Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist and composer Min Xiao- Fen. Classically trained in her native China, she served as a principal pipa soloist at Nanjing Traditional Music Orchestra and was an in- demand interpreter of traditional music before relocating to the United States and forging a new path for her instrument alongside many of the leading lights in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental and contemporary classical music. NPR Weekend Edition lauded Ms. Min as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos” and JazzTimes hailed her as “a pioneer in integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.” The New York Times raved that her singular work “has traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.” Min recently received a prestigious commission from the Smithsonian Institution to compose soundtracks for two Chinese historical silent films from the 1920s (premiered on May, 6 2023 at Freer Gallery of Art in DC). Other notable works include the 2021 album White Lotus, her original score to the 1934 silent film The Goddess, the deeply personal 2017 release Mao, Monk and Me, which explores the music of Thelonious Monk and Min’s Blue Pipa Trio that commingles trumpeter Buck Clayton’s Kansas City swing with the music of Li Jinhui, the “Father of Chinese popular music.” Min was a curator at The Stone and the Museum of Chinese in America in New York. She also served as artist-in-residence with the Sound of Dragon Society for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and was a guiding artist for the Creative Music Studio and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. www.minbluepipa.com

Lexington Field and Garden Club & Cary Library present 

Bio-planning a Garden for Lexington with Diana Beresford-Kroeger 

Wednesday, Oct. 11 — 7 PM Zoom talk

Sign up to attend this Zoom talk by emailing LFGC024@gmail.com

Botanist, medical biochemist, and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger has a unique
combination of Western scientific training and an understanding of various traditional ideologies. Born in Ireland, she now lives in Ontario. She has written several books on the global forest and has been featured in an award-winning documentary.

Her latest book is To Speak for the Trees, My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest.

Diana will talk about the plants and trees that are beneficial for planting in Lexington and the surrounding area for the health and well-being of Lexington residents and the long-term sustainability of life on Earth. Whether you are a gardener or not, everyone can play a role in replanting the global forest by starting locally.

http://www.lexgardenclub.org 

Join us for the 8th annual ArtWalk

Artwork from local artists will be displayed in shop windows in Lexington Center from October 6th-November 27th

Celebrate with us on Friday, October 13th:

4-6pm - Painting event with Pinot's Palette (free event, space limited, sign up at website listed below)

6pm - Artist-led tour of the artwalk along the center

6-8pm - Live music from Three Dollar Shirt!  Grab a pizza and join us in Emery Park to listen to the band

For more details and to sign up to paint, go to www.munroecenter.org/artwalktour

In the Gallery at Munroe Center for the Arts on Saturday October 14th at 2pm:

Reception and dance performance for In the Presence of Trees II, a multi-artist, multi-media show curated by Robyn McDonald-Foley, on display from September thorugh October.  For more details, go to www.munroecenter.org/in-the-gallery

Sol y Canto is the award winning Pan-Latin ensemble led by Puerto Rican/Argentine singer and percussionist Rosi Amador and New Mexican guitarist, singer and composer Brian Amador. Featuring Rosi’s crystalline voice and Brian’s lush Spanish guitar and inventive compositions, Sol y Canto is known for making their music accessible to Spanish- and non-Spanish speaking audiences of all ages.

Sol y Canto’s original songs are distinguished by poetic, often quirky lyrics set in a framework of varied musical styles with surprising twists. They can make you dance, laugh, cry and sigh all in one concert. Their arrangements of classic and contemporary Latin tunes are always fresh and original. With Brian’s commanding, intricate guitar playing, Rosi’s rhythmic drive on cajón and bongos, and liberal use of vocal improvisation, the duo often sounds like a much larger ensemble.

Since 2008, the Lexington High School Cross Country / Track & Field program has hosted an “Alumni Race” on the same nearly all-road course the team has called home since 1970. This year, in the interest of sharing the sport we love with the larger community, the Cross Country / Track & Field team has partnered with the LHS Wrestling team to host the race. Our teams are excited to welcome the running community to The First Annual LexGiving 5k Run/Walk the morning after Thanksgiving on Friday, November 24th at 9am. All proceeds will go to the LHS Cross Country and Wrestling teams.  

Sign up at - https://runsignup.com/Race/MA/Lexington/TheLexGiving5k

Youth Holiday Arts & Crafts Market:  CALL FOR ARTISTS!

Artists 18 and younger are invited to participate in our first youth holiday arts & crafts market, on Saturday, December 9th from 1-4pm at Munroe Center for the Arts.  

Painters, photographers, card-makers, origami folders, knitters, potters, sewers, soap makers, jewelers and more!  

Space is limited - sign up at www.munroecenter.org/holiday-market

Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious, Kerrville (TX) "Best New Folk Award" and in one of the nation's top music markets, she won the Boston Music Award for "Outstanding Folk Act", three of the top prizes in the singer songwriter world. Two of her albums found her working with Richard Shindell as producer, as well as other "folk royalty" such as John Gorka, Lucy Kaplancky and Mark Erelli.

Antje has extensive touring experience, criss-crossing the US and Europe many times. She is a compelling live performer and has been invited to play some of the top festivals including The Newport Folk Festival as well as the Mountain Stage, Philadelphia and Kerrville Festivals. Internationally, she's headlined festivals in Scotland and Denmark.

 Can something be wry, aching, hysterical, evocative, provocative, fun, beautifully sung, and consummately played all at once? That would be Vance Gilbert.

An integral part of the national folk scene, Gilbert’s approach to the acoustic singer-songwriter idiom is significant. Gilbert’s compositions, while frequently employing sophisticated melodies and harmonies that attest to his jazz roots, remain sublime attestations to the storyteller’s craft. Many know Vance’s signature song, “Unfamiliar Moon,” which landed him in the second round of auditions of TV’s America’s Got Talent. Like all great artists, Vance truly happens live. In fact he developed his reputation with his jaw-dropping, diverse, funny, devastating, and gorgeous live performances.

Vance exploded onto the scene in the early ’90s, with buzz spreading quickly. Who was this multicultural arts teacher knocking them dead at open mics? After opening Shawn Colvin’s 1992 Fat City tour, he took much of America by storm. “The voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god,” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Vance has released 16 albums, including Somerville (Live), and Side of the Road with Ellis Paul. His latest album, The Mother of Trouble, was released in May. 

(Please note, our ticketing system only allows us to sell tickets one show at a time. Tickets for our Vance Gilbert show will go on sale after our March show!)