Two captivating displays of youthful musicality take place this month as Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) and Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble (PSYWE) perform an impressive range of music for their individual spring concerts.
Pacific Symphony and Segerstrom Center for the Arts are coming together to present 'a madly original organist whose programs careen across centuries of musical history and sashay deep into our popular culture (music writer Alex Ross in his book, The Rest is Noise)'-rock star of the pipe organ, Cameron Carpenter. Still only in his early 30s, Carpenter is creating quite a stir in the press: 'Carpenter is one of the rare musicians who changes the game of his instrument,' wrote Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times. 'He is a smasher of cultural and classical music taboos. He is technically the most accomplished organist I have ever witnessed... And, most important of all, the most musical.' The headline in the Wall Street Journal read:'Not Your Grandma's Organist,' followed by this description of Carpenter: 'Alternately dazzling and subtle, and always fired by a profound musical intelligence.' The maverick musician who is causing the music world to sit up and take notice is also the first organist ever nominated for a Grammy Award for a solo album. Perhaps The New York Times put it most succinctly when they simply called Carpenter 'extravagantly talented.'
Shades of Jurassic Park! Big booming sounds from the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ and dino-mite music performed by Pacific Symphony combine with authentic footage from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) to create a family-fun musical expedition into the prehistoric world of "Dinosaurs!" Presented by Farmers and Merchants Bank, this Family Musical Mornings concert features a 66-pound dinosaur puppet, plus videos and still images of dinosaurs, fossils and paleontologists at work, provided by the NHM. Filled with dinosaur-inspired music, children and families are guided by paleontologist Dr. Olivia Mattis (Bree Burgess Rosen) and her young assistant Sammy (Coleton Ray) in a hunt for clues in the music to reveal the identity of a mystery dinosaur. An imaginative spectacle, "Dinosaurs!" sets the mood for the little T-Rex or Stegosaurus hoping to uncover the mysteries of natural history.
Shades of Jurassic Park! Big booming sounds from the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ and dino-mite music performed by Pacific Symphony combine with authentic footage from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) to create a family-fun musical expedition into the prehistoric world of “Dinosaurs!” Presented by Farmers and Merchants Bank, this Family Musical Mornings concert features a 66-pound dinosaur puppet, plus videos and still images of dinosaurs, fossils and paleontologists at work, provided by the NHM. Filled with dinosaur-inspired music, children and families are guided by paleontologist Dr. Olivia Mattis (Bree Burgess Rosen) and her young assistant Sammy (Coleton Ray) in a hunt for clues in the music to reveal the identity of a mystery dinosaur. An imaginative spectacle, “Dinosaurs!” sets the mood for the little T-Rex or Stegosaurus hoping to uncover the mysteries of natural history.
Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and keyboardist Michael McDonald lends his husky, soulful baritone to Pacific Symphony Pops for a concert featuring hits from his chart-topping career spanning more than four decades. From his 1970s beginnings singing back-up vocals with American rock band Steely Dan on songs including "Black Friday," to enhancing the funky R&B sound of The Doobie Brothers, to his award-winning solo career, McDonald has established himself as a timeless yet distinctive artist in pops music. One of the most popular vocalists to emerge from the '70s rock scene, McDonald commands the stage with his distinctive interpretations of classics like "What a Fool Believes," "On My Own," "Sweet Freedom," "I Keep Forgettin'," "Minute by Minute" and "Yah Mo B There." His more recent album, "Soul Speak," has been acclaimed as an "impeccable" crossover by BBC Radio since its release in 2008, when it also hit three different charts simultaneously.
Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and keyboardist Michael McDonald lends his husky, soulful baritone to Pacific Symphony Pops for a concert featuring hits from his chart-topping career spanning more than four decades. From his 1970s beginnings singing back-up vocals with American rock band Steely Dan on songs including “Black Friday,” to enhancing the funky R&B sound of The Doobie Brothers, to his award-winning solo career, McDonald has established himself as a timeless yet distinctive artist in pops music. One of the most popular vocalists to emerge from the '70s rock scene, McDonald commands the stage with his distinctive interpretations of classics like “What a Fool Believes,” “On My Own,” “Sweet Freedom,” “I Keep Forgettin',” “Minute by Minute” and “Yah Mo B There.” His more recent album, “Soul Speak,” has been acclaimed as an “impeccable” crossover by BBC Radio since its release in 2008, when it also hit three different charts simultaneously.
Yoshiki, Asia's foremost rock icon and multi talented music superstar, will bring his new live show, Yoshiki Classical, to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for a special one-night-only concert on Friday, April 25 at 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
Surging with energy, spontaneity and diversity, Pacific Symphony's upcoming concert-"Ravel's Piano Concerto"-is devoted to music from 19th-century France. Guest conductor Thierry Fischer leads the orchestra in an evening of impressionist and romantic music that includes Debussy's dreamy "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and Berlioz's theatrical Suite from "Romeo and Juliet." Maestro Fischer generates a tangible excitement during his concerts. Playing Ravel's masterful Piano Concerto in G Major is French pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Tharaud's individuality shines with stimulating, poised pianism.
Surging with energy, spontaneity and diversity, Pacific Symphony's upcoming concert—“Ravel's Piano Concerto”—is devoted to music from 19th-century France. Guest conductor Thierry Fischer leads the orchestra in an evening of impressionist and romantic music that includes Debussy's dreamy “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and Berlioz's theatrical Suite from “Romeo and Juliet.” Described by Chicago Classical Review as “the real thing—a musician of clear intelligence, technical skill and podium personality, drawing performances that blend impeccable balancing, textural clarity and fizzing exhilaration,” Maestro Fischer generates a tangible excitement during his concerts. Playing Ravel's masterful Piano Concerto in G Major is French pianist Alexandre Tharaud, who gripped The New York Times during his Carnegie Hall debut “with a sensation of the full span of keyboard music history lying nascent in [the] gemlike pieces” of his performance. Hailed as an “atmospheric, characterful pianist” by The Guardian, Tharaud's individuality shines with stimulating, poised pianism.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes jazz master Dr. Lonnie Smith in his Center debut tonight, February 21 and tomorrow, February 22 in Samueli Theater.
Led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, Pacific Symphony's vocal initiative, “Symphonic Voices,” continues with Giuseppe Verdi's thrilling but tragic tale about a dying courtesan willing to give up everything for love in “La Traviata.” Featuring the composer's exquisite music, presented in a uniquely staged production over three nights, the orchestra is joined by a cast of world-class opera stars; including soprano Elizabeth Caballero as Violetta Valéry and tenor Rolando Sanz as Alfredo Germont. Plus, the Pacific Chorale and members of the California State University Fullerton (CSUF) University Singers help fill the concert hall with exhilarating voices as Verdi's dramatic tale unfolds. While the selection of “La Traviata” as this year's opera is a tip of the hat to Verdi's bicentennial celebration, it is also a work that St.Clair is intimately familiar with—having conducted it while general music director of the Komische Oper Berlin.
The adventurous St. Lawrence String Quartet marks its third Segerstrom Center appearance with an exciting program that includes a world premiere of composer James Matheson's new string quartet commissioned for the Center's Chamber Music Series by long-time subscribers Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents an exclusive Southern California engagement of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater March 27 - 30.
Dubbed 'Valentine's Day with Matthew Morrison,' the three-night engagement of the OC native's entertaining, high-energy take on swinging, big-band jazz standards and classic Broadway showtunes continues through Saturday, February 15 at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. Behold: GLEE's Mr. Schuester has ditched the sweater vests and transformed himself into a cool, fedora-topped 21st Century song-and-dance man---and doesn't disappoint.
Two captivating displays of youthful musicality take place next month as Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) and Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble (PSYWE) perform an impressive range of music for their individual spring concerts. The students are bonded more than at any other time during the year, having recently returned from winter retreats, and have prepared some challenging repertoire to perform for the community. Led by Music Director Alejandro Gutiérrez, PSYO travels for the first time to Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo, on Saturday, March 1, at 3 p.m., to perform a concert of 20th-century music by Prokofiev, John Williams, James Newton Howard, Ginastera and more. Then, the exuberant sounds of PSYWE are heard the following weekend on Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Led by Music Director Joshua Roach, the wind ensemble performs and narrates Mussorgsky's masterwork, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and plays exciting music by Shostakovich, Grainger, Barber and Barnes. Tickets are $12, general admission; for more information or to purchase, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.
A "5, 6, 7, 8," the countdown begins for Segerstrom Center's popular Six Days of Broadway musical theater summer camps returning June 23 through July 6. During the week-long sessions, students learn and participate in musical performance, monologue interpretation, audition technique, scene work, dance and much more.
Share the love! It's a heart-filled evening of music, dining and entertainment-when Pacific Symphony's esteemed support group, the Pacific Symphony League, hosts 'A Valentine Prelude' to benefit the Symphony's music education programs. Taking place tonight, Feb. 13, 2014, at 5:30 p.m., at the Center Club in Costa Mesa, the fund-raising dinner serves as an overture to the Symphony's 'Valentine's Day with Matthew Morrison' Pops concert taking place in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall that same night.
Television celebrity and Broadway sensation Matthew Morrison joins Pacific Symphony Pops for a Valentine's Day spectacular of romantic show tunes and jazz standards. Best known for his popular role as Will Schuester, the optimistic and charming teacher on “Glee,” Morrison also brings An impressive Broadway resume to the stage. The Emmy-, Tony- and Golden Globe-nominated star has performed in smash hits including the original cast of “Hairspray,” “Footloose” and “The Light in the Piazza.” Morrison has released three albums, the most recent of which, “Where It All Began,” was praised by The Washington Post for “Morrison's handsome tenor backed by jazz combos, jazz big bands and orchestral strings.” An Orange County native, Morrison returns to his old stomping grounds to serenade the audience with his dazzling stage presence and a voice as smooth as chocolate.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts continues its Cabaret Series tonight, February 13 - 15 with Tony Award-nominated stage, screen and film actor and singer Peter Gallagher making his Center debut in his critically acclaimed cabaret show, How'd All You People Get In My Room?.
John Maeda, author of the best-selling book Redesigning Leadership, will be the featured speaker at the fifth annual Creative Edge Lecture on Wednesday, March 26 from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Renee & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, presented by Arts Orange County, Fourth District PTA, Orange County Department of Education and Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The title sponsors of the event are The Boeing Company and Phil & Mary Lyons.
