Tickets are $45-$55. For tickets or more information, visit www.dcdc.org. The Aronoff Center is located at 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati.
Miami East High School Choir receives superior ratings at OMEA High School and Ensemble Contest
Miami East High School students participated at the OMEA High School and Ensemble Contest, District 11, on Feb. 11 at Milton-Union High School.
Eight students earned a superior rating, the highest score one can earn, in Class A, the highest classification: Kierstin Thomas, Emma Anderson, Faith Thomas, Rylee Gardner, Vincent Crane, Charlie Zawalich, Austin Workman and Chris Smith. Six students earned a superior rating in Class B: Lexi Loughman, Izzy Rowley, Caden Woehrmyr, Jon Hatcher, Lilli Forsythe and Jocelyn Motter. Lia Gallegos also performed a Class B piece and earned an excellent rating.
Along with these soloists, three ensembles also performed and earned superior ratings. The first mixed ensemble, a small 12-person group, sang a Class B piece “Erev Shel Shoshanim.” The students included were Rylee Gardner, Abby Leiss, Jessa Lang, Jacqueline Kadel, Dottie Everett, Lexi Loughman, Vincent Crane, Cayden Wesco, Chris Smith, Tristan Rowley and Andrew Crane. The Chamber Choir, which included 23 students, performed a Class A piece titled “The Seal Lullaby.” Included were Rylee Gardner, Brooke Shafer, Abby Leiss, Emma Whitten, Jessa Lang, Emma Anderson, Alli Rose, Jacqueline Kadel, Carly Olson, Lexi Loughman, Keara Stace, Dottie Everett, Vincent Crane, Kierstin Thomas, Faith Thomas, Cayden Wesco, Chris Smith, Carter Leiss, Jon Hatcher, Tristan Rowley, Charlie Zawalich, Andrew Crane and Caden Woehrmyr. There was also a second mixed ensemble, which had 12 people performing “Erev Shel Shoshanim.” This small group included Brooke Shafer, Emma Anderson, Emma Whitten, Alli Rose, Keara Stace, Carly Olson, Faith Thomas, Carter Leiss, Charlie Zawalich, Caden Woehrmyr and Jon Hatcher.
“Our choir students had a very successful day,” said Omar Lozano, director of choirs for Miami East Local Schools.
More premieres for ‘Knee on the Neck’ cantata
Librettist Herbert Martin and composer Adolphus Hailstork’s 2021 cantata “A Knee on the Neck” will have its West Coast premiere March 10 and 12 at Stanford University featuring the Stanford Symphonic Chorus. The New York Choral Society will present the New York premiere June 13 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.
Written in response to the tragedy of George Floyd’s death, “A Knee on the Neck” has been described as “a forceful recounting of an unspeakable act of violence with a call for justice and resolve.”
Martin is an esteemed local author, educator and poet celebrated throughout the Miami Valley and around the world for his recitations of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poems. He also collaborated with Hailstork on the 2021 opera “Pity These Ashes: Tulsa 1921-2021,” written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati playwrighting competition
Tristate area playwrights are welcome to enter works for Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s fifth annual PLAY/write: The Jackie Demaline Regional Collegiate Playwriting Competition, held in memory of writer, critic and arts advocate Jackie Demaline.
Students currently enrolled full or part time at a university or college in the Cincinnati tristate region are encouraged to submit their plays to the competition. Dependent upon submissions, up to three winners will be chosen. Each winner will receive $2,500 from the Jackie Demaline Fund and a professionally staged reading of their script.
Demaline’s love of the arts started at a young age. Throughout her life, she continued to be a passionate believer in the arts as an entertainment writer and editor for multiple newspapers and publications. After moving to Cincinnati in 1994, she covered theater and the arts for The Cincinnati Enquirer for 20 years and worked as an important catalyst for change and growth during a time when new theaters and companies were popping up all over Cincinnati, helping to secure their place in the community.
After a four-year battle with cancer, Demaline passed away on June 17, 2018. As her final gift to the community, she arranged for her estate to fund the PLAY/write competition. Through this, her legacy lives on, providing new voice development, kick-starting arts careers, and caring for the community through thoughtful programming.
Submission deadline is Friday, March 31. For more information, including submission guidelines, visit https://ensemblecincinnati.org/playwriting-competition/.
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