Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Carmel-by-the-Sea, often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the "artists, writers and poets at Carmel-by-the-Sea", and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel's houses were built by citizens who were "devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts." Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and several of the city's mayors have been poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry, and actor-director Clint Eastwood.
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public magnet high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. Located at 100 Amsterdam Avenue between West 64th and 65th Streets, the school is operated by the New York City Department of Education, and resulted from the merger of the High School of Music & Art and the School of Performing Arts. The school has a dual mission of arts and academics, preparing students for a career in the arts or conservatory study as well as a pursuit of higher education.
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities in the state of California by enrollment, its student body numbering 39,435 for the fall 2021 semester. With 5,830 graduate students as of fall 2021, the university enrolls one of the largest graduate student populations across the CSU system and in the state of California.
Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer who with her elder brother Richard performed as the duo the Carpenters. With a distinctive three-octave contralto vocal range, she was praised by her peers as a great vocalist. Her struggle with and eventual death from anorexia would later raise awareness of eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
Close to You is the second studio album by American duo The Carpenters, released on August 19, 1970. In 2003, the album was ranked number 175 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list. The album contains the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". The former was the duo's song that gained the Carpenters an international reputation for a decade. The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard albums chart. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, entering the top 50 of the official chart for 76 weeks during the first half of the 1970s.
Richard Lynn Carpenter is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and music arranger, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside his younger sister Karen. He had numerous roles in the Carpenters including record producer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, lyricist, and composer, as well as joining with Karen on harmony vocals.
Alexandra Scott Billings is an American actress, teacher, singer, and activist. Billings is the second openly transgender woman to have played a transgender character on television, which she did in the 2005 made-for-TV movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning. She is also known for portraying the recurring character Davina in the Amazon series Transparent and has played transgender characters in ER, Eli Stone, How to Get Away with Murder, Grey's Anatomy and The Conners.
"Merry Christmas, Darling" is a Christmas song by the Carpenters, and originally recorded in 1970. It was first available on a 7-inch single that year, and was later re-issued in 1974 and again in 1977. The single went to number one on Billboard's Christmas singles chart in 1970 and peaked at number 41 in Cashbox.
The culture of San Diego, California is influenced heavily by American and Mexican cultures due to its position as a border town, its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Diego's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture. Present-day culture includes many historical and tourist attractions, a thriving musical and theatrical scene, numerous notable special events, a varied cuisine, and a reputation as one of America's premier centers of craft brewing.
John Bettis is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for "Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and The Carpenters. He wrote several more hits for The Carpenters, including "Only Yesterday", "Goodbye to Love" and "Yesterday Once More". He later wrote hits for other artists such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Pointer Sisters, Diana Ross, Jennifer Warnes, Peabo Bryson, George Strait ("Heartland"), Ronnie Milsap, and Barbara Mandrell.
The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter. They produced a distinct soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 10 albums along with numerous singles and several television specials.
The American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMTSJ), previously known as the San Jose Civic Light Opera (SJCLO), was a major professional nonprofit musical theatre company in San Jose, California. Founded in 1934 as the San Jose Light Opera Association, it became the second largest theatre company in the Northern California, with an annual budget of $9.8 million and an attendance exceeding 150,000, including 15,000 season ticket holders. The company performed at the 2,677-seat San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The organization incurred debts after a 2002 agreement to become a receiving house for touring Broadway productions. It closed in December 2008.
The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music is the school of music at California State University, Long Beach. In March 2008, the music department was renamed the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in honor of an endowment gift of $16.4 million from the estate of Robert "Bob" Cole. Cole, a Long Beach real estate investor, long-time music lover, and amateur pianist, who died in 2004. Following its disbursement, the gift will benefit the students of the conservatory in the form of scholarships and other awards.
Richmond CenterStage is a performing arts center in Richmond, Virginia that includes the Altria Theater and the theater formerly known as the Carpenter Theatre Center for the Performing Arts. The Carpenter Theatre was originally a Loew's Theatre movie palace developed by the Loew's Theatres company and designed by John Eberson. The building's construction began in 1927, and its doors opened in 1928. The Altria Theater was constructed a year earlier, in 1926, and was originally a Shriners' hall.
Frank Mairich Pooler was an American choirmaster, and former Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Long Beach. He also collaborated with pop music group The Carpenters.
Troubadour Theater Company is a theater company in Los Angeles.
The Mission Revival style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California. It is sometimes termed California Mission Revival, particularly when used elsewhere, such as in New Mexico and Texas which have their own unique regional architectural styles.
Nuon Kan was a Cambodian writer, composer, and professor of music and performing arts, who escaped the Cambodian genocide, which annihilated most of the musicians and scholars of his generation. He is the author of a popular patriotic hymn entitled the History of Khmer People.
