By TOM BENSEN
For the second time this year, Stephen Kalm, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Montana and a music professor, will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. On the evening of Friday, November 21, Kalm will sing in an American Composers Orchestra concert of Meredith Monk’s “Night” under the direction of George Manahan. Monk is Carnegie Hall’s Composer of the Year for its 2014-15 season. For many years, Kalm was a member of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble, and participated in the creation and premieres of several of her works, including the Bessie Award-winning vocal work “The Politics of Quiet” from which “Night” originated. For more information about the performance, visit the Carnegie Hall website here. Last April, Kalm also performed at Carnegie Hall in the opera “The Wayward” by Harry Partch (pictured above) in a program curated by 2013-14 Carnegie Hall Composer of the Year David Lang. The New York Times review is the performance with high acclaim. The review can be accessed online here.
Montana Public Radio is making several changes to its weekly program schedule beginning on today. The station will add new programs, drop or reschedule others, and increase the amount of locally produced music programming. MTPR local news will be integrated throughout the day in the National Public Radio news magazine programs “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” The NPR news program “Here and Now” will be added to the schedule each weekday at 1:00 p.m. The new schedule is designed to increase listener access to MTPR’s best local and national programs, to invite new listeners to try MTPR and to celebrate the talent of the station’s Montana program producers. The changes reflect listener feedback received during fundraisers, in phone calls, emails, letters and audience surveys from April and October 2014. The new schedule is available online at the website.
Current exhibits at the Missoula Art Museum include The Art of Human Conflict Conflict through December 24; Pamela Caughey: Ubiquitous: Migration of Pathogens through December 2; Helen McAuslan: The Kent State Paintings, on loan from the Museum of the Rockies, through November 22; Crossing the River: Hmong Story Cloths through December 24; Kate Hunt: Recent Works through February 21, 2015; Elizabeth Dove: Corpus of the Unknowable through January 31, 2015 (pictured here); Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts: Selected Works through March 21, 2015; Pat Zentz: Trio through March 28, 2015.
The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents Amanda Browder: End of the Infinite in the Meloy Gallery, and Vanessa German: Bitter Root in the Paxson Gallery (pictured here). Both exhibits run through January 10, 2015. To honor MMAC’s 120th anniversary, the museum has published the first-ever guide to the permanent collection, The Art of the State: 120 Artworks for 120 Years. Learn more here
Fact & Fiction presents Mark Gibbons with a poetry reading and signing of Shadowboxing, 7:00 p.m. November 21 at F&F Downtown.
Shakespeare and Co. presents Tanya Holland, Executive Chef and Owner of the Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, reading from her new book of recipes Brown Sugar Kitchen, 7:00 p.m. on November 20; Acclaimed chef Eric Skokan reads from his new book Farm, Fork, Food: A Year of Spectacular Recipes Inspired by Black Cat Farm, November 22 at 10:30 a.m.
David Sedaris is on stage at the UM Dennison Theatre Tuesday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. The show is sold out.
The UM School of Music presents New Music Missoula
November 20, 7:30 p.m. at the UM Music Recital Hall, featuring new music by students in the composition program and a fundraising event for the Composers Showcase held in April;
UM Big Bands, November 21 in the Dennison Theatre at 7:30 p.m. “Jazz of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” featuring special guest bassist and jazz composer Erik Applegate and Sentinel High School; Zootown Cabaret, a musical theatre song and dance review, November 22, 8:00 p.m. at the Missoula Winery and Event Center; the Student Chamber Concert , November 23, 3:00 p.m. at the UM Music Recital Hall. Call 243-6880.
Stephen Kalm performed at Carnegie Hall in the opera “The Wayward” by Harry Partch (pictured above) in a program curated by 2013-14 Carnegie Hall Composer of the Year David Lang.
Radius Gallery’s first annual Holiday Art Bonanza kicks off November 21. Fifty-three artists have contributed nearly 200 petite paintings, pastels, photographs, and mixed media works. Most works will be priced between $100 to $400 dollars. So this season consider giving a gift born of creative minds and hands. Because the gift of art is like a hi-def wide screen television in your soul. Call 541-7070.
Living Art of Montana presents “My Own True Face” is an upcoming 3-session mask making workshop taking place on November 18 and 25 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Youpa Stein will be facilitating and the workshop is open to anyone facing illness and loss including care providers and family members. We are limiting this workshop to 10 participants and pre-registration is required. Please call 549-5329 or email
info@livingartofmontana.org to register.
The 20th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition at the Gallery of Visual Arts at the University of Montana is on display from now through December 5. For more information, visit the website.
Master silversmith and consummate teacher Haddon Hufford will share all about his ancient metalsmithing techniques at the Art Associates of Missoula monthly meeting, Wednesday, November 19, at 10:00 a.m. in the Education Center at the Missoula Art Museum, 335 N. Pattee St, Missoula. Art Associates meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please call Susie at 544-0891.
The UM School of Music presents Celebrate Piano Series III: Anderson & Roe, Wednesday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dennison Theatre. Reserved seating $35/$25/$15
The premiere piano duo of their generation, Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe have excited audiences around the globe, and will play their Missoula debut immediately following their European Tour Preview their stunning performances on youtube.com. For tickets, visit go to griztix, call 243-4581, or stop by the UM Arts Box Office.
In addition, the duo will perform on November 18 for every 5th grader in Missoula as part of Any Given Child Missoula, and they will also give a free master class on November 19 for UM Music school piano majors.
The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents Vanessa German: Bitter Root in the Paxson Gallery. The exhibit run through January 10, 2015.
Light Our Bridges Missoula will be “flipping the switch” to turn on the newly installed white LED lights adorning the Van Buren Street footbridge on Wednesday, November 19 at 6:00 p.m. With trumpets playing a fanfare and an enthusiastic countdown, 102 year old Emma Lommasson will be turning on the lights on the first of two pedestrian bridges in Missoula to be illuminated for aesthetic and safety purposes. The public is invited and welcome to gather at the Van Buren Street footbridge. For more information call 239-3193 or visit the website.
The Montana World Affairs Council presents Global Competency with Dr. Udo Fluck, Director, Global Gateway. Part 1 is Thursday November 20, and Part 2 is Thursday March 19. The University of Montana’s Global Gateway and the Montana World Affairs Council have teamed up to bring the Missoula community the first ever Global Competency Certification Seminar for Businesses. This two-part seminar will focus on the areas of developing a firm understanding of culture, its impact in business communication, collaboration, and negotiation, and developing strategies to utilize “culture” to strategically plan your success when dealing with culturally diverse individuals. This seminar is designed for business owners, employees, and individuals who want to enhance their cross-cultural competency. The seminars will take place in two parts. The first part will take place from 12:30 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. on November 20. The second part will take place on March 19, 2015. Both seminars will be held at The Loft on 119 West Main Street. To register or for more information, please contact Aimee Ryan at aryan@montanaworldaffairs.org or call 728-3328.
The Clay Studio of Missoula presents Resident Demos and Lectures at University of Montana at UM Ceramics, Art Annex Room 128 with Clay Studio residents Chad Steve and Casey Zablocki, November 20 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. Free admission. For more information, please email us at Clay Studio or call 543-0509.
The Roxy Theater, in collaboration with the Montana Museum of Art & Culture, presents “Tim’s Vermeer” a film by Teller (of Penn & Teller), November 20 at 7:00 p.m. Tim Jenison, an inventor, sets up a camera obscura to investigate Vermeer’s controversial use of the device to paint his highly detailed canvases. Call 728-9380
Award-winning author Bernard Cooper will visit the University of Montana to present a craft lecture and nonfiction reading Friday, November 21. The lecture will be held from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. in McGill Hall Room 210 and the reading will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Dell Brown Room of Turner Hall. For more information visit the UM Creative Writing Program website or call 243-5267.
Headwaters Dance Company presents its annual Gala Concert “Power and Strength” November 20-22 at MCT center for the Performing Arts. Call 728-1131 or visit the website.
Daly Jazz presents Nov 23 Sunday afternoon jazz performance featuring Eden Atwood (vocals), Rob Tapper (piano), Craig Hall (guitar), Erik Applegate (bass), and Eric Tapper (drums), Sunday, November 23 at 1:00 p.m. Suggested donation of $20. To reserve a space, e-mail Daly Jazz
The University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance presents Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jere Lee Hodgin, November 25 and 29 at 7:30 p.m.; November 30 at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; December 2-5 at 7:30 p.m.; December 6 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Montana Theatre, PARTV Center, U of M Campus.
The International Choral Festival and the UM School of Music will present their annual benefit performance of George Frederic Handel’s “Messiah” on Sunday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dennison Theatre on the UM campus. This free concert is a beloved community sing-a-long with a volunteer chorus, which has delighted local singers and audiences annually since 1995. The chorus will be conducted by Dr. David Edmonds, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Montana, and accompanied by an orchestra of professional area musicians. And, honorable Mayor John Engen will be there too to welcome everyone and to mark the official kick-off of the holiday season in Missoula with this concert.
Join the Chorus by signing-up online at either website. The concert is free to the public, but as a fundraiser, singers are required to raise or donate a minimum of $75 to join the chorus ($40 for students), and are encouraged to obtain sponsorships from friends and family that exceed these minimums. Exciting prizes such as overnights with deluxe lodging, float trips, gift certificates, etc. will be awarded to those singers who bring in the highest level of sponsorships. Proceeds will equally support Missoula’s 10th International Choral Festival scheduled for July 13-17, 2016, and the UM School of Music students traveling to Vienna.
The Missoula Community Chorus presents its annual sing-along of The Sound of Music Sunday, November 30 at the Roxy Theater at 1:00 and 6:00 p.m. Email chorus manager or call 493-9255
The International Wildlife Film Festival is now accepting submissions for the 2015 festival, happening in Missoula, Montana April 18-25 at the historic Roxy Theater. Now in its 38th year, the week-long event will feature new and exciting films, special guests, workshops, seminars, field trips, technology sessions, product demos, parties and dynamic networking events. With 6,000 annual attendees, IWFF engages Missoula’s progressive community with dozens of screenings and events like the WildWalk Parade. A filmmakers’ festival, IWFF focuses on films and filmmakers, and celebrates emerging artists and the future of wildlife & environmental media. Our expanded programming welcomes all films about the natural world, from environmental and conservation films, to issue driven explorations of earth and its inhabitants.
For more information about arts events in the Missoula area, visit our website
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Tom Bensen has lived in Missoula since 1986, and has been the executive director of the Missoula Cultural Council since June 2004. He has directed First Night Missoula each New Year’s Eve since 1997. He is a member of Missoula’s choral ensemble Dolce Canto, and enjoys being outdoors, whether it is hiking, biking, skiing, walking the dogs, or mowing the lawn. His wife Susan works for Montana Public Radio, and their son Peter attends Hellgate High School.