Recently the Akron Civic Theatre, a Knight Arts grantee, started up a jazz series, partly no doubt in response to a sizable jazz audience with not many places to go for the music, but certainly as part of its effort to have local performers on its stage. Two more groups are scheduled to appear in […]
Article · February 21, 2014 by Roger Durbin
Jeannette Sorrell, director of Apollo’s Fire, a Knight Arts grantee, just keeps getting more creative as she goes along. Known and renowned for their work in baroque period classical, sacred, and lay music, Apollo’s Fire has been known to take a few steps out of that era and combine it with the numinous stuff of […]
Article · February 19, 2014 by Roger Durbin
The Dance Theatre of Harlem has relaunched itself, and a stellar orbit is in the making. Begun 44 years ago through the efforts of Arthur Mitchell, principal dancer for New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, with the idea of invigorating the Harlem neighborhood with the best of classical dance, the new organization is reaching […]
Article · February 14, 2014 by Roger Durbin
Want some seriously good drama? Go to the Balch Street Theatre and see New World Performance Lab‘s offerings of two one person shows: “I Dreamed of Rats” and an adaptation of the classic tale of “Medea.” You won’t be disappointed, for the two actors holding forth on the intimate stage setting — Terence Cranendonk and Debora […]
Article · February 12, 2014 by Roger Durbin
It isn’t always the large-scale art openings that make you stand up and take notice. At times it is the smaller, intimate ones that can take the breath away, and that is the case with the current exhibit at the Akron Art Museum, a Knight Arts grantee, called “Invitation to Stare: Photographic Portraits.” Curator for […]
Article · February 7, 2014 by Roger Durbin
David Mamet’s play “Race” (currently running at Weathervane Playhouse, a Knight Arts grantee), is fraught with tension. That’s apparent before the story begins, for, while sitting waiting for the lights to come up, there is a clock ticking away – sometimes slowly and rhythmically, sometimes moving at presto staccato. You get the idea that it […]
Article · February 5, 2014 by Roger Durbin
One of the four 2014 Joyce Awards will go to Camille A. Brown, a clarinetist turned award-winning choreographer and New York-based dance maker, and DANCECleveland, a Knight Arts grantee. That’s nothing to pooh pooh. The award is given annually, DANCECleveland officials say, by the Joyce Foundation in Chicago to recognize artists of color who collaborate with non-profit institutions, […]
Article · January 31, 2014 by Roger Durbin
As Guy Bordo, music director for Akron Baroque, put it during a telephone interview, “You don’t expect to hear something new at a Bach concert.” Hold on, though, because that’s exactly what’s going to happen when the group performs in the 5@5 music series held at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Westminster Presbyterian Church. Photo from […]
Article · January 29, 2014 by Roger Durbin
Several weeks ago over coffee, Robert (Bobby) Wesner, artistic director of Neos Dance Theatre, a Knight Arts grantee, talked about collaborative projects that would be coming in the spring. The time seems to be arriving, for Neos plans to expand its repertoire by working with some well-known contemporary choreographers to bring some brand new dance […]
Article · January 24, 2014 by Roger Durbin
Although Summit Artspace, a Knight Arts grantee, has been mounting exhibits of the works of area artists for more than 10 years now, it really seems like just yesterday when the first display was up on the building’s first floor. The building had recently opened, temporary standing walls were used for the works (if memory […]
Article · January 22, 2014 by Roger Durbin
If you took in the 2010 Joshua Bell concert for Tuesday Musical, a Knight Arts grantee, then you also were probably aware of the accompanist he had for the evening – Jeremy Denk. It will be Denk’s turn when he will perform a piano solo concert on February 4. According to TM officials, Denk has […]
Article · January 17, 2014 by Roger Durbin