Art history talk to explore Faith Ringgold
Rebecca Albiani will present her latest art history talk on Faith Ringgold at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Still an active artist at 89, Ringgold was born in Depression-era Harlem. Her artistic vision first dovetailed with her political philosophy during the Civil Rights movement. By the end of the 1960s, Ringgold was also involved in the women’s movement. In the 1970s, she began to make fabric wall hangings, masks and sculptures. In 1980, she completed the first of the quilts she has become best known for.
For the last 15 years, Albiani has given the monthly Art History Lecture Series at the Frye Art Museum, where her topics have ranged from ancient Egypt to Pop Art. Tickets to the talk, $5 to $15, can be purchased in advance at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Concert for violin and piano coming up
“Virtuoso Masterworks for Violin and Piano,” a concert by David Riley and Jasper Wood, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
The pair will play masterworks by Beethoven, Vitali, Fuerst and Gershwin, illustrating how these composers tested the limits of violin and piano instrumentation. Tickets, $15 to $32, can be purchased in advance at vashoncenterforthearts.org. A pre-concert talk will take place at 6:30 p.m., before the downbeat.
Boogie Woogie Beat goes on
A concert of Swing-era classics will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, at Vashon High School Theatre.
The concert will feature local vocalists Lisa Peretti, Maggie Laird and Alexandra Drissell, channeling The Andrews Sisters — who lit up the 1940s with hits including “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.”
Last spring, Peretti, Laird and Drissell, backed by the Federal Way Symphony Big Band under the direction of Todd Zimberg and Lonnie Mardis, performed this same concert at the Federal Way Performing Arts Center.
Vashon’s version of the concert will again boast Zimberg and Mardis’ direction, and will also feature the same players as the Federal Way show. Islanders may recognize a few members of the Portage Fill Big Band. The band will kick off the concert with a selection of 1940’s swing classics. After intermission, the Andrews Sisters tribute will commence.
The concert is a fundraiser for Drama Dock’s upcoming summer production of “Winghaven Park” at Vashon Center for the Arts. With a book, music and lyrics by Peretti, the show also draws on the musical palette of the 1940s – swing, blues, ballads and musical comedy.
For tickets to the concert, $35, visit brownpapertickets.org.
Delve into “The Heart of Vashon”
Twenty islanders will read from the briskly-selling new book, “Heart of Vashon: Sharing Our Stories in Pictures and Words” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at Vashon Bookshop. Poems and brief personal stories will be accompanied by a slide show of island photographs taken from the book. Sales from the book benefit the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Museum. For more information call the Bookshop at 206-463-2616.
Devotchka returns to Vashon
A band with a wide island following, Devotchka, will return to Vashon for a concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Vashon Center for the Arts. The Colorado-based quartet’s music cross-pollinates cabaret, spaghetti Westerns, norteño, punk and the immigrant dance music of Eastern Europe. Last year, they came out with their sixth album, “This Night Falls Forever.” A few tickets, $25 to $50, were still available as of press time at vashoncenterforthearts.com.
‘Helpless’ for Hamilton? See a tribute
Rise Up, the Hamilton Tribute Band! will perform the music of the blockbuster musical Hamilton in a concert slated for 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Vashon Center for the Arts. The ensemble has performed throughout the Northwest at venues including The Triple Door in Seattle, Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia and the Rialto Theater in Tacoma. Tickets for the show, $24 to $50, and more information is available at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
