Austin Trip: Part I

Several months ago I heard about a strategic planning mission coordinated by the folks at the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce (with whom COPPeR co-hosts an annual award luncheon honoring businesses that support the arts) to try to figure out why Austin left us in the dust in terms of economic development 20 years ago. Two decades ago, Austin and Colorado Springs were competing neck-and-neck for businesses and high-tech industries. Now, Austin boasts a population of 1.7 million people, a thriving nanotechnology industry, a world-class research and teaching university, and of course, it is the live music capital of the world.

The Southern Colorado Innovation Strategy Leadership Trip to Austin, coordinated by the Chamber and UCCS, took place last week and I was extremely honored to be among the attendees, representing the arts and cultural community in the Pikes Peak region. Elected officials City Councilwoman Jan Martin and County Commissioner Sallie Clark and Manitou Springs Mayor Eric Drummond were there, as was Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor at UCCS. About 30 movers, shakers and leaders in the business and education world from Colorado Springs, Manitou and Pueblo went on the trip. My job was to connect the dots between a quirky, authentic and vital arts and cultural community and a thriving economy. I quickly got to work connecting with my counterparts in Austin cultural services coordinating meetings and sessions so all the attendees could see firsthand why a vibrant arts scene is essential to economic and community development.

I flew out a bit early on Wednesday morning so that I could do some reconnaissance around town before the rest of the delegation arrived. It may betray my hipster pedigree to admit this, but I had never been to Austin before last week. I stepped off the plane and immediately noticed the placard in the jetway ("Welcome to Austin," it said, "the live music capital of the world."). I flagged a taxi, got a basic geography lesson from the friendly cabdriver, checked into the AT&T Conference center and hotel up at the UT campus, and then wandered down Congress Ave, past the capitol and in to the heart of downtown.

I found myself at Arthouse, a contemporary art venue. I caught the last week of the very cool local show up right now called 5x7, in which hundreds of contemporary Texas artists create unique works of art on identical 5” x 7” boards, all displayed anonymously and on sale for extremely reasonable prices. An old family friend, Ben Slade, is working there as membership coordinator and new media coordinator, so he and I chatted about the visual arts scene there. Ben and I both grew up in New Mexico, and after he graduated from college he got a job working at a gallery in Santa Fe. Shortly after, he left to move to Austin. He vastly prefers the authentic arts community in Austin to the glittering commerce-based community in Santa Fe. I also talked to Nathan Green, staff from Okay Mountain, an artist-run gallery space.

Ben and Nathan told me that between the Univerity of Texas art students, the South by Southwest music and film festival kids (Austin is a festival town--it's the #2 major U.S. City in the number of festivals per thousand population), there is creative energy burbling up all over the place. Young artists will start art galleries in their living rooms and host First Friday receptions with bands playing. They both praised the new-ish Fusebox Festival, which focuses on performing arts.

Ben and Nathan had to get back to work, so I left them and trudged around the 2nd St. district, peered in at the Austin Children's Museum (noting that their informational brochure is completely bilingual), and drooled over a couple of very chic design boutiques.

Later that night, we broke off into small groups to enjoy dinner. I took a small group to Moonshine (note: beer-battered asparagus is delicious; I regret not ordering the corndog shrimp) and we met up with some local longtime arts mavens. Rick Hernandez, the immediate past Executive Director of the Texas Commission on the Arts, an organization he was involved with since the mid 1970s as an artist-in-residence. Rick is warm, outgoing, and full of insights about how Austin completely transformed during the 1980s. Latifah Taormina also joined us--she is the executive director of Austin Circle of Theaters, a co-presenter of NowPlayingAustin.com (sister and fellow Artsopolis site like PeakRadar.com). Latifah has a fascinating past--she started the legendary Committee improv troupe in San Francisco. We had a wonderful dinner sharing stories and laughing, then Rick and the rest of our gang set off to see the town. We just missed the solar-powered outdoor concert series in Republic Square (a brand-new initiative to prove that even the music scene is part of the environmentalist movement in Austin), but we cozied into the Elephant Room and heard a great set of jazz. Then the diehards in the group headed up to 6th St., where among the dozens of bars --all featuring live music-- we found Pete's dueling piano bar and laughed our way into the wee hours of the morning. Along the way we played one of the GuitarTown guitars,a public arts project feautring local artists' takes on ten-foot Gibson Guitar sculptures.

I'll continue with Part II tomorrrow, in which we meet with the head of Austin Cultural Affairs (responsible for giving $5 million to arts organizations and individual artists in 2008) and continue the cultural tourism.

Philharmonic Music Director Stepping Down

I found out this morning that Lawrence Leighton Smith is leaving the Colorado Springs Philharmonic after next season.

Larry's leadership has been incredible for this orchestra and this community. His loyalty to the musicians, especially during the very turbulent past few years, has been immeasurable. My first introduction to Larry came when I was a freelance writer for the Colorado Springs Independent. I was hired to do classical reviews and previews. Not only did Larry always take my calls, he and I would frequently engage in lengthy philosophical conversations about composers. He has done so much for this orchestra.

But then, we get to see Mahler 9 this weekend, and we have all next season to appreciate him!

Here's the full press release:

Lawrence Leighton Smith will hand off the baton after 11 years as music director of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and its predecessor, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra. Smith announced his decision at a rehearsal for Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 on Wednesday night.
“I feel it’s time for something different for everybody,” said Smith, who has led
the Springs’ only professional orchestra since 2000. “In the professional arena, this is my longest stay anyplace.”
“Larry is giving us two years notice,” said Nathan Newbrough, the Philharmonic’s president. “And that’s great, because the shoes he leaves us to fill are enormous.”
“He’s been the perfect person for this orchestra,” said concertmaster Michael
Hanson. “He’s the experienced musician and steady person we needed to take us through turbulent times.”
The most turbulent time of all was the bankruptcy of the Colorado Springs
Symphony Orchestra in January 2003. Smith’s announcement that he would stand by the musicians was a major impetus behind the decision to form the Colorado Springs Philharmonic that spring.
Now that Smith feels the orchestra is ready for a different pair of hands, the task
begins for Newbrough and others to find Smith’s replacement.
“The search is a long and thoughtful process that’s extremely rewarding for the
orchestra and the community,” said Newbrough. “Right now we’re in the process of
assembling a group of musicians and community representatives to commence the search process.”
“A conductor search is an exciting opportunity for an orchestra to find out about
itself,” said Hanson. “It’s a marriage of personalities. Each new person brings something different, and the orchestra responds differently and sounds different for everyone.”
Smith plans to take some time off come the summer of 2011 – but not too much
time off. “I have some guest-conducting coming up,” he said. “I have a lot of composing on my plate. As long as I hang on to my marbles, there’s no lack of things to do.”
Asked about highlights of his music-making in Colorado Springs, Smith
mentioned the 2006 performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and the 2007 performance of Dvorák’s Symphony No. 6 as two that stood out.
“But I’m not leaving for two years,” he said. “There are some highlights I don’t
know about yet.”

NEA chair announced

Oh, COPPeR blog--my apologies for the lack of posting. It's not for lack of activity, that's for sure. The academic calendar is in my blood, it seems. Perhaps that's why the end of every semester feels so hectic. I'll give a longer local arts update next week, but nationally, we in the arts finally have the answer we've been waiting for:

Rocco Landesman has been appointed chair of the NEA.

Tony Kushner's ringing endorsement in the article linked above makes me think this is a very good thing, although I am a little nervous about his money-making background. Will a big-time Broadway producer be able to connect to the small community arts groups that rely on NEA funding? One thing's for sure--his leadership will shake things up. He doesn't seem like one to hold back.

Robert Lynch in Colorado Springs

Robert Lynch, head of Americans for the Arts, was in town yesterday to give a speech at the 30th annual Arts, Business, Education Consortium luncheon. He stopped by COPPeR in the morning to tell a group of us how Americans for the Arts develops broad-based arts advocacy nationwide.

Bob Pinney, The Rest is Silence

The Colorado Springs theater community lost a shining star this past weekend. Bob Pinney, actor, teacher and friend, passed away quietly.

Beth Clements-Mosley remembers him:

The world that died with Bob Pinney was vast and colorful, rich and elegant… and much of it was private - quietly lived moments both tragic and excellent.

I was privileged, as many of us were, to be part of that wonderful world, and to have Bob in ours. In each line of Shakespeare I recite, in my awareness of gesture, Bob lives. Each time I enunciate ‘FOR-GET’ rather than ‘fergit’, Bob’s voice, ponderous and gravelly, is heard again. In my life as an actor, moving from role to role, in my telling and retelling of stories, my fond recounting of stage disasters and profound moments, Bob will always be present, informing my journey. In my understanding of what it is to be loved though one’s family is far away, to live alone but not to be lonely, Bob is there.

My experience with him as a young actor taken under his wing, groomed and nurtured, is not unique. Always the teacher, Bob loved new talent and did whatever he could to encourage and advocate it. He was always one of my strongest supporters and biggest fans, and I, among many others, adored him. I remember being shocked during Dracula (Theatreworks, 1991) when Bob, playing Van Helsing, actually cut his finger every night with a hidden Exacto blade to tempt the Count (Rick Zahradnik) with his blood. He spared himself nothing in his quest to offer the audience everything.

Bob spent his 70th birthday in a tent playing King Lear, a role he had yearned to inhabit for many years; it was my great honor to share that experience with him. The entire run was amazing, but that night was… magical: the air was electric. At the moment Lear was cast out onto the heath, one of the most powerful scenes in English-speaking theatre, as the first storm cue sounded, real thunder began to rumble in the distance. As Bob raged and wept, imperious and heartbreaking, the rest of the cast stood amazed as lightning blazed across the sky and rain pounded the tent… for exactly as long as the scene went on, relenting the instant he left the stage. I will believe for the rest of my life that Shakespeare was there with us that night and that the storm was Bob’s birthday gift, a reward for a life spent in devotion to the theatre.

Over the last few years it became clear that his poor body was no longer able to house the enormity of him. During the Scottish Play in 2005 there was a terrible moment in which, playing the Porter, marvelous as always, he was unable to find his way off the stage, frantically feeling his way along the curtains to find the exit. Those of us backstage realized what was going on and reached out from behind the blacks to grab his hands and guide him; later the understanding of it wrote itself across our faces as we all looked at each other and tried not to know the truth: the great instrument was failing. He bore it with grace and without fear, exceeding his doctors’ expectations and offering more comfort than he required... and then, quietly, he was gone.

He was a huge talent, a tireless mentor, a dear friend, a gracious host and a wonderful chef who showed his affection with corned beef and cabbage or gourmet birthday cakes. He understood sorrow and offered comfort whenever he could. He was fervent in his praise, generous with advice, gentle but truthful in his criticisms, blunt in his admonishments. I was fortunate to have almost two decades with him – countless moments to cherish, too numerous and precious to recount here. I loved him, and ache to think of never hearing his laugh again.

He was… extraordinary.

Your cause of sorrow must not be measured by his worth, for then it hath no end.
– Macbeth

Week in Review

Things I've found inspiring this week:

National Poetry Month officially kicked off with the release of Pikes Peak Poet Laureate Aaron Anstett's project. The Poetry While You Wait booklet features 40 local local poets. The books are being placed in waiting areas and lobbies. Want a copy? Stop by COPPeR's offices to pick some up--just promise to distribute them at your hair salon, doctor's office, mechanic, vet, or any other place people wait. Table tents and posters featuring poems from the booklet are also being disseminated at restaurants, businesses, and in storefront windows. KRCC is also airing high frequency, daily poems from the collection read by the poets themselves.

When you stop by our office (corner of Colorado and Tejon in downtown Colorado Springs, across from McKenzie's in the Plaza of the Rockies), you can also visit the beautiful and serene Call and Response exhibit in the Fine Arts Center MODERN. The exhibit features a number of lovely poems on beautiful handmade paper. There's also an interactive walll where you can contribute your own poetry.

Kevin Johnson, your friendly PeakRadar.com manager, took a great art-lunch tour this week. Check out his posts on twitter by following on @PeakRadar.

This morning I stopped by Celebration Place in the Citadel mall. They have expanded their gallery space into the now-vacant Steve and Barry's across the hall. Pieces from the 47th Annual Young People's Art Exhibition (this week it's K-1; high school entries go on display next week) are now in the huge Steve and Barry's open space. It's a completely refreshing, unexpected place to see artwork. Kudos to the Citadel for letting Imagination Celebration program the space--it seems to me that this could serve as a great example to all the vacant storefronts in malls, downtowns and strip-malls across the country. If you're in the Citadel, make sure you stop in.

These are just a few reminders that art can be found everywhere. It is deliberately and delightfully planned, as above, but it is also in the landscape of the built and natural environment. It is in the design behind our home decor. It is in the clothes we wear. It is in the stories we tell each other and the way that we can make each other laugh.

I'm off to celebrate the life of a person who understood that. Timber was weird, wacky and wonderful. The lesson to the rest of us? Acknowledge the weird, wacky and wonderful inside you and all around you.

Timber Kirwan, Artist and mischief-maker

The Colorado Springs arts scene suffered another devastating loss yesterday. Timber Kirwan, beloved local artist and downtown icon, took his own life. His whimsical creativity resulted in beloved parties as Santa-con. He created geodesic domes and light installations and had a fondness for fur and costumes. He was a wonderful friend, a jovial person, and his creativity had a real impact on our arts community.

Please click here to join the Friends of Timber group on Facebook.

All of us here at COPPeR send out sincere condolences to all of his friends and family. A strong and vital arts community depends not only on strong arts organizations, but individual artists. Timber was the perfect example of a deeply creative person who naturally brought people together through his artistic expression. He is instantly, deeply missed.

Dealing with suicide is very painful. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal thoughts, please know that you are not alone.