“While clearly our curriculum has evolved and teaching approaches have changed, everything we do remains driven by our core educational philosophy,” said Dr. Larry Dougherty, Buckley head of school. “I constantly read new academic research that supports Dr. Buckley’s thinking in terms of multiple intelligences, resilience, character development, the impact of physical health on academics; the list is long and interesting.”

The 4-Fold Plan is a deeply interconnected program of academics, arts, physical development and moral education within a more traditional educational framework than is typically associated with whole-child approaches.

“Curiosity, critical thinking and creativity are the underpinning of our entire curriculum,” Dougherty said. “And yet, we believe that students’ best and most creative work — in the classroom, in the arts, and on the field — can only be realized through self-discipline developed in a structured program, which emphasizes character development.”

Each school year is kicked off with character development programs. All divisions hold assemblies to talk about The Buckley Commitment, a set of core values (respect, kindness, honesty, loyalty, self-reliance and self-discipline) students, and all members of the school community, continually strive to develop.

“It starts with the Commitment, which some time ago students chose to adopt as an alternative to honor code because they thought it was better to strive for positive value traits than to simply avoid negative traits or behaviors,” Dougherty said. “But we believe academic success is meaningless without integrity, and because of that, human values are addressed throughout all areas of our curriculum.”

“Huxley,” the narrator of “Walking with Dinosaurs,” stares at a Stegosaurus in a scene from the show.

It’s a big event for a big cause. The fight against cancer has rallied Hollywood’s celebrity troops for the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) star-studded telecast on Friday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. Once again the special will air across all the major networks, plus numerous cable outlets, and combine education with entertainment to help the cause.

Hosted by Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams, the one-hour fundraising show will be commercial free and executive produced by Laura Ziskin, a cancer survivor. Former Paramount studio chief Sherry Lansing is one of the co-founders of SU2C. She said numerous celebrity cancer survivors will be featured, including Christina Applegate, Lance Armstrong, Fran Drescher, Elizabeth Edwards, Michael C. Hall, Sofia Vergara, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Sharon Osbourne and Maura Tierney. This year’s SU2C theme is “living with and surviving cancer,” and will show Americans where their donated money is being spent.

During the recent TV press tour, Laura Linney talked about her acclaimed new Showtime series The Big C, which focuses on how a woman deals with her cancer through humor and living life to the fullest.

“It’s more than trying to have a bucket list,” Linney said. “I think she’s trying to figure out who she wants to be, more than what she wants to do.”

She acknowledged that every person’s experience with cancer is deeply personal and unique. She said she joined the SU2C, which is dedicated to the 12 million U.S. cancer survivors, because she has lost loved ones. Tune in to support the cause.

The New West Symphony has announced the debut of the New West Pops, which will present “From Broadway To Hollywood: In Concert,” with special guest star Lorna Luft. The show, hosted at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, Sept. 16th, and at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Sept. 19th, will be conducted by artistic director Steven Goldstein. The daughter of the legendary Judy Garland, Luft will perform selections from her award-winning show Songs My Mother Taught Me, with the New West Pops orchestra. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the New West Symphony’s music education programs in Los Angeles and Ventura county schools.

A super showcase for fashionistas is Macy’s cool Glamorama event. It will feature haute fashion and hotter music as models strut the runway set up at the historical Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 16th. Macy’s Passport presents Glamorama is the fall fashion season event benefiting local HIV/AIDS charities. Top designers, — from Calvin Klein to Cavalli – and singers Macy Gray and Eric Hutchison will be featured at the exciting fully choreographed fashion show.

A celebrity poker tournament will take over the Petersen Automotive Museum with Get Lucky for Lupus on Sept. 22. The event will also feature music by American Idol runner-up DJ Blake Lewis, and an auction with unique celebrity memorabilia that will help raise funds and awareness for Lupus L.A.

A real legend in the music world, Pat Boone will be doing a show to benefit the Society of Singers, a cause close to his heart. The world premier of “An Evening with Pat Boone: A Pop Culture Journey” takes place Sept. 22 at the Skirball Cultural Center. It will be half concert, half story-telling, and fully entertaining. Having enjoyed Boone on the dais of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters roasts, I know he is unbelievably funny.

On stage at the Skirball, Boone will deliver his hit parade, and tell tales about everything, from Elvis being his opening act, to presidents he has known, to making his famous Metal Mood album with the help of Ozzy Osbourne. Also, Boone is about to release Near, a new romantic CD of classic and original love songs to celebrate his half-century in show business.

The original “Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular” will end its three year North American tour with seven performances at the Staples Center, Sept. 9 through Sept. 12. Yes, the awe-inspiring, life-size animatronic dinosaurs that were brought to life by The Creature Production Company to thrill audiences of all ages will once again be extinct. Catch them while you can.

Dear Kenny:

I have a problem that has been getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. I married Philip three years ago and am definitely very much in love with him. We live in Beverly Hills and adore our home. Philip is repeatedly asking me to start a family, and I’d very much like to, but I desperately want to go to New York and test my ability as an actress.

All through grammar school, high school and college I did plays and was always told that I should continue studying and working so I could become a successful actress. Dialects come very easily to me, and I love acting!

A very prominent theatre director from New York has been visiting our neighbors for an extended period of time. We’ve all had dinner several times and my husband keeps telling the director not to keep encouraging me about New York and about acting. The director is beginning to cast a new play and would like me to audition for him for a very key role.

I can’t think of anything I’d rather do. But I am a devoutly religious person and my commitment to marriage is of course for keeps.

My husband frowns upon the fact that I would even think of going to New York. He says that if we already had children and they were 9 or 10 years old, he could see my going there temporarily to do a play, since we have a full-time housekeeper. We have the funds to have a nanny if we needed one, too, he says.

He’s seen me in many plays and agrees that I am, according to him, “a superb actress.”

But I don’t know what would happen to me if I left home for this brief period of time to pursue a career. I feel strongly that it would spark my interest and I would want to do one play after another.

I know, Kenny, that you surround yourself with celebrated people. I read in one of your books that when you were five or six you were a neighbor in New York to the great First Lady of the American Theatre, Katharine Cornell.

So you, most importantly, would know what I should do, since I myself cannot make up my mind.

Paul, the director, goes back to New York in a little over a week and says he must have my answer soon after that.

I am sure that you receive an enormous amount of letters but I would so appreciate it if you could answer mine as soon as possible. I truly feel it is critical. I will make it a point of going to the Toluca Lake area again to get a copy of The Tolucan, to see if by chance you have answered my letter.

Thank you in advance, Sweet Spirit (I love that title).

Renee

Dear Sweet Spirit Renee:

You have some psychic ability yourself. I know very strongly that you feel if you went to New York, even without your having children right now, it would be the closure of your relationship with Philip.

Please meditate very carefully and my suggestion is that you try for a year or two to do some plays locally.

My heart truly goes out to you because I have known in the past many women who have fallen into your category. Think – is it worth the loss of a marriage? Because that is what it would come to if you went to New York, and I believe you know that.

Please – go to a local shop that sells sacred items and purchase a medal of St. Genesius, the patron saint of actors. Have it blessed and hold it while you are doing your meditation and prayers, for guidance.

I sincerely wish you all the best, dear one.

Personally handwrite a letter to Kenny, seal and mail it yourself and look for his answer to your question in a future issue. Send your question to: Kenny Kingston, Post Office Box 1857, Studio City, CA 91614.

For more information on Kenny Kingston, visit www.kennykingston.org.

Temple Grandin

Seth Green and Jackie after the Emmy win for “Robot Chicken.” Seth with the Emmy. Jackie with the water.

For me, the highlight of the Emmy’s was seeing philosophical leader of both animal welfare and the autism advocacy movements Temple Grandin in person.

When I first saw the HBO film about Temple’s early years, I was in awe. I almost wore my teeth down during the ceremony, hoping this astounding production would receive the awards it deserves. It mattered so much to me since the autism advocacy is close to my heart. Wishes came true and there were so many winners. Most of the winners mentioned Temple when they picked up their award, and each time she stood up and happily waved.

Brave. All involved in the film were superbly brave. Temple — for the life she leads — and Clair Danes, for her once in a lifetime performance introducing us to Temple and the road she traveled. Danes, who announced the winner of the “Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries,” could barely speak when she announced David Strathairn, the brilliant actor who played her teacher, as winner of the award. Julia Ormond, who portrayed Temple’s mom, won “Best Supporting Actress,” and Mick Jackson won for directing. Beautiful producer Emily Gerson Saines got a loving hug from Temple, who appeared on the Nokia Theater Stage when the cast and staff claimed the award for “Outstanding Made for Television Movie.” It also happened to be her 63rd birthday. And it was a happy one.

“It makes me very happy,” Temple said. “The movie serves as a tool to educate people about autism and shows that autistic children can become something.”

During the Governors Ball, I found their table and paid my homage. Temple was wearing comfortable cords with a solid belt and a dressy cowboy shirt and tie. She topped my best-dressed list. A world of wonder was etched on her easy, weathered face, and she reminded me of James Whitmore, full of honesty and of the earth. I inhaled deeply when in her company.

“Temple Grandin” is a life changing experience, and I hope HBO reruns the movie many times.

Yes, it was nice seeing George Clooney and the glittering gathering, but seeing Temple was grand.

A Drink with Seth

It was good watching Seth Green and the staff of “Robot Chicken” after they received their Emmy. I was just getting a glass of water after the second hour of the Craft Awards when I noticed the truly tickled team taking pictures. One young woman tucked herself into Seth and said, “Can I have one too?” Well, what’s a mother to do? I popped in and said, “Can I have one too?” A sporting producer took the picture, asked for my email address and actually sent me the photo. I’m happy to have it, even though my glasses are cockeyed. So smile when you see a screen credit for Susan Bell, who is a creative, reliable and lovely young woman. And no, I’m not Seth Green’s mother, but I would like to be…We’ll Talk

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV Electric Car.

In the past year, I’ve been able to sample four modern electric vehicles, the likes of which will be a part of our future transportation culture. I tooled around in the electric Mini Cooper (which was only produced in limited batches for short term lease), and have spent a little bit of time in both the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, each coming soon to an auto mall near you.

And just last week, I got to expend some kilowatts behind the wheel of a funky pod-like electric car called the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (pronounced “eye-meev”). The U.S. production model is still more than a year away, but Mitsubishi decided to let a few journalists sample the Japanese Domestic Market version as a preview of what we’ll be seeing on our roads about the time the 2011 holiday shopping season is upon us.

While I’m always thrilled to try out anything new on wheels, this EV had a few quirks. It’s smaller than the eventual North American version, especially in the width. And, the steering wheel is on the right, aka the “wrong” side for our roads, so I kept feeling like I was driving from the passenger seat. The instruments were also metric, so I had to do constant calculations about how fast I was traveling in mph, and also how many miles I was from the battery running out, as the display only showed me kilometers.

Nevertheless, the car was an absolute hoot to drive. Electric vehicles, by their very nature, are quite peppy. If you’ve ever felt that quick snap in a golf cart when taking off from rest, just multiply that by about three and you get the idea that EVs are pretty quick off the line. The i-MiEV is also very quiet, and everything about it was built for efficiency.

The big downside to electric cars is that they can’t compare with the “drive anywhere, anytime” aspect of internal combustion vehicles that we’ve all become accustomed to. Commuting to work? No problem, there’s plenty of range. Need to stop at the store? Piece of cake. The i-MiEV has a range of approximately 45-60 miles on a full charge. That’s way less than what the much larger Leaf will do (around 100), though Mitsubishi promises that the U.S. version will have significantly more range that these test fleet cars.

Pretty much anyone who buys or leases one of the new EVs will also have a charger installed at their home that will operate at 220-240 volts and replenish a fully depleted battery in about six hours or less. A cord to get power from a conventional 110 volt household-type outlet will also be included (and that’s what my test car had), but the charging times really lengthen at that voltage, to somewhere around 12-14 hours.

What if you need to do a lot of driving during the day? Sure, a regular commute is easy to plan for, but this is Southern California, where we live in our cars and do all sorts of ancillary miles in our busy lives. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could quickly recharge your EV’s battery while out and about? You’ll be able to.

I paid a visit to a company called AeroVironment in Monrovia. They’re one of the leading makers of what are known as rapid chargers. Part of their coming product line includes a 480 volt charger that can take an EV battery from nearly drained to 80% full in about a half hour. Yep, in about the time it takes to have lunch or do some shopping, your electric car can be charged up for miles and miles of driving.

By the time I got a quick tour of the company’s facility and did an on-camera interview with one of their executives (approximately 25 minutes), my i-MiEV got, thanks to their rapid charger, within two notches of the “full” mark on its charge indicator.

The plan is that these high-voltage units would be installed at commercial or municipal locations. Think parking garages, shopping malls, restaurants, coffee houses, movie theatres and so on. Any place people and their electric cars are going to be idle for a little while could be a candidate for a rapid charging station.

While some cities might provide the juice for free (think Santa Monica), other places could charge a flat or per-kilowatt fee for the juice. Or maybe businesses will use it to attract customers, much the way some restaurant and coffee chains are offering free wireless Internet. The possibilities are almost endless.

Certainly this won’t all happen overnight. First, the electric vehicles themselves have to get out into circulation. But if early orders for the Nissan Leaf are any indication (already at about 20,000), there’s going to be a demand for quick charges of the batteries.

If you’re excited about the idea of an electric car, the future looks pretty bright.

I’ll see you down the road.

Dave Kunz is the automotive reporter at KABC-TV Channel 7. He can also be heard on “The Car Show” Saturdays at 9 a.m. on KPFK, 90.7 FM. You can reach Dave at TVCarz @ pacbell.net

Tonight, while at sat at dinner with my family, enjoying my aunt’s new house in the hills and new pressure cooker, I found myself conversing with a friend of the family who looked at me as she curled her fingertip around a piece of hair and said, “You’re different, in a good way. But yeah…different.”

“Really?” I blurted out as I bit into the chicken and rice concoction as though I’ve never eaten in my life. Props to my aunt on this meal.

“How so?” I must know how different I seem because, secretly, I feel different.

“Well, you’re laughing and you’re like a hippie or something,” she said.

I wasn’t sure if this was a compliment or a criticism, but she assures me quickly that it was a compliment. She said it was nice to see me happy. And happy I am. Is it odd that Spain has opened my eyes? Is it weird that Spain was so life-changing and thrilling that I feel like a different person?

You may ask me what happened in Spain that prompted this sort of pleasure. I wish I could pinpoint a specific moment. I wish I could explain in great detail what happened and how if affected me. I wish I could pull the recipe out from my notepad, but the truth is I can’t. I fell in love with Spain. I fell in love with the night life and café’s and walking twenty miles a day and the romantic music nomads played in the metros. I fell in love with the little shops and the little candles. I fell in love with eating tapas in the rain and blue eyed gentlemen who opened my doors. But most of all I bonded with my little sister and cousin, who shared this trip with me.

But all good things must come to an end. My little sister boards a plane for Chicago tomorrow, where she’ll start college and I’ll return home to, well…my life. I think Juliet said it best when she softly tells Romeo “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow. That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” Juliet may have been talking to Romeo, but I’m talking to Barcelona.

Alice can be reached at AliceActress@yahoo.com.

Few know that this dance was shot in the basement halls outside the official Emmy gift suite, where The Tolucan was invited. A simple basement was transformed into an Asian-themed room with floral palettes of cymbidium orchids, a ruby red accent vase, river rocks, burnt red floor lamps, red and orange rugs, accent pillows and raspberry cube ottomans. It could have been a Hollywood studio boss’ haute couture living room.

But it wasn’t.

At approximately 1,200 square feet, this was a make-shift lounge, decorated by On 3 Productions and located in the belly of the Nokia, the venue housing the awards. Only primetime Emmy nominees and presenters, plus a few well-heeled stragglers, were invited.

Although it’s an annual tradition, it’s not a given.

“Nominees and presenters have to stop into the lounge personally, during rehearsals or Emmy night,” said Melissa Cordial, Vera Bradley’s PR rep, who showcased here. “Neil Patrick Harris loved their mini coolers to carry his energy drinks.”

Sponsor P.F. Chang’s Home Menu Frozen Moments was clever. Celebrities had to answer a question when they opened an oversized fortune cookie. What was the moment in your career or in TV History you’d like to see frozen in time? Their responses supported the $50,000 donation given to The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Answers tacked to the frig in the gorgeous make-shift kitchen: “Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl malfunction” (Blair Underwood), “Getting the news that I was cast in True Blood” (Anna Paquin), “When Bill and Sookie touched hands for the first time” (Stephen Moyer), “The time I met Elmo” (Ricky Gervais) and “When JFK died in 1963, this moment brought the country together (Don Mischer, Emmy Producer).

Just like his anal retentive “Friends” personality, Mathew Perry cleaned up stray popcorn on the AMC movie display table. Later Dennis Quaid munched on popcorn. AMC Entertainment gave a year’s worth of movie tickets to the celebrities.

Matthew Morrison rocked out to the Palm Guitar’s Hero App and chose a Palm Pre for his business calls. He talked “baseball” with Michael Press of Vintage Revolutions (jeans). Edie Falco decided to switch from an iPhone to a Palm Pre Plus when she discovered its multi-tasking features.

Some gifts will rack up frequent flyer miles. Mariska Hargitay plans to take her new gun metal Aqua Swiss Trax Collection watch to Hawaii. Jewel selected a black unisex watch to share with husband Ty Murray.

Amber Riley, a self-proclaimed word freak, fell for the scrabble games. She and her Glee co-stars play Scrabble on set. Hasbro, Inc. gifted Scrabble Flash and gave a certificate to stock guests’ game closets.

Magnanni handcrafted men’s footwear gifted Jorge Garcia and Christopher Meloni with brown leather boots. Jane Lynch not only flipped for her boots; she left with them on.

St. Regis Monarch Beach offered a weekend suite and choice of a couples’ massage at Spa Gaugin or two rounds of golf at Monarch Beach Golf Links. Underwood, who brought his two kids, coincidentally had his wedding rehearsal dinner at the resort.

Other gifts included Marchon Eyewear, MoroccanOil, The Body Shop, Altoids and Bossa Nova: The Superfruit Company.

Sue Facter writes about all things A-list for publications worldwide. She was among a handful of journalists who were invited to this special annual Emmy event.

Susan Claassen is a carbon copy of the award-winning costume designer Edith Head in this brilliant and unique portrayal “A Conversation with Edith Head.”

Sitting with actress/producer Susan Claassen in the cozy confines of North Hollywood’s historic El Portal Forum Theatre, it is easy to understand how she can pull off a one-woman show on the life and career of legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. Claassen is almost a dead ringer for the woman who helped define glamour in Tinseltown for almost 60 years, mostly at Paramount Studios.

“This is just the way I look,” Claassen shrugs. “I saw a documentary about Edith Head on the television series, Biography, and first became intrigued with the similarities in our appearance. But the more I watched, I became increasingly fascinated with how much we were alike in our interests, especially clothes and fashion. I just knew I had to do a show about her.”

Co-scripted by Claassen and Head biographer Paddy Calistro, “A Conversation with Edith Head” begins previews at the historic El Portal Forum Theatre on Sept. 23, with a Costume Designers Guild Gala press opening scheduled for Friday, Oct. 1.

Claassen understands that one-person biography plays usually profile a personality with a highly recognizable public image, not a behind-the-scenes crafts person whose job it was to decorate public figures. She quickly points out that Head was not a behind-the-scenes kind of woman.

“Actually, Edith really became a household name, mostly due to her own self-promotion,” Claassen said. “During the 1950s, she made frequent appearances on the television show Art Linkletter’s House Party, making her a very recognizable personality to all of America.

“She also wrote for PhotoPlay Magazine, offering her advice and insights into fashion. She felt the American woman and man could have the secrets that she had. She wanted to make fashion accessible to everyone.”

Claassen, who works professionally as an actress, director, producer and writer, and serves as Managing Artistic Director of The Invisible Theatre in Tucson launched herself into her quest of bringing Head to the stage, with a laudable, tenacious resolve.

“I immediately researched whether the rights to her story were available,” Claassen said. “They were, through the recipients of her estate, The Motion Picture and Television Fund. For research material, I located Paddy Calistro, who was the co-author of the autobiography, Edith Head’s Hollywood. What a resource she turned out to be. She had over 13 hours of recorded interviews with Edith. Every word the audience hears is Edith’s and they are delicious.”

Claassen, who originally premiered “A Conversation with Edith Head” at The Invisible Theatre in 2002, subsequently, has toured the show around the U.S. and internationally, including London’s West End and a “sold out” engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has become so comfortable inhabiting Head’s persona, she takes questions from the audience as Head herself.

“This is a woman who, despite having no art or costume design experience, started as a costume sketch artist at Paramount in 1924, and through sheer talent and perseverance, went on to work on 1,131 films, earn 35 Oscar nominations and won eight, more than any other costume designer in the history of filmmaking. Audiences really have a lot of fun getting to know her and the fascinating movie star tales she has to tell,” Claassen said.

“A Conversation with Edith Head” plays Sept. 23 through Oct. 24 in the Intimate Forum Theatre at the El Portal. Tickets range from $25 to $35.

Please call (818) 508-4200 for tickets and additional information.

Dancing With the Stars pro Derek Hough.

When ABC’s Dancing With the Stars debuted in 2005, it was a novelty show. Everyone wanted to see Hollywood stars trying to dance in a professional ballroom style. And they showed off their terpsichorean talents to the nth degree – they were professional, indeed.

To their credit, the first relatively unknown actors and models participating absorbed their lessons quickly, no matter what dance – from the Tango, to the Quick Step or Waltz – was called for. You name it; they did it. Viewers tuned in to see the “stars” strutting their stuff. That was the allure, hence the title.

Then, as the show grew in popularity, casting the dancing “stars” changed. We got to see Olympians and professional athletes, politicians and billionaires, ad infinitum. Even an astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, gave it a whirl.

As the seasons have gone on, the show has featured more personalities than stars, with too many reality celebrities sharing the spotlight. We watched anyway because it became the water cooler topic the next morning.

Well, the participants for Dancing With the Stars’ 11th season, starting at 8:00 p.m. on Sept. 20, have been announced and there are some good names, along with a couple of really dreadful choices.

For me the real stars are the professional dancers who get their toes stepped on and work tirelessly to make their clumsy partners look good. So here is a list of the hot pairings of stars and pros.

Giving the show true status is the star of stage, screen and TV, Florence Henderson, best known as The Brady Bunch’s classic mom, who will dance with Corky Ballas (Mark’s dad). Jennifer Grey, star of the classic movie Dirty Dancing, is paired with the always great Derek Hough (last season’s winning pro). David Hasselhoff of Baywatch fame is lucky to get Kym Johnson, who would even make me look good. Singer Michael Bolton dances with Chelsie Hightower, another gal who brings out the best in her partner.

The Hills’ reality hottie Audrina Patridge gets coupled with lucky Tony Dovolani (hope she dances as good as she looks). A talented youngster from the Disney Channel’s hit sitcoms Cory In the House and That’s So Raven, Kyle Massey, gets Lacey Schwimmer. Comedian Margaret Cho, co-star of Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, dances with Louis Van Amstel. Moesha star and cool R&B singer Brandy gets the hot-tempered Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Sports stars include NFL’s Kurt Warner, who gets Anna Trebunskaya, and ex-Laker Rick Fox dances with Cheryl Burke, who always impresses with her choreography.

In the “what were they thinking category,” the Jersey Shore’s Mike “the situation” Sorrentino will put the moves on Karina Smirnoff. And Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin who is famous for all the wrong reasons, is partnered with a beleaguered pro Mark Ballas.

Brooke Burke, the champion of season seven (thanks to partner Hough), will be back to help with hosting duties. But, as always, we expect super-likable emcee Tom Bergeron’s quick wit will make the contest entertaining – no matter which “stars” are dancing.

Gustav Hoyer conducts the Orchestra Unleashed at the El Portal Theatre Sept. 11 & 12.

The Orchestra Unleashed, a concert of exciting, new classical music written for the orchestra by composers from Los Angeles and around the world, will take place Sept. 11 and 12 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. The program will feature a mix of orchestral music, spoken word and visual art in order to create a multi-sensory, concert-going experience and to challenge the traditional perceptions of classical music.

All compositions are new works by contemporary composers, including: Anthony Iannaccone, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Tyler Harrison, Brynjar Boe, Michael A. Mogensen, Natalia Rojcovscaia and Joseph Carrillo. There will be a special presentation of the classic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of The Ancient Mariner,” featuring the voice talents of actor Bryce Lenon, the art of French illustrator Gustave Dore, and the music of composer and conductor Gustav Hoyer.

The Saturday, Sept. 11 concert is at 8:00 p.m. and the Sunday, Sept. 12 concert is at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $25 for adults and $15 for students and are available for purchase at the theatre website: www.elportaltheatre.com. There are a limited number of in-orchestra seats available. This unique experience gives audience members the opportunity to sit with the orchestra and immerse themselves in the music. These tickets are $100 and only available at www.theorchestraunleashed.com.