Arts Beat Blog

Morihiko's Oktoberfest Surprise

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:38:04 -0400

Morihiko Nakahara constructed his Oktoberfest concert with the S.C. Philharmonic like a true scholar. Using Vienna as a template and Haydn and Mozart as the major players, he took his audience on a musical time-travelogue

L.A.'s Dudamel -- a Model of Arts Engagement with Community

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:04:39 -0400

I had to miss the S.C. Philharmonic's September concert due to a conflict with the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium, at UNC Greensboro. SMTE is a fine nationwide organization of college teachers dedicated to helping their students become good music teachers.

Live from New York: Mahler at Avery Fisher Hall

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:18:16 -0400

From opera glasses to baseball caps, glamorous dresses to short black skirts, the cultural contradictions of today's classical world were on full display on Wednesday night at Avery Fisher Hall.

Live from New York: Magyar Madness Review

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:34:29 -0400

Fifteen minutes before the start of the Magyar Madness program at Alice Tully Hall on Sunday, a young man exited a restroom near the box office and muttered to a patron waiting in line, "If you're going in there, the fixtures are very shiny — but they don't work."

Road Show Blog: Nickelodeon Theatre

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:19:40 -0400

We came. We saw. We conquered our naiveté surrounding independent film, as we learned about the lethal dangers of unrestrained self-pleasure.

Fall Festival: Interview with Masha Hamilton

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:32:02 -0400

Journalist and novelist Masha Hamilton has written four novels -- Staircase of a Thousand Steps (2001), The Distance Between Us (2004), The Camel Bookmobile (2007) and her latest, 31 Hours.

On the Radar: Initiative Seeks to Boost Local Film Industry

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:10:50 -0400

Genesis Studios in Cayce announced an initiative today that it hopes will boost the state's film industry. The idea, called Emergent Films,

On the Radar: Music at 701, Expanding Dance Scene, More

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:39:17 -0400

It's not every day that a local venue opens itself up to avant-garde musical performances, as such performances would likely send the average patron at a standard local bar or wing joint rushing toward the exit

On the Radar: Arts Season Highlights, Terrance Henderson, First Novel Prize

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:45:53 -0400

With our Sept. 2 Cultural Season cover story, Free Times gave you complete listings for the upcoming arts season -- art, dance, music, theater,

Preview: Fall Festival of Authors

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:15:06 -0400

The University of South Carolina's wildly popular Caught in the Creative Act reading and lecture series is not the only literary event on campus this fall. In October

On the Radar: Highlights from the New Arts Season

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:38:45 -0400

As the arts season approaches, it's time to take out the calendars and mark those must-see dates.

Christopher Berg Joins Growing List of Local Arts Bloggers

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:05:00 -0400

Local classical guitarist Christopher Berg has joined a growing list of local arts bloggers with his newly launched Pristine Madness blog at pristinemadness.com.

Step by Step, After-Hours Life Coming to Main Street

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:18:49 -0400

Last Thursday, I noticed a funny thing on Main Street: life after 5:30 p.m.

On the Radar: Local Puppeteer Gets National Award

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:07:16 -0400

Sure, it gets pretty slow in the summer, but really the arts never sleep.

Arts News of the Weird: On Pigeons, Profanity and Public Pianos

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:06:43 -0400

It's been that kind of summer. The front page of the newspaper reads like some sort of Surrealist work of art -- you know, the melting clocks and that nude ascending a staircase; information that challenges the mind to reinvent the way it makes sense out of the impressi

Several Silences: Avant-Awesomeness at 701

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:48:52 -0400

Is music organized sound? And if not, then what is it?

On the Radar: Southern Strutt Award, NEA Study, More

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:24:48 -0400

Dancer Magazine has rated the Southern Strutt Dance studio in Irmo as the Most Competitive Studio in South Carolina and the No. 2 Most Competitive Studio in North America. Check ou

On the Radar: William Starrett on TV; Newberry Gets Stimulus $

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:50:10 -0400

WACH Fox News is launching an arts segment on its Good Day morning program. Called "Arts Watch," the segment will be hosted by William Starrett, artistic and executive director of the Columbia City Ballet. The segment airs for the first time this Thursday, July 16, at

On the Radar: FT Snags an Award, Arts Consortium, Road Show, more

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:28:44 -0400

Free Times wins an award! Woo hoo! The South Carolina Center for the Book (at the S.C. State Library) recently announced 2009 winners for writing, teaching and literary arts advocacy. The winn

On the Radar: Brooklyn Mack in Helsinki, CMA Impact Study

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:16:48 -0400

Former Columbia Classical Ballet dancer Brooklyn Mack recently snagged a silver medal in the International Ballet Competition held in Helsinki, Finland. Mack trained for the past few months with Cla

Mahler Coast to Coast -- And on the Phone!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:34:07 -0400

Also: Classics on the Radio

On the Radar: T2C Numbers, Puppet Show, Arts Commission Training

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:12:33 -0400

I didn't make it to Larry's Family Reunion this weekend, but I hear that it was a smashing succcess ... packed, hilarious and all that good stuff, along with an appearan

Blogging from the Piano Festival: Parts One and Two

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:40:46 -0400

One of the Southeastern Piano Festival posters in the lobby of the USC School of Music trumpeted "Seven Days of Piano Magic." I don't know about the first three, but Wednesday evening of day four was filled with a ton of Russian piano magic supplied by Yakov Kasman, one of the competiti

Interview with Jeffrey Rotter, Author of "The Unknown Knowns"

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:31:25 -0400

Columbia native and University of South Carolina alum Jeffrey Rotter has recently enjoyed positive reviews in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere for his debut novel The Unknown Knowns, a story of post-9/11 paranoia and the potentially destru

Turner to Cezanne Breaks Attendance Records

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:53:31 -0400

Last week, a friend stopped by the office after his visit to the Columbia Museum of Art's Turner to Cezanne exhibition, which just closed June 7. He and his wife loved the exhibition, but were still reeling from something they had just heard in the galleries.

Artists Get Jolt at Greenville Retreat

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:26:23 -0400

Whatever career path you're on, there's a decent chance you've been to a professional development conference at one time or another. And if so, you know the drill: Go, get fired up, c

On the Radar: Spoleto, Philharmonic, Music at 701

Fri, 29 May 2009 16:23:36 -0400

The South Carolina Philharmonic has been selected into an intensive three-year strategic planning program called the Institutional Vision Program, which is put on by the League of American Orchestras.

Dispatches from Spoleto

Tue, 26 May 2009 11:34:36 -0400

The most-anticipated Spoleto show has to be "Don John" by Kneehigh Theatre. The company first appeared at the festival two years ago with "Tristian and Yseult" and expectations for "Don John" have been, to say the least, high. More than kneehigh. And if it isn't quite as magical as "Tristan and Yseult" it pushes both the company and the audience into new areas.

Lehrer, Stravinsky and the Science of Sound

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:29:41 -0400

In a comment to my previous post on Mahler, a follow-up to the S.C. Philharmonic's recent performance of the First Symphony, Phillip wrote that he would love to travel back in time to be in the audience when Rachmaninoff played his Third Piano Concerto with Mahler on the podium.

On the Radar: Janet Kozachek, Michael Chitwood and more

Fri, 15 May 2009 16:20:49 -0400

Tonight (May 15) from 5 to 9 p.m., Gallery 80808 in the Vista hosts a reception for Homage to Squares: The Poetry of Paintings and Mosaics by Janet Kozachek. Among the works on

USC Welcomes Book Arts Conference

Tue, 12 May 2009 10:10:15 -0400

Literary events often focus on authors and how they hone their craft; few focus on the intricacies of constructing an actual book. The Southeast Association for Book Arts 2009 conference

Artists' Retreat May 30-31

Sat, 09 May 2009 22:51:20 -0400

Funded by a grant from Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), the S.C. Arts Commission

In Praise of Mahler

Fri, 08 May 2009 17:12:10 -0400

You have to admire people who ask the big questions about life: what does it all mean, how will it end, what is our relationship to nature, are we ruled by fate or by chance, how do we maintain our essential humanity when encountering those inevitable times of fear, of loss, of bitterness. Gustav Mahler was a composer who plunged fearlessly into life's deepest questions mu

On the Radar: Turner Attendance, Preservation Awards and More

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:34:51 -0400

Is City Council going to take the lead on homelessness?

On the Radar: More Arts Than You Can Handle

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:24:24 -0400

When we launched this blog on March 20, we said one of the reasons was that there is always more going on than we can fit into a newspaper and there are no such constraints o

Turner to Ruskin: Thoughts on CMA Exhibition and the Influence of John Ruskin

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:29:35 -0400

MY SEVEN-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER ASHLEY took me to the Columbia Museum of Art the other day to see Turner to Cezanne. Officially, it's "Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales," and runs through June 7. As we were leaving I thanked Ashley pr

Alliance Issues Call to Action on State Arts Funding

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:09:40 -0400

The emailed call to action posted below came across the Arts Beat Blog desk from the South

Bittersweet Concert Marks End of Music at Columbia College

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:23:41 -0400

I've been in higher education for 45 years in South Carolina, and know more than I want to know about financial woes. But I also know what students need -- individually and within their academic community. I've

USC's Caught in the Creative Act Schedule Announced

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:43:19 -0400

Author and University of South Carolina Distinguished Professor of English Janette Turner Hospital has just released the lineup for the 2009 Caught in the Creative Act visiting writers series, which will begin Monday, October 19. The program of lectures and readings will run two night

Indie Grits: The Highlight Reel

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:23:51 -0400

Jurors at this year's Indie Grits film festival had to have had a tough time picking the winning pictures. For four consecutive nights, at three different venues, festival organizers

Indie Grits Award Winners Announced

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:03:07 -0400

Yard Work is Hard Work snags two Grit awards.

Putting the 'Power' in Power Company

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:23:52 -0400

First things first: I am not an objective observer when it comes to The Power Company. A number of years ago, probably seven or eight at this point, I saw my first Power Company performance -- which was also my first experience with contemporary dance -- and I was, in fact, moved by the experience. (The Power Company's

About Last Night: Indie Grits, Day One

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:55:18 -0400

Day One: Success!

Reaction to "Cutting the Arts"

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:24:18 -0400

Various Internet-based media outlets picked up on this week's cover story, "Cutting the Arts." Some offered commentary, others just linked to the story.

Pianist Inna Faliks Tackles Demanding Program

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:23:55 -0400

On Palm Sunday (April 5), the Patrons/Friends of the Arts at Ebenezer Lutheran Church hosted a concert by Inna Faliks, pianist, in a demanding program, consisting of two works of Beethoven, Fantasie, Op. 77 and Variations and Fugue in E-flat Major, Op. 35, "The Eroi

Library Names New Director

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:24:23 -0400

The Richland County Public Library has named Melanie Huggins as its new executive director, replacing David Warren, who retired last week after almost 30 years.

On the Radar: Arts News & Events

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:15:02 -0400

Holy crap: Ken Vandermark is coming to town. Who's Ken Vandermark? Surely you're not really asking that ... if you are, let's just say he plays some crazy-ass jazz and he's really good at it. The show

Post-SC Phil Concert, Thoughts on the Enigmatic Elgar

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:58:10 -0400

The minimalist program cover said "Portraits" at right angles to "Morihiko!". In smaller fonts there was "March 28, 2009" and the S.C. Philharmonic logo.

Blogging the Hootie Ballet

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:56:45 -0400

At the intermission of the Hootie ballet, I saw the City Ballet marketing manager in the lobby of the Koger Center. He asked what I thought of the production, and I asked him if he really wanted to know.

Concert Choir Performs Britten, Brahms -- and USC's Harding

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:56:05 -0400

Larry Wyatt's USC Concert Choir fared beautifully in the gracious space of St. Joseph's Catholic Church Thursday night, April 2. It was particularly special because the School of Music's head honcho, Tayl

Hootie Ballet: What's Your Take?

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:36:21 -0400

OK, let's just get everything out on the table, shall we? The Columbia City Ballet's decision to do an original ballet about Hootie & the Blowfish raises a lot of quest

Attention Arts Groups: City Invites Funded Groups to Forum

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:09:01 -0400

I know many local arts groups depend upon funds from the City of Columbia, so I wanted to pass this information along to you.

Local Arts Scene Vibrant or Not? Feedback from Facebook

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:41:28 -0400

Recently there have been a lot of comments on the Free Times Facebook page about the arts. The comments came in response to a status update asking readers to comment about the arts scene on our new arts blog.

Welcome to Arts Beat Online!

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:31:54 -0400

Ever since its first issue in 1987, Free Times has covered the local arts scene with reviews, previews, listings and cover features. And ever since that first issue in 1987, there have always been more things going on than we've had room to tell you about.