Tip of the hat to teen talent
The joyful noise of 390 teens (their family, fans and coaches) raised the roof Monday at Club Fugazi as they cheered nine seniors who hoofed their hearts out during the 10th Steve Silver Foundation Beach Blanket Babylon Scholarship Awards for the Arts.
Hosted by “BBB” producer Jo Schuman Silver (with assists from Da Mayor Willie Brown, music director Bill Keck and emcee 103.7 DJ Don Bleu), this spirited competition received more than 400 entries from Bay Area students.
Each was a winner. But three nailed it most, receiving a $10K check in support of their college tuition: Aragon High School’s Mariko Ishikawa (dance), Santa Rosa High School’s Nicolas
Chuba (acting) and Sonoma Academy’s Jake
Brinskele (voice). The panel of judges determining their dream was equally stellar: rapper MC Hammer; maestro Michael Tilson Thomas (flying home early from London to make the gig); composers
Gordon Getty and Jake Heggie; mezzo-soprano
Zheng Cao; artistic directors Carey Perloff (ACT), Tony Taccone
(Berkeley Rep) and Jonathan Moscone (CalShakes); jazz artist Paula West; KMEL’s Chuy Gomez; ODC Artistic Director Brenda Way; and KGO-TV’s Don Sanchez.
Schuman’s scholarship has become such a hot ticket among cultural pooh-bahs that she may need a competition for potential jurists.
The eagerly anticipated awards night is attended by previous winners such as Lexi Viernes, a dancer in “Billy Elliot,” and
Katee Shean who’s performed thisclose to J.Lo.
“It’s an amazing experience. My cast totally gets involved, taking the kids under their wing,” Schuman said. “We keep tabs on all our scholarship alumni. Even if they didn’t win, all our kids go on to amazing careers, and I love staying in touch with them.” Dynamic duo: Nine years ago, Symphony President John Goldman asked board member Patricia Sprincin if she’d help on a project.
Saturday during the Black and White Ball, Sprincin was still amazed that one project turned into four years at bat as chairwoman of this beloved biennial bash in support of the Symphony’s free music-education programs.
“What can I say?” Goldman asked. “I like stability. I also like excellence. Patricia has delivered that and more.”
While enjoying his final do-si-do as president, Goldman, who after 10 years of expert tenure turns over his baton in October to Presidentelect Sako Fisher, admitted that realization was a little bittersweet.
“It’s been a real journey. And I’ve been very lucky to have this role and see so much excitement for our Symphony,” he said. “It’s all about the people — from the Symphony staff who pour their heart and soul into every event to our community which supports the Symphony’s excellence and its music education programs.” Art alert: Artists and collectors are celebrated this weekend at two dazzling openings of two longtime friends. “Modern” is the title of the new exhibition by painter Ira Yeager opening Sunday at the Napa Valley Museum. Saturday, the M.H. de Young Memorialmuse-umunveils “Real to Real,” the contemporary photography collection of Fine Arts Museums trustee Trevor Traina, who purchased a largescale Andreas Gursky he’d only seen via a JPEG image.
“It’s so large, I’ve loaned it to the Cincinnati Museum,” said Traina. “If it were at my home and there were ever a fire, I’d need a dozen neighbors to help me carry it out.” Fare thee well: A memorial service for director Jim Isaac, who died May 6 at age 51 of a rare blood disease, will be held 3 p.m. Sunday at Cavallo Point’s Mission Blue Lawn.
The San Francisco native attended Drake High School and College of Marin, where he began his career as a specialeffects creature technician. He worked on films such as “Return of the Jedi” and “The Fly.”
In 2008, he joined forces with friends, author Robert Mailer Anderson, his wife, Nicola Miner, and cousin Zack Anderson, to direct the Boonvillebased politico-horror film “Pig Hunt.”
“Jim was like a brother to me and one of the adults my children love most in this world,” Anderson wrote in an email. “My son, Callum, picked up on my nickname for Jim, ‘Little Jimmy Muppet,’ and called him that all the time, as if that were his true name. So Jim would sign his letters to the kids, ‘LJM.’ ”
The director is survived by his wife, Harriet Isaac, and their children, Jake, India and Imogen. Donations in Isaac’s memory may be made to SFJazz and The Playhouse in San Anselmo.