Miami, Florida
Flying House Productions is the third largest of Washington state's music organizations in budget, audience exposure, and ensemble size. The organization houses the Seattle Men's Chorus -- the largest community chorus in America, and the largest gay men's chorus in the world -- and the Seattle Women's Chorus. It also operates a publishing arm and a concert presenting series. More than 40,000 people attend its annual subscription series.
Formed in 2002, the Seattle Women's Chorus has grown to more than 200 singers, more than 100 of whom traveled to Miami this week for GALA Choruses Festival 2008. The Chorus joined with women's music legend Cris Williamson to present Siren Song, a morning concert of Cris's work, Tue., July 15, in the Symphony Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Miami.
Lori Surrency arranged the selections, which included Waterfall, Sweet Woman, Songbird, Sister, Mercy, Blue Rider, If I Live, Peter Pan, Midnight Oil, Live Wire, Sound of the Soul, and Lullabye.
A group of 21 gentlemen from Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill opened that evening's concert block at the Ziff Ballet Opera House. Formed in 1995, the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus, in black formal wear with long black ties, performed a pleasing set led by Artistic Director John-Philip Mullinax. In a GALA premiere, Kevin Michael Tillman soloed in "Winter Before the Fire," a movement from his composition Where is Love. The program included When I Hear Music (Michael G. Martin, composer); How Do I Love You (Penny Rodriguez, composer; E. B. Browning, lyricist); The Quest Unending (Joseph M. Martin, composer; words by Alfred Lord Tennyson); In Whatever Time We Have (Stephen Schwartz, composer; Mac Huff, arranger); and Holy is the Lord (Jeffrey I. Ames, composer).
Half of the 50-member Capital City Men's Chorus made the Miami music scene. Directed by Dr. Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, this fun group from Austin, Texas, will celebrate its 20th anniversary next season. Their performance opened with Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky, composer) and was followed by Stars I Shall Find (David Dickau, composer; Sara Teasdale, lyricist); A Love That Will Never Grow Old (Gustavo Santaolalla, composer; Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, arranger; Bernie Taupin, lyricist; John Lopez, soloist); Resurrection (Karl Logue, composer; George Klawitter, lyricist); Live-A-Humble (traditional spiritual; Peter Bagley, arranger; Timothy Ryan, tenor, James Gaeta, baritone, soloists); and There Won't Be Bad Hair Days In Heaven (Jerry Garrison, composer). Gaeta and Freddy Herrera, Jr. added fine solo touches to The Parting Glass (Irish traditional; Jones-Ragona, arranger).
I really liked the Calgary Men's Chorus from Canada's Alberta province. The group embodies a sepia-tinted classicism. Jean-Louis Bleau conducted a quintet of strings and piano, an angelic boy soprano, and 22, tux-clad singers. Their perfectly lovely set of offerings in English or French included Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen, composer; Roger Emerson, arranger); Caresse sur l'Ocean and Vois sur ton Chemin (both works: Bruno Coulais, composer; Christophe Barratier and Coulais, lyricists); and One Voice (Greg John, composer; Greg John and Heather John, lyricists). Dancer Gessuri Gaitan performed the modern dance role of Sebastian in Homage a Sebastian (John Bouz, composer; R. McGinnis and L. Montgomery, lyricists).
Audience members waving green, white, and orange Irish flags greeted Gloria, Dublin's Lesbian & Gay Choir as it took the stage for its third GALA appearance (previously seen in San Jose and Montreal). John Francis Murphy directs the group, formed in 1995. As always, it was nice to hear Danny Boy (Weatherley, composer; Jonathan Rathbone, arranger). The 32 singers also presented Pai Duli (composer unknown; Steven Samitz, arranger); Change The World (Kirkpatrick/Kennedy/Sims, composers); Virga Jesse (Anton Bruckner, composer); Wanting Memories (Ysaye Barnwell, composer); Don't Stop Me Now (Mercury, composer); and Dúlamán (McGlynn, composer).
The men from Lakewood, Ohio, beamed individual character and oozed sex appeal in a playful set. Accompanied by percussion and piano, 42 of 100+ members of the North Coast Men's Chorus, dressed in black pants and pink polos, entertained with tunes conducted by Music Director Richard Cole. The line-up included Think Pink (Roger Edens, composer; Ralph Raymond Hays, arranger; Leonard Gershe, lyricist; James J. McPeak, soloist); Gonna Build a Mountain (Leslie Bricusse, composer; Norman Leyden, arranger; Anthony Newley, lyricist); You Made Me Love You (Joe McCarthy, composer; Robert W. Thygerson, arranger; James V. Monaco, lyricist); In What Ever Time We Have (Stephen Schwartz, composer; Patrick Sinozich, arranger); Coffee in a Cardboard Cup (Kander and Ebb, composers); Stand Up for Love (David Foster and Amy Foster, composers; Steven Milloy, arranger; Stephen Adams and Virgilio P. Fajardo, soloists). Twelve singer-dancers employed pink and white feather fans in Let Me Entertain You (Jule Styne, composer; David Maddux, arranger; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist).
The evening finished with Michael Shaieb's Through a Glass, Darkly, edited closely to fit the 30-minute limit. Commissioned and performed by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, led by Artistic Director Stan Hill, the work examines the effects of methamphetamine addiction. A filmed version of the March 2008 premiere has been broadcast multiple times on Twin Cities Public Television in Minnesota and is available in DVD format. Two full stagings of the work will be presented on Wednesday morning at the Hilton Hotel. [Another posting to follow.]
Before taking the stage of the Ziff Opera House, 20 TCGMC members attended the One Voice Mixed Chorus performance in the Knight Concert Hall across the street. Directed by Jane Ramseyer Miller, the men and women of One Voice presented TJAK! (Stephen Hatfield, composer; lyrics from Balinese Ketjak ceremony); How Can I Keep From Singing? (Robert Lowry, composer; Gwyneth Walker, arranger); Sicut Cervus (Giovanni Palestrina, composer; lyrics from Psalm 42); A Palette to Paint Us as We Are (Elizabeth Alexander, composer; Gerald Rich, lyricist); Distinctions (Kevin W. Wojahn, composer; Shams Tobriz, lyricist; commissioned by One Voice in 2006); I am Flying (Nan-Chang Chien, composer; Britt Abel and Joy MacArthur, soloists); and Musical Risotto (Jonathan Willcocks, composer; Darcy Juhl and Kristen Schweiloch, soloists).
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Don't ask, don't tell
Miami, Florida
The music making in downtown Miami continued apace on Mon., July 14, with a 90-minute presentation by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and Community Women's Orchestra. Dr. Kathleen McGuire serves as conductor for both organizations. The morning performance at the Hilton Hotel's Symphony Ballroom, part of GALA Choruses Festival 2008, was standing-room-only.
The performance settings of Festival 2008 are the first outside of California for the Community Women's Orchestra. The all-volunteer, all-woman ensemble opened its set with Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, a three-minute work by Joan Tower (b. 1938, New Rochelle, New York), commissioned and first performed by the Houston Symphony in 1987. It was followed by Impressions d'Ardenne, symphonic sketches by Juliet Folville (b. 1870, Liége, Belgium; d. 1946, Dourgne, France); the first movement of Symphony No. 3 in E flat by Robert Schumann (b. 1810, Zwickau, Germany; d. 1856, Endenich, Germany) and edited by Clara Schumann; and Y.M.C.A. by Jacques Morali (b. 1947; d. 1991).
More than 100 sailors from the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus joined the Orchestra on stage to reprise the group's first musical, U.S.S. Metaphor or, The Lad That Loved A Sailor. This one-act operetta is an original adaptation of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic, H.M.S. Pinafore. The highly entertaining and hilarious work received its premiere performance at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, April 30, 2007. Set aboard a ship in Boston's harbor, the story includes the on-shore marriage of two male ensigns along with other hijinks that take dead aim at the military's 15-year-old policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
A Monday evening concert block at the Ziff Opera House opened with in Harmony, eight singers from Ft. Lauderdale, offering up Alle, Alle, Alle (Will Schmid, arranger; Maureen Schaffel, Liz Von Ache, and Tom Sukowicz, soloists), a Jamaican folk song. The group, founded in January 2007, presented excerpts from its recent "Imagine" concert. Artistic Director Randall Leonard led the four men and four women through Yo Vivo Cantando, I Live To Sing (Jay Althouse, composer); Agnes Dei Canon (Donald Moore, composer; traditional Latin); Wakati wa Amani, A Time of Peace (Sally K Albrecht, composer); Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon, composer; Mark Hayes, arranger); Embrace The Music (Greg Gilpin, composer; John Lewis, soloist); and The Music of Life (Althouse, composer).
After 18 years, the Orlando Gay Chorus retains 12 of its charter singing members. The group sent 82 male and female delegates to Miami. Singers, attired in black tie formal wear, opened with a Donna Summer Medley (various composers arranged by David Maddux) followed by Proud (Peter Vettese, composer; Jedediah Daiger/Eisenberg, arrangers; Heather Small, lyricist); Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Elton John, composer; Mac Huff, arranger; Tim Rice, lyricist); and Courage Lives! (Mark Patterson, composer). Conductor Mark W. Hardin also led Epitaph and Affirmation (Justin S. Fischer, composer; John Patrick Day, lyricist), a work commissioned to commemorate Matthew Shepherd and performed for Shepherd's mother in January.
Soon entering its 10th season, Caballeros, The Gay Men's Chorus of Palm Springs, made its second appearance at a GALA festival, featuring 30 singers directed by Alan Scott. The men work hard to sing each song in the dialect from which it originated. This was most evident in Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal, a traditional hymn from Appalachian Tennessee and West Virginia arranged by Alice Parker. In cadence and sound, this glory song bore echoes of Ojibwe pow wows I have heard broadcast on WOJB radio from Lacs Courte d'Oreilles in Wisconsin. The program also included Cantique de Jean Racine (Gabriel Faure, composer; K. Lee Scott, composer); Seize the Day (Alan Menken, composer; Roger Emerson, arranger; Jack Feldman, lyricist); Stars In The Night (Barry Manilow, composer; Alan Scott, arranger; Bruce Sussman, lyricist); Extraordinary Miracles (Christopher Winslow, composer); and Ain'a That Good News (William L. Dawson, composer).
The Wall of Sound pioneered by 1960s music producer Phil Spector has nothing on the New York City Gay Men's Chorus, led by Dr. Charles Beale. With just 100 of the group's 250 members present, the men proved that the human voice can generate tangible, physiological power. Their musical style is discussed and debated within and without the ranks of the 28-year-old chorus. While many might want to follow a wall of power into a battle, it is less certain if any would want to cozy up to such an intimidating force for sensual fun.
Nonetheless, the program was strong and striking, and included Zadok the Priest (Handel, composer; Steve Milloy, arranger); ManEater (Nelly Furtado, composer; Milloy, arranger); Aslanuri (traditional Georgian folksong; Eric Saggesse, Lamont Mundell, and Dan Baillie, soloists); Tree of Peace (Gwyneth Walker, composer); Take the A Train (Billy Strayhorn, composer; Alan Broadbent, arranger; Johnny Mercer, lyricist); and Vibrate and Beautiful Child (both works: Rufus Wainwright, composer; Raman Gutteridge, arranger; Mark Silverstone, soloist). One song, Africa (Jonnah Speidel, composer; Tom Morell, soloist), reduced much of the audience to tears. It is one piece that works well with the wall-of-sound treatment, and should be in the repertoires of every men's chorus. The New York group's ASL interpreter was terrific -- his name should have been listed in the printed program.
One rarely will find unanimity among any group of gay men, but consensus may be found frequently. A strong consensus seems to have developed in the hotel and concert hall corridors about the Heartland Men's Chorus: it touches the heart consistently and has one of the richest sounds at Festival 2008. Dr. Joseph P. Nadeau, artistic director, brought 130 singers from Kansas City to their fourth GALA appearance. Attired in blue-tie-and-vest formal wear, the 22-year-old group put on a fine, fine show. Most of the selections are from a new CD, "Quest Unending," and include Khorumi (Mamia Khatelishvili, composer; Robert Grady, soloist); Dies Irae (Z. Randall Stroope, composer); Live Your Dream (Greg Gilpin, composer; Rumi, Lao-Tzu, and Henry David Thoreau, lyricists); Carmina Ricotta (Eric Lane Barnes, composer; Mike Sigler, Robert Grady, John Edmonds, soloists); and Here's Where I Stand (Michael Gore, composer; Neal Richardson, arranger; Lynn Ahrens, lyricist; Todd Gregory, soloist).
The emotional highlight of the evening was provided by Last Letter Home. Before deploying to Iraq, Pfc. Jesse Givens composed a letter for his wife to read if he did not return. He was killed 10 days later. The words of his letter, set to music by Lee Hoiby, expressed thanks to his wife for the million years they had enjoyed together, and hope that his son would have a son as fine as he did. I was told later that the performers had been unable to sing the work without tears until, at a rehearsal, Nadeau told them to hold hands, which they did in concert.
From the heart and the heartland.
The music making in downtown Miami continued apace on Mon., July 14, with a 90-minute presentation by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and Community Women's Orchestra. Dr. Kathleen McGuire serves as conductor for both organizations. The morning performance at the Hilton Hotel's Symphony Ballroom, part of GALA Choruses Festival 2008, was standing-room-only.
The performance settings of Festival 2008 are the first outside of California for the Community Women's Orchestra. The all-volunteer, all-woman ensemble opened its set with Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, a three-minute work by Joan Tower (b. 1938, New Rochelle, New York), commissioned and first performed by the Houston Symphony in 1987. It was followed by Impressions d'Ardenne, symphonic sketches by Juliet Folville (b. 1870, Liége, Belgium; d. 1946, Dourgne, France); the first movement of Symphony No. 3 in E flat by Robert Schumann (b. 1810, Zwickau, Germany; d. 1856, Endenich, Germany) and edited by Clara Schumann; and Y.M.C.A. by Jacques Morali (b. 1947; d. 1991).
More than 100 sailors from the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus joined the Orchestra on stage to reprise the group's first musical, U.S.S. Metaphor or, The Lad That Loved A Sailor. This one-act operetta is an original adaptation of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic, H.M.S. Pinafore. The highly entertaining and hilarious work received its premiere performance at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, April 30, 2007. Set aboard a ship in Boston's harbor, the story includes the on-shore marriage of two male ensigns along with other hijinks that take dead aim at the military's 15-year-old policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
A Monday evening concert block at the Ziff Opera House opened with in Harmony, eight singers from Ft. Lauderdale, offering up Alle, Alle, Alle (Will Schmid, arranger; Maureen Schaffel, Liz Von Ache, and Tom Sukowicz, soloists), a Jamaican folk song. The group, founded in January 2007, presented excerpts from its recent "Imagine" concert. Artistic Director Randall Leonard led the four men and four women through Yo Vivo Cantando, I Live To Sing (Jay Althouse, composer); Agnes Dei Canon (Donald Moore, composer; traditional Latin); Wakati wa Amani, A Time of Peace (Sally K Albrecht, composer); Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon, composer; Mark Hayes, arranger); Embrace The Music (Greg Gilpin, composer; John Lewis, soloist); and The Music of Life (Althouse, composer).
After 18 years, the Orlando Gay Chorus retains 12 of its charter singing members. The group sent 82 male and female delegates to Miami. Singers, attired in black tie formal wear, opened with a Donna Summer Medley (various composers arranged by David Maddux) followed by Proud (Peter Vettese, composer; Jedediah Daiger/Eisenberg, arrangers; Heather Small, lyricist); Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Elton John, composer; Mac Huff, arranger; Tim Rice, lyricist); and Courage Lives! (Mark Patterson, composer). Conductor Mark W. Hardin also led Epitaph and Affirmation (Justin S. Fischer, composer; John Patrick Day, lyricist), a work commissioned to commemorate Matthew Shepherd and performed for Shepherd's mother in January.
Soon entering its 10th season, Caballeros, The Gay Men's Chorus of Palm Springs, made its second appearance at a GALA festival, featuring 30 singers directed by Alan Scott. The men work hard to sing each song in the dialect from which it originated. This was most evident in Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal, a traditional hymn from Appalachian Tennessee and West Virginia arranged by Alice Parker. In cadence and sound, this glory song bore echoes of Ojibwe pow wows I have heard broadcast on WOJB radio from Lacs Courte d'Oreilles in Wisconsin. The program also included Cantique de Jean Racine (Gabriel Faure, composer; K. Lee Scott, composer); Seize the Day (Alan Menken, composer; Roger Emerson, arranger; Jack Feldman, lyricist); Stars In The Night (Barry Manilow, composer; Alan Scott, arranger; Bruce Sussman, lyricist); Extraordinary Miracles (Christopher Winslow, composer); and Ain'a That Good News (William L. Dawson, composer).
The Wall of Sound pioneered by 1960s music producer Phil Spector has nothing on the New York City Gay Men's Chorus, led by Dr. Charles Beale. With just 100 of the group's 250 members present, the men proved that the human voice can generate tangible, physiological power. Their musical style is discussed and debated within and without the ranks of the 28-year-old chorus. While many might want to follow a wall of power into a battle, it is less certain if any would want to cozy up to such an intimidating force for sensual fun.
Nonetheless, the program was strong and striking, and included Zadok the Priest (Handel, composer; Steve Milloy, arranger); ManEater (Nelly Furtado, composer; Milloy, arranger); Aslanuri (traditional Georgian folksong; Eric Saggesse, Lamont Mundell, and Dan Baillie, soloists); Tree of Peace (Gwyneth Walker, composer); Take the A Train (Billy Strayhorn, composer; Alan Broadbent, arranger; Johnny Mercer, lyricist); and Vibrate and Beautiful Child (both works: Rufus Wainwright, composer; Raman Gutteridge, arranger; Mark Silverstone, soloist). One song, Africa (Jonnah Speidel, composer; Tom Morell, soloist), reduced much of the audience to tears. It is one piece that works well with the wall-of-sound treatment, and should be in the repertoires of every men's chorus. The New York group's ASL interpreter was terrific -- his name should have been listed in the printed program.
One rarely will find unanimity among any group of gay men, but consensus may be found frequently. A strong consensus seems to have developed in the hotel and concert hall corridors about the Heartland Men's Chorus: it touches the heart consistently and has one of the richest sounds at Festival 2008. Dr. Joseph P. Nadeau, artistic director, brought 130 singers from Kansas City to their fourth GALA appearance. Attired in blue-tie-and-vest formal wear, the 22-year-old group put on a fine, fine show. Most of the selections are from a new CD, "Quest Unending," and include Khorumi (Mamia Khatelishvili, composer; Robert Grady, soloist); Dies Irae (Z. Randall Stroope, composer); Live Your Dream (Greg Gilpin, composer; Rumi, Lao-Tzu, and Henry David Thoreau, lyricists); Carmina Ricotta (Eric Lane Barnes, composer; Mike Sigler, Robert Grady, John Edmonds, soloists); and Here's Where I Stand (Michael Gore, composer; Neal Richardson, arranger; Lynn Ahrens, lyricist; Todd Gregory, soloist).
The emotional highlight of the evening was provided by Last Letter Home. Before deploying to Iraq, Pfc. Jesse Givens composed a letter for his wife to read if he did not return. He was killed 10 days later. The words of his letter, set to music by Lee Hoiby, expressed thanks to his wife for the million years they had enjoyed together, and hope that his son would have a son as fine as he did. I was told later that the performers had been unable to sing the work without tears until, at a rehearsal, Nadeau told them to hold hands, which they did in concert.
From the heart and the heartland.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sea of Tranquility
Miami, Florida
Thirty nine years ago today, Apollo 11 lifted off from its Florida launch pad carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon.
Four days later, Sunday, July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin steered Eagle, their lunar module, to a landing on the moon's Sea of Tranquility while Collins remained in overhead orbit in his command module. Within six and a half hours, at 10:56pm EDT, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on another world.
In four days more, the three men splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, fulfilling the nation's commitment to land on and return safely from the moon before the 1960s ended. In announcing his support for the Apollo program to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, President John Kennedy said
Five moon landings subsequent to Apollo 11 ended in 1972. We have not been back since. Some say we should not make the trip, and others say we never will.
I think we should and hope that we will.
Thirty nine years ago today, Apollo 11 lifted off from its Florida launch pad carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon.
Four days later, Sunday, July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin steered Eagle, their lunar module, to a landing on the moon's Sea of Tranquility while Collins remained in overhead orbit in his command module. Within six and a half hours, at 10:56pm EDT, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on another world.
In four days more, the three men splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, fulfilling the nation's commitment to land on and return safely from the moon before the 1960s ended. In announcing his support for the Apollo program to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, President John Kennedy said
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
Five moon landings subsequent to Apollo 11 ended in 1972. We have not been back since. Some say we should not make the trip, and others say we never will.
I think we should and hope that we will.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Opening...Sunday afternoon and evening
Miami, Florida
The Miami Gay Men's Chorus, founded in 1999, took the stage of the Ziff Ballet Opera House shortly after noon on Sun., July 13, to launch the first of this week's 27 concert blocks at Festival 2008. With 67 delegates, led by Conductor Anthony Cabrera, the group presented a lovely rendering of Bobby McFerrin's 23rd Psalm. The 30-minute program also included My Own Creation, composed by MGMC's Chris Lobdell, with lyrics by Jerry Chasen; Amor de mi Alma (Z. Randall Stroope, composer); The Masochism Tango (Tom Lehrer, composer); and Alleluia (Paul Basler, composer).
Twenty seven members of the New Orleans Gay Men's Chorus, founded in 1982, gave the group its strongest GALA presence in years, presenting excerpts from their spring concert, "HOME." Under the baton of Artistic Director Cedric Bridges, the men offered In His Eyes/My Friend (Chuck Effler, composer); What a Wonderful World (George David Weiss, composer; Effler, arranger; George Douglas, lyricist); Opening Medley (Effler, composer); and Family (Henry Kreiger, composer; Effler, arranger). NOMGC's vice president voiced his members's thanks to GALA Choruses for the tangible and moral support they have provided in the three years since Hurricane Katrina.
In a reflection of good karma, the website of the New Orleans chorus encourages visitors to join in donating assistance to The Quire, a GLBT chorus affected by recent flooding in Eastern Iowa.
The MCC San Francisco Worship & Praise Team has some great male and female soloists among its 21 delegates. Gary Colman and Jill Sizemore composed and soloed in Gloria and I See You, God, respectively, while Rick Rosser and Larry Novida poured it on in Surrender (Cheri Toney, composer). The program also included Benedictus (Ilyas Iliya, composer). Music Director Stephanie Lynne Smith heads the Gospel ensemble.
Conductor Jerry Foust and the San Diego Men's Chorus provided a rousing finish to the afternoon set with highlights from Jersey Boys (Bob Gaudio, composer; Mark Brymer, arranger; Gaudio and Brymer, lyricists); He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (Bobby Scott, composer; John Coates, arranger; Bob Russell, lyricist); Trashin' the Camp (Phil Collins, composer; Moses Hogan, arranger); and Stayin' Alive–Bee Gees Medley (Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, composers; Teena Chinn, arranger). Let It Be (John Lennon/Paul McCartney, composers; Antonio Barazza, arranger) featured soloists Antonio Barazza and Jeff Crawford.
They have played in Europe and at Carnegie Hall, and now the five members of Uptown Express can add Miami's Ziff Opera House to their resumes. With a pop repertoire covering the last 80 years, the energetic lads presented selections from their new CD, "Walk Like A Man," backed by percussion, bass, and piano. John Followell, music director, arranged most of the tunes, including Who Loves You (Bob Gaudio & Judy Parker, composers); It's All Right With Me (Cole Porter, composer); Goin' Out of My Head (Randazzo/Winstein, composers); Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (Gaudio/Crewe, composers); Come To My Window (Melissa Etheridge, composer); I Want Love (Elton John, composer; Bernie Taupin, lyricist); Constant Craving (k.d. Lang/Ben Mink, composers); Never Can Say Goodbye (Clifton Davis, composer); and Love Grows Here (Gross/Koutrakous/Perreaux, composers). Soloists Christopher Caswell, John DePalma, Alex Goro, and Brad Parks were terrific, respectively, in the Etheridge, John, Lang/Mink, and Davis.
Full group dancing, in platform shoes, lent a comic, 1970s flair to the 14 singers from the Connecticut Gay Men's Chorus, led by Greg McMahan, guest music director. In its 22nd year, the group presented selections from its spring concert, including Dancing Queen: The Best of Abba (Andersson & Ulvaeus, composers and lyricists) and Seventies with a Twist (various composers, arranged by Mac Huff).
Now in its sixth season, Our Song: The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chorus brought 34 singers, resplendent in black tie formal wear, to Miami to deliver several short tunes, directed by Dr. Robert Glor, artistic director. The selections included My Spirit is Uncaged (Paul Rardin, composer; Walt Whitman, lyricist); Breath of Heaven (Chris Eaton & Amy Grant, composers; Lloyd Larson, arranger; Eaton & Grant, lyricists); Whirligig (Chuck Cogliandro, composer; commissioned by Our Song); Bonse Aba (Traditional Zambian Song; Andrew Fischer, lyricist); Bach (Again), Come Sweet Death (J. S. Bach, composer; Rhonda Sandberg, arranger); There Will Be Rest (Frank Ticheli, composer; Sara Teasdale, lyricist); and Ain't That Good News (William L. Dawson, composer and lyricist).
Sixty one singers of the 100+ member Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus also made the scene in black ties, accompanied by the Community Women's Orchestra from San Francisco. Artistic Director Joseph J. Buches led the group through Open Road (Robert Maggio, composer); Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon, composer; Kirby Shaw, arranger); and Joyful, Joyful (Beethoven, composer; Warren, arranger; Emerson, adapter).
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus holds a special place in GALA Chorus history. Established in 1978, a month following the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, it was the first chorus to include the word "gay" in its name. Choruses formed in New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and other cities between 1979 and 1981. In 1981, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus went on tour, visiting 12 cities around the country. The tour inspired the formation of many new lesbian and gay choruses, including the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus in 1981.
San Francisco's artistic director, Dr. Kathleen McGuire, led a delegation of 129 delegates to Miami to close out Sunday's performances with highlights from its recent seasons. The singers upped the sartorial ante, attired in white tie formal wear complete with white pocket handkerchiefs and sailor's hats for excerpts from U.S.S. Metaphor (Sir Arthur Sullivan, composer; Kathleen McGuire, arranger).
The program also included Gay vs. Straight Composers, abridged (Eric Lane Barnes, composer and lyricist, with help from many); Love (David Conte, composer; Philip Littell, lyricist); and "Tonight" from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein, composer; McGuire, arranger; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist).
A commissioned work by Ilyas Iliya, Safeer el-Layl (Ambassador of the Night), addressed a powerful plea for freedom to Muslims around the world, sung in Lebanese Arabic "so they can understand it."
The Miami Gay Men's Chorus, founded in 1999, took the stage of the Ziff Ballet Opera House shortly after noon on Sun., July 13, to launch the first of this week's 27 concert blocks at Festival 2008. With 67 delegates, led by Conductor Anthony Cabrera, the group presented a lovely rendering of Bobby McFerrin's 23rd Psalm. The 30-minute program also included My Own Creation, composed by MGMC's Chris Lobdell, with lyrics by Jerry Chasen; Amor de mi Alma (Z. Randall Stroope, composer); The Masochism Tango (Tom Lehrer, composer); and Alleluia (Paul Basler, composer).
Twenty seven members of the New Orleans Gay Men's Chorus, founded in 1982, gave the group its strongest GALA presence in years, presenting excerpts from their spring concert, "HOME." Under the baton of Artistic Director Cedric Bridges, the men offered In His Eyes/My Friend (Chuck Effler, composer); What a Wonderful World (George David Weiss, composer; Effler, arranger; George Douglas, lyricist); Opening Medley (Effler, composer); and Family (Henry Kreiger, composer; Effler, arranger). NOMGC's vice president voiced his members's thanks to GALA Choruses for the tangible and moral support they have provided in the three years since Hurricane Katrina.
In a reflection of good karma, the website of the New Orleans chorus encourages visitors to join in donating assistance to The Quire, a GLBT chorus affected by recent flooding in Eastern Iowa.
The MCC San Francisco Worship & Praise Team has some great male and female soloists among its 21 delegates. Gary Colman and Jill Sizemore composed and soloed in Gloria and I See You, God, respectively, while Rick Rosser and Larry Novida poured it on in Surrender (Cheri Toney, composer). The program also included Benedictus (Ilyas Iliya, composer). Music Director Stephanie Lynne Smith heads the Gospel ensemble.
Conductor Jerry Foust and the San Diego Men's Chorus provided a rousing finish to the afternoon set with highlights from Jersey Boys (Bob Gaudio, composer; Mark Brymer, arranger; Gaudio and Brymer, lyricists); He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (Bobby Scott, composer; John Coates, arranger; Bob Russell, lyricist); Trashin' the Camp (Phil Collins, composer; Moses Hogan, arranger); and Stayin' Alive–Bee Gees Medley (Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, composers; Teena Chinn, arranger). Let It Be (John Lennon/Paul McCartney, composers; Antonio Barazza, arranger) featured soloists Antonio Barazza and Jeff Crawford.
They have played in Europe and at Carnegie Hall, and now the five members of Uptown Express can add Miami's Ziff Opera House to their resumes. With a pop repertoire covering the last 80 years, the energetic lads presented selections from their new CD, "Walk Like A Man," backed by percussion, bass, and piano. John Followell, music director, arranged most of the tunes, including Who Loves You (Bob Gaudio & Judy Parker, composers); It's All Right With Me (Cole Porter, composer); Goin' Out of My Head (Randazzo/Winstein, composers); Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (Gaudio/Crewe, composers); Come To My Window (Melissa Etheridge, composer); I Want Love (Elton John, composer; Bernie Taupin, lyricist); Constant Craving (k.d. Lang/Ben Mink, composers); Never Can Say Goodbye (Clifton Davis, composer); and Love Grows Here (Gross/Koutrakous/Perreaux, composers). Soloists Christopher Caswell, John DePalma, Alex Goro, and Brad Parks were terrific, respectively, in the Etheridge, John, Lang/Mink, and Davis.
Full group dancing, in platform shoes, lent a comic, 1970s flair to the 14 singers from the Connecticut Gay Men's Chorus, led by Greg McMahan, guest music director. In its 22nd year, the group presented selections from its spring concert, including Dancing Queen: The Best of Abba (Andersson & Ulvaeus, composers and lyricists) and Seventies with a Twist (various composers, arranged by Mac Huff).
Now in its sixth season, Our Song: The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chorus brought 34 singers, resplendent in black tie formal wear, to Miami to deliver several short tunes, directed by Dr. Robert Glor, artistic director. The selections included My Spirit is Uncaged (Paul Rardin, composer; Walt Whitman, lyricist); Breath of Heaven (Chris Eaton & Amy Grant, composers; Lloyd Larson, arranger; Eaton & Grant, lyricists); Whirligig (Chuck Cogliandro, composer; commissioned by Our Song); Bonse Aba (Traditional Zambian Song; Andrew Fischer, lyricist); Bach (Again), Come Sweet Death (J. S. Bach, composer; Rhonda Sandberg, arranger); There Will Be Rest (Frank Ticheli, composer; Sara Teasdale, lyricist); and Ain't That Good News (William L. Dawson, composer and lyricist).
Sixty one singers of the 100+ member Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus also made the scene in black ties, accompanied by the Community Women's Orchestra from San Francisco. Artistic Director Joseph J. Buches led the group through Open Road (Robert Maggio, composer); Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon, composer; Kirby Shaw, arranger); and Joyful, Joyful (Beethoven, composer; Warren, arranger; Emerson, adapter).
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus holds a special place in GALA Chorus history. Established in 1978, a month following the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, it was the first chorus to include the word "gay" in its name. Choruses formed in New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and other cities between 1979 and 1981. In 1981, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus went on tour, visiting 12 cities around the country. The tour inspired the formation of many new lesbian and gay choruses, including the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus in 1981.
San Francisco's artistic director, Dr. Kathleen McGuire, led a delegation of 129 delegates to Miami to close out Sunday's performances with highlights from its recent seasons. The singers upped the sartorial ante, attired in white tie formal wear complete with white pocket handkerchiefs and sailor's hats for excerpts from U.S.S. Metaphor (Sir Arthur Sullivan, composer; Kathleen McGuire, arranger).
The program also included Gay vs. Straight Composers, abridged (Eric Lane Barnes, composer and lyricist, with help from many); Love (David Conte, composer; Philip Littell, lyricist); and "Tonight" from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein, composer; McGuire, arranger; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist).
A commissioned work by Ilyas Iliya, Safeer el-Layl (Ambassador of the Night), addressed a powerful plea for freedom to Muslims around the world, sung in Lebanese Arabic "so they can understand it."
Standing ovations for everyone!
Miami, Florida
This is one place where it is OK to do it for ourselves -- and for each other. Deliver standing ovations. Lots of them. In fact, one or more for everyone!
Living in Minnesota, I should have joined the crowd long ago to deliver the customary standing ovation for everything. The way I learned it, we were to hold back and save standing ovations as our highest acclaim for the truly exceptional accomplishment. Cultural cur that I sometimes am, I believed that if everything was special, then nothing was.
However, not one to stand, or sit, on principle when a rhetorical and relative point can be made, I am modifying my thinking. Standing ovations are not about, or mostly not about, the objects of our applause. They are about us: the clappers and the ovationers. All of us are accomplished and exceptional!
Ovations are part of fun, carefree celebrations. Sometimes, they even are about accomplishment. If you are present, you just know.
Standing Os are happening, on average, every 30 minutes in Miami this week as 5,000 choral delegates gather in concert halls and ballrooms to hear each other's best musical efforts and to cheer each other on.
Festival 2008, is the eighth and latest quadrennial gathering sponsored by GALA Choruses. No person could attend all of the 140+ performances happening at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the nearby Hilton Hotel. All of us are giving it our best shot, and standing to cheer our people along the way.
While we are at it, we can cheer Miami's new performing arts venues, opened in 2006.
Designed by Cesar Pelli, and 20 years in the making, The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world's largest such centers. It is owned by Miami-Dade County and operated by The Performing Arts Center Trust. Two main structures occupy two city blocks along historic Biscayne Boulevard.
One building is the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House. The other is the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall. The complex also includes the 200-seat Carnival Studio Theater and the Carnival Art Deco Tower, a restored architectural icon from one of Miami’s oldest Art Deco buildings.
The total project cost $472 million, with $150 million coming from a private capital campaign. Philanthropist Adrienne Arsht contributed $30 million, and gifts of $10 million each were received from Carnival Corporation, Sanford and Dolores Ziff, and the Knight Foundation. [Click here to read some background about the exercise of these naming rights.]
Singers are filling the venues with music, and I am organizing my notes about some of their performances and am off to hear more....
This is one place where it is OK to do it for ourselves -- and for each other. Deliver standing ovations. Lots of them. In fact, one or more for everyone!
Living in Minnesota, I should have joined the crowd long ago to deliver the customary standing ovation for everything. The way I learned it, we were to hold back and save standing ovations as our highest acclaim for the truly exceptional accomplishment. Cultural cur that I sometimes am, I believed that if everything was special, then nothing was.
However, not one to stand, or sit, on principle when a rhetorical and relative point can be made, I am modifying my thinking. Standing ovations are not about, or mostly not about, the objects of our applause. They are about us: the clappers and the ovationers. All of us are accomplished and exceptional!
Ovations are part of fun, carefree celebrations. Sometimes, they even are about accomplishment. If you are present, you just know.
Standing Os are happening, on average, every 30 minutes in Miami this week as 5,000 choral delegates gather in concert halls and ballrooms to hear each other's best musical efforts and to cheer each other on.
Festival 2008, is the eighth and latest quadrennial gathering sponsored by GALA Choruses. No person could attend all of the 140+ performances happening at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the nearby Hilton Hotel. All of us are giving it our best shot, and standing to cheer our people along the way.
While we are at it, we can cheer Miami's new performing arts venues, opened in 2006.
Designed by Cesar Pelli, and 20 years in the making, The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world's largest such centers. It is owned by Miami-Dade County and operated by The Performing Arts Center Trust. Two main structures occupy two city blocks along historic Biscayne Boulevard.
One building is the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House. The other is the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall. The complex also includes the 200-seat Carnival Studio Theater and the Carnival Art Deco Tower, a restored architectural icon from one of Miami’s oldest Art Deco buildings.
The total project cost $472 million, with $150 million coming from a private capital campaign. Philanthropist Adrienne Arsht contributed $30 million, and gifts of $10 million each were received from Carnival Corporation, Sanford and Dolores Ziff, and the Knight Foundation. [Click here to read some background about the exercise of these naming rights.]
Singers are filling the venues with music, and I am organizing my notes about some of their performances and am off to hear more....
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Beside Biscayne Bay
Miami, Florida
Twenty five years ago, GALA Choruses, the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, took flight on its mission to serve the fledgling GLBT choral movement.
Now, with 120 member organizations in the United States, Europe, and Australia, ranging in size from five singers to 250, GALA represents the artistic, communal, and political aspirations of 7,500 singers and, by degrees of separation, their audiences.
More than 5,000 of those singers are gathered in the center of Miami this week for Festival 2008 to celebrate and perform from a growing body of GLBT choral work as well as "mainstream" standards.
The assembled ensembles will present 141 performances in 27 concert blocks at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts through July 19.
I traveled here from Minneapolis on Sat., July 12, with 122 delegates of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus and 38 delegates of One Voice Mixed Chorus. Most of us are lodged at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, Double Tree Hotel, or Hilton Hotel, located within a block of each other.
They build structures tall and skinny here to maximize views and income potential. James Davies and I are on the 18th of the Marriott's 31 floors, with a balcony view of the marina below and across a sparkling Biscayne Bay to South Beach. We stayed here in 2002 while attending Dance/USA's Roundtable conference.
While many more are under construction, I am told there are 40,000 condos for sale in the immediate area; people can't or won't pay for the hurricane insurance.
Saturday's opening ceremonies, sponsored by acfea Tour Consultants, featured engaging and spirited performances by Ann Hampton Callaway and the massed choruses of Florida.
There are lines everywhere for everything. Surprisingly, despite the scale of its convention and hospitality facilities, Miami feels under-prepared in some respects to handle 5,000 people; there is a degree of "not quite right." Maybe, it is just us.
People have located the IGA grocery store, four blocks from the hotels, and are stocking in-room refrigerators. Everyone is settling in for the duration.
The positive energy is infectious!
Twenty five years ago, GALA Choruses, the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, took flight on its mission to serve the fledgling GLBT choral movement.
Now, with 120 member organizations in the United States, Europe, and Australia, ranging in size from five singers to 250, GALA represents the artistic, communal, and political aspirations of 7,500 singers and, by degrees of separation, their audiences.
More than 5,000 of those singers are gathered in the center of Miami this week for Festival 2008 to celebrate and perform from a growing body of GLBT choral work as well as "mainstream" standards.
The assembled ensembles will present 141 performances in 27 concert blocks at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts through July 19.
I traveled here from Minneapolis on Sat., July 12, with 122 delegates of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus and 38 delegates of One Voice Mixed Chorus. Most of us are lodged at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, Double Tree Hotel, or Hilton Hotel, located within a block of each other.
They build structures tall and skinny here to maximize views and income potential. James Davies and I are on the 18th of the Marriott's 31 floors, with a balcony view of the marina below and across a sparkling Biscayne Bay to South Beach. We stayed here in 2002 while attending Dance/USA's Roundtable conference.
While many more are under construction, I am told there are 40,000 condos for sale in the immediate area; people can't or won't pay for the hurricane insurance.
Saturday's opening ceremonies, sponsored by acfea Tour Consultants, featured engaging and spirited performances by Ann Hampton Callaway and the massed choruses of Florida.
There are lines everywhere for everything. Surprisingly, despite the scale of its convention and hospitality facilities, Miami feels under-prepared in some respects to handle 5,000 people; there is a degree of "not quite right." Maybe, it is just us.
People have located the IGA grocery store, four blocks from the hotels, and are stocking in-room refrigerators. Everyone is settling in for the duration.
The positive energy is infectious!
Dance review: SOLO, Southern Theater, Minneapolis
Miami, Florida
Since 1997, the McKnight Foundation has funded annual fellowships for individual dancers as part of its system of support for Minnesota artists. The fellowships, $25,000 each, recognize three artists at mid-career and beyond whose work has exceptional merit and who have created a substantial body of work. The cash comes with virtually no strings attached.
Fellows are selected through an application process and vetted by a panel of five arts professionals.
Knowing that few dancers would decline the opportunity for a star turn, the foundation sweetened fellowships with a second component several years ago: funds for each fellow to commission a solo for him/herself from a choreographer of the fellow’s choosing.
The upsides for the community include a biennial opportunity to view and reflect upon its professional dancers in a solo context and to experience a variety of choreographers with whom one might be unfamiliar.
Premiere performances by the 2006 and 2007 McKnight dancer fellows opened to a sold-out audience July 11, running to July 13, at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.
Many, including me, failed to call ahead for tickets and did not see the show, so here is my review:
Prelude to a Swan
Music: The Protecting Veil by John Tavener. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Yo-Yo Ma, cello.
Costume Design: Jerry Opdenaker
Mifa was born in Tokyo, Japan, and trained at the Matsuyama Ballet School. She also has studied in Monaco at the Academie de la Danse Classic Princess Grace and in Moscow at the Bolshoi Ballet School. In the United States, Mifa has danced with the Boston Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre and, most recently, with Ballet Florida. She has performed as a guest in several ballets, including Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker.
Jerry Opdenaker, choreographer, hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from the University of the Arts and danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet. He also performed as a soloist with the Kansas City Ballet, and with Ballet Florida from 1992 to 2006. He now leads Ballet Florida’s choreographic workshop. Jerry’s choreography has been presented by Ballet Florida, Ballet Builders in New York City, and by the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute.
Laura Selle Virtucio, dancer
Can You Look Me in the Eye?
Original Score: Mio Morales
Video: Gregg Holtgrewe
Costume Design: Angie Vo
Laura began movement training as an athlete in her native Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota (1999) and has enjoyed long performing relationships as a member of Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (since 1999) and Shapiro & Smith Dance (since 2001). She recently joined Black Label Movement. Laura has served as an affiliate faculty member in the dance programs of the University of Minnesota and Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, and received a 2007 Sage Award for best performer.
Colleen Thomas, choreographer, moved to New York from Miami 20 years ago. She has danced with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Bebe Miller Company, Nina Weiner Dance Company, Donald Bird/The Group, Kevin Wynn Collection, and others. She holds a BA degree in psychology and an MFA in dance. She serves as a principal of Bill Young/Colleen Thomas and Co., and is an assistant professor at Barnard College of Columbia University. Her choreography has been performed at numerous domestic and international venues.
Abdo Sayegh, dancer
Traces of After
Music: Follias 1700
Composer: Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). Performance: Jordi Savall (Music CD)
Costume Design: Claire Brauch
Originally from Venezuela, Abdo trained with Ballet Nacional de Caracas Teresa Carreño School. Early in his career he performed with both of Venezuela’s leading companies: the Ballet Nacional de Caracas, under the direction of Vicente Nebrada, and Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, under the direction of Zhandra Rodriguez. He has danced with the Minnesota Dance Theatre for 14 years, becoming a full-time company member in 1998, and artistic associate in 2006. Abdo has performed as a guest for many companies in the United States and Venezuela.
Toronto-born Gioconda Barbuto, choreographer, danced with the Minnesota Dance Theatre, and for 16 years with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. She also has performed with Danse Théâtre de Montréal, Fortier Danse-Création, Margie Gillis, and Nederlands Dans Theater III. As an independent choreographer, Gioconda’s works have been performed by companies throughout Canada and the United States. She received the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award in 1996.
Karla Grotting, dancer
Ajde
Vocal Performer: Natalie Nowytski.
Music: Slavic Soul Party. Sound Design: Cody Anderson.
Set Design: Dean Hawthorne.
Hoop Consultant: Risa Cohen
Rehearsal Directors: Joe Chvala, Peter O’Gorman
Karla is an original company member of Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum. She began performing with Zoe Sealy’s Minnesota Jazz Dance Company in the 1970s, and continued her career in New York City and Minnesota, including seven years with JAZZDANCE by Danny Buraczeski. She has performed a wide range of styles for many choreographers. Karla’s own choreography draws on her tap and jazz experiences. She received a BFA in Dance and a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota, where she currently serves on faculty.
Max Pollak, choreographer, started his career in music and dance as a drummer in his native Austria. He moved to New York in 1991, and graduated from the New School University. He has taught and performed in Cuba for 10 years. He also teaches and performs with his group RumbaTap. Engagements have included venues in Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Greece, Japan, and the United States.
Tamara Nadel, dancer
Anandavarshini Ragam
Ragam (musical scale): Amritavarshini / Talam (rhythmic cycle): Adi
Musical Composition by L. Murphy, commissioned by Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy
Musical Arrangement by Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy
Padari Varuguthu
Ragam: Kambodhi / Talam: Roopakam
Musical Composition by Subbarama Iyer
Musicians: Lalit Subramaniam (vocal), Aparna Ramaswamy (nattuvangam/cymbals), Murali Balachandran (mridangam/south Indian drum), V.K. Raman (flute); recorded at Wild Sound, Minneapolis.
Tamara is a graduate of Macalester College, with a degree in Religious Studies and Dance. She has been performing and teaching with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater at domestic and international venues since 1994. A student of Bharatanatyam, the south Indian classical dance form, under Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, Tamara gave her solo debut performance (arangetram) in 1998. She has received a Minnesota State Arts Board Career Opportunity Grant and a Jerome Foundation Travel Study Grant for travel to India.
Ranee Ramaswamy, choreographer, founded Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, and has been teaching and performing Bharatanatyam in the Twin Cities since 1978. She is a disciple of Alarmel Valli, the world’s leading exponent of Bharatanatyam. Ranee’s work has been supported by numerous fellowships and grants from the McKnight and Bush Foundations, the St. Paul Companies, Arts International, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board, The National Dance Project, and the Japan Foundation. In 2004, the Minneapolis Star Tribune named her one of the "Artists of the Year.”
Aparna Ramaswamy, choreographer, is a protégé of Alarmel Valli, and has been featured as a solo performer at prestigious domestic and international venues. She has been awarded fellowships from the McKnight and Bush Foundations, and grants from Arts and Religion in the Twin Cities, the Jerome Foundation, Arts International, the Lakshmi Vishwanathan Endowment Prize from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and a Sage Award for Best Dancer. She graduated from Carleton College with a degree in International Relations and a concentration in Political Economy.
Colette Illarde, dancer
Volar
Music: “Rondeñas del Aguelo” by Juan Diego courtesy of Bujío Producciones.
Singer: Rachel Milloy.
Guitarist: Trevor May
Costume Design: Colette Illarde; created by Lola Almela, Madrid
Colette began ballet training in Chicago with Edward Parish and at the Boitsov School of Classical Ballet, and danced with the Joel Hall Jazz Dance company. In 1991, she discovered flamenco with Dame Libby Komaiko and danced for five years with the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater. Since relocating to Minneapolis in 1996, she has performed with Rincon del Flamenco, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, Trio Flamenco, and Ballet Minnesota, and formed FUEGO Flamenco with guitarist Scott Mateo Davies. Colette has received grants from the Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, St. Paul Companies, and COMPAS. She has served on the Cultural Advisory Committee of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and is the artistic liaison for the City of Minneapolis’s MOSAIC festival.
Manuel Reyes, choreographer, was born in Córdoba in 1974. He studied in Madrid at Amor De Dios, Ballet Nacional, and with Luis Fuente and Carmen Roche. He began performing with the National Ballet of Spain at age 10. He has toured the world and worked with José Granero, Joaquín Cortes, Antonio Canáles, Concha Velasco, Blanca del Rey, Merche Esmeralda, Belén Maya, and Rafaela Carrasco. Manuel’s choreography has been recognized by the Sociedad General De Autores. In 2007, he received the Certamen de Coreografia de Danza Espanola Y Flamenco.
Since 1997, the McKnight Foundation has funded annual fellowships for individual dancers as part of its system of support for Minnesota artists. The fellowships, $25,000 each, recognize three artists at mid-career and beyond whose work has exceptional merit and who have created a substantial body of work. The cash comes with virtually no strings attached.
Fellows are selected through an application process and vetted by a panel of five arts professionals.
Knowing that few dancers would decline the opportunity for a star turn, the foundation sweetened fellowships with a second component several years ago: funds for each fellow to commission a solo for him/herself from a choreographer of the fellow’s choosing.
The upsides for the community include a biennial opportunity to view and reflect upon its professional dancers in a solo context and to experience a variety of choreographers with whom one might be unfamiliar.
Premiere performances by the 2006 and 2007 McKnight dancer fellows opened to a sold-out audience July 11, running to July 13, at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.
Many, including me, failed to call ahead for tickets and did not see the show, so here is my review:
Mifa Ko, dancer
Each of these performers is a credit to dance in America and merits our affectionate regard for high artistic achievement.
Prelude to a Swan
Music: The Protecting Veil by John Tavener. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Yo-Yo Ma, cello.
Costume Design: Jerry Opdenaker
Mifa was born in Tokyo, Japan, and trained at the Matsuyama Ballet School. She also has studied in Monaco at the Academie de la Danse Classic Princess Grace and in Moscow at the Bolshoi Ballet School. In the United States, Mifa has danced with the Boston Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre and, most recently, with Ballet Florida. She has performed as a guest in several ballets, including Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker.
Jerry Opdenaker, choreographer, hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from the University of the Arts and danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet. He also performed as a soloist with the Kansas City Ballet, and with Ballet Florida from 1992 to 2006. He now leads Ballet Florida’s choreographic workshop. Jerry’s choreography has been presented by Ballet Florida, Ballet Builders in New York City, and by the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute.
Laura Selle Virtucio, dancer
Can You Look Me in the Eye?
Original Score: Mio Morales
Video: Gregg Holtgrewe
Costume Design: Angie Vo
Laura began movement training as an athlete in her native Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota (1999) and has enjoyed long performing relationships as a member of Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (since 1999) and Shapiro & Smith Dance (since 2001). She recently joined Black Label Movement. Laura has served as an affiliate faculty member in the dance programs of the University of Minnesota and Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, and received a 2007 Sage Award for best performer.
Colleen Thomas, choreographer, moved to New York from Miami 20 years ago. She has danced with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Bebe Miller Company, Nina Weiner Dance Company, Donald Bird/The Group, Kevin Wynn Collection, and others. She holds a BA degree in psychology and an MFA in dance. She serves as a principal of Bill Young/Colleen Thomas and Co., and is an assistant professor at Barnard College of Columbia University. Her choreography has been performed at numerous domestic and international venues.
Abdo Sayegh, dancer
Traces of After
Music: Follias 1700
Composer: Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). Performance: Jordi Savall (Music CD)
Costume Design: Claire Brauch
Originally from Venezuela, Abdo trained with Ballet Nacional de Caracas Teresa Carreño School. Early in his career he performed with both of Venezuela’s leading companies: the Ballet Nacional de Caracas, under the direction of Vicente Nebrada, and Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, under the direction of Zhandra Rodriguez. He has danced with the Minnesota Dance Theatre for 14 years, becoming a full-time company member in 1998, and artistic associate in 2006. Abdo has performed as a guest for many companies in the United States and Venezuela.
Toronto-born Gioconda Barbuto, choreographer, danced with the Minnesota Dance Theatre, and for 16 years with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. She also has performed with Danse Théâtre de Montréal, Fortier Danse-Création, Margie Gillis, and Nederlands Dans Theater III. As an independent choreographer, Gioconda’s works have been performed by companies throughout Canada and the United States. She received the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award in 1996.
Karla Grotting, dancer
Ajde
Vocal Performer: Natalie Nowytski.
Music: Slavic Soul Party. Sound Design: Cody Anderson.
Set Design: Dean Hawthorne.
Hoop Consultant: Risa Cohen
Rehearsal Directors: Joe Chvala, Peter O’Gorman
Karla is an original company member of Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum. She began performing with Zoe Sealy’s Minnesota Jazz Dance Company in the 1970s, and continued her career in New York City and Minnesota, including seven years with JAZZDANCE by Danny Buraczeski. She has performed a wide range of styles for many choreographers. Karla’s own choreography draws on her tap and jazz experiences. She received a BFA in Dance and a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota, where she currently serves on faculty.
Max Pollak, choreographer, started his career in music and dance as a drummer in his native Austria. He moved to New York in 1991, and graduated from the New School University. He has taught and performed in Cuba for 10 years. He also teaches and performs with his group RumbaTap. Engagements have included venues in Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Greece, Japan, and the United States.
Tamara Nadel, dancer
Anandavarshini Ragam
Ragam (musical scale): Amritavarshini / Talam (rhythmic cycle): Adi
Musical Composition by L. Murphy, commissioned by Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy
Musical Arrangement by Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy
Padari Varuguthu
Ragam: Kambodhi / Talam: Roopakam
Musical Composition by Subbarama Iyer
Musicians: Lalit Subramaniam (vocal), Aparna Ramaswamy (nattuvangam/cymbals), Murali Balachandran (mridangam/south Indian drum), V.K. Raman (flute); recorded at Wild Sound, Minneapolis.
Tamara is a graduate of Macalester College, with a degree in Religious Studies and Dance. She has been performing and teaching with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater at domestic and international venues since 1994. A student of Bharatanatyam, the south Indian classical dance form, under Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, Tamara gave her solo debut performance (arangetram) in 1998. She has received a Minnesota State Arts Board Career Opportunity Grant and a Jerome Foundation Travel Study Grant for travel to India.
Ranee Ramaswamy, choreographer, founded Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, and has been teaching and performing Bharatanatyam in the Twin Cities since 1978. She is a disciple of Alarmel Valli, the world’s leading exponent of Bharatanatyam. Ranee’s work has been supported by numerous fellowships and grants from the McKnight and Bush Foundations, the St. Paul Companies, Arts International, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board, The National Dance Project, and the Japan Foundation. In 2004, the Minneapolis Star Tribune named her one of the "Artists of the Year.”
Aparna Ramaswamy, choreographer, is a protégé of Alarmel Valli, and has been featured as a solo performer at prestigious domestic and international venues. She has been awarded fellowships from the McKnight and Bush Foundations, and grants from Arts and Religion in the Twin Cities, the Jerome Foundation, Arts International, the Lakshmi Vishwanathan Endowment Prize from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and a Sage Award for Best Dancer. She graduated from Carleton College with a degree in International Relations and a concentration in Political Economy.
Colette Illarde, dancer
Volar
Music: “Rondeñas del Aguelo” by Juan Diego courtesy of Bujío Producciones.
Singer: Rachel Milloy.
Guitarist: Trevor May
Costume Design: Colette Illarde; created by Lola Almela, Madrid
Colette began ballet training in Chicago with Edward Parish and at the Boitsov School of Classical Ballet, and danced with the Joel Hall Jazz Dance company. In 1991, she discovered flamenco with Dame Libby Komaiko and danced for five years with the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater. Since relocating to Minneapolis in 1996, she has performed with Rincon del Flamenco, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, Trio Flamenco, and Ballet Minnesota, and formed FUEGO Flamenco with guitarist Scott Mateo Davies. Colette has received grants from the Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, St. Paul Companies, and COMPAS. She has served on the Cultural Advisory Committee of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and is the artistic liaison for the City of Minneapolis’s MOSAIC festival.
Manuel Reyes, choreographer, was born in Córdoba in 1974. He studied in Madrid at Amor De Dios, Ballet Nacional, and with Luis Fuente and Carmen Roche. He began performing with the National Ballet of Spain at age 10. He has toured the world and worked with José Granero, Joaquín Cortes, Antonio Canáles, Concha Velasco, Blanca del Rey, Merche Esmeralda, Belén Maya, and Rafaela Carrasco. Manuel’s choreography has been recognized by the Sociedad General De Autores. In 2007, he received the Certamen de Coreografia de Danza Espanola Y Flamenco.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Inspired by potential greatness
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Every now and then I encounter a performing spectacle of such depth of talent, passion, and excitement that I am slapped awake and reminded why I got involved with the arts.
Such was the case last September when I attended the Performing Arts Exchange, a booking conference sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation, in Louisville. I encountered the Irish music group Celtic Crossroads; they occupied the exhibit booth next to mine.
They came to "own" the entire exhibit hall, especially after starting a round of showcase performances during most days and evenings of the conference and generating a huge amount of buzz.
Based in Galway, Ireland, the seven musicians of Celtic Crossroads play 22 instruments among them. Their musicianship dazzles and prompts one to think they should be called world class.
Their producer, Kevin Crosby, tells me that their U.S. tours in 2008-09 will have them performing all over the East Coast, in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Their website will post the specific dates and locations. They also will showcase at the Arts Midwest booking conference in Kansas City, Sept. 17-20.
Whenever you have the chance, treat your heart to the youthful energy of this amazing team of engaging artists.
Every now and then I encounter a performing spectacle of such depth of talent, passion, and excitement that I am slapped awake and reminded why I got involved with the arts.
Such was the case last September when I attended the Performing Arts Exchange, a booking conference sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation, in Louisville. I encountered the Irish music group Celtic Crossroads; they occupied the exhibit booth next to mine.
They came to "own" the entire exhibit hall, especially after starting a round of showcase performances during most days and evenings of the conference and generating a huge amount of buzz.
Based in Galway, Ireland, the seven musicians of Celtic Crossroads play 22 instruments among them. Their musicianship dazzles and prompts one to think they should be called world class.
Their producer, Kevin Crosby, tells me that their U.S. tours in 2008-09 will have them performing all over the East Coast, in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Their website will post the specific dates and locations. They also will showcase at the Arts Midwest booking conference in Kansas City, Sept. 17-20.
Whenever you have the chance, treat your heart to the youthful energy of this amazing team of engaging artists.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The Singing Revolution
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Can culture save a nation?
This question is posed and answered resoundingly by James and Maureen Tusty in "The Singing Revolution," their 2006 film celebrating the non-violent process leading to the re-establishment of Estonian independence in 1991.
The film will show at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis through July 10. I learned of it and attended at the invitation of a friend who fled from the communists in Estonia in 1945. After years in other countries, my friend was admitted to the United States in 1964.
Estonia is the most northern of the three Baltic states, and is bordered by Russia on the East, the Baltic Sea on the West, and Latvia on the South. After maintaining relative independence from 6,000 B.C., Estonia succumbed to a 19-year invasion by the forces of Pope Innocent III in 1227. Thereafter, it endured domination by aggressors from all directions.
Music has been a central part of Estonian culture for centuries, and the Great Awakening of the 1860s led to establishment in 1869 of the music festival called Laulupidu. The festival is held in July every five years in Tartu, and features 25,000 to 30,000 singers massed at the same time on an outdoor stage.
The first festival introduced "Land of my Fathers, Land that I Love," a national poem set to music that became a staple of the country's cultural life.
Estonians took advantage of the chaos surrounding Russia's Bolshevik Revolution to establish their independence from Russian rule in 1918. Russia renounced "in perpetuity" all rights to Estonia's territory in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
Estonia blossomed culturally, politically, and economically for 19 years.
Until. Among other provisions, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939, divided the territory of Europe between the empires of Adolf Hitler's Germany and Josef Stalin's Soviet Union. After Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, Stalin invaded Estonia and took over the government of its one million inhabitants. In June 1940, the Russians rounded up the country's political and business leaders and killed them outright or shipped them to hard labor in Siberia.
In 1941, the Germans invaded while on their way to Russia. By 1945, the Russians returned. At the end of World War II, a fourth of Estonia's population had been lost through execution, imprisonment, deportation, and escape.
The first, post-war Laulupidu was held in 1947. For the occasion, Gustav Ernesales composed a revised version of "Land of my Fathers, Land that I Love." It slipped past Stalin's censors and became the country's unofficial national anthem. Subsequent festivals concluded two days of odes to the glories of socialism with a round of Estonian folks songs culminating in mass singing of "Land."
That did not change even for the festival's centennial in 1969 when the Soviets banned the song. At the end of that year's festival, 25,000 singers refused to leave the stage until tens of thousands of people sang "Land" several times.
The festivals kept hope alive in the nation's soul. In the years following the election of Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union in 1985, the Estonian people put his policies of perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (free speech) to the test, first emboldened to sing forbidden patriotic songs at public gatherings.
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which had never been recognized by international law, was challenged openly, and assertions were made that Estonia never had ceased to be an independent nation.
Jump ahead to 1991 and the death throes of the Soviet Union. Soviet renegades placed Gorbachev under house arrest in Moscow. Competing factions in Estonia united to declare independence before the arrival of Soviet troops sent to crush the independence movement. Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia, faced down the military to declare Russia's secession from the Soviet Union.
The rest is becoming ancient history.
The Tustys mix interviews, archival footage, and filming from the 2004 Laulupidu to tell an inspiring story of patient endurance and triumph. In one climactic scene, unarmed people link arms to confront tanks and rifles at the television tower to keep "what is really happening" on the airwaves.
One wonders how many Americans would stand up to tanks to keep CNN, Fox News, and the rest of them broadcasting.
"The Singing Revolution" received its first showing in Tallinn, December 1, 2006. The film's website contains history, music, and more.
Can culture save a nation?
This question is posed and answered resoundingly by James and Maureen Tusty in "The Singing Revolution," their 2006 film celebrating the non-violent process leading to the re-establishment of Estonian independence in 1991.
The film will show at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis through July 10. I learned of it and attended at the invitation of a friend who fled from the communists in Estonia in 1945. After years in other countries, my friend was admitted to the United States in 1964.
Estonia is the most northern of the three Baltic states, and is bordered by Russia on the East, the Baltic Sea on the West, and Latvia on the South. After maintaining relative independence from 6,000 B.C., Estonia succumbed to a 19-year invasion by the forces of Pope Innocent III in 1227. Thereafter, it endured domination by aggressors from all directions.
Music has been a central part of Estonian culture for centuries, and the Great Awakening of the 1860s led to establishment in 1869 of the music festival called Laulupidu. The festival is held in July every five years in Tartu, and features 25,000 to 30,000 singers massed at the same time on an outdoor stage.
The first festival introduced "Land of my Fathers, Land that I Love," a national poem set to music that became a staple of the country's cultural life.
Estonians took advantage of the chaos surrounding Russia's Bolshevik Revolution to establish their independence from Russian rule in 1918. Russia renounced "in perpetuity" all rights to Estonia's territory in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
Estonia blossomed culturally, politically, and economically for 19 years.
Until. Among other provisions, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939, divided the territory of Europe between the empires of Adolf Hitler's Germany and Josef Stalin's Soviet Union. After Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, Stalin invaded Estonia and took over the government of its one million inhabitants. In June 1940, the Russians rounded up the country's political and business leaders and killed them outright or shipped them to hard labor in Siberia.
In 1941, the Germans invaded while on their way to Russia. By 1945, the Russians returned. At the end of World War II, a fourth of Estonia's population had been lost through execution, imprisonment, deportation, and escape.
The first, post-war Laulupidu was held in 1947. For the occasion, Gustav Ernesales composed a revised version of "Land of my Fathers, Land that I Love." It slipped past Stalin's censors and became the country's unofficial national anthem. Subsequent festivals concluded two days of odes to the glories of socialism with a round of Estonian folks songs culminating in mass singing of "Land."
That did not change even for the festival's centennial in 1969 when the Soviets banned the song. At the end of that year's festival, 25,000 singers refused to leave the stage until tens of thousands of people sang "Land" several times.
The festivals kept hope alive in the nation's soul. In the years following the election of Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union in 1985, the Estonian people put his policies of perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (free speech) to the test, first emboldened to sing forbidden patriotic songs at public gatherings.
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which had never been recognized by international law, was challenged openly, and assertions were made that Estonia never had ceased to be an independent nation.
Jump ahead to 1991 and the death throes of the Soviet Union. Soviet renegades placed Gorbachev under house arrest in Moscow. Competing factions in Estonia united to declare independence before the arrival of Soviet troops sent to crush the independence movement. Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia, faced down the military to declare Russia's secession from the Soviet Union.
The rest is becoming ancient history.
The Tustys mix interviews, archival footage, and filming from the 2004 Laulupidu to tell an inspiring story of patient endurance and triumph. In one climactic scene, unarmed people link arms to confront tanks and rifles at the television tower to keep "what is really happening" on the airwaves.
One wonders how many Americans would stand up to tanks to keep CNN, Fox News, and the rest of them broadcasting.
"The Singing Revolution" received its first showing in Tallinn, December 1, 2006. The film's website contains history, music, and more.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Diversity in the ranks
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Here is an article of interest from the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. – GP
Minorities say nonprofit boards not looking deep
enough among their numbers
By April McClellan-Copeland June 22, 2008
The Plain Dealer
Randell McShepard, vice president of public affairs at RPM International, found himself in high demand last year as 22 nonprofit organizations asked him to serve on their board of directors.
McShepard has a high-profile position at his company and much experience serving on nonprofit boards, including the United Way of Greater Cleveland and Business Volunteers Unlimited, an organization that links businesses and nonprofits and trains nonprofit boards.
But McShepard, who is black, said the 22 invitations really underscore how nonprofits are not digging deep enough to tap into the wealth of talented minority professionals in the community.
Read the full article
Here is an article of interest from the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. – GP
Minorities say nonprofit boards not looking deep
enough among their numbers
By April McClellan-Copeland
The Plain Dealer
Randell McShepard, vice president of public affairs at RPM International, found himself in high demand last year as 22 nonprofit organizations asked him to serve on their board of directors.
McShepard has a high-profile position at his company and much experience serving on nonprofit boards, including the United Way of Greater Cleveland and Business Volunteers Unlimited, an organization that links businesses and nonprofits and trains nonprofit boards.
But McShepard, who is black, said the 22 invitations really underscore how nonprofits are not digging deep enough to tap into the wealth of talented minority professionals in the community.
Read the full article
Friday, July 4, 2008
Power?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Those partisans who are disaffected with one or more aspects of the McCain or Obama candidacies and vow to vote for Bob Barr, Ron Paul, Hillary, or Ralph Nader are a puzzle to me. They suggest that votes for alternative candidates will "demonstrate our voting power." What kind of power is that? When, oh when, did losing an election become "empowering"?
Those partisans who are disaffected with one or more aspects of the McCain or Obama candidacies and vow to vote for Bob Barr, Ron Paul, Hillary, or Ralph Nader are a puzzle to me. They suggest that votes for alternative candidates will "demonstrate our voting power." What kind of power is that? When, oh when, did losing an election become "empowering"?
Silver threads among the gold
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Uncle Sam I ain't, but I am a new uncle this 4th of July. A sister and brother-in-law are adopting J and R, two of his nephews, ages nine and 11. They arrived in the Midwest from their former home out East three days ago. Welcome to the family, boys!
My mother, a Yankee Doodle Grandma, turns 78 today.
For James Davies and me, today marks 25 years together.
Uncle Sam I ain't, but I am a new uncle this 4th of July. A sister and brother-in-law are adopting J and R, two of his nephews, ages nine and 11. They arrived in the Midwest from their former home out East three days ago. Welcome to the family, boys!
My mother, a Yankee Doodle Grandma, turns 78 today.
For James Davies and me, today marks 25 years together.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Let's go shopping!
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Is nothing sacred?
Tomorrow is Independence Day. The 4th of July.
According to my newspaper, major supermarkets will be open. Most malls will be open. Many in-store bank branches will be open.
Is nothing sacred?
Tomorrow is Independence Day. The 4th of July.
According to my newspaper, major supermarkets will be open. Most malls will be open. Many in-store bank branches will be open.
Nonprofit governance: How unsexy and irrelevant is that?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The recent announcement that Theatre de la Jeune Lune will shut down permanently prompted many analyses about what went right as well as wrong during the storied lifetime of a mainstay in the Twin Cities' cultural milieu.
One commentary by David Hawley on MinnPost.com ("With Jeune Lune's triumphs over and legacy clear, its wondrous nomads move on," 6/24/08) celebrated both the endings and the beginnings to be found in Jeune Lune's demise. One passage by Hawley caught my eye, and that of several others:
Well.
There is no need to pile on and credit this sentiment as a fatal flaw in the organizational culture that led to Jeune Lune's demise. The sentiment is alive, healthy, and expressed regularly by artists in all disciplines.
I have heard this sentiment, and worse, from agents of more than one arts organization during the current calendar year alone. You also may have heard the comments; hopefully, you have not made them yourself.
I used to think such expressions were born from desperation and the poverty mentality that grips many in the smaller arts world. Now, I see them as ignorant and arrogant. Or just plain stupid. They hurt all of us.
Any artist who wishes to exercise total control with no accountability is free to operate as a sole proprietor or as a for-profit business. However, once one crosses over and assumes the mantle of an incorporated, 501(c)(3), your business becomes the public's business. And the public relies upon your board of directors to look after its interests.
We might whine, curse, and complain if we must. Then we need to grow up and step up to the plate of adult nonprofit governance.
The Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence, created by -- and available for pdf download from -- the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, articulate 10 principles of accountability and 133 management practices that can inform artists, administrators, board members, and wanna-bees.
For sure, as the Principles state, "Board members should be committed to the mission and dedicated to the success of the nonprofit." However, "Nonprofit board members are responsible to make decisions in the interest of the organization and no other party, including themselves."
The Center for Nonprofit Management at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis offers regular classes in all aspects of nonprofit management and governance. One need not be a regularly-enrolled student to attend. I have found several classes helpful over the years.
Yes, there is a lot of nuance about the checks and balances of governing and managing nonprofits; that is grist for future posts.
The basics remain relevant. If we care enough to do our work in the arts, then we should care enough to get it right in practice and in attitude.
The recent announcement that Theatre de la Jeune Lune will shut down permanently prompted many analyses about what went right as well as wrong during the storied lifetime of a mainstay in the Twin Cities' cultural milieu.
One commentary by David Hawley on MinnPost.com ("With Jeune Lune's triumphs over and legacy clear, its wondrous nomads move on," 6/24/08) celebrated both the endings and the beginnings to be found in Jeune Lune's demise. One passage by Hawley caught my eye, and that of several others:
I remember, decades ago, when I was chatting with a Jeune
Lune core member ... who was lamenting about having to deal
with a board of directors in order to gain the benefits of nonprofit status.
"Their job is to get money for us," the performer said. "But they want to
talk to us about what we're doing and all that. It's none of their business
and a terrible waste of time."
Well.
There is no need to pile on and credit this sentiment as a fatal flaw in the organizational culture that led to Jeune Lune's demise. The sentiment is alive, healthy, and expressed regularly by artists in all disciplines.
I have heard this sentiment, and worse, from agents of more than one arts organization during the current calendar year alone. You also may have heard the comments; hopefully, you have not made them yourself.
"No one, least of all a donor, is going to tell me how to run my organization!"These statements do not emanate from mature organizations. They almost always are found among small and midsize groups.
"I founded this organization and I will shut it down before I give up control!"
I used to think such expressions were born from desperation and the poverty mentality that grips many in the smaller arts world. Now, I see them as ignorant and arrogant. Or just plain stupid. They hurt all of us.
Any artist who wishes to exercise total control with no accountability is free to operate as a sole proprietor or as a for-profit business. However, once one crosses over and assumes the mantle of an incorporated, 501(c)(3), your business becomes the public's business. And the public relies upon your board of directors to look after its interests.
We might whine, curse, and complain if we must. Then we need to grow up and step up to the plate of adult nonprofit governance.
The Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence, created by -- and available for pdf download from -- the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, articulate 10 principles of accountability and 133 management practices that can inform artists, administrators, board members, and wanna-bees.
For sure, as the Principles state, "Board members should be committed to the mission and dedicated to the success of the nonprofit." However, "Nonprofit board members are responsible to make decisions in the interest of the organization and no other party, including themselves."
The Center for Nonprofit Management at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis offers regular classes in all aspects of nonprofit management and governance. One need not be a regularly-enrolled student to attend. I have found several classes helpful over the years.
Yes, there is a lot of nuance about the checks and balances of governing and managing nonprofits; that is grist for future posts.
The basics remain relevant. If we care enough to do our work in the arts, then we should care enough to get it right in practice and in attitude.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A touching time to be alive
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Last Friday, my friend G and I attended "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing," the summer concert of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. It was a lovely and splendored evening at Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University of Minnesota's West Bank campus. Going to and from, all of the electric power was "out" in the nearby 7-Corners neighborhood, including at the Southern Theater where TU Dance had to cancel a performance and re-schedule it for Sunday. The Southern is within a stone's throw of where the I-35 bridge collapsed and is being rebuilt, so traffic in the best of times is a mess. With no stoplights, no traffic cops, and no street lights, it was a wild and woolly time.
Saturday morning, G and I spent three hours working at the Obama booth at the Pride Festival in Loring Park. Steady, non-stop visitors the whole time. After our shift, we walked over to St. Mark's Cathedral where my partner, James, and colleagues were wrestling to keep the 70-foot rainbow banner attached in one piece to the bell tower. They won the battle on Saturday, but on Sunday the whole thing ripped in two.
Sunday morning found James tuning up and marching in the Pride Parade through downtown Minneapolis with the Minnesota Freedom Band. I marched with 100+ others in the Obama contingent. The mayor of Minneapolis led our group down Hennepin Avenue where we handed out 15,000 "Obama Pride" stickers before they ran out. The enthusiasm and cheering that went up all along the route as our banners -- and a life-size cutout of Barack -- proceeded ahead of us was amazing. It was very easy to rev the crowd into chants, "Yes we can!" People reached for stickers with such enthusiasm -- leaning forward to be touched.
Being touched. That's what politics and the arts are all about. And religion, too.
Later Sunday afternoon, James and I attended Mass at St. Mark's along with nearly 100 others from the Pride Festival. A special part of the service was the touch of affirmation and the laying on of hands given to those who chose to go forward.
We ended the day at an evening bar-b-que fundraiser for Zenon Dance Company. The troupe will perform four times next week at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City. I managed this group for five years once upon a time, something like 20 years ago. We wish them well.
I have been touched by quite a few dance performances in the last three months: Ragamala Music & Dance Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Minnesota Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Ananya Dance Theatre, Zenon, and a combo of Ballet of the Dolls/Live Action Set/Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre. Also touching were theater performances by Open Eye Figure Theatre and Theatre de la Jeune Lune.
Last Friday, my friend G and I attended "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing," the summer concert of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. It was a lovely and splendored evening at Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University of Minnesota's West Bank campus. Going to and from, all of the electric power was "out" in the nearby 7-Corners neighborhood, including at the Southern Theater where TU Dance had to cancel a performance and re-schedule it for Sunday. The Southern is within a stone's throw of where the I-35 bridge collapsed and is being rebuilt, so traffic in the best of times is a mess. With no stoplights, no traffic cops, and no street lights, it was a wild and woolly time.
Saturday morning, G and I spent three hours working at the Obama booth at the Pride Festival in Loring Park. Steady, non-stop visitors the whole time. After our shift, we walked over to St. Mark's Cathedral where my partner, James, and colleagues were wrestling to keep the 70-foot rainbow banner attached in one piece to the bell tower. They won the battle on Saturday, but on Sunday the whole thing ripped in two.
Sunday morning found James tuning up and marching in the Pride Parade through downtown Minneapolis with the Minnesota Freedom Band. I marched with 100+ others in the Obama contingent. The mayor of Minneapolis led our group down Hennepin Avenue where we handed out 15,000 "Obama Pride" stickers before they ran out. The enthusiasm and cheering that went up all along the route as our banners -- and a life-size cutout of Barack -- proceeded ahead of us was amazing. It was very easy to rev the crowd into chants, "Yes we can!" People reached for stickers with such enthusiasm -- leaning forward to be touched.
Being touched. That's what politics and the arts are all about. And religion, too.
Later Sunday afternoon, James and I attended Mass at St. Mark's along with nearly 100 others from the Pride Festival. A special part of the service was the touch of affirmation and the laying on of hands given to those who chose to go forward.
We ended the day at an evening bar-b-que fundraiser for Zenon Dance Company. The troupe will perform four times next week at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City. I managed this group for five years once upon a time, something like 20 years ago. We wish them well.
I have been touched by quite a few dance performances in the last three months: Ragamala Music & Dance Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Minnesota Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Ananya Dance Theatre, Zenon, and a combo of Ballet of the Dolls/Live Action Set/Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre. Also touching were theater performances by Open Eye Figure Theatre and Theatre de la Jeune Lune.
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