Lisa M. Frame

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NC Fitness Expo #CLTFitExpo

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Just in time for New Years Resolutions, the NC Fitness Expo, the premiere Health & Fitness Event in the Greater Charlotte Region will be setting up for their second annual event January 4-5, 2014! Presented by Novant Health and hosted at the Park Expo & Conference Center, the NC Fitness Expo will be bringing all things health and fitness under one roof for the Charlotte region.

This year, there is an amazing roster including:

  • VANI THE FOOD BABE: Nationally acclaimed Food Activist and organic lifestyle expert!
  • RACHEL COSGROVE: National Personal Trainer of the Year, Best-Selling Author and Women’s Health Guru.
  • JOEL HARPER: Celebrity Personal Trainer, with client list including Dr. Oz!
  • BRETT HOEBEL: Sought after weight loss, nutrition and motivation coach! Trainer on Season 11 of the Biggest Loser!
  • CHRIS JONES: March Aerobics extraordinaire! Chris electrified the crowd in 2013 and will be back on both days!

You’ll also find the following at the NC Fitness Expo:

VENDORS: Aisles of vendors showcasing their products and services to a healthy living audience!

EDUCATIONAL/SEMINAR STAGE: Learn from both National & Local Experts on a myriad of topics in health/fitness/nutrition/motivation/healthy living!

GET MOVING STAGE: Leave your business clothes at home! Sneakers required! Come dressed to participate! Think rotating fitness classes in a variety of styles, all day long! Sessions led by the top fitness instructors in the Region! Experience something new and perhaps find your new fitness passion!

HEALTHY COOKING STAGE: Learn how to prepare simple, nutritious and healthy meals!

2014 COMMITMENT MILE RUN, powered by OrthoCarolina Running: Serious runners – What’s your fastest Mile? Here’s your chance to find out! We also have Recreational and Kids Divisions, take your first mile to Healthy Living in 2014. Your commitment to yourself!

ORTHOCAROLINA FIGHT FOR FITNESS: New for 2014, a CrossFit Challenge with scaled divisions for all CrossFitters to participate!

MUCH MORE! Kids Zone, Plenty of Samples, Health Screenings courtesy of Novant Health and additional surprises to come!

Guaranteed to provide you tools and resources for all your healthy living New Year’s Resolutions, you’ll want to get the Greater Charlotte Health & Fitness Expo on your calendar now!

Expo Info:

Saturday, January 4, 2014
10:00am – 6:00pm

Sunday, January 5, 2014
11:00am – 5:00pm

Just $5 Admission! Kids under 12 FREE!

Buy your tickets here: NC Fitness Expo Tickets

Opera Carolina offers triple bill with the premiere of Puccini’s Il Trittico

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Opera Carolina stuns again, bringing another brilliant masterwork to the Belk Theater in Charlotte. Il Trittico (The Trio), a triple bill by Puccini, composer of Madama Butterfly continues this season’s theme, “The Architects of Love,” Originally written for the Metropolitan Opera, Il Trittico runs Jan. 18, 23 and 26 at Belk Theater

Puccini entertains with stories of betrayal, salvation and slapstick humor. Paired with his masterful melodies, Il Trittico includes some of Puccini’s most famous music, including the aria “O mio babbino caro” (“Oh, my sweet father.”).

“For the first time in Opera Carolina‘s 65-year history, we’re offering three great one-act operas in one exciting evening,” says Maestro James Meena. “The themes of each are as different as you can possibly get, but the thread that unites them is the brilliant composer who has given us memorable operas like La Bohème, Tosca and Turandot. The qualities that we love in these well-known Puccini operas are all there in Il Trittico. 

No stranger to Opera Carolina fans, Melinda Whittington will perform the aria in which her character, Lauretta, a spoiled Daddy’s girl. She tells her father that if he won’t let her marry the handsome Rinuccio, she’ll throw herself in the river. A versatile soprano, Melinda has been a member of Opera Carolina’s resident company for four years. She made her professional mainstage debut in The Magic Flute last winter and is currently enrolled in the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

Opera Carolina is known for staging well-loved classics, however Maestro Meena points out “…we are equally enthusiastic about introducing audiences to operas they may not have seen before. Il Trittico isn’t as frequently performed as some of Puccini’s other works, but it is no less a masterpiece. We think audiences are going to fall in love with it.”

Sponsors and Tickets and General Info

Il Trittico is the second production in Opera Carolina’s 65th season, which has been underwritten by generous sponsorship from Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Time Warner Cable is the performance presenting sponsor for Il Trittico. For ticket information, call 704.372.1000 or visit www.operacarolina.org. A 25 percent discount is available for season ticket holders, and a 50 percent discount is available for youth up to age 16, $10 Student Rush tickets and various group discounts are available for all shows.

It’s the second production in Opera Carolina’s 65th season, underwritten by generous sponsorship from Wells Fargo Private Bank.

About Il Trittico   

Il Trittico, originally commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, premiered on Dec. 14, 1918. It will be performed by Opera Carolina in Italian with English supertitles. While the performance is three acts, it isn’t any longer than a typical opera production.

The opera takes us, in one night, to three beautiful locations in Europe. The first mini-opera,Il Tabarro, is set in 1918 Paris, on a barge on the river Seine. The second, Suor Angelica, takes place in a convent in Southern Italy. The final opera, Gianni Schicchi, is set at the Palazzo of Buoso Donati in Renaissance Florence.

Maestro Meena will conduct. Jay Lesenger is stage director for this production. Michael Baumgarten serves as director of production and lighting designer.

About the Cast

The cast includes Washington National Opera soprano Jill Gardner; Chinese-born Welsh National Opera baritone Chen-Ye Yuan; Korean-born Royal Opera Covent Garden tenor Dongwon Shin; and New York City Opera mezzo-soprano Susan Nicely.

Soprano Jill Gardner (Sister Angelica in Suor Angelica and as Giorgetta in Il Tabarro) is establishing herself among today’s leading operatic heroines. Equally praised for her acting and her singing, Opera News wrote of her Boston Lyric Opera performances of Tosca, “Soprano Jill Gardner, whose voice was fresh and focused, undertook the title role as if it were newly written. There was little of the conventional grand diva in her approach, and her character was all the more human for it.” Gardner made her Opera Carolina debut last season in the title role of Tosca. She has performed with the Washington National Opera.

Korean-born tenor Dongwon Shin (Luigi in Il Tabarro) is making his Opera Carolina debut. Last spring, he sang the role of Radames in Aida at Covent Garden. He has also performed the role in Opera Australia’s revival of Aida. Glowing reviews are customary for Shin. When he sang Calaf with Fort Worth Opera, one critic wrote: “Tenor Dongwon Shin met the challenge. His Nessun Dorma was the highlight of an incredible evening.” When he played the same role with Opera New Zealand, one critic said he played “a superb Calaf with a wonderfully strong, fully Italianate voice, and [he] brought the house down in Nessun Dorma.” He made his professional operatic debut in 2005 as Radames in Aida with Opera Company of Philadelphia, and he has performed at the Metropolitan Opera covering Turridu.

Performing in all three operas, Susan Nicely (Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Frugola in Il Tabarroand The Princess in Suor Angelica) is a mezzo-soprano known for her rich voice and vivid characterizations. Her range goes from comic (Dame Marthe in Faust, Old Lady in Candide and Katasha in The Mikado) to dramatic (Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana and Mama McCourt in The Ballad of Baby Doe). The Austin American-Statesman has called her an “audience darling.” Her versatility was tested when she performed Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s one-woman opera, Bon Appetit! Critics and audiences loved her. D Magazine wrote, “Mezzo-soprano Susan Nicely … delivered the goods with a gorgeously textured, rich vocal timbre and a perfect touch of slapstick, expanding on and somewhat exaggerating Child’s endearing, always-laughed-off clumsiness.” Engagements from recent seasons include Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Arizona Opera and the Orlando Philharmonic, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with New York City Opera, Arizona Opera and Opera Tampa; and Gertrude in Romeo et Juliette with the New Orleans Opera and Opera Grand Rapids.

Baritone Chen-Ye Yuan (title role in Gianni Schicchi) makes his Opera Carolina debut in Il Trittico. He developed his craft as a member of the finest training programs in the business, including the Houston Grand Opera Studio and the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program. The China native has performed Germont in La Traviata, Escamillo in Carmen and Bhaer in Little Women, which aired on PBS’s Great Performances. Recent performances include Marcello in La Boheme with the Hang Zhou Philharmonic Orchestra and Chou En-Lai in John Adams’ Nixon in China with San Francisco Opera and at the Culture Center in Hong Kong.

About Opera Carolina

Founded in 1948 as the Charlotte Opera Association by a small group of volunteers, Opera Carolina today is the largest professional opera company in the Carolinas with an operating budget of over $2.9 million. The mission of Opera Carolina is to inspire the region’s diverse community through the presentation of excellent Opera, Operetta, and Education & Outreach programs that elevate the quality of life in the Carolinas. Opera Carolina is a community resource with a commitment to artistic excellence and community service.

Opera Carolina is supported, in part, with funding from the Arts & Science Council and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. Opera Carolina is a member of OPERA America.

Opera Carolina’s 2013/14 season began with Verdi’s Aida and will conclude with Wagner’s haunting tale of love on the high seas, The Flying Dutchman, on March 22, 27 and 30. The cast will feature Metropolitan Opera tenor and N.C. native Anthony Dean Griffey, Metropolitan bass-baritone Greer Grimsley and Seattle Opera soprano Elizabeth Kataria.

#SharingCheer with Studiobanks

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As people take time to celebrate the holidays and reflect on 2013, Studiobanks, a digital agency located in Charlotte, NC, is giving back and having fun while doing so and they need your help. The only thing you have to do is grab your camera and post a picture to Instagram or Twitter with the tag #SharingCheer. (Obviously, we’d all like to see you sharing your holiday revelry!)

Studiobanks #SharingCheer

For each cheery picture posted Studiobanks will donate a dollar to A Child’s Place, an organization in Charlotte that supports children in our area dealing with homelessness.

A Child’s Place (ACP) works to erase the impact of homelessness on children and their education. ACP began in 1989 when a group of women were walking through the cemetery in downtown Charlotte and noticed a group of kids playing. When asked why the kids were not in school the children explained that they were not allowed to enroll in school without a permanent address. The group of women began offering school for this group of 27 children in a one room schoolhouse provided by First Presbyterian Church with a teacher from CMS. In 1989, the McKinney-Vento Act was passed protecting the educational rights of homeless children ensuring they are provided the necessities they need to regularly attend school. Since that first class of 27 ACP client children we have grown to help 2,656 homeless children during the 2012-13 school year.

Homeless children are living in unstable living conditions that include shelters, motels, doubled-up with others and cars. Because of the instability they experience, these children are:

  • Hungry twice as often as other children;
  • Sick four times more often;
  • Two to three grade levels behind and twice as likely to repeat a grade; and
  • Experience emotional and behavioral problems three times more than their housed peers
  • The national graduation rate for homeless children is below 25%.

Sources: National Center on Family Homelessness

ACP works to remove these barriers for client children to attain their education and make school the most stable part of their lives. We provide educational and emotional support services as well as medical referrals to keep our client children healthy and in the classroom.

Most of our client families are the working poor. For them, homelessness is not a way of life; it’s a time in their lives. By minimizing the impact of this difficult time on the children and their academic growth, ACP contributes to their likelihood of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Stability and education are key solutions to solve the homeless problem here in Charlotte. The relationship between education and income is one of the best-documented in economics: those with more education make more money. For every year a child progresses through school, the likelihood of being poor and homeless as an adult decreases.

After posting your pictures, visit their site, SharingCheer.com to see your pictures, as well as the images contributed by others.

If you’re #SharingCheer, please share a link here. We’d love to see them and share your cheer!

Now, let’s get started #SharingCheer!

A Child’s Place is 100% privately funded. They receive no federal, state or local tax dollars. They do not charge their clients fees. There is no endowment or business on the side to generate revenue. During the 2012-13 fiscal year, A Child’s Place received donations from the following sources: Foundations, 29%; Individuals, 28%; United Way designations, 11%; Businesses, 14%; Faith and civic organizations, 18%. 

A Night at the Symphony {SPX Magic of Christmas}

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My pace has been at a breakneck speed and I’m looking forward to slowing things down with A Night at the Symphony sponsored by SPX to explore the Magic of Christmas with other bloggy friends here in Charlotte. It will be a welcome night out filled with laughter, fun and the Christmas spirit. In case you’re wondering, I’ll be the one humming along… loudly.

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra {Magic of Christmas}

Conductor Albert-George Schram has returned to direct the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte and Charlotte Children’s Choir at this annual, family-friendly program. SPX Corporation has stepped into sponsor this years program to ensure the Belk Theater will be filled to the rafters with the classics of the Christmas canon—from “Jingle Bells” to Strauss’ Overture to Die Fledermaus and everything in between.

While I’m excited about the entire show, I’m really looking forward to hearing the Loch Norman Pipe Band, who will play an authentic “Highland Cathedral.” Later in the performance Caroline Calouche & Co. will thrill attendees on aerial silks and trapeze choreographed to “Silent Night” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

Carolina Calouche Aerialist

Later in December, Director of Choruses and Assistant Conductor Scott Allen Jarrett will lead the orchestra and the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte through a staple of the seasonal repertoire, the time-honored Handel’s Messiah. For centuries, Handel’s masterpiece has moved thousands of people all over the world with its joy, sorrow, exaltation and serenity, the thrill of the Hallelujah Chorus; audiences can experience the Charlotte Symphony’s performance of Messiah at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, December 18 at Belk Theater.

About the Charlotte Symphony 

Founded in 1932 and led by internationally renowned Music Director Christopher Warren-Green, the Charlotte Symphony is a non-profit organization that serves our whole community through music that educates, entertains and enriches the human spirit. We are world-class musicians, music teachers and music lovers. We put violins in the hands of Charlotte’s children and actively nurture the next generation with our programs in music education. We bring artistic excellence to Charlotte’s parks and hospitals, schools and churches, stadiums and concert halls. The Charlotte Symphony is a cornerstone of our cultural community, connecting people and adding value to our lives through music.

Upcoming Charlotte Symphony Shows:  

January

  • Brahms Symphony No. 2 – Jan 10 & 11, 8 pm, Belk Theater: The Charlotte Symphony will ring in the New Year with the light-hearted sounds of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin followed by Debussy’s coruscating Danses sacree et profane, featuring CSO Principal Harpist Andrea Mumm, and, of course, Brahms airy Second Symphony. Christopher Warren-Green, conducting; Andrea Mumm, harp. Tickets $19.50 -$85.50.
  •  Sights & Sounds of America–Jan 24, 7:30 pm, Knight Theater: More than 100 of Ansel Adams’most powerful landscape images will be projected above the orchestra in sync with the Symphony as it performs Dave and Chris Brubeck’s“Ansel Adams: America,”plus music from Copland and Ellington and a post-concert party featuring live jazz with the Noel Friedline Trio. Scott Allen Jarrett, conducting; Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Tickets $29.00, general admission, including free drink and post-concert activities.
  • The Heart of Motown–Jan 31 & Feb 1, 8 pm, Knight Theater: The hit musical group Spectrum returns to pay tribute to The Four Tops, Temptations, MarvinGaye, Spinners, Stevie Wonder, and other classic Motown artists. Albert-GeorgeSchram, conducting. Tickets$39.50 – $65.50

February

  • Tubby the Tuba–Feb 1, 11 am, Knight Theater: Whistle with the woodwinds, sing with the strings and help Tubby the Tuba find his melody. One by one you will discover the sights and sounds of the instrument families until you met the whole orchestra at the “Great Gate of Kiev” for the grand finale! Roger Kalia,conducting; Aubrey Foard, tuba. Tickets $15.50–$24.50, including pre-concert Lollipops Festival and Musical Petting Zoo.
  • Schumann & Haydn–Feb 7 & 8, 8 pm, Belk Theater: Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes opens a program that highlights CSO Principal Cellist Alan Black in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major and, finally, as the name suggests, Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony is a celebration of the German composer’s glorious Rhineland. Christopher Warren-Green, conducting; Alan Black, cello.Cost: $19.50-$85.50.
  • Broadway Rocks!–Feb 21 & 22, 8 pm, Knight Theater: Vocalists from the Broadway stage, Capathia Jenkins, Christiane Noll and Rob Evan, join the Symphony to perform numbers from Rock-inspired musicals including The Wiz, Hairspray, Wicked, Mamma Mia, Rent and Phantom of the Opera. Albert-George Schram, conducting.Tickets $39.50- $65.50.
  • Symphonie Fantastique–Feb 28&Mar 1, 8 pm, Belk Theater: The Charlotte Symphony hosts Robert Moody,Music Director of the Portland Symphony (Maine) and neighboringWinston-Salem Symphony, to conduct North Carolina composer Dan Locklair’s energizing Phoenix for Orchestra, American composer Samuel Barber’s nostalgic Knoxville: Summer of 1915, featuring soprano Sarah Jane McMahon,and Berlioz’s epic Symphonie Fantastique, a story of the artist’s journey of self-destructive passion.Tickets$19.50-$85.50.

March

  • Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra Winter Concert–Mar 3, 7:30 pm, Halton Theater: Founded in 1961, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras are led by their Music Director, Dr. Ernest Pereira, a Charlotte Symphony violinist. Serving nearly 200 students from over 60 schools in the 4th – 12th grades, the youth orchestras rehearse weekly and receive intensive coaching from Charlotte Symphony musicians to prepare them to play sophisticated repertoire in a professional environment.Tickets:adults $8,student $6.
  • Dvořák SymphonyNo. 8–Mar 14 & 15, 8 pm, Belk Theater: “A virtuoso who begins where others leave off”, is how The Washington Post describes Stephen Hough, one of the world’s most acclaimed concert pianists. Hough joins the Symphony for Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor for a program that also features Dvorak’s cheery, folk-inspired Symphony No. 8. Christopher Warren-Green, conducting; Stephen Hough, piano. Tickets$19.50 -$85.50.·
  • A Little Knight Music–Mar 28, 7:30 pm, Knight Theater: Step back in time to Mozart’s era as the Orchestra performs three works by the master, then watch the Orchestra disappear to Haydn’s dramatic “Farewell”Symphony”. Afterwards, ‘Light the Knight’ with luminescent activities by Discovery Place! Christopher Warren-Green, conducting; Co-hosted by Discovery Place. Tickets $29.00, general admission, including free drink and post-concert activities.

Key: Classics are teal, Pops are blue, Knight Sounds are red, Lollipops are green and Youth Orchestra is purple. For Classics, students (18 and under or college/university ID) are half price). Classics and Pops concerts are typically 2 hours long with an hour intermission. Lollipops and Knight Sounds are an hour long with no intermission. Youth Orchestra concert lengths vary, but are no more than 1.5 hours. For more info and tickets go to charlottesymphony.org or call the Charlotte Symphony ticket office at 704-972-2000.

Community Art Installation at Thompson Child and Family Focus in Charlotte

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Join Thompson Child and Family Focus for the public installation of a community-inspired, mixed-media mosaic mural that will grace the facade of its new Thompson Family Services building in Charlotte’s Grier Heights neighborhood November 15-17, 2013. This 170-square-foot mosaic, composed of more than 7,000 pieces of broken tile, mirror, and community-made ceramics, will represent the healing journey of children and families served by Thompson.

People of all ages are invited to participate in the three-day assembly and installation process, which will be managed by mural designer and ceramic artist Leslie Scott of On-The-Wall. Scott designed the mural to create an opportunity for diverse groups of people throughout the community to collaborate in the making of textured ceramic pieces. Children and family clients, staff and donors of Thompson have been joined by individuals and groups from the Grier Heights community in the making of these ceramic pieces since early October, making this a true community work of art.

Since 2004, Scott has been involved in the creation of large-scale, community-inspired works of arts for schools, nonprofits and community centers in California. As a recent Charlotte transplant, she has also designed mosaic murals for the Jewish Community Center in Charlotte, N.C.

The Grier Heights Thompson Family Services Center will provide education, care and intensive support for some of the region’s most at-risk populations. Programs at this facility will include Foster Care, Outpatient Therapy, Intensive in-home services, School-based Intervention Therapy, Parent Education, Family Partners and Family Mentors. Thompson will serve more than 1,000 children and families from this new campus.

There will be a public unveiling of the mural on Thursday, December 5 at 9 a.m. at the Thompson Family Services Center in Grier Heights.

Do you want to participate?

Sign up in advance at www.thompsoncff.org/mosaic.html. Children under the age of 12 should be accompanied by an adult.

Location: Thompson Family Services Center, 769 N. Wendover Rd.

Volunteer Opportunities Schedule:

  • Fri., Nov. 15 (3:30 to 5 p.m.) – design, transfer, breaking and sorting tiles
  • Sat., Nov. 16 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) – setting mosaic
  • Sun., Nov. 17 (10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) – grouting mosaic and final polishing

About Thompson Child & Family Focus 

Thompson Child & Family Focus is a Charlotte, N.C.-based nationally accredited nonprofit agency changing the lives of at-risk children and families through therapy, education and care. Last year, Thompson served more than 16,000 children and families across North and South Carolina from its four distinct campuses specializing in clinical and behavioral treatment, developmental education and proactive care. With almost 400 employees, and a 127-year-old mission of care, Thompson serves children and families through healing, teaching, worship and play.

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