created the record label Masters Film Music in 1985. With early success, he partnered with Varèse Sarabande for worldwide distribution. In 1989, he moved to Los Angeles after Varèse Sarabande offered him a position for Creative Director and Producer for all film music. Robert Townson’s credits include producing over 1,400 albums, along with worldwide concert productions from London’s Abbey Road Studios 80th Anniversary concert, Hollywood’s Universal Pictures 100th Anniversary concert to China’s first film music concert featuring the Macau Orchestra at the Venetian Resort Hotel. Townson has also produced celebration and tribute concerts for composers including Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, and Basil Poledouris. Robert Townson has received numerous accolades for his contributions in film music. Robert received the Fimucité Award in 2009, the Krakow FMF Ambassador Award in 2017, the Rome Film Music Festival Life In Film Music Award in 2022, Abu Dhabi Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, International Sound and Film Music’s Crystal Pine Honorary Award and World Soundtrack Industry Award, all in 2023. After 30 years with Varèse Sarabande, Robert Townson went on to launch his own company, Robert Townson Productions, to continue producing special recordings and epic concert productions worldwide.
Robert Townson Productions:
In 2019, Townson launched Robert Townson Productions (RTP) which continues Townson’s recording and concert production activity. RTP brings great film music, live and recorded, to audiences all over the world. Newest recordings include Cinema Morricone, with Sony Classical, and the upcoming John Williams Reimaged with Warner Classics.
Abu Dhabi Music & Art Foundation / Abu Dhabi Festival
The Abu Dhabi Music & Art Foundation (ADMAF) strives to bring together Western and Arab cultures. As the founder and artistic director, Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo brought this vision to fruition in 2020 with the Abu Dhabi Festival coproducing the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Flying Dutchman—the first collaboration between the Met Opera and an Arab institution.
Founded in 2004, the Abu Dhabi Festival has welcomed world-class American artists like Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Renée Fleming, Joshua Bell, and the American Ballet Theatre to the UAE. Poised between East and West and home to over 200 nationalities and countless faiths, the UAE has emerged as an international hub for art and culture.
Walt Disney Concert Hall:
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2003 as the newest of The Music Center’s four venues. The Concert Hall was conceived when Lillian B. Disney made an initial gift of $50 million to build an additional performance space on Los Angeles County land in honor of her late husband Walt Disney and his dedication to the arts. Home to LA Phil and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Walt Disney Concert Hall is one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world and provides both visual and aural intimacy through its exterior and interior design.
About Leonard Slatkin
Internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin is Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Directeur Musical Honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon, Conductor Laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. He maintains a rigorous schedule of guest conducting throughout the world and is active as a composer, author, and educator. Slatkin has received six Grammy awards and 35 nominations
About the Los Angeles Film Orchestra:
The Los Angeles Film Orchestra is a premiere orchestra whose members consist of an all-star group of leading studio and concert musicians in Hollywood. The orchestra players can be heard on countless Hollywood blockbusters to award-winning films, TV projects and videogames.