All the Pieces Matter

BCGS Commission Wins Latin Grammy

John Lewis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:07:50 +0000

Gabriela Lena Frank's "Inca Dances," commissioned by the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, snagged a Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The premiere recording of the piece appears on Manuel Barrueco and Cuarteto Latinoamericano's excellent Sounds of the Americas CD, which came out last year on Barrueco's Tonar label. Barrueco is on quite a [...]

Sesame Street Turns 40 Today

John Lewis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:55:36 +0000

Sesame Street went on the air 40 years ago today, and here's one of my all-time favorite clips from the show. Judging by the You Tube comments, I'm not alone.

Recipients of Job Retention Grants Announced

John Lewis — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:24:07 +0000

A bit of stimulus money has trickled down to the arts. The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) has announced who'll be receiving National Endowment for the Arts/Baltimore City job retention grants, which were made possible by $250,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and matched by the city. As reported [...]

New Govans Mural Dedicated

John Lewis — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:21:33 +0000

The latest addition to Baltimore's impressive mural program was unveiled in Govans this afternoon. Community leaders and children from Govans Elementary School joined artist Lyle Kissack (left) for the dedication at the intersection of York Road and Benninghaus Avenue. Kissack's "Steelworkers" mural (a collaboration with Gerald Ross) was featured in Baltimore a few years ago. For pics [...]

Memphis, Egypt

John Lewis — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:03:09 +0000

When Deanna Bogart emailed to say she'd be performing at the Pyramids, I figured she may be referring to the Pyramid arena in downtown Memphis. Memphis is a big blues town, so it made sense. Well, it turns out Bogart was talking about the Pyramids in Egypt. Check out this Reuters photo, taken by Tarek Mostafa. I'll [...]

Life-Changing Art: Taylor Branch

John Lewis — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:22:54 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? Ben E. King's recording of the R&B classic "Stand By Me" captured me as a high school freshman in 1961. The song was a haunting interracial partnership of artists that rose above the segregation of culture and politics in that era. It inspired me [...]

Radio From Downtown Returns Oct 31st

John Lewis — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:55:06 +0000

Radio From Downtown (RFD), the Eastern Shore's take on the classic radio variety show returns to Easton's Avalon Theatre on Halloween night. An RFD taping is sort of Prairie Home meets Marx Bros in a place that, from time to time, still threatens to secede from the rest of Maryland. The brainchild of NPR's Van Williamson, [...]

Life-Changing Art: Bruce Willen (Post-Typography, Double Dagger)

John Lewis — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:48:25 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? Michael Cataldi did two installation series in Baltimore several years ago called Tire Swings and Flower-Pot-Holes. He would carry a spool of rope with him as he wandered through the city, and wherever he found an abandoned tire by the side of a road [...]

Life-Changing Art: Frank Warren (PostSecret)

John Lewis — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:08:53 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? I went to high school in Springfield, Illinois. It’s kind of the center of the U.S. with very Midwestern values. My friends were getting into punk rock and new wave at a time when I felt pretty alone at my school. I felt especially [...]

Dinnerstein Goes To Jail, Conjures "Stories"

John Lewis — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:56:59 +0000

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein performed at Jessup's Maryland Correctional Institute for Women today. In town for a Mozart concerto with the BSO, Dinnerstein played Schubert and Bach for about 40 inmates and a dozen guards in the prison library. The women gave her a standing ovation. Afterwards, Dinnerstein said she's previously taken time from her whirlwind touring [...]