All Entries in the "Arts Briefs" Category

Arboretum displays PCC artwork

Artwork by Pima Community College students will be on display in an Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition from April 25 until Sept. 2.

This year only, the exhibit will be in the Student Visual Arts Gallery located on the second floor of the West Campus Santa Rita building. The gallery is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

A reception and awards ceremony will be held April 27 from noon to 3 p.m., with awards presented at 1 p.m.

The exhibit is considered an important event for emerging artists in southern Arizona because it gives PCC students an opportunity to have their artwork professionally displayed and viewed by the public.

Jurors are Tohono Chul Park curator Vicki Donkersley, artist Nancy Tokar Miller and photographer William Lesch.

Exhibit sponsors include Arizona Designer Craftsmen, Arizona Lithographers, Arizona Picture and Frame Gallery, Athens on 4th, The B Line, Bookmans, Café Poca Cosa, Davis Dominguez Gallery, Delectables, Etherton Gallery, Lewis Framing Studio, Marjon Ceramics, McGuire’s Jewelers, Philabaum Glass Studio & Gallery, Photographic Works, Posner’s Art Store, Purls, Sarnoff Art and Writing Materials, Tucson Museum of Art and Woodcraft.

For more information, call Gallery Director David Andres at 206-6942 or e-mail centerforthearts@pima.edu.

Artwork by students in Pima Community College’s printmaking class will be on display at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum Visitor Center Gallery through April 30.

The “Prints of Flora and Fauna of the Southwest” exhibit features techniques ranging from open-bite intaglio etchings to collagraph, silkscreen and photo-polymer gravure.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum state park is located about two hours from Tucson, on Highway 60 three miles west of Superior. Admission costs $7.50 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12. The Visitor Center Gallery is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call the arboretum at (520) 689-2723.

-By Ana Ramirez

Weekend photo training scheduled April 22-24

Pima Community College is offering a weekend travel photography workshop April 22-24 with photojournalism instructor Cynthia Lancaster.

The workshop, “Travel Photography: Using a Camera to Tell Stories” will provide tips for taking high quality travel photographs and a better understanding of the artistic and technical aspects of photography.

Participants will come away with the ability to take compelling photographs, instead of clichéd snapshots.

Lancaster worked as a reporter, photographer and editor for newspapers and magazines for three decades. She has had photographs published on the front page of the travel sections of major publications, such as the Los Angles Times and Dallas Morning News.

The sessions will include classroom instruction, photo-taking outings and computer processing using Photoshop.

Participants must bring their own digital camera and have a basic understanding of computers.

The workshop will be held at West Campus, in Santa Catalina Room CG-26.

Sessions run Friday from 6-8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To participate, register for JRN 298T1 at any campus or online.

The workshop provides two academic credits. The cost to Arizona residents for tuition and fees is $126.

For more information, contact Lancaster at calancaster2@pima.edu or 206-6635.

-By Chelo Grubb

April 14 concert showcases tuba

Mark Nelson, an internationally acclaimed tuba soloist and Pima Community College faculty member, will team with pianist Marie Sierra and euphonium/tuba instructor Kelly Thomas for a recital of original and arranged works.

The concert will be Thursday, April 14, at 7 p.m. at the West Campus Center for the Arts Recital Hall.

Program highlights are Anna Baadsvik’s “Three Trios” for euphonium, tuba and piano, “Beelzebub” by Catozzi and a new arrangement of “Songs of the Wayfarer” by Gustav Mahler.

Also included are “Four Songs” by Charles Ives, which was arranged by Arizona State University trombone professor Ralph Sauer.

A special feature is “Sonata for Tuba and Piano” by Thom Ritter George, written to celebrate the 70^th birthday of tuba professor Dan Perantoni.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. Call the CFA box office at 206-6986 or visit pima.edu/cfa.

Mark Nelson, tuba soloist. Photo courtesy of PCC Center for the Arts

-By Mylo Erickson

Weekend photo training scheduled April 22-24

Pima Community College is offering a weekend travel photography workshop April 22-24 with photojournalism instructor Cynthia Lancaster.

The workshop, “Travel Photography: Using a Camera to Tell Stories” will provide tips for taking high quality travel photographs and a better understanding of the artistic and technical aspects of photography.

Participants will come away with the ability to take compelling photographs, instead of clichéd snapshots.

Lancaster worked as a reporter, photographer and editor for newspapers and magazines for three decades. She has had photographs published on the front page of the travel sections of major publications, such as the Los Angles Times and Dallas Morning News.

The sessions will include classroom instruction, photo-taking outings and computer processing using Photoshop.

Participants must bring their own digital camera and have a basic understanding of computers.

The workshop will be held at West Campus, in Santa Catalina Room CG-26.

Sessions run Friday from 6-8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To participate, register for JRN 298T1 at any campus or online.

The workshop provides two academic credits. The cost to Arizona residents for tuition and fees is $126.

For more information, contact Lancaster at calancaster2@pima.edu or 206-6635.

-By Chelo Grubb

April 3 concert spotlights tenor sax

Compiled by LYNDAJOE ECHERIVEL

Pima Community College music instructor Michael Keepe will explore the many personalities of the tenor saxophone during a “Tenor Madness” concert April 3.

The concert begins at 3 p.m. in the West Campus Center for the Arts Recital Hall.

Highlights of the “Contemporary Music for the Tenor Saxophone” program include “Adagio et Rondo” for tenor saxophone and piano.

A humorous but technically difficult piece by composer Carl Schimmel features tenor saxophone, piano and a squeaky toy.

In the second half of the program, Keepe will perform two pieces written for him by New York University composer Drew Krause and former University of Arizona composer Kip Haaheim. Both works use pre-recorded electronic accompaniment.

Keepe will close the program with “Sakana” (Fish) by Japanese composer Dai Fujikura. The piece replicates serene movements beneath the sea through multiphonics, quarter-tones and circular breathing.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. Call the CFA box office at 206-6986 or visit pima.edu/cfa.

Arts Briefs

Festival of Books

returns March 12-13

The Tucson Festival of Books returns for its third year March 12-13 on the University of Arizona campus.

The free book festival, already the fourth-largest in the country, will feature more than 450 authors, hundreds of exhibitors and vendors and a children’s area. Activities take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day.

Thirty-five entertainers with acts ranging from poetry slams to high school steel bands will also perform throughout the weekend.

For more information, visit tucsonfestivalofbooks.org, or call Naomi McCoy at 891-9681.

-By David Mendez

Concert benefits

scholarship fund

Guitarist Gabriel Ayala will perform in concert March 21 in the Proscenium Theatre at Pima Community College’s West Campus Center for the Arts. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets, sold at the CFA box office, cost $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

Proceeds benefit the Gabriel Ayala Scholarship, sponsored by the Native American Student Association.

For additional information, e-mail m.lourdes_escalante@yahoo.com or visit ayalaguitarist.com.

-By Ana Ramirez

Martindale contest

deadline March 25

Pima Community College is offering the Martindale Literary Award with a $1,000 prize to students who submit a 5,000- to 10,000-word short story. Deadline is March 25 at noon.

For rules and information, contact Cheryl Howell at 206-6974 or chowell@pima.edu, or stop by her office in West Campus Sentinel Peak building, J-112.

The winner will be notified by May 19. The prize will be awarded at the opening session of the Pima Writer’s Workshop on May 26.

-By David Mendez

Chorale singers: March 10

Pima Community College’s Chorale & College Singers will present their third concert of the 2010-11 season at the center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre at West Campus on March 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Chorale performances include “Cantique de Jean Racine” by Gabriel Faure. “A Jubilant Song” by Norman Dello Joio and the grandiose performance “Te Deum” from Joseph Hadyn.

Benjamin Sorenson has directed the group since 1978.

Sorenson has prepared professional choruses for the Arizona Opera Company and Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

The concert is open to the public and tickets cost $6, with discounts available. The CFA box office is open Tuesday-Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and an hour before the performance.

For more information, call the box office at 206-66986 or visit pima.edu/cfa.

PCC Chorale & College Singers perform

$1,000 prize offered in literary contest

Pima Community College is offering the Martindale Literary Award with a $1,000 prize to students who submit a 5,000-to 10,000-word short story. Deadline is March 25 at noon.

For rules and information contact Cheryl Howell at 206-6974 or chowell@pima.edu, or stop by her office in West Campus Sentinel Peak building, J-112.

Participants may only submit one story. Any Entry not formatted properly will be disqualified.

The winner will be notified by May 19. The prize will be awarded at the opening session of the Pima Writer’s Workshop on May 26

For details, contact Meg Files at mfiles@pima.edu or 206-6084

-By Rachael Robinson

Learn to unblocked blocked memories

Writer’s block: we’ve all heard of it and we’ve all experienced it at some point. The real question is how to get through it.

Nancy Wall, author of “The Swiftness of Crows”, will lead a weekend writing workshop to help bring memories into sharper focus.

The workshop will also talk about the challenges writers face in working with personal experience, and how to find the courage to be true to one’s own story.

Wall has taught writing at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. She spent time in India helping women write their spiritual autobiographies and has acted as a ghostwriter and an editor.

This workshop will take place March 3-6 in Sentinel Peak J 101. The workshop schedules are Friday 6-8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration is available at any PCC campus, or online.

The workshop costs $126, in tuition and fees for state residents. Two credits will also be given for Writing 298.

For more information, contact Meg Files at mfiles@pima.edu

-By Stephen Real

Submit to Sandscript by March 4 deadline

Submit to Sandscript by March 4

March 4 is the deadline to submit work to Pima Community College’s literary/arts magazine, Sandscript.

Submissions will be accepted until March 4 at 5 p.m.

Poetry, short stories, nonfictions and visual art are accepted.

Pick up submission forms and drop off works at the West Campus Arts, Communications and Humanities office, J-112.

You can also ask an instructor or staff member to mail it via inter-campus mail for free.

Another option is to mail it yourself to faculty Joshua Cochran, Office J-111, PCC West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Rd., Tucson, AZ, 85709-0170.

Sandscript has won national awards. The magazine is published once a year.

-By Ana Ramirez

Bernal Gallery exhibit features neon sculptures

James White neon sculpture: Table Dance - Steel, Neon, 6X6X3', 2005

A free PCC Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery exhibit showcasing neon sculptures will open Feb. 9 and run through April 29.

This exhibit will feature the work of James White, a sculptor, neon artist and professor at ASU’s School of Art since 1981.

“Neon Sculptures: James White” is part of the Tucson Glass Fiesta, a celebration of art through the medium of glass.

For more information, call gallery director David Andres at 206-6942 or e-mail centerforthearts@pima.edu.

FYI

“NEON SCULPTURES: James White”

Where: Luis Carlos Bernal Gallery, CFA, West Campus

When: Feb. 9-April 29

Admission: Free

ARTS BRIEFS: PCC to present four concerts in six days

Jazz Ensemble performing Nov. 30

The Pima Community College 18-piece Jazz Ensemble will perform in concert on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the West Campus Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre.

The program will feature big band arrangements of “April in Paris,” “Shiny Stockings” and “All of Me” under the musical direction of Mike Kuhn. Vocalist Lali Smith and percussionist Homero Cerón will also perform.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. For further information, call the box office at 206-6986 or go online to www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By Zacchary Watson

Wind Ensemble concert Dec. 2

The PCC Wind Ensemble will hold its second concert of the 2010-11 season on Thursday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the West Campus CFA Proscenium Theatre.

Selections by director Mark Nelson include “Russian Christmas Music” by Alfred Reed, featuring medieval Russian chant melodies. Other traditional wind ensemble pieces will be “Americans We” and “Elegy.”

Chamber music by the brass ensemble, flute choir, percussion ensemble and clarinet-saxophone ensemble will also be featured.

The concert will close with a holiday classic, “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. For further information, call the box office at 206-6986 or go online to www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By April George

PCC Orchestra performs Dec. 4

The PCC Orchestra will perform in concert on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. in the West Campus Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre under the direction of Alexander Tentser.

The program includes selections from the musical “Showboat,” Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and Joseph Haydn’s last symphony, “London.”

A work by University of Arizona composition major Charles Zoll will also premiere. The piece contains many challenging parts for piano, strings, woodwinds and trumpet, and features Zoll on various percussion instruments.

College students, high school students and community adults perform with the PCC Orchestra.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. For further information, call the box office at 206-6986 or go online to www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By Conrad Pursley

Holiday choir concert set for Dec. 5

The PCC Chorale and the College Singers will present a holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 3 p.m. in the West Campus Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre.
Benjamin Sorenson will direct a program featuring Clement Moore’s classic 1882 Christmas poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” as set to music by Ken Darby.

Other holiday favorites will include “Silent Night,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “All On a Christmas Morning.”

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. For further information, call the box office at 206-6986 or go online to www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By Miki Jennings

‘Anything Goes’ at auditions

By JORDAN CONDRA

aztecpress@pima.edu

Attention all aspiring stars – Pima Community College Theatre Arts will hold auditions on Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1 for its spring musical, “Anything Goes.”

If you consider yourself a triple threat, clear your schedule for three nights. All auditions will start at 6 p.m. in the West Campus Center for the Arts and will end late into the night.

Monday, Nov. 29, is the dance audition. Wear comfortable clothes and bring appropriate shoes – tap shoes if you have them. You will learn a short routine to perform in assigned groups of 10.

The singing audition will be Tuesday, Nov. 30. “Anything Goes” is a light romantic comedy, so song appropriateness is essential. A capella is not recommended.

Sixteen bars is recommended, but keep it under 32. And don’t fret, piano accompaniment will be available – just don’t forget your sheet music.

On Wednesday, Dec. 1, prepare to act like you’re not tired from the first two days of auditions because this will be the acting audition. There will be readings from provided sides, which will be made available on Monday night.

The cast list will be posted the morning of Dec. 3 and the first rehearsal begins that night at 6. You will be given a script and perform the first read-through.

All Pima students are welcome to audition. You must be a registered student and must be present at all three auditions to be considered for a part. Otherwise, anything goes!

For more information, e-mail tpoelstra@pima.edu or call 206-6815.

Arts Briefs

Wind Ensemble concert Oct. 19

Original and arranged band compositions will highlight a Pima Community College Wind Ensemble concert Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Proscenium Theatre of the West Campus Center for the Arts.

Director Mark Nelson has selected an eclectic mix: “Procession of the Nobles” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Second Piano Prelude” by Gershwin, “Birdland” by Zawinal, “Armenian Dances” by Reed and “Brighton Beach” by Latham.

In addition to the full band, smaller groups will perform. They include brass, percussion and saxophone ensembles, and a flute/oboe choir.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. For more information, call 206-6986 or visit www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By Liza Porter

Chorale & College Singers to perform

The Pima Community College Chorale & College Singers will perform in concert Oct. 21 under the direction of Benjamin Sorenson.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Proscenium Theatre of the West Campus Center for the Arts.

The Chorale will sing English, Irish and American folk songs, including “Danny Boy,” “Beautiful Dreamer” and “The Water is Wide (Waly, Waly).”

The College Singers will perform popular opera choruses in the second half of the concert. Featured selections are from “La Traviata,” “Placido E II Mar,” “The Tales of Hoffman” and “La Jolie Parfumeuse.”

Sorenson has directed the Chorale & College Singers since 1978. He has performed with the Arizona Opera Company and has prepared choruses professionally for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona Opera Company.

Tickets cost $6, with discounts available. For more information, call 206-6986 or visit www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By Astrid Verdugo

Workshop focuses on poetry writing

San Diego poet Steve Kowit will teach a weekend writing workshop, “The Art and Craft of Authenticity: Writing Memorable Poems” Oct. 22-24 on Pima Community College’s West Campus.

Participants will draft at least four new poems, and learn how to revise previous poems.

Friday night’s session runs from 6-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday sessions are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost for Arizona residents is $126, and participants earn two academic credits. Register through MyPima or at any campus location.

Kowit has taught poetry workshops at PCC for more than 10 years and always has a full class.

His latest collection of poems, “The First Noble Truth,” won the Tampa Review Prize. He is also the author of “In the Palm of Your Hand,” a poetry writing guidebook.

For more information, contact Meg Files at 206-6084 or mfiles@pima.edu.

-By Genesis Salazar

Arts Briefs

Faculty presents

Oct. 3 recital

The Pima Community College performing arts department will host a “Raymond T. Ryder & Friends” music faculty recital on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 3 p.m. in the West Campus Center for the Arts Recital Hall.

Ryder, a pianist, will be joined by Eileen Perry on piano, Carol Christofferson on clarinet, Ann Weaver on viola and Michael Keepe on saxophone, and vocalists Jonathon Ng and Nancy Davis Booth.

They will perform a variety of chamber music featuring piano in collaboration with instruments and voice.

The program includes Mozart’s “Kegelstatt” trio, Handel arias for solo voice with piano and a serenade of 20^th century French music for saxophone and piano.

Other performances will feature “Pas de Deux” from the ballet suite “Souvenirs” and Schubert’s “Shepherd on the Rock.”

Tickets are $6, with discounts available. For additional information, call the box office at 206-6986 or visit www.pima.edu/cfa.

-By Marie Rodriguez

Poetry reading

features Bitsui

Pima Community College will host a poetry reading and book signing by local poet Sherwin Bitsui on Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Northwest Campus, room A-207.

Bitsui will read excerpts from his 2009 poetry collection “Flood Song,” which received the Before Columbus Foundation’s 2010 American Book Award. He will sign copies after the reading.

The author is a native Arizonan from the Navajo reservation in White Cone, Ariz. He currently lives in Tucson.

Bitsui has been described by critics as “a powerful young talent, at the forefront of a new generation of Native writers.” He has won numerous awards for his poetry, as well as the 2008 Tucson MOCA Local Genius Award.

For additional information, visit www.pima.edu or call Northwest Campus at 206-2200.

-By Stephanie Missouri