'Tis the Season (almost)

Magic is in the air! You might have thought it came from the holiday season, but really it's because it's time to think about arts-X-press once again!

We love that so many people are thinking ahead. Here the scoop on the most frequently asked questions so far:

2013 Student Applications will be available by December 15 at www.pacificsymphony.org/arts-x-press. Application deadline is February 13.

2013 Counselor Applications will be announced via the blog, Facebook, and e-mail in early February. Make sure you have friended arts-X-press on Facebook, or at least make sure we have your current e-mail address. Counselor application deadline is April 1.

2013 Session Dates:
July 13-17
July 20-24
July 27-31

Start getting those Baby Shark muscles in shape. Summer will be here before you know it!

Welcome to the family

Another class of alumni has become part of our Pacific Symphony family. But just because the summer is over doesn't mean the magic is gone! Here are ways to stay involved:

Attend a concert (we have great student discounts!)
Volunteer! We always need lots of help with our Family Musical Mornings concerts and Symphony in the Cities.
Audition to be part of our award-winning youth ensembles.
Donate to support arts-X-press and other great programs. 
And, of course, keep in touch. We love to share alumni news!

See you at the reunion!

We can't wait to see the Class of 2012 again!

The deadline for discounted advance ticket sales has passed. But you can still purchase tickets at the regular price, $18-$36, at the concert tomorrow. The box office opens at 6:00 p.m. Be sure to ask for tickets in or near the arts-X-press section in Loge 5.

Come to the 2012 Reunion!

See your friends again and check out Pacific Symphony's Tchaikovsky Spectacular with fireworks!

Unbeatable AXP discount - $5 for students (including non-AXP students), $20 for adults. So bring the whole family!

When:   Saturday, August 25. Concert begins at 8 pm and will last approximately 2.5 hours including the fireworks.

Where:  Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine.

Parking is $10

Due to Amphitheater logistics, it is very difficult to drop off and pick up students, so parents should plan to attend the concert or send a responsible adult to attend the concert with their students.

For Tickets:

1.   Call the Pacific Symphony Box Office at (714) 755-5799 by August 20.

2.   Mention you are from arts-X-press to receive the special discount price and get seating in the AXP section. If you would like to attend but have trouble with the ticket price, please call the arts-X-press hotline at (714) 876-2336 and we will make special arrangements for you.

3.   Our tickets are in seats (not on the lawn), but since this is an outdoor concert, bring something warm. You can bring a picnic to eat before the concert or pre-purchase picnic meals from Bristol Farms at www.pacificsymphony.org. The grounds open at 6 p.m. for picnicking. (There is no food for sale at these concerts except through Bristol Farms.)

Photos and DVDs

If you're ready to re-live the magic but didn't get a chance to order your group photos and Parent Presentation DVDs, you have until this Friday, August 10, to get your order in. Just use this order form. Note that we must receive payment by August 10. Photos and DVDs will be mailed in a few weeks.

Week 3 Visual Arts

What an AMAZING group of art students. Thank you so much for a great week! Enjoy your work and go on to do more fun designs and animations!! - Lisa

Caffeine rehab

What a great AXP 2012! Thanks to all of our parents, campers, counselors, staff, and everyone else for another great year.

Soon, we will post pictures on Shutterfly, process orders for DVDs, and answer all your questions about the reunion on August 25. But the staff will be on a much needed break until August 7 while we catch up on our sleep and try to flush all that caffeine out of our system. So please be patient while we recover from "arts-X-press brain" and we'll get back to you soon!

Farewell Week 3

Don't forget to be on time to pick up your camper! They have LOTS to tell you about. Here's the bus schedule for Wednesday, August 1. Please be on time so we don't have any sad campers (and even sadder staff members!)

Bus A

Santa Ana

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Parent arrival: 10:05 am

Expected Bus Arrival: 10:20 am

Garden Grove

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Parent arrival: 10:35 am

Expected Bus Arrival: 10:50 am

Placentia-Yorba Linda

Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886 

Parent arrival: 11:05 am

Expected Bus Arrival: 11:20 am

Bus B

Newport-Mesa

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-2298                                      

Parent arrival: 10:00 am

Expected Bus Arrival: 10:15 am

Irvine

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Parent arrival: 10:25 am

Expected Bus Arrival: 10:40 am

Saddleback Valley

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Parent arrival: 10:55 am

Expected Bus Arrival: 11:10 am

Abbe's Creative Expression Class!

The theme for our class has been "Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve" and the students have taken to this motto with flying colors.  Whether or not through connecting with each other through games, writing, discussion, or art, the students have made it their mission to be themselves at all time, to not fear honesty in their expression, and I'm so proud of them!
On Day One we started working on literally hearts, where the students expressed the truth inside them through images and writing.  On Day Two we worked on a collaborative poem that we are excited to share tonight at the parent presentation.  On Day Four we used some of the music we heard at the Symphony as inspiration to write concrete detail that we imagined.  And today we used images of paintings from last night's Pageant of the Masters to invent original stories.  The students have really stretched themselves creatively in this class.
I will leave you with some quotes from the students' own journals:

"The told us to take creative risks and I really liked that and it made me feel more confident about myself and doing things I'm not that comfortable with." -Gianni

"Over all, the theme of camp is Creativity, but in my Writing Expression class it's "Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve" which I totally believe in!  I'm all about self-empowerment!  I love it here!" - Drea

"They make you step out of your comfort zone and make you become yourself.  They make you meet new people and experience new ideas.  They don't want you to compete with yourself but to become yourself." - Sydney

"'Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve' means keeping your heart open, but not letting anybody step on it or hurt your feelings." - Sarah

"I learned it's okay to make mistakes because sometimes it's fun." - Evan

"I can express myself and be myself without worrying what others will think or say." - Brooke

"It feels exactly like a family." - Oasis

Day 3, Festival of the Arts/Pageant of the Masters

This is Mo, once again with the latest and greatest.
I have been a part of for Arts X Press for a very long time and Day 3 is ALWAYS my favorite day. Today was no exception. It was a long yet jam-packed day of fun, excitement and CREATIVITY.

We started off our day with Arts Workshops and Creative Expression Classes. Later during lunch, we had Pacific Symphony Musicians join us for lunch where the campers gained some insight on what its like to be a Pacific Symphony musician. It was great getting to know them!

After that, we headed to Laguna Beach. We took a private backstage tour of Pageant of the Masters. It was AWESOME. Always so fascinating to learn the behind-the-scenes tricks of the trade and all the work that goes into making a show of this magnitude come to life.

After the educational tour, we got our creative juices flowing with some visual arts activities. We made raku pots (that you will see and smell later. You'll know what I mean), scratch art, and print making. It was a great chance to do some bonding but also experience other mediums of art.

 Print Making

 Raku Pots!

Scratch Art!

 You're Welcome, Leslie :)

 

The Pageant show was one of the best I have seen. Great paintings art and artists were featured. Many campers had their MAGIC MOMENT last night after seeing the show. They were so awestruck by the whole thing. Its always great to see their reactions.

After the show, we were all exhausted! Headed home and called it a night! Such a great day. 

Cannot wait to to meet you all at the Parent Presentation tonight!!!

Parent Presentation Week 3

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation on Tuesday! It begins at 6:45 pm in the big white events tent in the northwest corner of Vanguard's campus. Parking is free, the whole family is welcome, and your young artists can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.

A professional videographer will record the presentation. You can pre-order a DVD for $15 and professional group photos for $10 on Tuesday night. ArtsMart merchandise will also be on sale.

Creative Expression with Gemma :)

The amazing group:
Amy, Becca, Rachel, Cristian, Jessie, Peter, Bailey, Amethyst, Ashley, Grace, Jenn, Liam, Esther, Cari, Gustavo, Peyton!

Each day we journal a discovery and goal.
Discoveries: I can take a two minute shower, bonding makes people open up and feel like a family.
Goals: Learn everyone's name, be open to new things.

Our theme, CREATIVITY..."oooh", inspires us in many ways. 

Day one we created a word wall: out-of-the-box, inspiration, different, unique, imagination...were some ideas :)

Day two we each created our own acrostic poem.  Then we all collaborated to come up with this:

Colors
Rediscover reality
Explore extraordinary expression
Amazing, awesome Arts-x-press
Think outside the box
Intriguing, infinate imagination
Very visually vivid
Inspired innovation
Talent
You can be unique.

Today the group initiated an art project!  They wanted to make and decorate the letters in the word 'creativity' to share our poem at the parent presentation.  How creative!  We also wrote "I am" poems and continued to decorate our Creative Expression folders.

Looking forward to sharing more tomorrow at the parent presentation!

Day 2 Excursion!!

 After our regularly scheduled on campus activities our young artists departed to the Great Park in Irvine to go see the Pacific Symphony's "Symphony in the Cities" concert. When we arrived we kicked off the event with circle painting in our arts workshops groups and collectively created a work of art that bonded our group closer together. Afterwards, the kiddies went on a backstage tour and got to see the inner workings of a Symphony concert. With our delicious picnic dinner of sandwiches and fruit the campers were graced with the presence of the Pacific Symphony's conductor Carl St. Clair. With his words of wisdom in mind we started the spectacular concert! The concert featured works by Bizet, John Phillip Souza, and many other great composers, and was performed with a classical guitar quartet as well as a wonderfully talented vocalist in certain pieces. So after a long and fulfilling day the campers readied themselves for bed and the mysteries of tomorrow!!!!

Special Guest at Great Park

Hello!

This is Mo, Coordinator for Week 3! We just got back a little bit ago from the Symphony in the Cities concert in Great Park, Irvine. Before the great concert, we had a VERY special visitor. Carl St. Clair the Conductor and Music Director for the Pacific Symphony. He had great insight on the life of a musician, how to get the most out of Arts X Press, and of course just great life advice (he always is very uplifting). It was a great precursor to the main event.

 Great Park, Orange County

    Claudia and Lily, Counselors

Michal's CE class post

So far in CE, we have written in our journals, making sure we talk about a goal and a discovery we have for the day. We also created acrostic poems with the work CREATIVITY (our theme for the week). Today we talked about the elements of story and created our own using the Titanic, the phrase "We're all gonna die!" and the adjective "ugly." Enjoy the CREATIVITY of Michal's CE class!

Meghan S.: Some goals that I have for myself include being able to draw better, make new friends, try new foods, learn new things.

Create Whatever!
Recreate images in your own way!
Express the REAL you!
Always think outside the box!
Truthful to yourself
Individuality is OK!
Versatile attitude
I will be MYSELF!
Tell your story
Your choice
by Chloe and Dolce

On a dark windy night the Titanic was priceless. Nobody could ever call this glorious view ugly, but that didn't last long for the indestructible Titanic sank into nothing. It if wasn't for the glacier, the Titanic would e still in the seas with its beautiful and priceless view. Now I'm just looking to the seas writing this story and I hope somebody reads this. I can still hear the voices in my head over and over again "We are all gonna die!" was what the people were saying. So now I"m going find land and inform people about what happened and I can rest for some time to forget all these horrific memories.
by Teresa

Can be expressed any way
Rainbow of personality
Everyone has a creative side
A way to find out who you are
True to yourself
Incredible!
Very easy to experience
It can be anything that you imagine
Terrifically in style
You can't be without it.
by Sarah and Meghan

Once upon a time at Vanguard University, there was a whole bunch of cheerleaders that came to cheer. There were all very competitive with each other. Everyone of them wanted to be the best at everything... who had the best splits, who had the longest hair, and who could do the best cartwheel. Then one day, a boy cheerleader came along. He was better at everything. He had the longest hair, the best splits, and a very pretty cartwheel. All the girls were mad, so they all got hammers and broke the boy cheerleader's bones. Now, he is not a good cheerleader anymore. He was really upset, so he posted terrible pictures of all the girl cheerleaders on facebook. He wasn't finished with his revenge though so he cut all the girls' hair off and with all the hair, he made the longest wig ever, so he had the longest and prettiest hair every, making him the best cheerleader ever!
by Abby (inspired by the cheerleaders outside our CE classroom)

Choosing the unexpected
Risk taking is key
Exclude nothing
Always reach deeper
Think outside of the box
Imagination is the foundation
Various ways to express it
Improvise with WHAT YOU HAVE
Try your best
You are creative.
by Camryn, Ha and Caitlyn

Day 2: Ok so yesterday night we was the NCI... the show was based on 4 different choreographers and their ballet dances. My absolute favorite was Wendy's dance, "Something about Sundays." I observed that there were five couples and 1 single guy. I believe he felt lonely until he met somebody. The setting was a cafe on Sunday. My second favorite was about dancers, oops, I mean writers imprisoned in Korea. So anything, that night I took my three minute shower. Skillednessessess  OK the bed are so uncomfortable! My back hurts like crazy. But that's OK. My goal for today is to meet at least 3 new people and my discovery is that I should've brought an blanket, pillow, sweats another jacket and another pair of jeans. Ah, who cares. I'll be fine. My discover, I can take a 3 min shower.
-Caitlyn

"We're all gonna die!" yelled Ryan. "I've starving and we're gonna die of hunger!" "No we're not, we're almost home!" said Jewel. They were on their way back from the beach on a sunny afternoon. Ryan, Jewel, Jacob and Sonia had all gone to the beach that day and were planning on going back the next day. They were all going to go on a boat to a little island in the Atlantic Ocean. "Let's go!" screamed Sonia. "We're going to miss the boat if you don't hurry!" Everybody rushed out the car and drove off to the dock. By this time it was already noon. Ryan, Jewel, Jacob and Sonia were all good friends. Ryan and Jacob were tall, while Sonia and Jewel were still five feet tall. "This is an ugly boat, Sonia." said Jacob. About half way through their ride, there was a huge thud under the boat and the engine stopped. Everyone stopped talking and looked at each other. When all of a sudden a a shark breaks though the bottom of the oat, making a gigantic hole in the bottom. The boat starts sinking like the Titanic. Luckily , the little island was visible from where the boat sank. Jacob, Jewel, Sonia and Ryan swam up and started for the island. But on the way there was just a pool of sharks. Everyone just floated there... To be continued!!!!
 -Josie

Create a new way of life
Really interesting to know
Exciting
Awesome
Teriffic
Interesting
Victory starts with creativity
Ideas are from being active
The arts define creativity
You only live once.
- Adrian, Thomas and Sam

They saw that the indestructible ship did snink and to some extent, this is true. But you know the old saying "don't judge a book by it's cover." So I'll tell you the real story, to start off it was a warm summer morning of which my great grandfather had the pleasure of boarding the ship "Titantic". He had presented the officials with his ticket and walked onto the ship's beautiful  interior, inhaling all of its features. He, however, quickly noticed what he thought to be a small experimental bomb strapped to the mantle of the grand fireplace. He was right, but after another glance he siply decided it was a weird clock. It would bleep and coitnue to count down isntead of up..... to be continued!
-by Jacob.

"We're all gonna die!" Harry Potter screamed after Voldermot put his curse on the Titanic and now the mighty ship was plunging straight into the ocean. Harry Potter started running all around. Panicking and rubbing hsi scar as the pair it caused him started increasing every minute. His messy hair was flying and blocking his sight as he continuously tried to flip it out of his eyes. He was amazed at how foolish he was in dropping his wand into the water. This was a life or death situation for Harry, since the Gamemakers in his seventy-fourth annual hunger games' was to kill him with a traffic death to entertain the Capitol people. At the moment, Harry was extremely jealous as he saw Edward Cullen walked by him at perfect peace. OK, he was wrong. They were all gonna die, except Edward, he was a vampire. He couldn't die again. The ship suddenly tilted even more. It was impossible to think of a way to survive now. Just as sudden as the ship had nearly flipped, it went back to its original position, flat on the ocean, floating at peace at though it hasn't hit an iceberg at all. He knew that the game was gonna get as ugly as possible after this calmness.
-Ha

Day 1, National Choreographers Initiative

Hello Parents and Friends of Arts X Press!

My name is Mo, I am the Coordinator for Week 3! So excited to get 5 amazing days of Arts X Press underway! We have already had a busy day. Currently, the artists are in their Arts Workshops. Tonight we will be attending the National Choreographers Initiative at UC Irvine!

Everyone is settled in and getting well acquainted with one another! Its going to be a great week...I just know it! :)

Get ready for Session 3

We are ready for our final week of fun with Session 3! Just in case you've misplaced your bus schedule, here it is. Don't forget your Medicine Labeling Form! Here's the Packing List  in case you need an extra copy.

BUS A - NORTH COUNTY

Placentia Yorba Linda Unified Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886 

Student arrival time: 8:05 am

Bus Departs: 8:20 am

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:45 am

Bus Departs: 9:00 am

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:15am

Bus Departs: 9:30 am

BUS B - SOUTH/ CENTRAL COUNTY

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 8:10am

Bus Departs: 8:25am

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 9:00 am

Bus Departs: 9:15 am

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:30 am                             

Bus Departs: 9:45 am
California's parking lot is all torn up, so please meet along the sidewalk in front of the school.

View arts-X-press Bus Stops in a larger map

'West Side Story' speaks to arts kids

Check out this story in the Orange County Register about our trip to the Chance Theater!

Session 2: Claire's Creative Expression Class

Claire's Creative Expression Group has had a great week of journal writing, poetry, tableau vivant, and crafting mandalas. Here's one of our favorite group acrostic poems, "Musical".

MUSICAL

Maestro
Under the stars
Symphony tuning up
Instruments sparkling in the spotlight
Classical, Broadway and jazz
Amazing, awsome
"Ladies and Gentlemen..."

We are all looking forward to our parent presentation tonight!

Session 2, Day 4: Laguna Photos!

Here are some more lovely photos of our resident artists from Laguna yesterday. The Pageant was amazing and everyone loved it! We can't wait to see you all tonight! :)

Session 2, Day 3: From our counselors, with love

As this mornings alarm clocks went off shortly after the lovely hour at 7 am, a sigh of annoyance echoed through the dorms of Vanguard University.  The campers dragged themselves out of their beds with the idea in their heads that it meant another amazing, magic filled day of arts-x-press.

After working through riddles in creative expressions and showing off our talents in our arts workshops we ventured to Laguna for another exciting excursion. Pictures came alive at The Pageant of the Masters, immersing the students in a magical world of artistic creations and widening their knowledge of the geniuses of the world. As we left the performance the students remained entranced by the spectacle they had witnessed and tumbled into their beds exhausted from the days activities.

-Counselor Sara A.

Parent Presentation Week 2

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation on Tuesday! It begins at 6:45 pm in the big white events tent in the northwestcorner of Vanguard's campus. Parking is free, the whole family is welcome, and your young artists can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.

A professional videographer will record the presentation. You can pre-order a DVD for $15 and professional group photos for $10 on Tuesday night. ArtsMart merchandise will also be on sale.

Session 2, Day 3: Moar Pictures!

I know you all love seeing these photos, so here's so more! By the way, we're off to Laguna for the Pageant of the Masters tonight right after we eat our lunch!

Session 2: Kelly's Creative Expression Class

We saw the most AMAZING show last night....here are some of our thoughts!

West Side Story
Racism, hatred,
Rumbles, fighting, shooting,
The love of two different people,
West Side Story

Someday
I say
someday
that I shall sing
on Broadway
with the lights on my face
and the music in the background
touching the hearts of all the people
with a cast
and a crew
on Broadway
with the lights on my face
and the music in the background

West Side Story
tragic, unexpecting,
rumbling, loving, dying,
Prejudice killed them all
West Side Story

Behind us actors pounded and raced,
But it was weird when they got all up in our face,
I examine amazing actors and dancers in front of me.
Throughout the play everything is action packed.
During the play racism takes a big role.
I began to wonder if this still happens today.
Toward Maria, Tony ran,
But the gunshot made it too late.
I welcome acting into my life. 

Session 2, Day 2: West Side Story!

Hello all in the world out there! In a short blurb tonight, I wanted to check in with y'all and let you know that we got back from the Chance Theater safely, and boy was the show AMAZING!

All the artists loved the show and commented that they had never seen anything like it. Because the theater was so intimate, we were the entire audience and got to experience the action and scenes all around us and right in our faces (literally, right in our faces). The show had plenty of dancing, singing, action, and eye-popping moments for everyone.

Afterwards, we got the super cool opportunity to have a talk-back with the cast of the show and we all got to ask them questions! It was a great time for us to learn more about the performers in the show and about what it takes to be in a show like West Side Story. The cast even came around and interacted with us while we waited around for the bus and our group to get ready. So cool!

All in all, we had a wonderful day two and are looking forward to much, much more. I can't wait to experience our Monday since it will surely be an awesome time. What is going on Monday you ask? One word: pageant!

P.S. Check out are cool group photo with the entire cast of West Side Story!

Session 2, Day 2: Pictures!

As promised, here are some more pictures from today in our spotlight workshops!