New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: pacific symphony

SAUSD middle school violinists set for their final performance on June 8

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Editor Posted in Education, Entertainment, Music, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 5, 2013

Contact: Deidra Powell, Chief Communications Officer, (714) 558-5555 Office, (714) 673-4995 Mobile

Media Advisory: SANTA ANA STRINGS WRAPS UP ITS FIRST YEAR WITH A FINAL PERFORMANCE FEATURING ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

ALEJANDRO GUTIÉRREZ AT PACIFIC SYMPHONY’S “PLAZACAST,” JUNE 8

Event: Inspirational fourth and fifth-grade violinists from Santa Ana Strings (SAS)—a new program launched last summer as a three-way partnership between Pacific Symphony, Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) and THINK Together—show off all they’ve learned this past year during a final public performance at Pacific Symphony’s “Inside and Out” Plazacast and Community Celebration. Continue reading→

Things to do on the 4th of July in and around Santa Ana

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Editor Posted in Entertainment, Irvine, Neighborhood Associations, Santa Ana, Tustin Leave a comment

The City of Santa Ana held their public 4th of July Fireworks show yesterday, on July 3, so now what will you do today? Well, here are a few ideas: Continue reading→

OJ blog editor Vern Nelson proves he can play the piano at the Artists Village

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Editor Posted in Arts and Culture, Music, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Well, that was fun. Orange Juice blog editor Vern Nelson showed up at Downtown Santa Ana’s Artists Village today to tickle the keys, in the plaza by the Gypsy Den, as part of “O.C. Can You Play?,” an event sponsored by the Pacific Symphony.

As part of this event, 20 brand new pianos, which were donated by various piano manufacturers, were painted, by local artists, and staged all over Orange County. There are three of them at South Coast Plaza, one at the Great Park, one in the Artists Village and another in Fountain Valley – which is where I drove Nelson afterwards.

Nelson had great fun playing George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” He also tackled Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and he played a bit of David Bowie’s “Changes,” just for me.

It should be noted that our friends at Downtown, Inc., were the ones who brought the piano to the Artists Village. They signed the agreement with the Pacific Symphony, got the permits from the City of Santa Ana, arranged for a local artist to paint the piano, and had it delivered to the Artists Village.

The piano has now been relocated to the foyer of the Santora building and it may be moved again in the next three weeks. We will keep our readers posted.

The piano at the Artists Village will be there through Feb. 6. Come on by and play a tune – and be sure to shoot some video and post it on YouTube.

Visit all 20 pianos for a chance to win 2 season tickets to a Classical, Pops or Summer series! Or just visit 3 pianos for 20% off your next ticket purchase! Click here to read more about that.

Bonus! Here is a friend of Vern’s:

Play the piano with the Pacific Symphony on Jan. 16, in Santa Ana

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Editor Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Music, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Pacific Symphony wants to know: “OC Can You Play?” and if you can, have we got a piano for you! And if you can’t, why not?!

The Symphony has taken on a big, exciting three-prong project, which begins with the installation of pianos in public spaces throughout Orange County for all to play and enjoy during the latter half of January 2011, the project also includes two other initiatives. Details on a launch party are forthcoming! Keep up with all the activities and where to find a piano when you need one at www.pacificsymphony.org/OCCanUPlay.

Approximately 20 pianos are about to turn up in public spaces throughout the county—Sunday, Jan. 16 to Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011—with three pianos at South Coast Plaza (including a grand in Jewel Court); one at…downtown Disney in Anaheim; the Irvine Spectrum Center; the Block at Orange; Main Beach in Laguna Beach; on a hilltop at Whiting Ranch, downtown Brea; and one near the Mission in San Juan Capistrano.

Also among the hosting sites is the Orange County Performing Arts Center (the Symphony’s artistic partner); Irvine Barclay Theater, the University of California, Irvine; The Lab in Costa Mesa; Great Park in Irvine; Fullerton; OASIS Senior Center in Newport Beach; Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley; Downtown Santa Ana’s Artists Village Promenade; and the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center in Mission Viejo…so far!

Come, play, videotape a performance and display it on You Tube and the Symphony’s Facebook page! The Artists Village piano, painted by local artist and singer-songwriter Joni Renee will be located on the Second Street Promenade between Broadway and Sycamore from Sunday, January 16th to Sunday, February 6th !

Presenting sponsor Yamaha and supporting sponsor Kawai have donated pianos, which are being painted by local professional artists, and the Piano Technicians Guild is providing significant support in preparing and tuning the pianos. The public—those who already play and those who don’t—is invited to play tunes, teach their children “Chopsticks,” “Ode to Joy” or whatever they like, or create “piano mobs” and impromptu or planned classical, rock and jazz performances are welcome. Click here to find out how you can create your own piano mob.

Update: Santora artist Alicia Rojas is painting a brand new Yamaha P-22 piano for this event! See the picture below:

Great Park Asks: “OC can you play?”

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Editor Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Irvine, Orange County Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 13, 2011
CONTACT: JENN STARNES, 949-724-6574

Great Park Asks: ‘OC CAN YOU PLAY?’

Visitors can play a tune on Park’s hand-painted piano.

IRVINE – Whether your piano talents are closer to Chopin or Chopsticks, the Great Park wants to know: OC, Can You Play? Come play the piano and participate in a public arts happening at the Orange County Great Park, presented by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. OC Can You Play? is a free interactive installation that encourages visitors to tickle the ivories on one of 20 artistically enhanced pianos placed at iconic destination locations across the county. The public piano project kicks off January 16 and runs through February 6.

“The mix of music and art in OC Can You Play? is a perfect fit for the Great Park,” says Larry Agran, Chair of the Orange County Great Park Board Corporation. “Bringing art of all kinds into a public space is a key part of the Great Park vision. Events like these are a stepping stone to the Great Park becoming OC’s new home for the arts.”

The piano used at the Great Park for this event was decorated by Irvine artist and teacher Tom Brown, and features a landscape reminiscent of the El Toro area’s agricultural heritage. The Great Park Visitors Center also houses a photography exhibition by The Legacy Group titled Phantoms Phorever: Art + Language at MCAS El Toro. On the way to the Great Park Visitors Center, guests will see the Palm Court and Squadron Complex under construction, which will house artists studios and an art gallery, slated to open in mid-2011.

OC Can You Play? is designed to promote by the Pacific Symphony’s “Year of the Piano” project, which features a season of top pianists. All of the OC Can You Play? pianos are donated by presenting sponsor Yamaha and supporting sponsor Kawai, and the Piano Technicians Guild is providing significant support in preparing and tuning the pianos. Local Orange County artists donated their time and talent to paint the pianos, which will be donated or auctioned after the event.

The piano will be in the Great Park Visitors Center during normal operating hours, January 16 through February 6. The Park is open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Parking is free. For more information go to www.ocgp.org or www.pacificsymphony.org/occanuplay

About the Great Park

The Orange County Great Park, with its 1,347-acre master plan, is the focal point of the redevelopment of the publicly-owned portion of the 4,700-acre former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. The Great Park is currently 27.5 acres and includes an iconic tethered helium balloon that rises 400 feet in the air, providing an aerial view of Park development. A $70 million development plan to expand the Park to more than 200 acres is currently underway. The plan will build out a core section of the Park for the most immediate and wide-ranging public benefit, including the initial components of the sports park, a 114-acre agricultural area, and an art and culture exhibition space. For more information, please go to www.ocgp.org.

About Pacific Symphony

Pacific Symphony enriches the human spirit through superior performances of symphonic music and community engagement. Pacific Symphony, celebrating its 32nd season in 2010-11, is led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, who marked his 20th anniversary with the orchestra during 2009-2010. The largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 40 years, the Symphony is recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene, as well as in its own burgeoning community of Orange County. Presenting more than 100 concerts a year and a rich array of education and community programs, the Symphony reaches more than 275,000 residents—from school children to senior citizens.
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