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Tuning Up: Nickelodeon screenings to resume + Sandlapper Singers

Good morning! 

"Tuning Up" is a morning post series where The Hub delivers curated, quick-hit arts stories of interest to readers. Sometimes there will be one story, sometimes there will be several. Get in tune now, and have a masterpiece of a day. And now, in no particular order...

Columbia's Nickelodeon Theater to reopen next week

From ColaDaily.com: The Nickelodeon theater will reopen next week, with two movies beginning Friday, April 15 through Sunday, April 17. Audiences will be able to enjoy 'The Worst Person in the World', a 2021 drama-comedy about the quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo, and Everything Everywhere all at Once, a sci-fi comic-action-adventure film, in updated facilities.  The new announcement comes after the theater suspended screenings March 1. According to The Nickelodeon Board President, Xavier Blake, theater board members are working to reset and recommit to the organization's purpose.

Choral group to present Dan Forrest requiem

Dan Forrest is a South Carolina-based composer whose “Requiem for the Living” has been presented all over the world since its premiere in 2014. A Requiem, at its core, is a prayer for rest—traditionally, for the deceased. The five movements of Forrest's “Requiem for the Living,” however, form a narrative just as much for the living, and their own struggle with pain and sorrow. The Sandlapper Singers are set to share the stage with the Charleston Southern University Concert Singers and chamber orchestra accompaniment to present this work in Columbia and Mount Pleasant: The Sandlapper Singers is funded in part by operating support from the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about Sandlappers, visit https://sandlappersingers.org/.

Jason Rapp

Sandlapper Singers seeks part-time general manager

Application deadline: open until position is filled The Sandlapper Singers, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., is a semi-professional chorus specializing in American choral music. The general manager is a part-time position supporting chorus operations. The schedule will range from 10-20 hours per week, but workload will vary depending on the season and needs of the organization, with increased hours before concerts, with summer mailings, and other times as needed. This position reports to the board chair and collaborates with the artistic director. Candidates should have excellent communications and organizational ability, problem-solving skills with attention to detail and ability to multitask and meet deadlines. Candidates should be self-motivated and have the ability to work with minimal supervision and possess an entrepreneurial and team spirit that utilizes creative thinking and attention to detail. Candidates should have knowledge or experience with Microsoft Office Suite and desktop publishing software. The general manager must be able to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends, to accommodate organization needs. Familiarity with the operations of a musical organization is preferable. Experience managing an arts group is also preferable. Qualifications

  • Must have an interest in the arts and music.
  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent job description experience, with at least two years of  administrative, marketing, and/or customer service experience preferred.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Development
  • Raise funds through fund raisers and sponsorships
  • Secure interested board members
  • Write effective grants
  • Able to create long-term plans and prepare board members and volunteers on all projects and concerns so that important needs are completed in a timely and efficient basis.
  • Work vigorously and collaboratively on development with the artistic director
Marketing
  • Timely preparation and content of promotional material for all Singers concerts as approved by the board of directors.
  • Production, content and publication of season brochure and concert programs.
  • Develop concert production timeline in conjunction with artistic director; coordinate all concert preparations including communication with host facility about equipment availability and setup, ticket sales, concert payment distributions and managing volunteers.
  • Work with artistic director to maintain master calendar of rehearsals, concerts, meetings and events.
Administrative
  • Attend board meetings as an ex-officio member.
  • Oversee volunteers to ensure that all necessary tasks are completed and all deadlines are met.
  • Work with the webmaster to ensure the website stays current by providing board-approved content.
  • Survey audiences and monitor audience demographics for analysis and present statistics and evaluation to the board of directors.
  • Other duties as assigned by board of directors and a close collaboration with the artistic director.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To apply, submit a resume and supporting materials by email to feedback@sandlappersingers.org. About the Sandlapper Singers Founded in 1996, the Sandlapper Singers, South Carolina's premier professional choral ensemble, presents American choral music in a uniquely entertaining and engaging style to audiences throughout the state and beyond. The 30-35 voice auditioned ensemble performs an annual subscription series of three concerts presented twice in acoustically superior venues in the Columbia metro area. Directed and co-founded by Dr. Lillian Quackenbush, the Singers specialize in the works of American composers, past and present, offering a delightful mix of both familiar and new music. In addition to beautiful and inspiring singing, the Sandlapper concerts may include a variety of the other arts, visuals, dance, and insightful commentary. The mission of the Sandlapper Singers is to present American choral music in a uniquely entertaining, inspiring, and engaging style and to provide educational opportunities for young singers.

Sandlapper Singers director (and Verner Award recipient) Quackenbush leaving on a high note

Best wishes to Lillian Quackenbush as she begins her final season as director of the Sandlapper Singers. In 2012, Quackenbush received an Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award for Lifetime Achievement. Do you know an outstanding arts achiever? Nominate that person for a 2016 Verner Award, the state's highest award in the arts. Guidelines are available online. Nominations are due Nov. 2. From The State Article by Janet Kendall

Lillian QuackenbushLillian Quackenbush has directed the Sandlapper Singers hundreds of times since she and her husband, Dave, established the Columbia-based professional choral ensemble 20 years ago. While Quackenbush has fond memories of those performances, there are a couple that stand out to the artistic director as she takes a look back – especially one in 2001 at the Koger Center. That year, the group had commissioned Minnesota composer Libby Larsen to write pieces using the poetry of South Carolina poet laureate James Dickey. One of those pieces was based on Dickey’s poem, “Falling.” “It was kind of a choral drama –a really moving piece based on a newspaper article Dickey had written about a stewardess who fell to her death when checking a door while in flight,” Quackenbush said. “The entire poem was told from her perspective of seeing the landscape, feeling the wind, knowing that there were people still asleep on the plane as she fell to her death. We premiered it in September of 2001. “Three days later, 9/11 happened,” Quakenbush said. “Even as I talk about it now I get goosebumps. It was just so strange that we would talk about people falling to their death and then watch those images on television three days later. I talked to the composer right after that and we both just cried over the phone.” The Sandlappers will perform the piece again this season – a season that will mark Quackenbush’s last as the group’s director. Under her leadership, the 30-voice Sandlappers (named after South Carolina’s nickname of the Sandlapper state) have performed the songs of American composers in genres ranging from blue grass and gospel to western and jazz. Each year, the group holds an annual season in Columbia and travels to present performances throughout the state – and has even performed nationally and internationally. “She has helped open the eyes and ears of South Carolinians to fabulous composers from our own city and state, and has expanded the view of American music,” said Audrey Brown, a member of the Sandlapper Singers since the first year. “Through the Sandlapper Singers, Lillian has challenged us to hear different music and learn how that music came to be. … From teaching, conducting, mentoring and sometimes just sharing a giggle, she has inspired us all to become better – better musicians, better listeners, better keepers of the musical stories of America.” A Jacksonville, Fla., native, Quackenbush and her husband moved to Columbia from Charleston in 1976. For 34 years, Quackenbush taught voice, conducted the choir and chaired the department of music at Columbia College until retiring from that position in 2009. She also served as music director at several Columbia churches, most recently Shandon Presbyterian where she served for 24 years until leaving that post in May. She also served as artistic director and conductor of the Greater Columbia Sing-along Messiah, conducted the Columbia Choral Society for Spoleto in Charleston and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in Columbia. In 2012, Quackenbush was awarded the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award Lifetime Achievement Award. “I never imagined that I would receive any kind of recognition like that because when you love what you do you don’t think about other people recognizing it,” said Quackenbush, who received an undergraduate degree in music education from Florida State University, and a masters degree in voice and doctorate in choral directing from the University of South Carolina. “You want people to appreciate what you do but you don’t think about awards and things like that and so it was a bit overwhelming it truly was. It was just a very, very special moment in my life.” Donald Holland sang under Quackenbush’s direction as a member of the Chancel Choir at Shandon Presbyterian and has known her through the years as a colleague, mentor and friend. “Only time will tell what her legacy will be,” Holland said. “For the present, however, it seems that her most amazing quality is her ability and unwavering determination to continue to bring her brilliance to the art of choral music presentation and education throughout the state of South Carolina. And she continues to work extremely hard to do so well into the time in her life when she could be resting on her laurels; but that's not Lillian.” While Quackenbush will miss her time with the group, the decision to step down is not one that she questions. “This last season will be a great joy for me because I really feel like it’s sort of the culmination of my work with them. I picked the music by asking the singers and audience members as well what they’d like to hear again so a lot of the season is recalling some great memories and kind of looking back while also looking forward at what’s to come,” Quackenbush said. “You want to go out when things are going well and things are going really well.” AT A GLANCE: LILLIAN QUACKENBUSH Get to know more about Lillian Quackenbush with this Q&A: When did you develop an interest in music? “It started when I was a kid. I loved to sing and of course like most kids I sang a lot in church and a lot for anybody who would listen to me. My poor relatives asked me to sing at family meals but then I took a lot of piano lessons when was growing up and that ust led from one thing to another and I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do than be a musician and so it all worked out.” Were your parents musically inclined? “Not a bit. My mother loved to play the piano just for fun and my dad loved country music, which is not my thing. None of my relatives were professional musicians. My mom was a teacher and my dad owned his own transfer and storage business.” What is your singing voice? “Soprano.” What is your favorite music to sing? “I don’t know that I could choose. One of the things I love the most about my job is that there are so many different types of music and it really doesn’t matter what genre we’re doing, when we’re doing that piece I love that music the most and when we’re doing the next piece I love it the most.” What is your favorite music to listen to? “I, nine times out of 10, will go to either Mozart or some type of jazz. If I had to pick a classical composer it would be Mozart.” How did you meet your husband, Dave? “It’s kind of a silly story. We were both doing some theater there with the Charleston Opera Co. and we got cast as the young lovers in the ‘King and I,’ and that was that. We’ll be married 40 years in May.” What was your maiden name? “Amos. I went from four letters to 11.”

Sandlapper Singers seeks artistic director for 2016

Position available: July 1, 2016 Application deadline: March 13, 2015 The Sandlapper Singers, based in Columbia, S.C.,  is seeking an energetic, creative, and experienced part-time artistic director to lead an established four-voice chamber choir of approximately 30 auditioned performers that, up to this time, has focused on American choral music. The artistic director will have overall responsibility for artistic and musical leadership of the ensemble, will serve as an ex-officio member of the board of directors, and will work closely with the board, executive director, and concert manager to ensure the smooth operation of the organization. He or she will partner with other community and arts organizations to develop audience and expand programming options. In addition, the artistic director will supervise and assist the director of an auxiliary youth choir, the Young Sandlapper Singers. Salary negotiable based on education and experience. For full job description and application process, visit www.sandlappersingers.org. About the Sandlapper Singers Founded in 1996, the Sandlapper Singers is South Carolina’s premier professional choral ensemble. The Sandlapper Singers has promoted the creation of new music, has performed for noteworthy public events, and has expanded its educational outreach to include sponsoring a youth choir, performing with high school and college choruses, and offering vocal scholarships to promising high school students. It also performs occasionally with ensembles such as the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of South Carolina Symphony, and the Augusta (Georgia) Symphony. Via: Sandlapper Singers

Sandlapper Singers co-founder Dr. Lillian Quackenbush announces retirement

Lillian QuackenbushThe Sandlapper Singers of Columbia have announced that artistic director and co-founder Dr. Lillian Quackenbush will retire at the end of the 2016 season. The transition begins with the hiring of a general manager for the organization in 2014. The search for a new artistic director begins in January 2015 with the goal of selecting three candidates by summer 2015. These three candidates will each be asked to join Dr. Quackenbush to prepare and conduct the chorus on one of the three series concerts in the 2015-2016 season. The candidate chosen will join the organization in July 2016. About The Sandlapper Singers Sandlapper Singers The Sandlapper Singers, South Carolina’s premier professional chorus, was established in 1996 by Lillian and Dave Quackenbush and has presented American music in a uniquely entertaining and engaging style since that time. The 34-voice auditioned ensemble is currently in its 19th season, performing an annual subscription series in the Columbia area. The Singers also presents additional performances each year in communities across the state of South Carolina and the Southeast and has performed overseas. The group is directed and conducted by co-founder Dr. Lillian Quackenbush, retired chairman of the Columbia College music department and recipient of the 2012 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor's Award for Life Time Achievement in the Arts, sponsored by the South Carolina Arts Commission. The Singers focus on the works of American composers past and present, a departure from the usual programming of European choral literature, offering a delightful mix of both familiar and new musical sounds. The organization has established a strongly supported educational program with the Young Sandlapper Singers, the Katie Quackenbush Vocal Scholarship for high school students, and a Side-By-Side program for high school choral ensembles -- the next generation of Sandlapper Singers!

“Ultrasound: Pink or Blue, Which Are You?”

Join the Sandlapper Singers for an evening of music about famous -- and infamous -- men and women, plus a fun "contest" to see if you can guess the gender of the composer! Guests include the Claflin University Concert Choir, the Side-by-Side High School Choir and David LaTorre, winner of the 2012 Katie Quackenbush Vocal Scholarship. "Ultrasound: Pink or Blue, Which are You?" takes place April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dreher High Performing Arts Center in Columbia. Visit the Sandlapper Singers website for ticket information. [caption id="attachment_4981" align="alignnone" width="600"]Sandlapper Singers Sandlapper Singers[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4982" align="alignright" width="600"]Side by Side Singers Side-by-Side High School Choir[/caption] Via: Sandlapper Singers  

USC Symphony celebrates the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein

The songs of musical theater giants Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein take center stage for the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra concert Tuesday, Feb. 12. The orchestra, soloists and a 30-member chorus will perform tunes from Carousel, State Fair, The King and I, The Sound of Music, South Pacific and Oklahoma. “These will be the most famous tunes from the shows,” says Donald Portnoy, USC Symphony Orchestra music director. “There is so much variety – solos, duos, duos with chorus, chorus alone, tenor, mezzo, baritone, soprano and everyone comes out for Oklahoma! People will go home singing all the tunes.” Hearing this music performed by an orchestra will be a unique experience. “Many people know these songs, but few have experienced them with a full orchestra, which magnifies the lush and dynamic qualities,” Portnoy says. “The orchestration is fantastic, the lyrics are fantastic – it’s just really special music.” Among the 22 songs to be performed are “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” “There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” and “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.” The concert features soloists and USC School of Music faculty Tina Milhorn Stallard (soprano), Janet Hopkins (mezzo-soprano), Walter Cuttino, (tenor), Jacob Will (bass-baritone) and the Sandlapper Singers. Stallard was soloist in Timothy Powell’s Incarnation Mysteria at Lincoln Center and soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the prelude to the Olympics. Hopkins has sung with the Metropolitan Opera for 17 years performing in The Barber of Seville, Die Walkure, Der Rosenkavalier and other operas. Cuttino has given over 1,000 operatic performances and more than 500 concerts, including a concert tour with Leonard Bernstein. Will’s career has included concerts with orchestras around the world and on the stages of the Zürich Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera and others. “These are incredible singers with serious training and professional experiences who bring real depth to the songs,” Portnoy says. Rodgers and Hammerstein began their collaboration in 1943 with a huge hit - Oklahoma! The musical ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, finally closing after five years. Oklahoma! also ushered in an era of musicals with believable plots and songs that advanced the action. Their last collaboration was in many ways their most successful. The Sound of Music contains more hit songs than any other Rodgers and Hammerstein musical in part due to the phenomenal success of the film version, which was the most financially successful film adaptation of a Broadway musical ever made. During their quarter century as a team Rodgers and Hammerstein won 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards and two Grammy Awards. The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia. Tickets are $25; $20 for USC faculty and staff, seniors and military; and $8 for students. Call (803) 251-2222 or visit to http://www.capitoltickets.com/. Via: USC Symphony Orchestra

Columbia native Connie James comes home to perform

Columbia native Connie James returns to her hometown for her first local performance since moving to New York City in 1988. James will perform with the Sandlapper Singers, the Sandlapper Singers Orchestra and the Dick Goodwin Quintet on Feb. 8 at the Koger Center. The program features songs from the Great American Song Book, Broadway and light Jazz. A singer and actress, James has been a featured artist in the touring tribute shows "Sweet Baby James" and "Blue" for the past two years, has starred in the one-woman show "Fever: a Tribute to Peggy Lee" and performed as the opening act for American comedy icon Bob Newhart. She was nominated for a Pixie Award for Best Song/Soundtrack in a Motion Picture for the song “Three Words," which she co-wrote and recorded with composer/pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs for the short film “Whoa."  James has acted on NBC's “Law & Order," “Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit” and “Homicide: Life on the Street." Recently, James starred in the independent short film "Brothers.” James can be heard as the announcer for numerous television and radio commercials. James attended Columbia High School and the University of South Carolina, where she was actively involved in theatre and the concert choir. James was a soloist with the Dick Goodwin big band before moving to New York.

Visit the Sandlapper Singers' website for more about the performance and ticket information.

[caption id="attachment_3215" align="aligncenter" width="479"]Sandlapper Singers The Sandlapper Singers[/caption]   Via: Sandlapper Singers