WAVES OF LIGHT AND SOUND NEW CONCERT VENUE IN COSTA MESA SIMPLY FLOWS.

Byline: John Farrell  Correspondent

SHINY AND NEW, its wave-like glass front sparkling, it sits, waiting for the excitement to begin.

Now, the $250 million Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, the new home of the Pacific Symphony, just needs a crowd to appreciate its looks, its ambience, and the way it makes an orchestra sound.

That event happens Friday, when the symphony, under music director Carl St. Clair, presents an opening gala concert in the new hall. The performance features a world premiere with Placido Domingo as soloist.

But that's just the beginning.

Friday's concert ushers in ``Celebration 2006,'' six weeks of galas and special performances, including Saturday's concert by the Pacific Chorale, which will also call the new hall home, and upcoming performances by the Kirov Ballet, Kirov Opera (featuring the four-opera Wagner ``Ring'' cycle) and Kirov Orchestra.

Designed by celebrated Argentinian architect Cesar Pelli, the limestone and glass building -- adjacent to South Coast Repertory and across the street from Orange County Performing Arts Center's Segerstrom Hall and Founders Hall -- houses the 2,000-seat Segerstrom Concert Hall and the smaller, more intimate 500-seat Samueli Theater, which will open Oct. 14. A 46,000-square-foot plaza connects the facilities.

Pelli, who also created the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, calls the hall a musical instrument designed to make every note, every phrase hearable.

The hall includes a custom-designed concert organ and a special seating area for a chorus. There is a special lift for concert pianos and adjustable, silver-leaf acoustical canopies and chambers to fine-tune the hall's sound capabilities.

There are also two large orchestra rehearsal chambers, eight smaller rehearsal spaces, a dressing room, a music library and a restaurant.

The single most noticeable feature of the new building, however, is its undulating glass facade -- 300 horizontal feet of glass that seems to hang in the air without support. Six hundred and fifty panes of glass, more than 50,000 square feet in panels ranging from 52 to 87 feet tall, make up the building's spectacular front, which Pelli said was designed to reflect both the ocean waves along the coast and the waves of musical sound from the hall.

The new hall will benefit more than just the Pacific Symphony. The Philharmonic Society of Orange County, which has been presenting concerts in the area for 53 years, will also use the hall for its season, which has been expanded to 39 performances at Segerstrom Concert Hall and elsewhere in Orange County. They begin their relationship with the new facility on Sunday with a special all-Mozart concert.

``I was able to hear part of a rehearsal of the Pacific Chorale this week in the new hall,'' said Dean Corey, executive director of the Philharmonic Society, in a phone conversation this week. ``Hearing just a choir, I was able to appreciate the hall's acoustics; it has both warmth and clarity. Usually you don't get both in a concert hall.

``The hall is beautiful to look at, too. The silver organ pipes and the silver ceiling panels, the light golden wood -- maple, I think, with just a touch of red makes it very attractive.''

The Philharmonic Society will present several series of concerts in the hall, including the expanded Eclectic Orange Festival, now a yearlong program of concerts.

It's a busy time for the Orange County Performing Arts Center, said its president, Terrence Dwyer.

``I'm both exhilarated and exhausted,'' Dwyer said in a recent -- and brief -- phone conversation. ``There are so many wonderful things happening at the center.

``There is widespread excitement about what the expansion of our arts campus means to the community,'' he said. ``We want to be smart about how this space gets animated. We hope and expect that this opening will be a welcoming gesture to the local community.''

As part of the commitment to the community, a free arts festival is scheduled for Sept. 24 at the new concert hall as well as the outdoor plaza, South Coast Repertory and Segerstrom Hall.

Called Celebrate the Arts at the Center, the event will feature arts activities, tours of the new hall and musical, dance and theater performances. All events are first-come, first- served, except for the orchestra seats, for which tickets will be required and will be available, free of charge, one hour before each event.

PACIFIC SYMPHONY

What: ``Inspirations,'' with tenor Placido Domingo (Friday), and ``Reverberations,'' with violinist Midori (Saturday).

Where: Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tickets: $1,000 tickets available for Friday; $250-$2,500 tickets available for Saturday. [phone]. www.ocpac.org.

On radio: Both concerts air live and commercial-free on KMZT-FM (105.1).

THE MAGIC OF MOZART

What: Ivor Bolton conducts an all-Mozart program with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg.

Where: Segerstrom Concert Hall.

When: 7 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $100-$250.

CELEBRATE THE ARTS AT THE CENTER

What: Performances and activities to mark the 20th anniversary of the Orange County Performing Arts Center and to introduce the new Segerstrom Concert Hall.

Where: Orange County

Performing Arts Center and Segerstrom Concert Hall.

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24.

Tickets: Free.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) The architecture of Costa Mesa's new Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall encourages flow -- both physical and musical. Below, the theme continues in the outer portions of the limestone and glass building.