'Stairway' Concerts Showcase Talents of Santa Monica-Malibu Music Students Next Week

By Lookout Staff

March 8, 2018 -- Nearly 1,000 Santa Monica-Malibu public school students will showcase their talents next week at the 69th annual “Stairway of the Stars” concerts at Santa Monica High School's historic Barnum Hall auditorium.

The three concerts -- which include students from every school in the district -- take place next Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. Parking will be available in the Civic Center parking structure on 4th Street at Civic Center Drive.

Proceeds from the sale of tickets -- which help fund the District's award-winning music education programs -- are available online on a first-come, first-served basis until noon on the day of each concert. Remaining tickets for each concert will be on sale at the Barnum Hall box office from 6 to 7 p.m. There will be assigned seating. “These three concerts are the culmination of hard work and dedication by our students and music instructors, and we look forward to exceptional performances again this year,” said Superintendent Ben Drati.

“We appreciate the support of our community through attending events and through direct donations, as well as through donations to our Education Foundation, which contributes to many of our successful visual and performing arts programs.”

The series kicks off Monday, March 12 with a Choir Concert under the baton of guest conductor Lou De La Rosa, director of Choral and Vocal Studies and chair of the Department of Music & Dance at West Valley College in Saratoga, California.

De La Rosa's choirs have performed at the Kennedy Center and at Carnegie Hall, event organizers said.

The choir concert will feature music by Handel, Beethoven, Rossini, Schumann, Smetana, Aaron Copland and Maria Eugenia Leon. For tickets click here.

On Wednesday, March 14, the District's concert band will perform under guest conductor Dr. Emily A. Moss, director of Bands and Director of Instrumental Music Education at California State University, Los Angeles.

The band concert will feature music by John Philip Sousa, Gustav Holst, Dmitri Shostakovich, film composer James Newton Howard and Grammy Award-winning jazz band leader Gordon Goodwin. For tickets click here.

The concert series culminates Friday, March 16 when the Districts orchestra performs under the direction of guest conductor Thomas Loewenheim, professor of Cello and Director of Orchestras at California State University, Fresno.

The orchestra concert will feature music by Franz Joseph Haydn, Johannes Brahms, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Leonard Bernstein and Astor Piazzolla. For tickets click here.

The 2018 Stairway Honor Award will be presented to Tessa Vinson, a Santa Monica High School graduate and member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.