Live Music at Boston Court: Classical, Jazz, World Music and More
Boston Court Performing Arts Center-Marjorie Branson Performance Space (70 N. Mentor Ave. Pasadena, CA 91106)
* Additional fees apply.
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Goldstar Member Tips
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Goldstar Member on Other
Beautiful, clean lobby and ample restroom facilities -- this place is a gem.
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Goldstar Member on Where to Park
Spacious & safe free parking right next door
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Goldstar Member on What to Wear
Comfynice-casual, or glitz up a bit for fun!
14 Goldstar Member Reviews
Joanne R.
Great performance. I love the venue. Small and intimate with quality performers. I've been to several different musical performances and loved them all.Written on Dec 08 2010
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Claudia D.
Donald S.
The singer, Alexandra Loutsion, was PHENOMENAL. What an amazing night of music for Pasadena. More, please!Written on Dec 04 2011
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Goldstar Member
This was our first visit to Boston Court and were very impressed with the friendliness and courtesy of the staff. Boston Court is a small auditorium with wonderful stadium seating; every seat is a good seat. Complimentary wine and sparkling water is a nice, classy touch for early arrivals. The star of Cabaret Noel, Gigi Bermingham, is a seasoned performer with a lovely voice and stage presence. The holiday music was original, unique and showcased the work of the talented Matthew Goldsby. This concert is not to be missed!Written on Dec 02 2011
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More Information About Live Music at Boston Court
Website
http://www.bostoncourt.com/music-at-boston-court
Description
March 16, 2012: The New Sound of Silent Film, The Songless Musical Chicago with Live Score by Bassist Tom Peters
Bassist Tom Peters provides the live musical score for the little known silent film Chicago. The 2003 the filmed version of the 1975 Broadway musical Chicago won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta Jones, and has become a beloved favorite. But the story of murderess Roxie Hart has been around for more than 86 years, and the 2002 version is not the first to make it to the screen.
Chicago was first presented in 1926 as a very popular comic Broadway stage play by Maureen Dallas Watkins, based on her experiences as a sensationalistic police reporter for The Chicago Tribune. The popularity of the play caught the attention of auteur Cecil B. DeMille, who purchased the rights from Watkins for $25,000. Although the director credit is given to Frank Urson, it is clear to many film historians that DeMille himself directed the film. The film was a huge hit.
So why is this version virtually unknown? Like so many films from the silent era, Chicago was thought to have been lost. In 2006, an almost pristine copy of the film was discovered in Cecil B. DeMille’s personal archive and was digitally restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Even after 86 years, Chicago is a savagely funny film with a virtuoso performance by former Max Sennett Bathing Beauty Phyllis Haver.
March 17, 2012: MicroFest: Plainsound Glissando Modulation for Violin and Double Bass Composer: Wolfgang von Schweinitz.
Featuring: Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Andrew McIntosh, and Scott Worthington
Now into its second decade of celebrating the beauty that lies "between the keys" of the piano, MicroFest is the world's leading concert series devoted to the glorious universe of non-standard tunings. Founded by microtonal guitarist and radio personality John Schneider in 1997, MicroFest has grown to a festival of six separate events this year at Southern California venues ranging from Little Ethiopia to Claremont, Eagle Rock to Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA. MicroFest has included ground-breaking concerts and premieres of works by Ben Johnston, Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, and Harry Partch with new and historical instruments. MicroFest is co-directed by Schneider and composer Bill Alves.
March 23, 2012: The New and the Newer: An Evening of World Premiers - University of Southern California Collaborative
Be a part of history in the making, and witness the work of some of the most exciting and promising young talent from the University of Southern California presenting new thoughts, cool sounds and beautiful voices. USC graduate students in writing join forces with graduate student composers, collaborating with the most gifted young vocal performers, to create an exhilarating evening of new poetry and new music that is literally "hot off the press." Experience the surprise and thrill of an entire concert of world premieres being aired for the first time at Boston Court. This performance represents the collective work of the graduate classes in creative writing, composition and vocal performance, under the guidance of Professors David St. John, poetry, Frank Ticheli, composition and Lisa Sylvester, vocal literature.
March 24, 2012: The Thies-Krajacic Project: Spontaneous Inventions
In a performance of passionate music that blends classical, jazz, and Eastern European sounds, the Thies-Krajacic Project (TKP) invites to the stage the incredible bassist Mike Valerio and drummer Steve Schaeffer to bring a new dimension of creativity and color to the music. Pianist Robert Thies and Croatian flutist Damjan Krajacic, from quite different backgrounds, came together to find a common language to express a wealth of beauty without imposing any limitations on creativity, expression or style. The result is a friendly collaboration: a wonderful alloy of the world’s musical traditions, with a result that is not only pleasant, but refreshing, heartfelt and hopeful. Thies, a world-class pianist and winner of the prestigious Prokofiev piano competition, and Krajacic, a Croatian flutist versed in Latin/Brazilian/Cuban and ethnic music, create sounds which embrace our diverse musical heritage without being dogmatic. They point to a new era of true artistic collaboration across genres and styles, perhaps helping to pave the road towards a new way of capturing the human condition of our times.
May 18, 2012: Piano Spheres: Playing to the Left
Mark Robson: 24 Preludes for the Left Hand
Twenty-four Preludes for the Left Hand honors a venerable tradition created by composers that included Bach, Chopin, Scriabin and Shostakovich, who each wrote suites of short pieces in each of the major and minor keys. This collection is unique in that the preludes are composed for one hand only, which situates it as well within the specialized current of repertoire devoted to the left hand. Discover a whole world of emotions as familiar tonalities and keys are revisited to yield their individual colors and characters. The work was written for and dedicated to pianist/author Christopher Brennan, who at the time of the work's inception in 1989 was suffering from a stress injury to his right arm that prevented him from extended performance of two-handed repertoire. What began as a few pieces to assist a friend to pass the time during recovery turned into a full-blown journey in all the keys in which the composer's biography and musical affinities became intertwined with the challenges--real and symbolic--of performing with only five fingers.
May 19, 2012: The Virtuoso Marimba, Makoto Nakura
Makoto Nakura is a musician whose artistry and astonishing virtuosity have been mesmerizing audiences for decades. He creates innovative programs of new music as well as traditional classical repertoire, revealing the versatility and expressive range of the marimba while enlightening and entertaining the listener. His most recent premieres are a double concerto by Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez for piano and marimba and a concerto for marimba and wind band, written by Toshio Mashima. The 2010-2011 saw the premiere of Forest Trilogy for Choir and Marimba in New York City and Kyoto.
June 1, 2012: Piano Spheres: The Zen Pianist, Vicki Ray
Though the book has yet to come out, think Zen and the Art of Piano Performance. Join master pianist Vicki Ray in an evening that reflects the spare beauty of Tibetan and Zen Buddhist philosophy through the sound universes of prepared piano, piano with live electronics, and purely acoustic music. The concert features new works by Sean Heim, Linda Bouchard and Bruce Reiprich which have been harmoniously paired with compositions by Frederick Rzewski and John Cage. Treat yourself to a serene evening of musical bliss.
June 9, 2012: Sandra Tsing Loh, Music for a Ten-Minute Opera
Sandra Tsing Loh was raised in the ‘60s and ‘70s by an almost six foot tall, Valkyrie-like, culture-mad German mother given to making her children study piano (also known as scales) with dwarf-like Italian conductors and taking the family to the exact same ballet 16 times. Those were the days before Angry Birds and such enlightened 21st century parenting practices as fostering individual children’s actual interests. And yet, now that Sandra is a mother herself, with two preteen daughters who dismayingly seem to know all the words to “songs” (are they really?) by not just Katie Perry; but someone called Ke$ha (Ke$ha?), she has become perio-menopausally in touch with her inner Valkyrie. Music for a 10-Minute Opera brings her Breughel-like musical world to life for a family-friendly (and how far is that really from family-unfriendly?) audience. Think classical piano trio meets utter hilarity. Mit schlag.
August 24, 2012: Piano Spheres: Two Sides of Cages Coin
A Celebration of the 100th Birthday of John Cage, with Gloria Cheng
Happy Birthday to John! Brilliant pianist Gloria Cheng, celebrated for her imaginative programs and emotionally-resonant interpretations of contemporary repertoire, performs an intimate recital of John Cage’s work as part of this year's centennial celebration of Cage's birth. The face of the “coin” is Water Music (1952) which employs a series of unusual props—a pitcher of water, a duck whistle, a deck of cards, and an analog radio. The other side of the “coin” is Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1946/8), a collection of 20 short pieces inspired by the keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. As conceived by the master of musical invention, Cage transforms the piano into a percussion orchestra which is then guided by certain tenets of Indian music and philosophy. Bring your sense of adventure!
August 25, 2012: A Connoisseurs Guide to Folksong with Grant Gershon
Grant Gershon is recognized as one of Los Angeles most talented, world class musicians. His conducting, whether at the Los Angeles Opera or with the Los Angeles Master Chorale elicits passion, élan, and transcendent performances. Joined by the illustrious vocal quartet of Suzanne Waters, Adriana Manfredi, Daniel Cheney and Reid Burton, Grant turns his musicians ear to the intriguing world of international folk song as arranged by a variety of composers including Brahms, Bartok, Copland, and Tormis.
October 19, 2012: The Swedish Songbook: A Night of "Romanser," with Kathleen Roland and Lisa Sylvester
Soprano, Kathleen Roland and pianist, Lisa Sylvester join forces to present an evening of lush and romantic art song transported directly from Sweden. Though this gorgeous repertoire is not well known outside of the country that is most famous for Nobel Prizes, Ms. Roland a former Fulbright scholar is highly regarded as an expert proponent of Scandinavian song, and concertizes the music of many of Scandinavia’s finest composers throughout the United States
October 20, 2012: O-Lan Jones -- 20 Years of Theatre and Music
O-Lan Jones is a full-service artist, being an award-winning composer, actor, sound designer, and writer. Miz Jones is also the Artistic Director of Overtone Industries, a company that creates new mythological operas and theatricales; including Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, a collaboration of 21 librettists and 11 composers performed in a 25,000 sq’ abandoned car dealership. And The Woman in the Wall, a Medieval opera presented at the Masonic Lodge in March 2012. She is very happy to be presenting a selection of her work at the Boston Court that spans over 20 years of theater and opera compositions.
October 26, 2012: The New Sound of Silent Film
Silent Horror Comedy " The Cat and the Canary" with Live Score by Bassist Tom Peters
Bassist Tom Peters provides the live musical score for the silent film “The Cat and the Canary.” Mention the words “haunted house” and most people will think of all the standard clichés—a cobweb filled mansion on the hill, the will read at midnight, hidden passageways and trying to survive a night in the house without going insane. Many of these notions come from the 1927 comedy horror film The Cat and the Canary.
October 27, 2012: Cellopera, A Night at the Opera with John Walz
What do the extravagant world of Opera and the celebrated cellist John Walz, have in common? Mr. Walz’s lifelong love of singers and singing to begin with, and continuing with his long time association with the Los Angeles Opera as its principal cellist. “A Night at the Opera” (not to be confused with the Marx Bros. romp) is a fascinating program including some of the most famous operatic masterpieces of Mozart, Donizetti, Handel and others that were specifically rearranged for the cello and piano.
November 2 & 3, 2012: China Forbes -- The Other Side of China
When you think of Pink Martini (not the drink), the first thing that comes to mind is the exotic and multi-talented China Forbes, founder and lead singer of the world famous band. Not only is China known for her voluptuous vocal styling, but she also co-wrote with Thomas Lauderdale many of Pink Martini's most beloved songs including "Sympathique", "Lilly", "Clementine", "Let's Never Stop Falling in Love" and "A Snowglobe Christmas." Music at the Court is thrilled to present China in an intimate, one of a kind evening of songs and stories that reveals her expertise with a variety of different musical genres including opera arias, contemporary pop, jazz standards, eclectic international, and of course her own material. Don't miss the opportunity to experience China up close and personal.
November 9, 2012: Piano Spheres: P + P=Percussion squared.
An Evening of Piano and Percussion
Yes, the piano is a percussion instrument, and with the dynamic pianist, Susan Svrcek at the keyboard, and virtuoso percussionist, Yuri Inoo bringing a full array of not necessarily recognizable instruments, you are in for an unusual night of interesting and colorful music exploring the repertoire expressly written for the piano and percussion. Dare to be transported from the serene landscape of "Like still waters" by Thomas Osborne to John Psathas' amazing and wild "Matre's Dance", a piece inspired by a dance performed by a group of characters in one of Frank Herbert’s "Dune" novels. As a footnote, the dancers often collapsed or died before completing the exhausting routine. Hmmm...See what happens when Susan and Yuri dance their way into Music at the Court!
November 10, 2012: Bruno Louchouarn -- Voces en el Polvo (Voices in the Dust)
Voces en el Polovo- Voices in the Dust is a new multi-media chamber opera, by Bruno Louchouarn, with libretto by Juan Felipe Herrera, set against the backdrop of the September 1985 Mexico City 8.0 earthquake, and tells the story of a symbolic love and a people who survive through persistence and hope against all odds.
About the Ticket Supplier: Boston Court Performing Arts Center
The Boston Court Performing Arts Center produces passionate, artist-driven theatre that challenges both artist and audience. Play selection encompasses a wide variety of genres (classics, musicals and world premieres, with a special emphasis on nurturing playwrights and new play development) which are inherently theatrical, textually rich, and visually arresting.