Arts, Culture & Humanities

All Ears Theatre (All Ears) debuted in January 2002 as a collaboration of local artists organized by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Led by veteran radiotheatre producer Don Ramlow, All Ears presents twelve free performances each season in the style of radio’s golden age, a mix of classics, adaptations and original scripts, with stories ranging from mystery, to science fiction, to fantasy. Actors, musicians, and sound-effects artists perform on stage before a live audience at the First Baptist Church in downtown Kalamazoo. These shows are recorded live and then broadcast on WMUK 102.1 FM.

Even without theatrical sets, costumes, or props, All Ears performances are highly kinetic and very entertaining. Manual sound effects play a crucial role in every performance. Everyday sounds are reproduced using fans, saws, sandbags, plungers, children’s toys — whatever it takes. Futuristic noises such as spaceships and ray guns are imagined and then created by sound-effects artists utilizing unique, and often unexpected, sound sources. Children, in particular, are often fascinated by what they observe.

All Ears is not only a local gem, but has also garnerednational respect through participation in national radio-theatre conventions and has received significant awards and recognitions. All Ears is also a unique contribution to Kalamazoo’s historical, educational, and cultural scenes. So unique is All Ears Theatre that Kiplinger’s named it a “Must-See Freebie.” That is why audiences of all ages have come to love this artistic offering.

www.kalamazooarts.org.org/detail/1184/All_Ears_Theatre

DEVELOPING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH THE ARTS

Education for the Arts (EFA) is a program arm of Kalamazoo RESA. EFA’s roots are based on the unanimous desire of the nine public school districts in Kalamazoo County to make arts education a learning and teaching priority. EFA’s mandate is to enhance arts education opportunities and programs for every Kalamazoo County school through the development, maintenance, and strengthening of partnerships between school districts, teachers, and the rich array of professional arts institutions in southwest Michigan. EFA is recognized statewide and nationally as a leader in K-12 arts education for demonstrated excellence in philosophy and practice, and for its experienced and dedicated staff. In 2009, EFA was honored to receive a Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Art Education Association. EFA received the 2005 ArtServe Michigan Governor’s Award for Arts in Education. In 2006, EFA received the ArtServe Michigan Arts in Education Award. Further, three of EFA’s Excellence in the Arts high school instructors have been honored in recent years by their peers by being named Michigan Educators of the Year in the disciplines of dance, theater, and digital media/film.

www.efa-rep.org

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE CELEBRATION OF MUSICAL ARTISTRY

Twenty-five years ago, the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation launched an initiative to honor the memory of its namesake by creating an international artist award and piano festival. In keeping with the manner in which Mr. Gilmore supported pianists during his lifetime, the award was designed to be non-competitive. Nominations and evaluations would be conducted without the knowledge of the nominees and the award would be completely unexpected by its recipient. In order to accomplish these objectives a new non-profit organization was formed. Today both this organization and its primary festival are known as “The Gilmore.”

The resulting Gilmore Artist and Young Artist Awards have furthered the careers of many deserving pianists and today are recognized as two of the most prestigious awards in the music world. A biennial international piano festival was created in 1991 to showcase Gilmore Artists and other world-class performers in and around Kalamazoo. By 2014, more than 31,000 seats were filled by people who enjoyed exceptional and memorable performances at the 17-day International Keyboard Festival.

In addition to the Artist Awards and the Festival, The Gilmore presents a Rising Stars concert series, and during non-Festival years, a Piano Masters concert series. Further, the Piano Labs education program offers keyboard instruction for students who might otherwise lack the opportunity. The labs are held at area elementary schools, the Kalamazoo Juvenile Home, and through KRESA’s Young Adult Program, thus ensuring their accessibility to the students. Moreover, piano camps, master classes, pre-concert talks, free family concerts, and classes for all ages develop keyboard skills and foster a lifelong appreciation for music.

www.thegilmore.org

EMBRACING MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT

The Michigan Festival of Sacred Music (MFSM) was established in 2000, after a study conducted with support from the Irving S. Gilmore and the Kalamazoo Community Foundations concluded that such a festival was both desirable and feasible. The festival, initially one weekend long, is a biennial event, occurring in November in odd-numbered years. In 2004, the MFSM began to present “off-year” events during the intervening seasons, to increase awareness and visibility, and further its mission. In 2007, MFSM assumed co-sponsorship (with First Congregational Church) of the Messiah Sing, held on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. The “weekend” festival expanded to four days, then six days, and by 2009 it covered 10 days. This practice, which continues today, accommodates more events, while spreading them out less densely in a manner that makes multiple events easier to attend, creates more opportunities for collaboration with other organizations, makes more opportunities for outreach with artists,
and enables use of a wider variety of venues in more widely distributed locations.

MFSM offers events which represent diverse religious traditions, thereby promoting mutual respect and understanding through the sharing of music and associated cultural tenets treasured by these traditions, celebrating our differences and shared common values. In so doing, MFSM aspires to accentuate community harmony by encouraging individual and group participation from all segments of society. The “What’s Sacred to You?” initiative, begun in 2013, partners with humanservice and environmental non-profits, providing information booths for each MFSM event.

www.mfsm.us

Concerts in the Park is a summertime musical entertainment series that enhances the vitality of our arts and cultural community and makes Kalamazoo a great place to live and work. Its mission is to provide a variety of musical experiences through free concerts for the greater Kalamazoo community. This program allows the Arts Council to provide opportunities that support our s local musicians and showcase Kalamazoo as a vibrant destination. Since 2011, Concerts in the Park has made a concerted effort to bring a diverse mix of music to the series each summer. Concerts in the Park has featured big band, bluegrass, jazz, soul, gospel, Klezmer, American roots, Irish, country and vocal music. For some attendees, Concerts in the Park is the first exposure to a new genre of music. For others it is an opportunity to hear music that they otherwise might not have the financial resources to enjoy. For all it is a beautiful opportunity to connect with community on a Sunday afternoon. New for 2014 will be the addition of Third Thursdays Jazz, a collaboration with Fontana Chamber Arts and s Parks and Recreation Department. Held in Bronson Park beginning June 19, this series will invigorate s mission to program the Rotary Stage at Bronson Park and create a new and energetic series that benefits all partners.

www.kalamazooarts.org

As true today as it was 85 years ago, theatre and the performing arts remain important elements of not only the human experience, but also the vitality of a community. This is especially true in a world that is becoming more virtual and less face-to-face. Even though e-mail and social media have made it easier for us to communicate with one another, they have also had an effect on our ability as humans to communicate with one another, resolve conflict effectively, and form vital social connections. The theatrical arts provide an opportunity for creative expression, social and emotional development, and communication skill development. Cultural opportunities and outlets are also important in building a diverse, educated and engaged community. Theatre productions offer an especially effective opportunity for this, as plays and musicals often highlight new or unfamiliar cultures, allowing a viewer to see inside the mind of a character different from them and examine events from multiple vantage points. Because the Civic attracts individuals from all over Kalamazoo County, participation introduces people to others that they may not have ever met otherwise resulting in greater awareness and tolerance of others.

www.kazoocivic.com

At the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (Book Arts) you can print on a 100-year-old press, learn to make paper and set type, bind books, and explore the vast world of book arts. Since 2005 founder Jeff Abshear has attracted students aged 6 – 80+, artists, interns, and the “book curious” to revive and preserve the book arts.

A classroom and studio, gallery and shop, the Book Arts is a destination for visiting artists and writers from around the country. Master printmakers, makers of miniature books, pop-up book artists, and poets take time to share their craft, work in a classroom setting with students of all abilities, and create unique works of art in the Book Arts studio. The Book Arts’ own Poets in Print presents award-winning writers and is recognized as one of the best reading series in the Midwest. Exhibits vary from the invitational accordion books show in May (which draws international entries), to student, member and faculty shows, and exhibits that bring in celebrated artists from near and far.

The Make a Book from Scratch class is a perennial
favorite with K-12 students who create their own books of poetry. “I’ll never tire of seeing the delight on their faces when they realize they’ve made something with their own hands,” says Abshear. Or as one student put it, “I love getting messy with pulp!”

www.kalbookarts.org

Little seeds can mature into trees that nurture a community in unexpected ways. Such a seed was planted in September 1939 when a young man named Eugene Andrie founded the Kalamazoo Little Symphony, an audition-based youth orchestra.

Almost 75 years later the Little Symphony has grown into the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Society (Junior Symphony Society), a canopy organization that supports four orchestras (Training, Concert, Symphonic and Junior Symphony). The Kalamazoo Junior Symphony, now under the expert leadership of Conductor and Music Director Andrew Koehler, offers affordable, high-quality concerts at the historic Chenery Auditorium.

In addition to providing an intensive musical education for its members, the Junior Symphony Society has a long history of community outreach. Ensembles On The Road sends some of the Junior Symphony’s most advanced musicians to educate, perform, answer questions and offer instrument petting zoos to the Boys and Girls Clubs, area elementary and middle schools, developmentally disabled youth facilities, and senior citizen residences, among others.

To extend its reach the Junior Symphony Society is excited to launch its 75th Anniversary Scholarship Fund Drive with the aim of raising $150,000 in scholarship money. In the last few years Kalamazoo has experienced a unique surge in music programs that serve disadvantaged youth, including the Kalamazoo Symphony and Crescendo Academy’s Marvelous Music as well as the Kalamazoo Symphony and Communities in Schools’ Kids in Tune, for which many Junior Symphony Society musicians serve as mentors. With the next 25 years in mind, the Junior Symphony Society looks forward to the upcoming centennial as it prepares to welcome the musicians of tomorrow.

www.kalamazoojuniorsymphony.org