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Women have been integral to jazz since its beginning. This four week online class celebrates the full breadth of women active in jazz history, including well-known past performers such as Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland, Melba Liston, Lil Hardin, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Geri Allen, present day performers like Esperanza Spalding, Jazzmeia Horn, Melissa Aldana, and Ingrid Jensen, and women who managed their partner’s careers and legacies, like pianist Lil Hardin, Iola Brubeck, Lorraine Willis Gillespie, Pannonica de Koenigswarter, and Nellie Monk. Part of a series of virtual workshops taught by Dr. Kelsey Klotz, this deep dive explores the contributions of jazz women musicians during Women’s History Month, and prepares us to enjoy some of the great women in jazz today in this month’s JAZZ ROOM Women in Jazz performance. Dr. Kelsey Klotz is a lecturer in UNC Charlotte’s Department of Music. In 2016, with a PhD in musicology. As an educator, Dr. Klotz teaches critical listening as a method for musical analysis and encountering perspectives different from one’s own. Her approach to the confluence of music and history offers a deep dive into the focal topic, relating that to influences of and to the societal environment of the time, and implications to today. Special Thanks to our program sponsors: Infusion Fund , North Carolina Arts Council, Knight Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, Charlotte Woman’s Club, and Akers Foundation

THE ADDAMS FAMILY A NEW MUSICAL Book by MARSHALL BRICKMAN and RICK ELICE Music and Lyrics by ANDREW LIPPA Based on Characters Created by Charles Addams April 6-10 - The Duke Family Performance Hall Directed by Ann Marie Costa Vocal Direction by Jacqueline Culpepper Music Direction by William Lawing THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, features an original story and it’s every father’s nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family– a man her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before– keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.

The World Refugee Day event will be held at ourBRIDGE and Refugee Support Services shared center located at 3925 Willard Farrow Dr., Charlotte, NC, 28215. The event will run from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public. There will be local and international food options, performances by local artists, games, and activities, artisan’s booths, and an on-site COVID vaccine clinic hosted by the Mecklenburg County Health Department.

It is a time of chaos for the great city of Rome. The Republic has been torn for years by civil war, and for decades before that by the corruption and decadence of its ruling elites. A measure of order has finally been restored by the hand of Rome’s greatest general, Julius Caesar, who has been granted extraordinary power by the Senate to end the crisis and preserve the Republic. Through a series of emergency laws, Caesar appears on the verge of finally restoring peace to the fractured nation.
Recommended for ages 14+.

Ever wanted to act on the stage? Join us at our Season 2022-2023 Auditions on 07/16/22!! Sign up for an audition time today to make sure you get the slot you want!
https://www.encorecenter.net/auditions

Raise a glass as we wrap up our 40th Anniversary celebration.

Activities include:

• Test your knowledge in a 40th anniversary edition of our Public Radio Nerd Quiz Night.
• Sample Divine Barrel's new Clear Signal beer, crafted just for this event.
• Shop for WFAE 40th anniversary gear.

Thank you for listening and support WFAE for the last 40 years!

Grab seats five feet from the action for gravity-defying contemporary cirque and dance performances during Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center's (CCDC) SUMMER HEAT edition of their Up Close Performance Series.
You'll marvel as local and national performers present contemporary dance, aerial silks, trapeze, floor partnering, Lyra, and Cyr wheel in their intimate studio theater. Tickets are just $12-17 each with two showtimes at 3 p.m. or 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, at Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center, 9315-E Monroe Rd in Charlotte. For info and tickets, visit: https://www.cltcirquedancecenter.org/close-up

Get ready to Dine Out For Kids® on Tuesday, June 21! Communities In Schools (CIS) is excited to partner with some of Charlotte’s best restaurants to host this favorite community-wide event that raises awareness around educational equity and benefits thousands of local students in public schools. Participating restaurants will donate a portion of sales on June 21 to CIS. All YOU have to do is go out to eat!

On Wednesday, July 20, a Lenovo-sponsored event will encourage young people, especially girls, to consider a future in technology. Two high school interns for Lenovo have created a virtual summer camp event, “Girls Belong in Tech,” for middle and high school students. This two-hour, virtual event will include special guest speakers, games, and prizes. There is no cost to attend the event, however registration is required.

About the Girls Belong in Tech event: How to participate
• Wednesday, July 20th from 3-5pm EDT on Zoom
• Register here: https://forms.gle/Jx5FSaozVwXSnDv87
• Website: http://www.girlsbelongintech.com/
• Visit on Instagram: @girlsbelongintech

Open Air is a monthly series of virtual studio visits and intimate conversations with Black contemporary artists across the United States. Join us as we celebrate a featured artist in one of our latest exhibitions.

This film stars Carol Speed as the title character, William H. Marshall and Terry Carter. It was directed by William Girdler, who co-wrote the film's story with screenwriter Gordon Cornell Layne. Blaxploitation horror movie Abby was a big hit when released in 1974, but it was pulled from distribution following a lawsuit from Warner Brothers, who claimed it was a rip-off of its 1973 hugely popular film, The Exorcist. Abby is a similar movie, although there are enough variations from the plot of The Exorcist where it could have had a fair chance to become major success.

Gospel concert presented by the Brighter Day Community Choir of Charlotte. "Choose Happy: A Gospel Guidebook for Embracing Joy", featuring song selections specifically curated to remind each of us that we can't choose our circumstances, but we can choose how they affect us. So even in the worst of times, choose to be happy.

This presentation by Fritz Hamer of the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will look at how South Carolina joined in to support our troops in the Great War. One of the crucial parts of building support for the war was the SC Council of Defense that the federal government encouraged all states to establish. Like most state councils in the nation, the SC Council soon also became involved in identifying those citizens who did not support the war. This led to the infringement of many people’s 1st Amendment rights, often on vague accusations and slim evidence. In Lancaster, Chalmers Wessinger, a respected educator, became the focus of the Council’s investigations. The main part of the presentation will focus on this investigation and its outcome.

To attend the lecture in person, please call (803) 313-7172 or email usclnasp@mailbox.sc.edu to reserve your spot.

To attend via Zoom, register via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvc-msrTMsE9a9RVfpZpZqRXJIVxNFyZnL

Set in New York City in the 1990s, "A House is Not a Home" explores the dynamics between father and son, hip-hop culture and the consequences of divorce. As a corrections officer for the City of New York, David is struggling to accept his role in the destruction of his family and marriage. Things take a turn for the worse when David invites a female friend to live with him and his twenty-year-old son. This original work, written by local playwright, Kenyatt M. Godbolt, is the 2022 winner of the annual Playwright's Festival, a collaboration between The Matthews Playhouse and the African American Playwrights Group (AAPG).


Performances​ & Special Events
Friday, August 19 @ 7:30pm - Jazz Performance beginning at 7:10pm prior to the performance
Saturday, August 20 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, August 21 @ 2:00 pm - Talkback with the playwright, director and cast immediately following the performance hosted by Toni Tupponce.
​Friday, August 26 @ 7:30pm - Jazz Performance with Vocalist Lenora Helms beginning at 7:10pm prior to the performance
Saturday, August 27 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, August 28 @ 2:00pm

More Info >> https://www.matthewsplayhouse.com/house-is-not-a-home

One of the most iconic instruments in jazz, the saxophone’s voice-like tone pushed it to a leading position on the bandstand. As a featured addition to this month’s fan-favorite JAZZ ROOM, our quartet of tenor saxophonists join us to discuss the impact of the jazz greats that epitomize the tenor saxophone, include Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and Chris Potter. We’ll also have the opportunity to get to know a bit about each of these featured musicians.

Saxophonist Panelists:
Chelsea Baratz
Stacy Dillard
Tommy Morimoto
Brice Winston

Thank you to the program supporters, who each bring jazz alive in Charlotte: Infusion Fund, Knight Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, South Arts, North Carolina Arts Council, Arts and Science Council, and O's Place Jazz.

Four tenor saxophonists walk into a room…back by popular demand! You don’t want to miss this evening of tenor madness delivered by a cast of the top players from the region and beyond.
Saxophone: One of the most iconic instruments in jazz, the saxophone’s voice-like tone pushed it to a leading position. Jazz greats that made tenor saxophone include Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and Chris Potter.
FEATURING:
Chelsea Baratz
Stacy Dillard
Tommy Morimoto
Brice Winston

Rhythm Section:
Kobie Watkins, drums
Shannon Hoover, bass
Kevin Bales, piano

The JAZZ ROOM provides a casual and intimate setting with tables and a full bar, reminiscent of the classic jazz rooms of yesteryear.

The 3K Sickle Cell Run/Walk heightens awareness about sickle cell disease and raises funds to provide necessary resources for persons living with sickle cell disease and their families.

Declared the Best New Play of 2019 by The Wall Street Journal, this sensational theatrical event knocks it out of the park with this incredible true story.

History is filled with trailblazers and Toni Stone was one of them. A pioneer, Toni Stone is the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, making her the first woman to play professionally in a men’s league in the 1950s. Against all odds, Stone shattered expectations and created her own set of rules in the male-dominated sports world.

Based on Martha Ackmann’s book Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, award-winning playwright Lydia R. Diamond tells the dynamic story of Stone’s journey of perseverance and resilience just to do what she loved the most — play baseball.

A vibrant new play about staying in the game, playing hard, playing smart and playing your own way. This show contains adult language and themes, including trauma to women and Black people, recommended for ages 16+

Starring Nasha Shandri as Toni and ten top-talent Charlotte actors in an ensemble depicting dozens of characters, you don’t want to miss the Charlotte premiere of Toni Stone opening at The Arts Factory at West End Studios, on August 19th.

Toni Stone
An Original Play by Lydia R Diamond
Directed by Dr. Corlis Hayes

Performance Dates
August 19-21
August 25-27
September 1-4
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m.
All performances are at The Arts Factory at West End Studios – 1545 W Trade Street, Charlotte NC

Dr. Brooke M. Bauer’s “Becoming Catawba: Catawba Indian Women and Nation-Building, 1540–1840” is the first book-length study of the role Catawba women played in creating and preserving a cohesive tribal identity over three centuries of colonization and cultural turmoil. Bauer, a citizen of the Catawba Nation of South Carolina and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, weaves ethnohistorical methodologies, family history, cultural context, and the Catawba language together to generate an internal perspective on the Catawbas’ history and heritage in the area now known as the Carolina Piedmont. She will talk about and provide a reading from the book.

To attend the lecture in person, please call (803) 313-7172 or email usclnasp@mailbox.sc.edu to reserve your spot.

To attend via Zoom, register via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpcu6vrjgjE9zsjE1x_i6GOxKfi6fHPmkR

The summer of 2022 includes two camps that bring out the creativity and ingenuity of our community's youth. In our mid-July Drum Building Camp with Drums 4 Life, students will create a djembe drum and learn the basics of the rhythm and traditions of this instrument. This camp will be led by Drums 4 Life founder, Kojo Bey. Over this weeklong camp, students are transformed into sculptors and musicians.

During the last week of July, our EnVision Me: Filmmaking Camp instructor Ben Premeaux will guide students through the basic elements of filmmaking. This group will have a short documentary-style film to share that will reflect the ways they understand community.

Support the creativity of youth with your entire family, during our Summer Camp Showcase!