From left, Valery Gergiev, Elizabeth Segerstrom, and Yasuhisa Toyota. Photo courtesy South Coast Plaza

From left, Valery Gergiev, Elizabeth Segerstrom, and Yasuhisa Toyota. Photo courtesy South Coast Plaza

South Coast Plaza’s Segerstrom Honored in DTLA

Under a clear, night sky, Elizabeth Segerstrom, co-managing partner of South Coast Plaza, was honored Oct. 23 for her contributions to classical music and performing arts.

She received the Richard D. Colburn award at Celebrate Colburn. It was a gala marking the 20th anniversary of Colburn School's move to its current location on Grand Avenue. The performing arts school is located across the street from the Broad Museum and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The event was observed with a concert at Disney Hall and a dinner in front of Colburn. Ballet dancers and a student jazz band performed at the dinner. The event’s guest list included star architect Frank Gehry and Benjamin Millepied, the acclaimed ballet dancer and artistic advisor for Colburn’s Dance Academy.

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Celebrate Colburn dinner. Photo courtesy South Coast Plaza

The award’s namesake, Colburn was a friend of Elizabeth’s late husband Henry Segerstrom. He was the founder of South Coast Plaza and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Calif. When presented with the award, Segerstrom said her husband and Colburn worked to make Southern California a world center for the arts.

“I’m in such awe of the vision Dick and Henry had; of Southern California becoming the most prominent and significant destination in the world for arts, for music and for everything important. I think what we experienced today is that vision becoming a reality,” she said.

Others receiving awards included Yasuhisa Toyota, who designed acoustics for Disney Concert Hall, and some of the globe’s premier venues, such as New World Center in Miami, Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, as well as Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Valery Gergiev also received a Richard D. Colburn award. He is artistic and general director of Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal conductor of the World Orchestra for Peace. He also serves as chair of the Organizational Committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Before the dinner and the awards presentation, Gergiev conducted the Colburn Orchestra in a concert of Russian music. Singers from the Mariinsky Theatre sang selections from opera Eugene Onegin. Pianist and Colburn Student Dominic Cheli made a stunning Disney Hall debut with a performance in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26.

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By Andrew Asch

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By Andrew Asch

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From left Carol Colburn Grigor, Benjamin Millepied and Elizabeth Segerstrom, Photo courtesy South Coast Plaza