Winter’s Thaw: A Benefit Concert

A mesmerizing and ethereal musical, literary and visual journey from the icy shroud of Winter to the warm rebirth of Spring.

Winter’s Thaw is a multimedia concert weaving, literary, musical and visual arts to feature music written by composers including Eric Whitacre, David Downs, Carole Bayer-Sager,  and Ennio Morricone and made famous by such renowned artists as Josh Grobin, Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion, Celtic Women, Sarah Brightman, Sissel, and King’s Singers. Based on a series of three poems the concert will feature solo, choral, and instrumental performances set to stunning original imagery.

March 11, 2012  7 pm

Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104

Artists:

• Stephen Grimm, Conductor
• Maryhelen Halpin, Soprano
• Michelle Mace, Imagery and Lighting Designer

Venue:

• Westminster Presbyterian Church

Beneficiary:

• Elizabeth House

Sponsor:

• Sponsor Name

That the promotional copy for Winter’s Thaw – the multimedia concert weaving the literary, musical and visual arts presented by performances a la carte on Sunday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the architecturally stunning Westminster Presbyterian Church – describes the performance as “mesmerizing and ethereal” is no accident, says Carla Jamie Perez, the founder and guiding spirit of performances a la carte.

“Its first drafts used the word ‘inspiring’ but, as event designer Michelle Mace shared more of the imagery she has created for Winter’s Thaw, we realized that ‘inspiring’ didn’t begin to describe the beauty and power of the images we will project on large screens as the artists perform,” explains Perez, an opera singer who, over the past 25 years, has appeared with orchestras, opera companies, in festivals and in recital throughout the U.S. and has made guest artist appearances in South America, Canada and Europe. “And even ‘mesmerizing and ethereal’ don’t really prepare you for how your breath will be taken away as the images appear – they’re that lovely!”

The musical ‘illustrations’ of Winter’s Thaw will be equally captivating. On the program are works by such renowned composers as Eric Whitacre, David Downs, Carole Bayer-Sager and Ennio Morricone while an eclectic array of emerging and established artists who reside within the San Gabriel and Crescenta Valley areas have agreed to join Perez on stage – or behind the scenes – to ensure that Winter’s Thaw blossoms into vivid, exquisite life. These include: cellist Fang Fang Xu; pianist Alan Geier; harpist Carolyn Sykes; singer/songwriter Afton Hefley; sopranos Maryhelen Halpin and Karolyn Halpin; tenor Patrick Stalinski; composer/conductor George Ramirez; composer and Pasadena Pro Musica conductor Stephen Grimm; award-winning film score composer and pianist Robert Remstein; production and lighting designer Trefoni Rizzi; and photographer Escott Norton.

In addition, members of Pasadena Pro Musica and Los Angeles Master Chorale – as well as select choristers from Holy Redeemer Church in Montrose, Pasadena Church of the Nazarene, Neighborhood Church in Pasadena, Holy Family Church in South Pasadena and La Canada Presbyterian Church – will perform. Underscoring the music is a series of three poems written by Perez. In addition, actor and poet Just Kibbe will interpret two poems by e.e. cummings and provide commentary throughout the evening.

“Winter’s Thaw, like all of its productions, is truly an ‘a la carte’ experience,” says Perez. “It’s an integral part of its mission, to create original productions that showcase the diverse artistic community in its area.”

And sometimes that ‘showcasing’ includes the venue, itself. The main entrance and tower of the Westminster Presbyterian Church were inspired by the Cathedral at Metz and the Eglise St. Maclou at Rouen while the church’s three large rose windows are similar to those in the cathedrals of Beauvais and Amiens.

“Whenever I step inside, I feel like the church itself sings,” Perez confides. “With over 20 windows in total, the church is a veritable symphony of light and color.”

Yet performances a la carte is committed to producing far more than a stunningly beautiful artistic production. From the very beginning, Perez envisioned donating the proceeds from each production to a specific social-needs non-profit organization in the San Gabriel/La Crescenta Valleys.

“Winter’s Thaw will benefit Elizabeth House, the only shelter in this area for homeless pregnant women and their children,” says performance a la carte’s Executive Director, Jeannette Bovard. “Just as the cold of winter ends and the warmth and light of spring returns, the women turning to Elizabeth House for help soon begin to feel hope again. At Elizabeth House, they find the courage and skills they need to build a new future for themselves and their children. It’s a wonderful cause we’re thrilled to introduce to its audience.”

Tickets for Winter’s Thaw are available online at www.performancesalacarte.org for $15/each. (Purchase two or more tickets in advance for $12.50 each.) Tickets at the door will be sold as well, for $20/each. For more information, call (626) 710-8639.

Westminster Presbyterian Church is located at 1757 North Lake Avenue in Pasadena.

THE PLOT:

A panoply of “characters” have been invited to a lavish party and evening of music at the estate of Lord and Lady Delafors.  Although the Delafors maintain a high society profile due to their inherited titles they are (unknown to all) broke or so they believe.

Lady Delafors is hosting the party to entice one of the guests, an Oklahoma oilman by the name of Irving Maynard Richer to buy into a potentially lucrative although shady investment scheme, thereby saving the estate and the Delafors’ social position.

Little do the Delafors realize but a formerly worthless diamond mine they own in South Africa has been discovered to have Uranium deposits.  Several of their business partners, who are unknown to each other, are party guests and know about the Uranium discovery.  All of them are eager to edge Lord Delafors out of the picture by any means necessary.

Between the foreign elite, nouveau riche, hangers-on, and social wannabes, everyone present has a motive for murder… and a pretty good sense of rhythm.

With a career spanning twenty-five years Ms. Perez is an accomplished, recognized and sought after recitalist, symphony and chamber music soloist and opera singer. She has sung with symphonies, opera companies, in festivals and in recital throughout the U.S. and has made guest artist appearances in South America, Canada and Europe. She especially delights in premiering new works by contemporary composers.

A “singer’s” teacher for over twenty-five years, she now makes her home in Pasadena where she teaches voice mastery privately to aspiring singers. She continues to study, coach and perform, considering the mastery of singing to be a lifelong pursuit.

Since 2001, Ms. Mace has been exploring methods for artistic expression through Photoshop while also composing an original fantasy novel, which, she explains, influences her artistic style. She currently enjoys working as a Production Designer and Conceptual Designer for Film/TV/Event Design while continuing to pursue her ultimate goal of working for Walt Disney Imagineering in Concept Design. “Basically every educational/career/life choice I’ve made since moving from Japan to California in 2007 has been driven by my dream of working for Walt Disney Imagineering,” she says. “I’m really thrilled to be a part of this project because it ties together my love of metaphorical concept design, story telling and digital skills. It’s such a pleasure to weave fantastical images together to further enhance beautiful music.”

Just Kibbe is the creator and curator of Curing The Pirate Pig, the first visual-narrative-poetry-exhibit. He also designed and produced a Baby Obama Doll (limited edition of 500), which uses toy and packaging to make an interactive poetic statement about Americans’ relationships to political media.

Books by Just Kibbe include Elite Speaking Turquoise Monkey, a collection of text message poetry, printed side-by-side with equivalent English translations; Any Color Is Fine As Long As You Can See Through It, a coffee table book of collage art, written and designed with Rubik’s Cube as the mechanism which organizes the waterfall of original and stolen images and text into six chapters, each exploring a different phase of our lives’ cycle. His two chapbooks are Good God: Forbidden Poems, short poems with interpretive illustrations by Christopher Paul Russell, and Public Urinal Poetry Tour, a series of poems hand-written onto public urinals and photographed.

Photo Credit: Maja Trochimczyk