By Sara Penny
Cedar City: Your Cedar City Arts Council invites you to a summer Social on Tuesday, August 18, at 7 p.m. in the Johnson Center, 59 N. 100 West. This free public event links the community to local artists. Presenters share their music and art at the Socials.
Andrea Anderton will introduce her new art offering. “Creative Focus Studio is a Art Classroom and Fine Art Gallery dedicated to providing immersive art experiences for ALL types of creatives. From featuring a variety of different artists and curating a wide range of styles in our gallery, to providing quality art classes and experiences to those wanting to become more artistic themselves, there are plenty of opportunities to become creatively inspired within our walls! It is located at 5 N Main #305, in the upstairs of Boomer’s building,” said Anderton.
Sara Hales is a mini-grant recipient. She said, “Thanks to the recorder grant, students were able to jump right into making music in a fun, hands-on way while building important skills. They learned the basics of playing the recorder, including how to use proper breath, finger placement, and posture, which helped them play simple songs on their own and with the class. Along the way, they explored rhythm, pitch, and how music works, all while practicing how to stay on beat and play together as a group. It was exciting to see their confidence grow as they improved and worked toward performing as an ensemble.”
Music helps with other skills. As Hales said, “Reading music helped reinforce left-to-right tracking, patterns, and sequencing—similar to reading words in a sentence. Counting rhythms gave them extra practice with math concepts like fractions and timing. Students also had chances to talk about their learning, reflect on their progress, and give feedback to classmates, which supported their speaking and listening skills. Most importantly, they practiced focus, perseverance, and problem-solving as they worked to get better each day. Overall, the recorder experience was a fun and meaningful way for students to grow both musically and academically.”
Both Cedar City Music Arts and the Orchestra of Southern Utah will be introducing their upcoming seasons. The Southern Utah String Quartet will provide live music. This ensemble plays for numerous community events and OSU.
Roger Gold, CCAC President, will introduce a new America250 art art contest for all ages celebrating Cedar City through the NEA and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. There will be local prizes of $500 and $100 for the winning entries sponsored by CCAC.
CCAC provides arts advocacy as well as Socials, Final Friday Art Walks, mini-grants, and a literary group. Memberships help fund activities as well as the RAP (Recreation Arts and Parks) fund and a grant from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, which includes National Endowment for the Arts funding. Remember that mini-grants up to $500 are available for art projects to build our community. Application on website under Support and the and the next deadline is Aug. 31.
Refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome to attend the Social. More about the CCAC at cedarcityartscouncil.org
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More information: Sara Penny, 435-586-2286 or [email protected]
