Event planner Ben Bourgeois is a serious collector of contemporary art known for his work with important cultural institutions, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. So when the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s director of special events Patrice Poidmore hired his company, J. Ben Bourgeois Productions, to mount a weekend of celebrations launching the striking new Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, he created an opening night event that looked like an art installation itself.“My idea was to be contemporary, forward, and technology driven,” Bourgeois said. “We wanted to do something very avant-garde and contemporary because Orange County wants to make a statement that they cover the visual arts, they’re progressive, and that this was the next generation.” He took his inspiration from three on-site works by important artists and architects: the curving, glass-fronted concert hall designed by Cesar Pelli and, on the adjacent plaza, a Richard Serra sculpture and a Robert Wilson video wall installation.
The weekend kicked off on September 15 with Placido Domingo singing the world premiere of William Bolcom’s song cycle, Canciones de Lorca, accompanied by the Pacific Symphony and the Pacific Chorale conducted by Carl St. Clair. For the post-concert dinner next to the hall, Bourgeois set up a 6,000-square-foot tent with white ultrasuede walls and a clear, pitched roof, affording views of the building and artworks. Running along the roof and down the east wall were a couple of miles of tube- and tile-shaped lighting devices that resembled neon sculptures by Dan Flavin, whose work Bourgeois collects. The 1,300 guests began wandering in around 10 PM, and the colors of the tubes and tiles changed over the next two hours, from morning blue to sunset red. With illuminated tables, white carpet, white orchids and hydrangeas, and “ice chairs” of clear acrylic and white ultrasuede, nothing competed with the use of light as decor.
When guests first trickled out of the concert hall, the tent was dark while a four-minute fireworks and slide show lit up the new hall as well as the 20-year-old Segerstrom Hall and South Coast Repertory buildings nearby. Then Brite Ideas hit the light switch and London DJ Max Chipchase spun Argentinean tango music to invite people to move into the tent. Patina Catering served beef tenderloin and arugula, quickly replacing spinach with the leafy vegetable in light of press reports of the E. coli outbreak that broke the day before. The Eurotones serenaded the diners with supper club music until nearly 1 AM. Revelers took home crystal bowls from event sponsor Cartier.
The following night featured the world premiere of a Philip Glass choral work, The Passion of Ramakrishna, and Midori’s performance of Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 61, also in concert with the Pacific Symphony and Chorale under St. Clair’s baton. Bourgeois needed to create a completely different event for the second night, so he took the color scheme for the post-party from the weekend’s theme: “Orange County rolls out the red carpet for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.” “Hence, red,” he says. “We took it to the nth degree.”
Indeed, everything was a rich, ruby red, beginning with the light projected onto the plaza and the front of the Segerstrom Hall next door, where a red-scape awaited V.I.P.s on the roped-off terrace: groupings of furniture covered in plush, red ultrasuede, red tablecloths, red carpet, and red orchids and roses. On the plaza level, Max Chipchase spun tunes beneath a giant sphere covered with projections of party shots and clips from the symphony’s European tour. Guests munched on a spread of “late-night party gourmet munchy food”—three different kinds of Patina’s risotto and pizza. As the evening wore on, some danced to the pop-rock band String Theory before going home at 12:30 AM.
—Irene Lacher
Posted 10.18.06
Photos: Nadine Froger Photography
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The weekend kicked off on September 15 with Placido Domingo singing the world premiere of William Bolcom’s song cycle, Canciones de Lorca, accompanied by the Pacific Symphony and the Pacific Chorale conducted by Carl St. Clair. For the post-concert dinner next to the hall, Bourgeois set up a 6,000-square-foot tent with white ultrasuede walls and a clear, pitched roof, affording views of the building and artworks. Running along the roof and down the east wall were a couple of miles of tube- and tile-shaped lighting devices that resembled neon sculptures by Dan Flavin, whose work Bourgeois collects. The 1,300 guests began wandering in around 10 PM, and the colors of the tubes and tiles changed over the next two hours, from morning blue to sunset red. With illuminated tables, white carpet, white orchids and hydrangeas, and “ice chairs” of clear acrylic and white ultrasuede, nothing competed with the use of light as decor.
When guests first trickled out of the concert hall, the tent was dark while a four-minute fireworks and slide show lit up the new hall as well as the 20-year-old Segerstrom Hall and South Coast Repertory buildings nearby. Then Brite Ideas hit the light switch and London DJ Max Chipchase spun Argentinean tango music to invite people to move into the tent. Patina Catering served beef tenderloin and arugula, quickly replacing spinach with the leafy vegetable in light of press reports of the E. coli outbreak that broke the day before. The Eurotones serenaded the diners with supper club music until nearly 1 AM. Revelers took home crystal bowls from event sponsor Cartier.
The following night featured the world premiere of a Philip Glass choral work, The Passion of Ramakrishna, and Midori’s performance of Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 61, also in concert with the Pacific Symphony and Chorale under St. Clair’s baton. Bourgeois needed to create a completely different event for the second night, so he took the color scheme for the post-party from the weekend’s theme: “Orange County rolls out the red carpet for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.” “Hence, red,” he says. “We took it to the nth degree.”
Indeed, everything was a rich, ruby red, beginning with the light projected onto the plaza and the front of the Segerstrom Hall next door, where a red-scape awaited V.I.P.s on the roped-off terrace: groupings of furniture covered in plush, red ultrasuede, red tablecloths, red carpet, and red orchids and roses. On the plaza level, Max Chipchase spun tunes beneath a giant sphere covered with projections of party shots and clips from the symphony’s European tour. Guests munched on a spread of “late-night party gourmet munchy food”—three different kinds of Patina’s risotto and pizza. As the evening wore on, some danced to the pop-rock band String Theory before going home at 12:30 AM.
—Irene Lacher
Posted 10.18.06
Photos: Nadine Froger Photography
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The Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall opened with a weekend-long series of events that included a performance by String Theory.
For the post-concert dinner next to the hall, Bourgeois had a custom-made 6,000-square-foot tent with white ultrasuede walls and a clear, pitched roof, affording views of the building and artworks.
Guests dined on Patina Catering’s dishes at modern-looking dining tables.
On the second night, a terrace featured groupings of furniture covered in plush, red ultrasuede, red tablecloths, red carpet, and red orchids and roses.
Guests took home crystal bowls from sponsor Cartier.
