There is no greater example in literature of the boundlessness of childhood imagination than the story of Peter Pan. Created in a number of vehicles by J.M. Barrie including his 1904 play, Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow…
Review: ‘God of Carnage’ at Theatre Knoxville Downtown
It all begins amicably enough. Two sets of parents in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn meet to cordially discuss a fight that has taken place between their two 11-year old sons, a fight in which one boy struck the…
UT Alum Alexandria Shiner Joins Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program
It goes without saying that the beginning of any career is full of uncertainties and daunting obstacles. For young opera singers, though, the keys to success are even more tantalizingly elusive, magnified by the stratospheric level of natural vocal talent…
A Sad Day: The Knoxville Mercury Shuts Down
As if there wasn’t enough consternation in our lives, Knoxville’s journalism scene has suffered yet another blow–the Knoxville Mercury will cease publication with the July 20 issue. As editor Coury Turczyn summarized in his goodbye announcement, “The reason is pretty…
Final Weekend for 2017 nief-norf Summer Festival
The 2017 nief-norf Summer Festival and Sixth International Conference on Music & Minimalism wraps up this weekend.
nief-norf Summer Festival Performances Begin Monday, June 12
nief-norf describes its Summer Festival as “an interdisciplinary summer music festival,” but that really falls substantially short in communicating just how important and compelling it is in the world of contemporary music. The festival brings together performers, composers, and scholars in…
KSO Appoints William Shaub As Its Next Concertmaster
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of William Shaub as its next concertmaster, replacing Gabriel Lefkowitz who has taken the concertmaster position with the Louisville Orchestra following six years with the KSO. Shaub was one of two finalists…
There’s Still More To Come As 2016-17 Arts and Music Season Winds Down
If you are like me, the on-rushing signs of summer seem to bring a bit of sadness that the organized arts season is coming to an end. While I used to temper those feelings with remarks about just how much the…
‘Gathering Light’, Works by Beauford Delaney, Opens at KMA
In an article from the Knoxville Mercury in 2016, Jack Neely wrote this about painter Beauford Delaney: “Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) is the best-known artist who ever lived in Knoxville.” That statement is inarguably true, but sadly requires some qualification. Although born…
Review: Dueling Sopranos Take Knoxville Opera’s ‘Maria Stuarda’ to Bel Canto Glory
History insists on reminding us that cousins and bitter enemies, Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth I, never met in real life. That fact did not prevent German philosopher and playwright, Friedric Schiller, from creating a drama that treated Mary, Queen…
