A! Magazine for the Arts Archive

In This Issue

• Inspired by Nature, Passionate About Poetry In a telephone interview from his home in California, acclaimed composer Morten Lauridsen chatted with A! Magazine for the Arts about his work — and his upcoming visit to the Tri-Cities
• Morten Lauridsen: Getting Back to Nature

  Composer Morten Lauridsen lives in Los Angeles and spends his summers on a remote San Juan Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. His best-known compositions were finished at his island cabin — on an old $50 piano — and musical ideas were gene

• Lauridsen: What Others Are Saying

  Read "What Others Are Saying" about composer Morten Lauridsen — from the Los Angeles Times to Classic FM magazine to Dr. W. Patrick Flannagan, the conductor for both the

• Lauridsen: Passionate About Poetry & the Human Voice "My passion, second to music, is poetry," says composer Morten Lauridsen, who has a large collection, gathered by prowling bookstores for signed and first editions of poetry. "It is always a text that fires my imagination and shapes the styles and forms o
• Lauridsen: About the Composer Morten Lauridsen has been ranked the most frequently performed American choral composer in history and has been called America's greatest contemporary composer of choral music. Acclaimed by choral societies around the world, in 2006 he was named an "Ameri
• Lauridsen: Other Well-Known Compositions, Recordings Find out how Northwest Journey introduces the listener to the many sides of Lauridsen as composer, arranger, instrumentalist and fan, and why Lauridsen's Madrigali: Six Firesongs on Italian Renaissance Poems is h
• Book Review: Irish Musicians Swap Stories From the Sublime to the Silly Clean Cabbage in the Bucket and Other Tales from the Irish Music Trenches is a new anthology of short writings. The book focuses on the professional and personal lives of five Irish musicians, who possess the uncanny ability to c
• Max Hale Has An 'Eye' for Photography Ten-year-old Max Hale is the youngest member of the Twin City Photo Club and an avid shutterbug. His photo of his five-year-old sister, Tori, won first place in the youth category in the 2008 Rhythm and Roots Reunion photography contest. Taken inside an A
• Library Unveils Children's Mural Children visiting the Bristol Public Library now find themselves on a trip around the world, surrounded by "Cultural Narrative," a fanciful mural created by local artist D.R. Mullins.
• Transitions: Virginia Intermont Hires New Art Faculty Perry Johnson has joined the faculty at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va. as assistant professor of art.

A! Extra

• NEA Announces Report on Nonprofit Theaters WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nonprofit theaters in the United States have seen unprecedented expansion across the United States, according to new research from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Symphony Partners with YWCA for Free Music Lessons Symphony of the Mountains is partnering with Bristol's YWCA to offer free group music lessons to girls participating in the YWCA after-school program.
• President-Elect Obama Talks About the Arts on 'Meet The Press' In his first Sunday morning talk show interview since winning election (Dec. 7, 2008 edition of Meet the Press), President-Elect Barack Obama discussed his plan to make an impact on our country by inviting more arts and culture into the White Hou
• Art-In-Architecture Artist Registry The General Services Administration (GSA) Art in Architecture Program commissions artists to create large-scale works of art for new federal buildings.
• ETSU's Olson to Edit the Charles K. Wolfe Series Dr. Ted Olson, an associate professor in East Tennessee State University's Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, has been named editor of the Charles K. Wolfe American Music Series to be published by the University of Tennessee Press.
• Tennessee Arts Commission Receives Folklife & Education Award Recognition NASHVILLE, Tenn. — During an American Folklore Society meeting in 2008, the Folklore and Education section announced the winners of the annual Dorothy Howard Award for Excellence in Folklife and Education for work which encourages K-12 educators or stude
• Local Artwork Presented to March of Dimes Citizen of the Year An abstract painting by Marion, Va. artist Duane Cregger was presented by the March of Dimes of Virginia to Eva Teig Hardy as part of her Citizen of the Year Award.
• Study Reveals 'Crooked Road' Success

  An independent study of The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail says the five-year-old plan to re-charge Southwest Virginia's economy with banjos and bluegrass music is humming to the tune of $23 million a year.

• BCMA Elects Officers The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance elected officers for the coming year at its annual meeting on November 21, 2008.
• Photomural Highlights ETSU Music Program The ETSU Walls of Time: A Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Photomural was unveiled in 2008 at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.
• Review of Duane Cregger Exhibition in Richmond Urge magazine recently reviewed an exhibition in Richmond, which features abstract paintings by Duane Cregger, executive director of The Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Va.
• The Arts. Ask for More! Why ask for more?
• Ten Ways to Get More Art in Kids' Lives Americans for the Arts have 10 suggestions for being an activist for the arts.
• Long-Gone New York Fire Hall Resurrected in Stained Glass With only a painting for inspiration, Marilyn Peacock has created a window's worth of memories for a fire hall that was torn down about three years ago in New York City.
• Impact of Federal Elections on the Arts Learn more about the changes in Washington by following Americans for the Arts Action Fund's complete coverage of the federal elections and its impact on the arts in both legislative chambers, including the incoming administration's comprehensive plans fo
• Barter Theatre Announces Winners of 2008 Young Playwrights Festival

  Barter Theatre announced the winners of the 7th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, Monday, Nov. 10, 2008. Winners included many area students, with more than 230 high school students from the region participating in the festival this year.

• All That's Needed is a Listener For Beaver Creek Storytellers and others who love to spin a yarn.
• Dr. Robert Sawyer Receives SAMLA Award for 'Monstrous Creations' Dr. Robert Sawyer, associate professor in the Department of English at East Tennessee State University, is the recipient of the 2008 South Atlantic Review Essay Prize provided by the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA).
• The Role of the Arts in Building the 21st Century American Workforce U.S. employers have rated creativity/innovation among the top five skills that will be in high demand during the next five years, and ranked it among the top challenges facing CEOs.