Chandler Award Honorees Take Bow

This time out, the Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Awards got a party all their own.

When the awards were first presented in 1989, the event shared the spotlight with the Music Center’s 25th anniversary celebration. It was a glitzy evening at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, televised on PBS, with everything from fireworks exploding over downtown to Bob Hope cracking jokes.

Saturday night at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, the awards were given for the second time at a warmer, almost family-like party--albeit a black-tie party, with a 500-strong family of loyal Music Center supporters, that netted more than $200,000.

“We wanted it to be small and intimate,” said Susie Barker, who co-chaired the gala with Jennifer Diener and Diane Morton. “We wanted it to focus on the greatness of the performers.”

The two young artists at the center of attention were soprano Kallen Esperian, a protegee of Luciano Pavarotti, and choreographer Bill T. Jones, co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Co. dance group.

Each was presented with a cast bronze sculpture designed by Robert Graham and a $25,000 cash prize. The awards bear the name of Music Center founder Dorothy B. Chandler, who did not attend but was represented by her son Otis Chandler and daughter Mia Chandler Frost.

“This is an award that tells the world who we at the Music Center are,” said Nancy Livingston, who chaired the 25th anniversary festivities. “It shows that we’re serious about supporting gifted young artists. If we don’t acknowledge them, who will?”

Part of the allure of the awards is the presentations by established virtuosos. These “Twentieth Century Masters of the Arts” were soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones and prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory. They, along with the creative directors of the Music Center’s resident companies, chose the honorees.

“Artists have fragile egos that go up and down,” said Jones. “An award like this is a real vote of confidence.”

The evening began with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception that filled slowly--the Lakers were still playing--but by the time the guests were seated, things moved swiftly.

Kirk Douglas acted as emcee, introducing Anjelica Huston, who gave a brief intro for Gregory. Before the ballerina presented the award to Jones, she talked about his work, saying it “grabs and holds you with a vengeance.” Then the young choreographer’s eight-person dance troupe performed his 18-minute-long “D’Man in the Water.”

Between awards, there was a brief speech by Otis Chandler, who recalled his mother’s legendary fund-raising efforts. Then, Michael York introduced Dame Gwyneth Jones, who called Esperian “a warm, wonderful person with a beautiful voice.” The young soprano sang two arias and the song “He’s Gone Away.”

It was left to Music Center President Esther Wachtell to thank the evening’s underwriters--Lexus, J. P. Morgan, Fred Hayman and the Ritz-Carlton, Huntington--and praise the performers for “the excellence and creativity that is the hallmark of the Music Center’s resident companies.”

Closing remarks came from tenor Placido Domingo, who stressed the importance of the Music Center as a cultural beacon.

Among the guests were Jimmy Stewart, Caroline Ahmanson, Suzanne Marx, Tara Colburn, Gerald Arpino, Gordon Davidson, Peter Hemmings, Marvin and Barbara Davis, Annette and Peter O’Malley and Joe and Alice Coulombe.