Arts & Culture
NewsRoanoke.com
Marginal Arts Spreads Its Wings In Fifth Year Slightly offbeat, eclectic and designed to be fun, the Marginal Arts Festival returns for a fifth year on February 16-21, at venues in downtown Roanoke and elsewhere. This year’s festival, which was originated by art teacher Brian Counihan and others at Community High School, will explore a different area of the valley each day and “focus on the cultural offerings to be found in and around that location,” according to a mission statement on the festival’s website, marginalarts.com. There’s the parade with assorted motley types on Saturday, February 18 at noon, of course, always a highlight, but there is also art exhibition openings at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum on the Hollins University campus (Feb. 16), more art at the Olin Galley (Feb. 19) located at Roanoke College, and a festival-ending day of events in Grandin Village on Tuesday, February 21. “We want to make sure that people understand that art is
Visitors take in performance art during a previous festival. Council and a full time director, the Roanoke Arts Festival lacked focus, failed to identify the audience it sought and ultimately ground to a halt after several years. Marginal Arts is much lower key and is staffed by volunteers. This year different people will take the lead for each day of the festival, pulling together the participating artists and support assistance needed. For an event that started off with several hundred attendees
The Marginal Arts Festival chicken is the event’s mascot of sorts. not just found in the museums and galleries downtown – art and performances belong everywhere the people are,” said Mim Young, who is handling publicity for the festival and overseeing the events in Grandin Village on the 21st. There are some who won’t venture out of their suburban cocoons to come downtown for an art experience notes Young. No worries: “we’re going to come to where their cocoons are.” There are even exhibitions at Ferrum College that are tied in to Marginal Arts this year. The Festival in part “is about pushing people beyond their comfort level,” said Young. Happenings slated for Grandin Village on February 21 include a spoken word event at Too Many Books, the dedication of a mural on an outside wall at CUPS coffeehouse and the first showing of a film, “Wanderlust,” at the Grandin Theatre. Some have said that the Marginal Arts Festival, which tries to encompass as many local artists of different stripes as it can, should have been the “real” Roanoke Arts Festival, that ill-fated attempt to create a mini-Spoleto Festival in the fall. Despite kick starting the Roanoke event with some funding from City
and activities based largely at Community High School in its former downtown location (the school now occupies the lower floor at the Big Lick Junction building on Campbell Avenue SE) its has grown to the point that last year 3-4000 showed up for Marginal Arts, according to Counihan. “I think its still a good idea for the city to put on a festival,” said Counihan, who is also an adjunct curator at the Taubman Museum (there are Marginal events taking place there on the 18th.) “What we’re trying to do is identify the artists and creative people that don’t have an avenue in the city [to exhibit], to give them a chance to show what they can do.” That’s where the marginal came from – looking for those artists on “the periph-
eries,” according to Counihan. “They [often] have great ideas and are not normally able to go through a network or hierarchy before they are to get a chance to express what they can do.” On the 18th, following the parade from Community High School’s home on Campbell Avenue at noon (all are welcome to take part) there is an absurdist carnival near the Taubman. At 3pm Community High School presents “The Frogs,” an ancient play written by Aristophanes. Counihan bills it as a dialogue about place and identity. “We wanted to start with neighborhoods [taking part] that could pull it off. We were looking for …communities that were ready to go this year.” One of those communities is Old Southwest for example. On Monday. Feb. 20th The Water Heater will hold a coffee house discussion from 2-5pm on the arts. That same day there is a Sweded Film Festival of homemade movies at the Shadowbox and something called “The World’s Longest Lover’s Telephone,” in Old Southwest. True to its name, Counihan hopes that some of Roanoke’s more marginalized communities will take part in future festivals. The marginal arts or fringe festival concept is not new and is international; Counihan points to a similar event in Venice, Italy. See marginalarts.com for a complete schedule of events for Roanoke’s own Marginal Arts Festival, which takes February 16-21. “Its not just about artists, but everyone who needs art to express who they are,” said Counihan. By Gene Marrano gmarrano@cox.net
2/10/12 -2/16/12 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 23
Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir to Perform
The famous Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir, an organization steeped in more than a century of pride, will be holding a concert at High Street Baptist Church on Friday March 9 at 7:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the concert, presented by Friends of Booker T. Washington National Monument and the High Street Baptist Church. Admission is a free will offering. From the beginning years of its history, students at Tuskegee University were encouraged to express themselves in communal singing. First Principal Booker T. Washington insisted on the singing of African American spirituals by everyone in attendance at the weekly chapel worship services, a tradition which continues today. He stated,” If you go out to have schools of your own, have your pupils sing as you have sung here, and teach them to see the beauty which dwells in these songs.” Thus, the school developed and passed on a singing tradition. In 1884, Booker T. Washington organized the Institutes first singers. This group was sent out by the founder to promote the interest of Tuskegee Institute by acquainting benevolent audiences to the Tuskegee name and the Washington philosophy for several brief years. The quartet was reorganized in 1909 and intermittently traveled until well into the 1940s, sometime adjusting its members to five, six or even up to eight. The school choir was developed in 1886 because Dr. Washington had determined that the Institute was in need of a group of singers who could lead vesper services and sing for special campus occasions. The school choir would expand its role to providing vocal music for all cultural and religious campus activities. In 1932, the 100-voice choir appeared at the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. This event expanded Tuskegees prestige worldwide. The Tuskegee Choir was invited to sing at the birthday party of President-elected Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. A few days later, the Choir presented a concert at the White House at the request of President Herbert Hoover. In the years to follow, the Tuskegee Choir would perform a series of concerts on ABC, CBS, and
The world renowned Tuskegee Golden Voices. NBC radio networks. It would become the first African American performing organization to appear at Constitution Hall (1946), Washington, D.C. The Choirs television debut came in 1950. On February 5th, Edgar Bergen (the father of actress Candace Bergen) introduced the Tuskegee Choir to a national audience on his television program, The Edgar Bergen Show. The Choirs popularity continued to extent across the television airwaves as invitations poured in for appearances on the The Kate Smith Show (1952), The Ed Sullivan Show (1952), The Eddie Fisher Show (1953 and 1954), Frontiers of Faith television program (1954) and the Arthur Godfrey Show (1954). A record album, The Tuskegee Institute Choir Sings Spirituals (1955), closed out the 1950s. During the term of President John F. Kennedy, the Tuskegee Choir received special commendation from President Kennedy at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, D.C. (1962 and a concert at the United States State Department (1962). Dr. Reliford Patterson would amplify and complete his directorship at Tuskegee with appearances at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (1966) and Town Hall (1967), both in New York City. In 1970s, the Choir made concert appearances at the Julliard School of Music (1972), the New England Conservatory of Music (1972) and recorded the Tuskegee Institute Choir Live album (1979) . However, the highlight of these years was a series of five concert tours to the Northern Tier of the United States Air Bases for the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980.
In 1993, Stephen L. Hayes led the Choir to Washington, D.C. for an appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast (1994). Mother Teresa was the speaker for the event. In 1997, the Choir became the first place trophy winner at the prestigious American Negro Spiritual Festival, Music Hall in Cincinnati. Additionally, the Tuskegee University Choir was honored to sing in the East Room of the White House in December1997. In 1999, the Choir continued on campus and out of town presentations, including a performance of Adolphus Hailstorks cantata I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, Dr, Wayne Anthony Barr became Director of the Choir. Dr. Barr holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan with the organ as his major instrument: two masters degrees from Southern Methodist University, one with emphasis in organ performance and a second in choral Conducting; and his undergraduate work was completed at the University of Michigan focused on The History of the Pipe Organ in Black Churches in the United States Dr. Barr’s goal has been to build on the tradition and legacy of the Tuskegee University Golden Voices. He is taking the name of Tuskegee University out into the larger community, including annual choir concert tours saying, “Wherever we can go, wherever we can take the name of Tuskegee, even Europe, no place is too far for the choir to travel.” The concert will be held at High Street Baptist Church , 2302 Florida Ave. N.W. on Friday March 9 at 7:00 p.m.
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