A! Magazine for the Arts Archive

AAME Gala honors Arts Achievement winners

A celebration in honor of the AAME Arts Achievement Awards winners is held Saturday, May 21 at 6 p.m., at the Holiday Inn in Bristol, Virginia.

In This Issue

• Amanda Aldridge is a triple threat Amanda Aldridge, Barter Theatre resident choreographer and costume designer, says she's always loved dance.
• Michele Plescia's earliest memory is dance "I remember driving down the hill on Cumberland Street frequently, past the old Masonic Temple building, where the sign outside said Bristol Ballet School. I imagined what it would be like to take ballet – a big stage where the students would receive inst
• Nancy DeFriece promotes art and business Nancy DeFriece studied piano and tried ballet as a young girl, but her real introduction to the arts came through her role as a businesswoman.
• Music is a family affair for Bill & Diane Thomas Music brought Bill and Diane Thomas together when they were in high school.
• Betsy White is on a serendipitous journey Serendipity is the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
• Arts for Youth Spotlight Twin sisters, Brooke and Jessica Beaver, have been involved in the arts since they were young.
• Book Review: Sharyn McCrumb's 25th novel Sharyn McCrumb's 25th novel, "Prayers the Devil Answers," is based on a true story that traces the events leading up to one woman's unlikely appointment as sheriff in a small Tennessee town in 1936 and the relationship she forges with a convicted murderer
• Sharyn McCrumb speaks at Friends of Library event Sharyn McCrumb reads from her new Ballad novel, "Prayers the Devil Answers," and signs books at an event Sunday, May 15 at 3 p.m. at Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church in Abingdon, Va.
• David Hendricksen steps down as music director of The Civic Chorale After 18 seasons as the music director of The Civic Chorale, Dr. David Hendricksen is stepping down following the Chorale's 2015-2016 season, which ends June 30.
• Tusculum students win literary prizes Tusculum College students Jennie Frost, Emily Wyrick and Sarah Holly are the winners of the 2016 Curtis and Billie Owens Literary Awards.
• 15th season of Storytelling Live! begins Storytelling Live!, the International Storytelling Center's renowned teller-inresidence series, kicks off its new season May 3.

A! Extra

• Lamplight Theatre unleases pure gospel in Springtime Jubilee When there's a smile, listen for a song. Look for 85 smiles and songs to match courtesy Lamplight Theatre's Springtime Jubilee. Set to beam on May 27 and 28 at Lamplight Theatre in Kingsport, Tennessee, the show features a vast cobbling of mostly amateur
• Birthplace of Country Music receives multiple honors The Birthplace of Country Music, parent organization of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival and Radio Bristol, took home top honors at the Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association's 19th annual Pinnacle
• Gathering in the Gap coming up BIG STONE GAP, Va. — With a 10-year anniversary on the horizon, Aaron Davis expect big crowds to gather at "The Gap" this coming weekend.
• ETSU Pre-College music students winners in Bristol Music Club Scholarship Auditions Two students representing the East Tennessee State University Department of Music's Pre-College Program were named winners in the Bristol Music Club Scholarship Auditions, which were held May 7 at First Presbyterian Church, Bristol, Tennessee.
• ETSU vocal performance students earn state, regional honors A number of vocal performance students in East Tennessee State University's department of music recently earned honors in regional and state competition.
• Tennessee Awarded more than $1 million for Arts and Culture Projects In the second major grant announcement during its 50th anniversary year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded $1,054,900 to the support of a variety of arts and culture projects in Tennessee. Fourteen organizations will be granted, including the TN
• THS Spring Show features Appalachia tunes BRISTOL, Tenn. – Thunder rolled and lightning struck just outside the doors of Tennessee High School's band room early Wednesday morning.
• Tennessee High's Brownlee to retire BRISTOL, Tenn. — A bell rang Wednesday morning at Bristol's Tennessee High School. Moments later, Bandy Brownlee's band room filled with students as he waved from within their midst.
• 1973 musical coming to UMC's Wesley Center in Bluff City Camille Gray sat in the backseat of her parents' car. "Godspell," the 1973 musical, was on her mind. Gray, who will direct and act in Bluff City United Methodist Church's production of "Godspell" from May 13-15 at Bluff City UMC's Wesley Center in Bluff C
• New music degree program approved between Northeast State, King Northeast State Community College recently approved a two-year transfer degree in music between the college and King University.
• Nominations Open for 2017 Governor's Arts Awards The Tennessee Arts Commission is accepting nominations through July 22, for the 2017 Governor's Arts Awards, to be presented by Governor and First Lady Haslam early next year.
• German Expressionist work is reunited with Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection at VMFA A major painting by German Expressionist artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, which the Museum of Modern Art in New York recently returned to the family of its rightful owner, has been reunited with works from the Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection at the Virgin
• BCM Museum offers free tours & sponsored transportation to classrooms affected by test termination In light of recent news that the Tennessee Department of Education has terminated its contract with the company running the state's new TNReady standardized tests for grades 3-8, the Birthplace of Country Music extends an invitation to educators and class
• Eastman Credit Union commits $100,000 To Radio Bristol The Birthplace of Country Music announces a new partnership with Eastman Credit Union that will help fund the Radio Bristol Presents: Farm & Fun Timeshow over the next five years.
• Lynn to headline annual Rhythm & Roots Reunion in September BRISTOL, Va. — Ladies and gentlemen, Loretta Lynn.
• Tusculum's Jennie Frost wins scholarship to workshop in France