DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 8 * * All Arts News On the Web * * May 13, 2004

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at ChowBella in St Albans 8-10 p.m. most Wednesday evenings, at the Kept Writer in St Albans mostly once each month, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.


SURFING THE ART ON THE WALLS

      The Annual Franklin Northeast Supervisory District tidal wave of Student Art began Tuesday, in the Emerging Talents Series at the Opera House at Enosburg Falls. Themed "Surf the Wind on a Kite of Creativity," the exhibit runs through May 15.
      "It is the entire FNESU District," organizer Pam Voss said. The district is made up of seven schools: Berkshire, Bakersfield, Enosburg Elementary and High School, and Richford Elementary and High School.
      "We have between 400 and 500 pieces of artwork," she said. They borrow All Arts Council and Montgomery Historical Society easels, use vertical displays they have purchased over the years, use the stage, white table cloths and more. "It looks really nice."
      This is an opportunity for the community to see fledgling artists exhibited at their best. Organizers look for more visitors each year. "That's gaining," Ms. Voss said. "Every year we have more. And the kids are excited about seeing their work and everyone else's."
      The Emerging Talents Series presents talented young people drawn from all parts of Vermont in a variety of performance and fine arts events; the series demonstrates the Opera House commitment to encourage and support young artist as they develop an understanding and love of the arts.
      The District Art Exhibit runs daily through Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. plus tomorrow evening, 5-8 p.m., in the Opera House. The awards reception will be held Saturday morning from 9 a.m.-noon. Admission is free.


COUNTERPOINT

      Counterpoint presents Counterpoint in the Merry Month of May, a three-part concert of Spring around Vermont this weekend. The local performance is in the McCarthy Recital Hall at St. Michaels College this Sunday afternoon.
      They will premiere Solfege a la Francaise, a piece written for Counterpoint by Montpelier, Vermont, composer Louis Moyse.
      "It starts with a wonderful piece based on solfegging and goes on to a Sarabande, Minuet & Gigue," soprano Claire Hungerford said. "It is truly a wonderfully clever piece!" Solfeg (or solfeggio) refers to the syllable names applied to a scale used to train singers (as we all learned in the Sound of Music: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do).
      The program begins with two pieces by Hassler, Im Kulen Mayen and Ihr Musici frisch auf, followed by Spring Song from The Lark by Leonard Bernstein and the Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten.
      The second part will include two other pieces based on Solfeg, Sol fa de Pedro by Manuel de Sumaya and Solfegging by Morton Gould. Two works accompanied by classical guitar will complete the program. They will perform Romancero Gitano by Castlenuovo-Tedesco and will end with the bittersweet but jazzy Bye-bye Toots, written in 1998 by Alan Levi. "Mr. Levi is a good friend of [music director] Robert De Cormier," Ms. Hungerford said.
      The Counterpoint singers are Eric K. Brooks, Colleen Flynn Campbell, Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman, Louise De Cormier, Robert De Cormier, Amy Frostman, Roger Grow, Claire Hungerford, David Horn, Nathaniel Lew, Brett Murphy, and Linda Radtke.
      Lyric soprano Claire Hungerford lives in St. Albans. She is a founder of Counterpoint and a member and soloist of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Green Mountain Singers, the De Cormier Singers and has performed and recorded with the Austrian Radio Choir in Vienna. Well known for her local recitals, including many for the All Arts Council, she has performed in Vienna and Munich, South Burlington and East Hampton, and in schools around the state to teach students singing and repertoire.
      "We will also be taking pre-orders for our new CD of Jewish music" Ms. Hungerford said. The album will be released The album will be released in the next few weeks on Albany records.
      May will be very merry with Counterpoint in the Unitarian Church in Montpelier on Friday at 8 p.m., in the Congregational Church of Manchester on Saturday at 8 p.m., and at St. Michaels College on Sunday at 4 p.m. Admission is $15/adults and $12/seniors and students; children under 6 are free. Tickets are available at the door.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

      Vermont Hand Crafters, the oldest and largest juried craft organization in Vermont, is dedicated to promotion and sale of handmade Vermont crafts and fine art. It supports its members with professional development scholarships, promotional opportunities, marketing assistance. The organization also provides public education on the value of Vermont crafts, offers scholarships to college-bound students pursuing arts-related fields and artisan grants to its members for continuing education.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2004 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved. Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained (if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine).
      Thanks to recent misuse of copyright material on the Internet by individuals and archival firms alike, we emphasize that your rights to this article are limited to viewing it and printing it for personal use only. You must receive explicit permission from the All Arts Council and the author before reprinting or redistributing this article in any medium.