The Santa Clarita Philharmonic will present its annual “pops” concert on Sunday, February 26, at the Hart High School Auditorium, 24825 Newhall Ave. in Newhall, under the direction of Jeffrey Gilbert. The concert will begin at 3 p.m. and is free to the public.
The orchestra, midway through its fourth season, will perform selections from the Broadway show “Oklahoma,” music from the film “Superman Returns,” and a string orchestra version of the Benny Goodman favorite “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Also on the program is a medley of George Gershwin songs and the music from the TV series “Victory at Sea.”
The second half of the concert will feature Emeralde, the contemporary pop duo of Mark Gasbarro and Margie Russomanno performing with the orchestra.
Mr. Gasbarro, composer/arranger, producer and conductor, is one of the most popular film score pianists in the entertainment industry. His piano playing and orchestrations have been featured on a long list of Hollywood blockbusters films including the critically acclaimed epic adventure, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” He can be heard on the beautifully touching featured piano solo in Pixar’s hit film “Up” which won the Academy Award for Best Score, “Inside Out,” Winner of Golden Globes and an Academy Award for Best Animated Motion Picture, “Zootopia,” “Jurassic World,” “Tomorrowland,” “Jupiter Ascending,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “Cars 2,” “Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Super 8,” “Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol,” all the episodes of ABC-TV’s huge hit series “Lost,” and many others.
Ms. Russomanno, a radiant pop singer and brilliant songwriter, delivers the duos’ vocals with a voice as “lush as velvet.” Margie has written music for television and feature films and her works have garnered over half a million YouTube views. Her most recent solo CD release, “All I Need,” spent three years in the top 5 on ReverbNation’s LA Christian Gospel Charts, much of that time in the #1 position.
This year’s “pops” concert of the Santa Clarita Philharmonic is a “not to be missed” event.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the orchestra’s final concert of the season on May 21, when the winner of our third annual Student Concerto Competition will perform.
