DURHAM -- Vocalist and pianist Norah Jones will perform at the Durham Performing Arts Center Aug. 8. Tickets go on sale Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. Ticket prices start at $38 and can be purchased at the DPAC Ticket Center, 680-2787, and online at DPACnc.com. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster outlets: FYE and Lowes Foods.
On the heals of her 2009 release "The Fall," Jones will make her debut appearance on the DPAC stage. Best know for her blend of jazz and traditional vocal pop with hints of bluesy country and contemporary folk, Jones gained recognition in 2002 with her release "Come Away with Me," which included the hit single "Don't Know Why" which garnered her five Grammy Awards the same year. In 2004, she followed up with 2 more Grammys with her collaboration with Ray Charles for "Here We Go Again" and one for her single "Sunrise" from the album "Feels Like Home."
NCCU music faculty fundraiser is today
DURHAM -- North Carolina Central University Music Department and the NCCU Colony of Sigma Alpha Iota will host a free concert today in B.N. Duke Auditorium, at 7 p.m. The NCCU music faculty, accompanied by a quartet of instrumentalists from the Jazz Studies Program, will perform jazz music and popular standards, including original compositions, and excerpts from members' recordings.
Small group and solo performances will round out the night of jazz. Michael Hanna, NCCU graduate student and grandson of jazz pianist Sir Roland Hanna, will also perform.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble will perform under the direction of co-directors, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, and Arnold George.
The concert is a fundraiser to support the ensemble's participation in the New York City Jazz Festival, Feb. 26 to March 1, at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The event, sponsored by Manhattan Concert Productions, is by invitation only, and includes ensemble clinics, with clinician, Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, as well as an adjudicated performance in the famed Allen Room. Proceeds from CDs and other merchandise that will be on sale at the concert will go toward the trip.
Composer and priest to lead Haiti benefit
DURHAM -- Composer, choreographer and Haitian Vodou priest Erol Josue will perform a benefit concert for earthquake relief in Haiti at 8 p.m. Saturday in Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University.
"This performance of song, drumming and dance is meant to support Haiti in the wake of the earthquake," Josue writes of this benefit concert. "We take this road in order to sing our country, to embark on a new pilgrimage, and gather together as we seek to change the destiny of our country.
All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Red Cross to help provide immediate assistance to those affected by this tragedy.
Admission is a suggested donation of $10. For information or to purchase tickets, visit tickets.duke.edu or call 684-4444. Tickets also will be available at the door.
LabourLove to hold monthly ArtSlam
DURHAM -- LabourLove Gallery will hold an ArtSlam today from 7 to 9 p.m. at the gallery, at Golden Belt, 807 E. Main St. The gallery held the first ArtSlam in December. The slam consists of three, 20-minute rounds. The audience contributes ideas, and one is randomly pulled from a hat. The artists create their best interpretation of the suggestion, and the gallery auctions off the artwork at the end of the night.
This week's slammer's are Dave Alsobrooks, the Durham Art Guild's current Artist-in-Residence at Golden Belt; Kelly Dew, owner and curator of LabourLove Art Gallery; and Luis Franco, who works in both digital media and paints.
For information, visit labourlove.com.
Wedding dress display benefit
CHAPEL HILL -- A collection of dresses and memorabilia will be displayed at University Baptist Church, 100 S. Columbia St., beginning Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
The display will include items belonging to several generations of church members and will include dresses, photographs, invitations, and other keepsakes.
A suggested donation of $5 will benefit Rock Against Cancer (www.rockagainstcancer.org), an organization which brings the healing power of music to children battling cancer.
For more information, contact University Baptist Church 919-942-2157 or visit www.ubc-ch.org
'Afrodisiac' artists to visit Chapel Hill
CHAPEL HILL -- Chapel Hill Comics will host a signing for the new "Afrodisiac" hardcover by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Rugg and Maruca are the artist and co-creator of "Afrodisiac." They also worked together on "Street Angel," the saga of a 13-year-old skateboarding homeless ninja girl, which is also a Chapel Hill Comics favorite.
Rugg and Maruca will sign and talk about their books. The store will have plenty of copies on hand of the "Afrodisiac" hardcover, plus other works.
Chapel Hill Comics is at 316 W. Franklin St, For information, call (919) 967-4439.
Ackland to hold Community Day
CHAPEL HILL -- The Ackland Art Museum will hold Community Day Saturday. This event is a daylong exploration of art and ideas from around the world. Artists will lead workshops, gallery teachers and docents will lead guided tours, and a full schedule of other programs and events offer something for the family.
Events begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 2 p.m. Admission is free. Detailed schedule below:
The Ackland Art Museum is at 101 South Columbia Street in Chapel Hill. For more details about Community Day events, call 966-5736 or visit www.ackland.org.
UNC outdoor drama auditions
CHAPEL HILL — Actors, singers, dancers and technicians are invited to audition for next summer’s outdoor historical dramas on March 13 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Auditions are open to anyone 18 years or older with theatre experience.
Applicants must register online at http://outdoordrama.unc.edu/auditions. There is a $60 nonrefundable fee; the deadline for registration is Feb. 26. Call (919) 962-1328 or e-mail outdoor@unc.edu for more information.
This year, representatives of nine theater companies will be at UNC’s Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road, casting for more than 20 outdoor productions. Typical contracts offered will last nine to 12 weeks in June, July and August.
Check-in for the auditions will be from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. in the center lobby. All auditions, call-backs and technical interviews will be completed on audition day.
For more information, visit www.unc.edu/depts/outdoor.
Sanford School photo exhibit
DURHAM — An exhibit of photographs capturing the stories and experiences of American adults who have difficulty reading is now on view at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
A presentation, viewing and remarks by photographer Gretchen Ferber, Rebecca Shaffer of the Durham Literacy Center, and professor Alex Harris, creative director for the Lewis Hine Documentary Fellows Program, will take place at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Rubenstein Hall on Duke’s West Campus. A reception will follow.
This event and the exhibit are free and open to the public.
Approximately 1 in 7 American adults struggle to read anything more difficult than a basic children’s picture book, according to the Department of Education. “Something More Out of Life” features 17 individual portraits of adult education program participants, along with their comments about their experiences as adult learners.
The exhibition is on view on the first floor of Rubenstein Hall on weekdays during working hours.
Author O’Neal to read novel
Author L.M. O’Neal will read and sign copies of the book “See You at the Station” Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Barnes and Noble in Southpoint Mall, 8030 Renaissance Parkway.
In “See You At The Station,” Michelle, Timmy, and Shelia live in Lake City. One sees into the future, one will die, and one is consumed by evil. O’Neal weaves a haunting story full of unseen dangers.
Duke Theater student projects
DURHAM — The Duke University Department of Theater Studies will present “You, Me, and the Devil,” an original play written and directed by Danya Taymor that explores “what-ifs” of Colombian history through various media including dance, cinema and music. The production is Taymor’s senior distinction project and will run in Brody Theater on Duke’s East Campus Feb. 11-13 at 8 p.m.
The play follows Elizabeth Mora, a Colombian journalism student, who finds herself stuck with the topic of narco-trafficking for her final project at the University of Medellín. Taking a risk, she contacts Pablo Escobar, who at the time is an up-and-coming face in the Colombian drug trade.
Throughout her journey of discovering the man Pablo Escobar could have been, Mora meets a variety of Colombians who change the way she perceives life and the world around her.
Admission is free. (Tickets at the door.)
— Compiled by Cliff Bellamy
