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SANTA CLARITA SYMPHONY SALUTES AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
WITH "BON APPETIT!" EVENT AT TPC FRIDAY, JUNE 16 “The American Sensation” Concert and Dinner Fund-Raiser
Celebrates Great American Food, Wine, Music and Art" Symphony Maestro Robert E. Lawson, Pianist Bryan Pezzone, Artist Reinhard to Present New Original Works
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Tournament Players Club at Valencia will host the first “Bon Appetit!” concert, wine-tasting and dinner event of the Santa Clarita Symphony’s 2006-2007 season on Friday, June 16, starting with a 7 p.m. reception on the TPC patio. Themed “The American Sensation,” landing between Flag Day June 14 and the Fourth of July, and opening Father’s Day weekend in grand style, the event will celebrate the finest contemporary American food, wine, music and art “The American Sensation” will present a five-course tasting menu prepared by TPC’s gourmet chefs, paired with exclusive wines from some of America's favorite wineries," said John Dow, SC Symphony Marketing Director.
“Bon Appetit! is a tremendously popular fund-raiser for the Symphony, because it’s more than just a wine dinner -- it’s also an actual live concert where we match fine music with the food and wine,” he said. “This year we're adding fine art as well. All those elements have something in common: It’s all about the notes.”
THE MUSIC
In keeping with the evening’s theme, music for “The American Sensation” will focus on new and contemporary composers. The program will feature an original composition composed especially for this event by SC Symphony Music Director and Conductor Robert E. Lawson, well-known in music circles for his compositions, as well as original improvisation by noted classical and jazz pianist Bryan Pezzone.
A member of the classical/jazz quartet Free Flight as well the 75-piece SC Symphony, Pezzone was also one of the stars of last season’s “Symphony Under the Stars” concerts. Most recently, he was acclaimed for his performance at the April 1 Symphony-produced “Classical Café” concert at College of the Canyons’ Performing Arts Center.
“Mr. Pezzone will be center stage with the piano at ‘The American Sensation,’” Dow said. “He’s a master at improvisation and probably one of the closest people to Mozart of our generation. You may have heard Gershwin, but you probably haven’t heard Gershwin like this. Even though it’s all unplugged, it should be a really electric evening.”
The piano will be acoustic, no question. “We’ll be using the actual grand piano played on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1902, courtesy of Clint Hughes and Dennis Beck of Grand American Piano,” Dow said.
“They scour the world for old classic pianos, and restore them to their historical period, so they’re not only beautiful to look at, but they also sound terrific,” Dow added. “Grand American has donated this piano to us for the evening, after which it will be available for sale.”
THE CHEF
“Our menu is being created by TPC Executive Chef Samson Francois, one of L.A.’s great chefs,” Dow said. “He’s done previous Bon Appetit! events with us, including our inaugural concert in July 2004. Samson’s become a good friend of the Symphony and has some exciting things to present as part of our ‘American Sensation’ menu."
Francois was formerly Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton and helped roll out new restaurants for the company. He was also one of the first chefs at Disney’s EPCOT Center when it opened in 1982 and helped build out the park’s culinary program. Later, he was a corporate chef at Paramount Studios.
“Chef Samson was trained initially at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, then completed training at the Dorchester Hotel in London, where chefs learn to cook every kind of cuisine on the planet because so many dignitaries and royals from different countries stay at the hotel,” Dow said.
THE MENU
“In preparing our menu for 'The American Sensation,' Chef Samson is taking a regional approach,” Dow said. “Imagine being able to taste some of the best regional food America has to offer, all in one sitting. This is truly the all-American meal.”
Representing...
Hawaii: Mahi Mahi appetizer/introduction;
East Coast: Soft-shell Chesapeake Bay crab;
Gulf Coast: Conch and crayfish dish from Florida and the Mississippi Delta;
Great Plains: American Bison (buffalo);
California: Fresh fruit-based dish.
THE WINE
One of the wines served at "The American Sensation" feast will be Six Heroes' 2003 Memorial Merlot, from the vineyards of George Bacon, a U.S. military veteran with 40 years’ experience in the wine industry.
Bacon, who named the wine after the six heroes who hoisted the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, donates a portion of proceeds from sale of the brand to the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, which assists U.S. troops overseas and their families in covering travel and medical expenses.
“It’s a new American wine, and salutes our men and women in harm’s way, so it’s perfectly in the spirit of ‘The American Sensation’ theme,” Dow said.
“George came up with this idea to find a way to get a little bit of money back to the folks who need it, and he’s totally unaffiliated with any government agency,” Dow added. “Six Heroes not only salutes America’s troops, but it’s also local, based in the Valencia Industrial Center, and is in the process of being distributed nationwide.”
THE ARTIST
A special encore appearance and signing by internationally acclaimed paper sculpture and graphics artist Reinhard, whose works have been exhibited in more than 200 galleries in the U.S. and abroad, will add another creative dimension to the Bon Appetit! experience.
The German-born, U.S. educated, Ojai-based artist was also a hit at the April 1 Classical Café concert at the COC Performing Arts Center, where he was on hand to exhibit, sell and sign original artworks and limited-edition “multiple originals” of some of his best-known works, including “The Rehearsal” and “RCA Victor Studios 1947.”
“Many concert-goers enjoyed Reinhard and his art very much and asked that we invite him back for another Symphony event, and he had such a good time he was happy to join us for ‘The American Experience,’” Dow said. “He, too, will be presenting brand-new works at this event.” Learn more about Reinhard at reinhardstudio.com.
FINAL COURSE
“Bon Appetit! is a total sensory experience,” Dow said. “All of the artists -- from the executive chef to the winemaker and the musicians to our conductor -- do a little education along the way, and it’s very intimate.”
Held every three-to-four months, Bon Appetit! fund-raisers are an integral part of the SC Symphony’s program each year. “We try to have an event every single month, and we have something for everyone,” Dow said.
“Our Masterpiece Series presents the full 75-piece orchestra at the Performing Arts Center,” he continued. “Bon Appetit! is joined by the more casual ‘Quartets & Coffee’ concert series which we also do quarterly, where one of our quartets goes out into the community to play, sometimes at a Border’s or a coffee shop.
“Monthly, we have our Instrument Petting Zoo for children, held the first Friday of each month at Borders, where we bring in musical instruments for the kids to experience hands-on,” Dow said. “It’s completely free service we provide to help make music accessible to everyone.
“Our complete schedule is posted online at scsymphony.com, and we invite everyone to join us,” he added.
Since it falls on the Friday before Father’s Day, “The American Experience” Bon Appetit! event “is also an opportunity to take Dad out for a really nice evening of incredible food, great wine and live world-class music,” Dow noted. “We may say, ‘We’re Not Your Father’s Symphony,’ but you know he’ll love this, and so will you!”
TICKET INFO
Tickets for “The American Sensation” Bon Appetit! event presented by the SC Symphony are just $185 per person. Seating is extremely limited (50 couples or 100 seats only).
To purchase, click here, call (661) 284-6044, or visit scsymphony.com and click on the “Purchase Tickets” link.
Tables are also available. For Group Sales, contact Dow at (661) 857-0867 or
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The TPC is located at 26550 N. Heritage View Lane, Valencia, CA 91381. Click here for a map.
The Santa Clarita Symphony is a California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation (I.R.C. §501(c)(3)). Visit scsymphony.com for more information.
The Santa Clarita Symphony Guild is now being established as a primary support group for the Symphony and its programs. Call (661) 284-6044 for membership information.
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