Blogging Black Miami

Greater Miami Youth Symphony Summer Programs

The Greater Miami Youth Symphony announces its seventh annual Summer Camp season to run from June 10 to August 9 with the option to join Advanced, Intermediate or Beginning level sessions at four different locations in Miami-Dade County. 

Students at intermediate and advanced camp will have the opportunity to advance their musicianship skills by participating in orchestra, band, chamber ensembles, instrumental classes, and electives including improvisation and music theory. Intermediate camp will also include daily literacy and physical education classes. Beginner camps will provide a variety of fun enriching music activities, as well as beginning string and wind instruments.

Participating locations include the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (advanced camp), South Miami High School (intermediate camp), Atala Montessori School (beginners camp), and the Deering Estate at Cutler (beginners camp). GMYS offers parents flexible and affordable options to pay for summer camp through the help of our sponsors, including The Children's Trust. 

The Greater Miami Youth Symphony welcomes children with disabilities to participate in our summer camps.  Summer camps will also include presentations by guest artists. 

Applications now accepted for Knight Arts Challenge

Get questions answered at one of four community roundtables

South Floridians can submit their ideas for the Knight Arts Challenge, a community-wide contest funding cultural projects that engage and enrich Greater Miami. The deadline is March 4.

In each application, reviewers look for two key attributes: artistic excellence and ways the project will engage the public. Anyone can apply. The process is easy, with just three rules:  Projects must be about the arts, take place in or benefit South Florida and match Knight’s funding.

The challenge is a project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has invested more than $86 million over the past six years in both arts institutions and grassroots projects as a way to weave culture into people’s everyday lives. Because of the challenge's success, Knight Foundation recently renewed the contest through 2015.

“We’re looking for the best ideas - truly Miami ideas - that help bring art to our neighborhoods and make culture ubiquitous in South Florida,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/arts. “In a truly creative town like ours, we see the challenge as a chance for everybody to participate, to dream, and ultimately see their ideas through to reality.”

Applicants can get questions answered by Knight Foundation at a series of community roundtable meetings, taking place in Downtown Miami, South Dade, North Central Dade and Fort Lauderdale. Times and dates are below.

Started in 2008, the challenge has funded 143 projects for close to $20 million. Past winners have stretched from Delray Beach to Homestead and include:

Weird Miami Bus Tours: Organized by internationally recognized visual artist Naomi Fisher, the artist-led tours take visitors to little-known local haunts.

Hialeah Cultural Center:  The center being launched by Miami Dade College will be a gathering spot for the growing Northwest Dade cultural community;

Demystifying Indian Dance: Choreographer Ranjana Warier will showcase traditional Indian dance through the stories of Western fairy tales, as a way to promote cross cultural understanding.

“South Florida residents continue to surprise us with their ideas, challenge us with their art and ensure that this region is a vibrant place to live,” said Matt Haggman, Miami program director for Knight Foundation. “We’re excited to see what ideas the community comes up with in 2013.”

To find out more and to apply, visit KnightArts.org. Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter via @knightarts and #knightarts.

 

Community Roundtables: 

• 7 p.m. Feb. 18: Cinema Paradiso, Ft. Lauderdale, 503 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale, 
• 7 p.m. Feb. 20: Cannonball, Downtown Miami, 1035 N. Miami Ave., Suite 200
• 7 p.m., Feb. 21: South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211 St.
• North Central Dade: Time and date will be announced soon

 

Blue Mondays at Florida Memorial University

 

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - Florida Memorial University’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts is producing a new Jazz initiative, with two things in mind: great entertainment for the community and exposure for talented musicians.

“BLUE MONDAY” is a jazz night, featuring an 18-piece orchestra and other ensemble combinations including vocal ensembles. The core group will feature professional musicians, but any intermediate and advanced students are welcome.  

“This is an excellent opportunity for our students and the community to experience the joy of creating and re-creating, with professionals, big band music,” said Dawn Batson, chair of Visual and Performing Arts at Florida Memorial.

Batson said the orchestra will be used for arrangers/composers to expose their work and hone the skills of aspiring young musicians.

Melton S. Mustafa, associate professor of music and director of Jazz Studies, is an internationally known jazz musician who will be one of the “Blue Monday” principals. He said: “We are striving for musical excellence. This project forms part of our ongoing efforts to reach that goal. ”

“BLUE MONDAY”

COST: Free and open to the public

WHEN: Monday nights at the Florida Memorial University Band Room

TIME: 7 to 10 p.m.

FACULTY: Melton S. Mustafa, Nicole Yarling, and Melton R. Mustafa

 

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The UrbanCollective presents global African experience during Art Basel with Art Africa Miami Arts Fair

A grand exhibition tent next to the historic Lyric Theatre in Overtown will be the setting for the second annual Art Africa Miami Arts Fair. This year’s exhibition will host over 50 contemporary artists from the Global African Diaspora in a tent/container hybrid model pavilion. Fair goers and exhibitors will have the opportunity to experience an unparalleled body of work selected by a jury of art professionals whose contributions to the art world are extensive and of critical importance to both seasoned and emerging artists alike.

 

Schedule of Events:

 

TUESDAY DEC 4 

OPENING RECEPTION 

TheUrbanCollective, 6:00 -10:00 pm By Invitation

at TheUrbanCollective, Midtown 

 

Performances by The Miami Jazz Society

*Special tribute to Mambo King, Cachao by Oriente feat.  Frederico Britos

Next Level Barbershop presents: Cutting Edge Designs by celebrity barbers 

 

THURSDAY DEC 6 

City of Miami VIP/ Press Luncheon 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Evening First Look (By invitation) 6:00 pm -10:00 pm

Black Art in America: Mobile Media Lounge 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

Art Africa Miami 2012 After Hours Speakeasy at Avenue D 10:30 - UNTIL 

 

FRIDAY DEC 7 

Art Africa Miami Arts Fair Exhibition General Admission 11:00 am - 9:00 pm 

 

SATURDAY DEC 8 

Art Africa Miami Exhibition 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Diaspora Dialogue 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Live Music by Rockaz Mvmt 7:00 pm -11:00 pm 

 

SUNDAY DEC 9

Art Africa Miami Arts Fair Exhibition 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Closing Reception 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Closing Mixer at Soyka 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm 

 

VENUE ADDRESS

919 NW 2^nd  Ave 

Overtown, Miami

 

 

For more information on Art Africa Miami and Art Africa Miami programming visit www.artafricamiami.com and follow on Twitter @ArtAfricaMiami. 

Black women celebrated in photo exhibit at MIA

The Mia Galleries, in the North Terminal, near Gate 26 in the Miami International Airport, currently houses a powerful photographic display celebrating the beauty and strength and spirit of black women. The exhibit is called "Women of a New Tribe," and features women selected from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

Hispanic Heritage Month: Jean-Michel Basquiat

 

Jean-Michel Basquiat began as an obscure graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s and evolved into an acclaimed Neo-expressionist and Primitivist painter by the 1980s. He is of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent.

 Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 22, 1960 to Gerard Basquiat, born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and a Puerto Rican-American mother, Matilde Andrades Basquiat. Jean-Michel Basquiat's diverse cultural heritage was one of his many sources of inspiration.

 

Teams collaborate to develop public art works in Magnolia North and beyond

 

Overview of public art planned for Opa-locka

 

One of Miami’s most historic, yet distressed neighborhoods – Opa-locka – is in the midst of a major revitalization.  Funded by a blend of public and private investment, including grants by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation (OLCDC) is working to transform a city stigmatized by decades of crime and adversity into a Community of Choice with art.

MDC Hosts Free Concert with Wolfson Latin Jazz Big Band Nov. 1

Miami, FL – The community is invited to attend a free concert featuring Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Wolfson Latin Jazz Big Band at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the Wolfson Campus Auditorium.

FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS 2011-2012 @ The Arsht

THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON OF FREE CONCERTS

FEATURING GOSPEL MUSIC’S GREATEST STARS

joined by THE MIAMI MASS CHOIR!

the SENSATIONal 

 Yolanda Adams 

  

MIAMI, FL – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in partnership with Miami gospel radio station WMBM 1490 AM, proudly announce the return of FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS!  The popular, four-part 2011-12 concert series kicks off on Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 4:00 PM with gospel legend YOLANDA ADAMS who has been hailed as the most versatile contemporary gospel singer since Aretha Franklin.

ADAMS, a Grammy nominee and multiple Stellar Award winner, will perform a soul-stirring program of signature gospel favorites, guaranteed to bring the crowd to its feet. She will be accompanied by two Miami powerhouse choirs: the series’ resident ensemble, Miami Mass Choir, and New Birth Baptist Church Cathedral Choir, recognized as one of Miami’s largest and most vibrant congregations. Under the direction of Pastor Marc Cooper, the Miami Mass Choir consists of 50 of Miami’s best gospel voices, selected through an open audition process, and representing South Florida from Lauderhill to Florida City.

Following this spectacular season opener, FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS 2011-2012 will continue with gospel celebrations in the Knight Concert Hall in December 2011, February 2012 and April 2012. Performance dates and headliners for subsequent  FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS performances will be announced approximately four weeks prior to the show date. The soulful sounds of the resident ensemble Miami Mass Choir will be heard at each concert, along with local talent from one of Miami-Dade’s greatest church choirs, adding their uplifting voices to the joyful noise that fills the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.

“We are thrilled to open our FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS series this year with the sweet sounds of the marvelous, Platinum-selling Yolanda Adams,” said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. “These extraordinarily powerful and moving shows have become a favorite Sunday afternoon concert experience, bringing together our South Florida community to hear the brightest stars in gospel music perform with Miami-Dade’s finest choirs,” Richard added. “We are especially proud to be able to continue to offer these joyous, crowd-pleasing concerts free of charge with the help of Knight Foundation and Funding Arts Network.”

Hailed as the most versatile contemporary gospel singer since Aretha Franklin, YOLANDA ADAMS has been wowing gospel audiences all over the world since her Elektra debut with the acclaimed Just As I Am in 1988. Several studio albums and one live album later, ADAMS’ success demonstrates why she is one of gospel’s greats. With conviction that has caused critics to refer to her as one of gospel’s “seminal” voices, ADAMS has ventured out to work with some of pop music’s most formidable producers such as Keith Thomas, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis, earning her multiple awards, including four BET Awards for Best Gospel Album, multiple Grammy Award nominations and eight Stellar Awards, gospel’s highest accolade. She was seen by millions in homes across America when she offered up a stunning performance in tribute to Aretha Franklin as part of the opening act of the 2011 Grammy Awards. ADAMS’ highly anticipated recording, Becoming, was released in May 2011.

The Adrienne Arsht Center’s extraordinarily popular FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS series is made possible with the support of the Funding Arts Network.

 

“FIRST ACCESS PASS” INFORMATION:

Admission is FREE. First Access Passes for the first FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS performance on October 16 featuring YOLANDA ADAMS will be available beginning on September 27.  

First Access Passes can be reserved in advance by calling the Adrienne Arsht Center box office at 305-949-6722 or online at www.arshtcenter.org (limit four per person).  The passes provide patrons with first access to seating in the theater.  Seating is "first come, first serve" for the performance and passes do not guarantee a seat.  

Patrons who do not have a First Access Pass can join the stand-by-line beginning at 3 p.m. outside the theater. *The First Access Pass expires at 3:45 p.m.  Patrons in the stand-by line will be let into the theater at 3:45 p.m. if seats are still available.

First Access Passes to subsequent FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS performances will be made available approximately four weeks prior to the show date.  Sign up for the Adrienne Arsht Center email list at www.arshtcenter.org to be notified when FREE tickets become available for each of the FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS concerts.

The Adrienne Arsht Center’s extraordinarily popular FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS series has been supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation since the inaugural 2008-2009 season, and received a three-year, $150,000 grant to continue the series into the Center’s 2013-2014 season.  A generous grant from the Funding Arts Network is also supporting the 2011-2012 season.

"Free Gospel Sundays is proof positive of the undeniable power of song to bring people together,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/arts. “The event is a must for all South Florida residents."

 

Don't Miss the Grand Opening of South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Oct. 1&2