ARTS & CULTURE

ALISAL CENTER FOR THE FINE ARTS

bit.ly/AlisalArts

758-5715

Founded: 1986

WHAT THEY DO: The Alisal Center for the Fine Arts provides a creative hub for artists and advocates to connect, teach and perform, all with the goal of strengthening the community and enhancing the lives of East Salinas residents, and turning local youth into strong leaders. The center hosts nine different weekly programs incorporating cultural awareness and creative expression, and nurtures monthly circles for the community to process, discuss and heal from violence, and strategize a more peaceful future.

THE BIG IDEA: The center provides a place for community members to dream, express, create and cultivate; they want to add El Manifesto de la Communidad, a visioning wall mural, to their existing programs. Three blossoming East Salinas artists will lead a series of art and cultural awareness workshops, and the mural, located at the Alisal Center, will serve as an ongoing source of inspiration.

SHINING ROCK: “Alisal Center for the Fine Arts is a jewel in East Salinas. It is here that my children and grandchildren learn principles that help them grow artistically, emotionally and professionally.”

ARTS COUNCIL FOR MONTEREY COUNTY

www.Arts4MC.org

622-9060

Founded: 1982

WHAT THEY DO: The Arts Council for Monterey County’s mission is to strengthen the local educational system, create healthy, vibrant communities and improve the quality of life through the arts. They accomplish this lofty goal of addressing serious challenges through grants, internships, art classes, public-awareness campaigns and special projects. The council also proudly brings professional artists into schools.

THE BIG IDEA: The Arts Council wants to increase the impact of their classes in painting, multimedia and design for incarcerated youth through displays of their artwork in public settings, including Seaside City Hall, Northridge Mall and the Probation Department Youth Center. The council’s specialized art classes help teach empathy, teamwork, persistence and the positive value of expressing feelings – and reduce the likelihood that juvenile offenders will have to return to the Youth Center.

COMPASSION TO SHARE: “I now feel I have a positive gift that I am ready to share with others.”

CAMERATA SINGERS OF MONTEREY COUNTY

www.Camerata-Singers.org

642-2701

Founded: 1980

WHAT THEY DO: The Camerata Singers make a joyful noise, performing imaginative, high-quality choral music for multi-generational audiences. They also train the future generation of choral singers by involving local high school students in weekly rehearsals and concerts. Through their extensive teaching and mentoring programs, they create confident, professional singers.

THE BIG IDEA: The big and bold voices of the Camerata Singers want to foster the next generation of singers through their Camerata Futures program. They recruit singers through auditions of local high school students. Weekly rehearsals with professional singers and instrumentalists culminate in a series of live performances for audiences throughout the community. Many Futures participants go on to become leaders of their school choruses and church choirs. The Futures program also helps to prime young voices for singing at events like the Carmel Bach Festival and in collegiate choral groups.

LOST IN SOUND: “When I sing, the world fades away. There is nothing but incandescent beauty and the glorious sound of a choir losing itself within a piece.”

CARL CHERRY CENTER

www.CarlCherryCenter.org

624-7491

Founded: 1949

WHAT THEY DO: The Carl Cherry Center delivers artistic, educational and cultural programs, offering a forum for expression. The center encourages interactions between the community and artists, dramatists, writers, educators and musicians, providing visibility and support to both emerging and established artists.

THE BIG IDEA: Youth need a place to express their creativity and concerns, and the Center provides it through the Monterey County High School Poetry Awards. The awards promote literacy and give participants a way to express what they see in their communities. The poetry awards are a compliment to the center’s Thinking Out Loud art exhibit, which displays children’s art and poetry.

PUBLISH ME: “The high school poetry awards were an important step for me. The classes and instruction helped me realize I wanted to, and could, write poetry and stories.”

CARMEL ART ASSOCIATION

www.CarmelArt.org

624-6176

Founded: 1927

WHAT THEY DO: The Carmel Art Association advances knowledge and interest in California’s most distinguished art legacy. They promote the fellowship between artists and 20,000 annual visitors by supporting art that arouses joy, awakens insight, exposes issues, provokes questions and expresses the ordinary and the extraordinary.

THE BIG IDEA: CAA wants to raise the roof – literally – with an ecological and energy-saving remodel of their main Beardsley Room gallery. They need to remove the defunct and outdated ceiling and expose the original historical gallery. The association’s goal is to renovate green while creating a brighter and better space.

IT’S ALL IN A PLACE: “The best of local art in a historic building that invokes creativity, imagination and inspiration in everyone who visits – that’s the Carmel Art Association.”

CARMEL BACH FESTIVAL

www.BachFestival.org

624-1521

Founded: 1937

WHAT THEY DO: The Carmel Bach Festival celebrates the ongoing influence and inspiration of J. S. Bach, integrating music, education and ideas with all sectors of the community. The historic festival attracts musicians from around the world and presents music in new and innovative ways, accessible to a variety of ages and income levels.

THE BIG IDEA: Bach is the opposite of stuffy, and the festival wants to unite more people with the musician’s legacy by presenting their family concert,“The Epic Adventure of Leonard and Rasmus,” on a larger scale. The festival will expand events across the county, and provide affordable tickets for younger and more diverse constituents.

GET INTO CLASSICAL: “The experience of hearing the most beautiful music, performed by some of the finest musicians, in my favorite place, is something I look forward to all year long. It does not disappoint.”

CARMEL MUSIC SOCIETY

www.CarmelMusic.org

625-9938

Founded: 1927

WHAT THEY DO: The Carmel Music Society brings high-quality, internationally famous classical artists to Monterey County. They foster the appreciation of classical music among area students, performing in concert centers, classrooms, senior residences and private homes. The society collaborates with other agencies to organize joint events.

THE BIG IDEA: The music society wants to go even further, upping access to music through their Reaching Out Further program. Further will deliver classical music programs to youth and seniors, and to populations that lack funds or mobility. Further will also give free seats to K-12 students, $10 seats for accompanying adults and discounted seats to seniors.

OPEN TO ALL: “Carmel Music Society’s policy of admitting students free had its desired effect of making an important concert affordable to young people and older students.”

DANCE KIDS OF MONTEREY COUNTY

www.DanceKids.org

622-9008

Founded: 1993

WHAT THEY DO: Dance Kids delivers the positive influence of performing arts by creating ongoing dance performance opportunities for the youth of Monterey County. They also deliver innovative and entertaining programs with inspired, educational dance performances.

THE BIG IDEA: Dance knows no cultural bounds, and Dance Kids wants to harness the power of a universal story with a culturally relevant perspective to educate and entertain children, families and friends. They will produce and stage their original concept of the bilingual Latino Nutcracker, for free, to their largest audience yet: the 1,500-seat Sherwood Hall.

LIGHTING THE WAY: “I look forward to the traditional Nutcracker with my family each year. I will take them to experience the Latino Nutcracker so they can learn and embrace new cultures.”

FIRST NIGHT

www.FirstNightMonterey.org

373-4778

Founded: 1992

WHAT THEY DO: First Night uses the arts as a community catalyst through their festivals and ArtWorks! program, unifying generations through creativity, imagination and participation that celebrates diversity, cultural sensitivity and positive attitudes.

THE BIG IDEA: First Night’s ART is the NEXT PEACE: Creating Communities will collaborate with K-12 schools and empower students to create meaningful art in a safe and affirming environment. The program seeks to promote nonviolent resolutions to gangs, bullying and domestic abuse by cultivating empathy in highly personal creative expressions.

NIGHT OF SPARKLE: “Art Is the Next Peace was another critical example of a program that engages our youth in subsistent and meaningful activity that fosters the positive growth we are looking for in each of them.”

MONTEREY COUNTY POPS!

www.MontereyCountyPops.org

648-1632

Founded: 1985

WHAT THEY DO: Monterey County Pops! performs patriotic music, free of charge and with a fully professional orchestra, to over 10,000 Monterey County attendees annually. They ensure musical support to local arts organizations and share pops music with low – and-middle-income audiences.

THE BIG IDEA: Pops delivers energetic music across all cultures, and this year the group wants to deliver a free, family concert to Salinas. Música Mexicana, Sinfónica y Popular, conducted in Spanish by Dr. Carl Christensen, a former member of the Mexico City Philharmonic, will utilize a 42-member professional symphony with vocalists, and include youth musicians from the Salinas area.

POP ROCKS: “We attended the Pops! Memorial Day Concert. Wow! Thanks for this amazing, free family concert at the wonderful venue of the lawn at Colton Hall.”

MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART

www.MontereyArt.org

372-5477

Founded: 1959

WHAT THEY DO: The Monterey Museum of Art maintains a permanent collection of 14,000 works of contemporary, American, early California and photographic art in two museum locations. They also partner with the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, teaching third – and fourth-graders the Sustainable Arts Education Program in hands-on, guided tours.

THE BIG IDEA: MMA wants to make their walls and halls come alive through their Open Invitation program, offering free admission on the third Thursday evenings and second Sundays of each month. Visitors may engage with exciting artists, dancers, poets and musicians, as well as view the museum’s collections.

TOUCH THE MERCHANDISE: “Opportunities like the free Family Days provided by the museum are an invaluable way to expose the next generation to art in a fun, hands-on way!”

MONTEREY SYMPHONY

www.MontereySymphony.org

645-8511

Founded: 1945

WHAT THEY DO: The Monterey Symphony engages, educates, excites and enriches the community in the continual discovery of symphonic music. They perform the Disney classic Fantasia, partner with the hospitality industry and offer free dress rehearsals and youth concerts.

THE BIG IDEA: As part of their 70th anniversary celebration, Monterey Symphony will introduce their fully professional symphony orchestra and more intimate chamber music offerings to first-time audiences by holding special concerts in non-traditional settings, including schools around the Peninsula.

HAVE BAND, WILL TRAVEL: “The concerts presented within the community, in places other than the concert hall, allow more to experience the orchestra up close and personal. This is a fabulous way to interact with the symphony orchestra.”

MONTEREY PENINSULA COLLEGE FOUNDATION

www.MPC.edu/Foundation

655-5507

Founded: 1994

WHAT THEY DO: Education means potential, and the foundation advocates for student success at Monterey Peninsula College through financial support and student scholarships.

THE BIG IDEA: Young audiences grow into lifelong audiences, and the foundation wants to grow the MPC Theatre for Young Audiences program by providing free theater tickets to low-income Monterey County students and their families. How they will accomplish it: By graduating from a 40-seat venue to the 300-seat Morgan Stock stage and presenting the classic The Jungle Book.

RICH AND FAMOUS: “I couldn’t have imagined, before my time in Monterey Peninsula College Theatre Arts, that I would work on Hollywood-movie sets, television or theater stages in Europe.”

PACIFIC REPERTORY THEATRE

www.PacRep.Org

622-0700

Founded: 1982

WHAT THEY DO: The Pacific Repertory Theatre celebrates the transforming power of the creative spirit at the only Actors’ Equity theater in the county. They produce bold and daring interpretations of the great plays from the world stage with a world-class theatrical experience. They also distribute over 500 free tickets to low-income youth through Tix4Kids.

THE BIG IDEA: PacRep is serious about access, and wants to increase accessibility by equipping the Golden Bough Theatre with Americans with Disabilities Act-approved hearing-assistance equipment to enable listening-impaired audience members to enjoy the pleasure of live performances.

CENTER STAGE: “Thanks for allowing students to attend performances. Creativity and the live band were exciting. Thanks for thinking about us in Salinas.”

SPECTORDANCE

www.SpectorDance.org

384-1050

Founded: 1997

WHAT THEY DO: SpectorDance makes art that matters by connecting diverse artists to audiences through dance-based activities and celebrating the power of dance to inform and inspire. They incorporate highly creative multimedia and storytelling into their shows, presenting them to audiences all over the country.

THE BIG IDEA: SpectorDance wants to meld the creative with the scientific and embark on a journey with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, extending the educational collaboration of their hit show Ocean into Ocean Trilogy. They will reach audiences in new ways by joining scientific facts with aesthetic dances, exploring ocean issues and marine chemistry and turning intellectual information into physical expression.

DANCES WITH WOLVES: “I saw Ocean at the Smithsonian. Spectacular! What a great way to get important scientific information to the public. I loved it!”

SUNSET CENTER

www.SunsetCenter.org

620-2040

Founded: 2003

WHAT THEY DO: Sunset Center enriches, educates, inspires and entertains over 104,000 Monterey County residents and visitors, hosting high-quality performances and community events in a historic facility. They operate an arts-in-education program that teaches the history of theater and dance, theater etiquette and master classes.

THE BIG IDEA: Slam poetry, aerobatic arts and contemporary dance are but a few of the ways Sunset Center wants to bring the arts to underserved students in Monterey County. They want to extend their Classroom Connections program to the Family Connections program to help low-income parents support their children’s interest in the arts, growing new audiences and new artists too.

EQUAL TREATMENT: “Awesome performance and wonderful experience/exposure for my students! It destroyed gender/ethnic stereotypes about dance. It gave them exposure to an art form they may not have otherwise had.”

YOUTH MUSIC MONTEREY COUNTY

www.YouthMusicMonterey.org

375-1992

Founded: 1988

WHAT THEY DO: Youth Music Monterey County recruits and maintains strong, skilled and committed music instructors. They teach instrument care, music history, rhythm, note-reading, basic posture and simple folk tunes to students in underserved and rural areas where music lessons might be hard to come by.

THE BIG IDEA: Youth Music wants to expand the South County Strings Program by bringing more instruction and instruments to remote areas of Monterey County. South County Strings provides low-cost rental violas, violins and cellos to students in Soledad, Bradley, San Ardo and Lockwood, creating musical bonds across socio-economic lines and cultures. By fostering kids’ excitement about music, YMMC also encourages the return of music programs in schools.

BRAVO: “I liked the extra applause and recognition I got at the Sunset Center for being in the orchestra.”

YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF SALINAS

www.YOSal.org

756-5335

Founded: 2010

WHAT THEY DO: Youth Orchestra of Salinas transforms the common, negative attention toward youth who live in troubled areas into inspiring positive attention, resulting in improved language and math proficiency and better school attendance rates. YOS effectively builds daily, intensive, ensemble music training into confident habits and skills and helps bridge the gap between pre-orchestra and orchestra proficiency.

THE BIG IDEA: The Youth Orchestra wants to take their show on the road, and plans to travel with over 60 talented young musicians across Central and Northern California to expose them to professional teaching workshops and university programs. They will collaborate with musical programs that foster growth and academic advancement, performing three youth-ensemble and joint-community concerts.

THE BIG PICTURE: “Youth Orchestra of Salinas has been a positive influence for my four children. They take pride in their community and themselves, and they understand the bigger picture.”