To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, Bryan Thao Worra is giving away free e-book copies of his current book of speculative poetry, BARROW, to the first 100 people who e-mail him at thaoworra@gmail.com.

The second book of speculative poetry by Laotian American writer Bryan Thao Worra, BARROW includes all-new poems as well as poems that appeared in journals such as Whistling Shade, Northography and Tales of the Unanticipated between 1991-2009. BARROW continues an experimental journey across cultures and language to examine themes of multiplicity and meaning in an uncertain universe.

An award-winning Laotian American writer, his work is featured in over 80 international publications and his writing is taught in schools around the world. He is the author of several collections of poetry including On The Other Side Of The Eye, Touching Detonations, The Tuk-Tuk Diaries: My Dinner With Cluster Bombs, and Winter Ink.

Thao Worra received a 2009 Asian Pacific Leadership Award for the Arts from state Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans and holds a Fellowship in Literature from the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit http://thaoworra.blogspot.com to learn more.

MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 31, 2012) — This spring, the Minnesota Sinfonia is to hold their annual competition for string musicians up to age 21.

This includes violin, cello, bass and viola. The competition is divided into two categories, the Junior Division for musicians up to age 14 (born on or before Jan. 1, 1998) and the Senior Division for up to age 21 (born on or before Jan. 1, 1991).

Continue Reading

Twin Cities Chinese Dance Theater

Led by Asian Media Access, and collaborating with East Culture Center, Pan Asian Arts Alliance and Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center, the Chinese Lantern Carnival, which is the closing ceremony for our Lunar New Year series, will be held on Feb. 5, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Great Hall in Saint Paul downtown, 180 East Fifth Street, St. Paul, MN 55101.

At the Great Hall, there will be lantern making, lantern riddles, other children’s games as well as traditional Asian Lunar New Year food. Furthermore, Iny Asian Dance Theater and Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center’s youth dancers will be performing throughout the afternoon and evening. Games and performances will start at 2 p.m.

Continue Reading

Blues, Gospel, Reggae and Afro-pop will fill the Ordway’s Music Theater when the Playing for Change band brings its musical message of peace to Saint Paul on February 12, 7:30 p.m. at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington Street, St. Paul, MN 55102.

Playing for Change is part of the Ordway’s 2011-2012 Target World Music and Dance Series. Performance. Tickets start at $26, contact the Box Office at 651-224-4222 or visit ordway.org.

Continue Reading

The Slants founding member Simon Young stands in front of some rad looking military vehicles on a NATO base in Kosovo, Republica Srpska, Bosnia And Herzegovina.

Portland, Ore. (Jan. 18, 2012) — Hardened rock-n-roll veterans The Slants took their electrifying stage show all the way to Eastern Europe for a holiday tour of multinational military bases.

The Portland, Oregon-based rock group entertained troops over the New Years holiday at Camp Butmir NATO base in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and then in Kosovo at Camp Bondsteel U.S. Army base and Film City NATO base in Pristina.

Continue Reading

Guest pianist Peter Serkin. (photo by Kathy Chapman)

By IN-FIN TUAN
AAP staff writer

A distant horn call is the first sound, inviting you into Johannes Brahms’ inimitable Romantic world.

With his Piano Concerto No. 2, Brahms created music to get lost in — on its vast canvas, he paints scenes of serenity, strife, beauty, the human condition. No wonder this is a favorite of pianists and audiences everywhere.

Only the most virtuosic artists tackle it, and we welcome Peter Serkin back for his second week of Orchestra Hall performances with Bravo Brahms! on Saturday, Jan. 21, 8 p.m., 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

Continue Reading

Zarin Mehta, President and Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic. (Photo by Chris Lee)

NEW YORK (Jan. 5, 2012) — The New York Philharmonic will present its first-ever Gala concert in celebration of the  Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dragon, which will feature Chinese and western  orchestral music on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Avery Fisher Hall.

The concert will be  broadcast live on WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org, and later that week on China’s Phoenix Television. Performers will include Long Yu — artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic, music director of the Shanghai and Guanzhou Symphony Orchestras, and artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival — making his Philharmonic debut.

Scheduled performists include pianist Lang Lang, who will play Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1; Philharmonic Principal Oboe Liang Wang, who will perform Chen Qigang’s Extase for oboe and orchestra, and bamboo flutist Tang Jun Qiao. In addition, the Quintessenso Mongolian Children’s Choir, in its first ever appearance outside of China, will sing and  dance in traditional Mongolian dress.

A special Dragon Dance will take place in and around Avery Fisher Hall throughout the evening. Arranged by Nai-Ni Chen in collaboration with Sifu Henry Lee for the occasion, it will be performed by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and members of its youth program, accompanied by live percussion music by Mr. Lee. Visitors to Lincoln Center will also be able to view the “Chinese in America — We Are Family”— a video exhibit that was shown in Shanghai at EXPO 2010 displaying more than 10,000 photos of people of Chinese descent across America — positioned above a 115-foot-long dragon banner.

Continue Reading

Debbie Chinn, director of Carmel Bach Festival

Carmel, Calif. (Jan. 4, 2012) — Following an extensive national search, the Board of Directors of the Carmel Bach Festival announced Wednesday the selection of Debbie Chinn a its new Executive Director.

Continue Reading

Soo Bae (Photo by Lisa Mazzucco)

MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 3, 2012) — International award winning cellist, Soo Bae to be featured with the Minnesota Sinfonia in St. Paul and Minneapolis on Feb. 10 and 12.

This will be Ms. Bae’s second engagement with the Minnesota Sinfonia. This February, Ms. Bae will be performing “Cello Concerto No. 1” by Camille Saint Saens.

Continue Reading

AAP staff report

ST. PAUL (Dec. 16, 2011) — Venus On Fire, a Twin Cities rock band with two Hmong American founding members has released its second EP “My Furious Frenzy” this month — a follow-up to the 2009 EP “Clone Factory” that brought the band enough critical and popular attention to embark on a tour.

The band is fronted by lead vocalist and keyboardist Tory Envy. Leng Moua is the guitarist and inspiration behind the band, along with bassist Carl Smith.

Envy describes their new EP as more guitar-driven than the first release that had a heavy synthesizer sound. She said the vocals are more complex this time around with harmonies and overlaying.

Continue Reading