Arts center tunes up for new jazz series

The Lawrence Arts Center will be swinging this fall when it launches its inaugural “Jazz at the Arts Center” series.

On the 2004-2005 schedule are:

• Kevin Mahogany Trio, Sept. 24
• Dave Pietro’s Banda Brazil, Nov. 18
• Cyrus Chestnut and Wycliffe Gordon, Feb. 3
• Jane Ira Bloom Quartet, “Chasing Paint,” March 3
• Phil Woods with an all-star big band directed by Kansas University director of jazz studies Dan Gailey, April 30

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Season tickets are $135, and single event tickets are $30.

For more information, call 843-2787 or visit www.lawrenceartscenter.com.

‘Vacillations of the Art’ to open at Olive Gallery

The Olive Gallery, 15 E. Eighth St., will show the work of painter Anthony Pontius and collaborator Jenn Dierdorf beginning Saturday and continuing through Aug. 31.

An opening reception will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, featuring the band Drakkar Sauna and the artwork of Willie Jordan in the gallery’s Kid’s Corner.

Most of the pieces in the show are collaborative, with Pontius’ paintings incorporating collage elements by Dierdorf. The works showcase the duo’s penchant for creating nonsensical and dreamlike environments that exist in rational settings. Imitation Polaroids also are prominently featured in the show.

The Olive Gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in August.

For more information, call the gallery at 331-4114.

Roaring Twenties storm Watkins Museum

“All That Jazz,” a program for children ages 9 through 12, will be presented from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Mass.

The workshop will examine the decade dubbed the “Roaring Twenties” and offer kids a chance to experience some of its best known legacies, including jazz music and the Charleston.

Preregistration for the program is encouraged but not required. Cost is $10 for children of nonmembers of the Douglas County Historical Society and $8 for children of members.

For more information, call 841-4109 or visit www.watkinsmuseum.org.

Lawrence City Band wows in Wichita

The Lawrence City Band performed at the statewide convention of the Kansas Bandmasters Assn. on July 16 in Wichita.

“The concert was the largest attended event of the convention, and it was a great success,” said Bob Foster, city band conductor.

Highlights of the Wichita concert included two new band works commissioned to commemorate the Lawrence sesquicentennial. James Barnes guest-conducted “Jubilation Overture,” a piece he composed for the band, and Bob Foster led the group in playing his own “Lawrence Sesquicentennial March.”

Other concert guests were Col. Lowell E. Graham, former conductor of the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C., and Cathy Mallett, Lawrence resident and Washburn University music education department chair. Graham conducted the Sousa march “Black Horse Troop”; Mallet was vocal soloist on “Talk to the Animals.”

The band concluded its regular summer concert series in South Park on July 21.

Encore homeschool band, orchestra gearing up

The Encore Homeschool Band will begin rehearsals Sept. 10 at Hume Music, 711 W. 23rd St.

The music program is open to students in third through 12th grades. No musical experience is necessary for the beginning level; auditions for the intermediate and advanced levels are planned for late August.

Orchestra also will be offered this year, with rehearsals beginning Sept. 9. Both groups rehearse one hour per week.

For audition information, call Martha Bachert at 841-6308.

Nominees for book award announced

Six authors are nominees for the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award, which honors the best book published by a Kansas author in the last two years:

• Anne McCourtie, Mayetta, “The Haunting of Emily,” historical romance
• Joan McAfee, Derby, “The Road to El Dorado,” historical fiction
• Mark Bouton, Carbondale, “Max Conquers the Cosmos,” mystery
• Phyllis Lewis, Yates Center, “Legend of Aneeka,” young adult historical fiction
• Sandra Detrixhe, Concordia, “The Everything Quilt Book,” nonfiction
• Lloyd Ballhagen, Hutchinson, “Love, Endless Love,” romance

The award will be presented Oct. 23 at the awards banquet at the Kansas Authors Club Centennial Convention in Topeka. For information, call (785) 267-0985.

Lawrence author publishes new historical novel

“Eldridge House Disappearances,” the third in a dime novel series by Lawrence author Napoleon Crews, was recently released.

Crews, a native of Pueblo, Colo., enjoys writing about real people whose lives impacted history but were left out of the history books.

Two previous novels by Crews — “The Man Who Tamed Lawrence” and “Last Lynching On Mount Oread” — were released earlier this year. The works are published by Fireside Novels.

“Eldridge House Disappearances” is available for $3.50 at M&M Office Supplies, The Raven Bookstore, Borders, Odessa’s Cafe, Hastings, the Watkins Community Museum of History and Oread Bookshop.

For more information, call 856-1118 or visit www.firesidenovels.com.

Ottawa University offers music scholarship auditions

Auditions for music performance scholarships at Ottawa University will be Saturday.

Scholarships are available to all students, regardless of major, who have graduated from high school in 2004, plan to graduate in 2005 or are transferring from a community college.

Ottawa University offers six campus ensembles: University Orchestra, Jazz Band, Concert Choir, Adelante Singers, Ringers and Wind Ensemble.

The auditions will last about 20 minutes. Students should choose music that demonstrates their abilities in contrasting styles. Piano and large percussion instruments will be provided if the university is notified prior to Saturday. Accompanists also will be available.

Registration for auditions will be from 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. in the administration building.

For complete details, call Robin Liston at (800) 755-5200, ext. 5042.