DECE

MBER

2017

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTERAT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

FIESTA MEXICANA: FELIZ NAVIDAD

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A NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

e rely on the generosity of individuals like you in order to do some

of our most important work—bridging communities by providing transformative performing arts experiences. There is nothing that motivates us more than hosting free performances every year for more than 10,000 individuals, many of whom are San Fernando Valley K-12 students attending their first concert.

The experience may be brief, but the impact is endless. At one recent performance for local schools, we presented The Veterans Project featuring 15 former members of the U.S. military performing on our stage. The Q and A afterward, between the students and the vets, was enough to

erase a month’s worth of negative headlines and world strife.This is just one of dozens of reasons you might consider supporting our work.

Maybe your gift list is already overflowing, and if so, we’re grateful to accept a pledge, payable before June 30—your gift is appreciated at any time of year.

I offer my thanks on behalf of the whole staff at The Soraya. They are an incredible group of individuals, the backbone of an organization with a heart, and with values. Please join us.

Thor Steingraber, Executive Director Valley Performing Arts Center

WMARIACHI VARGAS DE TECALITLÁN

CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA (To Cross the Face of the Moon)

A mariachi opera about three generations of two families with one border that divides them

Music by José “Pepe” Martínez Lyrics by José “Pepe” Martínez & Leonard Foglia Book by Leonard Foglia

Feb 16, 17 | 8PM Feb 18 | 3PM

Commissioned by and Premiered at Houston Grand Opera

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PRESENTS

VPACatCSUN

171117_BookletAD_Cruzar_5.5x8.indd 1 11/20/17 1:33 PM

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WELCOMING YOU TO VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

CONTENTS

12 HANSEL & GRETEL

22 ELIOT FISK, GUITAR J.S. BACH CELLO SUITES

28 A MICHAEL FEINSTEIN HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

34 FIESTA MEXICANA: FELIZ NAVIDAD

40 COLBURN ORCHESTRA

48 THE KLEZMATICS HAPPY JOYOUS HANUKKAH

FIESTA MEXICANA: FELIZ NAVIDAD

President, CSUNDr. Dianne F. Harrison

Vice President of Administration and

Finance, CSUNColin Donahue

Executive Director, VPACThor Steingraber

Associate Executive Director, VPAC

Terence McFarland

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE!Check-in on Facebook, tag us in your Instagram photos, Snapchat your moments or trend with us on Twitter. / VPACatCSUN

Sally AdelblueJuliana AlvarezMichael BergantzelAnthony E. CantrellCarey ChristensenJose FelixSheryl JonesLakhpreet KaurAnnikki LottaCharles MatthewTomas MedinaZac Northcraft

Cameron O’HanlonNick OldhamMaria ParedesChristian ParkerKim ParkerMichael RyanAlberto Sistos Joey SolanoJustin SouzaMegan Spellmeyer Nicki Sun Anabel Villalobos

Davidson & Choy Publicity | Gary W. Murphy Public Relations

Cover: Fiesta Mexicana: Feliz Navidad by Luis Luque; P.03: Thor Steingraber by Luis Luque; P.04-5: Fiesta Mexicana: Feliz Navidad by Luis Luque; P.07: Juliana Alvarez by Luis Luque; P.10-11: VPAC Great Hall by Luis Luque; P.12: Hansel and Gretel by Micah Chambers-Gold-berg; P.16-17: Braxton Baker, Kellie Cundiff, Cole Cuomo, Ashley Ruth Jones, Keir Kirkegaard, Erin Rye, and Rustin Cole Sailors courtesy of Theatre Planners; P.20: Hansel & Gretel by Luis Luque; P.22: Eliot Fisk by Keitaro Yoshioka; P.28: Michael Feinstein by Kevin Alvey; P.33: Drums of India: Free Community Performance, DIAVOLO Institute: Water Dance, DIAVOLO Festival: “Fox Flyers,” and Global Currents Festival by Luis Luque; P.34: Fiesta Mexicana: Feliz Navidad by Luis Luque; P.37: Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles by Luis Luque; P.38-39: Haddon Mariachi by Luis Luque; P.40: Colburn Orchestra by Luis Luque; P.48: The Klezmatics by Adrian Buckmaster; P.52: The Klezmatics by Daan Van Os; P.58: Leilah Broukhim courtesy of Leilah Broukhim; P.60: Usher Holding Tickets by Steve Babuljak; P.62: Porter Pavilion by Joey Solano; P.63: Bistro on the Terrace by Joey Solano.

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One of my passions is the arts, specifically dance. Growing up, I felt that dance was a mystifying

magic that brought people together and celebrated individuality, which I sought. I feel the love of dance in my heart when I see it; I’m around it, and especially when I dance (granted, I have two left feet!).

CSUN is another place where I feel I belong. I graduated from the David Nazarian School of Business with a Business Marketing degree and have worked for more than thirteen years in customer service management throughout the San Fernando Valley.

As a Production Administrator at The Soraya, I assist our Technical Director in ensuring that “Back of House” is in pristine condition and conducive for our artists to

create their art. The goal backstage is to make a home-away-from-home, where we provide the artists with the right tools to be able to do what they do best. I am absolutely enam-ored with working backstage. I am inspired by my surroundings and by my peers, who are the hardest working people I know. Like the saying goes, “It’s not work, when you are having fun.”

My enjoyment for what we do at The Soraya and our commitment to cultural and musical diversity through our Music Knows No Borders campaign has turned my love for our

mission into devotion. As a young girl, I didn’t always fit in, and my hope is that young people

at CSUN and in our community come to our performances and feel a sense of belonging, through

their experience with the artists, their music, and us.

Please come visit me backstage soon, and I’ll greet you with a smile and make you feel right at home!

Juliana AlvarezProduction Administrator

VPAC SPOTLIGHT

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Thank you for supporting VPAC’s 2017–18 Season with your annual contributions!

CHAMPIONS$50,000 - $100,000

Sheila Kurland ’78 & Stanford L. Kurland ‘75

Edward K. Burke ’59, MA ‘69Colburn Foundation$25,000 - $49,999

Evelyn Bautista TrustJosephine ’61, M ’70

& Robert BarberaDignity Health – Northridge

Hospital Medical CenterThe Ralph M. Parsons

FoundationDebbie Valera & Milt Valera ‘68$10,000 - $24,999

Carol Colburn GrigorDr. Shari A. Tarver-Behring

& John D. BehringHorace Heidt

Big Band FoundationFanny & Svante Knistrom

FoundationDavid C. LeeSaint Nicholas FoundationKathleen P. MartinJulia Strickland

& Timothy S. WahlAnthony & Jeanne Pritzker

Family FoundationElizabeth Ann PurcellRandolph A. Rice ‘75Dr. Carol ShubinOwen W. and Christine H.

Smith EndowmentBob Stiefel ‘67 &

Ed T. Imparato

PATRONS$5,000–$9,999

Dr. Gail F. Fonosch ‘68Sherry LapidesNeda Nobari FoundationAnne M. Payne ‘65 &

John T. PayneJudith S. & John F. Rothman Dr. Raul Ruiz$1,000–$4,999

Jeffrey M. Abell & Linda AbellNorma AndradeJeffrey Baker & Rodney DavisDr. Marlene BanePaul J. Beress ‘69Bill BergRosalyn & Neal Berg ‘80Jane Berk & James G. Berk ’81 Hon. D. ‘11Chuck Berney & FamilyDavid C. BohnettIrene & Dr. Stuart D. BoydJoan Reynolds BoyettRobert F. & Susan Pfeiler BrownSuzan L. Brownlee &

Dr. Don R. BrownleeMargot & Joe CalabreseCatherine &

Dr. Donald Cameron Ph.D.Allison ClagoJennifer & Royce DienerKaren D. Enzer ‘82 &

Earl S. Enzer ‘83Jilanne Fager ’63, M.A. ’72 &

Richard FagerDr. Bonnie Faherty &

Edward G. FeldmanFred FisherThomas J. FordDeanna & Jim GormanMarian & Jerome Gould

Karen W. Harper & Don HarperTama HolveChristina JaskiewiczGeorge A. Johnson Sr. Jon & Susan JoyceSeljuk KardanPatricia A. Kiddoo & Dr. Robert J. Kiddoo ‘69Julianna KorensteinDeirdre M. Larkin &

Edwin C. TingstromMarla Lefton ’83 & Cary LeftonAliza & Michael J. LesserHelen Gordon Lowy M.P.H.’75

& Alan LowyRobert MendowParry Weet O’Brien &

Edward O’BrienParadoxical Pictures Inc.Francine Oschin ‘84, MA ‘85Maria S. ParedesDr. Mary T. Pattiz & Norman PattizThe Hon. Joy & Dr. Gerald PicusBarbara & Sheldon PinchukNancy J. PorterCarolyn Clark PowersJoyce & David PrimesDr. Cynthia Z. Rawitch &

Robert J. Rawitch ‘67Andrea Reinken ’80 & Don ReinkenChristi Robinson ’07 &

John RobinsonCharlene M. Sievers ‘74 &

Mike SieversThor SteingraberDr. Paulette ShafranskiManja & Dennis K. SwansonLinda & Judd T. SwarzmanMarcella & Richard TylerVillage Travel StoreFlorentina West

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER DONORS 2017-18

VPAC AMBASSADORS ADVISORY BOARD

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER DONORS 2017-18

Jeffrey BakerDr. Marlene BaneIrene M. BoydJoan BoyettSusan Pfeiler BrownEd K. Burke ’59, M.A. ’69 Dr. Donald CameronRodney DavisJilanne Fager ’63, M.A. ’72Deanna Gorman

Karen HarperTama HolveMiriam JaffeGeorge A. JohnsonJulianna KorensteinSherry LapidesMarla Lefton ’83Genein LetfordHelen Gordon Lowy M.P.H. ’75Alan Lowy

Francine Oschin ’84The Hon. Joy PicusBarbara PinchukAndrea Reinken ’80Christi Robinson ’07Dr. Carol ShubinEllen R. Stohl ‘94Dr. Shari Tarver-BehringMarcella Tyler

FRIENDS$500–$999

Dr. Annette A. Besnilian ‘13 &George G. Besnilian

Sandra & Ronald Friedman ‘70Sharrise Gilbert ’76 &

Michael W. GilbertYvonne L. GreenWendy KelmanLinda KleigerAnn Lowe &

Raymond W. Lowe ‘84Marcia M. & Steven H. MedofNatalie & Jeffrey M. NoblittJoAnn S. Roth &

Leonard J. RothPeggy T. Robin ’75 &

Edward B. RobinJill ShindermanCharlene Sievers ’74 &

Mike SieversRenee TepperAlma R. Zatarain$100–$499

Nancy & Dr. James AllenLeslie & Thomas BeersJudy BenedictStephen T. Brown ‘87Jean O. Buesing &

Gregory P. Buesing

Christine Burdick-BellPatricia J. BurgRegina ChinwezeEileen Cordi ’75 & James M. CordiSusan Levy D’Anna &

Joseph R. D’AnnaGuadalupe Diaz ‘99Kathleen H. Dooley &

Charles T. DooleyDaniel J. Duehren ‘72Suzanne H. EpsteinThomas J. FordRuth L. Forman MA ‘79Lila GellerSuzette Gordon & Jon M. ZuberToni HertzLindsay A. Hill ‘82Ms. Karyl A. Hirschmann ‘76Louis L. Hoban ‘98Araya HoisungPamela JacksonRebecca A. Jacobson &

Kenneth A. JacobsonBrenda Kanno Jean KatzBea F. Kaye & David KayeLillian KimbellDr. Barbara Kornblau ‘74 &

Dr. Donald Kornblau

Harriet & Dr. Eric R. LeibovitchJennifer LeonardBarbara & Gary LuboffMelody Mansfield ‘90Andreas Marbach ‘76Kathleen Metrovitsch ‘70 &

Paul J. Metrovitsch ‘69Patricia I. Miller ‘72, MA ‘76 &

Robert H. Miller ‘73Marisa MorabitoRichard A. PackardDmitry RachmanovNorma RahlShelley B. Rivlin ‘68Nicholas S. Rolf ‘05Ken Howard & Michael RyanHelene Schacter &

Dr. Robert SchacterRoberta & Dr. Ronald SchafferFred ScholderMary F. ScottVivienne Steele &

Frank R. SilkwoodFrances A. Stengel &

Arnold L. StengelDonna H. Talamantez ‘77Jose L. TejedaLigia E. Toutant ‘03 &

Dr. William P. ToutantEva Unite

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VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDING DONORS THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!

VPAC GREAT HALL

CORNERSTONE FOUNDERS

$5,000,000+

Linda and Mike Curb ’63, Hon. D. ’09

FOUNDERS

$1,000,000 - $4,999,999

Mary ’63 and Jack Bayramian Jean and David Fleming Hon. D. ’09 Sheila and Stanford L.

Kurland Family Foundation The Ralph M. Parsons FoundationNancy and Clyde Porter Nextel CommunicationsOffice of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

$500,000 - $999,999

The Ahmanson Foundation Office of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich CSUN Foundation Board Follett Higher Education Group

Joseph Drown Foundation Larry Layne and Sheelagh BoydMuriel Pollia Foundation

FOUNDING BENEFACTORS

$100,000 - $499,999

Josephine ’61, M ’70 and Robert BarberaDr. Ami and Remo BelliCalifornia Community Foundation CSUN Alumni AssociationRobbi and Rickey GelbLawrence K. Gould, Jr.The Green FoundationHGA Architects and EngineersMary and Samuel Bond Haskell, IIISherry and Albert Lapides M ’68Virginia ManciniMGM and UA Service CompanyNational Notary AssociationNorthern Trust, NALisa and Charles Noski ’73, M ’95,

Hon. D ’07Valerie and Sanford P. ParisJoAnn and Leonard RothEda and Robin Rousselet ’79, M ’97, M ’10State Farm InsuranceU.S. Congressman Brad ShermanBob Stiefel ’67 and Ed ImparatoManja and Dennis SwansonMilt ’68 and Debbie ValeraValley Alliance for the ArtsWalter Lantz FoundationWells Fargo

FOUNDING DISTINGUISHED PATRONS$25,000 - $99,999

ADP FoundationEdythe and Eli BroadLinda BrownNancy CartwrightCharlene and Burton Sperber Foundation

Karen Dunbar-Enzer ’81 and Earl Enzer ’83Jaleh ’86 and Galen EtemadIlene and Stanley GoldGoldman Sachs & Co.John Golisch ’72Cynthia Haas Griffeth ’78 and William C. Griffeth ’80Elizabeth Levitt HirschHorace Heidt Big Bands FoundationJanet and Benjamin KaplanEllie and Mark LainerElizabeth and Howard LayneMarla and Cary LeftonDr. Jolene Koester and Dr. Myron W. LustigErika and Gus Manders ’64Timothy Miklaucic and Ana Loehnert Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co., LLP Barry J. NadellWalter J. Perez, Calif. Industrial Grp. Corp.Samuel Goldberg & Sons Foundation, Inc.Stern Family FoundationValley Presbyterian Hospital

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 | 3PM

ORIGINAL PRODUCTION FUNDED BY:

MARLA & CARY LEFTON JULIA STRICKLAND & TIM WAHL

HANSEL & GRETELA WICKEDLY DELICIOUS

MUSICAL TREAT

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER & PLAYHOUSE SQUARE PRESENT

MUSICAL BY JUSTIN ROBERTS & ERNIE NOLAN FAIRY TALE BY THE GRIMM BROTHERS

ANIMATION DIRECTOR: MICAH CHAMBERS-GOLDBERG

DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MATTHEWS

THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION

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VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER & PLAYHOUSE SQUARE PRESENT

HANSEL & GRETEL A WICKEDLY DELICIOUS MUSICAL TREAT

Musical by JUSTIN ROBERTS & ERNIE NOLAN Directed by MICHAEL MATTHEWS

Animation Director: MICAH CHAMBERS-GOLDBERG3D Animator: GASPARD LACROIX

BASED ON THE FAIRY TALE BY THE GRIMM BROTHERS

Starring

BRAXTON BAKER, KELLIE CUNDIFF, COLE CUOMO, ASHLEY RUTH JONES, KEIR KIRKEGAARD, ERIN RYE, AND RUSTIN COLE SAILORS

Original Lighting DesignLUKE MOYER

Tour Lighting DesignZACH LEUCHARS

CastingMICHAEL DONOVAN, CSA

Costume DesignE.B. BROOKS

Props DesignWARREN CASEY

Tour ProducerVICTORIA WATSON, THEATRE PLANNERS

Music DirectorNICHOLAS PETRILLO

Sound DesignCRICKET S. MYERS

Music OrchestratorANDREW FOX

CAST OF CHARACTERS(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

Wilhelm Grimm/Fritz...............................................................................RUSTIN COLE SAILORSJacob Grimm/Ingmar......................................................................................KEIR KIRKEGAARDGretel...........................................................................................................ASHLEY RUTH JONESHansel.................................................................................................................BRAXTON BAKERAlbert.....................................................................................................................COLE CUOMODuchess Geschwitz/Lotte................................................................................................ERIN RYEAngelika/Frua Schmalz..................................................................................... KELLIE CUNDIFF

PLACEHANAU, GERMANY

THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION

MUSICAL NUMBERS

THIS PLACE.................................................................................. The Grimm Brothers, CompanyWE GOTTA RUN....................................................................................................Hansel, GretelTHERE’S ALWAYS ME AND YOU.........................................................................Gretel, HanselTHERE WILL BE MAGIC............................................................................... Duchess GeschwitzTOGETHER.......................................................................................................Hansel, CompanyCRUMB BY CRUMB.........................................................................................Hansel, CompanyYOU’VE GOT TO DO IT ALONE..................................Gretel, Albert, Hansel, Fritz, CompanyI AM ALWAYS NEAR.............................................................................................................LotteSUGAR IS THE PERFECT FOOD...........................................................................Gretel, HanselINCANTATION......................................................................................................................LotteLEND A HAND......................................................................................................Gretel, IngmarLEND A HAND (REPRISE)................................................................................................ IngmarIT’S NOT OVER (IT’S OVER).........................................................Lotte, Hansel, Ingmar, GretelI WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST …………………...………………………………………………..CompanyThe soundtrack for Hansel & Gretel is available on iTunes!

Production Stage ManagerESTEY DEMERCHANT

Assistant Director/Choreographer

BONNIE MCMAHAN

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CAST

BRAXTON BAKER (Hansel Ekkehard) was raised in Duluth, MN, and now lives and works in Los Angeles. Stage appearances in Minneapolis, MN,

include Martin in Little Eyes at the Guthrie Theater and Claude Bukowski in HAIR, Angel Schunard in RENT and Bartholomew in The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, all at the Children’s Theatre Company. Other roles include Orin in Little Shop of Horrors and Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. His TV/film appear-ances include Tony in Investigation Discovery’s Murder Among Friends, Nico in DADS and Ryan in Reckless Juliets. He’d like to thank all family and friends who’ve helped him along the way.

KELLIE CUNDIFF (Angelika Ekkehard/Frau Schmalz) is thrilled to be bringing this classic story to life with such a talented group of

people! Since moving to L.A. from Chicago two years ago, she has worked with the Norris Theatre (Mrs. Banks/Mary Poppins; Tansy/The Nerd), the Chance Theatre (Grace Farrell/Annie), and Musical Theatre West (My Fair Lady). Select Chicago credits include productions at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire, Fox Valley Rep, and Theatre at the Center. Favorite regional credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Ma-bel) at Cohoes Music Hall in New York, The

Light in the Piazza (Franca) at Mad Cow Theatre in Orlando, As You Like It (Celia) at Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest, and her one-woman show The Sounds of Broadway on Oceania Cruises throughout Europe. She has a degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University. Much love to her family and friends! www.kelliecundiff.com

COLE CUOMO (Albert Ekkehard) is a native of Long Beach, CA and a proud resident of Los Angeles where he regularly performs

improvised plays with Max von Spyder’s Spooky Stories. Theater credits include Von Hussler in Mary Poppins (Musical Theater West), Robespierre/Ozzy in The Scarlet Pimpernel (Hollywood Fringe), Olin Britt in The Music Man (Palos Verdes Performing Arts), The Sheriff in Bubble Boy: The Musi-cal (Contempo Productions), Jaime/Lord Boxington in My Fair Lady (MTW), The Proprietor in Assassins (Pico Theater), and Stewpot in South Pacific (MTW). Webseries roles include Sgt. McRuff in “Dick Hopper, Private Eye” (available on Hulu) and the Singing Angelfish in “Janny Jelly” (available on YouTube). Thanks to the cast and crew of Hansel & Gretel, Steven Dry, Elena, Julian, and mom and Marshall for all the support.

ASHLEY RUTH JONES (Gretel Ekkehard) Recent credits include A Chorus Line at the

Hollywood Bowl, Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street (SDMT), and Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act (MTW). Other regional credits: Psyche in Psyche: A Modern Rock Opera, Missing Pages of Lewis Carroll (Theatre @ Boston Court), Singin’ in the Rain, Les Miz (MTW), La Cage (SDMT) and Legally Blonde (Cabrillo Music Theatre, Ovation nominated). University credits: Sarah (Guys and Dolls), Wendla (Spring Awakening) and Maggie (A Chorus Line). Proud graduate of the UCLA Ray Bolger Musical Theater program. All of the love and thanks to Michael, MD Casting, KMR and my incredible family.

KEIR KIRKEGAARD (Jacob Grimm/ Ingmar) is very excited to be joining this wonderful cast! Recently he has been seen rocking out as

Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages both in Las Vegas and aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines, traveling the world as Danny 2 Step in Barbie LIVE the Musical, starred in the world premiere of Scary Musical, and has appeared on TOSH.O and Glee. Shout out to Michael Donovan, his wonderful family, friends, and amazing fiancé!

ERIN RYE (Duchess Geschwitz/Lotte) is thrilled to be playing a witch! You can catch her as another kind of witch (#typecasting) in the

upcoming sSISTERSs: An Experimental Musical at USC. TV: Veep (HBO), Dimension

404 (Hulu), UnReal (Lifetime). LA Theater: Winter Is Coming: A Game of Thrones Parody Musical (Hollywood Fringe). Erin also garnered a Grammy nomination as a member of The Silver Lake Chorus and writes and directs funny films about lady things.

RUSTIN COLE SAILORS (Wilhelm Grimm/Fritz) Rustin was most recently starring as the “Guy” in Once at South Coast Repertory

Theatre. Other credits include Pharaoh in Joseph at the Sierra Repertory Theatre, Rebel in the NCL installment of For The Record, The Brat Pack, Drew in Broadway’s Rock of Ages at the Venetian Las Vegas, Original Deaf West Los Angeles production of Broadway revival of Spring Awakening as Voice of Moritz, HAIR at the Hollywood Bowl, RENT (Roger), Les Miserables (Mari-us). Rustin is represented theatrically by KMR talent. Thanks to dear family, friends and his team, Evan, Ashley, and Mark.

CREATIVE TEAMJUSTIN ROBERTS (Music and Lyrics) Two-

time Grammy-nominated Justin Roberts is truly one of the “all-stars” of the indie family music scene. For nearly 20 years, Roberts has been creating the soundtrack to fami-lies’ lives, helping kids navigate the joys and sorrows of growing up and parents remember their own childhoods. Along with his band, The Not Ready for Naptime Players, they have travelled the globe, from Hong Kong to New York and Miami to Seattle.

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Justin has performed in front of millions of people on The Today Show, he’s been featured on Nick Jr. TV, and his song “Get Me Some Glasses” was on a World Series broadcast. He’s received two Grammy nominations, for Jungle Gym in 2011 and Recess in 2013. Recent appearances include performances at NYC’s New Victory Theater, DC’s National Geographic Live, LA’s Getty Museum, Seattle’s Moore Theater, Lollapalooza, Austin City Lim-its and Chicago’s Ravinia. For more informa-tion, please visit: justinrobertsmusic.com

ERNIE NOLAN (Book), the Executive Artistic Director of Nashville Children’s Theatre, is an award-winning director and playwright whose work has been featured at such theatres as The Coterie, First Stage, Walnut Street, Orlando Rep, South Caroli-na Children’s Theatre, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo, MD, La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA, The Milwau-kee Zoological Society and Circle Theatre in Omaha, NE in partnership with the Institute for Holocaust Education. He is currently the International Representative for TYA USA to ASSITEJ and a proud graduate of both the University of Michigan (BFA Musical Theatre) and The Theatre School at DePaul University (MFA Directing).

ANDREW FOX (Music Orchestrator) Theat-rical orchestrations include Grammy nominee Justin Roberts’ Hansel and Gretel: A Wickedly Delicious Musical Treat, Starkid’s Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, Foreverman (Winner 2012 NYMF Awards for Excellence, Outstanding Orchestration), Roads Coura-

geous, Edges, various pieces for the annual Broadway In Chicago concert in Millenium Park and the “Still” orchestration for From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert for Sandy Hook. He was the musical coordinator for the North American premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s My Fairytale and has contribut-ed orchestrations to the children’s musicals Space Pirates and Tut, Tut!

MICAH CHAMBERS-GOLDBERG (Anima-tion Director), known for his whimsical imag-ination and fantastic imagery, is a versatile and accomplished artist in film and anima-tion. He has directed notable music videos such as Fly or Die, performed by the pro-duction dream team Rock Mafia, which was sponsored by Coca-Cola’s 5 by 20 campaign and Spotify. His Fantasia-style animated film, Who Stole The Mona Lisa?, set to Stravinsky’s The Firebird, has been screened with a live score by the Queens Symphony Orchestra and is slated to be accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra in the coming concert year. Micah’s vast array of projects include animation for Coca-Cola, Cristiano Ronaldo’s ROC Headphones, The National Civil Rights Museum, Eminem’s Shady Records and Stereo 3D animation for the Broadway magic show, The Illusionists. His award-winning short films have screened around the world to much acclaim.

GASPARD LACROIX (3D Animator) start-ed designing as a graffiti artist. Lacroix has DJ in the Alps (FR) and in NYC, web-de-signed when Macromedia still owned Flash and was a sound engineer/Beat maker in Paris. Lacroix has also completed 1-year in-

tensive programs at each of the great design schools in Paris: ESAG Penninghen, ATEP and EPSAA. “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso

MICHAEL MATTHEWS (Director) Los Angeles: Bootycandy (LA Premiere), Failure, a Love Story (Ovation Award, Director; LA Premiere), Sons of the Prophet (LA Premiere), Psyche (World Premiere), Peter Pan: the Boy Who Hated Mothers (LA Weekly Nom, Di-rector), Rabbit Hole (La Mirada), Funny Girl (Ovation Nom, Director), Very Still and Hard To See (LA Weekly Nom, Director; World Pre-miere), The Color Purple, The Musical (Ova-tion and LA Weekly Awards, Director), What’s Wrong With Angry? (Ovation Nom, Director), Take Me Out! (Ovation Nom, Director; NAACP Award, Director) The Women of Brewster Place, The Musical (Ovation Nom, Director; NAACP Award, Director), The Bacchae (Ova-tion Nom, Director), Beautiful Thing (Ovation Nom, Director). Michael is the recipient of the 2015 LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Career Achievement in Direction.

BONNIE MCMAHAN (Assistant Director/ Choreographer) Bonnie is the producing director for Jaxx Theatricals and has enjoyed a successful career as a producer, performer and choreographer, most recently choreo-graphing/dancing in an ORBITZ Travel commercial featuring Randy Rainbow and Margaret Cho. CHICAGO the Musical, Hudson Theatres (Ovation Nominee) Ragtime the Musical (2 NAACP Awards, 7 Nominations) West Side Story (LA Times Critics Pick) Caba-ret (Backstage West Garland award winner)

Chess In Concert (Backstage West Garland nominee and 2 Broadway World Awards). Favorite stage credits include: (Cassie) A Chorus Line, (Roxie Hart) CHICAGO the Musi-cal, (Queenie) The Wild Party, (Sheila) Hair, (Sally Bowles) Cabaret, (Peggy/Choreogra-pher National Tour) Room 105: The Highs and Lows of Janis Joplin.

NICHOLAS PETRILLO (Musical Director) Nick currently holds the position of touring music director for Frenchie Davis (The Voice) and David Hernandez (American Idol), both of whom tour domestically and international-ly. He is also the event entertainment contrac-tor for Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank and Bright Horizons Family Solutions in Boston. In musical theatre, Nick has worked for 3-D Theatricals, musical directing Tarzan in summer 2015 and is resident musical director for Theatre Planners in Hollywood, having musical directed Reunion, The Story of Alice and Drama Queens From Hell and The Siamese Sex Show.

LUKE MOYER (Lighting Designer) Luke is the resident lighting designer for the NoHo Arts Center and Open at the Top, and his recent credits include Blame it on Valentine Texas, Dis-cord, The Light Bulb, One November Yankee, Red Room, Having it All Dracula (Ovation Award), Yo Ho Ho! A Pirates Christmas, East of Berlin, Departures, Pirates of Penzance, Feed, Jerusalem, Barnum, Elizabeth Rex (Ovation Award), Lizard and the full staging of Angels In America. He is also the resident lighting designer for the Amer-ican Academy of Dramatic Arts. Luke began his career at the Main Street Stage in Massa-chusetts where he designed PMS, Apartment

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3A, Irma Vepp and Collected Stories. He has designed many shows for The Company Rep in-cluding Six Degrees of Separation, Camino Real, Split, The Comedy of Errors, The Fantasticks, The Pension Grillparzer, Season’s Greetings, Twelfth Night, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Play Strindberg. More west coast credits include Deathtrap (Ovation Award), Shooting Star, Year Zero, Grace and Glory, All Night Strut, Celadine, A Long Christmas Ride Home, Recent Tragic Events, The Intern, The Last Pitch, Genera-tor Girl and Why is the Dog Howling Mama?

CRICKET S. MYERS (Sound Designer) On Broadway, Cricket earned a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award for her design of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Off Broad-way designs include The Marvelous Wonder-ettes. She has also designed regionally at The Geffen Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, The Ahmanson, The Mark Taper Forum, Berkley Rep, Arena Stage, South Coast Rep, The Kirk

Douglas Theater and the Pasadena Playhouse. Other selected L.A. Theatre include NoHo Arts Center, Ghost Road Theater Company, The Celebration Theater, Antaeus Theater Company and Circle X. She has earned 20 Ovation nominations, as well as winning The Kinetic Award for Outstanding Achievements in Theatrical Design, an LADCC and a Gar-land Award. www.cricketsmyers.com

WARREN CASEY (Props Designer) A gradu-ate of Art Center College of Design in Pasade-na. He has work over 35 years in almost ev-ery aspect of design from interiors, graphics, photography, fine art to set design. Not only a designer, in his shop he can build everything he designs. He has worked in film, television, commercial interior/exterior design, theme park/museum design & theater. From 2000 to 2013 he was a full time professional musician & manager in the national performing act “Wicked Tinkers.” warrencasey.com

ESTEY DEMERCHANT (Production Stage Manager) Bright Colors, Bold Patterns (SM, Celebration Theatre), Charm (PSM, Celebra-tion Theatre), 24th Annual Young Playwright’s Festival (PSM, Blank Theatre), Simply Shake-speare 2016/2015/2014 (ASM, Shakespeare Center LA), Shelter (PSM, Center for New Performance), 23rd Annual Young Play-wright’s Festival (PSM, Blank Theatre), 2014 Ovation Awards (PSM, LA Stage Alliance), How Grinchy Met the Who (PSM, Berocratic Productions), Spectacular Spectacular(PSM, La Fleur Couture), Legally Blonde The Musical (PSM, Old Town Playhouse), Rocky Horror Show (PSM, 4 Cornered Productions).

MICHAEL DONOVAN, CSA (Casting Di-rector) is the recipient of six Artios awards, given by the Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. His theatre credits include shows produced at Pasadena Playhouse, the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Geffen Play-house, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, International City Theatre, Ebony Repertory Theatre, the Getty Villa, Laguna Playhouse, the Falcon Theatre, the Colony Theatre, The Theatre @ Boston Court, the 24th St. Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara, Arizona Theatre Company, Arkan-sas Rep, the Totem Pole Playhouse and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, as well as several national tours. Recent shows include A Chorus Line (Hollywood Bowl), Recorded in Hollywood (Kirk Douglas) and Frozen (Disneyland). Michael has cast numerous independent films and over 1,200 commer-cials, and his TV credits include the series Blood Relatives.

THEATRE PLANNERS (General Man-agement) is a complete theatre production service company that hit the Los Angeles scene over ten years ago. Since 2012, Theatre Planners has developed into a very busy and successful outlet for actors, writers, directors and theatre companies. Doing everything from consulting to budgeting to logistics and marketing, we love making productions a reality and helping to keep the theatre scene in LA alive and strong. Theatre Planners also owns and manages The Lounge Theatres and The Zephyr Theatre. For more information about Theatre Planners services and theatres, please go to www.theatreplanners.com.

E.B. BROOKS (Costume Designer) Previous designs with director Michael Matthews: Billy and Ray at Laguna Playhouse, Take Me Out at Celebration Theater and world premiere of Psy-che a Modern Rock Opera. Other Los Angeles: Geffen Playhouse: Choir Boy, Bad Jews, Wait Until Dark, Build, Good People. LA LGBT Center: Hit The Wall (2016 stage raw best costume design nominee). The Industry: Invisible Cities. A Noise Within: Blithe Spirit (2010 Ticketholder Award Best Costume Design). CNP/ RedCat: Brewsie and Willie (2010 LA Weekly Award for Best Production Design), Fantomas, What to Wear. Native Voices at The Autry: Off the Rails, They Don’t Talk Back, East West Play-ers: The Language Archive, A Nice Indian Boy. Black Dahlia Theater: Hey Morgan!, Secrets of the Trade and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Boston Court Theater: Cassiopeia, Courting Vampires, 1001. She also designs for film, TV and commercials. E.B. received her MFA from CalArts and is a member of IATSE USA 829 and The Costume Designers Guild 892.

HANSEL & GRETEL

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PROGRAM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6 | 8PM

THIS PERFORMANCE IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY ELIZABETH ANN PURCELL, KATHLEEN P. MARTIN, AND COLBURN FOUNDATION

ELIOT FISK, GUITAR J.S. BACH CELLO SUITES

ONSTAGE SESSIONS

CHAMBER MUSIC

ELIOT FISK

THERE WILL BE ONE FIFTEEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION

MEDIA SPONSOR KUSC

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PROGRAM

J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites 1, 2, and 3 transcribed and performed by Eliot Fisk, guitar

Suite BWV 1007............................................................. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)PreludeAllemandeCouranteSarabandeMenuet IMenuet IIGigue

Suite BWV 1009 ............................................................ Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)PreludeAllemandeCouranteSarabandeBouree IBouree IIGigue

Guitarist ELIOT FISK is known worldwide as a charismatic performer famed for his ad-venturous and virtuosic repertoire. He is also celebrated for his willingness to take music into unusual venues (schools, senior centers, and even logging camps and prisons!). After nearly 50 years before the public he remains, as his mentor Andres Segovia once wrote, “at the top line of our artistic world.”

In the 2017-18 season Fisk continues to break new ground for the guitar with mara-thon performances of his transcriptions of all 6 Bach solo cello Suites, duo performances with guitar legend Angel Romero and with a new trio formed with virtuoso guitarists Joaquin Clerch and Aniello Desiderio.

The long-awaited release of Robert Beaser’s monumental guitar Concerto (dedicated to Eliot Fisk) on LINN records in 2017 elicited rave reviews online and in print. In the spring of 2017, Fisk premiered Son Dementes Cuerdas with the famed Arditti String Quartet with performances on two continents, culminating in a performance at Wigmore Hall in London in a concert also featuring the Sequenza XI for solo guitar composed for and dedicated to Eliot Fisk by Luciano Berio.

Fisk has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Sympho-ny, Rochester Symphony, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Pro Arte Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and many others. He returns regularly to major concert series such as Stanford Lively Arts; Spivey Hall, Atlanta; Duke Universi-ty Performances; Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver; Lincoln Center; The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the

92nd Street Y in NYC; Da Camera Society of Houston; Da Camera Society of Los Angeles; San Francisco Chamber Music; Segovia Series at Pick-Staiger Hall at Northwestern Univer-sity; Jordan Hall, Boston; Orange County Performing Arts Center; Brahms, Mozart and Schubert Saal (Vienna); Mozarteum Grosser Saal (Salzburg); Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall (London) and at numerous guitar festivals in Cordoba, Spain; Belgrade, Serbia; and Iserlohn, Bad Aibling and Hers-bruck, Germany, among others.

Fisk has performed with a dizzying array of chamber music colleagues including flutist Paula Robison; clarinetist Richard Stoltzman; cellist Yehuda Hanani; violinists Ruggiero Ricci, Gidon Kremer and Joshua Bell; and the Shanghai, Juilliard, Miro, Bor-romeo and Arditti String Quartets.

He has invented numerous cross over proj-ects with, among others, Paco Peña (flamenco guitar), Joe Pass and Bill Frisell (jazz guitar), chanteuse Ute Lemper, and Turkish music specialist, Burhan Öçal.

The repertoire of the classical guitar has been transformed through Fisk’s innumer-able transcriptions, including works by Bach, Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart, Paganini, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Granados, Albeniz and many others. In addition, numerous new works have been dedicated to him by composers as varied as Leonardo Balada, Robert Beaser, Luciano Berio, Ralf Gawlick, Nicholas Maw, George Rochberg, Daniel Bernard Roumain and Kurt Schwertsik.

Fisk remains a prolific recording artist. Recent releases include Ralf Gawlick’s Kollwitz Konnex for soprano and guitar (Musica Om-nia), Anthony Paul de Ritis’s Pop Concerto with

INTERMISSION

ACT 2

Suite BWV 1012 ............................................................. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)PreludeAllemandeCouranteSarabandeGavotte IGavotte IIGigue

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Gil Rose leading the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, a pair of CDs of new music dedicated to and transcribed by Fisk of works by Beaser, Corigliano, Schwertsik, and Rochberg (Wild-ner Records), and duo discs with flamenco leg-end Paco Peña (Nimbus Records), and cellist Yehuda Hanani (Albany Records).

Fisk was the last direct pupil of Andres Segovia and also studied interpretation with the legendary harpsichordist Ralph Kirk-patrick at Yale University, from which he graduated summa cum laude in 1976, and where, directly following his own graduation in 1977, he founded the guitar department at the Yale School of Music.

Described by one New York Times headline as a “Fiery Missionary to the Unconverted,” Eliot Fisk is Professor at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where he teaches in five languages, and in Boston at the New England Conservatory, where in 2010 he received the Krasner Award as Teacher of the Year.

In June 2006, King Juan Carlos of Spain awarded Eliot the “Cruz de Isabel la Católica” for his service to the cause of Spanish music. Earlier recipients of this honor have included Andres Segovia and Yehudi Menuhin.

Eliot Fisk is Founder and Artistic Director of Boston GuitarFest (www.bostonguitarfest.org), an annual cross-disciplinary event co-spon-sored by the New England Conservatory and Northeastern University and now entering its 13th consecutive year. In 2017 he created and served as Artistic Director of the first ever and immensely successful Salzburg Guitar Fest at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg.

In summer of 2014 he toured China, per-forming with his wife, classical guitarist Zaira

Meneses, and the couple’s young daughter, pianist Raquel Fisk.

PROGRAM NOTESJohann Sebastian Bach’s 6 Suites for unac-

companied violoncello (BWV 1007 -1012) are among the many examples of Bach’s ability to leapfrog his contemporaries into the future. These sui generis works, which span the entire gamut of human feeling, from darkest depression to exultant joy, remain unique and unrivaled in the entire literature for solo cello.

Ironically, not a note of the cello music has survived in Bach’s own hand. We have only his score of his own transcription for baroque lute of the 5th Suite, the renamed “Pieces pour la luth…” BWV 995. Still, this genius transcription for a sister instrument of the modern guitar gives us an idea of what sort of revision Bach might have made had he arranged the entire set.

In my own efforts to embrace these epic masterpieces I have tried to fill out harmo-nies and add counterpoint and ornaments in a way that seems to me consistent with baroque practice and Bach’s own penchant for revisiting and transforming his own and others’ works. As was typical in Bach’s time I also feel free to improvise many nuances spontaneously as the spirit moves me.

The first Suite, originally in G major, begins with what is surely the most famous single movement of the entire set. Interest-ingly enough, its first two notes (G- D) spell out the entire ambitus of the original keys (G,d,C,Eb,c,D) of the entire 6 Suite set, a typ-ically Bachian example of the unity of detail and overarching structure: a single second

at the start of a huge cycle suffices to outline the scope of the ensuing two hours plus!

It is no surprise whatsoever that the perfec-tion of Bach’s worldly creation mirrors that of the creation of his Maker, a small detail re-flecting the structure of more massive edifice.

Suites 1, 3, and 6, BWV 1007, 1009 and 1012 are some of the (for want of a better word!) “happiest” music in all of Bach. Of course this happiness is not easily won, but it is unmistakable and omnipresent.

Atypically for Bach in his numerous collections of groups of six suites, sonatas, partitas etc., all six cello Suites share the same basic structure:

Prelude (always the most extensive movement); the duple/triple meter pair of ruminative, often flowing Allemande and Courante (often with hemiola); the profound Sarabande (always the core and very soul of every suite); pairs of dance movements (Minuets, Bourees or Gavottes) with the contrasting second dance always implying a more intimate voice; and a concluding Gigue to sum up the action of the preceding move-ments and bring the discourse to an inevita-ble conclusion (almost like the Q.E.D. at the end of a geometric proof!)

As the cello suite cycle proceeds, Bach in typical fashion offers ever bigger-boned works: by Suite V he is retuning one string of the cello (scordatura) and by Suite VI calls for a five instead of four string cello. Clearly this is an expanding universe of ever greater eloquence and power!

I think of these Suites almost as mini-op-eras. In each Suite pacing and timing be-tween movements are of critical importance. In the same way that Bach’s Johannes Passion

is as close as he ever came to writing opera (a characteristic that made this work con-troversial in its day and inspired numerous rewritings), each of these Suites describes a dramatic whole that holds our attention from beginning to end.

Nothing I have done in over a half a century of study of the guitar has been more challenging or rewarding than the effort across several decades time of transcribing and reinventing these pieces for the classical guitar. My brilliant friend, pianist Sir Andras Schiff, speaks of the modern piano as an instrument unknown to Bach but one that is well suited to catch the expressive continuum of his various keyboard instruments. These ranged in power from the regality of the organ through the scintillating sound of the varied types of harpsichords, through lute harpsichords (with gut strings plucked by leather plectra) and on down to the clavi-chord, reputedly Bach’s favorite and certainly the most intimate and quiet of the whole baroque keyboard menagerie.

Likewise, the classical guitar combines qualities of the myriad hand-plucked lutes and theorboes known to Bach but also occasionally aspects of the above-men-tioned keyboard instruments as well. Thus it is also a fully legitimate medium for this heavenly music.

Bach’s music is absolute and transcends all boundaries of time and place. Perhaps no composer in history is at once so unattain-able and yet ultimately indestructible as Jo-hann Sebastian Bach! As Bach’s companion genius in the realm of written words might say: “If music be the food of love, play on!”

Eliot Fisk November 1, 2017

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PROGRAM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 | 8PM

A MICHAEL FEINSTEIN HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN

SELECTIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED FROM THE STAGE

THERE WILL BE ONE FIFTEEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION

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MICHAEL FEINSTEIN has built a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Em-my-nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globe – in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as the White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House – his work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.

In 2007, he founded the Great American Songbook Foundation, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educa-tional programs, master classes, and the annual High School Songbook Academy. This summer intensive, open to students from across the country, has produced graduates who have gone on to record acclaimed albums and appear on television programs such as NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Michael serves on the Library of Con-gress’ National Recording Preservation Board, an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America’s sound recording heritage.

The most recent album from his multi-plat-inum recording career is A Michael Feinstein Christmas from Concord Records. The CD features Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Alan Broadbent and Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, and Natalie Cole. Feinstein earned his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 2009 for The Sinatra Project, his CD celebrating the mu-sic of “Ol’ Blue Eyes.” The Sinatra Project, Vol-ume II: The Good Life was released in 2011. He released the CDs The Power Of Two – collab-orating with Glee and 30 Rock star Cheyenne

Jackson – and Cheek To Cheek, recorded with Broadway legend Barbara Cook. For Feinstein’s CD We Dreamed These Days, he co-wrote the title song with Dr. Maya Angelou.

His Emmy Award-nominated TV special Mi-chael Feinstein – The Sinatra Legacy, which was taped live at the Palladium in Carmel, Indiana, aired across the country in 2011. The PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook, the recipient of the ASCAP Deems-Taylor Televi-sion Broadcast Award, was broadcast for three seasons and is available on DVD. His most recent primetime PBS-TV Special, New Year’s Eve at The Rainbow Room – written and directed by Desper-ate Housewives creator Marc Cherry – aired in 2014. For his nationally-syndicated public radio program Song Travels, Michael interviews and performs alongside of music luminaries such as Bette Midler, Neil Sedaka, Liza Minnelli, Rickie Lee Jones, David Hyde Pierce and more.

Feinstein was named Principal Pops Conduc-tor for the Pasadena Symphony in 2012 and made his conducting debut in June 2013 to celebrated critical acclaim. Under Feinstein’s leadership, the Pasadena Pops has quickly become a premier orchestral presenter of the Great American Songbook with definitive per-formances of rare orchestrations and classic arrangements. He launched an additional Pops series at the Kravis Center for the Per-forming Arts in Palm Beach, Florida in 2014.

Michael’s book The Gershwins and Me, the Los Angeles Times best-seller from Simon & Schuster, features a new CD of Gershwin standards per-formed with Cyrus Chestnut at the piano.

Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts, a $170 million, three-theatre venue in Carmel, Indiana, which opened in January 2011. The

theatre is home to diverse live programming and a museum for his rare memorabilia and manuscripts. Since 1999, he has served as Artistic Director for Carnegie Hall’s “Standard Time with Michael Feinstein” in conjunction with ASCAP. In 2010 he became the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Michael’s night-club at San Francisco’s Nikko Hotel, has pre-sented the top talents of pop and jazz since 2013. He debuted at Feinstein’s/54 Below, his new club in New York, late in 2015. His first venue in New York, Feinstein’s at the Regency, featured major entertainers such as Rosemary Clooney, Glen Campbell, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, Jane Krakowski, Lea Michele, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Alan Cumming, from 1999 to 2012.

He has designed a new piano for Steinway called “The First Ladies,” inspired by the White House piano and signed by several former First Ladies. It was first played to commemorate the Ronald Regan centennial on February 6, 2011.

In 2013 Michael released Change Of Heart: The Songs of Andre Previn in collaboration with four-time Oscar and eleven-time Grammy Award-winning composer-conductor-pianist Andre Previn. The album celebrates Previn’s pop songs and motion picture classics. Earlier album highlights include Hopeless Romantics, a songbook of classics by Michael’s late friend Harry Warren, recording with legendary jazz pianist George Shearing. His album with song-writing icon Jimmy Webb, Only One Life – The Songs of Jimmy Webb, was named one of “10 Best CDs of the Year” by USA Today.

Feinstein received his fourth Grammy nom-

ination for Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, his first recording with a symphony orchestra. The year before, Rhino/Elektra Music released The Michael Feinstein Anthology, a two-disc compilation spanning 1987 to 1996 and featuring old favorites and previously-unreleased tracks.

Michael was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he started playing piano by ear as a 5-year-old. After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles when he was 20. The widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant introduced him to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. Feinstein became Gershwin’s assistant for six years, which earned him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, many of which he has since performed and recorded.

Gershwin’s influence provided a solid base upon which Feinstein evolved into a captivat-ing performer, composer and arranger of his own original music. He also has become an unparalleled interpreter of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Harry Warren. Feinstein has received three honorary doctorates.

Through his live performances, recordings, film and television appearances, and his songwriting (in collaboration with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Lindy Robbins, Bob Merrill and Marshall Barer), Feinstein is an all-star force in American music.

For more information, please visit www.MichaelFeinstein.com.

MUSICIANSSAM KRIGER, Music Director

ALBIE BERK, DrumsKIRK SMITH, Bass

This holiday season make a gift to provide free and accessible artistic experiences for the San Fernando Valley community.

How do we do this at The Soraya?Inspiring Students: The Soraya is dedicated to K-12 student and teacher development as well as to CSUN students. In addition to

and post-performance workshops with teaching artists to increase the depth of educational impact. In the past two school years, we presented 23 Student Matinees and collaborated with 75 schools to bring over 15,000 students to the life-changing experience of live performance.

Engaging Families and Children: Last spring, The Soraya produced the Global Currents Festival and opened its doors for family activities including workshops, visual arts activities, African drumming, and Brazilian dance. Last month, the Diavolo Festival featured participatory activities for children. All of the festival activities were customized for families and children and emphasized trust and teamwork.

Partnering with Los Angeles Artists: Partners this season include The Colburn Orchestra and LA Opera who will present two free performances at The Soraya for our community. Southern California talent presented on our stage include: the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, La Mirada Theatre, Quetzal, wild Up music ensemble, and many others. Last month, we celebrated Leonard Bernstein’s Centenary with New West Symphony and Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

Building Community Loyalty: We strive to provide programs that serve a multigenerational audience, and increasingly The Soraya is the town square and cultural hub for the Valley communities. Last year 78% of our subscribers and 50% of our single ticket buyers live within a ten-mile radius of our venue.

171117_BookletAD_End-ofYear-Ask_5.5x8.indd 1 11/20/17 2:26 PM

A gift of $50 Underwrites tickets for two CSUN students to attend any of our world-class performances.

A gift of $100 Provides an artistic workshop at our free community festivals.

A gift of $250 Engages students with five hours of in-class instruction by a Teaching Artist.

A gift of $500 Inspires 100 students by bringing them to The Soraya for a Student Matinee.

A gift of $1,000 Supports one of our free performances.

The impact of your gift. Drums of India: Free Community

Performance

DIAVOLO Institute: Water Dance

DIAVOLO Festival: “Fox Flyers”

Global Currents Festival

171117_BookletAD_End-ofYear-Ask_5.5x8.indd 2 11/20/17 2:27 PM

Free Workshop for Children

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PROGRAM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 | 7PM

MEDIA SPONSOR LA OPINIÓN

FIESTA MEXICANA FELIZ NAVIDAD

FIESTA MEXICANA: FELIZ NAVIDAD

THERE WILL BE ONE FIFTEEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION

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VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER &STAR ENTERTAINMENT & EDUCATION GROUP

Present a Raúl Ruiz Production

Fiesta Mexicana: Feliz NavidadUnforgettable Songs & Dances of Christmas

Valley Performing Arts CenterDecember 9, 2017, 7:00 pm

Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellar

Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles de Kareli Montoya

Mariachi Haddon de Juan RomeroChildren’s Mariachi – HADDON AVENUE STEAM ACADEMY

Northridge Middle School Children’s Chorus de Oliver Mata

Joanna Marii & Paulina Nuñez – vocalists

Paige Ruiz Brooks – vocalist

Shay– vocalist

Jason Stoll – pianist

¡Este concierto está dedicado en honor de los inmigrantes, nuestro pueblo y familias!

Dr. Raúl Ruiz, Executive ProducerDr. Marta Sánchez, SEEG Board, Education Programs; Marcela Ponce,

SEEG Board; Yesenia Martinez, Stage Director; Martha Diaz, House Director; Jose Machado, Stage Craft; Daisy Llamas & Miriam Machado,

Diana Gudiño, and Alicia Flores, Star Staff

MARIACHI GARIBALDI DEJIMMY CUELLAR

Mariachi Garibaldi de Jimmy Cuellar has delighted audiences with dynamic musi-cianship and live stage presence for the past twenty years. Founded in 1994 by Cuellar, Mariachi Garibaldi began as a privately-run community youth organization. Over the years, Mariachi Garibaldi has evolved into one of California’s premier mariachi ensembles, led by Jimmy “El Pollo” Cuellar. Garibaldi has accompanied Yolanda del Rio, Pablo Montero, Mercedes Castro, Humberto Herrera, Beatriz Adriana, Alejandro Fernan-dez, and Juan Gabriel, among many others. They have shared the stage with Mariachi

Los Camperos de Jesus Guzman, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Mariachi Nuevo Tecali-tlán, and Mariachi Imperial de Mexico.

JIMMY “EL POLLO” CUELLAR is a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, multi-Grammy winner and nominee. Mr. Cuellar played the violin, guitarron, vihuela, guitar and guitarra de glope for Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano for over ten years. He has accompanied Yolanda del Rio, Mercedes Castro, Humberto Herrera, Lila Downs, Vikki Carr, Aida Cuevas, Linda Ronstadt, Eugenia Leon, Alejandro Fernan-dez, Beatriz Adriana, Pablo Montero, Jose Feliciano and more. Jimmy has recorded

BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DE LOS ÁNGELES

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on various productions including the 2010 release by Ry Cooder and The Chieftains, San Patricio. He was featured artist on the 2015 Grammy Award-winning album for Best Mexican Album, cELLAration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins; the 2006 Grammy-nominated Best Mexican Album, Cien Por Ciento Mexicano by Pepe Aguilar; and the 2009 Grammy Award Best Regional Mexican Album Amor, Dolor, y Lagrimas. Mr. Cuellar received his BA degree from California State University, Long Beach, Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in 2009. He is currently enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he will receive is Masters in Music Composition next year.

BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DE LOS ÁNGELES Founded in 2011 by Kareli Montoya, the

dance company has distinguished itself as the nation’s premier Mexican folk dance compa-ny. They have performed in world-class venues such as the Nokia Theater, Greek Theater, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre and the Staples Center. The dance company has accompanied Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Los Camp-eros, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, world famous Mariachi Vargas, and Mariachi Divas. Ballet Folk-lórico de Los Ángeles has shared the stage with Lila Downs, Beatriz Adriana, Paquita la del Bar-rio and Armenian pop star Lilit Hovhannisyan. This amazing dance troop is the first folklórico

HADDON MARIACHI

company in the country to accompany sympho-nies: such as the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and the Marina del Rey Symphony Orchestra, both conducted by Frank Fetta.

HADDON MARIACHIThe success of the Haddon Mariachi at

Haddon STEAM Academy in Pacoima, in part-nership with the Woodcraft Rangers, continues under the leadership of new Principal Deborah Plat and new Musical Director Juan Romero. In existence since 2014 and with funding from the school district, Woodcraft Rangers, City Year, Starbucks, and a $30,000 grant from NBC’s The Voice, Haddon Steam Academy and

the Woodcraft Rangers continue to provide this extremely successful arts program to the children and community of Pacoima.

Today, the students of Haddon STEAM Acad-emy, in partnership with Woodcraft Rangers, are developing into musicians while learning vocals, brass, string instruments, and perform-ing arts through a culturally relevant education. The byproduct of this effort has been increased student enrollment and attendance. Mariachi Haddon has become the #prideofpacoima and has been featured on Univision, FOX 11, Good Day L.A., SoCal Heroes and the Daily News, and of course, preformed successfully in last year’s premiere of Feliz Navidad.

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PROGRAM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10 | 3PM

THIS PERFORMANCE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY COLBURN FOUNDATION.

COLBURN ORCHESTRA

YEHUDA GILAD, MUSIC DIRECTORWITH HYEJIN KIM, PIANO

COLBURN ORCHESTRA

THERE WILL BE ONE FIFTEEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION

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PROGRAM

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) ..........................................Symphony No. 2, Op. 27 (1908)I. Largo: Allegro moderatoII. Allegro moltoIII. AdagioIV. Allegro vivace

INTERMISSION

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) .............. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D-minor, Op. 30 (1909)I. Allegro ma non tantoII. Intermezzo: AdagioIII. Finale: Alla breve

The Colburn School thanks Terri and Jerry Kohl for their generous support of this performance.

VIOLIN I Fabiola Kim,

concertmasterLucy WangEduardo RiosMichelle ShinFelicity JamesMadeleine VaillancourtSimone PorterHannah JiAubree Oliverson Christina ChoiMadison Vest Misha VaymanFiona Shea

VIOLIN IIGallia Kastner, principal Hao ZhouWenqi KeZach BrandonYeokyung KimTiffany KangBree FotheringhamAlena HoveKako MiuraEvan JohansonAlex HobbsSteven Song

VIOLATanner Menees,

principalChris Rogers-BeadleLiam BrollyBenjamin ChiltonKaris YooCassie DrakeEmma WernigAiden KaineMadison Marshall Johanna Nowik Hsuan-Min Chang

CELLOCharles Seo, principal Ben SolomonovYun HanMinji KimTanlu XuPeter Eom Nathan Mo Olivia MarckxEmma Lee

BASSEric Windmeier,

principalNicholas Arredondo

Ryan BairdDaniel Carson,Kaelan DecmanMark LillieEthan MoffatLuis PrimeraRyan Baird

FLUTESi Eon ChoiDevan JaquezChi TingAnthony Trionfo

OBOEBen BrogadirCaroline Donovan Gretchen MyersSamuel Waring

CLARINETVictor Diaz GuerraTaylor MarinoCristina Mateo Saéz

BASSOONJordan BrokkenJustin Cummings

HORNValerie AnkeneyRachelle JenkinsEmma JohnsonMartin MangrumRachel NierenbergKaylet Torrez

TRUMPETNoah Dugan Gianluca FarinaMichael HarperNicholas Robson

TROMBONEElijah CornishMasa OhtakeConnor Rowe

TUBAAndrew AbelCristina Dougherty

PERCUSSIONJimmy ChanSamuel ChanPat ChapmanGreg LaRosaCharles Rosmarin

ABOUT THE COLBURN ORCHESTRAFounded in 2003, the Colburn Orches-

tra is the flagship ensemble of the Colburn Conservatory of Music. Under the direction of Music Director and Conductor Yehuda Gilad, the Colburn Orchestra performs for Southern California audiences at venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Ambassador Auditori-um, Royce Hall, Segerstrom Concert Hall, and the Valley Performing Arts Center. Since its inception, Gilad and the esteemed faculty at Colburn have invited guest conductors, soloists, and composers to work with the Colburn Orchestra to mirror a professional orchestral experience. The Colburn Orchestra has made four commercial recordings, and concerts have been broadcast on Southern California’s independent television station KCET for the arts series Open Call, as well as classical music radio station KUSC. Dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles commu-nity, the Colburn Orchestra performs for schools in neighboring communities twice a year, giving five concerts in a one-week peri-od to school children of all ages.

YEHUDA GILADLauded by the New York Times for his

“strong imaginative programming,” and “….great sensitivity for details”, Yehuda Gilad’s innovative approach to music-mak-ing has earned him a reputation as one of today’s most dynamic and charismatic artists. A conductor, instrumentalist, and teacher, he strives for “total musicianship,” and as a result, he has won the acclaim of both critics and audiences alike.

A founding faculty member of the Col-burn School Conservatory of Music and

Professor of Clarinet at the USC Thornton School of Music, Mr. Gilad has developed one of the most sought-after clarinet studios in the world. His students have achieved top honors in every premier international clarinet competition, to include ARD, Nielsen, Lancelott, Prague, among others. Gradu-ates of his studio hold positions in over 250 major orchestras worldwide, including the Cincinnati and Minnesota Orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra, New York, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Sweden, Hong Kong, China and Seoul Philharmonics, San Francisco Opera, the Concertgebouw, the Orquesta Nacional de España, Bergen Philharmonic, Norway Radio Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra, to name a few. He served as president of the jury for the Carl Nielsen 5th International Clarinet Com-petition in Odense, Denmark. Mr. Gilad is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Distinguished Teacher Award from the White House Commission on Presi-dential Scholars and USC’s highest honor for excellence in teaching, and Musical America’s 2015 Most Influential Musician and Educator.

Currently Music Director of the Colburn Orchestra, Gilad also served as Music Director of the Colonial Symphony of New Jersey from 1988-2003. According to The Star-Ledger, he “transformed the Colonial Symphony into one of [New Jersey’s] artistic trendsetters.” Other music directorships have included the 20th Century Unlimited concert series (Santa Fe, New Mexico), the Thornton Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra. Also an active guest conductor, his appearances have garnered critical acclaim in the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe, where he has conducted throughout

COLBURN ORCHESTRA

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Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Finland, and France. In 1987 he became the first Is-raeli born conductor to perform in China and has since conducted numerous engagements in Beijing and Shanghai. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with nearly every leading artist including Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Pepe Romero, Joseph Kalichstein, Vladimir Feltsman, Misha Dichter and Fabio Bidini, to name a few.

HYEJIN KIM, PIANOPraised by critics for her “passionate…pol-

ished and expressive” performances, pianist HyeJin Kim is one of South Korea’s most thrilling young classical stars. Born in Seoul, she began playing piano at age five, and later enrolled at the prestigious Yewon Arts School. She furthered her studies in Germany, earning her MA in Musical Art as a “Konzer-texamen” (highest distinction) from Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler.

Ms. Kim first attracted international attention at age 17 when, as its youngest participant, she won third prize in Italy’s prestigious Busoni Competition. Since then, Ms. Kim has received numerous awards including prizes at the 2008 Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the DAAD Prize, Steinway & Sons Advancement Award Competition, and at the Toronto Internation-al Piano Competition.

In 2014, she made her debut at the Klavierfestival Ruhr. She has performed and toured with numerous orchestras including the Praha Broadcast and Budapest sympho-ny orchestras; Bohuslav Martinů, Seoul, Dae-jeon, Pilsen, and Moravian Philharmonic Orchestras; State Symphony Orchestra of St.

Petersburg; Nürnberger Symphoniker; the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie; and the Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester. She has worked with noted conductors including Tomáš Hanus, Dae Jin Kim, Jiri Malat, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

Ms. Kim made her major label debut in 2013 with her recording of Rachmaninov’s Pi-ano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra under Eduard Top-chjan, on Sony Classical. In November 2016, Ms. Kim made her Carnegie Hall recital debut performing a program of Scarlatti, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Barber, and Gershwin. In March 2017, Ms. Kim performed Mozart K.466 with the Berlin Konzerthausorchester under the baton of Eliahu Inbal in Seoul, Ko-rea. She also performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Pacific Symphony and Carl St. Clair, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 at the Marvão Music Festival in Portugal and made her debut with the Salastina Music Society playing chamber music.

Ms. Kim currently studies at the Colburn School in Los Angeles with Fabio Bidini.

SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN E MINOR, OP. 27 (1906-07)

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) by Tate Zawadiuk, cellist in the Bachelor of Music program of the Colburn Conservatory of Music

Rachmaninoff completed his Second Symphony in 1907. After the failure of his First Symphony in 1897, the composer experienced severe depression and vowed to never compose again. He regained his mental health after having hypnotherapy sessions with Doctor Nikolai Dahl, and in 1901 composed his hugely successful Second

Piano Concerto, which he dedicated to Dr. Dahl. A few years later, after a full recov-ery, Rachmaninoff composed his Second Symphony—four movements of heart-on-sleeve Rachmaninoff Romanticism—which was premiered in 1908 with great success. Influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, and above all Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff developed his own unique compositional style while still incorporating aspects of his revered predecessors.

Rachmaninoff opens the symphony with a “motto” theme that returns throughout the symphony as a unifying force, progressively metamorphosing into various forms, doubt-less inspired by Tchaikovsky’s use of the tech-nique in his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. Introduced with the lower strings, Rachmani-noff takes the motto and creates a platform of sound to which he first adds winds and then expands with the violins soaring above the ensemble. After the Largo introduction, the movement gradually accelerates, occasionally slowing down to create a sense of a stability. Rachmaninoff uses this technique to great effect halfway through the movement when, following an exhilarating climax, the tempo decreases and the orchestra almost comes to a complete stop—then restarts in a manner reminiscent of the opening with an adapt-ed version of the motto. Throughout the movement, Rachmaninoff uses rich, sonorous harmonies to support the melodies that are passed among the various instruments with a sense of liberty and ease.

In the second movement, a quick-paced scherzo, Rachmaninoff creates a roller coaster of sound, surging as it builds tension and then, with a sense of gravity pulling down,

returning to its original momentum. Partway through the intensity diminishes, and like rays of sunshine peeking through the dark stormy clouds, Rachmaninoff inserts one of his glori-ous, painfully beautiful slow sections with a soaring theme in the strings. Just as the music settles, it boils back into the original scherzo, at which point Rachmaninoff quotes the Dies irae chant melody from the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead. The movement concludes as the opening motto material returns with an extra surge of exuberance, followed by a short brass chorale that leads into a return of the scherzo. The movement ends softly, leaving only the bass clarinet, timpani, cello and dou-ble bass to play the last few notes.

Rachmaninoff shows off his genius for music that reaches deep in human emotions in the lyrical and ardent Adagio. He opens with a lovely, simple theme in the violins, which is transformed and expanded until the clarinet takes over with a winding, intimate solo that begins soft and timid, and blossoms confidently as it soars above the rest of the orchestra. The Adagio concludes with the return of the opening theme passed around the orchestra, creating an enveloping sound world that is grand and beautiful, yet warm and intimate.

In the exuberant and exciting Finale, Rachmaninoff pulls out all the stops, creating a sensation of grand festivities. With an explosive opening in E major, Rachmaninoff brings back elements from previous move-ments, including the motto theme from the beginning of the symphony and material from the Adagio. In the middle of the movement, the energy levels diminish, somewhat rem-iniscent of the Adagio, then gradually build

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back to the festive quality of the opening. The dramatic and exaggerated dynamic and tempo changes allow Rachmaninoff’s Finale to take the shape of an incredible mountain range, soaring to great heights and careening into deep valleys of sound. Rachmaninoff gives the strings, in unison, one last melody, and ends the symphony with a passage that evokes a spectacular maelstrom of bells.

CONCERTO NO. 3 FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA IN D MINOR, OP. 30 (1909)

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) by Felicity James, violinist in the Bachelor of Music program of the Colburn Conservatory of Music

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is widely considered to be one of the most technically difficult concertos in the reper-toire. Completed in September 1909, the concerto was premiered in November of the same year by the New York City Symphony with Rachmaninoff at the piano. The work was well-received, and the composer went on to perform it all over the United States and Europe, eventually recording it with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1939. Performing the work on his first North American tour brought the composer immense fame and popularity in the United States. The concerto is dedicated to Josef Hofmann, a Pol-ish virtuoso pianist whose playing Rachmani-noff deeply admired. A highly skilled pianist himself, Rachmaninoff admitted to practicing many hours a day in order to attain Hoffman’s level of technique—ironically, Hoffman never performed the Third Concerto due to its im-mense level of difficulty.

Daunting to perform even for the most accomplished pianist, Rachmaninoff’s piano

concertos hold a unique place not only in the classical repertoire, but in the composer’s life. In 1897, after the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, Rachmaninoff fell into a deep depression which lasted for three years. The first major work he composed after recovering from this depression was his monumental Second Piano Concerto; it was the concerto’s tremendous success that restored Rachmani-noff’s confidence in his compositional abilities. This newfound confidence is reflected in the Piano Concerto No. 3 (as well as the Second Symphony, also heard tonight), an immense work which boasts dazzling technical feats and a Romanticism of symphonic proportions.

The piano opens the concerto with a wistful and simple melody in octaves, float-ing over a soft orchestral accompaniment. Though there have been many theories about the origins of this famous melody, Rachmani-noff stated that it is “borrowed neither from folk song nor from liturgical sources. It sim-ply wrote itself.” The movement juxtaposes expressive and lyrical melodies with breath-taking virtuosic passages, culminating in an extensive cadenza before returning to the opening melody to close out the movement. The Intermezzo begins with a mourning oboe melody which is passed seamlessly to the string section. With a lush wash of romantic harmonies, the piano is ushered in and mean-ders its way through an intense and yearning counterpoint. The mood is interrupted by an abrupt motive of three notes, which build up into a mad rush into the energetic Finale. In an epic exhibition of technical prowess and harmonic vigor, the pianist leaps and soars through innumerable obstacles and finally emerges victorious.

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER RENAMEDin Honor of Younes and Soraya Sarah Nazarian’sTransformative $17 Million Gift

“We found the perfect opportunity to impact theentire region by supporting two of our family’smost treasured values — education and the arts.” —Younes Nazarian

From left to right: Soraya Sarah, Younes, and Sharon Nazarian

171024_BookletAD_Nazarian_5.5x8.5.indd 1 10/24/17 1:40 PM

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PROGRAM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 | 8PM

MEDIA SPONSOR KPCC

THE KLEZMATICS

THE KLEZMATICS

HAPPY JOYOUS HANUKKAH

THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION

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LORIN SKLAMBERG – lead vocals, guitar, accordion, piano

LISA GUTKIN – violin, vocals

FRANK LONDON – trumpet, keyboards

MICHAEL SARIN – percussion

MATT DARRIAU – kaval, clarinet, saxophone

PAUL MORRISSETT – bass, tsimbl

Since their emergence more than 30 years ago, THE KLEZMATICS have raised the bar for Eastern European Jewish music, made aesthetically, politically and musically in-teresting recordings, inspired future gener-ations, created a large body of work that is enduring, and helped to change the face of contemporary Yiddish culture. Often called a “Jewish roots band,” the Klezmatics have led a popular revival of this ages-old, nearly forgotten art form.

They have performed in more than 20 countries and released 11 albums to date—most recently the album Apikorsim (Here-tics), produced by Danny Blume (who helped the band win a Grammy in 2006) and the first of the band’s albums to feature only the 6 members. On their Grammy-winning 2006 album Wonder Wheel, the Klezmatics set a dozen previously unsung Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, widening their stylistic base by largely diverging from klezmer. They have also recently served as the subject of a fea-ture-length documentary film, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground.

During their third-of-a-century existence the Klezmatics have collaborated with such brilliant artists as violinist Itzhak Perlman, Pu-

litzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and Israeli vocal icon Chava Alberstein, plus many other prominent artists working within multiple genres.

Today, with three original members—Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar, pia-no), Frank London (trumpet, keyboards, vocals) and Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl, vocals)—still on board, alongside longtime members Matt Darriau (kaval, clarinet, saxophone, vocals) and Lisa Gutkin (violin, vocals), the Klezmatics are without a doubt the most successful proponents of klezmer music in the world.

The Klezmatics’ music is rooted in but is not a strictly traditional variety of the klezmer genre. Rather it is a comfortable hybrid that appeals equally to those with no previous exposure to the music and those already familiar with it.

“Klezmer,” says London, “is the unique sound of East European Jewishness. It has the power to evoke a feeling of other-worldliness, of being there and then, of nostalgia for a time and place that we never knew.”

Although tradition is at the core of what they do, since the beginning the Klezmatics have adapted to the artistic sensibilities of a contemporary world. “Klezmer has ev-

erything you want, ethnically, and yet it’s so intertwined with American culture,” says Morrissett. “We want to make sure that we are part of a living tradition, and living traditions change; they don’t stay in a pickled form.”

Indeed, the Klezmatics are very much of the modern world. Says London, “By putting forth a consistent and coherent political and aesthetic Yiddish/klezmer music that embraces our political values—supporting gay rights, workers’ rights, human rights, uni-versal religious and spiritual values expressed through particular art forms—and eschewing the aspects of Yiddish/Jewish culture that are nostalgic, tacky, kitschy, nationalistic and misogynistic, we have shown a way for peo-ple to embrace Yiddish culture on their own terms as a living, breathing part of our world and its political and aesthetic landscape.”

“People are quite detached from their Jew-ish roots,” says Gutkin. “The Klezmatics fill an incredible void.”

Formed in New York in 1986, the Klezmatics quickly built a devoted following that expand-ed outward once word spread about this ex-otic new band that was bringing klezmer back from the abyss. For some fans, the group’s appeal went beyond the music itself. “People have a need for something to hold onto,” says Gutkin. “They want to be part of something.”

Throughout the years a wide range of lyrical ideas has inhabited the Klezmatics’ songs, rang-ing from contemporary issues of global import facing each of us to matters of intimate love, and from leftist politics to age-old Jewish mys-ticism. “From early on,” says Sklamberg, “even before we made a conscious effort to make the music our own, we decided that if we sang songs, they would be ones we believed in.”

Live at Town Hall, the newest Klezmatics release, captures the group’s March 5, 2006 20th anniversary concert at the New York venue. Recorded in conjunction with the On Holy Ground documentary, the set features a cross-

section of music from throughout the Klezmatics’ history, and includes a lengthy list of special guests, among them previous members David Krakauer and Margot Leverett, who had never recorded with the band until this gig. The rep-ertoire draws from the group’s earliest days and material as recent as the Guthrie adaptations.

Says London, “We wanted to celebrate being together for so many years with everyone who has been part of our family.”

Indeed, the Klezmatics have always been as much about community as music. Says Sklamberg, “The energy and support we received from the local community fueled the band, rather than it being a particular sensibility. At the very least it allowed us the freedom to be us.”

A quarter-century after their formation, the Klezmatics remain committed to their music and to the close relationship they share with their fans. “In 1986,” says Sklamberg, “I nev-er imagined that preserving, disseminating and helping to redefine Yiddish music would become my life’s work. I certainly don’t think we sound like anyone else.”

Indeed, they don’t. Never have and—should the Klezmatics (hopefully) last anoth-er 25 years—it’s a safe guess that no one else ever will!

LORIN SKLAMBERG (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Accordion, Piano)

The legendary music critic Robert Christgau has described Lorin Sklamberg’s voice as “tran-

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scendent, ethereal and sensual,” while a writer for Folkworld gushed that the Klezmatics’ frontman “brings tears into my eyes with his fabulous way of singing.” Since he co-founded the legendary klezmer group in 1986, Lorin Sklamberg has been on the receiving end of countless tributes of that nature—his crystal-line, expressive vocalizing never fails to have an emotional impact on all within its range.

Sklamberg, who says he “sang before he spoke” and taught himself to play guitar, piano and autoharp, has been involved in the world of Jewish music since he was 15 years old, when he co-founded a band, Rimonim, with three Hebrew school classmates at his conservative shul in Alhambra, California. After being introduced to klezmer, Lorin began to seek out songs within the genre, but it wasn’t until after he moved to New York in the early ’80s that he was able to incorporate

klezmer into the music he performed.Prior to that move, Lorin attended two

California universities and dabbled in Early Music, opera, American folk and pop and Balkan and East European musics, in addi-tion to dancing and singing in four semi-pro-fessional ethnic song and dance ensembles. He studied voice, guitar, accordion and oud and served as the cantor at USC’s Hillel House and Los Angeles’ gay and lesbian synagogue, Beth Chayim Chadashim.

“It was through this last experience that I became part of a gay-Jewish-radical faerie folk duo, Pilshaw and Sklamberg, and trav-eled the country for a summer performing house concerts and shows in gay bars,” says Sklamberg. “We even recorded a commercial-ly released cassette, Bending the Rules.”

While attending a Balkan singing work-shop with Michael Alpert, the great Yiddish

singer, Alpert “took me aside and played me a cassette of him performing a song on the seminal Yiddish band Kapelye’s then-unre-leased first record,” says Lorin. “That gave me the idea that this was something that I, too, could do. It was the moment that eventually led to me literally finding my voice.”

But New York beckoned and Lorin headed east in 1983. Since the creation of the Klezmatics, Sklamberg has continued to find his voice and apply it to a number of disciplines. He has also worked for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for almost 20 years, first as a jack-of-all-trades, graphic de-signer and Yiddish typesetter, and then as its Sound Archivist. For 14 years he was the co-ordinator of KlezKamp: The Yiddish Folk Arts Program, and co-founded Living Traditions, the non-profit that sponsored it for seven of those years.

“The Klezmatics remain my primary musi-cal outlet,” says Lorin, “but I have a couple of side projects—one is an ongoing series of programs of (primarily Hasidic) Jewish spiritual music with bandmate Frank London, the other is an exploration of the Yiddish and Irish song traditions with Dublin-born vocal-ist Susan McKeown.”

Lorin can be heard on some 50 CDs, and also composes and performs for film, dance, stage and circus, produces recordings, and teaches and lectures from London and Paris to Kiev and St. Petersburg. By day he works as the Sound Archivist for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

LISA GUTKIN (Violin, Vocals)Lisa Gutkin joined the band on violin and

vocals with 2002’s Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf!

album. She was brought to the group via early recruit Matt Darriau when the two musicians were playing together in a Celtic band called Whirligig. Darriau played Gutkin some old recordings of Jewish violinists and “I flipped,” she says.

The Klezmatics were a natural home for Lisa. “I grew up playing classical violin and then bluegrass, Irish, a host of other interna-tional styles and backing songwriters,” she says. “I had made a pact to only play Irish music but the Klezmatics were such a fantas-tic band and these old recordings mesmer-ized me. So when the Klezmatics called me I decided to give it a try. I had an immediate feel for it, but it took many years before I felt that I understood Klezmer deeply.”

In fact, landing in the Klezmatics repre-sented something of a personal sea change for Lisa. “I spent my summers in a leftist bungalow colony started by my grandmother, great aunt and their friends in 1929,” she says, “and my grandmother used to drag me to Yiddish singing sessions, which I simply hated. It was old people’s music, and it was too schmaltzy. Oddly it was my paternal grandfather’s more cantorial voice that I ref-erenced in my head more than my maternal grandmother’s Yiddish singing when I was learning the phrasing and note emphasis.”

Born in Brooklyn to a musical family, Lisa was already playing in orchestras by age 8, and soon winning awards for her classical playing. In her teens she branched out into Irish, bluegrass and rock, and then went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree in classical violin at the Aaron Copland School in Queens, N.Y. Her prowess quickly attracted the attention of the international

THE KLEZMATICS

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and folk music communities, and Lisa began playing with a wide variety of artists, from the Southern Italian music theater group I Giullari di Piazza to Amigos del Tango, the Waverly Consort and, as part of the Fast Folk Collective, singer-songwriters such as Su-zanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and the Roches. Her diversity and improvisational skills have led her to numerous gigs with the likes of John Cale, Steeleye Span, Jane Siberry and the Irish artists Tommy Sands, John Whelan, Steve Cooney and Cathie Ryan. No less an icon than Pete Seeger called Lisa’s “Gonna Get Through This World” — one of two pieces she composed for the Klezmatics’ Grammy-winning album Wonder Wheel — “a piece of genius.”

Most recently, Lisa has been co-composer, co-music director, actor and musician in the Tony Award-winning play Indecent, written by Paula Vogel and directed by Rebecca Taichman. Her previous Broadway experi-ence was as a member of the band in Sting’s production The Last Ship. She also composes for film, radio, television and theatre. She can be heard on two songs she composed for episodes of Sex and the City’s final season, and she made a cameo on-screen appearance on the show (with the Klezmatics). She also accepted a composing commission for Song For New York: What Women Do While Men Sit Knitting, and put in a stay at the Mac-Dowell Artist Colony. She’s worked with the Pilobolous Dance Company’s Davenen (with the Klezmatics), Ralph Lee’s Mettawee River Company, Pat Cannon’s Foot & Fiddle Dance Company and the Phoenix Theater Company’s As You Like It, and was Music Director for the Lincoln Center Director’s

Guild production Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, Music Director for the New York Renaissance Festival in Sterling Forest, N.Y., and co-orchestrator for Song of Songs by Elizabeth Swados.

Gutkin also leads fiddle styles workshops at folk festivals, as well as master classes and artist residencies for universities and folk organizations, and many of her private students are or have gone on to become professional musicians.

MICHAEL SARIN (Percussion) Over the last twenty-five years, drum-

mer Michael Sarin has been at the center of New York City’s genre bending jazz and improvisation community. His versatility and musical wit helped forge long associations with forward-looking artists Thomas Chapin, Dave Douglas, Myra Melford, Ben Allison, and David Krakauer.

Born in 1965, Michael was raised on Bainbridge Island, WA—a ferryboat ride from Seattle. His interest in music and the drums came early, nourished by both the record collections of his parents and older sister, and by the AM radio he received at age seven.

His formal music education began during high school with drummer Dave Coleman, Sr. He went on to study drums and percussion with Tom Collier at the University of Washington, and later with master drummer, Jerry Granelli.

Since moving to New York in 1989, Michael’s unique style and approach to the drum set has been highly sought after by NYC and European musicians looking to ex-pand the definitions of jazz and improvised music. He has contributed to recordings by the aforementioned artists as well as those

of Frank Carlberg, Anthony Coleman, Mark Dresser, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Helias, Denman Maroney, Simon Nabatov, Mario Pavone, Ned Rothenberg, and Fred Wesley--recordings found on numerous music critics’ Top Ten CD year-end lists.

Michael performs all over the world--in major and minor festivals; concert halls fa-mous and infamous, big and small. He can be heard on recent recordings of Frank Carlberg, Mark Dresser, Joe Fiedler, Erik Friedlander, David Krakauer, and Leslie Pintchik.

FRANK LONDON (Trumpet, Keyboards)The word prolific doesn’t even begin to

describe Frank London. Of course, there is the Klezmatics, which he co-founded in 1986. Frank plays trumpet and keyboard and sings with the group and he’s written many of the Klezmatics’ most popular songs. But his mile-long resumé has also seen London adding virtuosity to hundreds of concerts and recordings by everyone from John Zorn to They Might Be Giants, Mel Torme to Iggy Pop, Pink Floyd, Youssou N’dour, LaMonte Young, Allen Ginsberg and LL Cool J! Called the “mystical high priest of Avant-Klez jazz,” Frank has made 30 solo recordings and is featured on over 400 CDs. His current projects include the dance theater work Salomé, Woman of Valor (with Adeena Karasick), the Yiddish-opera-in-a-Cuban-nightclub, Hatuey (with Elise Thoron), Astro-Hungarian band Glass House Orchestra, Sharabi (bhangra-klez with Deep Singh), Ahava Raba (with Cantor Yanky Lemmer), and Vilde Mekhaye (Eleanor Re-issa + Frank’s Klezmer Brass Allstars). He’s a regular face on New York’s cutting-edge

downtown club scene and music festivals ev-erywhere, and has written dozens of scores for theater, film and dance. He collaborated with Judith Sloane on 1001 Voices: A Sym-phony for a New America for the Queens Symphony Orchestra and choir. He was music director for David Byrne and Robert Wilson’s The Knee Plays, collaborated with Palestinian violinist Simon Shaheen, taught Jewish music in Canada, Crimea and the Catskills, and produced CDs for Gypsy leg-end Esma Redzepova, and Algerian pianist Maurice el Medioni. He was even featured on the soundtrack to Sex and the City!

Of course London is mainly known for his contribution to contemporary Jewish music. When he first heard klezmer music, Frank says, “I was very blown away by the funky rhythms, the polyphony, the wild old-world, old school ornamentation, the particular way it expressed its Jewishness and how the instrumental music was not at all kitschy or corny the way most Jewish music I had heard up to that point was.”

Frank London graduated from New England Conservatory with a degree in Afro-American music. While living in Boston, he played with a host of diverse groups, from the Klezmer Conservatory Band (a founding member, playing on their first six recordings) to the Haitian band Volo-Volo to the salsa band Los Hermanos Pabón, Mark Harvey’s new music big band Aardvark, the world mu-sic group Les Misérables Brass Band, and the improvisational Ensemble Garuda. “Playing a genre or style of music is like learning a language,” he says. “You need to know the vocabulary, grammar, syntax, content, history, idioms and inflections in order to become

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fluent. But improvisation is outside of style; it focuses on the sonic ontology of music. What is sound? What are the aesthetics of sound and silence? These questions are at the center of all my music.”

After settling in New York City in 1985, London began working with the all-star ensemble led by auteur Kip Hanrahan (which also included Jack Bruce of Cream), and then started working with Hasidic wedding musi-cians and learning the style and repertoire of Jewish music, as well as becoming involved in Hasidic philosophy and community. He also became a member of Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy. Then, after answering an ad for klezmer musicians, Frank met Lorin Sk-lamberg and the Klezmatics came to be.

Among London’s other projects are the internationally acclaimed folk-opera A Night In The Old Marketplace, Davenen for Pilobolus and the Klezmatics, Great Small Works’ The Memoirs Of Gluckel Of Hameln and Min Tanaka’s Romance. His Klezmer Brass Allstars‘ CD Carnival Conspiracy was awarded the German Grammy; the Hasidic New Wave’s entire recorded oevre has been released as a box set on Tzadik Records, he completed two commissions for Carnegie Hall and served as an artist-in-residence in Krems, Austria. Green Violin, his musical theater piece about the Soviet Yiddish theater written with Elise Thoron, won a Barrymore Prize for best new musical. London is on the faculty of SUNY Purchase, and is currently Artis-tic Director of KlezKanada. With each new undertaking, London brings his knowledge of the music’s traditions and aesthetics with him, “showing a way for people to embrace Yiddish culture on their own terms as a

living, breathing part of our world and its political and aesthetic landscape.”

MATT DARRIAU (Kaval, Clarinet, Saxophone)

Matt Darriau has contributed to the Klezmatics’ music ever since they released their debut album, Shvaygn =Toyt (Silence = Death), in 1988, but it wasn’t until 1995 that he became an official member, just in time for their fourth release, Possessed. Matt’s full integration into the group was the culmina-tion of a personal and musical journey that began back in Indiana, where he grew up “in an arty household where my father held international folk dance parties featuring Israeli, Balkan, Greek and Scandinavian dance music.” Although the elder Darriau came from French Catholic stock, “He loved and embraced Jewish and Eastern European culture,” says Matt.

Darriau, who describes himself as a “mu-sical polyglot,” was a jazz fan first and fore-most, but once he arrived in Boston, where he attended the New England Conservatory of Music’s Third Stream program, he began looking to world music for new inspiration. “We spent a lot of time in the international sections of used record stores and passed tapes along to each other,” he says. “It de-veloped from there, with an intention of inte-grating improvisatory ideas with this music.”

Klezmer, Balkan and Celtic music all gave Matt the creative outlet he sought, and even today, when the Klezmatics take a break from their busy touring and recording sched-ule, Matt keeps himself sharp by playing Irish, Balkan, klezmer and jazz and leads his own Balkan rhythm quartet, Paradox

Trio. He has made music for dance, theatre and film, including a recent commission from Chamber Music America for his avant-swing band, Ballin’ the Jack. In addition to the Klezmatics, he has collaborated with Gunther Schuller, Elliott Sharp, Marc Ribot, George Schuller, Theodosii Spassov, Mark Feldman and many others.

Some of Darriau’s other recent projects in-clude Yo Lateef, a jazz quintet inspired by the music and legacy of Yusef Lateef, the Recy-cled Waltz Orchestra and Disastro Totale with Yuri Lemeshev of Gogol Bordello and Celtic Eclectic, with its original take on Irish music featuring uilleann pipes player Ivan Goff. He has also recorded and performed with David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Roberto Rodriguez, Itzhak Perlman, Ken Butler, Ben Folds Five and many others in the New York and world scene.

Matt Darriau was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the past 15 years by Jazziz Magazine for bringing Balkan rhythms and melodies into jazz.

PAUL MORRISSETT (Bass, Tsimbl)When he’s not busy with the Klezmatics,

Paul Morrissett—who has been with the group since their first album—spends much of his time fiddling for dances. “I love dance fiddle,” he says. “When people are dancing in front of the Klezmatics, that’s always a high for me.”

Morrissett is an avid collector and player of the instruments of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia and has studied with many masters of these traditions. In addition to the tsimbl, which is similar to the hammered dulcimer, he has recorded and performed on Hardanger fiddle, violin, nyckelharpa, gadul-ka, baritone horn, accordion and tamburitza.

He has been on the staff of numerous music camps as an instructor, including Fiddles and Feet, Lark in the Morning, Buffalo on the Roof, Ashokan Northern Week and Bal-kan Music & Dance. Paul enjoys playing for Contra and English country dances.

Morrissett has a long history with this particular art form. “It’s my childhood music,” he says. “I was an international folk dancer as a kid.” While living in Colorado in the late 1970s, before he joined the Klezmatics, Paul, who also learned piano as a child, played for international folk dancing events. He attended graduate school for a couple of years and then moved to New York, where he started dabbling in different kinds of music, mostly Balkan, then Scandinavian. “All of this was essentially amateur stuff,” he says. “Then I started playing bass and once people found out about that I got more work as a bassist. I ended up with a pretty good bass-playing gig!” he deadpans about his successful tenure with the Klezmatics.

That gig came about when the group’s previous bass player decided to leave. Lorin Sklamberg, one of the group’s co-founders, gave Paul the call. He admits he wasn’t well-versed in the genre but he quickly found himself immersed. “I had heard klezmer and was interested in it but I didn’t know anybody who was playing it. To me it’s a flavor of something I’d been dancing to since I was a kid, the Eastern European modes, so it was not a stretch at all. I was fooling around with all these different ethnic musics and here’s one that has everything you want, including lots of people I already know discovering their own culture. And yet it’s so intertwined with American culture.”

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MASTER CLASS WITH CSUN GUITARISTS

Guitarist Eliot Fisk is known worldwide as a charismatic performer famed for his adventurous and virtuosic repertoire. He is also celebrated for his willingness to take music into unusual venues (schools, senior centers, and even logging camps and prisons!). True to form, Mr. Fisk will share his vast experience and unique expertise with CSUN guitar students on December 5.

FREE STUDENT MATINEE WITH POWERHOUSE FLAMENCO DANCER LEILAH BROUKHIM

MON JAN 2212PM (1HR.)(Grades 3-12) | Great Hall

Leilah Broukhim returns to VPAC after her wildly popular performance in 2015, this time to introduce K-12 students to the rich history and scintillating energy of flamenco dance and music. Ms. Broukhim will also discuss the incredible diversity within flamenco by sharing the personal story about her own Jewish and Persian heritage. A Q & A with students will follow the performance.

ARTS EDUCATION

PRESENTING TWO INCREDIBLE STUDENT PROGRAMS THIS WINTER!

LEILAH BROUKHIM

ART GALLERY

Mehrnoosh Eskandari first studied Industrial Design at the Tehran Azad Markaz Univer-sity in Tehran, Iran and began painting as a response to the existential void it created. Her gestural, psychological, and seeming naive portraits examine humanity’s futile aspirations and short-comings, and the physicality of layered paint and other materials render the portraits animatedly ambiguous, like clowns, who seem to cry and laugh at once. Eskan-dari earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Arts from CSUN in 2017. She lives and works in the San Fernando Valley.

SMEARMehrnoosh Eskandari

NOVEMBER 17 – DECEMBER 16, 2017

PROTEST AND PLAY, OIL AND ACRYLIC ON PAPER AND TAPE, 28” X 48”, 2017

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TICKETS & ORDERING

Sign up for “My VPAC Account Manager.” My VPAC Account Manager is Valley Per-forming Art Center’s way of providing you the best service to take care of your ticketing subscription online. Visit the site to sign up today. You may renew or purchase a new subscription with this feature.

IN PERSONVPAC TICKET OFFICECALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE18111 NORDHOFF STREETNORTHRIDGE, CA 91330-8448

The Ticket Office is located to the north of Valley Performing Arts Center’s courtyard on Orange Grove Walk across from the Matador Bookstore. Patrons may park in the G3 Parking Structure located on Zelzah and Prairie streets.

HOURS OF OPERATIONTUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, 11 A.M. – 4 P.M. (HOURS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

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JOIN US!

Valley Performing Arts Center’s generous supporters make it all happen—from arts education for young students to a sustainable future for VPAC’s extensive programs and state-of-the-art facility.

VPAC loves to shower its supporters with recognition and perks, so please consider joining our family. In addition to invitations to special events, annual contributions of $2,500 qualify for Porter Pavilion

membership (full-season subscribers are in for $1,500). Porter Pavilion is open before evening performances, with complimentary drinks and a quiet place to sit with friends.

For more information on how to make a gift to VPAC, please contact Maria Paredes at 818.677.8849.

PORTER PAVILION IN VENUE DINING OPTIONS

BISTRO ON THE TERRACE

Join us on the 4th Floor Balcony level for a gourmet bistro bite, a glass of wine and a spectacular view of the Valley. Open most evenings (weather permitting) one hour before the show and closing 5 minutes before curtain.

CONCESSIONS IN THE LOBBY

Light fare and drinks available before the show and open during intermissions (by show basis).

Avoid waiting in line and pre-pay for your intermission food and beverage in person before the performance begins!

BISTRO ON THE TERRACE

NEW VPAC DRINK TUMBLERS

You may now bring a beverage into the concert! Available for purchase at concessions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL

STEPHANIE GOODSON AT 818-677-2076

OR CSUN.EDU/ORANGEGROVEBISTRO

9/16 AMADEUS LIVE with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and LA Opera

9/28 Cheech Marin Hosts an Evening of Comedy

10/12 Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble Onstage Sessions: Chamber Music

10/14 Upright Citizens Brigade All-Stars

10/19 Maceo Parker: To Ray with Love A Special Tribute to Ray Charles, The Ray Charles Orchestra & The Raelettes

11/ 2 Moscow State Symphony Orchestra Pavel Kogan, Conductor

11/ 4 Flamenco Legends by Javier Limón: The Paco de Lucía Project

11/11 DIAVOLO: 25-Year Anniversary Marathon Free festival starts at 11AM

11/14 The Sachal Jazz Ensemble–Song of Lahore Onstage Sessions: Jazz

11/17 Bernstein on Stage John Mauceri, Conductor

11/18 iLe, Special Guest Gaby Moreno

1 1/19 Imago Theatre, La Belle, Lost in the World of the Automaton Plaza del Sol Performance Hall

11/30 Anat Cohen Tentet

12/3 Hansel & Gretel: A Wickedly Delicious Musical Treat

12/6 Eliot Fisk, Guitar; J.S. Bach Cello Suites Onstage Sessions: Chamber Music

12/8 A Michael Feinstein Holiday Celebration

12/9 Fiesta Mexicana: Feliz Navidad

12/10 Colburn Orchestra Yehuda Gilad, Conductor Free Performance

12/16 The Klezmatics Happy Joyous Hanukkah

1/19 Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All-Stars with Harold López-Nussa Trio

1/ 21 Leilah Broukhim, Flamenco Dance

1/ 26 The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Charles Dutoit, Conductor

2/3 KEIGWIN + COMPANY Celebrates Bernstein

2/9 Step Afrika! Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence

2/11 MUMMENSCHANZ, you & me

2/16-18 MARIACHI VARGAS DE TECALITLÁN Cruzar la Cara de la Luna

2/21 Danish String Quartet Onstage Sessions: Chamber Music

2/24 On the Waterfront Film with Live Orchestra Score by Leonard Bernstein

2/25 Dublin Irish Dance, Stepping Out

3/1 Miles Electric Band

3/3 The TEN Tenors

3/11 Yamato—The Drummers of Japan

3/15 Academy of St Martin in the Fields Joshua Bell, Director & Violin

3/18 Manual Cinema, The Magic City Plaza del Sol Performance Hall

3/29 Kathleen Battle, Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey

4/5 The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra

4/7 Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

4/13-15 Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

4/18-19 Cécile McLorin Salvant Onstage Sessions: Jazz

4/21 ¡La Nueva Cuba! The Next Generation

4/26 Amir ElSaffar’s Two Rivers Ensemble Onstage Sessions: Jazz

4/28 LA Opera presents Great Opera Choruses Free Performance

5/1-2 Terence Blanchard Breathless Featuring The E-Collective Onstage Sessions: Jazz

5/5 Quetzal with Mariachi Flor de Toloache

5/12 An Evening with David Sedaris

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 2017-18 SEASON

ValleyPerformingArtsCenter.org