Mount Wilson Observatory presents “Jazz / Carte Blanche to Tom Ranier”

For Immediate Release:

Mount Wilson Observatory Presents
Jazz / Carte Blanche to Tom Ranier
The Fourth Offering in MWO’s 9th Season of
Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome
Held Inside the Historic Dome of the 100-Inch Telescope
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Performances at 3:00 and 5:00pm

LOS ANGELES, CA – July 21, 2026 – Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO), Southern California’s esteemed home to several of the most groundbreaking astronomical discoveries in history, is pleased to present the fourth offering of its 2026 Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome season, inside the magnificent vaulted dome of MWO’s historic 100-inch Telescope. On Sunday, August 9, 2026, the audience is invited to experience Jazz / Carte Blanche to Tom Ranier, which sees musicians Tom Ranier (piano), Larry Koonse (guitar), and Darek Oles (bass), take the piano-guitar-bass trio format—so prevalent in the jazz world of the 40s—into the 21st century, with jazz compositions, standards from the American songbook, and classical pieces. 

As in previous seasons, Artistic Director Cécilia Tsan (Principal Cellist, Long Beach Symphony and Los Angeles Master Chorale) curates the series. Each concert date of the season features the same one-hour program presented twice—first at 3:00pm and again at 5:00pm—with an artist reception at 4:00pm between performances.

Tickets cost $65 each and are available for purchase online in advance (highly recommended) or at the door, pending availability. For more information on this concert, please visit www.mtwilson.edu/events/concert80926. For more on the entire Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome series, please visit www.mtwilson.edu/concerts.

UPCOMING CONCERTS IN THE 2026 SEASON:

September 6: Webern String Quartet
A program featuring Todd Mason String Quartet No. 5, “The Phoenix” (2025), and Beethoven String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132, performed by Webern String Quartet—Benjamin Hoffman and Chiai Tajima (violins), Alex Granger (viola), and Stella Cho (cello).

October 4: Piano Quartets
Featuring David Kaplan (piano), Ambroise Aubrun (violin), Ariana Solotoff (viola), and Cécilia Tsan (cello), playing Mahler and Brahms Op.60 in C minor.

ABOUT

THE PERFORMERS:

Tom Ranier (piano)
Tom Ranier is an acclaimed pianist, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist whose distinguished career spans film, television, recording, and live performance. Equally at home on piano, synthesizers, and woodwinds, he has contributed to countless television productions and major motion pictures, including Ghost, Beetlejuice, Forrest Gump, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own, The Thomas Crown Affair, Monsters, Inc., Sideways, Frozen, Star Wars: Episode IX, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. His television credits include American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the American Music Awards. As an accompanist, Ranier has performed with legendary artists including Tony Bennett, Andrea Bocelli, Bette Midler, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Donna Summer, Melissa Manchester, Carmen McRae, and Sue Raney.

An accomplished clarinetist as well as pianist, Ranier has appeared as a soloist performing the Mozart and Artie Shaw Clarinet Concertos and Dave Grusin's Concerto for Clarinet and Jazz Orchestra, and has recorded with jazz greats including Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell, Ray Brown, Joe Pass, and Eddie Daniels. He has released four solo albums—In the Still of the Night, Ranier, Night Music, and This Way—and has shared his expertise as a faculty member at UCLA, California State University, Fullerton, Saddleback College, and Fullerton College.

Larry Koonse (guitar)
Larry Koonse is an internationally acclaimed guitarist, composer, and educator whose career has spanned more than four decades. A Los Angeles native, he’s been playing guitar since the age of seven and in his early years trained under legendary guitarist Jimmy Wyble. At the age of fifteen, he recorded an album with his father, guitarist Dave Koonse, entitled Father & Son Jazz Guitars. In 1984, Larry was the first recipient of a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies at the University of Southern California.. Following graduation, Koonse toured internationally with the John Dankworth Quartet and Cleo Laine, launching a career that has included collaborations with Billy Childs, John Patitucci, Natalie Cole, Mel Tormé, Luciana Souza, Bob Mintzer, Peter Erskine, Hubert Laws, and many others. A multiple Grammy nominee, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and as a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and orchestras around the world.

Featured on more than 400 recordings, Koonse has also released numerous acclaimed albums as a leader and co-leader, including Conversations, Storybook, Americana, and What's in the Box. His solo guitar work was featured throughout Crazy, a feature film chronicling the life of the great guitarist Hank Garland. An influential educator, he developed the guitar curriculum for Jeff Berlin's Players School and has served on the faculty of the California Institute of the Arts since 1990, where he continues to mentor generations of musicians.

Darek Oles (bass)
Darek “Oles” Oleszkiewicz, born in Poland and based in California since 1988, is a Grammy nominated acoustic bassist, who has performed and recorded with many leading jazz musicians. His first album as a leader, Like a Dream, featuring Brad Mehldau, was released by Cryptogramophone Records in 2004 and received international critical recognition. In 2005, he was voted “Best Acoustic Bassist” in the Jazz Top readers’ poll by Jazz Forum. He has also collaborated with artists including Pat Metheny, Bennie Maupin, George Garzone, Chris Potter, Alan Pasqua, Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, Ernie Watts, and Larry Koonse.

Cécilia Tsan (Artistic Director)
Praised by the Los Angeles Times for her "uncompromising musical character and towering technique,” French-born cellist Cécilia Tsan graduated from the Paris Conservatory summa cum laude and is a prizewinner of the Barcelona, Florence, and Paris International Competitions.

An international soloist and chamber musician, she has recorded several albums and hundreds of movie soundtracks in Hollywood. She serves as Principal Cello with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale Orchestra. She is also the Artistic Director of the music series Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome at Mount Wilson Observatory.

Recent performances include John Williams’ Memoirs of a Geisha, Dvorák and Elgar Cello Concertos, and the Brahms Double Concerto. Cécilia has served as Principal Cello for the Oscars, the Emmys, the Grammys, American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars. In April 2019, she was invited by the LA Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Peter Sellars to be the narrator for Stravinsky’s Perséphone at Disney Hall.

In August 2024, Warner Classics released a 2-CD set dedicated to the music of John Williams, John Williams Reimagined, featuring Sara Andon (flute), Cécilia Tsan (cello), and Simone Pedroni (piano), produced by Robert Townson. A vast array of Williams’ scores is arranged for flute, cello, and piano by Pedroni. The release was preceded and followed by international concert tours featuring the trio.

MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY:
Since its founding in 1904 by astronomer and visionary George Ellery Hale, the research conducted at Mount Wilson Observatory has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe. Perched on top of Mount Wilson, a 5,710-foot peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, California, the Observatory boasts a rich history and significant contributions to science and the heritage of Los Angeles. The Observatory’s 100-inch Telescope—the world's largest telescope from 1917 to 1949—forever changed our understanding of the scale and nature of our Universe and deeply expanded human knowledge. This world-heritage class instrument, used by many of the greatest astronomers of the 20th-century, launched a revolution in astronomy that continues through today.

Mount Wilson Institute has independently operated and maintained the Mount Wilson Observatory since 1989 under a long-term agreement with the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The Observatory and grounds are open to the public to visit, and during the spring and summer months the Institute produces programs including observing sessions through the historic telescopes (the largest on the planet made available to the public), lectures, concerts, art exhibits, educational programs, and more. Many of these cultural offerings are presented inside the singular vaulted dome of the 100-inch Telescope.

All proceeds from ticketed events go to support Mount Wilson Institute in its mission to preserve, protect, and promote the Observatory and its scientific accomplishments.

Complete information on all the scientific, educational, and cultural activities at Mount Wilson Observatory can be found on its website www.mtwilson.edu. 

THE VENUE
The 100-inch Telescope is the instrument with which astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered our place in an expanding universe and deeply expanded human knowledge. The dome for the telescope—designed by seminal Chicago architect Daniel Burnham—is a 20th-century temple to science whose acoustics rival the great cathedrals of Europe, a truly unique setting for this ambitious music series.

VISITING MWO
The gate to Mount Wilson’s campus opens at 10:00am daily and closes at 5:00pm from early April through November. Entrance to the grounds is free. Visitors can hike, gaze at the telescope domes and towers that dot the landscape, and take a look at historic Mount Wilson photos and letters in the Museum.

The Cosmic Cafe, located above the main parking lot at the Observatory entrance, is open on weekends in the spring, summer, and fall. In addition to traditional menu items such as hot dogs, drinks, and snacks, the Cafe offers wraps, salads, and sweet treats from Little Flower.  

LOCATION
Mount Wilson Observatory
Mount Wilson Circle Road & Mount Wilson Toll Road
Mount Wilson, CA 91023

On MWO’s website, the “Map” page shows various SoCal routes to the 2 and 210 Freeways which feed into Angeles Crest Highway leading to Red Box Road, which then leads to Mount Wilson Circle Road.

PLEASE NOTE: Do not rely on directions given by phone apps; they can be incorrect. We recommend downloading and printing this PDF map with directions.

Parking
A U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass is required to park at the Observatory. A $5 day pass or a $30 annual pass may be purchased at the Cosmic Cafe on weekends between 10:00am and 5:00pm. During the week, passes are available at locations around Los Angeles. The most convenient location before heading up is at the Shell station in La Canada Flintridge at the bottom of the Angeles Crest Highway. Click here to go to the U.S. Forest Service website for more information about passes and other locations to buy them.

NOT ADA-COMPLIANT
Please be advised that access to the 100-inch dome is via an open-air, 53-step staircase inside the building. There is no ADA-compliant access.

LINKS:

• Mount Wilson Observatory - www.mtwilson.edu
• Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome - www.mtwilson.edu/concerts
• August 9 Tickets - www.mtwilson.edu/events/concert80926
• MWO Facebook - www.facebook.com/WilsonObs
• MWO Instagram - www.instagram.com/mtwilsonobservatory
• MWO X - https://x.com/MtWilsonObs
• PR Assets Folder (images, etc.) - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZJJE1OsJKhbRCt1-kUiC_kXEAzPCNAk2

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For more information, photos, interviews, or press passes—for any of MWO's movie, concert, lecture, or art series—please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at lynn@greengalactic.com or 213-840-1201.

For Mount Wilson Observatory, please contact Sarah Emery Bunn at semerybunn@mtwilson.edu or 626-214-8030.