By Daily Press Staff
DOWNTOWN The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will present the 58th Annual Stairway of the Stars event at the Civic auditorium this week.
This event, which begins tonight and will continue Friday, remains one of the most popular annual events in the city as it spotlights the talents of the district’s music students and teachers.
One of the highlights of this year’s performance will be the addition of an Elementary Honor Choir, which developed as a result of the district’s expansion of the music program this year. This year, the guest conductor will be Lawrence Stoffel.
This year’s honor award recipient is Zen Gesner. He was drum major of the Santa Monica High School marching band for two years, 1987 and 1988, as well as being in the symphony orchestra — under the guidance of Gary Horimoto and Doug Hargis. He also served as the drum major during the same time that Stoffel completed his work as a teacher at Samohi.
“Those were very exciting years,” Gesner said.
While attending Santa Monica High School, Gesner became an aspiring actor after landing a small part in the school’s production of “Hamlet,” and went on to play supportive roles in the school’s rendition of “Nicholas Nickleby” and “The Sound of Music."
Gesner’s mother, Nan Martin, and his father, Harry Gesner, were both Stairway of the Stars award winners, and his mother was
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 6, 2008. Read the original PDF.