May 06 Monday
Jazz pianist and composer Helen Sung was among the first graduates of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her artistry and inventive compositions have earned her a Guggenheim Fellowship and won Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition. Her artistry and inventive compositions span the full spectrum of dynamic and soulful jazz.
Jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer Isaiah J. Thompson won the 2023 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellowship of the American Pianists Association. As a performer, he aims to express joy and convey his personal experiences through music and his everlasting love of jazz. His recording debut was featured on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Handful of Keys album with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis. He worked on the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for Motherless Brooklyn, was named a Steinway Artist, and won the 2018 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award.
Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination, and sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theatergoers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in a new production – just as you remember it and just when we need it most.Annie, directed by Jenn Thompson, features the iconic book and score, written by Tony Award®-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin. This celebration of family, optimism, and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way.
May 07 Tuesday
Pianist and composer Shai Maestro, known for his genre-defying performances, seamlessly melds elements of jazz, world music, and contemporary sounds. His imaginative compositions and commitment to sonic exploration have earned high praise and a growing reputation. His unique personal identity and musical fluidity show up in his joyful interplay with his close-knit quartet, who come together in one-of-a-kind, high-energy concerts.
2002 Gilmore Artist Piotr Anderszewski’s own look at his birthplace, a city that had been nearly annihilated during World War II, with a score including works by Chopin and Szymanowski, among others.
Stay after for a conversation between Piotr Anderzewski and Pierre van der Westhuizen.
The films are free to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets will be available at the front desk of the Museum starting at 10 am on the day of each screening.
Join author Demarra West for a FREE workshop and discover the therapeutic power of memoir writing in trauma recovery on May 7, 2024, from 4 pm to 5:30 pm, hosted at Kazoo Books Kalamazoo!
Picture it. United States, 2024. Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue brings Miami’s sassiest seniors to stages around the country for one more hurrah. We find Sophia out on bail after being busted by the DEA for running a drug ring for retirees. Blanche and Rose have founded CreakN, a thriving sex app for seniors. And Dorothy is trying to hold it all together with help from a new (much) younger sex-crazed lover. Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue allows audiences to relive the heartfelt hilarity of the four ladies who never stopped being best friends.
Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue is a professional stage show unlike any other Golden Girls tribute that you might have experienced. The play is written by Robert Leleux, author of The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy and The Living End. His work has also appeared in The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine and his other plays have been produced across the country. The show is directed by Eric Swanson, who was the co-founder and Executive Director of The Detroit Actors’ Theatre Company. The cast includes Ryan Bernier as Dorothy, Vince Kelley as Blanche, Adam Graber as Rose, Christopher Kamm as Sophia, and Jason Bowen as Stanley/Burt. The production is produced by Murray & Peter Present.This production is rated 18+ only (adult theme comedy)
Simone Dinnerstein presents Undersong, a program of works by Couperin, Satie, Glass, and featuring the Schumann masterpiece Kreisleriana. Ms. Dinnerstein’s distinctive musical voice and evocative interpretations breathe new life into classical masterpieces. Ms. Dinnerstein rose to international prominence in 2007 with her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and 13 of her albums have topped the Billboard classical charts. She founded Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public and hosted by New York City Public Schools to raise funds for their music education programs, and Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 3 was composed for her and co-commissioned by twelve American and Canadian orchestras.
May 08 Wednesday
The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio in Midland continues to engage the imagination of all who experience this powerful statement of mid-20th century modern architecture. Throughout his career Alden B. Dow designed and built over 350 structures in his home state of Michigan. He created daring and innovative designs for family living, as well as new expressions of how buildings enhance work, worship and learning. Craig McDonald, Director of the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio, will delve into Dow’s extensive career including the design of several buildings in Kalamazoo.