Terence Blanchard's Newest Bleeping Project

Trumpeter extraordinaire Terence Blanchard is composing music for a new play by Stephen Adly Guirgis titled, Motherf**ker with the Hat, which will star Chris Rock. Blanchard has written numerous scores for films but this project is his first foray into Broadway. To read the entire story on Playbill click here.

Besides composing, Blanchard also continues to tour with his quintet. Blanchard and his ensemble will perform in the Jazz Series on April 3 with world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis and his quartet for a special-one-night only show in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Click for more info.

Photo by Jenny Bagert

New Guest Blogger Reviews the Mandelring Quartet

We have a new guest blogger - Chapman University's Jake McIntyre. Jake is Segerstrom Center's new marketing intern and he will be reviewing a variety of shows during his time with us. He is a senior at Chapman with a double major in communication studies and dance performance. An Orange County native, he has trained in theater and dance throughout Southern California. Besides working with the Center, Jake has worked with Backhaus Dance, Newport Beach Film Festival and the American Cancer Society. An avid theater and art enthusiast, Jake spends time immersing himself as much as possible in the local artistic community. He caught the Manderling Quartet's performance last week and below are Jake's thoughts on the concert.

Jake writes:

The acclaimed German ensemble, the Mandelring Quartet made its Center debut at the Samueli Theater February 24. I am by no means a classical music aficionado, but this performance by the Mandelring enthralled me. I was hypnotized by the choreography of their bows, and was blown away by the personality these players were able to expose from the musical scores.

LA Times music critic, Herbert Glass, discussed in his preview talk how the program followed the heritage of Beethoven’s string quartets on later composers and the beginnings of dissonance. The night opened with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, a lyrical and romantic composition, which transported me to the German countryside. The Quartet then played the more contemporary work, String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102 by Bartok. This piece was composed in 1934, during the onset of WWII, and a haunting tension could be felt throughout the work. The piece was extremely avant garde for its time and sounded more akin to a work of the 20th century verse the '30s. The program ended with Mozart’s String Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonant”), a revolutionary score that was the first to have the famous dissonance sequence at the beginning of the work.

The Quartet was called back three times for bows, and for an encore performance. The short encore piece, whose name I did not catch, was by Shostakovich. The piece was well received and left most the audience laughing at the score’s comedic tones.

This evening was an inspiring and enjoyable night, a perfect way to end a long week. I look forward to the future concerts planned at the Center this season, and I will definitely be back for more. Information on the Center’s upcoming concert series can be found on the website.

So Many Reasons to See Rock of Ages

Our flip cam recorded Rock of Ages cast members yesterday on their bus ride from LA to Costa Mesa for a mini concert at South Coast Plaza (they gave an amazing performance BTW!). Click on the video to hear cast members discuss why people should come see the show in Orange County. As if rocking songs by Journey, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon or Bon Jovi weren’t enough! Click here to see the cast perform Journey's "Don't Stop Believin.'"

A big thanks to MiG Ayessa, Rebecca Faulkenberry, Sean Jenness, Holly Laurent, Erika Shannon, Teresa Stanley and J Michael Zygo for spending time with us. Rock of Ages runs March 1 – 6.

Tommy Thrills

Chance Theater’s The Who’s Tommy made its thrilling Segerstrom Center debut last night with a sold-out performance. Staged in Founders Hall, which has been transformed into an intimate 161-seat theater for this show, The Who’s Tommy wowed the audience and critics with a captivating production full of cool video projections, rocking music played by an onstage band and charismatic performances. To read the reviews, please click here. Some of the upcoming performances are nearly sold out so be sure to get your tickets soon. The Who’s Tommy plays through February 20.

Photos by Doug Gifford

South Coast Plaza Lets the Sunshine In

Talented cast members from HAIR: the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical entertained an audience of more than 250 people with a rocking lunchtime performance at South Coast Plaza earlier today. The crowd enjoyed iconic songs from the Tony Award-winning musical including, “Aquarius,” “Where Do I Go” and “Hair.” To get shoppers into the flower power mood of the ‘60s, gerbera daisies, groovy headbands and temporary HAIR tattoos were given as favors. There was also a ticket giveaway to see HAIR this weekend – the lucky winners were Jack Morris from Huntington Beach and Amy Sydoruk from Cal State Fullerton. After the performance, cast members met fans and signed posters. HAIR plays Segerstrom Center through February 6.

The next lunchtime Broadway performance at South Coast Plaza is scheduled for February 24 at 1 p.m. with cast members from Rock of Ages.

Click above to watch the performance of “Aquarius.”

Click below to watch the performance of “Hair.”

Segerstrom Center Favorites Win Dance Awards

Winners of the UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2010 were announced earlier this week and a few of Segerstrom Center favorites were included – Bolshoi Ballet superstars Natalia Osipova won for Best Female Dancer, Ivan Vasiliev received the award for Best Male Dancer and the Bolshoi Ballet nabbed Best Foreign Dance Company. Natalia and Ivan appeared in Reflections, a joint project with the Bolshoi Ballet, which received its world premiere here in Segerstrom Hall last Thursday. Both dancers will return to the Center to star in Tour de Force II: A Gala Dance Extravaganza this coming May as well as a special commission dance event in the Fall of 2012. Audiences at Tour de Force I in 2009 were blown away by the pair's performance of a pas de deux from Flames of Paris.
The National Dance Awards were established by the Critics Circle in 2000 to highlight the astonishing range of dance on offer in the United Kingdom. A big congratulations to everyone!

Photo: Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in Serenata (Reflections); by Steve Dawson

Tango Costa Mesa

To tantalize and inspire audiences attending performances of Tango Buenos Aires last week (January 14 - 16), Segerstrom Center offered free tango lessons on the arts plaza prior to the Friday and Saturday evening performances. Carolina and Felipe Telona of CNF Dance in Playa Del Rey gathered several hundred audience members and passersby on a special dance floor conducive to the sleek and stylized tango moves. And from there, it was Tango Costa Mesa until curtain.