Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: Rodgers & Hammerstein at the Movies

with Richard Kaufman, conductor & Robert Osborne, host

Richard Kaufmann

Richard Kaufman has devoted much of his musical life conducting and supervising music for film and television productions, as well as performing film and classical music in concert halls and on recordings. He is currently in his forth season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series, “Friday Night at the Movies”, conducting classic and contemporary film music, as well as classical music used in motion pictures. As Principal Pops Conductor, Richard is in his twelfth season with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, his eighteenth season with Orange County’s Pacific Symphony, and his fifth with The Florida Orchestra. He regularly appears as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout the United States, as well as overseas. Richard made his LA Opera debut, conducting “Concierto para Mendez”, a commissioned work based on the life of trumpet legend Rafael Mendez with music by Lee Holdridge.

Richard received the 1993 Grammy Award in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Performance for a recording he conducted with the Nuremberg Symphony (“Symphonic Hollywood” – Varese Sarabande). His most recent recording, entitled “The High and the Mighty” (Varese Sarabande) is with the London Symphony Orchestra. Recorded at Abby Road Studios, this CD features music from classic and contemporary films about flying. Richard’s other recordings include two CDs of film music performed by the Brandenburg Philharmonic in Berlin (“Historic Romances” and “Captain Blood” – Marco Polo), a second recording with the Nuremberg Symphony celebrating the 100th anniversary of motion pictures (“Movie Memories” – Varese Sarabande), and two critically acclaimed CDs with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (“Wuthering Heights – A Tribute to Alfred Newman” and “Shane – A Tribute to Victor Young” – KOCH).

He has conducted for performers including John Denver, Andy Williams, Mary Martin, Nanette Fabray, Linda Ronstadt, Patti Austin, Dianna Krall, David Copperfield, Monica Mancini, Juliet Prowse, Art Garfunkel and the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. As a violinist, Richard performed on numerous film and television scores including "Jaws", “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Saturday Night Fever”, and (in a moment of desperation) "Animal House". He has recorded with artists including, John Denver, Burt Bacharach, The Carpenters, Tony Bennett, Neil Diamond and Ray Charles.

For two years, Richard served as Music Associate to Lionel Newman at Twentieth Century Fox Studios, and in 1984 joined the Music Department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios as Music Coordinator. For the next 18 years, Richard worked in the music areas of both feature film and television, and went on to supervise music for all MGM television projects. He received two Emmy Award nominations, one for the animated series, "The Pink Panther" in the category of Outstanding Music Direction and Composition, and another for Outstanding Original Song co-authored for the series, "All Dogs Go to Heaven.” As a unique part of his career in film, Richard has coached various actors in musical film roles including Jack Nicholson, Dudley Moore, Armande Assante, Susan Sarandon and Tom Hanks.

In the world of Musical Theater, Richard served as Music Director and Conductor for numerous theatrical productions both nationally and for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Light Opera. He was Music Director and Conductor for the First National Companies of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" for Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival, and "Company" for Hal Prince. He was Music Director/Conductor for a special concert presentation of the Tony Award winning musical “City of Angels” which was personally supervised by writer Larry Gelbart and the legendary Broadway composer Cy Coleman.

Richard has appeared as a guest speaker at various universities including Southern California, Georgia, Furman, and California State Universities at Northridge and Fullerton. He is a member of the Music Advisory Board of the Young Musicians Foundation.

Born in Los Angeles, Richard began violin studies at age 7, played in the Peter Meremblum California Junior Symphony, and was a member of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. He attended the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood in the Fellowship program, and earned a B.A. in Music from California State University Northridge. Richard lives in Southern California with his wife, Gayle. His daughter, Whitney is a graduate (with honors) from Chapman University in Orange, California, and is currently a member of the cast of the National Tour of “Mama Mia”.

Robert Osborne

Introducing "The Host of Turner Classic Movies"

Robert Osborne has been the primetime host and anchor of TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES television network since TCM made it's on-air debut in April 1994. Since 1977 he has also been a writer for the daily show business trade publication THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER and in 1983 he began writing the paper's lead column "Rambling Reporter," which covers all aspects of the movie, television and Broadway worlds.

He is also known as the official biographer of "Oscar" because of the series of books he's written on the subject of the motion picture industry's annual Academy Awards, his latest being 75 YEARS OF THE OSCAR which was written at the request of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was praised by The Weekly Observer as "A scholar's dream, a researcher's paradise, a movie buff's heaven." An update on his book, covering 80 YEARS OF THE OSCAR is scheduled to be published by Abbeyville Press in the fall of 2008.

In 2005, Osborne received an Honorary Doctorate from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco (Doctor Osborne?). On Feb. 1, 2006, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (located in front of the former Huntington Hartford theatre, now the Ricardo Montalban) on Vine Street. Since 2006 he has been the official red carpet greeter for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' at the annual Acdemy Awards ceremony at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood. Another “distinction” came his way in April 2006: he was satirized on “Saturday Night Live.”

Osborne was born in Colfax, Washington (population: 2700), graduated from the University of Washington's School of Journalism and eventually headed South to Hollywood where he was soon signed to a contract as an actor by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at their Desilu Studios. It was Lucy who encouraged him to seriously pursue writing ("especially after she saw me act," he says) and he considers that suggestion the best career advice he's ever been given. Lucy remained a friend and mentor to him until her death in 1989.

For TCM, in addition to hosting four primetime movies seven days per week, he also hosts special one-on-one PRIVATE SCREENING interviews with has so far included such legendary filmmakers as Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury, Shirley MacLaine, three famous Janes (Fonda, Powell and Russell), Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney, Charlton Heston, Leslie Caron, Tony Curtis, James Garner, Debbie Reynolds, Patricia Neal, directors Sidney Lumet, Stanley Donen and Norman Jewison, and the late Robert Michum, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, Ann Miller, June Allyson and Betty Hutton.

During 2007-08, he is also co-hosting with Carrie Fisher the TCM series of films considered “Essentials” to anyone wanting to see the best of the best films ever made. Osborne also cohosts TCM's “Guest Programmer” series where guests have included a long list (among them: Mia Farrow, Bill Cosby, David Mamet, Buck Henry, Hugh Hefner, Barry Levinson) and, in November 2007, will further include Whoopi Goldberg, Gore Vidal, Tracey Ullman, Neil LeBute, Alec Baldwin, James Elroy, Graydon Carter, Renee Fleming, Harvey Fierstein, Alfred Molina, Brian Dennehy, John Sayles, Thelma Schoolmaker, Charles Busch, Charles Grodin, Matt Groening, Cybill Shepherd, Rose McGowan, Danny DeVito, Donald Trump and Martha Stewart (but not together).

Osborne has lived in New York City since 1987 and also travels extensively to Atlanta where he tapes his TCM segments, to Los Angeles and - whenever he can swing it -- to his home state of Washington where he is one of the investors in a movie house called The Rose (158 seats) in Port Townsend, Washington, which has since acquired a sister-theatre, the Rosebud (83 seats). Since 2005, he has also been hosting his own film festival ROBERT OSBORNE'S CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL which is held once a year in Athens, Georgia, the home of the University of Georgia. The festival's fourth edition will be held in April 2008.