Music legend and 12-time Grammy nominee Arturo Sandoval will headline a benefit concert for East L.A. Classic Theatre and its Literacy Intervention Programs at the Century Club in Century City on Thursday May 27, 2004.
Andy Garcia is the Honorary Event Chair and actor/comedian Paul Rodriguez will open the show at 6:30pm and host the evening.
Celebrity guests are expected to include: Edward James Olmos, Hector Elizondo, Esai Morales, Roslyn Sanchez and Maria Conchita Alonzo.
Tickets are still available for this fundraising gala, for anyone that will be in the Los Angeles area this Thursday. Tickets are $100 for the concert and pre-reception buffet and $200 VIP tickets which includes access to the celebrity VIP area, an enhanced buffet and a hosted bar.
Arturo Sandoval was first introduced to music at the age of twelve, when he began taking trumpet lessons. By the age 21 he had established himself throughout the music community, founding the Grammy Award winning group, Irakere. Voted Cuba’s Best Instrumentalist for eight years (1982-1990), Sandoval’s performance onstage has earned a unique spot in music history. He has collaborated with music legends Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Celine Dione, Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Johnny Mathis, Gloria Estefan, and Frank Sinatra amongst others and has taken home 4 Grammys.
The proceeds for the evening will contribute to East L.A. Classic Theatre (ECT) and its Beyond Borders: Literacy Through Performing Arts program. ECT was formed to combat the educational disadvantages and challenges facing youth in impoverished communities of Los Angeles County and beyond. Over ECT’s 8-year history, it has grown from offering one literacy workshop series to providing 45 model programs for academically at-risk and bilingual students throughout Southern California.
The Beyond Borders: Literacy Through Performing Arts program has provided comprehensive language education and engaging, relevant, classic dramatic literature for underserved youth and minority communities. It has proven to be an effective program that dramatically increases literacy and reading scores of low-income, urban youths through direct engagement in literary exploration, language proficiency, and culturally adapted performances of classic theatre.
For more information about Theatre West and this event, visit http://www.eastlaclassic.org/benefit.htm or http://www.eastlaclassic.org/ectinvite.pdf
To purchase tickets for this event, call The Proper Image at (818) 994-4661.