The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s “Stairway of the
Stars” may be both the longest and shortest running musical in America —
62 years, but only two nights per year.

The 62nd annual edition will open on Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. in the
Civic Auditorium and close Friday, April 8.

This extravaganza is one of the most popular annual events in both Santa Monica and Malibu, as it spotlights the talents of the schools’ music students and teachers, as well as the breadth and depth of the music curriculum.

Focus of this year’s “Stairway” will be the orchestra and the 2011 guest conductor, Pete Anthony. Twenty-six bands, orchestras, and choirs will
perform.

Anthony is one of the busiest conductors and orchestrators in L.A.’s film industry. In his 20-plus years in the business, He has worked on over 300 feature films with Hollywood’s top composers, including James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman, Marco Beltrami, Marc Shaiman, John Debney, John Powell, Teddy Shapiro, and Christopher Young (The Sixth Sense, Spider-Man, Terminator 3, South Park, Predators, The Devil Wears Prada, Wonder Boys, among others). Anthony brings an intuition for the art of orchestration, an enormous respect for his musician colleagues, and a spirit of collaboration with the composer and filmmakers to his work, and is known for his discerning ear and quick wit on the podium.

He received a B.A. in music composition from Williams College, and then attended the USC Scoring for Motion Pictures & Television Program. For the past ten years, he has been a part-time faculty member at USC, teaching orchestration and conducting. He credits composer Daniel Gutwein, orchestrator Albert Harris, and legendary composer/conductor/pianist Artie Kane as his most influential mentors, and is grateful to Dan Foliart for giving him his first job in Hollywood (on the TV series Paradise, 1988-1990).
He lives in Malibu with his wife Elizabeth and their three children, all of whom attend Malibu High School. Not surprisingly, they are all musicians and will perform in “Stairway.”

In addition to his demanding conducting career, Pete is an active advocate for musicians through his involvement with the Recording Musicians Association. A baseball nut, Pete also coaches youth baseball and softball. He hopes his next career will be as a fishing guide in Montana.

This year, the ensembles that will perform at Stairway of the Stars are the All-District elementary honor orchestra, choir, and band; high school jazz ensemble; and the middle and high school orchestras, choirs, and bands. Some of the musical selections will include: “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal” (choral), “Folk Dances” (band), selections from movie scores, including Signs, Airbender, and Darfur (orchestera), and “Chameleon” (jazz band).

Tickets sales to the general public can be purchased the night of each performance at the ticket window on a first-come-first-serve basis starting at 5:30pm. The concert will begin at 7:00pm, and the doors will open at 6:00pm. Tickets are $14.00 each.