Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Easter Celebrations For Your Little Ones In Nevada County!

Easter egg hunts at least one community Easter dinner are set for next weekend. Easter is Sunday, April 4.Families are invited out to festivities to celebrate the holiday with their little ones. Here's a list of events taking place on Saturday, April 3.

• From 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, the Penn Valley Chamber of Commerce will host the Penn Valley Easter Egg Hunt. Children are invited to search for eggs at Western Gateway Park, 18560 Penn Valley Drive.

• The Great Egg Adventure will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at 49er Family Fun Park in Grass Valley. Children 10 and younger are invited to search for eggs until 11:30 a.m.This is an easy-paced event, not a race. Each child is assigned a certain kind of egg and instructed to find matching eggs along the park's miniature golf course. Children's games will follow, including a musical carpet walk and a number of contests and crafts.The event is free at the park at 314 Railroad Ave., off Idaho-Maryland Road, Grass Valley. For information, call (530) 272-4949.

• From 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, children 11 and younger are invited to the 32nd annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Grass Valley Moose Lodge at Hennessy School. The Easter bunny will visit; children can get their faces painted and play in a bounce house.This free event is at the field behind Hennessy School at 225 S. Auburn St., Grass Valley.

• At 9 a.m. Saturday, families are invited to the Twin Cities Easter Egg Hunt at the Scotten School field. Families with children of all ages are welcome to attend. The field behind the school at 10821 Squirrel Creek Road, off Rough and Ready Highway.

• At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the Nevada Irrigation District will host its third annual Easter Egg Hunt at Rollins Reservoir. The event will be at the Orchard Springs Campground on 19085 Larsen Road, Chicago Park.Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy after the egg hunt ends.

• An Easter egg hunt and ham dinner will be hosted by Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley.The egg hunt — for the young and young-at-heart — starts at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 4, at 1979 Ridge Road (next to Nevada Union High School). Dinner is from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Jeans are welcome. For more information, call (530) 273-7043.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Saturday, March 27, 2PM Matinee: Romantic String Music

Featuring Gregory Vajda conducting MIM Festival Orchestra String Soloists
Richard Strauss.... Capriccio, Op. 85: Introduction
Schonberg.... Verklarte Nacht Op. 4 (Transfigured Night for String Sextet)
Schubert.... Quartetsatz in C Minor, D. 703
Ludwig van Beethoven.... Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 in Bb Major

This Concert is Sponsored by Jeffrey S Leiter

CONCERT NOTES by Jack Roberts

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) A Proud Father
Strauss’s father was Wagner’s most trusted horn player and he passed his love of the instrument to Richard, who started his compositional career off with the Serenade in E-flat for 13 Wind Instruments at age 18. Then, in 1888, he began his adventures into the world of tone poems – 10 incredible examples of creativity and vision. His inspiration for many of his works were arcane, to say the least: Nietzsche was the cornerstone for the tone poem, Thus Spake Zarathustra; von Hofmannsthal’s libretto guided the opera Electra; and Oscar Wilde’s play set up the opera Salome… unique teams often equal good results! His operatic composing started in 1894 and on the third try he hit gold with Salome! Tonight’s Capriccio – Introduction, was written in 1942 and was the last of his 15 operas, at least five of which are in the current international repertory.

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) Tangled Webs
His first large scale and tonally accessible work, Transfigured Night, Op.4, was written in 1899 and based on a beautifully sensitive poem by Richard Dehmel with themes of love, confession, understanding, forgiveness/transfiguration and love. Arnold was in love with Mathilde von Zemlinsky and they married two years later (more on her brother when we meet Alma Mahler in the SummerFest program notes). Then, in 1907, Mathilde took off with a local artist and left Arnold with their two children. He was not amused and lost his tonality – completely. “The emancipation of dissonance”, was his term for his atonal rebirth, and the subsequent song-cycle The Hanging Garden Book – talk about “Quantum shifts”!

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Hat Trick
In hockey, it’s three goals by a player. For Schubert, it was three unfinished works: The Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished), the oratorio Lazarus and Quartetsatz in C minor. Written in 1820, it was originally intended to be a full string quartet in four movements. Franz stopped writing after a few measures into the second movement. Why? Perhaps he couldn’t maintain the intensity and dynamism established in the first movement. But, as with Symphony No.8, let’s not worry about the “what ifs” and simply enjoy the beauty, structure and melody of the work. As musicologist Phillip Hale commented, “Let us be thankful that Schubert never finished his work. Possibly the lost arms of the Venus de Milo might disappoint if they were found.” Hmmm…

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Stand Alone
The Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 was originally the last movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op.130. His publisher requested a new fourth movement, which resulted in Op. 133 being identified as an individual piece. The complexity and artistic demands on the performers are immense, and the sustained urgency of the work places it in a singular position. It is one of his less-accessible works, with complex fugal patterns and dissonances that truly signal the emergence of ‘new music’. Not surprising at all…it was Beethoven!

Details:
Directions:To Amaral Family Festival Center, Gate 1, Bldg. 1 in the Nevada County Fairgrounds: 11228 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley. Take Highway 49 to Highway 20 toward Marysville. Take the first exit (right on Mill, right on McCourtney) and continue approximately ¼ mile. The Fairgrounds are on your right. Please follow the signs and park as directed. Amaral Family Festival Center is the red building next to the parking area.

Handicap Access: Park in Gate 1 parking lot.

For more information call the Box Office 265-6124.
Order Your Tickets On-Line Above or:
By Phone: call (530) 265-6124 or (800) 218-2188
In Person: Between noon and 4pm, Monday thru Friday, 530 Searls Ave, Nevada City, CA.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Music In The Mountains Springfest continues...

Featuring the Music in the Mountains Festival Chorale conducted by Ryan Murray;Aileen James & guest, piano four-hands;and Metropolitan Opera Baritone Richard Zeller
Brahms.... Liebeslieder-Walzer Op. 52
Schubert.... An Die Sonne
Stroope.... Amor Die Sonne
Lauridsen.... Dirait on
Clausen.... My Love's Like a Red Red Rose

This program is graciously sponsored by:
Commonwealth Financial Network, Terry M Brown, CFP©

Listen to Richard Zeller

CONCERT NOTES by Jack Roberts

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) A Change of Pace
Generally, we think of Brahms in terms of symphonies, concertos, and chamber works. But then there is that incredible choral collection (originally for piano four-hands), the Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op.52, a set of 18 beautifully melodic and rhythmically entrancing works. These poetic and musical odes were written in 1874, while Johannes was carrying that excruciatingly heavy torch for Clara Schumann – just a torch, no hanky-panky… Clara was a “professional” widow. Ah, the Waltzes!! What a change in feeling from the same pen that gave us the fiery Hungarian Dances a few years earlier – a true study in contrasts!

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) After Beethoven?
“Who can do anything after Beethoven”, asked Schubert, before he went about achieving sublime creative heights, giving us 600 songs, nine symphonies, song cycles, great chamber works, piano sonatas, masses and much more – each endowed with his unique lyricism and emotions. All this emanated from one who had no conservatory training, but did have piano and violin lesson from his brother and father. He was tutored for a time by Antonio Salieri (you remember Salieri!), and in 1810, the 13 year old Schubert wrote his first compositions – a piano fantasia and a string quartet – and thereafter never stopped expressing himself through magnificent melody.

A side note on Lieder: They are generally songs (‘lieder’ is the German word for ‘songs’) written to accompany poetry describing the beauty of nature, romance, tragedy, etc. Famous poets such as Goethe, Schiller and Heine were often used. Mahler wrote some of his own words, but should have stuck to the music. Typically, Lied (a single lieder) is composed for single voice and piano, but can also be for multiple voices or chorus and orchestra.

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) Prolific Plus
Wolf is considered one of the greatest masters of the German Lied, or art song, with 300-500 songs to his credit (depending on the source). He entered the Vienna Conservatory of Music when he was 15, but was expelled after two years – a lack of discipline, so they said. Soon after he began writing songs, he experienced an unpleasant run-in with Brahms, had a romantic affair with the wife of a Viennese Court jeweler, was appointed second conductor of the Salzburg Orchestra (briefly and contentiously) and, finally, became music critic of a weekly Viennese newspaper. He enjoyed his journalism gig, taking potshots at a number of composers that irritated him.
After three years of this catharsis, he left the newspaper to compose full time. One of his major works was an eloquent set of 48 songs, The Italian Songbook. Many of his works were like short descriptive snapshots; others were longer and considered miniature symphonic poems. His last years were unhappy and damp: he tried to drown himself as had Schumann and Berlioz. Thankfully, all were unsuccessful. His last days were sadly spent confined in a mental hospital. And so it goes…

Details:
Directions:To Amaral Family Festival Center, Gate 1, Bldg. 1 in the Nevada County Fairgrounds: 11228 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley. Take Highway 49 to Highway 20 toward Marysville. Take the first exit (right on Mill, right on McCourtney) and continue approximately ¼ mile. The Fairgrounds are on your right. Please follow the signs and park as directed. Amaral Family Festival Center is the red building next to the parking area.
Handicap Access: Park in Gate 1 parking lot. For more information call the Box Office 265-6124.
Order Your Tickets On-Line Above or:
By Phone: call (530) 265-6124 or (800) 218-2188
In Person: Between noon and 4pm, Monday thru Friday, 530 Searls Ave, Nevada City, CA.
Subscription orders are Priority filled until February 12.Tickets will be mailed starting in early March.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Music In The Mountains Spring Fest Begins Today!

Featuring Gregory Vajda conducting the Soloists of the MIM Festival Orchestra with Richard Zeller, baritone.

Johann Strauss.... Rosen auf den Suden (Roses from the South)
Johann Strauss.... Schatzwaltz (Treasure Waltz)
Johann Strauss.... Lagunen-Walzer
Johann Strauss.... Wein, Weib und Gesang (Wine, Women and Song)
Arnold Schoenberg.... Weihnachtmusik (Wedding-music)
Gustav Mahler.... Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen
Johann Strauss.... Kaiserwaltz (Emperor Waltz)

Listen to Richard Zeller

This Concert is Sponsored by Scinto Graziano, LLP

PROGRAM NOTES by Jack Roberts

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) Time Travel
The Viennese waltz is grand music, and it is also a state of mind. Now sit back and let yourself be transported to old Vienna: the rhythmic beauty of the waltz, visiting homes of the great composers, the Prater Park Ferris wheel, Sacher Tortes at the CafĂ© Mozart, walking the Kartnerstrasse… the idealized Vienna Life… enjoy!

It all began with Johann Strauss I (1804-1849), who founded his own salon orchestra. Later, his son Johann II (or Junior) started his own orchestra – Aha! We have a Father/Son competition! A few years later, when dear old dad died, Junior merged the two orchestras with exceptional results. They toured Europe, Russia and England. An 1872 visit to the U.S. was also a monumental success. He wrote over 500 waltzes, polkas and marches, earning the title of the “Waltz King”. Tonight, we celebrate his creativity with five enjoyable works…the concluding number is his well known Emperor Waltz.

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) What’s In A Name?
Schoenberg is a name that brings either shivers of consternation or enthusiastic anticipation to the average concertgoer. While he started out in a compositionally conventional way, he later broke with tradition and blazed a trail of “post romanticism” – or “modern/expressionism”, if you prefer. In 1908, he began to liberate himself from tonality and the harmonic rule book. This later evolved into his 12-tone period, but lurking beneath all this was a soul of the Romantic period, as demonstrated by his 1921 Weihnachtmusick (Wedding Music)… long melodic lines with brief touches of Brahms, and even the Baroque.

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) Down With Program Notes!
So proclaimed Gustav Mahler, who went on to say, “the audience should be left to its own thoughts… should not be forced to read…”, and so on, and so on. His outburst was fully in keeping with the incredibly complex person that was Mahler – a demanding perfectionist as a conductor who brought orchestras to greatness despite his despotic ranting and supercritical attitude, and a composer whose lieder and symphonies were continually raising the standards of creativity.
His musical inclinations were quickly recognized, and he gave his first public recital at age ten. He graduated from the Vienna Conservatory when he was 18, and assumed his first conducting position two years later. The year 1884 left Gustav in the wake of an unhappy love affair and to console himself he wrote the musically magnificent lieder, Songs of a Wayfarer. He also wrote the text: drippy and maudlin, but considering his romantic derailment, we can excuse his dabbling in bathos. That same year, he completed his Symphony No. 1. A poet? Hardly. A diplomat? Not at all. A composer of beauty, breadth and power? A resounding yes! You’re the man, Gus.

Details:
Directions:To Amaral Family Festival Center, Gate 1, Bldg. 1 in the Nevada County Fairgrounds: 11228 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley. Take Highway 49 to Highway 20 toward Marysville. Take the first exit (right on Mill, right on McCourtney) and continue approximately ¼ mile. The Fairgrounds are on your right. Please follow the signs and park as directed. Amaral Family Festival Center is the red building next to the parking area.
Handicap Access: Park in Gate 1 parking lot. For more information call the Box Office 265-6124.

Order Your Tickets On-Line Above or:
By Phone: call (530) 265-6124 or (800) 218-2188
In Person: Between noon and 4pm, Monday thru Friday, 530 Searls Ave, Nevada City, CA.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Don't miss...Snow Falling On Cedars...through April 10, 2010

The body of a local fisherman is found tangled in his net, and a Japanese-American fisherman is arrested for his murder. For the residents of an island in the Pacific Northwest, the wartime internment of the Japanese has left a bitter legacy, and the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto polarizes the community even further.
A white newspaperman may hold the key to the accused man's guilt or innocence. But Ishmael Chambers' sense of right and wrong is clouded by his enduring love for Kabuo's wife, Hatsue. Their biracial romance as children had been destroyed by fear and cultural prejudices. Still wounded, Ishmael must conquer his feelings before simmering pressures from all sides upend the scales of justice and tear the community apart.

Based on the 1994 best-selling novel by David Guterson, and winner of the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, "Snow Falling on Cedars" was adapted to the stage by Kevin McKeon in 2007. It premiered at Book-it Repertory Theatre in Seattle in the same year. Prior to the stage adaptation, it was made into a movie in 1999, which was directed by Scott Hicks and starred Ethan Hawke and Youki Kudoh. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. CATS is proud to be the first theatre company in California to produce this show and to have Mr. McKeon as its director.

Our cast includes Tucker Braga, Lyra Dominguez, Vann Dart, Ron Sasaki, Jed Dixon, Scott Young, Darryl Stines, Andrew Kerr, Diane Fetterly, Lisa Moon, Kerri Fulton, Allison Chan, Jez Freeman, John Bush, and Virgil Wong.

Tickets available February 2010 at the Book Sellers and Briar Patch Market in Grass Valley, and at the Nevada City Postal Company and Gold Mountain in Nevada City and online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ Contact mailto:info@catsweb.org for gift certificates and groups of 10 or more.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

21st Annual Psychic Fair!


Sun, 11:00AM at Miners Foundry Cultural Center Nevada City, California!!

Come Celebrate the opening of Spring at the 21st Annual Psychic Fair held at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center, Nevada City, California in beautiful Nevada County! There will be a Metaphysical Market Place, Readers, Dancers, Body workers, Clinical Herbalist, Iridologist, Shamanic Healer. There are also workshops on Numerology, Crystal Healing, Sun Stones/Sun Transmissions for 2012, Crystal Skulls, Hopi Craft Booth, Hawaiian Craft Booth. The Spring Opening Ceremony will be in the Stone Room on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Saturday Night Program - 7pm to 9pm There are offering a special evening program with Hopi Corn Maiden Marlinda Kooyaquaptewa. Marlinda is from 1st Mesa on the Hopi Reservation where she works owns a store at the Hopi Cultural Center, and is a Hopi Guide when visitors come to Hopi.

Come join in on this wonderful event to kick off the springtime this year!!!

Grass Valley Spring Fling!!

SALES SALES SALES SALES SALES SALES SALES SALES!!! Promotions, entertainment, demos, raffles, door prizes, refreshments, big sales Get ready for Spring and Summer in Downtown Grass Valley. All the latest fashions, fads and must haves for the upcoming season!
Saturday March 20, 2010 10:00 - 6:00