MUSIC
Freelons’ designs on Atlanta
Talk about a power couple. Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, whose concert Saturday at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center for the Arts is a tribute to Lena Horne, is the wife of Philip Freelon, architect of record for the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. His Durham, N.C.-based firm, Freelon Group, also is designing the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (along with architects HOK) planned for Centennial Park. Tickets for Nina Freelon’s 8 p.m. show, $30-$55. 404-894-9600, www.ferstcenter.org. HOWARD POUSNER

ARCHITECTURE
Shutze’s ongoing inspiration
Atlanta architect Jonathan LaCrosse will discuss the creative influence of Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze in an Institute of Classical Architecture and Art-Southeast Chapter lecture, 10 a.m. Saturday at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Emory University’s campus. Considered America’s greatest classical architect during his long career, Shutze …

Continue reading Culture notes: Atlanta connections for Nnenna, Philip Freelon; architect Shutze’s legacy »

CLASSICAL MUSIC
Spano planning Carnegie Hall return
Robert Spano, who led the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall last October, will return to the New York music center twice in March.

Spano is set to conduct Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (St. Mark Passion), a piece that draws on the sounds of Latin America, on March 10. The performance will feature soprano Jessica Rivera, jazz vocalist Luciana Souza, members of Schola Cantorum de Venezuela and New York high school singers.

Then on March 19 in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, Spano will join the Ensemble ACJW in partnership with the New York City Department of Education to present Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles. He will lead the 12-movement work with featured pianist Juho Pohjonen; Laura Weiner, horn; Ian Sullivan, xylorimba; and Jared Soldiviero, glockenspiel.

Details: www.robertspanomusic.com.

But first the maestro conducts the ASO in Bach’s Mass in B minor, Feb. 28 and March 1, both in Symphony …

Continue reading Culture notes: Spano returning to Carnegie Hall; folk meets fine art in Commerce next weekend »

After four and a half months of fund-raising, the Woodruff Arts Center’s Annual Campaign is more than halfway to its $9.2 million goal.

The Woodruff has raised $5.5 million in the campaign that continues through May. It met its $9 million goal last year with an 11th hour push.

The Coca-Cola Company and Georgia Power Foundation have made top donations of $500,000 each, with UPS committing $300,000.

Givers at the $250,000-plus level so far are the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and Cox Interests (including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, James M. Cox Foundation, Cox Radio Group Atlanta, WSB-TV and Anne Cox Chambers).

AT&T, the Rich Foundation and SunTrust Bank & Trusteed Foundations have donated at the $150,000-plus level.

Alston and Bird, Bank of America, the Marcus Foundation, PwC, Turner Broadcasting System and the David, Helen & Marian Woodward Fund have committed at the $100,000-plus level.

The Annual Campaign is a key part of the $35 million raised annually by …

Continue reading Culture notes: Woodruff Arts Center raises $5.5 million in ongoing Annual Campaign; more gallery scene changes; Puppetry Center ‘Passport’ »

ARTS
Catching up on season announcements
Horizon Theatre recently announced its 2013 season, which already had kicked off with an encore of the comedy hit “The Waffle Palace” (through March 17).

The remainder of the lineup: Karen Zacarias’ comedy “The Book Club Play” (May 17-June 23), Marcus Gardley’s fantastical whodunit “Every Tongue Confess” (July 12-Aug. 18) and “Third Country,” Atlanta playwright Suehyla El-Attar’s new work inspired by refugee resettlement in Clarkston (fall 2013). www.horizontheatre.com.

In case you missed them, here are some other recently announced 2013-14 lineups …

• The Atlanta Opera: Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” (Oct. 5-13), Charles Gounod’s “Faust” (March 8-16, 2014) and Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville: (April 26-May 4, 2014). www.atlantaopera.org.

• Broadway in Atlanta: “Ghost” (Nov. 5-10), “The Book of Mormon” (Jan. 28-Feb. 9, 2014), “Once,” (March 4-9, 2014), “The Lion King” (April 10-27, 2014), “American Idiot” (exact dates to be …

Continue reading Culture notes: Horizon Theatre announces ‘13 season; Atlanta Baroque plays ‘Amersterdam’ program »

By Howard Pousner
hpousner@ajc.com

This week, the Atlanta Film Festival made opening and closing film announcements for the March 15-24 fest, with tickets expected to go on sale soon. Four other fest bookings already are on sale.

• “Mud,” an Arkansas-filmed drama starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, will be the opening night feature on March 15. Actor Ray McKinnon will be in attendance at the Plaza Theatre screening. Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, the Mark Twain-inspired drama, about teens who help a fugitive (McConaughey) evade bounty hunters, received positive notices at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals.

• “The Spectacular Now,” directed by Athens native James Ponsoldt (”Smashed”), will close the fest on March 23, also at the Plaza. (March 24 is dedicated to encore showings.) It stars Miles Teller (”Rabbit Hole”) as a charmer with a drinking issue who catches bookish Shailene Woodley (”The Descendants”) on the rebound. After a Sundance showing, …

Continue reading ‘Mud,’ ‘Spectacular Now’ among Atlanta Film Festival highlights »

THEATER
In a dramatic conclusion and new beginning, Theatrical Outfit pays off mortgage
Theatrical Outfit, the Atlanta troupe that marked its 35th anniversary last year, recently held a note-burning ceremony to celebrate paying off the mortgage on its home since 2004, the Balzer Theatre at Herren’s.

Retiring the $1.2 million mortgage makes Theatrical Outfit one of the few metro Atlanta professional theaters to own its own home. Artistic director Tom Key called it a “testament of perseverance.”

The historic downtown storefront was the home to Herren’s Restaurant from 1934 until 1987. Herren’s was the first white linen restaurant in Atlanta to voluntarily desegregate. The first African-American couple to dine there, Dr. Lee and Delores Shelton, are Theatrical Outfit season subscribers.

The theater company renovated it with energy efficiency in mind, and it became the first LEED-certified theater in the U.S.

“This brings a nearly 10-year journey to an end and begins a new journey …

Continue reading Culture notes: Theatrical Outfit pays off mortgage; Ga. Shakespeare tops $1 million; MODA picks new leader »

THEATER
Tyson to go a round at Fox
“Mike  Tyson: Undisputed Truth,” the one-man Broadway monologue that the controversial ex-boxer has described as a “rollercoaster of emotions,” is headed out on a 10-week tour that brings it to Atlanta and the Fox Theatre at 8 p.m. April 20. Directed by Spike Lee, the show was announced Tuesday, and tickets, $57.15-$142.50 (including fees), already are on sale via 1-855-285-8499, www.FoxAtlTix.com. HOWARD POUSNER 

ARTS
The art of staying healthy
At a time when many Americans can’t afford health insurance, individual artists are particularly vulnerable. That’s the impetus behind an Arts Health Day program being offered for free from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Little Five Points Community Center. Presented by C4 Atlanta, Alternate Roots and WonderRoot, it will include a keynote talk by Jim Brown of the Actor’s Fund on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, panel discussions, yoga and tai chi demonstrations and a health fair. …

Continue reading Culture notes: Tyson to play Fox; Arts Health Day; Art Papers auction; Ludwig Symphony in Valentine mood »

THEATER
Atlanta Fringe Festival announces 2013 lineup
The Atlanta Fringe Festival took a rather casual approach to programming its second edition, planned June 5-9, literally pulling the names of participants out of a hat. Here’s the list of 24 artists/production companies from 10 states that made the cut:

• Bent Frequency and Craig Dongoski (Georgia)
• DaVida Chanel Productions (Louisiana)
• Doctor Pete Productions (Georgia)
• Ellisorous and the Dance Machine (Georgia)
• Horizons School (Georgia)
• Jamie Black (Illinois)
• KLMD Production/ Morgan DDG (Indiana)
• Leave Your Mark Productions (Georgia)
• Love, Peace and Joy Productions (Alabama)
• M.O.P.O. (Georgia)
• Marble City Opera (Tennessee)
• Minion Productions (Washington)
• Mixed Revues (Georgia)
• Nu Visions of Excellence Theatre (Georgia)
• OnStage Atlanta (Georgia)
• Robin & Goodfellow Players (Georgia)
• 7 Stages (Georgia)
• Sob Songs for the Gilded Age (Georgia)
• The Rachel Teagle Effect (Connecticut)
• The Ws Projects (North Carolina)
• Thimblerig …

Continue reading Culture notes: Atlanta Fringe Festival announces 2013 lineup; what’s next for Marietta’s Next Stage »

CLASSICAL MUSIC
Competiton winner gets $7,500 ASO commission
Charles Zoll, a 21-year-old University of Arizona student, won the third Rapido, a national competition for composers whose finals were held Jan. 20 at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Zoll’s winnings include a $7,500 commission for an original full orchestral work to be premiered by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in May 2014.

The judges for the competition, at which the Atlanta Chamber Players performed the five national finalist works, were Atlanta Symphony Orchestra music director Robert Spano and Atlanta School of Composers members Michael Gandolfi and Jennifer Higdon.

Spano, in a statement, called the proceedings “a wonderful competition that showcased remarkable talent” and said that he and the ASO “look forward to the music Charles will write in the next year.”

Zoll will expand his winning chamber piece into a 15-minute work to be premiered this fall by five chamber ensembles: Atlanta Chamber Players, Boston Musica …

Continue reading Culture notes: Rapido winner relishes ASO commission; a lost mandolin finds its way home to Atlanta »

By Howard Pousner
hpousner@ajc.com

Everyone knows that cream cheese and bagels, matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish and kosher hot dogs are Jewish food. But how about the Chinese takeout that many Jews consume on Christmas eve when their Christian friends are otherwise occupied, hummus or even sushi served at a Jewish wedding reception?

A new exhibit opening Feb. 7 at the Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum, “Chosen Food: Cuisine, Culture and American Jewish Identity,” should provide answers — or at least leave guests ready for a nosh.

“What we’ve learned while preparing for this exhibition is that the Jewish community pitches a big tent,” Breman curator Timothy Frilingos said in a statement. “That means that your Jewish food may not be the same as my Jewish food. And that Southern cuisine fused with traditional Jewish foods can result in some unexpected surprises.”

Organized by the Jewish Museum of Maryland, “Chosen Food” explores the relationship between Jewish food and …

Continue reading Culture notes: Breman Museum exhibit dishes up ample food for thought; Trinity School’s Spotlight on Art this week »