Louis Bellson Launches Summer Concert Series at Warner Center Park

Louis Bellson and His Big Band Explosion will kick off a 16-week program of free summer concerts in Warner Center Park at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

The “Summer Concerts in the Park” series is sponsored by the Valley Cultural Center.

During the 1950s, Bellson, best known as a drummer, played with Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. His trademark is his innovative use of two bass drums.

Bellson is also well-known as a bandleader and composer of jazz, rock and fusion music, and romantic ballads.

His daughter, recording artist Dee Dee Bellson, will perform with the band Sunday.

Now in its 14th season, the concert series features music and dance entertainment, including jazz and classical favorites, Latin, country and Western, and bluegrass music.

“We attract anywhere from 1,500 to 4,000 people of all ages and life styles every Sunday to Warner Park,” said Clyde Porter, Valley Cultural Center president. “It really is a family event. Folks spread out the blanket, set up the lawn chairs and start in on their picnic dinner. You can even spot a few candelabras; it’s kind of a scene right out of the Boston Pops.”

Founded by a dozen local businessmen and three people from the arts community, the Valley Cultural Center held its first free summer concert in 1975 on a barren dirt lot that became Warner Center Park. The 1982 and 1983 concert seasons were held at Shadow Ranch Park in West Hills while Warner Center Park was under construction. In 1984, the series returned to Warner Center Park.

The nonprofit Valley Cultural Center has an annual budget of about $85,000 to pay for the series. About 100 corporate sponsors provide most of the center’s budget. Other revenue comes from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department and public donations.

For two years, the Valley Cultural Center has provided funding for musical-instrument instruction programs at Serrania Avenue School in Woodland Hills and Calhoun School in Northridge.

“The regular state funding had been cut from the budget and there was a real fear that students would grow up without an appreciation for music and the arts, so the center intervened and picked up the slack,” Porter said.

The center provides about $10,000 annually to support the programs.

The center is planning a free five-week run of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” next summer.

“Summer Concerts in the Park” runs Sundays through Sept. 17. Shows begin at 5:30 p.m. except for September concerts, which start at 4:30 p.m. Warner Center Park is at 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. For information or a free calendar of events, call (818) 704-1358.