Norton Center

I would like to thank Norton Center for the Arts for generously offering tickets to local educators to attend the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata concert last Friday evening. It was an excellent performance and highly entertaining. Thank you so much for bringing quality entertainment to Danville. Cindy Turcea Danville

The 2011-2012 Norton Center for the Arts season will bear little resemblance to the seasons of recent years. The composition of the season has been reconceived, and of the 21 shows that will take place at the arts center, only one — “Fiddler on the Roof,” which was performed at the Norton Center 10 years ago — has played on the Norton Center stage. There will be two series in the season: the Newlin Hall Series, which is comprised of 16 shows, and the Club Weisiger Series, which will have five performances.

A holiday concert has been added to the current Norton Center for the Arts season. The Vienna Boys Choir will perform at 4 p.m. Nov. 20 in Newlin Hall. The Vienna Boys Choir is considered the world's pre-eminent children's choir. For more than six centuries, it has delighted audiences with a repertoire that encompasses Austrian folk songs and waltzes, classical masterpieces, beloved pop songs, holiday favorites and medieval chants.    Ticket prices are $45 and $30 for adults, $15 for anyone under 18. Tickets are now available for purchase by phone at (859)

It is with pleasure that I am writing to express my appreciation for the entertainment value of the concert at the Norton Center this past weekend featuring blues legends Shemekia Copeland and Robert Cray.   I have written interviews, record and concert reviews that appeared in publications in Cincinnati for these artists, individually, but it was most pleasing to find these two together in Danville.   The combination of Shemekia with Robert was simply brilliant. Historically, Robert Cray worked with the legendary Johnny Clyde Copeland, father of Shemekia, on a critically acclaimed record titled “Showdown” - a record that is found on most blues enthusiasts' playlists.

Matthew Oltman envisions an exploration of space in Chanticleer’s upcoming performance at the Norton Center of the Arts. Well, sort of, anyway. The program is titled “Out of This World” and Oltman conceived it “to explore music that deals with the heavens, the universe and worlds beyond our own.” “Some of that is sort of spiritual and metaphysical ideas about heaven and what have you,” explains Oltman, who is music director for the all-male vocal ensemble that is in its 33rd season.

Peter Kiesewalter cautions theater-goers intrigued by “The Hills Are Alive,” based on classic musical “The Sound of Music”: They shouldn't expect costumes. Or sets. Or seven kids. Or lederhosen. What he is bringing with Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata is a “mash up” of “The Sound of Music” with numerous other musical genres and bands: country, hip-hop, gospel, Boston, Aerosmith, Jackson 5 and Rolling Stones. “This is a concert of the songs from that show and they should also expect a pretty eclectic range of genres,” said the Grammy-nominated producer who formed BRO in 2009.

The Norton Center for the Arts at Centre College is set to host The Robert Cray Band, appearing for the first time in Danville on Friday. Cray, who is known for his eclectic guitar riffs and steamy blues vocals, took some time out from a busy tour schedule to talk about the show. The five-time Grammy Award winner has an impressive resume of 22 albums under his belt in a recording career that began in 1980. A 2011 inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame, Cray still comes off as a down-home blues singer and musician whose relaxed demeanor and comforting voice instantly warm a listener up to feel cozy, almost at home.

I want to publicly thank the Norton Center for the Arts staff for making our field trip from Burgin school to watch The Lucianna Souza trio a truly wonderful experience.  After expressing interest in the event via email, I received a prompt response from a Norton Center staff member. The staff member answered questions and provided directions to a free lesson plan that was available on the Norton Center's website regarding the Brazilian performers and their music. Once we arrived at the Norton Center, we were cordially welcomed by director Steve Hoffman and taken to our seats by a student volunteer.

LANCASTER - For the past 22 years, Debbie Hoskins helped bring top name talent to Danville and Richmond. Now, she will try to do the same for her hometown. “I'm taking on a new job,” Hoskins said Wednesday. “They're opening a beautiful new theater, and they've entrusted me to put it on the map.” Hoskins, who booked shows for Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts and Eastern Kentucky University's Center for the Arts, was named earlier this month as executive director of the Lancaster Grand Theater, which is scheduled to open in the spring after a painstaking $4.2 million restoration that has been years in the making.

Tickets are still available for the Airmen of Note concert 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Norton Center for the Arts at Centre College. Tickets are required but will be available at the door.

BOYLE Centre College - 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, in Newlin Hall Boyle County High School - 7 p.m. Friday, May 24 Kentucky School for the Deaf - 2 p.m. Thursday, May 30, in the gym Danville High School - 8 p.m. Thursday, May 30, at the Norton Center for the Arts CASEY Casey County High School - 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 GARRARD Garrard County High School - 7 p.m. Friday, May 24, location to be announced. LINCOLN Fort Logan High School - 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in the auditorium Lincoln County High School - 7 p.m. Friday, May 24 MERCER Burgin High School - 7 p.m. Friday, May 24 Mercer Central - 1 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at the 9th Grade Academy gym Mercer County Senior High School - 4 p.m. Saturday, May 25, in the auditorium

Three Boyle County groups have been awarded Arts Access Assistance Grants from the Kentucky Arts Council to bring arts to a population that doesn't always get to see artistic events: seniors. “Arts Access Assistance grants will provide diverse populations of Kentuckians with programs of value benefiting their quality of life,” said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. “The grant recipients were chosen by a panel of professionals who responded to their ideas, their established history of working with artists and seniors, and their capacity to carry projects through to fruition.” The grant theme for this first round of funding is “Creative Aging and Lifelong Learning in the Arts.” The Boyle County Public Library and the Norton Center for the Arts are collaborating, and Pioneer Playhouse will have a summer program for seniors.

The Black Dyke Youth Quartet, from the United Kingdom, is scheduled to perform at several events during this year's Great American Brass Band Festival, which will be June 6-9 in downtown Danville. The quartet is new to the festival this year. The Black Dyke Band is the world's most famous British style brass band. The band was formed in 1855 by John Foster, a mill owner from Queensbury, Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. The Black Dyke quartet was started in 2004 by Brett Baker when a previous member of the trombone section decided to retire from full-time playing, but wanted to continue working on projects with the band.

Events for this column must be submitted to the Advocate by noon Tuesday to be in the Thursday newspaper. Call (859) 236-2551, ext. 135, with complete information, including hours and admission price, or email advocatearts@gmail.com. EXHIBITS SpringScene, through May 26, Mahan Gallery, Boyle County Public Library. Open during regular business hours. Free. Opening reception:6-7:30 p.m. today. Information: (859) 238-7323. MUSIC Johnnie Holland and Trouble Train band, 8 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday, Mae Johnson's White Barn, Waynesburg.

Centre College's Economics Society and Norton Center for the Arts co-present a conversation with the Grammy nominated Ens ¿ String Quartet on how the members used Kickstarter.com to successfully fund their most recent music recording. The discussion is 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Evans Lively Room in Old Carnegie on Centre College campus. The event is free and open to the public.  Online do-it-yourself investment is becoming a major player in funding significant projects, including this year's Academy Award winning film, “Inocente.” This web-based program has been used to fund projects related to music, art, literature, science and film, as well as commercial projects.

RICHMOND - A little more than a month after Eastern Kentucky University introduced Debra Hoskins as executive director of its Center for the Arts on Jan. 31, 2011, her former employer, Centre College informed her and EKU that it had evidence she had improperly obtained confidential records from its Norton Center for the Arts. Hoskins was employed by the Norton Center for more than 20 years before joining EKU. The information included customer and advertiser lists that were obtained by a Norton employee, Angie Young, sent to her personal email and then forwarded to Hoskins' personal email, according to a letter from Centre President John Roush to Hoskins and EKU President Doug Whitlock.

Gus Crow wasn't quite sure what to expect from the hourlong program Thursday by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. Except for the obvious, of course: The 13-year-old expected to hear “awesome music.” Gus was at Danville High School with his dad, Matthew Hallock, who thought it important for Gus to experience a program with musicians the caliber of Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. “It is an incredible experience to be in the same room (with them),” Hallock said.

The New Century Chamber Orchestra had been in existence for quite some time when Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg came on as music director. Now in her fifth season, Salerno-Sonnenberg likes the dynamics of the conductorless ensemble. “It makes the quality of the music-making very intense and much more vibrant,” Salerno-Sonnenberg said in a telephone interview. “Everybody is much more responsible than (in) a symphonic orchestra. “On a much larger scale, this is a challenge for the musicians.