Galas, Awards to Mark Music Center’s 25th Anniversary

The Los Angeles Music Center tonight begins a star-studded weekend of galas and performances marking the downtown landmark’s 25th anniversary and the debut of its Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Award.

The highlight of the weekend will be a 25th anniversary program Sunday at the performing arts center, featuring performances by all of the Music Center’s resident companies: the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Master Chorale (Bach Cantata No. 50, “Te Deum”), the Joffrey Ballet (“Parade” and the Russian dance from “The Nutcracker”), the Los Angeles Music Center Opera (“Stay the Night” and “Alabama Song” from “Mahagonny”), and the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum (selections from “Stand Up Tragedy”).

The event, which will be taped for national broadcast in January, will also include the first presentation of the Chandler Award to three up-and-coming artists in the fields of music, dance and theater.

Nancy Olson Livingston, co-chairwoman of the Music Center’s 25th anniversary year, said dhat including all the resident groups was vital to “establishing a presence of who we are--that we’re not just music, but ballet, opera, music and theater.” Doing so has made the production a complicated undertaking.

“The challenge of putting this show together was really to work with each of the different artistic companies involved and coordinate the image that each wanted to present and get it all together on one stage,” producer-director Don Weiner said. “There’s such a diversity and range of elements that we’re doing on the show, and it’s been a great challenge for us to pull it all together as one evening’s entertainment.”

Music Center officials plan for the awards ceremony--which will be televised Jan. 14 on PBS--to become an annual event, similar to Washington’s prestigious Kennedy Center Honors.

Young Violinist

Honored at the Music Center will be 17-year-old violinist Midori, who started practicing her craft at age 4 and has already played with many of the world’s orchestras; post-modern choreographer Charles Moulton, a 1983 Guggenheim Award winner who has his own New York-based dance company; and writer, director, and set, costume and puppet designer Julie Taymor. In addition to the award itself, each winner will receive a $25,000 prize.

Also on hand will be New York Philharmonic Music Director Zubin Mehta, who was the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music director from 1962-78; Suzanne Farrell, who as a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet created 23 new roles especially choreographed for her by George Balanchine; and Harold Prince, a 15-time Tony Award winner and the director and/or producer of 47 theater productions, including “Phantom of the Opera.”

Scheduled hosts for the Sunday evening event include Bob Hope (who was at the Music Center’s opening 25 years ago), Kirk Douglas, Carol Burnett, Gregory Harrison, Jane Seymour, Richard Thomas, Judd Hirsch, Andy Williams, Lynn Redgrave, Henry Winkler, Edward James Olmos, Neil Simon, Michael Landon and Dina Merrill.

History of Center

Their jobs will be not only introducing performers, but in the spirit of the Music Center’s 25th anniversary, outlining the history of the center and its resident groups. Also included will be a performance by frequent Music Center performer Rosemary Clooney, and--for television audiences only--a taped opening segment by Placido Domingo.

The new award is named for the Music Center founder and the wife of Norman Chandler, the late publisher of The Times.

The cast bronze and gold-leaf sculpture of a nude woman’s torso was designed by Los Angeles artist Robert Graham, who also sculpted the landmark “Olympic Gateway” in front of the Memorial Coliseum for the 1984 Olympics.

The Chandler Award will be unveiled tonight at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. About 600 patrons who contributed $25,000 a couple to the Music Center for its 25th anniversary will be in attendance.