Son follows in father's footsteps to conduct Indian Wells Pops

Media Contact: Mike Singer
760.341.2883, ext. 78107
msinger@csusb.edu

Tickets now on sale for performances at Indian Wells Theater!

PALM DESERT, Calif. (August 6, 2009) – With the passing of long-time Indian Wells Pops conductor, Richard Stover, son, Jeff, will now take on the role of conductor.

Stover has played with many acts in Southern California and around the country including Frankie Avalon, The Smothers Brothers, Jerry Vail, The Radio City Rockettes, Phyllis Diller, Bobby Vinton, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Vic Damone, and George Burns. He has performed for four Presidents of the United States including Gerald Ford, Ronald Regan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.

Stover is also involved with theater. He has played bass on over 60 Broadway style musical theater productions and tours such as Evita, The Sound of Music, 42nd Street, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, South Pacific, Anything Goes, Little Shop Of Horrors, Guys And Dolls and many others.

Most recently, Stover has been working with Broadway Style Shows, recording music, performing in casino tours, and writing additional bass instruction books such as the "Bach Electric Bass," "Bass Duets" and "The Rhythm Book". He is also currently on staff at Riverside Community College and UC Riverside teaching bass master classes.

The Indian Wells Pops will perform three distinct musical performances at the Indian Wells Theater from December, 2009 through March, 2010.

A Big Band Christmas will be presented on December 13, 2009 at 2 p.m. Music aficionados worldwide have come to celebrate the big band sound when it is swirled into traditional holiday music. Singers Stan Chandler (Cabaret, Forever Plaid, Zorba, Ragtime) and Kirsten Chandler (The Rocky Horror Show, The Scarlett Pimpernel, Sweet Charity) will remind audiences why it’s so nice to be “Home for the Holidays.”

Next, A Tribute to Big Bands will take place on February 21, 2010 at 2 p.m. Glenn Miller? Harry James? Tommy Dorsey? Stan Kenton? Les Brown? Count Basie? These guys and a host of others were the kings of the big bands, putting out hit after hit, playing in ballrooms all across a dance crazy America. The Big Band All-Stars will recreate the marvelous arrangements of these icons of popular music, bringing back that wonderful era. Big band singer, Cassie Miller (The Harry James Orchestra, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Perry Como, Andy Williams) brought up on this classic tradition, will wow audiences with her tribute to the big bands.

Finally, Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Pops will wow audiences on March 28, 2010 at 2 p.m. Composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, has created the scores for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Blvd., Starlight Express, and many more. In this celebration of his work, Broadway stars Kim Huber (Marie Christine, Sunset Blvd. with Glenn Close, Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast) and Stan Chandler join the Indian Wells Pops in a show tune spectacular.

For ticket information, call the Indian Wells Theater Box Office at (760) 341-2883, ext. 78154 or http://pdc.csusb.edu/IWTheater.htm.

Stover will be joined by veteran musician, Al Yankee.

Yankee has been a musical leader since he organized his first band at age 14. He attended The Berklee College of Music and holds a Master's Degree in Music Composition from Redlands University. He spent 3 years with the Stan Kenton Orchestra as saxophonist and arranger, touring through the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Yankee joined the United States Air Force, spending 16 years as staff composer for the bands at March Air Force Base, California, most of that time as director of the "Jazz West" big band, which he led on tours throughout the Southwest and Mexico. Memorable events with the Air Force Band include several performances at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (the opening ceremonies, and presentation of the Freedom Medal to Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau), the 50th anniversary and dedication of Mt. Rushmore with President George H. W. Bush, and the state funeral of President Richard M. Nixon. In 1988, his "Stealth Fanfare" composition for the roll-out of the B-2 bomber garnered the attention of the international press when it was broadcast worldwide on CNN.

Currently, Yankee is a producer and entertainment consultant with Legacy Artists in Palm Desert, specializing in designing entertainment events for corporate business meetings. In addition, he continues to perform on woodwinds and act as orchestra manager for Performance Riverside, and has conducted productions of The Who's Tommy and Man of La Mancha. As music contractor for the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Alan has worked with such diverse acts as Roger Daltrey, Harry Connick, Jr., Johnny Mathis, and Bernadette Peters, as well as national tours of Broadway productions, such as Victor/Victoria with Toni Tenille, The Sound of Music with Marie Osmond, Man of La Mancha with Robert Goulet, and Hello, Dolly with Carol Channing. Special events of the last few years have included leading the orchestras for the "Let Freedom Ring" 9-11 charity fundraiser which featured Jack Jones, Keely Smith, and Barry Manilow, amongst a long list of luminaries, and the "Salute to Gerald Ford" gala, another star-studded event, hosted by Gavin McLeod and featuring a presentation by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A particular favorite has been his work with the Palm Springs Opera Guild, conducting special performances featuring both established operatic vocalists alongside scholarship winning young vocalists. His musical works have been commissioned and performed by the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, Interlochen Arts Academy, the Count Basie Orchestra, and the Monterey Jazz Festival, and he currently publishes with Warner Brothers. As a faculty member of the Riverside Community College music department since 1985, Al imparts his love of music and theater of all types to both his students and his audiences.

The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is located at
37-500 Cook Street in Palm Desert, between Gerald Ford and Frank Sinatra Drives

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