July arts programs at Fort Lewis College will both draw visitors to campus and reach out off the mesa and into the community.
Musicians from the FLC’s Music Department Katherine Jetter, Shelley Mann, Jonathan Latta and Marc Reed will be very visible in our community as they perform in Music in the Mountains festival ensembles. While the faculty performs, young musicians will be on campus for the Music in the Mountains Conservatory – the educational program that FLC hosts during the festival.
More students interested in the performing arts will be on campus from July 14-26 for the second annual Community Concert Hall Summer Ballet Intensive. The intensive hosts intermediate to advanced ballet students ages 12-18 for two weeks. Adjunct professor Judy Austin will teach one course and concert hall staff serve as counselors and support to students and instructors. On July 26, the students will perform a ballet program choreographed specifically for their program. This year, 11 participants will be from Durango and the Four Corners, and 14 will be from other parts of Colorado, New Mexico, California, Arizona and even Germany.
The Community Concert Hall will also host the third annual free Concerts in the Park music series on four consecutive Thursdays from July 3-24. Presented by FLC and Alpine Bank, the music series features local and regional bands in Durango’s Buckley Park from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The Concert Hall will also present Robert Earl Keen at the Animas City Theatre on July 22 and 23. Both nights are presented through a partnership with Durango Massive Productions.
Tickets for the 2014-15 Community Concert Hall season will go on sale today with a special kick-off party at the Durango Welcome Center from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tickets and information are available at www.DurangoConcerts.com, the downtown Durango Welcome Center or by calling 970-247-7657.
As noted in a May article in the Herald, art department assistant professor Shawn Meek competed with a team in the Go Code Colorado digital contest to create an app that connects businesses to each other to help boost Colorado’s economic development. Of the 10 teams that made it to the finals, Meek’s took second place and created an app and a new business: Bizlink.
Art faculty went even further afield when FLC’s Department of Art & Design faculty member Anthony Holmquist and his wife, visiting professor Andrea Martens, participated in the prestigious Venice Printmaking Studio in Venice, Italy. Both have worked in printmaking for most of their careers, and it was their first international residency for the couple.
Theatre professor Dennis Elkins propels the tradition of the arts reaching out from FLC by directing the musical “Pippin” at Durango Arts Center. The beloved Broadway hit and Tony award-winning musical runs through Aug. 16. Tickets are available at DAC, www.DurangoArts.org and the downtown Durango Welcome Center.
Leslie_c@fortlewis.edu. Charles Leslie is the director of the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
