HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-07; Arts Commission; ; EVENT AND PROGRAM UPDATE
Meeting Date: February 7, 2019
To: Carlsbad Arts Commission
From: Richard Schultz, Cultural Arts Manager
richard.schultz@carlsbadca.gov or 760-602-2086
Subject: Event and Program Update
Recommended Action
No action needed.
Executive Summary
This report recaps recent events and provides a preview of upcoming programs.
Discussion
Front Row Fridays: Festive Piano Concert Wows Full House December 14
The Front Row Fridays series hosted a duo of pianists that sparked enthusiastic applause and a standing
ovation from a capacity crowd of 215. The award-winning Grigorian Gubenko Piano Duo, featuring Anna
Grigorian and Natasha Gubenko, celebrated the holiday season by performing festive musical selections
by Debussy, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. Featuring four hands on one piano, the evening’s crowd-pleaser
was music from the perennial favorite, The Nutcracker. The staff received a record number of audience
surveys complimenting the performance and the ongoing series. An overview of that survey is included
with this staff report as an Exhibit #1.
Front Row Fridays: San Diego Opera: Opera Exposed! January 11
Kicking off the New Year’s Front Row Fridays series, Opera Exposed!, a community engagement concert
series featuring members of San Diego Opera’s Young Artist Training Program, performed a concert led
by Music and Artistic Director Ines Irawati. Five exceptional young opera artists brought engaging and
exciting performances of dramatically charged excerpts from operatic repertoire. These talented singers,
Andy Konopak, Humberto Borboa, Jovahnna Borboa, Cherise Reynolds, and Tzytle Steinman, performed
selections from numerous composers including Gaetano Donizetti, W.A. Mozart, and Giuseppe Verdi. The
audience of 110 opera enthusiasts were very complementary after the event; many thanked the staff for
bringing these talented performers to Carlsbad.
Cannon Gallery: Aloha Shirt Reception Spotlights Hawaiian Culture January 26
More than 150 guests attended the opening reception for the exhibition “Art of the Aloha Shirt: Keoni of
Hawaii, 1938-51” in the William D. Cannon Gallery. This colorful and distinctively-patterned collection
explores the history, artistry and production of Hawaii’s enduring fashion statement, the Aloha Shirt. This
exhibition features sixty objects, including original textile artwork, production sketches and swatches,
advertisements and vintage shirts that tell the story of an early innovator, John “Keoni” Meigs, in an
industry that has left an indelible mark on fashion in the U.S. and the world. Attendees were encouraged
to wear their favorite Hawaiian garb. The highlight of the evening was an entertaining performance by
the local dance group Kumu Kahne’s Hula Dancers who presented traditional dances and offered insights
about the stories and movement. During an interactive segment, guests of all ages were invited to join
the performers and learn more about these ceremonial dances first-hand. The exhibit runs through March
16.
Foreign Films Attendance
Dec. 7: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Adventure comedy from New Zealand) 286
Dec. 21: Babette’s Feast (Drama from Denmark) 267
Jan. 4: Barbara (Drama from Germany) 269
Jan. 18: The Insult (Courtroom drama from Lebanon) 337
UPCOMING EVENTS
Front Row Fridays: OC British Invaders February 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Dressed in 1960’s black Nehru suits, this four-member band plays the exact vintage instruments while
performing music from all the great English groups. From The Animals to The Zombies, it’s all there: The
Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, Herman’s Hermits and
more. The British Invasion returns in retro style to the Schulman Auditorium.
Cinema Club: Pre-Oscar Ceremony Best Picture Nominee Screening February 23 at 1:30 p.m.
Start your Oscar weekend with a screening of Bohemian Rhapsody, one of the Best Picture nominees, just
24 hours before the Oscar ceremonies. Bohemian Rhapsody is a biographical film about the British rock
band Queen. It follows singer Freddie Mercury's life from his joining the band in 1970 to their Live Aid
performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985. Back by popular demand, this annual special event includes a
trivia contest with prizes, as well as an in-depth look at the film and other Best Picture nominees, hosted
by Cultural Arts Manager Richard Schultz and library staff member and film connoisseur Maile McKeon.
Starring Artists: Ron McCurdy’s Langston Hughes Project February 16 at 2:00 p.m.
The Langston Hughes Project is a multimedia concert performance of Langston Hughes’s kaleidoscopic
jazz poem suite, “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz,” which is Hughes’s homage in verse and music to
the struggle for artistic and social freedom at home and abroad in the early 1960s. It is a twelve-part epic
poem which Hughes scored with musical cues drawn from blues, gospel, boogie woogie, Latin “cha-cha,”
Afro-Cuban mambo music and West Indian calypso; a creative masterwork left unperformed at his death.
This program is part of the Starring Artists series, hosted by Nina Garin of KPBS, and sponsored by the
Friends of the Arts.
Fiscal Analysis
No additional city funding is being requested at this time.
Next Steps
Arts Commissioners are invited to attend all events and programs.
Public Notification
This document was noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (California Government Code
Section 54950 et. Seq.), published and distributed at least 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time.
Exhibits
#1: Audience Event Survey Results
Attachment #1
Audience Survey Results
Front Row Fridays: The Nutcracker and Beyond!
Friday, December 14, 2018
• 90 total responses out of 215 attendees
• Did you enjoy today’s performance?
o 7 no response
o 4 it was good
o 79 Yes, very much
• Have you attended any previous Front Row Friday events?
o 3 no response
o 15 yes
o 72 No
• What genre of performance do you prefer?
o Classical: 24
o Variety/Any: 15
o Dance: 10
o Jazz: 9
o Others mentioned: Ballet, Latin, Bluegrass/Folk, Broadway, Theater, Seasonal, Adult &
Youth Talent Show, Opera, Choir, Poetry, Rock & Roll/Pop/Tribute, Comedy, Magic,
Movies, Polkas, and Speakers
• How did you hear of the event?
o City e-blast: 7
o City publications: 20
o Library calendar/poster: 9
o City website: 12
o Local news print/online: 6
o Friends: 20
o Library & Cultural Arts staff: 6
• Comment highlights:
o Carlsbad does a great job of picking pleasing arts and entertainments for its residents.
o Thank you for great programs all year long.
o What a great gift to have these free events! Thanks.
o Wonderful! Keep up the great programming. Love the variety!
o Thank you for this opportunity and a lovely performance! It would be great to have a
camera view of the keyboard displayed on a monitor. Would love to have their CD.
o The cultural arts events are of very high quality. The community is fortunate.
o I have a 4-year old daughter, and I'm a single mom. Without these programs I would be
unable to enrich her life. These performances and moments are so valuable! Now she is
asking for signing lessons and cello lessons! Thank you!
o Really glad we came!