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John D’earth
Music

On a High Note, French Piano Virtuoso Joins Local Players for an Evening of Jazz Excellence

John D’earth knows Charlottesville music. Since settling in town in 1981, he’s come to define the local jazz scene—and beyond—with his considerable crossover into pop genres, and reach as a music teacher. So when D’earth decides to bring a French jazz pianist stateside for a local residency, culminating with a show alongside himself and the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble at the Paramount Theater on April 28, the ears of jazz aficionados and casual music fans alike perk up.

https://www.c-ville.com/on-a-high-note

Lewis Reining
Music

Current Names WTJU's Lewis Reining a “Rising Star in Public Media”

Current, the source for news about public media, announced its first cohort of early and mid-career employees to be recognized as Rising Stars in Public Media who are making a mark on their organizations and communities. “There’s so much talent in public media,” said Current Executive Director Julie Drizin. “We wanted to recognize exceptional individuals and raise their profiles on a national level.”

https://www.wtju.net/current-names-wtjus-lewis-reining-a-rising-star-in-public-media/

Detail from “Pérégrinations D'une Comète” (Wanderings of a Comet), a fantastical illustration from the French caricaturist J.J. Grandville’s 1844 “Un Autre Monde” (Another World).
Creative Writing

A Treasured Collection of Illustration & Whimsy

A great book collection doesn’t assemble itself. It requires a person with a singular focus, a discerning eye, and a bibliophile’s unwavering devotion. Josephine Lea Iselin, a retired attorney who practiced law for 35 years and was a partner in the New York law firm of Lankenau Kovner Kurtz & Outten, specialized in intellectual property, litigation, and trusts and estates. She also assembled, over the course of many years, one of the finest collections of 19th-century French and English caricature and graphic humor in private hands, and one that would be almost impossible to duplicate today.

https://giving.virginia.edu/stories/a-treasured-collection-of-illustration-and-whimsy

VAFF Logo on a screen in a dark theatre with an audience. Photo by Jack Looney
Film

VAFF to Continue 2023 Year-round Film Series

The Virginia Film Festival will continue its popular VAFF at Violet Crown Series this summer with a pair of highly acclaimed films including director Charlotte Regan’s inventive father-daughter comedy Scrapper and Fremont, the story of a young Afghan refugee adjusting to her new land.

https://virginiafilmfestival.org/vaff-to-continue-2023-year-round-film-series/

Book Cover for QUEER BEHAVIOR: SCOTT BURTON AND PERFORMANCE ART
Visual Art

Queer Behavior: Scott Burton and Performance Art by David Getsy Wins the 2023 Robert Motherwell Book Award

David J. Getsy (Eleanor Shea Professor of Art History, Department of Art) received the 2023 Robert Motherwell Book Award for outstanding publication in the history and criticism of modernism in the arts, given by the Dedalus Foundation, for his book 'Queer Behavior: Scott Burton and Performance Art.' The award carries a $10,000 prize for its author.

https://dedalusfoundation.org/programs/fellows-recipients/recipient/queer-behavior-scott-burton-and-performance-art/

Painting of A.D. Carson by Angela Simone. (Photos by Dan Addison, University Communications)
Music

Will AI Inspire Hip-Hop Artists — Or Displace Them?

Perspective by A.D. Carson and Felicia Angeja Viator • In April, a hot new track began circulating online, first appearing on streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music and then shared widely on social media platforms. The song, “Heart on My Sleeve,” was a fresh collaboration between pop royalty — rapper Drake and singer the Weeknd — with beats by esteemed producer Metro Boomin. Or so it seemed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/06/02/hip-hop-rap-ai/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6Ijg0MzUyNzkiLCJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjg1Njc4NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjg2OTc0Mzk5LCJpYXQiOjE2ODU2Nzg0MDAsImp0aSI6IjdkZGU2ZTE2LTllOTktNDE2NS1hMjg0LWYyZDE0NDZiNDJmYyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9tYWRlLWJ5LWhpc3RvcnkvMjAyMy8wNi8wMi9oaXAtaG9wLXJhcC1haS8ifQ.J0B3O3oPBp6QAB0YADuS_RRdQcvsgron-lITAV7wZyg

Full Cast and Creative Team for Season-opening Production of Cabaret
Drama

Virginia Theatre Festival Announces Full Cast and Creative Team for Season-opening Production of Cabaret

The Virginia Theatre Festival has announced the full cast and creative team for its season-opening production of Cabaret. Set to open on July 7 in Culbreth Theatre at the University of Virginia, 'Cabaret' will be directed and choreographed by Matthew Steffens, who returns to VTF and to his alma mater fresh from the Broadway and touring smash hit revival of 'Into the Woods'. The award-winning musical features a book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and is based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

https://virginiatheatrefestival.org/full-casting-announcement-cabaret/

An image of Luke Powers with his guitar
Music

Luke Richard Powers is Finding his Sound in Charlottesville

Third-year College student Luke Richard Powers is a rising star in the Charlottesville music scene, coming off not only a recent performance at The Southern Cafe & Music Hall but also the release of his new single “Red/Blue.”

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/04/luke-richard-powers-is-finding-his-sound-in-charlottesville?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A headshot of Clare Spooner
Visual Art

How a UVA Instagram Post Helped Launch a Painting Career for Alum Clare Spooner

In June of 2018, Clare Spooner was settled into her work as an interior designer in New York City. Though she loved to paint, the University of Virginia alumna had no expectation at that point that art could become her career.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/how-uva-instagram-post-helped-launch-painting-career-alum-clare-spooner

An image of someone watching a film at an exhibit
Film

In Newark, an Exhibition of Films Calls for Kinship

“Things We Do in the Dark: Cinematic Experiments in Kinship,” a two-part film exhibition currently on view at Express Newark, includes nearly two dozen films by Black and Indigenous artist collectives whose work takes on subjects including environmental and racial justice, beauty standards, education, and grief and healing

https://www.thecut.com/2023/04/express-newark-aliveness-art-exhibitions.html