Events in and around Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Camarillo, Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Port Hueneme.
Find events in Ventura County and surrounding areas in this section, by category at this link and in the Events Calendar. Community events of broad public interest can be submitted at this link for possible inclusion in this section (at our discretion).
We encourage posting of other events, activities, fundraisers, classes, workshops, sales, shout-outs, etc. directly to the COMMUNITY FORUM section!
The Rotary Club of Westlake Village hosts the 9th Annual OakHeart Country Music Festival at Conejo Creek Park South, Thousand Oaks on a date TBA.
Two stages, 11 artists, full bar area, two beer gardens, food trucks, vendors, kids' area, game/activities and line dancing all day. Buy tickets and learn more at www.OakHeartCMF.com. Kids 12 and under free.
Moorpark College Performing Arts announces its “2nd Annual Holiday Spectacular” with offerings from the Theatre Arts, Music and Dance programs running December 6th and 7th @ 8:00pm and December 8th @ 2:00pm. As a special bonus in the offerings this year, the “Spectacular” will also feature performances from several community partners including students from Lindero Middle School, Youth Musical Theatre and California State University Channel Islands.
After the success of last year’s “1st Annual Holiday Spectacular,” the Moorpark College Performing Arts programs are back for another offering of comedy, music and dance to jump start the holidays on campus and throughout the community! This seasonal celebration is sure to bring even the stingiest Scrooge into the Holiday spirit. Last year, more than 100 Moorpark College students in the Performing Arts contributed to this production and, with community partners already lined up, this year’s offering promises to be even more spectacular than the last. Ring in the season at Moorpark College Performing Arts Center as they prepare for final exams with classic and new musical selections and fun and frivolity for the entire family.
“This production was so much fun last year,” said John Loprieno, show Producer and Performing Arts Department Chair. “To see all of our programs showcased on one stage was amazing for the families and friends that usually come to support their students in a single program. I can’t tell you how many community members and even faculty and staff members of the college that repeatedly told us that they never knew there was such incredible and diverse talents here at Moorpark. Where else can you find full-stage Dance recitals, Wind Ensembles and Jazz Band concerts, Musical Comedy and Muppet style puppets all in one place?”
“The Moorpark College Holiday Spectacular” will run December 6th through December 8th with evening performances Friday and Saturday @ 8:00pm and a Sunday matinee @ 2:00pm on the main stage theatre at Moorpark College. Tickets are now on sale and may be purchased through the Moorpark College Performing Arts Center Box Office at (805) 378-1485 or online at www.moorparkcollege.edu/pac. Moorpark College is located at 7075 Campus Road in Moorpark.
FOOTWORKS YOUTH BALLET presents two full-length performances of the Christmas classical ballet THE NUTCRACKER, performed with The Footworks Community Orchestra and singers from the Carpe Diem Chorus. A free family educational lecture and story time will begin one hour prior to the performance time.
Performances will take place at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center – 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard. General Public MATINEES Saturday, December 14th, 2:00 P.M. Sunday, December 15th, 2:00 P.M.
Tickets: $19, $24, $29
Ticket Hotline: (805) 486-2424
Online Ticket Orders: www.footworksyouthballet.org
See the magic unfold in this family performance of the classic holiday story of The Nutcracker. A traditional holiday party and a very typical sibling rivalry set the stage for an entertaining fantasy journey to the Land of Sweets. With a cast of about 60 children and teens, Footworks Youth Ballet’s 14th annual production of The Nutcracker will dazzle audiences with its colorful costumes, professional sets and live orchestra and choir. In keeping with the mission of Footworks, student dancers often perform in principal roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy or Snow Queen, giving young artists opportunities not found elsewhere.
Join Footworks Youth Ballet for their Family Educational Hour one hour prior to each show to learn about the production, costumes, ballet history and music. To provide more family-friendly options to attend the performances, Footworks Youth Ballet offers matinees on both regular performance days (December 14th and 15th at 2 p.m.).
Footworks Youth Ballet is a nonprofit ballet company whose purpose is to provide educational opportunities to young people through the art of ballet.
New West Symphony launches its 25th anniversary season with jazz trio improvisation in the classical form and musical tales of adventure.
Saturday, October 5, 2019 | 7:30 PM
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
Sunday, October 6, 2019 | 3:00 PM
Rancho Campana PAC, Camarillo
Program
Michael Christie, conductor
Glwyn and Ruth Chase Music Director Chair
Marcus Roberts Trio, guest artists
Corigliano Salute
Gershwin Concerto in F
Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherazade
ENTR’ACTE
Puts …this noble company
Concert Highlights
• John Corigliano wrote Salute for Michael Christie’s first concert as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 2005, and we welcome him here in the same way – with a surprise!
• Gershwin’s Concerto in F is jazzy enough, but the virtuosic Marcus Roberts Trio takes it a step further with their near “telepathic” communication on stage. We’ll hear Gershwin’s orchestral vision enhanced with the swinging spontaneity of improvisation.
• Rimsky-Korsakov was the youngest of “The Mighty Handful,” five Russian composers who sought to make music “authentically Russian.” Sheherazade was inspired by tales from The Arabian Nights. Delightfully fun and full of adventure, it’s a perfect way to highlight members of our orchestra as soloists.
Tickets at newwestsymphony.org/25th-season-salute
For New West Symphony’s season-closing concert, violin superstar Philippe Quint will take your breath away with the electrifying Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Plus, the Symphony performs the powerfully evocative score to Alexander Nevsky with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven and the Los Robles Master Chorale.
Saturday, May 4, 2019 | 7:30 PM
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 3:00 PM
Oxnard Performing Arts Center
Mikhail Agrest, guest conductor
Philippe Quint, violin
Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
Los Robles Master Chorale, Lesley Leighton, director
Borodin | Overture to Prince Igor
Tchaikovsky | Violin Concerto
Prokofiev | Alexander Nevsky
Tickets at newwestsymphony.org/cvg.
Philippe Quint, violin
Lauded by Daily Telegraph (UK) for his “searingly poetic lyricism” violinist Philippe Quint is carving an unconventional path with his impassioned musical desire for reimagining traditional works, rediscovering neglected repertoire to commissioning works by contemporary composers. His dedication to exploring different styles and genres with an award-winning discography has solidified him as one of the foremost violinists of today.
Philippe Quint plays the magnificent 1708 “Ruby” Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society®.
His recordings have received multiple “Editor’s Choice” selections in Gramophone, The Strad, Strings, and the Daily Telegraph. His remarkable degree of lyricism, poetry and impeccable virtuosity has gripped the eyes and ears of audiences in Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, Europe and the U.S. with what The Times (London) describes as his “bravura technique, and unflagging energy.”
Born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia), Philippe Quint studied at Moscow’s Special Music School for the Gifted with the famed Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov, and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine, performing Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2. After moving to the United States, he earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Juilliard. His distinguished pedagogues and mentors included Dorothy Delay, Cho-Liang Lin, Masao Kawasaki, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt and Felix Galimir.
Mikhail Agrest, guest conductor
Scion of the great Russian conducting tradition, Mikhail Agrest has honed his craft at the Mariinsky Theatre for over a decade, acquiring a considerable body of operatic and symphonic repertoire and gaining crucial insights into orchestra development and artistic leadership. Simultaneously, he forged meaningful artistic relationships with a number of the world’s premiere ensembles.
The following passage from The Herald of Scotland offers a good summary of his reviews by the UK critics: “Agrest conducted a concert that progressed from intriguing to alluring to utterly gripping… the sheer musical tension was riveting. More of Mikhail Agrest, please.”
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Mr. Agrest immigrated to the United States with his family as a teenager and received a degree in violin performance from the Indiana University (Bloomington). He then followed his true passion back to St. Petersburg to study conducting from the legendary Ilya Musin, whose other alumni include Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, and Semyon Bychkov.
Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven is in her second-year of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera. This season, she sings Annio in La clemenza di Tito at Los Angeles Opera conducted by James Conlon, as well as Tebaldo in Don Carlo and the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel.
Ms. Raven was recently a Pittburgh Opera Resident Artist in the 2016-2017 season where she performed as Oronte in Handel’s Riccardo Primo and Hannah after in As One for its Pennsylvania premiere. In the summer of 2016, Ms. Raven performed in the Schwabacher Summer Concert with San Fransisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. She recently performed the role of Marian Anderson in Deep River: Marian Anderson Journey with Virginia Opera. As a Young Artist with Central City Opera in 2015, Ms. Raven was seen in scenes of Carmen, Street Scene, and The Ballad of Baby Doe.
Los Robles Master Chorale, Lesley Leighton, director
Los Robles Master Chorale (LRMC), led by Artistic Director Lesley Leighton and lauded for its “robust choral tapestry” (Artillery), is one of Southern California’s premier choirs. Celebrating a rich legacy and hailed for its remarkable sound, striking versatility, and commitment to commissioning new choral works, the 100-voice Ventura County-based chorus harnesses the power of music to enrich people of all ages. With repertoire ranging from early music and great choral masterworks to folk, contemporary and world music, LRMC presents its own concert series each season and performs with leading music organizations across the Southland in such iconic venues as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Royce Hall. The chorale has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New West Symphony and Ventura Symphony, among others.
The Thousand Oaks Philharmonic will feature 8 solo performances at its OPUS 54 concert on Friday April 26th at 7:30 PM at the United Methodist Church in Camarillo and Sunday April 28th at 2:30 PM at the Scherr Forum Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center (TOPAC). Come hear young talented musicians perform solo violin and piano concerti by various composers including Mozart, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff as well as a bassoon concerto by G. Jacob. There will also be a special violin concerto for four violins by Vivaldi.
For ticket info visit www.tophil.org or for Sunday’s performance call TOPAC (805)449-2775.
About Thousand Oaks Philharmonic
The "TO Phil" provides opportunities for young artists in Ventura County and surrounding areas to perform with a professional orchestra in front of a live audience as well as offer educational and culturally enriching experiences for the communities it serves.
The soloists for the Opus concerts are chosen each year from the Appassionata Educational program audition. To learn more about the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, visit www.tophil.org or www.facebook.com/TOPhilharmonic.
Northern Lights
Sir Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto was his final major work. Written in 1919 at the end of World War I, the Concerto was Elgar’s lament for a lost world following the devastation of the war. Julie Albers, principal cello of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, makes her New West Symphony debut with this most eloquent and passionate work. The 1st Symphony of Jean Sibelius was an immediate success following its premiere in 1900. Full of sweeping melodic invention, rhythmic vitality and imbued with the aura of his Finnish homeland, the symphony launched Sibelius’s career on the international stage.
Performances at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 7:30pm and the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 3pm. Buy tickets at www.newwestsymphony.org/cvg.
Andrew Constantine, guest conductor
Julie Albers, cello
Elgar | Sospiri
Elgar | Cello Concerto in E minor
Sibelius | Symphony No. 1
Julie Albers, cello
American cellist Julie Albers is recognized for her superlative artistry, her charismatic and radiant performing style, and her intense musicianship. She was born into a musical family in Longmont, Colorado and began violin studies at the age of two with her mother, switching to cello at four. She moved to Cleveland during her junior year of high school to pursue studies through the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Richard Aaron. Miss Albers soon was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and as a result toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai.
Andrew Constantine, guest conductor
Andrew Constantine serves as Music Director of both the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Reading Symphony Orchestra.
Having gained a reputation in Europe and the UK as a conductor of great skill, charisma, energy and versatility, Andrew Constantine moved to the US in 2004 to become Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Within his first season there he was promoted to Associate Conductor.
In the US he has won great praise for his ability to communicate with audiences and his energetic and compelling advocacy for classical music have gained him many admirers. In May of 2007, following a two year search and a pool of over 280 applicants, he was appointed Music Director of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania. In July of 2009, after a similar process, he was also appointed Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Indiana.
The Oxnard Performing Arts Center (The PACC) proudly presents SYNCOPATED LADIES!
From viral videos shared by Beyoncé to crew battles on "So You Think You Can Dance", the talented dancers of Syncopated Ladies are at the forefront of the tap movement. During this high-energy show, you'll witness the electrifying and inspiring moves from this world-travelling troupe, where fierce footwork meets a cutting-edge style. Founder Chloe Arnold has debuted choreography on "So You Think You Can Dance, Good Morning America, The Talk, The Ellen Show", and over 20 episodes of "The Late Late Show With James Corden". Complete with a supporting band of accomplished musicians, the action-packed performance taps through Oxnard Performing Arts Center.
Sunday, July 15 | 2-4 pm | Free with RSVP
Sunday, July 22 | 6 pm | $15-$30
Tickets for 7/22 performance at THIS LINK.
@ The PACC, 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard
These Beyonce-approved ladies of tap slay with their legendary choreography to epic songs from greats like Prince and Beyoncé. You won't want to miss this show.
oxnardperformingarts.com | 805-486-2424 | paccinquiries@oxnard.org
SYNCOPATED LADIES is a Female Tap Dance Band from Los Angeles, widely known for viral videos that have been Beyoncé approved and have accumulated over 50 million views. They also were featured on So You Think You Can Dance - Season 11 as the Winner of the First Crew Battle. Syncopated Ladies was created by critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer, Chloé Arnold, who was discovered at an early age in Washington, DC by legendary choreographer Debbie Allen. www.syncopatedladies.com
UPDATE 10/29/18: Organizers posted on Facebook: “To The Ventura County Blues Festival Entertainers, Sponsors, Volunteers, Vendors and Fans, Thank You for 13 memorable years!!!
Please visit our Ventura County Blues Society website for upcoming events.”
The 13th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival is planned for Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Studio Channel Islands Art Center, 2222 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo from 10 am to 7:30 pm. Music starts at 11 am. Event is presented by the Ventura County Blues Society and proceeds will benefit a local charity. Learn more and buy tickets at venturacountyblues.com. Presale $30 ($40 at the gate). Kids 12 and under free with adult.
The Thousand Oaks High School Lancer Band will present the 9th Annual Sights of Conejo Drumline and Winter Guard exhibition at 7 on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Thousand Oaks High School Gym, 2323 N. Moorpark Road. Doors open at 6 p.m.
This event will feature performances by percussion ensembles and/or color guards from middle schools and high schools from the Conejo Valley.
Food and refreshments will be available for sale. Tickets are $5 per person and $3 for students at the door, cash only. For more information, visit www.tohsband.org.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
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