Matt Smith News

Owen Gray's recent paintings will be presented at the Blue Mountain Gallery in Chelsea, New York City April 26th-May 21st. World of Darkness, World of Light is Gray's 10th solo show at the Blue Mountain Gallery, which he has been a member of since 1992.  Praised by critic Jed Perl of the New Republic for his “deft, fleet, subtly virtuosic brushwork that articulates shape and spirit with confidence and ease,” Gray presents the viewer two worlds in these paintings. The first one looks up into a vast, rich darkness that encompasses fantastical flying creatures lit brightly from below.  In the second world, the world of light, there is an emphasis on the vast sunlit world, where the open blue sky is inhabited by a dazzling array of winged creatures twirling and whirling every which way or down into the an aquatic netherworld where birds, insects, musical instruments and overturned boats inhabit a lush mysterious environment of dense vegetation.  Gray's paintings have a Rococo panache, and are influenced and inspired by the ceilings of the Italian painter Tiepolo, as well as by Peter Brueghel, Hieronymus Bosch, and 17th century Dutch still life.

Oakland, CA, April 6, 2016—The Oakland Symphony and Music Director Michael Morgan have announced the 2016-2017 season, which will feature a signature mix of adventurous and wide-ranging music including a new violin concerto, a monumental choral work, a “lost” Romantic symphony, a trio as guest soloists, music from the time of the Black Panthers, an ebullient American musical theater gem and more. The six-concert season runs October 14, 2016, through May 19, 2017, at the Paramount Theatre with pre-concert talks, lobby entertainment and drinks beginning one hour before each performance. In addition, the organization has announced details of the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra's three-concert 2016-2017 season. Oakland Symphony Classical Series five-concert season subscriptions are priced $80-$355 and are on sale now; single tickets, priced $20-$75, go on sale August 15 at www.oaklandsymphony.org Complete Oakland Symphony and Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra season schedules may be found below.

Lori Bookstein Fine Art is pleased to announce that Bruce Gagnier has been awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial FoundationFellowship 2016. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded Fellowships to a diverse group of 178 scholars, artists, and scientists in its ninety-second annual competition for the United States and Canada. Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants.

PITTSBURGH - Be part of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's 2016 European Tour from the comfort of a seat at Heinz Hall! On May 22 at 2 p.m. EST, Pittsburghers can cheer on their home orchestra while watching a concert with a simulcast live from Berlin, Germany.

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra presents the last concert in the Lexus Classic Series at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts onFriday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 8pm.  Music Director José-Luis Novo will conduct the orchestra in Bed?ich Smetana's The Moldau, Vivian Fung's Dust Devils, Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, and César Franck's Symphony in D Minor.  

LAS VEGAS - April 5, 2016 - Wynn Las Vegas' award-winning Encore Beach Club and XS Nightclub announce Grammy-nominated artist / producer Avicii's final dates. Avicii's Wynn Las Vegas 2016 residency will be the only and final time to see him live in Las Vegas.

Join the Ann Arbor Symphony at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor on May 2 at 1:30 pm for our continuing chamber recital series, featuring Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra principal trumpet Bill Campbell and soprano Lucia Campell. Open to listeners of all ages, they will perform in this hour long concert a range of pieces from sacred to classics as well as a selection of music written just for them.

ANNA KARENINA Opera produced by Moores School of Music Opera Dates and Times: April 8, 9, 11 – 7:30 PM; and April 10, – 2:00 PM.

sweetFrog Enterprises is pleased to join with 3 million people and over 700 communities nationwide to help the March of Dimes help babies begin healthier lives. Since 1970, the March of Dimes has sponsored the March for Babies walk, raising money to fund research and programs to prevent the problems that threaten babies born too soon.

Los Angeles, California – (March 29, 2016) – Julien's Auctions, the world record breaking auction house to the stars, has announced its biannual Street & Contemporary Art auction featuring extraordinary highlights from the world's most sought after street artists including anonymous graffiti artist Banksy, whose identity was recently revealed by scientists by using a modeling technique for tracking down and identifying potential criminal suspects. The Banksy artwork collection is a featured highlight in the upcoming Street & Contemporary Art Auction taking place on Saturday, April 30th, 2016 at the Julien's Auctions Los Angeles gallery and will feature over 200 lots.

Oakland, CA, March 30, 2016 – The acclaimed Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra partners with the industrial-chic performing artists of The Crucible in Oakland for Night Out: Fire and Ice – an evening of live music, fire dancers, stilt walkers, interactive booths, food and drink, games, an auction and more—all to benefit the Youth Orchestra as it prepares for its tour to Cuba in June. The event is schedule Saturday, May 7, at 7 pm at The Crucible, 1260 7th Street in Oakland, and the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra is led by Michael Morgan, Music Director, and Omid Zoufonoun, Principal Conductor. The evening is sponsored by Bell Investment Advisors and Chevron. Tickets are priced $90-$550 and may be purchased at oaklandsymphony.org/nightout .

(CHICAGO, IL) The Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF), together with the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), is excited to offer seven public programs through spring 2017, in conjunction with RDDI Chicago, designed to serve members of Chicago's many dance communities with workshops and convenings addressing creative and professional practices.

CANTON, OH (March 31, 2016) – In 1979 a song titled Crazy Little Thing Called Love topped the US rock charts.  It was the band Queen's entry into the US after finding success in the UK and Europe.  Fronted by the flamboyant, artistic, one-of-a-kind Freddie Mercury, the band developed and performed rock music like no one before them or since.  On April 7 at 8:00pm at Umstattd Performing Arts Hall, the Canton Symphony Orchestra will team up with musicians from Jeans 'n Classics to perform many of Queen's top hits.  The concert is sponsored in part by the W. Henry Hoover Foundation, News-Talk 1480 WHBC and Mix 94.1.

The American Composers Forum (ACF) Board of Directors has voted to present its 2016 “Champion of New Music” award to four outstanding recipients: Pianist and Contemporary Chamber Ensemble founding member Gilbert Kalish; Opera Parallèle's artistic director, conductor, and founder Nicole Paiement; new music writer, blogger and New Yorker magazine columnist Alex Ross; and conductor, pianist, composer and pedagogue Robert Spano at public ceremonies this year. The “Champion of New Music” award was established by ACF in 2005 as a national mark of recognition to honor individuals or ensembles that have made a significant contribution to the work and livelihoods of contemporary composers. ACF President and CEO John Nuechterlein will present the awards at three events in the coming months:

Washington National Opera (WNO) concludes its landmark 60th anniversary season with its first complete presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part The Ring of the Nibelung, perhaps the most challenging production to mount in all of opera. Three cycles of Wagner's epic will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. These performances will be the first time the company has presented The Ring in complete cycles in its history, and they are the only complete cycles to be presented in North America in 2016. Conceived and directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and with the WNO Orchestra led by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin, the production brings together an internationally renowned cast, including British soprano Catherine Foster (Brünnhilde, Cycles I & II), Swedish soprano Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde, Cycle III), American tenor Daniel Brenna (Siegfried), American bass-baritone Alan Held (Wotan/The Wanderer), and many other of today's great Wagnerian singers.

(New York, NY – March 29, 2016) Scholastic, the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, announced today a global licensed publishing deal for children's books based on the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films, as well as the Harry Potter movie franchise. Launching in September 2016, the licensing deal includes world all language rights for children's movie tie-in books in multiple formats for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie and its sequels, as well as tie-in books based on the original eight Harry Potter films.  

Houston, March 28, 2016—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its spring repertory with Siegfried, the much- anticipated third installment of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, on April 16. The ground-breaking Ring by Carlus Padrissa of Catalan theater company La Fura dels Baus, with its cutting-edge visuals and acrobats in tableaux of human scenery, has thrilled Houston audiences and played to sold-out houses.

This summer marks the return of the Oxford Playhouse to middle scale producing with the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Peter Pan in Scarlet, the best-selling official sequel to JM Barrie's Peter Pan, written by Carnegie Medal and three times Whitbread Children's Book Award winner Geraldine McCaughrean.  The book was originally commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity  to whom Barrie gifted all rights to the character and original writings in 1929.  The novel will be brought thrillingly to life by director and adapter Theresa Heskins, Artistic Director of the New Vic Theatre, and an award-winning team including Aerial Director, Vicki Amedume, Artistic Director of circus theatre company Upswing, composer and Musical Director, James Atherton and designer Liz Cooke. 

NEW YORK, NY — March 29, 2016 — Scholastic, the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, and internationally acclaimed game developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment today announced a collaboration on a new book series for kids ages 8-12 based on Blizzard's popular World of Warcraft® game franchise. World of Warcraft: Traveler will launch simultaneously in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with the first hardcover book scheduled for release in November 2016, followed by the second title in November 2017. Set in the breathtaking land of Azeroth, this epic action-adventure series features a young cast of Warcraft characters discovering the mysteries and majesty of the world around them. Written by celebrated comic book author and animation writer Greg Weisman, the first book will include full-page sketches created by Blizzard artist Samwise Didier, and a full-color cover illustration by Blizzard artist Stephane Belin.  (Watch the announcement on Youtube).

In a time where source material is a controversial topic, many people state that there have been a lack of original ideas for Broadway shows. Recently, movie adaptations have been the newest trend to hit the stage. However, adaptations are certainly not a new phenomenon. Since the beginning of what is generally considered the traditional Broadway musical, shows have been adapted from other works. Classic shows such as SHOW BOAT and THE KING AND I found the origins to their stories in novels. More recently, novel adaptations have found success with THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and the 2014 Tony Winner for Best Musical, A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER.