Tag: Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center

I’m With the Band

Post author By Ken Billett
Post date June 19, 2024

Memphis Symphony Orchestra (Photo: Ken Billett)

A young Jedi, accompanied by his master, a middle-aged version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, asked the family seated in front of us for their row number. A moment or two later, the same young Jedi and his master, aka his father, settled in next to us, both smiling and satisfied to have found their place in the galaxy, or at least their reserved seats inside the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.

Moments later, Darth Vader sat down directly behind Obi-Wan, causing a slight disturbance in the Force. The Vader look-a-like, sans that iconic black helmet, situated himself and then briefly looked at his phone. Vader’s sweaty blonde locks were partially stuck to the side of his head. Besieged by photo requests, a helmeted Lord Vader had been a good sport — even in his heavy dark getup — taking numerous pictures with fans and foes alike downstairs in the center’s lobby.

Now, I smiled and said to Vicki, “I thought we were going to the symphony, not a Star Wars convention.”

On May 4, 2024, a Star Wars convention, of sorts, took place at the Cannon Center as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra performed the music from the Star Wars movies and its current franchises. Children and adults donned masks, capes, and uniforms — with some wielding faux light sabers — to recreate their favorite Star Wars characters. May 4th has become synonymous with the famous quote, “May the force be with you,” and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, or MSO, made the most of the day’s festivities, kicked off with dramatic narration by Jeremy Orosz of the University of Memphis, which set the mood and tone for each piece, and ending with a costume contest won by a carpeted Jabba the Hutt.

The fact that I used the somewhat cliched phrase “going to the symphony” also made me smile. May 4th was my third MSO performance this spring and the fourth by Vicki, my better half. Emily, our daughter, loves classical music and has been a regular attendee of MSO concerts and events for the past several years.

In our household, going to the symphony has now become the norm, and for me, at least, a surprisingly refreshing experience. I’m a music lover at heart who appreciates just about any form of music out there. While I have my preferences, I have always enjoyed listening to musicians talk about their music, and, especially, how they learned from musical pioneers and innovators, regardless of genre. I know enough about classical music to know the names of those famous composers of old and to occasionally recognize famous pieces, but I certainly couldn’t tell you the difference — from simply listening to their music — between Bach and Beethoven, let alone the difference between a sonata versus a concerto or a movement.

Don’t let the MSO know, but I’m a rock-and-roll guy at heart.

My first performance during this past season was in February (for Emily’s birthday) at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center on the University of Memphis campus. The orchestra performed Claude Debussy’s La Mer, along with Stravinsky’s The Firebird. I had not attended a classical music performance in a very long time, and it was my first time in the Scheidt Center, which is a beautiful facility. Watching the orchestra members play in unison, working together to create mesmerizing tones and precise elements was mind-boggling to an amateur like me. Even from Scheidt’s upper balcony, I could sense the orchestra member’s passion and feel the devotion to their craft in every note and movement.

The MSO was quickly capturing my heart.

Next up was something a little more in my wheelhouse, songs from Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon along with Gustav Holst’s The Planets. As a teenager, I wore out my LP of Dark Side of the Moon, so the orchestra’s suite dedicated to one of rock’s most legendary albums brought a flood of fond memories. Once again, I was captivated by the orchestra’s love of playing, the imagination and innovation involved in performing such well-known numbers, and the fun the MSO had in doing so.

Two months later, fun took center stage as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra closed their Star Wars tribute with a rousing rendition of composer John Williams’ epic theme music, simply called “Main Title,” complete with conductor Robert Moody employing a glowing purple light saber as a baton.

Following the crowd’s standing ovation, this 1970s rock-and-roll guy was all in — ready for the MSO’s next season … Rachmaninoff … Handel’s Messiah … MSO’s Big Band at The Grove at GPAC … Amadeus … West Side Story. And in late February of 2025, a true rock star comes to the Cannon Center: Yo-Yo Ma.

Incredible!

Yeah, I’m with the band … I mean the orchestra.

Ken Billett is a freelance writer and short-story fiction author. He and his wife, Vicki, have called Memphis home for nearly 35 years. When not listening to blues music, Ken reads spy novels and tends to his flowers.

Tags Cosplay, May the Fourth, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center

Music Music Features

Puccini on Beale

Post author By Alex Greene
Post date May 15, 2024

Sketches for costume designs by Jennifer Gillettecapture Beale Street, circa 1915. (Illustration: Courtesy Opera Memphis)

If you’re an opera lover, you may think you know La Bohème, Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece about life in 19th-century Paris. After all, it’s not only one of the most-performed operas in the world, but the most popular work in the 68-year history of Opera Memphis.

Think again.

When Opera Memphis presents its latest version of La Bohème at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center this Friday and Saturday, you’d best discard any preconceptions before the curtains rise. For, while the music will be performed as the classic score dictates, complete with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the mise-en-scène will be both unfamiliar and, for Memphians, eerily familiar. Rather than being set in bohemian Paris in the 1830s, this version unfolds on Beale Street, circa 1915.

Dennis Whitehead Darling (Photo: Andrea Zucker )

“I wish I could take credit for this inception of it,” says stage director Dennis Whitehead Darling, “but it’s actually the brainchild of [Opera Memphis general director] Ned Canty. It’s been a pet project of his for many years, and the original idea came from a book that Ned read called Beale Street Dynasty.”

Nearly anyone with an interest in our city’s history knows that book well, subtitled Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis, wherein Preston Lauterbach vividly evokes the bustling urban milieu, both creative and destructive, that made Beale Street ground zero for Black America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “Because Paris in the 1830s was a place where artists and musicians and philosophers and writers came together, it was a cultural center for its time. And the same thing was happening here in Memphis. I think that’s what sparked the idea for setting La Bohème on Beale Street,” says Darling.

Indeed, the similarities between the two cities of different eras were so profound that the original opera slotted neatly into the new setting. “Originally, we were going to write something new, or Ned was, but we moved away from that and have kept most of the original text the same,” says Darling.

Jeri Lynne Johnson (Photo: Vanessa Briceno)

As conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson points out, that maintains the integrity of Puccini’s original vision. “Audience members who are fluent in Italian may realize that a couple of things have changed,” she says, “but for the most part, we’ve done this without actually changing the text, which the singers have grown up learning for years and years in the Italian language. Of course, Puccini’s music is so tied to the language, so in order to avoid changing too many actual words, and making sure they stand with the music, there are just a couple of word changes, and some of those are simply within the subtitles.”

Meanwhile, the stage set is similarly subtle. “We’re doing something a little bit more abstract,” says Darling, “using projection screens. It’s minimal but effective. With projections, we’ve layered photos of different buildings and businesses that were part of Beale. Reimagining this in a very minimal way is always challenging, but things that are challenging also allow you to be more creative — oftentimes the things you find challenging are actually opportunities.”

And yet in one regard, there will be plenty of striking visuals, as Darling points out. “We have beautiful costume designs by Jennifer Gillette. That’s been the icing on the cake as we enter tech week because we initially created this show without seeing all of our visual elements. We didn’t have the projections, lighting, or costumes until much later. And it’s always amazing when I see these actors wear their costumes. Another level of character development happens almost immediately, where they just embody these characters, wearing these costumes that Jennifer has designed. They really transform our modern day actors and singers into these period characters.”

The impact of that visual element is deep, as Johnson points out, addressing a whole culture that’s so often rendered invisible. “I’ve done world premieres for the Santa Fe Opera and for the Chicago Opera Theater that had a predominantly African-American casts, having canonical works reimagined with African Americans in the roles. But what makes this particular production so interesting is, it isn’t just the casting, it is really transplanting that bohemian lifestyle into a uniquely Memphian historical period on Beale Street. The setting and the cast together really give you a sense of African-American life at that time. It adds an element of questioning what art is, and who makes art, where moral judgments are embedded into the aesthetic ones.”

Tags Beale Street, Beale Street Dynasty, La Boheme, Opera Memphis, Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center

Music Music Blog

Iris Collective Wraps Up Season with Michael Stern’s Return

Post author By Alex Greene
Post date April 27, 2023

Steven Banks (Credit: Chris Lee) — Young Concert Artist Steven Banks photographed at Steinway Hall, 1/9/2020. Photo by Chris Lee

Though many feared the final show of the 2021-22 concert season spelled the end of Iris Orchestra, with conductor Michael Stern preparing to step down, the ensemble was rescued by the sheer pluck of its players. Though most of them hail from other cities and only convene in Memphis for Iris concert weekends, their love of the Bluff City was such that they were loath to see Iris vanish. And thus was the Iris Collective born, as the group became a more cooperative enterprise helmed by the players.

As Stern said at the time, “The musicians themselves grouped together, committed to the idea that they simply would not let Iris go away. It was absolutely musician-driven. And Iris will continue on. It’s going to have a different feel. I will be less involved, and it will be an amalgam of ensembles, chamber music, orchestra concerts, and new ways of imagining community engagement.”

This season, then, has put those words into practice. With three imaginative concerts already under its belt, the Iris Collective has proven that it lost no momentum when it took on a new name and new organizational principles. With The Soldier’s Tale last November, Andrew Grams stepped in as guest conductor; February’s Intersections paired the collective with Randall Goosby on violin and Zhu Wang on piano; and just last month, Iris and the Dalí Quartet were joined by Cuban-born Memphis percussionist Nelson Rodriguez in a concert fusing classical and Latin music.

This weekend will mark the season finale with two separate shows. The first of two concerts featuring rising star and saxophone virtuoso Steven Banks takes place on Saturday, April 29 at the Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC), and will feature Michael Stern’s only return to conduct this season. Titled The American Experience, the program includes that old chestnut, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, along with Darius Milhaud’s jazz-influenced La Création du Monde, and Souvenirs by the great Samuel Barber.

That same evening, Iris will also be one of the few orchestras premiering jazz pianist Billy Childs’ newly commissioned saxophone concerto, written specifically for Banks and inspired by poets Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Amiri Baraka.

Then on Sunday, April 30, Iris musicians will join Banks for an intimate chamber concert entitled Fantasy & Reflections at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, inspired by Britten’s quirky Phantasy Quartet in F minor and Banks’ own work, Cries, Sighs, and Dreams.

Mary Javian, Iris Collective’s strategic advisor and a longtime performer with the group, notes that “Steven is a rapidly rising star who any Memphis music lover should get a chance to hear while they can. Steven also plays several horns with virtuosity: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. Most saxophonists are just not able to do what he does on all four instruments, and in both classical and jazz genres.”

The American Experience concert takes place Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m. at GPAC; Tickets $45-$70
Program: Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring; Billy Childs saxophone concerto for Steven Banks; Darius Milhaud La création du monde; Samuel Barber Souvenirs.

Fantasy & Reflections is on Sunday, April 30, 3 p.m. at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center. Tickets $30 in advance/$35 at door
Program: Mozart Oboe Quartet in F Major; Britten Phantasy Quartet in F minor; Banks Cries, Sighs, and Dreams.

Tags Germantown Performing Arts Center, Iris Collective, Michael Stern, Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Steven Banks

We Recommend We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center Opens With a Gala

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date February 7, 2023

Dionne Warwick was the featured performer at the Schedit Family Performing Arts Centre. With her are the Scheidt children: Susan Arney, Helen Gronauer, Rudi Scheidt Jr., and Elkan Scheidt (Credit: Al Kapone)

Covering the February 4th grand opening gala for the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center at University of Memphis brought back fond memories of the late Honey and Rudi Scheidt.

A photo of the couple appeared with the first party I ever covered. It was a visit to Memphis by the Metropolitan Opera. The after-party was at the old Justine’s restaurant. It was in 1980, when I was working for the Memphis Press-Scimitar.

I wasn’t taking photos back then, so the photographer on the assignment took the the picture of the Scheidts. But I took many pictures of the couple later on. I saw the Scheidts at concerts, art exhibit openings, and other cultural events and fund-raisers over several decades.

I got to know Honey and Rudi, and I was always happy to see them at parties. I loved Honey’s graciousness and Rudi’s wit. They were friendly and fun. And I got to know their children — Susan Arney, Rudi Scheidt Jr., Elkan Scheidt, and Helen Gronauer.

The Scheidts were big supporters of Memphis music. In 2000, Rudi gave his first donation for the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at U of M, Arney says. “He gave a huge donation to improve the program and they named it after him,” Arney says.

“They wanted to keep Memphis on the map as far as music,” Gronauer told the audience during the concert portion of the evening. She and her brothers and sister took the stage and talked about their parents and the legacy they left.

Ironically, Elkan said, “None of us can sing a tune.”

The Scheidts are continuing to keep Memphis on the map through their philanthropy. “We Zoom every Monday morning to talk,” Arney says.

And that will continue with the next generation of 11 grandchildren, she adds. “Just any kind of cause, whether charity or not, that we can help make Memphis a better city.”

Susan Arney, Rudi Scheidt Jr., Caryn Scheidt, Kyle Polack, Rachel Polack, Ezra Polack, Lindsay Grass, David Grass, Helen Gronauer, Mimi Scheidt at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Laurie and Elkan Scheidt at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The Scheidt children — Helen Gronauer, Elkan Scheidt, Rudi Scheidt Jr., and Susan Arney — on stage at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Kevin Sanders, director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The gala concert featured the University Symphony Orchestra, University Singers, and the Mighty Sound of the South Pep Band.

Al Kapone, who performed at Rudi’s birthday parties in February for years at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, was master of ceremonies.

Yours truly with David and Yvonne Acey and Al Kapone at the after party at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala.

Al Kapone was master of ceremonies at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Dionne Warwick was the featured performer. Warwick, who complimented the U of M performers, also sang just about every one of her hit songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Her more-than-an-hour-long concert included “Message to Michael,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”

She performed duets with her drummer, the fantastic David Elliott.

Warwick invited the audience to sing along with “That’s What Friends Are For.” Instead of the lighters music fans once used to show their appreciation back in the day, audience members at the gala waved their lit cell phones.

Dionne Warwick at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Drummer/vocalist David Elliott performs with Dionne Warwick at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The evening began with a tour of the building and continued with dinner in a tent. Following the concert, guests returned to the tent for music and dancing to The Bar-Kays. And Krystal hamburgers and Gibson’s doughnuts.

The crowd gets into it at the after party featuring The Bar-Kays at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

James Alexander of The Bar-Kays at the after party at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The Bar-Kays perform at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Asked what she thought about the evening, Arney says, “It was magical. To me, for a building opening for the first time and everything being new — all employees, all visitors, all community — and you’re student based, there was nothing that I noticed that went wrong. And truly better than I would have ever expected.”

The 82,000 square-foot Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center cost around $40,000,000, Arney says.

The building is paid for, but much more is needed for the center, Arney told the audience. For instance, they need $1.5 million dollars for grand pianos. The pianos cost $200,000 apiece, she said.

I think it’s safe to say Rudi and Honey would have given the gala a thumbs up. “I know they’re here tonight looking at all of us,” Rudi Jr. said.