Dish-Houston

Nice art opening this evening at Wade Wilson and the galleries of 4411 launching Houston's exciting fall art season.

Jill Moser-Party LineLarge-Scale:  The Painting Show

Featuring grand works by artists: Tom Berg, Lucinda Cobley, Jill Moser, Peter Sacks, Mark Williams, and
new gallery artist
Zachariah Rieke.

Opening tonight Friday September 9th, 2011
6pm - 9pm 

Wade Wilson Art  

4411 Montrose, Suite 200b
Houston, Texas 77006
Tue-Sat 11am -5pm and by appointment

This Saturday is the 17th annual Sing for Hope benefit for Bering Omega Community Services.

Founded by internationally renowned opera singer and former Omega House volunteer, Camille Zamora, this event not only raises critical financial support for one of Houston’s most important and effective HIV/AIDS service providers, but also is one of the most unique and truly enjoyable evenings on Houston’s fall social calendar. Camille gathers a cast from around the nation to perform on the Wortham stage and deliver an evening of classical opera arias and popular Broadway show tunes.

The event is chaired by Angelica & Ed Chapman and Dr. Roland Maldonado & Joel Bickley and Gabriela & Daniel Dror will serve as this year’s Honorees for Sing For Hope. The gala will take place on Saturday, September 10, 2011, where the evening will include a Prelude dinner, Opera and an on-stage Encore! champagne reception for all sponsors. New this year we have our Sing For Hope After Party and we encourage everyone to join this exciting and fun crowd for some late nite bites, dancing and entertainment.

It's not too late to get tickets to the event itself and or just the after party. Celebrate the arts while raising money and awareness for those living with HIV/AIDS in the Houston Community. For tickets, email Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@beringomega.org or call her at 713-341-3760.

The weather has started to cool a bit, the trees are gently rustling in the breeze and Theatre season is officially under way!

Last night at the beautiful new home in West University Sharin Gailly and her fiance Larry Norman graciously hosted the preview to the Alley's new season.

Among the crowd of patrons: Elizabeth and Tom Glanville, Gabriela and Daniel Dror, Caroline and Gary Kenny, Paula Fyhr, Astrid Van Dyke, Lori Freese.

Artistic Director Gregory Boyd had the crowd enthralled while describing the upcoming shows and their history one of which is closely related to Houston and it's art! The show "RED" which will be playing in the smaller theatre is about Rothko who's famous chapel is in the Museum District. John Logan’s intense and exciting two-character bio-drama opens in March.

The very first two shows are the world premier of Ether Dome and Dividing the Estate. Ether Dome is an emotionally challenging piece highlighting the inherent contradiction of profiting from people’s illnesses in the medical industry. Dividing the Estate is written by Horton Foote who famously sets his stories in Harrison, Texas. You won't want to miss this as Bloobmerg calls it "Sharp satire about a Southern dynasty in crisis".

They are even taking Chekov's The Seagull!

Get your tickets to the new season now before they sell out, and they will. This is one of the most cohesive and well thought out season the Alley has had in recent memory.

BY DISH CONTRIBUTOR MARK YZAGUIRRE:

Houstonians were generally disappointed when it was determined that the Johnson Space Center would not receive one of the retired space shuttles, now that the space shuttle program has been discontinued.  Instead, the remaining shuttle orbiters and the Enterprise test vehicle will be housed in California, New York, Florida and Washington DC.  Houston political leaders complained about this decision and an investigation occurred into the decision-making process.  This investigation determined that the decision was not a political one.  However, it did state that Charlie Bolden, the chief administrator of NASA, did not believe that a city's ties, or lack thereof, to the shuttle program or NASA should be considerations in whether to house the retired shuttles in that city.

            Let's be blunt - such criteria tipped the scales against Houston.  As stated in a Houston Chronicle article written by Eric Berger:

That decision set NASA on the path toward awarding its now-grounded fleet of orbiters to institutions in Washington, D.C., New York, Florida and California...  "I think the story here is that Houston was deliberately and intentionally denied the shuttle by Administrator Bolden," said Denis Braham, chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership's NASA Task Force. "There's no other way to read that report."  It was not clear exactly why Bolden chose to change the rules of evaluating the 21 proposals submitted by institutions to NASA, but in the end he prioritized putting the orbiters in high-tourism locations.

            Admittedly, Houston is not a major tourism center.  This is a city where people come to make their fortunes, not to spend their summer vacations.  But to prioritize tourism over history is ridiculous.  The space shuttle program was an important step in the history of American space exploration and that history is inextricably tied to the city of Houston.  Historical context matters and ignoring that context shows a disregard for the cultural ties a given artifact has to its location.  Under this logic, perhaps we should move the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Disney World, since more tourists could see it there.  Thanks for nothing, Charlie.

DISH had the most amazing opportunity that only 100 Houstononians are able to experience at a time. In early August, CANTARE Houston performed it's annual Walking Concert through the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. It was a musical stroll through centuries of world class art! This concert featured the exhibit of "Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting," that was on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland, Helhum Newton's WHite Somen, Sleepless Nights, Big Nudes and more.

Artistic director Kevin Riehle and the singers of CANTARE performed cappella treasures from the Golden Age - music of Monteverdi, the Gabrielis, Willaert and other composers of the fertile Venetian period.

As we strolled through the 5 different rooms for music that matched the art of the exhibit we had the gift of historical narration and artistic commentary provided by the curator Helga Aurisch. There was a water song next to Manet and American music next to Tiffany and Jackson Pollock. 

Next time this opportunity comes up you MUST attend! Give yourself the gift of Hearing the Art!Admission is limited to 100 people each night and tickets are $50 each. DISH Encourages you to Hear the art of the MFAH, like you've never heard it before!

PLUS...there is a champagne reception and unique door prize giveaways following the concerts...=)

CLICK HERE for the Cantare Houston Schedule and to purchase your tickets now.