Concert

UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts on Friday raised $4,350 through a concert to benefit the Japan tsunami efforts. The school organized a one-night-only classical and jazz music concert to raise money for the American Red Cross' Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. The concert was organized by alumna Shoko Fukumara with the help of fellow alumni, students and staff. Former and current students performed. Jazz pianist and Chancellor's Professor Kei Akagi did the featured performance.

I thought about Newport Beach's new "Loud and Unruly Gathering" ordinance when I attended a U2 concert at Angel Stadium last month. While a connection between the Irish rock band and Newport's effort to crack down on overly rowdy partiers seems unlikely, bear with me while I tell you my story. U2 is one of my all-time favorite bands, so my husband kindly indulged me with tickets. My enthusiasm dimmed when I realized that the tickets were for admission on the field, standing room only.

Joan Ryan didn't need a pair of ruby slippers or help from Glinda the Good Witch to remind her there's no place like home. All it took was a phone call from Jana Barbier, her best friend during their years at Newport Harbor High School and now the cultural arts coordinator for the city of Newport Beach. Ryan's concert in the park in Corona del Mar on Sunday is a creative and collaborative reunion for the two women, reminiscent of the days they spent together in the theater department at the high school.

Andrew Edwards Newport-Mesans don't have to break the bank to see a concert this summer. Fashion Island has hosted summertime concerts since 1967, and six performances are on tap for this year. Music fans can watch any of the scheduled shows for free or choose to shell out $20 for preferred seating. Tonight's scheduled performer is former Three Dog Night singer Chuck Negron. Negron is expected to sing "Joy to the World" and "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)

After running out of tickets in one day for the free 2 p.m. open house and preview performance debuting the new William J. Gillespie Concert Organ, the Orange County Performing Artscenter has added an additional performance at 4 p.m. to the June 29 event. Tickets to the 4 p.m. preview performance are free and will be available beginning Sunday. Ticket holders must arrive no later than 1:45 p.m. for the 2 p.m. performance and 3:45 p.m. for the 4 p.m. performance or their tickets may be reassigned to accommodate a waiting list.

Folk music duo emma’s revolution will perform at Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa Saturday night. The two guitarists, songwriters and activists, Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow, have been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” One of their best-known songs is “Peace, Salaam, Shalom.” Saturday’s concert, which is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m., will be the last of the four-part 2007-2008 Orange Coast Concerts series.

A little skip as he took the stage at the Pacific Amphitheatre Thursday night signaled to my dad that Bob Dylan was feeling all right. "He's in a mood to entertain," he whispered, the excitement apparent in his voice. When I got the tickets for the show, there was no question in my mind who I was going to take. My 55-year-old dad adores — some might say he's obsessed with — the singer-songwriter who has topped music charts for five decades. Most days when I wake about 7 a.m., the hum of Dylan's guitar twang and poetic lyrics have been echoing through the house for at least an hour.

When is following Twitter during a classical concert not considered rude? How about when the orchestra expressly asks you to? The Costa Mesa-based Pacific Symphony is requesting that patrons break with the rules of concert decorum on Saturday by keeping their cell phones and mobile devices on. Throughout the evening concert, which takes place at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, the orchestra will be tweeting tidbits about the music...

Clutching a stuffed dog, 5-year-old Newport Beach resident Julian Dunn sat in the audience for part of a concert at Newport Mesa Church on Saturday as a parade of grade-school pianists, singers and guitar players took the stage to raise money to pay his medical bills. “We’re here today to celebrate Julian’s fire,” Julian’s father, Richard Dunn said, pausing for a second as he choked back the tears. “He’s the sweetest human being on the face of the earth.

Suzie Harrison The stage will be set Dec. 8 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center for a grand celebration of lights that has become an eight-year tradition. On that date, "Chanukah Rocks" will be performed by 12 children's choirs from synagogues and Hebrew day schools from Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and all over Orange County. The concert, which features the voices of children and cantors, is a celebration of Jewish songs set to a contemporary, upbeat tempo.

"God save rock and roll!" a female fan in the crowd shouted. And, some would argue, that's just what Hell or Highwater did Wednesday night at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. The intimate venue filled with the roars of rock fans as the Orange County band played its set, consisting of songs from its debut album, "Begin Again," released in August 2011. As the band members approached the stage, they activated fog machines. While this is usually a successful stage effect, the fog became distracting and was ultimately unnecessary because of the venue's size.

It was the kind of concert that you walked in thinking about, underwent intermission thinking about and left thinking about, too. That's because the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's single-night, stop-on-the-tour performance Feb. 17 in Costa Mesa wasn't the kind expected. You know, the kind where the master ensemble freshly reproduces an old favorite for all to enjoy yet again - an admirable practice, albeit a common one. Instead we were treated to the dusting off of the uncommon - César Franck's Symphony in D minor and Arthur Honegger's "Pacific 231" - and a new experience altogether, Mason Bates' "Alternative Energy.

A Newport Beach tradition at Christmas time once again filled the grand ballroom of the Balboa Bay Club & Resort with a major dose of family warmth and togetherness. On Dec. 23, the Costa Mesa-based All-American Boys Chorus attracted some 250 guests for the annual holiday dinner and concert of the season on the coast. Led by executive director Anthony Manrique and musical director Wesley Martin , the chorus performed with musical perfection for the crowd of multi-generational family members united to share in the joy of the season.

It is the most glamorous social event of the year in Orange County. It may also be one of the most elegant parties on America's annual event calendar. Last week's Candlelight Concert to benefit the Segerstrom Center for the Arts celebrated its 25th anniversary in grand style. The 2011 gala was the 38th installment of the annual fundraiser for the Costa Mesa arts center and netted a smashing $1.3 million. The money will be earmarked for the center's artistic and educational programs.

As the country joins together to honor the nation's military veterans on Friday, here's what local groups are doing this week. FOR THE RECORD: The Costa Mesa Police Department's veterans appreciation breakfast is not open to the public. Pendleton Marines visit Balboa The Balboa Bay Republican Women Federated are observing Veterans Day on Wednesday by recognizing Marines from Camp Pendleton. The group's guests will talk about patriotism. The meeting and lunch is $30, and parking costs $7. The event starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, 1221 W. Coast Hwy. in Newport Beach.

One of the most reclusive legends in modern American history will make a rare appearance in Costa Mesa on Oct. 29. Prolific Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim will speak with American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers head Michael Kerker at the one-night-only affair, which also will feature the vocal stylings of fellow musical legends Christine Ebersole and Brian Stokes Mitchell. The duo will perform many of Sondheim's best-loved songs. Sondheim has brought some of Broadway's most beloved characters to the stage - from Tony and Maria in "West Side Story" to the eponymous "Sweeney Todd," and from the passive-aggressive Cinderella of "Into the Woods" to the "decrepit Desiree" of "A Little Night Music," made famous by Judi Dench's unforgettable performance.

Indeed, the Russians are coming. The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra of St. Petersburg will play an all-Tchaikovsky program at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Oct. 13 and 17. Four of the six finished symphonies by the popular Russian composer are planned: Symphony No. 2 (nicknamed the "Little Russian") and Symphony No. 5 for Oct. 13; and Symphony No. 3 (aka the "Polish") and Symphony No. 4 for Oct. 17. Both concerts, led by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, begin at 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. pre-concert lecture.

Parents will have two chances this fall to introduce their children to opera and various musical instruments. The Newport Beach Public Library is hosting two free family concerts geared toward teaching children to appreciate and understand music. The first concert, "Adventures in Song and Story," will feature members of the Southland Opera at 11 a.m. Oct. 1 in the Friends Meeting Room at the Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave. The performance will include popular fairy tales and stories to introduce children to operas, musicals and operettas.

There's a new performance space in town, and judging by what's planned for the opening night, it's off to a good start. The Soka Performing Arts Center has called upon the Pacific Symphony to take center stage at the center's grand opening at 8 p.m. Saturday. The program at Soka University of America, a private college in Aliso Viejo, includes Prokofiev's version of "Romeo and Juliet" and Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. " Under the baton of Carl St.Clair, the Costa Mesa-based orchestra takes comfort in the great indoors again after its annual summer residency at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and outdoor park concerts.

After a three-year hiatus, the Irvine Barclay Theatre's New World Flamenco Festival will return to its Orange County stomping grounds for a weeklong event featuring home-grown and international artists. From Monday to Sept. 25, Semana Flamenka — the ninth New World festival — will offer three main-stage concerts and three smaller-scale "fiestas" off-site at nightspots in Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach and Santa Ana. "One thing that's different about this year is this is an originally produced production by the festival," said Doug Rankin, president of the Barclay and the festival's producer.