Community Concerts of Rancho Santa Fe opens new season with pop, opera, Broadway performers
By Gail Kendall, President, CCRSF
Community Concerts 2014-15 season is just around the corner, but soon a group of board members and spouses will be heading to Nashville, Tenn., to select the 2015-16 season. We are all so excited about the upcoming season, one we think is the best ever, and we’re told the talent being presented this summer by our agency, Live On Stage, is even better than last year’s selection. Artists come from across the U.S. and even around the world to give a live performance for 15 minutes to nearly 200 community concert groups. From this we must select what we think our RSF audience will love, and then maybe cross our fingers a little bit! No matter your genre of preference, we think this is a blockbuster year and all of our concerts will please everyone! As usual, all concerts will be held at the newly renovated Fellowship Hall of the Village Church.
The Community Concerts season kicks off in a spectacular fashion on Sept. 19 with the exciting new pop-opera star Fernando Varela.
He has been described as “Pavarotti at 21.” He handles the operatic arias with beautiful ease. Varela has been mentored by the best in opera, including Placido Domingo. However, he is equally comfortable with country, pop, and Broadway. His artistry has been described as a gift from God, with humility and a good work ethic. Catch him live and be ready to be moved by his amazing captivating voice: www.fernandovarela.com.
Quality entertainment continues with Susan Egan on Oct. 24.
Susan is a veteran of the Broadway stage, having starred in the title role of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” winning critical acclaim as Broadway’s longest-running Sally Bowles in “Cabaret,” and, most notably, has received both Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress as the original Belle in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Egan starred alongside Carol Burnett in Sondheim’s “Putting It Together,” and with Tommy Tune in the national tour of “Bye, Bye Birdie.” Susan left Broadway for a while to raise two young daughters. She’s adorable, her voice and stage presence beyond fantastic.
Going into 2015 we present Alex DePue with Miguel DeHoyos on Jan. 23.
With DeHoyos on classical guitar, DePue, a world-renowned violinist/fiddler, leads the duo through an array of styles — classical, bluegrass, and rock — with blazing virtuosity and emotion. They are a supercharged, accessible, genre-crossing repertoire. Together, they produce an unparalleled sound — music that can speak to anyone’s soul.
The fun element cranks up a notch with Good Company on the stage on Feb. 27 to close out our Subscriber Series on a great high.
Enjoy the definitive sounds of NYC-Nashville-Detroit-L.A. Vintage hits are performed seamlessly alongside fresh, original material. It’s iconic American roots music for the 21st century, backed by a dynamic four-piece rhythm section. Good Company is simply flat-out fun!
Wait, the entertainment brought to you by Community Concerts is not over! We are so excited to bring you the sounds of the Great American Songbook with “Simply Sinatra,” featuring Steve Lippia and his 10-piece orchestra
- This is a special, non-series, single performance on Saturday, May 9. This show, at the Village Church Fellowship Hall, will be a Saturday “date night” performance. Taking a cue from the RSF Big Band concerts, the seating format will be tables of eight with BYO beverages and picnic supper. “Simply Sinatra” will go on sale to Community Concert Subscribers in early September, with sales opening to everyone shortly afterward.
Community Concert evenings are a party! We open the doors at 6:15 p.m. so our audience members cano enjoy visiting with friends over wine, generously sponsored by Northern Trust, and light supper selections, catered by Whole Foods. Desserts and coffee are also available at intermission. Concerts begin at 7 p.m.
See more about Community Concerts of RSF, including video clips, at www.ccrsf.org. Tickets may be purchased by mail at P.O. Box 2781, RSF 92067: cost is $225 per adult for the four-concert series, or $75 per single concert. Your check is always appreciated, and we also accept Visa and MasterCard. Community Concerts is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
Questions? Please write to us at ccrsfmembership@gmail.com.