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Friday, Oct. 09, 2009

Talent Show!

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With the ailing economy getting everybody down, the arts community needs a pick-me-up.

So the Stanislaus Arts Council is holding the pep rally/concert "Share the Wealth of Talent" on Wednesday at the Gallo Center for the Arts. The event is free and is a chance to celebrate local talent, said arts council Executive Director Grace Lieberman.

"We need to share, we need to collaborate," Lieberman said. "We need to give each other hugs and hopes."

The event begins with refreshments and an art display in the lobby. Then attendees will be invited into the Foster Theater for a 90-minute program featuring musical performances and poetry.

"They're energetic and they've got talent and we've got to support them," Lieberman said.

Muriel Johnson, president of the California Arts Council in Sacramento, and Theresa Cameron of Americans for the Arts advocacy group in Washington, D.C., will speak at the event.

The entertainers:

Singer Amelia Varni — A senior at Central Catholic High School, she has performed lead roles at several community theater companies including the Youth Entertainment Stage Company (Rosie in "Bye Bye Birdie"), Playhouse Merced (title role in "The Diary of Anne Frank") and Sierra Repertory Theatre (title role, "Annie").

Poet Jai' Gullatt — A regular performer at Modesto's Slam on Rye poetry slam, Gullatt, 56, co-founded Verb-a-Tude, a spoken-word event at Café Deva.

Singer Tovi Wayne — This 13-year-old starred in the title role in San Francisco Opera's "The Little Prince" and in Modesto Performing Arts' "Oliver!" He has also performed for Townsend Opera Players and YES Company.

Cellist Tessa Seymour — A scholarship student at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Seymour, 16, got her start in music in Modesto playing in such groups as the TOP orchestra. She is a member of the Luna Trio, which performed on NPR's "From the Top" show.

Singer Jacob Bronson — This twentysomething has performed in YES Company's "Honk," Sierra Rep's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," MPA's "The Music Man" and Playhouse Merced's "Beauty and the Beast."

The Cottons — Singer/songwriter Samantha Cotton and her guitarist brother, Matthew, play with a band whose sound has been compared to The Cranberries.

Pianist Darrel Lingenfelter — This accompanist and musical director has worked with CSU, Stanislaus, MPA, TOP, Merced College, Playhouse Merced and the Music Circus in Sacramento. He taught vocal and instrumental music at Winton Middle School for 40 years.

Pianist John Hillebrandt — Staff accompanist and lecturer at CSU, Stanislaus, since 1996. He is also the principal keyboardist for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.

Lieberman hopes people will come out of the concert appreciating the value of the arts.

"This is something essential to life," she said. "The arts give us a reason to live."