Segerstrom Center for the Arts is celebrating its 40th birthday by putting Latino culture squarely in the spotlight, rolling out a new Hispanic initiative that names Grammy-winning composer Arturo O’Farrill as its first-ever artist in residence and launches a cross-genre program called ¡VIVA! Spenuzza Series. The plan mixes big-hall jazz and dance with education and community work, including a locally rooted commission billed as the Lowrider Symphony with Pacific Symphony. For Costa Mesa crowds, it effectively shifts Latino traditions into the center’s main-season lineup while extending outreach into schools and neighborhoods.
Residency and the ¡VIVA! series
According to the Los Angeles Times, Segerstrom has tapped Arturo O'Farrill as its inaugural artist in residence and will feature him with the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra as part of the new ¡VIVA! slate. Segerstrom president and chief executive Casey Reitz wrote in an email that the ¡VIVA! series is designed to "bring a wide range of Hispanic and Latino artists and traditions to our stages and classrooms," signaling that this is not a one-off showcase but a long-game strategy.
Dance, jazz, and a lowrider commission
The Los Angeles Times reports that the ¡VIVA! The lineup includes concerts titled "Rumba Para Monk Revisited" and "Copacabana Nights," plus dance programs from companies such as Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández and Ballet Hispánico. The initiative also includes a new commission pairing a Lowrider Symphony concept with Pacific Symphony. Limor Tomer, Segerstrom's vice president of programming and production, called the season "a conversation between past and future, across cultures, and between artists and audiences," a tidy summary of the series’ cross-genre, cross-community ambitions.
Segerstrom’s place in Orange County
Segerstrom’s multi-venue campus, which includes the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Hall, and the Samueli Theater, hosts resident companies such as Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale, according to the center's official site. That institutional heft, plus existing education programming, gives the new initiative ready-made paths into schools and neighborhood audiences across the county, rather than starting from scratch.
Why this matters locally
Roughly about one-third of Orange County residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, a share of approximately 34.3% reported by the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts. That means this initiative is positioned to connect with a sizable local community. Putting Latino artists on major stages and tying those performances to education and community programming is a clear bid to broaden access and keep the center relevant in a county that is far from monolithic.
What to expect and where to buy tickets
Season listings already include Arturo O'Farrill appearances and programs titled "Rumba Para Monk" and "Copacabana Nights" at Segerstrom, with entries visible on event platforms like JamBase. For up-to-date schedules and tickets, audiences are directed to Segerstrom’s calendar and box office on the center's official website.
