The Music Center celebrates its 50th birthday in style

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The Music Center was in full swing this Wednesday as a crowd gathered to celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary.

A rededication ceremony was held on the steps of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a venue named in honor of the L.A. transplant who campaigned tirelessly to raise funds for the its construction.

Civic leaders, supporters of the arts and a handful of stars including Vanessa Williams and Dale Kristien came out to pay tribute.

“We like to think of The Music Center as the sun, culturally, in this community,” said Steve Rountree, during his opening remarks.

Rountree, the center’s president, was effusive about the importance of culture and art in society.

When The Music Center was opened in September of 1964, it was hailed as a triumph for the city of Los Angeles. It has gone on to play a key role in the city’s transformation into a cultural capital, all the while cementing its status as an artists’ hub and as a promoter of the performing arts.

Dorothy Buffum Chandler led a charge to help raise the $33 million required to build the center’s original three theaters. The venue bearing her name was opened first on December 6, 1964. The Music Center campus now houses three additional spaces for the arts: the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theater and the Walt Disney Concert hall which opened in 2003.

Speakers at the event expressed their appreciation for the center’s past but also, and more importantly, optimism for its future.