Community Folds 2,000 Paper Cranes to be Sent to Japanese Arts Orgs

More than 200 members of the community came together this past Tuesday in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and folded more than 2,000 paper cranes to help raise hope and spread awareness for the victims of the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Hosted by Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the paper cranes, with the wish of health and recovery for the Japanese people, will be sent to cultural arts organizations in the
affected areas of Japan, including the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, which is performing free concerts through a program titled Recovery Through the Power of Music in the disaster areas.

In Japanese culture, the crane is a symbol of hope, luck and prosperity and folklore says the act of folding 1,000 cranes grants a wish. The paper folding event coincided with a concert by the internationally acclaimed Tokyo String Quartet, which, along with Japanese Consul General Junichi Ihara, participated in making paper cranes. Donations for Japanese relief efforts were also accepted at the crane folding event and concert.

Through a generous matching program with OshKosh B'gosh, one piece of children's apparel for every crane folded will also be sent to the tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Corner Bakery, Champagne Bakery, Vie de France, French's Bakery (courtesy of Orange Coast Magazine), Donna B's Bakery Boutique (courtesy of The Orange County Register) and Patina Restaurant Group donated sweet treats and beverages for the event.

Founded in 1954, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County is Orange County's oldest and most recognized music organization, presenting the world's most acclaimed symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, performing organizations and artists. A catalyst for cultural and educational development throughout its region, the Philharmonic Society is a key resident company in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

For more than 55 years the Society has presented artists who set the standards for artistic achievement: Sir Georg Solti, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline du Pré, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel and Cecilia Bartoli, to name just a few. In addition, many of the world's greatest orchestras have performed in Orange County by invitation of the Philharmonic Society. The Society celebrated the diversity of our cultural landscape with Eclectic Orange Festival presentations from 1999-2004. Eclectic Orange events championed contemporary composers through commissions and sponsorship of regional and world premieres. Among the living composers presented were Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams, Edgar Meyer, Burhan Öçal and Mikel Rouse. Past presentations include the West Coast premiere of Steve Reich's "The Cave," the Southern California premiere of Terry Riley's "Sun Rings," the United States exclusive engagement of Théâtre Zingaro, the West Coast premiere of "Orion" by Philip Glass, the West Coast premiere of Steve Reich's "WTC 9/11", and the 2011 exclusive West Coast recital appearance of opera superstar Renée Fleming.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is both an acclaimed arts institution and a multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center traces its roots back to the late 1960s when a dedicated group of community leaders decided Orange County should have its own world-class performing arts venue.

As Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization, Segerstrom Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. The campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art. It is also the artistic home to the Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale

To post a comment, you must register and login.