Arts and entertainment briefs

Amy Queen's 'Be Calm' will be among her paintings at Green Goat Gallery.

The Avett Brothers

Donna Duncan was the winner of the Blues Showcase.

SPENCER — On Sept. 26, the Green Goat Gallery and Blue Ewe Yoga Studio will celebrate its third anniversary with a wine-and-cheese reception for Statesville artist Amy Queen.

An impressionist painter who sculpts her landscapes, portraits, and still life paintings two-dimensionally in oil paint, Queen is a graduate of David Lipscomb University where she studied under National Portrait Society winner Dawn Whitelaw, who remains her mentor. During college and after, she studied with Anne Templeton, a renowned colorist from New Mexico, who the artist credits with helping develop her use of vibrant colors.

The reception and anniversary celebration will be from 6-8 p.m. at the Green Goat Gallery and Blue Ewe Yoga Studio, located at 516 S. Salisbury Ave. in Spencer. The public is invited. For more information call 704-639-0606.

'Kudzu' auditions

Piedmont Players Theatre announces auditions for "Kudzu: A Southern Musical," with book, music and lyrics by Jack Herrick and Bland Simpson of the Red Clay Ramblers and Doug Marlette. Based on the comic strip, "Kudzu," by Marlette.

Auditions will be held Sept. 28 and 29 at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the Meroney Theater. There will be a cold reading from the script. Please come with a song prepared. An accompanist will be available. Newcomers are welcome. Rehearsals typically run Monday through Friday from 7-10 p.m. Show dates are Nov. 12-14 and 18-21 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 15 at 2:30 p.m.

The Meroney Theater is located at 213 S. Main St. For more information call 704-633-5471 or visit www.piedmontplayers.com.

Symphony fundraiser

Oak Park Retirement has selected the Salisbury Symphony as the recipient of a unique fundraiser. Meal tickets are on sale during the month of October for $5 each, and all the proceeds are donated to the Salisbury Symphony.

This is an opportunity to see the new retirement community, have a meal, and help the Symphony. And, for "dessert," the Symphony will give a complimentary concert ticket with each lunch ticket purchased.

Call the Symphony office at 704-637-4314.

Rail Walk art

Rail Walk Studios and Gallery welcomes three new artist members: husband and wife team Bob and Caren Briley, and Karen Frazier.

The Brileys moved to Salisbury from Port St. Lucie, Fla. in 2007, choosing Salisbury for its historical homes. Becoming members of Looking Glass Artist Collective in January of 2009, they tested the local art scene, then realized it was time to take the next step, establishing their own studio space for the first time.

They are contemporary and abstract artists, and mix different media.

Karen Frazer works with plant fiber pulp for papermaking and encaustic wax and found object assemblage. Her work ranges from small boxes to gallery installations. She enjoys giving workshops.

She and her husband, Ron, moved here from Wilmington, Del. where she was a member artist at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts. Frazer's work has been shown in numerous juried exhibitions, solo shows and invitational exhibitions. She was a Fine Arts major at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and received her Bachelor of Science in art education from Delaware State University.

The Frazers were attracted to Salisbury and Spencer because of the community's appreciation of arts and literature and preservation of heritage and architecture. The couple lives in a Victorian house in Spencer.

The new artists will be joining fellow Rail Walk artist Carol Dunkley for a small group exhibition in Rail Walk Gallery during the month of October.

There is one studio space available at Rail Walk Studios and Gallery. Applications may be made by contacting Marietta Smith at 704-431-8964.

The Avett Brothers

CONCORD — The Avett brothers will be releasing their new album "I and Love and You" on Sept. 29 on Columbia Records, Rick Rubin, producer.

Those wanting to hear the album before its official release may do so by going to www.npr.org and find "Exclusive First Listen: The Avett Brothers" and hear the entire album.

The Avett Brothers will be appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman on Sept. 28 and The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Oct. 6.

Theatre Awards

The Metrolina Theatre Association Awards presented in Charlotte on Sept. 20 included a number of recipients from Salisbury.

Four members of the Catawba College Theatre Arts Department were winners: Guiseppe Ritorto for music direction of "Urinetown;" Cory Burkhalter for costume design in "The Last Journey of No. 6330;" Caitlin Becka for her role in "The Last Journey of No. 6330;" and Professor David Pulliam for direction in "The Last Journey of No. 6300."

Catawba graduate Candace Neal won Outstanding Lead Actor-Female for her role in Theatre Charlotte's "The Full Monty" and Michelle Fleishman-Cross won Outstanding Supporting Actor-Female for her role in St. Thomas Players; "Proof."

Craig Kolkebeck shared the Outstanding Set Design award with Mark Stephenson for the Uwharrie Players production of "Of Mice and Men."

For a complete list of winners and nominees, visit the Metrolina Theatre Association Website at Metrolinatheatre.org.

Blues winner

Donna Duncan was this year's winner of the Charlotte Music Awards Blues Showcase.

The event took place Sept. 18 in Salisbury at the Looking Glass Artist Collective Black Box Theatre. According to CMA founder Jeff Cheen, "It was the most hotly contested CMA showcase in the past three years. Each of the bands competing had the audience up and on their feet cheering for more.

"This showcase was noteworthy in that it featured three bands fronted by women and one band just out of their teens."

Donna Duncan will perform at the CMA Red Carpet Affair Nov. 19 at the NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

Call for volunteers

The Rowan Blues and Jazz Society and Festival Committee is recruiting volunteers for this year's festival on Saturday Oct. 10.

Committed volunteers who attend a mandatory volunteers' meeting will receive two free festival tickets. For more information call 704-636-2811 or email rbjs@carolina.rr.com.

Symphony grant

The Salisbury Symphony was awarded a $20,000 General Support Grant from the N.C. Arts Council to help pay for musicians' fees for the upcoming 2009-2010 season.

The funds ensure that professional musicians who play with the Salisbury Symphony will find their pay to be in parity to other area orchestras.

According to Music Director David Hagy, "State funds help not only ensure the high quality of the Salisbury Symphony's performances, but in these troubled times they provide security of its very existence."

Last year, the Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Society provided programming for more than 7,000 citizens through its concert series, "Nutcracker" production, and Pops at the Post.

"The support of our grants program by the General Assembly during these economically challenging times demonstrates the importance of the role the arts play in our economy and our quality of life," said Mary B. Regan, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council. "Nonprofit arts organizations employ workers, stimulate commerce, generate tax revenues and help communities retain their vibrancy."

More than 13.6 million people participated in N.C. Arts Council-funded projects last year in schools, senior centers, museums, concert halls and community centers. Nearly 4.3 million of these were children and youth.

This year, the N.C. Arts Council also awarded the Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Society a $10,000 Creative Workforce Grant with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This was a very competitive grants process with only 20 grants awarded out of 79 applications.