10/23/2009

Piano concert to be given at Brown Grand

CONCORDIA -- A piano concert will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Brown Grand Theatre to debut the theater's newly refurbished piano. A reception will follow the concert.

Randy Halfhide, a local piano tuner who had worked on the piano for several years, will perform. Halfhide plays entirely by ear. Lee Halfhide and his children, also known as the band Emanation, will perform before the show and during intermission.

Work on the piano included fixing the soundboard, replacing the strings and pegs, and refinishing the exterior.

Admission is by donation to the piano project

Flamenco guitar concert in McPherson

McPHERSON -- Ronald Radford, of St. Louis, will give a Flamenco guitar concert at 3 p.m. Nov. 1 in Mingenback Theatre at McPherson College.

Radford is one of only about a half-dozen concert Flamenco guitarists touring today and the only North American. He has studied under Carlos Montoya and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship, which allowed him to study in Spain.

Tickets are available at the theater the day of the event.

For information, call (620) 241-6131.

Baritone to sing song from Broadway

RUSSELL -- West Indian baritone Phillip Mentor will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Ruppenthal Middle School Auditorium.

Mentor's concert will include songs from Broadway's favorite musicals including selections from "Carousel," "West Side Story," "South Pacific" and "My Fair Lady." He will be accompanied by Alex Underwood.

Born in Belmont, Port of Spain, on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, Mentor is a trained opera singer. He has performed in musical plays and theaters and as a concert vocalist with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and the Caribbean.

Tickets cost $10 each.

To hear a sample of Mentor's music, visit www.phillipmentor.com.

art

Students, artists to create exhibit

"The Continuous Line: Off the Wall" exhibit will be on display Nov. 6 to 24 in The Gallery at Sams Hall of Fine Arts on the campus of Kansas Wesleyan University.

A number of area high school students will join local artists and students and faculty from the Wesleyan Art Department for the creation of the installation exhibit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 6. During the event, high school students will learn about the creative process of installation art by transforming common materials into an interactive environmental sculpture.

Lori Wright, assistant professor of art, explained that "Off the Wall" refers to the group's exploration of hanging the work in the middle of The Gallery, away from the walls.

High school students are encouraged to RSVP for the event by contacting Brad Anderson, art department chair, at 827-5541, ext. 5164, or via e-mail at brad.ander son@kwu.edu or by contacting Wright at 827-5541, ext. 5166, or via e-mail at lori.wright@kwu.edu. There is no registration fee for participating in the installation event. For more information, contact Anderson or Wright, or go to www.kwu.edu and click on the graphic link to "The Continuous Line: Off the Wall" flier.

A Gallery Talk with some of the installation participants will be at noon Nov. 10. There is no charge for the talk and the public is encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch. A dessert and drink will be provided.

The Gallery is open to the public at no charge from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and on weekends by appointment.

McPherson artist to be at Red Barn

LINDSBORG -- McPherson artist Julie Baldwin will be Red Barn Studio's artist-in-residence from Monday to Oct. 31.

Baldwin received her Bachelor of Arts in art from San Diego State University and her Bachelor of Science in art education from McPherson College. The artist is a member of the Visual Arts Alliance of McPherson and has her work shown in its gallery at the McPherson Opera House. She also is a member of the Hutchinson Art Center with her work at Blue Gallery.

While at Red Barn Studio, Baldwin will focus on the human figure as she endeavors to portray the human form in motion. She will be using models and various media, such as watercolor, ink, charcoal and lino block.

Red Barn Studio is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.

Visiting artist exhibits at Bethany

LINDSBORG -- Work by Dylan Beck, assistant professor of art at Kansas State University, is on display until Nov. 4 at Mingenback Art Center Gallery. There will be a closing reception from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4.

The exhibition features computer-generated graphics the artist uses to explore the effects of unmanaged growth on society.

Beck earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2005 from Ohio University and his Master of Fine Arts in 2008 from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. He was awarded a Post Baccalaureate Fellowship in 2006 at Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., and has been featured in exhibitions across the country during the past five years.

His formal education has been focused on ceramics, so Beck's current exhibition is a divergence from this specialty. The artist explains his inspirations for the work range "from concepts of land use and automobile-centered planning to the psychological effects of living in the 'nonplaces' of a hyper-modern world." Beck describes his representation of these ideas as situated "between criticism and veneration."

The gallery, at the corner of Olsson and Second streets, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

etc

'Judge and the General' to be shown

The Salina Art Center will present "The Judge and the General," at the Art Center Cinema, 150 S. Santa Fe, at 5 and 7 p.m. Thursday. Conversation with film director Elizabeth Farnsworth will follow both screenings.

In the film, veteran journalists Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco examine the unusual case of Judge Juan Guzmðn who struck a blow for human rights in Chile.

In 1998, Guzmðn was assigned the first criminal cases against the Chile's ex-dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Guzmðn had supported Pinochet's 1973 coup that left the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, and thousands of others dead or "disappeared." The filmmakers trace the judge's descent into what he calls "the abyss," where he uncovers the past, including his own role in the tragedy.

Farnsworth was chief correspondent and principal substitute anchor on PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" from 1995-2000. She then became a senior correspondent, reporting mostly from overseas. She now freelances for "The NewsHour" and makes documentaries.

Lanfranco, a Chilean citizen living in Santiago, has been a researcher and producer for two decades. As senior producer of the news department of Chilean National TV (TVN), he produced the live television coverage of the 1995 trial of Manuel Contreras, former chief of Pinochet's secret police. He has produced reports for the BBC and assisted in the production of many stories for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." He also has coordinated and produced for the Australian Broadcasting Company's flagship Foreign Correspondent program.

Tickets to the film cost $7 ($6 for Salina Art Center members) and may be purchased at the door. For more information, visit www.sali naartcenter.org or call the art center at 827-1431.