A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 32,040 square foot, $10.7 million, Mentry Hall Expansion Project. The expansion project has being funded by Measure “M,” a general obligation bond passed by local voters in November 2006.

The expansion project added two computer labs, a large lecture room, eleven classrooms, a 2-D drawing classroom, a life/drawing classroom, two conference rooms and twelve offices. It increased the size of Mentry Hall to 76,339 sq. ft. The expanded Mentry Hall opened for classes on August 23, at the start of the Fall 2010 semester.

Klassen Construction Management was both architect and contractor for the project.

Mentry Hall houses the following College of the Canyons programs and activities:

• Media Entertainment Arts (Formerly RTVF)
• Animation
• Architectural Drafting and Technology
• Interior Design
• Visual Art and Art History
• Photography
• Graphic and Multimedia Design
• Art Gallery

Speaking at the event will be Mr. Scott Wilk, President of the college’s Board of Trustees; Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook, Chancellor of College of the Canyons, and Dr. Floyd Moos, Division Dean, Fine and Performing Arts.

Get all the details after the break.

Subject:   Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Time:     2 p.m., Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Place:  College of the Canyons Art Gallery (Mentry Hall)
Contact:   John McElwain, (661) 362-5604; Eric Harnish (661) 362-3400

(More photos after the jump!)

In Old Town Newhall on the first Thursday of the month musicians from all walks of life meet at the monthly Art Walk to play music.  Musicians have been invited to come down and play on the street, sidewalks, etc.  The idea is to get a bunch of musicians down there playing all sorts of music; playing by themselves, jamming with others, or showing up with a band (acoustic).  It is a very relaxed atmosphere.  This aspect of the event has really taken off.  All sorts of genres have participated thus far including: Folk, Spanish guitar, Cowboy, Rock, Alternative, Country, Blues, and even Karaoke.

Musicians show up between 4 pm and 8 pm, pick a spot, open the case, and begin playing.  Players are encouraged to meet other musicians while there, and jam if the mood strikes them.  The Art Walk runs basically (right now) from 6th Street to Market Street on Main in Newhall.  The plan is to expand the amount of businesses with art, and in turn increase the number of city blocks participating.

Players from the Santa Clarita Valley Blues Society, Cal Arts, SCV Songwriter’s Circle, and independent musicians have joined in on the fun, making Art Walk a very dynamic event.

Organizers hope that all of the folks involved in music in Santa Clarita are aware of the opportunity.  If you know a musician, pass on the information to them.  We are seeing the birth of a music scene in Old Town Newhall!

- Six

AROUND TOWN…

It is becoming quite obvious to us that there is no shortage of creative expression in Santa Clarita.  And, as we all know, creative self-expression in the areas of arts and crafts can offer many things.  It can stretch the imagination, provide a release of energy and emotion, exercise the brain, communicate ideas, share memories and experiences, encourage dialogue about a topic or an art, provide hours of enjoyment, and also bring beauty, color, or an interesting focal point to the environment.

Santa Clarita Artists’ Association members are working industriously on art in such places as studios, classrooms, garages, kitchens, patios, parks, and canyons.  Take a peek into many of our local cafes, business offices, golf clubs, shops, historic buildings, festivals, holiday venues, street fairs, galleries, and even medical offices in order to enjoy some of the art pieces.

At this very moment plans are in the works for the Santa Clarita Artists’ Association Summer Art Festival to be held at the beautiful Tournament Players’ Club Valencia Golf Course from July 27-30.  The art show is open to the public and all are invited to the artist’s reception on July 30, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  Collectors and art enthusiasts will be able to watch painting demonstrations and enjoy colorful landscapes, seascapes, still life’s, sculptures, collages, photography, and animal images.

FURTHER AFIELD…

Of course we all need a boost to our imaginations from time to time.  Aside from exhibit space here in our valley the following might pique your interest.

We recently took a class at Burbank’s Creative Arts Center Gallery.  A wonderful small gallery can be found there.  The various art classes use a portion as display for completed works, but the majority of the area is home to a fine gallery space.  Currently hanging is a colorful fused glass exhibit.  Excellent work and well worth the trip.  (Address: 1100 West Clark/exit Burbank Blvd, and turn left onto Victory/Clark is a right turn several blocks down.)

Another wonderful exhibit is at the Norton Simon Museum.  The work of Japanese wood block master, Hiroshige, titled Visions of Japan, is displayed in three gallery spaces.  The importance of this how is that his work provided and “enlightenment for the French Impressionists.”  The colors and composition are a delight with views of Japan in the 1800s.

Also, they have completed a renovation of the garden.  It was inspired by Monet’s Giverny but using plants adapted to our climate.  It is perfect for the contemporary sculpture shown, and perhaps a plein air subject for some.

Whether enjoying the work of our fellow artists or some other venue, we have plenty of opportunities to satisfy our passion for the arts.

On Saturday, July 17, the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center (PAC) at College of the Canyons will begin selling single event tickets for performances included in the 2010-2011 PAC season “COC Presents Series.”

Headlining acts for the 2010-11 PAC season include Grammy Award-winning vocalist Michael Bolton, War, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Pilobolus, Peking Acrobats, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Vicki Lawrence, One Night of Queen, the San Francisco Opera Grand Opera Cinema series and many more.

Individual ticket sales will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 17, and resume during regular PAC Box Office hours (Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

Tickets can be purchased online, over the phone, through mail by using the tear out order form included in the PAC season schedule, or in person by visiting the PAC Box Office located at the venue on the COC Valencia campus.

“We have already received a tremendous response for the 2010-11 PAC season and series subscription options, but great single event tickets are still available for all shows,” said Adam Philipson, PAC managing director. “We anticipate several of our shows to sell out this weekend, so be sure to purchase your tickets early.”

Ticket orders will be mailed to patrons approximately two to three weeks prior to the show date. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.

For more information about the 2010-11 PAC season schedule or to view a listing of all scheduled performances please visitwww.CanyonsPAC.com. To contact the PAC Box Office please call (661) 362-5304.

This Saturday, at 7:00 pm, starts the first in the series of Concerts in the Park. Grab a few beach chairs, a picnic basket, and head to Central Park to watch the infectious world fusion Latin guitar group, www.incendioband.com#mce_temp_url#.

Penned by two of Broadway’s newest voices in Georgia Stitt and David Kirshenbaum, “Sing Me a Happy Song” is a contemporary musical revue about finding your heart in material times. With songs about modern-day relationships, searching for yourself on the Internet, striving to have everything but never having enough, love, family and your gay best friend, this five-character show is at once comic and poignant, smart and silly, emotional and timely.

The workshop production of “Sing Me a Happy Song” is being presented by the PAC and the COC theatre department, with student actors cast from the college’s course Theatre 193: Summer Theatre Workshop.

Performances will take place 8 p.m., Friday, July 9, and 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Saturday, July 10, in the PAC Black Box Theatre. General admission tickets are $15.

“Providing our students with the opportunity to participate in performing arts-based events like the Festival of New American Musicals is definitely one of our missions at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center,” said Adam Philipson, PAC managing director. “Working with Georgia and David to help shape their piece and debut it in our community is a great honor for us all.”

Running throughout the spring and summer months, the Festival of New American Musicals celebrates the return of the American musical by showcasing full productions, staged readings, concerts, master classes and other performance-based events in conjunction with performance arts organizations in cities across Southern California.

“With a cast of 28 talented singers and actors, the show will have a full and vibrant sound and promises to be one of the most exciting productions to be seen at COC,” said Andrea Slominski, COC adjunct theatre instructor and director of the production. “I encourage anyone who loves musical theatre to buy tickets now, as this show will sell out quickly.”

The PAC/COC theatre department workshop production of “Sing Me a Happy Song” is part of the college’s ongoing 40th Anniversary celebration.

To purchase tickets to “Sing Me a Happy Song” please call the PAC box office at (661) 362-5304 or visit www.canyonsPAC.com.

To learn more about the Festival of New American Musicals visit www.lafestival.org.

CINDERELLA

The Santa Clarita Ballet Company will present a sophisticated restaging of their original full-length ballet Cinderella. This well-known and beloved fairy tale is set to dance as one legendary lost slipper becomes a pointe shoe and the Prince’s ball becomes a dream of waltzing motion.

Breathtaking scenery and costuming provide a stunning backdrop to tell the story of Cinderella through ballet. Set to Sergei Prokofiev’s rich and complex score, we will feature Company dancers accompanied by six guest artists. Among the professional dancers in this program is one of Santa Clarita Ballet Company’s accomplished alumni, Season Winquest who recently performed in Los Angeles at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with the Joffrey Ballet in their version of Cinderella. The audience is in for a real treat as we are very pleased to have Ms. Winquest on stage with us again.

This production is not one to be missed, and is an invaluable opportunity to experience an elite level of artistry equal to performances usually only found in greater metropolitan theaters.  This ballet will be highly engaging to audiences of all ages and ranges of experience with ballet.

SNOW WHITE
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
at 2:00 & 7:00pm

The Santa Clarita Ballet Company’s debut of Snow White an original, full-length ballet. This elaborate production will feature younger Company dancers and students from the Santa Clarita Ballet Academy. Beautifully designed costumes and enchanting sets will complement original choreography by Ms. Pam Sosa who previously choreographed SCBC’s original work for Alice in Wonderland in 2008.

Set to prominent compositions from the renowned ballet Faust, audiences of all ages will enjoy the story of Snow White told through the artistry of ballet. Amusing woodland creatures will scamper about as the lovely princess engages seven whimsical dwarfs in merriment and adventure.

Pricing and location information after the jump!

Presented at: College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center
26455 Rockwell Canyon – Santa Clarita, CA 91355
SEATING CHART

Tickets on sale May 1st
Ticket Prices:
Adults: $28, $26
Children under 10: $24
Seniors 65 & over: $24

Please call: 661 251-0366
or visit our box office at:
26798 Oak Ave.
Santa Clarita 91351

Monday-Thursday 3:00pm-6:00pm
Saturday 9:00am-12:00pm

Free admission unless noted otherwise. Programs are subject to change.
For more events, go to: http://www.calarts.edu/events.

Partch: Even Wild Horses @ REDCAT
Jun 2-3 2010 8:30 pm
REDCAT: Outfitted with an amazing array of custom-built microtonal instruments, the ensemble directed by John Schneider continues its ongoing survey of the profound music of Harry Partch. The group’s performances at REDCAT this year include Partch’s Even Wild Horses–Dance Music for an Absent Drama and Cloud Chamber, his friend and fellow maverick Lou Harrison’s Canticle #3, the West Coast debut of Anne LeBaron’s Southern Ephemera, and Madeline Tourtelot’s Rotate the Body in All Its Planes.
See: http://www.redcat.org/event/partch-0 ($)

CAP/ArtsCOOL Program Screening @ REDCAT
Jun 4 2010 10 am
REDCAT: Students from 5 continuation high schools throughout Los Angeles present new short videos and animations made in the CAP/ArtsCOOL Program’s digital media classes. The program is a collaboration between CAP and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
See: http://www.redcat.org/event/capartscool

Dance Camera West @ REDCAT
Jun 4 2010 8 pm
Jun 5 2010 6 pm & 8 pm
REDCAT: Focusing on the intersection of choreography and cinematography, the annual Dance Camera West festival offers a rich selection of some of the most thrilling dance for camera and dance media works made around the world today. The festival returns to REDCAT with all-new programs of experimental shorts as part of its monthlong celebration of dance film at venues across Los Angeles.
See: http://www.redcat.org/event/dance-camera-west-1 ($)

CAP/Sony Pictures Media Arts Program Screening @ REDCAT
Jun 5 2010 2 pm
REDCAT: Middle and high school students in the CAP/Sony Pictures Media Arts Program present a slate of animation and new media works.
See: http://www.redcat.org/event/capsony-pictures

Never Very Far Apart @ REDCAT
Continuing through Jun 27 2010
Tue-Sun noon-6 pm or intermission
Closed Mondays
REDCAT: The group exhibition Never Very Far Apart brings together six projects that cross the poetic and political ground between the individual and the group; the local and the global; this moment in time and that place in history. Through performance, moving image, painting and printed matter, these artists explore distance as both border and bridge—considering how a finite position may parallel or intersect with seemingly disparate places or distant times.
See: http://www.redcat.org/exhibition/never-very-far-apart

The College of the Canyons Student Orchestras consists of the college’s three main student instrumental performing groups: Prelude Strings, the Santa Clarita Youth Orchestra and the Symphony of the Canyons.

During the roughly 90-minute concert, each group will perform a series of musical selections designed to showcase the students’ talent and musical prowess, while entertaining audiences of all ages.

The evening will also serve as an opportunity to honor the orchestra’s five graduating seniors and congratulate them on their musical and academic accomplishments.

“This concert will provide audiences with a chance to see and hear what can happen when young people dedicate time to an instrument,” said Julissa Bozman, student orchestra associate conductor. “Performances like this are the students’ way of contributing to the Santa Clarita Valley’s unique culture of fine and performing arts, and I am proud to be a part of that.”

The College of the Canyons Student Orchestras’ End of Season Spectacular spring concert will take place at 7 p.m., Friday, May 28, on the PAC main stage. General admission is $10 or $5 for COC students and seniors.

This event is part of the college’s ongoing 40th Anniversary celebration.

To purchase tickets to the College of the Canyons Student Orchestras End of Season Spectacular spring concert please call the PAC box office at (661) 362-5304 or visit www.canyonsPAC.com.