O.C. Theater Draws 8 Groups for 1st Season : Music: Several groups are switching to the new 750-seat Irvine Theatre, which is scheduled to open in October, because of its size and location.

Eight Orange County music groups and presenting organizations--including a new chamber orchestra--will play at the new Irvine Theatre during its inaugural 1990-91 season, theater general manager Douglas C. Rankin announced Wednesday.

The organizations range from the new Irvine Chamber Orchestra, which will hold its first concert on March 19, 1991, to the UC Irvine Chamber Music Series, which has booked six dates beginning Nov. 4.

Two groups--Ami Porat’s Mozart Camerata and John Larry Granger’s South Coast Symphony--also will give concerts in other venues (see related story, F2).

The 750-seat Irvine Theatre, under construction on the UC Irvine campus, is scheduled to open in October.

Several groups are abandoning other locations to play at the new venue, citing reasons ranging from the hall’s size to its acoustics to its location.

Robert Hickok, music director of the Irvine Camerata, said his group is leaving St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, after one season there.

“The people at St. Andrew’s are wonderful to work with,” Hickok said Tuesday, “but we need our own home, and that’s what the Irvine Theatre is going to be for us.” Hickok also is dean of the School of Fine Arts at UCI.

Micah Levy, music director of the 7-year-old Orange County Chamber Orchestra, is giving up two locations: St. Joseph Center on the Orange Campus of Loyola Marymount University, and South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

“Attendance has been declining at St. Joseph’s Center and increasing at SCR. I don’t know why,” Levy said Tuesday. “So we’ve decided to consolidate at the Irvine Theatre. . . . It’s hard to say if we will lose people from North County. We certainly won’t lose people from SCR. But we feel that the theater will be very important acoustically, and this should help us in terms of ticket sales and general support. It all works together.”

John Elg, an Irvine resident and music teacher who recently founded the Irvine Chamber Orchestra, which has yet to give a concert, believes the theater is “a nice size for a chamber group doing 20th-Century literature.”

“I don’t think it’s realistic to think we could fill (3,000-seat) Segerstrom Hall doing contemporary music. Also, a new theater sparks a lot of interest in artists to see that certain things happen. But if this develops, I’m not opposed to doing run-out concerts in schools and churches.”

Groups, dates and repertory, where available, are:

SOUTH COAST SYMPHONY--John Larry Granger, music director. All concerts will begin at 3:15 p.m.:

* Oct. 7: Leonard Pennario, piano; Lee Vail Singers: Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto; Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music”; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

* Nov. 11: James Rotter, saxophone: Ives’ Symphony No. 3; David Amram’s “Ode to Lord Buckley for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra”; Suite from Copland’s “The Tender Land”; Ives-Schuman’s Variations on “America.”

* Jan. 20, 1991: David Shifrin, clarinet: overture to Rossini’s “Italian Girl in Algiers”; Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto; Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4.

* March 17: soloist to be announced (winner of South Coast Symphony Young Artist Competition): Karl Kohn’s “Time Irretrievable in Three Movements”; Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4; concerto to be announced.

* April 14: Vladimir Polimatidi, violin: Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”; Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

MOZART CAMERATA--Ami Porat, music director:

* Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.: Daniel Pollack, piano: Overture to Rossini’s “L’ingano felice”; Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto; Mozart’s “Linz” Symphony.

* Nov. 30, 8:30 p.m.: Endre Granat, Dorotha Anderszewska, violins: Benda’s Sinfonia in C; Bach’s Double Violin Concerto; Suk’s String Serenade.

* Feb. 10, 1991, 7:30 p.m.: Susan Patterson, soprano: Mozart program, including the Overture to “Don Giovanni,” concert arias and the “Prague” Symphony.

* April 7, 7:30 p.m.: Corey Cerovsek, violin and piano: Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 and Violin Concerto No. 4; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8.

* May 19, 7:30 p.m.: Sergiu Schwartz, violin: Overture to Haydn’s “La Vera Costanza,” Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, Schubert’s Symphony No. 3.

UC IRVINE CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES--Nina Scolnik, music director:

* Nov. 4; Dec. 2; Jan. 13, 1991; Feb. 24, April 14; May 5. Soloists and repertory to be announced.

ORANGE COUNTY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA--Micah Levy, music director:

* Nov. 5; Jan. 14, 1991; Feb. 25; April 8, May 20. Soloists and repertory to be announced.

IRVINE CAMERATA--Robert Hickok, music director:

* Nov. 17: works by Purcell, Britten, John Blow.

* Feb. 9, 1991: works to be announced.

* April 27: oratorio by Handel to be announced.

IRVINE SYMPHONY--Peter Odegard, music director:

* Nov. 18: Haroutume Bedelian, violin; Roger Hickman, conductor: Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo capriccioso; other works to be announced.

* Jan. 6: All American Boys Chorus; Odegard conductor: Mozart program.

* March 10: Irvine Symphony Big Band; John Princ director; Weslia Whitfield, vocalist; Michael Greenfill, piano. Big-band program.

* April 28: Leonid Kuzmin, piano; Roger Hickman, conductor: Liszt’s “Totentanz”; Barber’s Piano Concerto.

UC IRVINE ORCHESTRA--Zelman Bokser, music director:

* Feb. 1-2, 1991; May 10-11; June 8-9. Programs to be announced. Bokser said Wednesday that he is negotiating for a fourth pair of concerts.

IRVINE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA--John Elg, music director: March 19, 1991.

For ticket information, contact individual groups.