Center unveils plans

Young Chang

COSTA MESA -- Maestro Carl St. Clair pointed to a rendering of the

Orange County Performing Arts Center’s new halls Wednesday and nearly

hugged himself in delight.

The $200-million expansion, he said, will be the second most important

moment in the Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s life.

The first was Segerstrom Hall’s opening in 1986.

Center officials revealed the first look at architect Cesar Pelli’s

latest designs for a 2,000-seat concert hall and a 500-seat music theater

to join an expanded performing arts complex, scheduled for groundbreaking

in late 2002.

Describing the project as a conglomeration of the Lincoln Center,

Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Broadway all just

across the street from each other, Center President Jerry Mandel said the

new facilities would broaden opportunities for symphonic performances.

Pelli’s designs previewed a new “cultural soul” of Orange County .

“It’s no longer just a dream, but it is a reality,” said Roger Kirwan,

chairman of the Center’s board of directors.

As Kirwan, Mandel and Pacific Symphony’s St. Clair spoke, the din of

construction from neighboring South Coast Repertory -- which is

undergoing its own expansion -- made it necessary to speak up.

The noise also reminded attendees of the press conference that by the

fall of 2005, the area already known as the arts hub of Costa Mesa will

include four major music halls, including the existing Segerstrom and

Founders halls, two new theaters at SCR and a visual arts museum.

The center’s fund-raising campaign has exceeded $94 million with the

help of an anonymous $5-million gift and several new donations, Kirwan

also announced. A newly formed Campaign Leadership Committee will now

spread word of the campaign into the community.

“To help us win friends over. It’s not directly fund-raising, but . .

. as disciples of our message,” Kirwan joked. “We weren’t getting as

broad a reach into the community.”

The new concert hall and music theater will spread across 260,000

square feet and will feature a multilevel grand lobby space, a private

donor lounge, rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, a music library, a

restaurant, an adjustable acoustical canopy and adjustable reverberation

chambers all enclosed within a glass-curtain exterior.

St. Clair, who said he is already nervous for 2005 the way he gets

nervous two hours before a concert, said the Pacific Symphony has planned

two new chamber series almost wholly dependent on the construction of the

Center’s new halls.

“We hope [the orchestra] will have an upgraded life,” St. Clair said.

Individual donors have been generous with their contributions for this

expansive project, Kirwan added, even since the events of Sept. 11. The

economic climate is rough, he acknowledged, but donors have reassured

Center officials of their commitment.

Of 57 contributors, 50 have been individuals and seven corporations.

“The building is not about this year,” he said. “It’s about a

long-term investment in America.”

* Young Chang writes features. She may be reached at (949) 574-4268 or

by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .