2009 SWCC News

SWCC's Festival of the Arts Celebrates Fifteen Years

The annual festival of the arts, sponsored by SWCC, will celebrate fifteen years of excellent arts programming designed to cover the service region of the College and beyond. The theme, Festival of the Arts: A Retrospective – 1995-2009, will recapture some of the best and most memorable performances during the years since 1995. From April 16 through 26, the festival will celebrate not only its fifteenth anniversary but others as well. The 2009 Festival is the tenth anniversary of participation by the chamber ensemble Camerata Virtuosi New York. It is also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn and the 200th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph “Papa” Haydn.


The festival participants are composed of a core group of artists who return annually. Festival Artistic Director is pianist Pavlina Dokovska. Vladimir Valjarevic, and Joseph Trivette will join Dokovska in the popular Piano x Three concert. The versatile chamber ensemble Camerata Virtuosi New York will be featured in three separate concerts, each with a unique theme. The excellent Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform with the SWCC Community Chorus and internationally acclaimed soprano, Stefka Evstatieva as well as with pianists Dokovska and Valjarevic.

To broaden the Festival experience, FOOTWORKS, accompanied by a musical ensemble, will return to perform clogging, flat footing, step and tap dance in “a breathlessly kinetic and vibrantly percussive performance.” QUINTANGO will perform music for the jazz and tango genre including demonstrations of the captivating dance of the tango.

The schedule includes a choral workshop for area high school choirs with Singers of United Lands concluding with a performance featuring singers from Chile, Kenya, Latvia and South Korea. The German tradition will be celebrated with an Oktoberfest, complete with German cuisine and dance music by Sauerkraut, a German Ohmpah band of Mountain Lake fame. To celebrate America, The Festival Fanfare! will be Jazz-America’s Music performed by Joseph Trivette, the SWCC Jazz Ensemble and Friends.

Supporting activities will be an art exhibit of works from SWCC’S permanent collection, which reflect the countries and cultures of former festivals. The International Café will feature cuisine from countries and cultures of previous festivals and the Spotlight on Talent will showcase area piano students in recital.

For more information visit the Festival Schedule on the website.


Visit the Festival of the Arts website for the current schedule of festival events.

quintango

The festival is made possible by area individuals, families, businesses and foundations that provide the funds to underwrite the festival. Mary W. Lawson, Festival director affirms that: “we are fortunate to have this generous support and even in today’s financial climate, sponsors continue their support of this enriching cultural experience. We are grateful for their support. For those interested in being a new sponsor, I will be very happy to discuss this opportunity with you.

There have been so many memorable moments over the years, that choosing was a difficult task,” said Lawson. She continued,“You can rest assured that each and every event will be one of excellence filled with entertainment, enlightenment and fun!”

For festival and sponsor information, call 276-964-7348, mary.lawson@sw.edu.