Tickets going quickly for Musco Center spring events

Tickets are on sale and selling quickly for the Opening & Preview Season of Chapman University’s new Marybelle and Sebastian P.
Musco Center for the Arts
, featuring music, dance and theatre events throughout April and May by professional and University artists and ensembles. Tickets are available for purchase online via Musco Center’s website at
www.muscocenter.org
.

The Opening & Preview Season will include internationally acclaimed virtuosos and ensembles that define excellence, as well as the finest Chapman student performances from the University’s nationally recognized College of Performing Arts (CoPA), which encompasses the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music and the departments of dance and theatre.

Kicking things off in grand style, the Center will throw its doors open to the entire community on Saturday, April 2 with a free, day-long Community Open House & Arts Festival. The Open House will include performances on four stages inside and outside the Center, by artists from all over Southern California: musicians, singers, dancers, ensembles and much more, as well as backstage tours, family activities and much more. Details will be announced soon.

As for the rest of the spring, “we have an extraordinary line-up of artists for the Opening & Preview Season at Musco Center,” said
William D. Hall, D.M.
, the Center’s founding dean and artistic director. “This will be the perfect introduction to the beauty, range and power of future seasons at this magnificent new center for the arts.”

Performances for the Opening & Preview Season represent a diverse range of world talents, ensembles and entertainers. Highlights include a new CoPA production of Shakespeare’s 
The Merchant of Venice
, staged to coincide with the Bard’s 400th birthday, as well as music and dance by The Chapman Orchestra, Opera Chapman and other outstanding student ensembles.

Renowned visiting artists and companies on the roster include:

• Orange County’s Pacific Symphony
• Philharmonic Society of Orange County
• Los Angeles Percussion Quartet
• The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra, joined by the Chapman Big Band & Jazz Combo, for Jumpin’ with Stan Kenton
• Musco Center Distinguished Piano Series, presenting the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medal‑winning concert pianist Vadym Kholodenko
• Great Voices Series with renowned American opera baritone Rod Gilfry
• Arts & Lecture Speaker Series with Jeff Corwin, American animal and nature conservationist and Animal Planet host

Musco Center was designed by award-winning architects
Pfeiffer Partners
, with acoustics by world‑renowned Yasuhisa Toyota of
Nagata Acoustics
. Once complete, it will serve as a new cultural beacon for campus life and the broader community, giving notice that world‑class arts education and artistic achievement have found a new home in Southern California.

ABOUT MUSCO CENTER FOR THE ARTS


Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University is expected to take its place among the nation’s top university arts education and performance venues, offering students and distinguished faculty the opportunity to achieve the highest standard of arts‑related education through hands-on, real-world production and performance experience. At Musco Center, the surrounding community will enjoy large‑scale opera and theatre productions, touring dance companies, symphonies, chamber performances, jazz concerts, popular music and much more. For more information about Musco Center and its upcoming events, visit
www.muscocenter.org
.

 

MUSCO CENTER FOR THE ARTS – OPENING & PREVIEW SEASON

Saturday, March 19, 6pm

Grand Opening – SOLD OUT!

Featuring Plácido Domingo, Deborah Voigt and Milena Kitic; and an orchestra and chorus of 150 voices conducted by John DeMain


Chapman University celebrates the Grand Opening of the Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts with a historic all-star performance.

 

Saturday, April 2, 10am-10pm

Community Open House & Arts Festival


Enjoy a cavalcade of performances, family activities, delicious food, backstage tours and nonstop fun – demonstrating the full capabilities of Musco Center and the tremendous range of Chapman’s College of Performing Arts, and celebrating the diversity of the City of Orange and its surrounding communities. On four stages inside and outside the Center, there will be continuous performances for all ages, by artists from throughout Southern California – musicians, ensembles, singers, dancers and much more. Admission FREE to all – check
muscocenter.org
for more information!

 

Sunday, April 3, 2pm

Musco Center and Pacific Symphony Present

Interplay 2016: American Visions, American Voices
      

Charles Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 (Concord Sonata)

Steven Mayer, Piano     William Sharp, Baritone  


Piano and voice combine in this magisterial work that evokes the spirit of Concord, MA and the icons who gave it its literary crown – Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Curated by Pacific Symphony as part of the Interplay 2015 festival, presented in partnership with Musco Center and Chapman University.
General Admission: $20. Non-Chapman Students: $15. Chapman Students/Faculty/Staff with ID: $10.


 

Sunday, April 10, 7:30pm

Musco Center Presents

Los Angeles Percussion Quartet

Rhythms of Our Time


This Grammy-nominated ensemble, featuring Chapman music faculty members Nick Terry and Justin DeHart, is a world-class chamber group utilizing the full panoply of percussive instruments: African drums, marimbas, bells, drum sets, electronica and more.
Reserved Tickets: $20-$35. Student Discount – $10 off (any level) with ID.


 

Friday April 15, 7:30pm

Saturday, April 16, 2pm and 7:30pm

Saturday, April 23, 2pm

COPA Theatre Presents

The Merchant of Venice

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Thomas Bradac


Shakespeare’s immortal story of deceit, prejudice and justice is searingly portrayed in this new production directed by Thomas Bradac.
Reserved Tickets: $10-$25. Student Reserved Tickets: $10 (all levels) with ID.

 

Friday, April 22, 7:30pm

Saturday, April 23, 3pm

Sunday, April 24, 3pm

COPA Music Presents

Opera Chapman


Peter Atherton, artistic director

Carol Neblett, associate director

Gianni Schicchi
and Suor Angelica

by Giacomo Puccini


Two of Puccini’s best-loved one-act operas are presented in fully costumed and

staged performances by outstanding student singers and orchestra. There’s roguish, brilliant comedy in
Gianni Schicchi
(featuring the beloved aria “O mio babbino caro”) – contrasted with the hope and pathos of
Suor Angelica
.
Reserved Tickets: $10-$25. Student Reserved Tickets: $10 (all levels) with ID.


 

Tuesday, April 26, 7:30pm

Musco Center Presents

Distinguished Piano Series Concert

Vadym Kholodenko

Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medalist


Experience the blazing virtuosity of one of the world’s finest young pianists, the Kiev-born winner of the 2013 Van Cliburn Piano Competition.
Reserved Tickets: $20-$35. Student Discount – $10 off (any level) with ID.


 

Wednesday, April 27, 7:30pm

Musco Center Presents

EmC x BD: Emerging Voices in Choreography by Backhausdance


High-flying innovation from some of California’s top contemporary dance companies, including Whyteberg, TheFyberVision, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Backhausdance and Blythe Barton Dance. Reserved tickets $10-$15. Student Reserved Tickets $10 (any level) with ID.

 

Friday, April 29, 7:30 pm

COPA Music Presents

Chapman Wind Symphony

Christopher Nicholas, conductor


Christopher Nicholas conducts this gifted ensemble of more than 40 student performers in an eclectic repertoire ranging from classical masterworks to contemporary pieces. Program to be announced.
General Admission: $15. Non-Chapman students: $10. Chapman students/faculty/staff with ID: $5.

 

Sunday, May 1, 2pm

Musco Center Presents

Arts & Lecture Series

Jeff Corwin


The Emmy-winning Animal Planet host, author and biologist speaks eloquently and entertainingly on the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems across the globe.
Reserved Tickets: $30-$65. Student Discount – $10 off (any level) with ID.


 

Tuesday, May 3, 8am-1pm

Thompson Policy Institute Presents

DisAbility Summit


Chapman’s Thompson Policy Institute on Disability and Autism offers the results of its first year of research in clear, unbiased findings. Free and open to the public.
All conference attendees must
RSVP at
www.chapmantpi.org

 

Tuesday, May 3, 7:30pm

Musco Center and CoPA Music Present

Jumpin’ with Stan Kenton

The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra – Mike Vax, director

Chapman University Big Band & Jazz Combo – Albert Alva, director


Made up of stellar musicians who played with late jazz legend Kenton, this swingin’ ensemble joins the Chapman Big Band & Jazz Combo for an evening for an evening of music that’s anything but square!
Reserved Tickets: $20-$35. Student Discount – $10 off (any level) with ID.


 

Saturday, May , 7:30pm

Musco Center Presents

Great Voices Concert

Rod Gilfry, Baritone


Two-time Grammy nominee Rod Gilfry, one of the true “heartthrobs” of the opera stage, performs a recital ranging from operatic arias to the best of the musical-theatre songbook.
Reserved Tickets: $20-$45. Student Discount – $10 off (any level) with ID.


 

Saturday, May 14, 4 pm

COPA Music Presents

Annual Conservatory Scholarship Concert

The Chapman Orchestra

Daniel Alfred Wachs, music director and conductor

Chapman University Choirs

Steven Coker, music director


With nearly 100 top student performers on stage, the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music pulls out all the stops for this annual concert spotlighting the combined forces of The Chapman Orchestra and Chapman Choirs.
General Admission: $20. Non-Chapman students: $15. Chapman students/faculty/staff with ID: $10.


 

Sunday, May 15, 4pm

OCYSO Presents

Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Alfred Wachs, music director and conductor


Maestro Wachs conducts Orange County’s official youth symphony in a concert featuring the repertoire from their upcoming concert tour of Spain: Bernstein’s Overture to
Candide
, Ibeniz’s
Suite Iberia
and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.  
General Admission: $10. $5 students and seniors.

 

SUNDAY, MAY 29

Events in Aitken Plaza, 1-5 pm

Concert inside Musco Center, 6 pm

Chapman World CAFÉ Presents

Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano

Mariachi Reyna de los Angeles

El Latido del Corazon Mexicano (Heartbeat of Mexico)

It’s fiesta time in the Aitken Arts Plaza!  Enjoy free activities and performances saluting the glorious music and culture of Mexico on the Plaza all afternoon, followed by an evening concert featuring two of Southern California’s most acclaimed mariachis. Presented in association with the Chapman University Latino Staff & Faculty Forum.  Reserved tickets for 6 p.m. concert: $20-$35.  Student discount: $10 off (any level) with ID.

 

 

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