One of the biggest ever fundraisers among Orange County nonprofits occurred Dec. 6 when Elton John performed at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
“He sang his heart out,” said Stephanie Argryos, whose family has donated millions over the years to the Segerstrom Center. “He was super emotional.”
Argyros, who heads her family office that includes significant real estate holdings, and John Ginger, who leads one of the largest masonry contractors in the western U.S., were co-chairs of the 50th annual Candlelight Ceremony that grossed $19.2 million.
Among the 520 in attendance were many well-known OC executives and officials such as Sheriff Don Barnes and members of business families including the Segerstroms, the Bhathals and the Higbys.
“Elton John’s performance was timeless,” Sheriff Barnes told the Business Journal. “He sounds as good today as he did 50 years ago. His energy, coupled with his passion for performance, resonated with those privileged to see and, more importantly, hear him sing.
The acoustics perfected in the Segerstrom Center elevated an already master performance. Every minute made a memory.”
John Phelan, chairman of the Segerstrom Center and a former top executive at wealth manager Capital Group, added that Elton John’s music “resonated deeply within the vibrant walls of our Center, reminding us all of the power of the arts to unite and inspire.
This milestone is a testament to the unwavering support of our community, which allows us to bring the transformative arts experiences to everyone.”
“I have seen a lot of amazing artists come out in support of our community’s cherished institutions, but Elton John’s performance was a tour de force — a breathtaking collection of some of the greatest pop songs combined with a voice of undiminished power and a mastery of his beloved piano,” Howard Gillman, chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, said.
“It was made even more special by the love from the crowd, which clearly touched him deeply and motivated him to give us more and more.”
The event attracted notable sponsors like Lugano Diamonds, which played a significant role, Argyros said.
“This was the best event in OC history,” Lugano Chief Executive Moti Ferder said. “I have seen Elton John five times before and this was his best performance.”
Seeking Memorable Night
PHOTO: TODD ROSENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY
Argyros and Ginger set out to make the night memorable.
“When they asked me to do the 50th, I wanted it to be spectacular and in honor of my parents,” said Argyros, who helps manage Arnel & Associates for parents George and Julia Argyros and sister Lisa Argyros.
After discussions with the center’s board, Argyros decided to try for one of the world’s biggest music stars.
The problem was that Elton John’s career was ostensibly over when he completed what he said was his final tour last year. Another big problem was that in recent weeks, the 77-year-old singer revealed that he was going blind.
Argyros said it took four months of coaxing to convince Elton John with the help of insiders like his famous song writer, Bernie Taupin.
Elton John arrived by plane only about three hours before the concert and held a short rehearsal with his band before the evening event.
Songwriter David Foster and his wife and fellow artist Katharine McPhee were the surprise opening act.
Then the “Bennie and The Jets” singer and his namesake band performed for about 90 minutes, singing favorites like “I’m Still Standing.” The singer joyfully kicked his feet under the piano and rambunctiously slammed its lid to show the audience that he enjoyed the night.
“He committed to seven songs and did 18 songs,” Argyros said.
“My favorite part was the end when he sang ‘This is Your Song,’ and thanked everyone for being there. He was teary eyed when he walked off the stage.”
Segerstrom Adds NYC Arts Veteran to Team
Starting in January, Segerstrom Center for the Arts will welcome New York City arts veteran Limor Tomer as its new vice president of programming and production – a role held for more than 40 years by notable arts executive Judy Morr.
Tomer brings years of experience organizing live performances in the Big Apple, where she’s spent most of her career.
“I’m in it for the artists,” she told the Business Journal.
Most recently, Tomer served as the general manager of the Live Arts Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a position she held for 13 years. During her tenure, she curated, commissioned and produced performances across the museum’s auditorium, galleries and public spaces, tying them to exhibitions and events.
Tomer, who studied at The Juilliard School, is credited with transforming the department and increasing annual attendance to 100,000 visitors.
“When you go to a museum, you’re invited to leave your body at home,” Tomer said. “What my department did was we brought living bodies into museum spaces.”
This move marks Tomer’s first professional role on the West Coast and in Orange County.
She noted that she has long admired Morr’s work at Segerstrom since the early days of her career at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
“Judy was a huge figure in in our world of performing arts presenters,” she said.
Segerstrom renamed its Founders Hall after Morr back in 2014. She retired in June.
In the new year, Tomer will take charge of the organization’s artistic vision from new works to regular productions. Her areas of focus will be programming, education and community engagement.
Tomer will overlook the center’s partnerships with the American Ballet Theatre and the Gillespie School, including the former’s on-site dance programs, and act as the primary liaison with Segerstrom’s resident companies, such as Pacific Symphony, Pacific Chorale and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.
“What Judy did was she evolved at the rate of change. She didn’t push too far or too fast,” Tomer said. “She partnered with the audience, and together they opened up these worlds of dance and music. That’s what I would like to do.”
In Service to the Performing Arts
Tomer discovered her love for the arts early in life.
She trained as a classical pianist from a young age and later earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. After graduating, she performed professionally in solo and orchestral concerts across the U.S. and Europe for 10 years.
“I was becoming more interested in other people’s versions of the repertoire I was playing, but more importantly, I became much more interested in the repertoire that was coming up at the time,” she said.
She hit a crossroads. When she decided to step away from performing, she turned to her roots – the Brooklyn Academy, where she had studied during high school.
“When I decided to transition from being an active pianist to being in service to the performing arts, I knew that I had to go to work at BAM,” she said.
One of the notable projects that Tomer oversaw included the development and opening of the BAM Rose Cinemas, which were movie theaters that showed filmed performances like ballets and operas at a more accessible price and place.
After BAM, Tomer held two roles simultaneously – she was the executive producer for music at the radio station WNYC, formerly known as Classical 105.9 FM WQXR, and was invited to be adjunct curator of performing arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
As a producer during 2020, she oversaw the transition to fully digital music broadcasting.
Tomer spearheaded the launch of a radio stream playing the music of living composers called “Q2” and other new radio shows as well. She was also responsible for a collaboration with NPR and produced dozens of live local and national broadcasts from venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
At the Whitney, Tomer built up its performance arts department focused on dance, theater, music and inter-media performances in different spaces at the museum. This later led to her job at The Met.
“Limor is going to come in and do things a little differently, and that will cause us to grow,” Chairman John Phelan said.
Phelan became chair in July taking over for previous Chairwoman Jane Fujishige Yada.
He was originally recruited to the board in 2018 by fellow member, and past chair, Larry Higby while the two were sitting on another board for the math not-for-profit organization Mind Research Institute. Phelan was later on the committee that helped hire the center’s current Chief Executive Casey Reitz in late 2019.
“It’s a very mission driven organization,” Phelan told the Business Journal, also noting that many people forget Segerstrom is a nonprofit. “I think we have a lot of opportunities to grow the center, to grow artistically.”
“I want us to continue to grow the audiences, get different people in here, and make ourselves more attractive to broader ranges of folks within Orange County,” he added. “I want to see us continue to grow the strength of our financials, because if we have good financials, we can do more. And then I think ultimately, that will cause us to try new things.”
Phelan also noted that Segerstrom will start to develop improvement plans for its main hall next year.
