Q & A -- Finding his place at Center stage

On Wednesday, officials at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in

Costa Mesa revealed Cesar Pelli’s design for the new $200-million concert

hall and music theater scheduled to open in October 2005.

On Thursday, Assistant City Editor James Meier sat down with the

Center’s president, Jerry Mandel, at the Center to discuss the new hall,

as well as his affinity for jazz and the tenor saxophone.

Q: After all of your years in higher education (as a professor, dean,

vice president and vice chancellor), what convinced you to do this?

A: Well, I’ve always had a passion for the arts. I am a musician,

always have loved music. Arts has always been part of my life. I come

from a family of musicians. My dad and grandfather were professional

musicians. When I was dean at San Diego, I was dean of arts and

communications. And, in today’s world, arts administrators of big

organizations now, more often than not, have a love for the arts and have

management, fund-raising and community relations skills. That’s what it

takes these days.

When I became president of the Center, LACMA [Los Angeles County

Museum of Art] hired Andrea Rich, who was vice chancellor at UCLA, and

the Getty hired Barry Munitz, who was chancellor at the Cal State

University system. And we all three know each other very well, so that

was an incredible time. That said a lot to the world about where they’re

getting their administrators.

But I’ve always loved this, and when this opportunity came my way -- I

loved UCI, I’m still very much involved there -- but this was the

opportunity of a lifetime, spending the rest of my life doing what I

love. I get sheer joy out of the performances. I go to every performance

here. I often go to both halls on the same day. Because the energy and

excitement I get from all kinds of music is just exciting.

Q: With the new Concert Hall coming online in 2005, what does this do

for the performing arts center, as well as Southern California?

A: When completed, we will then have probably the finest group of

halls and the finest performing arts center of anywhere in the country

centered in one area -- South Coast Repertory is expanding also. So, you

add our four halls. There will be no place like this anywhere. You can

come here and, essentially, there will be six halls running at once.

Orange County will be one of the most important centers for the

performing arts in the world. That is very, very interesting.

Second, it will enable us to do more of what people want to have. With

a new hall, we can move symphony orchestras there. We can then do longer

runs of Broadway here. And there’s a tremendous demand from the public

for Broadway that we can’t fulfill because we have to do so much in our

current hall. The opera, which is in our current hall, will have a chance

to expand. It’s a wonderful opera company.

We’re really fortunate. Pacific Symphony Orchestra and Opera Pacific

are excellent companies, but they’re stopped right now because they can’t

play enough to expand. They grow. The people in this area grow. It’s just

a wonderful thing to do for Orange County.

Q: Now, will that make a difference in the types of acts you’re able

to draw?

A: Yeah, we’ll be able to compete with Los Angeles for the first time

a Broadway show comes in. The problem we have now is we can only offer

one week and Broadway producers can go to L.A. for six to eight weeks.

But this is a good market. Our current season can go two to three weeks a

show. But we’ll also have the time to do a four-, five- or six-week run.

That will put us in a very good position with the Broadway producers.

It means the symphony can expand what it offers. It can bring in guest

artists. The philharmonic society can bring in orchestras like the

Berlin. Everybody can bring in more.

It’s unbelievable for Orange County and for obviously those of us who

work here. It’ll be the best.

Q: What is the most difficult part of getting the hall built?

A: Raising the money. The performing arts center is unique in this

world in that we have never taken a cent of government money for

anything, including construction. Every other center does. So we have to

raise every dime of it from the public, and we are in a recession and

then have the problems from Sept. 11. There’s no doubt fund-raising is

the most difficult part, but we’re doing very well. We’re almost halfway.

There’s a tremendous amount of interest. There’s a lot of excitement

about the hall.

The realization that this is important for our country, perhaps now

more than ever. When you think of it, what is it that is most

dramatically different from our society than the society of those people

that are attacking us? It’s freedom of expression. And where is freedom

of expression most or best exemplified? The arts. So, I think one of the

very best ways to tell those people they aren’t getting to us is by

building arts institutions and having everyone attend. That really and

truly is why this project is going to get built. It’s more important than

it was before Sept. 11.

Q: What’s the best part?

A: For me, it really is interesting. At the end, to be president of

the best center in the country is fabulous. The second thing is the

process of learning about acoustics. I’m so involved in the building of

it that I’ve learned about acoustics. I’ve toured the world, going to

great concert halls. For me, the reason I love the arts so much is the

passion and the discovery. When I came here, I loved certain art forms,

but I’ve developed other art form loves now. To discover the science of

acoustics -- to go and hear halls in England, Switzerland and Vienna --

what a great experience, astonishing.

Q: Roger Kirwan, chair of the Center’s board of directors, recently

said that the Center has surpassed its financial benchmarks for the

fiscal year. What does this mean exactly for the Center?

A: What I think he meant was the Center has finished in the black over

its 15 years. It’s quite astonishing for a nonprofit. But there’s a

reason for that. I’ve been around a lot of nonprofits. This nonprofit

board is the most prestigious in Orange County -- it’s a Who’s Who. But

they are all savvy businesspeople. An arts institution that isn’t managed

like a business will go out of business. So, it’s no accident that we hit

our goals and finish in the black. The board makes certain we do, and the

staff manages it well. What it says to the world is you can invest in

this organization because we have a great 15-year track record. That’s

what he meant.

Q: You go to New York fairly regularly. Have you been back since Sept.

11? Do you have any trepidation about your next trip?

A: Well, I have not been since Sept. 11. I wanted to stay closer to

home. We have a lot of shows opening. It would have been a normal time

for me not to go anyway. I will pick back up in November, December. I

usually go when new shows open there. Like anyone else, I wasn’t rushing

to travel. In a month or so, I’ll know the answer to that.

Q: Earlier this year, you renewed your contract at the Center? What

makes the Center so special to you?

A: Well, I get to do every day what I love. And I love the arts. We

can’t always put our emotions into words, and that’s the beauty of all

kinds of music -- it doesn’t necessarily resonate at the verbal level. I

listen to all types of music. Whatever the music form is, it’s good. It’s

such an emotional trip for me. So that’s it. So, No. 1, it’s being able

to hear and experience it every night. And second, it’s how much pleasure

it brings people.

I’m at every show, and I walk around and I talk to people in the

audience. And I know what we’re doing is bringing some joy to people’s

lives. That’s perhaps more important than ever. The Thursday after Sept.

11, we had a show -- Dave Brubeck -- ready and we thought “Should we

cancel it?” And we said “No.” And we sold every seat. People wanted that

music. Again, it reaffirmed we play an important role in the lives of

people. It enhances people’s lives.

Q: What show are you looking forward to bringing to the Center?

A: All of them. Over the next year, I’m looking forward to the return

of the Bolshoi, which was an unbelievable experience last year. Next

year, we’ll have “Mamma Mia.” Maybe someday, “The Producers,” which I saw

in New York and loved. I look forward to everything, the jazz shows. I

like it all.

Q: We hear you’re playing saxophone for B.W. Cook on Nov. 8 at a

Guilds fund-raiser. Care to tell us about it? How long have you been

playing tenor saxophone?

A: B.W. is performing. I’m just backing him up. I’ll play one solo

number, but I’m there to enhance his play, his singing. I’m looking

forward to it. I only play charitable things. I don’t play for money. We

have great musicians in this town, and I’m not a professional. I’m in awe

of them. I’m a decent player, I think. And I learn and practice every

day. It’s going to be fun.

I played in high school and college, but I didn’t play for 40 years. I

listened all that time, though. I picked it up a year and a half ago. I

just started playing again the way I should. I started with scales,

studying and practicing. I play every day. It’s a therapy.

I’m looking forward to B.W.’s show. I’m also playing a reception with

the Jeff Gonzales jazz band in November. I’m really looking forward to

that because he’s a magnificent player. Just to play with him is an

honor. I’ve played with my board a few times.

What I’ve enjoyed about this is -- there have been a couple articles

mentioning my playing -- people come up to me every time I work out. I’ve

had more people come up to me, my age, who’ve said that because of those

stories, they’ve started to play again. And music is such a gift. The

best thing I do is encourage people who played years ago to start again.

Wow, I can’t tell you how that made me feel.

Name: Jerry Mandel

Age: 61

Occupation: President of Orange County Performing Arts Center for five

years

Residence of 12 years: Irvine Education: Bachelor’s degree in social science and master’s in

communications from Cal State Long Beach, doctorate in organizational

behavior and communications from Purdue University

Family: Wife of 15 years, Whitney, teaches broadcast journalism at Cal

State Long Beach; daughter Jennifer

Background: For 26 years, worked in higher education as a professor,

dean (at San Diego State), vice president (at Cal State Long Beach) and

vice chancellor (at UC Irvine)

Hobbies: Jazz, including playing the tenor saxophone; attending shows;

fitness; reading nonfiction, especially biographies and medicine,

particularly neurosciences