Oak Ridge Today

Free West African drum, dance performance at ORAU on Thursday

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The public is invited to see the Austin-East High School Drum and Dance Ensemble in recognition of Black History Month at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, at Pollard Auditorium at ORAU. The free West African drum and dance performance is presented by the ORAU Diversity Council. (Submitted photo)

The public is invited to see the Austin-East High School Drum and Dance Ensemble in recognition of Black History Month at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, at Pollard Auditorium at ORAU. The free West African drum and dance performance is presented by the ORAU Diversity Council. (Submitted photo)

 

There is a free West African drum and dance performance at ORAU in Oak Ridge on Thursday in recognition of Black History Month. The performance will feature the Austin-East High School Drum and Dance Ensemble, and the public is invited.

The performance is presented by the ORAU Diversity Council, and it’s scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, February 15, in Pollard Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Focusing on the culture of traditional West African drum and dance, Austin-East students in grades 9-12 have the opportunity to learn not only West African dance but also ballet and modern as part of their performing arts program,” a press release said. “Austin-East students have performed at many venues, including University of Tennessee sports halftime shows, Knox County Schools and other schools in surrounding counties, and the Tennessee Valley Fair, to name a few. The ensemble has been in existence since 1999.”

This press release was submitted by Amy Schwinge.

ORAU Diversity Council hosts 2016 Veterans Appreciation Day

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Eddie Mannis (pictured above) served as the keynote speaker for a Veterans Appreciation Day event on Nov. 10, 2016. He is the founder of HonorAir Knoxville and highlighted the impact the organization has had on veterans and the East Tennessee community. (Photo by ORAU)

 

On Thursday, November 10, the ORAU Diversity Council hosted 2016 Veterans Appreciation Day at the ORAU Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge to acknowledge the great sacrifices and contributions of our service men, women, and their families.

Here are two photos by ORAU. [Read more…]

UT-Battelle donates $150,000 for new Friendship Bell pavilion

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, center, presented a check to Pat Postma, right, and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee, during a ceremony at Oak Ridge Associated Universities’ Pollard Auditorium on Thursday, Nov 17, 2016. (Photo by ORNL)

 

UT-Battelle has announced a $150,000 gift toward construction of a new Peace Pavilion to house the International Friendship Bell located in Oak Ridge’s Alvin K. Bissell Park.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason presented a check to Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee, during a Thursday evening ceremony at Oak Ridge Associated Universities’ Pollard Auditorium.

The check presentation was the start of a public campaign to raise $750,000 for the project. A total of $416,000 has either already been raised or pledged.

“The International Friendship Bell is an important symbol of the heritage and future of Oak Ridge,” Mason said. “UT-Battelle is proud to support the construction of a new Peace Pavilion that will make the bell a focal point for the city and for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Civic Music Association’s Chamber Series kicks off Saturday

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Fandango! (Photo courtesy ORCMA)

Fandango! (Photo courtesy ORCMA)

 

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association opens its 2016-17 Chamber Series with Fandango! on Saturday. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 8, at the Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge.

“The most exciting new group on Chicago’s musical scene, Fandango! is a toe-tappingly spicy mix of Latin, Spanish, Sephardic, Balkan, and classical sounds founded by four multi-award-winning, globe-trotting virtuosi who hail from Spain, the USA, former Yugoslavia, and the UK, and who have played, separately and together, on the world’s most prestigious stages,” a press release said.

Made of two husband-and-wife virtuoso duos, Fandango! features flautist Eugenia Moliner, guitarist Denis Azabagic, violinist Desiree Ruhstrat, and cellist David Cunliffe. The quartet will perform an eclectic mix of genres, including familiar favorites by Vivaldi and Boccherini, and music by American composer Alan Thomas, Macedonian composer Miroslav Tadic, and more, the press release said.

“Audiences are sure to enjoy this festive concert,” the release said. [Read more…]

Fandango!, a Chicago group, to perform in Oak Ridge on Oct. 8

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fandango-2

Fandango!—a musical group from Chicago that plays a mix of Latin, Spanish, Sephardic, Balkan, and classical sounds—will perform in Oak Ridge on Saturday, October 8, 2016. (Submitted photo)

 

Fandango!—a musical group from Chicago that plays a mix of Latin, Spanish, Sephardic, Balkan, and classical sounds—will perform in Oak Ridge on Saturday, October 8.

The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 8, at the Pollard Auditorium. It’s presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association.

A press release said Fandango! is an exciting new group from Chicago. It was founded by “four multi-award-winning, globe-trotting virtuosi who hail from Spain, the USA, former Yugoslavia, and the UK, and who have played, separately and together, on the world’s most prestigious stages,” the press release said.

Made of two husband-and-wife virtuoso duos, Fandango! features flautist Eugenia Moliner, guitarist Denis Azabagic, violinist Desiree Ruhstrat, and cellist David Cunliffe, the press release said. [Read more…]

Tonight: Oak Ridge String Quartet plays chamber music concert

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Oak Ridge String Quartet (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge String Quartet will play in a chamber music concert on Saturday evening, February 20.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Pollard Auditorium.

“This highly accomplished group of professional musicians and members of the Knoxville and Oak Ridge Symphony will play music by Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Grieg,” organizers said. “Come and enjoy some absolutely gorgeous music and help support classical music in Oak Ridge.”

For more information, check the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association website.

DOE Environmental Management has community budget workshop on Wednesday

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U.S. Department of Energy Logo

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is hosting its annual Community Budget Workshop on Wednesday, April 29.

The purpose of this year’s workshop is for interested members of the community and stakeholders to learn about our program’s top cleanup priorities, and to provide input on additional priorities that they would like OREM to consider as officials begin developing the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

The workshop is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, in the Pollard Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Cypress String Quartet plays in Oak Ridge on Saturday, March 21

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Cypress String Quartet

Cypress String Quartet

 

The Cypress String Quartet will perform in Oak Ridge on Saturday, March 21. The quartet features Cecily Ward on violin, Tom Stone on violin, Ethan Filner on viola, and Jennifer Kloetzel on cello.

The quartet will play at Pollard Auditorium in a concert presented by the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association. The program will include Beethoven’s “Quartet Op. 18 No. 3,” Bartók’s “Quartet No. 4,” and Beethoven’s “Quartet Op. 59 No. 1.”

Beethoven’s “Quartet Op. 59 No. 2” is featured on the Cypress’ newest album, “Beethoven: Middle Quartets,” released on November 11. The Cypress Quartet has steeped itself in performing Beethoven’s string quartets over the last 18 years.

“Hardly a week has passed that we haven’t been studying or performing one of Beethoven’s string quartets,” Kloetzel said in a press release. “Our first 12 years together were spent exploring, performing, and crafting our ‘take’ on the Late Quartets, and then we made the choice to move backwards in time to these robust, earthy pieces—the Middle Quartets—so rich and massive after the more spiritual Late Quartets.” [Read more…]

Saturday concert features Suchon Wind Quintet, pianist Otaki

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Suchon Wind Quintet

Suchon Wind Quintet

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association’s Chamber Series continues Saturday with the initial U.S. appearance of one of the Slovak Republic’s premier chamber groups, the Suchon Wind Quintet, and pianist Michiko Otaki. The concert will be at 7:30 pm Saturday, February 21, in the ORAU Pollard Auditorium.

The group’s namesake, Eugen Suchoň, is one of the major classical composers of the 20th century, and his work made a significant contribution to the crystallization of Slovak national music. The Quintet had taken part in numerous European and international music festivals. [Read more…]

Vietnam vet performs ‘Buffalo Soldiers of American West’ at ORAU Thursday

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Buffalo Soldiers of the American West at ORAU

A Vietnam veteran will perform “The Buffalo Soldiers of the American West” at ORAU’s Pollard Auditorium on Thursday.

The public is invited to this free event, which celebrates Black History Month, a press release said.

The performance will be presented by William “Bill” Valentine. He is a Vietnam veteran who served in South East Asia for one of his four years in the United States Air Force.

The show will provide an entertaining lecture on the first African American soldiers to serve during the peacetime that followed the Civil War, the press release said. [Read more…]

Three speakers to discuss three proposed constitutional amendments

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Corinne Rovetti

Corinne Rovetti

Two college professors and a co-director of a reproductive health center will discuss three proposed constitutional amendments that will be considered by Tennessee voters in the November 4 election.

The proposed amendments will be discussed during a Tuesday evening forum in Oak Ridge.

Corinne Rovetti, co-director and family nurse practitioner for the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, will address Amendment 1, which deals with reproductive choice and privacy, a press release said. [Read more…]

Chamber Series concert with Zukerman rescheduled

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Eugenia Zukerman

Eugenia Zukerman

The Chamber Series concert that had been scheduled for this evening has been rescheduled due to illness.

The concert will feature world-renowned flutist Eugenia Zukerman. It had been scheduled for this evening at the Pollard Auditorium. But it’s been rescheduled for 3 p.m. May 11 at Pollard.

It’s the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association’s final Chamber Series concert of the season.