The First Presbyterian Church Music Series will present organist Timothy Olsen in concert Sunday, March 19, at 4 p.m. for a concert that’s free and open to the public.

 Olsen teaches a joint studio of high school, undergraduate, and graduate organ students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He also serves as cantor (organist/music director) at Augsburg Lutheran Church in Winston-Salem. 

Having won numerous competitions and played in some of the most prominent concert venues, Olsen is a world-class organist and will present a fantastic concert.

Arts United announces award recipients

Arts United recently revealed the winners of their 2023 Arts United Awards in celebration of outstanding people, organizations, and projects that are making a contribution to the northeast Indiana arts scene.

Recipients include Amy Ford, Janice Furtner, Delois McKinley-Eldridge, and Fort Wayne Civic Theatre’s SpongeBob: The Musical. 

Derek Reeves was also presented with the Margaret Ann Keegan Award, Michael Johnson was presented the Mayor’s Arts Award, and Madelane Elston and Adrian Mann were presented with Lifetime Achievement awards.

Young artists receive Wagon Wheel accolades

Pianist Chloe Park, a junior at Canterbury High School, took first place overall at Symphony of the Lakes in Warsaw and will perform with the symphony during their spring concert, 100 Years of Magic, on April 22 at Grace College’s Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake.

Other finishers in our area that were awarded by Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts include Eisenhower Middle School sixth grade violinist Nevaeh Wolf who finished second in the junior division, Warsaw Community High School senior violinist Karissa Brath who was second in the senior division, and Canterbury sophomore cellist Maria Tan who was third.

PFW faculty artwork on display

The Purdue University Fort Wayne Art & Design Faculty Exhibition will conduct its opening reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on March 23 at the Visual Arts Gallery on campus. 

Running through April 9, artists featured in the  exhibit include Natalie Benetti, Lindsey Brammell, Chris Campbell, Dr. Laurel Campbell, Dr. Steven Cody, Rebecca Coffman, Derek Decker, Dr. Suining Ding, Jim Gabbard, Chris Ganz, Seth Green, John Hrehov, Ron Knepper, Andres Montenegro, John Motz, Gregor Roth, Robert Schroeder, Jim Williams, and Audrey Ushenko. 

Admission is free and gallery hours are 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 

For information about the PFW Department of Art and Design, go to pfw.edu/art-design.

Audition for Arena Dinner Theatre show

Arena Dinner Theatre will present And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie from April 28-May 13 and are currently looking to fill the roles. Director Joel Grillo is looking for a cast of three women and eight men. 

In the show, 10 strangers are summoned to a remote island and each is marked for death. All they have in common is a wicked past that they’re unwilling to reveal and a secret that will seal their fates. As the weather turns and the group is cut off from the mainland, the bloodbath begins. One by one they are brutally murdered in accordance with the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme.

Auditions will be at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, and Monday, March 13, at Arena Dinner Theatre. 

Have a schedule of all rehearsal conflicts at auditions and be prepared to read scenes from the script. Rehearsals begin the week of Sunday, March 19, and will typically be Monday-Friday, 7-10 p.m. Some Sunday rehearsals might be called. Every effort will be made to schedule rehearsal around actor’s conflicts. 

Performances are scheduled April 28 and May 4 at 7:30 p.m.; April 28, 29, May 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 8 p.m.; and May 7 at 2 p.m.

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