WT choirs to close year with rousing concert
CANYON — West Texas A&M University choirs will offer a mix of folk songs, classical works, American standards and spirituals in their final concert of the academic year — plus a song by The Beatles.
The WT Chamber Singers, Collegiate Choir and Chorale will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 30 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.
“The final concert of the WT Choirs’ season will offer plenty of variety as we come to the culmination of a banner year for the WT choral program,” said Dr. Sean Pullen, professor of music and director of choral activities. “The Chamber Singers, Collegiate Choir, and Chorale will perform a new program of music the audience is sure to enjoy.”
Among the works on the program are “Here Comes the Sun, written by George Harrison and released by the Fab Four in 1969; “Till There Was You” from “The Music Man” by Meredith Wilson; traditional spirituals “Do Lord, Remember Me,” “Hush!” and “Oh, What a Beautiful City”; and more.
Student conductors will include Eduardo Guaderrama, a graduate student in choral conducting from Friona; Brady Fellers, a junior music education major from Borger; and Sauncy Reddick, a senior music education major from Beaver, Oklahoma.
For information, call 806-651-2840.
WT Concert, Symphonic Bands to offer free spring performances
CANYON — The West Texas A&M University Concert Band and Symphonic Band will highlight celestial fantasies and mystical voyages at their upcoming spring concerts. The bands will perform, respectively, at 6 and 8 p.m. May 1 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.
The Concert Band’s program will include “Galactic Fanfare” by Randall Standridge, “Chimes of Liberty” by Edwin Franco Goldman, “Stubernic Fantasy” by Mark Ford, “Give Us This Day” by David Maslanka” and “A Deep Reverberation Fills with Stars” by John Mackey.
Mackey himself worked with the band April 16 on his composition, a new work inspired by the way the world ground to a halt during Covid-19 lockdowns.
Patrick Lucas, a graduate student in music performance from Odessa, will conduct “Galactic Fanfare. Gerry Lara, a graduate student in music performance from Midland, will conduct “Stubernic Fantasy,” which features percussion soloists Aidan Caballero, a sophomore music education major from Odessa; Brandon Garcia, a sophomore music education major from Amarillo; and Mason McWest, a junior music education major from Amarillo. All three will perform on the same, large marimba.
The Symphonic Band’s program will include “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise” by Eugene Lockhart, Ernest Seitz and Harry Alford; Concerto for Trumpet by Alexander Arutiunian; “Nessun Dorma” from “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini; and “Il Concerto” by Oscar Navarro.
“We’ll close with Mackey’s ‘Wine Dark Sea’ in celebration of its 10th anniversary,” said Don Lefevre, associate professor of music and director of bands. “John also worked with the Symphonic Band on April 15, and the students found it so inspiring to work directly with the composer.”
Soloists will include Dayton Scholz, a junior music education major from Amarillo, on the Navarro piece, and Emily Sotelo, a graduate student from Greenwood, on the Arutiunian concerto..
Texas Panhandle Student Art Show opens at AMoA
The Texas Panhandle Student Art Show is on display April 27 through May 10 at the Amarillo Museum of Art (AMoA), located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College.
The show is an opportunity for students to exhibit and compete in the area of visual art. All eligible entries will be displayed and participating students will receive certificates.
Senior portfolios may be hung by participating students and will be judged for eligible scholarships. Artwork will be judged for 10 Individual Best of Show Awards and a Best of Show Portfolio with each winner receiving an honorarium from the Amarillo ISD Arts Department. The Education Credit Union also sponsors 2 Georgia O’Keeffe Excellence in Art & Creativity Awards for one middle school and one high school student. The ECU will also award a scholarship to one senior portfolio student. AC and WT will award scholarships based on portfolio review and interviews conducted during Scholarship Night.
The Texas Panhandle Art Education Association will also present awards. A reception on Friday, May 10th at 6:30 p.m. at the museum will honor these winners and all participating students.
Elementary artwork is encouraged for exhibition; however, awards are only eligible for secondary art students.Museum hours are Friday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. For additional information, visit www.amoa.org, email amoa@actx.edu, or call (806) 371-5050 or (806) 371-5392 (weekends)
Spring Art Exhibition to highlight works of graduating WT seniors
CANYON — Five West Texas A&M University student artists who’ll soon begin making their mark on the world will offer one last look at their work in an upcoming exhibition.
“The World Is Our Oyster,” on view May 2 to 18 in the Dord Fitz Formal Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall on WT’s Canyon campus, will feature the work of five May graduates, all studio art majors: Kayla Monds of Pampa, Chit Pu of Amarillo, Cristal Chavez Saavedra of Amarillo, Anna Vongkaysone of Amarillo and Andrea Hernandez of Amarillo.
The show will open with a 5 to 7 p.m. May 2 reception in the gallery.
Monds makes paintings that bring Greek Mythology into modern times. Pu takes digital sketches and blows them up into large-scale abstractions. Saavedra’s paintings explore nontraditional renderings of sugar skulls. Vongkaysone makes nostalgic paintings that fuse hyperrealistic imagery with abstracted symbols. And Hernandez makes ceramic sculptures that focus on everyday objects and food.
Fitz Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and by appointment Fridays and Saturdays. Email jrevett@wtamu.edu.
AC theatre presents musical ‘The Hello Girls,’ inspired by America’s first women soldiers
A patriotic musical about America’s first female soldiers – “The Hello Girls” – the unsung bilingual women who operated telephones and helped turn the tide of World War I – will cap Amarillo College’s Theatre Arts Program season.
“The Hello Girls” will enjoy a six-day run over a couple of weeks at the Experimental Theatre on the Washington Street Campus. Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. May 2-4, and the run will be capped with a matinee beginning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.
“The Hello Girls,” written by Cara Reichel and Peter Mills, debuted in 2018 in New York City. The show, which sheds light on the little-known history of the first women to serve in the U.S. Army, also doubles as a lesson in feminism. It was in 1918 when the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 bilingual telephone operators to France to help improve communications. They swore Army oaths, wore uniforms, held rank, and were subject to military justice, yet when they returned home the government denied their soldier status. They fought for decades for recognition, and in 1977 when they finally received it, only a handful remained alive.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students (college or high school), senior citizens, and AC employees. They can be purchased at the door or online. For groups of 10 or more, tickets are $6 if purchased at least 24 hours in advance.
Mario Lopez to appear for meet & greet at Hodgetown on May 5
The Amarillo Sod Poodles announced that Mario Lopez will make an appearance at Hodgetown for a special meet and greet on Sunday, May 5. The former “Saved by the Bell” and “Access Hollywood” star is scheduled to have an on-field pre-game interview with Sod Poodles broadcaster Stefan Caray along with throwing out the first pitch.
Lopez is also scheduled to be available for photo opportunities with fans on the concourse outside of the team store for a portion of the game.
Throughout the game, Casa Mexico Tequila will be hosting tastings on the concourse for fans 21 years old & up. Fans will also be able to enter a chance to win a signed Mario Lopez baseball and a guaranteed one-on-one meet and greet but must be present to win. Mario and Casa Mexico Tequila will also give away commemorative t-shirts to mark the special occasion featuring Mario Lopez and the Sod Poodles brand to the first 500 fans 21 & up upon entry at Hodgetown. Fans are encouraged to come to the ballpark when gates open at 12 p.m. to have the best chance to see the celebrity and take part in the pre-game festivities.
To celebrate the Cinco de Mayo at Hodgetown, the Sod Poodles will have four local food trucks serving a variety of festive eats and other themed activities.
The Amarillo Sod Poodles will be hosting their Oil Pan Cup Rivals, the Midland RockHounds (Double-A, Oakland) for the final game of the six-game series and first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Gates open at noon.
For the most up-to-date news on the Sod Poodles 2024 season along with detailed information on promotions, groups & hospitality, or other Hodgetown events, follow the team on social media @sodpoodles on Facebook, X, and Instagram. For questions and more information, call 806-803-7762 or email info@SodPoodles.com
AMoA hosting exhibit by Brooklyn-based artist
A Swoon exhibition will be on display at the Amarillo Museum of Art, April 13 through Aug. 11. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by an artist talk at 7 p.m. by Caledonia Curry. Admission is free for AMoA members or $10 for non-members. Tickets will be available at the door.
Caledonia Curry, whose work appears under the name Swoon, is a Brooklyn-based artist and is widely known as the first woman to gain large-scale recognition in the male-dominated world of street art. Curry took to the streets of New York while attending the Pratt Institute of Art in 1999, pasting her paper portraits to the sides of buildings with the goal of making art and the public space of the city more accessible.
In a moment when contemporary art often holds a conflicted relationship to beauty, Curry’s work carries with it an earnestness, treating the beautiful as sublime even as she explores the darker sides of her subjects. Her work has become known for marrying the whimsical to the grounded, often weaving in slivers of fairy-tales, scraps of myth, and a recurring motif of the sacred feminine. Tendrils of her own family history — and a legacy of her parents’ struggles with addiction and substance abuse — recur throughout her work.
The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College. Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. For additional information, visit www.amoa.org, email amoa@actx.edu, or call 806-371-5050 or 806-371-5392 (weekends).
Diamond and Gold Concert – A Tribute to Neil Diamond to perform in June
Diamond and Gold Concert – A Tribute to Neil Diamond, honoring the music of the great Neil Diamond and featuring Amarillo’s own Dean Yates, will perform June 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts in Amarillo.
Ticket sales benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Amarillo and cost $25 each, including fees. Tickets are available online at https://www.panhandletickets.com/, at the Amarillo Civic Center Box Office, by phone (806) 378-3096 and participating area United Supermarkets.
Band members include Yates – Guitar/Vocals, Dr. Dan Hanson – Keyboards, Mary Lyn Halley – Acoustic Guitar/Vocals, Marshall Pjesky – Guitar, Miranda Pjesky – Bass Guitar, Dr. Jim Rennier – Drums and Cathleen Tyson-Day – Vocals.
Yates has been a consummate performer in the Amarillo area for many years. Upon graduation from college, he passed the audition and was selected to perform as a lead guitarist for Dennis Yost of Classics IV fame. Yates traveled across the country performing the million-selling hits Spooky, Stormy, Everyday with You Girl, and Traces of Love at concerts, club dates and even at the White House. He has also performed in plays for theater and improv shows as part of the acting troupe, Merely Players. Currently, Yates can be seen in the Amarillo area as a solo artist, and as a founding member of the band, Insufficient Funds.
Throughout the years, Yates has developed a passion for the songs of Neil Diamond. He is looking forward to showcasing that passion in the band’s musical tribute to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Amarillo.For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/diamondandgoldconcert .
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Amarillo programs help alleviate some financial burdens for families with sick children. Their belief is when families are together, they cope better. No family should have to deal with their child’s medical crisis alone. You can find out more at https://www.rmhcofamarillo.org .
Amarillo Venom hosts home games, as well as concerts in May, June
Reyna Entertainment presents The Ice Man Paul Wall himself, coming to the Amarillo Venom game on May 18 at the Coliseum, 401 S. Buchanan.
Paul Wall will perform a live concert immediately after the game vs. the Mississippi Raiders, and Tommy Ontheradio will be on deck spinning heat. Tickets went on sale at noon Monday for this CBS, Hulu televised game on panhandletickets.com. A VIP meet and greet will be held before the concert, including backstage access, premium seat, exclusive VIP party during the game backstage, VIP bar, autographed ball and Venom gear.
Reyna Entertainment is also presenting Don Louis live at the Amarillo Civic Center on June 15. The concert is set to begin at 7 p.m., and tickets are on sale now. Brace yourselves for an electrifying night featuring a stellar lineup of five bands, setting the stage on fire before Don Louis takes over, a concert announcement says. Secure your spot now at panhandletickets.com and join them for an unforgettable evening of music, energy, and pure excitement.
YK Osiris will be performing at the May 11 Amarillo Venom game and will be holding a concert at the end of the game at the Amarillo Civic Center. Tickets are on sale now.
For more information about Amarillo Venom and Reyna Entertainment, visit their Facebook pages. For tickets, visit panhandletickets.com .
PPHM to host Dining with Giants gala in May
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum proudly announces that its next gala, Dining with Giants, a dinosaur themed affair, from 6 to 11 p.m. May 4. Seating is limited.
Guests will enter a Pioneer Hall transported back in time when giant dinosaurs roamed the earth and enjoy themed hors d’oeuvre and cocktails, silent auction items and more before the dinner begins.
Back this year, a fully engaging experience awaits the highest VIP levels in our Paleontology gallery with a special bar, themed hors d’oeuvres and exquisite service. This space will be limited.
Dinner will be served in the PPHM Derrick Room, where guests will enjoy a four-course meal “dining with giants.” A live auction will be followed by dancing and drinks in the transformed Pioneer Hall.
Amarillo’s first ever drone show at Hodgetown set for June 7-8
The Amarillo Sod Poodles are excited to announce the addition of back-to-back drone light show performances at Hodgetown on June 7-8. The Sod Poodles have partnered with Sky Elements to bring 200 drones to light up the Amarillo sky and pay homage to Sod Poodles baseball and other iconic Amarillo history and imagery.
Sky Elements, based in Fort Worth, is the leading drone light show provider in the United States. Their experienced team has brought the art of drone light shows all across the country for community events, sports teams, businesses, artists, and major brands alike. The company set the Guinness World Record for the largest aerial sentence formed by multirotor/drones during their Fourth of July weekend performance last year in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The shows will take place on Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8 when the Sod Poodles host the Tulsa Drillers (Double-A, Los Angeles Dodgers). Games are set to begin at 7:05 p.m., with gates opening at 6 p.m.
For more information on promotions and other news, follow the team on social media @sodpoodles on Facebook, X, and Instagram. For questions and more information, call 806-803-7762 or email info@SodPoodles.com .
Dali’s Wonderland exhibition on display at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) recently debuted its newest exhibit, “Dali’s Wonderland.”
“Dali’s Wonderland” is in partnership with the West Texas A&M University Information Technology Department. Thanks to this partnership, the exhibition will feature a virtual flipbook of Dali’s works. In the coming months, IT will also be working with to create an artificial intelligence and augmented reality aspects to this exhibition. The museum will offer some special programming this summer around the exhibition and those details will be announced soon.
Located on the campus of West Texas A&M University, PPHM offers visitors a chance to step into Texas Panhandle history with special exhibits, a permanent collection, special events and more. For more information about PPHM, visit www.panhandleplains.org.
Sesame Street Live! Say Hello coming to Amarillo in June 2024
Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, and their Sesame Street friends will be featured in an all-new live show, “Sesame Street Live! Say Hello,” coming to Amarillo on June 26, 2024.
Tickets are available now online via panhandletickets.com . Round Room Live and Sesame Workshop are proud to announce the new live show, which will bring the beloved characters from the iconic Sesame Street to life in a brand-new interactive production that will tour the U.S. and Canada beginning in April 2024.
“For over 50 years, Sesame Workshop has worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts,” said Whit Higgins, Sesame Workshop Executive Vice President, Head of Global Enterprises, in a news release. “Round Room Live has a history of working with new and iconic properties to create engaging and thrilling live events. We can’t wait for families and friends to enjoy this brand-new Sesame Street show filled with song, dance, and a few fun and furry surprises.”
Fans can visit SesameStreetLive.com now for tour dates and ticket information, and follow Sesame Street Live social media for exclusive tour content. For more, visit www.SesameStreet.org .
