By Sharon Geltner When a 35-year art preservationist from Delray Beach met with the curator of the Schmidt Boca Raton Historical Museum to plan Palm Beach County tours for global art and architecture enthusiasts, she was surprised to learn of significant architectural treasures at nearby Lynn University. “For years, I’ve said there is no Art Deco in Boca Raton, it’s … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Jan McArt, the act who can’t be followed
To paraphrase a famous quote by Jerome Kern about Irving Berlin: “Jan McArt has no place in South Florida theater. She is South Florida theater.” Certainly she was producing and appearing in stage shows from Key West to Boca Raton when there was no other theater in the region to speak of. Most particularly, she built and ran the Royal Palm Dinner Theatre in Boca for 24 … [Read more...]
Lynn University launches BFA program for theater
By Dale King Lynn University has amped up its drama curriculum this year with the addition of a bachelor of fine arts (BFA) program – a course of study offering would-be actors concentrated theatrical training that prepares them to work professionally in theater, movies, television and musicals. Lynn has offered a BA degree in drama for about 15 years, said Adam Simpson, … [Read more...]
Arts news: 2nd Oliveira contest dates announced; PGB venue closes
BOCA RATON — The second Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition will take place Jan. 12-26, 2020, at Lynn University, its founder said in a press conference Feb. 12. The celebrated American composer Christopher Theofanidis has been commissioned to compose a work for solo violin to be played by contestants in the competition. He is a member of the Yale University … [Read more...]
Trumpet competition at Lynn honors legacy of Roger Voisin
Every branch of music has its deities, and for classical trumpet players, one of the members of the pantheon was the Franco-American trumpeter, educator and conductor Roger Voisin. Voisin, who died in 2008 at 89, was born in France and moved to the U.S. as a boy when his father René joined the trumpet section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1928. His son became the … [Read more...]
Serkin brings old-school taste, distinction to Mozart, Bach
We are living through a period of remarkable pianism, with terrific young players popping up everywhere you look and making impressive strides in rethinking concerts and willing new repertoire into being. But there is also a good deal of hype to go along with that, amplified enormously by the power of social media. And so it is something of a respite to encounter an artist … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 1-3
Music: Any number of fine pianists visits South Florida each year during the season, and a series of lesser-known but still formidable players are on hand each winter to perform recitals at Lynn University in Boca Raton. But Saturday night, one of the best pianists of an older generation, Peter Serkin, will join that series in a recital at Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall. His … [Read more...]
Violinist Oliveira launches international competition at Lynn this month
Elmar Oliveira knows a thing or two about music competitions. As an American violinist competing in Moscow in the 1978 Tchaikovsky Competition — where he won the Gold Medal, the first and still only American violinist to do so — Oliveira was thrust into a “cutthroat” environment in which the only goal was the top prize. “It was like an ocean with 100 sharks in it,” Oliveira … [Read more...]
Arts buzz: Arts Garage cancels theater season; violin competitors named
The Arts Garage in Delray Beach said Monday it has canceled the remainder of its theater season. CEO Marjorie Waldo and Board President Chuck Halberg said in a joint statement that the venue’s losses from the first two shows had been substantial. “After an intensive five-week review of the varied programs we offer, it has become apparent that the losses we have suffered … [Read more...]
Debussy, Beethoven performances showcase impressive Lynn Philharmonia
I had to miss out on the first Lynn Philarmonia concert in late September because of a family emergency, but this past Saturday night at the Wold Center for the Performing Arts, I was able to make it to the second concert, and I found that there’s a lot to be excited about. Director Guillermo Figueroa, who has recently added a regular gig with the Santa Fe Symphony to his … [Read more...]