Pacific Symphony Artistic & Music Director Alexander Shelley began his opening night concert with the Star Spangled Banner and closed the show with Gershwin’s Overture to Girl Crazy.
But the Sept. 24 concert that celebrated the start of Shelley’s inaugural season at the symphony did far more than stick to domestic hits, giving the audience a taste of what’s to come from the 46-year-old English conductor, who took over the baton from OC institution Carl St. Clair.
The performance at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall had an international flair, including a suite of Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances, the Symphanie espagnole featuring Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell, and Korngold’s Kings Row Suite, which heavily influenced John Williams’ Oscar-winning score for “Star Wars.”
The packed opening night evening also came
The packed opening night evening also came with a pre-show cocktail hour and dinner — with an ocean motif, in line with Shelley’s aim to ‘unleash the Pacific’ this season — and a post-show party.
Steph Curry is the best long-distance shooter in NBA history, but that doesn’t mean the Golden State Warriors guard has always had the best long-distance vision on the court.
Curry last week opened up on a rare eye condition — Keratoconus, a corneal disease that causes blurriness and distorted vision — that he was diagnosed with in 2018, after a team staff member noticed he was frequently squinting while sitting on the bench. He was later fitted with contact lenses to treat the condition.
I got used to just getting by, squinting
“I got used to just getting by, squinting and brushing off headaches, without realizing anything was wrong with my eyes,” Curry said.
Curry just teamed up with Aliso Viejo’s Glaukos to help raise awareness for the disease, and to promote earlier detection and diagnosis. Glaukos (NYSE: GKOS), with a market cap near $9.5 billion, is rolling out a new, non-invasive treatment for Keratoconus, called Epioxa.
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa opened his first namesake Japanese restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1987, and after noticing the influx of diners making their way from OC over the years, brought Nobu to Newport Beach in 2017 at a spot overlooking the water at Lido Village Marina.
It’s a special view, he said while
“It’s a special view,” he said while in town last month, hosting a ‘Taste of Nobu’ event for fans of his fusion cuisine, which has influenced countless other chefs across the country.
Nobu’s menu features more than two dozen hot dishes and a similar amount of nigiri and sashimi offerings, among other options. To get a full sense of the menu, you’ll need “five visits,” he said.
The chef doesn’t mind the competition from his former employees. “I’m gratified when I see others start their own [restaurants],” Nobu said. “It makes me proud.”
Chef Nobu stayed at the nearby Lido House
Chef Nobu stayed at the nearby Lido House hotel during his stay and didn’t have to venture far to see one successful protege.
Chef Brian Kim, a former Nobu chef, works with Chef Partner Riley Huddleston at Lido House’s Kaiya Omakase Sushi & Bar, which opened a few months ago. The high-end, 12-seat restaurant has quickly become one of the hardest spots in town to get a table.
Kaiya is one of several new additions to Bob Olson’s Lido House — five new luxe guest cottages opened at the property last week.
