Press

A caravan of yellow buses pulled into the parking lot and hundreds of third graders streamed into the concert hall, ready to hear a performance arranged just for them.

A day earlier, on Sunday, March 17, a general audience was treated to a full-length concert presented by Fandango! as part of InConcert Sierra’s (ICS) Third Sunday Series. The Fandango! ensemble, with an unusual blend of instruments—guitar, flute, violin, and cello—played a mix of Baroque, Latin, Spanish, and Balkan music. Then they returned on Monday morning, March 18, to play an abbreviated version of the program for the younger set.

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One of the most unique and exciting ensembles on the classical music circuit is FANDANGO! – a quartet performing a mix of Spanish, Latin-American, Balkan, Sephardic and traditional classical music for InConcert Sierra’s Third Sunday concert series on Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 2pm.

Hailing from Spain, France, Bosnia, and Taiwan, the four multi-award-winning virtuosi have appeared on the world’s most prestigious stages, earning accolades from the international press. Given their global recognition and diverse backgrounds, this ensemble brings a rich tapestry of musical influences to their performances.

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The InConcert Sierra third Sunday Series kicks off in 2024 with an impressive duo, next Sunday, January 21 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grass Valley, with the return of Grammy Award-winning guitarist, Jason Vieaux, this time partnered with accordionist/bandoneonist, Julien Labro.

Vieaux will be returning to Nevada County to wow audience members. Artistic Director Ken Hardin said he took a chance on the artist when Vieaux was just a youngster, “We first had him in 1998. He had just won the international guitar competition (Guitar Foundation of America International Competition) and I just stumbled across him and listened to his playing a little bit and just loved it, so I thought I would take a chance on this fresh-out-of-school-competition winner and everyone just loved him.”

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A dynamic master class by visiting pianist Spencer Myer held a group of teenage composers of classical music in rapt attention on a recent Saturday morning. The class was a collaboration by two premier music organizations, InConcert Sierra and Nevada County Composers Cooperative.

Myer was in town to perform at InConcert Sierra’s Third Sunday concert the following day. The students participate in the Young Composers Project designed and taught by local composer Mark Vance. It is a music education program offered by the Nevada County Composers Cooperative.

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Violinist Athena Giuliani strode on to the stage and opened the show with a dazzling performance of Niccolo Paganini’s Caprice #16—a quick ride on a musical roller coaster with triple time, fancy fingering and cascading passages in perpetual motion. She left the audience breathless, anticipating the upcoming line-up of young musicians on the rest of the program.

The occasion was the Sierra Student Showcase presented by InConcert Sierra on Sunday afternoon, December 3 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Grass Valley—a recital featuring a cast of 15 musicians, ranging in age from 7 to 18, playing music by Poulenc, Bach, Vivaldi, von Weber, Lully and Saint-Saens, as well as simple folk tunes and waltzes, performed via piano, violin, cello and voice.

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Sierra Master Chorale and Orchestra presents “Sing Joy” on Saturday, Dec. 16, and Sunday, Dec. 17.

Photo by Carolyn Valle of Valle Visions

Embark on a musical journey with award-winning pianist Spencer Myer, featuring Claude Debussy’s “24 Preludes.” Myer’s return to InConcert Sierra’s stage promises to evoke a rich tapestry of emotions and moods that are a signature of Debussy’s compositions, Sunday, Nov 19 at 2 p.m.

A former American Pianists Association Fellowship winner, Myer has garnered acclaim for his musical talent. His decision to perform the entire set of 24 Debussy Preludes, rarely heard as an entire program in concert, is a testament to his artistry and his dedication to delivering an extraordinary musical experience.

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“Seraph Brass” will be gracing InConcert Sierra’s stage as part of the Third Sunday Concert series. As the most prominent all-female brass group in the county and a proponent of diversity in the arts, Seraph draws from a roster of America’s top brass musicians that identify as female. This extraordinary group will be performing on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, 2 p.m. with a pre-concert forum at 1:15 p.m.

InConcert Sierra’s principal horn player, Cara Jones, said, “When I heard that ICS was bringing in Seraph Brass, I was so excited. I have been a professional female horn player for 20 years, and I’ve never had a female trumpet, trombone, or tuba colleague in the Grass Valley area. The fact is that female brass players continue to be under-represented in orchestras everywhere. I am delighted for the ICS audience to not only be treated to this world-class brass quintet, but also to show aspiring female musicians and the entire audience what is possible. Thank you, ICS, for bringing this incredible opportunity to the community!”

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The InConcert Sierra Orchestra, led by Conductor and Artistic Director Ken Hardin, is thrilled to extend an invitation to music enthusiasts of all ages for an exceptional afternoon of music on Sunday, September 17. The doors are open wide to welcome you into a world of mesmerizing melodies and outstanding artistry.

Guided by the adept hand of conductor Ken Hardin, InConcert Sierra Orchestra, comprised of local and regional professional musicians, promises a musical voyage encompassing a selection of enduring classics and contemporary jewels.

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Wake up your week! Musical Mondays brings joy and music to the outdoor amphitheater at the Nevada County Library starting Monday, June 12 and running through Monday, July 24 from 11 a.m. until noon.

Kicking off the summer series on June 12 will be the KSK Jazz Trio with pianist Ken Hardin, bassist Steve Nicholson and flutist Kirsti Powell with fun jazz standards and memorable playful tunes from the Beatles, Raffi, and many more that will resonate with little ones and adults alike.

Free to the public, Musical Mondays is a popular summer series of one-hour morning concerts where kids can sing, squirm and dance, and adults can relax and enjoy, or dance as well. The experience is casual with attendees bringing their own lawn chairs or blankets, and snacks. The series features local and regional musicians performing music geared toward youth but enjoyable for all ages.

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How many times in life have you been faced with a big decision and wished there was an expert at hand to act as a sounding board, discuss options, or even make the final decision for you? Some decisions can be confidently made on our own, whereas others are worthy of professional guidance and advice. When InConcert Sierra (ICS) committed to building Crown Point Venues (The Venues), the massive concert hall, black box and conference center project in Whispering Pines, the scope and complexity of the effort became clear, and warranted the advice of an expert. That expert came in the form of Daniel Swartzendruber, owner of Tru-Line Builders, who ICS hired as our Owners Representative.

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Some kids have both the fortitude and the ability at a young age to know and pursue what they want to do when they grow up. That’s Daniel Silva’s fortunate story. He knew he wanted to be a welder, pursued that vocation, and now his company, DS Welding, Inc., is doing all the big steel fabrication and welding on InConcert Sierra’s (ICS) massive concert hall/black box/conference center project.

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Local young man makes good, and what an interesting life he has embarked upon. One of our own, Devin Cameron, who grew up in the area and graduated from Colfax High School, has become a sought-after lighting designer in New York, California, and venues around the world. Now, he is developing the lighting design for InConcert Sierra’s new Crown Point Venues. He is developing the lighting design for the entire 42,000 square foot building, including the complex systems for the 540-seat concert hall and the 150-seat black box theater.

Devin has participated in theater since he was nine, acting and singing, and started doing lighting design at age eleven. At Colfax High School, he was mentored by Erin Beatie and John Deaderick and engaged in both acting and lighting design. During that time, he also designed lighting for The Center for the Arts and the Nevada Theater.

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How might our community make the best use of available space in a high-quality building?

It’s an unusual question, but InConcert Sierra (ICS) had to answer it last year after purchasing a spacious building at a bargain price to create a concert hall for world-class music performances. Once designed, the concert hall occupied less than half of the building’s 42,000 square feet. ICS needed to decide what to do with the remaining space.

ICS reached out to many others in the community—nonprofits, the city and county, and businesses—to find the answer. The consensus was overwhelming: this community needs a large, flexible space for conferences, conventions and emergency events where catered meals can be easily available.

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InConcert Sierra’s Crown Point Events Complex is still under construction, and a new milestone was reached on Monday when 40-foot high steel columns were installed in what will be the main concert hall of the 42,000 square foot building currently being erected on Crown Point Court in Grass Valley.

“These are the steel columns for the 40 foot walls for the concert halls,” said Julie Hardin, Executive Director of InConcert Sierra, gesturing to the newly placed 12-inch rectangular pillars. “It’s pretty exciting because it shows our progress on it, how much further along we’ve come.”

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How might our community make the best use of available space in a high-quality building?

It’s an unusual question, but InConcert Sierra (ICS) had to answer it last year after purchasing a spacious building at a bargain price to create a concert hall for world-class music performances. Once designed, the concert hall occupied less than half of the building’s 42,000 square feet. ICS needed to decide what to do with the remaining space.

ICS reached out to many others in the community—nonprofits, the city and county, and businesses—to find the answer. The consensus was overwhelming: this community needs a large, flexible space for conferences, conventions and emergency events where catered meals can be easily available.

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When I began my career working for Grass Valley Group back in the 80's, my friend and colleague Doug Morgan thought up this company slogan: "Performance and Quality, the P's and Q's of our Success." These words adorned the hallways as a reminder of the pride we took in our team and in the products we built. It's hard to match the sense of satisfaction that comes from being part of a successful team and as we know, team attitude reflects leadership. This maxim rings true at the Crown Point Events Complex construction site, InConcert Sierra's (ICS) massive concert hall, black box and conference center project, where two extremely talented leaders keep everything running like a well-oiled machine. Marc Nelson, site superintendent and program manager for Sierra Foothills Construction Company (SFCC), and Josh Grandell, owner of Clean Cut Construction, are longtime friends and have worked together numerous times. It's fitting that they are joining together again on this very significant project for ICS.

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To a theater person, a “black box” is a little slice of heaven because it’s a flexible space in which one can create any type of performance art. A stage can be placed anywhere in the room, including the center. Seating can be in rows, circles or on two, three or four sides. Lighting can be focused anywhere, and the only backdrops or set pieces seen are what the presenter chooses, since the walls are—yes—just black.

The Grass Valley and Nevada City area is blessed to have a historic, dedicated, traditional theater space, the Nevada Theatre. Smaller shows, when producers want the capability to create different arrangements, are being performed in several local spaces, but none have the ceiling height, seating flexibility and lighting components that can be configured exactly the way the designer chooses. That’s about to change.

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It was raining, it was cold outside, and it was a construction site, but nothing could dampen the warmth, energy and excitement inside, generated by the Raising the Roof event at the new Crown Point Events Complex on Saturday, February 17, hosted by the building’s owner, InConcert Sierra (ICS). The building, purchased by ICS in March 2023, will be an economic, social and artistic boon to the Nevada County community.

More than 150 people attended the invitation-only event, including people who had already made a financial pledge towards the project, those who had volunteered or worked on the project, and those who previously expressed an interest in utilizing the building’s resources once it is completed.

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A week ago Saturday I visited the construction site of the Crown Point Event Complex off Whispering Pines Road. What a wonderful addition this will be to our community! The building was purchased by InConcert Sierra to be the new home for their chamber music performances. The concert hall will be beautiful. What surprised me most was what else there was. There will be a black box theater for stage performances. Included in my tour was a dance group interested in seeing what the space would be like for their shows. There will also be a big convention room with a full kitchen. Imagine how many of our local businesses will benefit from out of the county companies meeting there.

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When InConcert Sierra purchased a large 42,000 square foot building in the Whispering Pines business area of Grass Valley last year to repurpose for a “state-of-the-art” concert hall, there was never a question of who they should enlist for the reconstruction. Keoni Allen’s Grass Valley company, Sierra Foothills Construction Company, had designed the building in 1991 and built it in early 1992 as a claim center for Blue Shield of California. Because hundreds of employees were needed for the claim center, Keoni made sure there was a huge parking lot. After Blue Shield vacated the building, it was ultimately sold to the Grass Valley tech company and Keoni was asked to remodel the building for them in 2014. The remodel was a challenge because he was asked not to disturb the 100 employees working in the building and to complete the work in 120 days! Keoni chuckled as he remarked, “Yeah, that’s the kind of stuff that makes it fun and interesting.”

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What’s going on at 125 Crown Point Court in the Whispering Pines business park? Well, 2023 has been an eventful year thus far. In March, InConcert Sierra (ICS) purchased the 42,000 square foot building formerly occupied by Grass Valley Group, to create the Crown Point Events Complex, a venue that includes a 540-seat acoustic concert hall, a 150-seat multi-configurable black box theater, and a conference center that will seat 300 at banquet tables. Within 37 hours of closing escrow, Mother Nature brought us an unanticipated challenge in the form of a partial roof collapse due to unprecedented snowfall and accumulation. With an outpouring of community support, rapid civic response, and a concerted effort by Sierra Foothill Construction Company (SFCC), C&D Contractors, and the ICS design team, progress since March has been nothing short of astounding. The collapsed areas have been demolished, the roof infrastructure has been reinforced beyond current building codes, and renovation of the entire facility is underway, with a grand opening planned for Fall 2024. Make no mistake, this is a large-scale effort that requires careful planning and coordination. One aspect of this process that goes largely unnoticed, but is nonetheless a key priority, is the reuse and recycling of materials to promote sustainable development.

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InConcert Sierra (ICS) officially broke ground on their 42,000 sq ft facility in the Whispering Pines area on Tuesday. The new venue is slated for an opening in the fall of 2024, with an acoustic concert hall seating 520 guests, a conference center able to accomodate 300 participants and a black box theater for 150 audience members. InConcert Sierra's programs.

ICS’ Executive Director Julie Hardin welcomed community members to the construction site and Board President Hindi Greenberg thanked the project team, the contractors and the staff of ICS.

Ken Hardin, ICS’ Artistic Director and board member Monroe Lovelady serve as the project’s co-leads. Grass Valley Mayor Jan Arbuckle, Nevada County Supervisor and ICS board member Heidi Hall, Nevada County Supervisor Lisa Swarthout, ERC representative Gil Matthew and Yolanda Cookson, representing Assemblymember Megan Dahle rounded out the speakers at the event.

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InConcert Sierra (ICS) hosted a “groundbreaking” ceremony this past Tuesday, August 29, in celebration of the renovations for the new concert venue. Approximately 150 community members attended the event.

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Things are coming right along at the top of Crown Point Circle, where InConcert Sierra is well underway in its plans to transform the nearly 42,00 square foot building into its next concert venue. In addition, plans will include a conference center capable of hosting 300 guests, a full kitchen, and office spaces for InConcert’s staff.

On March 4 of this year, InConcert signed the papers to procure the property which overlooks Grass Valley. 24 hours after the ink dried, several feet of snow fell on the building and collapsed the structure of the roof. What could be considered a major setback has set InConcert into motion, propelling them to what they hope will be a beacon for event spaces in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area.

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Unfortunately, many businesses suffered through the snowstorms that plagued Nevada County this winter.

However, very few have a story quite like that of InConcert Sierra, who on March 3 closed on the purchase of a $2 million building on Crown Point Court in Grass Valley — which is intended to serve as a community conference center and concert hall — amassing nearly 42,000 square feet.

Less than a day after the papers were signed Mother Nature made her presence known and dropped feet of heavy snow on the structure leading its roof to collapse.

“It was about 24 hours after we purchased it,” said Barbara Drew, Board Supervisor of InConcert Sierra. “We bought in on a Friday and it happened that weekend. And it just happened to be discovered; there was no one working on the weekend but there was a guy from Grass Valley Group who wanted to use the shower there. He liked the shower better here than the one at his home. And he came in on a Sunday morning and noticed that the roof collapsed. We said, ‘Are you kidding me? We just bought it!’”

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InConcert Sierra has been working on creating the Crown Point Events Complex that will include an elegant acoustic concert hall, black box theater, and conference center. The building to be renovated is a 41,000 square foot building in the Whispering Pines Business Park.

On Friday, March 3, InConcert Sierra celebrated the close of escrow on the building. On Saturday, March 4, sometime during the night, the building suffered a partial roof collapse estimated to be about 2400 square feet or 5% of the roof area.

There were no injuries nor was anyone in the building at the time of collapse. The building has been secured and the city, county, and ICS contractors have been engaged.

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“Some dreams are worth chasing—no matter how long it takes to bring them to life.”

So begins the background letter drafted by InConcert Sierra when announcing their intentions to open a concert hall and conference center in the Whispering Pines business park area.

In a meeting to be held Tuesday evening, Grass Valley’s city council will meet to discuss the planned project which InConcert’s executive director, Julie Hardin, said would serve as not only a space for music and music education but would offer full event facilities including a commercial kitchen.

“It’s the biggest project as far as the arts go,” said Hardin. “This one is multi-faceted and has the potential to impact our community.”

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