Latest news with #OfficeofArts
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
City of Detroit's composer laureate to de-mystify jazz at Friday night concert
April is National Jazz Appreciation Month, and the city of Detroit's Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) is marking the moment with a Friday, April 25, performance by the city's new composer laureate, Patrick Prouty. Bassist and composer Prouty's first concert in the role will take place at 6 p.m. at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. 'While I write music in all kinds of genres,' he said, 'the thing that I've done most is compose jazz music. I want this concert at the Charles Wright to show jazz composition in two different lights. The first thing is, of course, you write a tune and it's got a melody, chord changes and a groove, and trying to convey some kind of emotion. And then, the song in jazz music is also a vehicle for improvisation. 'When you listen to jazz improvisation, the piano solo you hear? That's a composition that is happening in the moment, and it will never be repeated. And what sometimes gets lost is, it's not just the improvisation of a soloist who's composing in the moment, but the bandmates that are playing with the soloist. It's collective improvisation, that's also part of the composition. That's the first half of the program.' In the second half, Prouty — along with pianist Phil Kelly and drummer Julian VanSlyke — will compose a song in real time before the audience's eyes (and ears). 'These are guys that I have 10,000 hours of making music with,' said Prouty, 'and we're going to go to the audience and ask for some musical direction. Like, 'Give me a tempo, give me a groove. Major key? Minor key? Happy? Sad? Funky? Ballad?' And then, in real time, the three of us are going to compose a song in the moment and then perform the song and solo over the song. We'll tie in both composing in the jazz vernacular, and the soloist and collective improvisation also being part of the compositional process, which is unique only to jazz.' He said that those who are new to jazz or skeptical about it should not be afraid to approach with open ears and hearts. 'You always hear these things: 'Oh, I don't understand jazz.' 'I hate jazz.' 'Jazz makes me nervous,' because you don't understand what it is. Country music, heavy metal, pop music, gives you whatever you need right from the get-go, meaning the listener does not need to be involved in the process. You can tune out, come right back, and it's just here you left off. 'Jazz music asks something of the listener. It asks the listener to come on the adventure with us, to be a passenger on the flight, to listen to where the soloist begins and where they end, and the collective improvisation in between. I've taught music for 15 years, and every time I show a young person how jazz works, they go, 'Oh, okay, now I know what to listen for,' and they sort of have a roadmap. So, if you've never been into jazz, or thought about coming to jazz because you didn't understand it, this is the concept for you.' Prouty also spoke about the larger, ongoing projects he's working on in his laureate role. 'The goals of the laureate position,' he said, 'are to, one, mentor young composers, young musicians. The other is to celebrate Detroit's history with music, so we are planning a digital music lab for young Detroiters, where we'll have multiple classes with stations that have keyboards and interfaces and digital audio workstations, and we'll be working on the artistry of composing digitally.' More: Detroit's first composer laureate says he'll tell the city's story in music More: Detroit's Hannan Center called 'one of Michigan's best-kept secrets' for senior citizens Prouty told the Free Press he's also working on a longform piece that will be performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in late 2025, comprised of five Detroit-inspired vignettes for orchestra. Detroit ACE director Rochelle Riley called Prouty 'wonderful, excellent.' 'The most wonderful thing,' she said, 'about working with someone as talented as Patrick Prouty is that all of his ideas are great. I don't have to give him assignments. We're lucky to have a poet laureate and a composer laureate who don't really need any hand holding. They have amazing spirit, and amazing love of Detroit. I am thrilled by what he's going to be doing Friday and what he's going to be doing all year.' Friday's 'Composing in the Moment' concert was sold out at press time; the event will be recorded for later streaming on the ACE website. Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's composer laureate to de-mystify jazz at Friday concert
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Baltimore mayor creates new office to unite city arts
BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has created a new office to consolidate all the city's arts offerings from the festivals to film. The Mayor's Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment follows the example of cities such as Atlanta, Chicago and Austin, which groups together different genres under one big tent, Scott said Wednesday in a news release, 'improving coordination, growing cultural infrastructure, and driving strategic outcomes.' In addition to hosting such public events as AFRAM and Artscape, the new office will also operate the programs that provide grants to individual artists and cultural groups. These events used to be run by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the city's previous events-planning and grant-making organization. The city's contract with the financially flagging quasi-governmental agency was terminated last year by Scott. But since then, interim BOPA CEO Robyn Murphy appeared with Scott at news conferences announcing plans for such popular festivals as Artscape. Murphy couldn't be reached immediately for comment. The new office will be directed by Linzy Jackson III, the city's director of external partnerships and the producer of Baltimore's AFRAM and Charm City Live. He will be supported in his new role by Tonya Miller Hall, the mayor's senior adviser for arts and culture. Scott said that Baltimore was visited last year by more than 28 million tourists. 'Baltimore has serious momentum right now,' he said. 'And more and more people are seeing it for themselves.' The news release predicted that creating a centralized agency to manage the city's arts, events, nightlife and film will grow revenues, increase operational efficiency and provide critical assistance for grassroots artists and neighborhood-based cultural organizations. The new agency 'isn't just a new office,' Jackson said in the news release. 'It's a new way of connecting Baltimore and showing who we are. It's where murals meet music, festivals meet film, and community voices take center stage.' _____
CBS News
23-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Baltimore Mayor Scott announces launch of Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced the launch of the Mayor's Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (MOACE). The mayor stated that the office will help shape the future of Baltimore's live events, cultural workforce, creative economy, nightlife, and film industry. Baltimore champions numerous arts and cultural festivals and initiatives each year, including the Baltimore AFRAM Festival, Artscape, City, Charm City Live, seasonal programming like Baltimore's Christmas Village, and a plethora of other events that take place throughout the year. The mayor said that the goals for the new office include unifying arts events, nightlife, and film under one creative strategy; boosting operational efficiency; supporting grassroots artists; expanding revenue through sponsorship and grant leverage; and strengthening Baltimore's cultural infrastructure. "Baltimore has serious momentum right now. And more and more people are seeing it for themselves. We had over 28 million tourist visits to our city last year. We're also home to incredible outdoor events – including Artscape, AFRAM, and Charm City Live," Mayor Scott said. What about the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts? The update comes after the city ended its contract with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) was terminated in January due to financial instability and management concerns. After the city cut ties with the organization, BOPA voted out Rachel Graham, who served as the former CEO. The city did not explicitly say that the new MOACE office was created to replace BOPA, which previously managed Artscape, the Baltimore Farmers Market, the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade, and Light City Baltimore.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
CT city taps inaugural director of new office of arts, culture and entertainment
Taneisha Duggan has spent her life in the arts and had a deep appreciation for the fine arts, especially in Hartford. Now she has been named the inaugural Director of the city's newly established Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment by Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. The position was initially announced in Oct. 2024 and the office is funded through an agreement with Goodworks Entertainment. The program also includes a five-year rental of Bushnell Park, and a supplemental contribution based on a per-ticket fee from the Capital Groove Festival, according to the city. 'Goodworks Entertainment is excited to see the Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment take this next important step. We look forward to working with Director Duggan to further enhance Hartford's cultural offerings and ensure the success of this vital initiative,' said Tyler Grill, co-founder and CEO of Goodworks Entertainment in a statement. Duggan, a lifelong Middletown resident, said she attended the Greater Hartford Academy of Arts. 'I'm excited to start this journey,' Duggan said. 'A lot of my life was built around Hartford and it set me on my path. I had the chance to work with some icons. Later on, I had the chance to teach at the Greater Hartford Academy of Arts and at the University of Hartford. My relationship to Hartford is deep.' In all, Duggan brings more than 20 years of experience in theater to her new role. She has worked as a producer, director, and cultural architect. Duggan was trained as an actor at the State University of New York Purchase College in the School of Theater Arts and Film. Duggan has been an artistic producer at TheaterWorks since 2015. Duggan led a collaboration of TheaterWorks Hartford and Riverfront Recapture in a production of 'Walden' staged on the banks of the Connecticut River. Also, on her resume are lead producer of First Night Hartford, directing at Julliard, and her former position as associate producer at Octopus Theatricals. She also had a stint in corporate marketing with Mattel. Duggan said she will be coordinating with every aspect of entertainment to maintain and grow Hartford's cultural landscape. 'Arts, culture and entertainment are vital and define us as a people and a place,' Duggan said. 'The arts allow us to connect with each other. It's something that we can all agree on. Arts are essential to that reconnection in identity with each other, a collective identity. I'm looking for an opportunity to create a culture through its identity. 'There's a legacy of Hartford being a prominent place for great literary, artistic and economic minds,' she added. 'That legacy excites me. I've been a part of the arts for a long time in Hartford and that spirit is still very much alive. I want to advocate for that voice for what Hartford is. I want to be an ambassador to that spirit and excellence that is found here.' Duggan starts her position within the next few weeks. Duggan said she will be busy getting back into the community and meeting with individual artists and businesses after working in New York for the last two years. 'I want to meet with all of the stakeholders that are invested in the arts and culture scene in Hartford,' Duggan said. 'This is the heart of the state and Hartford has always been important to me.' Arulampalam said he was excited to have Duggan aboard. 'Taneisha has been a driving force in Hartford's creative community for decades,' Arulampalam said in a statement. 'Her passion for the arts, deep connections within the community, and dedication to shaping the future of Hartford's arts landscape make her the ideal leader for the Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment. This office will play a critical role in showcasing Hartford's rich cultural assets, drawing visitors, and fostering opportunities for local artists to thrive.'
