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TAC offers lagniappe
Art council's goal to provide something extra to community
Published Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Lagniappe refers to a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase, such as a 13th donut when buying a dozen.
The word is so intriguing that the Troy Arts Council has adopted it as part of their cultural offerings to the community.
So, with most of its presentations for the 2009-2010 season, there will be a little lagniappe.
“Lagniappe is Cajun for ‘a little something extra,” said Elaine Blair, publicity chair. “That’s what the Troy Arts Council wants to do this year – give those who attend our presentations a little something extra for their money.”
The TAC will have an opportunity to do just that early in its calendar year.
On Sept. 22, the TAC will present Tuck & Patti in concert at the Claudia Crosby Theater and lagniappe for this “outstanding” concert will be Judith Owen.
Tuck & Patti are a jazz duo. He plays guitar, and she “belts it out.” Judith Owen performs songs from her critically-acclaimed albums, “Mopping Up Karma,” “Happy This Way” and “Here.”
“When looking at the places that Tuck & Patti have played, you realize how fortunate we are to have them here in Troy,” Blair said. “They have played concerts all over the world. On their itinerary, between Europe and Washington D.C. there is Troy, Alabama.”
The TAC upcoming calendar of events is long and varied and offers something for everyone.
Some of highlights on the calendar are the Dallas Brass, the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir and the Austin Lounge Lizards.
“Most everyone knows about the Dallas Brass because they are so widely known,” Blair said. “The children’s choir is a large choir of around 50 singers and the Austin Lounge Lizards is a folk, rock, country, bluegrass quintet.”
The Rose Ensemble presents early choral music that reawakes the ancient through imaginative performances of vocal music.
“And we’ll have Shelia Jackson and Company back for our annual Christmas Concert,” Blair said. “This year, we’re big on music but with a variety. So, we should have something for every musical interest. The calendar is very different year. It’s very exciting and we are looking forward to a great year of entertainment.”
All stage performances will be at the Claudia Crosby Theater on the campus of Troy University.
In addition to the stage presentations, the TAC will also be a major player in TroyFest in April and the Troy Film Festival held in conjunction with the annual arts and crafts show.
Dr. William Denison is president of the TAC and John Jinright is the presenter chair.
Blair expressed appreciation to them for putting together such an outstanding calendar of events for Troy,
Pike County and the surrounding area to enjoy.
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Comments
Posted by dragonlady (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 2:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And Michael Kelsey will be playing the studio (downtown) on September 1st. He's from my hometown, and he's awesome. Free admission.
Posted by dragonlady (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh yeah, it's at 5pm, on September 1st. heh
Posted by regis (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
phone numbers? prices? places to buy tickets? times of the shows? anyone, anyone?
Posted by dragonlady (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 4:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There's a website, let me see if I can't throw up a link.
Posted by dragonlady (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Calendar of events
http://www.troyartscouncil.com/calendar....
Posted by JohnJinright (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 6:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You can also find TAC on Facebook. Search for "Troy Arts Council of Troy Alabama". We'd love to have you become a fan, and we can remind you of events in a timely manner. This year we're offering ticket sales online, in addition to regular outlets and at the door. You can watch videos of many of our upcoming artists and read additional information about them, too.
Times are tough for local arts councils, especially with falling tax revenues. The city and county graciously give TAC some money to help us with our programming each year, but it's barely enough to pay for 2 or 3 events. And we appreciate the help that TROY University and the fine arts folks give us; they allow us to bring our artists to Crosby Theatre without charging us a facility fee. The bottom line is that most of our money comes from our patron drive, and that starts on September 1st with Michael Kelsey. He's been called "the Cirque du Soleil" of acoustic guitar players and his show is certainly going to be different from past TAC events because his style is more contemporary.
I'm going to borrow a bit from his EPK; Kelsey is a focused and daring artist who uses different techniques to engage the listener. "I like the music to be a 3D experience," Kelsey says. "So the music, the visual and the spirit of the moment are all equally important." A Kelsey live show could be characterized as a lively and expressive display of the love of music that is hyperactive, interactive and sometimes even radioactive.
Sometimes he sounds as if he's deftly playing more than one guitar. At a Kelsey show audience members may actually lose themselves in the moment and forget they are listening to one person. They can be tapping their foot one minute, in a deep trance the next, then bursting into laughter.
Whether he's creating a song spontaneously for a lucky lady in the front row, telling a story complete with sound effects, or letting an inspired moment move his fingers around the fret board, Kelsey never performs the same show twice.
Posted by JohnJinright (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Let's not forget that many of TAC's activities include providing workshops by visiting artists for students, local school art programs, and musical activities in city and county schools. We need everyone to help support our efforts to bring in quality arts programming. Michael Kelsey will be giving a special concert on Sept. 1 at Troy Elementary School in celebration of their new guitar instruction program. The Dallas Brass and the Rose Ensemble will spend a day giving workshops to students from all around the area. Judith Owen has graciously offered a "Meet the Artist" Q&A session for fine arts majors at TROY University (and the public is invited, too).
I'm very excited about the quality of this year's season; Tuck & Patti, Judith Owen, Austin Lounge Lizards, The Rose Ensemble, The Dallas Brass, and Spivey Hall Children's Chorus have all toured internationally to great acclaim. But it's not about where they've been, it's about connecting with each artist and having a concert experience that you will want to talk about for years to come.
It's our mission to enrich the lives of everyone in our community, so we've chosen artists that we believe will make people fall in love with great music again. Regardless of genre, quality music is timeless and with the right performer, a concert can be a truly uplifting and spiritual experience. We're trying our best to offer a season that will inspire, entertain and enrich everyone in our community.
Season tickets for students are $25 and prices start at $100 for patron season subscriptions. It sounds like a lot, but if you went to see Tuck and Patti in most of their venues, you'd pay that much for one seat. We're a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers and everything that we take in goes back into the community.
Please support us in bringing exciting events to our community. Invite your friends and join us in outshining every other arts council in this neck of the woods! With your support, there's no reason we can't have the best programming anywhere!
Sorry for length of these comments, but I just had to share!
Thanks,
John Jinright
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