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Energy burst

The official first day of spring is coming up this week, and California has felt like it's experiencing a huge growth spurt. With so many rain (thank goodness) and more arts happenings taking place everywhere, there seems to be some excitement in the air, even as we continue to learn to live cautiously with COVID. Spring has always felt like a huge surge of creativity has taken over, and even Tolstoy wrote, "Spring is the time of plans and projects." Arts presenters are rolling out their next seasons, spring and summer festivals are gearing up for greatness, and there's plenty of magic in the air.

In fact, there's a lot going on right now, so that magic is being put to good use: churches are deep into Lent, choirs are prepping for a whole spectrum of spring concerts, we're right in the middle of both Women's History Month and Arts Education Month, both of which will get proper attention on our blog over the next two weeks. This is the time of year when ideas seem to leap to mind and forward motion can be effortless, if you can harness it.

Today, of course, is St. Patrick's Day — we touched on that in this space last week. (I couldn't wait... but now I can wish a happy birthday to my sister Janna, the family representative to the Leprechauns!) Be sure to wear something green, eat something green, take note of the luck in your life, and enjoy it fully. Have a great week, everyone!

Vocal-related events

March 17

Pacific Opera Project revives its 2019 tour-de-force production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute AKA #Superflute at El Portal Theater from Friday, March 17, 2023 through Sunday, March 26, 2023. With New English Book & Lyrics by Josh Shaw and E. Scott Levin.

The Mozart classic is set as a classic video game from the early 1990s, transporting Papageno, Tamino, and the gang to the land of Mario Brothers and Zelda. Somehow, we believe Mozart's silly side would have approved...

Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Kevin Puts adapts the story of three women from different eras grappling with their societal roles. Renée Fleming makes her return to the Met with Kelli O'Hara and Joyce DiDonato in this new opera from a Pulitzer Prize–winning composer inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Here's a trailer: Check your local PBS station to confirm watch times!

March 18

Wagner’s soaring masterpiece makes a triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera, starring tenor Piotr Beczała as the mysterious swan knight. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

Learn about composers, music, and history as LA Opera Connects artists perform favorite songs and arias in this unforgettable sing-along recital. This interactive introduction to opera, musical theater, and popular music is fun for the whole family.

Chorale Bel Canto will perform J.S. Bach's Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV106 Morten Lauridsen Lux Aeterna. Pre-concert talk by Dr. Brown at 3:30 p.m.

The Princeton University Chapel Choir and their director, Dr. Nicole Aldrich, are traveling west to present American composer Andrea Clearfield’s beautiful and fascinating Tse Go La (“At the Threshold of This Life”), based on texts and music from her studies in northern Nepal, and presented with an ensemble that combines western instruments and Tibetan percussion.

“Our audiences will never have heard anything quite like this work before,” says OCWC Artistic Director Eliza Rubenstein. “It’s atmospheric, meditative, transcendent, and utterly beautiful, and the fact that we get to collaborate with one of my dearest friends, Nicole Aldrich, makes this experience even more exquisite.”

CHICO is honored to present Kelley O’Connor, Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano. Possessing a voice of uncommon allure, O’Connor is one of the most compelling performers of her generation. The concert will feature a variety of pieces ranging from Vier Abschiedslieder by Erich Wolfgang Korngold to selections from Chants d’Auvergne by Joseph Canteloube de Malaret.

Contempo is Pepperdine’s annual musical theatre review. 12 of our top musical theatre artists perform solos, small and large group numbers from contemporary musicals. This year’s theme is MISCAST - people singing roles they would never be cast in real life!

March 19

March 22

Coming soon

Full disclosure: This is a rather personal recommendation, as I'm very proud to have joined the Hear Now team in October. But please do consider the four concerts we have planned for the festival in April. All four programs are wildly inventive and include pieces and performances you're not likely to forget. There are two vocal works on the festival this year -- one on each of the chamber concerts. Come experience the work of some of the Southland's finest composers and performers, and get tickets as soon as you can. Discounted packages are available, and concerts are likely to sell out! --L

hearnowmusicfestival.com/tickets

News & announcements

We're reorganizing and updating our internal referral lists -- one of the main resources we use when we need to help our clients by expanding a search for specific talent. To be on these lists, you'll need to pass the same screening process as our Pro members, but you don't have to be a member. (Don't worry, members, you always get first shot at these opportunities.)

If you're a non-member and would like to receive occasional notices as our clients' needs arise, please read more on the Open Calls board and fill out a very quick survey if you're interested. We'll be in touch if we need more information. Thanks, all!

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