dmPhotoArt

Wright Camera Club Awards...

2008-05-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

The Wright Camera Club year long competition was over....and as the dust settled, we waited to hear the results. All had presented outstanding works of photography. I was also rewarded with several awards including:

1st Place Large Color, 1st Place Small Monochrome and 2nd Place Small Color.

Music Used To Explore The Autistic Brain's Emotion Processing

2008-05-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

...Music has a universal ability to tap into our deepest emotions. Unfortunately, for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), understanding emotions is a very difficult task. Can music help them?... Click here to learn more.

Arancello

2008-05-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

I know that this blog is supposed to be about art, photography, music....but once you make this "stuff"....you will see the art in it! A college buddy of mine makes this and gave me the recipe...enjoy! George says:

Arancello......

Place 1 liter of 150 proof grain alcohol (preferably Polish rye-based spirytus, easily found in Chicago!! but Everclear will work) in a large glass container that you can cover and seal and won't be using for a while. Glass one gallon (e.g. cider) jugs are perfect. The container should be not more than 1/3 to ½ full. If you get 192 proof alcohol, cut it with filtered water to 150. Too high a proof adversely affects the process. Go buy a large bag or two of Navel Oranges. Sicilian blood oranges would probably work best of all,... Every time you want to eat one, remove the zest (the outer layer of the peel without the white pithy part - containing the fruit's essential oils) with a cheap zester, available at any grocery store in the funny gadget aisle, and put the zest in the container with the grain alcohol. Once the amount of zest in the container is sufficient to make it hard to keep it submerged, you are ready to go.

NO REFRIGERATION IS EVER REQUIRED AT THIS LEVEL OF ETHANOL CONCENTRATION.

Let it all soak for a month. A nice dark quiet place is best. Make an amount of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) equal to the amount of alcohol you originally used. If you want it sweeter, you can make the syrup with a 2:1 ratio, but do this by volume, and do NOT use so much sugar solution that you overly dilute the alcohol. Add this to the alcohol and zest mixture. Let it sit for another month, stirring / sloshing / swirling once in a while to blend. After two months, drain, strain and filter the nectar of the Gods that you have made. Double or triple layers of paper coffee filters work well for this purpose. You will use a lot of filters, changing often.

DO NOT DARE SIMPLY DISCARD THE ZEST!!!

It makes the best marmalade on the planet, or has other numerous baking applications. If you throw them out, you are a freaking idiot, and you would deserve to be beaten. Save them for someone like me, if you must, in the freezer.

CONSUME ONLY IN MODERATION - IN THE SUMMER IT IS BEST OUT OF THE FREEZER, AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE IT FREEZING AT ROUGHLY 80 PROOF.

Ponder how flat out awfully WONDERFUL this would be at sunset, in a small trattoria, on a brutally hot day in Palermo. As the evening cool descends, how could a man not know that his God loved him?

{...George continues by saying....} buono appetito!

Fun Photos from MagMyPic.com

2008-05-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Images of Ireland

2008-04-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

I've just started to edit some 2000 Images of Ireland
that I took on a recent trip to the Land of Saints and Scholars!

Click here to see more images.

Verdi's Requiem

2008-04-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

Requiem, by Giuseppe Verdi

I will be going to hear incredible soloists, the MYA Symphony Orchestra and three choirs perform this work at Chicago's Civic Opera House
^{_{Featuring
Nancy Pifer, Soprano;
Stacy Eckert, Mezzo-Soprano;
Noah Stewart, Tenor;
Charles Robert Austin, Bass}}

Northwestern University Choruses, Robert Harris, Director; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Concert Choir, Chet Alwes, Director;MYA Chorale, Jeff Nelson, Conductor;MYA Symphony Orchestra, Allan Dennis, Director

I will let you know how it goes!

4-27-08

OK so I went. In a word....disappointing.

About 80% of the time the orchestra overwhelmed the choirs. You could not hear them and I was sitting on the main floor row HH right under the 1st balcony. There were times you couldn't hear the soprano either!

Talking about the soprano....her voice was not a good fit with the other 3 soloists. The mezzo-soprano and she did not blend well....or maybe it was the timbre of the voices that didn't fit. Someone should also mention to the soprano that is its time to update her professional photo as well...that photo was taken some time ago.

On the plus side....the part of the requiem that involved the trumpets from different parts of the theater went beautifully! They all played well and the timing (which could be a problem being so far a part) was right on!

The mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone-bass sang well together. I particularly liked the mezzo-soprano and baritone duets.

Over all a bit of a disappointment....but with parts that were worth the going!

Around the Coyote in Chicago

2008-04-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

Around the Coyote in Chicago this spring features many great events.

Please join us May 2nd, 3rd and 4th as thousands of art collectors, enthusiasts, and visitors will converge on Chicago's loop as Around the Coyote joins forces with Looptopia! Each year, hundreds of painters, photographers, sculptors, actors, performance artists, poets, and filmmakers participate in our festivals for the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work to visitors from the United States and abroad. This year we are pleased to offer a festival that will kick off on May 2nd in correlation with Looptopia, one of Chicago's newest cultural celebrations which drew over 200,000 people last year!

Raue Center for the Arts

2008-04-12T11:55:00.001-07:00

...It took more than two hours to get there from the south side of Chicago. It was raining and rush hour traffic was dreadful....did I mention the construction and rain!?

But finally my wife (Sylvia) and I arrived at the Raue Center for the Arts where three astounding performers were giving a concert.

Mezzo-Soprano Lauren Curnow had recently finished singing with the Chicago Lyric Opera in the Barber of Seville...

Levi Hernandez, a baritone with an incredible range, also performed with the Chicago Lyric last year....

...and...

Luciano Laurentiu, a pianist extra-ordinaire!

The performance showed the incredible range that these performers command.

I was particularly impressed with Lauen's ability to express emotion within the context of the song, of Levi's musical voice range....and his ability to hold the audience in the palm of his hand...so that we hung on every word, every lift of an eyebrow, every impish grin...and Luciano...well, he did one piece (Spanish) that all in the audience knew...but he played it in such an expressive way that we felt as if we were hearing it for the first time (again).

I must admit some bias in my evaluation of this performance. I've had the great fortune to be able to sing while standing next to each of these incredible performers as a member of the St. Bartholomew Choir. I hope I will often have the opportunity of singing with such awesome talents in the near future.

International Chamber Artists Sunday April 13th

2008-04-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

"WHAT'S MY MOTIVATION?"

Come to the next International Chamber Artists concert Sunday April 13th at 4 PM and discover musical motivation. World War II provoked the famous Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, a remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. Brass abound in the Ceremonial Prelude by Sir Arthur Bliss and Prelude and Dance by John Glenesk Mortimer; two works with four trumpets, horn, five trombones, tuba and percussion, the latter featuring solo ICA trombonist Chelsea French. Six will perform the Six Elizabethan Songs by Dominick Argento, for soprano and baroque ensemble. As part of ICA's mission, a student from the People's Music School will also perform. Suggested donation for this concert is $15 for adults and $7 for students. For further information please call 773-727-5357 or visit http://www.icamusic.org/.

Free parking is available in St. Gregory's courtyard parking lot, which is entered from west Bryn Mawr through a "tunnel" between St. Gregory High School and the British School of Chicago. Parking is also available in the lot on the northwest corner of N. Ashland and W. Gregory across the street from St. Gregory's gym building.

After the concert you are invited to a "Meet and Greet the Musicians" at Ranalli's Restaurant located at 1512 W Berwyn, 60640, just east of Ashland. For $15 at the door you'll be able to meet and talk with your favorite musicians and enjoy dinner awaiting you! Ranalli's will donate 20% of dinner receipts to ICA.

THE PERFORMERS:
Jessica Usherwood, soprano; Eliza Bangert, flute; Anna Velzo, oboe; Elizabeth Choi, violin; Jocelyn Butler, cello; Carolina Gomez, cello; Karin Bliznik, trumpet; Jonathon Weber, trumpet; Kyra Sovronsky, trumpet; Erin Carrick, trumpet; Keri Godon, horn; Chelsea French, solo trombone; Tim Smith, trombone; Zsolt Szabo, trombone; Ben Walsh, trombone; Jared Lantzy,
bass trombone; Sean Whitaker, tuba; Sean Connors, percussion; Patrick Godon, conductor, harpsichord, organ & piano

Opera to Broadway

2008-04-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

From Opera to Broadway

Live Opera for the first time at Raue Center! Friday, April 11, 2008 7:30 pm
An evening of song with Soprano Lauren Curnow and Baritone Levi Hernandez, with Luciano Laurentiu, accompanist. A wonderful evening of song with three of our nations fastest rising stars. Ms. Lauren Curnow is a favorite of opera companies internationally, but most recently in the role of Berta in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Barber of Seville (Spring 2008). She will be joined by Levi Hernandez, another veteran of the Lyric, on stage at Raue Center for a delightful evening featuring selections from a wide palette of artistry; from Puccini to Gershwin— this evening should be remarkable!

Comment: Lauren and Levi have both sung with the St. Bartholomew Choir and Luciano is our Music Director....this program takes place in Crystal Lake, Il.... DM

A St. Bartholomew Easter on the Web

2008-03-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Chicago provided a moving liturgy for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter. To see and hear this faith filled community go to http://StBartholomew.net and follow the links....DM

Stabat Mater: A Concert for Lent

2008-03-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

This concert was an incredible success! St. Bartholomew was full with an audience who raved about the music and enjoyed the artists' reception and photography exhibition after the concert.

Go to
http://stbartschoir.net/Concerts.html
to see and hear more of the concert....

ST BARTHOLOMEW CATHOLIC CHURCH presents:

STABAT MATER: A Concert for Lent and Photography Exhibition

Featuring Pergolesi’s STABAT MATER
Julia Davids, soprano; Nina Heebink, mezzo-soprano; Eric Budzynski, organ & Jill Kaeting, cello

Also performing: The Romanian Madrigal Consort; Julia Davids, guest-conductor

In a program of music reflections for Lent by Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis, Purcell and Durufle

Photography Exhibition Featuring the Photography of
Mark Southard
Dominick M. Maino
Garry Mosebach

Luciano Laurentiu, Music Director
Fr. Jason Malave, Pastor
St. Bartholomew Choir, Hosts
Northwest Optometric Associates, Sponsor
Dominick M. Maino, Videographer

Websites
http://StBartholomew.net
http://StBartsChoir.net
http://NW.optometry.net
http://dmPhotoArt.blogspot.com

St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
4990 W. Addison (Addison/Lavergne)
Chicago, IL 60641

Sneeze Weed

2008-03-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

I do not have allergies....but I know plenty of folks who do. I took this photo to remind those who suffer that there is beauty behind their pain!

Honorable Mention

2008-03-05T09:59:00.001-08:00

These two photos were awarded Honorable Mention by the judges during the Wright Camera Club March competition.

Award Large Color

2008-03-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

During the March Wright Camera Club Competition, this photograph by Dominick was given an Award recognition

Award and Best of Show

2008-03-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

During the recent Wright Camera Club competition. Three judges (who are not members of the club) chose this photograph by Dominick as the very best for the Large Color category at its March competition meeting.

2008-03-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

ST. BARTHOLOMEW CATHOLIC CHURCH
presents:

A Photography Exhibition

Featuring
Mark Southard Dominick M. Maino Garry Mosebach

About the Artists

Mark Southard
Mark is the former Head of the Photography Department at Wright Community College South
Campus and an instructor of photography. He is one of only five photographers chosen as a
Creative Use Consultant for Polaroid. Mark is a member of the Photographic Society of America
( PSA) and has received the honor of Associate from this organization. He has also served on
PSAs national board and is currently Vice President of the Print Division.

Dominick M. Maino
Dominick has exhibited his work at galleries across the Midwest (Nine2Five Gallery, KansasCity; Gallery ABBA, Beloit, Wi; Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia, Stone Park, Il.; Addison Town Hall Rotunda, Addison, Il) and conducted a solo exhibition at St. Bartholomew Church (A Gallery of Faith). He has also published his photography in literary and art journals (Kansas City Voices), news media (The Catholic New World, Kansas City Star (website)), and professional journals (Optometric Education, Optometry & Vision Development).

Garry Mosebach
Garry is president of the Wright Camera Club and has a passion for photography. He currently
shoots using a Canon digital camera. (The Wright Camera Club meets monthly at the Portage
Park Center for the Arts 3914 N. Menard in Chicago.)

The Photography Exhibition (which is free) will take place immediately following the
Arts at St.Barts Concert at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church on March 15th.

The exhibition will also be open on Sundays after each Mass until 3/16/2008 as well.
Go to http://www.stbartholomew.net for more information and directions

St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
4990 W. Addison (Addison & Lavergne) Chicago, Il. 60641

STABAT MATER: Concert for Lent

2008-03-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

ST BARTHOLOMEW CATHOLIC CHURCH

presents:

STABAT MATER

A Concert for Lent

Featuring Pergolesiâ€™s STABAT MATER

Julia Davids, soprano; Nina Heebink, mezzo-soprano;

Eric Budzynski, organ & Jill Kaeting, cello

Also performing:

The Romanian Madrigal Consort; Julia Davids, guest-conductor

In a program of music reflections for Lent

by Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis, Purcell and Durufle

Luciano Laurentiu, Music Director

SATURDAY, March 15^th at 8:00pm

St. Bartholomew Catholic Church

4990 W. Addison (Addison/Lavergne)

Chicago, IL 60641

ADMISSION:

$13 in advance / $17 at the door

$10 seniors / students

For tickets and more information please call #773-286-7871 or

email: Lucianolaurentiu@aol.com