From Staff Reports
If it’s fall, it’s time to mark those calendars for the start of the arts and entertainment season at Daytona State College. Faculty and staff of the Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment and Art at DSC have been busy booking another stellar season, but it needs local talent to help make that possible.
To that end, the College is inviting local musicians to join the Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra or Jazz Ensemble. No fees are required for participation unless college credit is desired.
The DSC Community Symphonic Band, developed in the spirit of the old John Philip Sousa Bands, performs traditional and modern classics as well as marches, Broadway hits and movie selections. The band welcomes community members who can read music and play a woodwind, brass or percussion instrument to join as members of an outstanding 75-piece concert ensemble.
Under the direction of Dr. Dustin Burgess, the band and will commence with an open rehearsal, including new and returning members, on Monday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. on the Davidson Theater stage at the college’s News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach. Rehearsals are held every Monday from 7 to 9:50 p.m. There are no fees associated with participation except for those who are seeking college credit.
For more information, call Peter Waidelich, associate professor and assistant chair at 506-4690 or Peter.Waidelich@DaytonaState.edu.
Under the baton of Dr. Norton Christeson, Senior Professor, the College Symphony Orchestra is comprised of students, amateurs and professionals who perform a wide variety of classical and lighter music. All string, wind and percussion players in the area are invited to join. The DSC Symphony Orchestra functions as the only full-sized community symphony orchestra in the area and presents three major concerts per season.
The orchestra will hold its first rehearsal of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at DSC’s News-Journal Center. Regular Tuesday night rehearsals continue in preparation for the fall concert. There are no fees associated with participation except for those who are seeking college credit. For more information, contact Christeson at 506-3339 or Norton.Christeson@DaytonaState.edu.
With Waidelich at the helm, the Jazz Ensemble is open to community members who play saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, guitar, drums or assorted percussion instruments. Rehearsals begin for another season on Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 7 to 9:50 p.m. at the News-Journal Center. The jazz ensemble focuses on contemporary compositions and arrangements for the big band format and provides a challenging and enriching experience for the student, amateur and professional alike.
It is open to all who can read music. There are typically two to three performances per semester and some may be off campus at various local venues. Regular weekly rehearsals are scheduled throughout the year on Wednesday evenings. There are no fees associated with participation except for those who are seeking college credit. For more information, contact Waidelich at 506-4690 or Peter.Waidelich@DaytonaState.edu.
The regular performing and fine arts season kicks off on Sept. 19, with an Alumni Studio Arts Exhibit in the North Lobby/Gallery of the News-Journal Center. It will run through Jan. 13, 2017. In conjunction with the gala Homecoming 2016 celebration, Nov. 2-5, there will be a reception at the center from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2.
Unless otherwise stated, all performances are at the News-Journal Center. Information on admission prices, box office hours and other details can be found under The Arts listing of this month’s Calendar on page 14.
October highlights will include the Music Production Rocks! Mid-term concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13in the Davidson Theater. Later that month, the Symphonic Band will perform at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16 in the Davidson.
Apart from music, there are two fall plays scheduled Oct. 20-23 and again on Nov. 17-20, although the titles of the productions have not yet been announced. Both will be staged in the Gillespy Theater.
November will bring performances by the Jazz Ensemble (Nov. 10), Flute Choir (Nov. 29) and the yearly, free Holiday Concert for the community at large. As has long been the tradition, fall semester begins to wrap up with a fanciful Yuletide Feast, Dec. 5-8, in the Grand Lobby. This will be the first year the sold-out event has not been held in the Goddard Theater on the main Daytona campus. Tickets sell out quickly and will go on sale Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m.
The last two offerings of the season will be a dance performance on Friday, Dec. 9 and Music Production Rocks, part two, on Thursday, Dec. 15. Both those shows are scheduled in the Gillespy. Both are free and open to the public with no tickets required.
For information on any of these activities, call the numbers mentioned above or the box office at 226-1927.
At the Southeast Museum of Photography, staff is gearing up for another big schedule of exhibits, artists and free film series. Movies are shown in the Madorsky Theater of the Hosseini Center in Bldg. 1200.
Once again, documentary filmmaker and Senior Professor Eric Breitenbach will offer insightful comment with “Cinematic Discussions: The Sex Tapes: Sex, Gender, and Identity.” That series is screen at 7:30 p.m. on selected Wednesdays starting in September. The series brings together films that explore the ways we shape our sense of self in those most intimate moments, when we confront ourselves as sexual, gendered, embodied people. Along with Breitenbach will be other guest faculty for film introductions and post screening discussions. All films will be shown, when possible, with captions for the hearing impaired. Listings for September can be found in the Calendar listings.
The second film series to debut in September will revolve around the important issue of water and will be offered on select Wednesdays at 2 p.m. With climate change, pollution, and privatization — water, our most valuable resource, has become a hot topic. This film series takes a look at water through many different perspectives to consider its beauty and life-giving nature, the animals that live in it, how we use it, and what can be done to conserve and protect it.
Information on each series is also available at www.smponline.org/films/
Continuing through Sept. 24 is “Faculty Focus 2016,” which opened in June. It presents photographic works from faculty of the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies, a joint enterprise of the photography programs at Daytona State College, the University of Central Florida (Daytona Campus) and the Southeast Museum of Photography. This year’s exhibition is a survey of new work by photography professors with Daytona State College and the University of Central Florida, Daytona Beach.