Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things
Long Center names managing director
The Long Center for the Performing Arts has hired Paul Beutel, veteran Texas theater professional and former longtime manager of the Paramount Theatre, as managing director, Long Center officials will announce Monday.
Beutel is currently managing director of the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston.
The new managing director position will oversee all programming, marketing, finance and operations and will report to Long Center executive director Cliff Redd. As part of his job, Beutel will assume the duties of Tammie Ward, Long Center director of programming, who resigned several weeks ago.
Beutel will start at the Long Center September 15 on a part-time basis while he finishes the duties of his current position. He will begin full-time at the Long Center November 10.
Beutel is credited with rescuing the Paramount from closure in the late 1980s and reviving the theater’s popular summer movie series. He stepped down from the Paramount job in 2003 and joined the Miller in 2005.
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Yo-Yo Ma sells out the Long Center
The upcoming concert by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma hosted by the Austin Symphony Orchestra at the Long Center has sold out, symphony officials have announced today.
Tickets went on sale to symphony subscribers in June and to the general public on August 11.
The concert on Sept. 11 will feature Ma on Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E.
In May, Ma was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
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‘The Met: Live in HD’ returns to Austin screens
Opera fans, get our your calendars:
National CineMedia has announced its third season of the popular and critically-acclaimed “The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” series which is transmitted live, in high-definition, to more than 440 movie theatres and performing arts centers in the United States.
Five theaters in the greater Austin region will play host to the opera broadcasts this year:
Tinseltown Pflugerville Cinemark Hill Country Galleria Cinemark Southaprk Meadowns Cinemark Cedar Park Metropolitan 14
Ticket sales begin tomorrow, August 22. Visit www.FathomEvents.com to purchase. Last season, several of the broadcasts sold out here in Austin
The schedule is as follows:
Sept. 22 — “Opening Night Gala” - Starring Renée Fleming in fully staged performances of scenes from three different operas: Verdi’s La Traviata (Act II), Massenet’s Manon (Act III), and the final scene from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio. Tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft co-star. Met Music Director James Levine and Marco Armiliato conduct.
Oct. 11 — “Salome” - Starring soprano Karita Mattila with baritone Juha Uusitalo. Mikko Franck conducts.
Nov. 8 — “Doctor Atomic” - The latest by John Adams. Directed by Penny Woolcock and starring Gerald Finley and Sasha Cooke, with Eric Owens and Richard Paul Fink. Alan Gilbert conducts.
Nov. 22 — “La Damnation de Faust” - Directed by Robert Lepage and starring Marcello Giordani, with Susan Graham and John Relyea. James Levine conducts.
Dec.20 — “Thais” - Renée Fleming stars in the title role of Massenet’s Thaïs, with Thomas Hampson in John Cox’s production. Jesús López-Cobos conducts.
Jan. 10, — “La Rondine” - Nicolas Joël directs Puccini’s La Rondine, starring Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. Marco Armiliato conducts.
Jan. 24, “Orfeo ed Euridice” - Stephanie Blythe and Danielle de Niese star in Mark Morris’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. James Levine conducts.
Feb. 7, “Lucia di Lammermoor” - Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón star in Mary Zimmerman’s acclaimed production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Marco Armiliato conducts.
March 7, — “Madama Butterfly” - Cristina Gallardo-Domâs sings the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in Anthony Minghella’s stunning production. Marcello Giordani stars as Pinkerton. Patrick Summers conducts.
March 21 — “La Sonnambula” - Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez star in Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula, conducted by Evelino Pidò.
May 9 — “La Cenerentola” - ElÄ«na GaranÄa stars in Rossini’s bel canto Cinderella story, La Cenerentola. Lawrence Brownlee stars as her Prince Charming, Don Ramiro. Maurizio Benini conducts.
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Freescale Semiconductor donates $1 million to Long Center
Freescale Semiconductor has pledged $1 million to the Long Center for the Performing Arts, as reported today.
Specifically, the money will go towards making events at the Long Center more accessible to children and to support diverse cultural offerings. The contribution will go towards the establishment of the Freescale Fund which will provide approximately 2,500 to 3,500 tickets annually over the next four years.
From the official release comes this statement:
“Freescale is committed to enhancing the quality of life in the communities where we live and work,” said John Torres, senior vice president of Freescale and chairman of the company’s global community relations council. “When we started working with the Long Center last year, we concluded they had done a terrific job of fundraising for the construction and operation of the facility. We wanted to direct our donation to where it could have the biggest impact; which for us is increasing access to the performances and promoting diversity. The building itself was designed to promote inclusiveness and accessibility to the arts.”
Freescale will also officially present the Long Center Children’s Series by providing better pricing and accessibility for children programming. The 2008-2009 Children’s Series currently features “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley,” ” -Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” and “Bob the Builder Live.”
In addition, Freescale also plans to be the presenting sponsor, along with the Austin Area Heritage Council, of “The Last Day in the Life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As Devised By Waterwell: A Rock Operetta” which plays Jan. 19, 2009.
Freescale is also lined up to be the presenting sponsor of the Long Center/Austin Asian Cultural Center’s Asian American Festival in May 2009.
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Blanton to open second building Nov. 16
The Blanton Museum of Art will officially open its second building with a big public festival on Nov. 16.
The 56,000-square-foot Edgar A. Smith Building that will feature a cafe, museum shop, classrooms, auditorium and offices. It joins the 124,000-square-foot space James A. Michener Gallery Building that houses all of the galleries as well the print study center. The Michener building opened in 2006.
On the party schedule for the Nov. 16 opening is a talk by Jed Perl, art critic for The New Republic in the new auditorium followed by a book-signing with Perl in the new bookstore. Several to-be-announced bands will rock it out, probably on the sublime 145,000-square-foot public plaza and garden between the two buildings that was designed by noted landscape architect Peter Walker.
Dean Fleming, “Lime Line,” 1965. From “Reimagining Space: The Park Place Gallery Group in 1960s New York,” opening Sept. 28 at the Blanton.
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Golden Hornet Project goes non-profit, with a bang
After years of doing it all on their own, composers Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski are taking their Golden Hornet Project to a new level. To unveil the Project’s new status as an official nonprofit organization — one that will be committed to offering opportunities to musicians to present their new music to audiences— Reynolds and Stopschinski will host an evening of all-new percussion music for chamber ensembles. A reception follows the concert.
“Percussion VI” plays at 8 p.m. Saturday. Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road. Tickets are $10-$30. www.goldenhornet.org.
On the Project’s newly formed board of directors are Dana Friis-Hansen, executive director of ther Austin Museum of Art; Alamo Drafthouse owner Tim League; Graham Williams, founder of Transmission Entertainment; playwright and Rude Mechs co-founder and co-producer Kirk Lynn; David Wyatt of Wyatt Brand media and Lorranie Chammah.
The organization will be led by executive director John Riedie with Reynolds and Stopschinski serving as artistic directors,
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Cynthia Camlin @ D. Berman Gallery
Former Austin resident Cynthia Camlin returns with new watercolors now on view at D. Berman Gallery.
There’s an opening tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibit continues through Sept. 20.
There’s nothing conventional about Camlin’s watercolors. She builds her images out of layers of small geometric shapes of transparent color, the accumulation culminating in luminous paintings that are simultaneously filled with depth and clarity.
Camlin’s latest fixation is with glaciers and icebergs. Hers are creepy and very, very beautiful.
Cynthia Camlin, “Melted 8.”
Cynthia Camlin, “Melted 8.”
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Conspirare new CD online today
“Threshold of Night,” the new CD by two-time Grammy-nominated Austin choir Conspirare won’t hit stores until Sept. 9. But record company Harmonia Mundi has made the recording of seven premieres by the rising young British composer Tarik O’Regan available for online listening as of today.
Mesmerizing and sublime, O’Regan’s music layers voices with brilliant intricacy and he deftly combines airy melodies and subtle dissonances to a powerful effect.
Hear for yourself at Harmonia Mundi’s “Threshold of Night” Listening Party.
Three of the 11 pieces on “Threshold” were commissioned by Conspirare director Craig Hella Johnson — two set to poems by Emily Dickinson and one to a poem by Pablo Neruda. Conspirare performed the program here last September before heading to the famed Troy Music Hall to record. It was at the Troy Music Hall that Conspirare recorded it’s Grammy-nominated CD “Requiem.”
The title work— “Threshold of Night” — is set to a poem by Kathleen Raine and earned O’Regan the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters Award in the Liturgical category. It was written for Advent and completed on the eve of the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
By the way, though Conspirare has many CDs to its credit, “Threshold of Night” marks the Austin choir’s debut with the prestigious classical music label.
In other Conspirare news, Dana Patterson has joined the group as assistant director of Conspirare Youth Choirs. A native of Indiana, Patterson has taught at both elementary and high-school levels. Professional credits include membership in the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir; director of the Bach Chorale Youth Chorus and assistant to the artistic director of the Bach Chorale, Lafayette, Ind.. She is married to Kevin Patterson, general director of Austin Lyric Opera.
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Symphony reports uptick in season ticket sales
According to recent press release issued by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the 98-year-old arts organization has seen a jump in season ticket sales.
No exact numbers were released, but the symphony reports that its subscribers have increased more than 15 percent over last year and that it now has more than 2,700 season subscribers.
The symphony also reported that it has raised close to $2 million towards its annual fund which symphony executive director Jim Reagan says is “a record amount.”
On the horizon for this season is the world premier of Austin Symphony Orchestra-commissioned new piece by noted composer Christopher Theofanidis Sept. 19-20. On May 1-2, the symphony also will premiere a new symphony by Austin-based composer Dan Welcher.
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Seven chosen for Texas Biennial outdoor project
Seven artists have been chosen for the Texas Biennial Temporary Outdoor project.
The artists chosen by jurors Michael Duncan and Risa Puelo are Ryah Christensen, Colin McIntyre and Jill Pangallo of Austin; Bill Davenport and Sasha Dela of Houston; Buster Graybill of Huntsville and Ken Little of San Antonio.
The artists are charged with creating temporary, site-specific works of public art.
The locations of the projects are the Great Meadow area of Butler Park, Auditorium Shores, the grounds of Mexican American Cultural Center and Fiesta Gardens. The artwork will go on exhibit March 7, 2009.
The artist-run Texas Biennial smartly partnered with the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places program to produce this innovative effort to bring a new kind of public art to Austin.
And with this roster of artists, we can expect exciting, challenging and forward-thinking projects. Forget those goofy giant guitars that popped up all over town awhile ago.
Davenport, if you recall, was a finalist for the 2007 Texas Prize and created the giant “Stealth Pinata” for the exhibit at Arthouse.
By the way, Austin’s was the first municipal government in Texas to make a commitment to include works of art in construction projects when it established the Art in Public Places program in 1985.
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Review: ‘Twelfth Night’
“Twelfth Night” at the Scottish Rite Theatre is solid, straight Shakespeare. Men are men; women are men; and everyone falls in love and wears pale makeup. The production is period through and through, from the doublets and hose to the jig at the end.
With the focus on Shakespeare as it was mostly originally practiced, the play can either sparkle with his words or turn into a workaday history lesson. This “Twelfth Night” does a little of both.
As Viola disguises herself as Duke Orsino’s servant boy to win his love by wooing his beloved Olivia, the emotion is there, but can feel understated. Likewise, as Olivia’s house is beset by fools, foreigners and puritanical stewards, that’s exactly what you get. Everything is performed well and comically—especially in Judd Farris’ naïve Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Robert Matney’s bipolar Malvolio—but too often just at face value.
The final act, though, absolutely pops. Nathan Jerkins’ Orsino speaks in starts and rushes as he accuses Viola of stealing his Olivia and, in turn, threatens to kill her. Suzanne Balling’s Olivia leaps in to defend Shannon Grounds’ Viola, who is just as quick to sacrifice herself to her love. It’s intense, emotional and wonderful.
There’s no ulterior motive or interpretation, and none is needed. With a performance like that — and one that will hopefully fill the rest of the play — Shakespeare still sparkles.
(“Twelfth Night” continues at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 30 at the Scottish Rite Theatre, 207 W. 18th St. $15. 472-5436, scottishritetheatre.org)
Joey Seiler is an American-Statesman freelance theater critic.
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‘Modernist’ celebrates early UT art profs
The Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum is currently celebrating the work of 15 early University of Texas art faculty — including 20th-century sculptor Charles Umlauf — in the exhibit “Modernist.’ The show takes a look at the creative people who founded UT’s now well-regarded art program.
Responding to worldwide art trends such as abstraction and surrealism that were rocking the accepted convention, these early faculty members developed their own style which is now commonly recognized as Texas Regional Modernism. And that style had a profound influence on the generations of young artists who passed through UT and are still creating today.
On view in the current exhibit are paintings by, among others, Kelly Fearing, Seymour Fogel, Constance Forsyth, Michael Frary, John Guerin, Ward Lockwood, Everett Spruce and Ralph White.
“Modernist: The University of Texas Legacy, 1938 - 1963”
Umlauf Sculpture Garden, 605 Robert E. Lee Road
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 31
445-5582
www.umlaufsculpture.org
$3.50 ($2.50 seniors, $1 student, children under six free)
“The Net Menders,” Kelly Fearing. 1946, oil on canvas.
“Folial Movement,” Ward Lockwood. 1956, polymer tempera on canvas.
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“The Merry Wives of Windsor”
This weekend, the Weird Sisters Women’s Theater Collective takes new take on Shakespeare’s raucous comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”
This version has been transplanted to the Texan ranchlands of 1957 and performed by an entirely female cast. So it’s home on the range for the buffonish Falstaff — probably Shakespeare’s most endearing character — as he attempts to woo two married women.
Shows run at 8 p.m. tonight through Saturday at Vortex theater, 2307 Manor Road. Tickets will be sold on a sliding scale (pay-what-you-can) of $5 to $20.
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Kids Acting to re-open former Arts on Real theater
KidsActing, the longtime children’s theater school run by Dede Clark, is taking over the East Austin theater at 2826 Real St., formerly known as Arts on Real. Run by Blake Yalevich’s Naughty Austin Productions, who built out the theater in the former warehouse, Arts on Real closed earlier this year when Yalevich and the landlord had a rent dispute.
For the past 20 years KidsActing was headquartered in a storefront space on Burnet Road next to Frisco restaurant. But development plans for the property forced KidsActing to give up the space earlier this year. The for-profit company also holds classes around the greater Austin area.
The new theater, called Center Stage, will be operated as a non-profit organization.
“My vision for Center Stage Theatre is it becomes the place where ‘east meets west,’” Clark said in a news release. “I want it to be the hub where young people from all parts of Austin can come together to bring their own perspectives and sensibilities to the creative process.”
KidsActing is just the latest arts group over the past half decade or so to establish headquarters in East Austin. Center Stage’s immediate neighbors include Flatbed Press, and Slugfest Print Workshop and Gallery. Salvage Vanguard Theater and Vortex Theatre are just a few blocks away.
A grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Center Stage. Kirk Watson, state senator and former mayor of Austin, will be on hand for the ceremony and music will be provided by the Austin Lounge Lizards and actors from KidsActing’s summer show, “Cyberella.”
“Cyberella” opens Saturday and runs 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 23.
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Review: ‘Amuse-Bouche’ at Creative Research Laboratory
An amuse-bouche is a tiny appetizer served to enliven the taste buds and prepare the diner for what’s to come. Creative Research Laboratory’s current MFA exhibition tantalizes viewers with some intellectually tasty tidbits as well as a few meatier morsels, yet it’s not exactly a five-course meal.
Michael Coyle offers works that address fluctuating information delivery modes and in turn their implicit contradictions. His “Searching for the Right Feeling of Incompleteness” consists of two side-by-side stacks of printer paper. One has a little pile of pink eraser shavings; the other has a tiny man carved out of pink eraser. For such a simple gesture, this work makes a powerful visual impact, persuading the viewer to examine its conceptual underpinnings. Not only do the two forms force a before-and-after relationship, but also a subsequent query as to what was actually erased and even an old-fashioned, yet surprisingly provocative dialogue between the writing materials.
Another work, “Michael David Coyle,” is a simple moleskin notebook wherein gallery-goers are encouraged to sign the artist’s name in their own script, highlighting the accepted significance of individuality through handwritten signatures while at the same time playfully negating the artist’s own uniqueness.
If initially Teruko Nimura’s soft sculpture, “Pink Doll I” seems less than satisfying, seeing the series of watercolors (by the same artist) on an adjacent wall will help. The small images of grimacing women in contorted positions and various costumed states are delicate yet vaguely grotesque. They feature fluid curving lines contrasted with the works’ grid-like installation. They encourage a second look at Nimura’s “Doll” and a more nuanced appreciation of the artist’s use of multi layered “feminine” materials and anthropomorphic forms in addition to the slight degree of eroticism, that is more strongly sensed in the accompanying watercolors.
One of the show’s three video installations pleases dreamy ambiance lovers. Robert Melton seduces, using time-lapse video, compiling thousands of shots to create beautiful and ominous scenes of trees whipping in the wind, clouds floating and gathering, and the moon bouncing like a tennis ball.
Other “Amuse-Bouche” artists are Jonathan Aseron, Sonya Berg, Kristina Felix, Josh Welker, and Joseph Winchester. Curators include Katie Anania, Ariel Evans, Katie Geha, Allison Myers, Deborah Spivak, Caitlin Topham, Danielle Wells, and Hannah Wong.
Overall Amuse-Bouche succeeds, that is … if its goal is to provide a small tease of what’s to come from these students, leaving us less than completely gratified, but still wanting more.
(“Amuse-Bouche” continues noon to 5 p.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays, through Aug. 16, Creative Research Laboratory, 2832 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. Free. 322-2099.)
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Met sculpture headed to UT
More than two dozen contemporary sculptures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art are headed to the University of Texas campus for long-term exhibit as part of a new public art program, UT announced today.
The New York museum is loaning 28 sculptures by such noted artists as Louise Bourgeois, Jim Dine and Tony Smith, among others, for installation across campus. The loan agreement is for five years and is renewable, a university spokesperson said. Officials with UT and the museum would not disclose the value of the art.
The loan is one of several initiatives under a new public art program at UT. Other programs announced Friday include a percent-for-art policy that sets a goal of earmaking one to two percent of new building construction costs and major building renovation costs for acquisition of public art, similar to the City of Austin Art in Public Places program. The university is also establishing a fund for buying and commissioning art for the campus’s public spaces, said Andrée Bober, director of the UT public art program, known as Landmarks which will also include educational opportunities for students.
The university has faced public criticism in the past because the existing sculpture on campus honors, among others, Confederate leaders, wealthy donors and even a football coach. A bronze statue of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was placed on the East Mall in 1999. Last fall a bronze likeness of labor activist César Chávez was unveiled on the West Mall, and a sculpture Barbara Jordan, the first African American woman to service in the U.S. House, is set for unveiling in 2009. Both the Chávez and the Jordan sculptures were student initiatives.
Most of the large-scale artworks headed to UT have been in storage at the Metropolitan Museum and not on permanent exhibit. Other long-term loans of works from the Metropolitan Museum’s storage are at Emory University in Atlanta, among other institutions.
The Metropolitan Museum is waiving its fee for the long-term loan. UT is covering costs of shipping and installation. UT officials would not reveal the shipping costs. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan said that they do not reveal information on loan costs.
The art will be installed at UT in two stages with 17 sculptures headed to outdoor public spaces and inside several campus buildings beginning next week. There will be an unveiling of the first installation on Sept. 12. When the Bass Concert Hall opens in January 2009 after undergoing renovations, 11 sculptures will be exhibited in its lobbies. A free audio tour podcast on the sculptures will be available for campus visitors.
Interestingly, two of the sculptures on their way from the Met’s storage to the UT campus are burnt orange-colored.
“Vermillion,” Deborah Butterfield. Painted and welded steel. (75 x 108 x 25 inches)
“Chilkat,” Robert Murray. 1977. Painted aluminum. (51 x 61 x 81 inches)
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Brad Womack’s imaginary children and Tyra Banks’ 275 smiles
It’s the last few days to catch ‘Reality Show’ the super sharp exhibit at Women & Their Work about our penchant for ‘over-sharing’ and our fuzzy boundaries in the modern world where what we accept as reality is actually heavily edited.
The exhibit’s last day is this Saturday.
For two years artist Jill Pangallo and a handful of her female artist friends gathered weekly to watch all types of reality shows: “The Bachelor,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Project Runway” and others. Pangallo challenged her peers — Anna Krachey, Cecilia Phillips, Laura Turner and Jaime Wentz — to create art in response to their hours of viewing.
The result is a cogent yet entertaining exhibit that slyly asks viewers to re-consider the hyper-reality of so much ‘reality.’
Krachey took as her subject Brad Womack, the Austinite who starred on “The Bachelor” and made reality television history when he rejected both finalists.
Using headshots of the contestants who vied for Womack’s proposal, a headshot of Womack and a generic baby picture, Krachey digitally created a series of baby portraits of the imagined progeny. You can view the online version of “Bachelor Babies” here
“Deanna & Brad.” and “Jenni & Brad.” Digital photo collages. By Anna Krachey. Photo courtesy Women & Their Work.
Also, watch the inimitable Pangallo do Tyra Banks one better in “276 Smiles.” Pangallo’s “durational smile challenge” plays off the supermodel’s claim that she has the ability to cope 275 unique smiles for the camera. Banks called her ability to smile her “art form.”
Well, Pangallo — as savvy a performance artist as Austin has seen in long while — has, as you can see by this video, 276 different smiles.
Take that Tyra!
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‘Field of Infinite Forms’ to celebrate Dell Hall, Long Center
Noted composer Christopher Theofanidis has announced the title of his new work written specifically for the Dell Hall at the new Long Center for the Performing Arts.
‘Field of Infinite Forms’ is a commission from the Austin Symphony Orchestra — a brilliant idea of ASO music director Peter Bay who conceived of celebrating the new hall with new music written specifically for it. Hey — Bay knows what it takes to keep it real in the self-proclaimed Live Music Capital of the World.
‘Field of Infinite Forms’ will premiere Sept. 19-20. There are five movements to the 16-17 minute piece: Introit; Superunison; Hall of Mirrors; They Listened, Trembling; Dazzler of Heaven. Theofanidis is collaborating with electroacoustic music pioneer Mark Wingate.
The Dallas-born Theofanidis received lots of attention earlier this year for “The Refuge,” his massive musical and community event for the Houston Grand Opera inspired by Houston’s fabulous polyglot immigrant community.
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Art nicked from New World Deli display
Local artist Leanne Vernier says three of her paintings have been brazenly stolen while they were on view at New World Deli recently.
Read here for the report.
Just about every conceivable blank wall in Austin is used for the exhibit of art work, whether that wall is in a coffee shop, a salon, a restaurant, the lobby of an office building, a bank, a bookstore, a club — are we forgetting some place?
But here’s the thing about staging exhibits in places that are not dedicated to the professional exhibition of fine art: The art isn’t the center of attention, which can put it at more risk, whether for theft or even vandalism.
There’s a reception Thursday evening for Vernier and her art at New World Deli from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
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Picture this: 48 hours in East Austin
DiverseArts founder Harold McMillan gave a handful of photographers and video artists a documentary challenge: Spend the recent Independence Day weekend capturing the life of East Austin as the historically African American and Latino neighborhood experiences rapid changes.
Opening Saturday, the new exhibit, “Facing East: 48 Hours in the Life of East Austin,” showcases what Greg Broseus, Francis Cruzada, Martha Grenon, Peter Staats, Jessy Price, Eric Chapelle and Steve Gaber found when they trained their lenses on the culturally rich downtown neighborhood, from enclaves seemingly unchanged from decades past to the sharp contrasts made by the recent real estate boom.
The reception is 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, with videos showing at 8:30 p.m.
New East Gallery, 1601 East Fifth St. Suite 106. 477-9438 www.diversearts.org
“Martin “Topo” Cancun, #1 Tin Man in Austin.” Photo by Martha Grenon.
“Gray Door(s).” Photo by Martha Grenon.
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Long Center announces 2008-2009 season
Patti LaBelle, Marvin Hamlisch, the Blind Boys of Alabama with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and “The King Operetta,” the critically acclaimed musical dramatization of the last days of Martin Luther King Jr., are just some of the shows the Long Center for the Performing Arts has booked for the 2008-2009 season. The Long Center announced the shows today. Tickets will go on sale soon.
Family-friendly shows and popular entertainment spectacles form the majority of the lineup, though celebrated and sublime Austin piano master Anton Nel will give a major solo recital in March.
Tickets to Patti LaBelle are already selling well, Long Center representatives report, as are tickets to “Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy.” And back by popular demand in March is “Video Games Live,” the visual and musical celebration of video game music that recently wowed Austin fans.
However, five-time Tony Award-winning musical “The Drowsy Chaperone,” originally scheduled for Aug. 19-24, has been canceled because of lack of ticket sales. Seems the musical about a die-hard musical theater fan hasn’t been doing great guns in other markets on its national tour.
From the Long Center season announcement news release, here’s the full schedule:
KIDS/FAMILY
CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY, Nov. 25-30, 2008: Direct from Broadway, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy is an exotic encounter inspired by “nature’s unpredictable creations” that are brought to life by an international cast of 25 soaring aerialists, spine-bending contortionists, acrobats, jugglers and musicians.
BOB THE BUILDER LIVE!, March 1, 2009, 3 p.m. 7 p.m.: Everyone’s favorite fix-it guy is steamrolling into town and bringing his lovable gang along for the ride in Bob the Builder Live.
DANCE SPECTACLE
REVOLUTION, Oct. 9, 2008, 8 p.m.: A brand new show that incredibly blends tap with rock n’ roll music, Revolution is a sweaty mix of live music, sex appeal and some of the world’s best Irish and tap dancing for the “tweeners” generation. Creators Mike Schulster and Joel Hanna of Riverdance are joined on stage by a live rock band and a dance ensemble direct from Broadway.
GARTH FAGAN DANCE, Feb. 18, 2009, 8 p.m.: Critically acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance has toured for 35 years on six continents under the direction of Tony Award-winning Garth Fagan, choreographer of Broadway’s The Lion King. The contemporary dancers in this Rochester, New York-based company are renowned for their individuality, unmannered approach and virtuosity.
JUNGUA, May 23 and 24, 2009, 8 p.m.: a show for all ages and inspired by the rich culture and traditions of China, Jungua balances traditional yin and yang by combining masculine martial arts and kung fu and quigong with the feminine grace of contortion, acrobatics and dance.
MUSIC
3 MO’ DIVAS, Oct. 19, 2008, 7:30 p.m.: From the creator of the hit concert 3 Mo Tenors, Marion J. Caffey’s brings 3 Mo’ Divas, a musical journey celebrating the amazing versatility of three classically trained female voices in a theatrically staged event. The Divas deliver their versions of opera, Broadway, jazz, movie soundtracks, blues and rock ‘n’ roll.
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE: THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA WITH THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND, Nov. 23, 2008, 7:30 p.m.: New Orleans’ legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band and vocal titans the Blind Boys of Alabama join forces to present this musical journey combining jazz and gospel hymns.
ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN, March 8, 2009, 8 p.m.: One Night of Queen celebrates the iconic passion of Freddie Mercury, his music and the genius of Queen.
THE TEN TENORS, April 8, 2009, 8 p.m.: Australian group the Ten Tenors is a platinum record-selling singing act bringing their interpretations of the tenor repertoire in a splashy concert; from classical and operatic arias, to Neapolitan ballads, to their native Australian folk songs.
SPECIALS
ANTON NEL, March 29, 2009, 8 p.m.: Winner of the 1987 International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall, Austin’s own classical pianist Anton Nel has played in major musical halls the world over, including South Africa, Europe, Asia and North and South America. He makes his Long Center recital debut with this concert.
DRUMLINE LIVE!, Jan. 11, 2009, 8 p.m.: DRUMLine Live! brings the black marching band traditions to the theatrical stage for the very first time, featuring a large cast of performers from the country’s top historically black colleges and universities.
THE|KING|OPERETTA, Jan. 17 and 19, 2009, 8 p.m.: Turbulent and uplifting, The|King|Operetta tells the story of Martin Luther King from April 4, 1967, to April 4, 1968 - the last year in his life, featuring a score of hard-edge rock, blues and funk. The New York Times hails the work as, “brilliant, original and inspired.” From the New York Drama Desk Award nominated Waterwell Theater Company.
MARVIN HAMLISCH, March 26, 2009, 7:30 p.m.: As composer and conductor, Hamlisch has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Hamlisch is best known for scores to such films as Ordinary People, The Way We Were, and Sophie’s’ Choice; and such Broadway musicals as A Chorus Line, They’re Playing Our Song, and Seesaw.
VIDEO GAMES LIVE, March 28, 2009, 8 p.m.: Back by popular demand for one night only, VIDEO GAMES LIVE, presented by Razer, has the power and emotion of a symphony orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert and the technology and interactivity of a video game, all completely synchronized to amazing cutting edge video screen visuals, state-of-the art lighting and special on-stage interactive segments with the audience.
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The sad truth is that those paintings aren’t actually made by real Chinese people, Michael Schliefke does them to support his comic book project.
... read the full comment by David Ohlerking | Comment on Art nicked from New World Deli display Read Art nicked from New World Deli display
Dear David, I’ll steal one of yours if you’ll do the same for me. Actually some of my paintings are being offered for $35.69 for a 40x40” painting. On this China Wholesale web site they say “The paintings are 100% Hand Painted BY
... read the full comment by Judy Paul | Comment on Art nicked from New World Deli display Read Art nicked from New World Deli display
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