Grammy Preview: Grammy Fest Features L.a. Events

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has developed an extensive agenda of Los Angeles-based music, arts, and cultural events scheduled for February. Built around the upcoming Grammy Awards, the events will showcase the wealth of cultural experiences available in Los Angeles County.
Dubbed Grammy Fest by NAR- AS, the series of events will be videotaped and used for the Grammy Webcast‹providing visitors a glimpse of such events as the MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Stevie Wonder, which will be held Feb. 22 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
The monthlong Los Angeles Grammy Fest Celebrating Music, Arts, and Culture includes concerts, lectures, art exhibits, special film screenings, student performances, and seminars for music teachers throughout Los Angeles County. Grammy Fest will also encompass many of NARAS' signature programs that are produced each year in conjunction with the awards telecast. Included are the Grammy Concert Series for Children, Grammy in the Schools, performances by the All-American Jazz Ensembles, the Classical Luncheon, the Musicares Person of the Year Tribute, and the Nominees' Reception.
New to NARAS' slate of Grammy-related events is the Entertainment Law Initiative, a national scholarship competition culminating in five scholarship and publication awards as well as a luncheon and keynote lecture.
Joining NARAS in producing Grammy Fest activities is the Los Angeles Host Committee, a group of high-level professionals from the Los Angeles business, civic, recording, and cultural communities. The Host Committee will create additional activities ranging from a Mayor's Reception to music education events.
To launch the Los Angeles Grammy Fest, NARAS awarded grant funds to six local cultural institutions for music or Grammy-related programs that were either pre-existing events or created especially for Grammy month. This year's cultural partners are the California African American Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Opera, UCLA Performing Arts, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage.
NARAS also invited more than 400 music organizations in Los Angeles County to register their February music events in the Grammy Fest calendar. These organizations range from professional to community-based activities and will feature a wide range of events, from jazz and blues to musical theater, world music, chamber music, and opera.
Following is a listing of February's events in the Grammy Fest.
Monthlong exhibit: Memorabilia of Ella Fitzgerald, California African American Museum. Also, screening/lecture Feb. 20. 213-744-7511.
Feb. 6: New West Symphony Presents "Virtuosi," 8 p.m., Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Showcase featuring brother and sister violinists Lara and Scott St. John. Contact: 805-497-5880.
Feb. 6: Blues Concert: W.C. Handy Award Winners & Nominees, 8 p.m., California State University, Luckman Theater. The music of Southern California winners and nominees of the 1997 W.C. Handy Award, featuring Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, James Harman Band, Floyd Dixon, and Smoky Wilson. 323-343-6600.
Feb. 6: Opera for Educators Seminar, 9 a.m., L.A. Opera,135 N. Grand Ave. Coordinator of this "La Traviata" outreach event will be Neil Anstead, academic director, Humanitas, L.A. Educational Partnership. 213-972-7257.
Feb. 11: Recital: Helen Goode-Castro, clarinet, 8 p.m., California State University, Music Hall. 323-343-4060.
Feb. 12: Friday Night Jazz, 5:30 p.m., Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Free jazz series, every Friday in February. This night: the Alan Broadbest Trio. 323-857-6010.
Feb. 12: Fireside Concert Series: Songs for Social Change, 8:30 p.m., Borchard Community Center, Newbury Park. Original acoustic folk by singer/songwriter Jim Savarino. 805-985-3876 or jsavarino jps.net.
Feb. 14: Final Concert: First Chair Honor Band & Section Leader Choir, 3 p.m., California State University, State Playhouse. Thomas Verrier and William Belan, conductors. 323-343-4060.
Feb. 14: SouthEast Symphony in Concert, 3 p.m., University of Southern California, Bovard Auditorium. Featuring SouthEast Symphony Orchestra and guest artist Linda Hopkins. 818-504-0600.
Feb. 14: Pasadena Pro Musica, "Ein Deutsches Requiem," 7:30 p.m., venue to be announced. Pasadena Pro Musica celebrates its 35th anniversary, with alumni joining current singers to perform Brahms' "A German Requiem." 626-351-9795.
Feb. 15: Recital: Ian Altman, piano, 8 p.m., California State University, Music Hall. 323-343-4060.
Feb. 16: CenterStage Lecture featuring Michael Doucet of Beausoleil, 7 p.m., UCLA Performing Arts, Room 1200, Rolfe Hall. 310-825-2101
Feb. 18: Grammy Concert Series for Children, 9:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1 p.m., Hamilton High School, 2955 South Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles. Introduces different genres of music to urban elementary-school children. Contact: narasfoundation grammy.com.
Feb. 19: Grammy All-American High School Jazz Ensembles, 8 p.m., Borders, 1360 Westwood Blvd., Westwood. Live performances from students selected in nationwide search. 310-392-3777.
Feb. 19: Friday Night Jazz, 5:30 p.m, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Featuring the Frank Strazzeri Trio. 323-857-6010.
Feb. 19-21: Upbeat Live (pre-concert lecture): John Adams Previews "Naive And Sentimental Music," 7 p.m. Feb. 19-20; 1:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Los Angeles Philharmonic, 135 N. Grand Ave. 323-850-2000.
Feb. 20: Grammy All-American High School Jazz Ensembles, 7:30 p.m., Borders, 415 Third St., Santa Monica. 310-392-3777.
Feb. 20: Lecture/Film Screening: Rarely seen footage of Ella Fitzgerald in concert, 1 p.m., California African American Museum, featuring speaker Mark Cantor. Exhibit open all month. 213-744-7511.
Feb. 20: Concert: An Evening with Native Blues, the Atoll, and Carlos Reynosa, 8 p.m., Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Tracy Lee Nelson is bandleader of the Native Blues. The Atoll features Cary Morini. 323-667-2000.
Feb. 21: Grammy All-American High School Jazz Ensembles, 8 p.m., Jazz Bakery. 310-271-9039.
Feb. 21: Coleman Concerts presents Tokyo String Quartet, 3:30 p.m., California Institute of Technology, Beckman Auditorium. Chamber music concert with quartet performing Haydn, Bartžk, and Beethoven. 626-793-4191.
Feb. 21: Concerts on Canvas: A Celebration of Music in Art, 2 p.m., Storyopolis, 116 North Robertson, Plaza A, Los Angeles. Art exhibition and children's series kickoff. Event also features a children's musical instrument craft project. Sponsored by Parent magazine and Child magazine. 310-358-2512.
Feb. 22: MusiCares Person of the Year Silent Auction and Dinner Honoring Stevie Wonder, Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles. 310-201-8816; or dana grammy.com.
Feb. 24: 41st annual Grammy Awards, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. 310-392-3777.
Feb. 25: Rhythm & Blues Foundation's 10th Annual Pioneer And Lifetime Achievement Awards, 7:30 p.m., Sony Studios, Culver City. 310-450-2344.
Feb. 26: Friday Night Jazz, 5:30 p.m., Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Featuring the Terry Tretter Trio. 323-857-6010.