Gearing Up

Season auditions have been announced for the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers and Mid-Columbia Symphony (see above), so spread the word to all your musical friends - both organizations have great seasons planned!

Also, you have three more chances to catch White Christmas, starting tonight! And rehearsals have started for Yakima Valley Light Opera's production of The Magic Flute, which involves quite a few Tri-Cities singers. Watch for more on that coming up...

Connect with a Composer Tomorrow!

There are lots of things going on this week, and then the first two weeks of April is your chance for a break.

Tomorrow is the next Mid-Columbia Mastersingers' "Connect with the Composer" talk. Reg Unterseher will present a forum on ePublishing and the future of music publishing - I got a preview and it is fascinating!

Wednesday night you can catch the Count Basie Orchestra at Kennewick High School - wow!

And next weekend you have multiple opportunities to see two great productions: "West Side Story" at the Academy of Children's Theatre, and Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre's production of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella." I have already seen "Cinderella," and highly recommend it. Justin said "West Side Story" is outstanding, and he never says that - I bet it's good.

In Like a Lion

Man, March is busy! It started off with a great Mastersingers concert weekend, then this past weekend we had both the Mid-Columbia Symphony concert AND the anniversary celebration of Joel and Debra Rogo and their Mid-Columbia Ballet. All three of these groups will collaborate on "Carmina Burana" on May 12 - wow!

And there are so many middle school and high school productions going on, I can't even keep track.

Tomorrow night is your last chance to audition for Richland Players' next production, "Trip to Bountiful," and the next two weekends you can see their current show, "Dearly Beloved," - stop by the box office and your chances of seeing me are pretty high.

This weekend Community Concerts of the Tri-Cities will present "Il Voce," which I will miss since I'm house managing for "DB" - let me know how they are!

Then next weekend Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre (formerly Richland Light Opera Company) opens Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" and the Academy of Children's Theatre opens "West Side Story." I hear great things about both, and I am especially looking forward to hearing Mastersinger Ty Wilde as Tony.

At the end of the month Reg Unterseher will present a forum on ePublishing, and the Count Basie Orchestra is coming to Kennewick High School. I guess everyone gave up sleeping for Lent.

Sleuth

Be sure to go see Sleuth at Richland Players this weekend or next. It is definitely one of the best-acted shows I've seen there.

We should be hearing soon about the casting for Dearly Beloved, and ACT is holding auditions for West Side Story (age 13 and up) next week.

Catch the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers singing the National Anthem at the Tri-Cities Americans hockey game this Saturday!

Hallelujah!

If you missed the CUP Oratorio Chorus' "farewell performance" of Handel's Messiah last weekend, well too bad for you. The soprano soloist was especially fine. But you have one more chance to hear this Christmas staple when the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers join the Walla Walla Symphony, conductor Yaakov Bergman, and the WWU I Cantori for what will be one of the best performances of Messiah in our area this season.

And be sure to support the Mastersingers at their Barnes & Noble Book Fair tomorrow. We'll be at the Columbia Center Barnes & Noble all day, performing carols and music from our upcoming concert. Noon will be a GREAT time to show up.

And Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre is offering one last chance to audition for Camelot on December 14. I'm refraining from any RenFaire-esque comments. I just won't do it.

Looking for family-friendly things to do this weekend? You have your pick of multiple showings of The Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast and A Little Princess. Go crazy. It's the thing to do during the holidays.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The 2010-11 arts season is drawing to a close, and the new season is starting already. If you haven't heard about RLOC's upcoming auditions for "The Wedding Singer" then you haven't been listening. Auditions are Sunday June 19 or Tuesday June 21 at 7pm at the Battelle Auditorium.

Also, Justin and I just got back from the Chorus America Conference in San Francisco, and we are ready to go full steam ahead on the new Mastersingers season. In addition to all the great informational sessions on running an arts organization, we got to hear some amazing choirs, including Chanticleer and the San Francisco Girls Chorus - just incredible!

Also, don't forget to see Neil Simon's "They're Playing Our Song" at Richland Players this weekend!

MCM presents "Cantos de la Vida" guest artist residency

This weekend Mid-Columbia Mastersingers presents concerts and a guest artist residency with composer Paul Basler and poet/painter Gabriel Navar.

Thu April 14
8:00 am: Spanish radio interview with Gabriel Navar - KZHR 92.5 FM
Noon: Basler/Navar presentation at Columbia Center Rotary, Kennewick
1:30: Presentation for CBC Diversity & Outreach at Columbia Basin College

Fri April 15
5:30-7:30am: Navar/Basler on KVEW Good Morning Northwest
Schoolday workshops with students at Ochoa Middle School
Noon: Paul Basler French horn presentation/masterclass at CBC for Jazz Unlimited festival
6:30 pm: Pre-concert lecture
7:00 pm: "Cantos de la Vida" concert and post-concert Q&A, St. Joseph's Church, Kennewick

Sat April 16
6:30 pm: Pre-concert lecture
7:00 pm: "Cantos de la Vida" concert and post-concert Q&A, Sunnyside High School, Sunnyside

Sun April 17
10:15 am: Paul Basler plays at All Saints' Episcopal Church, Richland
1:30 pm: Pre-concert lecture
2:00 pm: "Cantos de la Vida" concert and post-concert Q&A, Christ the King Church, Richland

Going sailing...

Richland Light Opera opened Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Gondoliers" this past weekend, and the show continues this coming weekend, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm. Beautiful costumes, great singing, the best pit orchestra in the Tri-Cities - it's a fun show!

And Mid-Columbia Mastersingers are starting rehearsals for Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony" tonight, 6:30pm at Central United Protestant Church in Richland. It's not too late to join them - just email director Justin Raffa at Justin@MidColumbiaMastersingers.org.