The Pacific Chorale, Orange County’s premier choir, gave its first live performance in over 600 days when it appeared Oct. 30 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
Despite a less-than-full audience for social distancing reasons and, with about 70 singers on hand (a fraction of the Chorale’s usual size, also due to safety reasons), it was an emotional event for both attendees and artists alike.
Music, “like nothing else, has the power to create a balm for our souls,” CEO Andrew Brown said in his pre-show remarks.
Brown and Artistic Director and conductor Robert Istad noted “angels in the audience,” citing longtime OC arts benefactors Phillip and Mary Lyons, and Charlie and Ling Zhang for helping the group manage to stay afloat during the hiatus.
Among the highlights of the two-hour show was a world premiere—a belated premier, as it was initially slated for mid-2020—of Composer-in-Residence Tarik O’Regan’s The Stillness Chained.
The choral piece uses text by Japanese poet Yone Noguchi, father of famed sculptor Isamu Noguchi, whose California Scenario gardens are close by at the Pacific Arts Plaza campus.
The show was capped by a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil. The same summary of Rachmaninoff’s 15-part a cappella composition could be said for the resumption of performances by the choir: Alleluia.
It’s banner time for Mexican-inspired restaurants in OC, with Tustin’s Chaak Kitchen receiving a Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition last month, and Costa Mesa’s Taco Maria just one of three local restaurants to ever receive a Michelin star (earned in 2019).
Few eateries, Mexican or other types, can match the ambience of Casa Del Sol Cocina Mexicana, a new restaurant launched about a month ago at The District at Tustin Legacy.
The spot was created by longtime restaurateur and “Mariachi Maestro” José Hernández, the Grammy-nominated founder of the popular Mariachi Sol de México, as well as America’s first all-female professional mariachi ensemble, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles.
You’ll find both groups, alongside other acts, performing often at the restaurant, which took over the former Irish pub Auld Dubliner space at the shopping center. The birria tacos are recommended.
Coming up with estimates for the fortunes of those on our annual OC’s Wealthiest edition is admittedly as much an art as it is a science, especially for those execs whose wealth is tied to holdings in a private company.
Sometimes we hit the bullseye. Last July’s ranking pegged a $5 billion estimate for Rivian Automotive founder and CEO RJ Scaringe, whose company had yet to disclose any details of their corporate ownership structure.
Last week, Rivian filled in some details for its forthcoming IPO, which could take place as soon as the coming week (see story, this page).
With a 9.5% stake in the company post-IPO, and an expected company valuation in the $60 billion range, Scaringe’s holdings in Rivian will be worth a bit more $5 billion once the EV firm’s stock starts to trade.
The listings for Scaringe and other members of OC’s Wealthiest are included as part of the OC500 publication that subscribers to the paper receive this week, alongside the normal print edition. Happy Reading.
