Saturday night, January 26 at 8PM is the winter concert for the Downey Symphony Orchestra, “Simple Pleasures.” Music director Sharon Lavery puts a lot of thought into her programs, and recruits exciting new soloists to experience, this one featuring the young trumpet prodigy, Conrad Jones.
If you haven’t done your musical research yet, perhaps we can help. The names of symphonic works can often be hard to decode, but there is help out there. YouTube is a good resource to preview a musical piece to get prepared for the live experience. The more you listen, the more you are able to absorb all of the complex elements that go into a symphonic piece, improving the listening experience each time.
Here below is your musical tour, with links to read as you listen. The pieces range across centuries of different musical movements.
One of the Downey Arts Coalition’s goals is to work toward building a theatre scene where contemporary and classic plays can thrive in smaller venues with intimate settings. While we do have a strong showing in the musical theatre department at the 700 seat Downey Theatre, we don’t have an appropriate venue for repertory theatre, to say nothing of a place that local playwrights and directors can put together challenging shows or new works.
Putting on staged readings of plays has been a way to start, since it doesn’t require the standard theatre infrastructure of lights and sound and a large enough stage. They can be done anywhere you can fill a room with chairs. With our Urban Acts series, we chose several local businesses, and this past Saturday we had our first theatre collaboration with the new Stay Gallery.
“Penney’s From Heaven” and “Price Tags” are two new short plays in Daniel Houston Davila’s cycle of plays about the Carmelas barrio in neighboring Norwalk, CA. DAC previously presented two others “La Vida Lucky” and “El Bobo Bruto.” These plays have special significance, not only because they are written by a local playwright, but because of the local history they tap in to.
The gallery was filled, and the response quite uplifting. Several audience members spoke about how they related with the situations and characters portrayed, one woman with tears from the memories.
Alistair Hunter, a veteran of the LA theatre scene, is to be credited with casting fantastic actors and bringing the excellent writing to life in a unique way. Valentin Flores and his team at Stay gallery put in a lot of time and details to ensure a fully formed evening out. Local musicians The Black Pages took the stage at intermission and afterward to cap off the experience.
The following day, on Sunday, the Downey Arts Coalition helped put together an afternoon of comedy and improv at the another downtown venue that is able to host performances, The Epic Lounge.
In collaboration with Urban Theatre Movement, three comedy groups took the stage, including Ivy League Improv and Cherry Spitz, all with the purpose of drumming up new toy donations to benefit disadvantaged families this holiday season. Thanks to Daniel Zornes, Paul Tully, Forrest Hartl and James Stebick, as well as David Devis for his generous support with his venue.
Comedy is its own beast, however, a theatre art form in its own right, with a long and storied history. We hope to keep it growing. Also gratifying is the stack of gifts that we handed off to the Downey Exchange Club Family Resource Center, which has some end-of-the-year needs to address with the families they serve.
The Downey Civic Theatre is on its second season of it’s new management, and has put together a wide variety of entertainment options for is 2012-2013 season. So far we have seen the National Circus of the People’s Republic of China, as well as a concert by rock legend Eddie Money.
Here are the shows on the horizon (from their press release):
On Friday November 30, 2012 at 8 p.m. the Downey Civic Theatre presents an evening of music with legendary Latin Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval. A protégé of the one and only Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval has garnered numerous Grammy awards for his albums and his work in television and film. As well as playing trumpet, he is also a classically trained pianist who has performed with the most respected orchestras in the world. Arturo Sandoval is one of the most dynamic and vivacious live performers of our time.
“A Peter White Christmas” featuring Rick Braun & Mindi Abair is coming to the Downey Theatre on Wednesday, December 19th2012 at 8:00pm. Smooth jazz lovers eagerly await this annual concert featuring Peter White, an extraordinary and fluent acoustic guitarist whose skills are world-renowned. Mindi Abair is a double-edged talent with her fluid saxophone and emotive vocals. Rick Braun is a masterful trumpet/flugelhorn player whose warm tones transform the simplest melody into a work of art. They have each separately sold millions of records and their combined fans will appreciate this special performance of Christmas music.
Los Lonely Boys, the rock power trio, will be live in concert on Wednesday, February 27th 2013 at 8:00pm. After proving themselves one of the most stunning and wonderful musical success stories of the last decade, Los Lonely Boys are now carving out their legend with their fourth studio album Rockpango. They soar with previous hits “Fly Away,” rip it up to percolating Latin beats on “Love In My Veins” and “Baby Girl,” and their debut single “Heaven” was a number one hit on the Billboard adult contemporary chart and reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Dance Brazil” has thrilled audiences with its dazzling artistry for over thirty years, across the United States and throughout the world, and they will perform at the Downey Civic Theatre on Friday, March 8, 2013 at 8 p.m. Dance Brazil uses contemporary dance and Capoeira, the traditional dance/martial arts form that has its origins in Africa and evolved in colonial Brazil. The dancers and musicians of Dance Brazil never fail to enthrall audiences with the company’s unique fusion of Afro-Brazilian movement.
An American vocal quartet whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes, The Four Tops appear on Saturday May 18, 2013. This Hall of Fame group is a towering testament to the enduring legacy of the Motown Sound they helped define for many decades with dozens of hit songs including “Baby I Need Your Loving”, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”, “Reach Out I’ll Be There” and “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)”.
Tickets are on sale now. Box office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and one hour before show time. For upcoming events or information call the box office at (562) 861-8211 or online at www.DowneyTheatre.com.
The Downey Civic Theatre also offers the Marquee Club, an exclusive membership that allows members to take “ownership” of the seat of their choice, including the right to purchase tickets prior to the on-sale date to the general public. Members also receive advance notification of added shows throughout the season. To become a member or for more information call the box office at (562) 861-8211 or stop by during normal box office hours.
Also, the Downey Civic Theatre has a wonderful volunteer program for those seeking to support the theatre with their time. Find out how you can volunteer and support the arts by calling (562) 861-8211.
November 10th is the next Downey Open Mic– a great opportunity to bring your music, poetry, monologues or comedy acts in front of an audience that’s game for anything.
DOWNEY MUSEUM OF ART proudly presents its rebirth event, “A DAY IN DOWNEY: A Visual Arts Show.” We invite you to join us for an evening of visual art from our prestigious collection along side art from local artists, photographers, and students in the community.
Our mission is to create an event where our community can come together and discover the hidden gems that make our community special.
Guests will also enjoy LIVE MUSIC, WINE/BEVERAGES, FOOD, and MORE!
WHERE:
PARAMOUNT AUTO CENTER (showroom)
11221 Paramount Blvd.
Downey, Ca 90241
CALL TO ARTISTS:
Interested in being featured in this event? Please submit a digital image, artist bio and any questions to
info@downeymoa.org.
*All visual arts including drawing, painting, photography, street art, sculpture, etc. will be considered.
Submissions are due by November 1st*
This is the closing weekend for the Downey Civic Light Opera’s musical presentation of Gershwin’s “Crazy for You” at the Downey Theatre. Plenty of tickets available, and a production not to be missed. Performances Friday and Saturday at 8PM, Sunday at 2:30PM.
The Downey Symphony Orchestra‘s 2012-2013 season opens Saturday October 20th with “Relishing Rachmaninoff,” a concert of classical music not to be missed. Musical Director Sharon Lavery brings us piano sensation Keenan Reesor, , who will perform Rachmaninoff’s riveting Piano Concerto No. 3 in F. Also a premiere performance of Joshua Roach’s “Overture Dodeca.” For more about the story behind the music, join us for a pre-concert lecture at 7:15PM.
