AFTER HOURS: Concert music in the morning
The Morning Music Club of Macon opened its 2015 season Oct. 8 in Pierce Chapel on the Wesleyan College campus, with a recital by Edward Eikner, who reprised the program he played for the dedication of the late Neva Langley Fickling's grand piano last May. The Bosendorfer semi-concert piano is an elegant addition to the light-filled chapel overlooking the lake on campus, once home away from home for Fickling when she attended Wesleyan in the early 1950s. The program included familiar compositions from Mozart, Chopin, Liszt and Khachaturian plus a medley of Fickling's favorite Southern folk songs, a fitting tribute to a former member and avid supporter of the Morning Music Club.
In its 103 years, the club has had closed meetings and performances, all featuring individual members in recital or covering topics relevant to music. This is the first year there will be programs open to the public, the first of which was Eikner's recital. Susan McDuffie and Stacy Ingram, co-chairs of the program committee, have added two more events, one for Christmas and, to close the season, an organ recital in May 2016, both of which will be held in Porter Auditorium on the Wesleyan campus and open to the public. Dates and times for both concerts will be posted on the Ovations calendar.
PREMIER EVENT AT HAY HOUSE
On the evening of Oct. 8, Hay House patrons, thrilled to see the sun for a change, enjoyed the expanded variety of Georgia brewed, fermented or distilled beverages and specialties from local food purveyors before taking advantage of the array of silent auction items available inside or, later, in the live auction on the porch. Under the tent on the front lawn, the Downtown Grill served up a spicy grits dish, a nice complement to the rare tuna canapes from the Marriott's chef. Vineville Beverage Company provided the appropriate wine for everything from seafood to tenderloin; if you are a barbecue connoisseur, Lee and Eddie's table was the destination. Gilbert Klemann, vice president of development, introduced rye, the most recent product from his Thirteenth Colony Distillery in Americus, and explained the aging process necessary for the darker spirits.
Susannah Maddux whetted women's appetites for luxury, strolling through the crowd in a mink jacket that would belong to the lucky lady with the highest bid. Weekend getaways, spa treatments, artwork and gift baskets stuffed with goodies were among the tempting silent auction selections. It was difficult for Katherine Banks and Troy Gainey to decide between personal indulgences or something more practical. For over a decade, Toast and Taste has heralded the opening of the fall and winter event season in downtown Macon.
SAVED FROM THE WRECKING BALL
In 2014, Kathryn Kane and a small group of arts enthusiasts at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Forest Hill Road made ambitious plans to stage a juried art exhibit in a building adjacent to the church, which had at one time been deemed too derelict to save. In October 2014, they succeeded with the inaugural St. Francis Arts Festival when, member Allyson Aldrich said, "Artists came out of the woodwork, some of whom were members we never knew painted!" The attendance was respectable and the gallery well received. On Oct. 9, the second show opened, exceeding all expectations for participation and attendance. The rooms are spacious and full of natural light from the tall windows in a gallery nestled under old growth trees.
Music provided by local cellist Barbara Aultman set a cosmopolitan mood for an opening night full of assurances that the gallery has a secure future. Paintings by well-known Macon painters Sterling Everett, Dot Brown, Martha Tisdale and Carol King Pope, are testament to the efforts of the organizers to attract seasoned artists to encourage the lesser known, and some from out of town, to the gallery. Kane, curator for the exhibit, is an accomplished photographer and watercolorist. Her photograph "Norway Reflections" has the luminosity of the Northern Lights, which can be seen on the waterways of the most northern of the Scandinavian countries. Everett's "New Orleans Street Band" portrayed a small band of serious musicians, intently playing their horns in the rain, an umbrella barely protecting their tuxedos and top hats.
Johnny Carl Barlow displayed several of his ink drawings, executed so precisely they appear to be etchings; Lori Garrett's still life, "An Apple a Day," surpassed the beginner's obligatory apples with its textural interest. Warner Robins resident Peggy Vesely now works in clay after years of painting, and is fascinated by the human form. Her sculpture, titled "Yoga," is evidence of her perseverance in perfecting human anatomy. For your collection or holiday gifts, visit the gallery through the end of October.
Katherine Walden is a freelance writer and interior designer in Macon. Contact her at 478-742-2224 or kwaldenint@aol.com.
This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 10:03 PM with the headline "AFTER HOURS: Concert music in the morning ."