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# Jazzing up the pier
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/jazzing-up-the-pier/
- Published: 2004-08-20T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:53:23.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Events, Pier, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

Listen to live jazz while watching the classic film “The Pink Panther.” Continuing to find ways to build partnerships to present free concerts and events, the Santa Monica College Madison Performance Series has announced a special Henry Mancini Institute concert at 7 p.m., Sept. 7, which will precede the screening of The Pink Panther at the Santa Monica Pier.

The Henry Mancini Institute Jazz Alumni Quintet will play musical selections that include well-known film scores, culminating with Mancini’s Pink Panther theme. The live jazz will be followed by the screening of the film classic.

The special event kicks off the Madison Performance Series’ fall season, which also will include a mini dance festival at the pier and a return of the acclaimed SMC Youth Opera Camp production of Brundibár, both scheduled for October.

The Pink Panther event, held as part of the Santa Monica Drive-in at the Pier series, is free, but tickets are required. They can be reserved by calling (310) 458- 8935 or going to www.smff.com. “We’re excited to kick off our sixth season with such a fun family event that combines music with comedy,” said Adam Philipson, coordinator of the Madison Performance Series.

“This concert demonstrates the perfect blend of bringing together a classic film, a great public venue and the legacy of the man who wrote the unforgettable score for Pink Panther,” said Dale Franzen, director of the Madison Project of Santa Monica College, which produces the Madison Performance Series.

Santa Monica Drive-in at the Pier is sponsored by the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp. and DEFMAN, a private nonprofit established to help cancer patients, to benefit The Cancer Relief Fund. The Mancini concert is cosponsored by The Madison Project of Santa Monica College, Henry Mancini Institute, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation and the Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica.

“We’re excited about our partnership with the Madison Project to provide world-class musical entertainment at our screening of The Pink Panther,” said Ben Franz- Knight, executive director of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp.

The highly popular Madison Performance Series is designed to introduce new audiences to the type of programming that will be at the planned 500-seat performing arts center at SMC’s historic Madison site in central Santa Monica. The arts education and community outreach series includes music, dance, theater, children’s events, spoken word and more.

The Henry Mancini Institute was founded in 1977 to bring music into kindergarten-through-12th-grade schools and community sites. The institute’s projects include the After-School Program, School Partnerships Program, Beyond the Bell Concert Series and the Community Combos Program.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 20, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)