arts-X-press Pacific Symphony Concerts

Dear arts-X-press Friend,

We are so looking forward to seeing you at arts-X-press this summer! We hope you are getting excited about the program too. For those of you in Session One, we are only 5 weeks away!

Here is informations on the Pacific Symphony Concerts each session will be attending!

Session One:

• The Pacific Symphony Concert on Aug. 2 in Mission Viejo is FREE. Click here for more information.

Session Two:

• The Pacific Symphony Concert on Aug. 9 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater has a special price for arts-X-press friends and family members. We can offer tickets at the reduced price of $22 per person. If you would like to purchase tickets for this concert, please contact Sheri Mitchell at (714) 876-2384 or smitchell@pacificsymphony.org. Be sure to mention you are a part of arts-X-press to get the special price. PLEASE NOTE: Tickets purchased for this concert are not guaranteed to be near the arts-X-press student seats.

Session Three:

• The Pacific Symphony Concert on Aug. 16 in Irvine is FREE. Click here for more information.
  

Don’t forget, the arts-X-press 2008 Reunion is still to come! Please save the date on your calendar for Saturday, September 6, 2008. We will be attending the Tchaikovsky Spectacular Summer Festival Concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Click here to read more details about the concert or hear some of the music in advance!

We hope you will be able to stop by some of these performances and say hello to us! Remember, even if you are attending arts-X-press in a different session, you are invited to get tickets to the events in other weeks and stop by our group to say a quick hello. See you in a few weeks!

Warmly,
arts-X-press Staff

DARTS Begins Their 40th Season!

This week, Days In the Arts (DARTS), hosted by the Boston Symphony, began their 40th season!!

Feel free to visit the DARTS Blog and keep up with what they are up to!


As some of you may know, DARTS, our sister program, was the inspiration and model for arts-X-press.

We wanted to congratulate them and wish them an amazing summer of exploration in the arts!

Meet Your 2008 arts-X-press Counselors!

Hey arts-X-press 2008,

arts-X-press is approaching quickly, we wanted to introduce you to the Counselors for arts-X-press 2008!

Many of our counselors have attended arts-X-press themselves or started their involvement with arts-X-press as members of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra.



Rylee, Kit and Tina

"It was amazing. I love sharing with the students." ~Kit

Jacob

Why have you returned to arts-X-press?

"I want to give back."~Jacob

Maxwell

Jordan and Alexis

James

Yolanda

What has brought you back to arts-X-press?
"It's such a great memory that I want to share with others."~Yolanda

Stacy

Aileen and Lexi

Elyse

Jack

Greg

Garret

Stephanie and Kristen
Why have you returned to arts-X-press?
"To help the students discover new skills." ~Kristen

Laurel and Ruthie

We can't wait to see you at arts-X-press!

arts-X-press Alumni Takes the Stage in Huntington Beach

arts-X-press Alum, Lizzy Mulroy, takes the stage at The Huntington Beach Playhouse in

Born to Ride the Waves
July 4-July 20

For Tickets Call HB Playhouse Box Office: 714.375.0696

Over Labor Day weekend, 1964, the last days of an idyllic California Point Break, champion surfer and confirmed loner Tom Bannick finds his carefree world suddenly challenged by love and a demolition crew.

Inspired by Dana Point's colorful past and featuring songs from Surfstory, which the LA Times hailed as "fresh, inspired, elegant, engaging, and blissfully unpretentious", this world premiere musical evokes a slice of coastal Orange County "the way it'll never be again.""…

Mulroy’s infectious music and sensitive lyrics are so good thatit’s hard to resist jumping out of your seat and dancing in the aisle.” Joel Beers, OC WEEKLY.

Break a Leg Lizzy!

Summer Orientations

The arts-X-press Summer Orientations are starting tomorrow!

This is a time for you all to get to learn more about arts-X-press. You will have the opportunity to meet some of the staff members who will be with you during your week as well as learn about what to pack, the bus pickup and dropoff locations and have any questions answered!

We will gladly accept any paperwork that hasn't been turned in at the Orientation sessions.

You get to choose one of the two following dates to attend:

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 - 7PM-8:30PM

OR

Saturday, June 14th, 2008 - 10AM- 11:30AM

Both Meetings will be held at the Orange County Department of Education.

The address is:
200 Kalmus Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Click HERE for Map to OCDE

**PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE: The Orientation will now be held in BUILDING D**

arts-X-press Myspace and Facebook Groups!

Hi Everyone,

Wanting to stay in touch with fellow arts-X-press students?

You Can!!

There are arts-X-press Groups on Myspace AND Facebook.

For the Myspace Group Go HERE
For the Facebook Group Go HERE

Come Volunteer!

Hi Everyone,

The Education Team would like to invite you to come volunteer this Summer! There are a BUNCH of wonderful opportunties coming up that we wanted to share with you all.

Volunteers for Parent Presentations for arts-X-press Summer 2008!

The dates are as follows: Aug 5th, Aug 12th, and Aug 19th.

Come help at the Musical Playground for Target's Symphony in the Cities!

Saturday, August 2nd in Mission Viejo

Sunday, August 3rd in Brea

Saturday, August 16th in Irvine

Sunday, August 17th in Lake Forest

Come help in the Office!

If you are sitting around with not much to do, schedule a time to come help us in the Symphony Office.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of the above activities, please contact arts-X-press@pacificsymphony.org. We would love to see all your shining faces again!!

Volunteer for Youth Concerts!

Hello Everyone!

We wanted to share a special volunteer opportunity that is coming up with the Pacific Symphony. Come join us and volunteer at:

Youth Concerts

on May 28, 29, 30 and June 3, 4, 5 and 6th

from 7:45AM-12:30 PM

at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

The Youth Concerts are one of the culminating events for the Class Act school partnership program. This concert is repeated 14 times over 7 days and serves 28,000 school children! This year’s concert focuses on the music and life of Mozart and it features young musicians on piano and violin!

Remember, there is always the opportunity to earn free concert tickets if you volunteer three of more times with the Symphony, and for every day you volunteer, you are invited to a beautiful complimentary catered luncheon!

We would love to have you join us as a volunteer! If you are interested in joining us at the Youth Concerts as a volunteer or have any questions, please contact Mollie at: mgilmore@pacificsymphony.org

~Shannon, arts-X-press Coordinator

arts-X-press Alumni and Music Masters

We wanted to share the success of the Music Masters Concert that took place on May 12th. It was a night to remember as the audience was presented with "An Evening of Musical Theatre."

Music Masters, in its fifteenth consecutive year, promotes the music education of elementary students. Through this program, one instructor conducts weekly instrumental lessons at four elementary schools in the Savanna School District and one junior high school in the Anaheim Union School District during the regular school day.

More than 200 aspiring instrumentalists have participated this year!

The concert, part of the Imagination Celebration, featured arts-X-press students, past and present!

arts-X-press and Music Masters Alumnus, Anthony Truong, even had his original composition premiered!

We were so proud to see the talents of arts-X-pressers showcased in the concert!

Great job guys!

OCMAA's Music and Arts Awards

On May 14th, The Orange County Music and Arts Administrators(OCMAA) held their 2008 Music and Arts Awards at the Samueli Theatre of the Performing Arts Center. At the ceremony, the OCMAA recognizes arts educators around the county. We ran into a few familiar faces at the ceremony.

Andy Julian, a former Creative Expression and Instrumental Instructor at arts-X-press, was nominated for his work in teaching Instrumental Music. Also, Edward Johnson, former Dance and Vocal Instructor at arts-X-press, was nominated and awarded for his instruction in Dance.

The new conductor for the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra(PSYO), Maxim, was the keynote speaker at the event. We will get the opportunity to spend some time with Maxim this summer when he comes to visit us at arts-X-press and share information about PSYO.

We saw some other familiar faces around the room! Shanti, former Dance instructor with arts-X-press was there to show her support! Pam, Vice President of Education and Community Programs with the Symphony was also there!

We are so proud and want to CONGRATULATE our amazing

arts-X-press Instructors!

Arts-X-press Helps Make 2008 Gala a Success!

Dear arts-X-press Friends,

It is my pleasure to tell you a little about our Pacific Symphony Gala which happened this past weekend. It was a big event in the life of the Symphony and arts-X-press! Every year the Symphony hosts a fundraiser which we call the Gala. It is a huge party and it raises money for the education and artistic programs of the Symphony. Obviously, arts-X-press benefits from the money raised at this event.

This year, the theme of our Gala was “A Chicago Story” all about the history and famous people of Chicago. As you can see from the pictures, the room was very red and velvety as it was meant to look like a Chicago steakhouse.

Throughout the event, we were treated to interesting stories and acting from Randy Gianetti, resident actor for Fullerton Civic Light Opera (a favorite arts-X-press excursion location) and parent of Samantha (arts-X-press alum from 2004). Here he is with me at the event.

The middle of the fundraiser was the best though. That’s when Anthony and Jack were invited to the stage to talk about their experiences at arts-X-press and for Anthony, Music Masters as well. Here are some pictures of them at the event. You would have been so impressed with Jack and Anthony, they were pros! Everything they said was from the heart and so professional. After they spoke, we had a portion of the night called “fund-a-need” where people simply offer to contribute money to support the education and artistic programs of the Symphony. Thanks to Anthony and Jack’s impassioned speeches, we raised $142,500 to support our education programs!

Mollie was also at the event working very hard and looking totally glamorous!

Remember, if there are neat things going on in your life and you would like us to post about you in the blog, just send us an e-mail at arts-X-press@pacificsymphony.org. We love to hear what you are doing!

Thanks again to Jack and Anthony for their tremendous support this weekend!

Warmly,

Rachel

P.S. If you'd like to read an article on the Gala that was in the OC Register, Just CLICK HERE

Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles Concert - Sunday May 18th!

Here are 2 exciting concerts coming up that you might like to attend:

The 2007-08 Youth Ensembles Culminating Concert will take place on Sunday, May 18 at 4:30PM and 7PM at the Orange County Performing Artscenter's Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

At 4:30PM:

Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings

Irene Kroesen, conductor

Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble

Michael Corrigan, conductor

Pacific Symphony is pleased to present our newest Youth Ensembles — Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings and Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble — in their premiere performance at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

At 7PM:

Cheng Family Foundation Youth Orchestra Concert Series

America Meets Russia

Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra

Michael Hall, conductor

Michael Hall concludes his tenure at the Pacific Symphony by leading his final performance with the Youth Orchestra in a program of Russian and American music, including music from Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet "Swan Lake."

Keep an eye out for arts-X-press alumni in PSYO: Sarah, Youval, Betty, Susie, and Michelle. Also, look out for Nathan who is among the Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings musicians.

Tickets are just $15 for admission to BOTH concerts! Purchase tickets to the 7 p.m. concert and receive free admission to the 4:30 p.m. performance!

Join us between performances (after the Wind Ensemble and before the Youth Orchestra)on the plaza in front of the concert hall where In-N-Out Burger will be serving hamburgers. However, plan accordingly, as the supply is limited.

CLICK HERE to Purchase Tickets and view more detailed info on these 2 concerts. You may also purchase tickets by calling the box office at

(714) 755-5799 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm)

Hope to see you there to support your fellow arts-X-press alumni and these other great Pacific Symphony Education Programs!