Organizers Hope Offer Is Music to Ears of Concert-Goers : Thousand Oaks: Volunteers want to form nonprofit group, sell $50 tickets for series at new Civic Arts Plaza.

With the opening this fall of the new Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, a longtime tradition of bargain-priced concerts--from classical to bluegrass to Broadway--may be revived in the Conejo Valley.

Small groups of volunteers in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks are now working together to establish a nonprofit association that would draw an eclectic mix of professional performers to the new 1,800-seat Civic Auditorium.

The group plans to sell season tickets to a series of four concerts under the banner “Live From the Plaza.” Although tickets to single performances would not be available, organizers are hoping the $50 price for the 1995-96 season will be viewed as a bargain.

“It’s an opportunity for more people and for families to be able to afford to see professional concerts at a reasonable price,” said Dolores Didio, who is helping to organize the new group.

About 70 such organizations exist in California, all of which are overseen by Community Concerts, a New York-based talent booking agency founded 67 years ago. Although many of the independent associations are thriving, others have seen their memberships decline over the last 20 years.

The previous Thousand Oaks association folded in 1988 because of low attendance, a lack of volunteers and difficulties in scheduling performances at Cal Lutheran University. That group was founded in 1961, when there were few other cultural offerings in the area.

“At that time, it was actually easier for them to get memberships because there was nothing else,” Didio said.

Everett Ascher, executive director of the Conejo Symphony Orchestra, which also brings guest performers to the area, said he was not worried about losing potential patrons to the concert series.

“I hope they can do it. It’s wonderful,” he said. “You never know until you try.”

Organizers of the new Conejo Valley association said the next few months will be crucial in determining their success. They hope to sell enough season tickets by November to cover the $10,000 it would cost to put on four concerts during the 1995-96 season. Performances are booked a year in advance.

“In community concerts we have to have our money up front,” said Carol Bowen, a past president of the disbanded Thousand Oaks group. “We have to get the appropriate artists within our budgets.”

The $50 adult subscription price for the four-concert series compares with $25 to $30 admission fees for other individual performances booked at the Civic Arts Plaza. Ticket prices for students, seniors and families have not yet been set.

If the membership drive is successful, it would encompass the 500-member Simi Valley Community Concerts Assn. Inc., which was forced to look for alternative venues after Simi Valley High School suffered earthquake damage. The group now plans to hold three concerts during the 1994-95 season at Royal High School, with the fourth booked at the Civic Auditorium.

In addition to advertising for members in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, the new combined association would also serve patrons of a Van Nuys group that is now struggling with low membership and waning interest. Chartered buses may be offered to carry Simi Valley and Van Nuys members to the concerts in Thousand Oaks.

Tom Mitze, executive director of the Civic Auditorium and Forum Theater, said the appeal of the new arts center may help the new association overcome the difficulties that led to the demise of the former Thousand Oaks group.

“What they need and haven’t had to date is a first-class concert hall,” he said. “A gym is great for basketball, but not for concerts.”

Mitze said he believes the price of the concert series will be the main appeal to potential members.

“It’s one of the best bargains you can get if you’re a concert lover,” he added.

By moving to the Civic Auditorium, the association’s supporters are also hoping to draw in more, younger patrons. Senior citizens have traditionally made up a large portion of the membership in community concert associations.

Bowen said the effort to establish a new association was spurred, in part, by the results from 850 questionnaires sent to Conejo Valley residents in recent weeks. So far, about 150 have been returned, indicating support for a concert series, with about 40 people expressing an interest in helping with fund raising, she said.