ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : In Concert, at Last

The announcement that the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Orange County Philharmonic Society jointly will sponsor two ethnic events this year at the Costa Mesa auditorium was music to the ears, a welcome sign that the sometimes bitter relationship between the groups has improved.

Under its previous leaders, the center tried to exert too much control over what the Philharmonic Society presented when the society rented the hall. The center defined its mission as presenting classical music, opera and ballet, which was fine. But its hand was too heavy when it told the Philharmonic, which sometimes rents the venue to put on performances, to limit presentations to touring symphony orchestras.

The Philharmonic had to struggle to present other groups of artistic merit at the center, such as the Chieftains and their Irish folk songs or Les Ballets Africains from the Republic of Guinea. Popular, non-classical groups often sold out, which had the advantage of helping the Philharmonic cover losses incurred in presenting less popular but musically worthwhile classical groups.

Last year the center’s new executive director, Tom Tomlinson, struck the right note in saying he hoped the center would reflect the ethnic diversity of Orange County. This week’s announcement of joint sponsorship of a Spanish flamenco dance company and a mariachi celebration was evidence that Tomlinson indeed is open to change. The Philharmonic will benefit from the center’s marketing clout.

The center’s opening nearly eight years ago was a sign of the county’s cultural coming of age. It was privately built, funded and managed. Because it is private, the center can call its own tune. But because it serves the entire community, it needs to be sensitive to audiences eager to see various forms of culture. That makes good sense artistically and economically.