Miami Light Project managing producer Rebekah Lengel checks in with an update on the 2010 Here & Now program...
21-year-old nonprofit, Miami Light Project launched the Here & Now commissioning program 11 years ago with the belief that investing in the artistic talents of Mimi-based performance and media artists would have great returns- not just on the individuals directly impacted in the artistic community, but on establishing Miami as a cultural destination of great talent, artistic excellence and diversity.
Continue reading 'Investing in Miami’s emerging artists'
This Sunday the Miami Art Museum opens Between Here and There, an exhibition of the museum’s permanent collection. Gearing up for the move to Museum Park, this marks the first ever long-term display of the MAM’s growing permanent collection, which should stay up with periodic changes well into the year 2013.
Continue reading 'BETWEEN HERE AND THERE at MAM'
J.S. Bach (1685-1750).
Peter Schickele once wrote that he'd be happy to give up some J.S. Bach cantatas for a few more Brandenburg concerti, even though he knew that was as close to heretical a statement as you could make.
Beginning Friday, you can have both, when the Firebird Chamber Orchestra begins its Brandenburg Concerto project, playing all six of these timeless works over a three-year period. This weekend's concerts also include one of the cantatas, as well as the best-known of the orchestral suites.
The program for the weekend has changed somewhat from earlier announcements. We'll hear Concerto No. 3 in G, notable for its brevity and catchiness, and No. 5 in D, singular because it really is a harpsichord concerto more than anything else (Olukola Owulabi, a Canadian-born professor at the University of Syracuse, will do the honors for the Firebird).
We'll also hear the Cantata No. 84, Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke (I am content with my fate), with soprano Kathryn Mueller as soloist. The concert is rounded out with the Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, which is famous for its Badinage final movement, a staple of the flute repertoire.
Continue reading 'Concert Will Explore Secular, Sacred Sides of Bach'
Earlier this month Friends With You, the internationally known Miami-based multidisciplinary art collaborative known for their toys and installations that serve to blur the line between fine arts and commerce, launched a new revamp of their www.friendswithyou.com website.
Continue reading 'New Friends With You Website'
In Miami, we hear so much about art revitalizing communities that the words get a little worn. But sometimes you have to leave home to appreciate what you have. Right now I'm in Syracuse, New York, where I'm burrowed under a comforter and wearing two scarves, while in an ostensibly heated house. The cold is the least of Syracuse's problems: this is a city I literally had to be paid to visit (I'm here on a grant to do some research in the Syracuse U. library). Locals at a cocktail party I attended Saturday night referred to their city as Toilet Town. Yet somehow Sunday morning, I found a pearl: Sugarpearl Cafe. Continue reading 'A Sugarpearl in Syracuse'
Friday night opens a new exhibition at the Carol Jazzar Gallery in Miami Shores. The show is titled between and features work by Miami-based artist Lynne Golob Gelfman.
Gelfman’s paintings for this show take on chain link fences for subject matter, with the artist endlessly layering the canvas with image after image of chain link patterns. The patterns begin to overlap and seemingly trail off from one another creating an eerie, ghost-like imagery. Strange perceptions of depth and spatial distortions begin to manifest themselves within the work creating kinetic visual effects within the viewer. Continue reading 'This Weekend….'
Challenge Documentary Debuts This Month on WPBT
MIAMI (Feb. 19, 2010) The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is now accepting applications for the Knight Arts Challenge, a community-wide contest that aims to bring South Florida together through the arts. Have a big idea for the local cultural scene? Submit it through March 15 at KnightArts.org.
Artists and art advocates interested in applying for the challenge’s third round also are invited to a town hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. March 9 at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, 260 NE 59th Ter. Miami Program Director Dennis Scholl, who leads the challenge, will answer questions.
“Dream big. We want your ideas to push the envelope and enrich this community culturally,” Scholl said.
Continue reading 'Knight Arts Challenge Opens Contest, Hosts Town Hall Meeting'
Wondering what’s new in the Miami music scene? Sweat Records founder Lolo Reskin checks in with an update…
Cuci Amador of Afrobeta in Calle 13's "Electro Movimiento" music video
Things are looking particularly sunny for Florida bands these days. A few years ago Jacksonville's Black Kids made it big with their upbeat indie pop sound that recalled The Cure at their most playful. Just before their atmospheric rise we had them play at our old "Circa Saturdays" party in November '07 for a price that is now all but a memory as they've gone on to tour the world and play all the biggest festivals.
Recently, West Palm Beach's Surfer Blood have started climbing the ranks. A string of CMJ (College Music Journal) shows brought them a lot of new fans and some major press in the New York Times. An 8.2 rating on the stingy-yet-influential Pitchfork website pushed them farther up the ladder and now they're on their way to tour Europe and their fantastic debut "Astro Coast" has completely sold out of its first run of CDs and LPs. We recently hosted Surfer Blood's homecoming show at our weekly Fridays at The Vagabond party and a great time was had by all (pics here).
Surfer Blood poster: daylight left, blacklight right
We also collaborated with FTL's IronForge Press and Miami's own aqua artists Morphologic to make a beautiful silk-screened art poster to commemorate the event - and yes you can pick one up at Sweat! So, J-ville...West Palm...it's now only a matter of time before the hype trickles all the way down to the MANY amazing bands here in South Florida. In fact, it's already happening. Here are just a few indications:
- ANR have a song featured in the trailer for the new Michael Cera film "Youth In Revolt"
- Cuci Amador of Afrobeta collaborated with Calle 13 for their massive hit "Electro Movimiento" - the album went on to win Best Album at the Latin Grammys and the video has been viewed nearly 3 million times on YouTube! Afrobeta will also be playing a headlining slot at March's Ultra Music Festival
- Rachel Goodrich's "Lightbulb" was featured in a national television commercial for Crayola's Glow Dome toy
- Members of ¡MAYDAY! can be seen rocking out as Lil Wayne's band in the video for his hit "On Fire" (video outtake here)
- Dancefloor composer extraordinaire Panic Bomber was featured in Trax, France's largest electronic music magazine
Not to mention people like Otto Von Schirach, Blowfly (the naughty alter-ego of Miami soul singer Clarence Reid) and others who, while not overtly famous here, still pack shows in Europe and all over the states. At Sweat we're also FAR outselling local releases over national titles and seeing an overall heightened interest in these bands from our backyard, as it should be.
Last year the NY Times ran the article In South Florida, a Tropical Bohemia in the Makings, which put a spotlight on a few of these artists and some local musical institutions. As Michael-John Hancock of ANR said in the article, "I have faith that eventually the international respect being paid to the art scene will carry over to the music scene.” Couldn't have said it better myself.
Nouvelle Vague takes my breath away
Dearest Rhythm Foundation,
I knew Tuesday night that I had to tell you: my life would be empty without the music you bring. I know, I know, you've brought Le Nouvelle Vague before, always on the cutting edge of cool. But sometimes it takes a while for us to appreciate what you have to offer. Sitting in the sold-out crowd at the Manuel Artime, I knew I was not the only one enraptured. Continue reading 'Love Letter to the Rhythm Foundation'
This Saturday at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium, the Eighth Annual Chopin Competition gets under way, as 21 young pianists vie for prizes and concert bookings before a jury of established figures in the world of classical music.
This is the Chopin bicentenary year (he was born March 1, 1810), which adds special import to the proceedings. The first three rounds -- preliminaries, quarter-finals and semi-finals -- can be seen for free from Sunday through Thursday at the Auditorium, and this can be a lot of fun if you want to try and spot the big talents of the future.
And this competition has seen major careers develop for pianists who have won its prizes: Gabriela Montero, Ian Hobson, Jeffrey Kahane and Kevin Kenner all have taken home some recognition from the competition. And the 2000 grand prize winner, Jon Nakamatsu, is soloing this afternoon at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, playing the Brahms First Concerto with Justus Frantz and the Philharmonia of the Nations.
Continue reading 'Olympics of the Piano Begins With Chopin Competition'
