Arts & Culture

A new research grant for the Center for Popular Music at MTSU will help end those “what was that song about Tennessee  …?” debates before they start.

A $6,700 grant from the Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board is helping the CPM produce “’My Homeland’: A Research Guide to Songs About Tennessee” over the next four months. The project will identify and preserve a unique collection of songs about Tennessee held in the Center’s archives and make them accessible online.

ublic-television supporters and Little House on the Prairie enthusiasts nationwide can own a piece of musical history with MTSU’s imprint beginning Sunday, June 3.

That’s when Nashville Public Television, NPT, and more than 175 other Public Broadcasting Service member stations will begin airing “Pa’s Fiddle: The Music of America” and offering DVDs and CDs of the old-time music performances as June pledge-drive member gifts.

Nearly 250 rising high-school juniors and seniors from across Tennessee will be attending the 2012 Governor’s School for the Arts June 3 until June 29 at Middle Tennessee State University.

Program concentrations will include dance, music, visual arts, filmmaking and theatre. Participants will be arriving Sunday morning, June 3, registering and checking into campus dormitories.

One of the featured highlights will be a Tuesday, June 5, 7 p.m. performance by internationally acclaimed ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro. The public is invited and tickets are $30.

Elaine Mitchell Palmore, director of MTSU’s Child Development Center, will sign copies of her children’s books, “The Dragon Who Lives at Our House” and “Big Changes in the Crow Family,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 26, at Barnes and Noble, 2615 Medical Center Pkwy. in Murfreesboro.

Published by Fresh Fables and illustrated by Norris Hall, Palmore’s tales explain difficult adult situations in an entertaining, age-appropriate way. “Dragon” was a finalist in the Health: Addiction and Recovery category of the Best Books 2011 Awards sponsored by USA Book News.

Nashville Ballet showcases portions of the ballet The Sleeping Beauty and the popular children’s book Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan in its performance of Princesses and Frogs for children and families May 12-20, at The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet.

—"The Miracles on Honey Bee Hill," the latest independent film from Dr. Bob Pondillo and a crew of MTSU students and alumni, will have a red-carpet premiere at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre.

The 23-minute film, which has been two years in the making, won the “Best Achievement-Short Screenplay” award at the 2010 SoCal Film Festival in Huntington Beach, Cal.

Tennessee Haitian Voice welcomes the 2nd Annual Taste of Haiti.  On April 28th at 6:30 PM at Holy Name Parish Center Nashvillians can share in a special evening of Haiti’s rich and vibrant culture, traditional cuisine, dance, art, entertainment, and history. 

“Tracing Tennessee’s Musical Roots”:Baroque Fiddling Project II at the Loveless Barn – Monday, April 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.:  Loveless Barn, 8400 Highway 100, Nashville – Music City Baroque offers  a continuing exploration of popular classical and fiddle music and dance from the birth of our country to the pre-Civil War era.  Works celebrate such historical figures as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, General Marquis de Lafayette, Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson, and Ole Bull, as well as one of Nashville’s most celebrated composers of the e

Nashville Ballet announced its performance line-up today for the 2012-2013 season, which includes a new contemporary work featuring Nashville music and the return of several classic story ballets showcasing the versatility of Nashville Ballet dancers.

Nashville Basll“This performance roster offers audiences a variety of stories, contemporary works and children’s ballets, which illustrates how talented our dancers are in spinning tales with their bodies and switching between such different styles of dance,” Nashville Ballet Artistic Director and CEO Paul Vasterling said.