No fluff for ArtsWeek start
Deirdre Newman
If there’s anything that Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger” overture and
Mahler’s First Symphony are not, it’s fluff pieces.
So says conductor Stephen Tucker about the two pieces his UC
Irvine student orchestra will tackle tonight to help kick off the
university’s ArtsWeek.
Tucker chose these two majestic pieces to give the students
real-world musical experience.
“These are from the heart of the repertoire, pieces you will hear
played by professional orchestras,” Tucker said.
UCI’s sixth annual arts celebration gives students and faculty at
the school a showcase for their artistic endeavors and raises money
for scholarships. The week culminates with a black-tie gala and a
student performance of “My Fair Lady” on Nov. 16 in the Claire Trevor
Theatre, which has been renovated.
A dedication ceremony will be held during intermission, and Donald
Bren, Trevor’s stepson, will present her Academy and Emmy awards to
the school.
ArtsWeek will also feature a faculty art exhibition, which
includes new works in painting, sculpture, new media photography,
video and sound and installation by 18 faculty artists. An evening of
Claire Trevor movie classics, “Key Largo” and “Stagecoach,” will be
presented Nov. 12.
Also on the menu is a new music colloquium series that will be
inaugurated by composer-trombonist George Lewis on Nov. 14. Lewis is
a recent winner of the MacArthur Foundation’s $500,000 “genius”
award. Lewis will discuss his computer music composition “Voyager,” a
work featuring a “virtual orchestra” that analyzes and responds to an
improvising performer.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.