arts

Another free online Saturday night concert by the Old Hippies for the folks of Genesee County from their vacation home in Florida.

Check back at 8 p.m. for a special edition of The Batavian Sessions, featuring Paul Draper.

His primary instrument is guitar. He also plays tenor sax, trombone and bass guitar.

Press release:

WHEN ASKED WHAT HIS GREATEST HS MUSICAL MEMORY IS, LOWELL RESPONDED:

"Being a part of the Alexander Jazz Experience was not only the most wholesome and fulfilling introduction to Jazz, but it also left me with a gratitude and sense of preparedness for performing in ensembles."

Lowell's goal is to work in the music industry as a composer/arranger, and songwriter. He currently enjoys spending time composing and producing using Abelton Live.

WHEN ASKED WHAT HIS FAVORITE PERFORMANCE AND VENUE WAS HE RESPONDED:

"The Riviera Theater in Buffalo in 2017 for the Music is Arts Festival with the Alexander Jazz Experience. We played a combination of jazz standards such as Cold Duck Time and St. Thomas as well as some Funk/Fusion jams such as Chameleon and Watermelon Man."

Lowell's main influences are: His teacher Dan Klinczar, Michael League of Snarky Puppy, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Stephen Sondheim.

Lowell will be attending SUNY Purchase in the fall where he will be studying Studio Composition! We wish him luck and are so proud of all of his accomplishments.

Howard Owens reads "Third Avenue in Sunlight" by Anthony Hecht.

Hecht was a Literature professor at the University of Rochester. Below is a short video of Hect talking about poetry.

This concludes our poetry month readings. I hope you enjoyed them.

Mike Hodgins reads "House by the Side of the Road" by Sam Walter Floss. Mike said this poem was one of the favorites of his father, John Hodgins, the late local artist and county legislator.

Avey Williams reads Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess. Avey is associated with Batavia Players.

Elba resident Lucine Kauffman reads "Leisure" by W.H. Davies.

Richard Beatty recites "Highlands" by Bob Dylan.

Join GO ART! for the organization's first Virtual Birthday Party at 7 p.m.

The party includes gallery tours, live performances by Jackie Siegel McLean, Theresa & Mark Kehl, Madison Hoerbelt, and the Canning Family, the Genean (Genesee-Orleans) Arts and Culture Awards, and winner announcements for its Quarantine Contest and Juried Show, “Art of the Rural.”

Jane Burk, a member of Batavia Players, reads "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

"This is Me," performed by participants in the Sound Foundation and the Harvester 56 Theater in Batavia.

Sound Foundations Voice Studio is a private studio run by Wendy Williams. She trains both classical and music-theater style singers, including children and adult beginners. Five of her high school students placed this year in an international young classical artists competition and sang at Carnegie Hall. 

Williams is currently conducting lessons remotely and she decided to use the remote learning tools to bring the class together in a fun and uplifting project.

The song is from the musical "The Greatest Showman."

Jessica Hill, an artist in residence with Batavia Players, reads William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116.

GO ART! and The Batavian are teaming up to bring you a live arts event with an art contest, presentation of the Genean Awards, live performances, and a virtual tour of GO ART's gallery on April 15.

From GO ART! Executive Director Gregory Hallock:

GO ART! is seeking artists and heroes of all age levels to create a piece of art, in any media or size, in the theme of "Quarantine" and email a picture with the creator's name, grade level -- UPK - K, 1 - 2, 3 - 5, 6 - 8, 9 -12, college students, and adults (ones not doing the school thing anymore) -- to info@goart.org by April 10th.

Pictures will go live on GO ART!'s Facebook page on April 11th. The one with the most likes between April 11th and 14th will win the grand prize. A jury will also pick a winner from each grade-level category.

Winners and prizes will be announced live on The Batavian at https://www.thebatavian.com between 7 and 8 p.m. on April 15th.

I promise ye will like them.

The winners of the Genean Awards, GO ART!'s Arts and Culture Awards, live performances, a tour of GO ART!'s galleries and Genean's (GO ART!'s) birthday will all be a part of the hour-long event on April 15th. Artists, heroes, and villagers are all invited to attend.

Bill and Kay McDonald are in Florida streaming a concert for the folks back home (Genesee County).

Paul Draper and I are talking about doing a special live edition of The Batavian Sessions featuring several local musicians. We haven't picked a date yet but tonight we recorded a test-run for your entertainment. Watch The Batavian for more information about the upcoming live, online concert, which will also be a fundraiser for a local charity.

Pavilion Central School presents "The Wizard of Oz" this week.

Dorothy is played by Kali Markek, the Scarecrow by Anthony Brown, Tin Man by Alex Stalica, the Cowardly Lion by Jacob Taylor, and the Wizard of Oz by Aiden McConnel.

Showtimes are 7 p.m. tomorrow, 7 p.m. on Friday, and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $8 for adults, and $6 for seniors and children.

County legislators on Wednesday indicated a willingness to sell or lease a small parcel of land next to the Senior Center building on Bank Street, Batavia, to GO ART! for the creation of an art garden.

Gregory Hallock, director of GO ART!, presented the concept at a Ways and Means Committee meeting and the committee unanimously approved a letter of support.

The letter is necessary to help secure a potential grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, which provided funds for the Musical Garden that opened this summer in the walkway next to Seymore Place.

Hallock said the art garden will be space for art displays, concerts, classes, flowers, and a place to grow herbs and vegetables for use in the GO ART! kitchen.

He said the garden could also help generate revenue for GO ART! as a place to host weddings and for culinary events as well as concerts.

The small lot in question is already a garden accessible only by the Senior Center that is barely used by the Office for the Aging.

Besides a connection to Seymore Place and the Musical Garden, the art garden would also fit nicely, Hallock said, with the Healthy Living Campus being developed by UMMC and the YMCA.

Hallock said both UMMC and the YMCA have signed off on the project and through discussions, leaders there realized that GO ART! is a natural fit for what they're planning with the Healthy Living Campus so GO ART! will be included more in future planning discussions.

Press release:

The Forum Players, Genesee Community College's Theater Arts students, and members of the local theater community are excited to open the 2020 spring season with "Doubt: A Parable," written by John Patrick Shanley, which won both a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award in 2005.

This performance is a brilliant and powerful drama that tells the story of Sister Aloysius, a Bronx school principal who takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of improper relations with a male student.

Shanley not only wrote the play, but he also wrote the screenplay and directed it as a film starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

GCC's talented Forum Players bring this parable to life with four live performances, directed by Maryanne Arena and Jaime Arena, which are intended for mature audiences (age 16 and up). Performances are in the Stuart Steiner Theatre, 1 College Road, Batavia.

• Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22, both at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m.

The cast includes:

• Lucine Kauffman, of Elba, as Sister Aloysius
• Sam Rigerman, of Batavia, as Father Flynn
• Nevaeh Vindigni-Kretchmer, of Rochester, as Sister James (alternating the role)
• Alyssa Young, of Holley, as Sister James (alternating the role)
• Francesca Pieter, of Willemstad, Curacao as Mrs. Muller (alternating the role)
• Caitlynne Tape, of Syracuse, as Mrs. Muller (alternating the role)

The crew includes:

• Brodie McPherson, of Rochester, as technical director and production designer
• Emily Grierson, of Perry, as stage manager
• Tiago Ortega, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as a backstage assistant
• Leah Plummer, of Bradford, Pa., as a backstage assistant

Tickets for these shows are available online here. The cost is $8 for adults, and $5 for seniors (55+) and students (16+) and GCC faculty/ staff. GCC students with ID are $3, and GCC alumni with ID will receive a $2 discount on an adult ticket.

To reserve seats, you may also contact the GCC box office at boxoffice@genesee.edu or (585) 345-6814. 

Photos by Howard Owens.

Greg Houseknecht wrote a song to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant after the Lakers' star, along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in Southern California.