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The Bowl to feature movie music from Hollywood, Bollywood and Philip Glass

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True to its name, the Hollywood Bowl has made a specialty of showcasing music from the movies.

‘Given our location and history, it’s a natural for us,’ says Arvind Manocha, chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn. It’s fitting, he adds, that the Bowl’s 90th season, which opened last week, represents ‘perhaps our most diverse summer yet’ when it comes to cinema-related offerings.

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The lineup will begin and end with sing-alongs for flicks based on Broadway shows: ‘Grease’ on June 24 and ‘The Sound of Music’ on Sept 24. In between, says Manocha, ‘we’ll be performing lots of live orchestral music and screening iconic film.’

The 50th anniversary of another stage-inspired hit, ‘West Side Story,’ will be celebrated July 8 and 9 when a new digitally remastered version of the Academy Award winner is shown in high definition with its original vocals and dialogue and with Leonard Bernstein’s music played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by David Newman.

A.R. Rahman, the popular and prolific Indian composer who won two Oscars for ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ will join the Phil for excerpts from his scores, accompanied by clips, on July 10. Also featured will be performer-composer Karsh Kale, traditional Indian music and Bollywood and Bhangra dancers.

Selections from ‘Fantasia,’ Walt Disney’s 1940 fusion of animation and pieces from the classical canon, will be presented Aug. 19-21. The concerts will mark the 20th anniversary of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, whose founding director, John Mauceri, will return to conduct. In what has become an annual tradition, John Williams will lead the Philharmonic Aug. 26 and 27 in a program of film music and scenes chosen by the Oscar-winning composer.

‘Powaqqatsi’--Godfrey Reggio’s 1988 look at culture and technology and a sequel to his experimental documentary ‘Koyaanisqatsi’--will be shown Aug. 30. Philip Glass’ score will be performed by Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble, the Philharmonic led by the ensemble’s music director, Michael Riesman, and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. The Bowl presented ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ in 2009.

The Bowl and the American Film Institute will challenge the audience to a movie-and-music quiz on Sept. 4 with answers provided by Newman and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. ‘We’ve done movie nights that often focus on one studio,’ says Manocha. ‘And shows with AFI counting down best movie musicals and scores. We thought this interactive format would be fun and a little different.’

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-- Karen Wada

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