Coming Attractions. . . : Music: Clubs and community groups offer the biggest range of choices, from classical to a rare singing performance by a well-known actress.

By STEVE APPLEFORD

Jan. 17, 1992 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; <i> Appleford writes regularly about music for Calendar</i>

As ever, an impressive roster of successful pop music acts--including rockers the Cult and Siouxsie & the Banshees--will pass through the San Fernando Valley for a series of concerts at the Universal Amphitheater. But it remains the variety of local clubs and community groups that offers area listeners the broadest range of musical choices this winter, from classical to big-band jazz.

This is true despite the still unfulfilled dream of the San Fernando Valley Cultural Foundation to build a massive local arts complex and music hall. “People on the other side of the hill don’t think we need any cultural dollars for the Valley,” complained James Domine, conductor of the West Valley Symphony Orchestra. “The Valley has always been the cultural stepchild.”

He added, “So if we’re going to continue to have symphony orchestras here, we’re going to have to support them, particularly in these present economic conditions.”

His own 11-year-old ensemble has discovered a steady audience of mostly West Valley residents since basing its regular concerts at Pierce College in Woodland Hills three years ago. The orchestra will perform six concerts there during its 1991-1992 season, including a Jan. 25 presentation of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, or “Pathetique.”

This month’s concert will open with a performance of Kabalevsky’s “Cello Concerto,” featuring soloist Richard Naill. But it is the concerto by Tchaikovsky--who saw it performed only once, two days before his death at the end of the 1800s--that holds the most power for the conductor.

“It is one of the great masterpieces of the entire repertoire,” Domine said. He described the music as “a real emotional experience. It’s important and very dear to me personally. And we’re pulling out all the stops to make this a great performance.”

The orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. in Pierce College’s 420-seat Performing Arts Theater. But at 7:30 p.m., musicologist Greg Hettmansberger will give a lecture on the night’s music.

“We always have a pre-concert lecture,” Domine said. “The audience requested it. Most people aren’t music scholars, but they are very interested in the whole myriad of details of why a symphony is the way it is.

“The reason we have been successful is that we do serve the Valley and people who probably wouldn’t go downtown anyway,” he added.

Tickets are $10, $8 for students and senior citizens. Pierce College is located at 6201 Winnetka Ave. Call (818) 883-6283.

* At the Universal Amphitheater, meanwhile, winter concerts will include a Jan. 30 performance by the Cult and Lenny Kravitz. The same lineup is set to play the much larger Forum in Inglewood this weekend. Tickets for the Universal show are $22.50 before service charges.

And Siouxsie & the Banshees will headline shows Feb. 1 and 2 with the Wonder Stuff. Tickets are $21.50 before service charges.

Both concerts begin at 8:15 p.m. Call (213) 480-3232.

* A rare musical performance at the West Valley Jewish Community Center by actress Mariette Hartley, better known for her variety of television roles, is scheduled for Jan. 25.

Hartley will sing with a live band and tell stories pulled from her recent autobiography, “Breaking the Silence.”

“We’re very excited because it is one of the few times that anybody big has come to perform here, although we have a very professional setup here,” said Marilyn Leviton, a spokeswoman for the center. “It’s one of the big events of the year.”

Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $7.50 and $10 in advance, $10 and $12 at the door. The West Valley Jewish Community Center is located at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus, 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. Call (818) 587-3300.

* The big-band music of Ray Anthony and His Orchestra will be performed at a benefit for the Pierce College Athletic Department Feb. 7 in the ballroom of the Sheraton Universal Hotel.

“We’ve done several of these,” said E.R. (Mac) McDonald, coordinator of the concert series that began in 1988. “We’re using the big-band music to do it, and the people come knocking the doors down. A year ago, we had this same band and it frightens me to say how many people came. People were dancing in the aisles.”

The concerts, which were designed originally to raise funds for sports equipment for the college, are presented about twice a year. The only reason there are not more of them, McDonald said, is because of the limited availability of local hotel ballrooms.

Most of the shows attract a crowd of at least 500, mainly “mature professional people,” McDonald said. But “some young people come as a group. They love the music, particularly the girls. They know how to dance.”

Tickets for the dance concert are $15. The performance begins at 8 p.m. and continues until midnight. A buffet dinner is also offered between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Call (818) 719-6496.

* Janet Carol and Friends will be among the musicians gathered to perform at the Jan. 26 meeting of the Dixieland Jazz Club of Reseda. The performance, which is open to the public, will spotlight music stretching from the 1920s to the 1940s.

The concert begins at 3 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 7338 Canby St. Tickets are $6 for non-members, $4 for members. Call (213) 256-5828.