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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Editor
UKIAH, Calif. – The Ukiah Symphony Orchestra invites listeners to enjoy the bright beauty of Baroque masters Bach and Vivaldi in the third concert of the Symphony’s 2013-14 season.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 3 p.m., concert performances featuring former first trumpet of the San Francisco Symphony, Glenn Fischthal, will take place in the intimate auditorium of the School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education, located at 508 West Perkins St. in Ukiah.
With two of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, the music features individual instruments and solo performances supported by a rich backdrop created by Ukiah Symphony musicians.
“Sound the Trumpet” includes the Concerto Nos. 3 and 5.
Concerto No. 3 showcases strings and harpsichord, and Concerto No. 5 features flute, violin and harpsichord.
The musical inventiveness of these pieces highlights the special skills of symphony members Rebecca Pollock Ayres, Margie Salcedo Rice and Tom Aiken.
The program is named for the two inspirational pieces that feature the trumpet.
First is a Vivaldi favorite: Concerto for Two Trumpets. Ukiah Symphony’s principal trumpet player Gary Miller will be joined by guest artist Glenn Fischthal, who served as principal trumpet with the San Francisco Symphony for 24 years. The trumpet concerto features the piccolo trumpet, masterfully played by both musicians.
“The instrument has a brilliant tone quality. It is a great joy to play,” said Fischthal.
The second trumpet piece will feature Fischthal as a soloist, again with the piccolo trumpet, this time playing Torelli's Sonata in D for Trumpet, Strings and Continuo in four movements.
Fischthal eagerly anticipates playing with the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra. “To be carrying this great melody as soloist is both a challenge and a thrill,” he said.
Fischthal has worked with Ukiah Symphony conductor Les Pfutzenreuter before, and said he looks forward to doing so again.
Fischthal spent 32 years with the San Francisco Symphony before retiring last year. Now he fills in as needed for several orchestras around the Bay Area.
Fischthal earned his bachelor's degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and continued with graduate studies at the California Institute of the Arts.
His orchestral career began at age 21, when he joined the Cleveland Orchestra on tour under the direction of George Szell and Pierre Boulez, but he found his home in the Bay Area. His love of music is shared by his wife, Sheila, a French Horn player.
Tickets for “Sound the Trumpet” are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $5 for youth 18 and under, and are on sale at the Mendocino Book Co. at 102 South School St. in Ukiah; at Mail Center, Etc. at 207A North Cloverdale Boulevard in Cloverdale; or online at www.ukiahsymphony.org .
Concertgoers can mark their calendars now for this concert and the next one: a “very Russian” Shostakovich concert featuring pianist Aaron Ames on May 17-18.
“Sound the Trumpet” is made possible by support from Kathleen Kohn Fetzer Family Foundation and Near and Arnold's School of Performing Arts & Cultural Education.
For more information, call the Ukiah Symphony Box Office at 707-462-0236 or email
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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council's Main Street Gallery is hosting a show this month of paintings depicting Lake County in winter.
The show will be held in the Main Street Gallery's Linda Carpenter Gallery at 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport through the month of February.
Entries will be accepted on or before Feb. 2 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. for the February event.
There is a $5 entry fee and 20 percent commission to the gallery.
The theme is winter; paintings may show any or all winter “happenings” in the county.
Painting are limited to 16 inches by 20 inches in size, must be properly framed and is the original work of artist.
For more information contact the Main Street Gallery,
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- Written by: Editor
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – In the first of its 2014 “Concerts with Conversation” series, the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake will host an informal concert by renowned singer and entertainer Andre Williams in the Meeting House next to the hotel at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25.
“Andre Williams is well known throughout Lake County as the proprietor and occasional showstopper at Silk’s in Clearlake,” said Tallman owner Bernie Butcher. “It’s fabulous that he and his Sacramento based trio have agreed to come up and do a show for us at the Tallman.”
Andre Williams is a singer, songwriter and producer with an engaging personality who captivates audiences not only with his own material but with vivid impressions of his many vocal influences. These include the likes of Stevie Wonder, Lenny Williams, Peabo Bryson and The Whisperers.
Williams is currently pursuing his passion for the Big Band influences of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr. as he performs with “The Dean O Holics” (Rat Pack Tribute Band) in theaters all over the world.
A native of San Francisco, Williams was an accomplished drummer, singer and songwriter when, in 1991, he organized and managed the background vocalist group for MC Hammer and his “Too Legit To Quit” World Tour. He has since organized five world tours with Hammer and continues to perform as his lead vocalist.
Backing Williams at the Tallman event will be pianist John Wilder and percussionist Peter Philis.
Wilder has been performing worldwide since 1968 and both he and Philis have been fixtures on the Sacramento jazz scene for decades.
Subject to limited availability, concert tickets at $25 plus tax may be purchased by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.
More about Andre Williams can be found at http://drewill.com/ .
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- Written by: Tim Riley
January is typically a dead time for film releases, with maybe one or two films that could possibly catch the public eye.
Mostly, this post-holiday winter month grinds out art house movies to be seen nowhere outside of limited urban pockets.
Television, and particularly cable, is ready to step into the breach with plenty of new movies and series. Hey, it’s cold outside, so let’s stay in for some cozy home theater. Having a few laughs is another good idea.
Just in time to sweep away the winter blues is the third season of Showtime’s “Episodes,” a delightfully offbeat comedy series of nine half-hour episodes about the foibles and follies of the television industry.
Right off the bat, if you value precious hours, nine viewings of a full season of “Episodes” is roughly half the extra amount of time necessary to sit through just one screening of “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
The cost benefit analysis, to say nothing of sheer entertainment value, tells me that “Episodes” is a much better deal and a lot more fun because anything skewering the pretensions of Hollywood is nearly irresistible.
Coming into the third season requires you only to know a few things. It all began when the married British writing team of Beverly and Sean Lincoln (Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan) were lured to America by slippery network executive Merc Lapidus (John Pankow).
Back home, the Lincolns won critical acclaim for a hit TV series called “Lyman’s Boys” about the headmaster of an elite boarding school. Lapidus wants them to create an American version for the States. What could go wrong?
Not seeing a train wreck coming fast, the clueless Brits are soon mortified that their show is hijacked by fools and turned into an unrecognizable mess called “Pucks!,” the story of a hockey coach working at a boys’ school.
Even worse, they find the star of their new show is Matt LeBlanc, who portrays a twisted version of himself, still cashing in on his fame as Joey on “Friends” and acting very much like an egregiously bad tabloid version of a faded TV star.
Fast forward to Season Three, and the Lincolns have survived trouble in their marriage, namely that in Season Two Beverly succumbed to a sexual interlude with Matt LeBlanc, who proves to be a manipulative cad.
For his part, Sean has always been seduced by the trappings of Hollywood, while Beverly is easily repulsed by the deceit and trickery of the industry. This dynamic sets the stage for continuing conflict, as Beverly is eager to return to Britain after “Pucks!” plunges in the ratings.
Season Three of “Episodes” poses many challenges for its key players. Matt LeBlanc fights for custody of his kids, though his destructive behavior, such as a getting a DUI and sleeping with a stalker, undermines his efforts.
While Sean and Beverly remain aghast at Hollywood’s treatment of their TV show, Matt tries to get “Pucks!” cancelled so that he can selfishly pursue a more lucrative offer at another network.
TV executive Merc Lapidus is unceremoniously dumped from his post, only to be replaced by untested creative talent Castor Soto (Chris Diamantopoulous), who is suffering a dire mental state that may be controlled only if he stays on medications. And that’s a big if.
Meanwhile, Carol Rance (Kathleen Rose Perkins), the second-in-command to Lapidus, with whom she had an affair, remains the second fiddle to Castor Soto, for whom she holds an unrequited crush. Yeah, Hollywood is just like “Peyton Place.”
Oh, it’s even more twisted as Matt has been dating Merc’s blind ex-wife Jamie (Genevieve O’Reilly), a situation made worse when a vindictive Merc steals her valuable paintings, replacing them with graffiti-marked canvases.
As the season moves along, “Pucks!” teeters on the brink of cancellation, not just because Matt would wish it so. At least, this allows Castor a chance to go nuts at a board meeting as he pitches some crazy ideas to fix the network’s programming.
“Episodes” continues to strike the right notes as a wonderful spoof of the television industry, both behind and in front of the camera. The show is so good that Showtime has already announced a return for season four.
While the actors are terrific, good writing has a lot to do with the series’ success. The creative team behind the scenes is David Crane (co-creator of “Friends”) and Jeffrey Klarik (“Mad About You”) knows how the wheels turn in this business.
By the way, you could binge watch the first two seasons in less time than it would take to sit through “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and I think that’s going to be more fun.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.