Arts & Performance

Asheville Community Theatre presents the world premier of Tom Godleski's Snowbound, a "new mountain play with mountain music." The play includes Godleski's band, Buncombe Turnpike, and members of another popular bluegrass/old-time band, Sons of Ralph, onstage with the other 35 actors. 

Tom Godleski and director Mark Jones spoke with Dick Kowal about the play and its music.

The Asheville Choral Society, under the direction of Melodie Galloway, performs its second annual Yuletide Candlelight concert at Asheville's Trinity Episcopal Church December 2nd at 7:30 and December 3rd at 4:30.  The Choral Society will be joined by string and brass players, and the Celebration Singers, a chorus for young people.

Melodie joined Dick Kowal to talk about the program and other ACS activities in the months ahead.

UNC-Asheville is accepting applications until December 1st for the first Ramsey Library Community Author Award. Wiley Cash, writer-in-residence at UNC-A and author of A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy, talked with Dick Kowal about the award and its significance. 

The Asheville Symphony performs the program "Rhapsody in Blue" Saturday evening at 8 in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. The concert will feature George Gershwin's best known work with piano soloist Conrad Tao, as well as works by American composers Aaron Copland and David Diamond.

Dick Kowal talked with ASO music director Daniel Meyer and pianist Conrad Tao about the composers and their music.

The Asheville Art Museum presents its next Pianoforte concert on Sunday afternoon at 3. The featured artist will be pianist Grace Lee. Grace will play music by Chopin, Debussy, Brahms and Lowell Lieberman in a program "exploring the beauty of artistic virtuosity."

The concert will take place at Biltmore United Methodist Church, 376 Hendersonville Rd in Asheville.

Dick Kowal talked with Grace, and Harry Rowney, board member of the Asheville Art Museum, about the concert.

The River Arts District Artists present their annual fall Studio Stroll this Saturday and Sunday, 10-5 both days. Ceramic artist MaryJane Findley and painter William Henry Price joined Dick Kowal to talk about the stroll and about working in "the hive," the River Arts District.

Pan Harmonia presents two concerts in our area this weekend, featuring the Opal String Quartet. Alternate Currents can be heard Friday night at 7:30 at St. James Episcopal Church in Black Mountain, and Sunday afternoon at 3 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Asheville. The concerts feature a work by Amy Beach, America's first successful woman composer, as well as quartets by local composers Michael Hosford and Dosia McKay.

Dosia and Kate Steinbeck, director of Pan Harmonia,  spoke with Dick Kowal.

TheatreUNCA will stage two student-directed plays on Saturday evening, November 19th at 7:30 in Carol Belk Theatre. The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang and WASP by Steve Martin will be performed together by drama majors at UNC-A. Directors Caroline Deschell and Justin Day talked with Dick Kowal about their work and experience.

The Aspen String Trio performs in the next concert presented by the Asheville Chamber Music Series Friday evening at 8 at Asheville's Unitarian Universalist Congregation. The trio will play J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, a monumental work for solo keyboard, in an arrangement for string trio by violinist and conductor Dmitri Sitkovetsky. They will also perform Richard Strauss' Variations on a Bavarian Folksong, and Beethoven's String Trio in G, op.9#1.

The Asheville Symphony Chorus will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a concert titled "From Bach to Bernstein," Saturday evening, November 12th at Arden Presbyterian Church. Chorus director Michael Lancaster talks with Dick Kowal about the program and the difficulties of choosing the best from 25 years of concerts.

The Asheville Symphony performs its Masterworks 2 concert Saturday night, a Halloween-themed program "In The Key of eeeeeee!" Saint-Saens' Dance Macabre, Florent Schmitt's Tragedy of Salome and Johannes Brahms' "Double Concerto" are featured. Dick Kowal spoke with conductor Daniel Meyer, and soloists Jason Posnock, violin, and Alistair MacRae, cello.

UNC Asheville and the Wake Forest University School of Divinity will jointly convene Faith in Literature: A Festival of Contemporary Writers of the Spirit on Oct. 21-22, on UNC Asheville's campus. Dr. Richard Chess, one of the organizers of the event, spoke with Dick Kowal.

Marat/Sade, the Tony award-winning play by Peter Weiss, will be presented by Theatre UNC-A in the Belk Theatre on the UNC-A campus October 20-23. Members of the cast and director Rob Bowen talked with Dick Kowal about the play and its messages for our times.

Asheville Community Theatre opens its 71st season on Friday with a blockbuster: Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The play's director, Jerry Crouch, music director Lenora Thom, and co-stars Christy Montesdeoca and Steve Parkin talked with Dick Kowal about this masterpiece of musical theater. 

Immediate Theatre Project presents "Live From WVL Radio Theatre: The Headless Hessian of Sleepy Hollow... and Other American Horror Stories"  opening October 12, following their production of "Grounded" at NC Stage Company.

Director Willie Repoley and actors Blythe Coons (also acting in "Grounded") and Patrick Brant spoke with Dick Kowal about this adaptation in the style of the immensely successful "Direct from WVL Radio Theatre: It's a Wonderful Life."

The young pianist Ji is the featured artist in the Haywood County Arts Council's annual Young Artist concert tonight at 7:30 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre. Ji spoke with Dick Kowal about his art and about the program he'll play tonight.

For more information and to see Ji's Android commercial, click here.

In her gardening segment this week, Alison Arnold talks about evaluating trees for their health and risk as we get into fall.  

Jeremy Loeb: It’s the end of the growing season and some trees already show fall color while others have that end of the summer “wear and tear” look…... is this a good time to evaluate trees for overall health and maybe even risk?

  The Asheville Symphony opens it new season Saturday evening in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. The program is called Tchasing Tchaikovsky, an all-Tchaikovsky concert featuring a performance of his violin concerto by Jennifer Koh.

Ms Koh and Daniel Meyer, music director and conductor, joined Josh Jourdan to talk about opening night.

http://www.ashevillesymphony.org

Jeremy Loeb: By the look of the trees and plants it’s obvious that summer is coming to an end and we are quickly moving into Fall color season.. what is it about this time of year? I cant put my finger on it..but it seems like such a bittersweet time…

Alison Arnold: I totally agree.. it’s hard for me to leave summer behind and yet I and I bet a few gardeners would also welcome a little cool weather. But yes it’s not really summer and not yet fall.. a definite time of transition.

  Immediate Theatre Project presents The Lower Frequencies, written and performed by Bryce Monroe. Inspired by the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Lower Frequencies depicts the particular experience of a nameless narrator and his confrontation with the American Dream. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 at NC Stage Co. in downtown Asheville

Bryce Monroe and ITP's Willie Repoley talked with Dick Kowal about the upcoming production.

  Singer, composer, author David Lamotte releases his first new CD in ten years and celebrates his 25th anniversary in music with a concert Friday evening at 8 in Asheville's Diana Wortham Theatre. David joined Dick Kowal in the studio to talk about the recording and concert.