Pre-Pandemic: Field of Dreams

Posted on by Thor

The Timucua Arts Foundation (2000 South Summerlin Avenue Orlando, FL 32806) presented a staged reading of Field of Dreams. This staged reading was presented by, Michael Finn, an active film maker who gets incredible actors to read classic films. He reads the actual director’s notes, making the experience unique and fascinating. Here are a couple of the actors who are performed on February 23, 2021:

Cameron Francis – as Doc Graham & Archie Graham (plus other roles).

Kelly Tinsley (playing “Annie”).

Tom Nowicki – as Ray.

J LaRose – as Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Veronica Nia Kelly – as Karin (plus other roles).

Kenny Babel – as Terrance Mann & “The Voice”.

John Connon – as “Mark” & other roles.

Jenna Meyer – as “Veda” & other roles.

This was a fun new way to experience the classic film. As the film played silently the actors read the parts in the script while staying in sync. It was much like Rocky Horror meets the open Iowa farmlands. Look how close the actors sat next to one another. I miss documenting intimate theatrical evenings like this. If you vaccinate it will come.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 28 and 29, 2019

Posted on by Thor

Saturday September 28, 2019 

10am to 5pm. Adults $8. Accidental Historian. Orange County Regional History Center 65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32801. You might be a historian without even realizing it! That’s certainly
true of many bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more. In this
engaging exhibition, created at the History Center, learn how
individuals who are absorbed in documenting the world of today
accidentally become some of Central Florida’s finest historians for the
future. Catch a glimpse into some of our favorite collections that were
created for the now – more than 100 years ago.

The Accidental Historian features both historic and
contemporary work and collections, including drawings by the renowned
artist and teacher Ralph Bagley and Urban Sketchers Orlando, poetry by
Orlando’s inaugural poet laureate Susan Lilley, audiovisual work by food
blogger Ricky Ly, historic images by photographer T.P. Robinson, and
more. Also on display is a tower of my sketchbooks from documenting Orlando Arts and Culture over the last 8 years.

7pm to 9pm  Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.

10:30pm to Midnight. Free but get food and or drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. 

Sunday September 29, 2019

11am to Noon. $5 Yoga. Lake Eola near red gazebo. 

Noon to 2pm Free. Bobby Koelble Presents Jazz in the Garden. 1300 S Denning Dr, Winter Park, FL 32789.  Join
us as we enjoy an afternoon of electric Jazz music, tasty food, craft
cocktails, and shopping in a beautiful, serene setting all while helping
to benefit Mead Botanical Garden.

Bobby Koelble Presents Jazz in
the garden, is a series of Jazz concerts that will be hosted by Mead
Botanical Garden. The shows, that will fall on the last Sunday of the
month from September thru November, will consist of world class
musicians performing a collection of your favorite Jazz standards with a
twist. 

There will be food and beverages available for purchase,
a shopping area curated by Suzette’s One Of A Kind Finds, as well as a
limited number of VIP passes which will include a brunch buffet catered
by Bites and Bubbles, beer or cocktail and a VIP viewing area.

7:30pm to 9:30pm $10-$20 suggested donation. Please also bring food or wine to share.  CF2’s 7th Annual Composer DIY Salon Concert.  Timucua 2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806. For
seven years, Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) has been offering
its members a first-come, first-on, get-er-done yerself opportunity to
present work to the Orlando/Central Florida public. The composers
themselves perform or arrange for the performers. That always means a
wider variety of sonic possibilities than a more typical, curated CF2
concert featuring a unified instrumentation.

This program
features Rebekah Todia’s Crossing The Bar, for piano and voice; Melody
Cook’s For Two Voices, No. 2, for clarinet and piano; Holly Cordero’s
Personified Bliss, for string quartet, Bob Jr.’s Conjure the Storm, for
piano, guitar, bass, and drums; Paul Austin Sanders’ electronic
compositions Danze Africanne, Spirit of the East, and Bop Latinesque;
and premieres of Alex Burtzos’ X Codes, for violin, clarinet, and piano,
and also his Perforation, for solo piano.

All ears are welcome.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for March 30 and 31. 2019

Posted on by Thor

Saturday March 30, 2019

10am to 5pm Free. Fort Christmas Bluegrass and Backyard BBQ Fest. Fort Christmas Historical Park and Museum, 1300 Fort Christmas Road. Barbecue contest for best chicken and St. Louis pork-style ribs.

10am to 5pm Free. Community Chalk Art Festival. Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 5475 Gateway Village Cir Ste 103, Orlando, FL 32812. Community Chalk Art Festival Live chalk painting dedicated to the local community’s diversity.

11am to 7pm Free. Longwood Pirate Seafood Festival. Reiter Park, 301 W. Warren Ave., Longwood Fl. Filled with vendors, mermaids,
a pirate village, great music, a pirate ship for kids to climb and a
shark ride. An assortment of ocean delights are available, along with
beer and wine.

Sunday March 31, 2019

11am to 7pm Free. Arab Fest. Lake Eola Park, Eola Drive, North Eola Drive and East Robinson Street. Arab Fest Cultural heritage festival celebrating Arabic art, food and traditions.

7pm to 9pm Tickets are donation based. Waterfalls, Forests, Coastlines, and Other Musical Dreams. Timucua Arts Foundation 2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806. Central Florida Composers Forum presents “Waterfalls, Forests,
Coastlines, and other Musical Dreams,” a concert of works by local
composers at Timucua White House, March 31.

Winter Park, Florida –
The Central Florida Composers Forum will present “Waterfalls, Forests,
Coastlines, and other Musical Dreams,” a showcase concert of selected
works scored for Pierrot Ensemble by Full Sail University composer and
Central Florida Composers Forum founder and Executive Director Charlie
Griffin, University of Central Florida’s recent transplant Alex Burtzos,
Orlando-based composers Erik Branch, Damien Simon, and film composer
and Cocoa Beach resident Joe Gray.

The term Pierrot Ensemble
refers to a specific instrumentation used by Austrian (and later
Austrian-American) composer Arnold Schoenberg for his seminal and most
famous work, Pierrot Lunaire. Composed in 1912 for voice, flute,
clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion, this combination was
subsequently taken up by many later composers such as Milton Babbitt,
John Cage, and Peter Maxwell Davies.

The musicians featured in
this concert will be Julie Bateman (voice), Katie Mess (flute), Erik
Cole (clarinet), Pepina Dell’Ollio (violin), Abigail Collins (cello),
Ammon Perry Bratt (piano), and Justin Steger (percussion).

A
diverse collection of works on the program include Charlie Griffin’s
Shifting Coastlines, a trio of songs whose lyrics are taken from an
anthology of poetry called Verse and Universe. These songs all draw upon
science and math to explore the human experience. One example from the
set is “Love’s Discrete Non-linearity,” a poem set like a Gypsy tango
that uses the language of Chaos Theory to understand a romantic
relationship. Selections from two works by Alex Burtzos will be on the
program: The Birth of Dangun, a ballet based on the Korean myth of
creation, and The Impossible Object, a multi-movement work inspired by
works of M.C. Escher. Four vignettes by Erik Branch will include a
premiere of his Brises Dansantes. The concert will be rounded out by Joe
Gray’s The Black Forest, and Damien Simon’s Change.

10pm to midnight. Free but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, Fl. Free comedy show! Come out and laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for January 5 and 6, 2019

Posted on by Thor

Saturday January 5, 2019

8 am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

 8pm to 10pm Free. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts. Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts at 800 Delaney Ave on the 1st Saturday of each month. Free fun!

10:30pm to Midnight Get a drink and or food. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL.  Hot blooded Flamenco dancers with acoustic guitar accompaniment.

Sunday January 6, 2019

10am to Noon. Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

Noon to 1pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park near the Red Gazebo. Bring your own mat.

6:30pm to 8:00pm $10-$20 suggested donation. Please also bring food or wine to share. Holly Cordero’s Steamin’ Quartet. Timucua White House 2000 South Summerlin Orlando, FL 32806
.

The Steamin’ Trio is made up of players
from the Central Florida area with a sense of New York Flair. The
Steamin Trio plays tunes from jazz standards to Brazilian to Funk to
arrangements of pop tunes in a Jazz fashion. These guys even perform
holiday music! They deliver wonderful jazz entertainment with amazing
solos and wonderful audience engagement. Home of the original Jazz
Drinking Game! First 20 to reserve a ticket also get a free CD!

Holly Cordero, bassMike Harris, saxJoe Barone, pianoKen Shadrake, drums

Composers Salon Concert – Celebrating Central Florida Composers.

Posted on by Thor

The Central Florida Composer’s Salon Concert was held at the Timucua White House (2000 S Summerlin Ave Orlando, FL 32806.) The annual composer’s salon concert celebrated new music written by local composers in the Central Florida area.

There was food and wine before and after the concert in the entry foyer. I decided to sketch from the upper balcony. An entire orchestra filled the stage to start and I was quickly blocking in the performers. However when they were finished performing their one piece, they all exited the stage. My digital eraser got a good work out.

Marla E. Artist had a Plexiglass canvas set up so that the audience could watch as she worked on the transparent surface lit up by white Christmas lights. She painted a saxophone to the beat of the music. It is always a pleasure to watch other artists at work.

The Central Florida Composers Forum is an organization of composers
dedicated to engaging the creative and larger community of Central
Florida through the promotion of original and innovative music
programming.They strive to be part of a larger cultural conversation where the musical,
visual and other performing arts connect with audiences, foster vital
collaborations, and produce multidisciplinary performances. They are cultivating
an audience for new music through education, workshops and outreach
programs that create memorable artistic experiences for youth and
community members are also central to their mission.

Sam Rivers Tribute Band at the White House.

Posted on by Thor

The Sam Rivers Tribute Band gathered once again after years of being apart at the Timucua Arts Foundation White House (2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806.) this concert was thrown together at the last minute.  The band had not performed together for years. 

Sam Rivers is one of the greatest jazz legends of our
time, performing for over 70 years. In the 1970’s he was the first
artist to open a jazz cultural arts center in Greenwich New York, which
was used as a venue to help artist exhibit their talents and gain
recognition.

The one of a kind, intensely original compositions of Sam Rivers came to life once again in a rare performance of his 16 piece Rejuvenation Orchestra. (formally known as the Rivbea Orchestra. I sketched Sam Rivers as he performed at the Enzian Florida Film Festival wrap party in 2009.   He was a joy to watch and fun to sketch.   Sam Rivers died on December 26, 2010 at the age of 88 from Pneumonia.

I was excited to see if his magic still infused the Orchestra he had formed when he moved to Central Florida in the early 1990 with his wife Beatrice.  Several platforms were set up on stage for all the horns and saxophones.  Sam performed on bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano, but I loved watching him perform on the soprano and tenor saxophones.

I sketched as the orchestra took to the stage.  I recognized the string players but some of the sax players looked like they were still in college.  The performance was aggressively loud, as if each performer was trying to play louder that everyone else.  At times various performers stood for solos.  Rivers derived his music from bebop, but he was an adventurous player, adept at free jazz. He was also an adept composer and it was his sheet music that sat before every performer.  I hope this orchestra performs together more often.  In time they could bring back the polish that helps support the inspiration.  Sam’s parting words at many of his concerts was, “Tell them what they missed.”

Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt performed at Avalon Island.

Posted on by Thor

The Civic Minded 5, Timucua Arts Foundation
and Gallery at Avalon Island presented
a Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt  concert at the Gallery at Avalon Island (37 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801).

The evening consisted of solo mini-sets by Corsano and Orcutt followed by a duet set.

Guitarist Bill Orcutt could be described as a raw, outsider Country Blues guitarist or a radical, Post-Minimalist composer. Or he could be a Noise or No Wave musician gone acoustic to play chestnuts of American Vernacular Music. Checking all these boxes would also lead to a fairly functional description. It’s also fair to say that Bill’s international appeal in the last half a dozen years comes from his singular, dynamic approach with a partly de-stringed and re-tuned acoustic guitar.

Chris Corsano is a drummer who has been at the intersections of free improvisation, noise, and avant-rock musics since the late 1990’s. He has worked with saxophonists like Paul Flaherty, Joe McPhee and Evan Parker; guitarists such as Sir Richard Bishop, Heather Leigh Murray, and Jim O’Rourke; and one-of-a-kind artists like Björk and Jandek.

The moody lighting and improvisational music was inspiring to sketch to leading me to let go of my tried and true methods to get an image on the page.