News & Articles

Michelle, Christina, Clare

I had a chunk of grilled salmon for breakfast this morning, along with some lentils and several sliced, grilled, brussel sprouts. With my dark British tea, I think my day began luxuriously. This next several weeks in Duluth are luxuriously filled with an amazing variety of artistic opportunities. I hope you take in as much as seems reasonable.

Activities on the stage

“Rock of Ages” will be on stage at The Duluth Playhouse through July 31, so if the power driven rock music of the early 80s thrills you, tickets are going at great speed. If you prefer the ironies wrapped up in the explosion of the French Revolution back in the 1780s, then you’ll want to attend “Marie Antoinette,” a play by David Adjmi, opening July 21 at Teatro Zuccone.
If you want to watch children creating the coming generations of theater, check out “Imaginarium: Mad Science” at The Duluth Playhouse through July 24. Meanwhile, the Hillside Youth Theatre is offering “Escape From Puzzle Island” July 28 and 29 (matinee and evenings) at the Lincoln Park Middle School Auditorium just off W. 3rd Street.
I am personally looking forward to an upcoming exhibit of Duluth photos from the 60s and 70s by D. R. Martin. This show,co-sponsored by the Duluth Art Institute, will open July 21 at the Red Herring Lounge and will stay around until August 17. Come sip and stroll.

UMD Faculty Quintet, Paula, Laurie, Jefferson, Jim, Ted

Music all around the area
Maybe you want music instead.  The Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra will bring back violinist De Ann Letourneau on Thursday, July 28, at Mitchell Auditorium on the CSS campus. Concerts begin at 7:30pm. Over in Bayfield on the 28th, a group of five local musicians - The Bay Area Chamber Ensemble -  will be at the Presbyterian Church performing chamber music, starting at 5:30.
This is the final week of this year’s Northern Lights Music Festival, with a chamber concert at 7pm on July 22 at Mesabi East in Aurora, and a variety of opera scenes at 7pm over at Vermilion College in Ely. But this is all about the end of July, and August will be equally artful. Just browse through each summer edition of The Reader Duluth for an abundance of artistic energies throughout our entire region.
Last Friday was the second annual Beerthoven event at the Lake Superior Aquarium. The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra has a music director with a German background, so good beer and good music naturally go together. Of course, good beer requires good water, so Lake Superior gets involved in the process as well. At least a dozen local breweries and distilleries were on hand to share the best of their products. Meanwhile, the full aquarium was open to all attendees, and at least four or five different music ensembles were busy playing on both floors of the aquarium. I strolled along, sipping what was close at hand, and listened to Michelle, Christina, and Clare play trios. Around the corner, the Highland String Quartet was busy with Beethoven, and a UMD Faculty Wind Quintet was delightfully playing in another part of the aquarium.

History and Duluth

I chose to drop into the Train Museum on Saturday afternoon and walk through the replica of the Lincoln Funeral Carriage currently on display. I spend a lot of time at home, too, although Duluth is certainly an inviting location for all manner of artistic exploration. I look forward to all of the next several weeks.