Beginning Strings Conservatory Class Registration
JAN 7, 2014
16-week enrollment/ $120

Learn to play with a FREE* Violin! The popular Strings Conservatory returns for all ages. Lessons begin @ 6 pm January 7th with a FREE introductory session! Hour-long lessons continue 6 pm on... MORE INFO

12th Annual Scholarship Concerts & Recitals
JAN 18, 2014
Tickets $12

Come and enjoy student musicians of all ages, both instrumentalists and vocalists, as they perform their best in the 12th Annual Scholarship Concerts & Recitals program offered by the Hi-Desert Cultural Center's... MORE INFO

Desert Stories VII - A Spoken Word Featured Event
Feb 1, 2014
Tickets $20/$25/$35

Desert Stories returns to the Hi-Desert Cultural Center's Blak Box Theater! This popular sell-out spoken word fundraiser for the rebuilding of our Desert's iconic theater will be... MORE INFO

LUSH! - "Desert Theatre League Multi-Award-Winner!"
Mar 8-9, 2014
Tickets $20/$25

Valerie-Jean Hume's original multi-award-winning play, "LUSH!", will play at the Hi-Desert Cultural Center in two special encore performances! Having just won "Best Original Writing", "Best Production", "Best Director" & more from the Desert Theatre League. "LUSH!" is the story... MORE INFO

Moon Over Buffalo - Theatrical Comedy!
Apr 4-19, 2014
Tickets $15/$20

Directed by this year's Desert Theatre League multi-award-winning "Best Director" Wendy Cohen, and in the madcap comedy tradition of "Lend Me A Tenor", Ken Ludwig's hilarious "Moon Over Buffalo" centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the... MORE INFO

Beginning Strings Conservatory Class Recital
May 6, 2014
Tickets FREE @ DOOR or
$1 guarantee

Come see and hear the members of our Beginning Strings Conservatory Class as they perform in their first recital after four months of instruction with Phyllis Moss, a 25-year L.A. public schools music educator who is also... MORE INFO

Joshua Tree Philharmonic - 10th Anniversary Series!
May 16-18, 2014
Tickets $15/$20

The innovative Joshua Tree Philharmonic will begin celebrating its 10th anniversary year with a new exhilarating concert series that is sure to delight and enthrall the entire family! Though the Philharmonic's series' continually sell-out, tickets have been released early and are now available... MORE INFO

About Us
Professional performances and educational opportunites from worldclass artists set the Cultural Center apart from everyone else.

RECENT HISTORY
WHAT WE DO
PEOPLE TO KNOW

Recent History

The Hi-Desert Cultural Center was officially founded in 1967 in the eclectic town of Joshua Tree, CA and has been the major force in promoting the cultural arts in the Morongo Basin ever since. Recognized by the L.A. and New York Times as the “new bohemia” and “mecca” for the arts, the historic and newly renamed Kaye Ballard Theatre offers professional live stage performances and instruction

in music, drama, dance, visual arts, and more. The Cultural Center continues to serve as a catalyst for arts education through its Performing Arts Academy and as a venue for professional live sound and video recording. The Hi-Desert Cultural Center is the performing arts center of the Morongo Basin and is a multi-theatre commercial complex that has provided the Desert's best in professional live entertainment for over 43 years.

The Cultural Center recently implemented a brand new board of directors, including a new President, then 23-year-old virtuoso and life-long Joshua Tree resident Jarrod Radnich. Radnich is a recording artist for YAMAHA, best selling author for Hal Leonard the world's largest music publisher, and most recently designed shows for Disney's new $15 million dollar Dream Home.
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After receiving a devastating blow in January 2007, the theatre fell victim to almost a half million dollars of damage from California's unprecendented freeze that resulted in a declared state-wide disaster. The historic theatre's sprinkler system froze and burst five pipes. The community rallied behind the theatre to raise monies to rebuild the fallen icon. Although the effort raised great funds, it still didn't come close to raising the necessary funds to reopen the main theatre. In the spirit of continuing to provide great entertainment, it was then decided to open a second 100 seat "Blak Box" theatre in the existing facility immediately behind the beloved Playhouse.

The brand new state-of-the-art Blak Box Theatre is located in the recently modernized Palmer Performance Hall and presents "black box" style entertainment. The Performance Hall is named after long time Executive Board Member Cherie Palmer's late husband Robert Palmer, a founding father of the cultural icon. Professional theatre and concert performances place the emphasis on the art and fine skill of the performers. Featuring halogen lighting throughout the facility, the theatre is completely enclosed with black curtains, and boasts computerized High End Lighting Systems, a Yamaha Disklavier grand piano, two Kawai grand pianos, Auralex Acoutics' wall treatments, Pro Tools HD 7.2 surround sound, new seating, a complete dance floor with mirrors, and a fiber optic star ceiling that will soon adorn the entire theatre.

The historic 300-seat main theatre is currently undergoing extensive renovations. The Playhouse boasts a large prescenium stage, elevated seating, two green rooms, and will feature cutting edge technologies by Yamaha, High End Systems, and Digidesign that will enable the theater to be used as a professional live sound stage.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HISTORY ON THE THEATRE

What We Do
The Hi-Desert Cultural Center is committed to providing the best live entertainment and educational opportunities to the Morongo Basin and the surrounding desert regions.

The theatre currently offers high-end entertainment from some of the industry's finest performers. In addition to the award winning shows, the Cultural Center's new direction is to function as a destination off Broadway repertory theatre that enables artisans the opportunity to perform and write new works.

Cultural opportunities include:

• Professional concerts and theatrical productions
• Education in music, theatre, dance, and the visual arts
• Education in state-of-the-art sound and light engineering
• Community orchestra
• Community theatrical productions
• Afterschool arts classes for children
• Art gallery and online auction
• Celestial viewing and planetarium
  
• Tourism for charter buses and "Shows On Demand"
• Community functions and fundraising opportunities for other organizations
  

People To Know
The Hi-Desert Cultural Center is a great place to meet fun people and make new friends.

Currently experiencing a boom in growth, the Cultural Center is developing many new subsidiaries to help meet the needs of the exciting new artistic and cultural programs. Get to know some of the people who create the magic and head up the fantastic entertaiment at the Hi-Desert Cultural Center!