This past Tuesday, the Aliso Viejo Chamber of Commerce hosted its monthly Networking Breakfast at the Aliso Viejo Center. In addition to the event’s usual social activities, this month’s breakfast featured a presentation by the Soka Performing Arts Center, showcasing their 2019-2020 season performances.
To kick off the morning, Aliso Viejo Community Foundation Board Member Eric Hauber opened the breakfast as the event’s master of ceremonies with a call to the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a few inspirational quotes to set a motivational tone for the day.
Following opening pleasantries, first times guests were introduced and a special welcome was extended to all distinguished guests in attendance. Additionally, the Chamber welcomed its newest member, Steve Kitagawa of Kitagawa Law.
Before the keynote address, guests participated in a brief networking exercise. Going around the room, everyone in attendance stood to introduce themselves, the organizations they represented, and their organization’s target audience or potential referral partners.
Following this activity came the featured presentation, delivered by Soka Performing Arts Center General Manager Renee Bodie. According to Ms. Bodie, “This season is all about highlighting the stunning sound quality of our hall and broadening the range of musical experience for our audience.”
Ms. Bodie highlighted the various acts scheduled to perform throughout the 2019-2020 season, including a Blues Series featuring Tommy Castro and The Painkillers in November, a Great Pianist Series featuring Murray Perahia in March, and also a Celtic Christmas performance featuring one of the world’s most prominent pipers, Eric Rigler, who famously played the Uilleann pipes heard on the featured record from the Titanic soundtrack.
When asked what makes the Soka Performing Arts Center so unique, Ms. Bodie answered, “Our acoustics are as good as or better than those at Disney Hall, but we are half the size. So what makes us unique is the intimacy of our hall – the ability to feel like these artists are in your living room. Because of the size of our hall and the beautiful acoustics, you feel like you’re sitting in your living room, listening up close and personal to this incredible artist…It’s like you’re completely transported. It’s very meditative and it’s just so beautiful; it just sinks right into you.”
After the presentation, the morning mixer finished up with an opportunistic drawing with a variety of gift certificates up for grabs.
About Soka University
Soka University, an Aliso Viejo Chamber member organization, is a private, non-profit, four-year liberal arts college and graduate school located in Aliso Viejo, California. The university’s Soka Performing Arts Center and Wangari Maathai Hall add approximately 95,000 square feet to the school’s campus and features world-class acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, acoustic designer of noted performance venues like the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. For more information about the upcoming performances at the Soka Performing Arts Center or to purchase ticket packages, visit http://www.soka.edu/pac/performing-arts-events.aspx.
Interested in Joining Our Next Event?
The Aliso Viejo Chamber of Commerce creates member-to-member and member-to-community connections through events both online and offline, like this Networking Breakfast. The Networking Breakfast takes place every second Tuesday of the month at the Aliso Viejo Conference Center, but there are many other events that you can attend as well. To learn more about our upcoming meetups, visit our events page.
Also, if you’re interested in becoming a member of the Chamber, we’d love to have you! Click here to learn more about the benefits of joining.