Things to do in Sacramento

Jesse Fernandez, a recent graduate of CSU Sacramento, is one of eight finalists in the National College Funny Film Competition sponsored by Rooftop Comedy.

Fernandez's short animated film is titled "A Cartoon About Death" and is, well, a cartoon about death, his reflections on it and its ramifications.

Though humorous, it will be considered in poor taste by some. Cannibal humor is always a bit iffy.

See (and vote for) Fernandez's film here:

Vote for it to win the contest at rooftopcomedy.com/college.

November - traditionally the top TV ratings month - proved to be a good one for KCRA 3, which maintained its usual spot on top the local news rankings as reported by Nielsen.

November, because of weather and sweeps programming outside the news hours, tends to draw more viewers, leading broadcasters to compare year to year, rather than November to July, when viewership was much lower at every time slot.

Though other stations continue to challenge KCRA, it still has the best numbers when measured in average numbers of households watching during five time frames: 6-7 a.m., mid-day news, 5-5:30 p.m. newscasts, 6-6:30 p.m. shows and late news - shows appearing between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

KCRA saw its greatest dominance in evening news, with 118,900 households at 5 p.m. and 104,400 at 6 p.m. Those numbers represent averages throughout the sweeps month, which went from Oct. 29 to Nov. 25.

At 6 p.m. KCRA was followed by KXTV 10 with 41,100 viewers, KOVR 13 with 35,800 viewers and KUVS 19 (Univision) with 31,300 viewers.

Other stations continue to pose their biggest challenges to the leader in the late news bracket.

KOVR, which broadcasts at 10 p.m. and therefore doesn't go head-to-head with KCRA's main late news at 11 p.m., got 57,500 viewers to KCRA's 62,600.

Those two were followed by KTXL 40 (Fox) with 38,600 at 10 p.m., KXTV with 35,900 at 11 p.m., KQCA 58 (KCRA's sister station) with 21,800 at 10 p.m. and KUVS with 18,700 at 11 p.m.

You can add Caroline Goulding to a crowded list of young violinists on the rise.

That stamp of approval came way of Goulding snagging First Prize at the Finals of the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions recently.

Winning first prize at the auditions is a veritable career-defining event for a musician. Past winners include Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, and Pinchas Zukerman.

The auditions were held at the 92nd Street Y in New York City last week. Goulding,17, was the youngest of four artists granted the prestigious prize this year.

The auditions are a quasi-competition that awards first prizes to a number of winners in a wide range of instrument categories. This year, winners were chosen from 10 Finalists, and these, in turn, were selected from 146 applicants from 30 countries.

Unfortunately, Goulding will not be concertizing in Northern California anytime soon.

But for those curious as to what Goulding offers on the violin, the next best thing can be had by listening online to her appearance on the NPR radio show "From The Top" where she performs the third movement from Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings in D Major.

Note: Goulding's appearance starts after the 46th minute of the archived performance.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

If you caught Adam Lambert's not-on-ABC-but-on-CBS interview on "The Early Show" today (shown above), the "American Idol" runner-up fesses up he did get carried away with his performance on Sunday night's American Music Awards. But if viewers expected an apology they were flat out of luck.

Lambert says he believes the antics wouldn't have caused such a stir if he weren't openly gay.

"My intention was to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time with it," he said.

Not that anyone hasn't had access to seeing the performance (it was edited for the West Coast tape delay), but for those who didn't watch the AMAs - never mistaken for the CMAs (Country Music Association) - Lambert kissed a male keyboardist, dragged a female dancer along the floor and pushed someone's face into his crotch.

Not exactly primetime material. However, as an "Idol" fan and blogger myself, none of this surprises me. Lambert is probably the happiest runner-up in the singing competition's history. He never could have gotten away with the performance if he still were under the show's big thumb. Heck, he pushed the bubble-gum bubble as far as it could go while still on "Idol."

The Associated Press reports that Lambert didn't rehearse some of the more risque moves prior to Sunday night's show, which obviously had ABC in a lather because the network was caught off guard at the rauchiness.

Really?

I'm going to side with Lambert on this one. No one who saw "American Idol" this season should have expected the sweetness of winner Kris Allen or the rocker sensibilities of Chris Daughtry. Adam is in a venue reserved for other performers like Lady Gaga, who, by the way, smashed a few whiskey bottles on the AMAs. And, I missed this: Apparently Janet Jackson also managed to grab a crotch Sunday night. (Don't forget her wardrobe "malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl.)

Those of us of a certain age (and you know who you are), girated to Elvis and worshipped Madonna and all her bizarro behavior. Now it's Lambert's turn. As he put it on "The Early Show," the performance aired right around 11 p.m. Where were your kids?

"It's a parent's job to monitor what their children are watching on TV," Lambert says. "I'm not a baby sitter, I'm a performer."

And it's so apropo that his song is titled "For Your Entertainment."

For more on Lambert, check out The Bee's Living Here section Monday for an interview with him about his new CD.

As we gear up for holiday shopping, I came across several items that might be of interest - for both getting there (your shopping destination) and giving back.

* First, Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa has a special "12 Days of Christmas" shuttle/child-care service that starts on Black Friday and runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (child care only) Wednesdays until Christmas.

On Friday, shoppers can drop children off at the Kids Korner at Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa and pick up a complimentary shuttle that runs hourly from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to Arden Fair Mall. Besides a nice ride to the mall, participants will receive a VIP welcome complete with a visitors reward book, an Arden Fair tote bag filled with coupons and a special "treat your feet" gift box from Origins. If you're not too fatiqued from shopping, there will be raffles on the shuttle.

Kids Korner child care is $50 per child and lunch is included.The spa is at 1220 Arden Hills Lane in Sacramento. For more info, call (916) 482-6111.

* Julius and Polo Ralph Lauren, which are both in the Pavilions shopping center, are partnering to bring some much-needed holiday cheer to the folks over at the Salvation Army. Now through Christmas Eve, both stores will give customers a $100 gift certificate toward a purchase of $400 or more (at either store) if they donate a sweater or jacket to the Salvation Army. Also, both stores are offering holiday portraits by Studio 1 Plus on Friday and Saturday with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the charity.

* Le Petit Paris in midtown Sacramento (1221 19th St.) is doing something totally different to mark Black Friday, which the store is calling "Fete Friday," to mark the season of giving. In that spirit, local artists will have the chance to showcase their work during the day, from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. There will be free mimosas, coffee and croissants.

Then, on Saturday, Dec. 5, merchants in the area will host the first Sacramento Parade of Lights, starting at 6 p.m. There will be music and beaucoup de merriment. All you need is a chair and a blanket. There will be coffee, cocoa and tea from Le Petit Paris.

The boutique will observe special holiday hours this season:
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday
8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday

What's left to say? Joyeux Noel - of course!

OK, so the national day of eating, aka Thanksgiving, looms.

For those wanting to offset -- or, at least, lessen the impact of poundage -- the national health club chain 24 Hour Fitness has opened its doors.

All this week, 24 Hour Fitness is providing free guest workouts to nonmembers. There are many locations locally to take advantage. For more information, click here or call 1-800-224-0240.

Jackie Greene will play a special Thanksgiving benefit show at the Blue Lamp Monday night.

Doubling as a canned-food drive, the show will feature Greene -- the hometown folk-blues hero late of San Francisco -- his band, and special guests to be revealed Monday night.

Cost is $10 plus a can of food or a sealed, non-perishable food item. Tickets are available at the door of the Blue Lamp (1400 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento).

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for the 9 p.m. show. So expect hard-core Greene fans to start parking their lawn chairs outside the club around noon.

Roseville makeup mavens rejoice!

Sephora opened a store today in the Westfield Galleria - just in time for holiday shopping.

The 5,600-square-foot store is, according to Sephora, "a virtual paradise of beauty options with over 13,000 products from more than 200 brands," including the company's own signature line.

If you've never been to Sephora, it's a treat because you can shop unassisted or ask for help. The store carries lines you won't find anywhere else and always has good deals, especially this time of year.

More info? It's at 1151 Galleria Blvd. in Roseville. Store hours are 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

CLINIQUE

An Elk Grove teen got some great news today when she logged on to Clinique cosmetics' Web site and discovered she is a finalist for the line's Fresh Faces contest.

"Monica P," as she's shown on the site, is Monica Pearce, 19. She graduated from Franklin High School and is currently a sophomore at UC San Diego majoring in urban studies and planning.

Monica called me today between classes to reveal all the fun details and how the contest came about:

"I had just gotten out of class (about four weeks ago) and was walking back to my apartment. A lady was handing out flyers and asked me if I wanted to check out Clinique's Fresh Faces makeover," Monica says.

Young women on the campus - and at other colleges nationwide - stood in line for free makeovers and to have their photos taken.

"I had just finished midterms and thought I deserved a little reward," Monica says. "I waited in line about an hour with about 100 other girls. They interviewed me and shot video. Then they pulled me aside for another interview."

Earlier this week, Monica received an e-mail from Clinique telling her to check the Web site today for the announcement of the top 25 finalists. And lo and behold, there's her smiling face (pictured above) on the site!

"I made it!," she exclaimed. "Out of about 3,000 girls I'm a finalist!"

Now it's up to us to get the vote out for Monica. The deadline is Dec. 10. To vote, click here. Monica says she will be notified about the results next month; Clinique will announce the winners Jan. 14, 2010.

So what if Monica (and two others) wins?

She gets a trip to New York for a photo shoot and head-to-toe styling at Teen Vogue magazine, where the winners will meet the fashion and beauty editors. Their pics will appear in an upcoming issue. They also get to brainstorm ideas with Clinique's product development team and - I saved the best for last - a year's supply of makeup valued at $1,000! That's a lot of lipgloss.

And it would be a bonus for Monica because she's a devoted Clinique customer (along with her roommates and best friends).

"I always carry my Clinique compact with me because I'm not a heavy makeup user," she says.

"What's the most exciting is that I'm a California girl. I feel like I can represent my school, where I grew up and even the state. It's very exciting!"

For now, Monica has Thanksgiving and a trip home to Elk Grove to look forward to.

"I'm really excitied for a home-cooked meal," she says.

In the meantime, don't forget to vote!

Were it it not for the dumb parts, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" would be a really good movie.

Infinitely more polished and better acted than its predecessor, this sequel still suffers from the goofiness that hampered "Twilight."

Based on the second of Stephenie Meyer's four "Twilight" novels, "New Moon" pits vampires against werewolves, with the wolves emerging triumphant in nearly every cinematic category, from acting to special effects.

Robert Pattinson remains irresistibly tortured and soulful as Edward, the 17-going-on-109-year-old vampire in love with human teen Bella (Kristen Stewart). But most bits involving bloodsuckers in "New Moon" come off as campy. Michael Sheen ("Frost/Nixon"), who really should know better, goes way over the top, and a fight scene descends into video-game-like fakery.

In general, though, and no doubt helped by the sequel's bigger budget, "New Moon" director Chris Weitz shows greater visual flair than "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke. Scenes in which teenage boys transform into wolves offer virtually seamless effects. The film's golden tones, so different from of the blues of "Twilight," help the audience warm quickly to the characters.

Somewhere between "Twilight" and "New Moon," Stewart found her abundant charisma. Gone are the mumbling and furtive glances, replaced by emotions that exist right on the surface and palpable chemistry with both Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

Whereas with Pattinson, Stewart just looks gone, she's playful and curious with Lautner, who combines kindness and cockiness as Bella's adorable pal Jacob, who buffs up but still must work 10 times harder than Edward to hold Bella's attention.

The action scenes might be a bit intense for younger "Twilight" fans. More worrisome, though, is the tacit message that Bella's reckless behavior isn't all that dangerous, since she always gets rescued.

Note to girls: Be careful, because chivalrous vampires and werewolves won't always be there to save you.

Call The Bee's Carla Meyer, (916) 321-1118.

Interested in boning up before seeing the The Sacramento Opera's upcoming production of Donizetti's "Elixir of Love"?

A good primer is the 1992 Metropolitan Opera performance of the work, with Luciano Pavarotti as Nemorino.

That performance can be found bundled with three other operas in Deutsche Grammophon/Decca's 3-disc "Pavarotti: Italian Opera Collection".

Here you get Pavarotti also performing in "La Boheme," and "Pagliacci" in Metropolitan Opera productions. The one act opera "Il Tabarro" is also included. Oddly, it is Placido Domingo and not Pavarotti in the tenor role.

In this "Elixir," Pavrotti is joined by soprano Kathleen Battle as Adina. Battle delivers a sweetly rendered Adina in an extremely bright performance. And while this not top-shelf Pavarotti, it's still better than most, and one of the most warmly performed Nemorino's you'll see on disc. James Levine conducts a John Copley production.

Upbeat and joyful music has a healthy effect on heart health, according to a recent study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

And while this will come as no surprise to anyone who gets a golden rush when listening to favorite tunes, the study does break new ground.

It does so by establishing a link between a music listener's cardiovascular system and upbeat music.

The study, led by principal University of Maryland investigator Dr. Michael Miller., and presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association last week, found that music selected by study participants (because it made them feel good), produced a dilation of the inner tissue that lines the blood vessels. Dilated vessels are beneficial because they increase blood flow.

The results mirror a 2005 study, by the same researchers, of laughter and its effects on the blood system.

But not all music is beneficial, the study found. When study volunteers listened to music perceived as stressful, it produced a narrowing of their blood vessels - and a potentially unhealthy reduction of blood flow.

For the study, 10 healthy, non-smoking volunteers, mostly males with an average age of 36, participated in a four-phased randomized study.

In one phase, volunteers listened to favorite music that evoked joy. Another phase involved listening to music that made participants anxious. In a third, audio tapes to promote relaxation were played. In the last, participants were shown videotapes designed to induce laughter.

To minimize emotional desensitization, the volunteers were told to avoid listening to their favorite music for a minimum of two weeks.

The study found that the average upper arm blood vessel diameter of participants increased by 26 percent directly after the joyful music phase.

Listening to music that caused anxiety narrowed blood vessels by six percent when compared to baseline measurements.

FOX

The Fox channel's new hit show "Glee" has fans singing and dancing - even if they can't. (I just got my hands on the recently released CD.)

So what do you get when you mix "Glee" with "Kings?"

You get a chance to participate in a pre-game Q&A session with the show's star, Matthew Morrison (aka: Mr. Schuester, pictured). He will be at Arco Arena at 6 p.m. Tuesday before the Kings take on the Chicago Bulls.

Fans can be part of the Kings tribute to "Glee" by purchasing the "Glee" ticket package for $15. What do you get?

* A game ticket
* Entry to the exclusive Q&A session with Morrison
* A "Glee" locker mirror
* And, we saved the best for last - a Kings Value Meal (arena dog, regular soda and popcorn)

As part of the tribute, fans will see live musical acts and "Glee" video segments throughout the game, with a special halftime show. You can purchase the package by clicking here. And catch the TV show at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Fox.

Capital Stage theater company has been awarded a two-year, $50,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation for a program that will develop new dramatic works by and about women.

The grant will fund the theater company's Women In Theatre project - a two year effort that seeks to promote the work of women in theater, according to a statement from Capital Stage.

To do so, Capital Stage will create new plays through a workshop process. Two new plays will be developed through a two-week rehearsal process. This will culminate in four live performances.

Sacramento author Jayne Williams has been selected as one of the writers to be included. Her book "Slow Fat Triathlete" will be workshopped and developed into a one-woman show.

The project will also allow the theater to fully produce two premieres by women playwrights that feature strong roles for women. Those productions will be part of Capital Stage's 2010-11 season.

Also part of the project plans will be a symposium whose aim is to promote a dialogue among professional women theater artists about the current and future role of women in theater.

This is the second Irvine Foundation grant for Capital Stage, which was founded in 2005. In 2007, the company received a $40,000 grant to develop its Playwrights' Revolution program that allowed the development of new works. That grant resulted in the company's first world premiere production, "Erratica, an Academic Farce," last summer.

Susan Ballenger

Gosh, it seems like only a weekend ago that there was "cage fighting" at the last Second Saturday - waaaay back in October. Not sure if it will be back for this weekend's event, but there is one arts show to consider. That's even if you're a cage fighter fan!

The 20th Street Art Gallery, 911 20th St., is presenting its first 20/20 Group Show, which will become an annual event for the gallery. The show, which features 20 pieces of art from 20 different local artists, opens today. But the big gathering will definitely be this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.

Some of the artists include Thomas Ford, Tracy Lewis, James Mullen and Alice Weil. And, I wouldn't want to leave out my Bee colleague, artist Susan Ballenger, whose Water and Stone acrylics series (shown above) will be part of the show.

The gallery previously has done a 50/50 show, which got rave reviews. And the 20/20 offerings should be a hit, too. And what a great idea for the holidays - the gift of local art!

The show runs through Dec. 24. Gallery hours: noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more info and/or a preview, click here.

Well, that yearly tradition of naming the best in musical categories by Musical America is here again.

And soon-to-be Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti has snagged the top prize for 2010.

Mezzo-soprano Elina Garanča (pictured, right) has been given the nod as Best Vocalist of the year.

Musical America, a monthly online musical trade publication for classical music, was founded in 1898. It has been awarding the "Musician of the Year" prize since 1960, when it was awarded to Leonard Bernstein.

Muti begins conducting in Chicago in the fall of 2010. His musical resume is long and impressive. It includes the music directorship of The Philadelphia Orchestra (between 1980 to 1992). He was also chief conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra from 1972 to 1982, and music director of the Milan's Teatro alla Scala from 1986 to 2005.

The 33-year-old Garanča, who is better known in Europe than she is in the U.S., will make her Metropolitan Opera debut next year in "Carmen". It is a role that the Latvian-born mezzo has performed frequently.

Other category winners for 2010:

Louis Andriessen - Composer of the year
Joshua Bell - Instrumentalist of the year
Warren Jones - Collaborative Pianist of the year.

Sometimes a little "Carmina Burana" can go along way... in a good way.

Take the UC Davis University Chorus. That group's video of a 2006 performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" has now earned more than a million views on YouTube.

"Regardless of the number of views, it's the top-watched performance of "Carmina Burana" on YouTube," said Philip Daley, events and publicity manager at UC Davis.

That healthy page view number comes way of a partnership between UCTV and YouTube. UCTV is a service dedicated to showing special public events put forth by all the colleges in the University of California system.

And for that 2006 performance, synergy between music groups at UC Davis was key, Daley said.

"We have nurtured this wonderful relationship between the Symphony and Chorus, and Alumni Chorus that allows us to do these "blockbuster" works," said Daley.

The video was a total in-house affair that was shot and edited by UC Davis' division of Information & Educational Technology, also known as MediaWorks.

The same video cred will likely be applied to the University Chorus performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams's "Dona nobis pacem" ("Grant us peace") at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 4.

That cantata-like work is scored for full orchestra, and will be performed by the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. The work calls for pipe organ, which will be performed by Stephen Janzen. It will also feature two soloists: soprano Yulia Van Doren, and baritone Jesse Blumberg. Jeffrey Thomas will conduct.

University Chorus
WHEN: 8 p.m., Dec. 4
WHERE: Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center, UC Davis
TICKETS: $10-$16; $5 - $8 students
INFORMATION: (530) 754-2787 or www.MondaviArts.org

A photo exhibit of children needing adoption will be the focus of a gala event Saturday in Sacramento.

The fifth annual Heart Gallery event features professional photos of older children, sibling groups and children with special needs who need adoption, as well as "happy ending" portraits of families who have adopted children, said Laurie Slothower, spokeswoman for Sacramento County's Child Protective Services.

(Shown at top left is Jacob, 9; at right is Andre, 14; bottom left is Kevin, 5. All are seeking permanent homes).

There are currently about 1,500 children awaiting adoption in the county.

The family-friendly event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Casa Garden Restaurant, 2760 Sutterville Rd., Sacramento.

The gallery is a collaborative effort between CPS, Sacramento State University, Sierra Forever Families, Lilliput Children's Services and Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Heart Gallery portraits will continue to be on display online and are available for display at public events. For more information, call (916) 217-1552 or e-mail info@sacheartgallery.org.

UGG Australia

The Roseville location of Serendipity Boutique is hosting an UGG boot trunk show from noon to 3 p.m. today featuring the newest styles in the furry boot that never, never goes out of style. I don't care what Tim Gunn says.

I've got on a pair right now, and my feet are warm and toasty and comfortable. Clunky? I think not. In fact, I saw a woman with the updated "sweater" version yesterday getting Panda Express takeout in midtown. Loved 'em!

Serendipity is offering free airbrushing today with any purchase! So check it out at the Fountains at Roseville, 1182 Roseville Parkway, Suite 165. For more info: (916) 788-1488. The store is open until 8 tonight.

A Southern California blues rock band will be featured at an event Saturday to collect items for the annual El Dorado County Holiday Food and Toy Drive.

Kelli & the ShadowMen, which played the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this summer, will be performing between 12 and 6 p.m. at PJ's Roadhouse, 5641 Motherlode Dr., Placerville.

A $10 minimum donation of non-perishable food or an unwrapped toy is requested. A separate $20 donation gets you admission to the club with live music by the band, a news release states.

Guests must be 21 and older to be admitted.

The event is hosted by the El Dorado County Boozefighters Motorcycle Club in conjunction with Red Hawk Casino.

The band also is performing at Redhawk Casino at 9 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

For more information, go to the band's MySpace page or Red Hawk Casino's Web site.

Music programs in schools have been taking a big hit lately.

And the all-female Davis a cappella group The Spokes is doing something about it.

The UC-Davis-based group has decided that action is as good as singing. And they're proving it by hosting a charity event called "Sing for Schools!" on Nov. 21, in support of school music programs. The fundraiser will be held in the ARC Ballroom at UC Davis from 2-5 p.m.

The a cappella group hopes the event will raise awareness and support for the important cause of keeping music in schools.

The event is designed as a fun and inspirational atmosphere that combines food, performances, speakers, and a fundraiser raffle. Performers will include Davis High School Baroque Ensemble, St. Francis High Schools' Jazz Ensemble, recording artist Camaron Ochs, The Spokes, and more local artists and groups.

All proceeds will be donated to VH1's Save the Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education.

Sing for Schools!
WHEN: 2-5 p.m., Nov. 21
WHERE: ARC Ballroom at UC Davis
INFORMATION: (858) 204-9005 or the.spokes@gmail.com

Cinderella's Closet, which opened its make-dreams-come-true doors in February 2002, has moved from the Second Hand Rose thrfit shop on Fulton Avenue to WEAVE Thrift Arden, 2401 Arden Way in Sacramento.

Cinderella's Closet still provides gift certificates to financially and academically qualified high school girls so they can select gently used formal dresses and accessories. WEAVE provides referral info on its Web site: Just click here or call (916) 319-4910.

Of course, WEAVE still encourages folks in the community to help by organizing and hosting dress drives throughout the year.

Here's some more information: Cinderella's Closet is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and closed Mondays.

Donation hours? 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

No doubt about it, Gustavo Dudamel is red hot.

No other conductor in recent history has gotten the same buzz.

In the months preceding his debut at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, his face was splattered over Cinemascope-sized billboards in Los Angeles.

That's a tactic typically associated with the expensive plugging of the next Will Smith or Ridley Scott pic.

That's a lot of hype for any conductor.

But sometimes, the bright and meteoric have this way of making crash landings.

Not Dudamel.

And the proof is in the pudding: ticket sales and recording stats.

His Oct. 8 gala concert at Walt Disney Hall, in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 1, was an artistic success. And a commercial one, too.

That performance, recorded by Deutsche Grammophon and released as a digital only recording on iTunes, went to the top of the charts.

In the first week of its digital release, the recording landed at #1 on Billboard's Classical Traditional and Classical Overall Charts. The album also reached #1 on iTunes Classical and #12 on Billboard's New Artist Chart, simultaneously.

Add this to the fact that Dudamel's concerts are as close to a sure-fire sell out as it gets in the biz... and the hordes of young patrons that flock to Disney Hall now... and you have the workings of a true classical music phenomenon.