So You Think You Can Be a Counselor!

It is always awesome to hear from our alumni, especially when so many e-mail telling us they're dying to apply to be a counselor!  Information on applying to be a counselor is distributed in March, via e-mail, Facebook and the blog.  So if you have been waiting all these years to turn 16, friend us on Facebook and make sure we have your current e-mail address so that you are sure to get the info when it goes out. Or, check back here in the spring for more info!
 
You, too, could be like these awesome counselors from 2010.

Use the Force

Did you ever consider what Darth Vader has in common with an orchestra conductor?  For starters, they both wear black and carry a stick.  Find out what else they have in common as conductor Maxim Eshkenazy as he leads the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra in music from Star Wars at their fall concert next weekend.

Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
November 13, 7 p.m.
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Click here for tickets and more information

I am arts-X-press

It was amazing to see so many of our alumni at the 10 year reunion this weekend!  And we're psyched that so many people contributed to our giant "I Am arts-X-press" poems.

Reunion pictures coming soon!

10 Year Reunion

We can't wait to see everybody this Sunday!  Phone sales for the reunion are now CLOSED.  If you still need to buy your tickets, this is what you need to do:

1) Go to Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall between 2 and 2:30 this Sunday, October 17 to buy your CONCERT TICKETS for $10.  Be sure to tell the box office you are there for the arts-X-press reunion so they give you the reunion discount!  You must have a concert ticket to enter the concert hall.  The concert starts at 3:00.

2) Once inside the concert hall, go up to the second floor, where you can buy your REUNION TICKETS for $20.  We accept cash, check or credit card.

We are not accepting any more volunteers at this late date.

See you Sunday!

10 Year Reunion FAQs

We're so glad that so many of you are interested in coming to the reunion!  Here are answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the 10-year reunion coming up on October 17.

How and when can I buy tickets?

Reunion tickets must be purchased in advance through the box office! If you buy your tickets by October 8, the reunion+concert package is only $20.  After that, the price goes UP to $30, so be sure to order your tickets early!  You can order tickets by calling the box office at (714) 755-5799.  Be sure to tell them you're calling about the arts-X-press reunion.

Can I just buy a ticket to the reunion and not the concert?
No.  The concert is part of the fun!  Everyone who enters Segerstrom Concert Hall must have a concert ticket.  But you CAN buy a ticket to just the concert and not the reunion.  Concert-only tickets are $10.

Should parents plan to come, or just arts-X-press alumni?
The reunion activities which start at 4:30 are definitely geared towards alumni, but parents are welcome.  Or, parents may attend just the concert from 3:00-4:30 at the reunion discount price of $10. Please note: we will have lots of staff and counselors at the post-concert activities which begin at 4:30, but we cannot take responsibility for supervising our youngest alumni during the concert.

Can I trade volunteer service for free admission to the concert and reunion?
We can still use a few volunteers to help us with set-up and clean-up.  Please call the hotline at (714) 876-2336 if you are interested.

What should I wear?

We would love to see a sea of AXP-wear, so break out your t-shirts!  If your t-shirt doesn't fit, you can by a new one at the ArtsMart, or any nice casual clothing is appropriate (khakis, cords, etc.)

Got a question that's not answered here?  Leave us a comment or drop us an e-mail, and we'll be sure to add it!

Get your Halloween on!

It's almost October, and you know what that means!  The Pacific Symphony celebrates Halloween with two performances for the under-10 crowd.

FREE Chamber Music

October 2, Newport Beach Public Library
1000 Avocado Ave.
11:00 a.m.

A trio from the Pacific Symphony string section presents a fun and interactive concert specially designed for audiences age 5-8 years old.  The program features popular works from Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean, along with music by the great masters. Come ready to sing along, and be sure to stay for hands-on look at the violin at our Instrument Petting Zoo.

(Dana Freeman, MarlaJoy Weisshaar, and Laszlo Mezo pictured at right)

Halloween Goes Hollywood!

October 16, Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Performances at 10:00 and 11:30
Musical Carnival at 9:00 and 12:15

Cheer on the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (including several AXP alumni) as they take the stage with the Pacific Symphony for the annual Side-by-Side concert featuring frightfully fun movie music! Enjoy selections from "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and more. Don't forget to wear your costume for this wonderful celebration!  Tickets and more info

If you're a little too old for trick-or-treating, you can still stay involved by volunteering to help at the Musical Carnival.  E-mail edvolunteer@pacificsymphony.org about for more information about volunteer opportunities.

10 Year Reunion tickets on sale now!

Come celebrate 10 years of magic!
October 17, 2010
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall

Reunion Schedule:

2:30pm             Early check-in.  Come early and beat the lines!

3:00 pm            Excursion flashback: Pacific Symphony performs “Pictures at an Exhibition”

4:30 pm  Check-in continues and party time!

5:00-7:00pm  Reunion festivities including photo retrospectives, a visit from Carl St.Clair,  special performances, singing, and sharing memories with old friends

Are You Coming?

You must have a ticket to attend the reunion, and tickets must be purchased IN ADVANCE by calling the box office at (714) 755-5799 by October 11. 

Concert + Reunion $20

Concert only $10

Be sure to specify you are calling for the 10-year reunion

If you are dying to attend but don’t have $20, we could use some  volunteer labor!  Call the hotline to inquire.

Got Questions? 

Hotline: (714) 876-2336

Email: arts-x-press@pacificsymphony.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/arts-x-press

AXP Year 1, Week 1, 2001

2010 Reunion this Weekend!

We're psyched to see our 2010 alumni, counselors and staff at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater this Saturday, September 11!  In case you lost your confirmation e-mail, here's the info:

Tickets: Don't stand in the box office line!  Pick up your tickets between 6:30-7 pm at the table next to the box office.  That leaves plenty of time for catching up with your buds before the concert starts at 8 pm.  Tickets must be purchased in advance, and ticket sales will be CLOSED at 11 a.m. on Friday, 9/10.

Getting there: 
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618

View Larger Map

General parking is $8 

Other helpful info:

We will be on the lawn, so bring blankets, low lawn chairs, jackets, etc.  Feel free to bring a picnic, or you can purchase one from Bristol Farms

Beethoven looks forward to seeing you, too.  Visit the Pacific Symphony website to learn more about Beethoven's Ninth Symphony before Saturday's concert.

Wondering about the 10-year reunion?  Stay tuned.  Tickets go on sale next week!

Dude, where's my DVD?

Wondering where the group photos and DVDs you ordered are?  We apologize for being a little slow!  Photo prints just arrived, and DVDs should be here soon.  So please be patient and give us another week or two to get them mailed out to you.  In the meantime, here are some more photos to tide you over...

  

AXP 2010 REUNION!

Hey arts-X-press 2010 alumni! Remember to buy your tickets for the 2010 Summer Reunion where you can see all your favorite friends, counselors, and staff!

The concert is on September 11 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and starts at 8 PM!

Tickets are $11 for students and $22 for adults and can only be purchased by calling (714) 876-2336 or e-mailing arts-x-press@pacificsymphony.org. Tickets will be available for pickup before the concert at the AXP table right outside the entrance of Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

Feel free to let us know if you guys have any questions. We can't wait to see you :D

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS FOR 2010 AXP STUDENTS ONLY! THIS IS NOT FOR THE 10 YEAR REUNION. Information regarding the 10 Year Reunion can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/find-friends/?expand=pymk&ref=hpb#!/event.php?eid=140576642639630

2010 Reunion

Do you miss AXP already?  Then join us for the 2010 reunion on September 11 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.  Tickets for 2010 alumni are only $11 for students and $22 for adults, and are available ONLY via the AXP hotline, (714) 876-2336 or by mail.

If you're not a 2010 alumn, you can still get your AXP fix on 10/17/10 at the big 10-year reunion.  Save the date!


P.S. For those of you following the saga, you'll be happy to know that Eeyore and Tigger were finally found drinking OJ in the cafeteria on the last day of Session 3.

Week Three Parent Presentation!

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation tonight! It begins at 6:45 pm at Newport Mesa Church, which is at 2599 Newport Blvd. in the corner of Vanguard's campus. The whole family is welcome, and your campers can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.

Week 3, Day 2 - Shaboom, Shaboom!

Good day parental units. Your children are now sleeping peacefully, but we have an emergency! Tigger (Counselor Claudia's stuffed animal) and Eeyore (Counselor Yolanda stuffed animal) were both stolen earlier today! Don't worry though, we have our highly qualified CSI team on the case, so we should know the culprit soon enough. Hopefully we can reach an agreement on some type of ransom and return them home safely. But enough about them, let's get down to the good stuff.

We started the day with a nice breakfast. The kids then took part in some Creative Expression and Arts Workshops, and if you want to see what they were up to before they come home make sure that you show up to the Parent Presentation on Tuesday at 6:45! (More information on the Parent Presentation will be posted Tuesday morning) After lunch we got on the bus, sang a lot of bus songs, and headed down to the Laguna Playhouse where we saw Life Could Be A Dream, a 1960 based musical that the kids loved! 

Oh, life could be a dream (Shaboom, shaboom)

If I could take you up in paradise up above (Shaboom, shaboom)

If you would tell me I'm the only one you love

Life could be a dream, sweetheart! 

Errr, sorry about that. A lot of the songs are so catchy that sometimes I just start to sing them; this happens quite often. After the show, we had our very own special talkback with the cast where the kids were able to ask them questions about the show and their lives as actors.

After dinner we were then able to take part in a Spotlight Vocal Workshop! Spotlight Workshops are workshops that everyone takes part in for about an hour and a half so that people who didn't get placed in a certain art still have a chance to experience as many arts as they can while they are here are arts-X-press. I hope that wasn't too confusing; if it was, I apologize, I am tired. Anyways, our good friend Jeanette McMahon came in and taught us all about the voice and how to sing and conduct professionally! We then learned about the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and closed the night with a little activity we call Bonding. We gave out a lot of Magic Buttons tonight; if your kid comes home with one please make sure to ask them to describe their magic moment.

I am now off to bed because we have a busy day tomorrow. We are heading down to Laguna again to see Pageant of the Masters! We have all sorts of activities planned throughout the day, but to find out what we are you going to have to check back in tomorrow night!

AXP Coordinator

Garret

PS. Pictures are on their way later today. I didn't have time to upload them tonight. 

Week 3, Day 1- Symphony in the Cities

Mural dedicated to Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony

What a great day!  Everyone arrived safely this morning and we had a great time getting to know each other as our counselors led us in icebreaker games.  Then, after a nutritious lunch, everyone discovered what art workshops they would be in for the duration of Arts-X-Press.  After the first meeting of the arts workshops, they were assigned to a Creative Expression class. 

Enjoying Symphony in the Cities

After an already productive day the fun began! We headed to Mission Viejo for Symphony in the Cities, singing some catchy tunes along the way. We took a backstage tour and saw what it takes to put on such an event. Before the concert, Pacific Symphony Music Director Carl St. Clair took the time to come see us! He gave some great advice and shared his experiences!  After a terrific outdoor concert under the stars, we have finally returned home, headed to bed and are excited for whats in store for tomorrow.

We hope to see you at the parent presentation on Aug. 3 at 6:45 at the church at Vanguard.

Mo & Yolanda

Counselors

Week 2 Parent Presentation

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation tonight! It begins at 6:45 pm at Newport Mesa Church, which is at 2599 Newport Blvd. in the corner of Vanguard's campus. The whole family is welcome, and your campers can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.


View Larger Map

Week 2, Day 3: Pageants, Pottery, and Pizza

Yo yo yo amazing Arts-x-Press parental units! Hope you all are doing well out there. This is the seasoned vets, James, Kit, and Jacob reporting to you live from the wonderful dorms of Vanguard University. Yesterday was a jam packed day full of fine arts and spicy beef for lunch (sooooo good). Let's get started so you can relive our magical adventure!

First off, after a bacon filled breakfast, your students hit the classrooms running by tapping into their creative juices in Creative Expression. We as counselors had to deal with them having high energy afterwards, so we know they got their creative juices flowing. After spending more time in their arts workshops, they already invested a good amount of energy into their day. But here at Arts-x-Press, we like to keep them busy every minute, so lunch seemed like a good call at the time. Lunch time was the time your young artists discovered a new passion for spicy beef and steamed rice. MMmm good! Plus, the ice cream machine that offers the "nectar of the University" was operational again. Let us tell you: 50 kids + staff with a sweet tooth = no bueno situation. I don't know who was more upset about the ice cream machine being broken before: the staff or the students. Ask your artists about that one later.

So after 30 minutes of healthy eating, ice cream munching, and kids asking "what are we doing next?", we jetted off to Laguna for the Festival of the Arts! After a memorable (and final) bus ride with bus songs for Jacob, we arrived at the Festival grounds. Now we can blog about this part all we want, but the young artists had SO MUCH fun at this point that they'll just have to tell you all about it. Once we got to the Festival, the awesome crew treated us to a backstage tour of the Pageant of the Masters! Afterwards, we got the chance to be creative and make our own art by scratch art, printmaking, and raku pottery. It's totally wicked!

After having tapped into our artistic sides (and after all the folks at the festival complimented the kids on how darn cute they are), we became (urban) wilderness explorers and trekked through Laguna to reach the amazing and beautiful Heisler Park (overlooking the beach too!). Once the kids plopped down and rested (they acted like they were so tired... they have great believable acting!), us counselors gave the young artists their room scores for room checks. I have a feeling these students will go home and have the sudden urge to keep their rooms clean (cross your fingers). Then the more than delicious pizza came for dinner (man do your kids love pizza!!). Following that, the counselors started engaging the students with their awesome new games.

We then headed to the Festival of the Arts where our lovely students were able to walk around to see the various masterpieces that were on display. Following that we headed to the highlight of the night, "The Pageant of the Masters". The show this year was awesome, make sure to  ask your student what their favorite art piece was. After the show we hopped on the bus after a very long day (you should have seen how fast your little ones went to sleep). When we got to Vanguard, it was kind of scary waking up your children on the bus when they're that tired, but we did!!! We got them their three minute showers and in there own comfortable bed.

Parents we hope to see you tomorrow at the parent presentation. See you there, and bring your cameras!

Sincerely and ever yours,
James, Jacob, and Kit

Over and out. Peace.

P.S. The picture to the right is not a picture of us amazing counselors just so you're not confused. As you can see, there are no guys in the picture. It's a lovely photo of instrumentalists, and it just looked like it fit nicely down here at the end. So just so we're clear: picture of instrumentalists- not James, Jacob, and Kit. Cool.

Week 2, Day 2

After another terrific morning of creative expression and arts workshops, we were joined by Amy Louise Sebelius, regular AXP faculty member and Director of Shakespeare By the Sea's production of Twelfth Night.  Amy Louise provided an extremely useful cheat sheet so we could follow along with this tale of disguises and mistaken identities!

Small groups worked on theatrical portrayals of emotions, then we ended up with some rousing renditions of Viola's soliloquy.  Amy Louise then accompanied us to Crown Valley Park to see Twelfth Night, and we even got to meet the actors and ask questions afterwards!  An unexpected bonus was the fabulous full moon over the hills of Laguna Niguel.

Today after lunch, we're headed for the Festival of Arts and the Pageant of the Masters.  We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation tomorrow!

Pacific Symphony violists Carolyn Riley (far left) and Cheryl Gates (far right) joined us for lunch.  We had to get a picture of them with their fellow AXP violists, especially since manager Molly Pontin remembered to wear her favorite shirt for the occasion!

1st Dayyyyy

Hey  parents,

So your little ones are currently catching there sleep to be all energized tomorrow. First, we started out the day with the students experiencing the new games which was lead by the awesome counselors. Following that the students had there first meal here at Vanguard. All of them enjoyed the great fruit and the H2-oooohhh yeeaahhh. After lunch we hopped on the arts-x-press party bus where we learned the classic "arts-x-press song" and many others. We headed to the Laguna Playhouse  where we enjoyed a wonderful musical "Life Could be a Dream" which was filled with many popular and talented actors. Following the show, the students were able to ask the actors questions about their experience as actors. After the very long ride home the students enjoyed their dinner. Then came the moment the students were looking foward to the whole day.  They recieved their arts workshops assignments that they will be participating in all week.

Then they went to their Creative Expression classes where they were able to expand their artistic minds. We ended the day with the highly anticipated 3 minute showers and a special night talk with their counselors.

We really look forward to keeping you posted on the rest of the week.

                                                                               Your cool counselors,

                                                                              Leah and Jacob!!!!!!!!

Getting ready for Week 2

We're on our way!  If you have lost your packing list, bus schedule, or medicine form, you can find them here:
Packing list
Bus Schedule
Medicine Labeling Form

If you have a problem on your way to the bus, call the hotline at (714) 876-2336.  Be sure to leave a voice mail including your cell phone number--we will be checking the voice mail frequently throughout the morning and will get back to you in 15 minutes or less.

We can't wait to see you!

Week 1: The End

Week 1 is done, and we had such a great time with all our creative young artists.  You'll be happy to know that MJ was found at last night's talent show.  We can't wait to meet another great bunch of students for Session 2!

From the Counselors: Where's Michael?

Where's Michael?!  Everyone is busy investigating the disappearance of Counselor Cadre Jack's favorite tote bag that features Michael Jackson.  Things are heating up as a suspicious ransom note has been found concerning Jack's beloved "MJ."  Hopefully with the help of our attentive campers, Michael will be found soon!

Session 1, Day 2

Day 2 brought lots of fun, including arts workshops and a trip to Musical Theater West to see the musical "1776."

After another yummy dinner, we were joined by guest instructor Wendy Tobiska for a theater workshop where we staged "Where the Wild Things Are."  We're off to bed to get ready for a great day tomorrow as we visit the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.