San Jose Museum of Art unveils new look
Following its successful Sept. 17 fundraising gala, the San Jose Museum of Art has a new look and has added a new piece to its permanent collection.
The museum honored longtime supporters Yvonne and Mike Nevens at the dinner, which was attended by more than 300 outside the museum in the Circle of Palms. And in honor of the Nevenses, Drew and Katie Gibson — another couple that has provided generous support to the museum over the years — donated Tony Berlant’s piece “Delta” to the museum.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones paying tribute to the Nevenses at the arty event. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who was the event’s honorary co-chairman along with San Jose Museum of Art board President Hildy Shandell, read a city proclamation that praised the Nevenses for more than 23 years of creative leadership and extraordinary philanthropy in the arts.
The gala was a big success, too, raising $400,000 for the museum’s educational programs, which serve more than 44,000 students every year.
The only drawback? The museum supporters didn’t get the first look at the giant new sign on the museum’s building, which was installed a few days later. The old sign, which was faded and a little tattered, was taken down last winter, though most people didn’t notice until after the downtown ice skating rink was taken down in mid-February.
The new sign is a bold red banner that updated the typography to match the museum’s current logo. And one thing is certain: Nobody’s going to miss the museum’s name the way they might have with the old sign, which had both cutouts and cut-off letters. But while the new sign is straightforward, it lacks elegance and a sense of playful creativity — two elements that are typical of both the museum and its collection.
Maybe the banner will grow on me, but for now it feels like a missed opportunity. HOUSING MEASURE GETS A BOOST: A wide-ranging group of A-list names in the South Bay have lined up to support Measure A, the $950 million affordable housing bond initiative. The “Honorary Committee” is being co-chaired by developer and philanthropist John A. Sobrato and Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese. Other members include Bishop Patrick J. McGrath; Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Dana Magat; Silicon Valley Community Foundation CEO Emmett Carson; Francis McVey, president of the United Veterans Council of Santa Clara County, Saratoga businessman Michael E. Fox Sr. and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren.
The campaign also got a boost Friday when the Bay Area Council, a business-oriented advocacy group, voted to endorse Measure A. Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who is also on the Honorary Committee, said that demonstrates the broad support the effort has received.
“Coupled with support Measure A has from other business organizations such as the TriCounty Apartment Association,” she said, “I think the endorsement is a clear indication that Measure A is the right solution to the No. 1 issue in our county — the lack of affordable housing.”
SJSU LOSES ITS VOICE: It is safe to say that San Jose State will never sound the same way again, following the loss of Gus Lease, who died Sept. 4 at age 93 and taught music there for 66 years.
Upon his arrival on campus in 1950, he organized a 350-voice chorale and founded San Jose State’s first men’s glee club five years later. And he wasn’t just known locally: For 17 years, he led the “Gus Lease Show,” a variety revue that performed on military bases around the world.
And it certainly will not be homecoming without hearing Lease perform the school’s alma mater, “Hail, Spartans Hail.” According to San Jose State, he was the vocal soloist for at least 63 homecoming football games and 65 commencement ceremonies. A celebration of life will be Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. in the Concert Hall at San Jose State.
CANDIDATES ON DISPLAY: San Jose residents will have the rare opportunity to hear from all the candidates running for three city council districts when Terry
Christensen moderates a special segment of his “Valley Politics” show on Sept. 29.
The 90-minute event will be recorded at the San Jose City Hall council chamber starting at 7 p.m. The show airs on Comcast Channel 30 in San Jose and Campbell every Wednesday at 8 p.m. and is also available on CreaTV San Jose’s website.
If you haven’t been keeping score at home, the candidates up for election on Nov. 8 are Steve Brown and Sergio Jimenez (District 2), Helen Chapman and Dev Davis (District 6), and Sylvia Arenas and Jimmy Nguyen (District 8).
The event is free and open to the public, which can also send potential questions for the candidates to valleypolitics@creatvsj.org.
SYMPHONIC MAGIC: Symphony Silicon Valley General Manager
Andrew Bales thinks he flew halfway to Hogwarts after a social media post about next month’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” performance got more than 1 million views.
Ticket sales for the Oct. 29 to 30 shows — which will have the symphony performing the movie’s score live as the film is played behind them at the Center for the Performing Arts — also jumped, prompting Bales to add a fourth performance at 7 p.m. Oct. 30.
“There are plenty of seats left for that show since we just announced it, but good seats are going very fast for the others,” he said. Fly over to the Symphony’s website for tickets. MOVING ‘MEMPHIS’: Artistic Director Cathy Spielberger
Cassetta says she was thrilled to open Tabard Theatre Company’s 16th season with “Memphis,” the Tony-winning show about the birth of rock ’n’ roll that was created at Palo Alto’s TheatreWorks in 2002. “Although it is set in the 1950s, this musical has always been timely, yet never more so,” she said. “It is exciting, engaging, thought-provoking, and truly heartfelt.”
Audiences must agree. Friday’s opening night at Theatre on San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose sold out. The show runs through Oct. 16. Tickets are available at www.tabardtheatre.org.