UC San Diego – Page 40

Everything Old Becomes New Again

A new year affords the opportunity to reflect on what’s gone before while looking ahead to new possibilities. In this spirit, I can think of no better way to kick off 2011 than by presenting new musical contributions from old and valued friends. • La Jolla Music Society SummerFest – During the 18 years (!) […]

• La Jolla Music Society SummerFest – During the 18 years (!) of our association, SummerFest has moved from strength to strength, and the three 2010 concerts which premiere this month on UCSD-TV reflect the range, depth and joyous musicality which have always characterized this chamber music festival.

• San Diego Opera – Since the premiere of San Diego Opera Spotlight in January 1997, our collaboration with the Opera has grown to include two additional series, San Diego OperaTalk and, most recently, San Diego Opera Stars in the Salon (formerly Artists’ Roundtable). To my knowledge this partnership is unique in the opera world, as the three series combine to produce a long-term, comprehensive portrait of the history and evolution of a vital art form. The new season of opera programming premieres this month with a behind-the-scenes peek at Puccini’s Turandot and continues its run through the end of May.

• La Jolla Symphony & Chorus – This community-based ensemble has performed challenging music on the UCSD campus for over 50 years. UCSD-TV’s association with the Symphony (and mine) began in 1993, and it remains a touchstone in my professional life. The Symphony combines respect for tradition with an adventurous spirit, presenting established repertoire alongside challenging new or undeservedly obscure works. Their 2010 concert, Color, premiering in February, is an excellent example of what the Symphony does best. The program spans the 20th century, from Mahler to Bernstein, and includes a dynamic performance of Alexandre Scriabin’s pioneering multimedia composition, Prometheus, the Poem of Fire.

• Rebecca Lytle Memorial Concerts – UCSD-TV has presented Professor Emeritus and pianist Cecil Lytle in annual concerts since 1998. Through the years Cecil has displayed his virtuosity in a wide range of formats and styles, including classical, ragtime, jazz, blues, popular standards and, yes, tango. This year’s concert is a multimedia exploration of the life, influences and legacy of Hungarian master Franz Liszt. The Naked Liszt premieres on UCSD-TV in March.

Berthold Auerbach wrote, “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” I like to think that UCSD-TV is doing its part to make the world a cleaner place.

What I Did This Summer

Shannon Bradley here, checking in at the tail end of summer. Summertime at UCSD is sweet. The campus is quiet, lunch lines are short, parking is easy, and…most important for us, we mostly air re-runs in July and August. All of that freed us up to focus on creating a new magazine-style series, premiering this […]

Shannon Bradley here, checking in at the tail end of summer.

Summertime at UCSD is sweet. The campus is quiet, lunch lines are short, parking is easy, and…most important for us, we mostly air re-runs in July and August. All of that freed us up to focus on creating a new magazine-style series, premiering this fall, that honors UC San Diego’s 50^thanniversary. The six-part series, called UCSD@50, premieres September 13, with a new installment every six weeks through June of 2011.

As with all of my favorite magazines, this program will offer an eclectic menu of stories — some serious and some light-hearted – all centered around our goal of sharing what excites us about this place. In the upcoming months, look for reports from Rich Wargo (Science), John Menier (Arts & Humanities), Jennifer Ford (Health and Medicine)…and yours truly on Public Affairs.

I’m starting the first show with a piece on UCSD’s Center for Community Well-Being. This group, run by Bud Mehan and Mike Cole, is a collection of faculty, staff and students who are doing research and service projects in Southeastern San Diego. We spent some time with UCSD undergrads tutoring at Gompers Preparatory Academy, the middle school in Chollas View that’s modeled after our own Preuss School.

We also showed up for the first Community Market at the Jacobs Center, where free food and clothes were distributed to needy families under the guidance of the CCW’s Makeba Jones and her partners from Project Safe Way.

And finally, we visited the Town and Country Learning Center in Mountain View where Mike Cole and Srinivas Sukumar, from Cal IT 2, work with kids after school. It was great to visit these communities and see UCSD folks engaged in finding ways to improve the lives of fellow San Diegans.

Also in the first show, Rebecca Tolin reports on the ground-breaking work that Eric Courchesne and Karen Pierce are doing at the UCSD Autism Center of Excellence. This husband-and-wife team has made startling discoveries about the brains of autistic children and what can be done to help those who are most at risk.

Later in the first show, Ken Kebow takes us to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where Dean Tony Haymet describes research on underwater plants that could lead to new medicines, and how new high-tech robots will help monitor the health of the oceans.

Oh, and Rachel Bradley (no, no relation) profiles Giancarlo Ruiz, a UCSD staffer who produced a film that was screened at Cannes! How cool is that? And yes, he made it on his own time. Thanks to Sherman George for telling us about him. Sherman retired awhile back but is still a presence around here…something we all appreciate.

So…lots going on here this summer. Next up is Chancellor Marye Anne Fox coming to our studio September 2 to tape her segments as the honorary host of our first program. UCSD @50 will start airing Sept 13….just a week before the students come back (good!) and parking gets difficult again (not-so-good).

Emmy Win for Philip Glass, La Jolla Symphony Documentary

(PRESS RELEASE) LA JOLLA, CA— UCSD-TV took home the Emmy Award in the Entertainment-Program or Special category for “La Jolla Symphony & Chorus: Philip Glass’ Cello Concerto.” UCSD-TV’s Arts and Humanities producer John Menier accepted the award — his fifth career Emmy win and UCSD-TV’s thirteenth — at the June 13 ceremony in downtown San […]

The award-winning program features La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ North American premiere of Glass’ “Cello Concerto” and interviews with renowned cellist Wendy Sutter, conductor Steven Schick, and the composer himself.

UCSD-TV and La Jolla Symphony & Chorus have created an ongoing partnership to produce programs that showcase performances and behind-the-scenes interviews with the artists. Two new programs will debut on UCSD-TV in July, including Evan Ziporyn’s “Frog’s Eye” with Tijuana-based dance troupe Lux Boreal, and “Passion,” featuring Elgar’s “Cello Concerto” with guest cellist Maya Beiser. Broadcast information is available at www.ucsd.tv/lajollasymphony.

Watch the Entire Program: