Gateway Arts Council News

06.16.2009
Gateway Arts Council is proud to present The United States Army Field Band Volunteers on July 6th at 6:30 PM at the Shelby County Court Square in Sidney, Ohio. Audiences nationwide have been captivated by these energetic shows and their foot
stomping heart-racing music. The Gateway Arts Council is thrilled to have the U.S. Army Field Band Volunteers open our
2009-2010 season!    

The Volunteers is a six piece show band that takes the best popular music and blends it in a show that appeals to all ages. The band seamlessly mixes jazz, fifties favorites, and Motown classics at family-oriented shows while also focusing on rock, country, and pop hits. The group has performed before millions of listeners throughout American and abroad. Recent tours have included performances in Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Mexico, the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and a tour of the Hawaiian Islands. In 2005, they performed for over 18,000 at the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas. The group has been presented the Army Community Relations Award of Excellence by the Chief of Public Affairs, in recognition of their work with the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and the Rolling Road Special Education School in Baltimore. This is the highest award given by the Department of the Army for support to Army Community Relations.

The mission of The United States Army Field Band is “carry into grassroots of our country the story of our magnificent Army.”  The organization’s four performing components are the Concert Band, the Soldiers’ Chorus, the Jazz Ambassadors, and the Volunteers. Each component tours annually throughout the United States and travels abroad as directed by the Secretary of the Army.

Bring your lawnchairs, blankets and snacks, and settle in on the Shelby County Courtsquare for this FREE concert!

05.17.2009
“The hardest thing in the world is to start an orchestra; the next hardest, to stop it.” That bit of wisdom was uttered by Hans Richter more than a century ago, but he might very well have been speaking about the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which will swing into Sidney at the Sidney High School Auditorium on June 5, 2009 at 7:00 PM. Tickets to the event are $15.00 or $12.00 for AAA Members. They can be purchased at the Gateway Arts Council, Kroger in Sidney and Ron and Nita’s in Sidney.

The legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all the dance bandleaders in the Swing era of the 1930s and ‘40s.  A matchless string of hit records, the constant impact of radio broadcasts, and the drawing power at theatres, hotels and dance pavilions built and sustained the momentum of The Glenn Miller Orchestra’s popularity. Miller disbanded his musical organization in 1942, at the height of its popularity, volunteered for the Army and then organized and led the famous Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. It went to Europe to entertain servicemen. On December 15, 1944, Major Miller took off in a single-engine plane from England to precede his band to France, never to be seen again. The army declared him officially dead a year later.

Due to popular demand, the Miller Estate authorized the formation of the present Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956 under the direction of drummer Ray McKinley. Trombonist Larry O’Brien is the present musical director. The 19 member band continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements that keep exciting fans who have not heard them played for a while. Additionally, they also play more modern selections in the big band style, carefully selecting only those newer tunes that lend themselves naturally to the Miller style and sound. The entire repertoire now exceeding 1, 700 compositions keep the band popular with audience members both young and old. The band performs for more than 500,000 people annually playing an average of 300 live dates per year nationally and internationally.

5.02.2009
Artist Gary Hovey of New Knoxville won The Minster Bank Best of Show Award at the Spring Fling 2009 Fine Art Exhibit and Sale held at the Ross Historical Society. Gateway Arts Council announced the awards during the Exhibit’s opening reception last night.

Top honors among the categories are as follows:
Watermedia: First Place (The Huffer Chiropractic Award) – Barbara Sailor of Jackson Center, Bountiful. Second Place (The Ron & Nita’s Award) – Linnae Wilson of Urbana, In the Swim. Third Place (The Tom and Polly Watkins Award) – Michiko Mathews of Minster, Cherry Blossoms on Potomac.

Ceramics: First Place (The Doris Allenbaugh Memorial Award) – Sharron Smith of Union, Endangered.  Second Place – (The Spot Restaurant Award) – Pamela J. Ridenour of Tipp City, Fruit Bowl. Third Place (The Aguirre-Couchot Award) – Jana Glass of Tipp City, Quilt.

Miscellaneous Art: First Place (The Sidney Electric Company Award) – Judy Thaxton of Eaton, Left Behind.  Second Place (The Elsass, Wallace, Evans, Schnelle & Co. LPA Award)– Tom Woodruff of Jackson Center, July 4th 1910 at The Reservoir 3D. Third Place (The Wilson Memorial Hospital Award) – Merril Asher of Sidney, Nothing But Flowers.

Drawing: First Place (AAA Shelby County Award) – Thomas Kinarney of Dayton, Food For Thought.  Second Place ( Sam Robinson MWWR Group Award)- Linnae Wilson of Urbana, Kiser Lake Morning.  Third Place (The David & Sherrie Lodge Award) – Judy Paden of Springfield, That Girl.

Oils and Acrylics: First Place (The Mary Beth Milligan Memorial Award) – Michelle Walker of Wapakoneta, Plain Air #1. Second Place (The Edison Community College Award) – Michelle Walker of Wapakoneta, Plain Air #2.  Third Place (The Shelby County Shrine Club Award) – Bonnie Roby of Wapakoneta, Molly & Dolly.

Photography: First Place (The Dr. William Ogle Memorial Award) – Terry Glass of Tipp City, The Burren-County Clare. Second Place (The First National Bank of New Bremen Award) – Scottie Howison of St. Marys, Drowning Our Sorrows. Third Place (The Creative Marketing Strategies Award) – Roger Brown of Sidney, Yukon Train.

Part of the Spring Fling Exhibit in previous years has been the The Congressional Art Competition.  This year the competition was held at a different location.  The winner of the 2009 Congressional Art Competition Fourth Ohio District,(Congressman Jim Jordan)was Karrie Platfoot from Botkins High School. Her work will move to the district competition on May 8 in Lima, Ohio. Winners at the district level will have their work hang in Washington, DC.
The Spring Fling Exhibit is a partnership between the Gateway Arts Council and Shelby County Historical Society and is presented annually. This year’s exhibit included 244 pieces submitted by 102 artists. The Exhibit, which is free and open to the public May 2 through 16, helps to make the arts available to as many people in Shelby County as possible.

The “creative awareness” brought by the arts can be vital to the quality of life in people and in the community.  It helps to encourage communication, teamwork, expression, sense of community, and creativity and imagination.  The arts are a reflection of life, and therefore make for common ground, spanning every kind of gap between people.  They are a universal language among people, and give us a better understanding of our world.

3.23.2009
Seventeen young Shelby County musicians came together to perform at Gateway Arts Council's first ever Music Matters Recital March 21 at the Masonic Lodge in Sidney to an audience of more than 150.

The talented students, ranging in ages 12 to 18, performed vocal and instrumental solos to help benefit the Shriner's Hospitals for Children.

The students performing from Anna High School were Renelle Adams, oboe; Donnie J. Day, baritone saxophone; Seth Hulsmeyer, tuba; Josh Schweitermand, snare drum; and Jordan Unverferth, snare drum. The performers from Sidney High School were Lauren Stearns, piano and vocal; Jalee Clendenin, vocal; H. Kearns, vocal; Tristine Toves, piano; and Grady Hoellrich, vocal. Russia Local Schools representatives were Greg Cotrill, baritone saxophone; Shelby Langenkamp, piccolo and piano; and Mason Hoying, piano. Jeremy Hamilton, french horn, and Jessica Wells, vocal, represented the musical talents of Fairlwan High School. Performing from Sidney Middle School was Eric Barnes, piano. Performing from Holy Angels Catholic Schools was Joey Skelton, piano.

Music Matters is a Gateway Arts Council program that gives area youth the opportunity to create music and demonstrate their talents. The goal for the program is to not only provide instruments to those in need, but also provide addtional music education and performance outlets for young musicians in Shelby County. As a benefit for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, this concert was not only an opportunity for these young musicians to perform for the community, it was also a chance for them to give back to other children. Gateway Arts Council was proud to present the first-ever Music Matters Recital and looks forward to doing it again next year!

3.10.2009
If laughter is the best medicine, then Tom Mullica delivered a healing dose of it with his PERFORMANCE TRIBUTE TO RED
SKELTON. Sunday night, the audience was treated to a heartwarming and hilarious portrayal of America ’s favorite clown. Tom Mullica's one-man tribute show was a living, breathing depiction of Red Skelton. He faithfully captured the gentleness, sweetness, humor and improvisational aspects of Red Skelton along with Red’s many loveable characters. For the 700 patrons who attended the show, it was a trip down memory lane, complete with vintage comedic sketches and the heartwarming moments like Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance.

Among the sold out crowd were individuals from over 22 different villages/cities, some as far away as Cleveland , Cincinnati and , Ky. This production, which is the first of two in Gateway Arts Council’s Presents Series, was held Sunday, March 8, 2009.
News Archives