By Michael WORKMAN Shepard warned us the reapers were coming, but we didn’t listen. Now the fate of the entire galaxy is looking dim as the army of an unstoppable ancient machine race seeks to wipe out all life. BioWare’s hugely popular “Mass Effect” series is about to debut its third title on March 6 […]
By Agnes CONSTANTE With his lips pressed against a silver mesh microphone grille, Matthew Sikora belts out the words to an original song he’s written: “Oh, yea I’m talking to you/Been watching you all night long/Yea, you see I had to unwind/Now that I’m good, now that I’m good/And unraveled/What’s your name?/I don’t care if […]
By Ted AYALA Open up any national newspaper today and news about the Middle East is likely to be at or near the front page. This fascination – and often fear – of the Middle East may seem to be a recent phenomenon. But in truth the west has for centuries viewed their peers in […]
By Ted AYALA So most listeners already know about how Wagner referred to Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7” as the “apotheosis of the dance.” But many listeners have given little thought as to how much of classical music – and most music in general – found the initial spark of inspiration in the impulse to dance. […]
By Charly SHELTON I dressed like Han Solo at Comic Con this year. I made my girlfriend dress as Slave Leia. I operate a website based around a Stormtrooper toy. I have beaten “Star Wars Battlefront” campaign time and again. Even now, as I sit in my office at the Crescenta Valley Weekly, I am […]
By Ted AYALA There they were, standing on opposite ends of last Sunday’s Santa Cecilia Orchestra (SCO) program: Antonin Dvorak and George Gershwin. The former represented by his moody “Symphony No. 7;” the latter by his jazzy and brash “Piano Concerto in F.” Though each work couldn’t be more different from the other, it was […]
Beethoven will be in La Crescenta Feb. 24! The Crescenta Valley Arts Council is paying homage to the master Ludwig van Beethoven and his extraordinary compositions with Beethoven Bash 2012. In our fifth annual music Bash, professional musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Opera orchestra will perform with outstanding student musicians from […]
By Ted AYALA Lovers of romance and music converged at the Huntington Library on Tuesday night for a Valentine’s Day concert by Camerata Pacifica. In its second concert of its 22nd season, this was a winning date with a thoughtful program of music that was capped by fine catered food, and the handsome surroundings of […]