Community band
The Piedmont Prime Time Community Band is accepting new members for the spring season with rehearsals beginning today at 7 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Trinity United Methodist Church, Kannapolis.
The volunteer group is intended for adult players, but students are accepted under special consideration. Anyone who plays one of the following instruments is invited to join: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone, tuba or percussion.
If you would like to join the band or need more information, please call band director, Jon Hutchinson at 704-933-0660 or band president Krickit Shoemaker at 704-932-9438.
The band is supported, in part, by a grant from the Grass Roots Arts Program of the NC Arts Council, a state agency, and the Cabarrus Arts Council.
Cello Chat
When the Salisbury Symphony presents its “Masterworks” concert on Saturday, Jan. 24, it will include the Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar.
Featured soloist will be the Salisbury Symphony’s own principal cellist Anne Sellitti.
Many may remember her “Grinch” green cello that she sported at a holiday concert a couple of years ago, but her sense of fun does not hide her exceptional talent.
Sellitti will share that talent ó and sense of fun ó in a Cello Chat at 2 p.m. this Sunday afternoon, Jan. 18, in Catawba College’s Hoke Hall. The one-hour chat is free, and the public, especially string musicians of all ages and experience, are invited. Cellists are welcome to bring their instruments as Sellitti will play excerpts from the Elgar, share other musicians’ interpretations and talk about Elgar’s work.
To register for the Cello Chat, call the symphony office at 704-637-4314, or email ljones@catawba.edu.
Information about the upcoming concert can be found at www.salisburysymphony.org.
Barnes to perform
WASHINGTON, D.C. ó Reginald Tobias Barnes, son of former Salisbury resident Mary Massie Barnes and stepson of William Smith, will be performing with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center for “A Celebration of America,” a show to celebrate the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.
This is a private affair for special guests of Obama and Biden (including Oprah Winfrey) and will be televised on CNN.
Barnes is a graduate and scholar-athlete of North Rowan High School, N.C. State University and St. Johns University in New York. He and his wife and son live in Roosevelt, N.Y. He’s director of multicultural affairs at St. John’s University (three campuses).
He appears regularly on inspirational TV with the Greater Allen AME Cathedral choirs and praise team. He has also sung with the gospel singer Donnie McClurkin.
Woodturners demo
CONCORD ó The Southern Piedmont Woodturners will host Barry Russell, who will discuss and demonstrate the Complexities of the Basic Bowl, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 in the Davis Theatre at the Cabarrus Arts Council, 65 Union St. S., Concord.
The presentation is free. Visitors are welcome.
For more information, contact Jerry Measmer at 980-521-3787 or visit www.spwoodturners.com.
Aggers EP release
ATLANTA ó Salisbury native and Catawba alumnus Jeremy Aggers will be releasing a seven song EP titled “What It Comes Down To” on Jan. 22.
This is Aggers’ first commercial release and first partnership with a record label after his signing in December 2008 with Atlanta based independent label Brash Music. Aggers will ultimately release three records in this partnership with Brash.
The release party and concert will be held at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Ga., next Thursday. Eddie’s Attic is the Southeast’s premiere songwriter and acoustic music venue and has helped launched the careers of artists such as John Mayer, Shawn Mullins, Indigo Girls and many more.
Also performing will be Birmingham’s Act of Congress and Atlanta’s Oh, Dorian.
Advance tickets are available at www.eddiesattic.com. Visit www.jeremyaggers.com for more information.
Law of Attraction
“The Missing Links to the Law Of Attraction,” a lecture by Diannia Baty, will be held 7-9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, at Looking Glass Artist Collective, 405 N. Lee St.
The presentation will explore, in simple terms, cell structure, quantum physics, the universe and you. The instructor is an author, spiritual life coach, public speaker, artist, ordained reverend and a fourth generation psychic spiritual intuitive.
Baty is a lifetime member of the International Speakers Network and a spiritual leader of The P3 Group Inc., an international organization for the empowerment of women.
She is also a co-host of a weekly internet radio program with a rapidly growing audience.
No reservations for this event are required. The cost is $20, and includes the anthology book “Remarkable Women of Faith” that she is featured in with notables such as Ann Jillian and Jennifer O’ Neil.
For more information, call 704 209-6430 or e-mail ladydiannia@carolina.rr.com.
Free Voice Clinic
If you sing in a church choir, a community chorale or in a high school chorus, you are invited to a free voice clinic at Catawba College sponsored by the Departments of Music and Theatre Arts. Led by Leda Scearce, MM, MS, CCC-SLP, a clinical coordinator/speech-language pathologist and professional/singing voice specialist for the Duke Voice Care Center at Duke University Medical Center, the clinic is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel.
Those attending this free seminar will receive tips which can help make a voice last a lifetime, whether a person is a singer, an actor or a music director.
Scearce combines her passion for helping people with voice disorders with her extensive background as a singer and voice teacher. As a member of the Duke Voice Care Center team, she provides voice evaluation and rehabilitation therapy to singers, actors and other vocal performers with voice injuries.
She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She holds bachelor’s and master’s of music degrees in voice performance from Indiana University. Her performance experience includes appearances as leading soprano and soloist with opera companies, orchestras and music festivals across the United States. A voice teacher for more than 20 years, she has served on the faculties of five universities and colleges.
She earned the master of science degree in speech-language pathology from Boston University, where she completed an internship in voice disorders at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Stephenson exhibit
GREENSBORO ó Mark Stephenson, a native of Misenheimer, will exhibit his paintings in the Jackson Library Reading Room at UNC-Greensboro Jan. 23-Aug. 1.
Stephenson moved back to North Carolina in 2006 after having lived in New York City for 10 years. Though primarily self-taught, he has studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League in New York City with such notable artists as Leonid Gervitz, Frank O’Cain and Leonid Lerman, and has been a full member of the League since 1999.
Upon returning to North Carolina, he has been in demand for demonstrations and work-shops,and has organized classes in drawing and painting with local arts groups.
His painting, “Euterpe, Muse of Music,”was one of 60 chosen from over 600 entries to be exhibited at the 2008 North Carolina Artists Exhibition in Raleigh.
Stephenson has degrees in engineering from Pfeiffer University and N.C. State University and in music from UNC Greensboro. In 1994, while pursuing a career in opera and classical music, he rediscovered his love for drawing. Little time passed before experiments in watercolor began.
Seeing the exhibition “Corot in Italy” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1997 convinced him to try his hand at oil painting.
Stephenson’s paintings are available for purchase while on display in Jackson Library’s Reading Room.
For more information, call 336-334-5399.
Yoga Day
The Blue Ewe Yoga Studio in Spencer and Artemesia Artworks and Yoga Studio in Salisbury will be offering free classes Jan. 24 to celebrate Yoga Day USA.
Sponsored by Yoga Alliance, Yoga Day USA brings together the yoga community in the spirit of karma yoga, or service to others, to heighten awareness of the myriad health and wellness benefits of yoga.
The Blue Ewe Yoga Studio, located inside the Green Goat Gallery at 516 S. Salisbury Ave., will offer an introductory class for beginners from 7:45-9 a.m. and a more advanced class from 9:15-10:30 a.m. To register, call 704-639-0606.
Artemesia Artworks and Yoga Studio will offer an introductory class from 11-12:30 a.m. and a class for more experienced students from 12:45-2:15 p.m. To register, call 704-637-7193.
All classes are free and open to the public, although participants are asked to bring food items for the Backpack Buddies Program at Rowan Helping Ministries. This program provides children in need with easy-to-prepare food items they can make at home to provide them with adequate nutrition over weekends during the school year. Food suggestions include single-serve applesauce or fruit cups, canned soups and vegetables, oatmeal packets, and ultra high temperature (UHT) milk.
According to a 2008 survey conducted by Yoga Journal, 15.8 million Americans practice yoga and 14 million say that a doctor or therapist has recommended yoga to improve their health. Yoga as medical therapy is garnering more attention in the medical community as demonstrated by the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) first ever Yoga Week, which explored the science and practice of yoga. The benefits of yoga are numerous, including stress management, improvement in cardio health, reduction of cholesterol, and improved circulation. Practicing yoga can help with illnesses ranging from asthma to cancer. Yoga is also known for slowing the signs of aging, decreasing wrinkles, firming skin and reducing oxidative stress.
Blackbeard’s last days
SPENCER ó The N.C. Transportation Museum is hosting a program that could change how scholars view one of the most famous names in North Carolina history.
Maritime historian and documentarian Kevin P. Duffus will present “The Last Days of Blackbeard the Pirate” at 1 p.m. Jan. 24, in the Bob Julian Roundhouse.
Duffus’ book challenges the history of one of the most feared and notorious figures in Tarheel lore. He contends that accepted facts detailing the birth, life and exploits of Blackbeard the Pirate, or Edward Teach, are wrong.
Copies of Duffus’ book detailing his research will be available for purchase and Duffus will sign books following the presentation.
While Duffus’ presentation is free, space is limited. Reserve seats by calling Vickie Peacock at 704-636-2889 ext. 232.