OCTOBER 11 TO NOVEMBER 24, 2009
PRESENTING SPONSORS
SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The roots of Segerstrom Center for the Arts date back to 1974 when South Coast Plaza, a Segerstrom family partnership, donated land in Costa Mesa, California, to an outstanding young theater company, South Coast Repertory (SCR), for construction of a new home. Encouraged by the meteoric success of SCR to an embryonic community cultural group, Orange County Music Center (later renamed Orange County Performing Arts Center, OCPAC), for construction of the 3,000 seat multi-purpose Segerstrom Hall.
The outgrowth of these initiatives was the establishment of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, as officially announced in 1999 with a new gift of six acres of land. Set aside by the donors for the creation of a multidisciplinary arts center, the land was to be used for a major expansion of South Coast Repertory, the construction of a world-class concert hall and the development of a distinguished visual arts facility. These six acres have now become the site of the expanded South Coast Repertory, which opened in 2002; the beautiful 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by Cesar Pelli, which opened in 2006; an arts plaza, featuring the Richard Serra sculpture Connector; and a parcel of 1.64 acres for the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art, which is being designed by Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis and is scheduled to open in 2016.
SOUTH COAST PLAZA
South Coast Plaza is Southern California’s ultimate shopping experience with over 280 boutiques and department stores attracting visitors from around the world. It is recognized as one of the nation’s most luxurious shopping destinations for fashion, jewelry, home furnishings, spa services and dining. South Coast Plaza is located in Orange County, California within minutes of Southern California’s finest beaches, museums, theme parks and golf courses, and is adjacent to the world-renowned Segerstrom Center for the Arts. South Coast Plaza is proud to be presenting sponsor of Ancient Paths, Modern Voices on the West Coast. www.southcoastplaza.com or 1-800-782-8888.
FESTIVAL PARTNERS
BOWERS MUSEUM
The Bowers Museum enriches lives through the world’s finest arts and cultures. One of Southern California’s finest museums and Orange County’s largest, the Bowers Museum promotes human understanding through art. Its state-of-the-art facilities enable the Bowers to present world-class exhibitions from the greatest museums in the world. Its own collections are particularly strong in the areas of African, South Pacific, Asian, Native American, and pre-Columbian art, and California plein-air paintings. Its location, close to four major freeways and four miles south of Disneyland, makes the Bowers an ideal destination for visitors to Southern California. www.bowers.org
THE COLBURN SCHOOL
Founded in 1950 as the small preparatory school for the University of Southern California's School of Music, The Colburn School became an independent, not-for-profit institution in 1980 through the generous support of its benefactor, Richard D. Colburn. Richard Colburn strongly believed that musical education should begin as early in life as possible. The school's two distinctive divisions, the School of Performing Arts and the Conservatory of Music, embrace a single vision of access and excellence. They also support a single mission: to provide the highest quality performing arts education by an outstanding faculty in an optimal environment. In both divisions, the primary focus is on classical music and dance training with an emphasis on performance. The Colburn Orchestra is the Colburn School Conservatory of Music’s flagship ensemble. Conducted by founding Music Director Yehuda Gilad, the Orchestra consists of outstanding college-age artists who are preparing for performance careers. www.bowerscolburnschool.edubr/>
THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, ART COLLECTIONS, AND BOTANICAL GARDENS
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is a world renowned research and cultural center surrounded by 120 acres of breathtaking gardens. Originally the private estate of railroad magnate Henry Huntington, today it is one of Southern California’s “must see” cultural destinations with magnificent collections of rare books, manuscripts, and priceless works of art. The breathtaking grounds showcase diverse botanical collections in 12 specialized gardens that include the Japanese, Rose, Desert, Camellia, Shakespeare, and Children’s gardens. The newest addition is a classical Chinese garden—the Garden of Flowing Fragrance—featuring a complex of traditional pavilions and bridges surrounding a large lake. The four-acre first phase of the Chinese garden opened in 2008. The next phase is currently under development. www.huntington.org
THE RICHARD NIXON FOUNDATION AT THE RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM
Located in Yorba Linda, California, where Nixon himself grew up, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum offers visitors an insider’s glimpse into the events, people and world that shaped, and were shaped by the 37th President of the United States. The Library, which opened in 1990, provides an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Richard Nixon through its 22 galleries, the farmhouse where Nixon was born, the memorials of President and Mrs. Nixon and much more. As a performing arts center for public affairs, the year-round programming features national policy conferences, study groups and a continual schedule of distinguished speakers and authors from government, politics, the media, and public affairs. www.nixonfoundation.org
ORANGE COUNTY FILM SOCIETY
The Orange County Film Society exists to promote and celebrate international and American film. It is a non-profit organization that offers year-round programming of films to its membership. The Film Society produces the annual Newport Beach Film Festival and is a co-presenter of the Orange County Museum of Art’s Cinema Orange Series as well as the programming partner for Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Movie Mondays summer film showcase.
www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/ocfilmsociety
ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
The Orange County Museum of Art is the premier visual arts museum in Orange County, California, serving a population of nearly three million residents in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. The museum’s program of dynamic solo exhibitions and landmark group shows links historical and contemporary art and ideas, bridges local and global perspectives, and embraces a diverse array of cultural activities and media. The museum is dedicated to enriching the lives of a diverse and changing community through modern and contemporary art. www.ocma.net
SOUTH COAST CHINESE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION/IRVINE CHINESE SCHOOL
South Coast Chinese Cultural Association (SCCCA) was founded in 1977 as a non-profit organization. Its mission is to preserve Chinese heritage, to enrich life with cultural diversity, and to integrate into the mainstream society. In the heart of SCCCA, Irvine Chinese School (ICS) has enrolled over one thousand K–12 students who are placed in one of 14 grades, depending on their language ability and placement test results. The courses include instructions in traditional phonetics, Han Yu Pin-Yin, traditional and simplified characters, writing, grammar, punctuation, conversation, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese orchestra, Chinese martial arts, and other aspects of Chinese culture. In 2005, SCCCA/ICS moved into the brand new South Coast Chinese Cultural Center located in Irvine, California. This state-of-art facility is open seven days a week. www.sccca.org and www.irvinechineseschool.org
SOUTH COAST REPERTORY
Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory (SCR), under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theaters in the United States. Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theater that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but also through its education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theater, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Of SCR’s more than 400 productions, over 100 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world. SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations with Margaret Edson’s Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole winning in 2007. Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theater Center, an expanded three-theater complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. www.scr.org
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HUMANITIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI) serves all ten campuses in the UC system. Recognized nationally and internationally, the Institute promotes collaborative interdisciplinary work across the UC system, with other campuses nationally and worldwide and within the larger communities the campuses inhabit. UCHRI addresses topics in literature, philosophy, classics, languages, and history as well as the pressing human dimensions arising in the social and natural sciences, technology, art, medicine, and the professions. UCHRI bridges gaps between disciplines across the humanities and human sciences, seeking to overcome intellectual and institutional barriers that can separate the humanities from other fields. UCHRI hosts annual research groups in residence, sponsors conferences, seminars, and workshops on every UC campus and organizes the annual summer Seminar in Experimental Critical Theory. Enormously successful in grantsmanship, the Institute awards the Andrew and Florence White Graduate Student Scholarship for dissertation research in humanities and medicine. www.www.uchri.org
Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture in Southern California is presented with the support of South Coast Plaza and The Segerstrom Foundation. Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture is made possible by a leadership gift from Henry R. Kravis in honor of his wife, Marie-Josée.