Henry Segerstrom News

Haunting melodies and sweet, euphonious voices combine to create a deeply moving, life-affirming evening of music, as Pacific Symphony dives into spiritual depths in preparation for Carl Orff's masterful oratorio, "Carmina Burana." Weaving together lyrics that date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, "Carmina Burana" is brazen with its gleeful double entendre and is made even more decadent with the magnificent voices of soprano Cyndia Sieden, tenor Marc Molomot and baritone Michael Kelly joining the orchestra. Led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, the Symphony paves the way for Orff's masterful work by performing John Williams' "Exsultate Justi," Lukas Foss' "Elegy for Anne Frank," Charles Ives' "The Unanswered Question" and Kathy C. Bowen's "I Believe in God." Pacific Chorale, led by Artistic Director John Alexander, lends its voices to enhance the majestic sounds, while Southern California Children's Chorus represents the voices of children during World War II.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to Orange County on August 16, 2014. Single tickets, which start at $49 are available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 20 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

Following their recent breakout success on America's Got Talent, receiving great accolades from the judges and audiences, Lightwire Theater brings its unique method of storytelling to light at Segerstrom Center for the Arts today, May 17 at 1:00pm and May 18 at 1:00pm and 3:30pm in Samueli Theater.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts and THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, are pleased to announce a lottery ticket policy for the Orange County engagement, today, May 13 - 25, 2014. The production will conduct a pre-show lottery at the Segerstrom Hall box office, making a limited number of tickets available for $25 each.

Pacific Symphony presents the perfect story to introduce children to the sounds of the orchestra—Prokofiev's wildly popular and charming “Peter and the Wolf”—which wraps up this season's Family Musical Mornings series, presented by Farmers and Merchants Bank. The imaginative duo from Magic Circle Mime Co., Maggie Petersen and Doug MacIntyre, tie comedy and movement to the music to illustrate the story of Peter, a brave young boy who must outsmart a wily wolf to help save his animal friends. Along with Assistant Conductor Alejandro Gutiérrez, the Symphony's principal musicians interact with the mimes and become characters in the story, as Benjamin Smolen (flute) plays the Bird, Jessica Pearlman (oboe) plays the Duck and Benjamin Lulich (clarinet) plays the Cat. With the thundering timpani of the Hunters and the French-horn sounds of the stalking Wolf, Prokofiev's thrilling music alerts children to the powerful stories music can tell.

Summer at the Center (SATC) returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for its 23rd consecutive year and will be held July 21 - August 2. This award-winning program provides high-risk and underserved youths facing personal challenges a safe environment in which to grow, trust and develop self-esteem and positive goals. Using a musical theater format, SATC professional teaching artists create daily lessons and exercises that engage participants in fun, creative and productive ways. Following their hard work during the two-week program, the students will perform a Broadway revue-style show in Samueli Theater on Saturday, August 2 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The performances are free and open to the public; no reservations are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The performances are part of Segerstrom Center's Free for All Series, which allows guests to experience different aspects of Center's artistic and education programs at no cost. More information is available at www.scfta.org/satc.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has been awarded a $100,000 grant from Disney to help bring the Disney Musicals in Schools program to Orange County. The Center was one of only two arts organizations in the nation and the only one in California selected this year to collaborate with Disney Musicals in Schools. The program is an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create ongoing theater programs in local elementary schools. The Center will select four Orange County public elementary schools to participate in 2014. The grant funds two years of programming ? four schools will be selected this year, and another four next year. The after-school programs are completely free to participating schools. Disney Musicals in Schools helps to keep the arts in schools and utilizes the unique world of musical theater to build positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, parents and the community. Students work in teams to develop or restore self-confidence, strengthen communication and collaboration skills all while learning and enjoying the process of creating a Disney musical theater production.

Pacific Symphony's critically-acclaimed American Composers Festival (ACF) continues for the 14th year with 'From Screen to Score: New Concert Music by Famous Film Composers'-who happen to be four of today's biggest Hollywood heavy-hitters: John Williams ('Star Wars,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' 'E.T., the Extra Terrestrial'), Howard Shore ('Lord of the Rings,' 'The Hobbit,' 'Hugo'), James Horner ('Titanic,' 'Star Trek,' 'Apollo 13') and Elliot Goldenthal ('Alien 3,' 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman and Robin'). Together, these iconic composers boast 11 Oscars and countless billions of box office dollars. They also hold the ironic position of simultaneously being the most-heard orchestral composers ever (the soundtrack for 'Titanic' sold 30 million copies), yet their music is the least performed.

Pacific Symphony's critically-acclaimed American Composers Festival (ACF) continues for the 14th year with “From Screen to Score: New Concert Music by Famous Film Composers”—who happen to be four of today's biggest Hollywood heavy-hitters: John Williams (“Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T., the Extra Terrestrial”), Howard Shore (“Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit,” “Hugo”), James Horner (“Titanic,” “Star Trek,” “Apollo 13”) and Elliot Goldenthal (“Alien 3,” “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin”). Together, these iconic composers boast 11 Oscars and countless billions of box office dollars. They also hold the ironic position of simultaneously being the most-heard orchestral composers ever (the soundtrack for “Titanic” sold 30 million copies), yet their music is the least performed.

The National Acrobats of The People's Republic of China have entertained audiences worldwide for more than 60 years with astonishing feats of acrobatic agility and stunning display of martial arts, and the company returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts with a brand new production on Saturday, September 13 at 3 p.m. in the Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. This elite group of acrobats continues a remarkable 2,000-year-old tradition of mastering precision, balance, grace, strength and artistry that result in dazzling and high adrenaline performances that also feature beautiful costumes, thrilling choreography and both traditional and modern music.

Ballet San Jose Artistic Director José Manuel Carreño has announced that the Company has been invited to tour with celebrated former Bolshoi Ballet starsNatalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in performances in Southern California, Moscow and London this summer. The tour repertoire will feature Osipova and Vasiliev's debuts in Roland Petit's Carmenwith Ballet San Jose with the balance of the program comprising pas de deux to be performed by the former Bolshoi artists. Performances will be given July 25-27 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA; July 31 and August 1-3 at the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, Russia; and August 6-9 at the London Coliseum in London. The tour is presented by Ardani Artists. For more information, visit www.balletsj.org or www.ardani.com.

Orange County movie fans can look forward to another great summer of free and fun film screenings at Segerstrom Center for the Arts as Movie Mondays returns for its eighth season on the Arts Plaza. Movie Mondays 2014 kicks off with the heartwarming 1935 classic The Little Colonel, starring Shirley Temple. From post Civil War America we head to 1990s London with the sparkling Spice Girls starring in the jet set musical, Spice World. Then it is off to turn-of-the-20th century Paris with the Academy Award®-winning musical Gigi, directed by Vincente Minnelli and featuring some of the most memorable Lerner & Loewe tunes. Continuing with the winner of this year's Audience Favorite Fan Poll, Cabaret, starring Oscar winners Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey. Shirley MacLaine as the eternal optimist in Sweet Charity wraps up the summer film series. Center audiences will have a chance to see MacLaine live when she makes her Center debut on September 20 in her one-woman show.

The 2013 - 2014 jazz season at Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes the debut of the Fred Hersch Trio this weekend, May 2 & 3 in Samueli Theater.

Music soars to stunning new heights along with aerial fliers and acrobats, when they (plus contortionists, dancers, jugglers and strongmen) perform their death- and gravity-defying Cirque feats to popular classical masterpieces—all live, on stage and dramatically backed by a full orchestra for Pacific Symphony Pops. This jaw-dropping fusion of two art forms wows Symphony audiences of all ages for a third time, as the internationally recognized and award-winning artists of “Cirque de la Symphonie” take to the air and push themselves to the limit in a “spectacular event” that couples the “magical musical styling of Pacific Symphony” with the “playfulness of acrobats sharing the same stage,” according to A Taste of Dawn Magazine in a review that followed a performance in April 2012.

The supernatural power of love is taking Orange County by storm as the new Broadway and West End musical GHOST - THE MUSICAL, adapted from the Academy Award-winning film, opens at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, July 29 - August 10.

Adult amateur musicians ages 22 and older from across Orange County and beyond sit side by side their Pacific Symphony counterparts for a public workshop and performance led by Music Director Carl St.Clair in 'OC Can You Play with Us?' on Monday, May 12 and Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m.

“OC Can You Play with Us?” is a unique endeavor to expose amateur musicians and community members to professional music education and performance. This year's repertoire is the fourth and fifth movements of Hector Berlioz's “Symphonie Fantastique,” one of the most important pieces of the early Romantic period. Now in its fourth year, “OC Can You Play with Us?” welcomes 180 community musicians to perform onstage during four sessions over two nights. Friends, fans and interested observers are invited to attend this workshop-style event for free. Similar to an open rehearsal, the audience can expect to observe the artistic interpretation of Maestro St.Clair and hear the music take shape in the hands of the musicians. For more information, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

Teachers and school administrators, PTA members, community partners, nonprofit organizations and others interested in presenting world-class artists at assemblies or teach art workshops at their sites are encouraged to attend Segerstrom Center for the Arts' annual Arts Teach Showcase today, April 29 from 8:45 a.m. to 1:16 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

The heartwarming and hilarious one-man show, Snowflake, starring Gale LaJoye returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts this weekend, April 26 & 27 in Samueli Theater.

International rock icon Yoshiki has announced three new concert dates across Asia to his highly anticipated Yoshiki Classical tour. X Japan's founder and leader will bring his first classical concert tour to Taipei, Taiwan, as well as, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. The newly added concert dates follow Yoshiki's recently announced Bangkok, Thailand performance. Yoshiki, Asia's foremost rock icon and multi talented music superstar, will embark on the Yoshiki Classical tour at Segerstrom Center for the Arts tonight, April 25 at 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall before setting off across North America, Europe and Asia, culminating in Yoshiki's native Japan.