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.