dt news: Gp Turns 30
By Eddie Kim Jun 9, 2016
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/arts_and_entertainment/grand-performances-turns/article_04fd7920-29e4-11e6-8ce0-7f7be0392c93.html
Michael Alexander Reflects on Three Decades Of Running Downtown’s Most Popular Outdoor Concert Series
DTLA - In 1987, an outdoor summer concert series began at the California Plaza Watercourt. Today, the event now known as Grand Performances stands tall as one of Los Angeles’ most progressive and intriguing entertainment programs, period.
Grand Performances’ 30th season kicks off on Friday, June 10, and offers free weekly concerts, discussions and other art activities through Aug. 21. Executive Director Michael Alexander, who joined Grand Performances in 1990 and runs it with Director of Programming Leigh Ann Hahn (who came aboard in 1992), last week reflected on the series’ growth, his favorite memories, some disasters and a few season highlights.
Crossing Borders: Grand Performances regularly features an international lineup. This year’s disparate array of musical and cultural intersections ranges from the Latino- and Chicano-themed bands of the Evolución L.A.tino program to a night of Manila Sound, the disco scene that was born in the Philippines in the 1970s. There is also a suite of modern Muslim art and musical acts.
Highlight 1: Alexander is especially excited for the “Soy Africano” concert on June 18. “We’re working with local artists and looking at how African music first affected Caribbean music, picked up additional Spanish influences, became a flavor of its own, and then went back to influence Central Africa,” he says.
Highlight 2: Is Hollywood an old boy’s club? It may be, but the Aug. 19 program “The Women Who Score: Soundtracks Live,” is a showcase of female film and TV composers including Oscar winner Rachel Portman (Emma, The Cider House Rules) and Emmy winner Laura Karpman (Underground, Taken).
“There are a slew of glass ceilings in Hollywood, either for women or for people of color, and it’s on both sides of the camera,” Alexander says. “We get to show that women are making a remarkable impression in video games, TV and films. A number of them will conduct the chamber orchestra for their compositions.”
Highlight 3: A perennial crowd-pleaser, the daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra, returns July 19. The 60-plus-person orchestra fronted by Geoff “Double G” Gallegos melds classical and hip-hop genres.
“My 92-year-old mother-in-law is about a loud a fan of theirs as anyone,” Alexander said with a chuckle. “They’ve done a good job crossing generations and tastes.”
How Alexander Got Here: “In 1987, the Cal Plaza owner started the lunchtime series. A few years later, in 1989, I was working at [the city Department of] Cultural Affairs and we were looking for a new venue for our evening programming. We wanted to move away from the Triforium because it got too dark and a little dangerous, with too many trip hazards.
“We found out about the Cal Plaza program, and learned that they could host us there rent-free, though we had to cover concert costs. While bringing that series over, I found out ownership wanted an artistic director, and I threw my hat in the ring — and got the job.”
Best Night Ever: “I remember a site-specific work by the Beijing LDTX dance company. They scattered dancers all over the plaza. The artistic director, Willy Tsao, was sitting under a spotlight and reading a poem, in both English and Chinese — a poem that’s well-known by many Chinese people. The dancers would put on costumes and move to interpret the poetry amid the crowd. People really loved it. Some came back for the second night.”
Biggest Night Ever: “Collaborating with the Los Angeles Public Library for [the program] Songs In the Key of L.A., when Stevie Wonder surprised the crowd, was a joy. Another time we hosted Ozomatli, and we had our biggest audience ever, around 6,000 people. That’s the night that the fire marshal said, ‘Well, let’s cut you back down to 5,000.’”
On the Downside…: “One major disaster was a band that was referred to me. I’m not even going to name them. We realized that during their performance, their instruments were not hooked up. They were basically doing a super karaoke session with pre-recorded music. When I confronted them afterward, they said that’s what they do everywhere. That was incredibly embarrassing and we were blindsided by the artists.”
Money Talks: “We just finished our 2015 audit, showing we had over $2 million in income that year. When we factor in some non-cash expenses, we had a small deficit. If we take those out, we had a small profit for 2015. In general, we seem to be recovering from some rougher years after the recession, when philanthropy dropped. It’s never easy in Los Angeles — it’s not an easy fundraising city.”
Size Matters: Big crowds are a good thing, Alexander says, unless they’re too big. He’s in the unique position of trying to fill the space without overwhelming it.
“What it does force us to do is present acts that people aren’t going to be turned away from. Grand Park had an early problem where people were turned away because there were too many showing up. I don’t want us to have a reputation that you have to line up at dawn to get into our shows. On a certain level, I’d rather aim for just 80% capacity than risk having the opposite, with 20% too many. It’s part of our goal to make our experience accessible.”
Grand Performances runs June 10-Aug. 21 at the California Plaza Watercourt, 350 S. Grand Ave. Information and a full schedule at (213) 687-2190 or grandperformances.org.