Committee’s First Bash Marks Successful Year

The Music Center Advancement Committee held its first public event Sunday night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a tribute to African-American composers performed by the L. A. Master Chorale and the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers.

Members of the committee--who represent L. A.’s ethnic groups--and supporters gathered for a pre-show reception in the Salvatori Room of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Committee chairman John Slaughter was absent (down with the flu, according to Music Center President Esther Wachtell). Also absent were most of the committee members--of 43 members, only 17 were present.

Formed last January, the committee oversees the Music Center’s Community Access Program, designed, according to press materials, “to initiate a broader sense of involvement, ownership and leadership . . . by members of Southern California’s diverse community.”

“Music and art are soul food. They are nourishment,” said Wachtell, filling in for Slaughter at the microphone. “We have to grow at the Music Center to make room for everyone.”

She then introduced several guests, including McNeil, Master Chorale Music Director Paul Salamunovich, Music Center Board of Governors Vice Chairman Jim Thomas (who will become chairman July 1) and music historian Jester Hairston.

“I’m not sure that everybody has understood or appreciated the Music Center as a resource available to all of us,” said James Rosser, president of Cal State L. A. and a committee member.

In its first year, the Advancement Committee has established an internship program and distributed free tickets to Music Center productions. When asked what the committee has achieved, Wachtell pointed to a handsome new community brochure and said the Music Center’s voice-mail system is now bilingual. She added that she didn’t know what the next public event would be.

“You’ve caught us without an agenda,” said Cyrice Griffith, the Music Center’s acting director of community relations. Joseph Hurley, a member of the Music Center Board of Governors, said designing specific activities would take more time.