Students Shine During 40th Annual Bren Honors Concert

The Irvine Unified School District’s nationally recognized honors ensemble chorus and orchestra performed in the District’s 40th annual Donald Bren Honors Concert on the evening of April 16, 2024.  This signature IUSD event featured more than 600 students in grades five to 12 at the Henry and Renee Segerstrom Concert Hall. Click here to view the concert program that includes information about student performers, musical arrangements and our world-class music educators. 

President of the IUSD Board of Education, Cyril Yu served as the concert emcee.  He recognized students for their months of preparation and thanked their families for continuing to support the arts in IUSD.

Yu acknowledged the IUSD Board of Education for its continued prioritization and funding of visual and performing arts while thanking the Irvine Company for its longstanding and transformational partnership to enhance IUSD’s arts education.  The Irvine Company has committed to contribute nearly $50 million over 20 years through the Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund to support IUSD’s art, science and music education for students in grades four through six. 

In front of a packed house of more than 1,500 families and community members, Yu accepted a $2 million contribution as part of the Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund from the Donald Bren Foundation and the Irvine Company, presented by Irvine Company Senior Vice President Jeff Davis.

“Many school districts have drastically cut arts education over the last two decades, but IUSD’s programs have flourished due to a commitment to the arts by the Board of Education and community support like that of Irvine Company and its Chairman Donald Bren, said Yu.  “Tonight’s concert is a demonstration of this partnership and commitment, which has resulted in IUSD being named one of the nation’s Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation for 13 consecutive years.” 

The Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund, established by Irvine Company’s funding commitment, helps provide art, music and science teachers to every fourth- through sixth-grader in the district. Instruction includes two one-hour science lessons per week, two 40-minute music lessons per week, and six one-hour art lessons per year – all taught by highly specialized instructors. Since 2006, this program has helped nearly 200,000 elementary students and has helped to propel IUSD students to consistently outperform their peers in California and the nation in many of these subjects.

“Educational opportunity and excellence have always been at the heart of our planning efforts in Irvine. The funding commitment made through the Excellence in Education Enrichment Fund has deepened our decades-long partnership with IUSD, students and families to support enrichment programs in science, art and music,” said Davis.

Yu also thanked the Irvine Public Schools Foundation and for their commitment to primary music education and educational excellence for all IUSD students.  

IUSD Board Members, Paul Bokota, Lauren Brooks, Jeff Kim and Katie McEwen were also in attendance and congratulated student performers for an extraordinary evening of music.