On March 13, the Midwest Theater, West Nebraska Arts Center and Theatre West are joining together to present “A Night Out for the Arts,” featuring a piano performance by Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra’s principal keyboard player Richard Fountain.
A Night Out for the Arts is a local community arts advocacy day event that coincides with the Nebraskans for the Arts' grassroots action to support the annual National Arts Advocacy Day. Arts Advocacy Day is an opportunity to celebrate the arts in our community, and for patrons to have their voices heard and to join forces with local arts organizations and fellow citizens to emphasize the value of art.
By reaching out to local, state, and national legislators, the Midwest Theater, WNAC, and Theatre West hope to show the importance of supporting arts funding and positive arts legislation. This is the 2nd Arts Advocacy Day event these organizations have held. Last year a letter writing and ‘call your representative’ event was held at WNAC and was very well attended. The plan is to continue to do this on an annual basis, changing the location and the activities each time. This year the Midwest Theater will host.
The evening will begin with a free master class for local piano students of all ages, from 4-5 p.m. For more information about the master class, or to register, call the Midwest Theater 308-632-4311.
From 5-7 p.m., West Nebraska Arts Center will be set up in the Midwest Theater lobby with demonstrations by local artists. There is also be a “Paint-Off” competition planned where participants have a set amount of time to do a quick painting on a selected subject and then the paintings will be sold. The proceeds will benefit all three arts organizations. The winner will be decided by the most number of votes from the public.
Simultaneously, the Midwest Theater lobby will be open as a gathering place for community members to access resources and tools for contacting their elected representatives. Anyone can stop by to learn about issues affecting the arts in Nebraska and how to call, email, send a letter, or post to social media in support of the arts. An “I Heart the Arts” feedback booth will be set up where visitors can record video statements of why the arts are important to them. Water, soda and candy will be served at the concessions stand.
At 7:00 p.m., a short arts advocacy film by Becky McMillen featuring Midwest Theater programming, will premiere on screen, and then Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra pianist Richard Fountain will take the stage. Thanks to a sponsorship from World of Arts & Music, Fountain’s performance will be a “pay-what-you-can” event, so it can be affordable for everyone while also raising funds to support the free public arts programming that the Midwest Theater, West Nebraska Arts Center and Theatre West provide in our community. General admission tickets are available now at the Midwest Theater by phone, in person or online at MidwestTheater.com
2018 Arts Advocacy Day Schedule of Events at the Midwest Theater
4 p.m. piano master class with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra pianist Richard Fountain
5 p.m. artist demonstrations, video feedback booth, arts advocacy activity, refreshments
7 p.m. arts advocacy featurette premiere, Richard Fountain piano performance
West Nebraska Arts Center is a cultural, non-profit organization committed to education, awareness, and excellence in the arts, serving the North Platte Valley Region, offering two galleries for visual arts exhibits, classes, and other special events. WNAC is located at 106 East 18th Street in Scottsbluff, NE. Visit the Arts Center's website, www.thewnac.com, to learn more.
The Midwest Theater is located at 1707 Broadway in Scottsbluff, NE. They provide a space for mainstream and specialty films, performing and visual arts, as well as school and community educational programming. Visit their website at www.MidwestTheater.com for more information.
Theatre West, the Panhandle's semi-professional theatre organization, enhances the region with quality theatrical experience for participants and audiences, using to the utmost, the resources of regional citizens. They provide educational and performance opportunity to collegiate theatre students and community actors and musicians and are located at Western Nebraska Community College, 1601 E. 27th Street, Scottsbluff, NE. To learn more, visit www.theatrewestnebraska.com.
Nebraskans for the Arts' mission is to advocate for arts policy, arts education, and participation in the arts in Nebraska. Advancing the arts as essential to life and learning for all Nebraskans. To learn more, visit www.nebraskansforthearts.org/
RICHARD FOUNTAIN
Praised for his “clear, expressive playing,” “mature display of pyrotechnics,” “seasoned artistry,” and “sensitivity to harmonic and formal considerations,” pianist Richard Fountain has steadily garnered praise for his versatile work. While entrancing audiences with “runs … at times light as a feather, other times strong as iron,” he is an accomplished teacher and adjudicator and a coveted collaborator, having worked with a diverse array of artists including the rock band Kansas, opera superstar Renee Fleming, and clarinetist Mark Nuccio, and Broadway composer/lyricist team Scott Murphy and Nathan Christensen in the premiere of their musical “Broadcast.”Fountain received the prestigious Early Achiever Award from the Nebraska Alumni Association in 2017, was a semi-finalist in the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in 2017, and was named the 2015 “Teacher of the Year” by the Lubbock Music Teachers Association. His debut CD, “American Ivory,” featuring solo piano works of MacDowell, Barber, Copland, and Gary D. Belshaw, was awarded joint Third Prize in The American Prize for solo piano in 2013.
Richard Fountain, a proud native of Springfield, Nebraska, was homeschooled throughout his pre-college years. Fountain first studied with his mother Judy, and later with David Gerard. He then studied with Leon Harshenin at Taylor University and with Paul Barnes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Fountain studied fortepiano with Ann Chang at UNL and has participated in workshops and masterclasses with Malcolm Bilson, Bart van Oort, David Breitman and Andrew Willis. Fountain also participated in the inaugural Westfield International Fortepiano Competition, and remains an ardent student of historical performance practice on both period and modern instruments.
He holds the positions of Principal Keyboard with both Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Fountain has appeared as concerto soloist with the UNL Symphony Orchestra, the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, and the Plainview Symphony Orchestra. He has also been invited to perform and present at the American Liszt Festival, the International Double Reed Society, the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, and the Texas Music Teachers Association Convention.
Highlights from the 2017-2018 season include appearing as soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s “The Age of Anxiety” (Symphony No. 2) with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, a Kansas City Royals-themed recital in Overland Park, KS, celebrating Opening Day 2018. Fountain is particularly excited to begin a cycle of the Liszt transcriptions of all nine Beethoven symphonies, a three-year project commemorating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in 2020. This season Fountain will focus on the First, Third, and Sixth symphonies. In addition to giving solo recitals pairing the symphonies with various Beethoven piano sonatas, Fountain will be offering lecture-recitals and outreach performances centered on the Beethoven symphonies around the country, including a week-long residency sponsored by Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2018.
Fountain is Associate Professor of Piano at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX, where he and his wife Sarah live with their three children. Fountain is an active member of the American Liszt Society, is on the Board of Directors of the Texas Music Teachers Association, and recently served as President of the Lubbock Music Teachers Association. He also serves as a chanter at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Lubbock, Texas. You can follow him on Twitter @huskermaestro, or at his website, www.richardfountainpianist.com.
Date and Time
Tuesday Mar 13, 2018
4:00 PM - 4:00 PM MDT
Tuesday, March 13, 2018 - 7:30 p.m.
Location
Midwest Theater
1707 Broadway
Scottsbluff, NE
Website
Contact Information
For more information please call 308-632-4311
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