Foundation for the Great Park Pleased to Announce Artist-in-Residence Sponsorship

The Foundation for the Great Park is pleased to announce our sponsorship of the Great Park Artist-in-Residence Program, featuring the residency of classical pianist, Kevin Kwan Loucks.  Mr. Loucks began his residency last month with an amazing performance of Bernstein, Brahms, and Bartok – the first performance in a series of Chamber Music Concerts being presented at the Orange County Great Park this Winter into Spring.

At a December meeting of the Great Park Board, Foundation Chair Marian Bergeson, along with Vice Chair Janet Ray and Development Committee Chair Teddie Ray, presented the Foundation’s Artist-in-Residence sponsorship check – in the amount of $7,500 – to Great Park Chair Beth Krom and Great Park Manager of Arts, Culture & Heritage, Henry Korn.  In presenting the check, Chair Bergeson announced, “We are proud to sponsor the work of Kevin Kwan Loucks, he is a wonderful music educator who will help make classical music accessible to all Park visitors.”

About the Artist-in-Residence Chamber Music Series at the OC Great Park

The Foundation for the Great Park is a proud sponsor of the Orange County Great Park’s Artist-in-Residence Program.  We are especially pleased to be a part of offering to the community this very special Chamber Music Series produced and performed by resident artist, Kevin Kwan Loucks.  Please join us at the upcoming concerts, all offered free to the public.

Saturday, December 17, 2011
B-3: Bernstein, Brahms and Bartok
This special program features Leonard Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata, selections from some of Brahm’s most beloved duo works, and Bartok’s enthralling “Contrasts” based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies.

Saturday, January 28, 2012
Art of the Cello
There are few composers who have produced as many chamber music masterpieces as Schumann, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff.  These three musical giants made crucial contributions to the repertoire of cello and piano, and this soulful program exemplifies the romantic spirit of the genre.  Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear cellist Denis Brott – distinguished Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Montreal Conservatory and former teaching assistant to the legendary Gregor Piatiforsky – when he joins Kevin Kwan Loucks for this very special performance.

Saturday, February 25, 2012
Four-Hand Extravaganza!
This program juxtaposes two musical forces – Mozart and Dvorak – as Jodie Lee joins Kevin Kwan Loucks for a Four-Hand Extravaganza on piano.  Mozart was the first composer to employ two pianists at the same piano, a genre that is one of the most popular forms of music making among amateurs and professionals today.  Join us to experience two Mozart Sonatas for Piano, both of which are injected with Mozart’s musical humor, exceptional brilliance, and lively interplay between partners.  Also on the program is Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances for Piano Four Hands, which earned him international recognition as a result of the infectious Slavic rhythms and alluring melodies found throughout the set.

Saturday, March 31, 2012
Notes of Nationalism
This folk-infused program features three chamber music masterpieces from three composers of widely differing origins and musical traditions: Handel/Halvorsen, Dvorak, and Schoenfield.  Musicians Iryna Krechkovsky (violin), Ross Gasworth (cello) and Kevin Kwan Loucks (piano) team up to present this diverse program of virtuosic fireworks and chamber music favorites.  The program opens with Johan Halvorsen’s highly Romanticized Baroque transcription of Handel’s Passacaglia for Violin and Cello.  Dvorak’s Piano Trio Dumky, an uninhibited Bohemian lament that is arguably his most popular composition follows.  Schoenfield’s Café Music rounds out the selections, as it combines ingredients of classical, jazz, klezmer and whimsy.  Irresistible and full of energy, this is caffeine-fueled music at its most entertaining.

April 27 – April 29, 2012
Young Composers Program
Kevin Kwan Loucks and composer Jason Barabba created the Young Composers Program to give high school aged student composers in the Orange County community an opportunity to learn more about the craft and business of being a composer.  Students will be given valuable access to members of the YCP Ensemble working closely with them in preparation for a world premiere performance of their music on Sunday, April 29th.  The entire program is designed to help young composers develop skills and to gain insight into how to prepare for college music study and future compositional work.

Students will participate in a variety of seminars with performance, composition, and special guest faculty from local universities, prepare pre-concert talks to deliver to the audience before their pieces are premiered by the YCP Ensemble, and learn how to successfully represent themselves through the college application process.

For more information about this program, please contact the Foundation offices at 949.653.1775.

About the Orange County Great Park’s Artist-in-Residence Program
The Great Park Artists-in-Residence program is dedicated to showcasing artists and providing an educational experience for the community.  The program provides artists with suitable studio space and open studio hours to routinely interact with the general public as they design site-specific art for the Orange County Great Park. The artists are selected by a panel of public arts experts through a competitive selection process administered by Arts Orange County, the county’s designated local arts advocacy organization.  Resident artists develop site-specific public projects showcasing visual, performing and interdisciplinary arts.  The public is able to witness the creative process and interact with artists during open studio hours.  Each residency lasts for six months.  The Artists-in-Residence program is centered in the Great Park Artists Studios, one of two renovated former squadron buildings that are part of the new Palm Court Arts Complex at the Great Park.

About the Artist – Kevin Kwan Loucks
Kevin Kwan Loucks, the Great Park’s third resident artist, is a classical pianist who has performed for a wide variety of audiences and participated in numerous residencies around the world.  During his residency at the Great Park, he will engage the community through open rehearsals, collaborating across art disciplines in presenting performances and by showcasing the work of young, local composers.  He will also bring internationally acclaimed performers and teachers from New York, Montreal and Chicago to participate in his residency.  Kevin Kwan Loucks will be interacting with the public and performing live in the Artists Studios now through April 2012.

Kevin Kwan Loucks – Biographical Information
Korean-American pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks has been hailed as “a shining talent” (Völser Zeitung, Italy), “impeccable” (La Presse, Montréal), and an artist “with exhilarating polish, unity, and engagement” (The Orange County Register.) He has performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Prösels Castle in Italy, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Lichtenstein Palace in Prague, and Aspen’s Harris Concert Hall where he was featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. A graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, Mr. Loucks is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University where he served as Head of Piano for the Pre-College Division, and Teaching Assistant for both the Emerson String Quartet and the Graduate Chamber Music Program.