Music in the Classroom!

The Kingston Symphony brings classical music to local grade 4 students.

Classical music comes alive in grade 4 classrooms throughout Kingston. For 14 years, the Kingston Symphony Association, the School of Music at Queen’s University, the Limestone District School Board and the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board have joined together for the Symphony Education Partnership. This unique project introduces classical music to grade 4 students in the Limestone District School Board and the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board through music education and performance.

Through the Symphony Education Partnership program, over 2,000 students are introduced to classical music in a number of different ways. This year, the program focuses on the science of sound. Through various lessons and activities, students will study instrument types, explore how and discover why instruments make the sounds that they do, and create their own instruments and compositions which will be performed for their peers. In addition, the students will learn rhythmic movements and lyrics to perform with the Kingston Symphony at each of the concerts.

Each year, teachers representing the school boards, Queen's University music education professors, and Kingston Symphony staff plan the school concert repertoire and write curriculum for the program. Music education students from the Queen's School of Music work with their professors to implement the curriculum through appropriate lessons that the students present in visits to an assigned grade four class in the region. Representatives from the Kingston Symphony Association, Queen's University, and the school boards conduct professional development sessions to work with area teachers on ways they can prepare their students for the experience of the symphony concert. Finally, four Kingston Symphony concerts take place over two mornings and following the concerts, the student teachers pay final visits to their assigned class.

This program is instrumental in shaping the creative, artistic, and musical character of young Kingstonians. The Kingston Symphony will perform for over 2,000 grade 4 students and their teachers on February 12 and February 13 (9:40 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. both days) at McArthur Auditorium, Queen’s University West Campus, Union Street.

Call for Submissions @ The Artel

THE ARTEL has just 3 exhibition opportunities remaining in 2008

Deadline for proposals: March 17, 2008

THE ARTEL has 3 exhibition opportunities remaining in 2008. Participation is open to emerging artists currently or formally living in Kingston Ontario and the surrounding communities, and is also open to artists with other kinds of connections to the Greater Kingston area.

The exhibition slots are scheduled for July, October and November 2008.

Those selected receive a 3-week exhibition slot in the Artel's 530 sq/foot gallery, at no charge. Promotion, administration, installation assistance and gallery volunteers are all included. Some charges may apply for an opening reception. Proposals will be selected by The Artel Collective according to the artistic merit of the work.

As part of the project, The Artel Collective will host public dinners on April 12 and October 18, which the artists are requested to attend to contribute to discussion on 'life as an artist in Kingston'.

If presenting your work in an alternative, community-minded arts venue sounds appealing please send your proposal by email to:

[email protected] or drop off/mail to:
205 Sydenham Street, Kingston Ontario K7K 3M3

REQUIRED MATERIALS
Please include the following in your proposal package:
A one page description your project
AND/OR Your artist statement
AND Your artist resume / curriculum vitae
OR A descriptive and detailed overview of your arts experience
AND Images of your work, on CD, DVD, or colour print-out / portfolio, with an image list including titles, medium, and size of works
AND
A maximum half-page answer to the question
'what is it like to be an artist in a place like Kingston?'

*This project is supported by the City of Kingston Arts Fund and the Kingston Arts Council 2008

Health care history ONLINE

The Museum of Health Care ANNOUNCES

Health care history ONLINE:

Virtual versions of the museum experience

without leaving your chair

The launch of four online exhibits

Available at www.museumofhealthcare.ca

New Cultural Director To Stage Grand Renaissance

Brian McCurdy Brings Experience In Range Of Respected Venues

Drum roll please: Brian McCurdy is to be Kingston's new Cultural Director, a position created to help shepherd the City's extraordinary wealth of performing arts' talent and build a cohesive cultural program to rival any in the world.

Initially taking the helm at the renewed Grand Theatre, McCurdy is expected to harness the excitement around the reopening of the landmark venue to make it the cornerstone of an even more extensive, vibrant, multi-faceted performing arts scene he will nourish, guide and bridge as a facilitator.

And he's just the man to do it. McCurdy is a showbiz veteran and a maestro of building collaborative cultural communities and establishing new venues.

The new Cultural Director position sets the stage for aligning city staff and resources to elevate the profile of culture - and strengthen the City's commitment to parks and recreation. Mark Fluhrer, Director of Culture and Recreation, and a highly-valued member of the city's senior management team, following a period of
transition, will focus his considerable expertise and energies on strengthening the delivery of recreational programs and services, integrating parks and open space planning and development, and championing a variety of community development efforts.

Ontario Contact 2008 Juried Showcase Application

Deadline: Friday, April 11, 2008 @ 5pm
Late applications will not be accepted.


click here for details.

Cantabile Women Advance to Next Round in Choral Competition

The Cantabile Women’s Chorus of Kingston under the direction of Dr. Mark Sirett has advanced to the National Quarter-Semi Finals of the CBC National Radio Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs. This is the first time that the forty-voice ensemble, one of seven different choirs in the Cantabile organization, has entered this prestigious National Competition which was founded in 1974. They were one of several choirs chosen out of over fifty choirs that entered the competition from across Ontario.

CHORAL 2008 is Canada’s largest and longest running choral competition. The biennial competition was created to foster the continuing development of amateur choral singing in Canada and to provide a national stage for the very best of Canadian choirs and choral performances across the land. The next stage of the competition will take place in Montreal in early March when a national Jury will convene to adjudicate all the entries from across Canada.

CARFAC Ontario supports ACTRA and the Canadian Actors' Equity Association in the fight against censorship as reflected in Bill C-10.

Toronto - February 28, 2008 - ACTRA condemns the Conservative government's plans to act as the country's morality police by instituting new guidelines allowing it to pull financial aid for any film or television show it believes is not in the public's interest.

"The government is overstepping its bounds and interfering in an arms-length process. Withholding public funding for film and television productions it deems offensive is a dangerous direction for this government that smacks of censorship," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA National Executive Director.

ACTRA, and arts organizations across Canada, were taken by surprise by news that amendments to Bill C-10, being considered by the Senate, would allow the Minister of Canadian Heritage to deny tax credits to film and television productions it doesn't like.

"These amendments have grave implications for film and television productions, and for all artists. This is disastrous culturally and economically. It is chilling for artists, creates uncertainty for the production community, and is morally offensive to modern Canadian society," added Waddell.

"Only two days after a federal budget that offered nothing for artists, this is really a slap in the face. First, we have no new funding for culture. Now we face censorship of what's left. We strongly condemn these actions," said Richard Hardacre, ACTRA National President.

ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) is the national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 21,000 members across Canada - the foundation of Canada's highly acclaimed professional performing community.

THE MARINE MUSEUM OF THE GREAT LAKES REOPENED

The marine Museum of the great lakes at kingston RE-OPENed FOR ITS 32^ND SEASON of operation ON MONDAY 03 MARCH 2008. MUSEUM HOURS ARE MONDAY TO FRIDAY FROM 10 AM TO 4 PM.

the museum houses four PERMANENT GALLERIES which explore aspects of maritime life on the great lakes including: motive power from sail to steam, life of the great lakes sailor, underwater exploration, and the kingston and garden island shipbuilding industries.

THE MUSEUM SHIP ALEXANDER HENRY, a retired coast guard light ice breaker and buoy tender, re-opens for the season on 16 may. in addition to a ship’s tour, visitors may book an overnight stay on board in one of the officer’s cabins. the alexander henry bed and breakfast is operated by the marine museum victoria day to labour day. please call the museum for reservations.

AS ALWAYS, THE MUSEUM IS OPEN FOR PRE-BOOKED GROUP TOURS BY calling for an APPOINTMENT. researchers wishing to use the audrey rushbrook memorial library or the gordon c. shaw study centre are also advised to call first for an appointment.

The Marine Museum collects, preserves and presents the maritime history of the Great Lakes and kingston’s shipbuilding past. the museum is located at 55 Ontario Street at the former kingston ship-yards and dry-dock site and may be reached by phone at 613 542-2261.

ADMISSION IS $6.50 FOR ADULTS, $6.00 for students and seniors and $12.50 for a family. Children under 5 are admitted free. purchasing an annual family membership at $50.00, provides free access to the Marine Museum and a subscription to the Museum’s quarterly newsletter jib gems.

Call to Artists

It’s very fitting that spring is almost upon us, because there are several great opportunities arising in the next 6 weeks or so in the Port Perry area to break free of winter’s shackles and strut your stuff, creatively speaking. If you are a writer, artist or craftsperson, this is your chance to shine!

March 31 is the deadline for entries for the 4^th annual Showcase of the Arts exhibition and sale, which will be held in the Scugog Community Recreation Centre on the first weekend in November. The jury is looking for 30 to 40 exhibitors of fine craft and visual art, working in any medium. Applicants must be members of Scugog Council for the Arts and may join SCA at time of application. Full details and entry forms are available online at www.scugogarts.ca and at downtown galleries in Port Perry.

Submissions are now being accepted at the Scugog Memorial Public Library for exhibitions in the Kent Farndale Gallery during the first six months of 2009. Interested artists should submit their applications by 5 p.m. on March 31. Full details are available online at http://www.scugog-net.com/artgallery/exhibiting.html or by phoning the Library at 905-985-7686.

This spring, Scugog Council for the Arts is holding its first literary contest. The event will feature two categories: short fiction and poetry. Prizes will include $100 for top spot in each category plus various other cash and non-cash awards. Everyone is encouraged to enter; there is no age limit and applicants are not required to be SCA members. The cost is just $10 per entry, with a maximum of one entry in each category. Deadline for submissions is April 15 and the winners will be announced on April 22 at the annual general meeting of the SCA.
Visit www.scugogarts.ca for further information.

Last but not least, Meta4 Contemporary Craft Gallery in Port Perry will be presenting ‘Making Waves’, a juried exhibition of fine craft and visual art this spring. They welcome submissions that explore the theme of water, from professional artists in all media, until the April 23 deadline. The show will run May 15 to June 22 at the Queen St. gallery. For exhibition details and a Call for Entry form, visit www.meta4gallery.ca or phone 905-985-1534.

Best of luck with your entries!