November 2008
Turtle Island String Quartet
Young Arts Explorers Program
A String Quartet is Like a Family: A special lecture/demonstration program.
Friday, November 7, 2008 at 10:30 AM
This engaging program utilizes the model of the family to help students understand how a string quartet functions and thrives. Turtle Island draws comparisons between the interactions of the quartet and the audience’s families, giving children a personal reference point to gain an understanding of the dynamics that drive musical groups. The children also learn to discern the many different styles the quartet presents.
Turtle Island String Quartet
Pre-Concert Lecture by: Dr. Gloria Goode
“John Coltrane: A Love Supreme” 7PM
Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 8 PM
Winner of the 2006 and 2008 Grammy for best Classical Crossover Album the Turtle Island String Quartet has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings since 1985. John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme has become one of the most enduring jazz recordings of all time. In exploring Coltrane’s musical legacy, Turtle Island continues its own tradition of employing the string quartet form to shed new light on the timeless joy and beauty of the American jazz masters.
Writers Conference
Michael Cunningham, Keynote Speaker
Friday, November 14, 2008 at 7 PM
The Montgomery County Community College Annual Writers Conference consists of two days of workshops and other features for writers in many disciplines. The College will host a question and answer session, a catered reception, a keynote speech and a book signing with Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Michael Cunningham, one of the preeminent American writers working today. He received the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for his novel The Hours. His novel A Home at the End of the World was published to wide acclaim. Cunningham’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, and other publications. A film version of The Hours stars Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep. A film version of A Home at the End of the World featured Colin Farrell, and Sissy Spacek. Cunningham and Susan Minot co-wrote the screenplay for her novel Evening; the film stars Vanessa Redgrave, Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson, and Meryl Streep.
The conference will continue on Saturday, November 15, 2008. The day will begin with a panel discussion by five literary agents. Pre-registered conferees will have the chance to pitch oral proposals to the agents. Conference workshops by other distinguished writers will include sessions on novel, short story, and query letter, poetry, writing for the web, creative nonfiction, nonfiction, journalism, comics and literary law. There will be a hospitality center, free resources for writers, book signings, and more.
For further information call 215-619-7422 or visit Writers Conference.
Ragamala Music and Dance Theater
Young Arts Explorers Program
With Wadaiko Ensemble Tokara/Sva!
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 10:30 AM
This dynamic performance explores the kinships between Bharatanatyam—the classical dance of South India—and Japanese Taiko drumming, and the artistic and cultural traditions from which they emerge. Each ensemble performs excerpts from its repertoire, along with introductions and background information on the works and the art forms. The program culminates as both companies take the stage for
Ragamala Music and Dance Theater
Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 8 PM
Ragamala will feature their new project entitled Sva (Vital Force) Six indian dancers and three Japanese tiako drummers converge on stage to embody the rhythm and flow of life and the primordial sound that unites all of creation—the sacred and the profane, the animate and the inanimate. Sva brings the thundering percussion and stunning physicality of Wadaiko Ensemble Tokara of Nagano, Japan into conversation with Ragamala's complex rhythmic structures and dynamic athleticism.
This program receives support from The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
