They played real good for free ... until there was a fee

Today's (April 30) Press-Enterprise has an article on the front page about the Town Park Association needing to pay licensing (back) fees to ASCAP for the Summer Concert Series. The story brought to mind a situation my brother, a musician in Missoula, Montana, passed along to me a few weeks back.

A folk singer he knows, who performs only originals, played at a community market. BMI contacted the market and told them they had to pay licensing fees to have live music ... even if it was all originals by the performer. The community market can't pay the fee and so the performer is out of a gig. Seems more than unfair and it does makes you wonder, who empowered this organization.

Details here.

—E.G.F.

Final shows for the semester

Bloomsburg University will hold it's second annual Repertory/Ensemble Dance Minor Concert on Sunday, April 29, at 3 p.m., and Monday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Haas Center for the Arts. The show will feature choreography by Jenna Introna, Marcedes Kennedy, Michelle Megill, Olivia Naugle, Amber Nicole and Julie Petry. Both shows are open free to the public.

Graduating Bloomsburg University seniors majoring in art history and art studio will exhibit their work in the Senior Exit Show that runs from Tuesday, May 1, until Saturday, May 12, in Haas Gallery of Art. A reception will be held Tuesday, May 1, from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Featured in the exhibit are works by these BU students:

Brittney Logan
Andrew Bull
Rachel Etzweiler
Megan Combs
Melanie Ortiz
Olivia DeFranco
Megan Koontz
Lena Kurtz
Kyle Gosson 

Haas Gallery is open free of charge weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Art you can wear

Bloomsburg University will hold its annual Personal Adornment Day and Makeup Extravaganza on Thursday, April 26, at the Moose Exchange, 203 West Main Street, Bloomsburg.

Personal Adornment Day (PADME for short) is a visual showcase of student wearable art, performance art and theater makeup. There will be catwalk and stage presentation of 30 students' work from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.  at the Moose. Visiting artist  Jan Myers-Newbury, internationally renowned art quilter, will give a lecture from 9:45 to 11 a.m. in Old Science Hall, room 311.

To the Bat ... gallery

The Bloomsburg University Museum Exhibition class has put up a show in the Haas Gallery ... "The Many Faces of Batman." The show runs through May 10. A reception is today (April 24) from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. and closed Sunday.

Music with spirit, improvisation

The Bloomsburg University Gospel Choir will have it's 22nd annual Gospelrama Saturday, April 21, at 4 p.m. in the Kehr Union, Ballroom. This year’s theme, “Yet Will I Trust You,” is inspired by Psalms 121:1. The concert is open free to the public.

More photos of the choir can be found at www.bloomufocus.com.

In a a jazzier vein

Garry L. Hagberg, James H. Ottoway Jr. Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at Bard College and guitarist with the Atlantic Jazz Trio, will speak and perform Monday, April 23, at 7 pm. in Bloomsburg University’s McCormick Center, room 1303. Hagberg’s talk, “Playing as One: Group Improvisation and Collective Intention” will feature live jazz improvisation. The program is presented as part of BU’s Center for Applied and Popular Philosophy.

More concerts at BU

• Bloomsburg University’s Wind Ensemble will present a concert at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 25, in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. 
• The Bloomsburg University’s Concert Choir will perform Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg. 
• Two Bloomsburg University instrumental ensembles will perform in the annual Knoebels Amusement Resort “Pops” Concert Sunday, April 29, weather permitting. The Concert Band will play at 2 p.m.; the Jazz Ensemble will perform at 5:30 p.m. 

More than fashion: Art you can wear

BU students will show wearable art creations at the annual Personal Adornment Day and Makeup Extravaganza on Thursday, April 26. The catwalk and stage presentation will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Moose Exchange, 203 W. Main St., Bloomsburg. This event, part of BU’s Center for Visual and Preforming Arts, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Meredith Re’ Grimsley, associate professor of art, at mgrimsle@bloomu.edu.

In a mood for dance

 “New Heights,” the second annual repertory/ensemble dance minor concert, will be given Sunday, April 29, at 3 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Admission is free.

Gas Springs Eternal (?)

Not strictly arts related, but there seems to be a considerable overlap in the community interested in the arts, and in the environment. 

John Hintz, associate professor of geography and geosciences, will give a lecture “Gas Springs Eternal: The Marcellus Shale and Pennsylvania’s Unconventional Future,” at 4 p.m., Wednesday, April 25, in the Harvey Andruss Library, Schweiker Room. The event, open to the public free of charge, is presented by BU’s Institute for Culture and Society.

BU Players to stage LaBute's 'The Shape of Things'

The Bloomsburg University Players will present Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things Wednesday through Sunday, April 18 to 22. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. at Alvina Krause Theatre, Centre Street, Bloomsburg.

Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and non-BU students and free for BU students with an ID.

How far would you go for love? For art? What concessions would you make? What price would you pay? The Shape of Things explores these questions in the story of an aggressive artist and a shy university student. The production is staged by the international award-winning director, John Clancy.


Friday Night is Faculty-Staff Night. You and your guest admitted free at the door. No advance purchase. Please bring your BU ID.

Miscellanea: Poetry, exhibits, lectures, concerts

Poet Grant Clauser, a Bloomsburg University alumnus, will read Monday, April 9, at 7:30 pm from his new poetry collection, The Trouble with Rivers, in the Alumni House, Bloomsburg University.

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Bloomsburg University’s Percussion Ensemble will perform Tuesday, April 10, at 7:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The performance is open to the public free of charge.

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The annual Take Back the Night observance will be held Tuesday, April 10, from 7 to 8 pm, beginning at Bloomsburg University’s Kehr Union, Ballroom.

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David Gluck, author of “Rhythms of the Game,” will give a multimedia presentation Wednesday, April 11, at 6 pm in Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, room 116. Gluck’s presentation, which includes video and music, shares the story of Bernie Williams, former New York Yankees star and accomplish jazz guitarist. He will explain how athletes and artists conquer their fears, embrace failure and ultimately achieve extraordinary success.

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R. Holborn Brown will have a show of photographs, “Passages,” at the Artspace Gallery, Center Street, Bloomsburg, from April 12 to May 20. Reception will be Saturday, April 14, from 6 to 8 pm. 

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The 2012 Juried Student Art Show will run in Bloomsburg University's Haas Gallery through April 23. A reception will be held Friday, April 20, from 5 to 7 pm. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm and Saturday from noon to 2 pm.

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Susan Feiner, professor of economics and professor of women and gender studies at the University of Southern Maine, will speak on “The New/Old Macho Economy” Friday, April 13, at 1 pm in Bloomsburg University’s McCormick Center, room 1303. The lecture is sponsored by BU’s Department of Economics and College of Liberal Arts.

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The Bloomsburg University Concert Band’s spring concert will be Sunday, April 15, at 2:30 pm in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The concert is open to the public free of charge.

In a mood for jazz

Jazz musicians Grace Kelly and Phil Woods will perform Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Bloomsburg University’s Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

Along with the Grace Kelly Quintet, Kelly and Woods will perform selections from their saxophone duet album, “Man with the Hat.” This is Kelly’s sixth release since she was 12 years old. Now 20, she has been praised by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis as having “intelligence, wit and feeling.” Woods, age 80, is a veteran jazz musician who received the 2011 Jazz Legacy Award from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF). This performance is supported in part by the Jazz Touring Network, a program of MAAF, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets are $34.50 for adults and $19.50 for children. For information or tickets, www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call (570) 389-4409. Kelly and Woods also will take part in BU’s annual jazz festival for middle and high school jazz ensembles. A free public performance will be presented Friday, April 13, at noon in Mitrani Hall.

This concert is the final show in the 2011-12 season of BU’s Celebrity Artist Series.

River Poets reading Thursday

The River Poets will hold their reading Thursday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bloomsburg Public Library. The theme is "rivers and water" and the featured reader will be Mike DeMarco. Emcee is Richard Brook.