About the event featured in this segment:
Narada Michael Walden Foundation Presents Let the Sunshine In Concert
Benefiting Christopher Rodriguez and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Let the Sunshine In concert
Monday, May 25, 2009
7:00 pm
Davies Symphony Hall
Tickets: www.cityboxoffice.com OR 415-392-4400
More info: www.naradamichaelwalden.com
On May 25 , award-winning and platinum-selling music producer, musician and songwriter Narada Michael Walden will present "Let the Sunshine In," a concert featuring Sting, Bob Weir, The Supremes' Mary Wilson, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. of The Fifth Dimension, Maestro Michael Morgan, Earl Klugh, Frederica von Stade. David Grisman, Chuck Leavell of the Rolling Stones, Shanice Wilson, Tevin Campbell, Lisa Fisher, Jeanie Tracy, Ralphe Armstrong, Dale "Satchmo" Powers, the Narada Michael Walden Band and other musicians. This special event will benefit Oakland's Christopher Rodriguez, an innocent victim of gun violence.
Last year, while at a piano lesson, 12-year-old Christopher was hit by a stray bullet near his home in Oakland. As a result, he is now paralyzed from the waist down.
The concert will be held at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and will support the scholarship fund of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and benefit the work of the Narada Michael Walden Foundation. Tickets are on sale now. Order online at www.cityboxoffice.com or by calling 415-392-4400.
Some of the artists will be accompanied by an orchestra of students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The orchestra will be conducted by Maestro Michael Morgan, music director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony and faculty member at the Conservatory.
About Frederica von Stade, Mezzo Soprano
Described by the New York Times as "one of America's finest artists and singers," Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world's most beloved figures. Known to family, friends, and fans by her nickname "Flicka," the mezzo-soprano has enriched the world of classical music for three decades.
Miss von Stade's career has taken her to the stages of the world's great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Sir Rudolf Bing during the Metropolitan Opera auditions, and since her debut in 1970 she has sung nearly all of her great roles with that company. In January 2000, the company celebrated the 30th anniversary of her debut with a new production of The Merry Widow specifically for her, and in 1995, as a celebration of her 25th anniversary, the Metropolitan Opera created for her a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande. In addition, Miss von Stade has appeared with every leading American opera company, including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera. Her career in Europe has been no less spectacular, with new productions mounted for her at Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. She is invited regularly by the finest conductors, among them Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Leonard Slatkin, and Michael Tilson Thomas, to appear in concert with the world's leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Washington's National Symphony, and the Orchestra of La Scala.
Website: www.fredericavonstade.com
About Narada Michael Walden
Marin County-based Narada Michael Walden, drummer (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck, Weather Report), songwriter, producer, performer, three-time Grammy award winner, and Emmy winner has produced countless number-one hits with legendary artists such as Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. He is credited with launching the careers of Houston and Mariah Carey, and the list of his collaborators reads like a Who's Who of popular music - Sting, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Ray Charles, Al Jareau, Diana Ross, Steve Winwood, Clarence Clemons, Gladys Knight and Barbara Streisand. He also produced soundtracks for popular films including: The Bodyguard, James Bond: License to Kill, and 9 ½ Weeks.
Website: www.naradamichaelwalden.com
