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January 22, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Carson-Dominguez Hills Symphony Presents
its Annual Family Concert

World Premiere of Timothy and the Magic Garden narrated by KOST-103.5’s Karen Sharp

What:             Carson-Dominguez Hills Symphony Family Concert

When:             8 p.m., Saturday, February 7

(Carson, CA) – On Saturday, Feb. 7, the Carson-Dominguez Hills Symphony, led by music director Hector Salazar, will present the Family Concert, a program specifically designed to appeal to children and introduce them to orchestral music.

The free concert will be performed at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).

A special treat this year is the world premiere of Timothy and the Magic Garden, a children’s tale for narrator and orchestra with music by Philip Westin and story by Burt Peachy.  Both Westin and Peachy have been involved with the arts in Southern California for decades. Westin has composed works for the California Wind Symphony, which he founded, Easter Brass Quintet and composer William Schuman, among others, and has conducted for Los Angeles Chamber Chorale. Peachy has directed university and regional theater productions, at California State University, Long Beach, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Southern California Conservatory Theatre, and the Grove Shakespeare Festival.

In 2007, Westin and Peachy collaborated on the musical Heartland, adapted from the Willa Cather novel, O Pioneers! The work was one of four selected to be presented at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in April 2008.

Timothy and the Magic Garden is the second Westin-Peachy collaboration. For the world premiere Friday at the Carson-Dominguez Hills Symphony Family Concert, Karen Sharp, host of KOST-103.5’s “Lovesongs on the Coast” will narrate.

The rest of the evening’s program illustrates orchestral music’s range, its wide appeal and ability to stand the test of time. The program includes Camille Saint-Saëns’ Marche Heroïque, Op. 34; Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46 by Edvard Grieg; and Carmen Suite No. 1 opera by Georges Bizet.

A community collaboration for more than three decades, the Carson-Dominguez Hills Symphony comprises CSUDH faculty, staff, students and alumni (both non-music and music majors), as well as people in the community and professional musicians.

Since its inception in 1976, the symphony has been led by Dr. Francis Steiner, CSUDH professor emerita of music. This season, she passes the baton to Hector Salazar, who earned his bachelor’s degree in music from CSUDH and a master’s in music from CSU Long Beach. In addition to his conducting duties with the Carson-Dominguez Hills Symphony, Salazar is the assistant conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay and music director of the Music Ensemble of Los Angeles.

The concert is being performed with major funding from the City of Carson Fine Arts and Historical Commission, and with support from the CSUDH Division of Performing and Digital Media Arts and the Carson Symphony Association.

Admission and parking for the concert are free.

CSUDH is located at 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson, Calif. The University Theatre on the campus is on Tamcliff/Toro Center Drive adjacent to Parking Lot 6. A campus map is online at www.csudh.edu/site/VisitUs/campusmap.shtml.

For more information about the concert, call the CSUDH Music Department at (310) 243-3543.

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About CSU Dominguez Hills -- California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling.

Media Contact:
Amy Bentley-Smith
(310) 243-2455
abentleysmith@csudh.edu

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