Entertainment Briefs - March 31

TCAA to offer silk scarf dyeing workshop

The Crossing Arts Alliance will host a silk scarf-dyeing workshop with Diane Runberg from 10 a.m. to noon April 9 at The Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd.

The workshop offers an introduction to an easy method of dyeing silk scarves using tissue paper. Students will create two colorful scarves to take home.

The registration fee covers all instruction and materials needed. Cost is $20 for Crossing Arts members, or $23 for non-members.

Students may register online at crossingarts.org or by contacting The Crossing Arts Alliance at 218-833-4016, info@crossingarts.org or in person at the office in the Franklin Arts Center, 1001 Kingwood St., Suite 114, Brainerd.

HSO spring concerts planned

The Heartland Symphony Orchestra will host its final concert of its 39th season entitled "Spring Rhapsody" with two concerts-7:30 p.m. April 9 at the at the Charles D. Martin Auditorium in Little Falls Community High School and at 2:30 p.m. April 10 at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd. The orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Chun-Ming Chen, will include a performance of "Magnetismus" composed by Nicolas Lell Benavides, winner of the 2016 HSO Composer Competition.

Rounding out the first half of the program will be: "A-Roving," "I have a Bonnet Trimmed With Blue," "O Waly Waly" and "Dashing Away" by John Rutter from his Suite for Strings. The second half will feature movements from Symphony No. 2 in D major, OP. 73 by Johannes Brahms. Tickets may be purchased at the door, online at www.heartlandsymphony.com or by calling 800-826-1997.

HSO is a 50-piece volunteer, nonprofit, community orchestra located in and serving the central Minnesota area of Brainerd, Little Falls and the surrounding rural communities. Musicians, from amateurs to professionals, come together once a week from all over the region to rehearse and perform three full-length orchestral music concerts each season in Little Falls and Brainerd.

Special guest artists and conductors, local soloists and ensembles, area youth concerto winners and repertoire commentary all help to make each concert different and entertaining. The HSO also contributes its service to communities through music education programs, special events and ticket giveaways.

For more information about upcoming concerts or to get involved either as a player or HSO sponsor, email HeartlandSymphony@gmail.com or call the HSO at 800-826-1997.

In other HSO news, the HSO board of directors accepted the resignation of their conductor, Chun-Ming (Jimmy) Chen. Chen, who will continue to lead the orchestra through the spring season, has accepted a full-time tenure track position of assistant professor as the director of orchestral activities at the University of Evansville in Indiana.

HSO announces 2016 Composer Competition Winner

Heartland Symphony Orchestra has announced Nicolas Lell Benavides as their 2016 Composer Competition winner. His composition entitled "Magnetismus" will be performed at the HSO "Spring Rhapsody" in April.

Residing in San Francisco, Benavides' music has been described as "wonderfully structured and harmonically imaginative," by Brian Rosen, Music vs Theater; "intriguing... an abstraction depicting something far more concrete," by Stephen Smoliar, Examiner.com; and "... sadly reflective ... not a note was wasted," by Jeff Dunn, San Francisco Classical Voice. He has worked with prominent groups such as Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, The Bay Brass, The International Orange Chorale, Friction Quartet and One Found Sound. His music has been featured all over North America and Europe at festivals as well as on the radio.

As a performer he has sung with Opera San Jose, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Benavides has regular engagements around the Bay Area as a performer, composer and conductor, and is currently the composer in residence with Elevate Ensemble. Next fall he will hold a residency in Visby, Sweden.

Benavides has studied composition with David Conte, Jack Perla, Pamela Quist, and Kurt Rohde and has received degrees in music at Santa Clara University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has also studied with Philip Lasser in Paris as part of the European American Musical Alliance. He is currently the managing director of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, on faculty at the Academy of Art University, and is also a teaching artist with the San Francisco Opera.

His winning musical arrangement was one of 37 compositions received for consideration, with applicants sending their works from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Greece, Italy, Iran, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. He will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize and the opportunity to work with HSO conductor and music director, Chun-Ming Chen.

St. Francis names Keyboard Festival honor students

LITTLE FALLS-St. Francis Music Center in Little Falls held its annual Keyboard Festival in March. Music students of all ages and abilities from throughout central Minnesota were invited to prepare a piece for the festival. Each student had a first round private audition with a judge, following that about half of the students were passed on to a second round audition. After the

second round, the top scoring students were invited to play in an honors concert.

The honor students for the 2016 Keyboard Festival were: Jaylene Newman, Gabriella Czech, Eric Verkuilen, Joshua Zinter, Rachael Malone, Rachel Verkuilen, Emma Holey, Elise Ballou,

Corinna Brose, Adrienne Kresha, Paige Zehr, Janna Middendorf, Payton Kimman, Isaac Olson and Abigail Borash of Little Falls; Madison Becker, Joseph Winrod, Silas Winrod, Genevieve Winrod, and Ruby Muellner of Long Prairie; Isabelle Leners from Holdingford; Orry Ziegler of Fort Ripley; Bella Huwe of Sebeka; Elisa Hintz and Jeremy Hintz of Randall; and Lorraine Mrosla of Bowlus.

This festival was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Five

Wings Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

St. Francis Music Center is a community school for the arts, open to the public and offering

music lessons on all instruments. For more information go online at www.sfmusiccenter.org or call 320-632-0637.

New show planned at Brainerd gallery

Artist Joyce "Josie" Popkin's show and sale titled "Seasonal Transitions" will be on exhibit April 2 through May 28 at the Porthole Gallery in Brainerd. There are 23 acrylic and watercolor paintings by Popkin. The size and format vary with the largest watercolor measuring 31-inches by 25-inches; and the smallest measures 14-inches by 14-inches.

Viewing hours for the entire two months will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is no charge to view the exhibit.

A reception, free to the public, to "Meet the Artist" is planned from 1-3 p.m. April 30.

Popkin's artist's statement: "... As a young adult I briefly did some work with oil paints. Now, semi-retired I have the opportunity to enjoy painting in watercolor and acrylic pigments. My work has been exhibited at the arboretum, the Crow Wing County Community Building and in the Holiday Art Shows at the Franklin Arts Center."

New artist featured at Crossing; 2nd Saturday coming

The Crossing Arts Alliance announces its Second Saturday events for April.

Ellen Smith will be the featured member artist at the Crossing through the month of April.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 9, Smith will be on-hand in the Crossing Arts Gift Shop with a selection of her colorful textile designs. Some of the work Smith will have in the Gift Shop are custom designed Eco and Shibori dyed pieces, "up-cycled" pieces, yoga bags, an art quilt and a Downton-esque period costume. Viewers will find her work a delight of color and texture. Visitors are encouraged to stop in and meet the artist and learn a bit about her process.

The event is free and open to the public.

Holly Rose McKnight will lead youth in the creation of "eggcellent" egg carton bouquets from 10 a.m. to noon April 9 in the cafeteria. Crossing Kids classes are offered for a suggested donation of $3 per child/$5 per family but no child is turned away due to need. No pre-registration is needed.

"Celebrate the Young at Art," a colorful visual art exhibit featuring the work of area school children will be on display in The Crossing Art Gallery.

The Crossing Arts Alliance activities are held in the Franklin Arts Center, 1001 Kingwood St,. Brainerd.

For more information visit www.crossingarts.org or contact TCAA at 218-833-0416.

Happy Dancing Turtle announces T­-Shirt Design Contest

PINE RIVER-Happy Dancing Turtle is hosting an Eco Camp T-­Shirt Design Contest in order to engage students in a creative endeavor while encouraging them to think about the environment.

Students must draw a simple black and white line drawing including four animals, a bear, raccoon, bat and rabbit as super heroes. These four characters make up the Planet Power Pals - an environmental super hero team fighting to save the planet. Students are encouraged to get creative when making their logo.

Happy Dancing Turtle will select one winner from each grade bracket: kindergarten through fourth grade; fifth through eighth grade; and ninth through 12th grade.The winner from each grade bracket will receive a $20 gift certificate to a local movie theater, a $20 gift certificate to Minnesota State Parks, and an HDT tote bag. Each winning design will be put on Facebook. The public will then vote for the grand prize winner. The grand winner will also receive a free t­-shirt featuring their design.

Entries must be in by April 22. Entries can be dropped off or mailed to the Happy

Dancing Turtle office at 2303 Dancing Wind Road SW, Suite 1, Pine River, MN 56474. Entries

can also be scanned and emailed to info@HappyDancingTurtle.org .

Go to HappyDancingTurtle.org for more information and and a copy of the contest template.

Twin Cities keyboardist/producer lands No. 1 songwriting credit

MINNEAPOLIS-Monte Moir is one of the songwriters on Rihanna's first single called "Work" off of her new release ANTI. The smash single also features hip-hop artist Drake. "Work" is currently No. 7 on Billboard's Top 100 and topped out at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts. The album has already been certified as platinum, 1,000,000 units sold.

Moir also had a No. 1 hit with Janet Jackson's "Pleasure Principle" off her "Control" album. Monte has written/produced for Gladys Knight, Alexander O'Neal as well as being an original member of the R&B group Morris Day & The Time. The phenomenal band recently performed a concert at Prince's Paisley Park studios in Chanhassen.

Currently, Moir is on an extensive 2016 tour with Morris Day and The Time. In addition, he has been working on the follow-up to his first solo CD "This Side Of Paradise" and producing other artists at his Lagoon Studios.

Moir also is writing music for a movie called "Bluesman."