Tamara Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 02/15/2012
Paul Simon will headline the San Francisco Symphony's 2012 Black and White Ball, performing in a concert with his band and the Symphony (a Black and White first) at Davies Symphony Hall on June 2. The post-concert party at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center will feature 10 bands on five stages, with music spanning each decade since the ball's 1956 inception, along with dancing, food and, of course drinks.
The Symphony also just unveiled its summer concert lineup. Highlights include: Natalie Merchant with the SFS (June 18); Michael Feinstein and his Big Band (performing a tribute to Frank Sinatra, July 15); Tiempo Libre with the Symphony (July 21); a screening of "The Wizard of Oz," with the SFS performing the film's original score (July 26-27); the world premiere of "Pixar in Concert," with scores from the "Toy Story" trilogy, "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille" (July 28-29); and the "Classical Mystery Tour," the SFS performing the Beatles (Aug. 2-3). The Symphony will also perform two free outdoor concerts at Dolores Park with Tiempo Libre on July 22 and at Stern Grove with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Symphony in a 75th anniversary tribute to the Stern Grove Festival on July 8.
For details and ticket information on all Symphony events, go to www.sfsymphony.org.
Posted February 15, 2012
Academy Of Music Keeps Its 155th-anniversary Party Right At Home
January 29, 2012 | By Peter Dobrin, Inquirer Music Critic
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma accepts applause from the crowd and congratulations from conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin after performing Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme." (MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer)
For as long as anyone can remember, the last Saturday night in January has played out in the same slightly paradoxical way for Philadelphia's Grand Old Lady of Locust Street.
A comely crowd of women in gowns and white-tie-and-tailed men assembles for her birthday. Music is played, speeches are made, and then the revelers file out of the Academy of Music to other spaces for dinner and dancing, leaving the hall they came to fete still and dark.
This year, though, the honored guest was around for the whole party.
At Saturday night's 155th Academy of Music Anniversary Concert and Ball, instead of heading for the Hyatt at the Bellevue after hearing cellist Yo-Yo Ma, jazz singer Diana Krall, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the audience stayed.
This year, dinners at restaurants near the Academy were held before the concert rather than after. Among those seen in the hall after dining elsewhere were many of the city's cultural leaders, developers, lawyers galore, Mayor Nutter and his wife, Lisa, Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett and his wife, Susan, and Sen. Bob Casey and his wife, Terese.
The night's official host, actor David Morse - a Philadelphian for 18 years - said the venerable auditorium had been set up much as it had been for the Academy's opening night on Jan. 26, 1857. He said that party had been declared the greatest ever given in the city, then added, after a pause, "until tonight."
Diana Krall, the 155th Academy Ball's special guest artist, performed jazz and pop standards with her own trio and with the Philadelphia Orchestra. (MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer)
The Academy stage had been extended fully into the house, with a floor erected over the orchestra-level seats so some listeners could hear the concert while sitting at tables, Boston Pops-style.
Afterward, the symphony orchestra on stage was replaced by a dance band. The great chandelier was lowered, and revelers spread out into the specially constructed party area.
Several concertgoers commented that the new arrangement was "shocking" on first look but said they liked it.
"It's long been a goal of mine to have an open house in the Academy and to be able to do it the way they did it in 1857," Academy president Joanna McNeil Lewis said. "Really, I think it hits on the value of tradition and legacy of the Academy of Music."
At that mid-19th-century gathering, Philadelphia society heard waltzes, polkas, and quadrilles; for this 55th edition of the anniversary concert, nearly 1,400 patrons paid between $240 and $2,500 per ticket to hear the concert, soak up champagne, resist or not resist elaborate desserts, and dance - on that temporary floor in the main hall, or in the upstairs ballroom.
The building, brightened with loads of roses and trim, commanded attention Saturday night. But so did the music. It was the first Academy anniversary concert for Yannick Nézet-Séguin, even before becoming the orchestra's music director next fall.
He told the audience: "I am overwhelmed with joy," referring to his Academy of Music debut, before leading cellist Ma in Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. The cellist held the hall's attention with a sensitive and highly detailed performance.
Singer/pianist Krall took the stage for several songs, both with the orchestra and her own trio, performing a set of standards - "The Look of Love," "Pick Yourself Up" - in her trademark casual, smoky voice.
She then brought Nézet-Séguin out on stage for one last song and said to him, "It's my dream orchestra come true. But I was just getting warmed up."
Posted January 29, 2012
Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts Grand Opening Celebrations
Posted September 19, 2011
Producers Aim High For Kauffman Center's Debut Gala
Check out this article from today's Kansas City Star
about the opening of The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and
Baruch/Gayton's involvement.
Posted August 24, 2011
KAUFFMAN CENTER ANNOUNCES OPENING WEEKEND ADDITIONS
Contribution of Kansas-City Area Performers and Production Companies Makes Opening Weekend Celebration a True Artistic Union of Local and International Talent
KANSAS CITY, MO – Today, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts announced the addition of more Kansas City-area artists to the Grand Opening weekend lineup, including its three resident companies, as well as more than 40 diverse local performance groups.
The additions make the Grand Opening weekend an unprecedented collaboration of local and international artistic talent, and build on a Kauffman Center priority to promote and celebrate Kansas City’s vibrant and diverse arts community.
“Kansas City has a long, rich tradition of performing arts, and it’s very important that the Kauffman Center reflects and augments Kansas City’s already vibrant arts community,” said Jane Chu, President and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “Thanks to the participation of our resident companies and so many outstanding local performers, our Grand Opening performances will be an important step in making the Kauffman Center a true Kansas City icon.”
The Kauffman Center engaged internationally recognized Baruch/Gayton Entertainment Group as Executive Producers to create and produce the Grand Opening celebration, specifically because they integrate local talent, history, and culture into each of their events. As part of that mission, Wayne Baruch and Charles Gayton worked with Kansas City’s best creators and performers to plan and produce the events.
On Friday, September 16, the Grand Opening of the Muriel Kauffman Theatre will feature The Kansas City Ballet in a preview of the brand new three-act ballet of Tom Sawyer, of which they will give the world premier performance in October. That same evening, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City will preview the finale of its spectacular new production of Verdi’s gripping opera Turandot. And when world-renowned opera singer Placido Domingo inaugurates the Muriel Kauffman Theatre, he will be joined by Kansas City’s own Lyric Opera Chorus and Kansas City Symphony, conducted by Michael Stern.
The evening will also feature a series of “Showstoppers” hosted by multiple Tony Award-winning performer, director and choreographer Tommy Tune, as well as a special guest performance by star of stage and screen Patti LuPone. The Conservatory of Music and Dance at UMKC will deliver one of the greatest Broadway Showstoppers of all time: the "Tonight" quintet from West Side Story. The Kansas City Symphony will accompany the entire performance at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.
To cap off the Friday evening event, Baruch and Gayton collaborated with Quixotic Fusion to create a post-concert outdoor multi-media extravaganza combining large-scale projections and live performers. They also reached out to Kansas City’s T2+BackAlley Films to create unique post-concert indoor visual projections for both Friday and Saturday evenings.
The Kansas City Symphony returns in full force for the Grand Opening of Helzberg Hall, on Saturday, September 17, to accompany world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman and Grammy Award-winning pianist/singer Diana Krall. In addition, the 156-voice Kansas City Symphony Chorus will perform both a capella and with the orchestra for the opening of Helzberg Hall. And, in a stunning tribute to Kansas City’s Jazz History, the symphony will be joined UMKC’s very own Bobby Watson, who Baruch and Gayton commissioned to arrange an original work that will be performed by a 17-piece American Jazz Museum jazz orchestra comprised of a diverse group of Kansas City musicians.
The Grand Opening weekend culminates with a free community open house, Sunday, September 18, with more than 40 of Kansas City’s finest performing arts groups, composed of approximately 600 individual artists. Doors open at 11 a.m. and performances will run from noon until 5 p.m. on four outdoor stages, as well as in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall.
Combining their international expertise with local know-how, Baruch and Gayton created an extensive Kansas City-based production team to support the work of the entire Grand Opening weekend. They turned to two lead production organizations to manage the two opening night pre and post-concert celebrations and free Sunday open house: O'Neill Event Management, headed by Keli Wenzel, whose considerable experience ranges from elegant gala events to major public occasions, including their annual Irishfest; and The Wellington Group, headed by Joan Wells, which has a wide range of top rank corporate and special event clients in Kansas City and throughout the United States.
In addition to O’Neill and Wellington, Baruch and Gayton also pulled together visual, creative and culinary artists such as T2+BackAlley Films, Harvest Productions, PB&J Restaurants, Aramark, Lon Lane Inspired Occasions, and Matney Florals.
Reflecting on the experience, Wayne Baruch and Chuck Gayton said, “As executive producers of the overall Grand Opening, we will be working with the best of the best in Kansas City. Today, on the doorstep of the Grand Opening, artistic Kansas City has done itself proud. The opening celebration will truly be an artistic union of local and international talent.”
Kansas City event planning and production collaborators include:
• O’Neill Event Management • The Wellington Group • Conservatory of Music and Dance at UMKC • Kansas City Art Institute • Kansas City arts entrepreneur Gary Maltbia • Recording artist and educator Kevin Mahogany • American Jazz Museum • Quixotic Fusion • T2+BackAlley Films • Harvest Productions • Chuck Matney (Matney Florals) • Townsend Communications • Hallmark • Aramark • PB&J Restaurants • Lon Lane Inspired Occasions • All Seasons • Kansas City Convention Center/Bartle Hall Ballroom • Kansas City Downtown Council
ABOUT THE KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, a new multi-venue center for music, opera, theater, and dance designed by Moshe Safdie will open in Kansas City September 16, 2011. The Kauffman Center seeks to enrich the lives of all Greater Kansas City residents by presenting vibrant and diverse performances, educational programming, and creating a tradition of the performing arts as a catalyst for Kansas City’s civic economic, and educational vitality.
Three of the region’s leading performing arts organizations – Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City – will be in residence at the Kauffman Center. The Kauffman Center’s two performance venues, the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre and the 1,600-seat Helzberg Hal, will offer audiences engaging and intimate experiences, while at the same time providing resident companies with enhanced performance capabilities.
Serving as a cultural cornerstone for Kansas City’s dynamic downtown, the Kauffman Center will bring a new spotlight to the region’s performing arts community while simultaneously attracting some of the world’s most talented performers and entertainers, further establishing Kansas City as a major cultural destination.
More information on the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is available at www.kauffmancenter.org.
