The Mendocino Music Festival Chorale sings two winter songs
The Mendocino Music Festival wishes you, your family, and your friends a cozy and lovely holiday season. To help you celebrate, please enjoy videos of two beautiful winter songs the Festival Chorale has recorded in recent weeks. The Festival Chorale is the shining light at the top of our education program, but little could any of us have imagined what the Chorale would be learning in recent months. Not able to meet in person, the group rehearsed via Zoom, and eventually decided to create a virtual choir. Each singer had to know their part well enough to sing it alone, and then learn the technical aspects of recording it.
You'll hear Eric Whitacre's “Glow,” and Randall Thompson's “Choose Something Like a Star,” set to a poem by Robert Frost. This has been such a difficult year. Here's to a happy and healthy 2021, filled with good times and new adventures. These songs can be viewed until Jan. 31, 2021. For more information, visit mendocinomusic.org.
Mendocino Art Center
The Mendocino Art Center presents the online “Holiday Gift Show,” through Jan. 4, at MendocinoArtCenter.org. The exhibit features 30 artists from the Mendocino Coast and beyond, and includes great gift ideas with more than 200 works in ceramics, fiber arts, glass, jewelry, paintings, photography, prints and sculpture, as well as art books and Mendocino Art Center apparel items. For more information, visit mendocinoartcenter.org.
Love of Reading by Linda Pack
If you missed hearing any or all of this most recent For the Love of Reading broadcasts on local public radio KZYX, or would like to share with others, here is the link to: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Being a Ghost Story for Christmas, by Mr. Charles Dickens brought to life with music and special effects in an original, 1-hour Radio adaptation by R. Bobby, Michael Ducharme, and Linda Pack TALES OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE. Read for you by Linda Pack and special guests R. Bobby and Ricci Dedola. This program is followed by bonus episodes from the archives of Mendocino County Remembered- Remembrances of Christmas Past.
The link connects to the program's website page. Scroll down to listen to the audio of every “For the Love of Reading” program. A new edition of “For the Love of Reading” airs every other month on Mendocino County Public Radio, KZYX& Z. (times and dates may vary)
Mendocino Music Festival Encore 2020
Mendocino Music Festival is delighted to announce Encore! This new feature makes available to you, free of charge (and freed of Zoom glitches), all 18 of the virtual events they've presented since last spring—everything from behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Festival, to the richly varied Lunchtime series produced by Jenny Matteucci and Daniel Lockert, to chats with Lucia Micarelli and Kim Nalley. Music includes Susan Waterfall's explorations of the Debussy Préludes Book I, the best of Stephen Sondheim, some extraordinary jazz singers, and Spencer Myer playing Chopin. Ticketing for Encore! programs works the same as their other virtual events: “buy” a free ticket; receive a link via email at https://mendocinomusic.secure.force.com/ticket/#/
WCA January 2021 exhibit
The Willits Center for the Arts presents Fabric Baskets by Rosie Saxe and Paintings by Mariangela La Thanh: Mariangela Le Thanh is a Vietnamese artist now based in Bell Springs, in northern Mendocino County. As a child of diaspora, they were born and grew up in Italy and then migrated to California: Their work often reflects on those intrusive feelings of not quite belonging, not deserving to belong somewhere, and the anxieties of fitting in undetected in white dominated spaces. They cement their presence into paintings as a way to accept, remember and celebrate who they are, where and when they are; hoping to connect to fellow humans who feel similarly. These paintings take inspiration from their surroundings, from personal but relatable drama, and from the scary questions we all ask ourselves: Where are we headed, what's the meaning of our short, but sometimes fun, lives?!”
Rosie Saxe lives in Briceland, a tiny hamlet in Southern Humboldt with her husband, teenage daughter, a dog and four cats. She and her husband own and operate a small family winery and work to raise their own vegetables and livestock. She grew up in Upstate New York and earned her BFA from Syracuse University in Fiber Arts. She told us about her relationship with fabric baskets. “I gravitated to coiling basketry because I can do it anywhere and with any material. While I am weaving I like to think about all the people, in all the villages, in so many cultures, that are coiling and weaving and making just like me. We are all connected.”
The show opens Jan. 2 and runs through Jan 31. Also, The Willits Photography Club has a spectacular show in the Great Room.
The Willits Center for the Arts is located at 71 E. Commercial St., next door to the Noyo Theater. The galleries are open weekends, Friday through Sundays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Masks are mandatory and only six people will be permitted in the galleries at one time.
Up Close and Classical
Up Close and Classical is a podcast series which takes a close look at the lives of classical composers and musicians. Each episode focuses on a composer, a theme, or a collection of works that have recently been presented in concert by Symphony of the Redwoods and the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra. Through musical excerpts, historical context, and insightful conversations with musicians, Up Close and Classical invites you to lean in and listen closely to the music you love. From Bizet to Ravel, Episode 3 of Dr. Philip Lenberg's podcast focuses on some of the most influential French composers of the late 19th century. For more information, visit symphonyoftheredwoods.org.
Willits Community Theatre online lineup
Willits Community Theatre will be presenting a selection of its popular shows from the past through an online streaming platform. The streaming lineup is scheduled to run through December, according to Producer Mike A'Dair. Unless otherwise noted, all selections will be available indefinitely for streaming. For more information on the schedule of shows and how to subscribe for viewing, visit wctperformingartscenter.org.
Sequoia Room Video Archive
Presented by North Coast Brewing Co., The Sequoia Room Video Archive includes more than 60 hours of music performances from soldout shows at The Sequoia Room. You will find many different genres, including; Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass and more at The Sequoia Room's Facebook page.
From Arts Council of Mendocino County
Did you know that the Arts Council of Mendocino County has a COVID-19 Resources and Response Page? If your inbox is like ours, it's full of reflections, news, responses, pleas, surveys, CARES ACT information — and the list goes on. We are gathering the links and information that may be of use and organizing everything in one place at the ACMC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources and Response Center. The Mendocino County Arts Council can be reached at 707- 463-2727 or artsmendocino.org.