Duran Duran Added to 'Argent Mortgage Orchestrated' Concert Series

Duran Duran Added to 'Argent Mortgage Orchestrated' Concert Series

Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra to Join Unique Performance on July 18

LOS ANGELES, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Argent Mortgage Orchestrated(TM), the newly announced concert series produced by Elevation Entertainment which pairs popular recording artists with symphony orchestras in "one night only" engagements, announced that Duran Duran will join the series. Duran Duran will be accompanied by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, with a July 18 engagement at the Chapin Theater at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 20 at the Orlando Philharmonic Box Office and Ticketmaster. Charge-by-phone at (407) 839-3900. Presale and special VIP Ticket Packages will go on sale this Tuesday, May 17th at www.duranduranmusic.com.

The concept of Argent Mortgage Orchestrated is to present contemporary artists in the opposite environment of the critically acclaimed "MTV: Unplugged" format. Instead of stripping music down to the core, the series will offer artists an unconventional opportunity to perform their songs in ways that they choose, with the full backing of some of America's finest symphony orchestras. Each concert will be a "one night only" engagement and staged in intimate, beautiful concert facilities. Argent Mortgage, a leading national mortgage lender in the U.S., is proud to sponsor this unique concert series.

Duran Duran becomes the third Grammy Award-winning group to perform as a part of this concert series. The band's appearance in Orlando is a part of a North American summer tour beginning July 15 in Nashville. This latest leg of their 'Astronaut World Tour' will play a mix of indoor and outdoor venues and the Orlando date will be the only show where Duran Duran will be backed by a full symphony orchestra.

The first three previously announced concerts include LeAnn Rimes with the Boston Pops (May 23 in Boston), Seal with members of the Minnesota Orchestra (June 13 in Minneapolis) and Jewel with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra (July 30 in Cleveland Hts., Ohio). The shows featuring the Grammy Award-winning Rimes and the Grammy Award-winning Seal are both sold-out. Only lawn seats remain for Jewel's concert at Cain Park in Cleveland Hts., Ohio.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for the band and our fans," commented bassist John Taylor. "Performing our music in new arrangements with the backing of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will not only be a unique and interesting evening for our fans, but I suspect also a tremendously gratifying experience for us as a band."

"Duran Duran has an incredible following and we are pleased to bring them together with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra as part of Argent Mortgage Orchestrated," said Jeff Gillis, executive vice president of operations for Argent Mortgage. "The Orchestrated program is about bringing two distinct sounds together to create a new cohesive performance. It's a great fit for Argent since we work hard everyday to enhance the performance of independent mortgage brokers in an effort to better meet the mortgage financing needs of consumers across the nation."

Duran Duran has selected world renowned composer and arranger David Campbell to arrange and orchestrate the band's songs for this performance. Campbell, born in Toronto and raised in Seattle, has performed and/or worked with many artists including: Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan.

Internationally acclaimed conductor, composer and arranger Frank McNamara has been chosen to conduct this show. McNamara, a native of Ireland, has a lengthy and impressive resume including work with the Irish Tenors, the American Tenors, The Who's Roger Daltry, Jeffrey Osborne and others. This past November and December, McNamara arranged and conducted the LeAnn Rimes Orchestra Christmas Tour.

ABOUT ARGENT MORTGAGE

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Argent Mortgage Company -- a leading national mortgage lender -- works exclusively with independent mortgage brokers and bankers across the country through loan processing centers in California, Illinois and New York. For more information about Argent Mortgage or to locate an independent mortgage broker near you, visit the company's Web site at www.argentloans.com.

ABOUT ELEVATION ENTERTAINMENT

Elevation Entertainment is a leading sports, entertainment, cultural & leisure sponsorship and event management agency, a joint venture between Mosaic Media Group and the Elevation Group of Companies. Elevation has nearly two decades of sports and entertainment marketing, activation and event implementation experience, chiefly working for some of the country's largest brands.

ABOUT MOSAIC MEDIA GROUP

Mosaic Media Group, launched in July 1999, unites film and music company Atlas Entertainment, and its affiliated division Atlas/Third Rail Management, with the talent management group The Gold/Miller Company. Its diversified interests include a stake as controlling shareholder in dick clark productions and ownership of Mosaic Music Publishing, including the Aerosmith and ZZ Top catalogues. Mosaic's talent clients include Jim Carrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Will Ferrell, Kristin Davis, Sean Hayes, Tea Leoni, Garry Shandling, Kevin Sorbo, Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G), Vince Vaughn, Jay Roach, Judd Apatow, David Hollander, The Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day.

Source: Elevation Entertainment

CONTACT: Lynda Dorf, +1-310-248-6138, ldorf@bwr-la.com, or Dvora Vener
Englefield, +1-310-248-6161, dvener@bwr-la.com, both of B|W|R Public Relations
for Elevation & Mosaic Media Group; or Sharon Villanueva Scott of Gladstone,
+1-949-218-8008, sscott@newhousepr.com, for Argent Mortgage

Web site: http://www.duranduranmusic.com/

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