
Simi Valley Symphony Orchestra to Debut With Live Film Music Concert at SIMI Film Fest, Sept. 4
The program includes music from Forrest Gump, Gladiator, The Sound of Music, and scores from selected festival films — giving independent composers a rare opportunity to have their work performed live by a symphony orchestra. It will also feature a performance from the hit video game Mario + Rabbids, with composer Grant Kirkhope appearing in person as a special guest.
'This concert is about connecting audiences with the music that shapes the stories they see on screen,' says Metcalfe. 'For indie composers, having their work brought to life by a full symphony is an unforgettable milestone.'
The concert is part of the SIMI Film Fest, founded by Metcalfe and multi-award-winning singer-songwriter and music supervisor Katie Garibaldi, running September 3–7 at Studio Movie Grill in Simi Valley, CA. The festival showcases 62 independent films from around the world, panels, and special events, with a unique emphasis on the role of music in storytelling.
Concert Details:
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2025. Time: 7:30 PMLocation: Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District Building, Guardian Street, Simi Valley, CATickets: www.simiff.com
Media Contact
Company Name: SIMI Film Fest
Contact Person: Katie Garibaldi
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: https://www.simiff.com/
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
'Ketamine Queen' accused of supplying drugs to actor Matthew Perry to plead guilty
A woman known as the "Ketamine Queen," charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty Monday. Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the Friends star to strike a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, avoiding a trial that had been planned for September. She agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to Perry's death, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Prosecutors had cast Sangha, a 42-year-old citizen of the U.S. and the U.K., as a prolific drug dealer known to her customers as the "Ketamine Queen," using the term often in media releases and court documents, and even including it in the official name of the case. Charges could result in up to 45 years in prison She agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She admitted in the agreement to selling four vials of ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, hours before he died from an overdose in 2019. McLaury had no relationship to Perry. Prosecutors will drop three other counts related to the distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of methamphetamine that was unrelated to the Perry case. Sangha will officially change her plea to guilty at an upcoming hearing, where sentencing will be scheduled, prosecutors said. She could get up to 45 years in prison. An email sent to Sangha's lawyers seeking comment was not immediately answered. She and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who signed his own plea deal June 16, had been the primary targets of the investigation. Three other defendants — Dr. Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming — agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their co-operation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia. Ketamine was ruled primary cause of Perry's death Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home by Iwamasa, his assistant, on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor as a legal, but off-label, treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, sought more ketamine than his doctor would give him. He began getting it from Plasencia about a month before his death, then started getting still more from Sangha about two weeks before his death, prosecutors said. Perry and Iwamasa found Sangha through Perry's friend, Fleming. In their plea agreements, both men described the subsequent deals in detail. WATCH | Dr. Salvador Plasencia pleads guilty: Doctor accused of supplying ketamine to actor Matthew Perry pleads guilty | Hanomansing Tonight 26 days ago Dr. Salvador Plasencia, the doctor accused of supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine in the month leading up to his death, has pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine. Plasencia is the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry's death to plead guilty. Fleming messaged Iwamasa saying Sangha's ketamine was "unmarked but it's amazing," according to court documents. Fleming texted Iwamasa that she only deals "with high end and celebs. If it were not great stuff she'd lose her business." With the two men acting as middlemen, Perry bought large amounts of ketamine from Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 in cash four days before his death. That purchase included the doses that killed Perry, prosecutors said. On the day of Perry's death, Sangha told Fleming they should delete all the messages they had sent each other, according to her indictment. Her home in North Hollywood, California, was raided in March 2024 by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents who found large amounts of methamphetamines and ketamine, according to an affidavit from an agent. She was indicted that June, arrested that August and has been held in jail since. None of the defendants has yet been sentenced. Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation playing Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on the megahit NBC series.


CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Howard Stern's radio contract is about to expire. Should he keep going?
Social Sharing With Howard Stern's 20-year radio contract set to expire this year, there are rumours that SiriusXM won't renew his contract. In his two decades on satellite radio, the 71-year-old has transformed greatly, going from shock-jock to thoughtful interviewer of celebrities. Today on Commotion, culture writer Niko Stratis, former radio morning man Matt Hart and comedian and podcaster Ashley Ray talk to host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about Stern's notorious legacy and whether his voice is still necessary in 2025's overcrowded media landscape. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Elamin: Matt, obviously you can't talk about Howard Stern without talking about moments that put him in the news quite often. Over his career, he faced millions and millions of dollars in FCC violations because he would do [offensive] stuff like this on the radio. Is it fair to reduce his entire legacy to being the shock-jock guy, or was there more to him than these moments? Matt: Yeah, I think so. And also saying it in a negative way, a "shock-jock," that's still a tried-and-true formula. People say that shock-jock is really reductive, and we look at it as hacky now, but that was — at one time — new. Was he [Stern] creepy and weird with women? Yes. Is it easy for us to look at that right now and say, "Oh, this has aged poorly?" Yeah. But we're looking at history through today's lenses, I think, with this. And was anyone super offended by Stern back then? If you were, a lot of times, it was really puritanical right wing people. They were like, "Get this smut off the radio." So nobody's really taking issue with the content as much [back then]. I think it's one of these things that now we can take issue with. But I don't remember at the time it being a drawback. People were like, "Oh, he's gonna say what?" You know what, I mean? He's a shock-jock. Elamin: Howard Stern often brought on Lester Green. But people who listen to Stern know him better as Beetlejuice, who's a New Jersey man with dwarfism and microcephaly, which means his head and brain are smaller than average. Niko, what do you make of the way that Howard brought out a bunch of different side characters and built them into what the show became? Niko: What's interesting to me listening to that back is the amount of humanity he gives this person that he's got on the air. And this is not an uncommon thing. A bit of it, I'm sure, is rooted in, "Isn't it funny?" But when he does it, when he's got these people on, it's not, "OK, now we're going to make fun of you on the air." It is having a conversation. It is, "How are you feeling, what's going on?" I'm sure a little bit of his winky-winky, that is part of it is that he thinks it's funny, but he's not outwardly insulting. It is like, "OK, you're part of this, you're given this platform." Some of these people will go on to have their own careers, which I'm sure part of it is trying to make hay while the sun shines. But it is this idea of: who are the people in the world around me — not just the famous people? Who are the people that live in the city, that live on the street? And how can I give them a voice to build out the world that I have created? Elamin: Ashley, what do you make of this idea of Stern having a pivot to be a more serious, empathetic host? Do you buy it? Are you on board? Are you kind of like, "It is true, but it doesn't make me forget the other stuff?" Ashley: I do buy it. I do think the Stern that we see now is sincerely disgusted with his old behaviour. I think he understands how he led to the moment that we're in now. And he is not a person who's a Republican. I mean, he is someone who believes in COVID, who really is pretty liberal and is like, "Now I just want to interview Jewel and Seth Rogen. I'm sorry that I ended up starting the man movement." So I do believe it. I think he does really understand that interviewing and making fun of people with Down syndrome was not the right thing to do, but I also think his response to that is to just step back. I think with his contract ending, I don't know that we'll see him pivot to YouTube. If I was him, I would just be like, "Yeah, I'm a recluse. I just want to stay in my house now, and I'm retired and I'm done, and I did what I had to do." … Podcasting, to me, just doesn't feel like his vibe. I think he understands the time for Howard Stern has maybe passed.

CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Taylor Swift enters her showgirl era
With Taylor Swift, a new album unveils a new 'era,' and a new era dictates a new costume. This time, she embodies the dazzling spirit of a Las Vegas dancer for her upcoming album 'The Life of a Showgirl.' It's a far cry from the woolen overcoats and broderie-anglais dresses of 'Folklore' (2020), or the copper baker boy hats of 'Red' (2012). But on this record, Swift is interrogating an increasingly large part of her life — her experience as a world-famous pop star and lacquered performer. In 2024, her 'Era's Tour,' which took place in 51 cities across 5 continents, became the highest-grossing tour of all time. On 'New Heights,' the podcast her boyfriend Travis Kelce runs with his older brother Jason, Swift said she wrote the album during the tour's European leg. 'Literally living the life of a showgirl,' said Travis Kelce. 'It's the life behind it all, it's the life beyond the show,' said Swift. On the cover of the record, the singer is dressed in a crystal embellished demi-bra with webs of jewels trailing down her torso and submerged in what appears to be a bathtub. In another image, she poses with her arms wide in another showgirl-inspired outfit covered in sparkling gems. But the sexed-up, glamorous costumes are juxtaposed with empty theatres and cold, green light, perhaps a nod to the quiet, lonelier moments after everybody has gone home. While the decision to expose more skin in this way is a new direction for Swift as an artist, she isn't the first performer to embrace the sartorial codes of this type of entertainer. In fact, she is in excellent company. Modern-day pop stars have long referenced the image of the showgirl. Typically dating back to late 19th century Parisian music halls, chorus girls, burlesque or fan dancers were defined by their glamorous, often revealing, matching outfits. The Las Vegas showgirl, which later became its own brand entirely, is now more closely associated with crystalline cage bras, diamanté panties and tall feather headdresses. Stars such as Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Mariah Carey have all taken turns dressing up in the iconic garb. Carey for her 2009 music video 'I Stay in Love,' Perry for 'Waking up in Vegas' the same year and Beyoncé while performing at an entertainment resort in Atlantic City in 2012. Christina Aguilera's scene-stealing performance of 'Lady Marmalade' in Moulin Rouge means she is now inextricably linked with showgirl styling. (She is also an executive producer on the theater show 'Burlesque: The Musical' currently on show in London's West End). For her 2005 tour, Kylie Minogue performed at least four songs in a leotard dripping in crystals, a giant feather bustle and an enormous feather headdress. More recently Addison Rae, whose 2025 self-titled album made the charts in both the U.S. and U.K., donned a gem-encrusted cage bra for her 'High Fashion' music video. Why have these pop stars been so drawn to the glittering facade of a showgirl? It could be the feminine styling, the makeup, the intricate costuming designed to captivate audiences and make the most of stage lighting. Or perhaps they feel an affinity to these hard-working dancers, outside of the obvious glitz and glamour: Their dedication, talent and grit. Last year, night after night, Swift performed for stadiums of people in high-octane outfits, drawing on a seemingly bottomless reserve of energy. It was a grueling schedule, perhaps rivalled only by that of a Vegas showgirl. Of the album's contents, Swift said: 'It's what I was going through off-stage.' No matter what happens in private, both understand the show must go on. By Leah Dolan, CNN