Page 29 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

Designed by legendary architect Frank
Owen Gehry, the Walt Disney Concert Hall
was engineered to be one of the most acousti-
cally perfect performance venues on earth.
It’s also one of the most striking buildings in
the world, both inside and out—as well as the
home of the renowned and innovative Los
Angeles Philharmonic. California’s other pre-
eminent orchestra is of course the San
Francisco Symphony, under the musical
direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, at home
in Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.
But California’s two biggest cities don’t
have a monopoly on great music. San Diego,
Sacramento, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara
all support superb orchestras of their own.
Ballet in the Golden State has an equally
impressive pedigree. The San Francisco
Ballet, founded in 1933, was the first profes-
sional ballet company in the United States.
The California Ballet Company in San Diego
has attained a stellar international reputa-
tion, and remains the largest professional
ballet company in Southern California. Cel-
ebrating its eighth anniversary in the 2014
season, the Los Angeles Ballet is a prom-
ising new addition to the scene, as well as
the reinvigorated Oakland Ballet.
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS conducts the
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, left.
»FIND A
PERFORMANCE
Jazz & Blues
It’s impossible to list all of California’s live
music venues in so little space, so here’s a
sampler of the state’s very best jazz and
blues clubs. We have to begin with revered
Yoshi’s, on Fillmore Street in San Francisco
and Jack London Square in Oakland;
Velma’s and The Saloon, also in San Fran-
cisco, for blues; Kimball’s East and the 57th
Street Gallery, also in Oakland; the
Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz;
Steamers in Fullerton; the Baked Potato
and Catalina in Hollywood; Charlie O’s in
Van Nuys; and The Torch Club (for Blues)
in Sacramento.
Circus & Cabaret
Founded by the late Clifford Vargas, the
Circus Vargas is California’s largest home-
grown circus, featuring a vast Big Top that
covers two acres and requires 30 people to
put up and pull down. The Cirque du
Soleil is also a frequent visitor to the state,
with scheduled appearances in most of
the major cities. In 2013/2014 they’ll be
presenting two shows: Amaluna in
Northern California, and Totem in the Los
Angeles area.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
berkeleyrep.org
WE Players
weplayers.org
Center Theatre Group
centertheatregroup.org
California Shakespeare Company
calshakes.org
The Marsh
themarsh.org
Aurora Theater Company
auroratheater.org
San Francisco Mime Troupe
sfmt.org
Blank Theater
theblank.com
San Francisco Symphony
sfsymphony.org
Los Angeles Philharmonic
laphil.com
California Ballet Company
californiaballet.org
Kuumbwa Jazz Center
kuumbwajazz.org
Yoshi’s Jazz Club
yoshis.com
Catalina
catalinajazzclub.com
Circus Vargas
circusvargas.org
2014 T R AV E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A 27