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Artisan Market $10 Holiday Gifts Dec 8th

What if a holiday boutique, hosted by some of the most talented local artisans and craftspeople, had everything on sale for $10? That’s the idea behind the first annual Artisan Market $10 Holiday Gift Sale, happening Sunday December 8th at the Moravian Church of Downey. This is collaboration of curator Roy Anthony Shabla, fused glass artist Terry Walker and artist/pastor Christie Melby-Gibbons.

The market in Hove Hall will be open 11AM to 4PM, come prepared to do your casual Christmas shopping by supporting our local artisans.

November 23, 2013
Moravian Trombone Choir Concert Monday Dec 2nd

The Moravian Trombone Choir will be having their 48th annual Advent/Christmas Concert at 7:30PM on Monday, Dec. 2nd at the Downey Moravian Church, 10337 Old River School Road. “This concert is the perfect way to get into the Holiday spirit!” says Steven Humenski, the group’s Director.

The concert is free but a freewill offering will be taken.

https://www.facebook.com/events/255435567942503/

November 22, 2013
View from the Edge: Rennie Tang “Dance and Landscape in Dialog”

View from the Edge lectures on Modern Art is back, this time on Thursday November 21st, 6:30PM with dancer and professor Rennie Tang, speaking about “Dance and Landscape in Dialog.” The lecture is free, at the Downey City Library on Brookshire Blvd just north of Firestone Blvd.

Rennie Tang is a designer and educator based in Los Angeles. She is currently Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at California Polytechnic State University Pomona. Her professional background in dance and choreography strongly influences her practice, research and teaching. She often collaborates with artists on site-specific works that fuse concepts drawn from her various fields of expertise. Movement, art, and education are often key drivers in her design work. Her research interests include temporary landscapes, dance in public spaces and measuring social dimensions of the built environment. Her latest works include the design of a public tour for the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and a performance piece for Grand Park, Los Angeles, both done in collaboration with choreographer Sara Wookey. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from McGill University and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University.

For more information about the series, email roy@www.downeyarts.org

November 19, 2013
Stay Gallery presents Don Knabe Pediatric Arts Exhibit November 21, 2013

The First Annual Don Knabe Pediatric Arts Exhibit – Art of Rancho

Thursday, November 21, 2013 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Reception at 7:30 pm.

Show runs from November 21 thru December 21, 2013.

Featuring the artwork of 17 students from the Don Knabe Pediatric Arts Program.

Stay Gallery 11140 Downey Ave., Downey, CA 90241 (562) 774-2056

November 15, 2013
Third Thursdays Poetry Matters presents Ruth Bavetta on November 21, 2013

Third Thursdays Poetry Matters presents Ruth Bavetta on November 21, 2013 at the Epic Lounge in Downey, CA.

Although Ruth Bavetta has written and published poems for over twenty years, she was a visual artist before she began writing. In her new book, Fugitive Pigments, she explores the resonance between art and poetry.  Ruth’s poems are feminine, not in the sense of being fluffy but in the sense of being woman… emotional, strong, nurturing, hurting, teasing and above all honest.  “Fugitive pigments” are those colors that fade over time. “Art and life, intertwined.”

Doors open at 7:00 PM. Sign up sheet available for open mic poetry reading at 7:30 PM before the featured guest.

At downtown Downey’s premier performance venue:

The Epic Lounge    8239 Second Street in the heart of downtown Downey

Handicap accessible        Wine & beer served           Food at LA Buns next door and  ok to bring to your seat            Welcome under 21

Look for BUMBLE BEE LOVES YOU mural on the wall of the building next to the Epic Lounge

Reading curated by Lorine Parks   lorine parks@verizon.net

November 5, 2013
Photographer Carolina Del Toro curates show at Downey Theatre

This weekend, as part of the Downey Symphony Orchestra concert November 2, 2013, join us for a special exhibit by photographer Carolina Estrada-Del Toro, in the lobby of the Downey Civic Theatre before the concert. Doors open at 7:00PM. To enter the lobby you must have tickets for the symphony concert, available at the box office, by phone, or online.

Carolina Del Toro has also curated a gallery of work from local artists, celebrating Dia de los Muertos, as part of the Dia de los Muertos Festival held this year for the first time at the Downey Civic Theatre campus. The theatre isa 8435 Firestone Blvd (and Brookshire) next to Mimi’s Cafe.

The festival takes place Sunday November 3rd from 11AM to 8PM and is free to the public, featuring art, film, music, dance, gifts, beer and wine.

Artists featured include: MIKE FERGUSON, LAURA SANCHEZ, WILLIAM RADEMAKER, RICKY OSTENDI, MONICA PUCCIARELLI, ISABEL ACOSTA, JOSE LOPES, RAUL MORENO, EDSON GERSAIN, MIKI LORENA and LESLIE CHAVEZ.

Carolina Estrada-Del Toro grew up in Tecuala, Nayarit; Mexico. At the age of 17 she immigrated to California and enrolled herself at Roosevelt High School. After starting a family, her calling to nature and photography became stronger and that is when her husband encouraged her to enroll in photography classes. She fell in love with the darkroom, but after receiving a macro lens as a gift, she discovered a completely different world of colors, patterns, and overwhelming wonder. She found herself happiest looking through the lens, freeing herself from past emotional scars she thought were too deep to overcome. Her photography creates a close up vision of nature that makes the viewer take a second look. She sees a different world in the depths of nature and without the use of editing software turns flowers, insects, and leaves into mysterious and striking portraits.

Carolina’s photographs have been exhibited at several galleries in LA and Ventura counties. As a founding member of the Downey Arts Coalition, she curated a monthly art show called Art on the Vine, which brought artists and a more vibrant art community to South East LA. Carolina supports not-for-profit organizations and has donated several of her photographs to fundraiser events.

Downey Arts Coalition is proud of our collaboration with the Downey Theatre and the Downey Symphony Orchestra.

During Saturday’s concert, the members of the Downey Symphony will show off their talents as they perform one of the most popular symphonies in classical music, Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The concert also features the winner of our 2012 DSO Young Artist Competition, Joseph Morris, as he performs Mozart’s beautiful Clarinet Concerto, K. 622.

October 29, 2013
Downey Master Chorale Auditions

The Downey Arts Coalition, in partnership with music director Margaret Zeleny have announced auditions for a newly formed city chorus, the Downey Master Chorale. The group is a new opportunity for singers to be challenged and join a community of musicians that wish to share this beautiful art form with their local audiences.

Auditions are ongoing by appointment only. Sign up at www.downeymasterchorale.org for more information.

The Press Telegram has featured the ensemble’s formation, read about it here at this link.

Zeleny is a former music teacher at the University of Minnesota who later joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She performed from 1969 to 1978 under the direction of founding-conductor Roger Wagner, then launched her own choir called the Pasadena Repertory Singers in 1981.

Downey originally had an all-city chorus, the Downey Civic Chorus, which relocated to the city of Bellflower in 1989.

Margaret Zeleny leads rehearsal for Downey’s new master chorale program Oct. 1. Auditions to join the group are ongoing. (Photo by Sean Hiller/Daily Breeze)

October 23, 2013
Downey Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 2, 2013, featuring Joseph Morris, clarinet

O Brave New World

November 2, 2013 8:00 PM Downey Civic Theatre 8435 Firestone Blvd., Downey, CA 90241 (562) 403-2944

ROSSINI: La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie): Overture

MOZART: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra Joseph Morris, Clarinet (winner of the 2013 DSO Young Artist Competition)

DVORAK: Symphony No. 9, “New World Symphony”

This season, Joseph Morris appears as soloist with both the Downey Symphony and Burbank Philharmonic.

A frequent competitor in solo competitions, Joseph has been awarded first prize in the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts Competition, the Hennings-‐ Fischer Foundation Competition, the Downey Symphony Young Artist Competition, the Music Teacher’s National Association Solo Competition and concerto competitions at the Thornton School of Music and the National Repertory Orchestra. Joseph has received numerous awards including the Bruce Zalkind Memorial Endowed Music Award, the Bank of America Music Achievement Award, and the Sima Mannick Endowed Scholarship.

Joseph performs as part of the Colburn Chamber Music Society and has collaborated with musicians including John Perry and Andrew Bain. As part of the Accord Quintet, Joseph was awarded the Honorable Mention Prize in the finals of the 2012 Coleman National Chamber Music Competition.

An advocate of new music, Joseph has recorded Frederick Lesemann’s Alleluia… in domo per saecula for solo clarinet, soprano and brass ensemble. He worked extensively with the USC Contemporary Music Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Donald Crockett and was named the USC Composition Department’s Most Valuable Performer in 2010.

As an orchestral musician Joseph has performed as Guest Principal Clarinet with the Boise Philharmonic as well as with the New World Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, and the Colburn Orchestra. He has participated in festivals including the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival and School, the National Repertory Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute, and the Idyllwild Music Festival. He has collaborated with conductors including James Conlon, Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Hans Graf, Peter Oundjian, Leonard Slatkin, and Yan Pascal Tortelier.

Joseph is currently an Artist Diploma candidate at The Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where he studies with the renowned professor Yehuda Gilad. He graduated from the USC Thornton School of Music in May 2012 where he received the prestigious Presidential Scholarship. Joseph has performed in masterclasses for Martin Fröst, Glenn Dicterow, and Arnold Steinhardt and has studied extensively with Richie Hawley, Bil Jackson, Mark Brandenburg, and Fred Rast.

October 16, 2013
Movie Club’s Thrill Chill – Halloween Edition – Sunday, October 20th

We are showing 3 short spooky films:

WINDMILL by Polaris Castillo, our very own local film maker.
DEAD MEMORIES by Gene Aversa, local film maker fr: Whittier.
AMELIA from the 1975 cult cassic film TRILOGY OF TERROR.
**In honor of the late Karen Black, who recently passed.

Our feature film will be TRICK ‘R TREAT – A spooky film made in the spirit of Halloween.

So come if you dare, and sit among zombies, ghouls, demons, and other creatures. Be sure to bring your camera, you don’t want to miss this.

Like always, ther will be free popcorn, munchies, candy, fun movie facts, and chances to win free movies, and moive tickets.

Many other Halloween surprises are in store.

October 14, 2013
Defying Gravity featured on KPCC 89.3

Downey’s space history had the privilege of being featured this morning on our local NPR radio station, KPCC 89.3. The play Defying Gravity, which opens tonight at the Columbia Memorial Space Center provides a frame story for how Downey’s space programs shaped the city in both its heyday as well as the loss of the Rockwell plant in 1999. Science reporter Sanden Totten interviewed Mayor Mario Guerra, Coucilman Roger Brossmer, directors Andrew Wahlquist and Lana Joy, as well as visited a rehearsal of the play.

Click here to read the story.

There is also a full photo gallery of the space center, and one of the play’s rehearsals.

To read more about the play, click here. To purchase tickets online, visit www.downeytheatre.com.

The Downey Patriot also covered the play in a feature story, click here to read.

September 20, 2013