Paul Crabtree News

On November 3 and 4, The Handel and Haydn Society will celebrate the dynamic spirit of the local community with a celebration of song. Every Voice: A Celebration of Our Community will bring together members of the H+H Orchestra and Chorus, as well as students from H+H's Vocal Arts Program, for an uplifting musical festival for justice. The performances will be presented in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry and Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion.

For centuries, choral music has incorporated the ideas, sounds, and texts of our modern lives. On October 26-28 the Phoenix Chorale offers a creative twist on the concept of Mid-Century Modern with music from the middle 20th and 19th centuries, led by Artistic Director finalist James K. Bass. 

For centuries, choral music has incorporated the ideas, sounds, and texts of our modern lives. On October 26-28 the Phoenix Chorale offers a creative twist on the concept of Mid-Century Modern with music from the middle 20th and 19th centuries, led by Artistic Director finalist James K. Bass. 

Originally founded in 1958, the Grammy-winning Phoenix Chorale announces its milestone 60th Anniversary Season with expanded programming, guest conductors from around the world, and continuing its Search for the next Artistic Director.

As the London Symphony Orchestra announces its new 2016/17 season of events and gears up for one of the most important years in its history - with Sir Simon Rattle taking over as Music Director in September 2017 - it has re-appointed Velo to look after its paid digital media.

Should you ask Bryce McDonald to point out the year of his life in which it was changed - irrevocably, but most certainly, for the better - chances are he would have difficulty in pinning down the most significant time in his life. He might select 1984, the year he first attended a show at Cumberland County Playhouse (it was Annie), or 1996 when he first stepped onto the CCP stage as a young man (in Oliver!) or it might be 1999, when he first began to train as a stage manager at the iconic Crossville theater (again, it was Annie) that has become 'home' for countless theater artists over the years.

In December 1963, Paul Crabtree's The Perils of Pinocchio opened in the auditorium of the Cumberland Elementary School and created a county-wide storm of enthusiasm that gave birth to the Cumberland County Playhouse two years later. Now, on September 25 the Playhouse will present an updated version of the beloved musical fantasy as part of CCP's 50th Anniversary Season.

September 4 through November 6, The Foreigner returns to the Cumberland County Playhouse Mainstage! Says director Weslie Webster (Smoke on the Mountain, Wizard of Oz),"Ever since it was first performed at CCP in 1987, The Foreigner has been the most requested title - and the most popular production - in Playhouse history. And I'm just thrilled that I once again get to work with all the amazing actors who made the show a smash hit last year."

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing some of the fondest, funniest and most moving memories shared by many CCP alumni as we commemorate the company's golden anniversary. We kick off the celebration today with remembrances from Ryan Haderlie, Harry Bryce and Matthew Hayes Hunter. As they take us down memory lane, you're likely to feel like you're right there in Crossville, being treated to the transformative, transporting work of 2013 First Night Honoree Jim Crabtree and his team - his family, really - still focused on creating art in the middle of Tennessee…

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing some of the fondest, funniest and most moving memories shared by many CCP alumni as we commemorate the company's golden anniversary. We kick off the celebration today with remembrances from Daniel W. Black, Jessica Wockenfuss, Lar'Juanette Williams and Brenda Sparks. As they take us down memory lane, you're likely to feel like you're right there in Crossville, being treated to the transformative, transporting work of 2013 First Night Honoree Jim Crabtree and his team - his family, really - still focused on creating art in the middle of Tennessee...

In July 2014, Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse and Dayton's Scopes Trial Festival will produce FRONT PAGE NEWS: Dayton and the World Famous Scopes Trial - a newly adapted play with music - in the historic Rhea County courtroom where William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow clashed over whether Tennessee schools would teach evolution or Biblical creation during Dayton's 1925 'Monkey Trial.'

Carol Irvin, Michael Ruff and Daniel W. Black star in Cumberland County Playhouse's 48th season-opening production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, which opens this Saturday, January 21.

Tonight, March 9 at 8pm, at DiMenna Center's Mary Flagler Cary Hall (450 West 37th Street) and on Sunday, March 10 at 3pm, at Park Avenue Christian Church (1010 Park Avenue) composer Lisa Bielawa's Lamentations for a City will be performed by choral group Cantori New York.

On Saturday, March 9 at 8pm, at DiMenna Center's Mary Flagler Cary Hall (450 West 37th Street) and on Sunday, March 10 at 3pm, at Park Avenue Christian Church (1010 Park Avenue) composer Lisa Bielawa's Lamentations for a City will be performed by choral group Cantori New York.

As a new staff member at the Playhouse I had the pleasure of talking with Rob Harrison this week, and it became immediately apparent how deep his ties are not only to the City of Crossville but directly to the Cumberland County Playhouse. He and his cousin, Cosby Stone, are longtime sponsors of the Playhouse and are continuing that tradition this season with FOOTLOOSE, opening Feb 1 and running through Feb. 24th.

Summer in Chicago continues this month with the Grant Park Music Festival, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grammy Award-nominated Grant Park Orchestra, along with Chorus Director Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park. The Festival will bring performances by outstanding guest conductors and guest artists from around the world, in a month of exciting programming that includes a world premiere commission, a live concert screening of Frozen Planet, the latest hit series from BBC/Discovery Channel, a tribute concert to Broadway and Hollywood legend, Frank Loesser and other Festival favorites.

Celebrating its 50th season, Chicago's Grant Park Chorus, conducted by Christopher Bell, makes its a cappella recording debut with a CD of imaginative, moving, and sometimes whimsical works written between 1974 and 2005 by seven contemporary American composers.

Summer in Chicago begins as Grant Park Music Festival begins its 78th season at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, running today, June 13-August 18, 2012. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar will lead the Grammy® Award-nominaTed Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus Director Christopher Bell will direct the award-winning Grant Park Chorus in a soaring season of world premieres, Festival favorites and collaborations with local artists and cultural organizations.