Copious Notes

French popsters Phoenix scored this year with "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix."

Walter T offered his annual choice of the best in pop music Sunday, and for the second year, here’s a second opinion of top pops that caught my ear this year.

Favorite album: “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” Phoenix – Yes, this probably sounds easy: the classical music guy digs the album from the Versailles (the one France) guys named after one superstar composer with a leadoff single about another one. Add to the mix the fact that the video for that song “Lisztomania” was shot at Bayreuth’s legendary opera house. But more important than any theming, the appeal of “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” lies in its wistful electronic wash. I didn’t know they still made music like this. “Lisztomania” is a bouncy little song that draws its inspiration from the pandemonium that ensued when Franz Liszt (1811-1886) played his virtuosic recitals and people, particularly women, went mad. The lyrics about fame and pleasing the privileged while wishing for something simpler and purer conjure romantic black and while images. The spirit of that song carries through the album, particularly “1901,” “Fences” and “Lasso,” which all stand around the album’s cinematic centerpiece, the two parts of “Love Like a Sunset.” “Wolfgang Amadeus” also features some symphonic flourishes such as recurring themes and motifs. Altogether, the album shows Phoenix as a band simultaneously capable of simplicity and something much more grand – kind of like another act that inspired some mania. It’s worth noting that if you love this album, you have to hear the 15-track remix collection that stretches a lot of these songs, particularly “Fences,” in numerous different directions.

Other 2009 faves: Lily Allen, “It’s Not Me, It’s You” — snarkiness sounds better with a soft British accent; Grizzly Bear, “Veckatimest” — here’s your classical influence in pop; Lady GaGa, “The Fame Monster” — Madonna has a true successor; Brad Paisley, “American Saturday Night” — great contemporary country from the genre’s resident guitar geek.

Lady GaGa.

Favorite single: “Bad Romance,” Lady GaGa – You want to talk audacity in 2009? I give you, “Ga! Ga! OoooLaLa!” No one since Madonna has had the confidence to approach a follow-up single with the boldness to tout her own allure. After “Poker Face” and “Love Game,” I didn’t think Lady GaGa had the capacity to be anymore of a guilty pleasure than she already was. Then this earworm of a track came out and blew us away. The confidence is supported by a strong groove and authoritative vocal. That she so quickly turned a new collection, “The Fame Monster,” after the runaway success of her debut album, “The Fame,” and that it builds on her initial bow, bodes well for Lady G. Awesomeness.

Other favorites: Black Eyes Peas, “Boom Boom Pow” — and we thought it was over; Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, “Run This Town” –  sometimes these all-star summits pay off; Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me,” — tween anthem or not, it’s a great single; Wilco, “You Never Know” — George Harrison lives.

Sunday morning, I had to sweep my jaw out of my scrambled eggs while reading a column by parenting expert John Rosemond that advocated parents skipping their daughter’s first piano recital if they thought they had something more fun to do.

The situation Rosemond presented in his column, which I read in the Dec. 27 Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, was a pair of alleged adults who asked the girl’s grandmother to stand in for them at the recital while they went to a college bowl game – the column did not disclose the bowl or the parents’ relationship to the participating teams. Grandma correctly said they were shirking their parental responsibilities. But the parenting expert said sure, go to the game.

Kids need to learn to deal with disappointment, he said.

She may play better without the pressure of mom and dad in the audience, he added.

And, no kidding, he said college football games are more fun than piano recitals, anyway.

Now, I realize that many people would agree with that last statement at face value. But one of my two major issues with Rosemond’s column is rating this decision on the fun factor.

“Life is not all about what’s fun” is something my two kids got sick of me saying a long time ago. But it’s something these parents need to hear.

In condoning mom and dad’s decision, Rosemond, whose column also appears in the Lexington Herald-Leader and on Kentucky.com, seems to be steering them away from overindulging their child. But in doing so, he’s encouraging them to overindulge themselves. Yes, overindulged kids, helicopter parents and things of that sort are problems. Time magazine ran an excellent piece on the topic a few weeks ago.

But we’ve all known hobby parents who blissfully pursued the lifestyles to which they were accustomed as if having kids had no more impact on them than taking up stamp collecting. In general, skipping a child’s first piano recital for a bowl game – Is there a more meaningless exercise in sports? – falls into that category.

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Heather Parrish led the most successful show of the year for Studio Players, the summertime production of "Always, Patsy Cline." Photo by Mark Cornelison | Herald-Leader staff.

New Year’s Day 2009, I assumed by New Year’s Eve I would have written about at least one Lexington arts group closing its doors. The economy was buried nose-first in the ground and theaters and other arts organizations were closing their doors around the county. While Actors Guild of Lexington did give us plenty of offstage drama, there actually were no fatalities here as far as arts groups go, and some even thrived despite the nation’s foundering fortunes.

The poster child for doing quite well, thank you very much, was Studio Players. In the depths of our national despair, Studio put up a winter show about Mary Todd Lincoln it thought would probably have limited appeal. And “The Last of Mrs. Lincoln” was a sold out hit that had to add performances to accommodate the audiences.

And that’s pretty much how 2009 went for Studio, the pinnacle of the year being the summer production of “Always, Patsy Cline” that added numerous performances including unprecedented, for Studio, Wednesday shows.

Studio was not alone in bucking trends. The Lexington Ballet went out and hired a new company of professional dancers, the ballet’s first pro troupe since the early part of this decade. Paragon Music Theatre presented its first two productions directed by new artistic director Robyn Peterman Zahn at the Lexington Opera House.

Now Lexington and Central Kentucky were not immune to economic challenges. Donations to campaigns cooled a bit and the Kentucky Arts Council has had to endure several cuts due to state cuts. But, everyone came out alive.

Of course, there were other big arts stories this year:

Scott Terrell conducts his first Masterclassics concert as music director of the Lexington Philharmonic in September. Photo by Matt Goins.

A new maestro: After two years of searching, the Lexington Philharmonic named Scott Terrell its new music director. He succeeded George Zack, who held the Philharmonic’s baton for more than three decades, and so far, it seems the change has done the orchestra good.

“This orchestra is coming alive,” Herald-Leader critic Loren Tice wrote, reviewing November’s MasterClassics concert. “There is a sense of cohesion, of belief that there is first-rate music being made here.”

The new face has given the Philharmonic a chance to rebrand itself with a more youthful profile, helped by a group of hip, young soloists to start Terrell’s debut season. In all, it has been a profound change for Lexington’s flagship arts group.

Now-departed Actors Guild of Lexington artistic director Richard St. Peter and managing director Kim Shaw. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Actors Guild melts down: Lexington’s one-time flagship theater had a very different year. Actors Guild of Lexington has long been angling to become the area’s fully-professional theater for adult audiences — Lexington Children’s Theatre has been a professional house for years. In May, it announced plans to make that move, but less than a month later, the bottom fell out. LexArts, exasperated after years of AGL’s financial roller coaster, withdrew annual general-operating funding from the theater. That nearly-$70,000 hit sent the theater into a tailspin, with both artistic director Richard St. Peter and managing director Kimberly Shaw eventually leaving to pursue other opportunities.

This fall, AGL has presented an abbreviated and altered schedule from what was announced in the spring. The December production of “The SantaLand Diaries” was reportedly sold out, and Actors Guild says it is making plans for 2010. But none have been announced.

It should be noted that at the same time this story has played out, other area theaters including the ones mentioned above plus The Woodford Theatre, Balagula Theatre and Children’s Theatre have thrived.

Abraham Lincoln played by Jim Sayre of Lawrenceburg, left, and Henry Clay played by George MGee of Georgetown put the finishing touches on their costumes outside the entrance to the Kennedy Center. Photo by Jonathan Palmer.

“Our Lincoln” in Washington: Many Lexington artists and groups go to perform in other areas on celebrated stages such as Carnegie Hall and even Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. But taking 375 performers from a diverse ensemble of groups to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington was a whole new level of ambition.

The Kentucky Humanities Council pulled it off, traveling – despite the epic ice storm that befell Central Kentucky – on the first days of February to put on a show for 1,463 people. The performance, narrated by Bob Edwards and including the Lexington Singers and the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, is now available on DVD from the Humanities Council Web site.

Film incentives pass: In June, the state General Assembly passed a bill providing financial incentives to filmmakers who shoot in Central Kentucky. The incentives – a 20 percent refundable tax credit for production and post-production expenses for feature filmmakers who spend at least $500,000 in Kentucky – are seen as essential to attract filmmakers. An immediate result was Disney’s “Secretariat” chose to come to Kentucky for filming in October.

New works: It’s always important to remember new performing arts works, because they help keep the disciplines vital and relevant.

This year started with the Lexington Ballet’s production of artistic director Luis Dominguez’s “The Magical Tales of Beatrix Potter” in March and concluded with The Woodford Theatre’s original holiday show, “The Christmas Presence.” In between, Actors Guild launched Silas House’s second work for the stage, “Long Time Travelling;” Pioneer Playhouse director Holly Henson presented “The Infamous Ephraim,” about Danville physician Ephraim McDowell’s historic abdominal surgery; the UK Opera Theatre premiered composer Joseph Baber and librettist James W. Rodgers’ opera “River of Time,” about young Abraham Lincoln; the Lexington Singers premiered “A Bluegrass Tapestry,” which was 11 songs accompanying the photography of Scott County’s James Archambeault; the Lexington Ballet presented “The Koln Concert,” set to Keith Jarrett’s iconic jazz concert album and the UK Symphony premiered Lorne Dechtenberg’s “Token of Affection.”

Other headlines

Kayoko Dan addresses the CKYO audience at her first concert, Nov. 15. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Lexington’s Michael Shannon was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for “Revolutionary Road.” … Lexington musical theater artist Christopher Tolliver was fatally shot at Lexington Green. … The New York Philharmonic played a sold-out show at Danville’s Norton Center for the Arts. … Lexington Children’s Theatre celebrated its 70th anniversary. … The Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras named Kayoko Dan its new music director. … Former UK Opera star Reshma Shetty landed role on the USA TV network’s series “Royal Pains.” … LexArts announced Horse Mania will return in 2010. … UK’s Cliff Jackson was named “coach of the year” by Classical Singer magazine. … Winchester’s Jason Epperson, runner-up on Fox’s “On the Lot” film-director reality series, shot his feature film debut, “Unrequited,” in Central Kentucky. … Norton Center completed a $3 million rennovation. … The Men of Note big band played its last gig. … Former Kentucky State University drama teacher and area director Jack Parrish died. … Norton Center director George Foreman announced he is leaving for a University of Georgia job. … The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes came to Rupp Arena for the first time with the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular.”

Derek Webb. Photo courtesy INO Records.

To be totally honest, 2009 was not collectively a great year for Christian pop music.

A lot of what passed across my desk was formulaic and tepid fare that inspired indifference. It sounded like an industry trying too hard to target demographics and not offend anyone while forgetting that what it’s supposed to do is make inspirational music.

But there were several albums that made me giddy with their independence and imagination. And those are the sorts of albums that make it a pleasure to sit down every December and write a list of my Top 10 Christian pop albums of the year.

1. Derek Webb, “Stockholm Syndrome” – Here are two things I really want in music: a strong point of view and creativity. In recent years, no one has delivered like Derek Webb. Webb didn’t take cover with this album, getting in the faces of Christians and challenging them to examine how they present themselves. Does the nation, the world, know you are Christians by your love? No would be his answer to evangelicals who seem to take comfort and pride in their self-perceived persecution. “Stockholm Syndrome” is the album Webb has been working toward for his entire solo career, an audacious challenge to his brothers and sisters in the faith he holds dear. But it is not just a great piece of advocacy, it is a great piece of music with Webb, traditionally a man with an acoustic guitar, exploring his themes with electronic and electrified soundscapes. You like to put masterpieces atop this list, and “Stockholm Syndrome” is one.

2. Flyleaf, “Memento Mori” — This young Texas quintet gave Mr. Webb a huge challenge in my estimation. They have all his confidence and clarity plus amazing musicianship that extends far beyond enigmatic frontwoman Lacey Mosley. “Memento Mori” is as skillful a blend of goth and hard rock sensibilities — two things many people have a hard time understanding together — as there is on record. If Flyleaf continues its upward trajectory on album three and future efforts, the band will have a legendary career.

3. Steven Curtis Chapman, “Beauty Will Rise” — It’s always a bit unnerving hitting the play button for the first time on an album you know was born of personal tragedy. There are several lines it is so easy to cross between legitimate art and, say, wallowing in self pity or seeming to try to profit from tragedy. Chapman, in his first album since the accidental death of his 5-year-old daughter, came no where near any of those lines. He did deliver a powerful testament to faith and how it can deliver you through pain.

4. Switchfoot, “Hello Hurricane” – With a solo and side project by frontman Jon Foreman, Switchfoot’s future seemed a little iffy. But this turned out to be the band’s most focused effort since 2003′s “The Beautiful Letdown.” The songs were examines faith and life, and much of the album sounded like the explosive release of a man who really wanted to rock after several mellow excursions.

5. Israel Houghton, “The Power of One” – I don’t think anyone ever mistook Israel Houghton for being restrained by his group, “The New Breed.” But with this solo effort, he was freer to move around the many styles at his disposal to make a very individual statement.

6. David Crowder Band, “Church Music” – Calling a David Crowder album “inspired” is sort of like calling a sunset gorgeous. True, but we’ve come to expect that. Still, “Church Music” took this great idea of using the form of a mainline church service to build a pop music statement of faith. Inspirational music indeed.

7. Relient K, “Forget and Not Slow Down” – Hardly typical ReK, this album was largely the product of a very lonely few months for frontman Matt Thiessen, and it largely tapped a different set of skills than are normally seen in the band’s trademark punky pop. It was a more introspective  style that, if you hadn’t paid much attention to it on other Relient K albums, could change the way you think about the group.

8. The Almost, “Monster, Monster” – First, Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie created The Almost by himself, playing and singing everything on the debut, “Southern Weather.” Then, he recruited a band to tour it. Then, the band became the band, recording this follow up that sounds like Gillespie’s original vision augmented by other strong ideas.

9. Bluetree, “God of This City” – Did we just hear the next great worship band? We were first introduced to Bluetree through Chris Tomlin’s recording of “God of This City.” This North American debut showed us Tomlin was drawing from a deep well with this passionate Irish band.

10. Skillet, “Awake” — Some have complained this is typical Skillet. But typical Skillet is pretty darned good — why do you think we hear “Hero” every week during Sunday night football — and “Awake” does show John Cooper’s growth as a songwriter and subtle adjustments to their sound that reveal a band not resting on its formula.

I was trying to break a wide-angle addiction when I took this shot of Luther Lewis III rehearsing for UK Opera Theatre's "It's a Grand Night for Singing." But here, the14mm lens caught the majesty of Luther's voice and the moment.

When producer Jeffrey Day (left) and director Jason Epperson (right) suggested we meet at the pool of a horse farm where they would be shooting their forthcoming feature, "Unrequited," it seemed like a cool opportunity for a portrait with a little "Hollywood in the Bluegrass" feel.

This was the second year I spent covering my beat with a camera in my hands a lot of the time. As I said, last year, covering stories as a writer and a photographer is an interesting approach, because you are instinctively trying to match these images to the story you are writing in your head. Or, in the case of slide shows I put together, you are trying to come up with images that tell the story.

Here are some of my favorite shots from 2009 and the stories behind them. Over the holiday weeks, I also encourage you to look out for year end packages from our amazing staff photographers. I know at least one great Lexington arts image is in that group too.

I have to confess, one of the reasons to get out the Lexington Children's Theatre's "Celebrity Celebration" show was the prospect of seeing State Sen. Kathy Stein and Lexington Legends founder Alan Stein as Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer.

Shooting shows has really enhanced my appreciation for set and lighting design, and I thought these next two shots of Jennifer Parr singing "Hello Young Lovers" in Paragon Music Theatre's "The King and I" (above) and Adam Luckey in SummerFest's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (below) really showed exquisite work.

Shooting Lexington Philharmonic guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen in a March rehearsal, at one point I chose a spot next to the violins to capture some of Chen's big expressions as she was exhorting the orchestra. I think my positioning really annoyed one of the violinists, so I tried to make quick work of the shot, which Chen helped with by concentrating on the violins for a moment. When Weekender page designer Randy Medema chose this shot to run with the story, I was really happy he validated my choice of locations -- apologies to the violins.

I don't think any actor ended up in front of my lens this year as much as this UK kid, Jeremy Gillett -- this would also indicate he's a really good actor who keeps getting cast. This moment was from a rehearsal of UK Theatre's "The African Company presents Richard III" in which Jeremy played the passionate Papa Shakespeare.

A few weeks before Studio Players' production of "Always Patsy Cline" opened, I went out to see Patsy, aka Heather Parrish, perform with her band, June July at Lower 48, which is now closed. It gave us a chance to see some of that Patsy spirit in Parrish, and another dimension to her music. Manning the bass is Ethan Hayen.

One of the cool things about being on the set of "Unrequited" in July was seeing some local talent I've covered for years, like sound engineer Wes Kawaja here, working with Hollywood talent like "Twilight's" Michael Welch, who Wes is wiring up.

Shooting drama, you like to get a picture that tells the story, and I thought this one did it for SummerFest's "Once on This Island." The Gods -- Erzulie (Alicia Helm McCorvey), Papa Ge (Jason Thompson) and Asaka (Tamera Izlar) -- conspire to play havoc with the life of Ti Moune (Tai-Kristin Smedley).

A cool thing about this job is when someone calls you up and says something like, "Want to come hear one of the first readings of Silas House's new play." Here, House listens as Missy Johnston reads some of his words in "Long Time Travelling."

And then, a few weeks later, you see the show on stage. In the world premier production of House's play at Actors Guild, Josiah Correll and Hayley Williams were Adam and Lora, childhood sweethearts who've grown apart in marriage.

Sad story behind this image. After an interview with Actors Guild artistic director Richard St. Peter and managing director Kimberly Shaw to talk about the theater's plans for the future, we went down to the Distillery District to see their new Manchester Street office, which was formerly Theo Edmonds' gallery. A month later, the theater lost its funding from LexArts and both St. Peter and Shaw left to pursue other opportunities.

I went out to shoot The City, a new band formerd to play fundraising gigs for not-for-profit groups, the day after Derby. Usually, the day after Derby, you want to just sit and stare out into space. But the music and moments like this one with drummer Arthur Rouse made the shoot a lot of fun.

Another cool thing about this gig is getting to go hear the new voice professor, soprano Cynthia Lawrence, rehearse with the UK Symphony.

In the UK Opera Theatre's world premier production of composer Joe Baber and librettist James W. Rodgers "River of Time," Billy the Barber (Reginald Smith Jr.) reminded Abraham Lincoln (Nick Provenzale) of his promise to end slavery.

I love getting great looks, great expressions, and Brittny Congleton delivered here, singing "A Little Priest" from "Sweeney Todd" with Alex Parker in a rehearsal for the UK Musical and Operetta Organization "A Night with Stephen Sondheim."

So, I'm heading out to interview iconic Kentucky photographer James Archambeault at his Scott County home, and my editor Scott Shive asks me to get a new shot of him. The one we had on file was more than a decade old. Photographing James Archambeault -- as one person said, that's sort of like cooking for Bobby Flay. But Archambeault was a prince about it, and meeting him was one of the highlights of the year for me.

I teamed up with the news reporters at WEKU-88.9 FM last week for a four-part radio series, “Building Arts ­Communities.”

The series looked at ­recruiting ­talent, establishing arts ­districts, our theater infra­structure and the success of Louisville’s cultural scene.

It was an interesting ­opportunity to step back from the event-of-the-week cycle that artists and arts journalists can get absorbed in and take a look at what is and isn’t working, what’s here and what’s needed.

Some recurring themes emerged.

The biggest one ­crystallized in the final ­installment, Ron Smith’s ­report about Louisville.

“So how does a city make a name for itself in the arts?” Smith asked. “In Louisville’s case, success can be traced to vision and leadership. The sparkle of what could be was in the eye of Mayor Charles Farnsley in 1937, when he helped create the modern Louisville Orchestra. Twelve years later, Farnsley founded the Fund for the Arts, making Louisville the first community in the nation to gather arts groups together for an annual fund drive.”

Smith then ­chronicled how that vision was handed off to Fund for the Arts director Allan Cowen, who joked that his tombstone would bear the ­inscription, “We’ve got one more ­campaign, and it’s going to be a difficult one.”

Smith could have ­chronicled other visionary Louisville leaders, including Jon Jory, the Actors Theatre of Louisville director, who had this crazy idea of ­staging a festival of new plays in ­Louisville and inviting the ­nation’s producers and ­critics to see what was going on. Nearly a decade after Jory’s departure, the Humana Festival of New American Plays remains one of the ­biggest dates on the ­American theater calendar.

There were other ­examples of leadership on equal and smaller scales. Stu Johnson started his report about arts districts by talking about how Lexington artist Pat Gerhard’s vision for a groovy little coffee shop and store has made Third Street Stuff the anchor of a ­developing artsy area around Third Street and North Limestone.

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Immanuel Baptist Church might have made the question “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” easier to answer for some Christian music fans.

Britt Nicole. Photo by Reid Rolls.

Chart-topping Christian pop artist Britt Nicole will be on stage at the church to help ring in the new year and say goodbye to the aughts.

The New Year’s Eve bash was the ­brainstorm of Josh Hawk, Immanuel’s pastor of students and families. He says working with an organization called Student Life, starting when he was attending New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, oriented him to presenting big events. When he was the student pastor at Calvary in Savannah, Ga., he brought in artists such as Jeremy Camp and Rebecca St. James.

So, when he came to ­Immanuel, he wanted to do the same sorts of things.”We wanted to do a big ‘New Year’s Eve rocks’ kind of thing,” Hawk says. “So we said, let’s do it right the first time.”

Hawk says he actually had Nicole in mind when he called a booking agent he had ­gotten to know but thought he wouldn’t be able to get her. He quickly found out the price was right.

“I was looking for someone who’s a rising star, and I saw her a few years ago at a New Year’s event called ‘Extreme’ in Gatlinburg, and I knew she was a great performer,” Hawk says.

Nicole released her second album, “The Lost Get Found,” this fall and had a No. 1 hit with the title track.

She debuted in 2007 with “Say It,” which introduced her as a hip, 21st-century young woman who could easily navigate a dance track. The new album continues in the same vein, softening the edges a bit.

Hawk thinks Nicole is poised to follow in the footsteps of Christian pop star Rebecca St. James.

Now, New Year’s Eve is not a typical concert night. Midnight is the focal point for the evening.

Hawk says that openers MikesChair will play at 8:30 p.m., take a break and come back to lead worship before Hawk delivers a talk.

“We do want a message to be part of the evening,” Hawk says. Then Nicole will take the stage about 10:30 and play until it’s time to ring in the new year.

“We’ll be tuned into Times Square and the ball dropping,” Hawk says. Then Nicole will play a few more tunes to start 2010.

2010 will include more marquee artists coming to Immanuel, including Echoing Angels on Jan. 11 and ­worship leaders Bluetree, which will play at morning worship Feb. 21 and return to perform later that day.

Go ahead and mark your calendars for Dec. 31, 2010, as Hawk says the New Year’s Eve bash “is something we envision as becoming a much bigger thing over the next couple of years.”

Ichthus price drop

While you’re looking ahead to 2010, you might want to start thinking about Ichthus tickets. The prices, down 20 percent, will take you back to the middle-aughts. Through Jan. 31, full-weekend tickets will be $69 for adults and $34 for ages 7 to 10.Acts already announced for Ichthus 2010, June 16 to 19, include Casting Crowns, Red, Skillet, Devil Wears Prada and Newsboys. For tickets, visit www.ichthusfestival.org or call (859) 858-3001, Ext.110.

Charles Compton and I had our last Friday morning arts chat of the year on WEKU-FM 88.9 this morning, touching on some of the bigger stories of the year including Scott Terrell’s appointment as the Lexington Philharmonic’s new music director and the travails of Actors Guild of Lexington.

We’ll be taking the next two Fridays off because they are Christmas and New Years day, and we presume you will have much better things to do those mornings (open presents and sleep, respectively) than listen to us yammer about arts.

We’ll have a much more comprehensive look at the year in arts right after Christmas in the Herald-Leader and here at le blog.

If you are a musical theatre performer, Kentucky Classical Theatre Conservatory literally has a way for you to start the year off on the right foot.

Tracey Bonner, who will direct this summer’s production of “Rent” for KCTC’s SummerFest, will be leading a three-day musical theater intensive starting at 1 p.m. Jan. 1 and running through Jan. 3. Admission is $50 to the workshop, open to high school students and up.

Bonner is a Lexington native who has performed in national touring companies and regional productions as well as choreographed and directed across the country. She is currently adjunct faculty at Azusa Pacific University and Miracosta College in California.

The workshop, held at the Schmidt Vocal Arts Center across from the Singletary Center for the Arts on the University of Kentucky Campus, will focus on Rent in both individual and ensemble classes.

For an application, visit the KCTC website. For more information, call KCTC education director, Trish Clark at 859.806.7429 or kctcsummerfest@yahoo.com.

The past few weeks, Facebook users have been getting a steady stream of messages from friends and not-for-profit organizations asking for clicks to support them in a campaign for a $25,000 grant from Chase’s Community Giving Program.

Lexington Children's Theatre artistic director Vivian R. Snipes and producing director Larry Snipes. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

One Lexington group, Lexington Children’s Theatre, finished in the Top 100 of the national competition that ended Dec. 12. That means the theater will receive $25,000 and be in the running for round two of the Community Giving campaign where one winner will receive $1 million, five will receive $100,000 and some other awards will also be made. Chase is donating a total of $5 million through the campaign.

Lexington Children’s Theatre was the only Kentucky group on the list of 100 winners from 31 states. Eligible organizations had to be not-for-profit groups with operating budgets of $10 million or less that serve the general population.

For the second round of voting, which will be Jan. 15 to Feb. 1, groups will have to submit a proposal of what they would do with a $1 million grant that Facebook users will be able to read.