By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University Opera Theatre students will bring to life Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration, Oklahoma!, which remains, in many ways, their most innovative work, having set the standards and established the rules of musical theater still being followed today.
Set in the West just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smoothly with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love’s journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. Succeeding in making a new life together and beginning that new life in a brand-new state provides the ultimate climax for these characters in Oklahoma!
What:Oklahoma!
When: Feb. 2, 3, 9, 10, at 7:30 pm; Feb. 4, 11, at 2 pm
Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Tickets: $14 for adults; $12 seniors and GVSU faculty, staff, alumni; $6 for students, groups — purchase tickets through the Louis Armstrong Theatre box office in-person Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., by calling 616.331.2300, or online at startickets.com
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Yoo Jin Noh made her debut with the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra as a soloist in 2017. She also performed at the United Nation Headquarters in New York City for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015. Her recent performances include appearances with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Halfner Symphony and a solo recital at Azusa Pacific University.
Noh, who was born blind, pursued her interest in music in early childhood and began her piano study at age 14. Despite her late start, she has received many awards from local competitions. In 2005, she received a grand prize at the U.S. String and Piano Concours of Hymn and played at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York City. In 2008, she received the VSA Young Soloist Award and was invited to play at the National Federation of the Blind Convention.
What: Yoo Jin Noh, piano
When: Jan. 31, at 7:30 pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Named after Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino of Grand Rapids’ sister city Perugia, Italy, The Perugino String Quartet has performed across Michigan and at the world-renowned Julliard String Quartet Seminar at the Lincoln Center in New York City. The group is composed of violinists Eric Tanner and Christopher Martin, violinist Barbara Corbato and cellist Stacey Bosman Tanner. Together, the quartet performs classics of the string quartet repertoire, as well as a variety of new chamber works.
The Perugino String Quartet centers its appearances around Michigan, having performed at many arts-based series and events, such as the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck, Art Reach of Mid Michigan and Muskegon’s Feeding the Soul of the City concert series.
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.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
This single actor tour de force reveals the deeply personal and artistic sides of Russia’s most famous playwright, Anton Chekhov. The play begins with the dramatist immediately following the failure of his early masterpiece “The Seagull” (1895) and concludes with the success of “The Cherry Orchard” (1903).
Written by Karen Sunde, this semi-documentary drama skillfully captures the soul and the spirit of this giant of the modern stage struggling with his literary identity, with the opinions of an often-hostile public, and with the challenges of pursuing romance and serving as head of a family.
The one-man show will be performed by Roger Ellis, professor of theater at Grand Valley State University.
What: ‘Anton, Himself: First and Last’
When: Jan. 19 and 20, at 7:30 pm, Jan. 21, at 2 pm
Where: Linn Maxwell Keller Black Box Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Tickets: $12 for adults; $10 seniors and GVSU faculty, staff, alumni; $6 for students, groups — purchase tickets through the Louis Armstrong Theatre box office in-person Monday-Friday from 10 am-5 pm, by calling 616.331.2300, or online at startickets.com
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Pianist Mika Sasaki has established herself as a sought-after soloist, chamber musician and emerging educator. Since her concerto debut with the Sinfonia of Cambridge in the United Kingdom at the age of 7, she has appeared twice with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and more recently with the 92Y Orchestra in New York City. She has performed at venues including the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Peter J. Sharp Theater, Palazzo Chigi Saracini (Italy), Minato Mirai Hall (Japan) and Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (Japan). Her solo debut album “Obsidian: Mika Sasaki plays Clara Schumann” was released on Yarlung Records in 2016.
What: Mika Sasaki, piano
When: Jan. 19, at 7:30 pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
For more than 40 years, Herbert Murrie had a successful advertising and design career based in Chicago. However, because of his artistic upbringing and drive, he always returned to the studio in pursuit of a more spontaneous and freeing output.
In 1988, Murrie began painting more seriously and by the late 1990s, he was exhibiting regularly. Over the next 15 years, evidence of his freed state leapt off the canvas. Controlled manipulation of paint and color bore witness to his understanding of design, while his process of working intuitively noted elements of the artistic movements he grew up with in the mid-20th Century.
Like many artists, Murrie often steps away from his art and then returns to work on pieces in his studio that he feels are unfinished. This exhibition examines the ebb and flow of his creative process, while looking back at his painting career and forward to a new body of work. It includes 26 pieces that span his career as a painter — from 1995 to the present. They are drawn out of private collections and the Grand Valley State University permanent art collection, which includes 16 works that were donated by Herbert and Lisa Murrie in 2015.
What: ‘Ebb and Flow: Explorations in Painting by Herbert Murrie’ Exhibition
Calvin College’s January Series of lectures, always an intellectual bright light in the often dark days of mid-winter in West Michigan, has never shied away important if not always pleasant topics and often bright national speakers to local audiences.
The 2018 edition is no different, with weighty topics discussed including poverty and racism, and speakers including a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a New York Times best-selling author and a former technology adviser to the White House.
But Kristi Potter, director of the January Series, says there was a conscience effort this year to bring “positive and encouraging stories” to the college’s Covenant Fine Arts Center.
“This year as I reflected on what was happening in the news and what conversations would be good to have on the series in 2018, I felt a strong need to bring positive and encouraging stories,” Potter said in supplied material. “So as always, we will hear from speakers on a number of difficult topics like poverty, racism, pollution, restorative justice and dementia, but we will also hear stories of how we can make a difference in the world with our influence, our power, our money or even our mindset.”
From Wednesday, Jan. 3, through Tuesday, Jan. 23, attendees will hear 15 speakers who are leading voices in some of the nation’s — and world’s — most pivotal and timely discussions.
Among the featured presenters are Katherine Boo, a staff writer for The New Yorker whose work has been honored by a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and Pulitzer Prize, and Jeremy McCarter, co-author of “Hamilton: The Revolution” and a person who witnessed the Broadway show’s journey from concept to cultural phenomenon.
Among the other notable, if possibly lesser known lecturers, are Kevin Olusola, who is best known as the beatboxing member of the Grammy-winning vocal quintet Pentatonix but has re-imagined the cello by mashing it together and the urban art of beatboxing into a new musical genre called cello-boxing. He will talk Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Shane ClairborneJohn Swinton
Also notable, if under-the-radar, lecturers are Shane Clairborne, who on Monday, Jan. 8, will present a talk titled “Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why it is Killing Us; and John Swinton, who on Tuesday, Jan, 23, will present a talk titled “Still Waters Run Deep: Reimagining Dementia and Humanness”.
And, also as is the January Series overriding theme, spirituality plays a central role in many lectures.
“I think this year’s lineup reminds us to have hope that God is in control and there are good things happening in the world and good people leading this work,” Potter said. “And we can be a part of it.”
The series runs from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Covenant Fine Arts Center on Calvin’s campus. A repeat performance and conversation with Olusola will take place on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. No tickets required for the day or one evening events (but they do fill up quickly, so do not be late).
There is probably not a vantage point on the grounds of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park where you cannot see Beverly Pepper’s monumental sculpture “Galileo’s Wedge”. Depending on one’s world view, it is either an authoritative metal finger pointing toward the heavens or an elongated monolith-like spike sinking deep into the Earth.
Either way, the 2009 acquisition by Meijer Gardens is a soaring steel object of visual beauty and, simultaneously, engineering mastery which rises nearly 40 feet into the sky and an undefined depth into the ground.
It is that imagination-bending blend of engineering mastery and visual beauty which will be the focus of the next featured exhibit at Meijer Gardens as “Drawn Into Form: Sixty Years of Drawings and Prints by Beverly Pepper” opens Feb. 2, 2018.
The exhibition is the first public showing ofthe gift of Pepper’s expansive print and drawing archives that was given to Meijer Gardens in 2016 and 2017. Spanning seven decades of work by the contemporary sculptor, the archives includes hundreds of drawings, prints, works on paper and notebooks, with many containing sketches of her major sculptural endeavors on display around the world.
Beverly Pepper at Meijer Gardens. (Undated photo taken by George Tatge)
“The 2018 retrospective surveying sixty-five years of work is a rare luxury, and an unbelievable opportunity,” Pepper said in supplied material. “Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has clearly demonstrated a strong commitment to my sculpture and I am enthusiastic to now have this major body of my work there.” Pepper said in supplied material. “To have in one location a space to study, compare and sequence my drawings and prints is an exceptional opportunity.”
Pepper (born 1922 in Brooklyn, N.Y.) lives and works in Italy. Her works have been exhibited and collected by major arts institutions and galleries around the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Les Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris, and The Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan.
Joseph Antenucci Becherer, chief curator and vice president of Meijer Gardens, sees the exhibit as a logical public extension of the artist’s gift.
“The importance of the gift and this exhibition simply cannot be overstated,” Becherer said in supplied material. “The opportunity to experience the sheer brilliance of Pepper’s work and trace the trajectory of her career from a realist aesthetic in the late 1940s and 50s, through her embrace of abstraction to become one of America’s leading abstract sculptors, is beyond compare.”
The exhibition will run through April 19, 2018.
Pepper is world-renowned for her work, which often incorporates industrial metals like iron, bronze, stainless steel and stone into sculpture of a monumental scale, but her vast drawing and print repertoire is lesser known.
Associated with the exhibit will be several special events including a March 18 discussion on “Five Great Women Sculptors” by Suzanne Eberle, Professor of Art History at Kendall College of Art & Design. The talk will focus on important female artists — including Pepper, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Barbara Hepworth, and Louise Nevelson — who have worked in large scale.
The world is a complicated canvas of varying views, realities, and expectations. The next two installments in the Grand Rapids Ballet‘s innovative contemporary dance series, MOVEMEDIA, will explore and celebrate these beautiful differences.
Experience thought-provoking panel discussions and powerful community outreach bookended by complementary world-premiere works by some of today’s most important choreographers.
For tickets, visit grballet.com. Performances are in February and March 2018.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
In fall 2016, Maya Grant traveled to India on a study abroad scholarship from the GVSU Padnos International Center. Grant, a sociology major, was led to India by a need to escape and explore. She studied at Christ University in Bengaluru, volunteered at a local non-profit and captured her experiences and interactions through photography. On the weekends, Grant joined a group of expats called the Bangalore Wanderlusters, and traveled throughout Karnataka and its neighboring states. This exhibition includes more than 25 photographs documenting her experiences studying abroad, and exploring the landscape and people of India.
What: ‘Traveling with the Bangalore Wanderlusters: Reflections on a Semester in India by Maya Grant’
When: Exhibition on display through March 2
Where: Blue Wall Gallery (Building B), DeVos Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
From 1940-1960, the Australian government forced Aboriginal groups off their lands and into organized communities of the Central Desert region and along the northern coast. Papunya, located about 150 miles northwest of Alice Springs, was the final community established to collect these displaced groups, and where the contemporary Australian Aboriginal art movement began.
This exhibition is drawn out of a recent gift of Australian Aboriginal paintings to Grand Valley State University, created by artists from Papunya and the surrounding region. It features artwork that provides insight into Aboriginal life, retellings of important ancient stories and symbols, and the sacred sites of this vast and arid landscape.
What:‘Drawn from the Desert: Australian Aboriginal Paintings from the Central and Western Deserts’
When: Exhibition on display through March 2
Where: Kirkhof Center Gallery (main floor), Allendale Campus
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Tony Fitzpatrick was born in 1958, and raised in and around Chicago as a member of a large middle-class Irish Catholic family. His father worked as a burial vault salesman, and often took Tony along to appointments around the city when he was suspended from school. Drawing was a pervasive part of his life, and he’d sketch anything that caught his eye. He graduated from Montini Catholic High School in 1977, untrained in the arts. Over the years, Fitzpatrick spent time as boxer, bartender, actor, waiter and tattoo artist. These experiences, coupled with an insatiable appetite for drawing, had a profound effect on his work.
This exhibition features 21 etchings by the artist. They are drawn out of a recent gift to Grand Valley State University’s permanent art collection of more than 120 works on paper. Filled with strange and magical beasts, they draw on his childhood imagination, Catholic upbringing and immersive experience in street culture.
What: ‘Strange & Magical Beasts: Etchings by Tony Fitzpatrick’
When: Exhibit on display through March 2
Where: West Wall Gallery, L. V. Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Virginia Jenkins is a professor and former chair of the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Grand Valley State University. Landscape forms and images have been the primary focus of her work for more than two decades, and her areas of specialty are in painting, drawing and mixed media. This exhibition is drawn from a recent series created in response to the landscape of the Northwest coast of the United States.
What: ‘Landscapes, Color & Light: Paintings by Virginia Jenkins’
When: Exhibition on display through March 2
Where: Red Wall Gallery, Lake Ontario Hall (first floor), Allendale Campus
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.
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
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 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.
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.
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 .
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.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Vu Tran
Vu Tran’s first novel, Dragonfish, was a New York Times Notable Book and one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Books of the Year. His short fiction has appeared in O. Henry Prize Stories, Best American Mystery Stories, and many other publications.He is the winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award and has received fellowships from Bread Loaf, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Vermont Studio Center, and the MacDowell Colony.
Born in Vietnam and raised in Oklahoma, Vu received his MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a doctoral degree from the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is currently an assistant professor of practice in English and creative writing at the University of Chicago.
What: Craft talk
When: November 14, 2:30-3:45 pm
Where: Kirkhof Center, room 2266 (Allendale Campus)
What: Reading and book signing
When: November 14, 6-7:30 pm
Where: Cook-DeWitt Center (Allendale Campus)
Authors from around the world will visit Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus as part of the 2017-18 Grand Valley Writers Series. The series has a rich history of bringing distinguished and emerging writers to campus to read work, visit classrooms and interact with students. For more information about the GV Writers Series, visit gvsu.edu/writing.
Veterans leave the military with a set of skills valuable to employers. Here are five skills essential to every job-seeking veteran’s resume:
Strong work habits —Veterans in the workplace are known for completing projects in a timely, efficient manner. These work habits are a result of maturity, integrity and self-confidence learned during the service.
Flexibility and adaptability —Individuals in the service are trained to meet the changing needs of their environment and are quick to adapt to the new working environment.
Initiative — Veterans bring with them the ability to create a plan of action that translates into the ability to solve problems quickly and independently.
Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines —Military service requires a job done right the first time. Service members can prioritize, adjust and deal with stress in a positive manner.
Ability to give and follow directions — People in the military understand accountability and how to work well with others. They’re respectful yet direct when making sure a job is well done.
Veteran Appreciation Week
All ten service centers in West Michigan are celebrating veterans and their spouses during Veteran Week from Nov. 6-9.
Events include:
Veteran Priority Day: receive on-demand services such as resume development, career exploration, interviewing skills. Appointment not needed.
Early Veteran access Hiring Events: meet with employers looking for new talent before everyone else.
Holland Home will host world-renowned dementia expert and educator, Teepa Snow, for a free seminar on dementia on Wednesday, Nov. 8. ‘Dementia 360°:Seeing it from all Directions’, will cover dementia from a variety of perspectives, and is ideal for caregivers, family members and healthcare professionals.
Snow will provide a comprehensive analysis and care perspective on dementia, including its impact on the person living with it.She will discuss the disease process, how a person experiences a change in brain ability and the effects on the family and support networks.Snow is an advocate for those living with dementia and has made it her personal mission to help families and professionals better understand how it feels to live with various forms of dementia.The seminar aims to help participants gain a deeper knowledge of dementia and learn key strategies for how to best relate to and provide care for those suffering with the disease.
“Dementia has a profound impact on each person it touches,” said Mina Breuker, CEO & President of Holland Home. “Holland Home is a leader in memory care and we want to equip caregivers and family members with information and tools to provide compassionate care for individuals living with the disease. We’re excited to host Teepa Snow, and learn from her personal experience with and professional expertise on dementia.”
Snow’s philosophy and education reflect her lifelong journey with dementia.Her person-centered approach has evolved to meet the complex and unique needs of individuals with the disease.Snow strives to grow an appreciation of differences with seminar participants that will lead to better care and support of those living with changing abilities.
The seminar will be held at Covenant Fine Arts Center at Calvin College, 1795 Knollcrest Circle SE in Grand Rapids, from 7 to 9 pm.No RSVP is necessary.More information can be found at hollandhome.org/events or by calling 616.235.5000.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
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?
When: November 16, 17, 18, 29, 30, and December 1, 2, at 7:30 pm; November 19 and 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
‘Kunnnby’ – Bush Lolly Dreaming, Michael Nelson Tjakamarra, Acrylic on Canvas
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
From 1940-1960, the Australian government forced Aboriginal groups off their lands and into organized communities of the Central Desert region and along the northern coast. Papunya, located about 150 miles northwest of Alice Springs, was the final community established to collect these displaced groups, and where the contemporary Australian Aboriginal art movement began. This exhibition is drawn out of a recent gift of Australian Aboriginal paintings to Grand Valley State University, created by artists from Papunya and the surrounding region. It features artwork that provides insight into Aboriginal life, retellings of important ancient stories and symbols, and the sacred sites of this vast and arid landscape.
Look & See revolves around the divergent stories of several residents of Henry County, Kentucky who each face difficult choices that will dramatically reshape their relationship with the land and their community.
In 1965, Wendell Berry returned home to Henry County, where he bought a small farm house and began a life of farming, writing and teaching. This lifelong relationship with the land and community would come to form the core of his prolific writings. A half-century later, Henry County, like many rural communities across America, has become a place of quiet ideological struggle.
In the span of a generation, the agrarian virtues of simplicity, land stewardship, sustainable farming, local economies and rootedness to place have been replaced by a capital-intensive model of industrial agriculture characterized by machine labor, chemical fertilizers, soil erosion and debt — all of which have frayed the fabric of rural communities. Writing from a long wooden desk beneath a forty-paned window, Berry has watched this struggle unfold, becoming one of its most passionate and eloquent voices in defense of agrarian life.
Filmed across four seasons in the farming cycle, Look & See blends observational scenes of farming life, interviews with farmers and community members with evocative, carefully framed shots of the surrounding landscape. Thus, in the spirit of Berry’s agrarian philosophy, Henry County itself will emerge as a character in the film — a place and a landscape that is deeply interdependent with the people that inhabit it.
Directed By: Laura Dunn | Jef Sewel
Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 82 min
MPAA Rating: NA
Origin: USA
A film showing and panel in partnership with Plainsong Farm, Local First, and the UICA, this documentary delves into the life of Wendell Berry as well as the interdependence of land and community.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Fall Arts Celebration will transcend the traditional dance floor and fly into the sky when Aerial Dance Chicago (ADC) presents a new world of athleticism coupled with an elegant showcase of dancing in the air.
A pioneer and an international leader in aerial dance, ADC is dedicated to presenting original choreography and performance in the field. The ensemble launches itself into the creative possibilities found in a vertical realm.
During the company’s Fall Arts Celebration performance, ADC will incorporate a variety of apparatus, including suspended fabrics, bungee cords, hoops, swings and ropes.
When: November 6, at 7:30pm
Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
*Concert will be preceded by a carillon concert at 7:10pm featuring Julianne Vanden Wyngaard, university carilloneur, and followed by a reception.
The Michigan State Spartans will bring their energy — and a No. 2 ranking — to Grand Rapids this weekend. Photo from a 2016-17 game. (Courtesy MSU Athletic Communications)
Update Oct. 26, 5 p.m. Update.
MSU basketball charity exhibition receives overwhelming response. No tickets currently available for Sunday’s contest against Georgia
Sunday’s men’s college basketball exhibition between Michigan State University and University of Georgia at the Van Andel Arena in support of disaster relief efforts has proven to be an extremely high demand event. Tickets went on sale Wednesday afternoon, and the response was immediately overwhelming. There are no tickets currently available for the game, but there will be a very limited number of holds released this week.
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
The preseason No. 2-ranked Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball team — including a freshman big man Xavier Tillman, who played high school ball on local courts — will be coming to Grand Rapids this Sunday to play the Georgia Bulldogs in a special disaster-relief fundraising exhibition contest.
The charity exhibition game will take place Sunday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m., at the Van Andel Arena. Its goal is to help to raise awareness and financial support for hurricane relief efforts, specifically those in Georgia and in the Bahamas — the home of Spartans senior guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr.
Ticket sales, which begin today, Wednesday, Oct. 25, will benefit American Red Cross (International Services) and American Red Cross (Georgia Region).
To bring the game to town, the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority and SMG, which manages the Van Andel Arena and the DeVos Place and Performance Hall partnered with the Michigan State University Athletic Department and the University of Georgia Bulldogs.
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo. (Courtesy MSU Athletic Communications)
“This is a great opportunity for our programs to help make an impact with the relief and rebuilding efforts in areas that were affected by this summer’s hurricanes,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said in supplied material. “We look forward to playing back in Grand Rapids where we have a strong fan base.
“They’ll see us play a very good Georgia team that is very well coached and features a great player in Yante Maten, who’s returning to his home state. Combining a competitive basketball game with a worthy cause makes for an outstanding event.”
Georgia’s Maten was selected as the Southeastern Conference Co-Player of the Year last season. A native of Bloomfield, Mi., he averaged 18.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last year. The Bulldogs received votes in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll after posting a 19-15 record last season and playing in the National Invitation Tournament.
“This is a unique opportunity allowed this year by the NCAA to help with disaster relief,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said in supplied material. “Adding a road game in short notice seemed more difficult than needed. But this is an opportunity to help the people of the state of Georgia. Hurricane Irma had a significant impact on the DawgNation.”
While the contest will be an exhibition game, a non-counter for the team’s official record, both teams are preparing in earnest for the season to begin and should be a very competitive game. And not only will it match up to of the best players in the country in MSU’s Nairn Jr. and Georgia’s Maten, it will also mark the return home for Tillman.
Tillman, a 6-foot-8 and 260-pound forward, played high school ball at Grand Rapids Christian.
And while Tillman is expected to have an impact on the Spartan program as early as this year, he said he is still in the learning mode when it comes to the next level of basketball and Coach Izzo.
Xavier Tillman, a freshman Spartan who played high school ball in Grand Rapids last year. (Courtesy MSU Athletic Communications)
“It’s crazy … This intensity is different because it’s not like Grand Rapids Christian,” Tillman said in supplied information. “Coach Izzo is looking at me in my face like, ‘You gotta show up, you gotta play.’ So it’s more personal and I think that would be the biggest difference between how my high school used to be and now.”
Tillman was named to the 2017 Detroit News and Detroit Free Press Dream Team and the AP Class A All-State team after averaging 13.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.2 blocks as a senior, shooting 68 percent from the field. He led Grand Rapids Christian to a 27-1 record and an appearance in the Class A state title game.
Ticket prices start at $17.50 and are available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com, and charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Prices are subject to change.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Enrich your life with these free performances in November at Grand Valley State University!
High School Vocal Day Concert
When: November 3, at 2 pm
Where: Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus
Now in its 7th year, High School Vocal Day at Grand Valley State University welcomes more than 100 high school students from around Michigan to a day of learning and performing alongside Grand Valley music faculty and students, as well as nationally known guest instructors. This concert will be the capstone performance for High School Vocal Day at Grand Valley. This busy day of workshops and seminars will conclude with a performance by Grand Valley student soloists and a choir consisting of both Vocal Day participants and Grand Valley students. This concert is free and open to the public.
GVSU Faculty-Artist Recital: Sookkyung Cho, piano
When: November 7, at 7:30 pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
This free concert will highlight the musical prowess of Sookkyung Cho, assistant professor of piano at Grand Valley State University. This concert is open to the public. Before Grand Valley, Cho served on the piano faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Continuing Education in Boston. She was also adjunct faculty in theory at Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and served as a Teaching Fellow in the piano minor and music theory departments at The Juilliard School.
Cho has performed throughout North America, Europe, and her native country, Korea, in prestigious venues, including the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall in New York, Chicago Cultural Center, Sarasota Opera House, Beaux concerts de la releve in Quebec, Château de Fontainebleau in France and Zijingang Theater at Zhejiang University in China, among others. She received a bachelor’s of music and doctorate of musical arts degrees from The Juilliard School, and her master’s from Johns Hopkins University.
GVSU presents Amosa Duo
When: November 8, at 7:30 pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Join the Amosa Duo at Grand Valley State University as they present works for clarinet and piano by Schubert, Schumann, Lindberg, and Weinberg. Comprising Gary June on clarinet and Chia-Ying Chan on piano, the Amosa Duo is devoted to bringing the best of the clarinet and piano repertoires to the concert stage, including both well-known masterpieces and contemporary gems. This concert is free and open to the public.
GVSU Laker Marching Band presents Bandorama
When: November 12, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Kelly Family Sports Center, Allendale Campus
Join the 220-member Laker Marching Band at Grand Valley State University as they perform a sampling of their 2017 football season halftime shows. This performance will feature song selections ranging in genre from jazz and top 40 to “music from across the pond.” This concert is free and open to the public.
GVSU Saxophone Studio Recital
When: November 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall (room 1325), Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
During this free concert, Grand Valley State University’s Saxophone Studio will perform solo and quartet performances. The Saxophone Studio consists of multiple student ensembles, including the Yavin IV Quartet, GQ Quartet and Jubilee Quartet.
For more information about Music, Theatre and Dance Department events, contact 616. 331.3484 or visit gvsu.edu/mtd.
The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) is pleased to announce its fall exhibitions opening October 28, Andy Warhol’s American Icons and Christian Marclay: Video Quartet. American Icons will be on view at the Museum through February 11, 2018, and Video Quartet will be open through January 14, 2018.
Organized by the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Andy Warhol’s American Icons showcases Warhol’s vision and celebration of America by bringing together paintings, prints, photographs, and films that create a handbook of American cultural icons.
“Andy Warhol makes a dramatic return to the Grand Rapids Art Museum this fall,” commented GRAM’s Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen. “One of the Museum’s first exhibitions in its new building was Rapid Exposure: Warhol in Series in Spring 2008. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our tenth anniversary at 101 Monroe Center than by bringing back key works by this quintessential contemporary artist.”
American Icons spotlights iconic figures like Marilyn Monroe, Sitting Bull, Muhammad Ali, Liz Taylor, and one of the most famous Grand Rapidians, Gerald R. Ford. Products and symbols can be icons as well; the exhibition includes Warhol’s well-known Campbells soup can screenprints and an important early painting on loan from the Whitney Museum of American art, Green Coca-Cola Bottles (1962), among other symbols of America. American Icons draws on artworks from GRAM’s collection, as well as works from private collections and other public art institutions throughout the country, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.
“It’s exciting for GRAM to be organizing an exhibition of Andy Warhol’s work around a theme that occupied the artist for his entire career: what products and symbols define and represent the US? Which Americans are the most iconic?” said GRAM’s Chief Curator, Ron Platt. “Thirty years after his death, Warhol is still influential and seems ahead of his time. I would argue that Warhol himself is as much an American icon as any of those represented in the exhibition.”
Still from ‘Christian Marclay: Video Quartet’
Rounding out the exhibition are photographs and early films, from a period when Warhol was experimenting with the mediums. Empire, an eight-hour long “portrait” of the famed Empire State Building as filmed from a static position in an adjacent building, will be on view, along with several of the artist’s Screen Tests. The Screen Tests are 3-minute filmed portraits of Warhol Factory regulars and visitors, in which the subjects stared back at or enjoyed the attention of the stationary camera, constructing their own personas before our eyes.
Christian Marclay: Video Quartet—a seventeen-minute film installation on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art—is opening in conjunction with Andy Warhol’sAmerican Icons. The exhibition consists of four synchronized video projections that form one contiguous image-and-sound work. The installation is comprised of more than 700 individual fragments of film and sound from popular movies which feature people playing musical instruments or singing, as well as other soundtrack elements such as shouts, screams, crashes, and moments of cinematic silence.
“Swiss-American artist Christian Marclay has sampled, improvised, and remixed sound, video, and performance into multi-media works that defy categorization,” added GRAM’s Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen. “Video Quartet is an immersive installation experiencethat’s sure to captivate film and music fans alike.”
The clips included in Video Quartet are primarily taken from Hollywood feature films dating from the 1920s to the early twenty-first century. Marclay meticulously edited the clips on a home computer into a new unified composition in which the performers seem to improvise together free of their original context, creating moments of synchrony or seeming to spontaneously respond to each other as if performing live.
Complementing Andy Warhol’s American Icons and Christian Marclay: Video Quartet, GRAM members and the public can enjoy several events and related programming, including the Member Exhibition Party, Warhol Factory Party, Drop-in Tours, and lectures.
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
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.
November 1–Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra
Members of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra will return to Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus for their annual Arts at Noon performance.
“As the premiere arts organization in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Symphony provides amazing cultural and educational benefits to the region,” said Henry Duitman, Arts at Noon coordinator and GVSU Symphony Orchestra director. “Every year, the performance by the Grand Rapids Symphony during the Arts at Noon series brings the warmth of exquisitely played string and woodwind instruments to the audience in the Cook-DeWitt Center. This is always the most eagerly-anticipated performance of the semester.”
Akropolis (photo supplied)
November 15–Akropolis Reed Quintet
The Akropolis Reed Quintet takes listeners on musical adventures by performing an innovative repertoire with acclaimed precision. The quintet was founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and became the first reed quintet to win the Fischoff Gold Medal in 2014. Championing the next generation of musicians, Akropolis delivers impactful outreach programs at schools ranging from kindergarten to conservatory.
The ensemble has released two studio albums to critical acclaim and commissioned more than 25 reed quintet works to date. Their dynamic concerts feature accessible contemporary works framed by invigorating arrangements of classical music spanning four centuries.
Nicholas Photinos (photo supplied)
November 29–Cellist Nick Photinos
Cellist Nicholas Photinos is a former and founding member of the four-time Grammy Award-winning new music ensemble, eighth blackbird. During his Arts at Noon performance at Grand Valley State University, Photinos will perform works from Petits Artéfacts, his debut recording on New Amsterdam Records. Formed in 1996, eighth blackbird performs throughout the world, with approximately 50 concerts annually, and has been featured on the 2013 Grammy Awards, CBS Sunday Morning and in The New York Times.
The group’s mission extends beyond performance to curation and education. The ensemble served as Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival (2009), enjoyed a three-year residency at the Curtis Institute of Music, and holds ongoing Ensemble-in-Residence positions at the University of Richmond and the University of Chicago. Photinos teaches at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival every July. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Join Grand Rapids Story Spinners and BNC for an afternoon of scary stories. Turn off your devices for a couple hours and listen to some Halloween tales. Audience will be divided based on suspense levels.
Where: Blandford Nature Center Visitor’s Center, 1715 Hillburn Ave NW,
Date: 2-3:30 pm, Saturday October 28, 2017
Cost: This program is $5 for members and non-members. $10 for families .
East Kentwood High School will host its annual marching band competition this weekend. (Photo by Jim Swoboda)
By Kelly Arganbright
Kentwood Band and Orchestra Boosters
The competition will be intense down on the football field, with a stadium full of cheering fans, at East Kentwood High School Saturday, Oct. 21. Uniformed players will be suited up in their school colors, every movement planned, with the sole focus of trying for the best performance of the season. It’ll be a lot like the games you see in every stadium across America, except for one thing, there will be no football.
In fact, this is no game at all. This event is the East Kentwood High School Falcon Marching Band Invitational, a marching band competition, and it’s happening from 2:30-10 p.m.
It is a musical extravaganza and one of the biggest marching band shows in West Michigan, with 20 high school bands from around West Michigan slated to compete for top honors.
People who have never been to a marching band competition, can liken the experience to watching twenty, football game, halftime shows. Bands are classified according to school size and compete in their respective classes. Each band’s performance has its own chosen theme with related music that they perform with synchronized, choreographed movements. This is no small task, when you consider some of these bands are in excess of 200 members. That’s a lot of moving parts and instruments! The result is a performance that is impressive to hear and watch.
And, the view should be spectacular. East Kentwood boasts the highest vantage point of any high school stadium in West Michigan. A very important detail, considering when it comes to marching bands, the higher a person is in the stadium, the better the view of the performance they will have.
People should plan to come out and spend the day. There will be a plenty of food and drinks available at the concession stand, so spectators will not have to miss a single performance.
Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors and age 5 and under are free. All proceeds benefit the EKHS instrumental music programs.
Here is the performance line up:
Class D
2:30 PM Brandywine High School
2:45 PM Bridgman High School
3:00 PM Pewamo-Westphalia High School
3:15 PM Gobles High School
3:30 PM Break
Class C
3:45 PM Freemont High School
4:00 PM Oakridge High School
4:15 PM Parchment High School
4:30 PM Whitehall High School
4:45 PM Dowagiac High School
5:00 PM Lakewood High School
5:15 PM Break
Class B
5:45 PM Kenowa Hills High School
6:00 PM Ionia High School
6:15 PM Charlotte High School
6:30 PM Vicksburg High School
6:45 PM Spring Lake High School
7:00 PM Break
Class A
7:30 PM Wyoming High School
7:45 PM Kalamazoo Central High School
8:00 PM Olivet High School A
8:15 PM Portage Central High School
Exhibition
8:30 PM East Kentwood High School
9:00 PM Awards Ceremony
(Photos attached to file. Photo credit to Jim Swoboda.)
Mel Trotter Ministries partnering with Celebration! Cinema, will host red carpet event to raise awareness, support for rescue mission
Based on the New York Times bestselling book, Paramount Pictures and Pure Flix Entertainment will release the blockbuster film Same Kind of Different as Me in theatres nationwide on October 20, 2017. In addition, Mel Trotter Ministries (MTM) is hosting a Grand Rapids exclusive, pre-release red carpet charity event at Celebration! Cinema on October 18, 2017, in order to raise awareness and support for the rescue mission.
Same Kind of Different as Me (PG-13) is the true story of international art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear), who befriends a dangerous homeless man (Djimon Hounsou) in hopes of saving his struggling marriage to Debbie (Renée Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives. Jon Voight plays Hall’s father, with whom he reconciles thanks to the revelations of his new life.
With much of the story taking place at a rescue mission, MTM has joined rescue missions across the country by hosting the pre-release red carpet event. These events were created to help organizations break down the misconceptions of homelessness and increase support. The ultimate goal of these events, as inspired by the powerful messages found in the film, is to inspire people in Grand Rapids to build relationships with people who are not like them.
Event: Same Kind of Different as Me: Grand Rapids Movie Premiere
By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
