Congrats to the Fine Arts Fund For Raising $11 Million!

Cincinnati should be thankful we have organizations like the Fine Arts Fund, but we also should be thank that we as citizens support the efforts of the FAF and open our wallets to help keep the Arts alive in our City. Other places around the country don't fair as well. Their annual campaign ended yesterday by meeting their $11 Million goal, but you could still contribute, they won't turn away your check!

We as a community should be doing more, however. Public funding must be restored as soon as budgets allow. Something to keep in mind when you vote next week and in the Fall: Voting for Republicans in most cases will do noting for the arts. In some cases, like Chris Monzel, voting for the GOP will help end the arts. We still need to push the Democrats to commit to publicly fund the arts. If you were able to get down to the FAF celebration last night and you didn't seem Jim Tarbell, then you must not have been looking. Jim is running for Hamilton County Commissioner and Jim understands the importance of the arts.

Cincinnati Has a Film Festival

For those local film fans who've been long waiting for a film festival to take place in Cincinnati can look forward to October 8th through the 16th when the Cincinnati Film Festival is scheduled to take place.

The festival is actually not a new one, just the transformation of the Oxford International Film Festival, which has changed its name and its location to be 100% in Cincinnati. This changed started last year when the festival was centered at the Esquire and will continue to be based there this year.

Details on submissions can be found at www.cincyfilmfest.com.

Comments are being sought from organizers via their Facebook page on what ideas festival goers would like to see be part of the event.

CAC: The Event - May 22nd

Get more info at: www.contemporaryartscenter.org

Cincinnati Fringe Festival: New Website and Line-Up

Last night the Cincinnati Fringe Festival held an event to celibate the relaunching of their website www.cincyfringe.com and at the same time announced the line-up for the 2010 festival.

32 shows mostly from out of town will descend on Know Theatre starting June 1st for the 7th annual event. For a listing of the productions, check here. As is normal, the line-up is subject to change.

This year TheConveyor.com will once again be reviewing shows and giving insights and out of sights on the festival.

If you have never been to Fringe, then clear your calendar for the first 12 days of June. It is theatre and community at its best.

Twitter folks, please spread the word. We used #cincyfringe last year, so I hope that is repeated!

Interesting Review of CAC's Shepard Fairey Exhibit

AEQAI has a very interesting and in-depth review of Shepard Fairey's 'Supply and Demand.'

Shepard Fairey's Work at Arnold's

Check out artist Shepard Fairey and his team hard at work installing a mural on the East wall of Arnold's in Downtown.

Shepard and his team even stayed at Arnold's for lunch out in the courtyard. That's how you experience this city.

Don't forget to hit the CAC this Friday for the Free Opening starting at 8 PM. Shepard Fairey will be DJing. Do not miss this event, it will be memorable. Blogger(s) may be dancing.

Fine Arts Fund's ArtAlive Party Feb 20th at the CAC

The Fine Arts Fund kicks off their annual campaign with a great event: the ArtAlive Party, Saturday February 20th, 2010, 7 PM at the CAC. Cincinnati is privileged to have a world class arts scene and a core reason for that is the FAF. If you don't know what the FAF does for Cincinnati, then you really need to read their website www.fineartsfund.org.  This event brings the art community together to celebrate the Cincinnati tradition of supporting the arts and this gives the art supporter the chance to experience the amazing cutting edge art going on right here in Cincinnati.  This is about Cincinnati, this is not about what is going on in other places, this is happening here and now.

$25 in advance ($30 at the door) gets you a great night of excitement including special live performances and the opening of the Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand exhibit at the CAC. Add in great food, a drink, and mixing with the people who make Cincinnati vibrant and you have an evening not to miss.

If this isn't enough, that whole weekend, Feb 20th - 21st, is the FAF's Sampler Weekend filled with FREE arts events all across the metro area.

CSO 2010-11: Wow, Wow, Wow!

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2010-2011 schedule. It is, easily, the most impressive lineup of CSO concerts in one season in the ten years I've lived here.

Both Janelle Gelfand and Mary Ellyn Hutton have the scoop. (A note here: until this weekend, I was unaware that Ms. Hutton, the outstanding reporter/critic formerly of the Cincinnati Post, had a site where she continues to write and blog. Griff: get a link up!) The highlights of the season include:

• a cycle of all five Beethoven concertos;
• five commissioned fanfares;
• an opening weekend featuring Kathleen Battle;
• a "farewell gala" featuring Yo-Yo Ma; and
• Vadim Repin performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto.

Because Paavo will be a busy man (CSO is just one of four gigs worldwide for him in the upcoming season), Music Hall will also host a great variety of guest conductors. Since all of the guest conductors are rising stars, that may play a pivotal role in the CSO's search for post-Paavo leadership.

Paavo will conduct nine of the season's concerts. (At least, I count nine. Gelfand and Hutton both say eight, but I think they're referring to subscription series concerts, which doesn't include the Yo-Yo Ma farewell gala.)

It's a season to look forward to, and will no doubt be one to remember.

CSO Faces Transition

The CSO announced today that Paavo Jarvi will conclude his tenure as condutor at the end of the 2010-11 season, when his contract expires. The CSO sent an email to its subscribers informing them of the maestro's decision.

That comes on the heels of the death of Erich Kunzel, long-time conductor of the Pops. It also follows--by just a few weeks--Louise Nippert's extraordinary $85 million gift to the CSO.

I moved to Cincinnati in the fall of 2000. The first nine months of that time, I was too busy trying not to flunk out of my first year of law school to do anything outside Clifton. So for me, Paavo--who came here in September 2001--has always been been the face of CSO.

The search for a new conductor will no doubt be made easier by Ms. Nippert's gift, which ensures the long-time financial stability of the CSO. Most orchestras in similarly-sized cities don't have the financial breathing room now enjoyed by the CSO. This all means that CSO will likely have its pick of conductors from around the world.

An Amazing Gift for Cincinnati Arts

Louise Nippert has made history with her incredible gift to the CSO, Opera, and Ballet. Classical music is the base of fine arts and this gift will go far to ensure that the CSO can continue as a world class orchestra and in turn provide first class live music to the Opera and Ballet for many years to come. This donation will also help all of the local arts organizations in the city, if by no other way then opening up opportunities for other donors to focus on an expanded list of Arts groups (like local live Theatre!). Mrs. Nippert played the role of Mrs. Claus in a big way yesterday, so turn on WGUC right now and think of the culture this city will be able to continue to remain famous for throughout the world.

Cincinnati Opera Online Auction Begins

Check out the items up for bid in the Cincinnati Opera's Online Auction.

Also, don't forget the Cincy Opera will be having the Opera Ball After-Party on November 21st, so buy your tickets now ($30 pre-sale, $40 at the door).

Good Review for Know's Boom!

The Enquirer gives a very good review for Know Theatre's Boom! which opens tonight and runs through November 7th. I'm hitting the Season opening night, this evening, and am really looking forward to this production. Get to some local Theatre! Advance tickets are only $12, which is a great deal for professional theatre.

Splash Dance on Fountain Square

A Cool idea from Cincinnati's Arts Community.

"Scottie Leibovitz"

Scott Beseler of Soapbox Cincinnati does really fantastic work, with this example showing the Seedy Seeds from this weeks edition of Soapbox as a great calling card. It worked perfectly as an eye catcher with this great story from Sean Rhiney about Midpoint and Cincinnati's music scene. I was blown away with that photo and really had to point some attention to it.

Scott's work, as can be seen at his website: www.taketheday.com illustrates his great work, and great contact with local musicians as well as local "movers and shakers."

I titled this post with a tongue firmly in cheek, but Scott has an amazingly brilliant eye and the Seedy Seeds photograph is worthy of priase I believe in both photo journalism realm, but from a pure art perspective as well. In a certain sense he is the Leibovitz of Cincinnati and he's young, never know what great things he may achieve. We get lots of famous people coming through Cincinnati, maybe he can get a few of them to pose while in town. I hope to see more of his work and a repeat of a showing of his photographs at Final Friday.

Lang Lang at the CSO

Tonight is a special night for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Not only is it the 2009-2010 season opening, it includes a soloist who is the hottest draw in the classical music world: Lang Lang. He will dazzle his piano talents on Beethoven, here's a taste:

After the concert, you can hit the CSO's Afterburn party. Tickets for the concert are SOLD OUT, but the Afterburn party will have room in the Music Hall Ballroom. Tickets for the after party are $30.

Come out and support a Treasure of Cincinnati and a beacon to the world's arts community.

See the Ballet's New Works

Cincinnati Ballet's season opener, New Works, is a great introduction to Ballet for the arts fan who wants to explore an art form new to them. Last night's opening was an extra special event with live music from world class musicians all from Cincinnati. Three of the dance pieces premiered with live accompaniment from the song writers, which included Over the Rhine, Peter Adams, and Jake Speed & the Freddies.

Heather Britt's piece set to the new music from Peter Adams (Bad Vein-esque) and Joy Jovet's brilliant interpretation of Jake Speed's music were my favorites of the evening, along with the stunning mix of music, photography, and dance in "Retrospect" by choreographers Missy Lay Zimmer & Andrew Hubbard set to the haunting and bountiful voice of Karin Bergquist (from Over the Rhine)

The remaining performances will be to recorded music, which is too bad, because the use of live music with the dances added so much to the performances. It was a collaboration that I believe is something that is critical to dance, and art form I will admit I've only experienced a few times.

The next performance is 8PM tonight at the Ballet's Studio (1555 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45214) and the show runs through next weekend, with final show on Sunday afternoon September 20th.

2009 CEA: Theatre Awards Show August 30th

CityBeat has announced great news that on Sunday August 30th the 13th annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards will be presented at a hip club, showcasing the best of Cincinnati Theatre. The CEAs are Cincinnati's longest running theater awards program, using votes from the public and from established theater critics to determine winners in 20 different categories. Everyone had a great time last year at BELOW ZERO LOUNGE (1122 Walnut Street, Over-the-Rhine, www.BelowZeroLounge.com) and the 2009 event is back.

The highlights include free appetizers, drink specials and keyboard tunes from musical theater favorite Terry LaBolt. They'll also of course present the 2009 Continuing Achievement Award, named by the League of Cincinnati Theatres, to the founders of Cincinnati Landmark Productions -- Tim Perrino, Jennifer Perrino and Denny Reed.

Here's the Schedule for Sunday evening, August 30:

6 p.m. Mix and mingle with your friends in the theater world - free appetizers and a cash bar.

7 p.m. Rick Pender and John Fox from CityBeat will recognize the nominees and the winners in the 12 publicly voted categories.

Break: Musical interlude by Terry LaBolt

8:15 p.m. Presentation of the League of Cincinnati Theares Continuing Achievement Award for 2009, plus recognition of the nominees and the winners in the 8 critical achievement categories, including outstanding premiere, outstanding play and outstanding musical.

9 p.m. Party on!

RSVP Not necessary -- it's free!

Parking $2 parking is available at the Gateway Garage, one block away. Enter from Central Parkway.

Get out and support Cincinnati Theatre and a great local venue.

Toreador, en garde!

So I finally got to the opera this season, even though it took me until the final show of the summer. I was not disappointed by Cincinnati Opera's offering of Carmen.

Janelle Gelfand was unusually negative about the acting and staging. That's okay; she's entitled to be wrong her opinion. (In all seriousness, Ms. Gelfand no doubt has a much more sophisticated opera palate than I do. Since I go to the opera just once or twice each year, I'm generally destined to be blown away by just about anything on the Music Hall stage, particularly an opera that's as much fun to listen to as Carmen.) Unlike the Enquirer's critic, I enjoyed Ruxanda Donose's performance as Carmen. (I don't speak French, though; if Ms. Gelfand does, she's no doubt a better judge of Donose's acting ability.) Without any doubt, tenor William Burden (as Don Jose) stole the show.

I agreed with Ms. Gelfand that the Cincinnati Symphony's performance of the prelude was a bit rushed. In fact, it seemed at times almost as if the instrumentalists were tripping over themselves through the toreador theme. (Think about hitting the fast-forward button on your old "Bad News Bears" videotape while leaving the audio up.) The CSO also almost overpowered the vocals a couple times. But all in all, it was a terrifically-spent three-plus hours.

A friend who was kind of enough to bend her schedule to my last minute whim to buy a couple tickets and accompanied me to the opera commented that watching the opera brings into clear relief the type of entertainment those of us born in the 1970's and later are accustomed to. Can you imagine watching a movie set in only 3 or 4 different places, or with a single camera shot that doesn't cut away from over an hour? But I think that's part of why I love attending the opera or the CSO. An afternoon or evening at the CSO is all about that moment. It's not about what happens next; there's no hurry to move along to the next thing. The cell phone is stowed away and turned off, so there's no chance of the outside world pressuring me to hurry up and do something else. Instead, an opera or symphony performance provides two or three hours of pure escapism: the opportunity to totally immerse one's self in the music and story of that performance, leaving everything else behind.

Speaking of CSO, its new season looks pretty impressive, too (although perhaps a bit laden with guest conductors). Guess I ought to think about picking up some tickets.

Oxford Film Festival

I was very pleased when I heard about that the Oxford Film Festival was moving the core of the event to Cincinnati, but doing that at the last minute appears to have contributed to poor attendance as seen through the eyes of CityBeat's Steve Rosen. I hope this doesn't dampen efforts to keep the festival in Cincinnati. Many have long tried to stage film festivals in Cincinnati with limited success. What might help is one of two things: partner with another festival (say Midpoint or CincyFringe) or find a way to bring together the often splintered Cincinnati film community. You need a team to run any festival and need to divide up responsibility. One important task is marketing and outside of CityBeat, I've not heard much about this festival, with no sightings on the core social networking websites.

There is still time to hit some screenings which are running through Thursday at the Esquire. For all of the rest of festival information, check out their website: www.oxfordfilms.com.

Great NY Times Article About Cincinnati

I don't know if the writer for the NY Times read my mind or read the minds of all of my friends or was stalking everyone I hang out with, but this travel article highlights what I believe are many of the of the coolest places in Cincinnati. If you want to explain to people living anywhere, including people in the Cincinnati area, why this a vibrant place to live, point them to this article and tell them this is just the tip of the iceberg. If City and Business leaders want to attract people to live or visit Cincinnati, they must promote these facets on par with any other attribute.