A one-of-a-kind musical experience, where the warm glow from flickering candles creates a mesmerizing ambience.
This is how Denise Welch, co-owner of Desert Candlelight Concerts, described these performances, which have enchanted audiences around the world—and they’re coming to the historic Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City, held monthly through March.
Welch said 2,000 candles will illuminate shows featuring performers in genres from classical, to jazz, to contemporary and even world music.
Audiences can “relax from your busy work schedule, and enjoy the sounds under the spell of the soothing music of the extraordinary talents of local artists,” Welch said, “These concerts bring the community together. They’re reasonably priced, where you can meet locals and walk away. They’re also in the middle of the week, so you won’t miss out on weekend events.”
Welch said the venue, the Mary Pickford Theater, is also special.
“Since it’s not owned by a (big chain), the outside is like the good-old movie theaters in New York with the sign outside,” Welch said. “It’s beautiful to walk into. It has two stories, which again gives you the feeling of being in that old-time movie theater. You can just sit back and relax on large, comfortable seats and enjoy the multisensory musical experience.”
The Wednesday, Nov. 15, performer will be renowned violinist and multi-instrumentalist Jeremie Levi Samson, a local who has been touring the world since he was 16 years old, with more than 2,500 performances in Europe, the United States, Asia and Mexico.
“I will take the audience on a musical journey across the world, through the prism of my own experiences,” he said. “These experiences include meeting and playing with a lot of musicians, learning their traditional music in a friendly, family atmosphere, and getting to know the local people.”
Born in Paris to a musical family, he started playing the piano at the age of 2, and found the violin at age 7. He attended the Conservatory of Saint Maur and the Lille Conservatory, where he won a gold medal and a development prize with honors. He trained under musical greats including Bernard Wacheux and Radu Blidar, as well as noted jazz artists.
“I have always been guided by my passion for music, learning by my life experiences, meeting others and sharing my music,” Samson said. “After all, isn’t life and music all about love and relationships?”
The series kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 26, with Marc Antonelli, who sings songs by the likes of David Foster, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble and Josh Groban.
The performer on Wednesday, Dec. 13, will be local Will Donato, a smooth jazz composer, alto saxophonist and recording artist, whose song “Infinite Soul” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay chart in 2019.
Other scheduled performers include Sergio Villegas, born in Santiago, Chile, and regarded as one of the world’s top multi-instrumentalist studio musicians; Frank DiSalvo, who sings numbers from the era of Frank Sinatra and his contemporaries; and singer Leslie Page, described as having one of the finest and most adaptable voices, and dubbed by producers as the “one take wonder.’”
The Desert Candlelight Concerts take place at 6 p.m. on various dates, at Mary Pickford Is D’Place, 36850 Pickfair St., in Cathedral City. Tickets are $45 to $65. For tickets or more information, visit www.desertcandlelightconcerts.com.