The Conrad Presbys Performing Arts Center (The Conrad) Opens In La Jolla

Entertainment, Walt Disney Hall — By on April 7, 2019 at 4:32 pm
LIL BUCK opt

LIL Buck

By Buddy Sampson

If you want to get out of the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and hear music in a new state of the art music facility, you owe it to yourself to attend concerts and performances at The Conrad Presbys Performing Arts Center (The Conrad). The concert hall, with acoustics that rival the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, debuted April 5th, 6th and 7th, and were special nights, with performances that showcased the wonderful and rich sound audience members will experience as they hear their favorite music.

The opening gala On April 5, featured violinist Hilary Hahn, who opened the show and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro, jookin specialist, Lil Buck, the Miró Quartet, creative technologist Osman Koç, and a reconvening of past and current SummerFest Music Directors. The audience was treated to a sampling performance in which ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro simply stole the show with not only his considerable prowess on the ukulele, but his stage antics and facial expressions were simply hilarious. Lil Buck astonished the audience with his fluid, but intricate dance routines. Closing the Friday performance was an encore that featured 18 students performing from the La Jolla Music Society’s Community Music Center, the San Diego Youth Symphony Chamber Orchestra and the Bravo! International Music Academy. The encore participants also included Jake Shimabukuro, Miró Quartet,Cho-Liang Lin, Hilary Hahn and Lil Buck.

The performances of the weekend, which also featured Seal, took place in The Conrad’s 49,000 square-foot complex, which has several rooms and concert halls, including the Baker-Baum Concert Hall, that had its ribbon cutting on April 5th.

For more information on upcoming performances or information about The Conrad, visit www.ljms.org or www.theconrad.org.

We thank Xi Wang and Hilary Huffman for their assistance.

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