Grand Canyon Serenade-Video

Public Television recently hosted an hour of Grand Canyon scenery paired with classical music masterpieces, Grand Canyon Serenade. I sat watching for the hour unable to move, just mesmerize by the magnitude of it. In a series for the next month I will be sharing different views of the Grand Canyon experience.

This spectacular program presents a stunning HD visual portrait of the Grand Canyon region set to the world-class music of some of the most beloved classical music composers such as Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Dvorak. Viewers experience breathtaking panoramas and one of the most dramatic adventures on the planet in a meditative film journey that showcases the beauty and spiritual nature of one of America’s crown jewels.

Below is a preview, enjoy.

The story of our national parks is a long and complicated one, full of competing demands between utterly American impulses – between preservation and exploitation, the sacred and the profitable; between the immediate desires of one generation and its obligation and promise to the next.  


THIS IS AMERICA is a complete 45-minute film that tells the story of the national park idea through the prism of our nation's diverse population, weaving together stories of extraordinary people from a wide variety of backgrounds who devoted their lives to the national park ideal – to preserve and protect these special places for everyone, for all time – and helped it broaden and evolve over the course of 150 years.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO VIDEO

CLASSIC POP, ROCK & COUNTRY MUSIC UPDATES- PASADENA STAR NEWS

The Who to open Olympics

The Who, who were reported to have been forced into retirement from live shows earlier this year because of guitarist Pete Townshend's severe case of tinnitus, will perform at the closing ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympics, when the torch it traditionally passed to the next host city, Rio de Janeiro, according to Britain's Sunday Mirror. 

The appearance is being touted as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the band that will include an extensive U.S. tour that will see the group perform Townshend's epic 1973 rock opera, "Quadrophenia," in its entirety.

In truth, The Who didn't actually form until 1964, but Townshend and The Who's late bassist John Entwhistle did form a Dixieland jazz band called The Confederates in 1962. In that band, Townshend played banjo while Entwhistle played an unusual instrument for Dixieland, the French horn. Singer Roger Daltrey, then the guitarist for a band he formed in 1959 called The Detours, recruited the two Confederates for his group sometime late in 1962 or early 1963. By 1964, with the late drummer Keith Moon on board, The Detours became The Who.

TONY BENNETT'S BIG 8-5

Tony Bennett will celebrate his 85th birthday in a big way. On Sept. 24 at Staples Center, the American Association of Retired Persons, better known as AARP, is staging, "Tony Bennett Live in Concert: Benefit to End Hunger," that will help end hunger among older Americans.