“Destination . . . Chorale Bel Canto”

            By Linda de Vries

Horse Racing Fans to Pasadena!

 

Boy Scouts to Pasadena!

Well, Arcadia, to be precise.

On June 1, 2013 Chorale Bel Canto is singing an All Beethoven concert at First United Methodist Church Pasadena.

In these posts we try to uncover unusual connections between the music we are singing and a day trip to the city in which we are performing. In this post we offer a fourth day trip to Pasadena with unusual tie-ins to the composer Beethoven, with the Chorale concert as the center of the experience.

Our focus this time is horses, horse racing, and the beautiful Santa Anita Park, a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia. With its backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains and build in the Art Deco style, it is considered one of the world’s most beautiful tracks. It is located at 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007, 626-574-7223.

The land was originally part of Rancho Santa Anita, owned origianlly by former San Gabriel Mission Mayor-domo, Claudio Lopez. Later, the gold prospector Lucky Baldwin purchased the property and founded a racetrack near the present site in 1904. It burned down in 1912. In 1933 California legalized parimutuel betting and movie producer Hal Roach and San Francisco’s Dr. Charles H. “Doc” Strub and his investors joined to found the Los Angeles Turf Club, and the Santa Anita track opened on Christmas Day in 1934.

Owing to its proximity to Los Angeles, Santa Anita has traditionally been associated with the film and television industries. The racetrack sequences in the Marx Brothers 1937 classic A Day at the Races was filmed there, as was The Story of Seabiscuit with Shirley Temple in 1949. Several stars, including Big Crosby, Errol Flynn, Spencer Tracy, Alex Trebek, and Louis B. Mayer owned horses that raced at the park. The park also attraced stars Betty Grable, Lana Turner, Edgar Bergen, Jane Russell, Cary Grant, and Esther Williams.
From 1942 to 1944, Santa Anita was used as a Japanese American internment camp, with up to 17,000 people living in horse stables, including then-unknown actor George Takei.

And what is the tie to Beethoven?

Why, the famous racing stallion, of course. Beethoven, a bay colt, was bred in Kentucky and born in 2006 at Deerbrook Racing, Inc. He was sired by Sky Mesa and his dam was Moonlight Sonata, thus his name. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata, is one of the composer’s most popular works for the piano. Beethoven the horse has raced at Santa Anita in the Breeder’s Cup. He is now at stud in Saudi Arabia.

Yet another unusual Beethoven connection!

Although not a thoroughbred racer, another famous horse is Pasadena Beethoven (known as “Buzz”), a Welsh Pony, Section A (the mountain pony). The breed originated in Wales, and its ancestors existed in the British Isles before the arrival of the Romans, but Pasadena Beethoven was bred and lives in Australia. These ponies are known for their good temperament, hardiness, and free-moving gates.The Welsh also crosses well with other breeds--Arabians to produce riding horses, Thoroughbreds to produce jumpers, hunters, and eventers.

What can you do at Santa Anita Park in June? Dine.

You can begin your day with breakfast at Clocker’s Corner, an insider tradition during racing season. It is open year round for breakfast every day until 10:00 a.m. and parking and admission are free. In future, if you are there during racing season and are planning to take the Seabiscuit tram tour, go early and eat first. 285 W. Huntington Dr., Arcadia, CA 91007, 626-574-7223. Note that it does not take reservations and does not accept credit cards.

If you spend your day in Pasadena elsewhere, you might have lunch or dinner at The Frontrunner Restaurant, which provides casual elegance in dining throughout the year, with special menus for each season. It boats that its “215 foot-long bar is one of the longest anywhere and has a beer, wine and cocktail menu equal to its style.” For Frontrunner reservations, call 626-574-1035.

On June 1, 2013 you may choose to attend the Boy Scouts’ Exposition on the Santa Anita Racetrack Infield from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. sgvcbsa.org

If you’re a real Beethoven fan, later in the summer you may attend Festival on the Green concerts held on the Santa Anita infield and performed by the California Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Victor Vener. On Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. they will play “Beatles and Beethoven.”

We don’t know the details of the program, but perhaps they will include, in an irreverent vein, Chuck Berry’s song, “Roll Over Beethoven,” his call for rhythm-and-blues to replace classical music, a song later covered by the Beatles first on With the Beatles, then on The Beatles’ Second Album. One of the most widely covered songs in popular music, it has also been recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis, ELO, The Rolling Stones, and The Byrds.

Whatever your day in Pasadena, at 4:00 p.m. come to the Chorale Bel Canto concert.

 

All Beethoven

Choral Fantasy for piano, soloists, chorus, and orchestra

Mass in C for soloists, chorus and orchestra

 

Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church Pasadena

500 E. Colorado Blvd. (at Oakland Ave.)

Pasadena, CA 91101 u 626-796-0157

Chorale Bel Canto 888-460-9222 u info@choralebelcanto.org

Following the concert you might wish to participate in other FREE musical events in Make Music Pasadena, celebrating World Music Weekend.

Or, in keeping with Beethoven’s Germano-Austrian heritage, you might want to have dinner at either the Dog Haus Biergarten, 93 E. Green Street, Pasadena, 626-683-0808. In April the Dog Haus honored John Galardi, the founder of the Wienerschnizel chain, after his death from cancer. Galardi started his career working with Taco Bell founder Glen Bell in Pasadena before founding his first Wienerschnizel in Wilmington.

Another choice for dinner might be Congregation Ale House, 300 S Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 626-578-0166. Also a gastropub in the German tradition, its religious theme and Happy Hour “Mass” provide a new twist on the musical experience of our Beethoven concert.

Destination  . . . Chorale Bel Canto

            By Linda de Vries

Is Pasadena a city too far?

Nah!

Come for Movies, a Mutt, and Music.

On June 1, 2013 Chorale Bel Canto is singing an All Beethoven concert at First United Methodist Church Pasadena.

In this post we offer a third day trip to Pasadena, with the Chorale concert as the center of the experience. This time it’s the Beethoven film series and The Beethoven House.

Beethoven is a 1992 family comedy written by John Hughes, directed by Brian Levant, and starring Charles Grodin and Bonnie Hunt. A group of dogs are stolen from a pet store. A St. Bernard escapes from the thieves and sneaks into the home of George Newton and his family. While the family is trying to name their new pet, daughter Emily plays part of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and the family names the dog Beethoven! A series of threatening adventures ensues, with George eventually coming to love and accept the new pet.

The film was followed by six sequels, Beethoven’s 2^nd, released in 1993, Beethoven’s 3^rd  in 2000, Beethoven’s 4^th in 2001, Beethoven’s 5^th in 2003, Beethoven’s Big Break in 2008, and Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure in 2011. Dean Jones also starred in an animated TV series based on the films. All films are available on DVD, both individually and as part of collections of films.

The house, known as the Beethoven House, is an actual home used for filming the exteriors in the film. It is located at 1405 Milan Avenue in South Pasadena. Word is that it looks today exactly as it did when the film was shot in 1992, except the trees are taller!

On your driving tour you can also view the filming locations of other feature films:

Liar, Liar (1987), 1004 Highland Street

Back to the Future (1985), 1711, 1727, 1800 and 1809 Bushnell Avenue

Teen Wolf (1985), 1711 Bushnell Avenue, and at So. Pas Middle School, Mission Street

Halloween (1978), So. Pas High School, Mission Street and Orange Grove Avenue

If you take the driving tour to these locations, remember that these are private homes and businesses. It is OK to drive or walk past and photograph from the public street, but in no instance should you photograph individuals, trespass on the property, or speak to the residents.

You can find an online source—scotsla.com—where you may purchase a South Pasadena CD audio driving tour of 31 film locations. Playing time is about 24 minutes and driving time is about two hours.

After your tour, join Chorale Bel Canto for our concert:

All Beethoven

Choral Fantasy for piano, soloists, chorus, and orchestra

Mass in C for soloists, chorus and orchestra

 

Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church Pasadena

500 E. Colorado Blvd. (at Oakland Ave.)

Pasadena, CA 91101 u 626-796-0157

Chorale Bel Canto 888-460-9222 u info@choralebelcanto.org

Following the concert you might wish to participate in other FREE musical events in Make Music Pasadena, celebrating World Music Weekend.

Or, in keeping with Beethoven’s Germano-Austrian heritage, you might want to have dinner at either the Dog Haus Biergarten, 93 E. Green Street, Pasadena, 626-683-0808. In April the Dog Haus honored John Galardi, the founder of the Wienerschnizel chain, after his death from cancer. Galardi started his career working with Taco Bell founder Glen Bell in Pasadena before founding his first Wienerschnizel in Wilmington.

Another choice for dinner might be Congregation Ale House, 300 S Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 626-578-0166. Also a gastropub in the German tradition, its religious theme and Happy Hour “Mass” provide a new twist on the musical experience of our Beethoven concert.

May 5, 2013

“Destination . . . Chorale Bel Canto”

            By Linda de Vries

Calling all space cadets and science lovers!

Calling all lovers of Charles Schulz, his “Peanuts” cartoon, and jazz!

On June 1, 2013 Chorale Bel Canto is singing an All Beethoven concert at First United Methodist Church Pasadena.

This post’s suggested day trip with the CBC concert at the center of your experience is to The California Institute of Technology.

How does Cal Tech relate to Beethoven? How does Charles Schulz relate to Cal Tech, to Beethoven, to Pasadena, to jazz? The fun we have in researching these unusual connections will, we hope, make your day trip more fun as well.

If you’re a “Peanuts” fan, you know Schroeder, the Beethoven-obsessed kid at the piano. Did you know, though, that numerous scholars find serious meanings in the Beethoven strips? Such a one is William Meredith, the director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at California State University, San Jose, who, in 2009, helped curate an exhibition at The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California, “Schulz’s Beethoven: Schroeder’s Muse.” Meredith said, “The music is a character in the strip as much as the people are, because the music sets the tone and introduces the characters’ state of emotion.”

Why was Beethoven so important to the cartoonist? Part of the answer may be found in Schulz’s religious background. Although near the end of his life he described himself as a secular humanist, he began as a Lutheran, then became active in the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, then taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. One of his earliest strips was “Young Pillars” published in the Church of God magazine, Youth. Schulz often referred to religious themes in his work, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), frequently saying that the character of Linus represented his spiritual side. For more on this particular theme, read Charles L. Short’s The Gospel According to Peanuts.

On June 1^st you can hear Chorale Bel Canto sing Beethoven’s Mass in C.

But what’s the connection between Schulz, Pasadena, and Jazz? In 1965 the jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi received the commission to compose the music for the TV production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. It became an annual viewing tradition.

Then in 2008, the Pasadena Jazz Institute offered a holiday concert of Guaraldi’s score: It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas: The Music of Vince Guaraldi. This concert quickly became a holiday tradition among jazz groups across the country.

As you spend your day in Pasadena, you may drive past the former home of the Pasadena Jazz Institute, at Paseo Colorado, 280 E. Colorado Boulevard, or find the Institute at its current home at 286 E. Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91001, 626-398-3344.

The connection between Schulz and Pasadena is reinforced by the fact that on January 1, 1974, Charles M. Schulz served as the Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade in Pasadena!

But we still have to circle back to the Cal Tech connection. This is a humorous, arcane stretch, but here goes! Cal Tech is the home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). There is a tradition at JPL to eat “good luck peanuts” before critical missions. The story goes that after the Ranger Program experienced a series of failures during the 1960s, the first successful Ranger mission to the moon occured while a JPL staffer was eating peanuts. The staff deemed the peanuts a good luck charm, and the tradition persisted. Oh, and Cal Tech does have a yearly Jazz Festival of its own!

What will you do during you day at Cal Tech? One choice is to tour the campus, whose original buildings were designed by Sapnish Revival architect Bertram Goodhue. There is a regular schedule of tours, but on Saturday, June 1, 2013, you are probably best to take a self-guided walking tour. Visit their web site at http://www.caltech.edu, click on “Tours” and scroll down to the many pages describing the walking tour. 626-395-4652.

Or, you might want to tour the Palomar Observatory on the campus, either at 11:00 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. <http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/tours.html> You might also want to arrange a tour of JPL, for which you will need advance reservations and a photo ID to get in. <http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/warmission/sus/pubvisitor> (818) 354-9314.

Or, if you’re a middle school or high school teacher (kids also welcome) you might want to attend a Juice From Juice workshop, which teaches you how to generate a current using fruit and solar energy! There is a workshop scheduled on June 1, 2013, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It’s FREE. Contact Carolyn Patterson@caltech.edu at 626-590-8803.

A final bit of trivia. A Cal Tech Ph.D student named Virgil Griffth created a chart of the SAT scores of the fans of different types of music, composers, and music groups. Turns out that the highest average SAT scores (1346-1396) were those of Beethoven listeners!

So, Peanuts to peanuts, Beethoven to jazz, and Pasadena to. . .Chorale Bel Canto.

All Beethoven

Choral Fantasy for piano, soloists, chorus, and orchestra

Mass in C for soloists, chorus and orchestra

 

Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church Pasadena

500 E. Colorado Blvd. (at Oakland Ave.)

Pasadena, CA 91101 u 626-796-0157

Chorale Bel Canto 888-460-9222 u info@choralebelcanto.org

Following the concert you might wish to participate in other FREE musical events in Make Music Pasadena, celebrating World Music Weekend.

Or, in keeping with Beethoven’s Germano-Austrian heritage, you might want to have dinner at either the Dog Haus Biergarten, 93 E. Green Street, Pasadena, 626-683-0808. In April the Dog Haus honored John Galardi, the founder of the Wienerschnizel chain, after his death from cancer. Galardi started his career working with Taco Bell founder Glen Bell in Pasadena before founding his first Wienerschnizel in Wilmington.

Another choice for dinner might be Congregation Ale House, 300 S Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 626-578-0166. Also a gastropub in the German tradition, its religious theme and Happy Hour “Mass” provide a new twist on the musical experience of our Beethoven concert.