Year in Review: Big performances mark milestone years for Poway entertainment organizations

Poway OnStage and the Poway Symphony Orchestra celebrated milestone anniversaries in big ways, while PowPAC faced a leadership reorganization following the sudden death of its longtime leader in 2024.

Poway OnStage brings in Broadway star for gala

Poway OnStage celebrated its 35th anniversary in a big way. It held a gala outside the Poway Center for the Performing Arts before Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth took to its stage for a sold-out concert on Oct. 12.

Booking Chenoweth for a Poway OnStage performance was on the “bucket list” for executive director Sharlene O’Keefe.

“She has the right kind of star power and sparkle (for our gala),” O’Keefe said when the gala and rest of the 35th season’s 2024-25 lineup was announced on June 18.

What made Chenoweth’s concert, and that of the a cappella group Naturally 7 on Sept. 21 extra special is that both agreed to give master classes to a select group of around 40 Poway Unified high school advanced choir students before their shows. Chenoweth also had the students join her on stage to perform the closing song at her concert as a district choir.

“To have professional artists work with the high school students will help them go to the next level of their art form,” O’Keefe said after the Naturally 7 master class. “This is really impactful for our organization and the students.”

Poway High junior Kaitlyn English and other students said they appreciated and were very excited about the opportunities.

“I love (Kristin Chenoweth), she is amazing and this is a huge opportunity for me,” said English, 16. “She is my idol.”

The other performers booked for the 35th anniversary season included Frankie Avalon, The Blind Boys of Alabama and ever-popular Back to the Garden that, due to its previous Poway show selling out quickly, agreed to two concerts for its “Beatles Alone Together” show. They will be held on March 29 and 30.

With annual cultural offerings a goal for Poway OnStage, along with those that have an educational component for local students, Ballet Folklorico del Rio Grande and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar presented “Eternamente: Dia de los Muertos” on Oct. 6 and the Peking Acrobats are scheduled for an upcoming performance on Jan. 17.

Poway Symphony Orchestra celebrates by showcasing its musicians

The Poway Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 20th anniversary by performing three pieces it had never played before, including the 45-minute-long “Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Klorsakov on March 24.

“In selecting the music for this celebration concert, I wanted to focus on the talent of our orchestra, so there is no guest artist at this time,” said conductor and music director John LoPiccolo.

“The music highlights all the sections in the orchestra, with some stunning solo performances,” he said. “I’m so proud and excited to put the spotlight on our orchestra.”

The orchestra has over 60 musicians each season, who perform at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra was started two decades ago as part of the Poway Unified District Adult School by Ulli Reiner to give musicians throughout the area an opportunity to perform classical music for the community.

While billed as a “semi-professional” orchestra, LoPiccolo said he prefers the term hybrid because some of the musicians are professionals, while others are experienced musicians with non-music careers.

On Nov. 17, the orchestra opened its 21st concert season with the renowned Spanish classical guitar quartet The Romeros joining its musicians on stage.

“I was thrilled (initially) to have one Romero perform with us, but now we have all four of them,” LoPiccolo said. “It is very exciting.”

For the concert, the quartet played Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Concierto Andaluz” for four guitars and orchestra. It was written in 1967 for the Romeros to celebrate their ties to Andalusia, according to Celino Romero, whose late grandfather formed the group with his sons in 1958. The piece featured typical Spanish rhythms, themes and melodies, with portions for the guitarists to shine individually and as a group.

PowPAC begins year in sorrow

On Jan. 4, Brent A. Stringfield, PowPAC’s board president, former artistic director and a decades-long volunteer died at age 56 from complications following a medical procedure, according to Lynn Wolsey, a longtime volunteer and frequent show producer.

With such big shoes to fill, several others had to quickly step up to take on roles Stringfield did for the all-volunteer community theater organization that was in the middle of its 42nd season.

One of those roles was getting a new director for its presentation two months later of “Ordinary People,” which Stringfield was set to direct. Ironically, the play — chosen the previous year — was about a family dealing with the sudden loss of a loved one, so it had a real emotional connection to those at PowPAC.

“In terms of the themes of the piece, it really is interesting to have this type of content to produce when actively grieving the loss of our friend, Brent,” said Julia Smith, who was asked to take over Stringfield’s directing duties for “Ordinary People.” She had co-directed PowPAC’s presentation of “Passing Conversations” in fall 2023, a play that Stringfield wrote.

“It is a productive way to process for the broader PowPAC community as we are all collectively healing and overcoming our grief,” Smith said.