Senior High plans variety of music events
A variety of musical events to wrap up the 2007-08 school year are planned over the next several weeks at Grand Island Senior High.
First up is the Show Choir Cabaret set for 7 p.m. Thursday (today) in the auditorium. There is no admission charge, but freewill offerings will be accepted.. Also this weekend is Big Band Night from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday in the west gym. Admission is $5.
"Postmortem," the spring play, will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in the GISH Little Theatre. Tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for students.
A full slate of concerts and recitals kicks off at 7 p.m. Monday, May 5, when the Varsity Band presents its annual spring concert in the auditorium. This will be followed by an orchestra concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, also in the auditorium.
A vocal music recital is planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, in the Little Theatre. A vocal concert is planned for 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18, in the auditorium. A final performance is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, with a string recital in the Little Theatre.
There is no admission charge for any of the concerts and recitals; for more information, call the school at 385-5950.
Special program planned for Youth Service Days
"Jack B. Nimble is on Steroids, Dude," and other short stories aimed at educating young people about the dangers of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, inappropriate sex and other inappropriate behaviors, will be presented as part of Youth Service Days this weekend at Trinity United Methodist Church, 511 N. Elm.
Showtime is 2 p.m. Sunday. There is no admission charge and the performance is recommended for youth of all ages, including elementary school students.
The idea was conceived by AmeriCorp volunteer Jennifer Hanisch, Paul Warshauer and Cassey Graves, with assistance from Todd Usrey of the State Probation Department. Cast members include 12 young people in various probation programs, recruited by Usrey.
Rather than preach to a younger audience, the 12 performers will present four short plays that deal with familiar characters from their youth. The first play is centered around athletes in the locker room prior to the Olympics. The names will be familiar: Humpty Dumpty discusses his crack addiction, and Little Ms. Muffet discusses the secret ingredient in her "Curds and Whey." Both are recovering drug addicts and they try to persuade Jack B. Nimble to stop using steroids.
For more information call Usrey at 385-5124 or Graves at 384-6816.
Local, regional bands plan a busy weekend
Several local bands will be performing this weekend in two Grand Island venues.
Growroom, a band from Hastings, will be playing for an all-ages show from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday (today) at the Tank, 123 E. South Front St. Admission is $3.
Next up is Day of the Locust of Grand Island, with special guests Transcending Zero of Kearney and Dreaming of a Nightmare of Grand Island, playing at 8 p.m. Friday a the Gibby's Islanda Ballroom, Fourth and Eddy streets. This show is for those 21 and older only; admission is $5.
Day of the Locust will also be performing Saturday at Gibby's, but will be joined by two Kearney bands, Lifeless Design and Beta. This show is also for those 21 and older only; admission is $5.
For more information, call Allen Kohtz or Courtney Lei of Electric Sky Entertainment at 370-4420 or check the Web site at myspace.com/livewiremusicgrandisland/.
’Screamer' metal bands to play in G.I.
"Screamer metal bands Oh Tragedy and Atrophy, plus others, will be performing in an all-ages show at 7 p.m. Friday at the New Life Community Church, Second and North Locust.
Doors open at 6:30; ticket are $3. All performance proceeds will be used for missions.
Conestoga Chorus to present annual show
The Grand Island Conestoga Barbershop Chorus will present its annual show, "Variety Hour 2008," at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Westridge Middle School.
The show will feature the Conestoga Chorus, its member quartet Director's Choice, and will also feature special guest quartet Paradigm. Paradigm is a quartet from Iowa that won second place at the Central States District quartet contest in October 2007.
"This is going to be a very entertaining show featuring many different styles of music done in the barbershop style," said show chair Steven Scott, "and having Paradigm as our guest quartet will make a great addition to the performance."
Admission will be $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at Ron's Music, Brown's Shoe Fit and both Skagway locations, as well as from any member of the chorus.
The Conestoga Chorus is a member chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. On April 11, the Society celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding. The chorus includes men from Grand Island, York, St. Paul and Hastings.
For more information, call Scott at 384-1697.
Grand Island church to host the Blackwood Brothers
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet, one of the biggest names in gospel music history, will be performing May 4 in Grand Island.
Showtime is 6 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at the Berean Bible Church, 4116 W. Capital Ave.
The Blackwood Brothers are often called the "best known name in gospel music history" winning eight Grammy Awards and six Dove Awards over the years and have been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
The quartet has been performing for more than 70 years; it started in 1934 with James, Doyle, Roy and R.W. Blackwood. For nearly seven decades, James Blackwood formed the enduring nucleus of the group. His death in 2002 ended an era in gospel music. Today, James' son, Jimmy, serves as the group's lead singer. He is joined by Wane Little, Randy Byrd and Brad White.
There is no admission charge for this performance, but freewill offerings will be accepted. For more information, call the church at 382-7881. For more information on the Blackwood Brothers Quartet, check the Web site at www.blackwoodbrothers.com.
Dance Showcase set for May 3
The fifth annual Spring Fling Dance Showcase, organized by DanceSteps, is set for Saturday, May 3, at the Liederkranz.
Doors open at 7 p.m. with social dancing before the Showcase performances, which are set for 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.,
The Showcase will feature 18 to 20 performances, instructors and dance enthusiasts from across the state plus one traveling from San Antonio, Texas, and a performance featuring the local "Dancing With the Stars" dancers Judy Smith and Densel Rasmussen.
The event will also include a Calcutta raffle; the winning ticket holder will receive half of the jackpot, with the other half being donated to the Susan G. Komen Fund for the Cure
Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door.
For more information, call Don or Esther Amick at 380-6073 or check the Web site at www.dancestepsonline.com.
Fine Arts Festival opens Sunday in Hastings
HASTINGS -- An opening reception for the Elinor Bartholomew Fine Arts Festival is set for 11:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Mark's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, 422 N. Burlington Ave., in Hastings.
The festival is made by possible by the Elinor Bartholomew memorial trust, which was created to honor her love of fine art. The show will continue in the cathedral's undercroft through May 11. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday.
For more information, call (402) 462-4126.
UNK to present Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, Jazz Rock Ensemble, choral concert and more
KEARNEY -- The University of Nebraska at Kearney's Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will present their the annual spring band concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (today) in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.
The Wind Ensemble will perform the first half of the concert. Works performed will include "Artemis," a stately European concert march by Belgium composer Jan van der Roost Darius Milhaud's "Suite Francaise" and Cesar Franck's "Panis Angelicus." Tenor Dr. Paul Brodine Smith, UNK assistant professor of music, will be a guest vocalist on "Panis Angelicus."
The second half of the concert will feature the Symphonic Band. Works performed by the band will include "Mother Earth" by David Maslanka, the opening movement from Johannes Brahm's "Blessed Are They" requiem and "With Heart and Voice" by David Gilligham.
The sounds of the big band era will be the theme of the night when the UNK Jazz Rock Ensemble presents its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.
The evening's program will include works from the Latin, blues, funk and rock genres; and jazz pieces from the swing and contemporary eras. Sgt. Chris Stelling, a 1997 graduate of the UNK Department of Music and Performing Arts and Kearney native, will serve as a guest performer. Sgt. Stelling is a member of the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band at Offutt Air Force Base. He serves as saxophonist in the Noteables Jazz Ensemble, the Noteables Jazz Combo and principle saxophonist in the Concert Band. In his spare time, he is a top-call saxophonist in Omaha and Lincoln, performing with a variety of jazz groups.
UNK vocalist Alicia Spelts will perform a senior vocal recital at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. The program will feature works from composers Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Strauss Jr., Vincenzo Bellini, Edward Elgar, Noel Coward, Jason Robert Brown and Jonathan Larson. Spelts has been a member of the UNK Symphonic Band and a choreographer for many groups in Nebraska during her time at UNK.
"Joyous," a choral concert featuring the University Women's Chorus, University Men's Chorus, the Choraleers and Collegium, is set for 3 p.m. Sunday in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.
There is no charge for any of the performances; for more information, call the UNK Music Department at (308) 865-8618.
Chiara String Quartet, Sokasits to perform at Hastings College
HASTINGS -- The Chiara String Quartet and Jonathan Sokasits, Hastings College professor of music, will perform in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Perkins Auditorium, Fuhr Hall of Music.
Quartet members include: Gregory Beaver, cello; Julie Yoon, violin; Jonah Sirota, viola; and Rebecca Fischer, violin. The Chiara Quartet has an ongoing artist residency at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and recently was named the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University, a post they will begin in the fall of 2008.
Sokasits has been a member of the Hastings College faculty since 1997. He teaches studio piano and class piano, piano literature, chamber music and piano pedagogy. He performs in solo, chamber and accompanying recitals.
There is no admission charge.
Hastings College to host band festival
HASTINGS -- The Hastings College Music Department will host the annual city band festival at 5 p.m. Sunday at Chautauqua Pavilion. The Hastings College Band and the Hastings High School Band will perform.
The Hastings College Band, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Laing, will play "The Big Cage" by Karl L. King, "Shenandoah" by Frank Ticheli, "Instant Concert" by Harold Walters and "On The Mall" by Edwin Franko Goldman.
The Hastings High School band will be directed by Erin Beave and Louie Eckhardt. The bands will combine to play the "Star Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful."
The concert is free and open to the public.
Hastings College to present ’Holy Ghosts'
HASTINGS -- The Hastings College Theatre Department will present Romulus Linney's "Holy Ghosts," at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 1, Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in Scott Studio Theatre.
"Holy Ghosts," a play that contains mature language and subject matter, is a stunning, funny and ultimately moving study of a Southern religious cult. Seeking to retrieve his runaway wife, Coleman Shedman arrives at the rural meeting house of a southern Pentecostal sect with his lawyer. His wife, Nancy, is unwilling to forsake the love and protection of her new "husband," the Rev. Obediah Buckhorn, and return to the brutal, hard-drinking Coleman. When the strapping Rev. Buckhorn arrives, it is evident that Coleman will not be able to take her back by force.
Rich with atmosphere and the feel of southern rural life, "Holy Ghosts" blends humor and poignancy as it probes into the circumstances and stories of the various cult members and the meaning of faith.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and non-Hastings College students. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m. weekday; call (402) 461-7380, or e-mail tickets@hastings.edu.
Concert schedule includes Reba, Neil Diamond, Journey and more
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday for the Reba McEntire concert, set for Friday, June 13, at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.
Tickets range from $49 to $85 and will be available through Ticketmaster.
Also planning an appearance at the Mid-America Center are Journey with Heart and Cheap Trick. Tickets for the July 22 concert range from $46.50 to $72 and are on sale through Ticketmaster.
It has also been announced that Neil Diamond, who will release a new album in May, will perform July 24 at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Ticket prices and other information have yet to be announced.
To charge tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at (402) 422-1212 or check the Web site at www.ticketmaster.com.
Nebraska State Fair announces entertainment lineup
LINCOLN -- From country music to comedy, from rhythm and blues to honky-tonk, the entertainment package at the 2008 Nebraska State Fair promises something for just about everyone.
All concerts and performances in the Open Air Auditorium are included in the price of gate admission. The 139th State Fair opens Friday, Aug. 22, and closes on Labor Day, Sept. 1
The fair's Open Air Auditorium entertainment schedule includes;:
- Friday, Aug. 22, 7 p.m. - Country singer Miranda Lambert.
- Monday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. and noon -- "Barbra and Frank - The Concert That Never Was;" a tribute to Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.
- Monday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m. -- Boyz II Men.
- Tuesday, Aug. 26, 11 a.m. -- Jo Ann Castle, ragtime and honky-tonk pianist, made famous by her appearances on the Lawrence Welk show.
- Tuesday, Aug. 26, 7 p.m. -- Starship starring Mickey Thomas.
- Wednesday, Aug. 27, 7 p.m. -- Third Day, Christian rock.
- Thursday, Aug. 28, 7 p.m. -- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
- Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 30-31, 1 p.m. -- Galaxy of Stars Talent Search: The fourth annual event features Nebraska talent. Singers, dancers, musicians, gymnasts, comedians and songwriters of all ages will come together to compete.
- Saturday, Aug. 30, 7 p.m. -- "Funny Experience Comedy Show," featuring Nebraska comedians T. Marni Voss, Juli Burney and more.
- Sunday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m. -- Nebraska Showcase of Talent: Mustang Sally, an all-female group.
- Sunday, Aug. 31, 9 p.m. -- The Derailers
- Monday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m. -- Styx: The classic rock band will close the 2008 edition of the state fair.
For more information check the Nebraska State Fair's Web site at www.statefair.org.
This week at the Grand ...
"10,000 B.C." showing this weekend at the Grand Theatre, 316 W. Third. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
A prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter's journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe. This film is rated PG-13.
Tickets are $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for children under 12. For more information, call 381-2667 or visit grandmovietheatre.com.
The theater will also host a free matinee showing of "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" at 2 p.m. Saturday. The film tells the story of a lonely boy who discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a sea creature of Scottish legend; rated PG-13. The matinee is sponsored by Howard's Jewelry.
