Jazz saxophonist Gerald Albright will headline a concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock. The show caps the week-long fifth annual "A Work of Art," a fundraiser for Art Porter Music Education Inc., a nonprofit honoring the memory of late jazzmen Art Porter Sr. and Art Porter Jr., that promotes music education and provides scholarships for college-bound students.
Jazz violinist Lexington Porter, Art Porter Sr.'s grandson and Art Porter Jr.'s nephew, will also perform, and the nonprofit will introduce Madeline Modine, a graduating senior from Conway High School, this year's recipient of a $3,000 renewable scholarship.
Tickets are $45, $60 VIP, available at the Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, and online at artporter.org. Call (501) 492-9120 or visit artporter.org/work-of-art-2015.
The rest of the week's schedule:
• Noon Monday: Kickoff ceremony, Little Rock City Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. Free.
• Noon Tuesday: Jazz on the Plaza featuring Minors in Music, River Market Plaza, Ottenheimer Street, Little Rock (near the Ottenheimer Market Hall). Free.
• 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday: FingerPrints Band featuring Candy Williams, Cajun's Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. $25, $40 VIP.
• 7 and 9 p.m. Thursday: Cynthia Scott, Club Sway, 412 Louisiana St., Little Rock. $35, $50 VIP.
• 7 and 9 p.m. Friday: Porter Players Jam Session, the Afterthought. Free.
Bluegrass Monday
Mississippi bluegrass band Breaking Grass -- Cody Farrar on lead vocals and guitar, Tyler White on fiddle, Thelton Vanderford on banjo, Britt Sheffield on bass and Zach Wooten on mandolin -- will perform at 7 p.m. Monday at the Collins Theatre, 120 W. Emerson St., Paragould, part of Jonesboro public radio station KASU-FM, 91.9's Bluegrass Monday series.
The station will pass the hat to pay the group; suggested donation is $5 per person. Call (870) 972-2367 or email [email protected].
Nutcracker auditions
Ballet Arkansas will hold auditions for youth roles for its annual production of P.I. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker at 10 a.m. Saturday with a makeup audition at 10 a.m. Aug. 8 at Shuffles & Ballet II, 1521 Merrill Drive, Little Rock.
The principal role of Clara and corps de ballet roles are available for dancers age 6 or older, currently enrolled in a ballet class at any studio, who can attend September-December weekend rehearsals and daytime and evening rehearsals and performances during the second week of December. Production dates are Dec. 11-13 at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.
There is a $20 audition fee; register and pay at the website, tinyurl.com/nahrsk4cq, which also includes an audition schedule. Arrive at least 30 minutes before audition time for check-in and number assignment. Intermediate and advanced-level female dancers should bring pointe shoes. Call (501) 223-5150.
Nomination deadline
Aug. 7 is the deadline to submit to the Arkansas Arts Council nominations for the 2016 Governor's Arts Awards, recognizing Arkansas artists, arts patrons, educators and corporations for outstanding contributions to the arts community.
Nominees must be current Arkansas residents or corporations with operations in Arkansas. There are seven categories: Arts Community Development, Arts in Education, Corporate Sponsorship, Individual Artist, Folklife, Patron and Lifetime Achievement. A panel will judge each nomination on the significance of the contributions made, the range of the individuals and groups served and the length of time and degree of the activity or contributions. A spring awards ceremony will honor winners.
Nomination forms are available online at arkansasarts.org; call (501) 324-9767 or email [email protected].
Our Town grants
Two Arkansas organizations are receiving $100,000 grants as part of the National Endowment for the Arts' Our Town initiative, supporting "creative placemaking in American communities," which the NEA defines as "arts-based community development projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful and sustainable places with the arts at their core."
• Fayetteville professional theater company TheatreSquared will use its grant to enhance its long-term planning. "It's an opportunity to take a look at our role in downtown Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas, within the larger fabric of the community," says TheatreSquared Executive Director Martin Miller. "It's a chance to have some some breathing room, to plan your future as part of your downtown and larger regional community, something nonprofit theaters rarely have."
• Thrive, which describes itself on its website (thrivecenter.org) as "a multidisciplinary design studio focused on economic and community development in the Delta," will use its grant in partnership with the city of Helena-West Helena and the Delta Cultural Center to support an artist residency program in a recently renovated warehouse, providing housing, work and exhibition space, plus entrepreneurship training, and integration into local festivals and events.
The endowment is handing out 69 grants out of a pool of nearly 300 applicants nationwide. A complete list is available at arts.gov/exploring-our-town.
Style on 07/26/2015