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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
It’s an ancient and respected tradition: Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote “Idylls of the King” to celebrate the life of King Arthur, and dedicated it to yet another of the royals, Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. How many poems have been written for people the poet admired? Here Carrie Shipers, who teaches in Wisconsin, writes about a contemporary superstar.
Love Poem for Ted Neeley In Jesus Christ Superstar
Lincoln, Neb., 2009
That man’s too old to play Christ, someone said
when you appeared onstage—thirty years
in those white robes, spotlights tracking
your graceful sleeves, the attentive angle
of your head as you worked a crowd. I agreed
that you looked tired, but when Mary Magdalene
anointed you, when you cast merchants
and money changers from the temple, I forgot
your thinning hair and wrinkled brow, forgot
how your story ended: your broken voice
crying on the cross, your body arched as you
ascended. I’d lost track of how many songs
were in the second act, thought there might
be more—the empty tomb, your appearance
on the road, to Peter in Jerusalem—but the cast
came out for applause: soldiers, Apostles,
and women; Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate; Mary
in her red dress; Peter, that sturdy fisherman;
Judas, who has all the best songs; and finally
you, head bowed at our ovation. I didn’t come
to worship but you’ve left me no choice—
I don’t care how old you are, how many times
you’ve done this act before—you still rock
those power ballads, still heal with the same
sweet force before you rise. We’ll always want
too much from you. Tonight, I’ll believe until
the curtain closes, your tour bus rolls away.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2011 by Carrie Shipers, whose most recent book of poems is Ordinary Mourning, ABZ Press, 2010. Poem reprinted from New Letters, Vol. 22, no. 2, 2011, by permission of Carrie Shipers and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2012 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A broad range of musical styles on the keyboard will be presented at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre on March 24 by six well-known professional pianists from the region.
Musicians will combine their talent and years of experience to benefit fundraising efforts for the arts and education in Lake County.
The Soper-Reese Community Theatre is partnering with the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College to sponsor the second annual Professional Pianists Concert.
The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a no-host reception, followed by the concert at 7 p.m.
Lake County artists Tom Aiken, Tom Ganoung and David Neft will be joined by performers Spencer Brewer, Elena Casanova and Elizabeth MacDougall from Mendocino County.
The concert will feature all the pianists on stage throughout the evening as they trade stories and play musical selections that range from classical to jazz, boogie woogie to Cuban.
Tickets are $25 for regular reserved and $30 for special reserved and may be purchased at the box office on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by phone to 707-263-0577.
The Soper-Reese is located at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.
The Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center, 1265 S. Main St., Lakeport, also sells tickets, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .
Major sponsors and friends supporting this concert are Mendo Lake Credit Union, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Lincoln Leavitt Insurance, Bruno’s Property Management, Wildhurst Vineyards, Strong Financial Network, John H. Tomkins Tax Consultants, Peggy Campbell CPA, Cliff and Nancy Ruzicka, Cameron and Sharon Reeves, Jim and Wilda Shock, Pat and Lori McGuire and Pam Scully of Lakeport Furniture.
About the musicians
Tom Aiken
In obtaining his master’s degree with honors in music from California State University, Chico, Tom Aiken studied organ and harpsichord concentrating on music written before 1750 and the works of JS Bach.
His graduate work was in baroque performance practices and music theory. While working on his classical studies he became fascinated by improvised music and jazz.
The long-time instrumental and vocal music instructor in the Kelseyville schools, Aiken is retired and enjoys performing and volunteering in the community.
Spencer Brewer
For more than three decades, Spencer Brewer has been a composer-pianist-producer on the cutting edge of instrumental music, inspiring audiences worldwide with his piano skills and unique melodies.
His music has been featured on virtually every television and radio station in the world.
Brewer wrote the national theme songs for the YMCA and Big Brothers/Big Sisters and contributed music for the feature film, “Heartwood,” among others.
As a local community producer, he has helped organize hundreds of successful local events, including the popular Sundays in the Park in Ukiah.
From his Laughing Coyote recording studio in Redwood Valley, he has recorded hundreds of artists, film scores and radio commercials.
Elena Casanova
Cuban-born Elena Casanova has a passion for her native music.
For most of her life, she has been bringing the soul of the Cuban Masters to audiences across this country.
She studied at the Alejandro Garcia Caturla Music Conservatory in Havana, the San Francisco Conservatory, Pacific Union College, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the University of Redlands.
Casanova’s projects include composing the score for “Still Life,” a short film that was accepted into the Cannes Short Film Festival.
She often performs as a soloist with the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra.
Tom Ganoung
Tom Ganoung is an active performer (concert stage, weddings, social events) and instructor in both Lake and Mendocino counties.
He has been teaching, composing, recording and performing since arriving in Lake County in 1988.
His work with the Ukiah School of Music and the Allegro Scholarship Program benefits gifted and talented musicians.
Ganoung has recorded with other local composers and pianists, and performs with the Lake County Symphony Orchestra.
Elizabeth MacDougall
Ukiah native Elizabeth MacDougall has been teaching piano at Mendocino College since 1985. She received her bachelor of music in piano performance and her master of music in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of the Pacific.
MacDougall has studied piano with and been coached by outstanding master instructors.
Her first CD, “New Perspective,” features her exquisitely-performed works of Chopin, Beethoven, Debussy, Mozart and Bach.
David Neft
David Neft toured the western United States and Canada as a member of “Syndicate of Sound,” a Bay area rock band, and has opened for BB King, the Steve Miller Band, the Temptations and Tower of Power.
He has a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from Cal State East Bay (Hayward).
Neft jumped on a piano stool at the age of seven and has been steadily working on his keyboard skills ever since. He was an original member of “Bill Noteman and the Rockets.”
As a solo pianist performing at special events, he specializes in classic songs from the 1920s to 1960s.
The Soper-Reese Community Theatre is a restored performing arts venue that seats 300 patrons and is operated by an all-volunteer management team under the auspices of the Lake County Arts Council.
The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, an affiliate of the Mendocino College Foundation, supports the College and its Lake Center in educating leaders, fostering intellectual growth and enriching lives by creating opportunities to invest in a better future for our students and communities.
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- Written by: Editor
FORT BRAGG, Calif. – Carolyn Steinbuck is the featured soloist in a piano concerto by Shostakovich in the Symphony of the Redwoods’s Spring Concert conducted by Allan Pollack at Cotton Auditorium in Fort Bragg.
Also on the program are Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.
Performances are Saturday, April 14, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.symphonyoftheredwoods.org ; at the door; or at Tangents, Harvest Market or Out of This World.
Call 707-964-0898 for more information.
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Sarah A. Chavez is a California poet, and here she writes about the yearning of children to find, amidst the clutter of adult life, places they can call their own.
In Childhood
In childhood Christy and I played in the dumpster across the street
from Pickett & Sons Construction. When we found bricks, it was best.
Bricks were most useful. We drug them to our empty backyard
and stacked them in the shape of a room. For months
we collected bricks, one on top another. When the walls
reached as high as my younger sister’s head, we laid down.
Hiding in the middle of our room, we watched the cycle
of the sun, gazed at the stars, clutched hands and felt at home.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org) , publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2011 by Sarah A. Chavez. Reprinted by permission of Sarah A. Chavez. Introduction copyright © 2012 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.