The Palm Beach Symphony is celebrating 40th year, which means that the numbers 4 and 40 will appear regularly in this season’s programs. For any arts organization to have lasted this long, the credit belongs to its members, supporters, donors, management and yes, the wonderful players. Instrumentalists come and go, but the cohesive body of musicians that made up this orchestra … [Read more...]
At the Liman Gallery, Emily Zuch emerges
Ellen Liman has been following the career of the young Emily Zuch since she saw her work during the New York Studio School Masters exhibit. “She’s our featured emerging artist of the season,” said Liman, whose Palm Beach gallery is presenting Emily Zuch: The Land of Fake Nature through March 16. “She’s outstanding.” The exhibit contains more than 40 of Zuch’s paintings, … [Read more...]
Symphony of the Americas marks 25-year milestone
In January, the Symphony of the Americas will celebrate 25 years of musical performances — and the fact that they are still here. “It’s no small accomplishment for a nonprofit orchestra to achieve a milestone like our 25th anniversary,” artistic director and conductor James Brooks-Bruzzese said. “Economically, we are very fortunate to continue, in our own little way, to bring … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: A season of change for local opera
After years of retrenchment and cutbacks, the area’s opera companies are moving ahead in positive directions in the coming season. Although both South Florida companies haven’t added back the productions they once cut, there are signs of a return to artistic daring, and the Sarasota company is offering a world premiere of an American opera. And the popular high-definition … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Oct. 20-21
The documentary Side by Side, which opened Friday and runs through this week at the Lake Worth Playhouse, is as inside-baseball as movies get. An unlikely passion project for narrator Keanu Reeves, this studious doc features Reeves interviewing countless directors, cinematographers, producers, editors and actors about the inexorable transition from 35mm celluloid to hi-def … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: The Broward-Miami art scene
The visual arts season in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties is as contradictory as ever, refusing to be slotted into any tidy categories. The art soon pouring into museums and galleries gives as much attention to the natural world as it does to the imagined and synthetic realms, and shows by venerable artists open concurrently with exhibits introducing the newly minted and … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: Classical season younger, fresher
South Florida has a remarkably active and diverse classical music season in general, and this year some of the younger musical organizations are showing some real depth and growth. Both the Boca Raton and Palm Beach symphonies have challenging, fresh programming throughout their seasons in Palm Beach County, and chamber music is well-represented in the Duncan, Flagler and Four … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: Loss of theaters doesn’t slow promising season
The past season saw the second shoe drop in Palm Beach County. Boca Raton’s 37-year-old Caldwell Theatre Company closed its doors, soon after Florida Stage ended its operations, and area theatergoers are still reeling from both abrupt losses. Add Broward County’s now-defunct Promethean Theatre ― or rather subtract it ― and the theatrical landscape is substantially thinner as … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: New leadership at MCB raises dance stakes
Although Ballet Florida is now long-gone, the world of South Florida dance is seeing other big changes, most notably the arrival at Miami City Ballet of a new director following the sidelining and then departure of the company’s founder, Edward Villella. But there are small, scrappy companies hereabouts making their marks in the dance world, and the major area venues are … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: Few classic rockers in this pop season
The end of classic rock as we knew it continues in the 2012-2013 South Florida concert season, since few of the usual suspects like the Eagles, Allman Brothers Band, Tom Petty, U2, Bruce Springsteen or Crosby, Stills and Nash will be present. Sure, there’s a specialty show by The Who (a Quadrophenia run-through) and an appearance by retro-rock singer Chris Robinson, although … [Read more...]