Making his first album of original music, “Meditations on Death,” wasn’t even Johnny Tran’s idea. The owner of La Jolla’s Thumbprint Gallery said he was laying down some electronic instrumentals for his own pleasure — like he did before the art business consumed his life 10 years ago. “In 2016,...
Today, the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library is a prominent cultural institution in La Jolla. Within its walls and spilling out onto its patio, a variety of concert styles fill the halls with sound; exhibitions rotate in and out; lectures delve into art, architecture, history and musicians; movies...
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Mainly Mozart is launching its new season of Spotlight Chamber Music concerts this year with innovative ways to make them more interactive and social — concert-goers will be treated to both a social hour and a musical program all in one evening. "Rather than seeing ourselves...
At the Athenaeum Ceramicists Beliz Iristay and Irène de Watteville collaborate on a provocative surrealist food table installation, an exhibition of which opens with a reception 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11 at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St. In addition to the collaborative installation,...
San Diego Symphony is revving up for its fourth annual January Festival, a month-long array of events, Jan. 10-27, 2019; which this year is called "Hearing the Future." It's curated by Matthew Aucoin, a 2018 winner of the MacArthur "Genius" grant, which honored his gifts for "expanding the potential...
Unyka Omtsha! That's "happy new year" in Xhosa, one of the languages you'll be hearing sung this month and next when ArtPower brings a soulful trifecta of African singers and musicians to two UC San Diego concert venues as part of this season's Global Music series. First up is Somi, a first-generation...
La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) continues a season-long exploration of the theme "Lineage" with its second concert of the 2018-19 series. Steven Schick will conduct orchestra, chorus and soloists in a celebration of the holidays, Dec. 8 and 9, 2018; at Mandeville Auditorium on the UC San Diego...
Here's something a little different to add to your 2018 holiday entertainment: "All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914." It's a touching, exhilarating, family-friendly opera that's a three-way collaboration between San Diego Opera, La Jolla -based Bodhi Tree Concerts and the popular SACRA/PROFANA...
The series kicks off 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 with the San Diego-based Ira Liss Big Band Jazz Machine at the Cuvier Club, 7776 Eads Ave., benefiting Vida Joven de Mexico Orphanage. Despite the 40 years the Band has been performing in San Diego, this will be its first time with Bodhi Tree
Once upon a time, La Jolla ruled the San Diego jazz scene from a perch high atop the Summerhouse Inn. Do you remember Elario's?
Sarah Winchester. The name may not sound familiar, but if you've ever been to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, you've seen her legacy — a weird, rambling mansion ostensibly built to house the spirits of the dead killed by Winchester rifles, source of the family fortune she inherited in...
The first concert of the season is 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14 at the 7715 Draper Ave. With it, there will be an art walk with pieces inspired by the performance. The Young Artists Showcase features three young Musical Merit Foundation scholarship winners
Some people like to follow their former high school friends on social media. Other people may never want to see anyone from their high school ever again. But not many people graduate, wait 30 years, and then get back together to record a full-length album of songs from the days of their high school...
Ever since La Jolla resident and Muirlands Middle School student Solomon Weinstein was a young child, he loved to sing. He made so much vocal noise, his parents gave him the nickname “Solo.” He was born into a musical family; father Joshua plays the piano, and mother Sarah Schwartz is a violinist...
How does one go out after 18 years of managing to conjure magic at the same job? “With a smile,” said Cho-Liang "Jimmy" Lin as he enters his final season helming SummerFest, the La Jolla Music Society’s (LJMS) acclaimed chamber-music series. “I’m very happy to go out on a high note,” the violinist,...
New president for La Jolla Music Society Susan T. Danis becomes president and CEO of La Jolla Music Society (LJMS) as of Oct. 1, filling the vacancy created when Kristin Lancino, the previous president and artistic director, abruptly resigned in January, barely two years after coming on board. ...
On Aug. 8 — in what would have been its subject’s 100th year — UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Concert Hall presents “Late Night With Leonard Bernstein,” a multimedia celebration featuring host Nina Bernstein’s favorite memories of her father.
Any passerby at 7600 Fay Ave. can see the progress made from the outside on the $78.5 million The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, which just passed its three-quarter construction mark. ut only La Jolla Light readers get to see that progress from the inside — no hard-hat required!
The 36-day meet at the seaside oval will commence July 18 and continue through Labor Day, Sept. 3, featuring 41 stakes races worth $7.3 million and plenty of activities for people of all ages.
Do you agree with this list of the Top 10 beach songs of all time?
La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) presents the final concert of its 63rd season, "A Line Broken," June 9-10. Music director Steven Schick leads orchestra, chorus and soloists in Rand Steiger's "Template for Improvising Trumpeter & Orchestra," with trumpet genius Peter Evans; Courtney Bryan's "Yet...
A look at fun summer activities across La Jolla, including art exhibits, concerts, film screenings, community parties, educational events, theatrical productions and more.
On most Monday evenings, in a ranch house overlooking I-5 atop Mount Soledad, church is held in the garage. But they’re singing classic-rock songs, not spirituals. And the reverend is Jewish.
A La Jolla High School student and her music teacher are among the inaugural San Diego Unified School District Visual and Performing Arts Department (VAPA) Spotlight Award winners. Senior Grace Dessert is one of three district students to receive the Artistic Growth Award, and teacher Michael Fiedler...
Without performing it, Daniel Atkinson has managed to become the jazz guy in San Diego. What he does is produce, book and study it spectacularly. In his 29th year as jazz program coordinator for the Athenaeum, Atkinson presents 14-18 jazz concerts annually, in quarterly subscription series at three...
Inon Barnatan will succeed Cho-Liang “Jimmy” Lin as the music director of the La Jolla Music Society’s 32-year-old SummerFest. Barnatan’s initial contract to head SummerFest is for 20 months, with an option to extend to 32 months. His salary was not disclosed. A native of Israel, Barnatan, 37,...
The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) will present the third concert of its 63rd season Feb. 10-11 in Mandeville Auditorium at UC San Diego. Concert times are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Music Director Steven Schick will conduct Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 4,” with soprano Tasha...
The mere mention of the name Leonard Bernstein invokes musical memories of the Golden Age of Broadway — think “New York, New York” from “On The Town” (1944) and “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story” (1957). But according to singer Angelina Réaux, who knew the late composer and conductor, there...
Kristin Lancino, president and artistic director of the La Jolla Music Society (LJMS), has resigned, the Society’s board chair said Monday. Lancino’s abrupt departure, which was formally announced Tuesday, comes barely two years after she was hired. It will become effective Friday and was by mutual...
Boom-da-da-da-DUM-tick-BOOM. The San Diego Symphony’s got rhythm and plans to show it off during a month-long festival of fascinating rhythm called “It’s About Time” that begins Thursday, Jan. 11 Curated by UC San Diego’s superstar percussionist/conductor Steven Schick, the rhythm-fest will feature...
The 11th annual soundON Festival of Modern Music, themed “Voyages,” will take concert-goers on a four-day excursion through workshops, panel discussions, open rehearsals and chamber music concerts, Jan. 4-7 at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St. The title, said San Diego New Music (SDNM)...
From free film screenings to illuminated winter wonderlands and holiday choir classics, the month of December is booked full of seasonal celebrations and appearances by Santa Claus. Here is a rundown of the many events planned in La Jolla and San Diego County: Holiday events in La Jolla • To pick...
La Jolla has been celebrated in pop culture since 1911. In fact, many La Jollans may be unaware how often their daily lives intersect with the landmarks that inspired popular books, songs, movies and TV shows. Literary La Jolla L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and a frequent...
The 2017 La Jolla Presbyterian Church concert series — now 56 years strong — opens with a first-of-its-kind presentation of budding musical talent
It’s alive! “The Wind Garden,” the latest addition to UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection, is different from the 18 other site-specific artworks that enliven the 1,200-acre campus. Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams, it is not a fixed entity, but an ever-changing soundscape...
Angelique Kidjo. She’s not exactly a household word here, but she’s been called “Africa’s Greatest Living Diva” and “the Undisputed Queen of African Music,” and she’s one of this month’s headliners at San Diego Symphony’s Bayside Summer Nights concert series. Catch her on YouTube, and you’ll want...
The 31st annual La Jolla Music Society SummerFest series promises to take concert-goers around the world without leaving La Jolla, Aug. 2-25. It features more than a dozen concerts, 23 artist debuts and two premieres that will showcase music from other countries at venues such as UC San Diego Department...
On a sunny Sunday afternoon July 2, while tourists and locals were strolling along Prospect Street, streams of others were heading for the upstairs bar at Duke’s La Jolla to catch a 3 p.m. performance by Henry Kapono, an Oahu-based singer/songwriter who has been making award-winning music since...
Peruvian crooner Ossie Arciniega and his three-man Latin American band wooed them and won them, and got most of them up to dance at a La Jolla Community Center (LJCC) party on June 30. It was a romantic and sociable evening that included Latin folk music played on amplified acoustic guitars, with...
Once a month at Mt. Soledad Presbyterian Church, one can hear refined and exotic strumming coming from a great hall whose arched windows and columned terrace overlook rolling green hills. As the warm calm of the evening falls and night sounds can be heard through opened doors, eyes come to rest...
Do creative people — artists, musicians and writers — suffer from psychological disturbances more often than “regular” people? And if they do, are their creative productions an expression of their inner conflicts or are they an escape, a transcendence accomplished in spite of their difficulties?...
David Chase will conduct the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) in two performances of its season finale (which will also mark the end of his 43-year tenure as Choral Director) June 10-11 in Mandeville Auditorium at UC San Diego. Chase’s sendoff will be a musical program inspired by love in its...
Mainly Mozart, now beginning its 29th season, has a lot going on in June. Their theme this year, as part of a six-year exploration of Mozart’s life, is “Beauty through Adversity,” and one of the highlights is “The Work at Hand,” a song cycle by composer Jake Heggie set to poems by Laura Morefield,...
Here’s one way to chase away June gloom — an exciting program of dance and live music that will start off the month with a burst of joyful creativity. It’s a three-way collaboration, joining the forces of Malashock Dance, Art of Élan, and the New York-based NOW Ensemble, a dynamic group dedicated...
UC San Diego’s Art Power is making the merry month of May even merrier with some great music, performance and dance coming from near and far. Here are the Big Three, a trio of events to add to your May calendar. Miwa Matreyek Double Feature (May 3): LA-based animator/designer/performer Miwa Matreyek...
Each year, Birch Aquarium at Scripps and grad students at UC San Diego’s Department of Music team up for Springfest, which encourages composers, performers and sound producers to launch daring projects. Springest 2017, set for 6-8 p.m. Sunday, April 9 with the fifth annual “Immersion” event, will...
The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) will be joined by four operatic soloists, and two guest choruses when Music Director Steven Schick conducts all in Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent “Requiem,” for three performances, March 17-19, at Mandeville Auditorium on the UCSD campus. Now in its 62nd season,...
La Jolla Music Society traces its roots back to 1941, when Nikolai Sokoloff, former conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, originally founded the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla. Over the years, the organization has grown and prospered, adding dance to their offerings a decade ago. This spring’s...
The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) held its 57th annual Young Artists Competition Jan. 28 on the UC San Diego campus. Ten winners, ages 14-29, were awarded prizes of $200-$1,500 in vocal and instrumental categories. First-place winners also received a paid performance opportunity with LJS&C...
The Athenaeum Music & Art Library’s jazz program presents its winter concert series through March 2, 2017 in the music room, with the stars ranging from soloists to quartets, and featuring some of today’s top artists. Tuesday, Feb. 14, marks the return of the Edmar Castañeda Trio, with improvising...