May 04 Saturday
Please join us the first Saturday of each month at 9 AM (barring special events or bad weather which will be announced on our Facebook page), for "Beginning Birding Walks," led by experienced birders from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. This event is free and open to the public. Meet at the second parking lot at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, just off SR 43. All skill levels are welcome.
We will enjoy nature while typically identifying 20-40 species of birds, plus butterflies, frogs, etc. Over 200 bird species have been sighted at Wolf Lake, which offers a variety of habitats and easy walking trails. Annual highlights include colorful songbirds like orioles, warblers, tanagers, hawks and eagles, kingfishers, Great Blue and Green Herons, and over 20 species of waterfowl. Eastern Bluebirds can be found year-round! Children accompanying adults are welcome. The focus is on birding fundamentals, and extra binoculars are always available. The walk typically takes about 2 hours (but feel free to arrive late or leave early).
May 05 Sunday
Andrea Beaton, piano, fiddleTroy MacGillivray, piano, fiddleTracey Dares MacNeil, piano, fiddle
No stage? No seats? No problem! Parents can relax while kids of any age can have fun checking out the piano, meeting the artists, crawling or dancing around the room. A Baby Grands concert is The Gilmore’s way of sharing great music with the whole family. Refreshments will be available.
Andrea Beaton, Troy MacGillivray, and Tracey MacNeil hail from the isolated beauty of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their joyful style of dance music is defined by its improvised folk piano tradition. Expect instrument-switching, solo dancing, and inspiring harmonies, as they explore the traditional music of Ireland, Scotland, and Cape Breton, along with original compositions. Their performances offer a shared sense of fun and years of making music together.
Gabriela Montero, pianoCalidore String Quartet: Jeffrey Myers, violin – Ryan Meehan, violin – Jeremy Berry, viola – Estelle Choi, cello
Venezuelan composer and pianist Gabriela Montero presents the world premiere of her new work for piano and strings, commissioned by The Gilmore, with the Calidore String Quartet. Also on the program: Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81. Montero’s visionary interpretations and unique compositions have garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following on the world stage. Born in Venezuela, the GrammyⓇ Award-winner studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Founded at LA’s Colburn School in 2010, The Calidore String Quartet is recognized as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of a vast repertory, from the cycles of quartets by Beethoven and Mendelssohn to works of celebrated contemporary voices.
The Kalamazoo Civic Theatre presents “Catch Me If You Can” in the Civic Auditorium, May 3-19, 2024.
Based on the hit film and the incredible true story, Catch Me If You Can is a high-flying musical comedy about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. Nominated for four Tony awards, including Best Musical.
Seeking fame and fortune, precocious teenager, Frank Abagnale, Jr., runs away from home to begin an unforgettable adventure. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer – living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams. When Frank's lies catch the attention of FBI agent, Carl Hanratty, though, Carl pursues Frank across the country to make him pay for his crimes.
Catch Me If You Can is a big and bright spectacle with high-energy dance numbers and a riveting story.
Catch Me If You CanMay 3 - May 19, 2024Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 2:00 PMKalamazoo Civic Auditorium Tickets: https://kazoocivic.ludus.com/200435296 | 269-343-1313
Based on the DreamWorks Motion PictureBook by Terrence McNallyLyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc ShaimanCATCH ME IF YOU CAN is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
In a special Festival event, British pianist Paul Lewis will present a survey of Franz Schubert’s monumental contribution to the classical repertoire: his piano sonatas. Mr. Lewis has received critical and public acclaim worldwide, consolidating his reputation as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the central European classical repertoire. He regularly works as a soloist with the world’s great orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw, and Cleveland Orchestras, among many others.
May 06 Monday
Jazz pianist and composer Helen Sung was among the first graduates of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her artistry and inventive compositions have earned her a Guggenheim Fellowship and won Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition. Her artistry and inventive compositions span the full spectrum of dynamic and soulful jazz.
Jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer Isaiah J. Thompson won the 2023 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellowship of the American Pianists Association. As a performer, he aims to express joy and convey his personal experiences through music and his everlasting love of jazz. His recording debut was featured on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Handful of Keys album with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis. He worked on the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for Motherless Brooklyn, was named a Steinway Artist, and won the 2018 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award.
Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination, and sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theatergoers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in a new production – just as you remember it and just when we need it most.Annie, directed by Jenn Thompson, features the iconic book and score, written by Tony Award®-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin. This celebration of family, optimism, and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way.