Composer, conductor and pianist Carter Larsen performed to a full house New Year’s Eve, launching fundraising for the newly established Malibu Symphony Orchestra. The event took place at the Malibu home of Laura and Ed Gillespie.
Larsen’s producer, Sheryl Carlin, head of music production at Paramount and DreamWorks, presented the evening featuring Larsen’s concert stage show, “Fantasia Suite,” which opens in China in April.
The Malibu Symphony will be comprised of top orchestral players who live and work in Southern California. This year’s concerts are to be performed at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue, Smothers Theater at Pepperdine and the Malibu Bluffs Park.
“This is an exciting new musical development in the greater Los Angeles cultural community,” said Larsen, who has conducted and performed in more than 400 concerts, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra. “With proper guidance, the MSO has every possibility of becoming a significant orchestra in the Southern California community and in time a touring and recording orchestra of international repute.”
The event was attended by many enthusiastic Malibu supporters, including Malibu Symphony Chairman Terrence Davis. It proved such a success, a repeat performance was immediately scheduled for March 8.
The Malibu Symphony’s inaugural concert will take place May 24 at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue, featuring Carter Larsen following his tour to China. The outdoor concerts begin at the Bluffs Park on August 15.