Japan festival coming to Orange County

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County and New York’s Carnegie Hall this fall will present JapanOC: a festival celebrating Japan’s culture and arts at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, according to a news release from the Philharmonic.

The festival is the second in a partnership that began last year between Henry Segerstrom and Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of the Carnegie Hall. Working together, the philharmonic society, Segerstrom and Gillinson brought Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture to Orange County.

Ancient Paths marked the first time that Carnegie Hall had ever worked with an outside organization. Because of the positive response to the festival, Segerstrom and Gillinson made a promise to continue to work together and bring back more festivals, each with its own theme.

This year’s festival will go on from October and will extend until April 2011, said Marie Songco-Torres, a spokeswoman from the Philharmonic society.

JapanOC will occur around the same time as JapanNYC, which will be presented by Carnegie Hall in New York.

The schedule for JapanOC, which is sponsored by South Coast Plaza, will not be announced until May, according to a news release issued by the philharmonic.

The opening night celebration of JapanOC will feature the Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra led by conductor Fabio Luisi.