Henry Segerstrom News

For more than 50 years, The National Circus and Acrobats of The People's Republic of China has been entertaining and mesmerizing generations of audiences around the world with incredible feats. Segerstrom Center welcomes, direct from Beijing, The National Circus and Acrobats of The People's Republic of China in the program 'Peking Dreams' today, September 26 with two performances at 2 and 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

Orange County, Calif.—Sept. 22, 2015—Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair explore great masterworks by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, two Romantic-era composers who were united by their friendship, passion for music and love of the same woman: Clara Wieck. A virtuosic pianist herself, Clara's influence prevails throughout the music of both composers. Shortly after marrying Schumann, she encouraged her new husband (although they had been friends for years) to write a piano concerto for her to premiere. The result has become one of the most popular piano concertos of the repertoire. Interpreting its unpredictable moods and colorful emotions for the Symphony's concert is French pianist David Fray. Son-in-law of the great conductor Riccardo Muti, Fray has gained a reputation for his individualistic, expressive and meditative performances. “David Fray is alive to the way the music moves at every point and skilled at evoking worlds of sound beyond the piano,” wrote Gramophone Online.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its 30th International Dance Series, a season marked with important American, West Coast and Center premieres to be discovered and enjoyed by audiences from throughout Southern California. The distinctive personalities of each company in the Center's 2015 - 2016 International Dance Series come to life, from opulent and classical to daring, bold and contemporary.

Orange County, Calif.—Sept. 15, 2015—Most folks didn't discover the world of classical music through formal concerts. They discovered it through Elmer Fudd singing “Kill the Wabbit!” and by watching Mickey Mouse trying to stop an army of living broomsticks from drowning him. That same spirit of curiosity, discovery, informality and playfulness fills the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., as Pacific Symphony launches its 2015-16 Family Musical Mornings season, sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Bank, with “Phantoms of the Orchestra.” This Halloween-themed concert features the orchestra, under the direction of its new assistant conductor, Roger Kalia, joined by the renowned Magic Circle Mime Company (MCMCo). While the Symphony brings the music to life, the story is told by MCMCo, one of the most popular and highly acclaimed family attractions in the nation. The company is consistently praised for its creativity, innovation, and theatricality.

Pacific Chorale, the resident classical music choir of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, will be presenting one of the all-time greatest monuments of choral music on Sunday, November 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall: Johannes Brahms's A German Requiem.

Orange County, Calif.—Sept. 4, 2015—Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair open the 2015-16 Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Classical Series with Beethoven's monumental hymn to human freedom and brotherhood, his Symphony No. 9, “Choral,” featuring the soul-stirring “Ode to Joy.” This magnificent union between symphony orchestra and voices features Pacific Chorale and four world-class opera vocalists, soprano Mary Wilson, mezzo-soprano Milena Kiti?, tenor John Bellemer and bass-baritone Kevin Deas, who sing the dramatic and dynamic solo passages in the fourth movement. The program opens the orchestra's 37th season with a rare opportunity to hear “The Promise of Living” from Aaron Copland's opera, “The Tender Land,” a choral piece with a similar message of thanksgiving and neighborly love. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

Broadway veteran Cheyenne Jackson will make his Segerstrom Center for the Arts debut with his new show Hello Gorgeous: Cheyenne Jackson Goes To The Movies on November 21, 2015 in the Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Jackson will perform musical gems from shows such as Gypsy and Little Shop of Horrors, as well as classic film favorites from Breakfast at Tiffany's, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz and James Bond films.

Orange County, Calif.—Sept. 2, 2015—Almost two years ago, Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair charged Composer-in-Residence Narong Prangcharoen with setting Orange County to music. Since then, the composer has been on a journey to discover what makes OC home to more than 3 million people. The project titled “OC in Unison,” funded by The James Irvine Foundation, officially began in January 2014 when Prangcharoen began touring the region. Inspired by the diverse landscape and the stories of the people, the piece—“Beyond Land and Ocean”—began to take shape. Brought to the Symphony's attention when he entered and won the Symphony's American Composers Competition in 2005, Prangcharoen has been tasked with encapsulating the diverse aspects of the county (founded in 1889) into a single 20-minute piece of music. “I'm not sure how he's going to do it,” St.Clair admitted earlier this year. “But if anyone can, it's him.” 

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presented its annual Season Preview event, highlighting the blockbuster 2015-16 Broadway Series this Monday, August 17 in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Scroll down for photos of the performances!

Casting for American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker, co-presented by Segerstrom Center for the Arts and ABT, was announced today by Kevin McKenzie, ABT Artistic Director. Choreographed by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, The Nutcracker will be given 14 performances at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, December 10-20, 2015.

Marking their 19th visit to Segerstrom Center for the Arts, audience favorite Emerson String Quartet returns to Samueli Theater on Thursday, October 22 at 8 p.m. in a program featuring Haydn's dazzling String Quartet in D minor 'Fifths,' Bartok's String Quartet No. 4 and the rarely performed String Quartet No. 15 in G major by Schubert.

Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA plays in Orange County at Segerstrom Center for the Arts from tonight, August 5, through August 16, 2015.

The rains came and kites were grounded at the Orange County Museum of Art and Segerstrom Center Kite Festival on July 19.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents its annual Season Preview event highlighting the blockbuster 2015 - 2016 Broadway Series on Monday, August 17 at 7 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

For more than 50 years, The National Circus and Acrobats of The People's Republic of China has been entertaining and mesmerizing generations of audiences around the world with incredible feats. Segerstrom Center welcomes, direct from Beijing, The National Circus and Acrobats of The People's Republic of China in the program 'Peking Dreams' on Saturday, September 26 with two performances at 2 and 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

Grammy Award and three-time Parents' Choice Award winners, The Okee Dokee Brothers, kick off Segerstrom Center's 2015-2016 Family Discovery Series on September 27 in Samueli Theater with two performances.

A grand, meaningful and operatic evening of music awaits, as Music Director Carl St.Clair leads Pacific Symphony's final concert of his 25th anniversary season, "Fire and Water," a program representing the innovative and defining characteristics of the orchestra. Furthering St.Clair's commitment to new music, the evening includes the world premiere of "Siren Songs" by Laura Karpman, accompanied by video and animation by Tempe Hale, who has used footage from Gregory MacGillivray, Academy-Award nominated cinematographer of films such as "The Living Sea" and "Dolphins." Karpman's piece explores women and the ocean and is based on a set of poems by internationally known poet, Amy Gerstler, who is also a professor at UC Irvine. For the fiery finale, St.Clair leads the orchestra in selections from Wagner's epic "Gotterdammerung," ("Twilight of the Gods"), featuring Metropolitan Opera superstar, Deborah Voigt, who brings her beautiful and powerful voice to Brunnhilde's famous "Immolation Scene." 

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced the faculty for its American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School that begins its full 36-week school year on September 14, 2015 and runs through June 11, 2016. The Center has added classes to accommodate the growing enrollment.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the West Coast Premiere of Up and Down, the newest work by the renowned Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg. Performances are June 5 - 7, 2015 in Segerstrom Hall.

Legendary trumpet-and-voice duo Herb Alpert and Lani Hall bring their unique mix of jazz, world and American pop music to Pacific Symphony for the final concert of the 2014-15 Pops Series. Joining musical forces in 2006, each half of this musical power couple brings an impressive résumé to the table. As a solo artist and leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert has sold more than 72 million records and placed 28 albums on the Billboard charts, including five at No. 1. His 2014 album, “Steppin' Out,” earned him his ninth Grammy Award, and in 2013, he was honored with the National Medal of Arts. His wife and music partner, Hall, rose to fame in 1966 as the lead singer of Sergio Mendes' group, Brasil '66. The two met and became friends when Brasil '66 was signed to A&M records by its co-founder, Alpert. Hall has the distinction of recording more than 22 albums in three different languages, four alongside her husband, and she earned a Grammy for her album, “Es Facil Amar.”