2015 Events

 

Event: MonoMania - Ernest Marquez Collection
Date: March 17, 08:00:00 PM
Description: Cal Humanities sponsored an LA video production devoted to intrepid collectors who focused their acquisitions on one critical subject.  La Senora's Historian, Ernest Marquez is interviewed on this video about his History of Los Angeles images and memorabilia collecting which documented 2.5 centuries of his family. The show will be aired on March 17th at 8 p.m. on KCETlink​ for an episode of
Artbound--an Emmy-winning series covering culture and the arts. The Monomania L.A. project will present the diversity of all our collections and the significance of L.A. as Subject as a source for understanding Los Angeles to a large--and largely new--audience. Monomania L.A. is the product of many collaborators, including our L.A. as Subject staff, Liza Posas; Bill Dotson, Nathan Masters, and Tim Stanton at USC Libraries; the documentary filmmaker Joris Debeij; Libros Schmibros proprietor and former director of literary projects for the NEA David Kipen; and the entire expert team at KCETLink.


Event: Rancho Era Education Week Begins at La Senora
Date: April 30
Description:
 Today we start our 2015 K-12 Education program with high school student visitors.  We continue through Saturday May 2nd's families’ day at La Senora with programs focused on California's role as an instigator of the Civil War and the role of Californio Rancheros in the creation of the Cinco de Mayo anti-slavery rallying cry.  Next week we proceed to 4th-5th grade student visits.

Event: Mexican Rancho Era in Alta California

Date: March 2
Description:
By popular acclaim, we've invited back UCLA researcher Dr. David Hayes-Bautista to speak and answer questions on the intriguing finding that Cinco de Mayo was never a Mexican Holiday but was instead an anti-slavery rallying cry to raise funds for the North to defeat the Confederacy and for Juarez to hold off the French.  
    Eric Dugdale, President of Pacific Palisades Historical Society, will guide us through the use of advanced non-invasive archeological tool GPR technology to discover the exact locations of burials in the 1840s Rancho Boca de Santa Monica cemetery.  While scientists from the Cotsen Institute of Archeology led the team, the actual discovery work was performed by our 4th graders from Canyon, Marquez and St. Monica's elementary schools. 
    There will be Mexican games as played by the children of the Rancho and tours of the Hacienda grounds and the sole extant private rancho era cemetery in California.  Rancho Descendants will provide the background information on their ancestors colorful and adventuresome history in Santa Monica Canyon. 
    There is no charge for this family event, which is underwritten in part by the Sidney Stern Family Foundation and in part by the Optimists Club of Pacific Palisades.

Event: UCLA Chancellor's Society Private Viewing Fowler Exhibition & Reception
Date: June 15, 05:15:00 PM
Description:  Empresario Members and above of La Senora are invited to the private viewing and the following Chancellor's Society Celebration Reception to thank us for our collaborative educational and financial support of the departments within UCLA helping us to provide our programs.

Event: Emotion du Cello, starring Evgeny Tonkha

Date: June 14, 03:00:00 PM
Description: Evgeny Tonkha is cited by critics as one of the greatest Russian cellists of this generation with his name registered in “The Golden Book of Russia’s Talents”. The Winner of the 1st Prize/ Gold Medal at the 12th International Czech Cello Competition and the Special Jury Prize at the 13th Tchaikovsky International Competition, his tutoring was at the hands of the best cellists of our times Geringas, Shafron and Rostropovich. Enjoy this extraordinarily talented cellist in an intimate historical concert chamber noted for its acclaimed acoustics. Mr. Tonkha will perform a program that ranges from an early Chiacona to Bach, Schubert’s Arpeggione, Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances;  in keeping with La Senora’s tradition of supporting emergent talent, he will introduce a new piece by rising film and classical composer, Anna Drubich. In tribute to the 150th anniversary of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, the concert will include his haunting signature short, Valse Triste. You’ll also be treated to Gershwin’s jazzy Preludes for Cello in the same historic Concert Salon where Gershwin used to fool around on the piano.

Event: UCLA Chancellor's Society Private Viewing Fowler Exhibition & Reception
Date: June 15, 05:15:00 PM
Description:  Empresario Members and above of La Senora are invited to the private viewing and the following Chancellor's Society Celebration Reception to thank us for our collaborative educational and financial support of the departments within UCLA helping us to provide our programs.  If you would like to attend with us, please send an e-mail to events@lasenora.org no later than Friday, June 12th and advise if you wish to carpool with us at 4:30 from the Hacienda or meet us at the Fowler at 5:15

Event: Concert in Malibu
Date: July 15, 08:00:00 PM
Description: La Senora's history includes a relationship with composer Oscar Newman who composed the scores for most of Lyle Wheeler’s award winning films.  Oscar (though deceased for 30 years) still held the record for most Oscar Nominations for Best Film Score until last year.  The concert described below is from our member Scott Hosfeld and his wife Maria Newman. Maria is Oscar Newman's composer daughter and her brothers and cousin Thomas, David and Randy Newman are composers as well. Maria and her husband Scott invited La Senora Members to their

“Spectacular Season Finale.” It features the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra Solisti, including an exciting world premiere by dynamic resident pianist, Wendy Prober. Our lineup of guest artists include violinist extraordinaire Ben Powell, the ever beautiful cellist Paula Hochhalter, and marvelous double bassist Don Ferrone.


Event: Gershwin Retrospective Part I of VI
Date: July 22, 07:00:00 AM
Description:  Our first film scheduled will be the award winning documentary Gershwin Remembered from the American Masters Program. During a discussion refreshments will be served. The series will continue each Wednesday through July and August with a new insight into the life and works and entertainment of George and Ira Gershwin's all American Songs. La Señora’s 2015 Film/Lecture Series “A George Gershwin Retrospective” celebrates the 80th Anniversary of Porgy and Bess with a 6-part look at George Gershwin, realigning some of the mistaken public myths and offering the kind of insider perspectives that could only come from the people who worked with the Gershwins on stage, screen and sound studios. Our first two presentations will be documentaries.


Event: Gershwin Retrospective Part II of VI: the Docudrama "Rhapsody in Blue"
Date: July 29
Description:
Tonight's screening of Rhapsody in Blue is the 2nd in a 6-part series. During a discussion refreshments will be served.  The series will continue each Wednesday through July and August with a new insight into the life and works and entertainment of George and Ira Gershwin's all American Songs.

Event: Stars and Strings
Date: July 31, 7:00:00 AM
Description: It's La Senora's annual chamber music event where the virtuoso concert violinist and Colburn Faculty, Danielle Belen, brings her star students from her strings studio and from the Three Rivers Summer Music Festival. We particular urge families with students who play any instrument to come to this event. Enjoy the acoustics of the Music Salon built by Mexican opera star Jose Mojica to showcase his own talent, now used to present rising star artists.


Event: Gershwin Retrospective Part III of VI: Screening of "Gershwin in Focus"
Date: August 5, 07:00:00 PM
Description: In this evening's screening of Gershwin in Focus, we move into a documentary created for the Gershwin Centennial. BBC engaged the accomplished Gershwin Researcher/pianist Jack Gibbons and Sir Ben Kingsley to illustrate the life of Gershwin using the composer’s own words and clips from stage and screen and private life of Gershwin.

Event: Patron Members: "History Keepers"
Date: August 6, 06:00:00 PM
Description:The California Historical Society and LAasSUBJECT have invited La Senora to bring a few of our Patron Level Members to a reception opening the "History Keepers: Storied objects of Los Angeles" exhibition at the historic Pico House.


Event: A Gershwin Retrospective Part IV of VI: Screening of "An American in Paris"
Date: August 12
Description:
Now that we're so well acquainted with Gershwin's personal and musical history, we're moving into seeing how his American in Paris was put to work in the musical starring Gene Kelly.


Event:
 Gershwin Retrospective Part V of VI: "Shall we Dance?"
Date: August 19, 07:00:00 PM
Description: We'll start off with some introductory remarks giving you the background of this 1937 film, then enjoy the talents of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and of course, George & Ira Gershwin.

Event: 4th Annual Wine Tasting and Auction
Date: August 23, 03:30:00 PM
Description: It's time again for La Senora's annual Wine Tasting and afternoon Garden Party. Our botanical gardens are in full bloom for you to enjoy them with wine and hors d'oeuvres.  The entertainment changes each year; for 2015 we have a Magic Castle Magician! The ever popular Wine Auction will be back near the end of the afternoon. Last year during the Wine Auction, some La Senora members started a tradition of making in-kind contributions to be sold at the auction.  This will continue in 2015 and we have some wonderful donations already........spend a week at a French Chateau near the Loire Valley or take a group of 20 friends for a  Sunset cocktail cruise on a 71' yacht in Marina del Rey. 

Event: Gershwin Retrospective Part VI: Porgy and Bess
Date: August 26, 07:00:00 PM
Description: In celebration of the 80th Anniversary of George Gershwin's famous folk opera, La Senora undertook a six-part retrospective look at the composer/song writer we all thought we knew so well.  Two documentaries, a docudrama and three films later, we remain enchanted by his music but now have much more appreciation for his ability to produce unusual layering of sound that make his music instantly recognizable.  Leonard Bernstein told our audience "You only need to listen to one bar....one bar of the music in order to know that it's a Gershwin composition."  Join us for the screening of the classic film Porgy & Bess.

Event: Porgy & Bess! Dinner in the Gardens Benefit Concert
Date: August 29, 06:30:00 PM
Description: Hear the music of George Gershwin as he performed so often at the piano for friends during the Santa Monica Canyon Salons of Anita Loos Dine in the botanical gardens with memories of those bygone stars as they share tales from Stage, Screen, Art, Literature, Philosophy, Science and Media. At your table may be legends of: Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Marion Davies, W.R. Hearst, Ira Gershwin, Al Jolson, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Stravinsky, Lyle Wheeler, D. W. Griffith, King Vidor, William Wyler, Ernst Lubitsch, Errol Flynn or Rita Hayworth!

 
Event:
 Great California Shakeout
Date: October 15, 10am-2pm
Description: Neighbors from the Upper Santa Monica Canyon HOA are invited to La Senora's Theater for a final 2015 Disaster Preparedness Workshop.  Everyone is welcome, and the event is FREE, but we do need reservations since the theater only holds 60 people. If you have not attended the La Senora screening of the KCET/LA Fire Department film on Earthquake Preparedness, please make arrangements to see the film before this meeting by sending an inquiry to events@lasenora.org.


Event:
 Volunteer Ambassadors sought for "LA as Subject"
Date: October 17, 9am-5pm @ USC's Doheny Memorial Library
Description:  As co-founders of the LA as Subject Archives Bazaar, LSRI is now seeking volunteer Ambassadors to greet visitors and help them find their way to tables at this large all day event. If you have an interest in hidden pockets of archives in our City and would enjoy spending 2 hrs as an Ambassador, then please sign up here. There is no charge for admittance to the Archives Bazaar; volunteers will be referred to the LA as Subject Archives Committee