By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
The German-born American artist Mathias Joseph Alten (1871-1938) is often referred to as the dean of Michigan painters. Working in a traditional representational style, Alten incorporated the aesthetics and techniques of the Impressionist Movement in paintings infused with light and punctuated with deft brushwork. Based in Grand Rapids, Alten created more than 3,800 works over a more than 40-year career, including landscapes, seascapes, portraits and florals.
Grand Valley State University holds the largest public collection of Alten’s work in the world.
What: ‘Mathias J. Alten: An Evolving Legacy’
When: Exhibition dates: ongoing
Where: George and Barbara Gordon Gallery, DeVos Center, Building E, Room 103 and 202, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Hours: Gordon Gallery hours are Friday and Saturday, 1-5 p.m.; closed on holiday weekends
For more information about Art Gallery exhibitions, visit gvsu.edu/artgallery or call 616.331.3638.
Decking the halls with boughs of holly and hanging the stockings by the chimney with care are favorite December traditions for many West Michigan families.
The Grand Rapids Symphony celebrates the season with two enduring holiday traditions in Grand Rapids including the Wolverine Worldwide Holiday Pops and the Old National Bank Cirque de Noël in DeVos Performance Hall.
The Wolverine Worldwide Holiday Pops, an institution that’s lasted for decades, draws entire families from children to parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Join the Grand Rapids Pops to celebrate the season in five performances Dec. 14-17.
Old National Bank Cirque de Noël welcomes Cirque de la Symphonie back to Grand Rapids for cirque artistry accompanied by the Grand Rapids Pops. See amazing acrobats and aerial artists in two appearances Dec. 21 and 22.
The Wolverine Worldwide Holiday Pops, part of the Fox Motors Pops Series, is home-grown entertainment especially for a hometown audience.
Guest vocalist for the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Holiday Pops performance is Leon Williams.
Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt leads performances including such favorites as Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and highlights from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, conducted by Pearl Shangkuan, joins the orchestra to sing G.F. Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus from The Messiah.
The Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, directed by Sean Ivory, will be featured on John Rutter’s “Star Carol.” Both choruses will sing music from the 1990 movie Home Alone with orchestra.
Embellish handbell ensemble, directed by Stephanie Wiltse, will join the Symphony Chorus for “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and will play a solo number, “Change Ring Prelude on Divinum Mysterium” by Fred Gramann,” on a battery of handbells.
Guest vocalist Leon Williams joins the Grand Rapids Symphony to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” in his third Holiday Pops appearance with the orchestra.
Though Williams doesn’t live in West Michigan, he’s made many appearances here. In October, he sang for the funeral of Grand Rapids Symphony benefactor and philanthropist Helen DeVos.
The Wolverine Worldwide Holiday Pops will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, and at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 15-16. Matinees will be at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17 in DeVos Performance Hall.
Families with children are invited to the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Wolverine World Wide Holiday Pops Spectacular on Saturday, Dec. 16, just before the 3 p.m. matinee concert. Beginning at 1 p.m., children can enjoy festive treats, arts and crafts, games, and much more leading up to the concert at 3 p.m. Tickets for the Holiday Pops Spectacular plus the Holiday Pops are $20. Supporting Sponsor is Meijer, Inc. Community Partners are Amerikam and Calvin College.
The Old National Bank Cirque de Noël, part of the Gerber SymphonicBoom Series, returns to DeVos Performance Hall for the eighth annual holiday show Dec. 21 and 22.
See aerial artists, gymnasts, jugglers and strongmen and hear classical favorites and seasonal music.
Acts include aerial artists Nataliya Tolstikova and Sergey Parshin performing on silk above the DeVos Hall stage while the Grand Rapids Symphony plays the “Waltz of the Flowers” from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
Associate Conductor John Varineau leads the orchestra in music from the 2004 film The Polar Express plus familiar melodies such as “The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.”
Tickets
Tickets for the Wolverine World Wide Holiday Pops start at $18.
Student tickets for concerts on Thursday, Dec. 14 and for the matinee on Saturday, Dec. 16 also are available for $5. Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program, sponsored by Comerica and Calvin College. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert.
Tickets for Old National Bank Cirque de Noël start at $32.
Tickets for both program are available at the GRS ticket office, weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616-454-9451 x 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.)
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place box office, weekdays 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.
Grammy Award winning country-swing band Asleep at the Wheel. (Supplied)
WKTV Staff
St. Cecilia Music Center this week announced two additional shows to their Acoustic Café Folk Series — the banjo royalty of husband and wife duo Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, and Grammy Award winning country-swing band Asleep at the Wheel — with both set to visit Grand Rapids in early 2018.
Fleck and Washburn will appear on Friday, Feb. 23, and Asleep at the Wheel will perform on Thursday, April 12, both at 7:30 p.m. There will also be additional Acoustic Café Folk concerts for 2018 announced after the new year.
“Over the years SCMC has expanded the genres of music we present with the creation of the jazz series 10 years ago and the Acoustic Café folk series a few years ago, in addition to our traditional chamber music offerings,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia executive director, said in supplied material. “With the appearance of Margo Price last season, we opened the door for country music artists. … We trust Asleep at the Wheel fans will be excited to hear them up close and personal, and that banjo lovers will unite for the power-house couple Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn.”
Banjo royalty and husband and wife duo Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn. (Supplied)
Asleep at the Wheel, now based in Austin, Texas, holds 10 Grammy awards, 20 studio albums and 20 singles on the Billboard country charts. Most recently, the band shared a Grammy for “Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys”, the band’s most recent release in 2015. The recording features 22 collaborations, including legends such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and George Strait and newcomers like The Avett Brothers, Amos Lee and Old Crow Medicine Show.
Fleck and Washburn, given the name of “the king and queen of the banjo” by Paste Magazine, have a unique musical partnership. Fleck is a fifteen-time Grammy Award winner who has taken the instrument across multiple genres, and Washburn is a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player. Whether at home, on stage or on record, their bond, combined with the way their distinct musical personalities and banjo styles interact, makes theirs a picking partnership.
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn tickets are $45 and $50. Asleep at the Wheel tickets are $35 and $40. Tickets and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224, visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE, or online at scmc-online.org. A post-concert party with a cash bar will be available to all ticket-holders after the concerts
By Lisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
A man is haunted by a photograph. Taken at an archeological dig, at Ein Mallaha, in the Jordan Valley, it presents a puzzling tableau. Looking down into a grave site formed 12,000 years ago, the photo reveals the skeleton of a man reaching out to another, much smaller skeleton — a puppy.
The author can’t seem to push the question out of his mind. Why is the old man reaching out to the puppy in his burial site, so long ago? And why is he so interested in this particular question, when he isn’t all that taken with dogs anyways…
Being a Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist, when a question really gets under his skin, Jon Franklin often ends up turning it into an article, a series, or in some cases, an entire book. And so it was that almost 20 years after contemplating the press release photo of the Jordan Valley excavation, The Wolf in the Parlor was published.
This is a great book for any dog lover, but it’s much more. Franklin ranges widely, and the book is like an evolutionary drama, a pre-historical mystery, and a neurobiological puzzle — all forming a Gordian Knot, unraveled by a master storyteller.
There is a delicious irony in the book, in that the man pursuing his scientific research ultimately ends up forming his hypothesis, through the quality time that he spends with his wife’s dog. A relationship that he had considered inconsequential at first becomes a key to not only his research, but to the very question that bothered him so much in the first place.
Why was the man in the grave reaching out to the puppy, as if his spirit needed the animal to complete him?
The Muskegon Museum of Art (MMA) opens two new exhibitions, Sarah Wagner: Vegetable Lamb of America and Southern Roots: The Paintings of Winfred Rembert, on Thursday, Dec. 14. The MMA invites the public to an opening reception and a talk by artist Sarah Wagner that evening. The reception will run 5:30-7 pm and Wagner’s talk will begin at 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public.
The exhibitions examine, in various ways, the influence of cotton upon history, economics and the environment.
Sarah Wagner: Vegetable Lamb of America
Sarah Wagner sculpts in wood, metal and fabric, creating animals and environments that address the fragility and resilience of Nature and humanity’s impact on its surroundings. Her art is inspired and informed by the City of Detroit, where she lives and works. For her MMA exhibition, Wagner is creating a new installation of capitalism and industrialism around the world.
Southern Roots: The Paintings of Winfred Rembert
Winfred Rembert works in the medium of carved and dyed leather, creating vibrant and rhythmic imagery of his life in 1950s Georgia. A storyteller, Rembert reveals images of culture, community, family and struggle through intense color and repeating patterns. His most recognizable pieces depict pickers at work in the cotton fields, a grueling task the artist himself experienced in his childhood and later on a prison chain gang. Over 25 works, including the premiere of several recent paintings by the artist, are featured in the exhibition.
The MMA will present a screening of the documentary about Rembert’s life, All Me: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert, following a special reception on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. The reception will start at 5:30 pm and the film will start at 7 pm. Rembert has a lot of stories to tell, from his childhood on a cotton farm to his near lynching during the Civil Rights Movement; his life experiences are the bed of work that inspires his artwork. This film documents Rembert’s life and how his tooled leather artwork has become his biography and therapy. The film was directed by Vivan Ducat of Ducat Media. She and Rembert will be at the screening, followed by a Q&A with the artist.
The Muskegon Museum of Art is located next to Hackley Public Library in downtown Muskegon. Call 231.720.2570 or go here for visitor information.
The current line up of the Eagles includes Don Henley, Deacon Frey (Glenn Frey’s son), Joel Walsh, Vince Gill and Timothy B. Schmit
Due to the overwhelming response for the announced Eagles’ 2018 tour dates, 13 more “An Evening with the Eagles” concerts have been added to the band’s 2018 tour, which kicks off on March 12 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and comes toVan Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Thursday, March 15, at 8 p.m. In addition, a stadium concert has been added on Friday, June 15 in Houston, Texas at Minute Maid Field with Chris Stapleton sharing the bill.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Dec. 15, at 10 a.m. Ticket prices are $99.50, $229.50 and $399.50 (VIP) and will be available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place® box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com, and charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. A purchase limit of eight (8) tickets will apply to every order and prices are subject to change.
American Express® Card Members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public beginning Monday, Dec. 11, at 10 a.m. through Thursday, Dec. 14, at 10 p.m. local time. Additional presale opportunities will be available beginning Thursday, Dec. 14, at 10 a.m., including the venue presale.Click here to join the Van Andel Arena e-mail list for access to the venue presale information. For complete ticket information, visit Eagles.com.
Media have raved over recent concerts –
“…this recent tour’s set list has leaned heavily on the group’s mighty catalog of familiar and, based on the crowd’s wildly enthusiastic response, beloved singles.” – Rolling Stone
“…as expected, musically it was almost perfect throughout the night.” – Forbes
“…impeccable harmonies and musicianship all night long…” – Elmore Magazine
“…the powerful performance felt like a proper celebration of Frey and the legacy of one of the most successful bands of all time.” – Time Out
“The Eagles understand that getting fans to fall in love with a band …requires songs that make listeners believe they belong too.” – Los Angeles Times
The EAGLES are one of the most influential and commercially successful American rock bands of all time. With their profound lyrics, harmonies and country-tinged melodies, they created a signature Southern California sound. The Eagles have sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, have scored six #1 albums and have topped the singles charts five times. The band has been awarded six GRAMMY® Awards. The Eagles have performed sold-out concert tours worldwide throughout their career. The band’s 2014 History of the Eagles Tour broke numerous U.S. box office records and included five sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY and six sold-out concerts at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The Eagles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 in their first year of eligibility and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2016.
Elvyn Lea Lodge in Boyne City is the perfect place to host your next holiday get together. Guests enjoy comfortable accommodations in twenty guest rooms with varied bed configurations. Two lounges, 44 wooded acres with trails, a spectacular 1.5 acre event lawn, and fire pit area are also available. With the log-beamed ceilings in the lounge and pine walls throughout, this authentic “up north” lodge offers modern comforts and amenities, yet has retained its rustic charm.
Voted “Best Steakhouse” in Michigan by MLive, Vernales Restaurant in Harbor Springs is serving up delicious food for your family’s Christmas celebration. In addition to a dine-in menu, they also have to-go orders and off-site catering. You can feast upon flank steak, brisket, broiled whitefish, chicken parmesan, penne alfredo, and more. Whether you’re looking for a meal at their steakhouse or something to bring back for a Christmas at home, Vernales will be serving up a delicious holiday menu all season long.
Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville is hosting a Holiday Celebration from Dec. 16 to Jan. 6. This celebration includes everything, from the 17th Annual Snowiest Snowflake Contest and photos on the mountain to outdoor laser tag and a family campfire. Stop by anytime over the three weeks for holiday fun!
Left Foot Charley Winery in Traverse City invites visitors of all ages to experience Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night on Friday, Dec. 8. Unsilent Night is a free, outdoor participatory sound sculpture of many individual parts played through a roving swarm of boom boxes, mp3 players, iPhones, iPads, laptops, all carried through a cloud of sound which is different from every listener’s perspective. Unsilent Night is an international event that has taken place in cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Missoula, and Melbourne. Detroit and Traverse City are the only Michigan cities among the members of the international community that are part of this phenomenon.
There are so many ways to celebrate Christmas with Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire. Plan a weekend getaway to relax, unwind, and celebrate. Choose the weekend before Christmas when Santa will visit to read holiday classics during Storytime with Santa, taking advantage of Breakfast with Santa the following morning, and the annual Tannenbaum Blitzen celebration Saturday night. Saturday wraps up with the Torchlight Parade, led by the big guy himself, down Schuss Mountain. Shanty Creek Resorts also has a gift to you this holiday season: Join Santa on the slopes of Schuss Mountain on December 25th and ski for free!
Three events at the Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire lets your family bring out their creative side. Take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle on Saturday, Dec. 9, to create an assortment of holiday crafts and gifts. Return on Saturday, Dec. 16, to create nature ornaments and decor using glass globes, wood, candles, and objects found on the trail. Each weekend brings another exciting craft to help you decorate your home for the holidays.
Charlovoix is popular place during the holidays.
During the holiday season, Charlevoix’s restaurants offer a festive variety of unique holiday food options. Enjoy a variety of Christmas lights downtown and in residential areas, and visit the area’s shops to find unique gifts for someone special. Also Castle Farms in Charlevoix will have a holiday train display open through Dec. 23.
Starting Dec. 15 and ending Dec. 31 is Light Up the Soo, an event where the citizens and local business owners of Sault Ste. Marie decorate their homes and businesses celebrating the holidays. Your family will love the beautiful lights and decorations that are put up over town as part of this community event.
Once again this December, PerSeverance Productions in conjunction with CMI Entertainment in New York, will present their national touring production of the holiday classic “A Christmas Carol” across the United States including one performance at the Van Singel Fine Arts Center on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 pm.
For many years, more than 100,000 audiences young and old have been delighted by this spectacular adaptation of the beloved Charles Dickens tale, filled with humor, heart, and humbug. Written by director and star, Scott H. Severance, this large cast musical features dozens of well-known Christmas Carols, including “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and a gorgeous a cappella version of “O, Holy Night.” The script is full of surprises and special effects, the performances are genuine and heartfelt, and the ghosts are alternately frightening and hilarious. Bring the whole family for a chance to meet Scrooge and Tiny Tim after the show. Show information can be found at www.perseverance-productions.com.
This special holiday favorite has enchanted audiences the world over with its simple message of holiday joy. Ebenezer Scrooge, that most unrepentant and miserly of fellows, is made to see the light as he survives a merciless battery of revelations by the ghosts of his own life: Jacob Marley and the Christmas Spirits of Past, Present, and Future. With the music of 26 beloved traditional carols of the season woven throughout this classic tale.
Reserve seats now by calling the Van Singel Box Office at 616-878-6800, Monday through Friday 12 to 5 pm. Ticket prices are $30.50 for adults and $15.50 for students/children. More information can be found at www.vsfac.com. The Van Singel Fine Arts Center is located at 8500 Burlingame SW at 84th St in Byron Center, just 1.5 miles west of US-131.
Rockford will host Santa visits Dec. 6, 8, 13, and 15. Addition activities include Santa’s Live Reindeer on Wednesday, Dec. 13 and a live nativity on Friday, Dec. 15.
The Lakeshore Museum Center hosts Holiday Tours of their Hackley & Hume Historic Site in Muskegon Dec. 25 – 27. The tours on Christmas Day will be special, with ornament painting and holiday treats. Experience the Hackley and Hume home this holiday season in a special candle lit setting.
The Downtown Market in Grand Rapids is hosting three events in December for the holiday season. Running through Sunday, Dec. 10, is the market’s Christmas Tree & Decor Lot. Find the perfect holiday wreath or tree for your home at the Christmas Tree Lot, with everything you need to deal the halls. Santa comes on Dec. 15, 16, and 17, as the big buy himself stops by the market.
Holiday decor at the Downtown Market
Surround yourself in warm and cuddle-worthy luxury at theJW Marriott in Grand Rapids. The Wrapped in Warmth Package includes deluxe overnight accommodations, breakfast for two, hot chocolate and donuts, a JW flannel blanket, and a $50 Tanger Outlets gift card. This package is available through Jan. 31.
The Grand Rapids Ballet presents the Nutcracker the weekend of Dec. 8. Don’t miss Chris Van Allsburg’s breathtakingly reimagined smash-hit featuring live music from the Grand Rapids Symphony, sets by Tony Award winner Eugene Lee, and choreography by Val Caniparoli. The month continues with Christmas with Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith featuring Jordan Smith, Broadway Grand Rapids’ Mannheim Steamroller Christmas on Dec. 12, the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Wolverine Worldwide Holiday Pops, and the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Old National Bank Cirque de Noël. Tickets for all events are available both online and at the box office, and make for a great early holiday gift.
Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake is hosting two holiday concerts this month. The Courtyard Concerts presents the Ho-Ho-Holiday Show with Amy Speace on Sunday, Dec. 10, followed by the Standing Room Only Dance Party with May Erlewine on Friday, Dec. 22.
Critter Barn
Through Dec. 30, the Critter Barn in Zeeland transforms into a Christmas tradition with its annual Live Nativity. The display will take you back in time to imagine what the very first Christmas was like, with the sights, sounds, and smells! Each presentation offers families a personal, hands-on look at the way of life in Bethlehem, long ago. You’ll be surrounded by sheep, cows, shepherds, angels, and lights as you listen to carols and hear the Christmas story.
The Holland area is hosting events all month long to celebrate the holidays. The Holiday Kerstmart on Dec. 8 and 9; the Parade of Lights on Friday, Dec. 8, and many more. Each event proves why West Michigan is one of the best places to visit during the month of December.
The Holland Museum invites your family to discover the magic of the Victorian age at the Cappon House on Dec. 9, 10, 16, and 17. Guests will sing Christmas carols, decorate holiday treats, listen to classic Christmas stories, play Victorian games, and design their own holiday card or ornament. Tickets may be purchased in advance, with a discount given to museum members.
Great Legs Winery, Brewery & Distillery
Great Legs Winery, Brewery & Distillery in Holland is hosting events for the holidays. The distillery’s Christmas Wine & Canvas is on Tuesday, Dec. 12, and includes everything that you’ll need to complete your painting, with wine, beer, and snacks available to purchase while you paint. They’re also hosting Christmas Caroling on Saturday, Dec. 23, as they celebrate the sounds of Christmas with musicians Ruth Miller and Ben Ashby.
There’s Christmas events going on all month in the River Country area. The Annual Christmas Festival held in Grant returns for another year on Saturday, Dec. 9, bringing free wagon rides, warming stations, and kids activities. Rounding out the area’s festivities is the Christmas in Croton Hardy on Friday, Dec. 15, which includes many holiday-favorites, from Santa and hot chocolate to horse drawn carriages and crafts.
Not since Gahan Wilson’s masterful creation of, “The Kid”, who inhabited the comic strip Nuts, has the childhood of the ’50s been so horribly and hilariously portrayed. I laughed so hard, I was wiping tears away as I drove down the road listening to the author read his memoir with just the right pitch of nostalgia and incredulity over life in the 1950s.
If you were alive at any age back then, you’ve got to read this book. Not only for the unique history of an unusual age, but for your health! New studies have proven beyond a doubt that humor can be as good as medicine in some respects, thus putting the Thunderbolt Kid in the “extra strength” category.
Who was the Thunderbolt Kid you say? And were his powers used for good or ill?
He came out of the heartland: Des Moines, Iowa, conceived by a couple that he suspected were not his true parents for a time. He evolved at the “Kiddie Corral”, (a haven piled high with the latest comics at the local grocery), where young Bill would be dropped off while his mom shopped. Nurtured at this comic book heaven, with its trove of amazing tales, one afternoon, while down in the basement, Bill discovered an old sweater with a Thunderbolt stitched across it, and the Thunderbolt Kid was born.
The heroes of the day were an eccentric bunch: “the Lone Ranger, who was already not the kind of fellow you would want to share a pup tent with, was made odder still by the fact that the part was played on television by two different actors… but the programs were rerun randomly on local TV, giving the impression that the Lone Ranger not only wore a tiny mask that fooled no one, but changed bodies from time to time.”
Bill’s super powers were not as awe-inspiring as most, but then, time and chance come to us in different ways. Just as other superheroes took a while to discover the scope and extent of their new powers, young Bryson finally uncovered the fact that his “Thundervision” was useful, but in modest ways: “…my superpowers were not actually about capturing bad people or doing good for the common man but primarily about using my X-ray vision to peer beneath the clothes of attractive women and to carbonize and eliminate people—teachers, babysitters, old ladies who wanted a kiss–who were an impediment to my happiness.”
There were many such impediments–but much exhilaration also.
It was an age of exotic inventions and everyday solutions: the cafeteria with atomic toilets, the totally cement nuclear bomb proof house, movie theaters with aw- inspiring Egyptian decor, rocket mail, toity jars, the zenith of the comic book, among others. A time when doctors lauded cigarettes for their “calming effects”, and a good squirt of DDT might be beneficial.
Who knew? Anything seemed possible . . .
Bryson concludes, “What a wonderful world it was. We won’t see its like again…”
The Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor is hosting the Mix & Mingle Holiday Party on Tuesday, Dec. 19, with food, beverages, and good times. A sumptuous buffet awaits guests, with featured selections including chef-carved ham and turkey, a deluxe salad bar, mashed potato station, side dishes, and dessert. Guests enjoy a full cash bar with a wide selection of Michigan wines, craft beers, and mixed drinks. Following dinner, guests can take the short walk inside The Mendel Center to the Mainstage where Bryan Lubeck is back to host “Rejoice 2017: A Tapestry of Holiday Music” at 7:30pm. Mix & Mingle Holiday Party tickets are $25 per person, while “Rejoice 2017: A Tapestry of Holiday Music” tickets start at $24, with discounts available for groups of 10 or more, as well as for seniors, veterans, students, and Mainstage Series members. Group dinner and show packages start at $43 per person.
Brass Rail Quintet at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute
Get into the holiday spirit with a toe-tapping Christmas concert, featuring the Brass Rail Quintet at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Hastings Monday, Dec. 10. Playing a variety of musical styles are Roger Lynch and Mike McMinn on trumpets, Ken Cron on tuba, John Dickey on trombone, and Chris Garrett on French horn. After the concert, stop by to meet this quarter’s exhibiting artist, Brian Smith.
Celebrate the holiday season in a turn-of-the-century Victorian setting at Historic Charlton Park in Hastings. Tour over 15 historic buildings, while partaking in activities of yesteryear, including roasting chestnuts, drinking wassail, and taking wagon rides in the snow. Create your very own crafts, as you enjoy popcorn, fresh baked cookies, cinnamon and sugar apples, and plum pudding. These festivities are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 9 and 10, at the park.
International Festival of Lights
Battle Creek will look very festive all month long, as they hang the lights and run through the downtown area. Running through Dec. 31 is the International Festival of Lights. Walk through the glowing paths, enjoy fun family activities, and take a horse drawn carriage ride to see this annual light display. On Saturday, December 9th, don your best ugly sweater and partake in the Tinsel Toes 5K run and walk in downtown Battle Creek, weaving your way through the lights at night during this unique event.
Experience wintry evenings at Binder Park Zoo with Zoolights from Dec. 15 to 23 in Battle Creek. Stroll along lighted paths with nightly entertainment as you view some of the weather-hardy animals on exhibit enjoying the winter season. These special evenings will include unlimited free carousel rides, up-close animal meet and greets special holiday activities, time with Santa and his animal friends, and storytime with Mrs. Claus. There’s also Dinner with Santa each night.
Slow down from the hustle and bustle of the holidays with a visit to the Barn Theatre in Augusta! Celebrate the Christmas season with all of your favorite carols and holiday songs each weekend between now and Christmas. To add to the festivities, guests enjoy complimentary pie, coffee, and hot chocolate.
Holiday carolers are a holiday tradition that guests look forward to as much as the staff at Schuler’s Restaurant in Marshall. Enjoy the sounds of the season while dining with Schuler’s in the festive Centennial Room on Dec. 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, and 19. There will be a rotating pool of performers each evening. Schuler’s is also hosting its famous Holiday Sunday Brunch Buffet every Sunday through the end of the month.
Arcadia Brewing Company in Kalamazoo hosts an Ugly Sweater Party on Thursday, Dec. 21, giving you an excuse to bust out your favorite ugly holiday sweater.
Bell’s Eccentric Cafe in downtown Kalamazoo has a variety of events during the holiday season including Eccentric Day, which this year will be held on Friday, Dec. 8. Along with an impressive tap lineup, the debut of their latest version of Eccentric Ale, a Kalamazoo exclusive, and a free food buffet. Admission is free and the only requirement is that you come ready to have a good time. Just a few days later, on Sunday, Dec. 10, Tuba Christmas will return to the Cafe’s Back Room. Admission for this annual event is free. Local tubists will play some holiday classics starting at 3 p.m. for an all-ages show.
The Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn is hosting a Christmas lights show called Nite Lites for the first time this year. The show takes your through the grounds and has more than three miles of Christmas lights for visitors to enjoy.
The Boulevard Inn & Bistro in St. Joseph is hosting their Sundays with Santa on Dec. 10 and 17. Treat your children to a magical brunch, telling Santa their wishes, picking their favorite foods from the special buffet, and decorating their own cookies!
Michigan Flywheelers Museum
The Michigan Flywheelers Museum will hold Christmas at the Flywheelers on Dec. 8 and 15 at their museum in South Haven. The old-fashion holiday event features lighted outdoor displays, holiday music, kids’ craft workshops, and a visit with Santa. It’s been five years since the museum last held this event, and museum members have been busy since September decorating the grounds, expanding displays and adding more lighted exhibits.
The Ugly Sweater Party at Virtue Cider in Fennville is Saturday, Dec. 16. They’ll be giving away prizes for ugliest, most creative, most festive, and more. Of course, there will be plenty of ciders on draft, plus snacks and mulled cider to keep you toasty. Virtue Cider is also outfitting their outdoor spaces with additional fire pits, more seating, covered pergolas, and natural wood-stacked walls to build out some snugs spaces. Once the snow starts falling, they’ll have snowshoe trails cut out for those who would like to explore the orchard’s 48 acres.
This year’s Chef’s Holiday Pairing Dinner at Crane’s Pie Pantry, Restaurant & Winery in Fennville is Saturday, Dec. 9. This is an exquisite, eight-course pairing dinner, featuring local fare paired with Crane’s wine and hard cider. The evening includes food, drinks, music, and an education on the wonderful things produced at Crane’s.
Join the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven on Saturday, Dec. 16, for Christmas at the historic Keeper’s House. There will be children’s book readings of the Christmas Tree Ship every hour, hot cocoa, Christmas tree cookies, sledding, and a little nautical holiday shopping. The event is free to attend.
Every four years, the Winter Olympics not only give us a chance to celebrate and revel in our favorite athletes, but also to discover some incredible new breakout stars. Ardent fans of figure skating have become familiar with U.S. National Champion Nathan Chen, but by the time the 2018 Winter Olympic Games are over, the world will be as well. Chen, the first skater to land five different quadruple jumps in a single competition program, will be a key member of an immensely talented U.S. Figure Skating Team looking to grab Gold at the Olympics. He will also be the centerpiece of the “2018 Stars on Ice” tour that will feature many of the skaters vying for a medal for the U.S. in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Tour will arrive in Grand Rapids Friday, May 4, for a 7:30 p.m. performance at Van Andel Arena.
This year’s “Stars on Ice” tour will put American fans front and center to experience the best of the U.S. Figure Skating team that will compete in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Joining Chen will be Olympic medal hopefuls including; three-time National Champion and 2016 World Silver Medalist Ashley Wagner, two-time Ice Dance National Champions and three-time World medalists Maia & Alex Shibutani, 2017 U.S. Ladies Champion Karen Chen, as well as National Champion, and huge crowd favorite,Jason Brown. The Emmy Award-winning production will also feature U.S. Olympic royalty, Ice Dance Gold Medalists Meryl Davis & Charlie White.
Tickets for the “2018 Stars on Ice” tour will go on sale Friday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. Tickets start at $25 and are available at www.starsonice.com, Ticketmaster.com, the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place® box offices, and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Limited on-ice seating is available upon request. Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. Please visit www.starsonice.com for the most up to date information and show announcements. Ticket prices are subject to change. Additional fees will apply.
“The Puzzle Room: Quest for Conviction” will run through Dec. 31 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The Puzzle Room gives groups one hour to search a simulation of the Museum’s Archives solving puzzles and finding clues, to create a display of evidence and achieve conviction of a historic Grand Rapids murder.
Visitors go on a quest unique only to the Museum and its Collections to convict local 1910s dentist Arthur Waite for the famous Peck Murders in Grand Rapids. Inside the Puzzle Room, there are multiple challenges that take teamwork, communication and investigative skills to uncover, unlock and find the right pieces of evidence to convict the murderer before time runs out.
The deaths of John and Hannah Peck in 1916 made national headlines for Grand Rapids, as well as the trial and conviction of Waite.
“The Puzzle Room is a unique way for the Museum to use historical stories and artifacts to create a different way for visitors to challenge themselves, have fun and interact with the Collections,” said Kate Moore, VP of Marketing & PR at the GRPM. “With the popularity and positive feedback of The Puzzle Room, we are looking forward to creating other unique experiences in the future.”
The Puzzle Room opened in July 2017 as a pilot experience for Museum visitors. The Museum has been and will continue through the end of the calendar year to collect and evaluate visitor data from this experience in order to curate future experiences offered.
Admission to The Puzzle Room is $10 for members and $15 for general public.
The Puzzle Room experience is recommended for ages 12 and up, and for 3 to 10 participants. Visit grpm.org/PuzzleRoom for more information.
Brad Mehldau, in trio format, visited St. Cecilia Music Center Nov. 30. (Supplied)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Brad Mehldau Trio, Nov. 30, at St. Cecilia Music Center, Grand Rapids, Mi.
60-second Review
Pianist Brad Mehldau is often referred to as a “lyrical” jazz pianist. But there may be a better adjective for what he and his piano render from a chart of music.
While St. Cecilia’s Royce Auditorium regularly offers classical, jazz and even folk music, and Thursday’s visit by the Brad Mehldau Trio technically fit into the jazz series, the music might well have been its own sub-genre: “experimental”.
Yes, jazz is, almost by definition, improvisational. But Mehldau, along with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums, where in mostly charted — with sheet music in front of them — but still artistically uncharted territory. With the way Mehldau often closed his eyes and looked off to nowhere, and the way his piano often floated above Grenadier and Ballard’s foundational lines, I would guess that Mehldau’s charts are merely a suggestion.
The trio’s 7-song, roughly 75-minute set featured mostly original tunes, beginning with “Gentle John” — Mehldau’s ode to one-time musical partner John Scofield — and maybe only one jazz standard, Sidney Bechet’s “Si tu vois ma mère” (I think that was the name of the Bechet tune … and the bluesy encore was unidentified from the stage, and may or may not have been a cover.)
My favorite tunes were two originals: “Bel and the Dragon”, which Mehldau said was being debuted at the concert and which felt a little like jazzy space music with the pianist taking several interstellar detours off his charts, as well as “Green M & Ms”, a tune which allowed Ballard to prove that drums can, in fact, be a lead instrument without rattling the ice cubes in one’s drink. (We will not mention the urban legend that green M & Ms are an aphrodisiac, but the music was pretty attractive …)
The bottom line is that, when it comes to innovative musical charts, and uncharted music innovations, Mehldau has few equals in the current jazz scene. And, as the Los Angeles Times wrote in another review, Mehldau is “one of the most adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years.”
Mehldau, who last performed in Grand Rapids at St. Cecilia in 2010, was the second offering of St. Cecilia’s annual jazz series, which will include singers Gregory Porter on Feb. 22, 2018, and Kurt Elling on March 22, 2018. For information on tickets and more information visit SCMC-online.org.
Mehldau’s jazz trio work is also on my short list of “must-have” jazz trio recordings. For those looking for a deeper dive into the format, an essential acquisition would be the Oscar Peterson Trio’s 1963 recording “Night Train”, the Ahmad Jamahl Trio’s 1958 recording “But Not For Me – At The Pershing” and/or Mehldau’s “The Art of the Trio” series, re-packaged and re-released as a 5-Disc box set by Nonesuch in 2011.
And you probably have to look no farther than Grandville’s The Corner Record Shop for any of them.
In the mood for a little somethin’ somethin’ to get you going on our upcoming frigid winter days?
Gray Skies Distillery will release its first rye whiskey — Breakfast Rye — on Sunday, Dec. 3, at their Grand Rapids tasting room, and retailers, bars and restaurants across the state.
Not that I am advocating it first thing in the morning, as the name implies, but a little touch of maple-flavored whiskey in your Sunday morning coffee doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
Breakfast Rye whiskey was initially aged in charred new, oak barrels then finished for six months in maple syrup casks, according to supplied information, “imparting a subtle, sweet finish to the otherwise spicy rye spirit.”
The Breakfast Rye is the fourth spirit released by Grey Skies, following their Utility Vodka, Barrel Finished Gin, and Spiced Rum — after a tasting a fall event at Fulton Street Market, I can vouch for the uniqueness of the gin.
According to the distillery, the rye was created in collaboration with Grand Rapids’ BLiS Gourmet, which provided the maple syrup casks used to finish the whiskey. BLiS Gourmet makes Bourbon Barrel Maple syrup by aging raw Michigan maple syrup in old, rustic Kentucky bourbon barrels. After BLiS emptied the maple syrup, Gray Skies Distillery filled the barrels with rye whiskey to impart the maple character responsible for name Breakfast Rye.
“Breakfast Rye was named after someone remarked ‘it smells like breakfast’ while trying a sample,” Steve Vander Pol, co-owner of Gray Skies Distillery, said in supplied material. “We distill our rye whiskey from a high rye mash-bill consisting of 85 percent rye grain and 15 percent malted barley. The abundance of rye produces a spicy whiskey and we were thrilled to taste how maple compliments the spice to provide a complex spirit with a velvety mouthfeel and long, smooth finish.”
Vander Pol said that additional whiskey releases are planned next year, including Michigan Straight Bourbon whiskey and Michigan Straight Rye whiskey.
See your favorite characters come to life at the Night at Your Museum event hosted by the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) on Wednesday, Dec. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. Night at Your Museum is held annually at the GRPM, and is based on the popular 2006, 2009 and 2014 movies.
Using a souvenir flashlight and honorary security guard badge upon admittance to the dimly-lit museum, visitors become part of the drama that unfolds as characters from the Museum’s exhibits come to life. Guests can take a ride on the Spillman Carousel, hear the Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ and see the holiday planetarium show in, Let it Snow, inthe Chaffee Planetarium. The evening will culminate with Medieval knights dueling with swords.
Advance purchase of tickets is strongly suggested as the event sells out each year. Tickets are on now. The cost is $25 per person for the program. All proceeds from the event benefit the programs and exhibitions at the GRPM. For additional information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.grpm.org.
The Royal Dinner
Make your evening even more special by having dinner with the royals! The characters people love the most come to life in this exciting addition to the GRPM’s popular Night at Your Museum program. At this unique prequel to the night’s main event, you will learn about castle life and what it takes to be a Knight of the Realm. Tickets for this dinner are $45 and include admission to the Night at Your Museum program. Dinner begins at 4:45 p.m. Limited tickets available.
New this year, tickets to the GRPM’s traveling exhibit Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids will be available during Night at Your Museum! A special additional for the entire family to learn about the myths and legends from around the world. Greeted by a larger-than-life dragon, see and learn about mythical creatures from the sea, land and air! Tickets are an additional $4 per person, $2 per member.
Museum members will have the advantage of early admittance at 5:30 p.m. with fast and easy check-in. For additional information on becoming a member of the GRPM please visit www.grpm.org/membership.
Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announce that the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit “Beautiful—The Carole King Musical,” about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter, will make its Grand Rapids premiere at DeVos Performance Hall Feb. 13-18 for eight performances. Tickets are now on sale by visiting Broadway Grand Rapids’ website. To purchase tickets, visit www.broadwaygrandrapids.com, or call 1-800-745-3000. Ticket prices start at $52.50.
“Carole King might be a native New Yorker, but her story of struggle and triumph is as universal as they come – and her music is loved the world over,” producer Paul Blake said. “I am thrilled that “Beautiful” continues to delight and entertain audiences around the globe, in England, Japan and Australia and that we are entering our third amazing year on the road in the U.S. We are so grateful that close to four million audience members have fallen in love with Carole’s story and her indelible music.”
With a book by Tony® and Academy® Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni and choreography by Josh Prince, “Beautiful” features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil. The show opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in January 2014, where it has since broken all box office records and recently became the highest grossing production in the Theatre’s history.
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”(Ghostlight Records) won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and is available on CD, digitally, and on vinyl. “Beautiful” launched its first US National Tour in September 2015, and is also currently playing internationally, with productions in Japan, Australia and touring the UK. An Award-winning production recently concluded its run in London’s West End after opening on Feb. 25, 2015.
Long before she was Carole King, chart-topping music legend, she was Carol Klein, Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager and, by the time she reached her twenties, had the husband of her dreams and a flourishing career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock ‘n’ roll. But it wasn’t until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her true voice. “Beautiful” tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation. Beautiful features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, including “I Feel The Earth Move,” “One Fine Day,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got A Friend” and the title song.
The St. Cecilia Grand Band in rehearsal at the music center’s Royce Auditorium, from 2016. (WKTV)
By St. Cecilia Music Center
St. Cecilia Music Center’s Adult Grand Band and String Orchestra will kick off the holidays with an free concert on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. The two musical groups consist of adults between the ages of 13-94 who love to play and practice music throughout the year and who gather together to perform during the holidays.
“These are musicians comprised of community members who want to explore and develop their love of music and who enjoy playing their instrument with others who have the same passion,” Cathy Holbrook, executive director of St. Cecilia, said. “We provide high-quality music training and performance opportunities for adults in our community and this is their holiday concert where the public can see and experience joyful music making.”
The concert will include performed music as well as a holiday sing-along with the audience. Some of the pieces to be performed include Frank Ticheli’s “Joy”, John Phillip Sousa’s “Manhattan Beach March” and other selections. The two ensembles will join together to perform LeRoy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride”, followed by a Christmas carol performance and sing along with the audience.
“People who attend the event will love the lively, upbeat nature of this performance,” Paul Keen, conductor of the Adult Grand Band, said. “It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season.”
St. Cecilia Music Center is located at 24 Ransom Ave. NE in downtown Grand Rapids. For more information call 616-459-2224 or visit scmc-online.org .
For more information about the Adult Grand Band or the String Orchestra, contact Martha C. Bundra, Education Director, at martha@scmc-online.org or call 616-459-2224 x206.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Arts at Noon
Arts at Noon brings nationally and internationally-known musicians to Grand Valley State University for 14 performances each academic year. All Arts at Noon concerts will take place in the Cook-DeWitt Center, located on the Allendale Campus. They will begin at noon and last approximately one hour. Every concert is free and open to the public. For more information about Arts at Noon, visit gvsu.edu/artsatnoon or contact Henry Duitman, series coordinator, at duitmanh@gvsu.edu.
December 6 – GVSU Brass Quintet Holiday Concert
The annual holiday concert featuring the GVSU Brass Quintet is an Arts at Noon tradition. The ensemble is comprised of Grand Valley State University music faculty, including Alex Wilson (trumpet), Richard Britsch (horn), Mark Williams (trombone), Paul Carlson (tuba) and visiting performer Paul Hardaker (trumpet). Each year, the quintet also performs multiple outreach concerts, and facilitates master classes and coaching sessions at high schools throughout Michigan.
Theatre at Grand Valley presents “Cabaret”
When: December 1-2, at 7:30 pm, December 3, at 2 pm
Where: Linn Maxwell Keller Black Box Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Tickets: $12 adults, $10 seniors and GVSU alumni, faculty and staff, $6 students and groups “Cabaret” takes place in Berlin, Germany, in 1930. American novelist, Cliff, is searching for inspiration when he finds lodging at Frau Schneider’s residence above the notorious Kit Kat Club. Led by a saucy emcee and Sally Bowles, a sassy showgirl, the free-wheeling performers at the club turn Cliff’s world upside down. Can Cliff and Sally find happiness as anti-Semitism and homophobia are on the rise?
GVSU Early Music Ensemble Concert
When: December 2, at 3 pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Grand Valley State University’s Early Music Ensemble performs under the direction of Pablo Mahave-Veglia, professor of cello. This event is free and open to the public.
GVSU Fall Dance Concert
When: December 2, at 7 pm, December 3, at 2 pm
Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
During this fall dance concert at Grand Valley State University, which is free and open to the public, the GVSU Dance Company and Freshman Dance Company will perform a diverse collection of dance works.
GVSU Choral Concert
When: December 5, at 7:30 pm
Where: Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus
This concert at Grand Valley State University will feature the vocal expertise of three ensembles: Select Women’s Ensemble, University Singers and Cantate Chamber Ensemble. The Select Women’s Ensemble has earned a reputation for quality performances of challenging choral literature and performing both accompanied and a cappella repertoire that is representative of a variety of musical periods and styles. University Singers is comprised of students from all majors; over 90 percent of its members are non-music majors. The Cantate Chamber Ensemble is dedicated to the artistic performance of distinctive a cappella choral music for a small ensemble.
GVSU Concert Band Concert
When: December 6, at 7 pm
Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
For this concert at Grand Valley State University, which is free and open to the public, the GVSU Concert Band will perform a variety of selections, including “A Feast of Wind Treats,” “An American Fanfare,” “Ave Maria,” “Second Suite in F,” “Chimes of Liberty,” “Song for Lindsay,” and “Vesuvius.”
GVSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concert
When: December 8, at 7:30 pm
Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
The Grand Valley State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform under the direction of Kevin Tutt during this free concert, which is open to the public. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble is widely recognized as one of the elite undergraduate wind ensembles, committed to the performance of the finest band literature. In 2016, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble released its first CD, titled “Under Western Skies,” which is available on iTunes and Amazon.
GVSU Varsity Men’s Glee Club Concert
When: December 9, at 7:30 pm
Where: Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus
The Grand Valley State University Varsity Men’s Glee Club is an all-male ensemble comprising young men who represent a variety of musical and academic disciplines. The ensemble’s diverse repertoire includes literature that spans from Gregorian chant to the 21st century music.
GVSU Fall Senior Dance Concert
When: December 9, at 7 pm, December 10, at 2 pm
Where: Dance Studio Theatre, room 1600, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Join GVSU senior dance majors for a showcase of new works created as a part of their capstone projects. This concert will feature the diverse and unique choreographic visions of five students: Sarah Byington, Coral Howard, Mackenzie Matyn, Leigha McDaniel and Hannah Suydam. This event is free and open to the public.
Dan Graser Faculty-Artist Recial: The Solo Saxophone
When: December 10, at 7:30-9 pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Dan Graser, saxophonist and assistant professor of saxophone at Grand Valley State University, will present a free recital of the history of solo works for wind instruments in the 20th/21st centuries. This recital is free and open to the public.
For more information about Music, Theatre and Dance Department events, contact 616.331.3484 or visit gvsu.edu/mtd.
ABC News chief meteorologist for “Good Morning America” Ginger zee will be celebrating the release the of her new book “Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I am One” at Woodland Mall’s Barnes & Noble.
Zee, who grew up in the Rockford area, will be at the store Saturday, Dec. 9, for a discussion and book signing. The event is at 4 p.m.
In the book Zee pulls back the curtain on her life discussing growing up in Rockford where she developed an obsession with weather as a young girl. She also discusses her lifelong battle with crippling depression, her romances that range from misguided to dangerous and her tumultuous professional path. Many of her personal trials happening while she was covering some of the most devastating storms in recent history, including a ferocious tornado that killed legendary storm chaser Tim Samaras.
The Dec. 9 program at Barnes & Noble does not require tickets. Those interested in getting a book signed must have proof of purchase with their book.
For more information, visit the stores Facebook page.
On Christmas Eve in France, churches and cathedrals are lit with candles, church bells can be heard ringing throughout the air and Christmas carols are sung by thousands of people. After midnight mass, French families traditionally celebrate with a feast called “le réveillon” — a cherished household tradition celebrating family, with food and wine that can last up to six hours until the dawn of Christmas morning.
Fall Arts Celebration at Grand Valley will honor these French holiday traditions through music with a large symphony orchestra performing selections including Renaissance composer Guillaume Du Fay’s “Magnificat,” Francis Poulenc’s “Gloria,” and France’s most beloved holiday carols, including “Pat-a-pan, Il est né, le divin Enfant” and “Minuit, Chrétiens” (O Holy Night).
“Noël, Noël, Joyeux Noël: A Celebration of French Music for the Holiday Season” will take place Monday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m., at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE.
The GVSU Symphony Orchestra will accompany a 90-member chorus, including Grand Valley’s University Arts Chorale and high school choir students from East Grand Rapids and Hudsonville. The processional will spotlight eight Grand Valley dance majors who will be dancing in the aisles. The Grand Rapids Symphony Junior Youth Chorus will also be featured, and Ashley Neumann, ’08, will return to perform as soprano soloist in Poulenc’s “Gloria.”
“Music is an integral part of this wonderful time of year as hearing the ageless melodies of the Christmas season often transports us back to when the excitement of Christmas morning was the best time of the year,” said Danny Phipps, chair of the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department.
For more information about Fall Arts Celebration, visit gvsu.edu/fallarts.
By Mary Knudstrup, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
The idea of a multi-page questionnaire to weed out the unsuitable and find the perfect wife might seem terribly off-putting until you get inside the head of Don Tillman, a 39-year-old genetics professor who can’t seem to get past a first date. Don has, to put it mildly, a unique way of looking at life due largely to the fact that he has an undiagnosed case of Asperger Syndrome. Always socially awkward (he has only two friends), Don is searching for the perfect woman to complete his life, thus “the wife project,” sixteen pages to weed out the smokers, drinkers, and late-arrivers.
Enter Rosie Jarman, a total washout as far as Don’s questionnaire is concerned but beguiling in her own way. And she has a project of her own: tracking down the identity of her biological father, the perfect assignment for a genetics expert like Don. What follows is Don’s increasing self-awareness as he loosens up his micro-managed life in his effort to help Rosie. Don’s literal and unsubtle observations often don’t play well with those on the receiving end, but fill his narration with good-natured humor and sly insightful truthfulness.
The Rosie Project is a GR Reads pick that will keep you engaged and entertained as you watch Don being nudged away from his spreadsheet approach to life and into the spontaneous and unpredictable world of a totally unsuitable woman.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
The annual holiday concert featuring the GVSU Brass Quintet is an Arts at Noon tradition. The ensemble comprises Grand Valley State University music faculty, including Alex Wilson (trumpet), Richard Britsch (horn), Mark Williams (trombone), Paul Carlson (tuba) and visiting performing Paul Hardaker (trumpet). Each year, the quintet also performs multiple outreach concerts, and facilitates master classes and coaching sessions at high schools throughout Michigan.
When: December 6 at noon
Where: Cook-DeWitt Center, located on the Allendale Campus
Arts at Noon
Arts at Noon brings nationally and internationally-known musicians to Grand Valley State University for 14 performances each academic year. All Arts at Noon concerts will take place in the Cook-DeWitt Center, located on the Allendale Campus. They will begin at noon and last approximately one hour. Every concert is free and open to the public. For more information about Arts at Noon, visit gvsu.edu/artsatnoon or contact Henry Duitman, series coordinator, at duitmanh@gvsu.edu.
For more information about Music, Theatre and Dance Department events, contact 616.331.3484 or visit gvsu.edu/mtd.
By Lisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Krakauer’s book is just what we expect from him and more, as he tackles another of his “enigma wrapped in a mystery” stories of the human heart going up against timeless, unforgiving odds. He’s the perfect author to tell Pat Tillman’s tale, weaving the personal story of the man, alongside the history of Afghanistan, and how the U.S. came to play a part in their politics, and the ensuing historical and political ramifications.
The book sorts through mountains of information, all indexed with their sources, distilling it into an intensely readable story with a Greek tragedy feel, where the characteristic that brings Tillman down is his heroic virtue. Krakauer gives us a “warts and all” portrait of Tillman, because that is what the man would have wanted above all. A man who was good, honest, patriotic and loathed deception.
But, “Inwar, truth is the first casualty.” The night of Tillman’s death, against standard operating procedure, his clothes, body armor, and his private journal were all ordered burned, “to prevent security violations, leaks, and rumors”. The two chief medical examiners refused to sign the completed autopsy, due to the fact that the missing uniform was considered crucial forensic evidence. This was just the beginning of a complex cover-up. Tillman’s family was incensed at their treatment and determined to learn the facts, despite the additional pain and suffering it caused them.
“Where Men Win Glory:” reveals why that would have been so important to Pat.
From the time of Art Tatum, though the years Oscar Peterson led what some consider the perfect jazz trio (with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on the sticks), into the modern jazz era with the likes of Brad Mehldau, there are many different instrumentations used in “a jazz trio” but when people think of “the jazz trio” you know what they are talking about.
The piano-bass-drum jazz trio is, with little argument, the quintessential jazz group.
Back in 1996, pianist Mehldau released the first of a series of recordings titled “The Art of the Trio” — a recognition of the historic and continuing perfection of the piano-bass-drums jazz combo by a multi-Grammy nominated performer who’s career has never strayed far from the format.
And while a Nov. 30 visit to St. Cecilia Music Center’s Jazz Series by Mehldau’s latest trio may well be a must-see concert this year — a concert where he will undoubtedly continue to prove the adage — there are local jazz performers bouncing around Grand Rapids music scene that also offer proof just about every night of the week.
Steve Talaga, on keyboards, in trio at a local venue. (Supplied).
“Most of the great jazz pianists going back to the mid-1940s have performed and recorded in this format, so each succeeding generation of young musicians has been exposed to, and influenced by, these artifacts,” said Steve Talaga, a pianist with a long history in the area jazz scene and currently an adjunct professor of music at Hope College.
“This trio format is also a situation which offers a perfect blend of interaction and freedom. You have multiple musicians contributing musical ideas to the ‘stew,’ but not so many that things get muddled,” he said. “Once drums are paired with piano, the bass range can sound a little weak, so adding a string bass reinforces the low register, creating a perfect musical scenario.”
Robin Connell, also a local pianist and music instructor, likens the musical range of the piano jazz trio as being a “group discussion.”
Robin Connell, with bassist Chris Kjorness’ River North Trio, at The Old Goat in Grand Rapids. (Supplied)
“In terms jazz as an art form, the best jazz trios musically interact continuously so that their performance can be likened to listening to a group discussion,” she said. “Just as in listening to three people talking together, conversation can flow easily and equally and be heard by listeners. Larger groups rely either on more written music — less improvisation, taking turns improvising, or music that is simple harmonically.”
But jazz people will tell you that not only is the piano jazz trio a jazz club mainstay for musical reasons, there are also logistical and economic reasons as well.
Robin Connell
Economics “enter the picture, although not as much for established artists of international stature,” Connell said. “Very few places anywhere in the U.S. pay a living wage for live music unless the venue is booking ‘name’ artists. This is true for jazz as it is for all other live music. I imagine the history of the jazz trio includes that reality and certain combinations, such as piano/bass/drums, became standard.”
Talaga agrees, but knows economics has never overshadowed the music.
“Economics do play a role, of course. More so all the time,” Talaga said. “With this combination, you have a complete ensemble capable of creating the most exciting music, but the paycheck only has to be split three ways.”
But “for me, the piano/bass/drums format is the dream band, both in terms of listening and performing. If you get the right combination of inventive, sensitive, and capable musicians, it’s pure magic.”
And most local jazz lovers are expecting magic with Mehldau’s return visit to St. Cecilia Music Center as part of the center’s Encore Jazz Season, celebrating over ten years of some of the finest jazz musicians in the world playing the venue.
“The jazz trio format is the classic format for a jazz combo — but what’s so interesting about all jazz programming is that, even if the instruments are the same in two groups, two shows are usually never alike in the hands of consummate musicians,” said Cathy Holbrook, executive director of St. Cecilia Music Center.
Brad Mehldau, in trio format, will be coming to St. Cecilia Music Center NOv. 30. (Supplied)
“We’ve had the piano/bass/drum trio at St. Cecilia Music Center many times over the past ten years, but the musician leading the group can take it in many different directions,” she said. “When Brad Mehldau brings his trio, we will hear a night of improvisation vs. jazz standards — they may start out with a standard but it goes into their imagination and comes back out again.”
For those with only a casual relationship with the jazz trio, but looking for a deeper dive, an essential acquisition would be the Oscar Peterson Trio’s 1963 recording “Night Train”, the Ahmad Jamahl Trio’s 1958 recording “But Not For Me – At The Pershing” and/or Mehldau’s “The Art of the Trio” series, re-packaged and re-released as a 5-Disc box set by Nonesuch in 2011. And you probably have to look no farther than Grandville’s The Corner Record Shop for any of them.
For more information and tickets for Brad Mehldau, visit scmc-online.org
The Steve Talaga Roots of Jazz Trio, among other gigs, will play at the 18th Amendment in Muskegon, Dec. 23 from 8-11 p.m. Visit his website at stevetalaga.com .
Robin Connell, among other gigs, will be playing in trio format at One Trick Pony in Grand Rapids, Jan, 11 from 8-11p.m. Visit her website at robinconnell.com .
For more information on local jazz available, visit wmichjazz.org .
This holiday season relax and recline as the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s (GRPM) Chaffee Planetarium celebrates the holiday season with the holiday show, Let it Snow, beginning Friday, Nov. 24.
Let it Snow features a new variety of festive classics from Frank Sinatra and Chuck Berry to Burl Ives and Brenda Lee, and includes a stunning multi-media finale by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The soundtrack is visually enhanced with thematic animation, and special effects, making it a must see this season for both adults and children.
The program is a fun and entertaining experience for all ages, especially families. Tickets are $4 each with general admission to the Museum, free to Museum members and $5 each for planetarium only tickets. For more information and show times, visit grpm.org/Planetarium.
The recently renovated Chaffee Planetarium offers brand new shows featuring the latest Digistar projection technology and immersive surround sound for an unbelievably rich and realistic experience. The Chaffee Planetarium reopened in March 2014 after a major renovation, including all new technology, sound system, full dome and seating. The renovation was made possible through the generosity of our donors, including the lead gift from The Wege Foundation.
The Chaffee Planetarium is named for Grand Rapids native, Roger B. Chaffee, who died with fellow Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White during a pre-launch test in 1967. The Planetarium was originally opened in 1994 and underwent a multi-million dollar renovation fall 2013 to spring 2014.
By Lisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Chast’s graphic memoir focuses on a time in her parents’ lives, when, after living in the same apartment in Brooklyn for 48 years (not hip Brooklyn, but Deep Brooklyn), they have come to the point where they are, “slowly leaving the sphere of TV commercial old age … and moving into the part of old age that was scarier, harder to talk about, and not a part of this culture.”
Going into their nineties, the trip they’ve shared together is about to hit rough seas. And reality wallops their only daughter in the form of an after-midnight phone call. From the hospital.
Fans of Roz Chast (I’m in the “rabid” category) will recognize the skewed wit and unique, pulsating, line style from her cartoons that have been featured in the New Yorker since the ’70s. But the depth of conflicting emotions, and the insights into human hope, love, and frailty are simply breathtaking, as she has taken her work to a whole new level.
The first few pages contain the clues to the Gordion’s Knot underlying the psychological gestalt of this family. No wonder people have been so anxious in Chast’s cartoons in the New Yorker for over 30 years.
The book’s scope is daunting: one’s identity vis-a-vis one’s parents, the hopes and dreams that were not–could not–be met, and then, suddenly, the role-reversal of the child-parent relationship. It’s a pretty deep look at some of the toughest challenges of the human condition, and Chast handles the material straight on. The humor she finds in these situations (I often laughed out loud) is painful, but kind of therapeutic. Because despite the constant deluge from the self-help industry, a resonant theme in literature continues to involve our issues with the past.
Why do things happen? What could I have done differently? Why won’t the dead leave us alone?
Deeply moving, absurdly funny, it’s a book you just can’t forget.
After a hectic Black Friday, looking for something to do on Shop Local Saturday? The 3rd Annual Cedar Springs Pub Crawl will take place Saturday, Nov. 25, starting at 5 p.m.
Cedar Springs Brewing is the host of the event, with the two other venues in town being The Gun tavern and the American Legion Glen Hill Post 287 — Cedar Springs Brewing has great German beer and food — been there, done that; and I’m a member of the Cedar Springs’ American Legion, so I can vouch for the patriotic local color.
Oh, and by the way, speaking of Shop Local Saturday, CS Brewery’s home brew business next to the pub is have a sale on home brew supplied.
First, always have a designated driver when your pub crawling. But, second, if your more in the mood to get your Beer City Brewsader Passport book stamped, after a visit to Cedar Springs Brewing, there is also a couple of other north-of-Grand Rapids brew pubs worth a visit: the Rockford Brewing Company in … wait for it … Rockford; and the recently relocated and expanded Cellar Brewing Company in Sparta.
For more information on Cedar Spring Brewing and the pub crawl, visit csbrew.com . For more information on Rockford Brewing visit rockfordbrewing.com and for Cellar Brewing visit cellerbrewingco.com .
Christian McBride Trio, Nov. 16, at St. Cecilia Music Center, Grand Rapids, Mi.
60-second Review
Christian McBride (Supplied)
If you came to St. Cecilia’s Royce Auditorium Thursday night expecting a typical jazz trio, with bassist extraordinaire Christian McBride leading the standard group through the standard repertoire and his taking the lion’s share of lead in the standard solos, you were both beautifully satisfied and, yet, a little blissfully surprised.
McBride — a multiple Grammy-winning jazz man at heart but willing and able to play where the spirit moves him — is famous for his ability to slide into any musical genre where a bass of any form is at home, as he is for not only sharing the stage with young, talented musicians but showcasing them.
So it was McBride being McBride in his return gig at St. Cecilia when, along with young pianist Emmet Cohen and equally young guitarist Dan Wilson, he invited the audience to explore with him in a nine-song, roughly 90-minute musical conversation that ranged from the classics (“I’m Afraid the Masquerade is Over” and Duke’s “Sophisticated Lady”) to 1980s pop (Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed”).
My favorite conversations of the night — jazz songs really are a conversation among players who speak the improvisational “language of jazz” — were two tunes written by Cohen: “Three of Us” and “You Already Know”. I think that’s their titles; they are new and announced from the stage!
(The “language of jazz”, as an aside, is a term taught to me by no-less an authority than Ellis Marsalis Jr. — father of the Marsalis jazz family — when I interviewed him a decade ago and asked a dumb question about playing a new tune with musicians for the first time and he gently gave a reporter a brief jazz masterclass.)
Whether it was McBride fighting off a blister on a finger, as it appeared, or just his feeling like showcasing the very talented Cohen, the bassist gave the pianist not only got his fair share of solos but the majority of the spotlight. The addition of Cohen’s second composition, in fact, was an admittedly unrehearsed decision which was musical proof of trio’s ability to speak the “language of jazz”.
McBride — blister, or whatever, and all — and Cohen were uniformly good in their fluid solos and able accompanying efforts, but Wilson’s guitar may have been the most unique part of the show — while his solos were tight and, often, experimental, his work as an accompanist gave the trio a rarely heard sonic landscape.
May I have more, please?
These days, an electric (or at least amplified) guitar is completely at home in the jazz genre — has been from the time of the classic Wes Montgomery (and anybody else you care to name), to the more modern George Benson and Russel Malone (and anybody else …), to the youthful Gilad Hekselman (and …)
But it wasn’t always so.
Jazz historians, an often argumentative lot they are, will often point to Charlie Christian as the groundbreaker for bringing the electric guitar to the jazz stage. In his short life — 1916-1942, a life cut short by tuberculosis in the years before any cure or even real treatment were known — Christian was a key figure in the popularity of swing jazz, the early development of bebop and, some argue, even the infancy of cool jazz.
His teaming of the guitar with amplification pushed the instrument out of the rhythm section of big bands and front stage as a solo jazz instrument. His day-job swing-jazz work with the Benny Goodman Sextet and his late night bebop sets in Harlem in the years before his death made him a legend among guitarists of all ilk — so much so that in 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an “early influence”.
Whatever. The man could, like McBride, speak the language of jazz.
McBride’s visit was the beginning of St. Cecilia’s annual jazz series, which will include the Brad Mehldau Trio on Nov. 30, and singers Gregory Porter on Feb. 22, 2018, and Kurt Elling on March 22, 2018. For information on tickets and more information visit SCMC-online.org.
Pianist Steve Talaga, at right (shown with a jazz trip), will team with Grand Rapids Symphony strings to present two works written by Talaga in a Nov. 26 concert at the GRAM. (Supplied)
The Grand Rapids Art Museum’s Sunday Classical Concert Series, a series of 16 performances during the fall and winter each year, will present a special program featuring local pianist Steve Talaga on Thanksgiving weekend.
“String Fling: The Music of Steve Talaga”, will be presented Sunday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. at the museum.
“An ensemble of virtuoso string players from the Grand Rapids Symphony will perform my string quartet and a new quintet for piano and strings, “From Darkness into Light”, Talaga said to WKTV. “This will be the world premier (of the second work) and I’ll be joining them at the piano.”
Talaga wrote the string quartet when was written in 1990 when he was a graduate student at Western Michigan University.
The setting of the concerts is one of the GRAM’s beautiful, natural light filled spaces which showcase the buildings architecture and galleries as well as the music. The concert is open to the public with general admission, and free for all GRAM members. Seating is first come, first served.
The GRAM is located in downtown Grand Rapids. For more information visit artmuseum.org .
Unless you are a shop-a-holic, Black Friday is usually a time to stay away from public places, but on Friday, Nov. 24, the Grand Rapids Public Museum just might tempt you out with the offer of “Dark Beer, Dark Side”, an opportunity to get all spaced out with a beer in your hands.
The Public Museum, in partnership with Brewery Vivant, starting at 6:30 p.m. will present will host a brief presentation by Ryan Engemann, the Wandering Monk from Brewery Vivant, on the differences between various dark beers including Brewery Vivant’s Tart Side of the Moon. Then, after some time to tour the museum, at 7:45 p.m., visitors have the chance to grab a beer to enter the Chaffee Planetarium for the Museum’s original production “Dark Side: The Light Show”, set to the music of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”.
In the planetarium, visitors will experience the sounds of the iconic album “The Dark Side of the Moon” while getting blown away by stunning 4K visuals, brilliant LED sequences and Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
Tickets are $12 for mMuseum members, $22 for non-members, and your must be age 21+. Tickets include 3 beer samples, general admission to the museum and admission to the planetarium show. For more information visit GRPM.org .
Tours and tastes at local breweries, distilleries
Ever smelled the smell of beer in the making? It is either as a fruity summer ale or as pungent as a strong stout, depending on what’s in the making. And spirits being distilled? Don’t event try to explain it.
Several Grand Rapids area breweries and distilleries are open to “behind the scenes” tours, according to supplied information, including Founders Brewing Company, Long Road Distillery, and Grey Skies Distillery.
Grand Rapids’ Founders Brewing Company offers limited tours of their production facility on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and Fridays at 5:30 p.m. Tours are $10 each and include a Founders logo pint glass. They also offer a combined tour and beer tasting — just don’t ask what will be on tap as it changes. For more information visit foundersbrewing.com .
Grand Rapids’ Long Road Distillery takes visitors through the distilling process and the principles behind it. As they like to say: “You’ll get the chance to know what’s in your glass and where it came from.” Each tour is conducted by a distilling expert who is friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to answer any question — and the, of course, you get to taste a little somethin’ somethin’. Tours are $10 per person and limited to 15 people. For more information visit longroaddistillers.com .
Grand Rapids’ Gray Skies Distillery, which began whiskey production in 2015, has an on-site tasting room and cocktail bar. In September, the distillery began offering weekend tours to guests looking to learn more about craft whiskey, and peek behind the scenes at the distillery. There are two tours available, both are led by a knowledgeable distiller who will walk the guests through the entire whiskey making process, including fermentation, distillation, and aging — all done on-site. The Craft Distilling Tours are free, but the “Sneak Peek Tours” are $10, and include a craft cocktail to enjoy while on your tour. For more information visit greyskiesdistillery.com .
And for all you light lager drinkers …
Comstock Park’s Perrin Brewing recently announced a new brew has been added to its “core beer line-up”, a American light lager appropriately called Perrin Light Lager. It is described in supplied material as “a refreshingly clean, crisp beer with a perfect balance of malt and hops.”
Perrin Light Lager is now available in 15-packs — available in stores, but why not use that as an excuse to stop by the Perrin Pub? — as well as on draft at your favorite tap across Michigan.
One of the best operas Giuseppe Verdi ever wrote calls for no costumes or sets. And one of his best-known sacred works is seldom performed in church. What’s more, both are one in the same.
Verdi’s Requiem has no operatic adventures involving heroes and villains, but it still features some of the most dramatic music ever written by the composer of Rigoletto, La Traviata, Otello and Aida.
Grand Rapids Symphony Music Director Marcelo Lehninger says the work that’s popular with audiences is a particular favorite of his as well.
“It’s one of the pieces I enjoy conducting the most,” he said.
Lehninger, who is in his second season with the Grand Rapids Symphony, will lead the third concert of the 2017-18 Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, November 17-18, in DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW.
The 140-voice Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus will be joined by the 40-voice Calvin College Capella, both directed by Pearl Shangkuan, a professor of music at Calvin College.
All told, there will be upwards of 270 musicians on stage for the performances.
Concerts on Friday and Saturday will be dedicated to the memory of Helen DeVos, the Grand Rapids Symphony’s dear friend and greatest champion, who died in October. A member of the Symphony’s Board of Directors for nearly 20 years and an honorary board member afterwards, Helen DeVos had been awarded the Grand Rapids Symphony’s highest honor, its BRAVO! Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Grand Rapids Symphony musicians and staff will wear yellow ribbons in Mrs. DeVos’s memory. Music Director Marcelo Lehninger and the symphony’s principal first and second violins and principal viola and cello, which together comprise the Grand Rapids Symphony’s DeVos String Quartet, all will wear yellow rose boutonnieres or corsages at both performances.
Verdi, who was spiritual, but not a regular churchgoer, poured his most mature vocal and dramatic gifts into his Requiem. The traditional Mass for the Dead in the Roman Catholic liturgy takes its title from the opening phrase, “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,” which translates as, “Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.”
Verdi began the work to honor his operatic colleague, Gioachino Rossini, though he never completed it. Years later, Verdi finished the piece to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni.
In Verdi’s mind, a big man needed a big sendoff, so he composed a work for double chorus, no fewer than 16 brass instruments, and a pounding bass drum that never goes away.
Portions of the 85 minute-work are well-known in popular culture. The dramatic “Die Irae” or “Day of Wrath” sequence is among the loudest musical moments in the orchestra repertoire. It’s frequently heard in movies, on TV and in commercials including the films “Mad Max: Fury Road” in 2015 and “Django Unchained” in 2012 and in the TV series “X Factor.”
Grand Rapids Symphony last performed Verdi’s Requiem in May 2010 to end its 2009-10 season.
Prior to that, the Grand Rapids Symphony sang Verdi’s Requiem in November 2001, just weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which gave added poignancy to the “Libre Me” section, with its first line that translates as “Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal on that fateful day.”
Inside the Music, a free, pre-concert, multi-media presentation sponsored by BDO USA, will be held before each performance at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Place Recital Hall.
The complete Verdi’s Requiem program will be rebroadcast on Sunday, March 25, 2018, at 1 p.m. on Blue Lake Public Radio 88.9 FM or 90.3 FM.
Tickets
Tickets start at $18 and are available at the GRS box office, weekdays 9 am-5 pm, at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616.454.9451 x 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.)
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place ticket office, weekdays 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.
Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Ticketsprogram, sponsored by Comerica and Calvin College. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert.
Unlike a lot of shopping malls and radio stations, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Christmas celebration will precede Thanksgiving by a couple of days as the 23rd annual Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World exhibition opens Tuesday, Nov. 21.
The exhibit, which runs through Jan. 7, 2018, will allow guests to experience 42 Christmas and holiday trees, and displays representing countries and cultures from around the world, according to supplied material.
And, for those really into traditions and the art of garden arrangement, the Railway Garden and holiday wonderland will once again wind its way through three indoor garden spaces, including the recently renovated Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse.
“This year we pause to reflect on the many unique and beautiful ways that holiday traditions are observed all over the world,” Steve LaWarre, director of horticulture, said in supplied material.
The annual Holiday Gala is a night to dress up and remember. (Supplied)
From the highly polished metal of the Hanukkah Menorahs, to the beautiful Eid ul-Fitr display — which celebrates the end of Ramadan — to the golden glass ornaments adorning many of the traditional Christmas trees, guests will come across a variety of reflective surfaces designed to reinforce the theme of reflection. The holiday season is also a time when many cultures share the custom of turning attention inwards, reflecting upon the past and making preparations for the New Year.
Meijer Gardens transforms into a botanic wonderland with poinsettias, orchids and amaryllis. The smell of evergreens as visitors enter the building and the sounds of carolers make it a perfect family place to enjoy the holiday season. Indoors and out, trees sparkle with over 300,000 white lights.
Hydrangea petals make up the iconic glass tower of the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. (Supplied)
The unique horticultural artistry of the Railway Garden complements the model trolleys, trains and handcrafted buildings replicating 30 Grand Rapids landmarks, including the unique use of hydrangea petals that make up the iconic glass tower of the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
Meijer Gardens will also offer a series of family-friendly activities throughout the exhibition.
Exhibition Activities:
Extended Holiday Hours: Open until 9 p.m. Dec. 18-23, 26-30 (Meijer Gardens is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day).
The Original Dickens Carolers: Tuesdays: Nov. 21 and 28, Dec. 5, 12, 19; 6-8 p.m.
And, of course, there will be visits by Santa for those holiday photos. (Supplied)
Santa Visits: Tuesdays: Nov. 21 and 28, Dec. 5, 12, 19; 5-8 p.m.
Winter-Time Walks: Nov. 21-Jan. 6, 2018; Tuesdays 10:15 and 11:15 a.m., Saturdays 11:15 a.m. (Included with admission). Winter in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden can be chilly, but fun! Bundle up and join us on an outdoor interactive discovery walk to investigate the Children’s Garden in new ways. We’ll explore different winter themes and gather by the hearth in the log cabin to learn about winter with stories, kid-friendly conversation and finger plays.
Christmas and Holiday Themed Classes: Enjoy festive learning opportunities for adults and families. Fees apply.
Saying bassist Christian McBride is the new millennium’s baseline of jazz music might be laying it on a little thick, but he certainly is a favorite of the Grammy awards and of St. Cecilia Music Center, where his unique trio will be on stage next week.
McBride — with five Grammy wins since 2004, and a pairing of piano and guitar with him — will make an encore visit to St. Cecilia’s Royce Auditorium stage on Thursday, Nov. 16, for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Tickets are still available.
“We are lucky to have him here,” Cathy Holbrook, executive director of St. Cecilia, said in supplied material, pointing out McBride’s current trio tour includes just five cities: New York City, Newark, Chicago, Denton (part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area) … and Grand Rapids.
McBride’s “McBride’s Tip City” tour will have him accompanied by pianist Emmet Cohen and guitarist Dan Wilson.
McBride’s visit is the beginning of St. Cecilia’s annual jazz series, which will include the Brad Mehldau Trio on Nov. 30, and singers Gregory Porter on Feb. 22, 2018, and Kurt Elling on March 22, 2018.
“This is going to be a jazz series for the record books,” Holbrook said about St. Cecilia’s “encore” series. “We are bringing back some of our favorites from the first ten years of the series. (And) the excitement begins with Christian McBride, one of today’s most enjoyable entertainers and outstanding jazz performers of our time.”
That “outstanding” part?
McBride has eight Grammy nominations, and five wins four since 2009 including the 2015 Best Improvised Jazz Solo for “Cherokee”.
Now in his third decade of playing and recording, the one-time “young lion” and Philadelphia native is one of the most respected, and sought after, players in music — and not just in traditional jazz. And the reason is clear by hearing one of his stories.
“When you pull the people in, you can go anywhere as long as they feel like they’re a part of the ride,” McBride said in supplied information. “ That’s why Cannonball Adderley was always my hero — he always exemplified high artistry, but no matter how esoteric or abstract it could get, he still related to people.”
McBride not only leads his own bands but he has shared the stage with jazz legends such as Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny; he has accompanied pop music heavyweights such as James Brown, Sting and The Roots; he has collaborated with classical masters such as Kathleen Battle, Edgar Meyer and the Shanghai Quartet.
In addition to his live and recording musical efforts, McBride currently hosts and produces “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian McBride” on SiriusXM satellite radio and National Public Radio’s “Jazz Night in America” — can you say “Stories to tell?”
McBride will come to Grand Rapids, according to supplied information, following a performance with Dianne Reeves and a celebration of the 100th birthdays of Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie with Gregory Porter and Regina Carter — can you say “More stories to tell?”
You know, maybe that “baseline of modern jazz” is not too far off.
For tickets and more information visit SCMC-online.org. There will also be a pre-concert reception available for an additional price, and a free post-concert party available to ticket holders when the artists routinely visit for talk and CD signing.
Join the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) for the third installment of the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ concert of the series with performances by Justin Stahl on Nov. 17 and 18 to hear classics from the 20th century.
Justin will perform a variety of well-known melodies beginning in the early 1900s up through the 1990s. Justin has performed for various audiences at the GRPM on the 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ over the years.
Aa native of Beech Grove, Indiana, Justin began playing at age five with the encouragement of his great-grandfather. He was mostly self-taught in piano and organ. His passion for music has reached many venues that have included accompanying for several choral departments, contributing as his church’s music director, playing for community theatre, and serving for nearly fifteen years in the Indiana Army National Guard’s 38th Infantry Division Band.
Stahl has most recently entertained thousands of patrons of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in the last five productions of their annual Yuletide Celebration, playing the 3/24 Wurlitzer installed at the Hilbert Circle Theatre. Theatre organ has always been a passion of Justin’s and has taken him to performance venues across the country. He was a featured artist at the 59th ATOS Convention held in Indianapolis.
A graduate of Marian University with a Bachelor’s degree in piano performance, Justin presently serves as the director of music for the Horizon Science Academy High School in Columbus, Ohio, while writing choral/instrumental arrangements for several choir departments. His approach and philosophy includes the continued promotion of the theatre organ by using a wide base of musical genres.
Shows will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18 in the Meijer Theater at the GRPM.
Tickets for individual concerts are $8 for Museum member adults, $4 for Museum member children, $10 for non-member adults and $5 for non-member children. Tickets are available by visiting www.grpm.org/Organ or by calling 616-929-1700.
The final concert of the series will be Holiday Classics on Friday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. by John Lauter. This holiday classic is a sellout show, great for the entire family. Tickets are recommended to be purchased early.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
