Congratulations to Baltimore's Dottie Campbell, a fine-arts photographer based in Hampden who was named one of four winners in this year's International Photography Contest sponsored by National Geographic Magazine. Campbell's clever image of a tree reflected on the hood of a glossy black automobile won in the landscape category in both the international and English-speaking divisions of the contest from among 148,203 images submitted to the judges.

Describing Campbell's winning entry, the magazine wrote on its web site: "This year’s landscape winner is a surprising composition of a scene in Moab, Utah. The photographer, a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, captured a swirl of spring cottonwood trees and other shapes reflected in a shiny black Buick. The judges were impressed with how the image stretches the definition of landscape photography and departs from the traditional and the predictable. They hailed the photographer’s sophisticated eye, her ability to mix color and texture, and her skill in arranging the elements in a creative and imaginative way. She turned the car into a camera lens, its curves reflecting the landscape. A mundane scene is made extraordinary by the photographer's willingness to look beyond the expected."

Campbell's winning digital image, which earned her prizes in the form of a new camera and lens and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., will be published in the May issue of National Geographic Magazine.

Congratulations again to the artist, and we look foward to seeing more of her work when it's shown later this year in the gallery at John Hopkins University's Montgomery County campus.  

(Photo courtesy of Dottie Campbell)

Posted by Glenn McNatt at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Well, that was different. Pretty cool, too.

The debut of Mobtown Modern's concert series at the Contemporary Museum last night signaled a welcome addition to Baltimore's new music scene. Actually, this particular program, titled "State of the Union," wasn't all that modern. Other than a 2005 DJ/turntable/visual work by Erik Spangler called Iraq Mix, the pieces were decades old. But nothing sounded dated. Part of the freshness came from videography by Art Jones, applied to most of the selections and incorporating footage from CNN's coverage of President Bush's State of the Union Address the night before. That imagery, manipulated in various ways, put a decided political slant on the evening, although even Bill O'Reilly might have had trouble spotting anything truly inflammatory. In a way, the sights from the Capitol served to represent the concept of Establishment, providing a new context and contrast to pieces steeped in anti-Establishment sentiment, such as Frederic Rzewski's Coming Together (1971). That work incorporates words written by a bomb-setting activist incarcerated in Attica State Prison, including a much-repeated line: "I am in excellent physical and emotional health," which put a distinctly personal spin on the state-of-the-union idea. For Louis Andriessen's Workers Union (1975), stock market tickers aptly scrolled across part of the screen. 

A hard-working, dynamic ensemble of instrumentalists, including concert organizer/sax man Brian Sacawa, sounded particularly impressive in the kinetic, hypnotic Rzewski offering. Workers Union, a masterful fusion of intricate, strictly observed rhythms and free-will pitches, found the players a rehearsal or so shy of a totally tight groove, but the group conveyed the urgency and controlled spontaneity of the creation effectively.

In terms of sheer edginess, Vinko Globokar's ?Corporel took top honors. The instrument called for in this 1985 example of performance art is a single human body. In virtuosic style, Tim Feeney beat his own head with his hands, pummeled his bare chest and emitted all manner of guttural noises. Alternately intriguing and boring, not to mention a little creepy.

The location of the concert wasn't exactly artistic. More like a faceless office, complete with drop ceiling. It did nothing for atmosphere or acoustics, but the performers managed to make it an agreeably intimate, informal space.

The next program in the series, May 9, will focus on minimalism and "minimalish" works. Terry Tiley's In C, the original spring from which all minimalist currents flow, will be included. For more info: www.mobtownmodern.com

Posted by Tim Smith at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Get "Wired." Baltimore's critically-acclaimed cop show like no other is holding an auction this week on EBay to benefit two local charities. Up for auction are hoodies signed by cast member Jamie Hector (who plays the ice-veined drug lord, Marlo Stanfield) and such famous fans as hip-hop star Wyclef Jean, plus DVDs, soundtracks and posters signed by the full cast.

 The starting bid for the 64 items is $100. Two posters appear to be the big movers; shortly after noon on Wednesday, bidding already had reached $255 on one poster and $177.50 on the second.

 Proceeds will benefit the Ella Thompson Fund, which provides recreation programs for inner city children, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

Posted by Mary McCauley at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Talk about awards of distinction ...

The February issue of Baltimore magazine cites WMAR Channel 2 sports anchor Rob Carlin as one of the city's top singles. The 36-year-old New York native and College Park grad is one of 20 city unmarrieds who get to share the honor.

"I figured, 'Why not have some fun with it?'" Carlin says of the honor. "It certainly gave some of my good friends some comedic fodder."

There will be more about Carlin, we're told -- including a list of the three people he'd most like to have dinner with -- in the magazine's February issue.

Of course, the real question is ... will he still make the list next year? Not if the list does its job, Carlin suggests.

"I guess we'll have to see how this all plays out," he says. "That's the hope."

Posted by Chris Kaltenbach at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Delta, the official airline of the Grammy awards, will be offering an in-flight concert by five-time Grammy winner John Legend at 30,000 feet, onboard a special Grammy aircraft. Fans wanting to be a part of this can enter to win through a limited number of local CBS affliates websites. (WJZ is the Baltimore affiliate.) The flight will be enroute to L.A., where these same fans will have a chance to attend the Grammy Awards. Participants can enter the sweepstakes online at CBS station websites.

What a way to spruce up a flight. But it would probably be more of an event if the main attraction were somebody like Prince or Stevie Wonder or Madonna, veteran acts whose shows you never forget, especially if they were 30,000 feet in the air. But John Legend? He's a talented enough singer, but just a so-so performer. I've caught his act three or four times and wasn't moved much at all. I'd rather watch an in-flight movie.  

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Recording Academy just confirmed several performances for the Grammy Awards show, airing Feb. 10. The ubiquitous Beyonce, a 10-time Grammy winner who's up for four awards this year, will be strutting her stuff. The Foo Fighters -- up for five awards, including record of the year -- will perform as part of this year's "My Grammy Moment," the Academy's attempt at being interactive with the audience. Produced in partnership with YouTube and CBS.com, the segment will feature up to 20 unsigned musicians. Three of these guys will vie to be a featured instrumentalist during the performance.

Other confirmed acts include a gospel showdown with Mary J. Blige and Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, the 2008 MusicCares person of the year. They will be joined by the Clark Sisters, Israel and New Breed, the Madison Bumblebees and Trin-I-Tee 5:7. With all that lung power on one stage, they're sure to raise the roof of Los Angeles' Staples Center, where the Grammys will be aired live.

On the sexier side of the Grammy telecast, sepia Barbie doll Rihanna, one of 2007's hottest acts, will sing with the Time. The Prince-produced '80s band is reuniting after more than 20 years for the performance. And it's about time (corny pun intended) the guys got back together. The terse, sleek electro-funk sound that bolstered such Time classics as "Get It Up" and "777-9311" has resurfaced in recent hits by Justin Timberlake and, of course, Rihanna.

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Mendelssohn's music is so beautifully, so elegantly constructed that some folks can be fooled into thinking that it's short on depth and sinew. Hans Graf, the Austrian-born music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, clearly appreciates the full weight of Mendelssohn, a point demonstrated last night when he and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra delivered the composer's vivid postcard from Scotland. A long-delayed postcard, really; Mendelssohn took about a dozen years to fashion his Symphony No. 3 out of some themes he jotted down upon visiting Scotland as a young man. Forever known as the "Scottish" Symphony, this score is packed with songful melody, moody harmonic turns and rhythmic force. What Graf succeeded in doing at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall was to make the work sound downright Brahms-like in its dark, potent lyricism. It was an eventful interpretation, full of richly poetic phrasing. The BSO responded admirably, for the most part -- lots of suppleness and warmth from the strings, color and strength from the woodwinds and brass. A few entrances could have been cleaner, but the playing had real character and communication. Things should only get better in the remaining concerts tonight and tomorrow afternoon.

The program's first half proved a little less satisfying last night. Graf brought fleet tempos and nicely accented dynamic contrasts to the outer movements of Mozart's Symphony No. 34, and a spacious sculpting to the middle one, but the ensemble wasn't quite settled into the groove. The violins sounded wiry, sometimes fuzzy, and finesse was lacking in other sections as well. Similar unevenness cropped up, especially among the woodwinds, during Ravel's brilliant Piano Concerto, although there certainly were impressive flashes along the way (the refined harp playing by Sarah Fuller stood out). Graf was an attentive partner to the pianist, Kirill Gerstein, who seemed to think that the piece was by Prokofiev. That was fine, up to a point, since the snappy, jazzy parts of the concerto can withstand a big, punchy approach, and Gerstein's virtuosity was never in doubt. But the 28-year-old Russian soloist left me ice-cold in the Adagio, as he basically plunked through Ravel's exquisite melodic line. (I was spoiled a couple years ago by the exceptionally subtle, haunting performance that another young pianist, Orion Weiss, gave of this movement in an appearance with the BSO.) The audience, I hasten to add, appeared to share none of my reservations.

The BSO performs this program at 8 tonight and 3 p.m. tomorrow at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. For tickets, call 410-783-8000 or go to www.bsomusic.org.

Posted by Tim Smith at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Peabody Conservatory faculty members are heard frequently in chamber music concerts, but usually not with the boss onstage. Jeff Sharkey, Peabody's director, was at the piano for an attractive program Wednesday night that also featured his wife, cellist Alison Wells, and violist Victoria Chiang, both on the school's faculty. They were joined by a guest, violinist Peter Salaff, director of the string chamber music department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where Sharkey was dean before heading to Peabody in 2006. 

The notable thing about Wednesday's performance was Sharkey's confident, polished, sensitive, just plain classy playing. He proved especially telling in the closing work, Brahms' C minor Piano Quartet, Op. 60, producing rich and poetic phrases that brought out the music's bittersweet edge very effectively. His colleagues stayed on his expressive wavelength throughout, even though Salaff's tone was nearly as anemic as it had been earlier in the concert. Chiang poured out a wonderfully deep, communicative sound. Wells, a little more reserved in her phrasing, also impressed.

Salaff, a seasoned player who was a founding member of the Cleveland Quartet, clearly had his heart in the right place for the Brahms work, as well as the C minor Trio by Beethoven (Op. 1, No. 3) and Josef Suk's gorgeous Elegie. I just wish there had been more sonic power and consistency in his efforts. Still, the concert offered a welcome source of warmth on a cold night.         

Posted by Tim Smith at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I've been a fan of Shelby Lynne ever since she was a brunette crooning hollow country-pop in Nashville. Since breaking from that mold, her music has deepened beautifully, suffused with soul and grit. Her latest album, Just a Little Lovin', hits stores Jan. 29. Her debut for Lost Highway Records, the CD is a tribute to another one of my favorite song stylists, the late Dusty Springfield.

On Just a Little Lovin', Lynne interprets several choice cuts from the British  legend's 1969 masterstroke Dusty in Memphis, including the title track, "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" and "Breakfast in Bed." (Lynne steers clear of "Son of a Preacher Man," a song Springfield owned absolutely.)

I called Lynne this week while she was still in bed at her Palm Springs, Calif., home.

"My friend Barry Manilow suggested I do this record," the artist said, her Alabama drawl as thick as syrup. "I thought why the hell not. People need to know about Dusty. She was one of the greats, man."

It makes perfect sense that Lynne would tackle such a project. Though Springfield's music was more stylized and Lynne's approach is downhome and bare-bones, the two are still sensitive interpreters with a light, affecting soulful touch.

Overseen by legendary producer Phil Ramone, Just a Little Lovin has a torchy, late-night feel. It's just Lynne crooning, backed by spare, intimate arrangements from a solid five-piece band. No extra sweeteners, no needless additives. Just a Little Lovin' feels warm and lived-in. The Grammy winner especially shines on the blues-drenched title cut and the lovely "The Look of Love."   

"There's nothing better than being a singer and giving a song life," Lynne said. "Good songs are like gifts. They last forever."

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Things are looking up on the double-centennial front. The 100th birthdays of Elliott Carter and Olivier Messiaen in 2008 will get more attention locally than I first suspected. Next season (yes, I know it's awfully early to be talking about next season, but this is great news), pianist Matthew Odell, a Peabody grad and current Juilliard School doctoral fellow with an active concert career, will devote recitals to both composers at An die Musik. An all-Carter program has to be one of rarest things you could find around here, but Odell will offer just that on Oct. 18. He'll be back on Dec. 7 to perform Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus, an incredible, concert-length piece by Messiaen.

Keep the birthday party gifts coming.