Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/phodgins/)
Paul Hodgins was born in Canada, where he studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music and became a professional accompanist by the age of 20. Hodgins worked widely in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. as an accompanist and music professor at Simon Fraser University, the Banff Centre for the Arts, Nonington College (Kent), Eastern Michigan University, and many festivals. He moved to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies in the 1980s and has lived here ever since, completing his doctorate in musical composition at the University of Southern California. Hodgins was a professor of music at the University of California Irvine from 1985 to 1992, where he served as music director of the dance department and founding director of the Gassman Electronic Music Studio. After freelancing as a classical music critic at the San Diego Union-Tribune, he became an arts journalist and critic for The Orange County Register, where he wrote principally about theater and later about dance and classical music. In addition to his expertise in the performing arts, Hodgins has written extensively about jazz, architecture, interior design and urban planning. For the last decade he has written a regular column about wine, beer and spirits for the Register. Hodgins has written two books. Music, Movement and Metaphor, a study of dance-music relationships in 20th-century choreography, was published in 1992. The Winemakers of Paso Robles came out in 2017. Hodgins remains active as an educator. He has been on the journalism faculty at California State University, Fullerton since 2001. He has also taught journalism at Cal State Long Beach and UCLA Extension. Hodgins and his wife have lived in downtown Huntington Beach for 20 years. Some day he will learn how to surf. Languages spoken: English Areas of expertise: Orange County, theater, dance, music and arts issues.
Patrons are frustrated that refunds have still not been made for the Pageant of the Masters. Pageant officials offer the latest updates on the festival’s policies regarding the cancelled 2020 festival.
Farrell Hirsch has not let the coronavirus get in the way of the Muckenthaler’s mission to “enrich the human spirit through the arts.”
ArtsOC and Heritage Future have a won a bid to take over the management and use of the Hunt Library space in Fullerton.
The Braver Player’s youth theater company is determined to put on a show this summer, with a stage in the parking lot and spread out seating.
Two institutions have already dropped or changed their names in the last few weeks, due to controversial namesakes. Who’s next?
While they wait out the coronavirus, OC’s performing artists look for ways to practice their craft in the way it was intended – in front of a live audience.
For many arts organizations struggling with the financial mayhem caused by the coronavirus pandemic, one issue could mean the difference between life and death.
The pandemic has sparked considerable creativity as many people have been finding new ways to celebrate with drive-throughs and virtual gatherings.
Advocates for affordable housing in OC see the Santa Ana Arts Collective as an excellent example of addressing the needs of a specific population.
A mere scratch of the OC skin reveals a teeming literary life underneath. Readings, conferences, panels, workshops and discussion groups take place regularly — or did before the pandemic drove us indoors.