The Music Center Expands Programming Reach with Launch of the MUSIC CENTER ON LOCATION

The Music Center today announced the launch of The Music Center On Location, a new initiative that takes the performing arts center's artistic vision beyond the places and spaces of its Downtown Los Angeles home and into diverse venues and locales throughout greater Los Angeles. With The Music Center On Location, The Music Center will curate and present distinctive artistic content in locations outside its 22-acre campus and bring its innovative, creative approach to the arts to a wider audience. This program will expand the performing arts center's focus beyond the presentation of the world-class artistic programming it currently offers on the stages of its iconic theatres and outdoor plaza to events and performances outside of its physical footprint. The Music Center On Location launches this summer with programming at The Ford Theatres (the Ford) and Grand Park, followed by an engagement in the fall at The Culver Studios as part of the performing arts organization's internationally acclaimed Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center series.

According to The Music Center President and CEO Rachel Moore, The Music Center On Location meets audiences where they are and provides even greater access to the finest quality arts experiences. "For the first time in our history, we have 'opened the architecture' of The Music Center, allowing us to bring our programming to venues and into communities that are offsite and often many miles away from our Downtown Los Angeles campus," Moore explained. "The Music Center On Location is a natural step in The Music Center's evolution as we work with artists, presenting partners and our communities to define what it means to be a performing arts center of the 21st century. We are committed to collaboration with venues that distinctly represent Los Angeles and where we will be able to reach and engage new audiences and delight them in unexpected ways," Moore continued.

As the third largest performing arts center in the nation, The Music Center is an example of a highly successful partnership between the public and private sectors. With this structure, the non-profit arts organization - which supports four premier resident companies that offer classical music, theatre, opera and choral music, and presents both a renowned dance series and community-based interactive arts engagement programs - can venture into multiple programming genres and areas of civic and arts engagement in ways that other arts organizations often find difficult. The introduction of The Music Center On Location illustrates The Music Center's commitment to innovation and relevance, and opens the door to partnering with even more local artists, community groups and other arts organizations for additional programming that resonates with a broad range of people.

This summer, as part of The Music Center On Location, The Music Center will partner with the Ford Theatres, as part of IGNITE @ the FORD, to present three special evenings at the beautifully renovated amphitheater. The Music Center On Location at the Ford Theatres will include performances by internationally acclaimed Dance Company Aszure Barton & Artists; a double bill of contemporary dance by Jacob Jonas The Company, along with another artist to be announced; and a concert under the stars by singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright. In addition, this summer, The Music Center On Location takes the popular Dance DTLA series, including Dance Downtown and DJ Nights, to Grand Park. The Music Center's Dance DTLA presents 11 evenings of outdoor music and dancing on Friday nights during the summer months.

October brings The Music Center On Location to The Culver Studios with Until the Lions, award-winning choreographer and dancer Akram Khan's take of poet Karthika Naïr's book Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata, an original reworking of the Sanskrit epic, Mahabharata. Held in the round at the historic Westside studio, Until the Lions will provide audiences the opportunity to reimagine history with a primal tale of the strength and endurance of the female spirit in this ancient Indian epic retold through the eyes of women.

About The Music Center
As L.A.'s performing arts destination, The Music Center is L.A.'s home to the world's greatest artistic programs and events. With four iconic theaters and four renowned resident companies - Center Theatre Group, the LA Master Chorale, the LA Opera and the LA Philharmonic - and recognized for its illustrious dance programming, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, The Music Center is a destination where audiences find inspiration in the very best of live performance, as well as nationally recognized arts education and free and low-cost arts engagement experiences. With The Music Center On Location, the non-profit performing arts organization brings events and activities to locations outside of its Downtown Los Angeles campus. The Music Center also programs and manages Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent greenspace, with year-round free programming. For more information, visit musiccenter.org Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@MusicCenterLA).