This week in the Arts:
Special Events
The Chattanooga Girls Choir will present "Taste and Sound of Italy - Sopranos, Sinatra, and Sauce" at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Friday, March 21, at 7 p.m. Performers include international soprano Stella Zambalis with the Choir's Grace Moore Singers and Michael A. Smith with the Uptown Big Band. Authentic cuisine will be prepared by Italian Chef Benedetto Scaduto, owner of The Saucy Sicilian. Visit www.chattanoogagirlschoir.org for more information or to purchase tickets.
The Great Southern Old Time Fiddlers' Convention will be held Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. at Lindsay Street Hall. Events include the old time fiddle competition, with the winner being named the Champion Fiddler of the South, as well as contests in categories such as old time banjo, dance, traditional song and string band. For more information, visit www.oldchattanooga.com.
Hops & Opera, an evening of tenor opera and operetta arias and duets as well as performances from West Side Story, Porgy and Bess, South Pacific, Company, and The Secret Garden, will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. at Summitt Pianos. Reservations are required. Call Buddy Shirk at 499-0600 or email him at buddy@summittpianos.com for more information.
H*Art Gallery will host a Paint and Sip party on Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m. No painting experience is necessary. Call the gallery at 521-4707 for reservations.
Theatre, Music & Dance
String Theory at the Hunter will continue on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Hunter Museum of American Art with a concert featuring clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester, violinist Arnaud Sussmann and pianist Gloria Chien. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 267-0968 or visit www.stringtheorymusic.org.
The Chattanooga Theatre Centre will continue its production of The Taming of the Shrew Thursday-Sunday as well as unveil a life-size sculpture of William Shakespeare by internationally known sculptor Lawrence Holofcener during an al fresco reception on Sunday at 5 p.m. Auditions for the upcoming production of To Kill a Mockingbird will be held Monday-Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Please call 267-8538 or visit www.theatrecentre.com for more information.
TheatreQuest's The K Play will be performed on Saturday, March 15 and 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. For more information, visit www.theatrecentre.com.
The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, with guest artists from String Theory, will perform works by Beethoven and Prokofiev on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre as part of its continuing Masterworks Series. The Chamber Series finale will take place on Sunday, March 23, at 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Read House Silver Ballroom and feature two serenades by Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky, plus a unique work by Gordon Jacob. Tickets are available at www.chattanoogasymphony.org or by calling 267-8583.
Bob's Bootcamp, a lecture series with Bob Bernhardt that takes an in-depth look at composers and their music, will be held Saturday, March 22, at 11 a.m. at the Tivoli Center. The reservation deadline is Friday. For more information, visit www.chattanoogasymphony.org.
Neil Labute's Fat Pig will be performed at the Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Visit www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com for more information.
Closed Door Entertainment's production of I'm Getting Murdered in the Morning will take place Friday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Abba's House Faith Building. Visit www.cdoorent.com for more information or to purchase tickets.
The Barking Legs Theater will host a performance by The Billy Sea on Friday at 8 p.m. Visit www.barkinglegs.org for ticket information.
The Tennessee Valley Theatre will present Shani Hedden's A Tribute to Patsy Cline on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and auditions for Alice @ Wonderland will be held Monday-Tuesday at 4 p.m. For more information, please call 365-PLAY or visit www.tennesseevalleytheatre.com.
The Patten Performance Series continues at the UTC Fine Arts Center with The Acting Company's production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.tickettracks.com or call 425-4269.
The Ladies of Lee will perform a concert in the Lee University Chapel on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., and the Lee University Chamber Strings will present its annual spring concert on Friday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Dixon Center. For more information, call 614-8240 or email music@leeuniversity.edu.
The River City Sessions will be held Friday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. at The Camp House. Scheduled performers include Faith Evans Ruch, Michael Gray, Northwoods Band, and Chris Watkins. Visit http://therivercitysessions.weebly.com/march-2014.html for more information.
The Chattanooga Music Club scholarship auditions will be held Sunday, March 23, at 1:30 p.m. at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The public is invited to attend.
Visual Art & Film
Tickets are currently available for AVA's 4 Bridges Preview Party to be held Friday, April 11, from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at First Tennessee Pavilion. For more information, visit www.4bridgesartsfestival.org/patron.
A Watercolor Still Life Workshop with instructor Daud Akhriev will take place Saturday-Sunday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Painting Glass Vessels in Still Life with Melissa Hefferlin will be held Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Townsend Atelier. Visit www.townsendatelier.com for more information or to register.
A reception for the "East Asian Inspired Art: 7 Artists" exhibit will be held on Sunday from 4-6 p.m. at the North River Civic Center. The reception will also feature bonsai and origami demonstrations, and the exhibit will continue through Thursday, May 29.
The Lookout Wild Film Festival will open Thursday, March 20, at 5:30 p.m. at Mellow Mushroom Downtown with the viewing party for The Local Hero Project, an exhibition and contest of local 3-minute films. The festival continues Friday - Sunday at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Centennial Theatre. For a complete schedule, please visit www.lookoutfilmfestival.org.
The Photographic Society of Chattanooga will meet Thursday, March 20, at 7 p.m. at St. John United Methodist Church. Professional photographer Colby McLemore will be speaking on night photography. Visit www.chattanoogaphoto.org for more information.
River Gallery artists Mike Berry and Joe Parrott will demonstrate their painting techniques on Saturday, March 22, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For additional information, please visit www.river-gallery.com.
Mise En Scenesters will host a showing of Grand Piano at the Barking Legs Theater on Saturday, March 22, at 8:30 p.m. Visit www.mesfilmclub.com for more information.
Writing, Literature & Storytelling
The Lee University Writer's Festival will conclude with poet Anya Silver reading from her collections at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 24. For more information, please email Dr. William Woolfitt at wwoolfitt@leeuniversity.edu or call 614-8230.