State of the Arts

State of the Arts: December 16, 2011 Archive

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SPCO launches new projects, hires ex-Southern staffer

Posted at 11:31 AM on December 16, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Funding, Music

The New York-based Augustine Foundation has given an undisclosed amount of money to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to plan new projects and collaborations in the 2012-13 season.

In conjunction with the grant, the SPCO has hired Minneapolis-based music curator Kate Nordstrum, perhaps best known for her work bringing high profile artists to the Southern Theater. Under her curatorial leadership, the Southern quickly became a go-to venue for such new music performers and composers as Nico Muhly and Gabriel Kahane.

The SPCO is looking to develop new projects for its 250-seat Music Room in the Hamm Building in downtown Saint Paul. While the Orchestra rehearses in the Hamm Building during the work week, and performs its chamber music and contemporary concerts there, the large majority of SPCO weekend performances take place at the Ordway Center or in one of the Orchestra's neighborhood venues.

With Nordstrum's help, the SPCO hopes to transform the Music Room into a casual performance setting that introduces contemporary classical musicians and composers to local audiences.

While an inquiry was made into the size of the grant, SPCO staff said it was not able to release the specifics.

Which Nutcracker will you choose?

Posted at 11:11 AM on December 16, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Dance

madamebomboniere2.jpg
Loyce Houlton's "Madame Bonbonniere"

It's that time of year when visions of sugar plums dance in our head, and sugar plum fairies dance on local stages. Productions of the Nutcracker abound, and there's a little something
for just about everybody. Which one will you choose?

1. Ballet Minnesota presents the classic Nutcracker at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium tonight through Sunday.

2. The Nutcracker According to Mother Goose - by Zenon Dance Company, on stage at the Cowles Center this Saturday and Sunday. As the title implies, this one's a bit of a mash-up with other familiar children's stories.

3. Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy, also at the Cowles Center, Dec 23 - 31 - featuring the "hilarious antics" of Madame Bonbonniere.

4. Ballet of the Dolls presents its new adult take on the classic with "Nutcracker: The Lost Act." Dance critic Linda Shapiro describes it as "a crafty mix of slick nightclub acts, sleazy cabaret, and surreal Fellini-esque shenanigans." Performances run through Dec 31.

(1 Comments)

Harriet Island home to new music festival

Posted at 5:17 PM on December 16, 2011 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music


Editor's note: this report comes from MPR's Chris Roberts:

The City of St. Paul has landed what's being described as a 'national destination' music festival. St. Paul's Harriet Island will be the site of the as yet unnamed event this summer. The global promotions company "Live Nation" is partnering with the city of St. Paul to produce the weekend festival, slated for June 23rd and 24th. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says the city hopes to attract as many as 40-thousand people to the festival.

We haven't gotten a headliner yet but it's gonna be a first class music festival. It could be some rock, it could be some country, it could be a combination of things but Live Nation has an incredible reputation for being among the best in the industry, great producers, and I'm sure it's going to be an incredible event.
Coleman says the upcoming festival will have multiple stages and a local music component.
At least as we stand right now there'll be a couple stages, so we think that there'll be opportunities for local music to be part of it and we hope that that actually will be a critical piece of it.

This year St. Paul went without a summer festival for the first time in nearly three decades after it dropped the financially struggling "Taste of Minnesota" in 2010. It will add to an already busy summer of live outdoor music events, including "Rock the Garden," the "Basilica Block Party," and an outdoor festival at Parade Athletic Fields in Minneapolis, organized by the nightclub First Avenue.


(1 Comments)
December 2011
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