The Soraya celebrates the 10th anniversary and reopening with a special gift to the public unlike any other in Los Angeles—four free concerts—that says welcome back and thank you to its loyal audience.
These concerts will be presented throughout the fall season and feature the Saturday, October 16 opening night with Afro Latin Jazz master Arturo O’Farrill, the LA Philharmonic’s Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen leading the Colburn School Orchestra, and the annual holiday celebration “Nochebuena” with Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéller.
However, these are just four of the nearly 50 performances that will be presented during The Soraya’s 2021-22 joy-filled season, one that offers a wide expanse of performing artists who connect with audiences and transcend the human experience.
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SAT | OCT 16 | 8PM | FREE
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
“Fandango at the Wall”
with Special Guests the Villalobos Brothers and the Conga Patria Son Jarocho Collective
In his second appearance at The Soraya, Afro Latin jazz master Arturo O’Farrill and special guests pour their heart and soul into a message of unity and breaking down walls – real and imagined.
SAT | NOV 13 | 8PM | FREE
The Colburn Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Conductor
Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1
Bruckner Symphony No. 6
SAT | DEC 4 | 3PM | FREE
Disney’s “FANTASIA” Live in Concert
Richard Kaufman, Conductor
Disney’s 1940 film in brilliant, restored color, accompanied by the CSUN orchestra conducted by Richard Kaufman.
FRI | DEC 10 | 8PM | FREE – SAT | DEC 11 | 3PM | FREE
“Nochebuena”
Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles, and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéller
In what has become a popular holiday tradition at The Soraya, the lively “Nochebuena” celebration returns live on stage with favorite artists that are part of The Soraya family.
See how The Soraya celebrates the 10th anniversary and reopening of their performing arts center.
“This coming fall, when you enter The Soraya’s doors, you know you will have made it—safe and sound, across the threshold into a new era, rejoining a community that embraces artistic excellence and the global expression of our joyful humanity,” said Thor Steingraber, The Soraya’s Executive and Artistic Director. “Reopening The Soraya is more than lighting the lights and unlocking the doors. It’s an invitation to open your hearts, minds, eyes, and ears.”
He continued, “In a little more than a decade, The Soraya has proven its resilience more than once, and in every instance, our audiences’ commitment to our exquisite home is exceptional. For our 10th anniversary, we’ve planned a homecoming for beloved and familiar artists who once graced our stage.”
The 2021-22 returning artists include Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Colburn Orchestra, La Marisoul, Branford Marsalis, Stewart Copeland, Martha Graham Dance Company & Wild Up conducted by Christopher Rountree, Joshua Bell, Marco Beltrami, Vadym Kholodenko, Aida Cuevas, David Sedaris, John Eliot Gardiner, Megan Hilty, Joshua Henry, conductor Richard Kaufman, and The Soraya’s new Artist-in-Residence Étienne Gara.
“The long wait is finally over for all of us,” said CSUN’s new president, Erika D. Beck. “Audiences from every walk of life in L.A.’s vibrant cultural tapestry, the re-opening of The Soraya will be a momentous occasion, an opportunity to reunite as a community, to celebrate our resilience, and to emerge into a world made better by the awe-inspiring power of live performance.”
Highlights of The Soraya’s 2021-22 Season
Returning artists for the 2021-22 Season include La Marisoul and Aida Cuevas performing their Linda Ronstadt program; Branford Marsalis; Stewart Copeland in a unique performance of music of The Police, “Deranged for Orchestra;” Martha Graham Dance Company performing its Graham’s iconic “Appalachian Spring” with “Wild Up” conducted by Christopher Rountree; David Sedaris; YAMATO – the Drummers of Japan; and a Broadway evening with Megan Hilty (Broadway and Hollywood NBC’s “Smash”) and Joshua Henry (Broadway “Carousel,” Tour Aaron Burr “Hamilton”). Also, The Count Basie Orchestra celebrates Ella Fitzgerald.
The Soraya’s new Artist-in-Residence, Étienne Gara, participates in two much anticipated programs: Delirium Musicum Chamber Orchestra with Gara performing works of two contemporary composers – Philip Glass and Max Richter, each in response to Vivaldi’s beloved “Four Seasons.” In a second program, film composer Marco Beltrami transforms Bach’s preludes also performed by Delirium Musicum.
The Soraya offers a sneak-peak at the 2021-22 Crescendo series, a wide ranging eleven classical music concerts including Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Colburn Orchestra performing Shostakovich and Bruckner; the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko in a program of Britten, Elgar and the Grieg Piano Concerto with piano soloist Olga Kern; the LA Jewish Symphony with violinist Lindsay Deutsch in a program inspired by the Violins of Hope; pianist Vadym Kholodenko; Russian National Orchestra playing the Tchaikovsky Fourth; Academy of St Marin in the Fields with Joshua Bell in its eighth Soraya performance; the St. Lawrence String Quartet; and Sir John Gardiner conducting a Baroque program of Haydn and Mozart. Tickets for the Crescendo series go on sale in September.
Additional jazz, dance, and other offerings for spring, 2022, will be announced in September.
What’s New? Memberships to The Soraya!
This season, audiences will have the opportunity to deepen their engagement with The Soraya by purchasing memberships starting at just $10 per month which ensures a variety of ticketing, discount, and special events benefits throughout the year. The Soraya offers a home where diverse artists and audiences gather and create a thriving performing arts center that uplifts the spirits and forges a future for the greater L.A. community. Becoming a member will amplify patrons’ access to benefits and more at thesoraya.org.
The Soraya Tickets and Covid Protocols
The Soraya’s Safe and Sound pledge: We offer the basics of human bonding, a return to days when a community wasn’t a herd, when social wasn’t only social distance, and when your health and welfare included joy and celebration. At The Soraya, you can be Safe and enjoy the Sound!
Our first priority upon welcoming you back into The Soraya is to protect and respect everyone who walks through our doors by following COVID-19 mitigation practices recommended by the CDC, State of California, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, and California State University Northridge.
For more information regarding The Soraya’s safety requirements, please visit: www.thesoraya.org/updates
About Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)
The 2021-22 Season marks the 10th anniversary for the celebrated Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) located on the vibrant and diverse campus of California State University in the heart of Los Angeles’ equally diverse San Fernando Valley.
Under the leadership of Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber, The Soraya continues its vigorous commitment to innovating, exceling, and amplifying access by offering a wide variety of performances that include new and original work from the Los Angeles region as well as work from around the world that appeals to L.A.’s many distinctive communities.
After enduring a year without live performances, the 2021-22 season will offer a joy-filled reunion featuring a vibrant program of nearly 50 classical and popular music, dance, theater, family, and international events that will further establish The Soraya as one of the top arts companies in Southern California that uplifts and inspires its audiences.