THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, January 15, 2014 p
Page B-7
‘I have a dream’: Diverse group of performers gather for MLK celebration Artists honor icon with 20th anniversary tribute celebration
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BY
CARA HEDGEPETH STAFF WRITER
On Monday, the Montgomery County Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Committee invites 2,000 area residents to honor the Civil Rights icon with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Tribute and Celebration. The 90-minute concert marks the 20th anniversary of the event and will be held at the Music Center at Strathmore. The afternoon will feature a diverse group of performers and will award honorees who serve their community. ABC 7 News anchor Leon Harris will serve as master of ceremonies. The event will feature local talent, including Washington, D.C., saxophonist Brian Lenair. Lenair, who performed at the tribute two years ago, is one of 11 acts scheduled for the celebration.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., BIRTHDAY AND TRIBUTE CELEBRATION n When: 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20 n Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda n Tickets: Sold out, but a stand-by line begins at 2 p.m. outside the Music Center n For information: strathmore.org
“We held a talent search back in October,” said Rachel Reed, program chair for the event. Reed added that the panel of three judges was in search of performers who they felt were in line with the tribute celebration’s theme: “celebrate, serve, remember.” “[We wanted] finalists that we felt ... had something that related to
Martin Luther King’s purpose about serving and giving and about being together.” The afternoon’s lineup alone is a realization of King’s dream. “It does a great job of honoring him because there are so many different races, so many different creeds coming together,” said Lenair. “It’s very diverse. It has all different types of singing groups.” Lenair, who released his smooth jazz CD, “Eye of the Storm,” two years ago, said he will most likely play some original music, a gospel song and a rendition of the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Other performances include a song from a group of hearing and deaf students at Cashell Elementary School who will sing and sign a song dedicated to King. Students from the Washington Dunhuang Guzheng Academy will perform on the guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument.
Saxophonist Brian Lenair is just one of the performers who will appear at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Tribute Celebration on Monday. ROY COX STUDIOS
chedgepeth@gazette.net
IN THE ARTS DANCES Carpe Diem Contra Dance, Feb. 13, Caller: Ann Fallon, Music by Gary Wright and Leah Weiss with Ahren Buchheister, 7-7:30 p.m. contradance workshops, 7:30-10 p.m. Contras & Squares, second Thursdays, Great Hall, Silver Spring Civics Center, One Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, $10 for general admission, $8 for members, $5 for students and those without income, www.carpediemarts.com. Hollywood Ballroom, Jan. 15, Ballroom Bash from 8:30-10:30 p.m. ($16), Jan. 16, 23, Tea Dance from 12:30-3:30 p.m. ($6); Jan. 17, drop-in lessons from 7:30-9 p.m., West Coast Swing Dancing with Dance Jam Productions at 9 p.m. ($15); Jan. 18, Ballroom Bash, workshops from 6-9 p.m., dance from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ($25 for workshop and dance, $16 for dance only); Jan. 19, free Fox Trot
lesson at 7 p.m., Social Ballroom Dance at 8 p.m. ($16); Jan. 22, Ballroom Bash, 8:30-10:30 p.m. ($16), 2126 Industrial Highway, Silver Spring, 301-326-1181, www. hollywoodballroomdc.com Now and Then Dance Studio, Saturday ballroom dances, second and fourth Saturdays, beginner group lesson at 8 p.m., open dancing at 9 p.m., $10 cash at door (all men admitted at halfprice throughout October), 10111 Darnestown Road, Rockville. 301424-0007, www.nowandthendancestudios.com. Glen Echo Park is at 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Blues, Capital Blues: Thurs-
days, 8:15 p.m. beginner lesson, 9-11:30 p.m. dancing to DJs, Glen Echo Park’s Spanish Ballroom Annex, $8, www.capitalblues.org. Contra, Jan. 17, David Giusti and Waverly Station, 7:30 p.m. lesson, 8:30 p.m. dance, Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $10, www.
fridaynightdance.org. Contra & Square, Jan. 19, Perry Shafran with Sibling Ribaldry; Jan. 26, Valerie Helbert with STEAM, 7:30 p.m., Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $12 for general, $9 for members, $5 for students, www. fsgw.org. English Country, Jan. 15, Caller: Tom Spilsbury; Jan. 22, Caller: Susan Taylor; Jan. 29, Caller: Stephanie Smith, 8 p.m., Glen Echo Town Hall (upstairs), www.fsgw.org. Swing, Jan. 18, Naomi & Her Handsome Devils, lesson at 8 p.m., dancing at 9 p.m., Glen Echo Park, $15, www.flyingfeet.org. Waltz, Jan. 19, Hickman, Glickman & Devine, 2:45-3:30 p.m. lesson, 3:30-6 p.m., dance, Glen Echo Park, $10, www.waltztimedances.org.
MUSIC & DANCE Arts Barn, Singer Songwriter Concert Series, Bonnie Whitmore
with Dede Wyland & Ira Gitlin, Jan. 23; Slaid Cleaves with Tony Denikos, Feb. 22, 3 p.m. workshops at the Arts Barn or Kentlands Mansion, 7:30 p.m. concerts at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6394, www. gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn. Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Perry Conticchio
Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15; Tizer featuring Karen Briggs, 8 p.m. Jan. 16; Motown & More: Tribute to Legends of Motown & Soul, 8 p.m. Jan. 17; Popa Chubby, 8 p.m. Jan. 18; The Soul Serenaders, 8 p.m. Jan. 19; Gotta Swing Dance Night with Bad Influence, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22; Sammy Figueroa and his Latin Jazz Explosion, 8 p.m. Jan. 24, call for prices, 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. 240330-4500, www.bethesdabluesjazz.com. BlackRock Center for the Arts, The 9 Songwriters Series, 8 p.m. Jan. 18; Charlotte Blake Alston, 1 p.m.
Jan. 25; Hot Club of San Francisco and Cinema Vivant, 8 p.m. Jan. 25; call for tickets, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown. 301-5282260, www.blackrockcenter.org.
Institute of Musical Traditions — Rockville, Claire Lynch Band,
7:30 p.m. Feb. 3; Nuala Kennedy, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17; Carrie Newcomer, 7:30 p.m. March 8, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, call for prices, www.imtfolk.org. Strathmore, Christie Dashiell, jazz vocalist, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15, 29; Duo Sonidos, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16; BSO: Beethoven and Mozart, 8 p.m. Jan. 16; Wired In: Web and Social Media, 10 a.m. Jan. 18; Children’s Talk and
Tour, 10:15 a.m. Jan. 18; Art Talk, 1 p.m. Jan. 18; National Philharmonic: Three Great Classics, 8 p.m. Jan. 18; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Tribute and Celebration, 3 p.m. Jan. 20; The 9 Songwriter Series Benefits: Ted Garber and Family, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20; Artist in Residence Education Workshop with Christie Dashiell: A Jazz Journey, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22; BSO: Marvin Hamlisch — One Singular Sensation, 8 p.m. Jan. 23; Jazz Vocal Intensive: Scat Singing 201, 10 a.m. Jan. 25, call for venue, Locations: Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda; Music Center at
See IN THE ARTS, Page B-8
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