Pittsburgh Opera's Holiday Brown Bag a Family Tradition

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2011


Contact:
Debra L. Bell, Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: (412) 281-0912 ext 214
dbell@pittsburghopera.org

Pittsburgh Opera’s Holiday Brown Bag continues 3-year tradition of family-friendly fun

What: Pittsburgh Opera’s Holiday Brown Bag concert

When: Saturday, December 3, 12:00 p.m. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.

Where: Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters, 2425 Liberty Avenue, in the Strip District

Admission: Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch.

Parking: Ample street parking available on Penn Ave. Those needing handicapped parking in the Pittsburgh Opera garage, please call to reserve a spot: 412-281-0912 x 0 (zero) by Friday, December 2 at 5:00 PM.

Pittsburgh, PA… For the past three seasons at holiday time, Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artists have surprised and delighted audiences at the December Brown Bag concert with breathtaking renditions of holiday classics as well as unexpected charmers such as “The Twelve Pains of Christmas” and “Hanukkah in Santa Monica.” Kids can join the sing-along from the special “pit” in front of the stage. The concert is free and open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch; there will be goodie bags for the kids. Doors open at 11:30. No reservations are required except handicapped parking requests. For more information, call 412-281-0912, x 0 (zero) or visit www.pittsburghopera.org.

Pittsburgh Opera’s 2011-2012 season continues a 73-year tradition of excellence in opera and is the first green opera company in the U.S.* As part of the Company’s continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2011-2012 season will again start at $10, with subscriptions starting at just $43 for four mainstage operas.

*U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED® Silver certification in June 2011 in the Operations and Maintenance category.


2011-2012 Season
La traviata October 15, 18, 21, 23
The Pearl Fishers November 12, 15, 18, 20
Hansel & Gretel January 28, 31; February 3, 5
Tosca March 24, 27, 30; April 1, 3
The Abduction from the Seraglio April 28; May 1, 4, 6


For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
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Three Rivers Arts Festival Music Lineup Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Veronica Corpuz
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-6082
corpuz@pgharts.org

THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST ANNOUNCES MUSIC LINEUP FOR 10-DAY FESTIVAL

Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival

June 3-12, 2011 – Cultural District

PITTSBURGH, PA: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust proudly announces the 2011 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival music schedule that will take place June 3-12, 2011. All headline concerts are presented on the Dollar Bank Stage at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. The free live music series, a 52-year Pittsburgh tradition, is sponsored by Dollar Bank.

J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust notes, “This year’s Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival promises to have the most eclectic and dynamic mix of music to date. We’re starting with the announcement of the headliners for the Dollar Bank Main Stage, but stay tuned for some more exciting news in the coming weeks. Our thanks to our lead sponsor Dollar Bank for making this diverse and entertaining lineup possible.”

“Dollar Bank has a long history of providing community events in Point State Park, so we are very pleased to continue this tradition of free music at the Festival,” said Robert P. Oeler, President and CEO, Dollar Bank. “The Festival’s programming on the Dollar Bank Stage is a hallmark event of the summer season in downtown Pittsburgh, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the city and Cultural District. We’re proud to ensure the continuity of top-quality, affordable arts programming in our region.”

All concerts at Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival are free and open to the public. Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in Point State Park with the exception of the Sunday performances which begin at 6:00 p.m. Additional Festival details will be announced in May, including information on the Artists Market, visual arts, family programming, performing arts and additional music programming. For information, visit 3riversartsfest.org or call 412-456-6666.

Blind Boys of Alabama – June 3rd

The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. Celebrated by The Grammys and The National Endowment for the Arts with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, having sung for two U.S. presidents in the White House and winners of five Grammy® Awards, they have attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 70 years and shows no signs of diminishing.

Tom Tom Club – June 4th

Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth established The Tom Tom Club exactly 30 years ago as a side project during their tenure with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Talking Heads. The group celebrates their anniversary this year by playing shows around the world, reinforcing why their funky musical style has been a staple of the dance music world since the early 1980s.

James McMurtry with special guest Jonny Burke – June 6th

Texan singer-songwriter James McMurtry, son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment), grew up on a steady diet of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff records. McMurtry appears at this year’s Three Rivers Arts Festival just months after reissuing two of his most popular albums, Childish Things and Live in Aught-Three. “James McMurtry is simply fearless,” wrote Elmore magazine. “While many other singer-songwriters make veiled references to difficult subjects, McMurtry courageously lays it out there.”

Jonny Burke is a man on the move. After travelling through every state in the Continental U.S. over the past two years, the young musician has launched his full-length debut Distance and Fortune. While the disc reflects his time on the road, these aren’t your typical “drivin’ and cryin’” road songs. This set of tunes, according to Burke, is about “not playing it safe and practical, but allowing your future to be decided by forces of distance and fortune.”

The Baseball Project with special guest J. Roddy Walston & The Business– June 7th

Rock n' roll vets Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn share an unhealthy love for music exceeded only by an even more unhealthy obsession for baseball. The compatriots blend their two passions with The Baseball Project -- Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, an album of buzzing guitars and baseball back stories. Drummer Linda Pitmon and Peter Buck round out the squad, as they spin tales of ill-fated drinking binges ('The Yankee Flipper', 'The Death of Big Ed Delahanty'), folk heroes ('Fernando', 'Satchel Paige Said') and, on 'Gratitude (For Curt Flood)', the overlooked man who changed the game.

Piano slamming alt rockers J. Roddy Walston & The Business, led by the bandleader’s barrelhouse piano stylings, shifts seamlessly through jump-up shout-a-longs (“Used to Did”) to low slung, gritty travelin’ blues (“Use Your Language”), to arena-worthy anthems (“I Don’t Want to Hear It”). The band has built an audience the old fashioned way, through hard work and unrelenting live shows.

Tea Leaf Green – June 8th

San Francisco-based band Tea Leaf Green got their start in the relationship formed between guitarist Josh Clark and drummer Scott Rager, who played in a high-school band together in Arcadia, CA.Sharing some of the style and substance of musical contemporaries My Morning Jacket, Wolfmother, and the Raconteurs, Tea Leaf Green conjures the spirit of bands like '70s Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and The Grateful Dead, taking classic sounds and giving them a present-day polish.

Formula412 – June 9th

Pittsburgh's own Formula412 returns to the Festival just two months after releasing their latest effort, Reality Show, and receiving the “Best Group” award at the 2011 Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards. By adding live guitar, bass and drums to the traditional set-up of a DJ and an emcee, Formula412 pushes the limits of the genre and remains at the top of the Pittsburgh burgeoning hip-hop scene.

Brandi Carlile – June 10th

Named Rolling Stone's "10 Artists to Watch in 2005,” Brandi Carlile has toured as a headliner and supported other artists including Ray LaMontagne, Jonny Lang, Hanson, Indigo Girls, The Fray, Chris Isaak, Tori Amos and Shawn Colvin. In 2010, she won Seattle’s City of Music Breakthrough Award. As Carlile's fans well know, her concerts are near legendary in their perfect communion between performer and audience. Whether she is rocking out with her full band or standing quietly, tantalizingly close to the edge of the stage singing a capella, Carlile brings a riveting intensity to every performance.

Ricky Skaggs – June 11th

2011 marks the 52nd year since Ricky struck his first chords on a mandolin. This fourteen-time Grammy Award winner continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. With 12 consecutive Grammy-nominated classics behind him, all from his own Skaggs Family Records label, the diverse and masterful tones made by the gifted Skaggs come from a life dedicated to playing music that is both fed by the soul and felt by the heart.

Buckwheat Zydeco – June 12th

Legendary zydeco trailblazer Buckwheat Zydeco is celebrating 30 years together with a recently-released and Grammy Award-winning album entitled Lay Your Burden Down. Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr., bandleader and accordionist, returns to Three Rivers Arts Festival to perform songs from the new album and many of beloved Cajun classics.
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Gallery Crawl Ignites the Cultural District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Veronica Corpuz
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
(412) 471-6082
corpuz@pgharts.org

Cultural District springs into action with Gallery Crawl

Friday, April 29, 2011

5:30 - 9pm

Presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

PITTSBURGH, PA: The Cultural District springs into action as The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Gallery Crawl fills the theaters, galleries and streets of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The free and art-and-fun-filled Gallery Crawl takes place on Friday, April 29, from 5:30 - 9 p.m. The arts open house showcases an eclectic mix of visual art, dance, music and more in 22 venues throughout the Cultural District.



All Gallery Crawl events are free and open to the public. For more information and a map of the Gallery Crawl events, visit pgharts.org or call 412-456-6666. The Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District is sponsored by First Commonwealth with media support from City Paper and 91.3fm WYEP.



The following is a line-up of Gallery Crawl highlights and happenings:



GALLERY CRAWL in the CULTURAL DISTRICT

April 29, 2011 5:30-9 pm

Presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust



Wood Street Galleries

601 Wood Street

Hysterical Machines: Bill Vorn

Montreal-based artist Bill Vorn creates installations involving robotics and motion control, sound, lighting, video and cybernetic process that evoke human qualities in structures that are nothing more than articulated metal structures.



SPACE

812 Liberty Avenue

STRAIGHT OUTTA CompUSA: Conversations on the Picturesque

See Jesse Hulcher having the time of his iLife as he tries to find a use for the Internet

Music by DJ DZ



WYEP Music Station

WYEP Live Remote Broadcast outside of SPACE



Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts

808 Liberty Avenue

Culinary Sculptures



Tito and Exchange Way

Cell Phone Disco

A surface that visualizes the electromagnetic field of an active mobile phone. Several thousand lights illuminate when you make or receive a phone call in the vicinity of the installation.



Shaw Galleries

805 Liberty Avenue

Beauty-Strength-Reflection: Five Perspectives on the Female Form: paintings focused on feminine form and style by five local female artists.



Trust Arts Education Center

805-807 Liberty Avenue

Lower Level (Peirce Studio):

The TypewriterGirls Poetry Cabaret

Audience interactive, collage-work theatre formed from poetry, performance art, typewriter games, improv comedy, dancing, and a little magic.

3rd floor:

Homo Dignitas: Reviving a Departed Essence (Carlow University)

Artists' perilous fight to restore and maintain human dignity before the concept is as lifeless as the Latin language.

Pittsburgh’s Rising

Exhibition showcasing Pittsburgh’s upcoming collegiate artists. Enjoy refreshments while viewing the latest works by the area’s fine-art, architecture and design students.

4th floor:

60/40 Series presents: Outspoken, a benefit for BikePGH

An art show and sale featuring local artists, benefiting Bike Pittsburgh. Preview at sixtyfortyseries.com



Harris Theater

809 Liberty Avenue

In the Theater: Short films by local filmmakers

Tiny Harris Gallery: Photography by Sue Abramson and Kevin Clark

Above the Marquee: Silhouettes by Mike Bonello



Shaw Galleries

805 Liberty Avenue

BEAUTY - STRENGTH - REFLECTION: Five Perspectives on the Female Form

An exhibit of paintings that focus on feminine form and style by five women artists from Pittsburgh.



707 Penn Gallery

707 Penn Avenue

Conversations on the Picturesque: Work by Katherine Young

Drawings of patterned feminine portraits in lush flora.



709 Penn Gallery

709 Penn Avenue

Paper Streets: Solo exhibit by Bovey Lee

Using cut paper as her medium, Lee’s installations explore resolute themes such as the geography's influence on life in the region



Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts

808 Liberty Avenue

Culinary Sculptures

Various sugar and tallow sculpture pieces created by PCI faculty. Hot food and beverages prepared by PCI students available for a donation.



937 Liberty Avenue

1st floor – Bricolage:

Bricolage presents The Awkward Dinner Party

An interactive experiment in social performance and fine dining (5:30-7:30).

2nd floor

Named-UnNamed

Herman Pearl - PearlArts: movement and sound. A space of otherworldly, haunting, immersive sound . Continuously renewing and ever-changing sound-scapes derived from readings of the names of Iraqi civilian war casualties.



Toonseum

945 Liberty

Brenda Starr, Reporter: The Art of Dale Messick

The ToonSeum celebrates legendary cartoonist Dale Messick and the retirement of her greatest creation, Brenda Starr, Reporter, after 70 years of publication



Tonic**

971 Liberty (2nd floor gallery space)

It Is What It Is

People. Art. Music. Drinks. Food.



August Wilson Center for African American Culture

980 Liberty Avenue

Various Exhibitions: Voices: African American and Latina Women in Pennsylvania Share Their Stories of Success (new exhibition), In My Father's House; Sculptures by Thaddeus G. Mosley; Pittsburgh: Reclaim, Renew, Remix; Bridging the Blood: Your Blood Line is Mine



Northside Urban Pathways Gallery

914 Penn Avenue

Reinterpreting African Arts

Student artwork reflecting themes and symbols of Ancient and Modern African Arts. Sounds of Steel steelpan band play throughout the night with special guests including the UP Stomp Team at 6:30 pm



907 Penn Avenue

Bon Voyage

Looking In Looking Out (LILO) presents a painting and photography exhibition based on the theme of goodbye/farewell/bon voyage.



Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 Gallery

111 Ninth St.

THE UPSIDE

A curated collection of senior artwork



Future Tenant

819 Penn Avenue

URBANIC III: expanding the microcosm

Group Show co-curated by Kyle Ethan Fischer and Nicole Capozzi of Mox Box Consulting



Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

810 Penn Avenue, Suite 200

Art on the Walls

Featuring the stunning black and white photography of artist Brian Sesack. Enjoy light refreshments and meet the artists.



Backstage Bar

655 Penn Avenue

Live music by Pittsburgh’s only all-female jazz ensemble, Cool Breeze 5:30-7:30



Katz Plaza

7th St. and Penn Avenue

First Commonwealth Hospitality Spot

Stop by our hospitality station for free drinks and snacks. We’ll also have chances to win baskets and Starbucks cards!

Live samba music and dance by Timbeleza



Arthur Murray Dance Studio**

136 Sixth Street

Free Dance Classes and Demonstrations!

Get started dancing tonight! 7:30 Swing, 8:00 Tango, 8:30 Merengue



Verve Wellness

142 6th St., 3rd floor

Bare Bones Dance Series

Stripped down to the bare essentials in an warm intimate venue, kNOTDance reviews works from the past 3 years at this Bare Bones presentation. Stop in, Why kNOT?



**All locations are wheelchair accessible unless otherwise noted

SUMMER GALLERY CRAWL HEATS UP THE CULTURAL DISTRICT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2010






SUMMER GALLERY CRAWL HEATS UP THE CULTURAL DISTRICT

Friday, July 16, 2010, 5:30-9 p.m.



Indie-Soul artist ERIC ROBERSON performs on the JazzLive Summer Stage

NEW: Break Dancing Block Party & Chatham Baroque at the DLCC!



Cosmopolitan Pittsburgh immediately follows Crawl on the rooftop of Theater Square





PITTSBURGH, PA - The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Department of Education and Community Engagement heats up the summer streets of the Cultural District with its free and festive Gallery Crawl on Friday, July 16, from 5:30 - 9 p.m. This exhilarating arts open house showcases an array of activities throughout the Cultural District with the trademark, eclectic mix of visual art, dance, music and more.



New, featured events for the crawl include a live outdoor performance by indie-soul recording artist Eric Roberson on the JazzLive Summer Stage, a break-dancing Block Party at the corner of 9th and Penn and a performance by Chatham Baroque on the rooftop terrace of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.



All Gallery Crawl events are free and open to the public. For more information and a map of the Gallery Crawl events, visit pgharts.org or call (412) 456-6666. The Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District is sponsored by First Commonwealth with media support from City Paper and 91.3fm WYEP.



After the Crawl, visitors are welcome to join the rooftop party at Theater Square, Cosmopolitan Pittsburgh, from 9 p.m. – midnight, featuring culinary and cocktail delights by Cultural District restaurants. For tickets ($50 in advance, $75 at the door), visit pgharts.org. Special VIP tickets and Jetsetter Packages also available by calling 412-471-3519.



GALLERY CRAWL EVENTS



JAZZLIVE SUMMER STAGE

7TH AND FORT DUQUESNE PARKING LOT



Chelsea Baratz Quartet Forging new sounds in jazz music, Pittsburgh native, Chelsea Baratz is a rising star on the national and international jazz scene. 5:30 – 6:30 pm



Eric Roberson from NYC, indie-soul royalty, Eric Roberson brings his band to perform live in Pittsburgh for the very first time. 7:00 - 9:00pm



BLOCK PARTY

9TH AND PENN



DJ Mike Canton (WYEP Soul Show) and DJ Nate da Phat Barber spin early soul and hip hop. Pick out your ‘fro or break out your B-Boy gear, Member’s Only jackets and bamboo earrings for this old school party. With special guests, Get Down Gang, local break dance crew!



It will be over in a “FLASH”---don’t miss it. 7:30pm



WOOD STREET GALLERIES

601 WOOD STREET



Outer Body/Inner Experiences

Interactive artwork inviting viewer participation in an outer body experience. Artists: Airan Kang, Matt Stokes, Lawrence Malstaff, Luc Courchesne and Jim Campbell.



DAVID LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER

1000 FORT DUQUESNE BOULEVARD



A New View

Come and enjoy a view of Pittsburgh that is rarely seen. Appreciate the skyline and public works of art on the Convention Center's North Terrace while listening the gorgeous sound of Chatham Baroque. Also, be sure to stop by the Handmade Arcade table for some DIY activities.



SPACE

812 LIBERTY AVENUE



Congo Women

This exhibition sheds light not only on the situation facing women of the Democratic Republic of Congo but on gender-based violence around the world and demonstrates why the arts have a powerful role as mirror and map to influence social change.



Music by Delicious Pastries

91.3fm WYEP – Live Radio Broadcast



TRUST ARTS EDUCATION CENTER

805-807 LIBERTY AVENUE



404 Strand discusses the upcoming production, FAUST US, in an intimate setting. See the set and learn more about this show, described as “unorthodox…visceral…beautiful” by Pittsburgh City Paper



Movement Room (2nd floor)]

Be Beyonce

Jamae of Jam Dance will teach you the moves you see in music videos to the music that will make you want to drop it like It’s hot! 6 - 7pm, 7:30 – 8:30pm



Shaw Galleries

805 Liberty Avenue



Mo Knows Pittsburgh: The Photojournalism of Morris Berman.

Exhibition includes a variety photographs, including his nationally acclaimed photograph of NY Giants football player Y. A. Tittle (1964), which many consider the most important sports photograph of the 20th-century.



CRAZY MOCHA COFFEE CO

801 LIBERTY AVE

Have a cup with beat-up indie rock group, The Wrong Airport.



707 PENN GALLERY

707 PENN AVENUE



SLUSH PUPPIES

A winter spectacle meets a summertime beverage. An immersive installation featuring paintings, sculpture, and icee delites. by Jonathan Chamberlain and Chris Beauregard



709 Penn Gallery

709 Penn Avenue



Tar Baby and Doowop: Everything You Need For Your Modern Household, Mercantile

Installation and performance by Vanessa German. An imagined extravaganza of useful things circa 1908.



LE CORDON BLEU INSTITUTE OF CULINARY ARTS

808 LIBERTY AVENUE



Culinary Sculptures

Various sugar and tallow sculpture pieces created by PCI faculty. Hot food and beverages prepared by PCI students available for $1-$1.50



937 LIBERTY AVENUE



Bricolage Space – 1st floor:

4 Real 4 Real

Pittsburgh’s own yarn-spinning extravaganza. Featuring only a microphone, an audience, and the true-to-life narratives of local performers, and real people just like you! 7:00-8:30pm



2nd floor

Justin Hopper: Public Record

Poems written from 19th-century newspaper crime reports, Public Record makes the prosaic into the poetic, and populates the city with these unknown, powerful, ghostly layers.



Pittsburgh Gospel – 3rd floor:

Get lifted on the top floor with Deryck Tines and company



TOONSEUM

945 LIBERTY



The Art of Akira

Original hand-drawn cells, backgrounds, and production art from Katsuhiro Otomo's anime masterpiece. Also, an exclusive preview of the upcoming exhibit, Cartoon Canines, a celebration of the history of the dog in comics!



AUGUST WILSON CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

980 LIBERTY AVENUE



Enjoy new art from Anire Mosley throughout the building, food and entertaining hip hop performances celebrating African American culture. The FutuRisticz at 6:00 pm and Shinobi at 8:00 pm



SALON CHRISTINE

942 PENN AVENUE



Image Interlude A Episode In Time

View the works of historian local photographer, Curtis E. Reave. Music by DJ Kelli Burns



FUTURE TENANT

819 PENN AVENUE



Acid Rain Production, Experimental Video and Experimental Popsicles

Future Tenant and Acid Rain Production present a special looped screening of 3 videos by 3 artists who work with snowy landscapes. Also a window installation on view, "Recreating Havoc" by Darrell Kinsel.

.

NORTHSIDE URBAN PATHWAYS GALLERY

914 PENN AVENUE



Photo Show

Photographer and guest teacher Mike Robinson displays personal and student photographs; Steel pan band plays throughout the night!



BACKSTAGE BAR

655 PENN AVENUE

Eastern Watershed

Live music by high energy polka band Eastern Watershed 5:30-7:00 pm



KATZ PLAZA

7TH ST. AND PENN AVENUE



Come dance with the Azucar Latin Band with their salsa and world music on our dance floor, co-presented by Global Beats, LACU & Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with DJ Carla Leininger.



First Commonwealth Hospitality Spot

Cookies, prizes and giveaways courtesy of First Commonwealth



ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE STUDIO

136 SIXTH STREET



Free Dance Lessons

7:30 - Swing

8:00 - Tango

8:30 - Salsa



ALL INFORMATION AND LOCATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE! Visit www.pgharts.org for updated and more detailed information

Lead Sponsor: First Commonwealth, Other Sponsors: City Paper, WYEP 91.3 FM, Kreider Printing


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