Calendar of Events

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association is pleased to announce a series of performances and outreach activities featuring internationally renowned violinist, Rachel Barton Pine. Ms. Pine is an American violinist who made her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 10, and was the first American and youngest ever gold medal winner of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition.

Thursday, March 30: Classical violinist Rachel Barton Pine shows off her versatility with a metal-rock concert at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center on Thursday, March 30, 2017 at 7:00 PM. The nationally recognized Oak Ridge High School Orchestra will perform selections at the beginning of the concert before Ms. Pine takes the stage with string players from the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Pine and members of the orchestra will perform popular selections by Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and more. Admission is free for this performance and no tickets are required. For more information, please call (865) 483-5569 or e-mail office@orcma.org.

Friday, March 31: Four local violin students have been selected to participate in a special master class led by violinist Rachel Barton Pine on Friday, March 31, 2017 from 3:00-5:00 PM at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. The master class is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. For more information, please call (865) 483-5569 or e-mail office@orcma.org.

Saturday, April 1: Ms. Pine will perform Dvorak’s Violin Concerto with the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 7:30 PM at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. Led by Maestro Dan Allcott, the orchestra will also perform music by Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, and Smetana. Audience members are invited to bid on delightful items at a spring-themed silent auction in the lobby. A reception will be held after the concert. Tickets for adults are $25 and young adults, ages 19-29, are just $10. Students 18 & under are free. Seating is general admission. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ORCMA.org or by calling (865) 483-5569.

Sunday, April 2: Violinist Rachel Barton Pine will perform a solo recital on Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 3:00 PM at the Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge. Ms. Pine will perform “American Partitas,” a recital program of newly commissioned works by David Wallace Bruce Molsky, April Verch, Darol Anger, Billy Childs and Daniel Bernard Roumain partnered with the Bach Partitas for solo violin. Tickets for adults are $25 and young adults, ages 19-29, are just $10. Students 18 & under are free. Seating is limited for this performance; advance reservations are recommended. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ORCMA.org or by calling (865) 483-5569. An elegant dinner with Rachel Barton Pine will follow the concert in the lobby of the Pollard Auditorium. Catered by Bidwell Catering, the menu will feature Maple Syrup & Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Loin, Pasta Primavera, Herb Roasted Potatoes, Sautéed Zucchini and Squash, and Mixed Berry Cobbler. Dinner tickets are $50 per person and all proceeds benefit the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association. Please call (865) 483-5569 or e-mail office@orcma.org by Thursday, March 30 for reservations.

About Rachel Barton Pine: Heralded as a leading interpreter of the great classical masterworks, international concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine thrills audiences with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone and emotional honesty. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, Pine transforms audiences’ experiences of classical music. Pine has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s most prestigious ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Royal Philharmonic; and the Netherlands Radio Kamer Filharmonie. She has worked with such renowned conductors as Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Neeme Järvi and Marin Alsop.

Info: 865-483-5569 or www.orcma.org

Caryl Churchill’s “Top Girls” will be performed in the Clarence Brown Theatre’s Lab Theatre. A Pay What You Wish Preview performance will be held Wednesday, March 29, a talk back with the cast will take place Sunday, April 9 following the 2:00 pm matinee, and an Open Captioned performance is on Sunday, April 16 at 2:00 pm.

Career-driven Marlene lands the top job at a London employment agency over a mail colleague. She celebrates her promotion by throwing a “Mad Hatter” type dinner party for a variety of mythical and historical women, including a Victorian-era Scottish traveler, a Japanese courtesan turned Buddhist nun, Pope Joan and Chaucer’s Patient Griselda. Crossing cultures, generations and politics, the sparkling dinner conversation reveals the sacrifices made as well as the joys experienced by these extraordinary women. Originally a rebuke of Margaret Thatcher’s England in the 1980s, the play remains as relevant and as powerful today. “This play is not just made up of discussions about weighty issues; it’s made up of stories told by individual women with fantastic tales to tell. By listening to them, we have a chance to see the world from a different vantage point,” said Director Casey Sams.

Two Previews for “Top Girls” are Wednesday, March 29 and Thursday, March 30 followed by Opening Night Friday, March 31.

Lab Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Beth Meadows’ current studio is a working space, not open to the public; but if you were to find your way there, you would find yourself in a nest of ideas – one lined with images and materials that the artist collects because they draw her attention. In the exhibit now hanging at Tomato Head Market Square, Meadows has assembled a collection of pieces that feature two prominent classes of things that consistently catch her eye: fashion and food packaging.

Many of the images depicted might seem familiar, and that’s because they’re drawn from the pages of fashion magazines. “They’re super models, “ Meadows says, “and the clothing is made out of a collage of food packaging. The idea was to mix this fascination I have with fashion that’s grown over the years with a negative feeling I have about grocery shopping. I don’t love it, grocery shopping, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m trying not to be swayed by how things are packaged – because I don’t want to be marketed to or persuaded to buy things that are packaged beautifully. That’s really hard for an artist like me because I’m aesthetically inclined.”

The works are a mix of collage and drawing that are, in fact, based on photographs of super models; but as the she creates the piece, Meadows creates her own line of clothing for each – one that’s built from the food packaging that she normally resists. Meadows has a broad range of work, in addition to visiting her exhibit at our downtown place, you’ll want to explore the complete range of her portfolio and find out more about her on her website: http://withbearhands.com/.

On display through April 2 at Market Square, then in the Bearden location April 4 - May 1. Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

The Art Gallery at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will present work by Oak Ridge artist Eun-Sook Kim from March 10 through early May. The exhibition will also feature work by the artist’s students: Betsy Smith, Will Doran, Cathleen Cottrell, and Peggy Teague. A gallery opening talk and reception will be hosted at the church on Sunday, March 12, at 12:15 p.m. The public is invited.

Although my primary medium is ceramics, I consider myself a painter first. Through brushwork, I feel harmony with nature. Like a speck in the landscape of a classic Chinese painting, I am infinitely small, yet essential in nature. Interweaving different strands from different cultures and countries, my art reflects the multicolored pattern of my life,” said Kim.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Free and open to the public, Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm. and Sunday 9:30 am to 1 pm. For more information call (865)483-6761.

Artist’s Reception: Monday, March 20th 4PM to 8PM

At Burlington Library 4614 Asheville Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: alan.jones@tys.org

Opening reception Feb. 17 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

David Butler was trained as an art historian, but he managed to take a few studio classes along the way. His job entails looking at lots of work by other artists, which he says is a great way to learn but can be intimidating. Because his time to make art is extremely limited, he uses mostly pastel, charcoal, and watercolor because they allow him to work quickly. He is inspired by the landscape of East Tennessee and hopes these works convey how much he loves this part of the world. Butler joined the Knoxville Museum of Art as executive director in 2006 after serving as the director of the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University; the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana; and the Emerson Gallery at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in art history from Florida State University, and his Ph.D. in art history with concentration on seventeenth-century Italian art and architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.

Diane Hamilton finds nature a great inspiration. She says that many times her kids would say "Mom! Get back in the car! We are going to be late for school and you already have a million pictures of the sunrise!" She believes that you can never have too many pictures of something beautiful. She was born in Melbourne, Florida and grew up playing outside as much as possible. A good day would consist of throwing oranges and grapefruits at her siblings, eating lunch under the moss-draped trees, and drawing in the sand. She still likes to draw and paint with pastels, but unfortunately she no longer gets to launch any citrus at relatives.

Alejandro Rodriguez: The Facets of My HeART
Rodriguez uses oils, water color, tissues, alcohol ink, and most recently, pen and ink. His mood dictates where he wants his art to go. The deep religious undertones in his paintings reflect universality within diversity. Sometimes the works are tight, graphic and literal, harkening back to his graphic and architectural training. Others are looser and semi-abstract, when he wants the message to be clear with an impressionistic view. Born on the shores of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, seemingly with a crayon in his hand, it was a winding road that took Alex from Puerto Rico to New York City and then to the banks of the Little River in idyllic Blount County. He graduated from The School of Art and Design in Manhattan, receiving many awards in his four years there. Those were years of intense study with multiple media and techniques. He worked as a graphic designer, carpenter and home renovator. When he relocated to the red clay of Blount County, with cows and horses as neighbors, the art fever returned and Rodriguez began photographing and painting beautiful East Tennessee. As a member of the Knoxville Museum of Art and its guild, Rodriguez participated in the Artist On Location event and contributes works to auctions for the Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, the Hope Center, and Knoxville Jewish Day School among others. He had a successful one-man show in the Paris Apartment in Sweetwater, Tenn.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

The Knoxville Museum of Art announces an exciting new exhibition, Virtual Views: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation. This electronic media exhibition is presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears music festival. Drawn from the extensive Chicago-based collection of Carl and Marilynn Thoma, Virtual Views explores the growing importance of electronic new media in contemporary art as seen in the work of artists who are pioneers in the use of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), LCD (liquid crystal display), and computer-driven imagery. The exhibition features nine electronic works comprised of synthetic materials and powered by digital technology, yet the rhythms and patterns of its imagery are derived from nature. The featured artists include Jim Campbell, Craig Dorety, John Gerrard, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Alan Rath, Daniel Rozin, Björn Schülke, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Leo Villareal.

Virtual Views is organized by the KMA and presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears Festival March 23-26.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

From domesticated cats to mythic symbols of divinities, felines played an important role in ancient Egyptian imagery for thousands of years. Now, 80 items from the Egyptian holdings of the Brooklyn Museum will be on view in "Divine Felines". Likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, cats were revered for their fertility and valued for their ability to protect homes and granaries from vermin. But felines were also associated with royalty and deities. Combining a lion's body and a king's head, sphinxes guarded temple entrances and provided protection as temple objects. The ferocious goddess Sakhmet, depicted as a lioness or lion-headed woman, and the goddess Bastet, represented as a cat or a cat-headed woman, together symbolized the duality of feline nature — caring yet dangerous. The male leonine gods Bes and Tutu were popularly worshiped as protectors of fertility, health and fortune.

Exhibition programming, all free and open to the public, also will include:
• A lecture on mummification in ancient Egypt by scholar Bob Brier, co-sponsored by the East Tennessee Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21.
• Two free family fun days—"Purrs from the Past," 1–4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and "To Kitties' Health," 1¬–4 p.m. Saturday, March 25.
• A stroller tour for caregivers and infants through four-year-olds, "Kitties and Toddlers," at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
• A lecture on cat behavior by Julie Albright from UT's School of Veterinary Medicine at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 19.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Tori Mason Shoes is pleased to present original music and new art from local artist, Robert Thompson, for February and March First Fridays! This is the first time Tori Mason Shoes will feature an artist who is displaying new works while serenading first Friday attendees with original compositions, ragtime and Bach.

Tori Mason Shoes, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 3, 6-9 PM and again on Friday, March 3, 6-9 PM. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Robert's art will be featured for the months of February-March. Half of all proceeds from sale of his art will be donated to the Love Kitchen.

Robert Thompson was born and grew up in Kansas City; however, he has called Knoxville home since 1981. Thompson worked as a lawyer for nearly 30 years but now has the time to try other things. Active in A1 LabArts, South Doyle Neighborhood Association, and Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. Artist's Website: http://t3andp.wixsite.com/artist-painter

Tori Mason Shoes, 29 Market Square, Knoxville. https://www.torimasonshoes.com/

The Knoxville Museum of Art announces a new contemporary exhibition, Outside In, by Jered Sprecher. Sprecher lives in Knoxville and is a professor with the University of Tennessee’s School of Art. He enjoys a growing national reputation as one of the leading representative of a generation of contemporary painters dedicated to the exploration and revitalization of abstraction. He describes himself as a “hunter and gatherer,” pulling his imagery from such disparate sources as wallpaper, graffiti, architecture, cut gemstones, and x-rays.

Preview reception: January 26, 5:30-7:30 PM

Outside In reflects the dynamic range of Sprecher’s recent practice in terms of format, scale, imagery, and process. It also includes several new works configured in a provocatively informal manner designed to reference a space that is central to human domestic life since the dawn of time: the living room. The Study (2013), for instance, depicts an abstracted frontal view of a fireplace entrance defined in broad horizontal strokes in an icy palette that presents the original image in a strange new light. The painting reflects the artist’s examination of parallels between ancient domestic traditions in which the fireplace was a mesmerizing light environment that in contemporary life has been replaced by the ubiquitous digital screen.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

The Farragut Museum has unveiled its next special exhibit, "Fashionably Late." This exhibit features a variety of clothing and accessories that are in the Farragut Museum Collection and two items on loan from Farragut Museum committee members. All of these items are indicative of fashions that would have been worn in this area.

One of the highlights of the exhibit is an original John Pico John (Mr. John) hat on loan from Museum committee member Carolyn Sinclair. John's clients included female fashion icons like the Duchess of Windsor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Lauren Bacall and Joan Crawford. Vivien Leigh wore one of his creations in "Gone With the Wind," as did Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

The Farragut Museum is committed to preserving the heritage of its East Tennessee community and features a remarkable collection of artifacts from the area, including an extensive collection of the personal belongings of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, first admiral of the U.S Navy and hero of the Civil War. Housed in Farragut Town Hall, located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive, the Museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and offers free admission. For more information about the museum or the exhibit, please visit www.townoffarragut.org/museum.

The Knoxville Association of Bridge Clubs is offering an in depth, 17 week course on Duplicate Bridge, with a focus on learning the modern “2 Over 1” bridge system. Taught by certified instructors, these lessons are a fun and informative way to learn the basics of modern bridge. The cost is $5 per lesson (the first 2 lessons are free). Two class sessions are offered. The first begins Sunday, January 22nd at 1:30 pm. The second begins Tuesday, January 24th at 6:00 pm. You are welcome to attend either or both weekly sessions. Bring a partner or, if not, we will provide one for you.

Classes will be conducted at the Knoxville Bridge Center, located at 7400 Deane Hill Drive, Knoxville TN 37919. Contact Jo Anne Newby at (865} 539-4150 or email KnoxvilleBridge@gmail.com.