Music

It's a group where you've got to keep your winds about you. The Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble performed a program Sunday titled "We the People: Folk Music From Around the World" in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. It included some performances by its associated chamber groups, which were first formed this season. This youthful group sounded best when playing the works of Frank Ticheli, a renowned wind band composer, longtime partner of the Pacific Symphony and USC music professor.

A big turnout for the Pacific Coast Wine Festival benefiting the Pacific Symphony netted more than $150,000 for the arts organization. The sold-out wine auction and tasting at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach attracted 300 local residents in their finest cocktail attire, enjoying a multi-course dinner while sampling many of the world's most coveted wines. The lively affair was produced by honorary Chairs and Pacific Symphony board member Nancy Kelley and her husband Kim . "I am not only thrilled that the Pacific Coast Wine Festival exceeded its financial goal for the Pacific Symphony, but delighted that it was such an interactive social event," said Nancy Kelley.

BREA — Quite literally, theirs is a harmonious relationship: his and her instruments, his and her practice rooms, his and her daytime teaching gigs. What's more, for professional musicians Tony and Cindy Ellis, they're on the same sheet of the musical score while playing in the same orchestra. The married couple and Brea residents are longtime members of the Pacific Symphony. Tony, the second trumpet, has been with the Costa Mesa-based orchestra since 1981. Cindy, the solo piccolo and a flute substitute, joined in 1979.

COSTA MESA — In a galaxy not so far, far away, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker will overcome the dark side of the Force while singing and dancing this weekend in a musical parody of "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. " The children's play based on the hit 1983 sci-fi movie shouldn't disappoint even the most rigid Star Wars fans, whether you are a Jedi Knight or the most ardent follower of Emperor Palpatine. "I think [the audience] should picture the regular 'Star Wars' and then add some songs to it," said 9-year-old Max Sehechter, who plays Emperor Palpatine.

COSTA MESA — For the second year in a row, Costa Mesa vocalist Stacy Clark has taken home the prize for Best Pop Artist at the Orange County Music Awards. Clark, who thinks of herself as more folk than pop, was surprised by being recognized again during Saturday's ceremony for the 2011 O.C. Music Awards at the Grove of Anaheim. "It's unexpected, honestly," she said. "I know I have pop songs, but I always come from an indie rock background, so it's really almost ironic to win a pop award.

COSTA MESA — Renowned American composer Philip Glass is the subject of the Pacific Symphony's annual American Composers Festival (ACF), which begins Thursday night in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. The festival ends Monday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theater, with Glass playing his own works on piano. ACF, a symphony event since 2000, focuses on how Glass was influenced by India's music and philosophy. It is part of the first-ever Southern California Philip Glass Festival, which began Feb. 27 and runs through March 27 and is in partnership with the Long Beach Opera and the Costa Mesa-based Pacific Symphony.

NEWPORT COAST — A French-inspired estate overlooking Newport Harbor is the showcase of this month's 18th annual Philharmonic House of Design, one of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County's staple fundraisers. "Maison de la Mer," a newly built 10,820-square-foot, six-bedroom home in Newport Coast, is open for public tours through March 27. So far, it is the most luxurious home featured in the ongoing program, a committee member said this week. "We've had homes with views before, but this view is just stunning," benefit Chairwoman Cindy Kornhaber said of the estate's panoramic vistas of Newport Harbor.

Bulgaria. It's not a country that comes up often within the confines of a SoCal kid's usual conversation. But for 78 musicians of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, it's on the tip of their tongues as anticipation builds for a tour of that southeastern European country under the baton of one its own musical superstars, Bulgarian native Maxim Eshkenazy. The orchestra kids have been fundraising for months, taking their skills on the Orange County roads in mini-fundraising concerts and writing letters to prospective donors.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Spain George Argyros and his wife, Julia, will be honored by the United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County later this month for their support of the organization. The Newport Beach billionaire couple will be awarded the Irvine-based organization's IMPACT award during its Life Without Limits Gala at 5:30 p.m. March 26 at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, 1221 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach. United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County is a support system for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities, and their families.

Richard “Rick” O’Beck, 50, of Newport Beach, passed away on February 21, 2011. He was born Nov. 20, 1960 in Westchester. Rick grew up in Huntington Beach and later moved to Riverside where he raised his family for 13 years before moving to Newport Beach, where he has resided since 1999. At a young age, Rick began to show his incredible mechanical abilities, repairing both a go kart and lawnmower motor before the age of 5. He worked in the dairy industry for 32 years.