Living Vicariously at the Hollywood Bowl

For those of us who live at opposite ends of the country (or the world) and couldn't make it last night.

Update 10/26/2009: Some really great pictures posted by a fan on the Ning Network (My God, the **lighting**!!! The Bowl must have had some incredible baseline capabilities to work with!) Anyone else think Barry needed a cigarette and a hot bath after the orchestra performed his arrangements?

As usual, I'll keep running updates. Dana, anytime you're ready, dear....

AND HERE IT IS! THANK YOU DANA!!!
http://manilow.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hollywood-bowl-review

I hope we don't have to wait 30 years for this one to make a DVD!

From Twitter, courtesy of TPTB

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Barry Manilow PRESENTS LAUSD and GRAMMY Foundation with majordonation of $100,000 in musical instruments at Hollywood Bowl Concert

At the Special Pre-Concert Gala to Benefit The Manilow Music Project & the Los Angeles Unified School District, Manilow Delivers Gift of Instruments and Education

Los Angeles (October 24, 2009) –Pop culture icon and legendary showman Barry Manilowhosted his first-ever solo concert at the Hollywood Bowl on October 24th, 2009, with manyof the proceeds going directly to The Manilow Music Project and The GRAMMY Foundation®. Starting the evening with yet another act of giving to the Los Angeles community, Manilow surprised attendees by presenting the LAUSD with a donation of $100,000 worth of instruments for its underfunded music program. Manilow briefly spoke about the importanceof music in his own life before presenting yet another donation—two $5,000 Signature School Enterprise Awards to the GRAMMY Foundation®, also benefitting the LAUSD.

“It gives me great personal joy to be able to get these instruments into the hands of theLAUSD’s students. Music has been the foundation of my life and to be able to give that gift to others is both joyous and humbling,” states Manilow.

Superintendant Ramon Cortines commented, “Barry Manilow continues to show his tireless dedication and advocacy by extending the reach of musical education to the children in our community. We are profoundly moved by his continued generosity and support in such tough economic times.”

Manilow, who will end his 5-year partnership with the Las Vegas Hilton this year, regularly performs in arenas throughout the world. He recently performed to a record-breaking, sold-out crowd of 40,000 fans at the BBC Proms in the Park on the world-famous Last Night of the Proms in Hyde Park, London. The event was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and BBCTV reaching an audience of countless millions.

In December Manilow together with the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope, will present“A Gift of Love…,” a five-night holiday concert series at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA. The concert series, beginning on December 4th, 2009 and continuing on December 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th, will honor 25 local charities in Palm Springs, California,the singer’s hometown—each night benefiting five of the beneficiary charities tickets are available at www.starz.bz/agiftoflove.

Earlier this year Manilow donated $500,000 in musical instruments to schools in the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area.

The Manilow Music Project
Last year, in response to the needs of public schools and their severely depleted music programs, Barry Manilow gathered some friends and formed The Manilow Music Project as part of his non-profit, Manilow Fund for Health and Hope. The mission statement of the Project highlights the importance of music programs in U.S. schools and donates instruments and materials to school music programs.

The Manilow Music Project is sponsored by Yamaha and BevMo!

Proceeds from Manilow wine purchases at BevMo! retail stores in California go directly to The Manilow Music Project.

The GRAMMY Foundation
The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciationand advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture — from the artisticand technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of futuregenerations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy®, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. For more information, please visit http://www.grammyintheschools.com/