Yesterday, the winner of the new the 2010 ART CREATES COMMUNITY $10,000 Award sponsored by the Bee Vradenburg Foundation and the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado was announced. Congratulations to Community in Unison: Chamber Orchestra of the Springs and the Gospel Music Workshop of America!
Community in Unison will combine chamber music virtuosity with the explosive energy of gospel choir in a concert of original arrangements of traditional spirituals and gospels. Chamber Orchestra of the Springs and Gospel Music Workshop of America - Colorado Springs Chapter will present this inspiring concert at the downtown First United Methodist Church on September 10, 2010 in association with a Volunteer Fair. If you want to learn full details of the project and/or play a more active role in its realization please contact chamorch@gmail.com.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Spotlight: Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association
This is the second in our Spotlight series in which we have invited folks from some of the Pikes Peak region's diverse arts groups to tell us what they do, who they work with, and what they're all about. You may have seen the banners in downtown Colorado Springs advertising the 30th anniverary of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. Today we give you a behind-the-scenes snapshot of this venerable institution. This post was written by David Sckolnick, Marketing Consultant for the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony.
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At the age of 30, we reach a time in our lives when the previous three decade's trials and tumbles make way for genuinely powerful and consistent accomplishment. The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association is celebrating that birthday this year, but the experiences and accomplishments of many of the aspiring musicians who have been a part of our program go beyond what is considered normal in the classic model of the human growth curve.
"I love being able to play with people that share my passion for music."
For three decades the CSYSA has been shaping young musicians. As part of this year's celebration we're reaching out to
our musicians, folks in their 40s, 30s, 20s and teens to see what our program has meant to the lives of our musicians. The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association provides high quality, diverse instrumental music education to youth and is a resource to the community. CSYSA is comprised of 7 auditioned groups (2 full orchestras, 2 bands and 3 string orchestras), a Mozart String outreach program and a chamber ensemble program. CSYSA serves over 450 musicians a year in these programs (once a week rehearsals/classes minimum). Musicians come primarily from the Pikes Peak Region and musicians come from more than 60 di
fferent schools and outlying communities.
"What I like best about Youth Symphony are the friendships I've made. Through tours, rehearsals and concerts, the other musicians become your second family. I'm thankful to the organization for integrating wonderful musicians from many different schools--without Youth Symphony I never would have met these amazing people. The music is great, too!"
The Colorado Springs Youth Symohony provides an experience outside the schools to offer outstanding musicians real-world orchestral experience. Unfortunately, in our society, money is more frequently alllocated for ahtletics programs than music programs in public schools. It's true that athetic team experiences inspire great camaraderie and growth for young people as they move through the ups and downs of a competitive season. Some of the athletes even spend hours practicing on their own in weight rooms and working on their sport. But the hours spent mastering a violin, trumpet or bassoon may match and in many cases exceed how a high school linebacker or a point guard in basketball gets his or her body and mind prepared for a challenging opponent. And alongside the discipline, devotion, camarederie and growth nurtured by the experience of playing in an orchestra, a crash course in Bach, Mozart and Beethoven expands the minds and spirits of young people.
These young people also act as ambassadors for our community. The Youth Symphony tours internationally every other year as an ambassador of our city and country-they have performed in China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Spain, Czech Republic, Carnegie Hall, and others!
For some of the musicians, playing with the Youth Symphony is the only chance they have to play with other musicians. One young musician says, "The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony is the highlight of my week. It is well worth the 200-mile drive each week. I have really grown as a musician being able to play with such talented kids. Gary Nicholson is an outstanding conductor who challenges me to do my very best." This student drives TWO HUNDRED MILES every week! That's dedication.
"I like losing myself in the music. When I play with all of the instruments, I feel like I am all of the instruments!"
But the benefits of being part of our program extend beyond their time in the ensemble. Although some alums do choose to pursue professional careers, many continue playing their instruments in a part-time community setting. But more importantly, our musicians go on to become one of the most vital component of the arts - the audience! Our cellists and trombonists of today will go on to attend symphony and chamber music concerts and other arts events in the future. The love of music they learn while in CSYSA will make sure that classical music keep sounding off on their loudspeakers and earbuds. It's just a little truth we have learned at Youth Symphony - music is a lifelong "sport" in which its players just get better and better, regardless of how their bodies wear down over the decades.
---------------------------------------------------
At the age of 30, we reach a time in our lives when the previous three decade's trials and tumbles make way for genuinely powerful and consistent accomplishment. The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association is celebrating that birthday this year, but the experiences and accomplishments of many of the aspiring musicians who have been a part of our program go beyond what is considered normal in the classic model of the human growth curve.
"I love being able to play with people that share my passion for music."
For three decades the CSYSA has been shaping young musicians. As part of this year's celebration we're reaching out to
our musicians, folks in their 40s, 30s, 20s and teens to see what our program has meant to the lives of our musicians. The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association provides high quality, diverse instrumental music education to youth and is a resource to the community. CSYSA is comprised of 7 auditioned groups (2 full orchestras, 2 bands and 3 string orchestras), a Mozart String outreach program and a chamber ensemble program. CSYSA serves over 450 musicians a year in these programs (once a week rehearsals/classes minimum). Musicians come primarily from the Pikes Peak Region and musicians come from more than 60 di
fferent schools and outlying communities.
"What I like best about Youth Symphony are the friendships I've made. Through tours, rehearsals and concerts, the other musicians become your second family. I'm thankful to the organization for integrating wonderful musicians from many different schools--without Youth Symphony I never would have met these amazing people. The music is great, too!"
The Colorado Springs Youth Symohony provides an experience outside the schools to offer outstanding musicians real-world orchestral experience. Unfortunately, in our society, money is more frequently alllocated for ahtletics programs than music programs in public schools. It's true that athetic team experiences inspire great camaraderie and growth for young people as they move through the ups and downs of a competitive season. Some of the athletes even spend hours practicing on their own in weight rooms and working on their sport. But the hours spent mastering a violin, trumpet or bassoon may match and in many cases exceed how a high school linebacker or a point guard in basketball gets his or her body and mind prepared for a challenging opponent. And alongside the discipline, devotion, camarederie and growth nurtured by the experience of playing in an orchestra, a crash course in Bach, Mozart and Beethoven expands the minds and spirits of young people.
These young people also act as ambassadors for our community. The Youth Symphony tours internationally every other year as an ambassador of our city and country-they have performed in China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Spain, Czech Republic, Carnegie Hall, and others!
For some of the musicians, playing with the Youth Symphony is the only chance they have to play with other musicians. One young musician says, "The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony is the highlight of my week. It is well worth the 200-mile drive each week. I have really grown as a musician being able to play with such talented kids. Gary Nicholson is an outstanding conductor who challenges me to do my very best." This student drives TWO HUNDRED MILES every week! That's dedication.
"I like losing myself in the music. When I play with all of the instruments, I feel like I am all of the instruments!"
But the benefits of being part of our program extend beyond their time in the ensemble. Although some alums do choose to pursue professional careers, many continue playing their instruments in a part-time community setting. But more importantly, our musicians go on to become one of the most vital component of the arts - the audience! Our cellists and trombonists of today will go on to attend symphony and chamber music concerts and other arts events in the future. The love of music they learn while in CSYSA will make sure that classical music keep sounding off on their loudspeakers and earbuds. It's just a little truth we have learned at Youth Symphony - music is a lifelong "sport" in which its players just get better and better, regardless of how their bodies wear down over the decades.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Spotlight: The Club of Arts
This is the first in our new Spotlight series in which we have invited folks from some of the Pikes Peak region's diverse arts groups to tell us what they do, who they work with, and what they're all about. This post was written by Jessie Pocock, Development Director at the Club of Arts.
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Facts:
There are 54 million people with disabilities in the United States making it the largest minority group. -Colorado Springs Independent
The unemployment rate for those with disabilities in the United States is 63.1 percent. The El Paso County rate was close to 80 percent in 2008. -The Resource Exchange, Cornell University
In 2009 alone 232 people with disabilities in El Paso County participated in art at TCOA in over 7,500 artistic interactions.
From Jessie:
Before attending the grand opening of The Club of Arts in 2005, I rarely considered why I almost never encountered people with developmental disabilities in the community. As a sociology major at Colorado College, I didn’t notice that there were no class offerings in my department that focused on the social issues concerning disabled people. It wasn’t until I entered the community of people with disabilities that I learned how powerful their voices can be.
Since I have been associated with The Club of Arts, (a nonprofit art organization reaching people with disabilities through artistic education, expression, and performance) I have learned so much about the strength, endurance, and power of people with disAbilities. For example, there are students like Allicia, who was on the waiting list for services she had been deemed eligible to receive for fourteen years. Allicia came to The Club of Arts hungry for independence, in need of a safe place to express herself. She is an incredibly talented silk dye artist. Her parents believe that art and TCOA have saved her life.
There are students who had never engaged in the arts previous to TCOA, like Marty, who is in his forties and started taking classes at TCOA a couple of years ago. Marty began experimenting with gluing wine corks to wooden boards and has now created intricate cork cities and has discovered a fine talent for diorama.
And there is Joe, an incredible oil painter who cannot physically speak because of his disability, but has found that he can communicate powerfully through art. In his self-portrait series, “Beyond My Wheelchair,” Joe paints his body trapped inside of a bottle demonstrating how the world occurs for him as a young man with a disabled body inside a world that is uncomfortable with difference. For Joe, art has become a way for him to communicate and a way for people to listen. Here's Joe at Exposion in summer 2
009.
Joe wrote a poem about his experience of showing the world what he can do through his art.
Trapped in a Bottle
I am trapped in the bottle that is my life.
Always on the inside looking out
My bottle does protect me
All the while restricting me.
My bottle doesn’t allow friends
Nor does it allow climbing mountains.
It keeps me from being a drummer
And it doesn’t permit surfing.
My bottle doesn’t like babies
Nor does it like motorcycles.
But I have found a way around my bottle.
My bottle does allow art.
What my bottle doesn’t know
Is that by letting me paint,
It is losing control over me.
Painting frees me from my bottle.
I can paint thoughts my bottle won’t permit.
I can paint peace and frustration
And I can paint love and hatred.
I can paint spirituality and freedom
And I can paint hope and majesty.
I can paint patriotism and pride
And I can paint security and stereotyping.
I can paint good and evil
And I can paint alienation and connections.
Even though my bottle tries to protect me,
I still have all these thoughts.
And because my bottle allows art,
The world will know my thoughts.
Today, TCOA serves over 200 artists with disabilities, who through the artistic process are finding their own unique form of expression, a place to be heard, and a tangible artistic contribution to make that is appreciated and respected.
For more information about The Club of Arts please visit us online or stop in and visit. Our students love visitors! We are located at 505 E. Columbia St., 80907.
---------------------------------------------
Facts:
There are 54 million people with disabilities in the United States making it the largest minority group. -Colorado Springs Independent
The unemployment rate for those with disabilities in the United States is 63.1 percent. The El Paso County rate was close to 80 percent in 2008. -The Resource Exchange, Cornell University
In 2009 alone 232 people with disabilities in El Paso County participated in art at TCOA in over 7,500 artistic interactions.
From Jessie:
Before attending the grand opening of The Club of Arts in 2005, I rarely considered why I almost never encountered people with developmental disabilities in the community. As a sociology major at Colorado College, I didn’t notice that there were no class offerings in my department that focused on the social issues concerning disabled people. It wasn’t until I entered the community of people with disabilities that I learned how powerful their voices can be.
Since I have been associated with The Club of Arts, (a nonprofit art organization reaching people with disabilities through artistic education, expression, and performance) I have learned so much about the strength, endurance, and power of people with disAbilities. For example, there are students like Allicia, who was on the waiting list for services she had been deemed eligible to receive for fourteen years. Allicia came to The Club of Arts hungry for independence, in need of a safe place to express herself. She is an incredibly talented silk dye artist. Her parents believe that art and TCOA have saved her life.
There are students who had never engaged in the arts previous to TCOA, like Marty, who is in his forties and started taking classes at TCOA a couple of years ago. Marty began experimenting with gluing wine corks to wooden boards and has now created intricate cork cities and has discovered a fine talent for diorama.
And there is Joe, an incredible oil painter who cannot physically speak because of his disability, but has found that he can communicate powerfully through art. In his self-portrait series, “Beyond My Wheelchair,” Joe paints his body trapped inside of a bottle demonstrating how the world occurs for him as a young man with a disabled body inside a world that is uncomfortable with difference. For Joe, art has become a way for him to communicate and a way for people to listen. Here's Joe at Exposion in summer 2
009.Joe wrote a poem about his experience of showing the world what he can do through his art.
Trapped in a Bottle
I am trapped in the bottle that is my life.
Always on the inside looking out
My bottle does protect me
All the while restricting me.
My bottle doesn’t allow friends
Nor does it allow climbing mountains.
It keeps me from being a drummer
And it doesn’t permit surfing.
My bottle doesn’t like babies
Nor does it like motorcycles.
But I have found a way around my bottle.
My bottle does allow art.
What my bottle doesn’t know
Is that by letting me paint,
It is losing control over me.
Painting frees me from my bottle.
I can paint thoughts my bottle won’t permit.
I can paint peace and frustration
And I can paint love and hatred.
I can paint spirituality and freedom
And I can paint hope and majesty.
I can paint patriotism and pride
And I can paint security and stereotyping.
I can paint good and evil
And I can paint alienation and connections.
Even though my bottle tries to protect me,
I still have all these thoughts.
And because my bottle allows art,
The world will know my thoughts.
Today, TCOA serves over 200 artists with disabilities, who through the artistic process are finding their own unique form of expression, a place to be heard, and a tangible artistic contribution to make that is appreciated and respected.
For more information about The Club of Arts please visit us online or stop in and visit. Our students love visitors! We are located at 505 E. Columbia St., 80907.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Poetry Out Loud
Last night I had the distinct privilege of serving as a judge for the Palmer High School Poetry Out Loud competition. Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation contest, was founded in 2006 by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. I've been aware of the program for several years, but I didn't get to actually experience it until last year at COPPeR and the Chamber's Business and Arts Luncheon, where Colorado state champion (and Palmer High School student) Kaleena Kovach stole the show with her moving recitation of a Margaret Atwood poem. It's not easy to captivate a room full of 300+ business people, but this 17-year-old did just that, and left the room hungry for more. As one luncheon attendee put it, "I am still amazed that the highlights were local opera singers and teen aged poetry performers."
Last night's competition was brief, with only three competitors, but there was a decent crowd of people to support the contestants, and the evening was carefully and lovingly executed, including incidental music. There were five judges: Aaron Anstett, the reigning Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, Jim Ciletti, poet extraordinaire and owner of Hooked on Books, Slam Poetry Mistess Karen Sucharski, Molly Gross, co-director of the Colorado College Writing Center and candidate for an MFA in poetry at Bennington, and yours truly. The reciters were of varying ability, but all were enthusiastic. The coach, Heather Brown, has done a phenomenal job of inspiring her students to appreciate poetry. But after my experience last night, I think she's gone beyond that; in fact, she has given each of her students a truly profound gift.
My grandfather was born in 1903. One summer when he was well in his eighties, we went on afternoon walks almost daily. On these walks, he told me all about his education in the small town in Texas, where he grew up on a farm. He went to a one-room school and eventually worked his way up to earning a scholarship to Oberlin. One of his favorite memories, and thus one of the stories he liked to tell again and again, was how his teacher required him to memorize poems. Numerous poems. Later, as his health declined and he became more senile, he had trouble remembering how to complete simple tasks. But he never forgot a poem. Those poems that he was forced to memorize in that little schoolhouse gave him a sense of peace that could never be taken away.
I was reminded of my grandfather last night. Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Carl Sandburg, which I'd read on the page many times years ago in class, came alive. It was as if by hearing them so lovingly recited, I was able to truly understand the poems, without having to parse or dissect them. It took the labor out of poetry appreciation and left all the joy.
One of the goals of Poetry Out Loud is to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. But they also gain fundamental understanding of individual poems and they will take those poems with them for the rest of their lives. For lack of a more poetic way to say it, that is just really, really cool.
Want to learn more about Poetry Out Loud? Click here.
For your enjoyment, one of the poems from last night's competition.
The Cities Inside Us by Alberto Rios
We live in secret cities
And we travel unmapped roads.
We speak words between us that we recognize
But which cannot be looked up.
They are our words.
They come from very far inside our mouths.
You and I, we are the secret citizens of the city
Inside us, and inside us
There go all the cars we have driven
And seen, there are all the people
We know and have known, there
Are all the places that are
But which used to be as well. This is where
They went. They did not disappear.
We each take a piece
Through the eye and through the ear.
It's loud inside us, in there, and when we speak
In the outside world
We have to hope that some of that sound
Does not come out, that an arm
Not reach out
In place of the tongue.
Last night's competition was brief, with only three competitors, but there was a decent crowd of people to support the contestants, and the evening was carefully and lovingly executed, including incidental music. There were five judges: Aaron Anstett, the reigning Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, Jim Ciletti, poet extraordinaire and owner of Hooked on Books, Slam Poetry Mistess Karen Sucharski, Molly Gross, co-director of the Colorado College Writing Center and candidate for an MFA in poetry at Bennington, and yours truly. The reciters were of varying ability, but all were enthusiastic. The coach, Heather Brown, has done a phenomenal job of inspiring her students to appreciate poetry. But after my experience last night, I think she's gone beyond that; in fact, she has given each of her students a truly profound gift.
My grandfather was born in 1903. One summer when he was well in his eighties, we went on afternoon walks almost daily. On these walks, he told me all about his education in the small town in Texas, where he grew up on a farm. He went to a one-room school and eventually worked his way up to earning a scholarship to Oberlin. One of his favorite memories, and thus one of the stories he liked to tell again and again, was how his teacher required him to memorize poems. Numerous poems. Later, as his health declined and he became more senile, he had trouble remembering how to complete simple tasks. But he never forgot a poem. Those poems that he was forced to memorize in that little schoolhouse gave him a sense of peace that could never be taken away.
I was reminded of my grandfather last night. Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Carl Sandburg, which I'd read on the page many times years ago in class, came alive. It was as if by hearing them so lovingly recited, I was able to truly understand the poems, without having to parse or dissect them. It took the labor out of poetry appreciation and left all the joy.
One of the goals of Poetry Out Loud is to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. But they also gain fundamental understanding of individual poems and they will take those poems with them for the rest of their lives. For lack of a more poetic way to say it, that is just really, really cool.
Want to learn more about Poetry Out Loud? Click here.
For your enjoyment, one of the poems from last night's competition.
The Cities Inside Us by Alberto Rios
We live in secret cities
And we travel unmapped roads.
We speak words between us that we recognize
But which cannot be looked up.
They are our words.
They come from very far inside our mouths.
You and I, we are the secret citizens of the city
Inside us, and inside us
There go all the cars we have driven
And seen, there are all the people
We know and have known, there
Are all the places that are
But which used to be as well. This is where
They went. They did not disappear.
We each take a piece
Through the eye and through the ear.
It's loud inside us, in there, and when we speak
In the outside world
We have to hope that some of that sound
Does not come out, that an arm
Not reach out
In place of the tongue.
| | |
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Bob Lillie, 1937-2010
ROBERT CLAUDE LILLIE - Obituary
Robert Claude Lillie, "Bob" or "Bobby" as he was called by family and friends, was born on August 2, 1937, in Hammond, Indiana, and passed away peacefully on January 15, 2010, in Colorado Springs. Bob was an accomplished musician, especially on the pipe organ, and played for 15 years for the Sacklunch Serenade concerts at the City Auditorium, in downtown Colorado Springs. He was a founding member of the Colorado Springs Chorale, and was a participant in many local musical events. He also founded the Friends of the City Auditorium group, and served as its first President. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Robert M. Lillie and Chlotielde G. Lillie, and his wife, Charlea. He is survived by his son, Robert Douglas (Gloria) Lillie, two daughters, Lisa Ann Fox, and Margaret (James) Hopkins, and a brother, David A. Lillie (Kate O'Boyle), a sister, Coral (Lonnie) Mings, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, two nephews, four nieces, and great-nephews and great-nieces. A memorial service will be held at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium, 221 E. Kiowa, on January 25 , at 1 p.m. Gifts of flowers will be gratefully accepted (please have them delivered to the Auditorium before 1 pm on the 25th), or, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Pikes Peak Area Theatre Organ Society (PPATOS http://www.theatreorgans.com/ppatos), or to Friends of the City Auditorium http://www.cityauditorium.org . Bob will be greatly missed.
Robert Claude Lillie, "Bob" or "Bobby" as he was called by family and friends, was born on August 2, 1937, in Hammond, Indiana, and passed away peacefully on January 15, 2010, in Colorado Springs. Bob was an accomplished musician, especially on the pipe organ, and played for 15 years for the Sacklunch Serenade concerts at the City Auditorium, in downtown Colorado Springs. He was a founding member of the Colorado Springs Chorale, and was a participant in many local musical events. He also founded the Friends of the City Auditorium group, and served as its first President. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Robert M. Lillie and Chlotielde G. Lillie, and his wife, Charlea. He is survived by his son, Robert Douglas (Gloria) Lillie, two daughters, Lisa Ann Fox, and Margaret (James) Hopkins, and a brother, David A. Lillie (Kate O'Boyle), a sister, Coral (Lonnie) Mings, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, two nephews, four nieces, and great-nephews and great-nieces. A memorial service will be held at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium, 221 E. Kiowa, on January 25 , at 1 p.m. Gifts of flowers will be gratefully accepted (please have them delivered to the Auditorium before 1 pm on the 25th), or, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Pikes Peak Area Theatre Organ Society (PPATOS http://www.theatreorgans.com/ppatos), or to Friends of the City Auditorium http://www.cityauditorium.org . Bob will be greatly missed.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Top 11 of 2009
Top ten lists are everywhere these days, so I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon. There is no way to list all the amazing creative events that took place in the past year. There were hundreds of concerts, plays, art openings, festivals and musical events that showcased the amazing talent in the Pikes Peak region. Here are the top eleven of oh-nine, that I believe had a strong impact on our community, in no particular order:
- Stargazers Theater opened as a much-needed music venue in the old Colorado Music Hall building. Owners Cindy and John Hooten host blues, Americana and lots of other music, as well as offering space for community events like the Pikes Peak Arts Council Awards and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day.
- Poetry While You Wait, a project designed by first-ever Pikes Peak Poet Laureate Aaron Anstett, launched with books of poetry, table tents and posters with local poems in places you'd least expect it. More than 25 poems by local poets were on display, and an exhibit of poetry at the Fine Arts Center Modern also opened in April to celebrate National Poetry Month.
- Dream City: Vision 2020 hosted visioning sessions across the community and had a specific focus on arts and culture as a means for envisioning a thriving community. The process engaged artists young and old in arts contests and made a special effort to educate people on our rich arts and cultural legacy. More than 300 people attended the Dream City summit in July, where an arts and culture vision statement was unveiled.
- The Pikes Peak Arts Fest brought thousands of people to America the Beautiful park in downtown Colorado Springs to see art and performances. Despite taking place during a hundred-year flood, tourists and locals alike flocked to the park for the cultural experience, opening their pocketbooks to purchase art by the carloads.
- The ModBo opened its doors in summer. This funky gallery space (its name is a hybrid of the words "modern" and "bohemian," in case you were wondering), in concert with neighbor gallery Rubbish, has breathed new life into the dark alley we like to call the "Alley Arts District." Owners Lauren Ciborowski and Brett Andrus hold monthly art openings, open-mic poetry, live bands, and classical music salons.
- The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association kicked off its 30th anniversary season in Fall 2009. Educating young musicians since 1979, the CSYSA continues its tradition of presenting excellent training and also acting as musical ambassadors for the Pikes Peak region. Conductor and co-founder Gary Nicholson will take the Youth Symphony to perform at the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Wind Symphony will perform at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in 2010.
- The Meadowgrass Music Festival launched this summer with two days of music, food and brewskis at the beautiful La Foret grounds in Black Forest. Despite intense rain and cold temperatures, music lovers shivered under ponchos, enjoying the dulcet tones of local musicians like Edith Makes a Paperchain and John Alex Mason alongside national acts like Magnolia Electric Company and Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles. When the sun did come out, the crowd celebrated. We hope this becomes an annual tradition that requires sunscreen in the future.
- The Colorado College Summer Music Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary. This festival has a devoted following and brings the finest in chamber music and orchestra to the Pikes Peak region. This year, the orchestra commissioned a piece by Patrick Zimmerli, which was inspired by the architecture of the Cornerstone Arts Center. The performance of that piece included video projection of the building and an exhibit at the I.D.E.A. Space, and the evening was an exemplary model of the interdisciniplanary programs the Cornerstone was designed to inspire.
- The Colorado Springs Philharmonic launched their new Vanguard series, a concert series featuring 20th century composers as well as past masters, in order to expose Pikes Peak region audiences to contemporary work. This series was a bold move for an orchestra in this economy, as was Executive Director Nathan Newbrough's decision to slash ticket prices for new subscribers. The risk paid off--audiences are responding to the new energy, and subscriptions are up for the orchestra: good news in this uncertain economy.
- The Cottonwood Center for the Arts opened triumphantly in May, with thousands of visitors streaming through the doors during opening weekend. Cottonwood's new home features two huge galleries, teaching classrooms, a kiln yard and ceramic studio, and more than 65 individual artists' studios. It is a bustling hub of creativity in downtown Colorado Springs, and their last Friday openings are packed.
- And if I may say so, I do believe that COPPeR has made a real difference in 2009 through our work connecting people to fantastic opportunities like the ones above. Just a smattering of our accomplishments in 2009: we published the second edition of The COPPeR Pages, our free guidebook to all the arts and cultural organizations in El Paso and Teller counties, the traffic at our calendar website PeakRadar.com grew 50% from 2008, we collaborated with the Chamber to host a successful 2nd annual Business and Arts Luncheon, we hosted a number of bootcamps designed to help arts organizations survive the recession, we continued to support local music by co-sponsoring the lively Showcase at Studio Bee concerts at the Pikes Peak Center, continuing our research to complete a cultural plan for the region. And of course, there is the ongoing, essential work we do every day to advocate for the value of the arts as essential to our communities--from the economy to education, from helping seniors to youth education, from public policy to neighborhoods. If you feel the work we are doing is making a difference, please consider making a tax-deductible gift to COPPeR by clicking here. Thank you!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
How Art Saved My Life
The following essay was read today at Tony Babin's memorial service. Please enjoy and share with others. If you'd prefer to download and print a PDF, please click here.
How Art Saved My Life
By Tony Babin (1957-2009)
Adolescence is a hard time for all of us. I know I had it rough. At 16 I was a 350-pound fat kid with bad acne whose only friends were girls. I sucked at sports, but excelled in choir and the Forensics Team. I had won every tournament the Forensics Team went on in my category of “Dramatic Interpretation.” I was religious. I was a junior deacon, a member of the church choir, and often the featured soloist for Sunday sermons. My grandmother’s favorite was my rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”
I also had a terrible secret. I was gay. Of course, at that age and in that time in a small farm town, I wasn’t sure of what that was. I just knew I was different and that all the jocks in school called me a fag.
I remember our church hosting what was called “The Lay Witness Mission,” which was basically lay church members giving testimonials. It was a revival of sorts. On the last Sunday, we were told to write on a piece of paper something in your life you want to change. We were then to lay that piece of paper on the altar and then they led us in a group prayer that was supposed to address the piece of paper. I wrote “I am a queer” on my piece of paper and folded it about eight times to make sure no one else would see it, and I left it on the altar and prayed. I prayed hard. I asked God to show me a sign. I was only 16.
I waited and waited for some kind of answer from God. After a few weeks, I decided that there was no answer. I became depressed and started thinking about suicide a lot.
Then, one Monday in school, our choir teacher told us that we would be participating in the entertainment tent when the Art Train came to town. Yes! The Art Train was coming to our town!! For those of you who don’t know what that is, the Art Train was a project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. A train was loaded up with masterpiece works of art and then it toured the country stopping in small towns across America for farm kids and migrant workers to experience and see. Our whole town was abuzz! My speech teacher convinced me to sign up to do stand-up comedy and dramatic monologues. I did.
There I was, a 16-year-old fat gay kid with pimples standing up on a makeshift stage in a tent doing a monologue from “Death of a Salesman” and looking out into a crowd of strangers who were crying. Later, as I was telling jokes, those strangers were laughing.
It is hard to describe the feeling I felt as I stood in that dark room sharing laughter and tears with a crowd of strangers.
When it was my turn to board the train and see the artwork, I was filled with excitement and a sense of awe. As I walked down the corridors looking at the beautiful works, I was stopped by a reproduction of Michelangelo’s painting “Creation of Man.” I stood there for a long time with tears in my eyes until they eventually ran down my cheeks. It was one of the most emotion-stirring paintings I had ever seen. I am not sure why it touched me the way it did at that time. I was so afraid someone would see me crying in front of a painting and my big secret would be out. I looked to my right, and there was a little old lady with white hair and a lace collar. She was crying too. She looked over at me and said, “Isn’t it beautiful?” and handed me a tissue from her purse. She then took my hand and patted it and walked on down the corridor.
At that moment I could see my destiny before me very clearly. I knew that I would move to a bigger town, become an actor, and all thoughts of suicide and being different and not fitting in seemed not to matter so much.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized why that particular painting had touched me so deeply. And it wasn’t until years later that I realized that the Art Train was the sign from God I was waiting for.
Now, whenever I see a news story about arts funding being cut from schools and art programs being dropped or dismissed as not being a necessary part of the curriculum, I can’t help but get sad. Somewhere, there is an overweight teenager who feels like a misfit, whose only hope of feeling a part of something is being taken away. Art has the power to heal, to change lives, to answer prayers, to make us all feel like we are part of the Cosmic Dance. Art is more important than any sporting event can ever hope to be.
Art saved my life.
How Art Saved My Life
By Tony Babin (1957-2009)
Adolescence is a hard time for all of us. I know I had it rough. At 16 I was a 350-pound fat kid with bad acne whose only friends were girls. I sucked at sports, but excelled in choir and the Forensics Team. I had won every tournament the Forensics Team went on in my category of “Dramatic Interpretation.” I was religious. I was a junior deacon, a member of the church choir, and often the featured soloist for Sunday sermons. My grandmother’s favorite was my rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”
I also had a terrible secret. I was gay. Of course, at that age and in that time in a small farm town, I wasn’t sure of what that was. I just knew I was different and that all the jocks in school called me a fag.
I remember our church hosting what was called “The Lay Witness Mission,” which was basically lay church members giving testimonials. It was a revival of sorts. On the last Sunday, we were told to write on a piece of paper something in your life you want to change. We were then to lay that piece of paper on the altar and then they led us in a group prayer that was supposed to address the piece of paper. I wrote “I am a queer” on my piece of paper and folded it about eight times to make sure no one else would see it, and I left it on the altar and prayed. I prayed hard. I asked God to show me a sign. I was only 16.
I waited and waited for some kind of answer from God. After a few weeks, I decided that there was no answer. I became depressed and started thinking about suicide a lot.
Then, one Monday in school, our choir teacher told us that we would be participating in the entertainment tent when the Art Train came to town. Yes! The Art Train was coming to our town!! For those of you who don’t know what that is, the Art Train was a project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. A train was loaded up with masterpiece works of art and then it toured the country stopping in small towns across America for farm kids and migrant workers to experience and see. Our whole town was abuzz! My speech teacher convinced me to sign up to do stand-up comedy and dramatic monologues. I did.
There I was, a 16-year-old fat gay kid with pimples standing up on a makeshift stage in a tent doing a monologue from “Death of a Salesman” and looking out into a crowd of strangers who were crying. Later, as I was telling jokes, those strangers were laughing.
It is hard to describe the feeling I felt as I stood in that dark room sharing laughter and tears with a crowd of strangers.
When it was my turn to board the train and see the artwork, I was filled with excitement and a sense of awe. As I walked down the corridors looking at the beautiful works, I was stopped by a reproduction of Michelangelo’s painting “Creation of Man.” I stood there for a long time with tears in my eyes until they eventually ran down my cheeks. It was one of the most emotion-stirring paintings I had ever seen. I am not sure why it touched me the way it did at that time. I was so afraid someone would see me crying in front of a painting and my big secret would be out. I looked to my right, and there was a little old lady with white hair and a lace collar. She was crying too. She looked over at me and said, “Isn’t it beautiful?” and handed me a tissue from her purse. She then took my hand and patted it and walked on down the corridor.
At that moment I could see my destiny before me very clearly. I knew that I would move to a bigger town, become an actor, and all thoughts of suicide and being different and not fitting in seemed not to matter so much.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized why that particular painting had touched me so deeply. And it wasn’t until years later that I realized that the Art Train was the sign from God I was waiting for.
Now, whenever I see a news story about arts funding being cut from schools and art programs being dropped or dismissed as not being a necessary part of the curriculum, I can’t help but get sad. Somewhere, there is an overweight teenager who feels like a misfit, whose only hope of feeling a part of something is being taken away. Art has the power to heal, to change lives, to answer prayers, to make us all feel like we are part of the Cosmic Dance. Art is more important than any sporting event can ever hope to be.
Art saved my life.
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