World Premiere of HBO Family Documentary 'THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED' on Wednesday, January 23 at Louisville Palace will be Presented by HBO and Insight Communications

World Premiere of HBO Family Documentary 'THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED' on Wednesday, January 23 at Louisville Palace will be Presented by HBO and Insight Communications

Documentary Features The Louisville Leopard Percussionists and their Journey to New York City to Perform at The International Association for Jazz Education Annual Conference

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not every day that a world film premiere comes to Louisville, especially when the talent is hometown children ages 7-12. But that's exactly what will happen when HBO, Insight Communications and the Louisville Leopard Percussionists (LLP) host the world premiere of THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED on Wednesday, January 23 at 7 pm at The Louisville Palace. The film's executive producer, Leslie Stifelman, producer Diane Kolyer, and HBO Family VP Dolores Morris will attend the invitation-only event along with LLP founder, teacher and artistic director Diane Downs and current and former LLP members and their parents.

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists took a mega-bite out of the Big Apple when they stampeded into town in January 2006 to perform at the International Association for Jazz Education annual conference in Manhattan, and their journey was chronicled in the 30-minute HBO Family documentary THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED.

The final installment of the acclaimed "Music in Me" series of specials, HBO Family's THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED provides a fresh look at the way music can have a profound impact on young lives when it debuts Thursday, January 24 (7:15-7:45 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, with an encore presentation Sunday, January 27 (6:30-7:00 p.m.) on the HBO Family network.

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists are a performing ensemble of approximately 50 young people from various racial and economic backgrounds in and around Louisville, Kentucky. Most have no prior musical training, but they share an interest in learning to play percussion instruments and perform as a group.

Under the leadership of founder and teacher Diane Downs, the Leopards are a dynamic musical force. Her infectious energy and enthusiasm help the kids appreciate music and make it their own, enabling her to connect with each student individually and as a group. Downs' dedication explains why many of the students choose to join and never want to leave the ensemble. As one student observes, "She acts like she's our age and like she can do stuff with us... She's like a kid, basically."

All under age 12, the young musicians dazzle with their special arrangements of sophisticated jazz songs that they learned by ear. First, Downs plays a recording of the song and the children identify the instruments. As a percussion band, the Leopards turn big band instruments such as trombones and saxophones into percussion sounds. Next, Downs helps kids to learn the song's rhythm by teaching them easy-to-remember phrases. For example, she simplifies the beats in "Sing Sing Sing" by repeating, "Banana one, two, three. I am a tree," and "David is a meatball." Downs and the kids work collectively to create their arrangements and diligently teach each other until the entire group learns the piece.

THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED is the final installment in HBO's acclaimed "Music in Me" series of specials. The first, "The Music in Me: Children's Recitals from Classical to Latin, Jazz to Zydeco," debuted in Oct. 2006, followed by "The Music in Me: A Family Special," in June 2007.

Producer Diane Kolyer's HBO credits include the Emmy(R)-winning "Happy to Be Nappy and Other Stories of Me," the Emmy(R)-nominated "Rosie O'Donnell's Kids Are Punny" and the interstitial series "My Favorite Book." Executive producer Leslie Stifelman is music director of the Tony- and Grammy-winning Broadway musical "Chicago," as well as the creative force behind Symfunny Toons, Inc., a company dedicated to the development of television and interactive products for children to learn about music. Co-producer Beth Aala's HBO credits include the Emmy(R) winner "I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me."

THE LEOPARDS TAKE MANHATTAN: THE LITTLE BAND THAT ROARED is produced by Diane Kolyer; executive producer, Leslie Stifelman; co-producer, Beth Aala; director, Mark Mannucci; editor, Andrew Morreale. For HBO: supervising producer, Dolores Morris; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.

About The Louisville Leopard Percussionists

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists (LLP) was founded in 1993 by Artistic Director Diane Downs as a school-based group in a Jefferson County elementary school; the LLP became a community non-profit organization in 2003. Most members have no prior music lessons or experience before joining the group. The ensemble plays jazz, classical, ragtime, Latin jazz, pop, and original compositions. LLP has performed extensively in the Louisville area, as well as nationwide, including Kentucky Derby events, charity benefits and music educator conferences. National performances include New York, Dayton, Tampa, Columbus, Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and New Orleans.

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Source: HBO

CONTACT: Valerie Harris of HBO, +1-404-966-2445

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