The Atlanta Writers Club is having their November meeting on the 15th. Meetings include guest lecturers and workshops. Dr. David Bottoms, Poet Laureate of Georgia and mystery writer Dr. William Rawlings attended the October 18th meeting.
The AWC also holds critique groups in Decatur/Atlanta and surrounding areas.
General membership and critique group info: http://www.atlantawritersclub.org/
More about AWC events: http://www.atlantawritersclub.org/meetings.html
Q-Note Election Guide here
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Poet Joy Harjo/Master Catawba Potter Monty Branham Workshop and Reading in Columbia
Poet Joy Harjo and potter Monty Branham will head Buried Within the Mound on October 24th. The interdisciplinary event includes a reading by Harjo and a presentation by Branham.
Workshop: 2pm USC Sumwalt Building (room 231)
Presentation: Columbia Museum of Art, corner of Hampton and Main
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/events.htm
Workshop: 2pm USC Sumwalt Building (room 231)
Presentation: Columbia Museum of Art, corner of Hampton and Main
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/events.htm
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cellist Andrés Díaz Interview Below
By Tiffany Brand
The USC Symphony Orchestra will launch its second performance of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Kroger Center. The concert will feature Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz Overture, Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony No. 3 in A Minor and Franz Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D Major, a brilliant piece that allows cellists to show their acumen in a dazzling solo passage defined by high octaves.Cellist Andrés Díaz will accompany the orchestra. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, he launched his career by winning the Naumburg International Cello Competition in 1986. His talent has taken him throughout the world, and he has performed with such renowned orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops and Russia’s Saratov Symphony.
Díaz has made several recordings with the Díaz Trio as well several solo recordings. His 2004 recording Music of Martinu, Lutoslawski and Rachmaninoff won the Classical Recording Foundation Award in 2003, and was a tribute to pianist Samuel Sanders, with whom he collaborated for many years. Free Times caught up with Díaz via phone on Oct. 13 after a rehearsal at the Lincoln Center in New York City.
FT: What is your favorite city to perform in?
Andrés Díaz: My favorite city so far is Moscow. I like that classical music in Europe is like pop music here — it’s popular. You can’t find a place to stand at a classical concert in Russia. If there’s seating for 3,000, there are 5,000 people stuffed into the hall. People are practically hanging off chandeliers; it’s pretty exciting.
FT: What do you most like about playing Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major?
AD: It’s a spectacular work. Haydn had a great sense of humor, but he could be very serious as well. [I like] the long lines and the interplay between the cello and the orchestra is absolutely amazing.
FT: I see that you often performed with pianist Samuel Sanders as well as [with other pianists]. What draws you to work that feature cello/piano accompaniments?
AD: The piano and cello are very different instruments. As much as pianists hate me to say it, it’s a percussion instrument, a hammer hits the string. Then there’s the lyricism of sustained sound that the cello has, it’s an incredible blend of sounds. I love playing with the piano. Sam Sanders [who died in 1998] was a close friend of mine, we played 15 years together and had a great working relationship, did a lot of recordings.
FT: You play a great variety of works, from both classical and modern composers. Who is your favorite composer?
AD: Beethoven. I know I’m supposed to say Bach, but, if I was on an island and had to pick music to listen to for the rest of time, it would be Beethoven. He has a style that is like no one else, his mastery of instruments he wrote for and the rhythms he used. Beethoven used small amounts of information to create larger works: there are five Beethoven sonatas with three written variations to them. He could be strict, yet at times there is an incredible beauty and deepness [to his work].
FT: You were recently appointed head of the strings department at Southern Methodist University. What do you believe is the most important lesson that you can instill in your students about music, performance and art?
AD: To find a deep meaning and understanding of what music is, to interpret music, a language without words. At any point you can start a career and continue in it without getting any better. I want to instill in them the desire to work hard.
The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are available at the Carolina Coliseum box office, by phone at 251-2222 or online at capitoltickets.com. There will be a free pre-concert lecture at 6:45 pm with Maestro Neil Casey, assistant conductor for the symphony. Tickets will also be available in the Koger Center lobby starting at 6:30 p.m.
The article can also be found here
More about Díaz : http://www.andresdiaz.com/
Also: I'm in the process of turning 2006-7 and early 2008 articles into files that I can upload. Bear with me :)
The USC Symphony Orchestra will launch its second performance of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Kroger Center. The concert will feature Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz Overture, Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony No. 3 in A Minor and Franz Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D Major, a brilliant piece that allows cellists to show their acumen in a dazzling solo passage defined by high octaves.Cellist Andrés Díaz will accompany the orchestra. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, he launched his career by winning the Naumburg International Cello Competition in 1986. His talent has taken him throughout the world, and he has performed with such renowned orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops and Russia’s Saratov Symphony.
Díaz has made several recordings with the Díaz Trio as well several solo recordings. His 2004 recording Music of Martinu, Lutoslawski and Rachmaninoff won the Classical Recording Foundation Award in 2003, and was a tribute to pianist Samuel Sanders, with whom he collaborated for many years. Free Times caught up with Díaz via phone on Oct. 13 after a rehearsal at the Lincoln Center in New York City.
FT: What is your favorite city to perform in?
Andrés Díaz: My favorite city so far is Moscow. I like that classical music in Europe is like pop music here — it’s popular. You can’t find a place to stand at a classical concert in Russia. If there’s seating for 3,000, there are 5,000 people stuffed into the hall. People are practically hanging off chandeliers; it’s pretty exciting.
FT: What do you most like about playing Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major?
AD: It’s a spectacular work. Haydn had a great sense of humor, but he could be very serious as well. [I like] the long lines and the interplay between the cello and the orchestra is absolutely amazing.
FT: I see that you often performed with pianist Samuel Sanders as well as [with other pianists]. What draws you to work that feature cello/piano accompaniments?
AD: The piano and cello are very different instruments. As much as pianists hate me to say it, it’s a percussion instrument, a hammer hits the string. Then there’s the lyricism of sustained sound that the cello has, it’s an incredible blend of sounds. I love playing with the piano. Sam Sanders [who died in 1998] was a close friend of mine, we played 15 years together and had a great working relationship, did a lot of recordings.
FT: You play a great variety of works, from both classical and modern composers. Who is your favorite composer?
AD: Beethoven. I know I’m supposed to say Bach, but, if I was on an island and had to pick music to listen to for the rest of time, it would be Beethoven. He has a style that is like no one else, his mastery of instruments he wrote for and the rhythms he used. Beethoven used small amounts of information to create larger works: there are five Beethoven sonatas with three written variations to them. He could be strict, yet at times there is an incredible beauty and deepness [to his work].
FT: You were recently appointed head of the strings department at Southern Methodist University. What do you believe is the most important lesson that you can instill in your students about music, performance and art?
AD: To find a deep meaning and understanding of what music is, to interpret music, a language without words. At any point you can start a career and continue in it without getting any better. I want to instill in them the desire to work hard.
The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are available at the Carolina Coliseum box office, by phone at 251-2222 or online at capitoltickets.com. There will be a free pre-concert lecture at 6:45 pm with Maestro Neil Casey, assistant conductor for the symphony. Tickets will also be available in the Koger Center lobby starting at 6:30 p.m.
The article can also be found here
More about Díaz : http://www.andresdiaz.com/
Also: I'm in the process of turning 2006-7 and early 2008 articles into files that I can upload. Bear with me :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Fire and Transformation Article Uploaded
Katsumi, Natalie Askew and Dawn Hunter
My article on the Fire and Transformation exibit and writing workshops is posted below. It is also up on the Free Times website and can be found in the 9/24/08 -9/30/08 edition of the print version of the Free Times (Issue 21.39).
Arts Institute Looks East
Exhibit Draws on Japanese MythologyArts Institute Looks East
by : Tiffany Brand
According to Japanese mythology, 8 million deities reside in heaven and earth. Capricious, helpful, demonic or kind, they are often used as symbolic agents of transformation and change in Japanese lore. Fire and Transformation, an event sponsored by USC’s Arts Institute, draws from Japanese literature and art, creating a multifaceted event that explores symbolism and the creation of “personal mythologies” in art.
“It’s a convergence of themes, using two different art forms to create one,” says Charlene Spearen, program coordinator for the Arts Institute, in a news release.
Both USC and the Arts Institute are recurring partners with the Columbia Museum of Art, and the three-part event — an arts exhibit and workshops on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 — will be hosted there.
The unveiling of the exhibit is on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and includes a poetry reading, roundtable discussion and tours of both the **Dale Chihuly: Seaforms** and **Fire and Transformation** exhibits. Kimi Maeda, a visual design graduate from USC and puppeteer for the Columbia Marionette theatre, will lead the discussion.
Spearen, who is also poet-in-residence at the museum, says the Chihuly glassworks exhibit and **Transformation** complement each other. She says several of the artists included in **Transformation** are interested in symbolic representations of the female form.
“Chihuly works with concave, convex spaces, much like a female body,” said Dawn Hunter, professor of art at USC. “The artists felt like his work was a natural point of departure.”
The works are tied together by their use of symbolism and the influence of Japanese myth. For Friday’s event, studio art major Natalie Askew and Hunter collaborated on three drawings with poets Spearen and Julia Kotes. A chapbook consisting of 10 collaborative pieces and 16 individual poems incorporating several Japanese and Western styles of poetry will be available for purchase and signing after the final reading.
“The interconnectedness of form, metaphor and symbolism drives the work,” says Hunter, co-coordinator of the event. “Instead of just an art exhibit, we’re celebrating all [the] work and inspiration that led to the creation of the exhibit.” In keeping with this theme, sketches of each drawing in the exhibit, from creation to completion, are incorporated into the chapbook as well.
“I’ve been interested in Japan since I can remember,” says Askew, whose idea led to the creation of **Fire and Transformation**. “As I got older, my interest in Japan grew. The symbolism, color and style influenced my own work.”
Hunter became involved in the project after Askew approached her about pursuing an independent project. In order to better understand the influences behind Askew’s work, Hunter started researching Japanese mythology. One work that stood out to her, **Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural** by Stephen Addiss, wove text and illustration together to illuminate the various tales.
Hunter felt it was an ideal project to present to the public and sent Askew’s work to Spearen.
“We definitely look for projects that can serve as outreach projects for the community,” Spearen says. “Young students need spaces for dialogue.”
In addition to the Sept. 26 event, there will be a workshop for teens focusing on creative writing, watercolor and collage on Sept. 27 and a two-part poetry and collage workshop for adults begining the afternoon of the Sept. 27 and ending Oct. 4. Hunter and Spearen, who is also the assistant director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, will lead the workshops.
Fri, Sept. 26
**Fire and Transformation: Two Artists, Two Poets**
Exhibit unveiling, guided tour, roundtable discussion. Columbia Museum of Art, corner of Hampton and Main. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Sat, Sept. 27
Youth Workshop
Creative writing, watercolor, collage. Columbia Museum of Art, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Adult Collage and Poetry Workshop
Part I: Emerging Symbols. Columbia Museum of Art, 1:30-3 p.m.
Sat, Oct. 4
Part Adult Collage and Poetry Workshop
Part II: Stepping Out, Columbia Museum of Art, 10:30 a.m. to noon.
**Workshops are free but require advance registration. Visit artsinstitute.sc.edu for more information.**
Online article:http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=11001804073474158&ShowArticle_ID=11012409083989352
Friday, September 19, 2008
2008 Poets Summit - South Carolina Poetry Initiative
The South Carolina Poetry Initiative is hosting its 2008 PoetsSummit at the Columbia Museum of Art (details below). The organization, based at the University of South Carolina, works with artists across the state. The event includes a workshop with Naomi Shihab Nye, open mic and tour of the Dale Chihuly "Sea Forms" exhibit.
2008 Poets Summit: Servicing South Carolina Poets
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Columbia Museum of Art
Corner of Hampton & Main
More about the Summit:
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/events.htm
More about Naomi Shihab Nye:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/174
2008 Poets Summit: Servicing South Carolina Poets
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Columbia Museum of Art
Corner of Hampton & Main
More about the Summit:
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/events.htm
More about Naomi Shihab Nye:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/174
Saturday, August 9, 2008
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