Music & Arts

(02/04/12) Jazz singer Shirley Crabbe's new CD, "Home" is getting rave reviews and lots of national attention. She joined Joel Hurd on The Bridge (via Skype from her home near NYC) to talk about the new disc, growing up in a musical family, and a vocal cord injury that nearly ended her singing career before it ever even started.

(02/03/12) Artists Matt Burnett and Scott Fuller are known for creating several large scale outdoor art installations from Long Lake to Canton in recent years. They're back again this winter, and despite a lack of deep snow, they've put together an outdoor show at SUNY-Potsdam that combines elements of winter, nature and projected images.

Matt Burnett, who lives in the Adirondacks, and his collaborator Scott Fuller, from Maine, used large snow sculptures as a canvas for video images in a large scale outdoor exhibit at St. Lawrence University last year. They worked on similar outdoor art projects in Saranac Lake and Long Lake.

They launched their outdoor "E-Fraction" show last night on the SUNY Potsdam campus. It will be illuminated nightly on campus through the middle of next week. Todd Moe has a preview. more

(02/02/12) SUNY Potsdam is hosting an indoor/outdoor art exhibit this month that combines elements of winter, nature and video projections. Matt Burnett, who lives in the Adirondacks, and his collaborator Scott Fuller, from Maine, used large snow sculptures as a canvas for video images in a large scale outdoor exhibit at St. Lawrence University last year. They've worked on similar outdoor art projects in Saranac Lake and Long Lake.

The duo is back again this winter and despite a lack of deep snow, are working this week on another outdoor show at SUNY-Potsdam. We'll have more about their "E-Fraction" outdoor illuminated exhibit tomorrow morning during The Eight O'clock Hour.

The two artists are known for creating several large scale outdoor installations in recent years. Todd Moe stopped by campus earlier this week as they unveiled a massive indoor piece of art that dominates a two-story wall in the Gibson gallery. It's so large that they had to create it on Pendragon Theater's stage. Fuller and Burnett used paint, recycled wall paper and wooden panels to create what they call, The Last Painting.

(02/01/12) A new photo exhibit in Potsdam connects art, music, gardens and friendship. Photographer Jane Lammers spent time last spring, summer and early fall in the perennial gardens of three North Country friends.

She also assembled a playlist of music to accompany her exhibit, Perennial Bliss. It includes music by Jean-Pierre Rampal, Yo-Yo Ma and James Galway. The eight photos in the exhibit follow the seasonal flow in flower gardens.

Todd Moe spoke with Jane Lammers about gardens, photography and music. Her show is up through the end of the month at First Crush Bistro in Potsdam.

(02/01/12) The Northern Symphonic Winds winter concert is this Saturday night (7:30) in the Massena High School Auditorium. "Altered States" is the theme of the concert that will also include select Massena student musicians. The concert is a benefit for the school's music program. Todd Moe talks with conductor Brian Doyle about choosing a theme and music for the concert.

(02/01/12) Our guest is Jaimy Gordon. Her fourth novel, Lord of Misrule, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2011. Her other work includes the novels Shamp of the City-Solo, She Drove Without Stopping, and Bogeywoman. Pedro Ponce and Ellen Rocco host.

Thursday, February 2, Gordon will give a reading at 7:30 pm in Sykes Common Room on the St. Lawrence University campus in Canton NY, as part of the SLU Writers Series. This event is free and open to the public.

(01/31/12) Todd Moe talks with Jennifer Choi, the violinist from the eclectic string quartet, Ethel. They're artists-in-residence at the Crane School of Music this week and will present a concert in Potsdam at Hosmer Hall Thursday night (7:30). They have a cool name and the young musicians like to play music influenced by pop and jazz. Ethel will perform its "Present Beauty" program featuring music by Philip Glass from the movie, The Hours. Choi says the four musicians have backgrounds in the classical genre, but the group prefers adventurous music.

(01/30/12) Taking old things and using them for something new is far from a new concept in the North Country. More and more North Country artists are bringing that idea into their work. It's called upcycling. That's a new term that emerged in the '90s; it means taking something you might otherwise toss out, and making it into something new and better. Artists see it as a way to make interesting pieces with their own histories.

The materials they're using might not be new, but a lot of these artists are using new technology to build community with other artists, and to get their work out in our far-flung region. Nora Flaherty reports. more

(01/27/12) More than 30 free events are part of the 3rd annual celebration of ArtIgnite celebration in Kingston, Ontario. It starts today and continues through February 12th. Brian McCurdy, Cultural Director for the City of Kingston, says ArtIgnite is a winter showcase of arts and cultural events events, an eclectic mix of shows, exhibitions, concerts and art activities on the Queen's University campus and in downtown Kingston.

(01/26/12) Not all pipers start young - and they aren't all Scottish either.

John Sullivan came to Canada from England back in 1952. Today he lives in Ottawa and pipes in neighboring Kemptville. Sullivan took up bagpipes later in life, almost on a whim. This past Wednesday, he helped pipe in the haggis for a Robbie Burns luncheon held in Burritts Rapids, Ontario.

Prior to reciting the traditional "Address to a Haggis", Sullivan told Lucy Martin how he reached this point. Sullivan is today's Heard Up North. more